Treasures of Two Worlds 
 
 Unpublished Legends and Traditions 
 of the Jewish Nation 
 
 BY 
 
 NAPHTALI HERZ IMBER 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 HATIKVAH, The National Zionist Song in Hebrew
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1910 
 
 BY MAX COHN 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CAL.
 
 CONTENTS 
 I. 
 
 PREFACE, OR HISTORY OF MYSTICISM THE 
 MAHATMAS OF THE ESSENES. 
 
 1. Work of the Royal Mahatma, Moses. 
 
 2. Reading the Scriptures Between the Lines. 
 
 3. Moses as an Electrician. 
 
 4. The Two Pillars of Fire. 
 
 5. Flashing Electric Light Upon Mt. Sinai. 
 
 6. Building the Tabernacle. 
 
 7. The Holy of Holies. 
 
 8. The Ark. 
 
 0. The Mercy Seat. 
 
 10. The Cherubim. 
 
 11. The Shechinah. 
 
 12. Electrocution of Two Priests. 
 
 13. Talmudical Narrative. 
 
 14. The TJrim and Thumim, or the Oracle. 
 
 15. The Temple. 
 
 16. Solomon's Temple. 
 
 17. The Second Temple. 
 
 18. Herod, the Great Improver. 
 
 19. House of God According to Tradition. 
 
 20. The Sects. 
 
 21. A Crowned Mahatma. 
 King Solomon's Telephone. 
 
 22. Elijah the Grand Mahatma. 
 
 n. 
 
 THE V70NDERS OF THE ORIGINAL MAHATMAS. 
 
 1. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. 
 
 2. The Hypnotist Rabbi, Simon Ben Yochai. 
 
 3. Driving Out a Demon. 
 
 20S6586
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 4. His Son a Policeman, or a Mahatma With a Club. 
 
 5. Rabbi John. 
 
 6. Rabbi Shesheth. 
 
 7. What Is Hypnotism? 
 
 8. Ben Zaccai, the Clairvoyant. 
 
 9. The Siege. 
 
 10. Ben Zaecai and Vespasian. 
 
 11. Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi The Immortalized Ma- 
 
 hatma. 
 
 12. King Solomon's Throne. 
 
 III. 
 
 TALES OF RABBA BAR BARCHANA. 
 
 1. The Geese. 
 
 2. The Hell Where Korah's Sons Are Being Roasted. 
 
 3. Sea Stories and Sailors' Yarns. 
 
 4. Leviathan Lore. 
 
 5. What Is a Lie? 
 
 IV. 
 
 GHOST STORIES OF AN UNKNOWN. 
 
 MAHATMA TRANS, from TAL. BRACHOTH. 
 
 V. 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 UNKELOS THE PROSELYTE. 
 
 1. The Son of the Star. 
 
 2. The Messianic Sign. 
 
 3. Recruiting Soldiers. 
 
 4. The Fall of the City of Bether. 
 
 5. Death of the Son of the Star. 
 
 6. The Two Prisoners. 
 
 7. The Letters of a Crank.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE MISERERE. 
 
 1. Preface. 
 
 2. Midnight, from the Zohar. 
 
 3. Midnight Fantasy. 
 
 4. Peculiar Letters of Lamentations from the Hidden 
 
 Book. 
 
 5. Reply of the Jews of Babylon to the Hebrews of 
 
 Palestine. 
 
 6. Lamentations of the Lord. 
 
 7. Lamentations of the Shechinah (Divine "Woman- 
 
 hood). 
 
 8. Lamentations of the Almighty. 
 
 vn. 
 
 RABBI ISHMAEL. 
 
 THE GREAT MAHATMA OF THE ANCIENTS. 
 ISHMAEL 'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 vm. 
 
 SPANISH SPOILATION, OR THE GRAND INQUISI- 
 TION. 
 
 1. Introduction. 
 
 2. Ave Maria. 
 
 3. Chanting the Song of Liberty. 
 
 4. The Lovesick Grand Inquisitor, or Evil Thoughts 
 
 Breed Evil Acts. 
 
 5. Expecting Elijah, or the Capture. 
 
 6. The Sudden Discovery, or a Lover's Disappointment. 
 
 7. The Flight. 
 
 8. The Penitent. 
 
 IX. 
 
 FRENCH FRIVOLITY. 
 
 1. The Story of Rabbi Solomon, Surnamed Rashi. 
 
 2. Loss and Recovery of a Precious Stone.
 
 vi CONTENTS. 
 
 3. Rabbi Solomon Meeting With Godfrey of Bouillon, 
 
 King of the Crusaders. 
 
 4. The Lamp Without Oil, or the Rabbi Mahatma of 
 
 Paris. 
 
 X. 
 
 JEWISH TRIALS IN GERMANY. 
 
 1. Rabbi Amnon the Martyr, or the History of a Poem. 
 
 2. The Two Lamps at Worms. 
 
 XI. 
 
 EDUCATION AND TALMUD. 
 
 1. A Culture Historical Sketch of Educational Evolu- 
 tion Among the Ancients. 
 1st Chapter The Chaldeans. 
 2nd Chapter The Hebrews. 
 3rd Chapter The Egyptians. 
 4th Chapter The Greeks. 
 5th Chapter The Romans. 
 6th Chapter The Norsemen. 
 7th Chapter The Icelander. 
 
 3. Mosaic Educational Laws. Moses in the Land of 
 
 the Chaldeans. 
 
 4. Mosaic Jehovah versus Hebraic Elohim. 
 
 5. Moses and the Bible. 
 
 6. Moses Breaking Patriachial Systems and Traditions. 
 
 7. Selecting Teachers. 
 
 8. Laws to Teach 
 
 9. The School of Prophets. 
 
 10. From the Building of the Temple to the Exile. 
 
 11. In the School of the Captors. 
 
 12. Educational Reforms of the Great Synod Under 
 
 Ezra the Scribe. 
 
 13. Part the Chaldeans Played in the Education of the 
 
 Hebrews: From the Building of the Temple to 
 the Exile. 
 
 14. The Talmud. 
 
 15. The Two Talmuds.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 History of Mysticism 
 
 The actual period of the birth of Mysticism cannot be 
 affirmed with any degree of certainty, but that it has had 
 existence upon earth from time immemorial can be un. 
 deniably verified. All history points conclusively to this 
 opinion, and we do not hesitate to accept its cumulative 
 proofs. Man has ever been a mystery to himself, and 
 the more he has tried to evolve his mysteriousness, the 
 more has he become involved in mysticism. 
 
 For all of our information concerning the primordial 
 inhabitants of the earth we are indebted solely to the 
 "Hebrew Scriptures," but the entire record is exceed- 
 ingly concise, including only a very few particulars. 
 Mention is expressly made, that Adam gave names to al\ 
 cattle, to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts. From 
 this fact we deduce the idea that he recognized, intui- 
 tively or by revelation, the distinguishing characteristics 
 of them all. We also note that he aid his wife were 
 able to converse together. From these data we are led 
 to believe that our first parents were endowed, at the out* 
 set, with well developed minds and with the gift of 
 speech. In this connection it does not seem inconceiv- 
 able, or incredible, to infer that a knowledge of the alpha- 
 bet, and of the art of writing, was similarly bestowed upon 
 them as a free gift. In ethical matters they were taught 
 by a very severe lesson how to discriminate between right 
 and wrong. It is reasonable to suppose that many in- 
 structions were furnished them by divine communication 
 with respect to the present and the future, and that many 
 explanations were afforded them of the mysteries of life 
 in all its bearings, but on this score Scripture is silent. 
 The Talmud claims, however, that Adam was thoroughly
 
 TEEASUEES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 cognizant of all these mysteries. To this we refer again, 
 later on. 
 
 It is highly improbable that our first parents attempted 
 to forecast the future upon a very extensive scale. They 
 undoubtedly led lives of most unstudied simplicity. 
 Broadly speaking they were owners and rulers of all that 
 their horizon hemmed in. Their needs were few; their 
 desires not unreasonably expectant. Food, raiment, and 
 a roof to shelter them were obtainable without extrava- 
 gant effort. They were not compelled to toil continu- 
 ously, in order that supplies might equal demands. They 
 had no money, no use for any, and no consideration of 
 expenses. Wherefore, should they seek to hoard up 
 stores? In the main, today was like yesterday, and they 
 expected tomorrow would be similar to today. Grad- 
 ually, by experience and observation, they learned to 
 divide time into days, and months; into seasons and years. 
 Their manner of life was practical, not speculative. They 
 had no past, preceding their own, to think of, no tradi- 
 tions to read and ponder. They had no philosophical 
 dogmas to interpret, no profound problems to solve, no 
 more thought of exoteric or esoteric doctrines, than they 
 had of the posterior Greek Sophists, who were to invent 
 or expound them. Yet we doubt not that their rational 
 minds were ever active, ever on the alert, and that ques- 
 tions were ever bubbling up which demanded their fixed 
 attention and patient thoughtfulness. They did not waste 
 their time in idleness, they did not fritter it away in folly, 
 they did not worry themselves into untimely graves. How 
 clearly they apprehended the realities of their extended 
 pilgrimage, and the destiny that awaited them, w r e are in 
 no position to discuss. 
 
 In the lapse of years the speechless voices of the silent 
 dead appealed to the memories and to the affections of 
 their descendants, and they began to inquire : ' ' Shall we 
 meet again?" That question once aroused, became a 
 matter of most vital importance, of most importunate and 
 undying interest. From the early period of time, until 
 now, the most engrossing, the most unanswerable inquir- 
 ies of mankind have been : ' ' What is our life ? What is
 
 HISTERY OP MYSTICISM. 
 
 nature? What have we to do with the future?" It is 
 doubtless probable that these same questions will be re 
 peated, and remain unanswered till the end of time. 
 
 "What are we? "What are we on earth for?" These 
 we may assume to have been the pertinent questions of 
 some, whose works still survive, while the builders have 
 been dead for thousands of years. We gaze with irre- 
 pressible awe, with unbounded admiration, upon these 
 stupendous monuments, erected for display and for dura- 
 tion, the Pyramids of Egypt. How they imposingly 
 manifest to us the persistency of the ancients! They tell 
 us that the primitive men understood the forms of nature 
 better than we do today. They were conscious of their 
 OAvn forces. tha f they themselves were part of the univer- 
 sal force of nature. The moderns harness the forces of 
 nature to perform their work. The ancients harnessed 
 themselves, as corporate parts of the universal force, to 
 bring about the same results. To a calm thinker the 
 distinction is very obvious. The moderns move their ves- 
 sels by the agency of steam. The ancient (figuratively 
 speaking) paddled his own canoe. (We of course are not 
 intending to confound those who caused these pyramids 
 to be built with those who toiled together in the laborious 
 work of building. The former were indifferent about the 
 time occupied, or the myriads of human beings whose 
 lives were sacrificed in the performance of the servile 
 work.) The modern architect considers the quarry, the 
 distance from it to the base of the pyramid, the height of 
 the pyramid. He is puzzled to determine how the work 
 was finished with such scientific exactness in every par- 
 ticular. In a word, all things being taken into considera- 
 tion, the possible and actual construction of these massive 
 and sublime structures is an emphatic mystery. What 
 then can we expect to reply to the great question with 
 which nature confronts us: "What is life?" Here is a 
 mystery which philosophy has never been able to explain ; 
 a problem which the sages have tried, in vain, to solve. 
 
 It is useless to appeal to the antidiluvians for help in 
 our inquiry, "Why do we live?" Their activities were 
 too ineffectual, too little notable, too thinly spread over
 
 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 their long stretch of existence. They had no special ns* 
 for ambition, zest, effort, force. Their uncheckered year* 
 passed along, like the supine waters of a broad river, 
 crossing a nearly level plain. It is to later ages that we 
 turn our attention. Here we find that same river, 
 tumultuously pouring down its water through the narrow 
 pass of a canyon, spurning all obstacles. Here we find 
 idealized the mighty force incorporated in such illustrious 
 men as were the builders of the pyramids. They employed 
 their pent-in forces in the consciousness that they pos- 
 sessed them. They were a part of nature and worked in 
 harmony with her universal laws; therefore, they were 
 successful. 
 
 Nature's physical and mental laws are in exact accord. 
 The pagan authors made a vast and invaluable contribu- 
 tion to the literary world. They well deserve the credit 
 we willingly allow them. But the immortal Psalms of 
 David, the Shepherd King, were composed for humanity 
 at large. Whence this difference? Why are David's 
 songs as fresh, as fragrant, today, as they were when first 
 written? Why are they so welcomed by all, whose minds 
 and hearts are not defiled, from the humblest cottager to 
 the highest potentate ? The answer is easy. David wrote 
 subjectively, feelingly. He was conscious of his power, 
 and expended his entire strength upon his efforts. 
 
 King David furnishes another happy illustration of the 
 sentiment maintained, that man acts in complete concert 
 witL nature's laws in order to achieve success. In 1 
 Samuel XVIII :7, we read : ' ' Saul has slain his thousands, 
 and David his ten thousands." How shall we account for 
 this distinction? By simply stating that David fought, 
 as he wrote, enthusiastically and with a concentration of 
 his inherent powers upon his desired object. He recog- 
 nized his force, and acted accordingly. 
 
 The philosopher, Herbert Spencer, and Mohammed, the 
 prophet, may be employed to point a moral and adorn a 
 tale in behalf of the sentiment maintained. The former, 
 a close thinker and careful writer, cold and artificial in 
 his views, is unaware of what is needed to make him posi- 
 tively strong. JJe shows plainly that, though "Knowledge
 
 HISTOEY OF MYSTICISM. 
 
 is power," it is not all that is requisite to secure success. 
 Nature does not invest all her force in one faculty. 
 
 Mohammed affected no great scholarship. He was 
 really an ignorant man so far as book learning is con- 
 cerned. He was well versed, however, in human nature. 
 He knew well wherein his whole strength lay. With all 
 the ardor of a fanatic, he appealed to the inflamed pas- 
 sions of his auditors. His success is marvelous. 
 
 The Talmud assures us that Adam understood the 
 mysteries of life, and handed them down to his son, who 
 in turn delivered them to his children, from whom they 
 were handed down successively to Shem. From Shem, 
 in consecutive order, they were bequeathed until they 
 were received by Abraham, and thus became the heritage 
 of Israel. 
 
 That the Jews had the mission to preserve the truth of 
 higher spirituality can be readily discerned by reading the 
 history of this wonderful race. Beginning with the ad- 
 vent of Moses, we notice two kinds of institutions of 
 learning were established the one under the auspices of 
 the priesthood, the other under the care of the prophets. 
 The former of these became the guardian of the external 
 laws which affected the social and political relations of 
 the nation. The latter was placed in custody of the 
 religious beliefs. The former had respect to the letter 
 of the law, while the. latter was intended to interpret the 
 spirit of the same. The prophetic schools were based 
 upon a progression, not a stereotyped plan ; therefore any 
 subsequent demarcations and changes, which occurred in 
 their successive stages of development, are not open to 
 adverse criticism. 
 
 As the Priests delivered orally their laws to the nation, 
 so likewise did the Prophets communicate to their disci- 
 ples the secrets of the higher science of spirituality. Both 
 parties lived in accordance with their teachings. The 
 Priest enjoyed life in the Temple, faring sumptuously and 
 reaping pecuniary gains. On the other hand, the Prophet 
 lived a life of purity and self-denial. He was a farmer, 
 or a shepherd, or a mere laborer, supporting himself by 
 dint of daily toil. No bribe, no earthly pleasure could
 
 6 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 induce him to desert the path of duty. While the priests 
 revelled in luxuries and had honors thrust upon them, tho 
 prophets were subjected to revilings, persecutions and 
 mockeries. 
 
 At the time of the Second Temple, the priesthood lost 
 much of its former glory, and the prophets were held in 
 less esteem. At this same period, under the supervision 
 of the Pharisees, the priests began to write down their 
 laws ; and the Mystics, under the direction of their organ- 
 ization, the Essenes, began also to reduce to writing their 
 scientific spiritual experiences. From the Priests we de- 
 rived the Talmud; from the Essenes we rereiced the Zohar 
 (the light) the Bible of the Cabalists and Mystics. 
 
 THE MAHATMAS OF THE ESSENES. 
 
 The Pharisees wrote down their former merely oral 
 laws lest they should lapse into oblivion. From the same 
 reason the traditionary experiences of the Mystics of the 
 Ages were reduced to writing. 
 
 The compilers of the early Mystics were Jesus, son of 
 Sirah Hanosei, and grandson of the prophet Jeremiah, who 
 lived in Zoan (Memphis), Egypt, where a large Jewish 
 community flourished, after the destruction of the first 
 Temple; Choni Hamagal, the circle-maker, who lived in 
 Jerusalem in the second century after the rebuilding of 
 the Temple, a prominent Mystic, and one of the organ- 
 izers of the mystic circle, the Essenes; Jonathan Ben 
 Uziel, the favorite disciple of Hillel the Great, who lived 
 a century B. C. and who was the first to translate the 
 Scriptures into Aramaic-Chaldean. He was one of the 
 primitive original Mahatmas, and he translated the Bible 
 in the spiritual conception of the Mystics. 
 
 A candidate for admission into the Inner Circle of the 
 Mystics the Essenes had to be of a certain age, to pos- 
 sess a certain degree of knowledge combined with a good 
 moral character. Baptism in the river, or some stream- 
 let, was one of the chief ceremonies of initiation, and 
 hence modern Cabalists often bathe themselves in water 
 before prayer or any devotion. The degrees were thirty- 
 two corresponding to the thirty-two paths of wisdom (so
 
 HISTORY OF MYSTICISM. 
 
 in Masonry) and the secret science was divided into two 
 divisions the one called "Masei Merkoba" (work ol 
 Motions) and the other "Masei Bereshith" (work ot 
 Creation;. The former part of the study dealt with the 
 organized system of the universe the latter with the 
 creative forces of nature. Also the former part was 
 taught to two in a class, the latter only to one. The 
 early books of the Mystics are, the Book of Jubilee and 
 the Book of the Creation. Both books were written in 
 pure classic Hebrew, and bearing the stamp of antiquity. 
 The author of the Book of Jubilee is unknown. Tradi- 
 tion attributed to Abraham the authorship of the other 
 book. Some give the credit to the famous Rabbi Akiba. 
 
 As the class was assembled in the open air, in gardens 
 or near a river, where master and pupil could indulge in 
 their metaphysical speculations without disturbance, the 
 science was called "Pardes", a Parsian term for garden. 
 "To walk" was the name for "to study," because while 
 walking over nature's hills, or along the bank of the 
 river, the master explained to his pupils the mysteries of 
 the Cabala. 
 
 Rabbi Akiba, Ben Soma, Ben Azai, and Elisha Ben 
 Abujah, the Faust of the Hebrews, were noted original 
 Maiiatmas. Rabbi Akiba 's famous disciple, Rabbi Meir 
 Bal Hanes (Rabbi Meir, the man of wonders), was also 
 a iamous Mahatma of the grandest type. Rabbi Simon, 
 the son of Jochai and his son Eliezar, were the authors 
 of the Zohar (the light, as it is the principal book of the 
 Mystics), and they wrought miracles, which made them 
 famous, above other Mahatmas. Rabbi Simon is the only 
 sage of the Mystics, the anniversary of whose death is 
 celebrated among the orthodox Jews. 
 
 The Zohar is written in the rich expressive mixture of 
 the Aramaic-Chaldean tongue, in which language nearly 
 all the Cabalistic books are written. 
 
 After the destruction of the Temple many centuries 
 elapsed, during which the Mystics gave no sign of life. 
 Of course there still were students scattered in Spain and 
 in the Holy Land, but they were not of much account. A 
 revival of the science took place at the advent of Rabbi
 
 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 haac Lurya, that great Mahatma, a record of whose won- 
 derful life is given in its proper place. He outlined a 
 system for obtaining spiritual power (known as the Lurya 
 system) by bringing one's body into subjection to the 
 mind, through fasting and abstinence from earthly pleas- 
 ures. Rabbi Lurya did not write down his teachings, but 
 we find them in the books of his disciple, Rabbi Haim 
 Vital. Rabbi Lurya gave new impetus to the study of 
 Mysticism and Cabala in Palestine and throughout the 
 Orient. There was also a famous Mystic, Sabatai Zebi, 
 from Smyrna, known in history as the "Turkish Mes- 
 siah." About one hundred and fifty years ago, a man 
 named Israel Bal Shem Tov (man of a good name) ap- 
 peared in Russia as a Mahatma, and became the founder 
 of the Chasidim (pious ones), a sort of Jewish Theoso- 
 phists, who believe in their Mahatmas the Wonder 
 Rabbis who are known in the Jewish world as the Good 
 Jews. The system of Israel, the great Mahatma, con- 
 flicts with that of Lurya. His idea is that a man cannot 
 attain the highest station of spirituality except by a 
 happy disposition idealized as Joy. His theory makes joy 
 the ladder up which man can climb heavenward, and 
 there converse with the angels. A famous saying of his 
 is, "the Almighty is more pleased with the smoke of my 
 pipe than with the prayers of a hundred Rabbis." In 
 this respect he accords with the Mystics of the Talmud, 
 who said: "The Shechina (divine woman and mother- 
 hood, who is the source of inspiration) cannot rest upon 
 a person of a gloomy temperament, whose mind wanders 
 in grief." Like Lurya, Israel, the Mahatma of the good 
 name, never wrote a word. His sayings, explanations 
 and doctrines were collected by his disciple, Jacob Joseph, 
 in a book, which he styled "Toldeth Jacob Joseph" (chil- 
 dren of Jacob Joseph). 
 
 Israel, the great Mahatma, was subjected to the fate of 
 most reformers who launch forth new ideas and doc- 
 trines. His followers were likewise rigidly persecuted 
 by the stern Talmudical Rabbis and Jews, but, as in the 
 case with all persecuted sects, they increased in numbers 
 and strength. Now half of the orthodox Jews in Russia,
 
 HISTORY OF MYSTICISM. 
 
 Poland, and some parts of Austria, follow the teachings 
 of Israel and believe in him as their Mahatma. These are 
 known as "Chasidim" (the pious ones) in contradistinc- 
 tion to those Jews who accept the Talmud and reject the 
 Cabala. Although this sect claims affiliation with the 
 Jewish Theosophists, one would judge, from the manner 
 in which they conduct their prayers with the accompani- 
 ment of dances and music of little drums and tamborines, 
 that a more appropriate title would be "the Jewish Salva- 
 tion Army." General Booth is said to have organized the 
 soldiers of his army after the model of the Hallelujah 
 heroes of the Jewish Mahatmas. The original disciples 
 of Rabbi Israel Bal Shem Tov became Mahatmas, and 
 their children imitated their example. 
 
 There are Maratmas, or Wonder Rabbis, in many of 
 the cities of Russia and Poland, and in some parts of 
 Austria. The people, Jews as well as Gentiles, make 
 pilgrimages to the "Wonder Rabbi. "When they are in 
 trouble one will pray in these words: ""Will the Rabbi 
 request the creative force of nature to open the womb of 
 his barren wife?" Another will ask the Mahatma to be 
 so kind as to ascend to Heaven for a moment and nullify 
 the death-warrant issued against his child. The people 
 think that the Wonder Rabbis can even alter the decrees 
 of the Almighty, and make nature yield to the sway of 
 their song. However incredulous we may be as to such" an 
 extent of their abilities, it is certain that these Rabbis 
 possess and ezert extraordinary powers. To help us to 
 explain this phenomenon, we must bear in mind that 
 everything in nature is a part of nature, i. e., a part of its 
 power. Thesa Mahatmas from their infancy keep their 
 minds pure and so far free from worldly distractions that 
 some of them cannot distinguish one coin from another. 
 As healthful food affects the body, so do pure thoughts 
 operate upon the mind. The well established principles 
 of heredity incontestably prove that when the higher 
 laws of purity have been strictly observed through many 
 successive generations-^as a resultant, we shall find minds 
 far, very far, above the gtamp which makes the minds of
 
 10 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 ordinary mortals. We need not wonder that the vision 
 of the second sight is less obscured in such mental habita- 
 tions. 
 
 When the Rabbi is in a special spiritually happy frame 
 of mind, he turns his head aside, as if to take a nap, and 
 this is the time when he has his "Aliat Neshoma" (going 
 out of his soul, or, as the Theosophists express it, throw- 
 ing out his Astral). At this time he flies in spirit through 
 invisible spheres, and is perfectly conscious of what he 
 sees and hears. When his soul returns to his body, he 
 tells the people what he has seen in his spiritual flights. 
 
 These Rabbis drive out evil spirits, which make their 
 abode in human bodies. They also remember what they 
 did in former lives throughout the run of ages, after their 
 soul had broken its spiritual shell. They also recognize 
 other souls, telling them what they did too in their previ- 
 ous incarnations. They have the power to arrest the 
 course of spirits vaguely wandering the vacuum of invisi- 
 ble space, enabling them to re-enter the circle of the spirit 
 society. 
 
 On a Sabbath, or a holy day, especially on the Atone- 
 ment or the new year, many thousands, from all parts of 
 the land, are assembled to hear him pray to his God, and 
 to witness his battles with Satan and his emissaries. 
 
 The Mahatmas themselves are under the guardianship 
 of the thirty-six masters, whose mission is to guard the 
 Truth. The masters possess greater power than the 
 Mahatmas, and are scattered in all directions, and amid 
 the various stations of human activity, one pursuing one 
 occupation, another being differently employed. All 
 ranks in society, from the highest to the most ordinary, 
 are represented m their number, and yet they move among 
 the masses, umacognized in their official dignity, as only 
 a few of the Mahatmas are made aware of their secret. 
 If by some chance one becomes recognized, death, or dis- 
 appearance, settles the matter so far as he is concerned. 
 The full number is preserved in every generation. 
 
 We now propose to utilize the opportunity to exploit 
 the truth, and reveal to the world a matter of fact. 
 Madame Blavatzsky, the founder of the Theosophists, was
 
 HISTOBY OF MYSTICISM. 11 
 
 a shrewd Russian womaa, familiar with the ways and 
 doings of the Mahatmas, or "Good Jews," as are all the 
 Russians, and she must have taken her cue from some 
 "Chasid" (a pious Jew, who believes in the occult power 
 of the Mahatmas). When she came to New York, she 
 secured the manuscript of DePalm, as my friend, Miss 
 Farrington, has clearly proved in her booklet, "A Mystic 
 Society." 
 
 That man had some mystical inklings, and to these 
 Madame Blavantzsky added, in an intermingled manner, 
 her knowledge of the Jewish Wonder Rabbis, touching 
 up the word-picture with a little Buddhistic coloring. 
 Now, instead of mentioning the home of these Mahatmas, 
 and giving an account of the thirty-six Masters, she 
 mingled together all the knowledge, and the hints, and 
 the conjunctions, which she had managed to conjure up 
 from all sources whatsoever. Out of this blend she 
 moulded supposititious Mahatmas, locating them on the 
 roof of the world in Thibet, a country almost entirely 
 unknown to civilization. The Talmud naively remarks : 
 "The liar refers to distant places for his evidences and 
 proofs." It certainly seems a travesty of the truth, when 
 Madame Blavatzsky refers in her (?) book, "Isis Un- 
 veiled," and in the "Secret Doctrine" the Cabala, which 
 she never could have read, or understood. Since even the 
 most learned Rabbis read Cabalistic books with extreme 
 difficulty. She knew nothing of the Chaldean tongue; 
 she could not read Sanskrit. 
 
 It is true that the Buddhists and the Cabala agree in 
 some particulars. Each accepts the doctrine of Reincar- 
 nation and of Metempsychasis, but their views in these 
 respects do not harmonize in full. The idea of "Throw- 
 ing out of the Astral" has not been picked up from the 
 Hindus' soil. It originated on Judea's mountains, having 
 been planted by the first Mahatmas in earliest times. 
 Madame Blavatzsky obtained her information from a Rus- 
 sian Jew, however much to the contrary she may insist 
 upon giving credit to an imaginary Mahatma in Thibet, 
 whose only method of transporting prayer to Nirvona is 
 on prayer-wheels. It is a pity that Madame Blavatzsky
 
 12 TBEASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 did not know the cabalistic idea, that there is another 
 soul, which enters the body of the good Jew on Friday 
 afternoon and stays there till Sabbath night. If she had 
 only known about this idea of a "concubine soul," she 
 could have expatiated upon it to her heart's content, 
 claiming it as another revelation from Thibet. 
 
 In conclusion, we add that, despite the efforts of Madame 
 Blavatzsky and her co-workers, and all opponents, the 
 original Jewish Mahatma stands upon its own merits. 
 
 I 
 
 MILKING THE HEAVENS, OR THE WORK OF THE 
 ROYAL MAHATMA, MOSES. 
 
 There are two names by which man is enabled to oper- 
 ate the force hidden within himself. In the first place, 
 from the very fact of his existence he is a part of nature, 
 which is the universal power. On this basis we can ex- 
 plain a multitude of the common phenomena of life, such 
 as result from the exercise of love or hatred, of fear or 
 confidence, of benevolence or malign feelings, being taken 
 as examples. These may be included under the general 
 term of hypnotism, for every human being on the face of 
 the earth is a born hypnotist. 
 
 The second motive power of man is knowledge. The 
 knowledge of the laws of nature enables man to appar- 
 ently work against them. The ignorant are very liable 
 to jump at such conclusion by not stopping to reflect that 
 appearances are often misleading. Perfect harmony is 
 thus apt to be mistakenly regarded as a real discrepancy, 
 as an obvious departure from the ordinary. By taking 
 advantage of their superior knowledge, many are able to 
 gain the reputation of being miracle-workers or as 
 Mahatmas. Under this classification we propose to cite 
 Moses and many of the prophets of Israel. 
 
 In this connection, it seems appropriate to call atten- 
 tion to the fulfillment of many prophesies. The art of 
 foretelling is based upon familiarity with the laws of 
 nature. "We are provided with duplicate powers of vision, 
 the eye furnishing the one, and the mind affording the
 
 MILKING THE HEAVENS. 13 
 
 other. In the case of animals and of children this second 
 sight is their instinct, which is seldom fallible. It some- 
 times happens that the mind is so absorbed in contem- 
 plation of a mental vision, that the outward eye though 
 actually discerning an object before it fails to observe it 
 and communicate the intelligence to the mind. Hence we 
 obtain the true idea that the mind is the absolute seat of 
 vision, and that the eye, with all its wonderful mechanism, 
 is simply the servant of the mind. 
 
 The prophets acted in accordance with the laws which 
 regulate the mind. Disregarding objects about them, un- 
 mindful of the scoffings and railings of the multitude, they 
 devoted themselves to mental contemplations, and beheld 
 with clearest vision the most remote events of the distant 
 future. 
 
 The Scripture says of Moses: "He could not behold 
 the face of the Almighty. ' ' Also it adds : ' ' But the Lord 
 says, 'my servant Moses who is faithful and acquainted 
 with all my household.' ' The hidden meaning of this 
 is, that it was not Divinity that made Moses great as a 
 miracle-worker, but that it was familiarity with the house- 
 hold of God's natural laws, which enabled him to shift 
 and transport the forces hidden in nature, to the astonish- 
 ment of the beholders. The law of vibration is one of 
 nature's greatest laws. By it many phenomena can be 
 explained. If a man runs rapidly, he will perspire freely, 
 and the moisture will fall from him in drops. On the 
 same principle rain is produced, when the air is intensely 
 vibrated. Thus modern rain-makers bombard the air 
 with violent explosives, and cause such a sudden and ex- 
 treme agitation, that showers soon ensue. On the same 
 principle, the greatest Mahatma, Moses, may have worked 
 the skies. 
 
 n. 
 
 READING THE SCRIPTURES BETWEEN THE LINES. 
 
 Ol all the tou plagues, which Moses brought upon 
 Egypt, the most interesting is that of the production of 
 a hail storm in that wonderful land, where the sky is al-
 
 14 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 ways blue. Interesting as ifeat wonderful occurrence is, 
 it becomes still more interesting when we are told in plain 
 language how that wonder may have been wrought. 
 
 It is noticeable in regard to the plagues, that when the 
 king begged relief from them, Moses, like a sleight-of- 
 hand magician, acted without ceremony. In the instance 
 of the hail-storm, he said to the king: "Well, when I 
 shall have gone out of the city limits, then the thunder- 
 ing voices will cease, and the hail-storm also. ' ' In Exodus 
 (Chap. 9, verses 33 and 34) we read: "And Moses went 
 away from Pharaoh, outside the city limits, and there 
 lifted up his hands to Jehovah, and the thundering voices 
 ceased, and the rain reached not to the earth." Now we 
 see why Moses went outside the city limits to stop the 
 storm. There he had his machinery located, from which 
 he bombarded the air with some explosive stuff (thunder- 
 ing voices). As soon as he left the city, he lifted up his 
 hands to signal to his men to cease their firing, and after 
 the thundering voices ceased the storm came to an end. 
 Here we have an excellent idea how Moses wrought his 
 wonders, by utilizing to good effect his knowledge of the 
 laws of nature. 
 
 m. 
 
 MOSES AS AN ELECTRICIAN. 
 
 The balm which Moses, the lawgiver, used for embalm- 
 ing his people for eternit5 r , was the balm of science, life's 
 vital power electricity. Moses gave to his people no 
 assurance of some kind of happiness in the "Beyond," 
 nor did he make to them promises of an unknown soul- 
 salvation. He did not, like Christ, assure them of a 
 Heavenly Kingdom, nor did he promise them a beautiful 
 Paradise, after the manner of Mohammed. Unlike other 
 teachers of religion, Moses gave to his people no promise 
 of compensation in the future, and yet for centuries they 
 remained faithful to the pledges given near Mount Sinai. 
 Why? Because he revealed to them the true power of 
 God, power of electricity a power whose current runs 
 through all the veins of nature, making her animated, and
 
 MOSES AS AN ELECTRICIAN. 15 
 
 causing her to become a creative force. The bush, which 
 Moses saw enveloped in flames, without being consumed, 
 was a foreshadowing of the modern carbon, which burns 
 in the electric lamp. He represented to his people his 
 powerful Jehovah, uttering these words: "Behold Jeho- 
 vah your God and Lord is a fire, which consumes fire." 
 Now what kind of fire, other than electricity, consumes 
 fire? The electric current, sent out by Moses from his 
 machinery, runs like a thread throughout the religious 
 history of the Jews; flashing its glorious light upon the 
 illumined pages, mirroring by a splendid reflection the 
 great wisdom of the greatest Mahatina of all the ages, 
 i. e., of Moses. 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE TWO PILLARS OF FIRE. 
 
 The two pillars of nre, which went before the wander- 
 ing Israel, guiding thtir march through the desert, were 
 nothing more than electric standards, or movable batter- 
 ies. The Bible delineates to us the appearance of the two 
 pillars. That of the uay appeared as a cloud before the 
 marching host. At n:ght a pillar of fire led the van, while 
 the pillar of cloud guarded the rear, wrapping in dark- 
 ness the path behint. it. Any one, who knows how an 
 electric searchlight cuts a big cloudlike shadow, will at 
 once recognize that ihe seemingly two pillars were only 
 one, namely, an eleclric searchlight with a movable bat- 
 tery. When at nigLt the pillar of fire was moving in 
 advance of the arm}, it cast its shadow in the rear. In 
 the daytime the ord^r of operating the light was exactly 
 reversed, and the sLadow was visible in front. 
 
 V. 
 
 FLASHING ELECTRIC LIGHT UPON MOUNT SINAI. 
 
 If the barren, rocky mountains of Sinai could talk, we 
 could obtain, in minute detail, information concerning the 
 first electric light which flashed upon them, four thousand 
 years ago. But alas! mountains have no tongues, and
 
 16 TREASURES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 rocks are silent. Nevertheless we can obtain the needed 
 information by reading between the lines of the Bible 
 and by listening to the legendary tales of the Talmud. 
 The Bible tells us that Moses spent forty days and forty 
 nights upon Mount Sinai making ready to deliver the 
 Law. It is easy to understand, that it took him such a 
 length of time to fix his batteries for production of his 
 electric motive-power, and to lay the wires necessary to 
 conduct it. After his preparations were all made, he 
 came down, and ordered the Jews not to approach too 
 near the mountain, lest they be hit with stones, or thrown 
 down. The same prohibition was made in regard to ani- 
 mals, and for the same reason. (Read Exodus, chap. 
 XIX :13.) Contact with a live electric wire produces just 
 exactly the disastrous results threatened above. The 
 description of the Bible as to how the mountains looked, 
 when the Lord appeared there, is another indication of 
 electric mystery. By this, moreover, we can account for 
 the thunder and the lightning. The association of Aaron 
 with the rest of the priests needs no explanation other 
 than that there was absolute requirement of helpers to 
 operate the machine. 
 
 The Talmud contains a tradition that the two stone 
 tablets were written with white fire upon black fire, and 
 that the two letters, M and S, were visible in a wonderful 
 manner, as if engraved. This could not have been possi- 
 Ibe with real engravings, because the letters were visible 
 on both sides. Edison, the electrician, can explain the 
 secret of this tradition. Such a combination of white fire 
 with black is made possible by electricity alone, and is a 
 device adopted by merchants of the present day to make 
 their store signs attractive. By the same agency can we 
 account for the ability to see the transparent effect, in 
 regard to the letters. Science is the religion of Moses, 
 and of his God, Jehovah. 
 
 The Jehovah of Moses is a God of labor, love and life, 
 whose electric powers have attracted the scattered atoms 
 of chaos, and out of them have fashioned the universe. 
 
 He is the God of love, whose electric sparks kindle in 
 the hearts of mankind the holy flames of love, which
 
 BUILDING THE TABEBNACLE. 17 
 
 illuminate the peaceful homes of his children those little 
 circles, which dot the vast circle of allied humanity, as 
 the stars are multiplied in the azure vault of heaven. 
 
 He is life, for life is the compound of electricity, whose 
 current runs through the pulses of the whole creation. 
 
 VI. 
 
 BUILDING THE TABERNACLE. 
 
 Those who believe that the tabernacle was built by 
 Moses as a place for worship are greatly mistaken. In 
 the six hundred and thirty laws of the Scriptures there 
 is not to be found one law commanding prayer. The 
 tabernacle, according to the plan of Moses, was built as a 
 national college of science, where the priests were the 
 healers, and the judges were the teachers and the calen- 
 dar-makers, while the Levites were selected to cultivate 
 the divine art of music, and to be the guardians of that 
 wonder-museum. The tabernacle was the power-house 
 out of which came forth the light which produced civili- 
 zation and culture, as well as that luminous light of elec- 
 tricity which moved the wheels of Jewish history. 
 
 The tabernacle was divided into three apartments; one 
 allotted to the entire children of Israel, the second to the 
 Levites, where they sang their charming songs to Jeho- 
 vah, the third to the priests for sacrificial. There was 
 another interior subdivision, called the Holy of Holies, 
 into which the high priest alone was allowed to enter, 
 once a year, and for a brief time, on the day of Atone- 
 ment. The whole building formed a parellelogram, thirty 
 cubits long, and ten cubits wide, and, when erected, stood 
 with its sides looking north and south, and its ends look- 
 ing east and west. (A Jewish cubit equals 1.824 of an 
 English foot.) The sides and the western extremities 
 were constructed of boards raised on end, sunk in sockets, 
 and connected together by horizontal bars. The extremi- 
 ties, which looked eastward, and formed the entrance, 
 were guarded by pillars and hangings. The interior was 
 lined with curtains, on the sides, while the ceiling con- 
 sisted of skins. The flooring was the uncovered earth.
 
 18 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 Itie Holy of Holies comprised one-third of the western 
 suction, being separated from the remainder by a vail 
 supported by pillars. 
 
 The area was surrounded by a court, one hundred 
 cubits long and fifty cubits wide ; the entrance being from 
 the east, and the tabernacle being well to the west of the 
 enclosure, while the altar of burnt offerings, and the 
 brazen lever were on the line between. 
 
 The pillars of the tabernacle were nine in number, four 
 being overlaid with gold, and resting on silver sockets. 
 These four supported the vail, which separated the Holy 
 of Holies from the holy place. There were two curtain 
 linings the cherub curtain, and the goat's hair curtain. 
 The main room, constituting the tabernacle proper, was 
 lined, on the sides and the ceiling, with the cherub cur- 
 tain. Of this the ground work was pure white linen inter- 
 woven with blue, purple and scarlet, and with figures of 
 cherubim. 
 
 The goat's hair curtains formed the tent of the taber- 
 nacle, and extended along the roof and the sidewalls to 
 the floor, between these and the cherub curtains. 
 
 The inner veil was of the same material as the cherub 
 curtains, and was covered with the same symbols. There 
 was a preponderance of blue color, as it is thought, sug- 
 gestive of heaven, to which, as the proper chamber of 
 Jehovah, it symbolized the entrance. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE HOLY OF HOLIES. 
 
 The situation of this department has been defined 
 previously. 
 
 It was in the form of a hollow cube, ten cubits on every 
 side, and constituted the most holy and sacred spot in the 
 whole enclosure. All else was subordinate to this. 
 
 Here were preserved, and protected in sacred seclu- 
 sion, the most significant symbols of the whole worship. 
 These were the "Ark," with its contents: the "Mercy- 
 Seat" of the Cherubim; the Shechina.
 
 THE ABK. 18 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE ARK. 
 
 The ark was a chest of wood, overlaid and lined with 
 gold. It \vas two and one-half cubits in length, and one 
 and one-half cubits in breadth and height. 
 
 It stood on four feet, and had rings at the end for the 
 poles, on which it was borne, when there was occasion to 
 move it. It contained the two "tablet stones," inscribed 
 with the ten commandments, which were the vital points 
 of the Mosaic religion. 
 
 There was the "golden pot" containing the manna, 
 which was kept as a symbol of the miraculous way in 
 which the Lord provided food for his people during their 
 journey through the wilderness. 
 
 There was also Aaron's rod, that budded. 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE MERCY-SEAT AND THE CHERUBIM. 
 
 The Mercy-Seat, that translation of a word, which 
 means covering, was the lid of the ark, and was made of 
 pure gold. 
 
 It obviously symbolized the co\ering of sin in the act 
 of forgiveness. It was sprinkled by the high priest with 
 the blood of sacrificed animals. 
 
 X. 
 
 THE CHERUBIM. 
 
 According to tradition, the two "Cherubim" were birds 
 with babe's faces; they were of pure solid gold. 
 
 Their position was at each end of the covering, facing 
 each other, with wings extended. 
 
 XI. 
 
 THE SHECHINAH. 
 
 The Shechinah was the divine woman and motherhood, 
 the glory of the Lord, who was always in her home, the 
 "Holy of Holies."
 
 20 TBEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 There is no mistake that the ten cubits square space in 
 the holy of holies was the power-house, where electricity 
 was produced ; and that the Talmud was right in saying, 
 that "from that place the light went out to the whole 
 world." I shall array all the facts and proofs, confirming 
 the statement made above. 
 
 In the first place, observe the small amount of furniture 
 for so vast a space a square space of more than eighteen 
 thousand square feet. Such an immense area is not sug- 
 gestive of a bridal chamber for a divine couple. It much 
 more readily suggests a large electric plant. 
 
 The ark, with a length of nearly four thousand feet, 
 was not made simply to contain safely a few small articles 
 two tablets of stone, on which the ten commandments 
 were inscribed; a golden pot, and a small rod. It was 
 probably the place where motive power was produced. 
 The materials of which it was made gold linings and 
 plaitings in a wooden structure add to the force of the 
 suggestion. Moses could have ways of producing elec- 
 tricity. He may have devised a sort of perpetual motion 
 in arrangement acting independently, which was repre- 
 sented by the two tablets of stone; or he may have laid 
 pipes to convey the steam under the heated altars and 
 thence into the ark. In either way his mechanism could 
 have been so cleverly arranged that it would require only 
 a little fixing by the high priest, once a year, on the day 
 of atonement. The "everlasting" fire upon both altars 
 are silent evidences of the correctness of these surmises 
 and suggestions. 
 
 In the Scripture (Numbers, chap. 4) we read how each 
 Levite family-clan had a special part of the tabernacle to 
 carry, when it had been taken apart to be removed, when 
 Israel resumed its march. The clan of Kehoth had to 
 bear the different pieces of the "Holy of Holies." The 
 high priest, Aaron, and his sons first took the pieces apart, 
 covered them, and placed them upon the shoulders of the 
 Levites, from the clan of Kehoth. The Bible gives two 
 reasons for such precautions. Ono is that the bearers 
 shall not die. The second is, that they shall not defile the 
 sacred things. Such reasons are given today for not al-
 
 THE SHECHINAH. 21 
 
 lowing outsiders to approach too near an electric plant, 
 or battery. A more potent evidence, that the works of 
 the tabernacle were carired on by the power of electricity, 
 is the narrative of the death of Aaron's two sons. 
 
 XII. 
 
 ELECTROCUTION OF TWO PRIESTS. 
 
 The Bible tells ns that Nadab and Abihu, each taking 
 his pan filled with incense, went into the "Holy of 
 Holies," and were burned by a flame, which came before 
 the Lord. Soon after their death the Lord orders Moses 
 (Leviticus 18:8) that no wine or intoxicating drink shall 
 be drunk by the priests before entering that place. In 
 another place in Scripture it is written that after the 
 death of Aaron's two sons, the Lord commanded Moses to 
 tell Aaron that henceforth no one but the high priest shall 
 enter the holy of holies, and that he shall enter only once 
 a year, on the day of the "Atonement." 
 
 From these two quotations we can learn many things 
 which throw light upon the early history of electricity. 
 "We glean that in the infancy of the Mosaic religion all 
 the priests were allowed to enter, at any time, into the 
 place of the holy of holies. "We learn also, that Moses 
 became wiser, after the unfortunate fate of Aaron's two 
 sons, and then prohibited all, but the high priest, to enter 
 the sacred place. "We learn that Aaron's sons were drunk 
 when they entered the place and that, being under the 
 influence of liquor, they forgot the regulations, came in 
 contact with a live wire and were suddenly consumed by 
 fire. 
 
 XIII 
 
 TALMUDICAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 The Talmud, by the benefit of an ancient tradition, 
 informs us how the two sons of Aaron met death in the 
 holy of holies. 
 
 Nadab and Abihu were drunk when they entered the 
 holy of holies. Suddenly two flames in the form of wires
 
 22 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 ran into their nostrils, burning their souls, while their 
 bodies remained unconsumed. Such a death can only be 
 explained by electrocution, and the same horrible death 
 happens to our modern drunkards, who carelessly come 
 in contact with a live wire. 
 
 From the above reference to the Bible and to Ihe Tal- 
 mud we seem to find proof that the two priests met their 
 death by electrocution, and that Moses manipulated the 
 electricity in order to keep the fires constantly burning 
 on the altars. 
 
 It also seems very credible that the priests who were 
 the ''healers" employed electricity to effect cures, espe- 
 cially in cases of skin diseases. When a man was brought 
 into the tabernacle with spots on his skin, indicating the 
 first stage of leprosy, he was locked up in a certain cham- 
 ber by the priest in attendance, and obliged to remain 
 there for a week, or for two weeks. Such a patient often 
 came forth completely cured, and made clean. We do 
 not doubt that the priest charged his system with the 
 dectric current, just as modern physicians can make USD 
 of electricity for healing purposes. 
 
 .After the electrocution of Aaron's two sons, the secret 
 of producing and manipulating electricity was revealed to 
 the high priest. He in his turn instructed his succe^or, 
 and so from generation to generation, the secret passed 
 along without being revealed to the outside world. Thu 
 people looked aghast when the sacrifices were consumed 
 by an eternal flame whose origin was unknown to them. 
 On the day of Atonement, the priest who conducted that 
 day's service in person, slaughtered one goat and sent tin 
 ether one to Azozel (to atone for the sins of the fallen 
 angel Azozel, who rebelled against the Almighty at tho 
 time of the creation). He then hung up a red thread in 
 the entrance of the holy of holies, and entered the place, 
 is it was supposed, to pray the Lord to forgive the sins 
 of his people. 
 
 When he came out the red thread turned white, and 
 the people rejoiced to see the sign of the forgiveness of 
 their sins. Such a seeming miracle could have been pro- 
 duced only by the power of electricity.
 
 TALMUDICAL NARRATIVE. 23 
 
 We of today well understand what effect electricity 
 produces on colors. The high priest represented the 
 tabernacle to the people, in him resided all its dignity. 
 He held the key to the mystery which baffled the minds 
 of the ignorant masses. During the existence of the first 
 temple, the priests were its sole rulers, and alone familiar 
 with its secrets, with the exception of the prophets, who 
 knew all the mysteries by virtue of their rank. 
 
 During the existence of the first and second temples 
 many practical improvements were made in the develop- 
 ment of electricity, as well as in the machinery employed. 
 The latter improvements resulted from the knowledge 
 gained during so many centuries. I shall describe all 
 these when I handle the temple as my theme. 
 
 When the priests became corrupt at the end of the first 
 temple, the prophets handed over the mysteries to the 
 learned sages, who, as a rule, were not priests. When the 
 Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, after the 
 expiration of seventy years, these sages, the non-priests, 
 undertook the restoration of the temple, and the rebuild- 
 ing of the electric plant in the holy of holies, having 
 learned many improvements during their sojourn in the 
 land of the enlightened Chaldeans. 
 
 XTV. 
 
 THE URIM AND THUMMIM, OR THE ORACLE. 
 
