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had been demolished, which, according to its inscription, was above 1500 years old, and that this stone was held in such reverence, that pieces thereof had been forwarded to various places far and near, as something highly remarkable. Dr. Fange considers this statement authentic, because the author of the MS. (Rabbi Lob Kirchheim) was one of the learned men of the town, and lived at the time given as that of the occurrence. From this fact Dr. F. argues, that at any rate Jews must have been residing at Worms prior to the destruction of the second temple. As further testimony in favour of this supposition, it may be mentioned, that from a Jewish book, called "Maase Nissim," it appears that the Jews at Worms have had their own jurisdiction in matters of life and death, and that capital punishments have been actually executed by them. According to Sanhedrin (p. 14), the Jewish nation had been divested of this right for forty years previous to the destruction of the second temple, and it would therefore follow that Jews must have been residing at Worms prior to that period.

The age of the synagogue is a disputed point. Some suppose it to be 808, others 818 years old; but a distinguished modern artist, judging from its original style of building, is of opinion that its age must be between 1100 and 1200 years. In one of the external walls of this ancient edifice there is a recess, respecting which the legend goes, that it was miraculously formed for the purpose of preserving the mother of the famous Rabbi Jehuda Hachasid, on an occasion of imminent danger. The wall is called to this day, "Rabbi Jehuda Hachasid's wall."

Worms was also for a considerable time the sphere of labour of the Jewish commentator Rashi (who lived from 1040 to 1105). A little place, of very ancient appearance, is pointed out, on the right hand side of the yard of the synagogue, in the centre of which there is an elevated seat, which bears the name of "Rashi's chair." In this place the learned rabbi delivered his lectures, during many years, to a considerable number of students thirsting after Talmudical knowledge. Opposite to this place the letter N (A) is hewn into the wall, to which, it is said, the severe rabbi referred those of his students whom he had cause to reprimand, alluding to the necessity of their beginning their studies again at the first letter of the alphabet. "Rashi's chair" is still held in much reverence, and the devout Jew will not venture to take his seat there, even for a moment, as it is said in Shulcan Aruch, "Thou shalt not sit on thy teacher's chair."

The interior of the synagogue is somewhat modernised. But two lights are to this day kept continually burning, day and

These are called the
The following is the

night, memorials of an age long past.
ever-burning light of the two strangers.
history of these lights as related to the visitor :-

One day a grand Roman Catholic procession was passing through all the streets of Worms, when suddenly, while moving through the Jewish street, the cry was raised, that the crucifix had been defiled and desecrated. The enraged populace demanded revenge, and the Jews were called upon to give up the delinquent, that the desecration might be atoned for with his blood. Seven days were allowed to them for executing the order, at the expiration of which period, unless the criminals were delivered into the hands of executioners, it was threatened that the destruction of the whole congregation should wipe out the sacrilege. The seventh day of the allotted period had come round; it was also the seventh day of the feast of Passover. When about to go into the synagogue, the beadle heard a loud knocking at the gates of the Jewish street; for they were always kept locked on Jewish or Christian festivals. Two men were found standing without, who stated that they were Jews, and requested admission. The beadle communicated to them the great calamity that had befallen the congregation, and that this was the last day of the time allowed them. The strangers, however, replied that they knew all, and were come to deliver their brethren; upon which the gates were opened to them. They refused, however, to disclose either their names or the places whence they came. Soon after, the infuriated populace came rushing towards the street, to satiate their revengeful feelings in the slaughter of the Jews. But the two strangers stepped forward, exclaiming, "Stain not your hands with innocent blood, for we have committed the crime!" They then suffered a most painful death.

It is in memory of these two strangers that the two lights are kept burning, and such is the attention bestowed on them that it is asserted that they have not for one moment ceased to burn.

Among the rolls of the law kept in the synagogue, there is one written by Rabbi Meyer bar Baruch of Rothenburg, a celebrated author of various works. He was made a prisoner by the Count Mainhard, of Görz, when he was on the point of proceeding to Jerusalem, to spend the remainder of his days in the city of his fathers. The Jews were willing to pay the large ransom demanded by the count, and which indeed was what the count speculated upon, in depriving the Rabbi of his liberty. But the latter could not be prevailed upon to have his liberation purchased at so great a sacrifice, and pre

ferred remaining the count's prisoner for seven years, when death set him at liberty, in 1292.

Out of this roll of the law the lessons are read in the synagogue on the eighth day of Passover, the second of Pentecost, and the eighth and ninth days of the feast of Tabernacles. A legend is connected with it, to the effect that the roll was thrown by the rabbi out of his prison window into the Rhine, and picked up by some Jews of Worms, after others had in vain tried to get possession of the mysterious box floating in the river.

From the manner in which the synagogue has been built, viz., divided completely into two parts, one for the men, and the other for the women, it is supposed that the women in former times had their own female reader.

Close to this synagogue there is a small place, called (Rashi's Synagogue), in which on certain days the service is performed.

