In England; divided government, that they enjoy their wealth and grandeur without raising the jealoufy, zeal, and envy of the populace; whilft the rest carry on a confiderable traffic both at home and abroad, without being liable to those heavy impofitions, vexatious profecutions, profcriptions, and other difafters which we have seen them groan under in other parts of Europe. THOSE here in England have no lefs reafon to praise the mildness of our government, and the hofpitable treatment of our nation towards them. Here they are allowed full liberty of their religion, a full freedom of trade, and the quiet enjoyment of their properties. They are, like thofe of Holland, into Ger- commonly distinguished into German and Portuguese, or, more man and properly, into northern and fouthern, and have each their refpective fynagogues, chiefs, fchools, &c. but no academy; fo that they are obliged to fend their youth to be educated, the one in fome of those in Germany, and the other, in that of Portu guese, Nathan formerly mentioned, The last we shall name is the l'an du monde 5403, that is, A. C. 1643. He afterwards enlarged and improved it, and tranflated it into Hebrew, and gave it the title of Tabnith Hekal, the Figure of the Temple. It was greatly admired by the learned, and the duke of Brunswick ordered a Latin verfion to be made of it, with proper cuts, that he might judge the better of it. Judah added to it a defcription of the tabernacle, and a treatise about the ark and the cherubims, and an expofition of the Pfalms, in which he undertook to explain the metaphorical expreffions of the thalmud, which he faid coft him no fmall pains and study. He likewife wrote an account of fome conferences which he had held with Chriftian doctors; but thefe two laft works, and a third, in which he defigned to fhew the manner in which the Jewish morning and evening facrifices were offered, have never been printed (29). (28) Bafn. ibid. Wolf, N. 501. p. 316. (29) Wolf, ub. fup. N. 1048, p. 593. Bafnag, ub. fup. §. 18. Amfterdam Amfterdam. The former are by far the most indigent, as well as the most zealous for their religion, and most careful to inftruct their meaneft children in it, and in the knowlege of the Hebrew tongue : whereas the latter being rich, and fome of them opulent, are more remifs in all these respects; infomuch, that many of them cannot fo much as understand the liturgy of their fynagogues, but have it tranflated into Portuguese. However, both have had fome learned rabbies, and, among the latter, the late R. Netto was justly esteemed a man R. Netto, well verfed, not only in Jewish, but in every other kind of learning. But the generality of them are more used to merchandize and traffic, than to the study of their doctors. The rich among them are very generous and charitable, not only to their own poor, but to those of the Christians; and fome of them have diffufed their beneficence among their neighbours, round their country feats, to fuch a degree, and in fuch a difcrete manner, as the nobleft Chriftians might be proud to imitate. As to thofe of lower rank, efpecially fuch as deal in the pedling mercantile way, one may say of them, what the Spaniards fay of the Andalufians : El Andaluz haze la Cruz. How they were re-admitted into this kingdom, after having been fo long kept out of it by fevere laws, we have already hinted, in speaking of Manaffe ben Ifrael; and this privilege hath appeared fo confiderable to them, that they have made a new epocha of it, which they caufe to be ingraven on their Their new monuments, and date their most confiderable writings from epoch from it. And having obtained leave to build a fynagogue, they their adftiled it Holy Affembly, and Jewish Parnaffus &. They are here mission inta much more affable, familiar, and converfible than in moft other England. countries; and will not decline a difpute about religion, where it is only done by way of converfation, and will exprefs their minds with great freedom. But when it is meant in order to convert fome of the flock, the very priests and cachams will refufe it. Such a cafe the late learned bishop Kidder tells us happened unto him, who having defired a conference with one of them, in behalf of a young Jewess, who had al- Hatred ready received fome knowlege and relifh for Chriftianity; the against cacham not only declined it, but advised her parents to fhut Chriftian her up". For, whatever kind allowance the strictest of them converti may make for those who renounce Judaifm, to avoid death, perfecution, banishment, or even the lofs of their goods, in 8 BARRIOS Epift. ad. Kahal Kadofh, (Holy Affembly) de Londres, an. 1683 p. 72. Demonftration of the Meffiah. which cafes fome of their thalmudift doctors affirm, that the law doth allow them to diffemble; yet it is certain that even the most remifs and loofest among them, detest all that turn Chriftians on any other account; neither do any of thefe ever think it fafe to go among, or converse with them afterwards. Their pre- We have now brought the hiftory of the eastern and weftSent ftate ern Jews down to the clofe of the feventeenth century; there in all parts remains only that we give our readers a fhort account of their of the present state in all the parts of the world. Several eminent hands, both of their nation, and among the Chriftians, have endeavoured to come to fome tolerable knowledge of their number; among whom we fhall only felect fome few, who feem to us to have made the best enquiries after it. world. R. Luzati's ac them. ONE of their late writers, who taught at Venice, owns "it to be very difficult to come at the precife number of count of them, they being at this time difperfed over fo many parts "of the world. We can get no intelligence concerning the "ten tribes carried away captive by Shalmanezar, nor of "the country where they were fettled, tho' the globe is now "fo well known. If we begin with the Eaft, we know that "there is a vast quantity of Jews in the kingdom of Perfia, "tho' they enjoy but little liberty there. The Turkish em"pire is