 The urim and thummim, worn on the breast of the high 
 priest, consisted of a plate containing twelve precious 
 stones of all the kinds known at that time. These repre- 
 sented the twelve tribes of Israel, and upon each stone, or 
 above it, the name of its corresponding tribe was in- 
 scribed. The urim ve thummim, a term which signifies 
 "enlightened, perfect," was the oracle of the ancient 
 Hebrews. It was not such an oracle as that used by the 
 Greeks, where a priest, with crafty shrewdness, so equivo- 
 cally worded his reply that it would apply in case of 
 failure, as well as of success. I shall mention an instance 
 to illustrate. 
 
 It is said that a king once came to the famous oracle
 
 24 TBEASURE8 OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 at Delphi to inquire about his success in some battles, in 
 which he was about to engage. The priest informed him 
 that, if he crossed the river, an empire would fall. The 
 king crossed the river with his army, and gave battle to 
 his opponent, and was badly defeated. The empire of the 
 conquered became the prize of the victor. The defeated 
 king entered the temple again to complain of the false 
 prophecy of the oracle, alleging that the priest had 
 deceived him. 
 
 The cunning priest replied: "Oh King! the oracle is 
 truth. It told you that an empire would fall, when you 
 had crossed the river. You see the prophecy came to 
 pass, but I was not aware, in advance of the conflict, whose 
 empire would be victimized. The moral of this tale is 
 obvious. 
 
 The Jewish oracle was not after the Greek style. It 
 was conducted on scientific principles and did not con- 
 descend to duplicity. 
 
 The Talmud fully describes how the oracle of the urim 
 and thummim answered questions. Twelve precious 
 stones, differing in character and color, adorned the breast 
 of the high priest, six stones on the right side, and six on 
 the left. Over each stone was engraved the name of its 
 corresponding tribe. This system enabled the letters of 
 the Hebrew alphabet to be repeated several times. One 
 instance is given to show the work of the system. 
 
 King David came to consult the oracle, and asked: 
 "Will the dwellers at Keilah deliver me into the hands 
 of the Philistines?" The reply was: "They will." 
 
 This answer was given in the following manner. A 
 light flashed upon "T"; then upon "h"; then upon "e"; 
 then upon "y." Thus the word "they" was spelled. In 
 this way each word of the sentence was formed. 
 
 This system covered all cases; included affirmation and 
 negation; inspired courage, or created dismay. 
 
 From the Talmud's explanation we are led to surmise 
 that the Jewish oracle operated its replies by the aid of 
 electricity, as its name, "Urim Ye Thummim" (light, per- 
 fect) implies. Our modern typewriting machines suggest 
 the principle upon which the work was conducted. The
 
 UBIM AND THUMMINS. 25 
 
 high priest had, in his pocket, a battery charged with elec- 
 tricity. Upon this all the letters of the alphabet were 
 engraved, or were conveniently attached to it. Beneath 
 the garment of the priest, wires running from the battery 
 were connected with the twelve precious stones. We 
 shall be more explicit, perhaps, by a more particular 
 delineation of the method of procedure. For instance, in 
 the first place, we suppose that a wire from the battery 
 touched the letter "a" on the battery. This same wire 
 extended, is made to connect also with the same letter on 
 one of the stones. "We select, for example, the initial 
 letter of Asher, the name of one of the tribes. Following 
 the same order of procedure, we can act, in the same way, 
 with respect to all of the letters. In case of consultation, 
 therefore, all the high priest had to do was to keep his 
 hands in his pockets, and manipulate the several buttons, 
 just as the typewriter manager fingers the respective 
 keys of his machine. 
 
 In the second temple the urim ve thummim was not in 
 use. Possibly the pocket-battery scheme had become a 
 lost art. "We have advanced enough argument, however, 
 to establish the fact that the Mosaic religion was founded 
 on the life-principles of electricity, which is life. 
 
 XV. 
 
 THE TEMPLE. 
 
 The temple was constructed on the same plan as that on 
 which the tabernacle had been built, and to serve the 
 same purpose; but the materials were more durable and 
 costly, and the style was more elaborate and ornate. The 
 arrangements, the sacred contents, and the priestly ad- 
 ministrations were the same, but the accessories were 
 grander, and the effect more imposing. 
 
 There were three structures successively erected in 
 Jerusalem Solomon's Temple, built 1004 B. C., and de- 
 stroyed by King Nebuchadnezzer 588 B. C. ; then that of 
 Zerubabel, built about 575 B. C., and pillaged and de- 
 spoiled by Antiochus Epiphanes in the year 167 B. C. ; 
 thirdly, that of King Herod, built upon the ruins of the
 
 26_ TEEASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 former, and begun 16 B. C. It was finished A. D. 29, and 
 destroyed by Titus A. D. 70. All the structures were 
 erected on Mount Moriah on the spot where the patriarch 
 Abraham was when about to sacrifice his son Isaac, and 
 where King David raised an altar to the Lord, after tak- 
 ing the city from the Jebusites. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 
 
 This was the Jewish temple par excellence, and the 
 idea of its erection originated with King David, who left 
 the plans and models with his son, Solomon. King Solo- 
 mon commenced to build the temple about four hundred 
 and eighty years after the ''Exodus," and in the fourth 
 year of his own reign, finishing it towards the end of the 
 eleventh year of his rule. Hiram, King of Tyre, supplied 
 craftsmen, stones and the cedar wood from Lebanon. 
 Among these craftsmen was the noted architest Hiram. 
 
 The temple proper, as well as the sanctuary, was built 
 after the fashion of the tabernacle, but the dimensions of 
 the former were double the size of the latter, and there 
 were additions to it in the shape of chambers, on the roof 
 and along three sides, for the accommodation of the 
 priests. There was also a system of internal supports not 
 required in the tabernacle. The sanctuary occupied the 
 summit of the mountain. The courts of the Israelites 
 were along three sides, on elevated platforms. No priest 
 had access to these courts. The courts of the women, i. e., 
 to which women had access, were on corresponding plat- 
 forms, less elevated than the former. The etnire struc- 
 ture rose like a pyramid above the plateau, whose remain- 
 ing length formed the court of the Gentiles. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 ELECTRIC IMPROVEMENT IN SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 
 
 (See 1 Kings, Chaps. 6 and 7, and also the description 
 in the Chronicles.) 
 
 The holy of holies occupied a space, in the form of a
 
 FLASHING ELECTRIC LIGHT. 
 
 square, whose respective sides were twenty cubits. Each 
 cherub was ten cubits in length, and its wings measured, 
 respectively, five cubits. I think that the enlargement of 
 the space was due to the many improvements and to the 
 many inventions brought into use since the tabernacle was 
 built. I also think that the cherubim were a part of the 
 electric mechanism, and that Solomon increased their 
 dimensions for two reasons. In the first place, they had 
 to be enlarged to be in harmony with the enlarged space 
 of the room. Secondly, the improvements and new inven- 
 tions required a corresponding increase of the size of the 
 electric apparatus in every respect. 
 
 If the cherubim were not a part of the suggested 
 mechanism, but were merely religious symbols, Solomon 
 would surely have replaced the sacred cherubim made by 
 Moses, rendered still more sacred by their antiquity. 
 
 Another new improvement, which substantiates my 
 theory, was the creation of the sea beneath the altar. 
 This sea was ten cubits across from brim to brim, and it 
 was thirty cubits in circumference. The basin was five 
 cubits in height. Under the brim of the basin there were 
 knobs compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea 
 round about. The knobs were cast in two rows. 
 
 The basin stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward 
 the north, and three looking toward the west, and three 
 looking toward the south, and three looking toward the 
 east, and the sea was set above upon them, and all their 
 hinder parts were inward. 
 
 It was a hand-breath thick, and the brim thereof was 
 wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies. It 
 contained two thousand baths. (A Jewish bath was seven 
 gallons and four pints.) And he made ten bases of brass ; 
 four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits 
 was the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. 
 The work of the base was on this manner : they had bor- 
 ders, and the borders were between the ledges. On the 
 borders, that were between the ledges, were lions, oxen, 
 and cherubim, and upon the ledges there was a base above, 
 and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions of 
 thin work. Every base had four brazen wheels, and brass,
 
 28 TREASURES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 and the four corners thereof had under setters ; under the 
 layer were under setters molten, at the side of every addi- 
 tion. (The Hebrew more properly means wreaths instead 
 of addition.) And the mouth of it within the chapiter 
 and above was a cubit, but the mouth thereof was round 
 after the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also 
 upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, 
 four-square, not round. And under the borders were four 
 wheels, and the axle-tree of the wheels were joined to the 
 base, and the height of a wheels was a cubit and half a 
 cubit. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a 
 chariot wheel : their axle-trees, and their naves, and their 
 felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. And there 
 were four undersetters at the four corners of each base, 
 and the undersetters were of the base itself. And in the 
 top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit 
 high, and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the 
 borders thereof were of the same. For on the plates of 
 the ledges thereof and on the borders thereof, he graved 
 cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the propor- 
 tion of every one, and additions round about. After this 
 manner he made the ten bases ; all of them had one cast- 
 ing, one measure, and one size. 
 
 Then he made ten lavers of brass : one laver contained 
 forty baths : (about three hundred gallons) and every 
 laver was four cubits : and upon every one of the ten 
 bases one laver. And he put five bases on the right side 
 of the house, and five on the left side of the house : and 
 he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, 
 over against the south. 
 
 XVIII. 
 AUTHOR'S COMMENTS. 
 
 The exercise of a little common sense will enable any 
 one to recognize the importance of the description of the 
 "sea," as above given in exact detail. For what purpose 
 were the sea, and the enormous wheels provided? Surely 
 they were not intended for ornamental purposes, or for 
 religious uses. The Jews never wheeled their prayers to
 
 AUTHOR'S COMMENT. 29 
 
 the Most High, after the manner of the Thibetians. The 
 sea and the vast wheels were used for scientific purposes, 
 i. e., to produce electricity. Whoever is familiar with a 
 modern electric-plant, will perceive that a modern dyna- 
 mo is outlined in the description. Dimensions were in- 
 creased, and other improvements made, in order to meet 
 the demands of practical experience and scientific pro- 
 gress. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE SECOND TEMPLE. 
 
 The second temple was copied from the plan of the 
 first, but in quality of material, and character of work- 
 manship it was most decidedly inferior to its prototype. 
 Those who were employed to build the second temple, 
 recalling to mind the glory of the first, could not refrain 
 from tears, and a cold tremor ran through them when 
 they observed the poor quality of the materials furnished 
 them for the rebuilding. 
 
 XX. 
 
 HEROD, THE GREAT IMPROVER. 
 
 One of the noblest characters that ever sat upon a Jew- 
 ish throne was Herod the Great. 
 
 Modern phrenologists would find it difficult to reconcile 
 the peculiarities of his nature. He was remarkable for 
 the variableness of his temperament. He would pass from 
 one extreme to another, suddenly changing from cruelty 
 to kindness, from hate to love. He was an ardent ad- 
 mirer of the Romans, and yet was one of the most fanati- 
 cal of the Jews. The only uniformity he ever manifested 
 was his inconsistency. He was a lover of foreign man- 
 ners and customs, yet remained a Jewish patriot, although 
 he was an Edomite. The great improvements he made 
 upon the second temple best illustrate his patriotism. It 
 was not that he rebuilt on an enlarged plan. He retained 
 the former dimensions, but built upon a vastly more mag-
 
 30 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 nificent scale. He enclosed the whole temple within two 
 walls : an inner one, in shape a parallelogram, of great 
 strength, and adorned with porches and an imposing gate- 
 way; an outer one, square in form, and embellished with 
 porticoes of a style superior to that of any other temple 
 of the ancient world. The dimensions of the outer wall 
 were four hundred cubits on every side. The northern 
 and the eastern sides were made so thick that they formed 
 a strong defense for the city. 
 
 The most magnificent architectural feature of this tem- 
 ple, however, were the cloisters added to the outer court ; 
 those of the west, north and east sides being composed of 
 double rows of Corinthian columns, supporting the flat 
 roofs. The Talmud says, that from afar they seemed to 
 represent, by their colors, motions of the waves. The 
 most imposing appearance was that of the Royal Porch, 
 which overhung the southern wall. This porch was sup- 
 ported by one hundred and sixty-two columns in four 
 rows and formed the principal entrance to the temple. 
 Seen from a distance, the whole must have presented a 
 most impressive spectacle : the outer court with its struc- 
 tures forming one terrace, the inner with its structures 
 forming a second one, the temple itself rising serenely 
 above them both. 
 
 In reality the whole height presented five levels the 
 first being the court of the Gentiles ; the second, eight feet 
 higher, the court of the women ; the third, ten feet higher, 
 the court of all the Israelites ; the fourth, three feet higher, 
 the court of the priests ; the fifth, the floor of the temple 
 proper, eight feet higher still, and consequently twenty- 
 nine feet above the first. 
 
 XXI 
 
 HOUSE OF GOD, ACCORDING TO TRADITION. 
 
 While the first temple existed the high priest was its 
 janitor, and he alone understood how to produce and con- 
 duct the electricity. This secret he handed down to his 
 successor, generally his son. When the prophets saw that
 
 HOUSE OF GOD. 31 
 
 the priests had become corrupt and venal, they deposed 
 them, and appointed the Rabbis in their place. The Rab- 
 bis were the sages of the Talmud, or the august body, the 
 Sanhedrin (Superior Court). 
 
 At the time of the restoration of the second temple, 
 when religious schisms had become more and more mani- 
 fest, and the growth of sectarianism was threatening to 
 endanger the national cult, the sages removed the control 
 of the temple from the high priest and placed it in the 
 hands of a non-priest. 
 
 This non-priest held the title of Ish Har Habaith (the 
 lord of the mansion, major-domo). 
 
 A rigid temple discipline was inaugurated and punish- 
 ment was inflicted upon those who violated the ordinances. 
 The whole temple seemed like a military camp, and the 
 rules were very rigid. 
 
 The entire number of the Levites and the priests was 
 divided into twelve mishmors (watch stations) or regi- 
 ments, each comprising two thousand men in full. Each 
 regiment was drafted to serve a month in the templr. 
 The regiment was sub-divided into four battalions, each 
 containing five hundred men. Each battalion was drafted 
 to serve a week in the temple. "When the battalion en. 
 tered the temple for the weekly services, its members 
 were subjected to regulations, as soldiers are in an army. 
 They slept in the temple, each depositing his clothes under 
 his head. The key of the temple was in the charge of the 
 lord of the mansion, a non-priest, and he was under the 
 control of the Sanhedrin. He was also called Meinuna, 
 a term meaning high-appointed. Frequently the Meinuna 
 made a sudden and unexpected inspection of the prem- 
 ises. If he found a man violating the regulations, he 
 beat him with his club, and burned his clothes. In Jeru- 
 salem, when in the night cries came from the direction of 
 the temple, the people would say: "It is a poor son of 
 Levy, who is now being clubbed, and having his clothes 
 burned." 
 
 Before daylight the Memuna opened the temple gates, 
 and mustered all the Levites, and priests, and like soldiers 
 they came before the Commandant to report. As they
 
 32 TEEASUEES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 were arrayed before him, he assigned to each one his duty 
 for the day. The high priest was also subjected to a rigid 
 regulation, though, of course, such as was proper for his 
 exalted station and dignity, and he also was under the 
 direct control of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court. The 
 secrets of the electric plant, known by only the sages and 
 the members of the Sanhedrin, were employed, as a ter- 
 rible, invisible power, to rid the temple of those high 
 priests who showed inclination towards the doctrines of 
 the Sadducees. The Pharisees, including the seventy-five 
 members of the Sanhedrin, were the dominant party. 
 That those sages knew the power of electricity can be seen 
 by their sayings recorded in that vast encyclopedia, the 
 Talmud, and in the Midrash, a sort of appendix to the 
 oral law. 
 
 Speaking of the creation, the Midrash says: "With 
 light God has created the world." The sages seem to 
 have excelled modern scientists in their knowledge of 
 nature's mysterious works. They took the prisms of light 
 as the primary atoms from which life was evolved. 
 
 Another extract from the same book: "The primary 
 light was so powerful that it illumined all space. " Again : 
 "The Lord saw that mankind in general would not be 
 worthy to behold it." The Lord therefore hid it, to be 
 revealed again in the latter days, when it will prove a 
 healing power for the righteous, and a punishment for 
 the wicked. 
 
 The Midrash asserts that vegetables developed rapidly 
 under the influence of that light. It is curious to notice 
 that the same result has recently, been discovered in the 
 application of electricity to hasten the growth of plants. 
 The Talmud (tract Sanhedrin) declares that, at the time 
 of the flood, the incorrigibles boasted that, if the Almighty 
 withdrew his light, they could produce it themselves. The 
 same book informs us that Noah used, in the ark, a splen- 
 did light called Zohar. 
 
 The Talmud (tract Betza) forbids any Jew to produce, 
 on a Sabbath day, light out of earth, dust, or water. Out 
 of such materials what light, except electricity, can be 
 formed?
 
 HOUSE OF GOD. 33 
 
 Having proved, by undeniable facts, that the early 
 sages were familiar with electricity, \ve shall now pro- 
 ceed to unfold what use they made of that power to pro- 
 mote partisan purposes. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 THE SECTS. 
 
 At the time of the second temple, the Israelites were 
 divided into three religious parties the Pharisees, the 
 Sadduccees, the Essenes. 
 
 The Pharisees constituted the most powerful sect. The 
 Sadducees were the aristocratic class. The Essenes were 
 made up from the dreamers and idealists, briefly termed 
 the Mystics. 
 
 The Pharisees believed in a future life, and observed 
 the Mosaic laws, in accordance with their spiritual mean- 
 ing. Hence arose the oral law. 
 
 The Sadducees accepted the literal, but not the spirit- 
 ual, meaning of the law. They therefore declined to ac- 
 cept the idea of a future life, because it was not expressly 
 mentioned in the Scriptures. They moved mainly in the 
 highest circles of society, and their motto was: "Eat, 
 drink, die!" In their view, death was the finale. 
 
 The Pharisees were zealous Jews, ready to fight for 
 God and country, and willing to die for a patriotic or 
 religious cause. On the other hand, the Sadducees were 
 selfish, and lacking patriotism. As long as they could 
 satisfy their appetites, they cared not who ruled the 
 country. 
 
 The Essenes were a quiet, inoffensive portion of the 
 community, caring for naught but spiritual development. 
 While the Pharisees were sharpening their swords to 
 make ready to wage war with the Roman foreigners, the 
 Essenes were devising spiritual weapons, wherewith to 
 fight the devil and his imps. The Essenes cultivated ab- 
 stinence ; the Sadducees rioted in indulgence. 
 
 Politically regarded, the Essenes were nearly a cipher 
 so far as influence is concerned. The Pharisees held the 
 reins of power, and directed the course of affairs, being
 
 _34 TREASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 able to count upon the good will and quiet assistance of 
 the Essenes in matters which involved religious considera- 
 tions. It will be seen that only two rival parties existed 
 in the commonwealth, and that extreme divergencies of 
 view utterly prevented these two from acting: in harmony. 
 On the contrary, the breach between them constantly 
 widened. 
 
 The Protestants and Catholics of the present era agree 
 in the essentials of their creed, but are very unlike in the 
 conduct of their religious services. They thus feebly ex- 
 press the total disagreement which separated the Pharisee 
 from the Sadducee. The Pharisees notably advocated the 
 religious ideas of the masses, the popular belief, for those 
 in any age who take no interest in the future are verily 
 the exception. 
 
 The Pharisees became trained politicians. 
 
 Having obtained the power, it was only natural that 
 they should exert every effort to maintain it. Their suc- 
 cess demonstrated their political expertness. The only 
 advantage the Sadducees had was that they could so cun- 
 ningly make personal appeal to man's inborn desire to 
 enjoy life. For the thoughtful and well-informed it is 
 not always a simple and easy task to detect the boundary 
 line between the rational and moderate indulgence and 
 that which is excessive. Much more difficult is it for 
 the heedless and inexperienced to recognize the same dis- 
 tinction. It is pleasing to notice that the intelligent rea- 
 soning and the nobler doctrines of the Pharisees far out- 
 weighed the temptations of their opponents. 
 
 We can readily perceive that the insinuating address 
 of the Sadducees might be a source of great danger to 
 the entire state, and introduce great corruption. 
 
 For the purpose of illustration, we will suppose a case. 
 A high priest we propose to regard him primarily as an 
 individual, and afterwards in his official capacity owing 
 to his natural proclivities, may find himself ready to en- 
 dorse and to embrace the sentiments of the Sadducees. 
 As the religious head of the nation he may lead the ma- 
 jority of the people to follow him into the ranks of his 
 adopted party, and thus imperil the power of the Phari-
 
 THE SECTS. 35 
 
 sees. Especially could he become a dangerous man in 
 the community, if he should descend to the low tricks 
 and paltry arts of unscrupulous politicians. 
 
 In order to guard against such a possibility, as we have 
 above represented hypothetically, the Pharisees inaugu- 
 rated a policy which is a master stroke of shrewdness, and 
 worthy to be imitated by other well-meaning reformers. 
 
 In the first place, they began to break up by degrees 
 the power invested in the hands of the high priest, and 
 thus diminish his power over the ignorant masses. Ac- 
 cording to the Mosaic law no place of worship was allowed 
 to be erected outside of the temple. The Sadducees ad- 
 hered to the law. Sacrifice was the order of worship 
 established by Moses. The Pharisees began a crusade 
 against animal-sacrifices, under the pretence of prevent- 
 ing cruelty to animals. They installed prayers as a mode 
 of worship and erected synagogues in opposition to the 
 temple. The masses welcomed the reform with delight, 
 and patronized the synagogues. 
 
 The next movement was to take away from the priest 
 the educational authority, by establishing regular public 
 schools, and appointing non-priests as teachers. 
 
 There was still another influential power left, viz., that 
 of "Healers." This power was also taken away, and the 
 priest was degraded to the position of servant of the 
 temple. 
 
 At the time of the first temple, a leper, or any man 
 afflicted with a skin diseases, was brought before the priest 
 for treatment. At the time of the second temple medical 
 colleges had been established, and regularly graduated 
 physicians, non-priests, attended to the ailments of the 
 people. In the former case, when the priests were the 
 healers, if a leper was brought before them, the treatment 
 consisted in his being locked up in an observation room, 
 with the result that he would either be declared a non- 
 leper, or would be pronounced to be one, and thus become 
 an outcast from society. 
 
 Under the new regime, medical science and surgery 
 had made such progress that the leper no longer appeared 
 before the priest to be, perhaps for weeks, the object of
 
 36 TBEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 such ridiculous care. The Talmud (tract at Berochoth) 
 says that, if a leper wanted to celebrate the Easter feast, 
 he went to the Rofe healer and after the latter had 
 operated upon his diseased skin, he as well as the healer 
 could come into the temple and celebrate his Easter lamb- 
 offering. 
 
 The Pharisees succeeded in their schemes of reducing 
 to a minimum the power and influence of the high priest. 
 Then they undertook an additional method of degrading 
 him. The idea was to investigate his principles, and for 
 this purpose they employed the agency of electricity. 
 They sought to discover his religious sentiments. We 
 shall now disclose the trials the priest underwent, as stated 
 in the Talmud (tract at Joma) before he was allowed to 
 enter the sanctuary, to remain for a few moments, on the 
 day of Atonement. Seven days before the day of Atone- 
 ment, they locked up the high priest in the chamber of the 
 temple, which was called the "chamber of Pehadrin," and 
 they prepared another high priest in case the first one 
 should happen to be unable to perform the service. They 
 also had another wife ready for him, in case his wife 
 should die, for the Scripture says: "He shall atone for 
 himself and his home." 
 
 All the seven days he practiced the manner of sprink- 
 ling the blood, of preparing the incense, and of perform- 
 ing the sacrifice. Three members of the court were con- 
 stantly with him, to teach and to train him, all the seven 
 days, how to manage, on the day of the Atonement, for 
 what occupied him but a few moments then. These three 
 members of the court always addressed him thus : ' ' Our 
 Lord, High Priest, read with thy mouth what we have 
 read before you, perhaps you may have forgotten some 
 of the regulations, or perhaps you may not have been 
 taught them." 
 
 On the eve of the Atonement day, they showed him 
 various bulls, oxen, and lambs in order that he might 
 know how to handle the sacrifice. All those seven days 
 they did not deny him any kind of food or drink he de- 
 manded or desired, with the exception of the day before 
 the "Atonement" day. On that day he was allowed only
 
 THE SECTS. 3? 
 
 a prescribed diet, small in quantity. On the eve of the 
 Atonement day, the members of the court brought him up 
 to the garret of the chamber named Abtinis, and there 
 they made him swear, and said to him: "tinder oath, 
 our Lord High Priest, we conjure you by the name of 
 Him, who made his home (or Shechinah) here in this 
 mansion, that thou shall not alter one jot of the instruc- 
 tion we have given you." Then they handed him over 
 to the elders of the priests, and departed. They wept at 
 the departure and he wept. 
 
 Then, on the eve of the Atonement day, the younger of 
 the priests kept him alert the whole night, that he should 
 not be sleepy, and when he showed a desire to sleep, they 
 drummed with fingers on the table, to keep him wide 
 awake. They read to him, the whole night, portions of 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 "The whole proceedings," the Talmud remarks, "were 
 to impress upon him that he should not do as the Sad- 
 ducees do when they bring the pan of incense into the 
 place of the holy of holies: for they make the incense 
 outside and then bring it into the holy of holies. 
 
 The Pharisees demanded that the priest shall enter the 
 sanctuary while the pan produces the smoke, as it is writ- 
 ten: "I will be seen in clouds (or smoke)." 
 
 The minutes spent in the holy of holies were very few 
 and when the bearer of incense came out unhurt he gave 
 at night a banquet, celebrating the occasion as specially 
 a holy time. 
 
 From the above statement we learn how they used the 
 power of electricity as a medium to find out to what sect 
 the high priest belongs. Once a year the machinery of 
 the sanctuary needed fixing, or a button had to ba 
 pressed. Now, in order that the priest shall perform his 
 duty, and not know what he is doing, they order him to 
 enter the holy of holies, with his pan of incense full of 
 smoke, to prevent him from seeing the whole machination, 
 and the effect of his visit. 
 
 The Sadducees prepared the incense outside, and, when
 
 38 TBEASTJBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 the smoke had disappeared, they entered the sanctuary 
 to have a clear view of the surroundings. 
 
 During the seven days of his seclusion, under the 
 charge of the three members of the court, he was in- 
 structed: "To enter the holy of holies enveloped in the 
 smoke of his pan : to follow a certain course of directions, 
 which had been perfectly outlined to him in his previous 
 instructions : to perform a certain duty, the object of 
 which was not revealed to him. ' ' Now, if the high priest 
 was a Pharisee, he implicitly obeyed instructions; if he 
 was a Sadducee, he violated his instructions variously. 
 He prepared the incense outside the sanctuary, so that the 
 smoke escaped before he entered the room, and he had a 
 clear view of all his surroundings. Disobying instruc- 
 tions, he began to tamper with the machine, and coming 
 in contact with a live wire received a fatal shock. 
 
 The same talmudical tractat cites an instance of such 
 fatality: A high priest, who was a Sadducee, prepared 
 his incense outside the sanctuary, informing his father, 
 who was also a Sadducee, what his intentions were. The 
 father gave his approval, adding: "My son, we are still 
 afraid of the Pharisees." After the son had entered the 
 sanctuary, an angel came and kicked him in the face. 
 The outside priests, hearing the noise, rushed in and bore 
 him forth a corpse, with the imprint of a calf's foot be- 
 tween his shoulders. 
 
 Many great Rabbis, versed in all ancient wisdom, have 
 tried, in vain, to explain the unnatuarl death of that 
 priest. My opinion is, that he was electrocuted. We 
 know that the cherubim on the ark had babe's faces, and 
 calves' legs, according with the ancient conception of 
 angels; and that the church today paints them in that 
 fashion. The priest's death was without doubt the result 
 of his own foolish imprudence. Acting without regard 
 to instructions, he touched one of the cherubim which was 
 charged with electricity, and the passing current killed 
 him, leaving the imprint between his two shoulders. 
 
 The above narrative clearly indicates that we do not 
 have to read between the lines to find a solution of the 
 sanctuary mystery.
 
 THE SECTS. 39 
 
 There were many high priests at the time of the second 
 temple, and it often happened that one was taken out a 
 corpse. The Talmud informs us that eighteen high 
 priests served the first temple all through its existence; 
 and that eighty high priests, in like manner, served the 
 second temple. 
 
 Simon the righteous, was a high priest for forty years. 
 We quote from the Talmud, that in his last year he said 
 to his friends, as he was leaving the sanctuary: "This 
 year I shall die." They inquired: "How do you know 
 it?" He replied: "In all the previous years of my ser- 
 vice, when I entered the sanctuary, an aged one, clad in 
 white garments, was wont to enter with me, and also to 
 leave, when I left. This year he entered with me, but 
 did not leave with me. This is a sign that I shall die 
 this year." This tale is suggestive. 
 
 As the high priest, enveloped in the dense smoke, came 
 into the sanctuary, could not some electrician, dressed in 
 white, have entered with him, and fixed the machinery 
 without being observed? 
 
 Again from the Talmud: A high priest once noticed 
 that a certain spot of the floor differed from the rest. 
 He stooped down to investigate. While thus engaged, 
 a flame, in the form of a wire, entered his nostrils and 
 burned the life out of him, without charring his body. 
 His death resembled that of Aaron's two sons. 
 
 When the Rabbis, at the time of the second temple, 
 began to shape Judaism into a scientific religion, an ad- 
 vance in benevolence kept step with the progress of 
 science. The gospel of kindness began to be announced 
 to the nations. The Talmud says: "Love they neigh- 
 bor." See "Tractat Sanhedrin. " This new gospel was 
 particularly intended for the benefit of condemned crimi- 
 nals. The ancient method of putting criminals to death 
 were considered a disgrace to humanity. Strangulation, 
 stoning to death, etc., involved too much cruelty. The 
 Rabbis advocated electrocution. Of course we do not 
 claim for them a knowledge of the scientific instrumental- 
 ities which are in vogue in the nineteenth century of 
 the new era.
 
 40 TEEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 The same authority (Tractat Sanhedrin) describes the 
 method of electrocution. "The condemned criminal was 
 placed in a grave, and partially buried. His hands were 
 tied. A metallic wire, called aher, was placed in his 
 mantle. He met his death suddenly, as did the sons of 
 Aaron, without having his body burned." 
 
 What need have we of further proofs that the Talmud 
 refers to electrocution? These direct, and circumstantial, 
 evidences arrayed before us are enough to demonstrate 
 our theory. 
 
 In conclusion, I shall add only two more extracts de- 
 rived from "Tractat Joma," and "Pirkai Aboth." 
 
 "No wind could bend, or whirl, the flame of the altars, 
 and the smoke mounted in a direct line." Surely no 
 ordinary flame would thus blaze, no ordinary smoke thus 
 ascend. Only electricity works in this manner. 
 
 The next fact is that all these machinations, and all 
 these mechanisms, were devised by that greatest and 
 grandest of the original Mahatmas, Moses. His works, 
 like the powers of electricity, have illuminated the world. 
 
 Having thus described the temple, which took the place 
 of the tent of Shem, I hope to still further enlarge your 
 acquaintance with the far distant "Past." 
 
 A CROWNED MAHATMA KING SOLOMON'S 
 TELEPHONE. 
 
 There is a legend in the Talmud (Tractat Erubin) that 
 King Solomon made two reforms. One of these is called 
 the Eirub. This signifies the erection of poles, with con- 
 necting wires, encircling the entire limits of a city, and 
 showing the exact length of a Sabbath day's journey. 
 Beyond these poles, nothing, not even a handkerchief, is 
 allowed to be carried upon the Sabbath. 
 
 The second reform required the washing and uplifting 
 of the hands, both before and after meals. 
 
 The Talmud remarks that Kink Solomon had "created 
 ears for the law" by these two reforms. The Talmud 
 adds that, when King Solomon made these two reforms, a
 
 A CROWNED MAHATMA. 41 
 
 daughter of a voice was heard saying: "Be wise, my 
 son, and my heart will rejoice too." The entire scope 
 of these narratives is shrouded in mystery. There must 
 be some hidden meaning. Certainly the erection of poles, 
 connected by wires, in order to define the limits of a Sab- 
 bath day's journey, is not in itself a very remarkable 
 affair; does not indicate the possession of wisdom, merit- 
 ing special praise. 
 
 If any of my readers have had occasion to travel 
 through parts of Asia, Russia, and Galicia, they must have 
 observed, with some surprise, wooden pillars, or poles, 
 similar to our telegraph poles, and quite a distance in 
 their extent. Every city and town inhabited by orthodox 
 Jews, makes an exhibit of these poles. If you inquire 
 what they are for, you will receive the reply: "It is the 
 Eirub (Sabbath boundary), and no one is allowed, by the 
 oral law, to carry anything beyond them on the Sabbath." 
 If you examine the oral law, the Talmud, throughout its 
 entire code, you will find, with but one exception, no law 
 having reference to Sabbath boundaries. The purpose of 
 this exception is, that King Solomon was the first to order 
 these boundaries; and that the present code of laws, in 
 this regard, is merely the result of addenda, made at 
 different times, by divers Rabbis. It seems, to say the 
 least, to be very inconsiderate to credit the wisest of men 
 with being the author of such an insignificant religious 
 invention, if that is all it amounted to. 
 
 Carefully reading between the lines of the legend, a 
 new idea enters our minds, and listening closely with the 
 ears of our imagination, we seem to hear, still echoing in 
 the air, the voice of the great Mahatma, King Solomon, 
 who employed a telephone of his own invention. 
 
 When King Solomon had exhausted the public treasury, 
 by his withdrawal of funds to build the temple, and to 
 support a most luxurious court, together with his thou- 
 sand wives and concubines, he was compelled by his 
 straitened circumstances to resort to oppression to relieve 
 his pecuniary distress. His subjects dismayed and dis- 
 couraged by the heavy taxation, threatened a revolution. 
 Fearing this, he took every precaution to preserve order.
 
 42 TBEASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 He especially felt uneasy with reference to the rest-day, 
 the Sabbath, because their riots might arise among the 
 idle rabble. 
 
 Among other expedients to hold the people in subjec- 
 tion, he gave orders that poles, connected by wires, should 
 be erected about the city so as to mark the limits of a 
 Sabbath day's journey. No articles were allowed to be 
 borne beyond or across these limits. He borrowed his 
 idea, in part, from Moses in the days of encampment. 
 This prohibition prevented the carrying of weapons in 
 either direction. Thus those outside could not join forces 
 with those inside the limits. 
 
 This Sabbath boundary-business had another aspect of 
 a secret character. It became a means of speaking so as 
 to be heard at a long distance, in every direction. The 
 poles were probably extended indefinitely. Thus King 
 Solomon was enabled to communicate speedily with all 
 parts of his realm. 
 
 When King Solomon first tried his new invention bj 
 telephoning to some governor of a province, inquiring 
 about affairs, the listener addressed must have heard with 
 astonishment the distinct tones of the speaker. In his 
 great bewilderment he replied to his royal master: "Be 
 wise, my son, and my heart will rejoice too." 
 
 The Talmud says that, when King Solomon had com- 
 pleted his system of "Sabbath boundaries," a Bath Kol 
 was heard saying: "Be wise, my son, and my heart will 
 rejoice too." That "Bath Kol" was the first reply of 
 admiration to the crowned inventor ; and Bath Kol, which 
 means the daughter of the voice, became the proper poeti- 
 cal term for the voice-transmitter, the telephone, other- 
 wise known as the Sabbath boundaries." 
 
 Of course this invention, like all other scientific inven- 
 tions of those early times, was hidden under a religious 
 cover, in order that its real use might be withheld from 
 the people's knowledge;- for they were held in subjec- 
 tion by means of miracles and wonders, which were merely 
 scientific tricks. This is what the Talmud meant in its 
 assertion that King Solomon, in establishing the "Sab- 
 bath-boundaries," added ears to the law; for the after-
 
 A CBOWNED MAHATMA. 43 
 
 sages knew the secrets of his invention, and successfully 
 made use of them to keep the masses under the bond of 
 law and order. Possibly King Solomon alludes to his in- 
 vention in Ecclesiastes : "And the bird of the sky carries 
 the voice." 
 
 The crowned Mahatma, Solomon, was called the wise 
 man in his own time, and no one today presumes to dis- 
 pute with him the claim to that honorable distinction. 
 "Well did he understand the laws of nature, and how to 
 employ her forces. 
 
 The Tosepta declares that King Solomon placed an iron 
 lance upon the roof of the temple to ward off the light- 
 ning. According to this, Benjamin Franklin was not the 
 first inventor of the lightning-rod. It was the misfortune 
 of these ancient inventions that, in order to screen their 
 real use, they were disguised under the mantle of religious 
 devices. Owing to their limited employment, they grad- 
 ually fell into disuse, and then were forgotten in the lapse 
 of time. 
 
 The Kabbis of the Talmud, and the sages of the second 
 temple period, employed the Bath Kol (the daughter of 
 the voice) on many occasions; in later times it served as 
 an oracle for the benefit of the masses, who are very open 
 to deception on account of their ignorance. 
 
 The readers of the Talmud are often surprised to learn 
 how rapidly rumor was scattered far and wide in ancient 
 times, when railroads were unknown, and telegraphic 
 communications unthought of through the aid of elec- 
 tricity. We find, however, that such rapid circulation 
 of news was made possible through the Bath Kol, or by 
 letters communicated from above. 
 
 There was once a hot dispute between the famous Rabbi 
 Eliezer and his opponents in the College, concerning the 
 interpretation of a certain law. At the close of this vio- 
 lent word-wrangling, Eliezer announced his decision to 
 refer to the Bath Kol, and his opponents ridiculed the 
 idea. It must have been that the Rabbi appealed to a 
 sage who lived a long distance off, for, when the reply 
 was received through the medium of the Bath Kol, the 
 telephone, the opponents refused to receive it.
 
 44 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 If by the Bath Kol was meant, by a heavenly voice, then 
 the sages would have accepted it. As it was simply an 
 ordinary, human voice talking through a mechanical 
 device, they discarded it. 
 
 Tradition relates that the high priest, Simon the 
 righteous, came out from the sanctuary once on Atone- 
 ment day, and announced that he heard the Bath Kol say: 
 "Our soldiers, now on the battle-field, have achieved a 
 great victory over the enemy"; and that the voice spoke 
 in the Chaldean tongue. 
 
 This goes to prove that the telephone was established 
 in the temple, and that the message to the high priest was 
 transmitted by its operation, although the masses regarded 
 it as a voice from heaven. The Eabbis have a tradition 
 that the angels understood all the languages spoken on 
 earth, with the exception of the Chaldean. 
 
 This ought to settle the point. If the message was in 
 the Chaldean tongue, it did not come from heaven. It 
 was only a dispatch from the army-general sent to the 
 high priest, and couched in the Chaldean language for 
 governmental purpose. The Chaldean in ancient times 
 was employed, as is the French language today, for diplo- 
 matic intercourse. 
 
 A deep, scientific meaning underlies the Rabbinical idea 
 that the angels are unfamiliar with Chaldean. The in- 
 tention was to draw a line between faith and science, be- 
 tween facts and fiction, between reason and feelings. As 
 the scientific books were written in Chaldean, of course 
 the angel, the child of fiction and faith, could not read 
 them. What a sublime thought ! 
 
 From all the above-mentioned facts, we find that a per- 
 fect scientific system, based upon the knowledge of the 
 laws of nature, was observed by the enlightened Jewish 
 priests, prophets, sages, and Rabbis, in order to keep the 
 masses in subjection to law and order; and that many a 
 miracle, or wonder, wrought by those past Biblical 
 Mahatmas, was performed through the agency of elec- 
 tricity, in accordance with the methods adopted by the 
 father of the Mahatmas, Moses.
 
 ELIJAH, THE GRAND MAHATMA. 45 
 
 ELIJAH, THE GRAND MAHATMA, OR A PROPHET 
 ELECTRICIAN. 
 
 The Jews never attempted to worship saints, or other 
 mediators, since they were always in direct communica- 
 tion with the Almighty. There is, however, the life of 
 one Mahatma so interwoven with the threads of the 
 religious Jewish life that it assumes the form of a "Saint 
 Cult." That Mahatma is no other than the prophet 
 Elijah, who was suddenly translated from earth to 
 heaven, without the intervention of death; ascending up- 
 ward out of sight on the wings of the whirlwind, after 
 the chariot of fire, drawn by horses of the same element, 
 had passed between him and Elisha, his companion. 
 
 This wonderful immortal mortal was a most conspicu- 
 ous figure in both the civil and the religious life of the 
 Jews. 
 
 When a child is circumcised, a throne is set for that 
 prophet, who is supposed to be present at every ceremony 
 of that kind. A cup of wine is also put aside for him on 
 Easter night, when the Jews celebrate their national liber- 
 ation. The prophet is not regarded as an idler ; like those 
 celestial beings, whose sole occupation is to sing, with 
 harp-accompaniment, the unvarying song of the Halle- 
 lujah. 
 
 He is continually busy, and is supposed to be ubiquit- 
 ous, though never visible. With worthy mortals he 
 studies the secrets of nature, revealing to them the mys- 
 teries of life, and also its laws. 
 
 At the same time he goes to help the worthy poor in 
 their daily troubles. To some he reveals where hidden 
 treasure can be found; to others he teaches some wonder- 
 cure, which helps them to earn a living. 
 
 It is the fond desire of every Jew to see the prophet 
 Elijah, but only those of the school of the Mahatmas, the 
 wonder Rabbis, see him often, since they are under his 
 control. The imprint, which this prophet has left upon the 
 Jewish life, is derived from two sources; his Mahatma 
 miracles in the first place, and, secondly, the tradition
 
 46 TBEASTJBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 of some of the original Mahatmas, whom he especially 
 influenced. 
 
 For instance we cite Rabbi Simon Bar Jochai and his 
 son Eliezer. They were hidden in a cave for thirteen 
 years, and had for a sole visitor the prophet Elijah. He 
 taught them the mysteries of the Cabala, which they sub- 
 sequently published as the "great work," under the name 
 of Zohar, the light. 
 
 A careful investigation of the works and acts of that 
 miracle-worker will convince us that he was a good 
 disciple of the Mosaic school, and that he walked in the 
 path of truth, illumined by the light of electricity. 
 
 WORKS OF ELIJAH. 
 
 The school of the prophets was divided into two classes 
 the seers and the prophets. The former class could 
 look into the far distant future and relate their visions. 
 The latter class were workers, not talkers. The prophet 
 Elijah and his favorite disciple, Elisha, were members of 
 the latter class. These two prophets performed miracles 
 on a scientific plan, by virtue of their knowledge of the 
 laws of nature, and also because they were familiar with 
 the secrets of electricity. 
 
 It was the invisible current of electricity which burned 
 the soldiers of the Jewish king, when they came to cap- 
 ture the prophet, in obedience to the command of the 
 king. It was through the agency of electricity that they 
 effected cures in most hopeless cases. 
 
 It was by this power they brought the dead to life 
 again. It was by the aid of electricity that the fire was 
 made to burn upon the altar, on Mount Carmel, to the 
 great astonishment of the beholders. The prophet built 
 his altar, and surrounded it with water. The onlookers 
 were perfectly mystified, for they deemed it impossible 
 for fire to burn in the midst of water. That miracle 
 decided the fate of the faith; and the idolatrous priests 
 were thus doomed to death by the success of Elijah, while 
 the cheering multitude exclaimed with loud outcries: 
 "Jehovah is the only God."
 
 WORKS OF ELIJAH. 47 
 
 It is probable that Elijah divided the water into its 
 component parts, separating the oxygen from the hydro- 
 gen. If this was the case he proved himself a natural 
 philosopher, and made good use of his scientific knowl- 
 edge to restore and re-establish the Mosaic faith. He 
 showed himself to be a worthy disciple of the great 
 Mahatma. 
 
 THE WONDERS OF THE ORIGINAL MAHATMAS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The sages of the Talmud received their mystic knowl- 
 edge from the school of the prophets, and, as a rule, they 
 made improvements in all the departments of science and 
 art. The miracles performed by the Mahatmas of the 
 Talmud rejected all appearance of divine mystery, and 
 presented themselves as scientific performances. We are 
 filled with astonishment, as we behold the vast wealth of 
 scientific expositions stored away in the Talmudical 
 repertory. We see a large number of the once hidden 
 forces of nature brought to light; and that many power- 
 ful forces, of whose existence the original Mahatmas were 
 utterly ignorant, are made to serve general purposes of 
 utility. Among these forces, with which modern scient- 
 ists are so familiar, we mention hypnotism. The Tal- 
 mudical Mahatmas were acquainted with all the phases 
 of this power, and made as extensive a use of it as we 
 of today make. Of course, some of their wonderful do- 
 ings, such as raising the dead and kindred mysteries, can- 
 not be explained on a scientific basis. Still, as in nature 
 nothing is impossible, these prodigies betray a fuller un- 
 derstanding of natural powers. Nature often conceals 
 from us secrets, which we are impatient to uncover. The 
 Talmudical Mahatmas were the first to conceive the idea 
 that man is a reproduction of the cosmos, and that he 
 consequently possesses hidden powers, that can be de- 
 veloped. Starting upon that assumption, they com- 
 menced a system of self study, and got upon the right 
 track to make a solution of many phenomenal problems.
 
 48 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 Modern scientists are beginning to travel along the same 
 path. 
 
 RABBI MEIER BAAL HANE8. 
 
 There are Jews, both men and women, who are igno- 
 rant of the fact that a prophet, named Hosea, once lived ; 
 or that there once existed a seer called Amos. All of 
 them know, however, the name of Rabbi Meier Baal 
 Hanes, the man of wonder. His name is a household term 
 in every Jewish family, whatever may be its country, 
 sect, or tribal distinction. In the house of the orthodox 
 Jew, a thin box is nailed to the wall, or suspended from 
 it, with a Hebrew inscription, Zedakah Le Reb Meier Baal 
 Hanes. This means: "Alms to Rabbi Meier, the man of 
 wonder." If the good wife, or the pious husband, is 
 disturbed at night by horrible visions in their dreams, 
 they put some coin into the box, saying, "God of Meier 
 answer me"; thinking that the calamities to come, be- 
 tokened by the dream, have been averted. Men engaged 
 in business, or in speculations, when about to enter upon 
 some special undertaking, vow so much money to the box 
 if they are successful. If a member of the family is sick, 
 they promise a donation of a certain sum to the box of 
 Rabbi Meier, provided the invalid recovers. The money 
 in these boxes is collected monthly, and sent to Palestine 
 to help the poor, and to maintain charitable institutions 
 there. 
 
 There were Mahatmas greater than Rabbi Meier, whose 
 power to work wonders exceeded his, yet not one of them 
 became such a national and patron saint as he did. The 
 reason of this fact is inexplicable. 
 
 The Talmud maintains that a Roman, who once as- 
 sisted Rabbi Meier to escape from confinement, was con- 
 demned to death. On the way to execution, he cried: 
 'God of Meier help me!" By some miracle his life was 
 saved. 
 
 Rabbi Meier lived in the midst of stirring national 
 events. His life was spared for nearly fifty-four years
 
 BABBI MEIEB BAAL HANES. 49 
 
 after the destruction of the second temple, and after the 
 battles of Bar Kochba had been fought and lost. He was 
 the "favorite disciple of Rabbi Akiba, and the most inti- 
 mate pupil of Elisha Ben Abuja, the Jewish Faust." He 
 was deeply versed in Rabbinical lore, and his decisions 
 with regard to it were often considered as laws by the 
 sages. He was also a great fabulist; was deeply versed 
 in traditional lore; ever had a story ready for sake of 
 illustration. 
 
 Like the other patriotic sages of that day, he was per- 
 secuted by the Romans. One day the Roman police were 
 in search of him, when Elijah, the prophet, came to his 
 rescue, having assumed the disguise of a demimonde, and 
 shamelessly embraced him! The Romans, viewing this 
 indecent conduct, said: "This is not Rabbi Meier, for he 
 is a pious Jew, and would not tolerate such actions." 
 They did not arrest him, and he escaped into Babylon. 
 
 In his life, Rabbi Meier was involved in a tragedy which 
 served as a model for Goethe 's Faust. His master, Elisha 
 Ben Abuja, once became interested in mystic lore, for he 
 had always striven to find out the truth. Like Faust, he 
 was sincere, honest, ever in search of truth. Like Faust, 
 while on the right path he met with misfortune. He be- 
 came so confused, while engaged in study of the mystic 
 and cabalistic ideas, that his mind was unbalanced, and 
 he cast himself aloof from all religious affiliations. He 
 made every conceivable endeavor to wound and insult 
 the religious feelings of the people at large, and especially 
 the feelings of his own people. The sages avoided him, 
 and surnamed him Acher which means another, a 
 stranger. Rabbi Meier, our liberal-minded Mahatma, re- 
 fused to desert his friend and pupil. Once he rode horse- 
 back, on the Sabbath, thus intending to insult the feelings 
 of his people; but Rabbi Meier walked in order to hear 
 words of wisdom from his master. 
 