In the year 1096, the Jews of Worms suffered much from the Crusaders. In the thirteenth century the Flagellantes, or whippers, succeeded in stirring up a persecution of the Jews, by asserting that the pestilence raging in the year 1349 (the "black death") had been occasioned by the Jews poisoning the springs. The magistrate of the town, in consequence, pronounced sentence of death upon all the Jewish inhabitants, and they were massacred by hundreds. The injustice of such a barbarous sentence was, however, felt by many of the better thinking and more intelligent Christians in the place, who hid whole Jewish families in their houses, to protect them from the fury of the enraged populace. A foolish legend tells how these secret hiding-places were betrayed by means of a goose flying about and descending on every such building, until the artifice of a Jew put a stop to the revelations of the sagacious bird.

In the year 1315, King Ludwig IV. (the Bavarian) rewarded the Christian inhabitants of Worms for their valuable assistance in his quarrel with Frederick, Duke of Austria, by permitting them to take from the Jews annually £300; this sum was, in the following year, increased to £700.

Charles IV. went still further. He granted to the community the right of doing with the Jews and their property whatever they chose.

Thus rulers were changed, but with every succeeding one the injuries done to the poor oppressed Jews were renewed. In the year 1500, Maximilian I. renewed the gratuity of his ancestors, by making a present of the Jews, their goods and

chattels to the town. The bakers were prohibited to bake bread for them, etc., etc.

Much more might be related of the cruel treatment of the Jews at Worms; but it may suffice to advert here, in addition to the temporary expulsion of the whole Jewish community (14,000 souls) in the year 1615, to the fact, that once a year the whole congregation, with the exception of the synagogue wardens, had to assemble in the presence of the senators, to turn, one by one, the wheel of a corn-mill (ordinarily kept in motion by a horse), in order to grind a certain quantity of corn for the benefit of the town. On these occasions the gaoler was entrusted with the duty of lashing with a whip any one who tried to rest for a moment from the hard labour. This tyrannical custom continued till the year 1697, when it was commuted for the payment of fifty pounds in ready money, and five pounds annually.-Jewish Intelligence.

AN EXAMPLE WORTHY TO BE FOLLOWED.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE "JEWISH HERALD."

DEAR SIR,-I would direct the attention of your readers to two letters, which have appeared in the "Evangelical Magazine," penned by F. S. Gervis, Esq., of Tiverton, the object of which is to remind Christians of their obligations to the Jews, to excite sympathy for their present condition, and to draw attention to your Society-the aim of which is to meliorate, in the best sense, their sad state-and to solicit increased and essentially necessary support, that you may be enabled to continue your wide-spread, most suitable, and, all things considered, successful agency. For my own part, I wished that these letters had been sent to the "Herald" but, on reflection, it appears well that they were inserted in the pages of the highly respectable magazine referred to. It must afford pleasure to every lover of the Jews, and every advocate of their claims, to observe occasional references to your important Society made in the religious periodicals of the day. May such allusions be multiplied! especially such spirited and pious epistles as those to which I am at present referring. One of these appeared in the September number of the "Evangelical Magazine;" and the other, to which I would particularly call attention, in December of last year. Let me now transcribe as much of the last epistle as may suffice to indicate the example worthy to be followed. Mr. Gervis writes thus:-"In the September number of the

"Evangelical Magazine," I directed attention to the claims of this mission (British Mission to the Jews), which has for its object the dissemination of the Scriptures among the Jewish people at home and abroad, and seeking to evangelize them, by sending missionaries qualified to preach the glorious gospel of the grace of God. Having suggested a plan for raising the funds of a Society so eminently calculated to accomplish the work of the Lord in their conversion, by the members of churches aiding and sustaining so holy a cause by united efforts and annual subscriptions, I have begun to try the experiment of ascertaining what may be done by a little perseverence and persuasion; commending the attempt to Him who alone can prosper it. Accordingly, I sent to the Treasurer (query Secretary), requesting him to send me a supply of tracts, which was kindly and promptly acceded to. These I sent in envelopes to the members of our church and congregation. I then called on them personally, asking for an annual subscription to sustain the funds of the Society. Suffice it to say, that hitherto I have met with no instance of a refusal. My visits have been cordially received, and already I have the promise of many pounds in the shape of subscriptions and donations. Instead of sending up next year a solitary subscription, or something a little beyond, to the Treasurer, I shall have the pleasure of forwarding a more substantial sum. I carry with me a collecting-book, lined and marked in due form, for the convenience of receiving quarterly, half-yearly, or annual subscriptions and donations, and by a plan so simple, I have already succeeded in doing what every member of a church may do, excite an interest for the salvation of Israel, and promote a spirit of inquiry and prayer for the cause of Zion and its prosperity."

This detail of the writer's personal, zealous, wisely planned, and able and successfully executed efforts, is followed by appropriate remarks, showing the value and importance of your Society, and what is the testimony of Scripture in relation to the object it has in view; and vigorously employs the sword of the Spirit in its behalf; warmly appealing for the sympathy and support it deserves and demands from all the children of God. If this worthy example were to be followed by only one in every church, no expression of fear would be heard again that you would be obliged to give up the employment of any portion of your agency in a sphere so promising, and, even now, scantily occupied.

I am, dear sir, yours faithfully, Collumpton, Feb.

A. D. S.

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