and few or no convicts in our penitentiaries in charge of the state. In this city (New York) and other parts of the state, we have a large number of Jews, and we have also in the city and state a large number of asylums, hospitals, jails, poor-houses, and houses of refuge; and we venture the assertion, that in all of them there are not a dozen Jewish men, women, and children. It is a remarkable fact, and as creditable to the "chosen people" as it is remarkable, that in the State prison at Sing-Sing, New York, there are seven hundred and ninety odd prisoners, of every creed and colour save and except the Jewish-NOT ONE person of the Jewish faith or descent is among the number.-Jewish Chronicle. HEBREW POETS IN SPAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES. THE history of Jewish literature during the twelfth century, is adorned with the names of many Hebrew poets, both in Spain and in Africa: Rabbi Aaron Ben Rabbi Joshua Alemani, at Alexandria; Rabbi Salamon Abu Ajab Ibn Almalam, whose verses in the words of Al Charisi, "made the dumb to sing, and caused light to strike upon the eyes of the blind;" Rabbi Chalfon Hallevi, of Damietta, called in Arabic Abu Said; Rabbi Levi Ben Jacob Altabban, with his brothers at Saragossa; and many besides. All these poets kept up an interchange of friendship and correspondence with one another; and with him who was considered by all to have surpassed his predecessors and contemporaries-Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel Hallevi. Al Charisi has expressed his feelings on this subject in the following language; not, however, without considerable exaggeration in the choice of his figures :-"The poetry of Judah the Levite is like a diadem on the head of the Synagogue, and a necklace of pearls around its neck; it is the pillar of the temple of poetry, he is the man armed with a lance, who overthrows all the giants of the art: his songs take away courage from the prudent; he has exhausted the storehouse, he has carried off precious spoil: he is gone out, and has closed the door after him, so that none may enter. All the poets who follow him have his words in their mouth; he rends the heart, he takes possession of it by his songs of supplication; his lays of love are gentle as the dew, yet fervent as the burning coal. In his letters and his writings all poetry is contained." Excepting the year of his birth, (1105), and its locality at Castile, we have no records of the life of Judah Hallevi; and no details, beyond a few interesting notices, gathered from his own works. From these we learn to appreciate him; not as the prince of poets only, but as one of the most interesting characters we meet with in the history of modern Judaism. The master feeling which accompanied him through life, and gave a peculiar turn to his mental efforts, was a strong affection for the spot where the temple of Jehovah once stood? and this feeling pervaded the whole of his poetry. He eventually undertook a journey to Palestine; and, according to the relations of his biographers, he reached the threshold of Jerusalem, but died before entering its gates; being trampled down as tradition tells us, by the horse of an Arabian Moslem, while he was chanting an elegy on the misfortunes of Judah and Jerusalem before one of the gates of that city. More modern biographers have classed this tale among the Jewish legends of the middle ages; and give as their opinion, that he died during his stay in Egypt, while on his way to Jerusalem. It is, at all events, certain that he never entered the city, the object of his affections; and this gives a still more touching interest to the account he himself gives of the emotions of his heart, from the time he formed a resolution to accomplish his vow of pilgrimage. He expresses with much feeling, the yearning of his soul towards the land of his fathers, in the following lines of one of his poems :- In the west is my body, while my heart is in the east. What has long been the joy of my hope, now becomes a lengthened torment. Ah! shall I ever obtain what my soul has so long desired; I, who live among Ishmael, while Edom posseses Zion! What is Spain to me, with her blue sky, and her bright fame? In comparison with a little dust of that temple, which is trodden under foot by the Gentiles. A friend of Hallevi's, also a poet, tried, by a poetical epistle to dissuade him from this perilous enterprise. He answered him by a poem, in which he complains "that the graceful verses of the letter he had received, concealed daggers to wound him; and that thorns were hid beneath the softness of its fine expressions." For further satisfaction, he refers him to those of their fathers, who had journeyed in that country which had received the immediate revelation of God, and his heralds the prophets. He ends by exhorting his cool adviser against that Greek wisdom, which had always been inimical to any depth of religious feeling; and, which must ever continue incompatible with the foundations of Judaism. Other poems of Hallevi are dated after the time when he really began his journey. When at sea, he called to mind with affection, all the members of his family; his brothers, sisters, daughters, the synagogue of his country, and the place he had filled in it: yet, still the longing desire to behold the land of the altar, and of the ark of God, remained uppermost in his mind. "If he can but accomplish his vow, the sight of jackals and hyenas would be rather welcome than terrible to him; and the roaring of the lion more pleasing music than the bleating of flocks." His last poetry was written in Egypt, where this celebrated writer received an honourable and hospitable welcome. We have already mentioned his end. His writings, besides his hymns, many of which are incorporated in the Liturgy of the Synagogues, consist of elegies, epithalamiums, and paraphrases on verses of the Psalms; with a work in Arabic prose, which has gained great celebrity. This book, named "Khusari," is an apology for Judaism, in the form of an imaginary dialogue between a king of the Chasars, and an Israelitish Rabbi; who supports the cause of the Talmudists, against the doctrines of the Karaites, and the philosophy of the Gentiles. A later version of this work was made in 1560, by T. Buxtorf, the son; and a Spanish translation by the Portuguese, Rabbi Jacob Abendana, in England, (A.D. 1663). Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman, born at Girona in Catalonia, (1194), and also famed for his poetry and learning, was more successful than Rabbi Judah, in the attempt which he also made to visit Palestine; where he ended his days in 1267. In a letter to his son, he gives an account of his feelings, excited by his residence in that country. "My son, Nachman," he writes, "may the Lord bless you, and grant you to see the peace of Jerusalem, and your children's children. I date this letter from Jerusalem, the holy city; I give thanks and praise to the God of my salvation, that I was enabled to reach this place in safety, on the ninth of the month Elul. I have remained here until now, the day following the Great Day of Atonement. My plan is to visit Hebron, to cast myself upon the sepulchres of our fathers, and there to prepare my own tomb. What can I say of this country? Great is its desolation and sterility; the more holy the spot, the more completely is it abandoned; Jerusalem is the most degraded of all; Judea more so than Galilee: yet, even in its desolation, it is a blessed country. The city contains 2,000 inhabitants; 300 of whom are Christians, who have escaped the sword of the Sultan. Since the invasion of the Tartars, no Jews have been settled here, only two brothers, dyers by tia le, are Jews. At their house we assembled, to the number of ten, and celebrated the Sabbath with prayers. We have now succeeded in procuring a deserted house, with marble pillars and a fine vaulted roof; and have transformed it into a Synagogue. The city has, properly speaking, no government, and he that wishes, may take possession of the parts unoccupied. We have contributed the needful expense, to ensure possession of the house, for the purpose I mentioned. We have also procured from Sichem, some volumes of the law; which had been concealed there at the time of the Tartar invasion. Thus, we shall have a Synagogue, and shall pray here. Men and women flock from all parts to Jerusalem; from Aleppo, Damascus, and all parts of the country, to behold the sanctuary and to weep. May he who has permitted me to see Jerusalem in her desolation, grant that we may see her restored, rebuilt, and filled with the glory of the Lord; may you, my son, see the welfare of Jerusalem, and be witness of the consolation of Zion !" The letter is ended by remembrances to his disciples, and especially to his nephew, Rabbi Moses Ben Salomo; an elegy of whose composition had been recited by Moses Ben Nachmanon, the Mount of Olives.-Israel and the Gentiles, Da Costa. A NEW YEAR'S OFFERING TO THE MINISTER. It was New Year's morning, and as usual a meeting had been held at an early hour in the school-room belonging to WS- Chapel, for the purpose of uniting in thankful acknowledgments to our heavenly Father for the mercies of the past year, of confessing sin and imploring its forgiveness, and of supplicating needed grace for all that might occur in the course of the new period of time on which we had entered. Such engagements have about them a peculiar impressiveness. We think of those who began the past year with us, but who saw not its close; and we contemplate the possibility that ere twelve more months have run their round, we "shall be missed and our seats will be empty." The changing character of the past teaches us the uncertainty of the future, and renders sweetly attractive the unchangeableness of Him who is "the same yesterday, to day, and for ever." The review of our unworthiness gives us a new lesson in the value of Jesus as the Surety of the New Covenant, and a deepened sense of obligation suggests renewed desires to live and labour for Him who "remembered us in our low estate," and who is "able to save to o uttermost." Such thoughts and feelings as these have pervaded our meeting, and were breathed in our united addresses to the throne of grace. We sang together the pilgrim's song→ "Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, Feed me till I want no more.”— and returned to our respective duties softened, humbled, yet encouraged. On taking my place at the breakfast table a few minutes. afterwards, I found a letter lying upon it addressed to myself but in handwriting which I did not recognize. It evidently contained money, and as I opened it there dropped from the envelope a sovereign and a half-sovereign. I read as follows: Chapel, feel Dear Sir,-The Servants connected with WSmuch indebted to you for the deep interest you have taken in our spiritual welfare, especially in conducting a Bible Class for our instruction. We feel anxious to make some acknowledgment of our gratitude for your kindness to us; but feeling we should not be able to present you with anything worthy of your acceptance, we thought it would be more gratifying to you if we subscribed a small amount of money to be devoted to disseminating Christianity among the Jews. We therefore beg you will accept the inclosed for that purpose, as the humble acknowledgment of our gratitude. Praying that your valuable life may be long spared to instruct us in the things which belong to our peace, We are, dear Sir, THE SERVANTS CONNECTED WITH YOUR BIBLE CLASS It was with gratification of no ordinary kind that I read this communication. I felt repaid for all the time and effort which had been expended on my Servants' Bible Class; and I saw an affecting answer to many prayers which, from others as well as from myself, had arisen that the labours of the pastor might not be in vain-that there might be discovered some tokens for good among the congregation committed to my charge. There was something peculiarly gratifying, too, in the circumstance that the class had concluded that their minister would be better satisfied with an offering to God than with a present for himself; and it was equally pleasing to observe the good taste which had dictated the direction into which the offering was to be transmitted. They had reasons to know, that of all the various schemes which appeal to Christian effort and benevolence, none occupied a larger share |