 When they had traveled a certain distance, the master 
 said to his pupil: "I have found out that my horse has 
 trotted far beyond what the oral law allows as a Sabbath 
 day's journey." His faithful pupil replied: "Oh mas- 
 ter! if you are so wise, why do you not leave your bad
 
 50 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 way (and repent), and return unto the Lord." The mas- 
 ter answered : ' ' Oh Meier ! I heard a heavenly voice say- 
 ing, 'return ye wild boys, except Acher' " his own nick- 
 name. Like Faust, he went from bad to worse, and died 
 in an agony of pain. He was admitted into Paradise, 
 where the righteous enjoy their long expected reward for 
 all they have suffered on earth. When Acher appeared 
 before the Heavenly Court, he was sentenced to join those 
 restless and naked souls which wander aimlessly in the 
 universal space. He could not be condemned to hell, be- 
 cause of his knowledge; and he could not be admitted 
 into Heaven on account of his enemies. Rabbi Meier 
 said: "It will be better for him to be punished, that he 
 may afterwards gain eternal life, than to be everlastingly 
 a wanderer in empty space. When I die, I shall bring 
 smoke forth from his grave." When Eabbi Meier died, 
 smoke issued from Acher 's grave. 
 
 Then Rabbi Jochanan said: "We had one among us 
 whom I could not save. When I die, I shall stop the 
 smoke from his grave, and bring him into eternal life." 
 When Rabbi Jockanan died, the smoke ceased to come 
 from Acher 's grave, and the people knew that the great 
 gnostic had entered into the enjoyments of Paradise. 
 
 II. 
 
 COMMENTS BY THE COMPILER. 
 
 Elisha Ben Abujah is the counterpart of the tragic per- 
 sonage known to us as Faust. Both strove earnestly, 
 with the highest ambition, to unveil the face of truth. 
 Both failed, and both fell. Their noble, exalted char- 
 acters became degraded; their hands were soiled with 
 sins and crimes. After Faust's death, Satan gets posses- 
 sion of his soul, and he is saved, finally, only by the glori- 
 fied Gretchen, the representation of noble womanhood; 
 and by grace and mercy, which seems very irrational. 
 Jewish tradition discards this doctirne, regarding mercy 
 as a human invention. Nature knows only justice, and 
 the sinner must suffer for his sins. Hence to the Jewish
 
 COMMENTS BY THE COMPILER. 51 
 
 mind the legend concerning Acher seems much more rea- 
 sonable than the story about Faust. The latter was saved 
 by his fiancee; the former is brought into Purgatory by 
 his loving pupil, Rabbi Meier, in order to save his soul 
 from an aimless, wandering life. There justice was 
 meted out to him, and then he was fitted to enjoy immor- 
 tality. The original Mahatmas had a clear conception of 
 divine justice, and their teachings betrayed deep philoso- 
 phy. Such teachings will meet the arguments of a Her- 
 bert Spencer, as their keynote is cause and effect. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE HYPNOTISTS RABBI SIMON BEN JOCHAI. 
 
 Rabbi Simon Ben Jochai, who lived in the first century 
 of the present era, was one of the original Mahatmas. 
 Besides performing wonders, he was a perfect adept in 
 hypnotism. Tradition credits to him and his son Eliezer 
 the authorship of the Zohar, the Bible of the mystics. 
 Both father and son were deeply versed in mystical lore, 
 and in the knowledge of nature's laws. The Talmud ex- 
 plains how they acquired their wonderful development, as 
 follows : On one occasion, Rabbi Jehuda, Rabbi Josi, and 
 Rabbi Simon, the original Mahatmas, were seated to- 
 gether, and in their company was Jehuda Ben Gerion. 
 They were enjoying an intellectual symposium. Rabbi 
 Jehuda began to praise the works of the Romans, as ex- 
 hibited in their roads, bridges, bath-houses. Rabbi Josi 
 listened in silence. Rabbi Simon Ben Jochai added : 
 ' ' They consult only their profit and pleasure. They build 
 markets to accommodate harlotry; bridges to take toll; 
 bath-houses for enjoyment and comfort." Jehuda Ben 
 Gerion went out and reported the remarks of Rabbi Simon 
 Ben Jochai. When the report reached the Roman author- 
 ities, they decided to elevate R. Jehuda to a high position. 
 As for the non-committal, R. Josi, he was exiled to 
 (modern Sefad) a city in Palestine. R. Simon Ben Jochai, 
 who had spoken insultingly, was sentenced to death. 
 When R. Simon heard of this sentence, he and his son hid 
 themselves in the College. The Rabbi's wife supplied
 
 52 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 them daily with bread and water. After a while the 
 Rabbi said to his son, "Women are apt to divulge secrets, 
 and your mother may be led to disclose our hiding-place ; 
 therefore, I deem it safer to seek a new refuge." They 
 fled and found a hiding-place in a cave in the mountains. 
 In this cave they lived thirteen years, absolutely by them- 
 selves, procuring their food from a tree near by. This 
 fruit was called St. John's bread. A well, also close at 
 hand, supplied them with water. The tree and the well 
 \vere miraculously created for them. For thirteen years 
 they sat on sand, engaged in study. They put on their 
 clothes only at time of prayer, so that they should not 
 wear them out. 
 
 During this long term of seclusion, Elijah, the prophet, 
 was their sole visitor. He came at intervals to reveal to 
 them the mysteries of life, and the laws of nature. Tra- 
 dition claims that, during these years, they composed the 
 famous cabalistic book, the Zohar. At the end of thir- 
 teen years, the prophet Elijah came before the entrance 
 of the cave, exclaiming: "Who will notify Simon Ben 
 Jochai that the Emperor is dead and his decrees are null 
 and void?" Having these tidings, they left the cave. As 
 they walked along the road they noticed the people 
 ploughing and sowing, and said: "These people care not 
 for the life eternal, but busy themselves with matters of 
 the present life." They fastened their gaze upon these 
 laborers, until they were burned. Then the daughter of 
 the voice Bath Kol was heard saying: "You will deso- 
 late the world. Return to your cave." Then they went 
 back to their cave, and spent one year there, occupied as 
 before. At the end of this period they said to them- 
 selves: "The trials of the wicked in purgatory last 
 twelve months, and we have been here that time." Then 
 the Bath Kol was heard saying: "Leave the cave," and 
 they left. Whatever inflictions were caused by R. Eliezer 
 were cured and healed by his father, R. Simon. 
 
 When R. Pinchas, his father-in-law, heard that his son- 
 in-law had appeared, he hurried to receive him, and while 
 embracing him, noticed that his skin was full of holes and 
 deep cuts, the result of his sad experience. He shed salt
 
 THE HYPNOTISTS. 53 
 
 tears, and the drops falling into the deep cuts caused 
 them to smart. Then the father-in-law still weeping said : 
 "Woe to me, that I see you in such a condition." The 
 son-in-law replied: "If you had not found me in such a 
 condition, you would not have found me the possessor of 
 my present knowledge and power. 
 
 As Rabbi Simon was walking in the street one day, he 
 met Jehuda Ben Gerion, who was the cause of his troubles 
 as above related. The Rabbi turned and fixed his eyes 
 upon him, saying: "Is that man still alive?" A few 
 moments later Jehuda Ben Gerion became a pile of bones. 
 
 IV. 
 
 DRIVING OUT A DEMON. 
 
 More evil edicts against the Jews were decreed by the 
 Emperor of Rome. The Jews sent a deputation to Rome, 
 under the leadership of R. Simon Bar Jochai, to make 
 effort to have the edicts nullified. While they were on the 
 way to Rome, Ben Tolmion, a well known and powerful 
 demon, offered his services to the Rabbi. The latter 
 turned his face and wept. His companions asked the 
 cause of his weeping, and he replied: ""Why should I 
 not weep? The hand-maid of my grand-sire (Hagar) in 
 time of her perils, talked with angels, while in the time of 
 my nation's peril I talk with a demon. Is there not a 
 reason for weeping." His companions reminded him of 
 the condition of the Jews, and urged him to accept the 
 good service of Ben Tolmion, the powerful demon. The 
 Rabbi then assented to the proposition. Ben Tolmion 
 told him that he had a grand scheme, whereby to win 
 the favor of the Emperor. Said he: "I shall gain pos- 
 session of the body of the Emperor's daughter, and throw 
 her mind into confusion. Then appeal will be made to 
 the magicians to use their charms to excision me. Of 
 course I shall not budge. Then you offer your help to 
 cure her, and the moment you say 'Quit,' I shall leave 
 her, and she will at once be restored to health and reason. 
 For your compensation you can demand the recall of the 
 evil edicts." The Rabbi was delighted with the demon's
 
 54 TEEASUBES OF TWO WOBLPS. 
 
 plan, and the fiend straightway entered the body of the 
 Emperor's daughter, torturing her with intense pains. 
 The magicians tried in vain to drive the demon out. At 
 last Rabbi Simon offered to effect a cure. His offer was 
 accepted, and in a few moments the damsel was all right 
 again, to the great astonishment of all. As a reward the 
 Rabbi secured the object of his errand. 
 
 V. 
 
 HIS SON A POLICEMAN, OR A MAHATMA WITH 
 
 A CLUB. 
 
 Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Simon Bar Jochai, once met a 
 policeman on his patrol in quest of thieves. The Rabbi 
 asked him how he could be sure, who is a thief, and who is 
 not. Some innocent people are liable to fall into your 
 hands. The policeman rejoined: "What can I do, as I 
 must obey the orders of the government." Then the 
 Rabbi said to him: ''Listen, I will tell you how to recog- 
 nize the guilty. You go into the wine-houses, in the last 
 four hours of the night, and, if you find a man slumbering 
 with his cup full of wine before him, you inquire about 
 his reputation and occupation. If you find that he is a 
 student, or a man who has night-work to perform, let 
 him alone, for he is work-tired. If on the contrary you 
 find that he belongs to neither of the above classes, then 
 arrest him without hesitation. You may be sure that he 
 has been engaged in unauthorized night work, and is too 
 sleepy to drink." This suggestion came to the knowledge 
 of the government, and thus R. Eliezer was politely in- 
 vited to enter the police service. The other Rabbbis felt 
 this to be a disgrace to the order, and one Rabbi gave him 
 the sobriquet of vinegar, and said: "Thou son of wine, 
 how long wilt thou deliver people to be slaughtered?" 
 Rabbi Eliezer replied: "I am destroying the thorns in 
 the vineyard." R. Joshua rejoined: "Let the owner of 
 the vineyard come and destroy the thorns." From that 
 time he was not on good terms with the rest of the Rabbis. 
 
 He was an invalid and suffered much, but kept up his 
 courage, remarking that after his death the worms would
 
 HIS SOX A POLICEMAN. 55 
 
 not eat Lis flesh. He was once obliged to undergo a sur- 
 gical operation, and the portion of flesh cut off lay in the 
 hot sun for a long time, without corruption and odorless. 
 When he was about to die, he called to his wife to come 
 and receive his dying words. He gave order that, after 
 his death, his corpse should be kept in the garret ; adding 
 that his wife should have no fear, and that he would not 
 trust the Rabbis to bury him. His wife did as requested. 
 The corpse remained for twenty years in the garret, and 
 was perfectly preserved all that time. During that 
 period people were wont to come to the house to settle 
 claims. After each side had presented its case in full, 
 a voice would be heard descending from the garret, call- 
 ing each party by name, and pronouncing the decision. 
 
 At last his father, Rabbi Simon, came in a dream for 
 he had been dead many years to the Rabbis, saying: 
 ' ' There is with you one whom I love ; why do you not let 
 me have him" alluding to his long-unburied son. The 
 Rabbis tried to bring him to a burial place, but the citi- 
 zens refused to let him be removed from the garret, be- 
 cause the city had been protected from calamities during 
 the long period of his lying in state. 
 
 At last, on the eve of an Atonement day, the Rabbis 
 employed some neighbors to remove the corpse from the 
 garret, and to carry it to the cave where his father had 
 been buried. "When they reached the cave, they found a 
 snake coiled across the entrance. The Rabbis said: 
 "Snake, make place, give way and let the son go in to his 
 father." The snake obeyed, and they buried him in the 
 cave by the side of his father. 
 
 VI. 
 
 RABBI JOCHANAN. 
 
 Rabbi Jochanan was once delivering a lecture, and, in 
 the course of his remarks, stated that in the latter days 
 the Almighty will bring precious stones thirty cubits in 
 size, arid having engravings ten or twenty cubits in 
 length, and will thus ornament the gates of Jerusalem. 
 One of his pupils criticised the statement, alleging that
 
 56 TBEASTJRES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 there is not to be found a precious stone as large as a 
 bird's egg, much, less of such huge dimensions. 
 
 This same pupil was once sailing in a ship on the 
 ocean, and saw, far down in the depths, angels forming 
 into shape precious stones of the above mentioned vast 
 dimensions. He asked the purpose of those stones, and 
 was told that they were to serve as ornaments for the 
 gates of Jerusalem. When he reached home, he went to 
 his master and told" him that he was correct in his asser- 
 tion relative to the precious stores, for, said he, "I have 
 seen such stones being fashioned by the angels for the 
 very purpose you mentioned." The -Rabbi replied: 
 "Ignoramus, thou didst not believe, and didst mock at 
 the wise words of the sages. He then fixed his gaze upon 
 the pupil, and the latter became a pile of bones. 
 
 VII. 
 
 FOOT-NOTES OF THE COMPILER. 
 
 People of all ages have been puzzled how to account 
 for the origin of precious stones. Under this collective 
 term, the ancients were wont to include gold also. Mod- 
 ern science has succeeded in getting glimpses into nature's 
 secret laboratory, and has made many discoveries there- 
 in. The special department for these elaborate affairs is 
 the ocean. The artists and workers are the polyps, and 
 these are very diversified. One kind builds the coral- 
 rsefs; another kind penetrates the oyster-shell and forms 
 the beautiful pearl. The result of the saliva of the polyp 
 depends upon the substance with which it comes in con- 
 tact. Scientific investigations seem to show that, in the 
 early ages, the ocean covered those places where now are 
 chiefly mined the precious stones and other valuables 
 which nature has in store. Eabbi Jochanan in his lecture 
 alluded to the ocean as the most secret work-shop of 
 nature, where are produced and fashioned our precious 
 stones and valued metals.
 
 BABBI SHEISHETH. 57 
 
 VIII. 
 
 RABBI SHEISHETH. 
 
 Rabbi Sheisheth, the blind Mahatma, was deeply versed 
 in Rabbinical lore, and also in the mystical teachings of 
 the Mahatmas. He was called Rabbi Sheisheth Sagi 
 Nahor (Rabbi Sheisheth the great light). He was called 
 the great light, because being physically blind his mental 
 vision reached to a great measure of acuteness it being 
 a doctrine of the mystics that the power of the second 
 sight increases in the ratio of the decrease of the natural 
 sight. It was announced that the King would pass 
 through the city, and everybody turned out to see him. 
 R. Sheisheth was in the crowd. A Sadducee asked him 
 where he was going. The Rabbi replied: "To see the 
 King passing through the city." The Sadducee rejoined: 
 "The good pitchers go to the river to draw water, but 
 where do the broken ones go?" This was intended as a 
 sarcasm. The Rabbi felt the sting and said to the Sad- 
 ducee: "Come and I shall show you that I can see better 
 than you can." They posted themselves in a good posi- 
 tion. First there came a legion led by a band of music, 
 and the Sadducee said, "Here is the King." "No," re- 
 plied the Rabbi. A second legion followed with the same 
 result. A third legion marched along very quietly, and 
 then the Rabbi said, "Here is the King." The Sadducee 
 was nonplussed, and asked the Rabbi to explain how he 
 could thus distinguish. The Rabbi replied: "The earth- 
 ly majesty resembles the Heavenly. The Scripture (1 
 Kings 19 :11) saith that, when the Almighty appeared 
 unto Elijah in the wilderness, there first came a storm 
 but the Lord was not in it ; then a wind, but the Lord was 
 not in it either; then came a fire, but the Lord was not in 
 it, then came a still small voice, and the prophet at once 
 recognized the presence of the Lord. Thus I knew by 
 the uproar that the King was not in either the first, or 
 the second legion. I knew by the quietude that the King 
 was in the third legion." When the King pasesd the spot 
 where the blind sage was standing, the latter pronounced 
 the benediction, "Blessed be He who has given of his
 
 58 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 glory to one of flesh, and blood." The oral law orders 
 that whenever one sees anything extraordinary of what- 
 ever character, be it a huge animal, or a deformed man, no 
 matter what his rank is, that at such a moment he must 
 exclaim, "Praise the Lord." A special benediction is pre- 
 ferred to suit all cases. 
 
 The Sadducee asked the Rabbi why he sang the bene- 
 diction, since he could not see the King. Then the Rabbi, 
 fixing his sightless eyeballs upon the Sadducee, continued 
 his apparent gaze until the latter became merely a pile 
 of bones. 
 
 IX. 
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS WHAT IS HYPNOTISM? 
 
 Hypnotism is one of nature's agencies, through which 
 she manifests her powerful force, and is a phenomenal 
 gift bestowed upon man. The discovery of this power, 
 like that of many scientific facts, was due to accident. 
 This energetic force has ever resided in man, and yet the 
 most advanced scientists of today are unable to explain 
 the source of its energy and how its functional force is 
 exerted. Commerce, science, government are uncon- 
 sciously indebted to the aid of hypnotism. This agency 
 represents the influence which a strong mind can exert 
 upon a weaker one, either for good or for evil. Some 
 merchants are so unscrupulous as to persuade their cus- 
 tomers to make some very bad bargains, and then chuckle 
 over the illusory idea that they possess a great tact for 
 trade. A foolish, but wicked and cunning ruler may so 
 employ the hypnotic power as to effect the ruin of his 
 people, who have been led to confide in him. A medical 
 quack often exercises his empirical skill to such an ex- 
 tent as to befool the unthinking minds, and to outrival 
 the regular practitioners. The multitude of nostrums, 
 which flood the market, are a sufficient token that the 
 gullible crowd are always ready to be hypnotized. A 
 beautiful young lady will reject a very worthy man be- 
 cause he is homely, and afterwards will accept the ad-
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS. 59 
 
 dresses of a suitor decidedly inferior to her former lover, 
 and whose face is as dark as that of a negro. 
 
 The above illustrations will serve for examples of 
 hypnotic power. Who can explain what this power is? 
 
 The human body, apparently a unit, is in reality a dual- 
 ism of remarkable character. One part is a composition 
 of clay commingled with chemical substances, and is sub- 
 jected to the rules governing such a combination of ma- 
 terials. The other part of this dualistic unit baffles all 
 attempts at analysis. It is known to us as mind, soul, 
 spirit. We can discern its action, but not its essence. 
 We know that it inhabits and dominates the body. A 
 body that is soulless and mindless is perfectly unattrac- 
 tive, however beautiful may be its features, however fair 
 its form. We mean by this to say a body unconnected 
 with its former associations. Thre is nothing in it to 
 evoke new interest, and new regard. On the other hand 
 the presence of mind and soul may crown with indefinable 
 beauty a body very plain, even deformed. This goes to 
 show that it is the mind, and not the body, which makes 
 the man. The body is simply the instrument through 
 which the mind acts. 
 
 From the above mentioned facts we are compelled to 
 judge that the senses of the mere body are deceptive, and 
 that the real senses are invested in the other part of the 
 peculiar dualistic unity; and this other part we may 
 properly call the higher self. In other w r ords, the body, 
 through its outward organs, sees, smells, tastes, touches 
 and hears, apparently just as the external media are af- 
 fected. The higher, or inner, self recognizes, the vision, 
 the touch, the smell, etc., just as it is in actual reality. 
 Thus we virtually have duplicate senses the one exter- 
 nal, the other internal. We are not writing a scientific 
 treatise on optics, etc., but are employing the common 
 speech of the masses. 
 
 The sense of smell is that sense of the higher order 
 which receives the most general attention. A man takes 
 in through his organ of smelling at one time a vile stench, 
 and later on the aroma of sweetest perfume. It is not 
 necessary for him to see the objects which exhale these
 
 60 TBEASUBES OF TWO WQELDS. ' 
 
 odors in order to distinguish one from another. Figuera- 
 tively speaking he can discern them through his nose. 
 One man's sense of smell is very keen; another man is 
 quite indifferent on the score of odors. 
 
 The sense of the second smell is manifested in our daily 
 life and practical dealings. By it we sniff the air of 
 character and learn to discriminate between a rogue and 
 a gentleman. Although there are those who cannot dis- 
 tinguish between a lamb and a wolf by smell alone, still 
 on the whole this sense is most cultivated and depended 
 upon by those who never crossed the threshold of occult 
 science. 
 
 The power of second sight is possessed by only a few, 
 and these have secured it only by the most persistent cul- 
 tivation of certain prescribed rules. The ancients were 
 better acquainted with this power of second sight, and 
 paid more attention to it. Hence they had prophets, 
 seers, hypnotists, who employed the talent to great ad- 
 vantage. By it they were enabled to forecast the future, 
 and read its events as thought they were accomplished 
 facts. All that is to be is merely biding its time to ap- 
 pear. Material and spiritual life are alike governed by 
 the same laws. A near-sighted man cannot distinguish 
 objects at a distance, while a man with strong eyes can 
 discern them readily. Thus the man endowed with sound 
 second sight is enabled to penetrate the future. 
 
 (Here is a practical illustration of the point in view: 
 While on the street we see distinctly, some distance off, 
 evident confusion occasioned by a runaway horse, by an 
 uncontrolled car, or by some other source of peril, 
 and yet take no precaution towards self-protection. 
 Our imprudence may cost us our lives. The same 
 thing may be said in regard to some dreams. A 
 man safe in bed is warned in a dream of danger ahead. 
 He disregards the monition, makes no effort to defend 
 himself, and has to suffer the consequences of his folly. 
 This dream we call a second sight, not governed by time 
 or distance.) 
 
 The optic nerve of the eye is the medium of the first, 
 or common vision. The power of second sight resides in
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS. 61 
 
 the brain alone. The action of the brain is also absolutely 
 necessary to make the optic nerve a success. On this 
 principle we account for what is called absentmindedness. 
 The eye may observe, but the brain makes no record of 
 the vision, and therefore it passes unobserved. For ex- 
 ternal vision the brain is dependent upon the eye. There- 
 fore the eye is a mighty factor in life affairs. It has be- 
 come an axiom that beauty is only skin deep. It is not 
 the beauty of the face which captivates the heart of a 
 lover. Something more is needful. It is really the in- 
 ward beauty and excellence, which find expression in the 
 eye, that exert the enchanting power. Eyes which radi- 
 ate intelligence and goodness make fair the plainest coun- 
 tenance. The Talmud is correct in its statement that if 
 a bride has bright and honest eyes, she does not need to 
 have her body investigated. 
 
 Doctors look at the condition of the eyes when diagnos- 
 ing disease. Also, lunatics show by the expression of 
 their eyes the disorder of their brains. Dumb animals 
 quail under the power of the human eye. The cabala 
 says that as long as the human being has the divine image 
 in his face, the beast will not dare to attack him. That 
 divine image is mirrored in the sparkling eyes, and is 
 known as "the little man of the eye." 
 
 Inasmuch as one law prevails in the sight of the eye, 
 and in the sight of the brain, it is well to give attention 
 to the study of the outward eye in order to understand 
 the inner vision. We wish to know what injures and 
 what benefits the eye, that we may learn how to treat the 
 brain. If some foreign substance enters the eye, it at 
 once inflames it, and interferes with, or prevents vision. 
 The brain is equally susceptible, and liable to injury. 
 Whatever disturbs the normal condition of either pro- 
 duces inflammation and disorder. To dwell too long 
 upon, or to be too much absorbed in, on idea, creates un- 
 healthy action of the brain, just as the eye is harmed by 
 straining its action. 
 
 Dark is a very efficient healer of troubled eyes, and is 
 recommended by all oculists for the benefit of their pa- 
 tients. Solitude and seclusion benefit the secoad sight,
 
 62 TREASURES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 as darkness aids the power of the eye. The ancients well 
 understood this fact, and acted accordingly. Then great 
 sages retired into the wilderness and sought the seclusion 
 of caves. The Hebrew prophets and the Grecian sages 
 withdrew themselves from the worriments and cares of 
 social life, and surrendered themselves to profound 
 thought, unaffected by matters alien to their purpose. 
 The Hebrews of old considered thought and vision to be 
 identical, as we can prove by their language. In the 
 Hebrew tongue the syllable "Ra" signifies sight and also 
 thought. "Ra" means the sun, which was regarded as 
 the eye of the universe. The Egyptians called it "Ra," 
 the poetical expression of the Hebrews. The eye, the out- 
 ward instrument of vision, was called "Bin," which sig- 
 nifies a well, due to its salt-water tears. 
 
 Having shown that the ancient Hebrews expressed 
 thought and vision by one term, we are prepared to un- 
 derstand the meaning of the Scripture record that the 
 Lord said, "I will put my eyes upon you for good, or for 
 evil." It signifies I will put my thoughts upon you. 
 
 The ancients knew that thought is a powerful ray from 
 the potent second sight, and hence were afraid of an 
 "evil eye." Apprehension of this evil eye is still found 
 in modern civilized countries. The belief in the evil eye 
 is not a result of mere imagination. It is stoutly main- 
 tained by some that, if a bon vivant is enjoying a good 
 dinner and a hungry man (supposed to be impucunious) 
 gazes upon him with anxious eyes, the man with a well- 
 filled stomach will suddenly be taken ill on account of the 
 evil eye of the envious onlooker. (Query: "Is not the 
 evil eye responsible for the fact that so many patrons of 
 the restaurant are dyspeptics?" If this is the case it 
 seems unfair to attribute the cause to the inefficiency of 
 the cooks.) These are recorded cases of diseases trace- 
 able to the effect of the evil eye. Now if it be granted 
 that an evil eye can work so much mischief, why can we 
 not accept the idea that the honest eye of a good hypno- 
 tist can cure disease? 
 
 The prophets were the greatest hypnotizers by virtue 
 of their living in accordance with the laws of nature.
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS. 63 
 
 Their hypnotic power enabled them to work wonders, 
 and to effect cures. Through this power they brought 
 good and also evil upon the people. There is an account 
 recorded in Scripture which beats Trilby as well as Sevau- 
 gali. Samuel, the prophet, told Saul that when he should 
 reach a place near he would meet a band of prophets, 
 singing and prophesying, and that he would become one 
 of them. When the King reached the spot, he joined the 
 band and began to sing and prophesy in concert, so that 
 it became a proverb: "Is Saul among the prophets?" 
 The prophets hypnotized him. The prophet Elisha cured 
 Naaman, one of Benhadad's generals, who was a leper, 
 and afflicted Gehazi with the disease. 
 
 After the destruction of the first temple, the prophets 
 delivered to the sages the secrets of hypnotism, and all 
 nature's laws concerning its increase and decrease; also 
 how and when to use it. 
 
 At the time of the second temple, the sages of the Tal- 
 mud discovered more rules of nature concerning this 
 power hidden in the human system, and extended its field 
 of activity to all departments of life, for the benefit of 
 their principles. The Talmud ascribes to hypnotism all 
 the powers claimed by magicians and fakirs, and calls 
 this power Achisoth Einairn (arresting the eyes). 
 
 There is a code, which requires that some of the mem- 
 bers of the Sanhedrin must be familiar with the power of 
 hypnotism, since it was employed in some cases which 
 came before that Supreme Court. The reason that Moses 
 wore a veil over his face can be explained on the basis 
 that he was a powerful hypnotist. 
 
 Mind-reading is also the effect of hypnotic power, 
 worked out through two agencies of that force first by 
 subduing the mind, and secondly by the second sight. 
 Thoughts being rays, sparks, the skilled second-sight seer 
 can see them. Hypnotism and mind-reading were used 
 by the Rabbis of the Talmud on various occasions, espe- 
 cially to compel people to dream certain dreams. 
 
 A case is recorded in the Talmud (Tractat Berachot), 
 as follows: "Schelor, the King of Persia, once said to 
 the Rabbi Samuel, "You claim to be wise; now tell me
 
 64 TREASURES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 what I shall dream tonight." The Eabbi told him that 
 he would dream that the Romans would invade his coun- 
 try, take him in captivity and make him grind grain in 
 a golden mill. He dreamed exactly as the Rabbi repre- 
 sented and, full of astonishment, so informed the Rabbi. 
 
 The Rabbis were also acquainted with self-hypnotism, 
 where an individual so surrendered his mind to a desire 
 to carry one out idea, or to gratify a certain fancy, that 
 he becomes perfectly infatuated with this single purpose. 
 Thus one is constantly dreading the sight of demons, 
 ghosts, spirits, is liable to distort his imagination in re- 
 gard to an unpleasant visitation. One who neither thinks 
 of nor cares for a ghost is not likely to be troubled with 
 the sight of one. A lunatic may be called a self-hypno- 
 tist, inasmuch as he cannot break the spell which holds 
 him. It is novel to note that all three of the eminent 
 hypnotists, whom we have described, fixed their eyes 
 most intently upon their victims, and left them a pile of 
 bones. This means that the latter lost all control over 
 their minds, all power of resistance, and became silently 
 submissive to the control of the hypnotic power. They 
 seemed like statues, bereft of all mobility. 
 
 The story about Simon Ben Jochai is interesting, as it 
 shows how he acquired his hypnotic power. He made lit- 
 tle use of his eyes ; kept his mind free from evil associa- 
 tion, lived on simple food. We glean from this story that 
 the Rabbis when by themselves talked freely about law, 
 science, and mysticism. Before a non-priest they were 
 very reserved. We also learn that ' ' there is nothing new 
 under the sun." 
 
 I. 
 
 BEN SAKAI THE CLAIRVOYANT. 
 
 Rabbi Jochanan Ben Sakai lived at the time of the 
 destruction of the second temple, and he was the young- 
 est pupil of Hillel the great. He was of that class of 
 Mahatmas by whom the power of second sight was per- 
 fectly developed. The Talmud makes mention of him 
 that he was familiar with all branches of science, and
 
 BEN SAKAI. 65 
 
 that he could hear the grass grow. In the Talmudical 
 Rabbinical law, Ben Sakai is much in evidence, as many 
 of the oral laws claim him for authority. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE SIEGE. 
 
 Rabbi Jochanan Ben Sakai was the spiritual head of 
 the Jews at the time when Jerusalem was besieged by the 
 Romans. The leader of the rebels against Rome was a 
 man whose name was Abu Sikra (a term which means 
 the father, or organizer, of the body historically known 
 as Sikrihan, similar to the Italian Maffia). When a vic- 
 tim was stabbed with a small dagger, no clue to the mur- 
 derer was left. The leader of that fearful gang was the 
 son of Ben Sakai 's sister. 
 
 At that time there were three millionaires in Jerusalem, 
 who offered to supply the city, for twenty years, if neces- 
 sary, with fuel, grain, salt and oil. The Sikrihan judged 
 that the people would not fight, as long as the supply of 
 provisions was secure, with the courage of despair, and so 
 they burned all the supplies. 
 
 Ben Sakai sent for Abu Sikra and said to him: "How 
 long will you kill the people through hunger?" Abu 
 Sikra replied: "I could not prevent the destruction, for 
 the majority of our body insisted upon it, and, if I had 
 refused to allow it, I should have been killed." "Well," 
 said Ben Sakai, "tell me how to escape from the city; 
 perhaps I can obtain some concession from Vespasian." 
 Aba Sikra gave him this counsel: "Pretend to be sick 
 and everybody will come to inquire about your health. 
 Then let a rumor circulate that you are dead. Permit 
 only your pupils to wait upon you, so that no one can 
 detect that you are still living. I shall attend to the other 
 arrangements." Ben Sakai followed the counsel, and 
 when the rumor of his death went forth, two of his dis- 
 ciples, R. Eliezer and R. Jehoshua, placed him in a coffin 
 and bore him to the city gate, in order to get him outside 
 the besieged city. When they reached the gate, the 
 guards, who were all members of the Sikrihan, being sus-
 
 66 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 picious, wanted to prick the body with a spear in order 
 lo find out whether it was a real corpse. Abu Sikra frus- 
 trated their plan by saying: "If you do so we shall be- 
 come the laughing stock of the Romans, who will say, 
 'those Jews have pierced the body of their own master,' 
 and we shall be disgraced." The guards were thus per- 
 suaded to let the supposed corpse pass out unmolested. 
 
 III. 
 
 BEN SAKAI AND VESPASIAN. 
 
 Ben Sakai having escaped from the city, and been re- 
 leased from his coffin, went to the Roman camp and in- 
 quired for Vespasian. When ushered into the presence 
 of the Emporer he addressed him thus: "Peace be upon 
 your majesty." Vespasian replied: "You are guilty of 
 two capital offences. In the first place, I am not the Em- 
 porer; secondly, if I am the Emporer, why hast thou 
 waited till now to pay homage?" Ben Sakai responded: 
 "Thou are truly the Emporer, for the Scripture (Isaiah) 
 saith: 'Lebanon will fall into the hands of a mighty.' 
 As to the second fault, the rebels in the city prevented my 
 coming earlier, to pay homage to you." Vespasian con- 
 tinued : ' ' Supposing there is a barrel of honey and a ser- 
 pent coiled round it, shall we spare the barrel for the sake 
 of the snake?" He meant shall we save the city on ac- 
 count of the rebels. Ben Sakai could not parry that 
 thrust, and then the conversation took another turn. 
 
 While they were talking on various subjects, a delega- 
 tion arrived from Rome, announcing the death of Nero, 
 and that Vespasian had been proclaimed Emporer. At 
 this moment Vespasian was trying to fasten his sandals, 
 but could not properly adjust them to his feet. Ben 
 Sakai interjected as follows: "Don't bother, for it is 
 written, 'Good tidings fatten the bone (Proverbs).' But 
 there is a remedy : Let a man whom you dislike pass be- 
 fore you, and you will be able to adjust your sandals, as 
 it is written also in Proverbs, 'A melancholy temper dries 
 up the bone.' ' Vespasian rejoined, "If you are so smart
 
 BEN SAKAI AND VESPASIAN. 
 
 why did you not come earlier?" Ben Sakai said: "I 
 have already told you why." 
 
 Vespasian then said that he must return to Rome to 
 occupy the throne, adding that he should send another 
 general to besiege the city; but that he would grant lo 
 Ben Sakai any favor asked for. Ben Sakai asked three 
 favors. The first that the family of Raban Gamliel 
 (direct descendant from David) might be saved. The 
 second that the city of Jabne, her colleges and students, 
 should be spared. The third a physician to cure Rabbi 
 Zadok. This latter spent forty years in fasting and 
 prayer, that the city of Jerusalem might not be destroyed. 
 He became so emaciated that his food could be seen pass- 
 ing to his stomach. 
 
 The Talmud (Tractat Gitin) tells how the doctor sent 
 by Vespasian cured Rabbi Zadok. First, he gave him the 
 beard of grain boiled in water. Later on he gave him the 
 bloom of the grain also boiled in water. Gradually the 
 strength of the gruel was augmented, and at last the 
 Rabbi became hale and hearty. 
 
 Vespasian having granted the three favors to Ben 
 Sakai, they both shook hands, and said "good bye." 
 
 IV. 
 
 COMPILER'S OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Modern clairvoyants claim too much, when they pre- 
 tend that they can see clearly what is happening far be- 
 yond the range of human ken. They are cunning enough 
 to perceive that they can delude the credulous crowd 
 hence their success. 
 
 The object of the preceding pages has been to describe 
 a variety of Mahatmas, and to prove that their accom- 
 plishments have been the result of a close study of the 
 laws of nature, combined with a familiar knowledge of 
 human nature. Not all second sight has been based upon 
 conjecture. The most prominent prophets and seers have 
 imbibed the fountain of science. 
 
 Take Ben Sakai as one example. He knew the condi- 
 tion of affairs at Rome under the cruel Xero. He knew
 
 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 the political power wielded by the legions. He knew 
 the popularity of Vespasian among the soldiery. He 
 knew the varied qualifications of Vespasian to fill the 
 place of ruler. It was easy to conjecture that he would 
 succeed Nero. When Ben Sakai asked that Jabne, its 
 schools, and its sages might be spared, the request seemed 
 to Vespasian to be of small moment, and he readily 
 granted it. Ben Sakai realized the value of education to 
 sustain the State, and promote its welfare. 
 
 When the battle of Kenigratz was fought, and the Prus- 
 sians gained a decisive victory over the Austrians, Prince 
 Bismark exclaimed: "The school-master has conquered." 
 The power of the pen proved more successful than that 
 of gunpowder. Vespasian regarded Judea's cause as 
 entirely and forever lost. Jerusalem was utterly ruined. 
 Multitudes of her citizens were slaughtered. Thousands 
 were crippled for life. The remainder were carried as 
 slaves to Eome, with the exception of the few who man- 
 aged to escape. The few, who were saved, were in no 
 condition to dream of the restoration of the nation. But 
 the schools saved the country. Fifty years after the 
 destruction of the temple, the national spirit was revived ; 
 thanks to the schools of Jabne with their twenty-five 
 thousand pupils under the guidance of such men as Rabbi 
 Akiba. 
 
 The heroic struggle of Bar Kochba (son of the star) 
 is famous, and the coins which he minted are preserved 
 in specimens to be found in museums. To the school- 
 master is due the credit of this revivification of the Jew- 
 ish nation. The Hebrew race owes its preservation to 
 education. 
 
 Every Jew is taught to write in Hebrew. Even those 
 in darkest Russia, where 99 per cent, of their number 
 are obliged to cross their names, are yet able to read and 
 write the language of their ancestors. The privilege of 
 school-education is totally denied to Jews in Russia. In 
 the United States we have a most vivid picture of the 
 power of education. No child is excluded from the pub- 
 lic schools. So far from this, all parents, of whatever
 
 COMPILER 'S OBSEBVATIONS. 69 
 
 nationality, are compelled by law to send their children 
 to school. 
 
 Why have the United States forged ahead so far in 
 advance of the Republics of South America? The simple 
 answer is, that the citizens of the former have had such 
 advantages of education. 
 
 What has been the curse of Spain? The latest census 
 makes her population seventeen millions. Of these four- 
 teen million are unable to either read or write. Com- 
 ment is needless. 
 
 Spain once banished the Jews from her realm, today, 
 she most obsequiously bends at the feet of a Rothschild. 
 But she cannot squeeze him in the mill of the "Inquisi- 
 tion." The tables have been turned. We can moralize 
 upon our theme indefinitely but we wish to avoid being 
 too prolix. 
 
 It is pleasing to note among the names of illustrious 
 men many of the Hebrew race. As physicians, authors, 
 bankers, diplomats, lawyers, scientists, they have attained 
 the higher rank. Mohammed in his Al Koran called the 
 Jews Rigel el Kital, people of writings. If a catalogue 
 of Jewish literature were available, the reader would be 
 astonished as he reads the variety of subjects treated. 
 Well may the Jew take pride in the virility and progress- 
 iveness of his nation. Her people have suffered many 
 persecutions, passed through many tribulations, but have 
 not succumbed to them. Their motto practically has ever 
 been ' ' excelsive. " 
 
 V. 
 
 RABBI JEHOSHUA BEN LEVY THE IMMORTAL- 
 IZED MAHATMA. 
 
 One of the most brilliant men, who have ever lived 
 upon the earth, was Rabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy. His lofty 
 liberalism was happily combined with a sweet humility. 
 His philanthropy was of the purest sort. He was a prom- 
 inent Mahatma, although not after the usual acceptation 
 of the term. He did not profess to work miracles. He 
 did not resemble the ridiculous Mahatmas of the Theos-
 
 70 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 ophists. Peace was his motto : love was his theme. His 
 whole live was devoted to benefitting and cheering suffer- 
 ing humanity. His benevolence and beneficence caused 
 him to be universally beloved. He devoted his attention 
 and his labors to the welfare of lepers, and by his 
 assiduous efforts in their behalf won their heartfelt grati- 
 tude and affection. He was an extensive traveler, and a 
 famous preacher. The Talmud contains many extracts 
 from his sermons, which show how he proclaimed his gos- 
 pel of love. 
 
 He lived in the third century of the new era ; at a time 
 when the Jews and the Christians were drifting farther 
 and farther apart. His efforts to effect a reconciliation 
 between these diverse parties were very marked. In this 
 way he gave ample proof of his great liberalism. He, 
 however, stoutly objected to the worship of martyred 
 heroes. His belief was that the true hero lives for the 
 benefit of his fellowmen, rather than that he dies to save 
 them: that you will find such heroes in Rome, in the 
 midst of her vast hospitals, patiently and unceasing at- 
 tending to the wants of the helpless and suffering. ' ' Let 
 such a Messiah appear in Jerusalem today," said he, "I 
 shall give heed to his words." Ambitious to carry out 
 his ideal, to live in accord with his doctrines, he devoted 
 his life to practical beneficence. 
 
 Rabbi Gamliel relates that an old leper from Jerusalem 
 informed him that there are twenty-four kinds of disease, 
 and leprosy is the most malignant of all of them. Rabbi 
 Jochanon exclaimed: "Beware of the flies who are 
 especial bearers of infection." He facetiously called 
 lepers, "Balei Rahon," i. e., people whom we should only 
 see. Despite all warnings, our hero chose to go and live 
 among this infectious class, without regard of personal 
 risk. He cared alike for their physical and spiritual 
 needs. To the poor lepers this great master of secular 
 and religious knowledge must have appeared as an angel 
 of light. We need not feel surprised that such heroism 
 and such goodness were rewarded with a deathless trans- 
 lation to the realms of eternity. 
 
 When Rabbi Johoshua Ben Levy was seemingly lying
 
 EABBI JEHOSHUA BEN LEVY. 71 
 
 upon his death-bed, the grim messenger of death appeared 
 before him, saying: "I have come to perform my duty 
 to bring thy soul before the glorious throne of the Al- 
 mighty, but at the same time I am commanded to do for 
 thee whatever thou desirest to be done." "Show me my 
 place in the future world" was the request of the master. 
 The grim messenger took him to the gates of Paradise. 
 When they reached there the Rabbi said: "Give me thy 
 sword, for I am frightened as I see thee with that bloody 
 instrument." As soon as the crafty Rabbi received the 
 sword, he jumped from the walls of Paraside, and rushed 
 inside. The angel of death asked for his sword, but the 
 Rabbi refused to give it back. Then the angel of death 
 entered complaint before the Heavenly Court. The Court 
 replied that they would investigate the book of life in 
 which had been entered the account of the Rabbi's life. 
 If it is found that the Rabbi had a good record, then he 
 will be allowed to remain where he is. The record proved 
 satisfactory, and so the Rabbi remained in Paraside just 
 as he was, but was told to deliver back the sword to the 
 angel of death, that he might perform his duty to other 
 people. The Rabbi complied with the request, and re- 
 mained in Paradise. 
 
 It is related of another Rabbi, a countryman of Rabbi 
 Jehoshua Ben Levy, that he also asked the grim messenger 
 to show him his place in Paradise, and also give him the 
 messenger's sword. "I shall do as you ask," said the 
 messenger, "except giving you my sword." "Why so?" 
 asked the Rabbi. "Canst thou point out in the book of 
 law a single precept which I have violated?" Have you 
 devoted yourself to the care of lepers, as Ben Levy did?" 
 said the angel. 
 
 VI. 
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS. 
 
 Many definitions have been given of true heroism, but 
 there still remains a gap unfilled by our lexicographers. 
 It is not enough to quote names of great men, such as 
 Bonaparte, Alexander the Great, Caesar, Wellington,
 
 72 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLPS. 
 
 Washington. Such men served as illustrations of heroic 
 character, but we are not satisfied to let such apportion- 
 ments, or limitations, be enough. Very many heroic acts 
 escape the notice of history. There is as much scope in 
 private life for exhibition of real heroism, as can be found 
 in broader fields of action. Many a fireman has proved 
 himself a hero. Many a man has jumped into the water, 
 at the great risk of his own life, in order to rescue his 
 fellow man from being drowned. 
 
 I once had an argument with a Christian missionary. 
 The latter claimed that the founder of his religion was 
 the greatest hero that ever lived, made so by the agony 
 of his death. I refused to agree with him. I said: "To 
 die for a great idea is a light thing just a flash of pain 
 and all is over. But to live for a great idea; to endure 
 patiently all the worriments, irritations, and sufferings 
 that are incident to the pursuit of grand ideals here you 
 find true heroism." I pointed out that multitudes of 
 men had died rather than sacrifice principle. I instanced 
 the thousands of Jews whom the Auto De Fe had not 
 conquered. Now if these died under the belief that their 
 fidelity would be rewarded, such a death could not in fair- 
 ness be called heroic. I maintained that Buddha was a 
 hero indeed for he relinquished all the pomp, the luxur- 
 ies and common comforts of life for the sake of his belief. 
 In this regard we consider Rabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy to 
 have surpassed Buddha in heroism. 
 
 We read in Job, that Satan said to the Almighty that 
 a man will give up anything except his life. Buddha 
 showed great will-power, but Ben Levy went, uncon- 
 cerned, to meet a horrible fate. 
 
 In recent years a Catholic priest has displayed the same 
 heroism. Father Damien exiled himself from all life's 
 pleasures, and spent his strength in tending the helpless 
 lepers on a desolate island. He went to minister to all 
 their wants, both physical and spiritual. Such a sacrifice 
 as he made evinced a truly heroic heart and mind. At 
 the end of five years, the grave closed over his suffer- 
 ings. Nobler heroes than Father Damion, and Rabbi 
 Jehoshua Ben Levy, the world has never seen. In their
 
 COMPILER'S COMMENTS. 73 
 
 achievement the two men were alike. In one respect 
 their devotion differed. Father Damion was a pure Cath- 
 olic monk, schooled to abnegation from his childhood. 
 Kabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy left a happy home; left wife 
 and children; gave up station and emoluments, left com- 
 fort and ease did all these things to benefit the outcasts 
 from society. 
 
 One feature of the legend deserves special notice. 
 When the heavenly court examined the records of the life 
 of Eabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy it was discovered that he 
 had been a man of unfailing veracity. His word had 
 ever proved as good as a bond. It is easy to see that, if 
 a man constantly abides by truthfulness, he is willing to 
 have his whole conduct open to inspection, It is said that 
 actions speak louder than words. If a man never tells a 
 lie, it would be impossible for him to act one. No one 
 can move in two opposite directions at the same time. 
 
 We do not claim that all Mahatmas are reliable any 
 more than we should take one scientist to be a fair sample 
 of all scientists. A man's head may be all right so'far as 
 intelligence is concerned, but this fact does not shield him 
 from being a villain at heart. Rabbi Jehoshua lived a 
 life beyond reproach, and it is not to be wondered that 
 the Talmud avers that he did not die. It means that he 
 had become so intensely spiritualized that he regarded 
 death with complete complacency. When once he had 
 determined to join the lepers, then death was shorn of 
 all its terrors. Father Damion and Rabbi Jehoshua Ben 
 Levy both shine as bright stars in the moral firmament. 
 The latter was a caballist and a mystic, but his heart was 
 filled with the religion of love to man. 
 
 One of his memorable sayings is recorded in Jerusalem 
 Talmud, tractat Berachat, as follows: "If a man asks 
 you 'where is your God?' tell him that He is in the big 
 city of Rome." By this he meant, that the real worship 
 of God consists not in simply singing psalms and offering 
 prayers in the Temple at Jerusalem. True worship is to 
 do all one can in the world to help and uplift humanity. 
 Rabbi Jehoshue Ben Levy had a right conception of reli- 
 gion. The entire earth is the vineyard of the Lord,
 
 74 TREASUBES OF TWO WQELDS. 
 
 Kabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy was a representative Mahatma 
 of the school of Elijah. 
 
 The Talmud (tractat Makoth) says that a lion devoured 
 a man, some three miles away from the home of Rabbi 
 Jehoshua Ben Levy, and that, because the Rabbi failed 
 to protect the man by the shield of his Mahatma-power, 
 the prophet Elijah refused to speak to the Rabbi for three 
 days. 
 
 Rabbi Jehoshua Ben Levy was a true peacemaker, and 
 tried to live in harmony with all men. Theoretically he 
 was a mystic, a stern Talmudical Rabbi. In practice he 
 was so liberal and kind, and full of love that modern 
 critics assert he was in sympathy with the Christians of 
 his day. At that time there were orthodox and reform 
 Jews as we find them now. His motto was: "Peace on 
 earth, good will to man," and he ever strove for peace. 
 The Talmud says that if the Jews should worship idols, 
 and yet live in Peace, that Satan could not harm them. 
 "God bless his people with peace" is the Jewish benedic- 
 tion used universally. 
 
 VII. 
 
 KING SOLOMON'S THRONE. 
 
 King Solomon made a throne of pure gold of Ophir, 
 ornamented with precious stones and pearls. The like of 
 this was never made for any other king, nor was any other 
 kingdom ever able to have one like it. At the sides were 
 lions and eagles, made also of pure gold. On one side 
 were first a dozen lions facing a similar number of eagles, 
 and beyond were other dozens facing in like manner, until 
 at last seventy- two lions were arranged in line, opposite 
 to the same number of eagles confronting them from the 
 other side ; the right foot of each lion being directly across 
 from the left wing of an eagle. The main part of the 
 throne was of pure ivory, with six steps leading to the 
 small globular throne above, where the king sat. On 
 each step were two golden animals facing each other; on 
 the first an ox and a resting lion ; on the second a resting 
 bear and a resting lamb; on the third a resting camel
 
 KING SOLOMON 'S THRONE. 75 
 
 opposite another of its kind; on the fourth an eagle and 
 a peacock; on the fifth a cat and a cock; on the sixth a 
 vulture and a dove. All these figures were of pure gold. 
 