their chief retreat, not only as they have been long fince fettled in it, but because a very great number of those "that were expelled out of Portugal and Spain, retired thi "ther. They are more numerous in Conftantinople and Saloni"chi (Theffalonica), than in any other part, and are reckoned "to amount to above 80,000 in those two cities, and upwards "of a million in the whole empire. A vaft concourfe of pilgrims flock to Jerufalem from all parts of the world, "and bring thither great fums for the maintenance of their academies and numerous poor. "THEY are likewife difperfed all over Germany, especially "in the emperor's dominions, but are ftill more numerous " in Poland, Lithuania, and Ruffia; and it is there we have "our academies, and feveral thousands of difciples, who study "our laws both civil and canonical, because they there enjoy "the privilege of judging all caufes civil and criminal among "themselves. They are not fo numerous in the proteftant 66 ftates, which are fevered from the church of Rome, tho' they are treated with greater charity and mildness, in the "Low Countries, at Rotterdam, Amfterdam, Hamburg, and "other free towns, where commerce is open to all strangers. 18. R. SIMON LUZATI Difcorf. circa il ftato degli Hebrei. c. "ALL 66 "ALL the Italian princes tolerate and favour the Jews, "and inviolably maintain them in their privileges, without any alteration; and I reckon that there are about 25,000 in "that country. In Fez, Morocco, and other states, which are not fubject to the Turks, they are so much the more nu"merous, as they can fo eafily pafs thither from Spain and "Portugal. There are many other places in Afric, along "the fea-coafts, which are mostly peopled by Jews; but as "they are not known to us, it is very difficult to fix the "number of them." Thus far our Venetian rabbi, concerning the present state of the Jewish nation. ben Ifrael. On the other hand, R. Manasse Ben Ifrael, lately mention- That of ed, who believed the return of all the Jews to be near at Manaffe hand, thought it clearly fignified by the prophet Isaiah (N); and juftly obferved that noble prophecy could not be meant of the return from the Babylonifh captivity, because God did k * MENASS. Efperanza de Ifrael. (N) In that day, fays the prophet (30), the Lord shall fet his band again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which fhall be left, from Affyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cufh (Ethiopia), and from Elam (Perfia), and from Shinar (Babylon), and from Hamath (the East), and from the ifles of the fea (the Weft). And he fall fet up an enfign for the nations, and fhall affemble the outcafts of Ifrael, and gather together the difperfed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth, &c. And in another place (31) he adds, And in that day the Lord fball beat, or fake down from the channel of the river (Euphrates), unto the fream of Egypt (the Nile) and ye shall be gathered, one by one, O ye children of Ifrael, &c. There are many other fuch paffages in Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets, which exprefsly mention a much more exten- (30) Ijai. xi. 11. & feq. (31) Cb. xxvii, 12. Seg. & notes. (†) Sæ vol. x. p. 179, & not B. XVI. not then call all the twelve tribes, much less all the dispersed of Ifrael, from all the countries of their captivity *. He obferves, in the next place, that this promised deliverance is ftiled a fecond, because that universal one out of Egypt had preceded it; whereas that from Babylon was only confined to part of the two tribes of Judah and Levi, as was hinted in the laft note: and when the Ifraelites left Affyria, to enter into the land of Judea, they did not go over any river either of Egypt or Ethiopia, as God promises they fhall do, at their second or general return, when the waters of the Nile and Euphrates fhall be parted, to open a dry paffage to the tribes, as had been done at the Red-Sea and the Jordan (O). (O) According to this learned rabbi, the prophet chiefly mentions, 1. Affyria and Egypt, because it will be in thofe two provinces that the Ifraelites will be gathered together. 2. He fpeaks exprefsly of Pathros; by which muft not be understood either Pelufium or Petra, but the Parthians near the Cafpian Sea, where fome of their doctors place the river Sabbation, on the other fide of which a vaft number of Jews are fettled. 3. Cuf is Ethiopia, where there are feveral tribes, especially in Abynia. 4. Elam is properly a province of Perfia, on the other fide of the Euphrates, full of dreadful deferts, in which fome part of the Jewish tribes are concealed. 5.Shinar is another province near Babylon, where MoJes places the plain of that name; and Daniel mentions the facred veffels of the temple to have been tranfported by the king of Babylon into the land of Shinar. 6. The land of Hamath is often mentioned in the facred writings, and is rendered by the Chaldee Paraphraft, and thofe that follow him, the city of An (32) De boc, vid. Genef. xxviii. 44. 419. (Z). BOTH tioch, by which he conjectures Antiochia Afiatica en Tartaria' to be meant; for there were 12 cities of that name. 7. The Septuagint have rendered the word Hamah, or Hamath, the Sun, which it often fignifies, in the prophetic writings, and doth therefore imply the Eaft. So that the prophet fpeaks here of the Jews difperfed eastward of Paleftine, that is in Afia Major, in the East Indies, China, &c. 8. The prophet foretells the coming of the Ifraelites out of the islands of the sea, which ought rather to have been rendered the ifles or countries of the Weft (32), by which our rabbi understands all the countries west of Judea, or the Jews which are now fettled in some parts of America. Ninthly, and laftly, The prophet affirms that God will bring back the banished (or, as the word more properly implies, the cut-off or excommunicated) Ifraelites, because the ten tribes, fevered from the reft, not only inhabit countries vaftly distant from Judea, but lie concealed in the remoteft parts of the in the original, & Anc, Hift. vol. xii. earth, |