 Above the small throne there was a single gold dove, 
 holding a gold pen in its mouth. There was also above 
 this small throne a golden lamp with seven branches, 
 upon which were the pictures of seven patriarchs Adam, 
 Noah, Shem the Great, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Job. 
 On the other side of the lamp were seven other branches, 
 upon which were the pictures of seven pious ones Levy, 
 Kehoth, Amram, Moses, Aaron, Eldad and Meidad, and 
 among them Chur. Upon the top of the lamp there was 
 a golden pitcher, containing the pure, sacred olive oil, 
 which fed the sacred lamp in the temple. Beneath it, 
 filled with pure olive oil, was a big golden plate, upon 
 which was engraven the image of the High Priest Eli. 
 From it also there extended two branches of pure gold, 
 upon which were visible the images of Eli's two sons 
 Hophni and Phineas. From these two branches extended 
 two other branches with engraved image of Aaron's two 
 sons. 
 
 Upon each side of the upper throne there was a con- 
 nected smaller throne, to accommodate the high priest and 
 the vice-high priest, respectively. Branching out from 
 the main throne, encircling it in the shape of a horse- 
 shoe, were seventy small thrones for the seventy members 
 of the supreme court, the "Sanhedrin." A mermaid was 
 stationed at either ear of the king, and over his head 
 were twenty-four golden wine-trees, producing a cooling 
 shade. 
 
 When the king wished to mount up to his throne, he 
 put his feet on the first step and the golden ox helped him 
 to the second. Thus in succession he was assisted by 
 some animal until he reached the sixth step where the 
 golden eagles bore him to his upper throne. A con- 
 cealed mechanism, in the shape of a silver crocodile, gave 
 motion to the throne. 
 
 When other kings heard about that wonderful throne, 
 they came and prostrated themselves, before King Solo- 
 mon, declaring that such a glorious throne had never been
 
 76 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 made for any other king, and that no other nation could 
 produce such a wonderful mechanism, and so they praised 
 him for his marvelous ingenuity. 
 
 When the king was seated upon his upper throne, the 
 great golden eagle placed the crown upon his head, while 
 the big silver crocodile began to roll amid the secreted 
 wheels, setting everything in motion, and the lions and 
 eagles moved as if alive. The golden dove went to a 
 pillar, took out from its secret hiding-place the scroll of 
 the law, and placed it in the king's lap. Then the high 
 priest, and the seventy venerable judges of the supreme 
 court, took each his allotted place. When the court was 
 held, and witnesses were called to give testimony, if the 
 latter seemed to give false evidence, a button was pressed, 
 and the hidden mechanism put all the animals in motion. 
 The cocks crowed, the cats mewed, the lions roared, and 
 the eagles screamed. Then the affrighted witnesses made 
 haste to change their testimony and tell the truth. 
 
 THE MISERERE. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 If you wade through the waters, 
 
 You will not be drowned: 
 
 Nor, if you pass through the fires, 
 
 Will you be consumed. 
 
 During an unfortunate wandering for over two thou- 
 sand years, the Jewish nation, ever buffetted, never dis- 
 mayed, passed through fire and smoke, through raging 
 billows and tumultuous waves. Its history has been in- 
 tensely unique, and wonderfully extraordinary. No other 
 nation on earth can boast, as it can, of having success- 
 fully wandered for such a length of time, and of having 
 traversed such an extent of space ; or of having encoun- 
 tered and outlived so many difficulties and obstacles. The 
 Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians once shone with 
 splendor, but their brilliancy was meteoric. The Greeks 
 and the Romans survive only in history, leave only ven- 
 erable imprints of their former greatness, whether in 
 wisdom or in war. But the Jew is today a stubborn fact,
 
 THE MISEREKE. 77 
 
 a real and personal vitality. Upon the forgotten graves 
 of the former once mighty nations the mixed descendants 
 of other peoples now graze their flocks, while the Jew 
 still retains his national identity, as it was in centuries 
 of yore, before Judea was compelled to yield to the forces 
 of Titus. It may be that today a much alive Jew, quietly 
 seated upon the unrecognized grave of the former con- 
 queror of the home of his ancestors, is carelessly counting 
 a few relics of the ornaments, which once gave splendor 
 to the royal palace of the Roman Emperor; and these 
 relics, bought for a trifle, may soon be consigned to the 
 unhallowed precincts of a junk-shop. What an irony of 
 fate! 
 
 Another illustration excites our unbounded surprise. 
 In the course of their ubiquitous dispersion multitudes of 
 Jews were cruelly put to death, in various ways, in Rome ; 
 other multitudes in Spain, in France and in Germany met 
 a similar fate. Those who escaped death were treated 
 with ignominy. They were kicked like vagrant curs, and 
 were ruthlessly robbed of what little money they had. 
 Behold the change of the present century, when Jewish 
 financiers so largely control the destinies of Europe. A 
 key to this mystery is found in Genesis XI, 2-3. 
 
 We have no disposition to ignore the value of the Greek 
 and Roman classics; we simply wish to point to the 
 Hebrew Bible, which adorns not only the shelves of the 
 rich, the mighty, the learned, but also adds dignity to the 
 humblest hovel, and blesses the lowly but honest poor and 
 unlearned. 
 
 Frederick the Great once asked a Christian divine what 
 evidence he had of the existence of a God. The prompt 
 reply was: "The Jews." 
 
 I. 
 
 MIDNIGHT, FROM THE ZOHAR. 
 
 Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Jose were sitting at night busy 
 in study of the law, and worked till midnight. At that 
 hour the cock crowed, and they said the benediction. 
 "Blessed be the Lord, who gives wisdom to the cock." 
 
 Rabbi Eliezer remarked: "This is the hour, when the
 
 78 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 Holy One, blessed be His name, enters Eden, to play 
 with the righteous." Eabbi Jose inquired: "What does 
 the Holy One at that time?" The Eabbi Eliezer began 
 to weep, saying: "Lo, at this time the Holy One, blessed 
 be His name, with a kick causes the trembling of three 
 hundred and ninety worlds, and then weeps over the 
 destruction of the Temple. Two huge tears drop from 
 his eyes, and fall into the vast ocean, whose surface is 
 thrown into immense commotion." 
 
 He added: "The twelve hours of the night are divided 
 into three sections, over which three divisions of angels 
 are appointed. Each section of the night consists of four 
 hours." 
 
 II. 
 
 FIRST DIVISION. 
 
 The first section of angels, appointed for the first divi- 
 sion of the night, praise the Almighty with the twenty- 
 fourth Psalm, chanting: "Who shall ascend into the 
 hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place?" 
 The reason for the use of that song is that, when the night 
 spreads out its dark wings, all mankind has an antedate 
 of death, and their souls go up to heaven, where the angels 
 welcome them. When they reach the gates of heaven the 
 pure souls are admitted, while the impure are forced to 
 wander in the vacuum of space. The angels sometimes 
 reveal to these souls events sure to come to pass; and 
 sometimes they mislead them. The souls of the pious 
 enter first the place which is called God's mountain, repre- 
 sented on earth by the Temple. Then they enter the place 
 called the Holy Place, typified by the sanctuary of the 
 Temple. Here the souls appear before their Lord, as did 
 the Jews in the Temple, and their deeds are recorded in 
 the big recording book of eternity. 
 
 III. 
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 
 
 The second section of angels, appointed for the second 
 division of the night, remains silent until midnight, when 
 the Lord goes into the garden of Eden.
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 79 
 
 These angels are called the "mourners" of Zion, who 
 lament the destruction of the Temple. At midnight they 
 sing: "By the rivers of Babylon we sat" (Psalm 137). 
 They are the same angels who wept with the Jews in the 
 exile (Isaiah) : "Behold, the Elohim cried, the angels of 
 peace wept bitterly." At midnight the Almighty kicks 
 on the skies, and twelve thousand worlds tremble : for 
 He remembers His beloved Israel and the destruction of 
 His Temple. He weeps and two big tears drop into the 
 big ocean, causing the waves to roll. At that moment a 
 flame rises in the north, and the north wind urges it on. 
 When the flame touches the wing of the cock, he crows. 
 The Almighty enters the garden of Eden for consolation, 
 and communes with the souls of the pious. When these 
 souls return to their bodies at dawn, the angels say to 
 them at parting: "Bless the Lord ye servants of Him." 
 
 IV. 
 
 THIRD DIVISION. 
 
 The third division embraces the remaining four hours 
 of the night. At dawn another set of angels is chosen. 
 Now all the stars unite with the morning angels to give 
 praise unto the Lord, as it is written (Job) : "The morn- 
 ing stars and the sons of Elohim are jubilant." At sun- 
 rise Israel joins in the grand chorus of praise unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 The sun in its movement makes the sweetest music ever 
 heard in its praise of the Almighty; and the Jews at the 
 same time unite in concert with their song of praise, as 
 it is written: "Ye shall be seen with the sun" (Psalm). 
 
 Rabbi Eliezer said: "If the children of the world only 
 had a sensitive heart, and their minds were unengrossed 
 by sordid thought, they could hear the sweet melody of 
 the sun's motion." 
 
 V. 
 
 MIDNIGHT FANTASY. 
 
 Man by his natural temperament is the greatest coward 
 upon earth a coward who is afraid of his own shadow.
 
 80 TREASUEES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 This quality of cowardice played a great role in the evolu- 
 tionary development of the human race. Fear taught 
 man to worship first something and anything which pro- 
 duces fright. Man worshiped the devil, ere he began to 
 conceive the idea of a good God, and even up to today 
 Satan continues to hold his grip upon the trembling 
 humanity. Show me a religion which ignores a devil, 
 and I will accept it blindly. Alas, the mind of man will 
 never tolerate the thought of a God without an opposing 
 devil, of a heaven not shaded by a hell. The antedilu- 
 vians surrounded by dense forests, where roamed at will 
 the mammoth beasts and reptiles of those days, were con- 
 stantly exposed to most dreadful visions. No wonder 
 that they venerated those horrible monsters as gods, 
 devils and demons. 
 
 The writhing, formidable serpent, by reason of its 
 devilish exhibitions of cunning, at once occupied the first 
 rank of faithful objects, and never since has lost his posi- 
 tion in spite of the many changes which religious cults 
 have passed through. Judaism and Christianity alike 
 symbolize the devil by the serpent, the betrayer of Adam's 
 race. By slow degrees of advancement at last humanity 
 attained unto the idea of good as well as evil deities. 
 However, moral distinctions were not marked with suffi- 
 cient plainness, and as a result all the pagan religious 
 structures were marred by innumerable flaws. The so- 
 called good objects of reverence were found altogether too 
 full of imperfections. 
 
 Everything went smoothly enough as long as daylight 
 lasted. After nightfall was another affair. Then the 
 countless legions of invisible imps were ubiquitously ram- 
 pant wherever darkness prevailed. The effect spread like 
 a contagion throughout the inhabited earth, and is still 
 felt today even in civilized and enlightened countries. 
 Multitudes are stricken with timidity, if obliged to ven- 
 ture abroad while darkness reigns. Phantoms, ghosts, 
 hobgoblins, infest their imaginations. The graveyard is 
 a scene of special terror. Even the open skeptic, who, 
 during daylight, or where artificial light abounds, claims 
 to have the courage of his convictions, is often found, if
 
 MIDNIGHT FANTASY. 81 
 
 obliged to sleep alone in a dark chamber, the victim of 
 most intense terror. 
 
 The Talmud tells us that, when Adam in December ob- 
 served the shortening days, he began to dread the dark- 
 ness of the night, which he thought was the terrible death, 
 and so began to fast and pray. Later on, noting the 
 longer days and shorter nights, he began to rejoice, say- 
 ing that such is the order of nature. The next year he 
 made the days of December fast-days, and the days of 
 January he turned into feast-days. Thus the Romans had 
 their Ululanda in December, and their saturnalia in Janu- 
 ary. Here we see how fear was at the foundation of 
 religious cults and customs. The celebration of Christmas 
 and New Year throughout Christendom is simply a sur- 
 vival, or resurrection, of ancient pagan ceremonies. 
 
 The phrase "dark as midnight" is very current, and is 
 supposed to be the period when demons and spirits are 
 at the height of their revels and deviltries. From the 
 fact that this hour is so terrible to many, our author has 
 chosen it to be the time, when the Almighty began his 
 lamentation concerning the destruction of His home, the 
 Temple. From a poetical point of view it is most touch- 
 ing, rousing the human feelings to the highest pitch of 
 inspiration. Think of it : God weeps, the Almighty sheds 
 tears. Jewish authors of all shades of belief have always 
 tried to picture the Supreme Power condescending to 
 humanity, so that God and man may stand in near co- 
 relation, through the exaltation of the human. On the 
 contrary, heathen writers have so depicted their gods and 
 goddesses, that vice with them held the supremacy, though 
 sometimes conveniently gilded with a show of virtue. 
 Such conceptions of their deities have always tended to 
 degrade mankind. 
 
 The Jewish mystics describe the Omnipotent One as 
 taking share in the calamity of his people ; as grieving for 
 their loss of land, country and Temple. In the early mys- 
 tic lores of the ancient Hebrews, the relation between 
 Jehovah and Israel is sketched as a wonderful "love- 
 romance," with all the human phases of such an affair
 
 82 TBEASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 Jehovah the bridegroom, and Israel His bride elect. 
 Christianity borrowed this idea in representing the church 
 as the bride elect of Jesus. From a mystic standpoint, 
 we notice that our author knew about the throwing of the 
 astral, of which the Theosophists make such a fuss. 
 
 The most interesting part of the legend is the great 
 scientific conception of our author concerning the Cosmos, 
 which conception has been endorsed, two thousands years 
 later, by modern science. The ancients entertained one 
 idea, that there exists only one world, i. e., our earth, 
 which they supposed absorbed the whole attention of the 
 Almighty. Our author asserts that there are twelve thou- 
 sand other worlds besides the earth. Our author also un- 
 derstood the laws of vibration and motion the laws 
 which govern our whole code of science. He says that 
 the sun, moving in his orb, gives out a sweet sound of a 
 harmonious song. On the same principle the ancient Jew- 
 ish mystics said that the whole universe is praising the 
 Almighty without pause or rest. They meant that as the 
 whole creation is in motion it produces musical sounds. 
 What lives moves also, therefore the Psalmist says : ' ' The 
 dead above cannot praise the Lord." Music is a sound, 
 and sound is the vibration of matter. 
 
 VI. 
 
 (From the Hidden Book.) 
 PECULIAR LETTERS OF LAMENTATIONS. 
 
 The Jews at Babylon sent words to the Hebrews of 
 Palestine, saying: "To us was given the right to lament 
 ove rour national calamity, and bewail the destruction of 
 the House of our Lord. We are scattered among the na- 
 tions as if we worshiped idols. Therefore we have a right 
 to pen the lamentations, and explain them in the order of 
 the Alpha Beth, which the Lord of the universe has sent 
 to lament over the destruction of His mansion." The 
 prophet Jeremiah wrote his lamentations in the order of 
 the Hebrew Alpha Beth. 
 
 Then the Hebrews of Palestine replied as follows: "It 
 is true that you 'are scattered among the nations, and you
 
 PECULIAR LETTERS. 83 
 
 are outside the holy land and, moreover, it is right that 
 you should cry and weep because you have gone out from 
 the light into darkness, as a servant goes out from the 
 house of his master. But we are to cry and weep the 
 more and make lamentations, since the Holy One, blessed 
 be His name, has sent to us the book of lamentations, 
 because we are the children of the matron (Zion), and we 
 are of His household, and we know the glory of the Lord 
 of the universe. It is our lot to lament and to explain 
 that book of lamentations, written in the order of the 
 Alpha Beth. We are now orphans, fatherless and mother- 
 less, and when we look upon the walls of our mother's 
 house (the Temple) we find that she (the Shechina, divine 
 womanhood) is exiled she who has fed us daily from her 
 breast and consoled us, as a mother consoles her son. 
 Now we look in every direction and we see the confusion 
 in the house of our mother. We beat our heads against 
 the walls, but there is no one to console us, and speak to 
 our hearts, or to plead for us before our Heavenly Royal 
 Father. Previously, when we were wont to displease our 
 Heavenly Father, and He took the whip to punish us, she 
 stood up in our stead, to protect us and receive the blows 
 herself. As Isaiah hath it (53, 5), "she is suffering for 
 our sins, downtrodden for our iniquities, and by her 
 wounds are we healed. ' ' Woe, woe to us ! now our 
 mother is in exile, and we begin to lament and express the 
 words of bitterness and grief to those who understand the 
 spirit of lamentations. We approach her bed chamber, 
 and there we find her not : her home is in a confused con- 
 dition, her throne is fallen, we inquire for her and no one 
 pays attention to us. We look upon the ground and we 
 see no imprint which she left behind her. We ask from 
 the roof where she bitterly wept over us. We inquire by 
 the roadways and paths, and they tell us that they heard 
 her weeping for her children. We ought to weep, and 
 lament. We will kiss the dust upon which she trod, and 
 will beat our heads upon the walls of the palace (the 
 Temple), crying bitterly. We will begin to lament the 
 destruction which we daily witness, and how can tears 
 cease to run from our eyes?"
 
 84 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 REPLY OF THE JEWS OF BABYLON TO THE HE- 
 BREWS OF PALESTINE. 
 
 It is true that you need to cry, lament and mourn, 
 when you see that your mother has deserted her desolate 
 Palace (Temple), and you know not where she is. You 
 said : ' ' She is with you in the exile, having come to dwell 
 with you there, and you ought therefore rejoice in the 
 vision of Ezekiel." Now this is the very cause of our 
 deepest sorrow and lamentation, that our mother has been 
 banished from her mansion into the exile; and that she 
 is obliged daily to observe our new trials and afflictions, 
 imposed upon us by our captors and oppressors, without 
 her being able to afford us aught of relief. 
 
 Then back came this reply from Palestine to Babylon: 
 "It is true that our mother has been driven from her 
 Temple and has been compelled to share your exile. We 
 realize the bitterness of the situation, and confess your 
 right to commence the lamentation. But our lot is still 
 harder to bear, for we are forced to see constantly the 
 desolation of the Temple, and how the foxes of the desert 
 roam over the ruins, while vultures, crows and owls nestle 
 there. These sights cause us to cry bitterly. Under the 
 spell of such unspeakable grief, we bow our heads to the 
 ground and thus hear the sweet sound of her feet, at the 
 third division of the night perhaps midnight. We "near 
 her come to visit her former home, and pass from cham- 
 ber to chamber, and from hall to hall, all the while weep- 
 ing and lamenting because of us and our souls. 
 
 We hear, and that sweet voice of weeping and lamen- 
 tation arouses us, so that our souls go forth in quest of 
 her. But all in vain the search. She disappears from 
 our hearing and disappoints our vision. We remain as 
 soulless bodies, and in the depth of our misery begin to 
 cry: "How desolate is the city once so peopled." (La- 
 mentations of Jermiah I, 1.)
 
 LAMENTATION OF THE LORD. 85 
 
 vin. 
 
 LAMENTATION OF THE LORD. 
 
 Then the Hebrews of the Holy Land began to lament 
 and explain the lamentations of the prophet. 
 
 It is written : behold a day of confusion there is one 
 day in the view of the Holy One, blessed be His name, 
 which is beloved above the other six days of the week, 
 and this is the day of grief, of sorrow, of lamentation. 
 On this day the Lord comes to visit his once precious 
 mansion and sees its desolation. He looks for his beloved 
 one, the Shechina (divine womanhood), and finding her 
 exiled, begins to cry: "Where art thou, beloved of my 
 soul, my only one ? ' ' 
 
 IX. 
 
 COMPILER'S REMARKS. 
 
 Goethe, the great, immortal German poet, a mystic as 
 well as scientist, was right in his sentiment in Faust: 
 "The eternal womanhood draws us on." The utterance 
 of the philosophic poet is repeated in the saying of the 
 common people: "There is a woman in the case." Cer- 
 tain religious cults re-echo the idea, and repeat the phrase. 
 
 Prehistoric man was unacquainated with modern specu- 
 lative ideas. The book of nature was the only volume he 
 had to consult. He rode no transcendental hobby. He 
 was not versed in philosophy. Yet he was not devoid of 
 the power of imagination. It was his fate to be circum- 
 scribed by the exercise of plain common sense. He was 
 neither a theological, nor a geological student. Probably 
 the words "teacher, preacher" were not found in his 
 vocabulary. He saw steam arise from boiling water, and 
 he noticed the flashings of lightning, but he never 
 dreamed of steam cars or steamboats or electric railways. 
 The distinction between a clod-hopper and a gentleman 
 did not worry him. His inexpensive garments were not 
 the result of sartorial enterprise ; no grocer supplied his 
 table needs. He lived in and for himself and took all 
 law into his own hands. To be brief, if we can place
 
 86 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 reliance upon what is recorded in Genesis VI, 5, 6, we 
 see no reason for envying the happiness of the early race 
 of man. 
 
 There is, however, according to the doctrines of the 
 mystics a curious interest connected with those earliest 
 settlers upon earth. They are credited with the origina- 
 tion of their own peculiar religious sentiments and views. 
 Their doctrines were purely sensual, construced from 
 their own experiences. They looked not up into the 
 heavens to find their God, nor did they lay claim to any 
 revelation from above. They took, so to speak, and by 
 an utter ignorance of the fact, and entirely by ideal an- 
 ticipation, a literal translation of language, uttered many 
 centuries later by Job, as we read in his book XIX, 26 : 
 "from my flesh I see my Lord." 
 
 Observing the matrimonial relationship of mankind, 
 they evolved the idea of dual divinities, and so made them 
 a married couple, and all creation their offspring. 
 
 From these ideas, and built up upon this basis, we have 
 what is called the "Phallic Cult." No matter how great 
 the diversity of religious ceremonies, or under what title 
 the sect presents itself, the great bulk of oriental heathen- 
 ism has sprung from one basic source. Local modifica- 
 tions of rites do not clash with the main idea. The Greek 
 and Roman multiplication of gods and goddesses is only 
 an expansion of the original suggestion. Even the musi- 
 cal instruments are employed to symbolize dualism of 
 effort. The drum and the bell are used to represent the 
 female partner. The stick and the clapper, respectively, 
 mark the male helper. The drum remains mute unless 
 the stick beats it ; the bell requires the clapper to produce 
 resonance. 
 
 Of all the nations the primitive Hebrew race alone has 
 preserved in its lore the primordial conception of a dual 
 God, in all its purity. Of course, under the term of 
 "Primitive Hebrew," we do not include the Rabbinical 
 Jews, or the ancient Hebrews of the Mosaic stock. We 
 mean the primitive Hebrews of the patriarchal age, who 
 worshiped the combined dual deity, male and female, 
 under the name of Elohim. This word is plural. The
 
 COMPILER'S REMARKS. 87 
 
 patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, worshiped Elohim, 
 but Moses introduced a God named Jehovah. Moses tried 
 in vain to uproot the former cult from the heart of the 
 Hebrews, but was obliged to compromise, and to retain 
 the traditional views of the primitive men side by side 
 with his own doctrines. 
 
 Every one, who can read the Bible, will see the differ- 
 ence between the religion of the Patriarchs and that of 
 Moses, and we call attention particularly to the first chap- 
 ter of Genesis. Here we have the primitive version, ac- 
 cording to the patriarchs, and here it is said that Elohim 
 created male and female in his own image and blessed 
 them. This version accords with the views of the pre- 
 historic man, who worshiped the creative forces. Male 
 and female were in the image of the Deity, and hence the 
 Deity represents a dual, i. e., male and female. 
 
 In the second chapter of Genesis we have a different 
 version of the creation of man in accord with the mono- 
 theistic view of Moses. Here we read that Jehovah 
 formed man from dust, and then took one of his ribs to 
 become Eve. These two versions, which seem to conflict 
 one with the other, and which have led many to believe 
 that Moses made mistakes, are in reality the different 
 representations of two diverse religious creeds. Instead 
 of accusing Moses as the author of mistakes, we ought to 
 admire his tolerance in preserving the traditional ver- 
 sion. 
 
 Again we notice the word "creation" in the traditional 
 version, while in the Mosaic version the word "formed" 
 is used, i. e. 5 formed from dust Jehovah formed. 
 
 The patriarchal view of Elohim, as male and female, 
 resulted in what we term the Elohistic faith, and the cus- 
 toms, cult and manners in consonance with that view 
 were handed down to successive generations. The prim- 
 itive expressions of the Hebrew tongue distinctly mark 
 the Phallic cult. Whatever was tender or lovely was 
 termed feminine, while anything rough and hard was put 
 in the masculine gender. The gentle moon, moving so 
 quietly across the sky, with her little flock of stars (her 
 children) was accounted feminine; but the sun, with its
 
 TEEASUEES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 burning rays, was styled masculine. The unruly and 
 rough ocean was called masculine, and regarded as the 
 husband of the calm mother earth. Our view of this sub- 
 ject is amply demonstrated by a close study of the gram- 
 matical structure of the Hebrew language, taken in con- 
 nection with all the ancient tongues. The Greek had a 
 legend that a certain goddess threw stones behind her, 
 and that these stones were changed into human beings. 
 The early Hebrews must have known that legend, for it 
 seems to have been the common belief of the Orientals. 
 In Hebrew Eben (stone) is feminine, and ben (son) 
 springing from Eben, is masculine. 
 
 Now having shown conclusively that the religion of the 
 patriarchs and of the primitive Hebrews was not identi- 
 cal with the faith proclaimed by Moses, and forced upon 
 the Jews in a very peculiar way, we shall proceed to 
 expose the difference between the Elohistic and the Jeho- 
 vistic cults. The primitive Hebrews accepted the tradi- 
 tional creed that the world was created by the combined 
 creative forces of a dual Deity, male and female, termed 
 Eiohim. These Hebrews worshiped their ancestors, 
 father and mother alike, as corresponding with the heav- 
 enly father and mother, and hence they always swore by 
 the generative organs of their ancestors. Thus we see 
 that Jacob swore by the organ of his father, Isaac. Those 
 who translate by the word "fear" the Hebrew word in 
 Genesis show as clear knowledge of Hebrew as the angels 
 have of Chaldean. So also in the ten commandments of 
 Eiohim (Exodus XX) the fourth reads: "Honor thy 
 father and thy mother," while in the ten commandments 
 of Jehovah no mention is made of such a law. Besides 
 Moses, in Deuteronomy, praises the sons from the tribe of 
 Levy for not recognizing their parents when they were 
 busy killing the worshipers of the golden calf. 
 
 Another difference between the two religions, and of 
 great importance, is the "sacrifice." The early Hebrews 
 of the Elohistic stamp did not practice animal sacrifice 
 likewise the Egyptians and all the Elohistic nations but 
 their offering consisted in pouring oil upon their sacred 
 altars. Moreover, Moses, in his support of the Jehovistic
 
 COMPILES 'S BEMABKS. 89 
 
 claim, introduced animal sacrifice because he wished to 
 thwart the Elohistic party. 
 
 In my work entitled " Battles of Jehovah," I have 
 shown how Moses tried to extirpate from the hearts of 
 the Hebrews all flavor of the Elohistic ideas. Here I 
 shall only mention, that, though he was successful in all 
 other respects, he failed to remove the idea of a divine 
 motherhood. This idea remained irrefutable in the bosom 
 of the Elohists. A revival of this human feeling began at 
 the time of the division of the kingdom, after the death 
 of King Solomon. The ten tribes of Israel, who formed 
 a separate realm under the dynasty of Jeroboam, restored 
 the Elohistic cult, or the patriarchal religion, to its former 
 state, with all its customs, laws, emblems, and modes of 
 worship the making of two golden calves by Jeroboam 
 was simply the emblem of Elohim, as that of Jehovah was 
 a serpent, whom the Jehovists worshiped under the name 
 of "Nechuchton." The Jehovists of the two tribes ad- 
 hering to the dynasty of David, being precluded by virtue 
 of their religious fidelity from imitating the example of 
 the Elohistics, took the living powerful logos, the heart- 
 touching force of poetry, in order to offset the Elohistic 
 influences. They began to sing the most beautiful song 
 which band ever sang a poem whose stanzas ring in the 
 melodious harmony of nature; whose words are the 
 sweetest ever used by divine lingering love; whose flow- 
 ery language exhales the most delightful aroma as if it 
 comes from the spicy trees of Eden. This poem shows 
 forth the immortal love of the Almighty and his Shechina 
 (divine womanhood) a divine domestic drama excelling 
 all else on the stage of life. 
 
 The sanctuary of the Temple was the bridal chamber, 
 where the divine lovers met, under the sheltering wings 
 of the cherubim. That love romance is long as eternity, 
 and hence the Jewish poets are still working on it, com- 
 mencing where the former sons of Moses stopped singing. 
 It is the grandest human song, for it is the everlasting 
 poetic touch of the song of the " Mother." How human, 
 how sublime such feelings of such a mother! The Al- 
 mighty, tender, yet stern; while she, in her affectionate
 
 90 TEEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 motherhood, follows her children into all places of their 
 affliction to protect them from the wrath of times and cir- 
 cumstances. We are reminded of the Iliad, where Miner- 
 va, disguised as Mentor, follows the wanderings of 
 Odysseus, but the Jewish Ilaid shines forth with sublimer 
 glory, for its theme is the undying love of a mother, the 
 only soul of a nation's heroic struggle and endurance. 
 Early primitive folklore tells us that she followed her 
 children into Egyptian bondage and it alludes to the 
 Scripture saying: "Thou hast redeemed a nation and its 
 God." This means the Shechina, who was redeemed with 
 her children. The folklore explains the statement 
 (Zechariah X, llth) "there passed a rival in the son," 
 as follows: "It alludes to the graven image of Micha, 
 who carried with him the idol, when crossing the Red 
 Sea." Another primitive lore says that, when King 
 Manache placed the Astarta (Venus) in the sanctuary of 
 the Temple, a sort of jealous disgust was expressed by the 
 king of the prophets, Isaiah (28-21), in these words: "Lo 
 the bed is too small to stretch out upon, and the veil too 
 narrow to hide." This remark goes to show that even 
 divine love is exposed to jealousy. Isaiah, the royal poet 
 and prophet, sang most thrillingly the song of the Heav- 
 enly Mother. In glowing words of inspiration he de- 
 scribes the dispute of the Almighty with his wild son 
 Israel. The poet cries out: '"where," says the Lord, 
 "is the divorce-letter given to your mother? Who are my 
 creditors to whom I have sold you? Through your own 
 sins ye were sold, and through your iniquities your mother 
 was sent away." This mythological folklore contains in 
 few words a vast meaning. We recognize the Shechina 
 who offers herself to shield her children from peril and 
 punishment. The great poet voices only the sentiments 
 of his nation, and succeeding poets and prophets took up 
 the grand refrain. At the return from the exile that 
 great poem became the theme of learning, and the vital 
 power of the national life. A hundred years B. C., a 
 man versed in Jewish lore, Jonathan Ben Uziel by name, 
 was the favored disciple of Hillel the Great. He was the 
 foremost scribe of his time, and most familiar with poeti-
 
 COMPILES *S EEMARKS. 91 
 
 cal traditions. He was the author of the famous transla- 
 tion of the Scriptures (Tar gum Jonathan! Ben Uziel). 
 In that wonderful Chaldean-Aramaic work, he filled in 
 between the lines of the Bible a vast repository of legends 
 and traditions, such as cannot be found elsewhere. He 
 tells us that the Shechina was exiled with her children 
 and abode in Babylon with them. There are indications 
 that legends, preserved in the works of later scribes, were 
 products of the pen of Jonathan Ben Uziel, so that we 
 may style him the father of Jewish folklore. 
 
 He was a profound scholar, of varied learning, a fa- 
 mous Mason, a noted mystic of the higher order of the 
 Essenes, now known as Cabalists. 
 
 The Talmud states that, when Jonathan was absorbed 
 in his reveries, if a bird approached him, it was con- 
 sumed by the flames of fire ever surrounding him on 
 such occasions. He was regarded as a wonder-man, a 
 miracle-worker, a Mahatma. The mystics followed in his 
 wake. From the "Tosepta" (a supplement of the Tal- 
 mud) we find that a candidate for admission to the 
 Essenes was required to be forty years of age, and a 
 man of blameless life. A certain degree of knowledge 
 of the written and the oral law was necessary. 
 
 The Essenes lived on the bank of the Jordan, and their 
 ceremony of initiation was by baptism. The Rabbinical 
 Jews required a proselyte to Judaism to be circumcised 
 as well as baptized, but the mystics required baptism 
 alone. Baptism symbolized the cleansing of the soul. 
 The Essenes preferred the vicinity of a river or a stream- 
 let for their preaching ground. Otherwise they chose 
 a lofty hill, or deep forest. 
 
 We now propose to proffer a theory, which may pos- 
 sibly throw some light upon the rise and development of 
 Christianity. We claim that it had its origin in mysti- 
 cism, and sprang into existence among the Essenes. In 
 the first place we mention that a shcism arose among this 
 clique. Such breaks are the invariable rule in social 
 affairs. In every form of convocation we find a willing- 
 ness to agree to disagree. It is a freak of imperfect hu- 
 man nature that universal harmony of opinion is impos-
 
 92 TREASUBES OF TWO WQBLDS. 
 
 sible. No matter how essentially reasonable a proposi- 
 tion may seem to be, it is bound to meet with opposition. 
 As every question has two sides, it is proper to investi- 
 gate each. From this habit and principle of sometimes 
 hostile, sometimes pacific, encounters in all departments 
 of physical, mental and moral considerations, there has 
 finally resulted as an outcome our present culture and 
 advanced modern civilization. There is no ill wind that 
 does not benefit somebody. 
 
 Discord arose among the Essenes. Some of their num- 
 ber left the original lodge, and formed a new organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 At once it was needful to assume a new badge to mark 
 the rivalry. In the course of time great changes ensued. 
 New dogmas were proclaimed, and new doctrines ad- 
 vanced. In time the breach widened so far, and the dif- 
 ferences became so irreconcilable, that rivalry was 
 changed to perfect hostilty. 
 
 Let us now make a practical illustration of our idea 
 in the case of the Essenes. This class was the strongest 
 in support of the idealistic adoration of the Shechina 
 (Divine Motherhood). This most abstract ideal main- 
 tained in the purest quintessence of poetry by its long 
 continued advocates met with opposition on the part of 
 some Schismatics. These disciples of a new belief en- 
 shrined in flesh and blood their new ideal of the divine 
 mother, and so they lowered her from her exalted divin- 
 ity to the level of humanity. They determined to have 
 as their object of worship a real woman, a daughter of 
 Eve, and they also demanded a local name for her. The 
 Jews as a body, as well as the clique of the Essenes, 
 called the divine motherhood Shechina a word denot- 
 ing rest. The Heavenly Father was called Jehovah 
 ("motion"). The two conditions, rest and motion, cover 
 all dieas of vitalism and existence. As Miriam (Mary) 
 was the most popular Jewish name, they selected that for 
 the newly materialized motherhood. 
 
 The Essenes were now divided into two parties. 
 
 I now propose to cite more modern divisions in order 
 to fortify my position.
 
 COMPILER'S REMARKS. 93 
 
 Since the days of Adam and Eve, man hks been man, 
 and woman has been woman. Human nature has been 
 human nature since the creation. Al history establishes 
 this fact most conclusively. All languaegs are in accord 
 in this respect. 
 
 AVithin a couple of years we have witnessed schisms 
 among three well known organizations. I refer to the 
 "Theosophists," the "Salvation Army," the "Spiritual- 
 ists." 
 
 The Theosophists believe in the Reincarnation, and in 
 the Mahatmas. They claim that, through a certain mode 
 of living, a person can attain unto the highest power of 
 nature's forces, and that he can throw out his Astral- 
 body. Since the schism a new party has been formed 
 with a new name, and it has adorned its new meeting 
 place with new symbols. Madame Beasant is at the head 
 of the new party. How they will arrange to differ in 
 regard to throwing out the Astral is not yet settled. In 
 due time the one party will bear no resemblance to the 
 other in beliefs and rites and doctrines. 
 
 The Salvation Army was organized by General Booth 
 to attack Satan in the highways and the by-ways. Its 
 methods of service need no description. Ballington 
 Booth, son of the general, has sundered connection with 
 the original band. A new name ("God's Volunteers") 
 has been chosen, and sundry changes in dress, musical in- 
 struments, etc., etc. Howbeit, as all distinctions thus far 
 involve non-essentials alone, it is not worth while to 
 hazard predictions concerning future operations. 
 
 Spiritualism is a recent invention. Mr. Frank and Mr. 
 Humbug are credited with the inception of the scheme 
 of delusion. The projectors of this wily cult were adept 
 students of human nature. Bearing in mind how the 
 living are interested in their not-forgotten friend, they 
 devised a most deceptive scheme for financial gain by 
 practicing upon the credulity of the ignorant and unsus- 
 picious. For awhile the system flourished, but now its 
 glory is fast departing. A huge rift has already taken 
 place in spiritualistic circles. One party calls itself the 
 society of "Progressive Spiritualistic Philosophy." The
 
 94 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 rest are simply ' ' Spiritualsts. " It is not worth the price 
 of the ink to expand upon this subject. It is rank char- 
 latanism. 
 
 In referring to the above illustrations it has been our 
 simple purpose to show how societies disintegrate. Tl'us 
 with the Essen es. The party was separated into rival 
 factions. The seceders withdrew farther and farther 
 from the original body until all recognition of former 
 association faded from sight. 
 
 There is a curious legend in the Babylonian Talmud 
 (tractat chagiga, page 2) which may throw some light 
 upon the early history of Christianity. This is the legend : 
 "Rabbi Bibi was a great friend of the grim messenger, 
 the Angel of Death. Once the latter was at the house 
 of the Rabbi, and told his errand boy: 'I am now busy, 
 and the time of Mary Magdalene, the hairdresser has 
 just expired, so you go and fetch her soul to me.' The 
 boy obeyed the command of his master strangler (the 
 Hebrews believe that the angel of death strangles his 
 victims), and brought back the soul of Mary Magdalene, 
 the Kindergarten Teacher. The master said: 'Did I not 
 tell you to bring the soul of Mary Magdalene, the hair- 
 dresser?' The trembling little strangler said to his mas- 
 ter: 'Well I have made a mistake in the person, let me 
 return her soul, and bring that of the right one.' The 
 stern messenger replied : ' Well, as thou hast brought it 
 I will count it among the victims.' ' 
 
 This legend is most remarkable. We notice the men- 
 tion of both Marys, so connected with the founding of 
 Christianity. Now the most important point in favor of 
 Christianity is the belief in the resurrection of Christ 
 a belief founded in part upon the testimonies of these 
 two Marys. (See the New Testament on this subject.) 
 Moreover they were both called Magdalene, on account 
 of their occupations. The word in the Chaldean jargon 
 signifies "to bring forth" (the one pupils; the other 
 hair). We also learn that Mary, the mother of Christ, 
 was a school-teacher, although the oral law did not allow 
 women to be accepted as teachers, as I have proven in 
 my work, "Education in the Talmud," (printed and pub-
 
 COMPILER'S REMABKS. 95 
 
 lished by the U. S. Government). I do not profess to 
 fathom the aim of the Talmud in presenting that legend. 
 The Jews, even the Essenes, did not allow a woman to 
 become a teacher in school. Now the Talmud asserts 
 that Mary was a school-teacher. Possibly the ''woman 
 question" was the bone of contention among the Essenes, 
 and, as Mary was an advanced woman, she became the 
 leader of the Young Essenes, and proclaimed woman's 
 equality with men. The early Christians encouraged the 
 new reform. As Mary was the founder of the new party 
 (Young Essenes), there is no wonder that there became 
 a Mary-cult in the long run of time. This Mary-cult has 
 touched human feelings by the representation of mother- 
 hood, and therein lies much of the success of the church's 
 strength. 
 
 In London, years ago, I became acquainted with an ad- 
 vanced Irish bar-maid. She asked: "Do you believe in 
 the Son of God?" I replied: "I believe in a son of man, 
 but not in the son of God." She turned with astonish- 
 ment, asking: "Did you not have a mother?" I said 
 "Yes." "Well, then," said she, "why should God not 
 have a mother, too?" Thus the advanced woman of the 
 present time agreed in thought with the prehistoric man. 
 
 The remark in the Talmud, that Mary had been a 
 teacher of children, was rather pointed raillery upon the 
 Young Essenes for having followed the lead of a woman. 
 We are apt today to criticise those who go after a new 
 leader, and our remark is not always complimentary. 
 
 While the succession of the early Christians gradually 
 became more and more complete, the old party of the 
 Essenes adhered steadfastly to their primal faith in the 
 Shechina (Divine Motherhood). Among the latter we 
 find many men famous for their mystic learning such 
 men as Rabbi Simon Bar Jochai, and his son Rabbi Eli- 
 ezer. These men lived just after the destruction of the 
 second temple, and were the original Mahatmas, to whom 
 is ascribed the preparation of the famous book (the 
 "Zohar"), which is to the mystics and cabalists what 
 the Bible is to the Rabbinical Jews. From that book
 
 98 TREASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 we have taken the "Letters of Lamentation," and the 
 next, Lamentation of the Shechina. 
 
 The Talmud comments upon Psalm LXXIX (A Song 
 to Asaph) which begins as follows : "0 Lord, the heathen 
 have invaded Thy heritage; they have profaned Thy 
 temple; they have slaughtered Thy servants." It asks 
 why a song of lamentation should be the title, and then 
 explains that the Lord was angry with the Jews and had 
 determined to exterminate them, but instead poured out 
 his wrath upon the timbers and stones of the temple, and 
 spared the people. 
 
 This legend is exemplified in human life. Men some- 
 times get angry with their wives and children, and then 
 vent their spite upon the household furniture. But our 
 feelings are more deeply moved by the legends preserved 
 for us by Rabbi Simon Bar Jochai in the "Letters of 
 Lamentation." Here we behold the Shechina in the most 
 tender nobility of her motherhood. She is represented 
 as shielding her children from the whip of their angry 
 Heavenly Father. As she interposes in their behalf, the 
 lash falls upon her own body. What a picture Raphael 
 could have made of this affecting scene ! 
 
 The idea that the Shechina accompanied her children 
 into exile, to share with them their sufferings and hard- 
 ships, means more than appears upon the surface. The 
 Jews in Babylon, after the second destruction of the 
 temple, developed a national spirit of learning far super- 
 ior to that of those who remained in Palestine, and was 
 more in accord with the advanced thought of their time. 
 Compare the Jerusalem Talmud with the Babylonian, and 
 you will at once perceive the vast difference between two 
 classes of Jews. Those who stayed in Palestine held stern 
 and gloomy views, and confined their thoughts within the 
 abstract, dead letter of the law, utterly prosaic, entirely 
 unenlivened by spontaneous originality, plodding along 
 without elasticity or hopefulness. Those in Babylon 
 readily adapted themselves to the changed conditions of 
 their new environments, and sought to charm away their 
 woes by the soothing voice of poetry. The presence of
 
 COMPILES 'S EEMABKS. 97 
 
 the Shechina accounts for this. She, it was, who filled 
 them with new impulses, and stimulated their energies. 
 
 The Jews of Palestine were filled with despair; became 
 morose, listless, devoid of lofty aspirations. You will no- 
 tice this fact today in the Spanish, Portuguese and Ori- 
 ental Jews, descendants of the Palestine Jews. 
 
 On the other hand the Babylonian Jews retained their 
 normal national spirit of cheerfulness, notwithstanding 
 their expatriation. In spite of being wanderers in strange 
 lands; in spite of smoke, fire, and sword; in spite of per- 
 secutions and obstacles; in a word, in spite of all adver- 
 sities the Russian and Polish Jews, descendants from the 
 Babylonian captives, exhibit the virile virtues of their 
 ancestors. 
 
 "We give them the credit of having obeyed their moth- 
 er's injunctions, and of having listened to her sugges- 
 tions. She told them not to worry about their exile from 
 Palestine, and pointed out to them that they had the 
 whole earth wherein to select a home ; that their exile 
 was a blessing in disguise. 
 
 In our opinion the "Letter of Lamentation" is very im- 
 portant in the matter of "higher Biblical criticism." 
 
 The author of that letter mentions that the Shechina, 
 and not the children, received the blow of the lash. He 
 bases his statement upon Isaiah 53, 5, where it is said : 
 "And she is sick from our sins; cast down through our 
 iniquities." Every Bible reader knows that "he," not 
 "she," occurs in that passage, and the Jews interpret it 
 as referring to their expected Messiah, while the Chris- 
 tians say it refers to their suffering Savior, the Christ. 
 Thus then the question arises, whether Rabbi Simon Bar 
 Jochai made a grammatical error, or has the text been 
 tampered with A careful, examination convinces me that 
 the text has been changed, and that two thousands years 
 ago the verse read "she" and not "he." The proofs are 
 many, but for the sake of brevity I shall produce merely 
 the strongest point to sustain my bold assertion. 
 
 The ancient Hebrew dramas were unlike the modern 
 style. We begin with what is full of fun and pleasantry 
 and end with the tragic. The Hebrews reversed this
 
 98 TREASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 order. We cite the Book of Job for instance. Now take 
 Isaiah. He begins, chapter L, with the prologue of Je- 
 hovah, who says to his children: "Where is the divorce 
 letter of your mother, that I sent her away, or who are 
 my creditors to whom I have sold you for my debts? 
 Lo, for your own sins you have been sold, and for your 
 iniquities your mother has been sent away." The whole 
 chapter deals with the outpouring of the indignation of 
 Jehovah. In the next chapter he refers to the happy 
 earthly couple, the parents of the race, Abraham and 
 Sarah, and begins to console the exiled, homeless divine 
 mother. The next chapter continues the consolation to 
 her and her children. The famous LIII chapter describes, 
 in glowing poetical language, the surprise of the nation 
 at the reconciliation of Jehovah and Israel's mother, 
 whose name was Zion, or Shechina. The chapter is 
 prefaced with the words: "Who has believed our re- 
 port? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been re- 
 vealed?" After describing how she has lost her beauty 
 in the exile, it proceeds to state that she was depsised by 
 men and was spoken of as a wicked woman, and on that 
 account driven from her home. (The condition of a 
 woman exile is worse than that of a man, for gossip- 
 mongers have a chance to fabricate their scandal.) The 
 account goes on to describe her sufferings, and her sweet 
 fortitude, and that the people were astonished at her 
 sudden rise from her misfortunes. The next chapter 
 records a perfect reconciliation, beginning with the 
 words: "Sing, barren, thou didst not bear; break 
 forth into singing and cry aloud that thou didst not tra- 
 vail with child; for more are the children of the deso- 
 late than the children of the married wife, says the 
 Lord." 
 
 My explanation makes the chapters well connected.
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE SHECHINAH. 99 
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE SHECHINAH: 
 (DIVINE WOMANHOOD). 
 
 In the first division of the night. 
 
 At the first division of the night, which constitutes the 
 first four hours, the Shechinah goes down to the place, 
 where the outside altar stood in the outer courtyard of 
 the temple. When she beholds that no vestiges are left, 
 and that the holy place is profaned in various ways of 
 defilement, she cries bitterly, and her voice is heard 
 throughout universal space. She cries in lamentations, 
 saying: "Woe! Woe! My dear, beloved altar, where 
 once I was so satisfied with all the offerings of foods and 
 drinks, and all the holy heroes (alluding to the priests 
 and Levites) had all their needs so abundantly supplied 
 by thee. Now thou hast been fed with the pure blood 
 of these holy heroes and pious ones, whose blood has been 
 shed upon thee. Woe, woe to me for their blood. Woe, 
 my altar, which now has been fed from the corpses of 
 those pious ones, who have been slain upon thee by their 
 enemies, yielding up their own lives in the service of their 
 Lord and country, and their souls have been bidden 
 hence. 
 
 "Where can I find the eternal flame of that eternal 
 fire, which now weeps upon them? Where are the six 
 thousand holy heroes of each of the four corners of the 
 world, who used to eat daily from thy sacrifices?" The 
 tribe of the priests numbered twenty-four thousand mem- 
 bers, divided into four divisions, each division having six 
 thousand. Each month a division was called to serve 
 during that month in the Temple. Each division was sub- 
 divided into four sections, and each section, containing 
 fifteen hundred members, served for a week in the 
 Temple, in the month of its division. 
 
 She, the Shechinah, enters the small point of Zion, 
 into the place of the holy of holies, and, as soon as she 
 beholds the desolation and the profanation of her bridal 
 chamber, she walks up and down, and while beholding
 
 1QQ TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 the place where once the cherubim were spreading their 
 sheltering wings, begins to cry bitterly in a tone of lamen- 
 tation, saying: "My bridal chamber, my bridal chamber, 
 lay holy, sanctified place, where the blinds were orna- 
 mented with twelve thousand and more of precious 
 stones. The place where my Lord used to visit me, and 
 slept on my breast, and granted me on such occasions all 
 my wishes. My bridal chamber, my birdal chamber, do 
 you not remember, when I used to enter into thee with 
 a joyful heart, how the beautiful cherubim used to pat 
 me with their lovely wings as a token of their joy at see- 
 ing me?" In the text it is "young youths" instead of 
 cherubim, being thus in harmony with the Rabbinical 
 tradition that the cherubim had babes' faces; a tradition 
 accepted by the early Christians, and hence the church 
 pictures and paints them accordingly. 
 
 "Where are you?" she continues to lament, "dear 
 sacred shrine containing the Law, out of which come 
 food, light, and blessings to the whole universe? I look 
 for my Lord and husband, and I can not find him in any 
 corner of the world. When my Lord used to visit me, 
 surrounded by those sons of the pious ones, the High 
 Priest and those beautiful virgins (angels) were ready 
 to pay us homage, and tender us a reception, the occa- 
 sion was signalled by the ringing of the little bells at- 
 tached to the altar of the High Priest Avho entered the 
 Sanctuary once a year on the day of atonement and 
 when they, i. e., the angels and the High Priest, had left, 
 we embraced each other in the embrace of kisses and eter- 
 nal love. 
 
 "My husband, my beloved one," she continues to la- 
 ment, "where hast thou gone? I look upon every side, 
 but I can not find Thee. Doest thou not recollect the 
 days of love, when I was lying in thy strength, and my 
 image was portrayed in Thine even as the image en- 
 graved upon a seal?" "My beloved one," she wails, 
 "the light of my eyes, I am now surrounded by darkness. 
 Does thou not remember, when Thou hast kept thy left 
 hand under my head, and I indulged in Thy ardent ten- 
 derness, while thy right hand embraced me amid kisses
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE SHECHINAH. 101 
 
 of friendship and love, that then Thou didst vow to me 
 that thou wouldst never leave my love, and didst say 
 unto me: 'If I forget thee, Jerusalem, I shall forget my 
 right hand.' Dost thou remember when we (I and Israel, 
 Thy child) were standing before Thee on Mount Sinai, 
 six hundred thousand souls of us, and we received Thee 
 as our Lord and Master ; that thou hast elevated us above 
 all nations, and that Thy will directed all our journey- 
 ings? AVhen the handmaid (a term used derisively for 
 Paganism) killed thousands of our people we gave no 
 heed unto her interruption, but we brought the little chil- 
 dren before Thee to do Thy will in this land. 
 
 "My husband, my beloved one, remember how many 
 of Thy saintly children have stood before Thee in every 
 generation, pre-eminently in the generations of King 
 David and of Solomon, his son, and how they pleased Thy 
 will. Thou oughtest to remember our good, and not oiir 
 evil doings, for the sake of thy strength and care of Thy 
 children. Dost Thou not care for the holiness of this 
 place, which has been profaned? Up to this time, for the 
 sake of this place, the whole world enjoyed tranquility; 
 the dogs did not bark." Thus She lamented so bitterly, 
 all the hosts above joining in concert while below the 
 dogs were barking. (The ancients employed the epithet, 
 dogs, to typify wicked people, as well as demons or fallen 
 angels). 
 
 At the third division of the night, the last four hours, 
 She, the Shechinah, enters the place where once stood 
 the altar of incense. There she found one of the two 
 Cherubs, who were formerly in the Sanctuary. Since 
 the destruction of the holy place, one Cherub had been 
 left to Her to perform the duties of a page, and the Holy 
 One, blessed be His name, left him to console Her. 
 
 At the moment of Her entry, the Lord speaks to her, 
 and consoles Her, as it is written in (Jeremiah) : "Keep 
 away thy voice from crying, thy eyes from tears, for 
 there is hope in thy end." 
 
 To that hour the Talmud alludes as follows: "The 
 child sucks from his mother's breast, and the husband 
 talks with his wife."
 
 102 TBEASURES OF TWO WQBLDS. 
 
 Remarks of the Compiler. 
 
 To understand the above we must explain that the 
 Talmud says: "At the last hour of the third division of 
 the night, a child sucks form his mother's breast, and a 
 husband talks over matters with his wife." Such an 
 assertion very properly applies to mundane family life, 
 and our historian of mystic lore interprets it in his way, 
 that, at that hour, the Cherub (babe) sucks from his 
 mother's breast, and the husband, the Lord, talks con- 
 solingly with his beloved one, the Shechinah. 
 
 Rabbi Phinehas said: "It is written (Jeremiah) a 
 voice was heard on high, a voice of bitter weeping and 
 lamentation." 
 
 At the moment the Temple was destroyed and burned, 
 a voice was heard upon the graves of the Patriarchs, say- 
 ing: "Venerable Patriarchs, ye sleep in a slumber, not 
 knowing the sufferings of your children, whom you have 
 brought up through sufferings, while they were being 
 led into the strong faith of the Holy One, blessed be His 
 name. Some of them died by starvation. Others have 
 been slain, and still more are being slain. The remainder 
 are going into exile, among their enemies, with their 
 hands bound behind them, and mill-stones tied to their 
 necks. Where is your love? Where your faith? Rise 
 and come forth to the aid of your suffering children." 
 
 Soon the Patriarchs rose from their graves, and went 
 in a body to Moses, saying: "Moses, truthful shepherd, 
 where are our children? Where hast thou left them?" 
 Then Moses rose and went with them to Jehoshua say- 
 ing: "The sons of those sires, the children of Israel, 
 whom the Holy One, blessed be His name, gave into thy 
 care, where are they now?" Jehoshua answered, say- 
 ing: "My master, Moses, I left them in the holy land, 
 where I divided the land among them by lot, as thou 
 didst direct me, and there they are, each on his heritage 
 and lot." Hearing this they all started for the holy land 
 and found it desolate, not a voice being heard. They 
 entered the Temple place, and, having found it burned 
 and ruined they began to cry bitterly, and the voice of 
 their lamentations was heard in the highest spheres of
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE SHECHINAH. 103 
 
 heaven, and the angels above joined in their lamentations. 
 
 Then the Holy One was aroused, belssed be His name ! 
 Approaching them and finding them bitterly crying on 
 the spot where the Temple once stood, He said unto them : 
 "Beloved of My Soul, why are ye My friends assembled 
 here!" (Biblical expression.) 
 
 Then rose the venerable patriarch, Abraham, the first 
 to reply, saying, in his plea before the Lord of the Uni- 
 verse : ' ' Thou knowest how I worked before Thee in 
 the righteous paths, and that I stood well the tests of 
 temptations. I pray Thee, tell me of my children, where 
 are they now? I do not hear their voices on earth, and 
 Thou hast promised me to stand by them." The Holy 
 One, blessed be His name, replied: "Oh, my beloved 
 Abraham ! Thy children have broken the holy covenant, 
 and have worshiped idols. Therefore, I became wroth 
 with them, but yet for thy sake I was long suffering. 
 During a long period, many times did I beseech them to 
 return unto Me, but they would not. Therefore, at last, 
 I drove them out from My land, and scattered them 
 among the Gentiles." 
 
 Then Abraham, after hearing such a report, answered 
 the Lord in these words: "Let their sins be blotted out 
 while they suffer among the nations until Thy good 
 will be ready to return to us." In the same strain spake 
 all the others, and received the same reply. Rachel was 
 left alone, and she began to lift up her voice in a bitter 
 cry. Then the Holy One, blessed be His name, said unto 
 her: "Rachel, why do you cry and weep?" And she 
 replied : ' ' Shall not I cry and weep ? Where are my chil- 
 dren? What wrong have they done?" The Holy One, 
 blessed be His name, made answer to her, thus: "They 
 brought a rival into My house" alluding to the graven 
 image of a deity which the Jews brought into the Temple. 
 Then Rachel said: "Did not I bring also a rival into my 
 house, oh Lord, and yet I was not jealous." (Tradition 
 has it that, when Jacob proposed to Rachel, she said: 
 "Yes, I will be yours, but I have an older sister, and I 
 fear that Laban, my father, will play a trick on you." 
 Thus forewarned, Jacob arranged with Rachel some signs
 
 104 TREASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 by which he might distinguish between herself and Leah. 
 When Laban really played the trick upon Jacob, substi- 
 tuting Leah for Rachel, the latter thought that her poor 
 sister would be ashamed, when she would not be able to 
 answer the signs on her nuptial night, and so she in- 
 formed Leah about the secret signs of Jacob, and thus 
 he mistook her for Rachel. 
 
 On the score of this, her unselfish conduct, Rachel 
 pleaded with the Lord in behalf of her children, saying: 
 "I brought a rival into my house. Concerning Thee the 
 Scripture hath it: 'Thou art merciful and long-suffer- 
 ing.' Thou, then, as the Lord God, oughtest not to have 
 taken notice of that rival in the Temple, and Thou should- 
 est have forgiven the sins of those who introduced it." 
 
 Whatever the Lord replied to Rachel in the way of 
 consolation, she refused to accept the kind of consola- 
 tion offered, as it is written in Jeremiah: "A voice on 
 high is heard; Rachel weeps over the misfortunes of her 
 children." She refuses to accept consolation on the 
 ground that times have changed and He, the Lord, has 
 gone up on high and dwelleth no longer among His chil- 
 dren. She refused to accept consolation till the Lord 
 said unto her: "Keep away thy voice from crying, thy 
 eyes from tears, as there is hope to thy end." (Jere- 
 miah). 
 
 As Rachel cried upon earth, so correspondingly cried 
 the Shechinah above, as goes the translation: A voice 
 was heard on high. When the Shechinah began to la- 
 ment there came to her six hundred thousand divisions 
 of celestial beings, helping Her to cry and lament. At 
 that time Her voice was heard in that heavenly region, 
 called "Arabath" and two hundred thousand worls, 
 which had been secreted since the creation, were shaken 
 most tremulously. At last the Mother, the Shechinah, 
 revealed Herself to Her daughter, Rachel, saying to her : 
 "My daughter, keep away your voice from crying, your 
 eyes from tears, as there is a hope to the end, and the 
 children will be brought back to their former homes." 
 
 Reflections by the Compiler:
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE SHECHINAH. 105 
 
 Here we see again the power of the tenderness of 
 womanhood, and the relative link, which connects Divin- 
 ity with the universe. The description of the unselfish 
 love and self denial of Rachel is a most remarkable char- 
 acterization of the Oriental woman, whose love is pure, 
 not adulterated by the poisonous germs of jealousy and 
 envy a love not yet comprehended by her Occidental 
 sisters, whose love is of a selfish character, bordering on 
 the frontier of slavery and degradation. Polygamy is 
 practiced the world over, with the distinction that in the 
 East it is legally permitted, but in the Occident is dis- 
 allowed. The prohibition in the latter division of the 
 earth tempts to violation of the law, as man is by nature 
 a law breaker. On the ground of pure love the Orientals 
 do not undergo the ordeal of domestic troubles, as do 
 the Occidentals, whose love, like their lives, is adulterated 
 with jealousy, and mixed with impurity of character. 
 
 From a scientific point of view the author has revealed 
 to us a cosmic conception, which was not even dreamed 
 of by a Newton or a Herschell. I refer to his statement, 
 that two hundred thousand works, which had been hidden 
 in their nebulous shells, since the creation, were shaken 
 up. In this assertion he claims that numberless worlds 
 are in the process of development and evolution. The 
 greatest mystic of the Jews, our author, thus broached 
 as an established matter of fact, and mentioned in his 
 wonderful poetic lore, a theory, which is just beginning 
 to dawn upon the minds of modern scientists. 
 
 II. 
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE ALMIGHTY. 
 
 Rabbi Simon, the author, wept bitterly and said: 
 ""Woe to us, that the exile has continued so long as to 
 have become intolerable." Another sage remarked: 
 "Master, are you aware how great a confusion and dis- 
 turbance the Holy One, blessed be His name, created in 
 all the Heavens, when He decreed His edict, that Isreal 
 shall be delivered into the hands of the hand-maid of 
 Edom. It was at that hour, when the edict, written and
 
 106 TBEASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 drawn up, but not yet sealed with the royal seal of the 
 King of Kings it was at that unfortunate hour, I say, 
 that the Holy One, blessed be His name, called unto all 
 the hosts of Heaven, and unto the archangel Gabriel, and 
 unto the scribe, who always carries the pen in his girdle. 
 He said unto them: 'Keep back the edict for a while, 
 before it is sealed with the royal seal, and I will cry, 
 weep and bemoan the ill fate of My children. Celestials, 
 I beg of you to leave Me, and not force upon Me my con- 
 solations, as it is written: ' "Turn away from me so that 
 I may cry bitterly; be not anxious to console for the 
 calamity of the daughter of my nation." At that 
 moment He kicked upon the Heaven, producing by His 
 kick breaches, holes and openings. 
 
 Then He began His lamentation. 
 
 "My own beloved children, whom I have brought up 
 and cared for, as a father who cares for his son. I taught 
 you My worship and My law. I intended that you should 
 rule over all the nations of the world. Many a time have 
 ye displeased Me by your sins, and often have I forgiven 
 you, because ye were My beloved children. I will call 
 upon the four corners of the world, and entreat them in 
 your behalf. East, East, if My children are scattered 
 in your realm I pray you to look upon their countenances 
 altered, black from the pains and tortures they have en- 
 dured. Lament and watch over them. 
 
 "My children, My children, when ye were in My house, 
 protected by the care and power of your Mother, and 
 indulged in all pleasures, you did not notice Me. My 
 children, My children, what can I do? The edict of exile 
 has been decreed, but I will go with you. Moses, Moses, 
 thou faithful shepherd, why do you not look for My 
 children, the flock I entrusted to your care? East, East, 
 associate yourself with Moses, and jointly cry and la- 
 ment over My children, so that I shall hear and unite 
 with you. My children, My children, the beloved of My 
 heart, how can I bear to behold you going chained, with 
 your hands bound behind you, those children, whom I 
 reared in comfort and in happiness, who were dearer to 
 Me than precious stones and pure gold? My children,
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE ALMIGHTY. 107 
 
 My children, how are ye divided under the hands of 
 strangers devoid of mercy. The flesh of your sacred 
 bodies is thrown into the streets and profaned. Woe to 
 Me and to you, My beloved ones," and at that outcry 
 He rent His garment of light and purple. 
 
 "South. South, when My children shall be scattered 
 in your domain, I beg you to look at the cast of gloom 
 upon their faces, and see how their hands (symbol of 
 might) have been broken among the nations. South, 
 South, unite with Abraham, My beloved one, and tell 
 him how My children have fallen and been scattered 
 among their enemies, and both of you join to lament 
 their misfortune. South, South, I pray you to watch 
 over My children scattered in your midst. 
 
 "North, North, arise and listen to the crying voice, 
 which weeps, laments, and mourns for My children, and 
 tell him. who was once bound upon the altar (Isaac) 
 where My children wander, and how they have fallen by 
 the sword. But tell not the sad tale to their sire, Jacob, 
 for the world might be turned over in a flash. 
 
 ""West, "West, give heed to the groans of the wounded 
 ones, and recall the horrible wars, in which My children 
 have been involved. Oh, My beloved peaceful Dove (the 
 Shechinah) where are Her children, and how are they 
 scattered into all the four corners of the world. My sis- 
 ter, My love, My daughter, the beloved of My soul, 
 what has become of our children? Now if Thou will, 
 of Thy free and full accord, rest among them, and spread 
 Thy wings unto the four corners of the world to protect 
 them, then they will not be lost. Art Thou willign, My 
 only daughter, to be with My children and protect them?" 
 
 To this direct appeal She replied: "Lord and Master 
 of the Universe, after Thou hast brought them up and 
 nurtured them, how can I look on and see them eaten up 
 by their enemies and see Thee unmindful of the fact?" 
 Then the Holy One, blessed be His name, gave to Her 
 this promise: "I will maintain them and redeem them 
 from the gloom of the exile." Thus again resounds: 
 "Keep away thy voice from crying, thy eyes from tears;
 
 108 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 a reward will be given for thy work, and the children 
 will return to their homes." 
 
 Comments of the Compiler: 
 
 The physical world and the spiritual world are alike 
 subjected to an inevitable law. Each has its Karma, 
 which, however galling it may seem at times, can not 
 be dislodged. Extremes, or unbridled excesses, should 
 be avoided in spiritual matters, as well as in affairs 
 purely material. True wisdom ever suggests a rational 
 moderation. Our author, in his beautiful poetical legend, 
 has taught us the greatest lessons of a moderate philos- 
 ophy. 
 
 The Orientals, so far as history can trace them, have 
 ever been, and still are, fatalists, believing that all the 
 events of men and nations were written at the beginning 
 and can not be altered. This unfortunate creed has 
 proved fatal to their interests, and has stayed their prog- 
 ress. They never tried to regain their lost battles, for 
 they considered the effect misplaced, as against fate and 
 Kismet.. Kismet is chargeable with the downfall of the 
 Arabs, once so mighty a people. Fatalism has killed their 
 nervous energy. If a Turk sees another drowning he 
 will not venture to lend a rescuing hand, apathetically 
 saying: "It is Kismet; he will be drowned, and it is 
 useless to try to save him." The Christian doctrine of 
 Predestination, as held by some and interpreted alto- 
 gether too rigidly, is as fatal to hope as is Kismet itself. 
 Now there is a vast distinction between will and must. 
 Must signifies necessity. I shall, or he will, be lost im- 
 plies simply a fact of futurity. One may so choose to 
 misuse, or abuse, his education and religious opportuni- 
 ties, that, in spite of them, he will be condemned. It is 
 self evident that Kismet, on the one hand, and Predesti- 
 nation, on the other hand, are glaringly misconstrued by 
 the extremists of either party of supporters, or advocates. 
 Thus again we see the virtue of a just moderation, or 
 an enlightened modification. 
 
 The Jews had another extreme doctrine, the idea of 
 an all-powerful God, who trifles with the world and its 
 inhabitants, at one time issuing a harmful decree, and
 
 LAMENTATIONS OF THE ALMIGHTY. 109 
 
 then, presto, giving forth a beneficial edict. However, it 
 can readily be seen that such a theology was not accepted 
 by the pure minded people, from the protests of the 
 Prophets, who cry and ask: "Why are the ways of the 
 transgressor prosperous?" 
 
 Some claim that the Deity is all powerful and rules 
 the world by sheer compulsion, without intermediate in- 
 fluences being exerted. Others maintain that nature pur- 
 sues her own course, independent of external interfer- 
 ence. Between these two extremes our author has chosen 
 the middle of the road, reconciling reason with feeling, 
 and repudiating the idea of a senseless fate. 
 
 In his "Lamentations of a God" he shows us his new 
 sensible doctrine, justified by experiences in historical 
 events. He shows us that the Deity, though He is omnip- 
 otent, and His love to His children is undying, is yet 
 helpless as a babe to redeem them from inferior mortals. 
 In his statement, which he represents as coming from the 
 mouth of the Almighty as follows: "Your sins have 
 caused that, and I can not help it," he gave a solution 
 to the problem of life, a solution known by the name 
 of Karma (cause and effect). His doctrine can be more 
 distinctly explained through illustrations selected from 
 actual life. We know that the life of a nation resembles 
 that of an individual man. It has its triumphs and its 
 defeats; its prosperities and its misfortunes. If a man 
 falls into a bad habit, becomes, for instance, a gambler 
 or a drunkard, he will first lose his general energy and 
 ambition, his love for his home will lapse, and his doom 
 is certain, unless he reforms. The cause of his peril hav- 
 ing been stayed his imminent danger will be averted. 
 Continuation in his evil course would have resulted in 
 ruin. His reformation is his salvaton. 
 
 A nation is simply an aggregation of individuals. The 
 once proud city of Rome most notably fortifies our brief 
 argument. As long as the Romans retained their patriot- 
 ism, their integrity, their virtue, their unity of effort, 
 their power was irresistible. Luxurious habits, indul- 
 gence in sensual gratifications, vile and selfish ambitions, 
 almost universal venality, loss of public spirit, decay of
 
 110 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 vital powers, all combined to effect terrible ruin. The 
 destruction of Jerusalem was largely analogous to that 
 of Rome. As long as the Hebrews lived in accordance 
 with the salubrious and righteous laws instituted by 
 Moses, they prospered. When they deserted that ele- 
 vated standard, became corrupt and wicked, the whole 
 body politic was rendered effete and fell a prey to their 
 enemies. Now even the Almighty can make vice com- 
 patible with virtue ; can render misery and happiness into 
 convertible terms; can happily blend .obedience and 
 transgression. Therefore as our author puts the case 
 with reference to the Jews, even ''the Almighty was 
 helpless as a babe" to interpose salvation. Transgression 
 was the cause which resulted in defeat as the effect. 
 
 The appeal to the four corners of the world to protect 
 the children is a prophetic foreshadowing of the acclima- 
 tization and preservation of the Jews throughout the en- 
 tire earth. 
 
 I. 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 (From the Talmud.) 
 
 After Titus had conquered Jerusalem he started for 
 Rome in a vessel laden with precious spoils taken from 
 the Temple. During the voyage a big wave arose threat- 
 ening to overwhelm and sink his craft. Then Titus re- 
 marked: "I think Isreal's God is potent on the ocean, 
 but powerless on the land. He drowned Pharaoh in the 
 returning waters of the Red Sea, and enabled the Jews 
 to cross the Jordan in safety." "Now," exclaimed Titus, 
 "if he is able to fight upon the land, let him come and 
 contend with me." Then the daughter of the voice (term 
 for the heavenly telephone) was heard saying: "Wicked 
 man, and the son of a wicked man, come on the land, and 
 a little creature of mine, a little fly, will fight you unto 
 your death." He landed and a little fly entered his nos- 
 tril and worked its way to the summit of his brains. 
 There it remained for seven years, picking at his scalp, 
 and constantly feeding and growing. His pain was in-
 
 TITUS. 111 
 
 tense, and no physician at Rome or elsewhere could afford 
 him relief. One day, as he passed by the shop of a black- 
 smith, the noise of the heavy hammering served to stay 
 the fly's picking. "Well," said Titus, "there is a rem- 
 edy at last," and so he hired a blacksmith to hammer 
 daily before him, giving a daily price for his work. If 
 he ever hired a Jewish blacksmith he gave him no pay, 
 saying that he ought to be satisfied with seeing his enemy 
 suffer. Finally the fly became so accustomed to the din 
 that it resumed its work and kept on picking and feed- 
 ing until at last Titus was dead. Rabbi Phineas Ben Arba 
 was present with many Roman nobles when the scalp was 
 opened, and he testifies that the little fly had grown to 
 the size of a small bird. 
 
 Remarks of the Compiler on the fate of Titus : 
 The account just given of the agony and death of Titus 
 is of course in conflict with the historical records fur- 
 nished by Josephus Flavius and other authorities. We 
 suggest that prejudice supplied the legend. Titus had 
 totally embittered the feelings of those whom he had 
 subdued, and the only balm that could serve to alleviate 
 their grief was the thought that their foe had at last been 
 condignly punished. It is perhaps not impossible to re- 
 concile the statements advanced by the Talmud with the 
 view of the historians. 
 
 Titus is historically represented to have been a man 
 of unwonted tenderness, and one over desirous to do good. 
 It is stated that every night before retiring, he groaned 
 if he had spent the day without accomplishing some good 
 thing. Now it is asserted that Titus, with tears in his 
 eyes, urged his soldiers to strive to save the Temple from 
 destruction, and that he simply performed his military 
 duty in his efforts to conquer the city. That he was com- 
 pelled to resort to such extreme measures to gain his vic- 
 tory, but was filled with regret that so many thousands 
 had to lose their homes. The legend magnifies this re- 
 gret into absolute remorse in order to soothe the sorrows 
 of the ignorant masses. This remorse was pictured un- 
 der the guise of a fly, which caused him to suffer extreme 
 torture. We all know that remorse, physiologically con-
 
 112 TEEASUKES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 sidered, is capable of producing extreme misery and often 
 premature death. 
 
 Titus was too good a man for the society which his em- 
 ployment obliged him to mingle with. He was a soldier 
 by profession, not because he loved to engage in conten- 
 tions. 
 
 The idea that the fly grew to be as large as a bird, 
 weighing two or three ounces, is, on the whole, a com- 
 pliment. It quietly suggests the idea that the brain of 
 Titus was of unusual size, and that he was a man of ex- 
 traordinary force of intellect. The prejudice of that 
 Jewish public was insurmountable. They could see no 
 virtue in their oppressor. By an ambiguous fiction the 
 Talmud sought on the one hand to gratify a longing for 
 vengeance; then on the other hand it tried to keep coun- 
 tenance with the truth. 
 
 II. 
 
 ONKELOS, THE PROSELYTE. 
 
 Onkelos, the son of Klonikos, was the son of the sister 
 of Titus, the Emperor of Rome. He desired to embrace 
 Judaism. Paganism did not afford him true religious 
 satisfaction. Having decided to make the change, he 
 deemed it proper to notify his uncle Titus of his inten- 
 tion, and to insist upon his approval. "Why," said 
 Titus, "do you wish to join such a people, so inferior 
 to all other nations? They have lost their country; are 
 the poorest on earth; are derided by all other nations." 
 Onkelos replied: "Uncle, don't you know that goods, 
 which have declined in price, are sure to rise again, and 
 so are in favor with shrewd merchants, who bide their 
 time for bargains?" Many arguments took place be- 
 tween them on this subject. At last Onkelos made this 
 claim that the Jewish religion is superior to all others 
 because we have to keep our idols in our houses, while 
 the Jewish God watches over his people outside of their 
 doors. He thus made allusion to the Mezuzu, a sort of 
 talisman, posted on the doorposts of the Jewish houses,
 
 ONKELOS, THE PEOSELYTE. 113 
 
 with the third name of the Lord Shadi (Almighty) 
 pasted upon it. Finally Titus conceded. 
 
 There is a different version of the conversion of On- 
 kelos, running thus : ' ' Onkelos waited until the death of 
 his uncle, and then became a most ardent soldier in the 
 army of the Lord. Before he enrolled his name he tried 
 to get information from the spirit world. He first called 
 up the spirit of his uncle, and inquired of it. "Who is 
 beloved by God on this earth?" The reply came: "Is- 
 rae,l." "Shall I associate with them?" asked Onkelos. 
 The spirit rejoined: "Their laws are so many that you 
 will find it difficult to keep them." 
 
 Then Onkelos called up the spirit of the prophet Ba- 
 laam, and repeated the question to him. The same reply 
 was given: "Isreal. " "Shall I join Israel?" asked On- 
 kelos. The spirit replied in the negative. 
 
 Onkelos, nothing daunted, called up various other spir- 
 its of men, who were once prominent on earth. At length 
 he made his decision to join the Jews, and became in 
 time one of the foremost rabbis. 
 
 Observations of the Compiler : 
 
 Onkelos became one of the most noted figures in Jew- 
 ish literary history, and translated the Bible into Ara- 
 maic, in order to counteract the ideas of Jonathan Ben 
 Usiel's translations of the Bible into the same tongue. 
 Jonathan Ben Usiel represents the mystics, the Essenes 
 and the cabalists ; Onkelos upholds the Pharisees, the Zea- 
 lots, and the Jehovists. The former was a poet, an ideal- 
 ist, a man of liberal mind ; the latter a stern, materialistic 
 Jew of the Talmudical type who acknowledged the abso- 
 lutism of Jehovah. The Talmud, in recognition of his zeal 
 and work for the Pharisees, made a decree by the power 
 of the oral law, that every Jew must read, on Friday, 
 two sentences of the Biblical weekly portion, and one 
 sentence of the translation of Onkelos. It is curious to 
 note that converted Pagans shone most conspicuously 
 among the Hebrews. Onkelos is not the only Pagan who 
 became a Jewish star. Aquila, a Greek, is well spoken 
 of by the sages of the Talmud, and is historically famous 
 for his Greek translation of the Bible.
 
 114 TBEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 Another fact we glean from the above legend is that 
 the ancients practiced spiritualism. Modern Spiritual- 
 ists claim that mediums, possessing much magnetism can 
 materialize the spirit by attraction. The ancients adpoted 
 the same ridiculous notion. 
 
 Modern spiritualism, with its humbug slate writing 
 and board lifts can be traced to a very remote past. Hosea 
 ridiculed the Jews for such practices as follows: "My 
 people asks his wood, and his stick answers them." 
 
 All this goes to show that superstitious human nature 
 always has been, is now, and always will be the prey of 
 smart, unprincipled men, ever on the alert to take ad- 
 vantage of their credulous fellowmen. 
 
 The Mosaic law denounced and prohibited spiritualism, 
 and hence we can account for the singular advancement 
 of the Hebrews as compared with other ancient people. 
 
 SPANISH SPOLIATION, OR THE GRAND INQUISI- 
 TIONINTRODUCTION. 
 
 In no other part of the globe has the Jewish nation 
 suffered so much as in the ill-fated country of Spain. 
 Never can the horrible memories of the most infamous 
 Inquisition be effaced. Never can the most atrocious 
 forms of torture, invented by Torquimada, cease to dis- 
 grace that land. Never did Satan have a more supple 
 agent to gratify his spite than the author of the Inqui- 
 sition. Many, who are disposed to deny the existence 
 of a devil, when confronted with the fact that such a 
 human, or rather, most inhuman monster once infested 
 the earth, are forced to apologize for their doubts. While 
 the Inquisition was in vogue more than three million 
 victims miserably perished. Two-thirds of this number 
 were Jews. That these ferocious cruelties were wrought 
 in the name of the church seems almost inconceivable. 
 The Roman Church in Spain must long continue to bear 
 the odium and disgrace of its presumption and hypocrisy. 
 Of course we must bear in mind that these shocking oc- 
 currences took place at a period of the world's history 
 when all Europe was sunk in ignorance and vice. And
 
 SPANISH SPOLIATION. 115 
 
 now, where is Spain today in development? Compare 
 her present condition with that of enlightened England, 
 with that of advanced America, and the contrast is most 
 painful to behold. Verily Spain is still reaping the harv- 
 est of false teachings sown by her corrupt church, which 
 utterly misrepresented the true Christian Church. While 
 penning these lines I have directly before my eyes the 
 harmonious spectacle of a beautiful Jewish synagogue 
 in close proximity to several Christian houses of worship. 
 This fact speaks volumes. In America the Jew and the 
 Christian peacefully intermingle in all the relationships 
 of life. 
 
 The review of the past in Spain is very suggestive. 
 It is a human characteristic, that if a former slave has 
 become a master, he is very liable to resort to more op- 
 pressive measures with respect to his subordinates, than 
 were those from which he has effected deliverance. Thus 
 the early Christians were subjected to enormous perse- 
 cutions on political grounds. Rumors were circulated 
 that they offered human sacrifices in their secret meet- 
 ing places. This report probably originated from the 
 fact that at their communion services they were wont to 
 receive the bread as representing the body of Christ, 
 and the wine as likewise representing his blood. Various 
 reasons might be cited why the early Christians were 
 persecuted, but we forbear quoting them. In Rome the 
 Christians were subjected to barbarous treatment, multi- 
 tudes being exposed to wild beasts to be torn in pieces 
 for the amusement of the public. We pass over many 
 centuries and find a most perverted state of affairs pre- 
 vailing in Spain. The religion of the state was falsely 
 called Christian, but it was a travesty upon the true 
 ideals of Christianity. The scales of power were turned 
 and many of the descendants of the early martyrs be- 
 came the foulest abusers of their pretended faith. The 
 conduct of the Spanish inquisitors was utterly inexcus- 
 able, abominably iniquitous. It goes to show that it is 
 a bad scheme to try to make converts by compulsory 
 means. 
 
 The history of the Jews in Spain is written in tears,
 
 116 TREASUEES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 blood, fire, swords, torture. Sad as it is, it is also glori- 
 ous in that it developed the unquenchable spirit of the 
 race. It verifies the language of the prophet: "When 
 going through fire thou wilt not be consumed, aiici when 
 wading through the waters, I am with thee." 
 
 The present sketch only feebly discloses Jewish experi- 
 ences in the land of the Hidalgos and the Dons. 
 
 II. 
 
 AVE MARIA. 
 
 The metropolis of Spain was the only city in the world, 
 at that period of time, where the inhabitants did not en- 
 joy the franchise granted by that deity, viz., the sweet 
 rest and sleep at night. The spies of the Inquisition 
 prowled everywhere, and the members of the Holy Her- 
 mandad even listened at key-holes to catch the sound of 
 some heretical word uttered by a dreamer in his sleep. 
 No one, when retiring, felt secure from being suddenly 
 dragged from his bed during the night by cruel soldiers 
 and then thrust into a dungeon to be there roasted alive. 
 
 It was midnight ; the bells of the Cathedral were toll- 
 ing, noisily sounding the hour for the "Miserere"; the 
 church from the entrance to the altar was packed with 
 men and women, old and young. Priests, Monks, and 
 Friars, clad in their peculiar vestments, and wearing 
 stern, gloomy expressions upon their faces, were bowing 
 in prayers, and making gesticulations before the images 
 of the saints and the Madonna. The Grand Inquisitor, 
 in his special robe, with a big red cross on its back, stood 
 gazing, apparently absorbed in devotion before the Ma- 
 donna. He was about twenty-five years of age, but had 
 the appearance of being forty-five. His very look de- 
 noted his sensuality. His every movement indicated his 
 desire to utter some mischievous command. 
 
 He stood seemingly sincere in his adoration of the Ma- 
 donna. One, conversant with the expressions of the hu- 
 man countenance, could have read that his devotion was 
 real, but yet not for the Madonna. Another image was 
 before the eye of his mind. His inward eye was turned
 
 AVE MAEIA. 117 
 
 upon the fair face of some lovely mortal who had be- 
 witched with her magic eyes the unchaste hypocrite. 
 He chanted in chorus "Ave Maria"; but he had in 
 thought another Maria, not the one who had lived two 
 thousand years ago in Bethlehem. 
 
 The Maria of his thought was a beautiful Jewish 
 maiden then living and walking through the streets of 
 the city. The image of Maria Abbu was floating before 
 his vision, and to her he chanted with glowing devotion. 
 
 The choir sang the "Miserere." "Who can estimate 
 how many sounds of misery and human suffering inaud- 
 ibly mingled with those vibrating from the lips of the 
 singing worshipers ? These sounds were the stifled groans 
 of many heretics, wretchedly awaiting the "Auto De Fe" 
 of the coming morning, in honor of him who preached 
 love and taught humility. 
 
 Mingled with the ascending notes though unheard 
 by the singers were the sad moans of the numberless 
 victims of the Inquisition who had been tortured a few 
 hours previously in order to extort from their lips a 
 false confession of their conversion. 
 
 "We have written that the singers heard not the sounds 
 of the uprising moans and groans and sighs. "We add 
 there was one ear which heard, even the ear of the Om- 
 nipotent. 
 
 When the service had ended, the Grand Inquisitor re- 
 tired to the confessional chamber, having ordered the 
 chief of the Holy Hermandad to appear before him. 
 
 m. 
 
 CHANTING THE SONG OF LIBERTY 
 
 In the concealment of a cellar, under the big mansion 
 of Don Jacob Abbu, a queer company was gathered to- 
 gether. There was a queer tongue, and the banquet of 
 the lamb Easter lamb. Present were Jacob Abbu, his 
 wife Sarah, and their only daughter Maria, whose beauty 
 was famous throughout Spain. The rest of the company 
 were relatives,, friends, and some good pious Jewish 
 people, who had assembled there to celebrate the feast of
 
 118 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 the liberation of their nation from the bondage of Egypt. 
 Jacob Abbu and the rest were leading a double life, re- 
 ligiously speaking. In public they were good Catholics, 
 living in accordance with the church regulations. At 
 night, when at home, they threw off the mask and wor- 
 shiped Jehovah as Israelites. 
 
 The table was richly dressed and on it were spread 
 unleavened bread, vegetables, meat, and bottles of wine. 
 The guests were properly arranged. A young Moorish 
 slave guarded the entrance, as Cerberus stood at the 
 gate of Hades. The ceremony of the celebration was con- 
 ducted according to the usual programme. 
 
 First a young boy, ten years of age, asked the well- 
 known four questions : Why does this night differ from 
 other nights of the year? Why do we eat unleavened 
 bread? Why do we eat some bitter herbs? W T hy do we 
 dip some vegetables in salt water? The boy asked the 
 questions in a very solemn manner, and Mrs. Abbu shed 
 a tear, while looking at the innocent face of the child. 
 She wept, because a sad vision of the past came before 
 her eyes. Her own son, ten years of age, had been lost, 
 and she never could forget him. 
 
 People say: "What the earth covers must be forgot- 
 ten." As her lost boy never deserted her memory, she 
 suspected that the church had stolen him. Her instinct 
 seemed prophetic. Jacob Abbu noticing her tears, un- 
 derstood the cause of her emotion, and tried indirectly 
 to give her some religious consolation. 
 
 "Whatever happens," said he, "is for our good, and 
 no one has been able to peep behind the screen of eter- 
 nity to know the ways of the Almighty. Our grandsire 
 Jacob lost his beloved Joseph, and yet by the infinite 
 wisdom of Divine Providence his loss became a gain, for 
 Joseph was designed to be the redeemer of his race. 
 May it not be," he added with enthusiasm, "that our 
 lost son will some day turn out to be our redeemer also?" 
 His words were spoken with a deep pathos, which gave 
 to them an air of prophecy, and produced upon his wife 
 and daughter a most calming effect. The daughter, a 
 "rose of Sharon," had a peculiar inward struggle, which
 
 CHANTING THE SONG. 119 
 
 was to be a mystery. Of her own choice she had selected, 
 as her confessor, the Grand Inquisitor, and yet she ever 
 experienced disgust, as she sat in the confessional chair. 
 Still she ever longed to be with him. The desire was 
 most conflicting, being thus a mingling of love and fear. 
 The wonderful prophetic expressions of her father inex- 
 plicably removed her disquietude. 
 
 The religious ceremony of the night was again re- 
 sumed, and Don Abbu began to answer from the text- 
 book the various questions propounded by the lad. Said 
 he: ''We were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the 
 Almighty redeemed us from bondage." "Father," asked 
 Maria, "are we not more severely oppressed now, than 
 when under Egyptian bondage? This present vicious 
 combination of church and state puts a yoke upon our 
 soul as well as upon our bodies." Don Abbu replied: 
 "You are right; but mark my words: redemption will 
 come soon, as surely as light succeeds darkness." Hav- 
 ing drunk a cup of wine in honor of the toast, "Next 
 year in Jerusalem," they began their regular supper. 
 After the meal was concluded they refilled the cups, and 
 with happy thoughts and joyous feelings, the result of 
 their religious service, they chanted the Hebrew song of 
 liberty as once it resounded through the Temple halls. 
 
 IV. 
 
 A LOVESICK GRAND INQUISITOR, OR EVIL 
 THOUGHTS BREED EVIL ACTIONS 
 
 When the Grand Inquisitor had retired to his confes- 
 sional chamber, adjoining the cathedral, he threw him- 
 self on the heavy chair, groaning from the depths of his 
 heart. "Ave Maria." The style of his groans indicated 
 most plainly that his loving salutation was not directed 
 on high to the real Madonna. His words were addressed 
 to an earthly Maria, whose magical beauty had totally 
 captivated his soul, heart and thought. This was his 
 soliloquy: "0 Maria, I am thy confessor, but I wish 
 that I could confess to thee how I love thee. " At this 
 juncture a knock at the door was heard, and in a mo-
 
 120 TREASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 ment two powerful men rushed into the room, prepared 
 for great events. The chief of the Holy Hermandad was 
 one of the two men who thus interrupted the Grand In- 
 quisitor in his delirium of love and passion. "I am glad 
 to see you, Don Miguel," said the Grand Inquisitor; 
 "have you good news? Have you been lucky enough to 
 entrap some more of those accursed heretics?" Don 
 Miguel responded exultingly: "I am now on my way 
 to make an immense haul, and our Auto De Fe will have 
 a noble roast this night. Don Jacob Abbu and his fam- 
 ily will experience forthwith how effectively our office 
 argues with heretics." At the mention of the name of 
 Abbu a violent shock passed through the body of the 
 cruel, grave Grand Inquisitor, and his face changed col- 
 ors of a chamelion in varieties. He felt his heart throb- 
 bing as though it would burst, but his iron will enabled 
 him to preserve an outward calm so as not to betray his 
 feelings to others. Thus with no outward show of emo- 
 tion he simply said: "Don Miguel, make your report 
 brief now, for I have some business to attend to at the 
 King's palace." Then Don Miguel stated: "The Moor- 
 ish slave of Don Abbu has reported at headquarters that 
 his master is a Jew, and that he, with many of his kith 
 and kin, will celebrate, after midnight, the Passover, ac- 
 cording to Jewish rites the locality will be his cellar." 
 "What led the slave to betray his master," inquired the 
 Grand Inquisitor. "I surmise," rejoined the chief, "that 
 his love for the Don's daughter has not been requited." 
 
 The reply of the chief aroused the Grand Inquisitor 
 as though he had received the startling notice of an 
 electric current. Without delay he ordered the chief to 
 repair at once to the next room, and write out a warrant 
 against the family of the Jew Don Abbu, charging them 
 collectively with heresy; and to immediately bring back 
 the document to have the seal of the Inquisition affixed 
 to it. 
 
 As soon as the chief had taken his departure, the Grand 
 Inquisitor leaped for joy, and in low tones said to him- 
 self: "Well this will be the only way to get the daugh- 
 ter; it will also be the easiest and readist method. To
 
 A LOVESICK INQUISITOB. 121 
 
 all the Saints in heaven I tender my sincerest thanks for 
 the fulfillment of my wishes and deep desires." 
 
 When the chief returned with the document, the Grand 
 Inquisitor, having affixed the seal, ordered him to pro- 
 ceed at once upon his mission. His complete orders were 
 to arrest all parties found in the cellar and convey them 
 to the lower dungeons of the Inquisition ; to begin the 
 process of torture without delay; to have the daughter 
 present to witness the punishment, but not to have her- 
 self maltreated; finally to make the confessional cham- 
 ber the daughter's prison-cell, and to confine the Moor- 
 ish slave in a solitary cell under the same charge of 
 heresy. 
 
 The chief left with great anticipations of pleasure and 
 profit. 
 
 The Grand Inquisitor started for home,, elated with joy. 
 
 V. 
 
 EXPECTING ELIJAH, OR THE CAPTURE. 
 
 At the close of chapter third of this story we left those 
 who were celebrating Passover-night in the secrecy of 
 Don Abbu's cellar, in a very happy state of mind. Noth- 
 ing has occurred to mar their peaceful observance of the 
 religious feast. They dreamed naught of danger ahead. 
 The time had now come when they were to welcome the 
 arrival of Elijah. According to custom the invariable 
 rule on such occasions was to have a cup of wine ready 
 to be handed to the distinguished visitor, who was re- 
 garded as alive and was expected to visit every Jewish 
 home. Moreover the proper form was to have the door 
 slightly opened. The cup of wine was now ready to be 
 presented and the door was a little ajar, and all was 
 joyous expectation, when suddenly the chief of the Holy 
 Hermandad, with his armed men, rushed into the room, 
 making a terrible clatter. In the most brutal manner all 
 the members of the assembly were mercilessly dragged 
 away by the unfeeling henchmen of the Harmandad and 
 thrust into prison. There a court was suddenly convened
 
 122 TBEASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 to try the heretics, who, of course, were condemned off 
 hand. 
 
 It is utterly inconsistent with the sphere, and incom- 
 patible with the limits of the present article, to make more 
 than a passing allusion to the horrors of the Holy In- 
 quisition. History furnishes no parallel to the atrocious 
 cruelties of that fiendish institution, which masqueraded 
 under the guise of religion. It was the completest fruit 
 of Machiavelianism, the concentrated quintessence of in- 
 iquity, the refinement of diabolism. Even the mention of 
 it today causes one to shudder at the thought of man's 
 possible inhumanity. "We draw the curtain to conceal the 
 particulars of the excess of such unutterable wickedness 
 and viciousness. Upon Spain rests the stigma of having 
 attempted to build skyward the most stupendous babel of 
 ungodliness that the world has ever witnessed. Having 
 thus digressed, we now resume our narrative. 
 
 On that dreadful night, when Don Abbu and friends 
 were punished, sleep was banished from many eyes. The 
 tortured were too much filled with pain. Maria having 
 witnessed the sad scenes, and now imprisoned in the con- 
 fessional chamber, was not able to sleep through the 
 poignancy of her grief. The Grand Inquisitor was too 
 happy to think of sleep. 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE SUDDEN DISCOVERY, OR A LOVER'S 
 DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 The first caller upon Maria Abbu was, of course, the 
 Grand Inquisitor, who entered the confessional chamber 
 with the expecting spirit of one about to enter a paradise 
 of love. This world abounds in cross-purposes; the ex- 
 pected fails to come to pass, and the unlooked for takes 
 place, and we can not prevent such issues. Such was the 
 plight of the Inquisitor on this eventful morn. He came 
 to the chamber at a very early hour, accosted Maria with 
 pleasant salutation, and then immediately entered upon 
 his official duty as a representative of the church. He 
 told her that, after she had appeared for so many years
 
 A LOVESICK INQUISITOR. 123 
 
 a faithful daughter of the Catholic Church, he was sur- 
 prised and grieved to learn that she had lived a life of 
 deception, thus dishonoring God and deceiving his church. 
 He pictured to her the terrible fate of a heretic, both in 
 this world and in the world to come. She listened with 
 apparent attention, but her face became as white as snow. 
 It was not that she was terror stricken on her own ac- 
 count, but she could not banish from her mind the hor- 
 rible scenes of the previous night. The foul-minded In- 
 quisitor gazed upon the virgin's pale countenance with a 
 feeling of devotion, such as he had been wont to pay to 
 the Madonna, of whom she seemed a transfiguration. 
 
 There is a great distinction in the qualities of love. 
 There is a pure love, represented by that of a mother for 
 her babe, for instance. Such also is that of a maiden, 
 who has given her heart to one who has worthily won 
 her heart's affection. On the other hand, there is a love 
 divided in its characteristics. It is compounded out of 
 good and evil commingled. Such was the love of the 
 Grand Inquisitor, but in this case the proportion of the 
 bad predominated. He had so long been swayed by 
 wicked passions, that he seemingly had lost the power of 
 discrimination in matters of the heart and soul. For a 
 moment his better nature strove for the mastery, but the- 
 effort was in vain. Under the pretence of caring for the 
 soul of the beautiful girl, he suddenly embraced her, say- 
 ing: "My dear daughter, I wish to bring you back to 
 the arms of the bridegroom of the church. I long to save 
 you, because I love you." 
 
 Hardly had his last word been uttered, when she made 
 a violent effort to free herself from his arms, and in the 
 struggle her dress became torn so as to expose her bosom 
 to the gaze of her persecutor, who, trembling with terror, 
 suddenly released her. His eye had caught sight of a 
 little square, leathern sacklet, a sort of talisman, to which 
 a blue silk ribbon was attached, by which it was suspended 
 from her neck. This little talisman struck terror into the 
 satanic heart of the Grand Inquisitor, just as a foot startles 
 Mephistopheles. 
 
 He retreated, made loose his shirt, and removed from
 
 124 TEEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 his breast a little square, leathern sacklet, of the same 
 shape and size, and with a similar ribbon attached to it. 
 Holding this in his hand he said: "What does it mean 
 that I wear a talisman the counterpart of yours?" At 
 that moment Maria seemed to have regained her beau- 
 tiful color and all her fear had vanished. Holding her 
 own talisman in her hand she drew nigh to him, gently 
 saying: "Let us examine the talismans and unfold the 
 mystery." At that moment both were unconsciously ab- 
 sorbed in one thought he having forgotten his passion, 
 and she being unmindful of her sorrow. They opened 
 first Maria's talisman and a small square parchment, on 
 which Spanish letters were written, was disclosed. The 
 writing was as follows: 
 
 "Hark Israel, our Lord, Jehovah, is one, our God! 
 Given to Maria Abbu by her parents, Jacob and Sarah 
 Abbu, with the Lord's blessing. Amen." 
 Then they opened the talisman which had been worn 
 by the Grand Inquisitor, and to their surprise they found 
 the same hand writing, and the same inscription, with one 
 notable exception. 
 
 The inscription read as follows: 
 
 "Hark Israel, our Lord, Jehovah, is One, our God! 
 Given to Moses Abbu, by his parents, Jacob and Sarah 
 Abbu, with the Lord's blessing. Amen." 
 After reading the talismans, Maria fell upon the neck 
 of the Grand Inquisitor, covering his wace with kisses and 
 tears, crying out: "0, my dear lost brother." She told 
 him how father and mother bemoaned him, and mentioned 
 her father's prophetic words on the previous evening, 
 when he said: "May be, like Joseph, our lost son may 
 turn up to be our Savior." 
 
 Then he related his experience since he was stolen. 
 He had been brought up in a monastery among monks, 
 and trained to hate and persecute his own people. Then 
 he remarked : ' ' Mysterious are the threads of life, woven 
 on the loom of our existence, by the great weaver, the Al- 
 mighty. Now let us not indulge in joy while our parents 
 are in the dark dungeons of the Inquisition." 
 
 Then he at once gave order that all the prisoners, ar-
 
 A LOVESICK INQUISITOR. 125 
 
 rested last evening at the house of Jacob Abbu, be brought 
 before him in the confessional chamber. 
 
 Who can properly describe the scene, when the lost son, 
 clad in the raiments of the Grand Inquisitor, met the 
 parents who at his order had so recently been arrested 
 and punished so severely? We will leave all description 
 to the imagination of the reader. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE FLIGHT. 
 
 The Grand Inquisitor successfully made all arrange- 
 ments for departure from the city. First he sold all the 
 belongings of Don Abbu, of whatever description, for cash 
 in hand. To this sum he added the funds of the Inquisi- 
 tion held by himself in trust. Finally under friendly cover 
 of the night, in company with his parents and sister, to- 
 gether with all the Jewish prisoners who had been liber- 
 ated by his order, he left for the metropolis across the 
 frontier of the Moors. From this place he sailed for Pales- 
 tine, where he determined to spend the remainder of his 
 life in the service of Jehovah. 
 
 In the morning which followed the night of the In- 
 quisitor's flight there was great commotion in the Span- 
 ish city. It was soon discovered that the funds of the 
 treasury of the Inquisition had been abstracted. The 
 prison cells were also found as empty as the treasury. 
 Finally it was discovered that the Grand Inquisitor could 
 not be found. 
 
 The town was filled with rumors, but not one availed to 
 explain the mysteries. Long before the search was given 
 up as in vain, our adventurers had safely arrived at the 
 home of their ancestors, where the Jews at that time were 
 not being molested by the followers of Mahomet. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE PENITENT. 
 
 A haggard looking man, with silver-gray locks, was 
 wont to walk through the crooked streets of Jerusalem,
 
 126 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 saluted by every one who came near him. His step was 
 slow and feeble. He was called "the Repentant." For 
 twenty years, during which he had resided in the city, 
 he had abstained from food until the evening of each day, 
 and had then partaken of such simple food as was requi- 
 site to sustain life. He never participated in idle conver- 
 sation. All the hours of every day he spent in the Syna- 
 gogue, fasting and praying, and after sunset allowed him- 
 self only a few eggs strewn with ashes. Constant in his 
 charities to the sick and needy, to the widow and the or- 
 phan, he expended nothing to promote his own comfort 
 and pleasure. No one knew his antecedents, or how he 
 obtained his wealth. Our readers will recognize the for- 
 mer Grand Inquisitor, who was once the power behind the 
 throne of Spain. 
 
 It is midnight, the hour at which he used to chant the 
 "Miserere" in the Spanish Cathedral, and bow before the 
 Madonna, praising and singing "Ave Maria." It is mid- 
 night, and we find him performing a similar duty of wor- 
 ship, but in other words, ways and manners. 
 
 It is midnight, and we behold him, with tears in his 
 eyes, bowing and kneeling before the ruined wall of the 
 once glorious city, kissing its stones, and chanting the 
 Miserere of the Psalm. "Near the rivers of Babylon we 
 sat and wept." As before he sings the "Ave Maria," but 
 not to the image of a woman sculptured in stone, or 
 painted by an artist. Unto the Shechina he pays his ador- 
 ation. Unto her, who nightly laments over the sufferings 
 of her people, the children of Israel, and bemoans the 
 fate of her desolated home, the Temple. 
 
 His Miserere is inlamnetation for the uncounted multi- 
 tude of those of his people, who, at home or abroad, have 
 been the miserable victims of persecution and cruel fate ; 
 of those whose sufferings have endured for nearly two 
 'thousand years.
 
 THE SON OF THE STAR. 127 
 
 I. 
 
 THE SON OF THE STAR. 
 
 Fifty-two years after the destruction of the Temple and 
 the desolation of Palestine, the coals of Jewish national 
 spirit were still aglow, and were liable, at any moment, 
 to set aflame the hearts of the Jewish people. In fact, 
 the latter arose in revolt against the Romans, during the 
 reign of Hadrian, and were led by Rabbi Akiba, the ven- 
 erable sage of the Talmud, in conjunction with the young 
 Simon, surnamed Bar Kochba, the son of the star, who 
 was proclaimed as the King Messiah. 
 
 II. 
 
 HIS MESSIANIC SIGN (Tradition). 
 
 Simon was a powerful young Jew, of unknown birth- 
 place. He was a great soldier, well versed in the military 
 science of his time. He was proclaimed as the Messiah 
 by Rabbi Akiba, who saw him riding on the back of a 
 lion, then considered a messianic sign. He assumed com- 
 mand of the Jewish forces, and fought many bloody 
 battles with the Romans. Hadrian was thus obliged to 
 give up an intended journey to the Danube, and was 
 forced to employ all the available forces of the empire in 
 an effort to crush the rebellion. 
 
 III. 
 
 RECRUITING SOLDIERS. 
 
 Simon adopted a very peculiar method of recruiting his 
 army. Each volunteer was required to cut off one of this 
 thick fingers, as a proof of his faithful intentions Thus 
 about two hundred thousand soldiers were enrolled. The 
 Rabbis sent to inquire how long he intended to maim 
 the Jewish youth. He replied I am trying to prevent the 
 entry of traitors. The answer gave perfect satisfaction 
 to the sages.
 
 128 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 TV. 
 
 THE FALL OF THE CITY BETHER. 
 
 The rebellion lasted seven and one-half years, and 
 bloody were the battles, so that the Roman spirit was 
 driven nearly to despair. Hadrian besieged the city 
 Bether for three and one-half years, and was on the point 
 of giving up the siege and returning to Rome. A Samari- 
 tan told Hadrian that he would not be able to take the 
 city as long as a certain man was rolling in ashes. This 
 man was a venerable sage, named Rabbi Eliezer, of Modai. 
 He rolled in ashes, being clad in sack cloth, and daily 
 prayed God to favor the army of Bar Kochba. The 
 Samaritan offered to go in and fix him and then the city 
 would fall. The Samaritan entered the city and whis- 
 pered into the ear of Rabbi Eliezer, while the latter was 
 engaged in fasting and prayer. Then the people came to 
 Simon and announced that the Rabbi had turned traitor. 
 Simon sent for the Samaritan and asked him what he had 
 whispered into the ear of the Rabbi. The Samaritan re- 
 plied: "It is better that the man be killed than to have 
 the secrets of the kingdom revealed." Simon, suspect- 
 ing some negotiations were going on with the enemy, 
 sent for the Rabbi and asked him what the Samaritan 
 whispered into his ear. The Rabbi answered: "I was 
 praying for the safety of the city and was not conscious 
 of any whisper." Simon kicked him, and the terrible 
 blow killed the Rabbi. At that moment a heavenly voice 
 was heard: "Thou hast made blind the eye of Israel" 
 alluding to the death of the Rabbi "therefore the eye 
 of that man" meaning Simon "shall become blind." 
 Soon afterward Bether surrendered and Simon's head 
 was brought to the Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian asked: 
 "Who killed this man?" A Samaritan claimed that he 
 killed him. Then the Emperor ordered the body to be 
 brought. When they went to bring the body they found 
 a serpent coiled around its neck. Then the Emperor re- 
 marked: "Certainly his own God killed him for no 
 earthly power could destroy such a powerful man."
 
 DEATH OF THE SON OF THE STAB. 129 
 
 IV. 
 
 DEATH OF THE SON OF THE STAR. 
 
 (Tradition.) 
 
 The numberless legions of Hadrian beseiged Bether for 
 three and a half years. Pestilence and hunger daily re- 
 duced the number of Bar Kochba's forces, and the deso- 
 late city seemed like a vast cemetery. It was night, and 
 the once proud Messiah, to whose standard thousands of 
 people flocked, found that he had left only a few dozen 
 soldiers, reduced to skeletons. He saw that the city was 
 doomed, and so resolved to go in person to Hadrian and 
 surrender. He also wished to spread terror throughout 
 the Roman camps, as he had formerly done. Having cov- 
 ered his face with a mask, he stole away from the city 
 by a secret path and thus reached the Roman encamp- 
 ment. The Roman sentry asked him who he was and 
 what he wanted. He replied: "I am a soldeir of Bar 
 Kochla's army and I wish to see the Emperor on a pri- 
 vate mission." 
 
 The Roman camp was filled with hilarity, for Hadrian 
 had learned from his spies that the city could hold out 
 no longer, and had therefore inflamed the soldiers with 
 wine to inspire them for the final assault. A general ban- 
 quet was being held, and all was fun and gayety. There 
 was an interruption, when the sentry announced that a 
 Jewish soldier wished to see the Emperor. The fine phy- 
 sique of the masked soldier drew the attention of the 
 hilarious legions. The inebriated Emperor, feeling very 
 happy, asked the stranger what he wanted. The masked 
 one replied: "I have come for the welfare of Rome, and 
 I will lead your legions to conquer the fortified place of 
 Simon Bar Kochba." A shout of applause rang through 
 the Roman tents, and the Emperor handed the visitor a 
 glass of wine which the latter drank to the health of his 
 host. The crowd round about, excited by their quaffings, 
 embraced the stranger, and frequent kissings were ex- 
 changed. In the height of their drunken merriment, the 
 soldier, throwing off his disguise, shouted out: "I am
 
 130 TREASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 Simon the Son of the Star. I came to deliver up my last 
 fortress of Bether, but I have planted in your systems the 
 germs of pestilence. Each kiss has deposited a seed of 
 the dread disease. You have inhaled the breath of 
 death." Suddenly he turned pale, fell to the ground, and 
 died in agony. The aflrighted Romans fled in every direc- 
 tion, fearing that all had been exposed to the infection. 
 
 REMARKS BY THE COMPILER. 
 
 The first legend is based upon a historical fact. The 
 killing of a pious and innocent man hastened the down- 
 fall of Bar Kochba. It was natural that many of his 
 followers should desert him on that account. The zeal 
 of his party was weakened, and he failed to retain the 
 flame of the people. History records many examples of 
 great conquerors, who by their own folly were hurled 
 from their pinnacles of glory. 
 
 The second legend has a poetical coloring, and reminds 
 us of the fall of the hero in the conquest of Spain. It 
 goes to show that the power of imagination is the same 
 amid all people, and that there is one and the same human 
 nature everywhere, notwithstanding the great diversity 
 of ideas and sensations. 
 
 V. 
 
 THE PRISONERS. 
 
 Zadock was a high priest, and his two children one 
 son and one daughter were taken captive by the Romans 
 and sold as slaves. The boy became the property of a 
 woman, who kept a lodging house; the girl was sold to 
 a grocery man. In the course of time the woman brought 
 the boy to the grocer's store, saying: "My slave closely 
 resembles your girl slave. Would it not be a good idea 
 to let them marry and then we can make a division of 
 their children?" The proposition met with favor, and so 
 they locked the two in a room. The girl began to cry, 
 and the boy asked the cause of her grief. She said: 
 "Shall I not cry when I, the daughter of Zadock, the
 
 THE PEISONER. 131 
 
 high priest, am told to marry a slave?" The boy asked 
 her where she used to live in Jerusalem, and she said : 
 "In the upper market." The boy asked her if she had 
 brothers or sisters. She replied: "I had one brother 
 who had a birthmark on his hand, and when he returned 
 from school I liked to kiss him on that spot." Then the 
 boy asked: "Would you recognize him?" She said that 
 she would, if she should see him. The boy showed her 
 the birthmark on his hand, and at once they recognized 
 each other. They embraced with such fervor of undying 
 love, that their spirits could not withstand the violent 
 strain. They died while thus clinging together. 
 
 The wars of olden times often developed such dramatic 
 scenes, and the members of a family were often sepa- 
 rated. It was seldom that a reunion took place. 
 
 VI. 
 THE LETTERS OF A CRANK. 
 
 The Emperor Hadrian persecuted the Jews in the most 
 barbarous ways. Especially did he thus show his ill will 
 after the revolt of the Hebrews under the leadership of 
 Bar Kochba. The Talmud abounds with accounts of the 
 sufferings of the Jews, and of the early Christians. One 
 Jew, named Imichantron, an original genius with an 
 independent turn of thought, addressed an anonymous 
 letter to the Emperor, couched in the following strain : 
 "For the Emperor Hadrian at Home: 
 
 "If thy hatred is toward the circumcised, why do you 
 not persecute the Arabs? Again, if thy hatred is unto 
 those who keep the Sabbath, why do you not persecute 
 the Samaritans? It looks to be the case that thou art 
 disposed to vent your spite upon the Jews alone. The 
 Lord will repay you and avenge us." 
 
 Hadrian decreed that if the author of a certain letter 
 would make known his identity, he would be rewarded. 
 Imichantron came forward, owned up to the authorship, 
 and claimed his reward. The Emperor ordered that he 
 should be beheaded, and then asked him why he wrote 
 such a letter. "Well," responded the condemned Jew,
 
 132 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 ' ' I did it to free myself from threefold troubles. " " What 
 are they?" asked Hadrian. The Jew rejoined: "I will 
 tell you. Three times a day my soul requires to be fed 
 and I can not meet the expense. Also my wife and chil- 
 dren require the same subsistence, and I can not accom- 
 modate them either." Hadrian replied: "If, in the 
 struggle for existence, thou hast to undergo such trials, 
 I think the severer punishment for you will be to let you 
 live." Thus the witty reply of the letter-writer saved 
 the sundering of his head from his trunk, and he was per- 
 mitted to renew his efforts in the struggle for support of 
 family and self. 
 
 COMPILER'S REFLECTIONS. 
 
 The above letter is full of interest. It needs not to be 
 said that the writer showed more than the average of 
 courage, and that his rebuke of the Emperor was very 
 timely and well deserved. 
 
 Again it gives us an insight into the character of the 
 despot; that he was not thoroughly brutalized, but had 
 some sense of justice, mixed with the salt of sarcastic wit. 
 
 The midrash contains a legend concerning Hadrian. 
 Once he was walking through the orchard of Tiberias 
 and he saw an aged Jew planting fig trees. "How old 
 are you," he said to the Jew. The latter replied: "I 
 am today one hundred years of age." Hadrian added: 
 "Do you expect to eat fruit from these trees?" The Jew 
 replied: "Possibly I may; at any rate I wish to do for 
 my children what my father did for me." Then said 
 Hadrian : "If you live long enough to eat fruit from 
 these trees, bring me a basketful of figs." Some years 
 later the aged Jew appeared before Hadrian with a basket 
 of figs. Hadrian asked the old man who he was and he 
 related their former adventures. The Emperor emptied 
 the basket and filled it with gold coin. 
 
 After the aged Jew left the palace the attendants asked 
 him why he bestowed such honor upon an old Jew. 
 "Why should I not honor him?" said Hadrian. "If his 
 Creator has honored him with such longevity, how can I 
 forbear to show him respect?"
 
 COMPILER'S REFLECTIONS. 133 
 
 "Give the devil his due" is an old saying. Many of the 
 Roman emperors possessed most noble traits. They were 
 not all like Nero. 
 
 I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 FRENCH FRIVOLITY. 
 
 THE STORY OF RABBI SOLOMON, SURNAMED 
 RASHI. 
 
 The Roman Church claims France as her oldest daugh- 
 ter, and next to Spain that country has most severely 
 persecuted the Jews, although it did not have recourse 
 to the Inquisition ; still many Jews, regarded as heretics, 
 suffered violent deaths at the hands of the French. As 
 the Spaniards were noted for their cruelty, so were the 
 French renowned for their frivolity; while the former 
 made persecution a serious business, the latter resorted 
 to it only occasionally, and under conditions of great 
 public excitement. The Spanish were fanatical bigots, 
 but the French were less strenuous in their devotion to 
 the church. In a word the French were very supersti- 
 tious and were inclined to listen to the dicta of the al- 
 chemist and the astrologer as much as to the dogmas of 
 the church; thus they tried to serve God and patronize 
 the Devil at the same time. At intervals violent outbursts 
 of brutal rage would occur, but the throes of the volcano 
 were very intermittent. 
 
 II. 
 
 LOSS AND RECOVERY OF A PRECIOUS STONE. 
 
 Rabbi Solomon, universally known under the name of 
 Rashi, and by Christian writers also called the Wise, was 
 born A. D. 1040. He was the greatest lorist of his time, 
 and a famous student of science, in general. He wrote 
 a commentary upon the Bible, and also one upon the Tal- 
 mud. The latter book indicates the comprehensive attain- 
 ments of the writer. He traversed the earth in a quest
 
 134 TBEASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 of knowledge and his fame preceded him in his roamings. 
 In Egypt he had a long interview with the great scholar 
 Maimonidas. Rabbi Solomon was born in Travers, France, 
 where his father, Rabbi Isaac, was at the head of the Tal- 
 mudical College. There is a legend concerning the birth 
 of Rabbi Solomon, which shows how the child's future 
 was wonderfully foreshadowed. 
 
 Rabbi Isaac was the owner of a very precious stone, for 
 which the church offered an immense sum, in order to 
 place it in the eye of the Madonna. The Rabbi refused 
 to part with it for that purpose. Once he was lured on 
 a ship and carried away and a demand was made upon 
 him to part with the gem voluntarily, or otherwise he 
 would be compelled to dispose of it, even if unwilling 
 to do so. The pious Rabbi cast the precious stone into 
 the sea, and the waves swallowed it out of sight. At this 
 moment a heavenly voice was heard by the students at 
 the college, saying: "Thou hast for my sake lost a shin- 
 ing precious stone, and therefore at the end of the year 
 a son shall be born unto thee, who shall enlighten the 
 world by his shining light of wisdom." The son was 
 born, as foretold, and he was named Solomon. The boy 
 grew up to be so wise a man that his fame reached every 
 corner of the Jewish world, and venerable sages came 
 to listen to the wise sayings of the young Rabbi Solomon. 
 
 III. 
 
 RABBI SOLOMON'S MEETING WITH GODFREY OF 
 BOUILLON, THE KING OF THE CRUSADERS. 
 
 Rabbi Solomon's fame spread far and wide, and many 
 Christians came to inquire of him about their future. 
 Once the famed Godfrey of Bouillon sent a letter to him, 
 inviting him to a visit. The Rabbi, knowing the temper 
 of the Knight, declined to come. The angry Knight, 
 with a band of soldiers, went to the college, determined 
 to punish the Rabbi. When he entered the college he 
 found gates, doors and books wide open, but the Rabbi 
 was invisible. Then the Knight called aloud: "Solomon, 
 Solomon, ' ' and the unseen Rabbi responded : ' ' What is
 
 RABBI SOLOMON'S MEETING. 135 
 
 thy wish, my lord?" Then the Knight repeated his call, 
 and the Rabbi replied: "Here I am." The calls and 
 replies were thus repeated, until the Knight was filled 
 with astonishment at the great power of the man. Finally 
 Godfrey gave up the effort to find the Rabbi, and having 
 met with one of the pupils of the college, requested him 
 to inform his master as follows: "The Knight, Godfrey, 
 wishes to consult you about a very important affair, and 
 gives his word of honor that he will do you no harm." 
 Shortly afterwards the Rabbi called upon Godfrey, and 
 the two men exchanged salutations. Godfrey told the 
 Rabbi that he had great faith in his wisdom and desired 
 the benefit of his counsel in regard to a vast undertaking 
 in which he was about to engage. Then the Knight un- 
 folded his plans, and stated that he had organized a force 
 of one hundred thousand horsemen, and that he was on 
 the eve of embarking his army, having fitted up two hun- 
 dred vessels for that purpose. He added that he proposed 
 to unite with the vast company of the crusaders in their 
 attempt to retake Jerusalem and that he trusted in the 
 Lord, that he can and will defeat the Sultan, however 
 numerous his forces may be. Having thus unbosomed 
 his project, he asked the Rabbi to tell him in a straight- 
 forward way, his opinion of the schemes. 
 
 Rabbi Solomon replied thus: "You will go and you 
 will conquer Jerusalem and you will be crowned King 
 of the country. Your sway, however, will be brief, for 
 the Sultan's armies will return and will conquer Jeru- 
 salem, and you will be driven from the land. You will 
 finally reach France with only three horses remaining." 
 Godfrey rejoined: "Possibly your augury may be cor- 
 rect, but if I return with four horses I will give your 
 flesh unto the dogs and will slay all your people found 
 in the land." 
 
 Events transpired as Solomon foretold. It took four 
 years for the crusaders to attain their object, and find 
 themselves victors within the walls of Jerusalem. God- 
 frey was crowned King, but his sway was of brief dura- 
 tion. The Sultan returned with an overwhelming force, 
 and the crusaders suffered an utter defeat. The few who
 
 136 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOLRDS. 
 
 escaped captivity and death, reached home in a most 
 sorry plight. Among these few was the proud Knight 
 Godfrey. He had six horses; three more than the Rabbi 
 had foretold. Godfrey well remembered the prophecy, 
 and his subsequent threat, and in his mind, soured by the 
 memory of his complete discomfiture in the Holy Land, 
 he cherished the wish to carry his threat into immediate 
 execution. But his intention was most signally defeated, 
 and his haughty spirit was crushed in a most remarkable 
 manner. 
 
 As he drew nigh the gate of the city a rock fell from 
 the top of the city wall and killed his companion together 
 with the horse upon which he rode. Godfrey began to 
 tremble, and confessed that the prophecy of the Rabbi 
 was being completed to the utmost. Repenting of his 
 purpose, he at once directed his course to the college of 
 the Rabbi to do him homage. His arrival was too late. 
 The Rabbi was dead. In sorrow and grief he repaired to 
 his home. 
 
 COMPILER'S REFLECTIONS ON THE ABOVE. 
 
 In our enlightened days it is difficult to comprehend 
 the moral and mental darkness which hung like a black 
 cloud over all Europe during the Middle Ages. Ignorance 
 reigned supreme, and the people were fettered by super- 
 stition. Omens and auguries were governors of the coun- 
 sels of the nations to a very great degree. 
 
 In spite of the intense hatred felt toward the Jews, if 
 one was found who seemed to be able to read the future, 
 who had what is called the power of the second sight, all 
 prejudice toward such a one was cast aside, and his coun- 
 sels were eagerly sought. The French nation was free 
 from the intense and narrow minded bigotry of Spain 
 Godfrey's conduct illustrates this point.
 
 THE LAMP WITHOUT OIL. 137 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE LAMP WITHOUT OIL THE RABBI MAHATMA 
 OF PARIS. 
 
 A learned Rabbi named Zechice, lived in Paris. He 
 was familiar with the laws of nature, and it was an open 
 secret in the city, that he had in his study a lamp which 
 he fixed every Friday; and that it burned a whole week 
 without having a drop of oil in it. The rumor of this fact 
 reached the ear of the King, and he sent for the Rabbi 
 to ascertain if there was any truth in the report. The 
 Rabbi came before the King and he asked him if he had 
 a lamp that needed no oil. The Rabbi said no for two 
 reasons first, because he felt too humble to confess, and 
 secondly, because he feared the King would charge him 
 with witchcraft, and then he might be subjected to the 
 penalty of death. The King decided to investigate and 
 agreed with his advisors to appoint Wednesday night for 
 the visit at the house of the Rabbi. This was the evening 
 when the rabble were wont to harass the Jews and call 
 upon them for food or money. In order to avoid being 
 disturbed in his study by the vagrants, the Rabbi placed 
 a big nail near the door, and on the inside of the room, 
 and when one of these beggars knocked he would pound 
 the nail with a hammer, and the fellow outside would sud- 
 denly fall upon the floor, all of a tremble. 
 
 On the appointed night the King came with some of 
 his council and knocked at the study door. The Rabbi 
 applied the hammer, and the King sank down. When 
 the Rabbi attempted to strike a second blow, to his aston- 
 ishment, the nail sprang from its place. "This is 
 strange," said he, "it must be the King who is my vis- 
 itor" there is a belief that a King is protected by an 
 angel, or celestial bodyguard. The Rabbi opened the 
 door and found the King and his associates trembling 
 with fright. The Rabbi excused his conduct on the plea 
 that he was not aware that the King was there. The 
 King said: "All right, since you have saved our lives." 
 The Rabbi having seated his guests near the fireplace,
 
 138 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 and having refreshed them with cake and wine, asked 
 them the reason of the unexpected call, at so late an hour 
 of the night, and added "there is a demon at my door 
 who fells to the ground any disturber of my peace." 
 The King replied: "I came to examine your deep knowl- 
 edge of magic, as is proved by your wonderful oilless 
 lamp." The Rabbi rejoined: "I am not a magician for 
 the law prohibits the employment of magic. I have 
 studied nature and her laws, and I have found out that 
 certain chemical combinations produce flame and light." 
 In proof of his assertions he showed the lamp to the King, 
 who saw within a sort of fluid. The King was so im- 
 pressed by all that he saw and heard, that he appointed 
 the Rabbi as his private adviser. The Rabbi rapidly ad- 
 vanced in honor and quickly acquired wealth, and thus 
 aroused the enmity and animosity of the court, the min- 
 isters, and all the other advisers. The latter at last de- 
 nounced him before the King, saying: "Your Majesty, 
 the Rabbi, whom you have so exalted, is proud and un- 
 grateful, and regards himself as above the King; he will 
 even refuse to drink a glass of wine, if you offer it to 
 him." At a banquet subsequently, the King handed a 
 cup of wine to the Rabbi. The latter excused himself 
 from drinking just then, but offered to quaff it later on. 
 Soon the King washed his hands in a golden basin, con- 
 taining water, and the Rabbi forthwith drank of the 
 water, remarking within the hearing of all present: "I 
 am at liberty to drink this water, but the oral law puts 
 bounds upon wine." (While the Jews and Romans were 
 at war, the Talmud forbade the Jews to partake of wine 
 in Roman society for reasons of policy. The cup was re- 
 garded as a friend maker, and it was considered impo- 
 litic to allow anything to diminish the intense hatred 
 which the Jews cherished toward the Romans.) The 
 King appreciated the Rabbi's scruple, and awarded him 
 more honors. The Rabbi lived to a great age, and was 
 honored up to the period of his death.
 
 COMPILES 'S OBSERVATIONS. 139 
 
 COMPILER'S OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 In my first chapters of the "References to the An- 
 cients," I have shown by several proofs that the early 
 Hebrews were familiar with the laws of nature and versed 
 in her mysteries, and that the wondermakers made use 
 of this knowledge to carry out their projects. I have 
 sought to show that they understood how to manipulate 
 electricity and other hidden forces of nature. The Tal- 
 mud, the grand Encyclopedia of the Jews, has preserved 
 many interesting relics, which attest the scientific attain- 
 ments of the "Ancients." The mystics and the cabalists, 
 and all learned Rabbis, made use of natural forces to 
 perform their mysterious works. 
 
 Our last legend speaks for itself. Paris was full of 
 necromancers arid alchemists, who employed evedy char- 
 acter of deception in order to cajole the credulous pub- 
 lic. On the other hand our Rabbi, a profound and skilled 
 philosopher, employed to advantage his knowledge of. the 
 laws of nature. His wonderful lamp was filled with gas, 
 whose properties he had discovered. The "insile nail" 
 when hammered, by its connection with some concealed 
 electrical machine, caused a shock to be communicated 
 to anyone touching the door- on the outside. 
 
 It becomes evident from the entire trend of the narra- 
 tive, that our worthy and distinguished Rabbi was a 
 brilliant member of the Society of the Mahatmas. 
 
 JEWISH TRIALS IN GERMANY. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The great prophet Moses compared the Jews, for num- 
 ber, with the stars above. Jewish history confirms this 
 comparison in another manner. The stars of one hemi- 
 sphere are invisible in the other half of the globe. Thus 
 was it with the Jews. Driven by persecution to desert 
 one country (to have their light become occult) they be- 
 took themselves to another region and there their glory 
 shone forth. The wandering Jew has left his sad foot- 
 prints over a large part of the habitable earth. His ter- 
 rible sufferings reached their climax in cruel Spain, where
 
 140 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLPS. 
 
 a corrupted system of religion, and mistaken zeal, ruled 
 with a rod of iron, and with unexampled severity and 
 harshness. Keligious prejudice was also a most unhappy 
 cause of woe to the Jews in Germany, although the In- 
 quisition did not thrive on Teutonic soil. Still the op- 
 pression was heavy and hard. The Spaniards were for 
 centuries engaged in religious wars, so that at last fight- 
 ing and blood-shedding became the prominent feature of 
 the national life. We can readily see that the tendency 
 of such belligerency would be to harden the sensibilities 
 of the people, and obliterate tenderness, especially toward 
 foes and objects of hatred. From earliest childhood the 
 inhabitants were inured to sights of cruelty and wrong, 
 until at last the thirst for blood became insatiable. We 
 are not surprised that even today that thousands of both 
 sexes of the Spanish people find their delight in the hor- 
 rible pastime of the bullfight. What a field does Spain 
 present for the society of "Prevention of Cruelty to Ani- 
 male" to exercise its prerogatives! The almost universal 
 illiteracy of the people is most deplorable. Ignorance and 
 viciousness stalk abroad in all their hideousness. 
 
 The Germans are a different race, and for centuries ad- 
 hered to the remnants of the creed of their pagan ances- 
 try. They also engaged in" war, but their battles were 
 fought for the sake of coveted territory, and on political 
 grounds. They did not employ the sword and the spear 
 as means of winning religious converts. They cultivated 
 poetry, love and chivalry, whereas the Spaniards were 
 more akin to those who worshiped Moloch. Thus the 
 Germans may be characterized substantially as charitable 
 and open-hearted, and full of noble impulse; above all 
 they are free from the low brutalism of the Spanish. The 
 two nations have been trained in entirely different schools 
 of experience and practice. 
 
 A marked difference between Germany and Spain is 
 found in their religious tenets. Each inherited a depraved 
 and corrupt form of Christian ethics. When in Germany 
 the foulness, the severity, the utterly vitiated condition 
 of the religious yoke imposed upon her were thoroughly 
 exposed, she rose in her might, and threw Q$ the burden.
 
 COMPILER 'S OBSERVATIONS. 141 
 
 On the other hand Spain clung to the perniciousness of 
 her religious systems. Thus as the Jews were exposed 
 to every sort of cruel persecution in Spain, it is found 
 that their woes and trials in Germany were most severe 
 and ungenerous in those portions of the country which 
 persisted the longer in imitation of Spain on religious 
 grounds. 
 
 Representatives of the scattered Hebrews were found 
 on German soil long anterior to strict historical records. 
 They were there long before the Roman legions, under 
 Yarus, met with their most disastrous overthrow at a 
 place called "Teutobergiensis Saltus." Their western 
 movement was by way of the well known Roman road into 
 Europe; thence they skirted the shores of the Mediter- 
 ranean sea ; finally they penetrated in every direction the 
 countries far inland, following largely the proximity of 
 the vast rivers. They had settled in Prague long before 
 Saint Wensel came there as a Christian missionary. There 
 is a tradition, that the famous Synagogue in that city was 
 built from stones once a part of the Temple at Jerusalem, 
 and which had been brought hither by the exiled Jews, 
 as a relic of their former glory. Traditions often tell the 
 truth, even when they are partially mingled with simple 
 mythology. Many facts and proofs serve to indicate that 
 the Jews migrated to Germany at a very early period of 
 time. The Talmud avers that the nation, mentioned in 
 the Bible under the name of Tiros, is the German nation 
 of whom the Romans stand in fear. (In the Chaldean, 
 Tiros means "sling-shots," a form of weaponry corre- 
 sponding to modern light artillery.) The Germans were 
 once accounted the most famous "sling-shots" in the 
 world. Rabbi Jehuda, editor of the Mishna (original 
 text of the Talmud), had a German servant famous for 
 his fidelity. Even in matters of the oral law the Ger- 
 mans are mentioned by the Talmud. For instance: 
 "Leper spots on the white skin of a German differ much 
 from spots on a negro." The familiarity with the ways, 
 customs, and virtues of the Germans, as displayed in the 
 Talmud, could have been acquired only by residence 
 among them. Another strong proof of the Jewish settle-
 
 142 TEEASUEES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 merit in Germany, at an early period, is the fact that, 
 wherever a Jew dwells in all Europe, he makes use in his 
 speech of what is unmistakably derived from some Ger- 
 man dialect, to be referred back to the primitive Teu- 
 tonic tongue. The Jews of Russia and Roumania make 
 use of the same tongue which is used by their brethren 
 in Berlin and Munich. We can furnish legends of distant 
 antiquity, that point toward the establishment of our argu- 
 ment, but as the utility or necessity of introducing them, 
 and thus making our article too protracted, is not quite 
 obvious, we leave them out. 
 
 The Roman historians furnished quite clear descriptions 
 of the old Teutons. They are represented as being tall, 
 with a strong muscular development. Their hair was 
 blond; their eyes were blue. They were divided into 
 clans, the latter being subdivided into tribes, each tribe 
 having its chief. They were very socially inclined, and 
 were disposed to gather in circles, where they would sit, 
 and chat, and drink their favorite home-brew. A stanza 
 of an old Jewish-German "folk song" has been preserved, 
 which seems important as another proof to be added to 
 the store of evidence, that the Jews settled in Germany 
 long before the present era. 
 
 Hast thu Beilla guten meth? 
 Na shi dir den Heiber, 
 Westi mainen es is speth 
 Zwelve is der Seiger. 
 
 Hast thou Bella good mead? 
 So I give you the schooner, 
 Whilst thou thinkest it is too late, 
 Twelve is the time of the dial. 
 
 The word Beilla is a Latin word, meaning the beauty, 
 and the Jews adopted the same as a proper name for their 
 daughters. The style, the theme and the words of the 
 verse set forth the old Teutonic spirit and character. 
 The Romans fortified the ancient cities of Worms, Mainz 
 and Cologne, when they began their invasions. Prior to 
 the commencement of the dark and gloomy middle ages
 
 COMPILER 'S OBSERVATIONS. 143 
 
 these cities passed into the hands of Bishops and Arch- 
 bishops, and from that time began the persecutions of the 
 Jews. Church dignitaries and robber knights united to 
 oppress the helpless Hebrews. 
 
 RABBI AMNON, THE MARTYR, OR HISTORY OF A 
 
 POEM. 
 
 The Hebrew prayer book contains a poem (Unsane 
 Tokef), telling the might of the Almighty familiar to 
 every Jew. The theme of the poem is based upon Jewish 
 lore, which says : On the first day of the new year the 
 Lord inscribes in the book of life the events and fate of 
 each person, and to this registry the celestial seal is at- 
 tached, ten days later, on the day of the Atonement. In 
 glowing words of classic Hebrew, the poem states that, 
 on those solemn days, even the angels tremble, and that 
 the entire history of each individual, for the ensuing year, 
 is enrolled in the celestial book. It urges repentance from 
 sin that a favorable forecast may be made. The music 
 of the poem has a minor strain, and the language is Sina- 
 itic. The name of the collection of songs is "Sinaitic 
 Songs," because the words are held to be as sacred as the 
 words of the law given on Mount Sinai. When, on New 
 Year's day, and on the day of Atonement, the cantor 
 chants in the ordained style the words of the poem, every 
 Jew in the audience feels his heart thrill, while tears 
 course from his eyes. Rabbi Amnon of Mainz composed 
 this poem, and the words of it always recall the sad fate 
 of the martyred author. The bishop of Mainz, who was 
 also civil ruler of the city, tried to bring the lost sheep 
 of Israel into the fold of the shepherd of Bethlehem. Re- 
 ligious controversies often took place between the Jews 
 and the high dignitaries of the church sometimes fatal, 
 sometimes favorable to the Jew. A fanatical dignitary 
 was bound to condemn his opponent; while a fair-minded 
 judge not infrequently rewarded his adversary for the ex- 
 cellency of his defense of his faith. 
 
 There is a record that a German Bishop once tried to 
 convert a Jew by pointing out to him the material benefits
 
 144 TREASURES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 which Christianity held out to him. The Jew inquired 
 what advancement Christianity would gain for him. The 
 Bishop replied: "You may become a priest." "Is that 
 the limit?" asked the Jew. To this the Bishop answered: 
 "You may become a bishop by faithful labor for the glory 
 of the church." "Anything higher?" asked the Jew. 
 "You may become a cardinal," said the Bishop. "Noth- 
 ing more?" persisted the Jew. "There is the most ex- 
 alted position of the pontiff," said the Bishop. "Must I 
 stop there?" urged the Jew. "The Pope is at the head," 
 said the Bishop. "Then," said the Jew, "if I remain a 
 Jew I may become a God myself." The Bishop felt the 
 sting of the keen reply and good naturedly rewarded the 
 questioner. 
 
 The Bishop of Mainz was of a gloomy temperament, 
 and could not tolerate aught but extreme seriousness. 
 With him it was either the church, or purgatory. Many 
 discussions took place between him and Rabbi Amnon. 
 The Bishop exerted his utmost argumentation energies, 
 and tried by dint of reasoning to confute and convert his 
 opponent. The effort was nugatory, and the Rabbi stood 
 firm in his refusal to yield. A few days before the new 
 year the Rabbi called upon the Bishop to pay the com- 
 munity taxes, and the Bishop improved the occasion to 
 renew his importunities. For some unknown reason the 
 Rabbi said: "Give me three days to consider and re- 
 flect, and on the third day I will return and report my 
 decision." The Bishop was delighted, and in happy men- 
 tal vision saw the conversion of not only the Rabbi, but 
 also all his disciples. He dismissed the Rabbi with ex- 
 ceeding complacency and open frendliness of feeling. 
 
 When the Rabbi reached his home in the unique envir- 
 onment of the Ghetto, he began to ponder the nature of 
 his reply to the Bishop, and the longer he reviewed it, 
 the more he felt convinced, that he had partly committed 
 himself to an acknowledgement of the correctness of the 
 Bishop's claims. Prostrating himself before the sacred 
 shrine he besought the Lord to forgive him. He spent the 
 three days in an agony of grief, denying himself both food 
 and sleep. On the third day, just as the Jews were be-
 
 EABBI AMNON. 145 
 
 ginning to assemble to celebrate the new year, and to 
 beseech the Almighty that their names might be insrcibed 
 in the book of life, Rabbi Amnon went to the Bishop to 
 report his resolution. The hopeful Bishop received him 
 kindly, saying that he was anticipating a favorable re- 
 sponse. The Rabbi answered: "I have determined to 
 stick to my faith as a Jew." The Bishop retorted in 
 wrath: "Be your own judge, and make your own choice 
 as to the form of your death penalty." 
 
 The Rabbi, in a firm, clear and happy tone, replied : 
 "Let my feet, which brought me to you, be severed from 
 my body, and thus likewise with my hands." The sen- 
 tence was executed without delay, and the crippled and 
 disfigured body was placed upon a bier and carried to 
 the synagogue. The bewilderment of the congregation 
 was indescribable. The Rabbi, having disclosed all de- 
 tails, begged to be lifted before the sacred shrine. Total 
 silence prevailed, and then the Rabbi began to recite, as 
 a confession, and as a sanctification of the Lord's name, 
 his wonderful poem. The words and the musical strain 
 thrilled the heart of every listening Jew. With the last 
 chord of the solemn music the breath left the body of 
 the Rabbi. The next night in a dream he appeared unto 
 the cantor and taught him both the words and the music, 
 and bade him sing the same on the day of the Atone- 
 ment. The cantor noted down the words and the tune 
 and sang as requested, on the day of the Atonement. 
 
 N. B. Since that time, mentioned above, the Jews have 
 adopted, universally, the poem of Rabbi Amnon, as an 
 everlasting monument to the memory of the great hero, 
 who so fearlessly upheld his religious tenets. 
 
 THE TWO LAMPS AT WORMS. 
 
 During the "Dark Ages" the Jew was made the scape- 
 goat to atone for the crimes which others had committed. 
 When the black plague visited Europe, and thousands of 
 people died, because the disease baffled the skill of the 
 physicians, the Jews were declared to have poisoned the 
 rivers and lakes ; hence a vast multitude of innocent men
 
 146 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 and women were slaughtered by the infuriated mobs, led 
 by the priests. A murdered Christian was found one day 
 in the city of Worms. The crime was laid to the Jews. 
 The Bishop, being also the civil ruler, made proclamation, 
 that if the Jews did not deliver up the assassin within 
 three days, they should all be burned at the stake. As 
 they could find no guilty Jew, they began to pray, and 
 to feast, and to beseech the Lord to protect them from 
 such unjust punishment. On the third day, while all were 
 assembled in the venerable synagogue, and were engaged 
 in supplication, two strangers entered the building and 
 requested to be led to the Rabbi. They were utterly un- 
 known by any one present. When they reached the sacred 
 shrine, where stood the pale Rabbi, praying fervently, 
 they at once cried out, in a loud voice: "We are the 
 guilty ones ; deliver us unto the hands of the Bishop, arid 
 thus secure your own safety." Profound silence followed 
 the announcement, until the Rabbi inquired of the strang- 
 ers who they were, whence they came, and what was their 
 occupation. To these inquiries they replied that they had 
 not come to render an account of their own private af- 
 fairs, but that their object was to satisfy the demand of 
 the Bishop. The Rabbi was forced to hand them over to 
 the Bishop, in compliance with their demands. On the 
 same day they were burned at the stake, in the open 
 square. The gathered throng were astonished, when they 
 beheld the burning bodies disappear in a flash. It was 
 the verdict of all, that the strangers were angels in human 
 form, who had come to save the Jews. 
 
 N. B. Since that day two lamps have been kept con- 
 stantly burning in the Synagogue at Worms, in sacred 
 memory of the "Two Strangers." 
 
 I. 
 
 GHOST STORIES OF AN UNKNOWN MAHATMA. 
 
 (Translated from the Tractat Barachoth of the Talmud.) 
 
 Once during a terrible famine, a man noted for his 
 
 knowledge and his piety gave a dinar a penny to a 
 
 poor man on new year's eve. The donor's wife, who was
 
 GHOST STORIES. 147 
 
 want to investigate all her husband's spendings, asked 
 him about the dinar. Learning that it had been given to 
 a poor man she burst into a storm of passionate abuse. 
 The husband, in order to escape from the virago's fury, 
 repaired to the cemetery for the sake of a night's peace- 
 ful rest. At midnight he overheard a confab between 
 two female ghosts. One said to the other: "My friend, 
 it is new year's night, when the fates of all people will 
 be decreed and signed, and, if we hide under the celestial 
 fence, we can learn what important calamities are to take 
 place." The listening friend replied: "I am buried in a 
 straw mattress and can not go, but it will please me to 
 have you wing your flight upward and then report to me 
 all the news." The first speaker acted in accordance with 
 the expressed suggestion, and, on her return, announced 
 that a hail storm would destroy all the seeding of the first 
 quarter of the season. The pious man thus forewarned, 
 reserved his sowing until the second quarter of the year, 
 and by so doing escaped the damage to which all his neigh- 
 bors were subjected. 
 
 A year subsequently he again repaired to the cemetery, 
 there to quietly celebrate the new year's anniversary. 
 The two ghosts were again engaged in friendly converse, 
 and the proposition, that the one buried in a straw mat- 
 tress should remain behind while the other betook her- 
 self to the shaded side of the celesital fence, was acceded 
 to. The ghost, went, returned, and reported the result 
 of her adventures. "This year," said she, "the seed sown 
 in the second quarter of the season will fail to accumulate 
 a harvest." Our pious wiseman gave heed to the timely 
 intimation, hurried up his sowing, and had his crop all 
 garnered before the storm occurred. All his neighbors 
 again met with misfortune. 
 
 The good man's wife asked her spouse if he could ac- 
 count for the fact that his land had^yielded so abundantly 
 twice in succession, while the other farmers had met with 
 such total and severe losses, and he gave her a complete 
 history of the whole business, of course being cunning 
 enough not to refer to the little matter of her ireful 
 tongue.
 
 148 TBEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 Not long afterwards a misunderstanding arose between 
 the virago and the mother of the straw-mattress-girl. The 
 quarrel raged violently and finally Mrs. Spit-fire told her 
 opponent, that she ought to subdue her pride until she 
 had given her daughter a more decent burial shroud. 
 (She couldn't keep a secret.) The third year our worthy 
 man made his third nocturnal visit to the cemetery. The 
 two ghosts met as usual, but when one invited her com- 
 panion to go with her to the hiding spot on high, the 
 other replied: ''Don't urge me now, for knowledge of 
 our ethereal escapades has reached the ears of men on 
 earth." 
 
 II. 
 
 A student, named Seira, once left some money in the 
 hands of his landlady and she died suddenly, while he 
 was absent from the house. He went to her grave to in- 
 quire about his funds, and she told him to look under the 
 door post, and then requested him to ask her mother to 
 send her a comb and a bottle of perfume by a lady call- 
 ing her name who would die on the morrow. The Tal- 
 mud asked how this dead one gleaned her information, 
 and then goes on to explain, that the angel Duma (silence) 
 by some dumb signs, revealed it. 
 
 III. 
 
 Abu, the father of Samuel, kept custody of money be- 
 longing to the ''Orphans." Samuel was away when his 
 father died and did not learn where he kept the money. 
 The populace pointed at him as the son of a dishonest 
 treasurer. At last Samuel could bear the insults no longer, 
 and visited the burial place of his father, in order to dis- 
 cern the whereabouts of the money. He found the dead, 
 gathered in a circle, engaged in chattings, and inquired 
 for his father, Abu, and was told there were several of 
 that name. He said: "I want to see Abu, Samuel's 
 father," and they replied that he went into the celestial 
 college, and would be back anon. While talking with 
 them he espied Levy (a well known Talmudical writer)
 
 GHOST STOEIES. 149 
 
 sitting outside the circle, and asked him why he was not 
 in the circle. Levy said: "I was told that I can not en- 
 ter the celestial college until after as many years as those 
 of my refusal to visit the college of Rabbi Afoa; for the 
 latter felt humiliated because of my refusal, and I have 
 the same term of humiliation as a punishment." "While 
 Samuel thus conversed with Levy, his father returned, and 
 the son noticed that his father both laughed and wept. 
 He asked his father why he wept and he replied: ''Be- 
 cause thou wilt soon be with us." Then said he: "Why 
 dost thou smile?" The father rejoined: "Because thou 
 art very well spoken of in this world" (life beyond). 
 Then Samuel remarked : " If I am well known and in 
 good repute in heaven, I desire that Levy may be al- 
 lowed to enter the circle," and soon Levy was admitted 
 into the celestial college. Then Samuel asked his father, 
 where he kept the "Orphans" money. The father re- 
 plied: "I buried the money under the mill, in three par- 
 cels ; the upper and lower bundles are ours, but the middle 
 one belongs to the Orphans." The son asked his father 
 why he thus divided the money. To this the father re- 
 plied: "I wished to save the money of the Orphans. If 
 any one should steal the upper parcel, he would take our 
 money. If the ground should mould any of the money 
 that would be our money. Thus the money of the Orphans 
 would be safe in either case." 
 
 REMARKS BY THE COMPILER. 
 
 The above three ghost stories are told in the Talmud 
 to prove that the dead are cognizant of all that is taking 
 place. Many Rabbis declared that the dead know noth- 
 ing, and Rabbi Isaac declared that talking to the dead is 
 like talking to a wall. 
 
 Two remarkable features distinguish Rabbinical ghost 
 stories from those told elsewhere. They are simple and 
 natural, unlike those originating from other sources; then 
 the Jewish ghost stories are devoid of horrible, startling 
 characteristics. The Talmud manifests a most liberal 
 policy toward the skeptical Rabbis, who deny knowledge
 
 150 TBEASURES OF TWO WOBLPS. 
 
 on the part of the dead. Although science can not prove 
 the fact, reason leads us to infer, that the dead have 
 knowledge. We regard the soul as intelligence, not ma- 
 terial matter. A word is the product of a soul, not of a 
 corpse. A word is imponderable, impalpable, invisible, 
 but can be preserved forever in the phonograph. If a 
 word is indestructible, then a soul must be likewise. In- 
 stinct is one thing ; reason another. People obtained their 
 belief in ghosts not by the aid of reason, but through in- 
 stinct. The heathen confound their ideas of ghosts and 
 divinities. 
 
 The prophets derided superstition, magic, and all kin- 
 dred ideas, but believed in the intelligence of spirits, so 
 incorporeaol as ghosts. The prophet says: "I saw the 
 ghost of Naboth, whom King Ahab slew, appearing before 
 the Lord offering to go out and confuse the King's proph- 
 ets (false ones) in order to inflame them to go to battle 
 with Aram, where he would be killed." The whole nar- 
 rative indicates that the prophet held that the spirits re- 
 tained their intelligence. The Jews maintained that the 
 spirits never lost their intelligence, and that when disem- 
 bodied they became superior to their former condition. 
 They believe also that the disenthralled spirit is subject 
 to different influences, placed in higher spheres of activity 
 and is correspondingly capable of fulfilling the higher 
 duties of its calling. The Jew spurns the idea of medium- 
 ship. His reason forbids the idea of an inferior mortal 
 being able to obtain control over a superior intelligence. 
 The phenomena of spiritualism are too much like tricks 
 of a low order. The Jew believes in Spirit and in Spirits, 
 but all of an intelligent nature. He does not accept the 
 idea that they can be called forth for exhibition, as a 
 clown compels the obedience of a captive monkey or a 
 trained bear. 
 
 WHAT IS A LIE? 
 
 Up to the present date the world has failed to get the 
 real definition of what is a lie. Many have attempted in 
 vain to obtain this, and the failure has been the result of
 
 WHAT IS A LIE? 151 
 
 their own lack of truthfulness; for man is a born, liar, 
 and in this respect is like the lower creation. The dog 
 will jump into the river to catch your stock, but it is con- 
 trary to his own wishes, for it is his nature to crack a 
 bone, and to lie down sullenly barking at the passer by. 
 He jumps by the instinct of lies, just as men do. We are 
 ready to jump, or do anything for another, against our 
 own wishes, for it is born within us to lie. The dog affects 
 to love his master for the sake of being fed ; on the same 
 principle we natter our bread-givers and employers. Who 
 does not lie? The merchant will sell to you as pure wool 
 what is part cotton. He wants to get rid of his goods 
 and to get your money. The milkman assured you that 
 his milk is pure and good, while he knows that his pump 
 is handy and his cow will not bear inspection. His busi- 
 ness is to sell milk, or what he calls milk, and he does not 
 profess to be a chemist, while at the same time he is aware 
 that the fluid is a fraud. The King claims divine right, 
 but knows that every pauper in his realm has as much 
 right as he himself has, to eat, live, die and be buried. 
 It is not rank, it is not power, that constitutes the man. 
 The legislator lies in that he does not take sufficient pains 
 to avoid being swayed by partisan, or selfish notions. 
 He is dominated by the idea of self-preservation. Reli- 
 gion has to suffer by the false views and fraudulent pro- 
 fessions of its avowed devotees, for they shape their ideas 
 to suit their own conceptions. The doctor is dependent 
 upon his fees, and is tempted to square his recommenda- 
 tions so as to accord with the demands of his purse. 
 The hungry poet exaggerates in order to fill his belly. 
 The philosopher allows his pet hypothesis to prejudice 
 his sober judgment. Thus we find commerce, religion, 
 science, and art more or less infested with falsehood. 
 
 To outward appearance we lie for certain motives; say, 
 for instance, for self preservation. A careful investiga- 
 tion will reveal that we lie because "it is our nature to be 
 false." We often find a child indulging in spontaneous 
 unveracity. 
 
 Assuming then that it is our nature to prevaricate, a
 
 152 TBEASUBES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 careful analysis may disclose a sound reason for employ- 
 ment of falsehood. 
 
 Everything in nature has a cover. Fruits have skins, 
 or shells, and every useful thing is protected, as long as 
 it needs protection. Thus a lie, useless in itself, serves for 
 a reason to shield a useful truth. I lie because I desire 
 to hide and protect the truth, and not for the sake of 
 telling the lie. If I lie, because I have been born with a 
 predisposition to deceive and be treacherous, then I am 
 surely a base liar. Man loves to be fictitious and to listen 
 to fiction. Thus he will read with more avidity the tale 
 of Aladdin's wonderful lamp, or a fairy story of how the 
 gnomes work precious stones down in the bowels of the 
 earth, than he will study the wonders of chemistry, or 
 read a geological treatise upon the manner in which, dur- 
 ing long ages, nature in her laboratory has formed and 
 filled with lustre the same precious stones. A fabulous 
 story of a trip to the moon will often outrival in interest 
 the sober truthful statements of the most famous astron- 
 omers, which illustrates the whole solar system. 
 
 The founders of many religious cults have taken ad- 
 vantage of this trait of human nature, and have utilized 
 to their own advantage the fondness of mankind for the 
 unreal. The bigger the lite the greater the effect. Thus 
 have the wonderworkers gained notoriety, and converts 
 to their preposterous claims, by their successful employ- 
 ment of most artful jugglery. The famous liar Mun- 
 chausen has more disciples than Aristotle. Man knows 
 well that a corpse of moulders away into dust, and is 
 utterly dissipated, yet he is ready to believe in ghosts. 
 
 The sages of the Talmud well understood human nature 
 and its credulity, and consequently they framed their oral 
 laws accordingly. They employed fable in order to in- 
 culcate truth, for two reasons the one, that they could 
 gain more listeners; the other, because it pleased them- 
 selves when they could thus indulge their natural pro- 
 clivities. 
 
 The Talmud relates a story of this sort: "There was 
 once a Rabbi who had a wonderful, scientific lecture to 
 deliver, but found his audience in the land of Nod, as if
 
 WHAT IS A LIE? 153 
 
 his utterances wrought a soporific effect. Suddenly he 
 exclaimed : ' Gentlemen, the Jewish women in Egypt were 
 so prolific that each one gave birth to sixty children at 
 one time.' Instantly every ear was open to listen." 
 
 The sages dealt with the people, the big children, just 
 as we are wont to deal with the little ones. Sometimes we 
 have to give a bitter pill to a child for medicinal purposes. 
 The child demurs, and will not swallow the nauseous ob- 
 ject. What can we do to persuade the child to take what 
 its system needs? The course is very simple. "We have 
 merely to encase the pill within a sweet coating, say: 
 "Now swallow this nice pill, so like candy." The reluc- 
 tance is at once overcome and the pellet disappears in a 
 
 jiffy- 
 
 The same with the children of a larger growth. They 
 rebel against the wholesome but unacceptable truth. 
 Serve them with the same substance in another guise, 
 and under a different name, and they rush to get a chance 
 to gulp it down. 
 
 Kabbi Bar Bar Ghana, the Munchausen of the Talmud, 
 has pursued this policy in the Fairy Tales, which are now 
 for the first time translated and published. 
 
 TALES OF RABBI BAR BAR GHANA. 
 LAND STORIES THE GEESE. 
 
 Once, says the Kabbi, I wandered through the desert, 
 over which the Jews passed on their journey to the prom- 
 ised land of Canaan. There I found the generation of 
 the time of the exodus, and their skeletons were strewn 
 along the wilderness, in well preserved condition, and 
 their clothing intact. They lay on their backs with the 
 soles of their feet in the ground, leaving a space of semi- 
 circular form from the sole to the knee. I saw an Arab, 
 mounted on a camel, with an uplifted spear in his hand, 
 passing through the space between the sole and knee, and 
 the spear failed to touch the leg. I continued my stroll, 
 and found geese from whose bodies gushed forth streams 
 of fat. I soon recognized these geese to be the ones which 
 will be fried in Paradise, when the Almighty gives a ban-
 
 154 TBEASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 quet to the righteous in the latter days. I said to them : 
 "Geese, geese, will I have a share of you in the life here- 
 after?" One goose lifted a wing, and another its foot, 
 denoting that I should get those two portions on my plate. 
 
 COMPILER'S REMARKS. 
 
 The above story is, of course, pure fiction, a most enor- 
 mous lie. The ancients, especially the orientals, believed 
 in a future of extreme sensual enjoyment. This was the 
 secret of the immense success of Mohammed. The stupid 
 negro, and the advanced Greeks, alike believed in a bliss- 
 ful hereafter, and of a carnal character. 
 
 The Jews believed that the Lord will give them a ban- 
 quet on the resurrection day, and the provisions will be 
 such as they preferred during their mortal career. The 
 Leviathan will supply the fish course. The wild ox, which 
 grazes over a thousand mountains in one day, will yield 
 the supply of meat. As for the wine this has been stored 
 up in the original grapes from the time of the creation. 
 (The precise locality, where that remarkable vineyard is 
 concealed, has, up to present date, evaded the search of 
 the most eminent archaeologists.) 
 
 Our prince of Hebrew prevaricators must have been a 
 good real of a glutton during his mundane existence, and 
 his mention of claws and quills signifies his disappoint- 
 ment that the feast will not be unlimited in variety as 
 well as in quantity. 
 
 THE HELL WHERE KORAH'S GANG IS BEING 
 FRIED. 
 
 Rabbi Ghana added : I met a Bedouin, who invited me 
 to come and see where the gang of Korah sank in the 
 depths of Hell. We went to the place and found many 
 holes, whence smoke issued. The Bedouin took some wet 
 cotton, fastened it to his lance, and thence thrust the lance 
 into one of the holes. After a few seconds, he withdrew 
 the lance and found the wet cotton consumed. The Be- 
 douin told me that once a month the gang of Korah are 
 turned over, just as we capsize a joint of beef upon a spit.
 
 THE HELL WHERE KOBAH'S GANG IS 155 
 
 He then asked me to stoop down and listen to their con- 
 versation. This I did and I heard them saying: "Moses 
 is truth, his teachings are truth, but Ave are liars." Then 
 the Bedouin told me to come and see where Heaven and 
 Earth exchange loving kisses. When we reached the spot 
 I laid down nay basket of provisions, and the next morn- 
 ing it was gone. I inquired if thieves came there, at the 
 border of the globe. He explained that there were no 
 thieves there but that the circling wheel of heaven and 
 earth had taken the basket, and would return it on the 
 morrow. I waited and recovered my basket. Then the 
 Bedouin took me to Mount Sinai, and there I heard a 
 Heavenly Voice saying: "Woe, woe, that I swore, but 
 as I have done so, who can nullify my threat?" When I 
 came home I told the Rabbis what I had heard and they 
 scolded me saying: "Each Rabba is an ass, and each Bar 
 Bar Ghana is the foal of an ass. Why didn't you exclaim 
 'I nullify it?' " (The Rabbis had the idea that the Lord 
 bemoaned his swearing to destroy the Temple and scat- 
 ter the Jews among the nations.) I replied that I thought 
 the Lord was alluding to the oath he made that He would 
 never again send a flood on the earth, and of course I did 
 not wish to nullify that. 
 
 NOTES OF THE COMPILER ON THE ABOVE. 
 
 Our story teller must have been either an unbeliever or 
 else he was a very scientific man. In the above three 
 stories he ridicules both religion and science. The astro- 
 nomical views of the early days were very puerile. The 
 idea was, that the sun and the earth each rode upon a 
 wheel, and that, in their movements, they met daily on 
 the border of the globe, but they were unable to locate 
 the point of contact. By saying that he lost his basket, 
 we infer that he regarded the sun as in motion, and that 
 the earth remained stationary. Such was not the accepted 
 view of the age. 
 
 In his tales about Hell, he exceeded all other Jews who 
 have written upon the subject, in his sarcastic references. 
 In his tale about Mount Sinai he unmercifully scores the
 
 156 TBEASUBES OF TWO WQBLDS. 
 
 Rabbis, who always pictured the Deity as weeping and 
 lamenting over the calamities which He had brought upon 
 His people and upon the Temple. 
 
 SEA STORIES AND SAILOR'S YARNS. 
 
 Eabba Bar Bar Ghana said that he had been told by 
 those who follow the sea that a ship resembles a white 
 flame ; also that, if you smite the waves with a stick, upon 
 which is engraved, "I will be that I will be, Ja Ja Zebaoth, 
 amen, amen, Selah, " then the sea will be calm. I was 
 also told that the interval between two waves is three 
 hundred miles. One sailor said that once a huge wave 
 lifted his ship so high that the smallest star appeared like 
 forty acres of land, and that this broad area was covered 
 with horseradish; and he capped the climax by adding 
 that a slight increase of altitude would have been fatal, 
 on account of the star's intense heat. "One wave," he 
 said, "talked with another, and said 'hast thou destroyed 
 al?' The other wave replied: 'come and see the power 
 of the Lord, for a thread of sand encircles me so that I 
 can not pass through.' " (Jeremiah expresses the idea: 
 "You do not fear me, who made the sand a frontier to 
 the ocean; a sign that there it should stop.") 
 
 Eabba related that he saw Hermion, the son of Lileth 
 (demon) running a race with a mounted rider upon the 
 wall of the city of Medusa (in Babylon) and that the 
 footman was the fleeter of the two. Again, he saw the 
 same Hermion jumping from the back of one mule over 
 the back of another, and as he jumped he held a cup of 
 wine in one hand and an empty cup in the other, suc- 
 ceeding during the leap in pouring the wine from one cup 
 into the other without spilling a drop, though it was a 
 very stormy day. 
 
 Eabba Bar Bar Ghana also said: "I once saw a wild 
 cock one day old, as big as Mount Tabor, which is three 
 miles long, and he discharged enough ordure to dam the 
 Jordan river; then I saw a frog, big as a block of sixty 
 houses, swallowed by a snake, and the latter immediately 
 gulped by a female raven, which forthwith roosted upon
 
 SEA STOEIES 157 
 
 the branch of a tree to take a nap." ("We interpose here 
 a remark of our own, that Rabba, not being in the fuel 
 business, omitted to add the dimensions of that tree as 
 estimated by cord measurements.) 
 
 Ghana told another story: I was once sailing in a 
 ship, and I saw a dead fish, which had been killed by a 
 small insect, that had settled in its nostril. 
 
 The waves had thrown the vast monster upon the land, 
 where it overlapped the space covered by sixty cities. 
 All the houses of these cities were destroyed, but the 
 inhabitants escaped, and fed upon fish for a whole year. 
 One eye of the former swimmer furnished three hundred 
 tons of oil. The bones were sawed into lumber sizes, and 
 supplied sufficient material to rebuild all the mansions 
 of the sixty cities. 
 
 During one of my voyages the man on the lookout dis- 
 cerned what appeared to be an island covered with coarse 
 grass. We drew near, anchored and landed. We built a 
 fire, baked our bread and prepared our soup and other 
 viands. Suddenly the entire surface rolled over, and 
 we found ourselves immersed in the water. Luckily, 
 being good adepts in the art of natation, we reached our 
 ship in safety. From our point of observation we dis- 
 covered that we had mistaken a fish for an island. It 
 had turned upon its back to enjoy a nap, and thus ex- 
 posed its belly all covered with sea grass. 
 
 Once I saw, when voyaging, said our same story teller, 
 the following sight: There was a huge bird standing 
 in the ocean. His erected head towered far up towards 
 the sky, while the surface of the water was bathing his 
 knees. I imagined that the water was shallow at that 
 spot, then there came a voice from above saying: "Be- 
 ware, for the water is very deep. Seven yeasr ago a 
 blacksmith dropped his hammer here, and during all 
 this time he has continued his dive to recover it, but he 
 has not yet reached the bottom of the sea." 
 
 (In regard to the above anecdotes it is possibly our 
 privilege to append a few private thoughts. It is not 
 our purpose to discredit their veracity, or to suggest 
 that they lie open to a suspicion of exaggeration. The
 
 158 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 thought occurs to us that these stories and others of a 
 similar nature may have served to originate the popu- 
 lar phrase, "fish stories," i. e., tales somewhat bordering 
 upon the extravagant, and not altogether credible. 
 
 We are less disposed to wonder at the long continuance 
 of the legs, as presented in the final story, than we are 
 to admire the astounding breathing apparatus of the div- 
 ing blacksmith. No need had he to go to the expense of 
 a bellows in his blacksmithery. Such lungs, as his must 
 have been, entirely discount the cave over which Neolus 
 ruled.) 
 
 LEVIATHAN LORE. 
 
 The leviathan is a monster of a fish, of broader dimen- 
 sions than the globe, which rests upon its back. When 
 he sneezes the world shakes, and earthquakes occur. 
 Originally there was a female companion but the Cre- 
 ator, perceiving that a multiplication of such monsters 
 would involve the destruction of all animate creation, 
 permitted the male alone to live, and killed his mate, 
 preserving her flesh in salt for the banquet of the latter 
 days. The eyes of the leviathan shine with the lustre of 
 the morning star. 
 
 Kabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Jehoshua once sailed upon a 
 voyage. The former fell asleep, but the latter was wide 
 awake, and suddenly began to shudder and shake, and 
 so awakened his sleeping companion. Rabbi Eliezer said, 
 "Why do you shudder?" Rabbi Jehoshua replied: "I 
 saw a great light on the ocean" (probably he saw some 
 phosphorescent fish). Rabbi Eliezer rejoined: "It must 
 be the eyes of leviathan, for it is written that his eyes are 
 like the morning star" (Job 41). 
 
 On the same monstrous scale a land animal was created 
 as a counterpart of the monster of the deep. This mon- 
 ster and his mate required, each, the pasturage of a 
 thousand mountains to afford them sustenance. Offspring 
 was denied to them, and both will be slaughtered to sup- 
 ply meat for the banquet of the latter days. At this 
 banquet the righteous will enjoy various amusements.
 
 LEVIATHAN 159 
 
 One will be a contest in the arena of the plain of Jehosa- 
 phat. This will not be like a Spanish bull-fight, where 
 a matador encountered a maddened bull. There will be 
 no price of admission, no reserved seats. It will be a 
 bout between the wild ox and leviathan. The bull will 
 strive to tose leviathan into the air. The fish will seek 
 to serve a blow with its fins. The basis of this imaginary 
 combat is to indicate that in the hereafter happiness 
 will take the place of earthly suffering. In this contest 
 leviathan will be the victor. He will then be challenged 
 by the archangel Gabriel. To prevent the defeat of the 
 latter the Almighty will take part in the affair, as it is 
 written in Job: "His Creator will approach him with 
 his sword." 
 
 Rabbi Dimie says, that when the leviathan is hungry 
 he emits a breath, which causeth the ocean to boil; and 
 that if he should thrust his head into Paradise no crea- 
 ture could stand before it. 
 
 Rabbi Dimie adds that when the leviathan is thirsty 
 he so raises the ocean in ridges and sinks it in alternate 
 depressions, that the disturbance is not quieted for more 
 than seventy years. 
 
 Rabba said : The Lord will give a banquet to the right- 
 eous in the latter days, and the prominent article of food 
 will consist of the best portions of the flesh of the levia- 
 than and the remainder will be divided and sold in the 
 streets of Jerusalem. From the skin of the beast the 
 Lord will make a tent for every righteous man who de- 
 serves it. For one less meritorious he will make a neck- 
 tie. To those of the third grade he will give a talis- 
 man. The remainder of the skin the Lord will spread 
 over Jerusalem, and its lustrous light will shine from one 
 corner of the world to another. 
 
 Remarks of the Compiler on the Above. 
 
 Modern scientists are very much puzzled in an effort 
 to solve the problem which mankind will have to en- 
 counter in some distant future. They try to forecast the 
 period of the future, which statistical proofs point for- 
 ward to, when the supply of food for all the living des-
 
 160 TBEASUEES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 cendants of Adam will fall short of requirements, for 
 various reasons. These are the rapid multiplication of 
 the human race, and the vast spaces of the earth given 
 up to cities, and towns and all the places occupied for 
 homes, besides those vast areas which railroads and other 
 construction cover. As the extent of grounds used for 
 agricultural purposes becomes more and more limited in 
 its extent, while the demand for increased supplies be- 
 comes imperative, they insist that the needs will xceed 
 the supply. 
 
 If we read between the lines of the leviathan lore, we 
 shall find that they presented practical and scientific an- 
 swers. They hinted that when, in the latter days, the 
 ground shall prove unequal to the task of supporting all 
 her children, then we must look to the ocean for supple- 
 ments of supplies. It is true that the ocean is capable of 
 furnishing most indefinite amounts of nutritious food. 
 
 The Talmud also plainly hinted that out from the 
 depths of the ocean there will be also drawn other helps 
 to contribute to the comfort of humanity; that chemical 
 processes will add immensely to the aid of man's needed 
 stores, by making combinations out of extracts from 
 ocean's resources. 
 
 By the lustre of the skin of the leviathan is undoubt- 
 edly meant the phosphorescent light so largely mani- 
 fested amid the waters of Neptune's domain. 
 
 RABBI ISHMAEL, THE GREAT MAHATMA OF THE 
 ANCIENTS. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael was a high priest, and a pupil of Rabbi 
 Nehunja, the alleged author of the book "Habahir" (the 
 clearing) a book full of mysteries. Rabbi Ishmael was 
 the handsomest man of his time, and the daughter of 
 an unnamed emperor fell in love with him. He was one 
 of the ten famous martyrs, and after his execution the 
 emperor ordered the skin from his head to be stuffed, 
 so that his daughter might enjoy his life-like beauty. 
 
 He lived near the first century of the present era, and 
 was educated by R. Nehanja Ben Hakune, the author of
 
 EABBI ISHMAEL 161 
 
 primitive cabalistic books. R. Ishmael was the only high 
 priest who belonged to the Essenes. He was the greatest 
 of all the mystics, and even the Talmud admits his claim 
 of superiority as a Mahatma, even receiving from the 
 angel of death many revelations concerning the laws of 
 sanctification. He made many visits on high, not by 
 throwing out his Astral, as some modern pretended Ma- 
 hatmas claim, but in actual fact. The Talmud, conserva- 
 tive as it is, still admits the claim of the mystics, that 
 the word is a power, no matter whence it proceeds, and 
 so says (tractat Berachot), "Accept the blessing even of 
 a common person." It quotes a statement made by R. 
 Ishmael, as follows: "I once entered the holy of holies 
 to offer incense, as required by the Mosaic law, on the 
 day of Atonement. "When I entered I saw Acatrial Ja, Ja, 
 Zeboath (mystical name for the Almighty) sitting on a 
 high throne, and He said to me: 'Ishmael, my son, bless 
 me. ' I replied : ' May it be thy gracious will to let mercy 
 conquer wrath; and deal mercifully with thy people and 
 bring not their deeds into judgment.' "When I had said 
 this brief blessing he bowed his head to me as a sign of 
 approval." Rabbi Ishmael has left us a brief biographi- 
 cal sketch in his booklet, Pirkie Heicholath (chapters of 
 the Palaces), informing us how he happened to come into 
 the mystic circle of the ancient Mahatmas. In addition 
 to the brief sketch of himself, he tells us at length the 
 various conversations he had, during his visits to the 
 heavenly realms, with the King thereof, whose name was 
 Metasgovor (who is above the throne). This signifies 
 that he who sits upon the throne is sovereign, and that 
 His decree is final. 
 
 II. 
 
 ISHMAEL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 "When I was thirteen years of age I met for the first 
 time the great Rabbi Nehunja Ben Hakana. He found 
 me in a very uncomfortable plight, for what I was taught 
 one day I would forget the next day. Finding that I 
 was making no progress in the study of law, I grew dis-
 
 162 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 consolate, ate and drank but little, and denied myself 
 all pleasures and amusements. When E. Nehunja saw 
 how earnest I was, he took me into the marble chamber 
 of the Temple, which chamber was allotted to the Sanhe- 
 drin. There he made me take oath in the name and un- 
 der the big seal of Sebuchiel, the Lord God of Israel, 
 who is Metathron, the Lord of the ocean and of the dry 
 land, and then he revealed to me the measure and the 
 secrets of the Law. 
 
 At once my mind began to glow with brightness as 
 does the eastern sky at dawn of day, and my mind was 
 strengthened with a powerful insight into the depths 
 and ways of the law. Since then I have never forgotten 
 my studies and the teachings of my masters. Then I 
 came to my great master Nehunja Ben Hakona, saying: 
 "Master inform me who is the prince regent of the law?" 
 He told me: "His name is Jufiel" (the beautiful). Soon 
 I began a fast of forty days, and denied myself all 
 pleasures. At the end of that time I pronounced a cer- 
 tain sacred name, and the person called came down be- 
 fore me, as a tongue of fire. His face was as lightning, 
 and when I beheld him I began to shiver, and my bones 
 shook, and I fell backward in a trembling tremor. He 
 said to me: "Young man, why hast thou disturbed the 
 family on high?" My courage then came back and I 
 replied: "He, who created the world by a word, knows 
 that I was not seeking my own glory, but desired to do 
 the will of my creator." Then he replied in these words: 
 "Son of man, corrupt, a worm, though thy better self 
 (the devil) is pure, it still has the companionship of the 
 unclean body; hence thou art altogether unclean, and, 
 if thou wanted me to reveal to thee the secrets of the 
 law and the mysteries of nature, go and fast for forty 
 days, and wash thyself twenty-four times each day dur- 
 ing that term. Thou must not taste of any unclean food ; 
 thou must not eat any kind of a vegetable ; thou must not 
 look upon a woman. Thou must spend all thy time in a 
 dark room. After this probation I shall reveal to thee 
 the secret of the law and the mysteries of nature." I 
 did as I had been commanded to do and then Jufiel, the
 
 ISHMAEL 'S AUTOBIOGEAPHY 163 
 
 prince of the law, revealed to me all the mysteries of 
 life. 
 
 CHAPTER FIRST. 
 
 AND ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD, AND HE WAS 
 NO MORE, FOR GOD HAD TAKEN HIM. (Genes.) 
 
 REVELATIONS. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael said: "When I went into the heavens 
 to investigate, in a chariot was I carried up. (Chariot 
 is a cabalistic word to express motion, vibration.) I 
 passed through the seven palaces (seven heavens), going 
 from chamber to chamber. When I reached the gate of 
 the seventh heaven, I prayed to the Holy One, blessed 
 be His name, as follows: 'O Lord of the universe, I 
 pray thee to call down upon me the grace of Aaron, the 
 son of Amnon, the lover and pursuer of peace, who re- 
 ceived the crown of priesthood from Thy glory on Mount 
 Sinai. Invoke this grace upon me, O Lord, that the 
 prince Kazpiel (wrath) and his subordinate angels, may 
 not seize me to throw me down from heaven.' The 
 Lord soon sent me his servant Metathron, the prince of 
 the interior. He came flapping his wings and saluted me 
 with great joy, saying: 'Welcome in peace, as thou 
 hast found grace in the presence of the King of Kings, 
 the Lord God. You are permitted to take a peep into 
 the machination of the wagon (motion).' He then took 
 and led me into the presence of the Shechina (divine 
 woman and motherhood), in the seventh palace, and 
 placed me before the glorious throne to get a look into 
 the chariot (motion). As soon as the Prince and the 
 flaming Seraphim became aware of my presence, they 
 fixed their gaze upon me and I soon began to tremble and 
 to be unconscious, by reason of the lustre of their eyes, 
 and the shining light of their faces." 
 
 The Lord rebuked them, saying: "My servants, Sera- 
 phim, Cherubim and wheels (the names of angels attend- 
 ing the glorious throne) shut your eyes so that Ishmael, 
 my beloved, may not tremble before you." Metathron
 
 164 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 soon came and revived me, and stood me on my feet 
 again, but I could not sing the song of glorious thanks 
 before the glorious throne of the King of glory, the 
 mightiest of the mighty, until I had rested for an hour 
 to recover my normal strength. After I had rested an 
 hour the Holy One, blessed be His name, opened before 
 me the gates of the Shechina, the gates of wisdom, of 
 peace, of strength, of force, of oratory, of music, of holi- 
 ness, of sweetness, and my whole being was enraptured 
 by the words of praise, and the sweet melodies of thanks. 
 I opened my mouth to sing praises unto the Almighty, 
 before the throne of glory, and I heard, above the throne, 
 responding voices, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the 
 Lord Zebaoth. Blessed be the Lord in all the regions 
 of space." 
 
 SECOND CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael said: At that hour the eagles from 
 the chariot, and the flaming wheels, and the fairy Sera- 
 phims questioned Metathron thus: "Say, boy, why 
 hast thou permitted one born of woman to come and 
 look into the chariot? Of what nationality is he, and 
 to what tribe does he belong? What has he done, and 
 what is his character?" Metathron replied: "He is an 
 Israelite, of the tribe of Levy; the Holy One, blessed be 
 his name, has chosen this nation out of the seventy ex- 
 isting nations. He belongs to the sons of Aaron, whom 
 the Lord crowned on Mount Sinai, with the crown of 
 priesthood, and he is now serving the Lord in the 
 Temple." Then they said, "Surely he is worthy to look 
 into the chariot, as it is written, 'Hail the nation that so 
 happens to him.' ! 
 
 THIRD CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael, said : At that hour I asked Meta- 
 thron, the prince of the interior, what his name was, and 
 he said to me: "I am called by seventy different names, 
 corresponding with the seventy existing languages, all 
 meaning King of Kings; but my King calls me 'boy.' '
 
 ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD 165 
 
 Kabbi Ishmael then asked: "Why do they call thee 
 'boy,' since thou art called by the name of thy Creator, 
 and occupiest the most exalted position in the celestial 
 realms and boldest the highest rank?" He replied: 
 "Because I am Enoch, the son of Jered, who lived at 
 the time of the flood. The men living at that time re- 
 belled against the Lord, saying to Him: 'Go away from 
 us ; we will not know thy ways. ' Then the Lord took me 
 away from the wicked generation that I might be an 
 everlasting witness against them before all generations, 
 to the end that they shall not call the Lord a tyrant, 
 because he involved with punishment of them their inno- 
 cent wives, children, cattle, flocks and fowls. Therefore 
 the Lord took me, while alive, into heaven to be a living 
 witness against them, and to justify their punishment 
 in the eyes of all future generations. The Lord also ap- 
 pointed me prince over all the celestials. The angels, 
 Aza and Azrael, spoke ill of me before the Lord. They 
 said : ' Oh Lord of the universe ! Did not the angels of 
 yore do right when they pleaded with thee not to create 
 man?' The Lord replied to them thus: 'I created man 
 and I shall bear the consequences.' When these two 
 celestials became aware of my presence in heaven, they 
 again sought the Lord and asked what right I had to 
 be there, assuming that I was one of those destroyed by 
 the flood. The Lord cut them short, by asking them what 
 business they had to meddle in His affairs. 'I will that 
 he shall be prince of the celestials.' Then they came to 
 me, saluting and bowing, and said: 'Hail to thee and 
 to thy parents, that thy creator has favored thee.' Be- 
 cause I am their junior in years they call me 'boy.' ' 
 
 FOURTH CHAPTEE. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael continued to narrate: Metathron, the 
 prince of the interior, said that when the Lord was 
 ready to take him from earth to Heaven, He sent Aufiel, 
 the celestial prince, who carried him away from all 
 earthly surroundings. The removal took place in sight 
 of the public. I was placed in a chariot of fire drawn
 
 166 TREASUEES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 by horses of the same material, and I was waited upon 
 by honorable servants, also composed of fire. The She- 
 china accompanied me in my ascent. During the trip, 
 and at a distance of sixty-five thousand million miles, 
 the celestials scented me, and began to fuss. They ex- 
 claimed: "What a smell of earth floats up from that 
 man, who is on his way to heaven to serve among the 
 celestials." The Lord quieted them thus: "My serv- 
 ants, Cherubim, Seraphim, "Wheels, don't fret! The men 
 on earth refused me and my Kingdom, and are idolaters. 
 I have taken from them my Shechina and also this one 
 man, who is a righteous one." Thus was I rewarded 
 for being loyal to my King. 
 
 FIFTH CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael said : Metathron, prince of the interior, 
 also told me that when the Holy One, blessed be His 
 name, saved him from the flood, he was brought up on 
 the wings of the Shechina to the very summit of Heaven, 
 named Ararat. There is the glorious throne of the She- 
 china, and the chariot, where legions of wrath, a regi- 
 ment of Shinanim (special angelic name), made up of 
 fire cherubim; of flames and wheels; of burning coals 
 and Hashmalim of lightning; of Seraphim of thunder. I 
 was located among all these to attend the glorious 
 throne. 
 
 SIXTH CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael said that Metathron added: "The 
 Holy One, blessed be His name, did more. He made for 
 me a throne in the shape of the glorious throne, and 
 spread over me the curtain of light, grace, beauty, and 
 lustre, resembling the curtain spread over the glorious 
 throne, and placed my throne at the door of the seventh 
 palace. Heralds proclaimed throughout all the heavens, 
 that Metathron had been created prince over all the celes- 
 tial princes, and over all celestials, with the exception 
 of eight celestials who bear the title of King, as does 
 their Lord. All communications with the Lord must be
 
 ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD 167 
 
 made through Metathron, and he will announce all the 
 Lord's orders, and they must be received from him and 
 be obeyed. The prince of wisdom and understanding will 
 teach him the higher wisdom and understanding; will 
 tell him the laws of the above and the beyond. He is 
 also appointed treasurer over the treasuries in the palace 
 of Arabeth, and in the lofty heaven." 
 
 SEVENTH HEAVEN. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael also learned from Metathron, the prince 
 of the interior, that he held first place in the regards of 
 the Lord, and that the Lord made for him, to show his 
 rank, a garment ornamented with all the various kinds 
 of light; and also a royal crown studded with forty-nine 
 precious stones, each as big and as bright as the wheel 
 of the sun. That the Lord placed the crown upon his 
 head and called him "little Jehovah" in the presence 
 of his celestial family, as it is written in Exodus: "I 
 shall send an angel in whom my name is." 
 
 EIGHTH CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael continued to tell what he received from 
 Metathron. The latter declared that he occupied first 
 place in the Lord's love, as evidence of which he gave 
 the following incident: "The Lord took a pen of fire 
 between His fingers, and with it wrote upon the crown 
 of my head all the letters of the alphabet by which 
 heaven and earth were made. By these letters He made 
 rivers, ocean, mountains and valleys. By these letters 
 He created sun, moon, stars, thunder, lightning, rain, 
 snow, wind, tempest, and every other thing found in 
 the world. Each of these letters shone with a brilliancy 
 like that of the sun." 
 
 NINTH CHAPTER. 
 
 Rabbi Ishmael said that Metathron told him also, as 
 follows: I saw the beauty of heaven when I first sat 
 upon my throne at the gate of the seventh heaven.
 
 168 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 There I judged all the suns of the heavens by the power 
 imaprted to me by the Holy One, blessed be His name. 
 While sitting in my court on high, I distributed among 
 the celestials rank, honor, authority. The highest celes- 
 tial dignitaries stood on my right and on my left, ready 
 to wait upon me. "When Elisha Ben Abuja, surnamed 
 Acher (stranger), come to look into the chariot (mysti- 
 cal expression for studying the higher laws of metaphys- 
 ics), and saw me, he began to tremble in great adoration 
 of my presence. He saw the celestial princes acting as 
 my servants, and cried out: "There are two Gods in 
 heaven." Then a voice from the Shechina was heard 
 saying: "Ye will repent, except Acher." Then Aufiel, 
 the great prince, came with a message from space (the 
 Lord) and gave me sixty lashes on my back with a fire- 
 lash, and stood me upon my feet." 
 
 Compiler's Remarks. 
 
 The Talmudical version of the wandering of the won- 
 derful Mahatma, Elisha Ben Abuja, is as follows: "He 
 went to look into the mysteries of the chariot (into the 
 laws of motions and vibrations). He knew that in the 
 higher spheres, all but the supreme power stand up. 
 Not knowing that Metathron's dignity permitted him to 
 sit, he drew a false inference that there are two supreme 
 powers. Metathron ought to have stood up, and so re- 
 ceived sixty fire-lashings for his mistake. He failed, by 
 keeping his seat, to show Elisha that he was one of the 
 subordinate forces." 
 
 This tale, in nine chapters, may seem very strange to 
 us, but it refers to truth of the most profound character. 
 Only those deeply versed in mystic lore can comprehend 
 its mystery.
 
 EDUCATION AND TALMUD 169 
 
 EDUCATION AND TALMUD. 
 
 A Culture Historical Sketch of Educational Evolution 
 
 Among the Ancient Hebrews and Other Primitive 
 
 Nations at Large. 
 
 When the battle of Kenigratz was fought, ending with 
 a decisive victory for the Prussians over the Austrians, 
 Herr Prince Bismark spoke in flying winged words: 
 "The schoolmaster has conquered." Indeed, that famous 
 battle was the best illustrator of the great power of edu- 
 cation, and the Prussian schoolmaster has shown that his 
 pen penetrates deeper than the gunshells of the ignorant 
 Austrians. Even the ancients knew of the great influen- 
 tial power of education, and the Jewish history has re- 
 corded a fact, which is equal to that of Kenigratz, with 
 a more illuminating illustration. Jerusalem, so tells us 
 the Talmud, was besieged by the Romans, and the once 
 so powerful Hebrew nation was crushed to death by the 
 legions of the Pagans. While Vespasian besieged the 
 City of the Lord, wherein civil war and starvation killed 
 more people than the arrows of the Roman orders, a 
 humble Rabbi, Jochanan Ben Sakai by name, knelt before 
 the great victorious Emperor, praying for mercy for his 
 people. "What shall I grant you?" asked proudly the 
 crowned victor to the poor humiliated Rabbi. "Grant 
 me," replied the sage in a low voice, "grant me the school 
 of Jabne and the schoolmasters." The victor granted 
 him. Probably he never dreamed that from that little 
 school the national spirit of the Heberws would rise with 
 more vigor, and how could he think of it as it looked 
 that the whole nation was wiped out from the surface 
 of the globe. Jerusalem was a pile of debris, the people 
 in the thousands slaughtered, killed or made cripples. 
 Those who escaped death were carried into captivity to 
 make a show of themselves in serving as living trophies 
 to the home coming victor in his triumph march. Under 
 such circumstances and conditions, the remnant of the 
 Jewish race was found at the time of the Destruction, 
 so that even the less patriot could not even dream of an 
 attempt of a restoration. Yet, 55 years after the Destruc-
 
 TEEASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 tion, the national spirit, which was kept in the little 
 school of Jabne rose with more vigor, and those pupils 
 of Rabbi Akiba, those penmen drilled by the schoolmas- 
 ter, have restored the national pride to its old glory. 
 To fame is known the struggle of Bar Kochba (the son 
 of the star) who was proclaimed King of the Hebrews, 
 and the coin he used is still preserved in the museums, 
 as a silent witness of the successful attempt and the vital 
 power of the nation. Now, who did all this marvel, which 
 was an impossibility? Of course, the schoolmaster from 
 Jabne did and the educator blew into the dry bones of 
 Judah the breath of life, and they were resurrected to 
 life's activity again. Not only is education as a power 
 in struggle, it is also a good life-preserver, and the rea- 
 son for the preservation of the Hebrew race is due to its 
 wonderful early developed education, as any Jew, no 
 matter of what standard and occupation, even those from 
 Darkest Russia, where 99 per cent of the natives can 
 hardly sign their names, even those Jews are able to read 
 and write in their own language. Looking upon the 
 greatness of America, we have the best vivid picture of 
 the great power of education, for what has made this 
 blessed country great in every respect and aspect of life, 
 if not the schoolmaster? Not only are we the wealthiest 
 nation on earth, we have also outgeneraled the old coun- 
 try in the progressive march of civilization, and accord- 
 ingly, we have changed positions to the astonishment of 
 all the nations. Instead of being the rearguard, we are 
 now marching as the pioneers of culture, and we lead 
 the advancing march of progress. Al that is due to our 
 education. The old. powers have a standing army of half 
 a million soldiers, whose only knowledge is how to handle 
 a gun, while we maintain an army of peace, composed of 
 four hundred thousand schoolmasters, who rear our chil- 
 dren and drill their brains. The old continental powers 
 have gun-bearers in reserve, while we have an army in 
 the reserve in the shape of the night school teachers, 
 whose work is to educate those unfortunate foreigners 
 from whom the light of civilization was kept under the 
 bushel. Our educational system is the best bond for the
 
 EDUCATION AND TALMUD 171 
 
 eternal greatness of our great and blessed country. The 
 American schoolmaster may reflect, while sitting at the 
 foot of "Washington 's monument, upon the educational 
 system of the ancient Hebrews two thousand years ago, 
 to find out that it runs in a wonderful parallel with his 
 own of the 19th century. To the observers of marching 
 civilization, it will be of great historical value to know 
 the educational system of the Hebrews, whom Mohammed 
 styled "Rigel II Kitab," "the people of writing." 
 
 PRIMITIVE EDUCATION AMONG THE VARIOUS 
 NATIONS. 
 
 FIRST CHAPTER. 
 
 The Chaldeans. 
 
 Among the cultured nations of the ancients, the first 
 in rank were the Chaldeans, whom we may style "the 
 educators of the world." There was hardly a branch of 
 science wherein they did not prove themselves as the 
 masters, and their hands have shuffled the cards of his- 
 tory. In the divine arts, in music and in painting, they 
 were far ahead of the cultured sons of Hellas. The 
 first symphony was sung by the Chaldeans, the Greeks 
 learned from them when they invaded the country under 
 Alexander the Great. The ancient Jewish music used 
 by the singers in the Temple are all termed in their 
 original Chaldean names. A proof that the Hebrews 
 learned and adopted the Chaldean musical Alpha Beth, 
 as they adopted from them other useful things pertaining 
 to culture and civilization. In making or reproducing 
 pictures they reached in that line the highest standard 
 of perfection. Two prophets give evidence of their skill 
 in that fine and divine art; one describes their painted 
 pictures on the walls, engraved with an oily color; the 
 other calls their country "the land of sculptured images, 
 upon which they are proud." In architecture and engi- 
 neering they surpassed the Egyptians, and the fabulous 
 Tower of Babel was built ere the cornerstone was laid 
 to any of the pyramids. Jewish legends tell us that they
 
 172 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 built that tower in order to produce rain by order of 
 beating its roof with hammers to ribrate the air. That 
 is another evidence of their far advanced science and 
 culture. Their canals and artificial waterways have long 
 been the astonished marvel of the historians. In astron- 
 omy their fame in that truthful science, which requires 
 the knowledge of mathematics, is still renowned. They 
 were the first who looked on high, drawing the first 
 map of our solar system, dividing the planets in the 
 Zodiac. The art of Calendaring, for which the ancient 
 Hebrews were renowned, so that in a dispute with Koman 
 astronomers the former claimed that the sun is stable, 
 while the planets are revolving round the fireball, the 
 sun, which argument the latter refused to accept. That 
 art of astronomy and calendaring the Hebrews learned 
 and adopted that from the Chaldeans, as the Jewish 
 names for the months and planets are Chaldean terms. 
 This tells us plainly in what school the Hebrews were 
 taught of that. In religion they showed themselves far 
 superior than even the Hebrews, as it was, so to say, 
 pure and simple, so that there could not be a conflict be- 
 tween common sense and feelings. They approached the 
 altars in their worship houses with silent salutation and 
 venerating bows. Prayers and music were the offerings, 
 not animal or other kindred sacrifices, as it is so plainly 
 illustrated at the dedication of the great image of King 
 Nebuchadnezzar at the plain of Dura. Those who under- 
 stood to read the Bible between the lines will find out that 
 Jehovah was known to the Cahldeans and worshiped ere 
 he revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush, and 
 Nimrod was a mighty hunter before Jehovah, and Jeho- 
 vah calls the King Nebuchadnezzar through the mouth- 
 piece of the prophets "my servant." It is probable that 
 Abraham, who left Ur in Chaldea for Palestine, was 
 forced to flee, as he was persecuted by the Jehovists. 
 (By all the patriarchs the name of Elohim, which means 
 two in one, is mentioned until Moses, who restored the 
 ancient Jehovistic cult of the Chaldeans.) The name 
 Chaldean means a wise man, and in the scripture it has 
 the same meaning, where they are often termed, "the
 
 PRIMITIVE EDUCATION 173 
 
 sages of the East." Such an achievement is impossible 
 without the power of a regular working system of educa- 
 tion. Indeed, legend, which is the best informer, where 
 history can not tell, points out in that direction. There 
 is a written Jewish folk lore, which tells us that Abra- 
 ham was as a boy a pupil in the schools of Shem and 
 Eber. Of course we have no historical proof to confirm 
 that legendary statement, still there is a clear passage in 
 the Scripture which plainly indicates to some educational 
 progress, when King Nebuchadnezzar orders that child- 
 ren of the captive Hebrews shall be selected, being with- 
 out any physical fault, good looking, smart, and to teach 
 to write (in the text, the book), the language of the 
 Chaldeans. Beside that record how is it that the He- 
 brews, who were in Egypt 400 years, have not carried 
 with them a single thought of the land, not even a word, 
 with the exception of one, is to be found in the whole 
 Scripture, while whole sentences in Chaldean are to be 
 found galore? Nay, more, during the stay of the seventy 
 years among the Chaldeans, they seemed to have been 
 perfectly nationalized and the big volumes of the Tal- 
 mud are treasures of Chaldean science and liteartrue un- 
 der the guise of Hebrew religion. To explain that phe- 
 nomena we must think the one or the other way; either 
 was there a law compelling everybody to read and to 
 write, or the government indirectly offered opportunities 
 even to strangers to educate themselves as our enlight- 
 ened government of America offers to the foreigners in 
 the night schools. At all events, there was an educa- 
 tional suffrage, and to it is due all the phenomena we 
 bewonder on the Chaldeans. The reasons for the early 
 development of education can be given as follows : First, 
 the nation was not divided into classes and castes (except 
 in the branches of science as Chartumim, readers of 
 hieroglyphs, Ashopim, secret readers, Mechashphim, ma- 
 gicians, Nashim, astrologers). The absence of castes, has 
 not forced education to be monopolized like by the other 
 nations. Second, their Jehovisttic cult with its fatalistic 
 view, that the fate of man is written in the stars, hence 
 if the horoscope told that the child even of a beggar will
 
 174 TREASURES OF TWO WOBLPS. 
 
 be once a prophet, a sage, he was reared and brought up 
 accordingly. Third, the simplicity of their quadrat let- 
 ters with perfected punctuations and vowels, has enabled 
 everybody to learn easy and it became to a common ex- 
 change of thoughts. Even the Hebrews after their re- 
 turn from the exile, adopted their Alpha Beth with all 
 its grammar and rules. It is a pity that we have no rec- 
 ords, but I think if we scratch up the skin of a Hebrew 
 we will find a Chaldean, and the whole Rabbinical reli- 
 gion is only a modified second edition of Chaldean laws 
 and lores. The only direct living proof still bearing tes- 
 timony to the educative power of the Chaldeans, are their 
 offsprings, the Nestorians. Those Christians, the few liv- 
 ing descendants of the Chaldeans, are superior even to 
 the Armenians, not to speak to the wild Kurds among 
 whom they live. 
 
 CHAPTER TWO. 
 
 THE HEBREWS. 
 
 Under the Hebrews, I do not mean those Jews who 
 claim to be the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
 for there were Hebrews in the land of Canaan long before 
 Abraham was born. Joseph tells in prison his tale of 
 woe; that he was stolen from the land of the Hebrews. 
 As Joseph was the third generation to the first Patri- 
 arch, who, like his son, was not blessed with lots of off- 
 spring, then he could not have alluded to the farm where 
 Jacob lived with his few souls to call it the land of the 
 Hebrews. Even the prophet mentions twice to the He- 
 brews, that their father was an Emorite and their mother 
 a Hittite (while Abraham and Sarah both were Chal- 
 deans). Those Hebrews had another language than 
 Abraham, and other customs and religious views than 
 those prevailed in the mother land of the Patriarch. 
 Abraham, when he mixed up with those Hebrews, was 
 an undecided believer, so to say, a jumper from the pure 
 Chaldean monotheistic religion of Jehovah, to the dual 
 cult of Elohim, which was the original religion of the 
 Hebrews. The confused mixup of views became a mat-
 
 THE HEBREWS 175 
 
 ter of grave concern since Abraham became their leader 
 and Patriarch. That confusion of views runs like a 
 thread through the whole Jewish history. The Hebrews, 
 like most of the Semites, had no classes or castes, which 
 is very favorable to educational suffrage, but they lacked 
 the ability of centralizing their national power like the 
 Chaldeans, and they were divided and ruled by family 
 patriarchs and tribal sheiks. The father of the house was 
 the ruler endowed wth power over life and 'death in his 
 home, as the patriarch over the family, and the latter 
 as the Sheik over the whole tribe. The father was the 
 educator of his son, consequently, when the father was 
 an ignorant man, his son was obliged to live up to his 
 father's standard, as there was nobody to educate him. 
 Another stumbling block to education was the birth-right, 
 and the privilege enjoyed by the first born son among the 
 Hebrews, so the able minded children were neglected for 
 the sake of the weak minded first born son, to whom edu- 
 cation was of no use. In the history of the Patriarchs 
 we notice such educational actions and their saddest con- 
 sequences. Often, the mother, when she felt a love to 
 one of her children and was of an able mind, she took 
 to educate, as we often read in the history of the early 
 Patriarchs. In such a case moral and domestic educa- 
 tion was better implanted in the heart of the child, as 
 women are as a rule better educators than men. Poor 
 as their method was, poorer were the subjects in which 
 they were reared and educated. A fabulous narrow view 
 of the ruling forces, some duties towards parent, few of 
 the folk lore and tales, those were all on the programme 
 of primitive Hebraic education. In addition to religious 
 new views and customs imported by Abraham from the 
 Chaldeans into the land of the Hebrews to start confu- 
 sion, he also brought with him the letters of his native 
 land, the plain quadrat Alpha Beth. The Patriarch ac- 
 quired soon the simple language of the Hebrews (the 
 language of the Scripture), but he could not find their 
 writings (the ancient letters of the Hebrews, still used by 
 the Samaritans and on old Jewish coins), which is half 
 hieroglyphic and half of a zig-zag outline. So it came
 
 176 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 to pass that the minority, who were the offsprings of the 
 Chaldean Patriarch, were brought up in the easy-going 
 Chaldean writing, while those of the Hebrews were 
 taught in their old imperfect native Alpha Beth. When 
 the Patriarch migrated to Egypt and with him those 
 Hebrews whose Sheik he was, owing to their isolated 
 position in that Hermit kingdom, the division and confu- 
 sion still lasted and their education ran on the same 
 schedule of the primitive timetable until the time of 
 Moses. 
 
 THIRD CHAPTER. 
 
 THE EGYPTIANS. 
 
 The Egyptians had not an inborn national culture, 
 hence it was a monopoly in the hands of the priests, and 
 the blessing of education, like all foreign imported arti- 
 cles, could not be enjoyed by the poorer classes. Despite 
 the ten thousands of mummified cats, which are claimed 
 by our learned men as evidence of their high reached 
 civilization, I declare that they were only amateurs in 
 culture. There is a land bordering on Egypt known 
 under the name of Ethiopia, which includes the part of 
 the famous Soudan too. There was once flying the stand- 
 ard of civilization, and according to the records preserved 
 in the Talmud, and from Biblical sources, we can see what 
 a high cultured people lived once in Darkest Africa. The 
 art of hieroglyphs was imported into the land of the Nile 
 from Chartum, hence the hieroglyphists were called 
 Chartumim. That sounds better than the view of the ten 
 thousands mummified cats and kings. As a strange cul- 
 ture, not sprung up from the people, hence it was enjoyed 
 only by the higher castes of the priests. The variety of 
 classes and castes prevented the education to penetrate 
 into the heart of the people, the nation at large to rear 
 and cultivate a national unity, which is the only security 
 for a nation's strength and prosperity. The son of the 
 priest was doomed to be a priest, no matter if his mind 
 could comprehend the mystic symbols of the systemless 
 style of the hieroglyphs or not. The children of the sol-
 
 THE EGYPTIANS 177 
 
 diers were forced to do the fightings all their life from 
 generation to generation. The offsprings of the working- 
 men were by law requested to live up their times in the 
 line of work each according to his guild and union, 
 following in the imprint left by their departed sires. 
 Even the thieves formed a class, a registered caste, and 
 their children had no other way than to live up to the 
 profession of their fathers from generation to generation. 
 Under such a ridiculous caste system education was un- 
 known, and the few hieroglyphists had their little knowl- 
 edge inherited as their cats and pigs, as it was a merely 
 handing down from father to son. Again, those geniuses 
 who were born to ordinary parents were condemned to 
 die as ignorant and undeveloped beings. No wonder that 
 they were at their times the target to jesters and mock- 
 ers. No wonder that the Hebrews in spite of their stay- 
 ing there for four centuries, could not absorb a single 
 habit or thought of them. No wonder that there was not 
 a national union, as each caste was a stranger to the 
 other as black to white. No wonder that we dug out so 
 many mummified cats, the only inheritance left to the 
 world by uneducated people. 
 
 CHAPTER FOUR. 
 
 THE GREEK. 
 
 The Greek possessed a national culture with an original 
 civilization, framed with the progressive thoughts of 
 other nations. Their religion was the religion of a smil- 
 ing, idealistic beauty answering the sensual emotions, 
 and rousing the sentimental feelings to highest pitch of in- 
 spiration. But with all the advantages of good govern- 
 ment and an inspiring literature, they lacked the best 
 medium which could have made them great forever, and 
 that was education. They had an Aristotle, but not a 
 school boy. They had philosophical schools, but no sys- 
 tem of education. Plato in making the plan for his 
 idealistic republic, had in mind to place the education 
 in the hands of the republic. He was the only philoso- 
 pher who felt the real want of his people, and that was
 
 178 TBEASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 the want and need of education. Sparter tried to estab- 
 lish an educational system under the care of its republic, 
 but it did not amount to anything, as the sole aim was 
 to train and drill up a republic of soldiers. The conse- 
 quences of the lack of education was very fatal for 
 Hellas. Besides the everlasting fightings among them- 
 selves which is proverbial "When Greek meets Greek, 
 there is the tug of war" they could not maintain their 
 independence, and fell a prey to the mighty Rome, the 
 mistress of the world. What has the so much talked of 
 Greek culture left behind it? Nothing except a few 
 busts of the handless Venus and the fame of only seven 
 wise men, who are witness that the whole nation with 
 mighty tribes remained fools during so many centuries. 
 The speculative philosophy of an Aristotle is not worth 
 a bit, comparing it to the scientific facts brought to 
 light of the sages of the Chaldeans. The sons of Heilas, 
 whose religion for its charm sake, was adopted by other 
 nations. Those people, who sucked in the religion with 
 their mothers' milk, exchanged the gaiety of it for the 
 meditative religion of Christianity, whose worship con- 
 sist in prayer and fasting, not in the wine cup and sensual 
 satsfaction, a religion which even the reasoning Romans 
 resisted so long. How can we explain this unnatural 
 phenomena? Paulus took them by surprise and they 
 were taken in, not by the grand apostle, the miracle work- 
 er, but by the Jewish boy, who as a child, was com- 
 pelled to visit the public school, then as a boy sat in the 
 college at the foot of Rabon Gamliel, and the Olympian 
 Gods and Godesses fled for Paulus the educated. 
 
 CHAPTER FIVE. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 The reasoning Romans had no talent whatever in pro- 
 ducing any originality. Their religion, cult, custom, 
 manners, were all borrowed, adopted, absorbed from 
 other nations. They were born prize fighters, yet they 
 had one good quality, the love for system and order, a 
 quality which makes up the education. Indeed, there
 
 THE ROMANS 179 
 
 were more Greek mentors in Rome than teachers in Ath- 
 ens, there were less ignorant soldiers in Caesar's legion 
 than in Alexander's famous phalanx. To be a Roman, 
 and free, was enough to give the privilege to all his as- 
 pirations and ambition regardless of what it was. But 
 as Rome was always busy to maintain her possession in 
 all the four corners of the world, she cared more to bring 
 up her children in the arena than in a school, and the 
 educational department was a private undertaking. Still 
 there was some sort of education, and under Christianity 
 Rome became the real educator of the world, and Italy's 
 colleges and schools in the beginning of the middle ages 
 were renown to fame. 
 
 CHAPTER SIX. 
 THE NORSEMEN. 
 
 Along both sides of the straits of the Baltic, there lived 
 once a nation since the creation, known by the name the 
 "Norsemen." That great Teutonic race was the only 
 one who became the tutor of Europe, demonstrating the 
 power of education. In character, every inch of them a 
 whole chivalrous knight, and in valor they had no rivals. 
 Their tribes routed the Romans by land under the lead- 
 ership of Herman, while their kinsmen, the Danes, raided 
 the isles of the Britons, the mighty fortress of the Ro- 
 mans. The Danes were a seafaring nation and they ruled 
 the waves from ocean to ocean and long ere a Columbus 
 discovered our blessed country, the Norsemen had al- 
 ready won their far advanced post. Their religion was 
 in some respects the same as that of the Greek, but with 
 a more serious aspect. Their Odin (the same as in He- 
 brew and Chaldean Adon, which means the Lord) was 
 not of the brutish character of a Jupiter, who kills his 
 own chilrden. Their Odin was as Carlyle says, "a man, 
 a teacher, who invented the Runes, the Scandinavian 
 Alpha Beth." Their Valkyrs were not of the type of a 
 demoralized demi-goddess as Venus. Their Valkyrs were 
 brave maidens, with the spear of defense in one hand 
 and the shield of moral in the other. Their Gambrinus
 
 180 TREASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 was not of a riotous character as the Bacchus of the 
 Greek. He was social and amiable, a trait still visible 
 by the offsprings of the Norsemen, when they gather 
 round the cup. Their Runes were not like the other na- 
 tions, imitation, or a modified Alpha Beth after the model 
 of the Phenicians. Their Kunes were the letters of their 
 Alpha Beth bearing upon the stamp of native self-culture. 
 Odin, the teacher and inventor of those Runes, appeared 
 in his role among the Norsemen seventy years B. C. The 
 simplicity of form of those Runes and the ethics of the 
 Norse lore as embodied in the Eddor, the Scripture of 
 the Norsemen, led me to suspect that that great Odin was 
 a Chaldean cast off on the shores of Scandinavia to be- 
 come the great educator of that noble race. No writ- 
 ten records have been preserved to tell of their educa- 
 tional work, but they have left living samples and by 
 the deeds of those offsprings from the loins of the Norse- 
 men, we see the consequence of their educative ability. 
 As Odin was the inventor of the Runes, which was the 
 best medium to educate with, so he, according to the 
 Norse lore, was the inventor of poetry. Indeed, the 
 legend is only foreshadowing who were the people fol- 
 lowing in Odin's footpath in the shape of educators. 
 They were the Scandinavians, the Scalds, the Bards, the 
 Germans, the Minne Singers, whose sweet melodies are 
 re-echoing still through the great German Empire. Those 
 poet singers have with their songs educated the children 
 of the mighty in their castles as well as those of the peas- 
 ants in the inn by the cup of wine of the Golden Rhine. 
 Through such medium of poetry, and through those edu- 
 cators, the knowledge required was distributed alike. 
 That way of education was the way of the noble Norse- 
 men, whom some historians delight to style as ignorant! 
 Of course, those historians are Christians. Fortunately 
 divine Providence has preserved their deeds, through 
 which we will know them better.
 
 THE ICELANDEB 181 
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN. 
 
 THE ICELANDER. 
 
 Cut off from the world, isolated from modern civiliza- 
 tion, there lies the famous but unknown island of Iceland 
 surrounded by rolling, roaring waves. The Icelanders 
 are the offsprings of those Norsemen, whom an ill wind 
 has thrown upon that far off island in one of their dar- 
 ing rides upon Neptune's horseback the waves many 
 centuries, about fourteen hundred years, ago. The island 
 is a Danish possession, yet the people enjoyed a thousand 
 years' old constitution of personal liberty and freedom, 
 given at a time when Europe had no conception what lib- 
 erty is. The isolation from the outside world has helped 
 them to preserve the manners, ways, and customs of their 
 noble sires, the Norsemen. In spite of that they are 
 Christians, and good ones, too, still the spirit of Odin, 
 the teacher and educator, is felt along with the half 
 spirit of the Christian Trinity. There is hardly a nation 
 on the whole surface of the globe which can boast of a 
 rich literature as those Icelanders. A thousand years' 
 old literature full of poetic beauty, uplifted with a spirit 
 of Norsemen nobility, expressed in the sturdy yet urbane 
 language of the Norsemen, which is still spoken there 
 and known as the "Icelandic." That is the fruit of the 
 great educator, Odin, who planted in the hearts of those 
 Norsemen the seed of education, and that is the result 
 of those tramping teachers, the Scalds, the Minne Sing- 
 ers, who continued the educational work of that great 
 master Odin. Among the 72,995 people of that cast off 
 island, who inhabit that island, you can not find a man, 
 woman, or child, who is not able to read and write. They 
 have more authors, and good ones, than the Russian Czar 
 has officers in his army. There is hardly a nation, with 
 the exception of the Hebrews, who can show a thousand 
 years' old code of educational laws as those Icelanders. 
 The educational laws are old as Odin's name and are en- 
 forced with the most rigid vigor. The most striking re- 
 semblance of their educational laws to those of the He-
 
 182 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 brews and Talmud, will solve a great problem of queer 
 history. For instance : The law binds the father to edu- 
 cate his child; if he dies, the law throws that responsi- 
 bility upon the shoulders of his next neighbor and the 
 minister of the parish. That Icelandic law, the inherit- 
 ance of Odin, is a remarkable clipping from educational 
 law of the Talmud of the Hebrews, who have probably 
 copied it from the original code of education by the Chal- 
 deans. The preservation of the Norsemen and the He- 
 brews, as it is seen, is mainly due to the power of edu- 
 cation. In the course of our sketch of educational evolu- 
 tion we will show the great role Chaldean education 
 played in the legislation of Moses and the Talmud as well 
 as in the Odin cult; to give them the deserved palm of 
 honor, as is styled the Chaldeans, "The Educators of the 
 World." 
 
 IN THE SCHOOL OF THE CAPTORS. 
 
 Dr. Karpeles, the present famous Jewish historian, is 
 surprised how the Jews, who were ignorant heathens 
 when they were led into captivity, came out as learned 
 sages after a short stay there. To me it is no surprise, 
 as it is probable that they were compelled to be edu- 
 cated by their captors or they were so impressed with 
 the educational institution of the country that they were 
 indirectly forced into it, as the square Aramaic-Chaldeo 
 Alpha Beth was the best medium to reach it. From 
 tablets preserved at the British museum, to which my 
 attention was called by Dr. Cyrus Adler from the Smith- 
 sonian Institution, we can gather that the Chaldeans had 
 to a certain extent a regular system of education assum- 
 ing the form of educational suffrage. There is a tablet, 
 which we may call the exercise lesson of some Babylonian 
 lad at the age of Nebuchadnezzar, consisting of a list 
 of the kings belonging to the early dynasties, which he 
 had to learn by heart. The fragment of an old primitive 
 folk tale, which once formed a part of the first reader of 
 a lesson book for the nursery shows that the training of 
 the child began at the age of six. The story of it is that 
 of a foundling who was picked up in the streets and
 
 IN THE SCHOOL OF THE CAPTOBS 183 
 
 taken from the mouths of the dogs and ravens to be 
 adopted by the king as his own son. The vast libraries, 
 for which Babylon was famous, being open to the public, 
 which were placed in the temples by order of the kings, 
 goes to prove how the Chaldeans were educated by con- 
 trol of the government. As a proof of educational suf- 
 frage, we must mention that one of the librarians was 
 the son of "an irrigator," a child of an unskilled laborer. 
 This is a proof how to what an extent education was 
 spread among the Chaldeans. No wonder that the He- 
 brews became enlightened in the land of their captors, 
 which was their school of education. The Talmud says 
 that the Jews brought from Babylon the names of the 
 angels as well as the names of the months. Under the 
 former we understand the religious views, while under 
 the latter the astronomical science of calendation. In 
 addition, they adopted the Aramaic-Chaldeo Alpha Beth, 
 with its square letters, and probably have nationalized 
 the educational system of the Chaldeans, with many modi- 
 fications of progression according to the demands of times 
 and circumstances. 
 
 Educational Reforms of the Great S7nod Under Ezra 
 the Scribe. 
 
 Ezra, the Scribe, or as he is called by the Persian King 
 Artaxerxas, "the Scribe of the Law," has on the return 
 from exile, called a congress of restoration known by the 
 name of "the Great Synod." The body was composed of 
 120 members, among them prominent prophets as Mala- 
 chi, Chagi and Zacharias, in order to show to the people 
 at large the unbroken chain of tradition from Moses to 
 the Elders, from the Elders to the Prophets, and from 
 the Prophets to the Great Synod. Ezra's aim in calling 
 that famous congress was to promote a universal educa- 
 tion, as the book says of him, that Ezra has prepared his 
 heart to explain the law of Jehovah and to teach in Israel 
 law and justice. The first thing that body did was the 
 revision of the Bible in accordance with the Jehovistic 
 tradition, and many a book has experienced an altera-
 
 184 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOELDS. 
 
 tion, while some were excluded from the Canon entirely. 
 The next step was of great educational importance, 
 namely, the adoption of the Chaldean Alpha Beth, and 
 the adding of the five letters M, N, Z, P, H, who served 
 the purpose to be written at the end of the words. The 
 restoration of the Chaldean well regulated and easy read 
 Alpha Beth was of far reaching beneficial consequence 
 of educational development among the people, so that the 
 Talmud glorifies Ezra equal with Moses, being worthy 
 that the law should have been given through him. The 
 grateful Talmud also acknowledges the merit of the great 
 Synod, in saying that they restored the crown to its an- 
 cient glory. By weaving a traditional sacred weaving 
 around the art of writing declaring that the art of writ- 
 ing and of engraving was created on the last day of the 
 Creation on Friday at twilight, they gave an air of divin- 
 ity to that science, uplifting it to the highest standard 
 of spirituality, marking by it the divine man from the 
 lower human being. By declaring human authority su- 
 perior to the law, they have removed the dead letter, 
 which was a stumbling block to progression, and enabled 
 the authorities to act according to the requirements of 
 times and circumstances. Kevising the Bible, declaring 
 only 24 books of early inspiration, and shutting out the 
 rest from the Canon, as "outside books" (Apockriphas), 
 they opened the gates of knowledge ajar to every one, 
 requiring only his scientific skill instead of a prophetic 
 miracle. By breaking the power of the priestly caste, 
 in taking away from their hands the judicial as well 
 as the educational office, they have given an opportunity 
 to every citizen to strive for it. The proclamation of the 
 Oral law, as the real esoteric meaning of the written one, 
 as they said, that eye for eye, tooth for tooth of the Mo- 
 saic law, means money fine, it has made man more divine 
 and God more humane. The appointment of a Supreme 
 Court composed of 71 members qualified to that exalted 
 place only by knowledge, regardless of birth, or family 
 connection, has done away with the patriarchial system 
 of government, and the right of might. Nay, more, the 
 members of the Supreme Court who had a jurisdiction
 
 EDUCATIONAL EEFOEMS 185 
 
 over the whole nation, who were known by the name 
 ' ' Sanhedrin, " were required as qualification the univer- 
 sal knowledge not only of the Jewish jurisprudence, but 
 the most living languages and their literature, so that 
 the whole body as one, should know the tongues known 
 as the ones spoken at that time by the human races. 
 Even the dark art of magic was required by the mem- 
 bers of the Sanhedrin to understand. The declaration: 
 That a sage is mightier than a prophet and that by the 
 power of wisdom the Almighty has created the world, 
 gave to universal knowledge a superior value than to 
 the written law of Moses. With the exception of the 
 Samaritans, whom they fought to the knife, all nations 
 without distinction of creed and religion, were invited 
 to eat from the tree of knowledge to be as the Gods. 
 They declared in the Talmud that even a heathen, if he 
 studies the law is higher than a high priest who goes 
 into the holy of holies. In another place they say, that 
 a bastard sage is superior than the high priest. Such 
 declarations show the charitable desire to extend the 
 blessings of knowledge and education even to non-Israel- 
 ites. Indeed, the various disputes about religious and 
 scientific topics recorded in the Talmud between learned 
 Jews and Romans, Persians, Chaldeans, and Greeks, 
 where the latter displayed a knowledge of Jewish liter- 
 ature equal to the Kabbis, goes to show that they have 
 accumulated that knowledge through the hospitality of 
 the Jews, by whom it was regarded as a law to extend 
 education to anyone. Through such a broad view of edu- 
 cation an avenue was opened, even to the pagans, to en- 
 ter through and by it to the Sanctuary regardless of his 
 lineage. The best fact is illustrated in the Talmud that 
 it was a custom when the high priest on atonement day 
 left the Sanctuary unhurt the people gave him an ovation 
 as a congratulation upon his safe coming out. Once, 
 while the people were cheering the high priest, the two 
 noted Shmaje and Abtalion, who were in direct succes- 
 sion to the Great Synod, in the 8th generation, happened 
 to pass by. The former was the Nasi (the Spiritual 
 Prince) the latter Ab Beth Din (president of the San-
 
 186 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 hedrin), the crowd beholding them, left the high priest, 
 and followed cheering those sages, who were children of 
 converted heathens. The high priest felt humiliated and 
 when he met them he saluted them: "Let the sons of 
 heathens come to peace," alluding to their lineage. They 
 replied satirical too: "Let the sons of heathen come to 
 peace who do the work of Aaron, and let not the sons of 
 Aaron come to peace, who do not do his deeds." Here 
 is the best illustration to what an exalted position educa- 
 tion has brought them regardless of their lineage. The 
 great reform work of that famous congress, which lasted 
 in session for many a number of years, was solely devoted 
 to education, and every work, no matter of what charac- 
 ter, had an educational outline. The municipal govern- 
 ment was taken from the hands of the Elders and placed 
 in the hands of the "seven best men of the town," elected 
 by the people, those were under the control of the Ab Beth 
 Din, the head of the City Court, whose special duty be- 
 sides to execute justice, was to care for the educational 
 department of the town. (Such a court in an ordinary 
 town consisted of three members, while in the capitals 
 and the provinces, the body consisted of 23 members, 
 with the power to pass death sentences.) Even the tem- 
 ple, which at the time before the exile had the appearance 
 of a huge monster animal slaughter house, was built as 
 the concentrated power of the federal government, with 
 various departments, of which one was of education, car- 
 ing for the maintenance of the higher colleges as well as 
 the public schools for children in Jerusalem. The Temple 
 was placed under the control of a non-priest, who had 
 the title of "Ish Habaith" (the lord of the Mansion), 
 who again was under the control of the Sanhedrin. Even 
 the high priest, seven days before the atonement day, was 
 handed over to two sages, non-priests, pupils of Moses 
 (meaning Jehovists) selected by the Sanhedrim, to train 
 and drill him for the religious performance. The priests, 
 who were instituted by Moses as teachers, have by the 
 decree of the Great Synod ceased to be as such. The 
 reason for it was, as the priests were not allowed by law 
 to come in contact with a corpse, and as the science of
 
 EDUCATIONAL REFORMS 187 
 
 healing is based upon the knowledge of anatomy, which 
 the priest could not study, hence, that science was culti- 
 vated in the college by non-priest, and when graduated 
 they were recognized as Rofim (healers). From the midst 
 of those scholars one was selected and appointed "Healer 
 of the Temple" with an office duty as our modern Board 
 of Health. The leper, or other ailing people of skin dis- 
 ease, who in former days were cast off from the camp and 
 not allowed to join in the Easter feast, being declared 
 by the priests as unclean, those poor unfortunate ones, 
 after the progression of science, says the Talmud, went 
 a day before Easter to the surgeon, who made on them 
 an operation removing certain worms from under the pig- 
 mentation and declared clean, and joined in the Easter 
 celebration. By ordering certain prayers, benedictions, 
 the Great Synod denounced indirectly the mode of wor- 
 ship by the sacrifice. The famous "Lord's Prayer" is to 
 be found in the Talmud with a slight alteration, bearing 
 the air of antiquity. Through prayers, the Great Synod 
 gave the Jews that what Moses lacked to give, viz. : a 
 religious education. The decree to build in every habit- 
 able place a Beth Hachneseth (a worship house) and a 
 Beth Hamidrash (college and public library), both those 
 institutions were of great educational importance, the 
 former, as giving an idea of Him; that He is present 
 everywhere, not alone in the Temple, the latter increased 
 the desire for reading. The Talmud says: That 29 days 
 did the Great Synod fast, praying that school teachers 
 and book writers and authors shall never accumulate 
 wealth from their profession, so that they shall be bound 
 by circumstances to live up by them. Such national con- 
 gress for educational purpose were convened 10 times in 
 ten different places after the Great Synod, enforcing, 
 adding, reforming the laws according to time and place. 
 After the Great Synod, there follows an unbroken his- 
 torical line of couples or pairs, as registered in the book 
 "The Sayings of the Sires." The bearer of the first name 
 was always the Nasi (the prince) while his comapnion, 
 Ab Beth Din (president of the Court, or Sanhedrin). 
 Raban Gamliel, at whose feet the Great Apostle Paul sat
 
 188 TBEASUBES OF TWO WOBLDS. 
 
 as a pupil, was one of the four last couples. The great 
 work of the Great Synod is mirrored in the Gnomic say- 
 ing they left in the "Sayings of the Sires," "Be patient 
 in judgment. Bring forth many pupils, and make a fence 
 to the law." Upon that saying the grand towering struc- 
 ture of the Talmud was built. 
 
 THE TALMUD. 
 
 The Talmud, that great written museum, containing 
 untold treasures of a civilized world of bygone six cen- 
 turies, that wonderful universal encyclopedia, which with 
 the Mishna and Midrash, which followed in its train, pre- 
 sents twice as many volumes as of the Encyclopedia Bri- 
 tanica. That wonderful book, which orthodox Judaism 
 considers as sacred, written by the inspiration of the 
 Holy Ghost, is not the work of some individuals, it is a 
 work of the whole Jewish nation as well as of others, 
 who were indirect contributors to that remarkable Ga- 
 zette of the World. The Great Synod laid the first cor- 
 nerstone to the unparalleled structure, and its finish took 
 place a short time before the Hegira of Mohammed. Its 
 various editors in chief, as Rabbi Jochanan( who was the 
 first editor of the Jerusalem Talmud), Eabbi Akiba, Rab- 
 bi Jehuda Hanasi (the prince), who was the editor of 
 the Mishna, were great historians as well as famous sci- 
 entists. Its contributors were reunited from all the ranks 
 and file of society. You can find a contribution from a 
 plain, modest, unskilled laborer, who made a livelihood 
 as a burden carrier, next to an essay of the great Rabon 
 Gamliel; a homelike explanation from a Rabbi next to a 
 story of a mermaid by an old experienced tar; a sketch 
 of plant life by a simple farmer arrayed in line with 
 an essay about medicine and anatomy by a famous med- 
 ical sage. Not only Jews and early Jewish Christians are 
 among its numberless contributors, even pagans have 
 achieved some corners in its vast volumes. There are 
 contributions of Sadducees, Epicurians, Romans, Persians 
 and Chaldeans, whose opinions are published though they 
 are not in harmony with the Talmudical faith and creed.
 
 THE TALMUD 189 
 
 The Talmud is a free trader in thoughts and its motto is 
 "to know." Indeed, it wants to know; what the Al- 
 mighty does, since he created the world, as he is eager 
 to know what Rabbi Akiba did when he shut himself up 
 privately with a noble Roman nation. It displays a fair 
 mode of criticism, free from any prejudice and favorit- 
 jism, and there is not a ;saint on earth or an angel in 
 Heaven, whom it does not make the target to its sharp 
 arrows of true criticism. Even Moses is arraigned before 
 the Talmudical bar, criticising his conduct. He gives 
 honor to whom honor is due, even if he is an opponent. 
 Balaam, who was hired to curse the Jews, is, according 
 to the Talmud, greater in prophecy than Moses. Often, 
 the Rabbis in dispute with the Gentile sages admit frankly 
 the truth of the latter if their arguments on the subject 
 discussed were logical. The Talmud has a special tractat 
 on Anatomy, which compared with the modern knowledge 
 of it it will show a very close one. In that tractat, they 
 distinctly show a clear knowledge of human structure and 
 the different natural architecture of man and woman and 
 it must be borne in mind that many centuries later Chris- 
 tian priests held a council disputing if the woman belong 
 to the human race or not. Had they had a Rabbinical 
 knowledge of anatomy of course such a ridiculous riddle 
 would not have been asked. In the Medical Record edit- 
 ed by the famous Prof. Dr. Shrady, I proved, how the 
 Rabbis knew of the so much talked of Koch's Lymph 
 with its numberless bacilli, while in my "Topics of To- 
 day in the Talmud" (published in London), I showed the 
 Pasteur's method applied by the medical men of the Tal- 
 mud. As a matter of fact, they knew even of electricity, 
 as the Talmud prohibits to bring forth fire either from 
 the ground or from water. Now, what sort of fire can we 
 bring forth from water if not electricity? The Talmud 
 gives also a very scientific definition of fire, which leads 
 to suspect that they knew the mystery of that element. 
 As a religious book the Talmud is far superior than the 
 Bible, as the former has that mystic touch stirring and 
 uplifting the mortal to the Infinite space of life, ennobling 
 his feelings, which is the markation of our destiny, an
 
 190 TREASURES OF TWO WQBLDS. 
 
 inspiration, which the Bible lacks entirely. In poetry 
 it surpasses Homer and his Iliad, as its vast volumes are 
 a long grand epic song describing the heroic struggle of 
 the giants of brain, who fought the mighty Gods, the 
 Gods of the Mountains as well as the Gods of the Val- 
 leys, the dreadful druides as the fearful demons. It is 
 a tale of that struggle, the battle between light and dark- 
 ness, between education and ignorant barbarism, with the 
 final victory of the school master. From a historical point 
 of view the Talmud may be taken as the recorder of his- 
 torical deeds. We can get better information from it 
 about the Hermit Kingdom of the Nile, than from the 
 ten thousands dead mummified recently dug out from 
 its shores at enormous expense. It is a pity that the 
 Talmud has up to date not been disclosed to the scientific 
 world, hence we must therefore give grateful credit to 
 the government of the United States of America and to 
 its Commissioner of Education, the well known Dr. Har- 
 ris, through whom this present "History of Talmudical 
 Education" is presented to the world at large. 
 
 THE TWO TALMUDS. 
 
 Like the Hebrew religion, which is divided into two, 
 the Elohistic and the Jehovistic cult, so the Talmud is 
 divided into two, the Talmud of Jerusalem and the Baby- 
 lonian Talmud. Despite the distinctive names, there 
 were many Babylonians contributors to the Talmud of 
 Jerusalem, as many Jerusalemites were the co-workers 
 of the Babylonian Talmud. 
 
 From an educational standpoint, the Talmud of Jeru- 
 salem is superior to that of Babylon, not only in age, 
 but also in educational principles. The Jerusalemites 
 tried to train the tongue, while the Babylonians aimed to 
 exercise the brain and mental faculty. Both Talmuds are 
 prototypes of the two kinds of Jews we have, correspond- 
 ing to the two kinds of religion. The Talmud of Jerusa- 
 lem has a Jehovistic color, with a liberal toleration toward 
 the Elohists, especially toward the early Jewish Chris- 
 tians, of whom many were in the ranks of its contributors.
 
 THE TWO TALMUDS 191 
 
 It is liberal, yet its liberalism does not extend over the 
 border of its nationality. It reminds one of Peterism of 
 the early Christian period. Again, the Babylonian Tal- 
 mud is of a broader view and has a cosmopolitic tendency 
 like Paul. Like Paulus, the Babylonian Talmud proclaims 
 a Heavenly Jerusalem and curious enough, to find the 
 missing link between them in their views about non- 
 Israelites. To the Babylonian Talmud, as I mentioned in 
 the former chapters, the pagan sage, who studies the law 
 is superior than the high priest, while Paulus uttered 
 the words, "If God wants children from Abraham he can 
 bring them forth from stones." Those who are acquainted 
 with the ways of argument in the Babylonian Talmud 
 will find a striking style of resemblance in the manner 
 it brings forth its arguments. Sure, that Paulus from 
 Tarshish must have had an eatrly Babylonian educa- 
 tion, or in the school of Rabon Gamliel, the Babylonian 
 system was adopted, as he was a disciple of the great 
 Babylonian Hilled whose deeds and teachings resemble 
 to that Christ who lived 100 years later. The epistle of 
 Petrius, again, are written in the style of the Talmud of 
 Jerusalem ,probably he was trained after the educational 
 style of Jerusalem. The Talmud of Jerusaelm is like the 
 Oriental Jew, while the Babylonian Talmud is the model 
 of a Russian Jew in all his ways and manners. The Jeru- 
 salem Talmud is written in a very plain style, having the 
 impression of being written by people of a highly educated 
 standard, people who have paid great stress upon system 
 and order, the indications of education. Its laws are par- 
 agraphed as any of our modern law books, and its sen- 
 tences are brief and to the point. It lays more care for 
 the rhetoric and drill of the tongue than upon the exercise 
 of brain. It is void of any speculative reason, and a dim 
 gloom is cast upon it. The same can be said of the Orien- 
 tal Jew, who is the double of his native Palestinian Tal- 
 mud. To him it is like in Hamlet, words, words and words, 
 more important than reason, and like his Talmud, he 
 moves in the narrow traditional circle of nationality. Like 
 his Talmud, who condemns every speculation on psychic 
 research, only to live as it is written, so the Spanish Ori-
 
 192 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 ental Jew lacks that speculative vigor of brain which has 
 made the Occident Hebrew, especially the Eussians and 
 Polish Jew, famous. Again the Babylonian Talmud is the 
 Eidolon of the Russian and Polish Jew, with whom he 
 grew upon the soil near the Euphrates and Tigris. (The 
 Russian and Polish Jew is a descendant of the Babylonian 
 Jew who made his headway to Europe through Persia 
 and the Caspian sea.) The Russian Jew is of an erratic 
 nature, a lover of speculation, no matter if in religion or 
 in business. He is broad-minded and sharp, yet his life 
 is of a chaotic state without any outlined system and or- 
 der. Ask a Russian Jew a question and as a reply he 
 will ask you another, and in conversation he will take a 
 long journey of talk till he reaches to the point. He will 
 eat pork, yet will fast on the Atonement Day. He is a 
 materialist in the full sense of the word, yet he possesses 
 that mystic inclination of a Mahatma. His Talmud, the 
 Babylonian one, is of the same mold. It is in outside ap- 
 pearance the chaos itself, a helter-skelter in the array of 
 laws. If a sage asks a question the other will answer him 
 with another problem. It wants reason, argument, and 
 every law, no matter of how small matter, it must be an- 
 alyzed to its utmost atomic substance by scholastic process 
 of reason till it is asknowledged as a law. (In that respect 
 it is opposing Herbert Spencer, who says that there is no 
 chemistry for thought.) If the Talmud begins to treat a 
 law for instance : if the ship is liable to house leprosy, it 
 will never come to the point, and it will first traverse all 
 the seven Heavens on high, and all the seven chambers of 
 the Inferno till it arrives to the starting point to the law 
 in question, and decides, after having employed all re- 
 sources of knowledge that the ship is not a house. 
 
 SECOND CHAPTER. 
 
 MOSAIC EDUCATIONAL LAWS; MOSES IN THE 
 LAND OF THE CHALDEANS. 
 
 The Bible may describe the Hegira of Moses and make 
 him shelter under the roof a noble priest of Mid j an, a 
 short distance from Egypt. Legend of the Jewish folk
 
 MOSAIC EDUCATIONAL LAWS 193 
 
 lore may place him in the land of Gush, in Abyssinia as 
 a king ruling there forty years, marked with a peculiar 
 love affair of a dark brown princess. We, by virtue of 
 his actions, deeds, knowledge, assisted by some hints of 
 Rabbinical tradition, are of the view that his forty years 
 of exile he spent among the Chaldeans, and you shall 
 know him best by his deeds than by his fame and name. 
 We will group and array our witnesses to prove our 
 conclusion. They are, first, his religious view; second, 
 his geographical knowledge; third, his educational laws; 
 fourth, his peculiar laws concerning women. We will 
 first proceed with the first witness, regarding his relig- 
 ious views. 
 
 Mosaic Jehovah, Versus Hebraic Elohim. 
 
 When Moses appeared as a redeemer among the He- 
 brews in Egypt, he found two parties, the one the Elo- 
 histic party, mostly composed of those native Hebrews 
 who followed the Patriarch into bondage from their na- 
 tive land, Canaan. The other, the Jehovistic party, who 
 stuck to the Chaldean religious view as imparted by the 
 Chaldean Patriarch Abraham. It was not exactly that 
 the direct offsprings of the Patriarch were Jehovistic or 
 vice versa. The confusion in that religious view was a 
 party issue not dependent upon the lineage of genealogy. 
 It is sure that the Elohists were in the majority, hence 
 the great opposition he met at his first appearance among 
 them. When he proclaimed the name of Jehovah they 
 were so ignorant of it that they doubted in his mission, 
 for their tradition was that Elohim will remember them. 
 His geographical knowledge with such accuracy, outlin- 
 ing every rill, hill, mountain and stream and extending 
 the border of his intended establishment of a Great He- 
 brew empire to the Euphrates, all that globular knowl- 
 edge could not have been acquired by studying a map, 
 which was not at that time in existence, except by trav- 
 eling and tramping through the places he described. His 
 hostility to the Patriarchial institutions and breaking up 
 the family and tribal sovereignty, laying the power in a 
 centralized concentrated force, goes to show that he must
 
 194 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 have known the Chaldeans and their ways and belief in 
 a centralized government. His disfranchising the women 
 and excluding them from public as well as from domestic 
 life, was another blow to the Elohists, who looked upon 
 the weaker sex as superior beings, as the Patriarch was 
 told by Elohim himself, to do anything Sarah will say. 
 The attitude of Moses toward woman was the attitude of 
 the Chaldeans toward their help-mates. More than those 
 indications, Rabbinical traditions hint plainly that Moses 
 knew, or was in the land of the Chaldeans. The book of 
 Job is by the Rabbis credited to Moses as its author and 
 that he made it purposely in Egypt to show the great 
 confidence of the afflicted man in God and how by faith 
 he was rewarded. The simple, yet poetical style and 
 expression of the book, the manifestation of foreign scien- 
 tific views, combined with a local knowledge of Egypt, 
 reveals the author as one of the Scriptures of Moses. 
 Looking upon the book, we must say that it is only a 
 propaganda advocating the Jehovistic religion, and the 
 praise of the astronomical knowledge which Chaldeans 
 of course were famous through it. His idea was to de- 
 monstrate and illustrate the faith in Jehovah not in Elo- 
 him. For that reason the author created a dramatic per- 
 son, Job by name, whose wealth was plundered by the 
 Chaldeans (the mention of the Chaldeans is suspicions). 
 The scene in Heaven, where Elohim gives a reception to 
 the sons of Elohim and entertain with Satan (a personage 
 never mentioned by Jehovistic prophets), looks more as 
 a Satire upon the Elohistic cult. The chapters from the 
 first up to 38 deal with his terrible affliction and the more 
 terrible consoling disputes, arguments of his friends, and 
 during the whole controversy of a speculative philosoph- 
 ical character, the names of Elohim or Shadi are men- 
 tioned. Failing in their waste of words to help, to con- 
 sole, to convince, that poor afflicted Job, they seem to 
 retire to where they came from, and from the 38th chap- 
 ter to the last, Jehovah has the floor and from the midst 
 of a storm he argues with poor Job, not with poetical 
 words and a speculative "perhaps," but with plain words 
 and plainer facts based the phenomena of the solar sys-
 
 MOSAIC JEHOVAH, VS. HEBRAIC ELOHIM 195 
 
 tern and its planetary wonders. (Such astronomical as 
 was taught by the Chaldeans.) Job was, through such 
 facts and array of natural phenomena converted, con- 
 vinced of the power of Jehovah and became a Jehovist, 
 and by his conversion he was by Jehovah again restored 
 to his health and wealth. This is a dramatic outline of 
 poor Job, and its purpose looks as written in a mission- 
 ary style, for the purpose to convert the readers to the 
 Jehovistic cult, and its author could have been no other 
 than Moses. Having established in a general outline the 
 relation of Moses with the Chaldeans, we will give a 
 detailed account of his educational works, which will 
 mark that relation more distinctive and clear. 
 
 Moses and the Bible. 
 
 Those who think of Moses as a religion founder and 
 his Bible as a religious book, have not enough under- 
 standing to distinguish between a law book and a dime 
 novel. Moses is still called by the Jews "Moshe Rab- 
 ainu," a term which means "Moses our teacher." The 
 Bible has no claim for a religious book, as that 
 what we understand under religion, that religious touch 
 which links us to the Infinity as by prayer and the belief 
 in the Immortality, is not to be found in the whole Scrip- 
 ture. Nay, more, among the 613 laws, there is not one 
 regarding prayer, that religious fundament; contrary, he 
 prohibits to build any worship place except the one which 
 place Jehovah will select. (As by the Chaldean policy 
 of centralization their temple was only in Babel.) The 
 Bible is an educational code, and its history is the history 
 of education. In order to understand better what we read 
 in the Scripture, let the actions of Moses' educational 
 work serve as a commentary. 
 
 Moses Breaking Patriarchial Systems and Traditions. 
 
 Moses found the Patriarchial traditions relating to the 
 creation and to the deluge in the Elohistic style, ascrib- 
 ing all the events to Elohim. Not being able to root out 
 f^oni the Hebrews those legends which went over into 
 their blood, he made additional version with a Chaldean
 
 196 TREASUEES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 coloring. To the first chapter of Genesis, where it men- 
 tions how Elohim created man from dust and his wife 
 from his rib. In the Patriarchial Elohistic version wom- 
 an's equality with man is plainly denoted, while in the 
 Mosaic-Jehovistic narrative the degradation of woman is 
 outspoken. In the first chapter of the Deluge, Elohim re- 
 quests Noah to bring into the ark from every creature a 
 pair, without distinction of clean or unclean, while in the 
 Mosaic version, Jehovah tells him to bring in from the 
 clean ones seven pair, and from the unclean a pair. In 
 legislating that man shall forsake his father and mother 
 to cling to his wife, he broke and removed the power of 
 parents and patriarchial government by that law, plac- 
 ing man free and restoring the sacred personal liberty. 
 The only concession he made to the Hebrews was in re- 
 specting for a moment the first born ones, whom he soon 
 deprived of their rights. 
 
 Moses Hoisted the Chaldean Emblem Instead of That of 
 
 Elohim and Removing the Hebrew Alpha Beth 
 
 Replaced it by That of the Chaldeans ! 
 
 When the prophet speaks of Elohim, mentioning his 
 angels, he describes the latter with calf legs. (See first 
 chapter of Ezekiel.) The Apockripha tell of Baal in 
 Babel; that he was a monster serpent. The calf was the 
 emblem of Elohim, while the serpent was the emblem of 
 Jehovah. When the Hebrews made a golden calf they 
 simply hoisted the Elohistic emblem, as their application 
 to Aaron was, make us an Elohim. When Moses came 
 down he destroyed the calf, killing the rebels and hoisted 
 Jehovah's emblem, the serpent, on high, requesting the 
 Hebrews to look at it. As the body of the first born 
 played a great role in the Elohistic plot, he broke their 
 power entirely, placing it in the hands of a select body 
 of teachers, the priests and the Levites. Another step in 
 educational reform was in removing the old Hebrew- 
 Phoenician Alpha Beth, with its zig-zag letters, replacing 
 it by the simple readable Chaldean Alpha Beth with its 
 plain quadrat letters. The Talmud says: "Moses 
 gave the ten commandments with an Egyptian word
 
 MOSES HOISTED THE CHALDEAN EMBLEM 197 
 
 (Andi; I am) with Chaldean letters, and in Hebrew 
 tongue. The Chaldean style of writing was a great edu- 
 cational medium in diffusing the knowledge to all." 
 
 Selecting Teachers. 
 
 In appointing judges, Moses did away with the Patri- 
 archial power, centralizing it in the hands of the law. 
 The same centralization method he employed in educa- 
 tion, by selecting a special body of teachers, the priest 
 and Levites whose aim shall be to teach. As he says they, 
 those of the tribe of Levy, shall teach Thy laws to Jacob 
 and the knowledge to Isreal. In order to be devoted to 
 their profession he did not allow them by the law to have 
 any earthly possession, as house or land. As they were 
 the teachers of the people, hence their income was from 
 them in the shape of the tithe, from the land and the 
 flock. Moses, like the Chaldeans, thought that women 
 are emotional, not fit for leading serious subjects of a 
 scientific character. They are good to tell tales and 
 stories but not higher practical teachings, hence, he pro- 
 hibited even a woman to practice witchcarft, and death 
 was her penalty (so by the Chaldeans, too). As the prim- 
 itive science was based upon observation and proxies, and 
 as there was a demand for teachers more than for pupils, 
 hence he gave them such law to study science. He gave 
 them laws concerning what to eat and what not, in or- 
 der to have an opportunity to study natural history. The 
 laws of clean and unclean, leprosy and other diseases 
 forced them to study medicine and anatomy. The laws 
 concerning the mixed plantation brought them to learn 
 botany. But the most practical subject of study was the 
 laws governing calendaring and regulation of festivals, 
 which was regulated on the astronomical plan of the 
 Chaldeans, even the division of the weeks, days and 
 months. By such laws, the teachers were educated in 
 the branches of science who were bound to teach the 
 knowledge accumulated to the pupils at large. From this 
 standpoint, the Bible is the educational code for teachers 
 outlining the subjects of teachings. 
 
 Laws: To Teach. One of the 613 Laws is a special
 
 198 TBEASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 law; to teach the children. The law in question runs as 
 follows : Ye shall teach those laws your children, they 
 shall speak of them always. Maimonides declares that in 
 that law is included the law to teach in the sacred tongue. 
 Another law in that line says that once in seven years 
 to gather all the people, even women and children, in 
 order they shall hear and learn. That law is more denot- 
 ing religious education. Tell and teach your children is 
 an obligatory law. It was told to the individual, the 
 father as well as to the nation at large so that in case 
 there were no parents, the nation took parently respon- 
 sibility of education. Instead the old patriarchial folk 
 lore and tales, Moses legislated subjects to be taught, the 
 one is history, the other geography, as it is to be seen 
 plainly in his request "to remember the days of yore, to 
 mark the years of generations (history) to ask thy father 
 to tell you, thy elders to explain how the Most High has 
 settled the nations dividing the sons of Man in fixing the 
 borders of nations (geography)." That was the corner- 
 stone which the great educator, Moses, laid to his educa- 
 tional structure. How it has grown by other educational 
 architects, we will see in the run of history. 
 
 The School of Prophets. 
 
 As soon as the Hebrews invaded Canaan, after the 
 death of Moses, the Elohists, by virtue of their majority, 
 assimilated themselves with the native Hebrews, whose 
 language they understood and spoke. The consequence of 
 that assimilation was the re-establishment of the old Patri- 
 archial government, and the rule of Tribal Sheiks, as in 
 days of yore. From an educational standpoint it was the 
 worst period in Jewish history. The adoption of the Phoe- 
 nician Alpha Beth, made difficult to study, and the re-es- 
 tablishment of the Elohistic cult brought in its train the 
 old Patriarchial system of government with its endless 
 feud and tribal wars. The women came again to the front, 
 and the educational office was again in their hands, rear- 
 ing their children in the old system in the oral, traditional 
 songs and folk lore. No wonder that during the time of 
 the Judges, women as Deborah, Jaet and others, were the
 
 THE SCHOOL OF PROPHETS 191) 
 
 better educated ones than the sons of Israel. The educa- 
 tional history since the invading of Canaan begins with 
 the seer Samuel, who was the founder of the famous 
 school of the Prophets, and the restorer of the Mosaic 
 Jehovistic religion. Samuel made a step of great reform 
 in placing the education in the hands of good trained 
 teachers, not belonging to the Elohistic ignorant set of 
 priests as the children of Eli were. The consequence of 
 the restoration of the Jehovistic religion was the cen- 
 tralization of government in the hands of an absolute 
 King. As the first King Saul proved not satisfactory, 
 he was replaced by David. The school of the Prophets 
 was in existence during the four hundred years till the 
 first destruction. The pupils were called "Benai Han- 
 biym" (children of the Prophets). The prominent mas- 
 ters of that school were: Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Edow, 
 Adi Jahu from Shilo, Elyahu, Elisha, Jehu Ben Chanani, 
 Ebad Jahy. Michahu Ben Jimla. That class of prophets 
 were not of the kindred ones, the authors of the Scrip- 
 tures. The former were prophets by virtue of their train- 
 ing and study, while the latter were inspired by those 
 hidden forces of Nature the marks of all the genius of 
 all the ages. The former distinguished themselves by 
 deeds, action, the latter by words and orations. The for- 
 mer were strict, stern Jehovists, while among the latter 
 some had an Elohistic coloring (as Ezekiel and others). 
 The school of the Prophets were not a stable one; it 
 was always on the move from place to place, as such 
 was the only way of distributing knowledge among the 
 classes. (It reminds one of the methods of the scalds 
 the disciples of Odon.) It is curious to note that the 
 first founder of that school, Samuel, was called Roe, a 
 term which means the seer in the clouds, while Gad and 
 Edow were called Chosim, which means star-gazers. It 
 seems that in progression of time some of the masters 
 have established colleges as the name of Edow's College 
 "Midrash Edow," in whose archives were chronicled the 
 events and history of the reigning kings. The result of 
 that educational department could best be seen that 
 when King David recognized the castes of the priests
 
 200 TREASURES OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 and Levites he appointed under the direction of Heiman 
 288 teachers of Music. In spite of that splendid re- 
 sult the gates of education were still blocked to the 
 people by the Hieroglyphic Phoenician Alpha Beth 
 which was without vowels and punctuations. The Tal- 
 mud tells us that when Joab, the commander in chief 
 of David, was ordered to make war on Amalek, with the 
 instruction to kill and to wipe out all the remembrance 
 (Seicher) of Amalek, he went and killed only the males; 
 when questioned about it, he replied that his teacher 
 taught him to wipe out the males (Sachor). Such a mis- 
 reading and misteaching was due to the Phoenician Alpha 
 Beth, which had neither vowels nor punctuations. This 
 goes to show what an important role the simple qudarat 
 Alpha Beth of the Chaldeans played in the education of 
 the Hebrews ! 
 
 FROM THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE TO THE 
 
 EXILE. 
 
 The building of the Temple and the reorganization of 
 the priests as teachers, which promised to develop edu- 
 cation, was alas, only a promise and of a short duration. 
 No sooner had King Solomon closed his eyes the unruly 
 party of the Elohists rose as one man and the ten tribes 
 under the leadership of Jerobam hoisted Elohim's em- 
 blem, the two Golden Calves. That the separation was 
 a pure Elohistic point of view we can see by the party 
 issue of its platform as proclaimed by Jerobam: "To 
 Thy Tents, Israel," which means a restoration of home 
 rule, placing the right over life and death in the hands 
 of parents and tribal sheikc. In spite that the Elohistic 
 government tolerated to a certain extent the Jehovistic 
 school of the prophets, the outlook for education was a 
 gloomy one, as it was tempered indirectly by the proph- 
 ets and priests of the Baal. The educational develop- 
 ment among the other two tribes who still maintained a 
 Jehovistic sham religion, was at a standstill and during 
 the four hundred years of the Temple's existence, its 
 priests were renowned for their ignorance. During that
 
 FROM THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE 201 
 
 sad long period of four dark centuries, we find only one 
 Jehovistic King, Jehoshofat, who tried to reorganize the 
 priests and Levites as teachers as Moses founded them. 
 He, that King, says the chronicle, sent out the priests 
 and Levites among the people, with them the book of 
 the written laws of Jehovah, to visit all the cities in 
 Judah to teach among the people. A sad, deplorable 
 case of ignorance can be illustrated that when the high 
 priest Chilkijahu found an old book of Moses in the 
 Temple he could not read it and gave it to Shafan, the 
 scribe, who by advice of the King Joshijahu, brought it 
 to the prophet Childa, for interpretation. It is probable 
 that it was one of the ancient early books of the Law, 
 which was written simple, plain, with regular vowels and 
 punctuations in the Chaldean Alpha Beth, hence, neither 
 the high priest nor the scribe were able to read. To 
 sum up the history of the Jews in the first four hundred 
 years from the building of the Temple to its destruction, 
 we will find that education was better developed under 
 the Jehovistic religion than under the Patriarchial sys- 
 tem of the Elohistic cult. No wonder that the great 
 Jehovistic prophet, Jeremiah, has advocated the invasion 
 of the Chaldeans, who were Jehovists, and called their 
 King Nebuchadnezzar, the servant of Jehovah. The rea- 
 son for it was that even the last two scribes have be- 
 come worshipers of Elohim. (It is now understood why 
 Nebuchadnezzar favored the author of the Lamenta- 
 tions.) Even the Talmud says that the Almighty did a 
 charitable work in exiling the Hebrews into the land 
 of the enlightened Chaldeans.

 
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