Henry Faudel

“ Every man may be the vanquisher of one illiterate spirit, and bear him from ignorance and evil to knowledge and the brightness of everlasting good. It is your duty especially, preachers of the word of truth, to disseminate these principles from your high places; for by opening the minds of the ignorant you teach them to laugh to scorn the sophisms of conversionists, and enable them to judge better of their religion and THEMSELVES. Unite yourselves then, ye pastors; cry aloud, "There is a feeling of hope stirring among the Jews—they seek for instruction, let us help them!" ”

“ Is not the welfare of their children an all-powerful feeling with them? Does the destitution of old age never occur to their thoughts, until the moment that it commences, when helpless infirmity assails them? ”

“ That the honour and reputation of the Jewish body are and have been at stake, must be granted by those who admit, as facts, the circumstances to which it is the aim of this Pamphlet to draw the public attention. The great majority of our poor are uneducated in the holy tenets of our creed—in their duties as citizens—in the proper arts of life; while poverty and distress abound in the dwellings of vast numbers of our brethren, partially mitigated, indeed, not permanently provided for, by the many excellent and worthy charitable societies which surround us. ”

“ Putting aside every high command to assist the needy, is it not a duty to improve the worldly welfare of your fellow man, giving him, at the same time, means which will develop his mental faculties, and induce him to join you in prayer, and lead him to the better observance of all his religious duties? To you, then, worshipper of the Supreme Being, I appeal to join in this undertaking: your future hopes, as well as your worldly welfare, are linked with the fate of the poor and unenlightened Jews. ”

“ The mists of prejudice, it is indeed evident, are slowly giving way before the power of truth; and it remains for our own exertions, well directed, under the blessing of the Deity, to enable us to stand forth before the world at large, in the clear noon-day light, in the possession of intelligence and virtue, and honoured and respected accordingly; demonstrating that in England, integrity, patriotism, and good conduct, meet their reward, when known, under whatever creed they present themselves. ”

“ While the great mass of the population is progressing in intellectual power, the Jews cannot stand still and be at the same time respected. The aristocratic class of the Jews is formed of men of wealth—of wealth honourably acquired, and thus open to every man: but unless the strictest regard be had to the education of our co-religionists, we shall have that class, noted only for its money and its ignorance, shamed into an unenviable notoriety by an indifference to the wants of the majority, and dragged downwards with them into one general obscurity. ”

“ By the amalgamation of the Jewish charities is not to be understood the depriving of any of the present institutions of their funds, or of their control over them, nor do I wish to divert legacies or the accumulations of years from their legitimate channels, but to secure an efficient centralisation, with wholesome and necessary control; for it must be admitted that, independent of the money so liberally bestowed by the wealthy portion of the Jews, the humblest as well as the most distinguished give continually large sums in proportion to their incomes. ”

“ Not a Sunday, and scarcely a day, passes, but contributions are solicited from the poorer traders of the Jews, to which the most indigent add their pence, with the true feelings of Jewish benevolence, in the hope of mitigating the poignant sufferings of the applicants. "The charity which plenty gives to poverty is human and earthly, but it becomes divine and heavenly when poverty gives to want." ”

“ All indiscriminate charity must therefore be an evil to the body, an injury to the community: it begets a class of persons that spend the easily obtained funds as improperly as they were procured—it degrades the minds of the recipients, while the wealthy donors look more frequently with disgust than compassion on the receiver ”

“ It is clearly admitted that the children of the poor are not sufficiently educated, or sufficiently instructed in the means of procuring their subsistence, an evil which not only affects the present generation, but spreads its baneful influence wide and deep into the future, and may affect all the interests of our posterity. One great portion of the plan, therefore, is to provide the means of education, to be governed and guided according to rules which experience and observation have proved to be the best, as selected from various institutions and from Schools of Industry in this country. ”

“ As wealth is within the attainment of poorer orders, the requisite education should be at once provided for them—the characters of all formed upon honest principles—the [15] minds of all cultivated and embued with useful knowledge—and the manners, so far as is practicable, trained with a view to what is decorous and proper in social life. Punish by your frowns, by public scorn and private avoidance, the wretch who would cast dishonour on you by the dishonesty of his dealings. ”

“ Yet views of charity and religion, which the Jews entertain in common, and the sympathy that unites them, as it does individuals of every class possessing a similarity of belief or feeling, render it desirable to resort to a plan of centralisation and union, by which not alone the wholesome regulation of charitable institutions would be effected, but the education of the poor, and the intellectual advancement of the entire community, would be accomplished. ”

“ And while all can bring their meed of power and energy to the task, to each, according to his views, his feelings, or his rank in life, some peculiar inducement appears for taking part in so laudable an undertaking.
I would ask the religious man, be he Jew or not, Is not a proper observance of religion to be expected rather from the instructed than the debased mind? ”

“ Glorious hereditary traits distinguish, in the eyes of every Israelite, the daughters of his race. The pure affection that characterises them inspires all their actions, and repays him, in the hours spent in the bosom of his family, for the toils, the trials, and the hardships of the world. ”

“ They, the wealthy, the honored, the enlightened, the pride of the people, are the culprits—not the poor, the ignorant, the destitute. Cheerfully might these be induced to regard the means of supporting themselves by their own industry. How gladly would they avail themselves of a reputable institution to receive them,—a house to shelter them—a supervision to protect, an asylum to support them! ”

“ The anxiety of the poor Jews for instruction,—of the trading classes for moral improvement,—of the wealthy for a removal of civil disabilities,—of the religious for some alteration in the mode of worship,—in short, of every portion and member of the Jewish community, for an amendment of its social position, is so evident, that the following suggestions are put forth in the hope and belief that they contain the elements of a plan, which, if boldly and fully carried out, will tend to elevate the Jews from their present degraded and certainly unmerited position ”

“ Assist them—instruct them—extend the provision for them in old age—let not the prejudices which spring from worldly differences, or the rancour of sectarian feeling, blind you to the great good you may achieve. ”

“ Honour will emanate from the people and be reflected upon the leaders. Every onward movement of the middle and lower orders must press you, the more advanced, into higher eminence: and it is therefore necessary on your parts to procure for the body of which you are a portion, the means of making its members of every class useful and excellent citizens. While the poor are left to obloquy—no matter who the rich may be—all will be designated by one common term of reproach. ”

“ Through the want of a well-regulated system of relief, under check and control, every beggar is an independent member of the Jewish commonwealth, employed in seeking, the entire day, whom to devour, considering himself entirely at liberty, morally and physically, to devote his entire time to the readiest way of getting money—honestly if he can, that is, by persevering importunity, but frequently by false representations, and other more disreputable means, of which the law takes no immediate cognizance. ”

“ The poorest youth of character may justly aspire in this country to the honours of every station, and he will be the more honoured and sought as his fair fame expands itself—an example to his fellows—an ornament to his friends—an honour to his country. ”

“ Whoever regards the state of our community in this country, must come to the conclusion, that we have arrived at an important period, when we can no longer defer the consideration of matters of vital interest, if we would escape the well merited condemnation of the world at large, or the just reproaches of conscience in ourselves. ”

“ A somewhat similar modus operandi I would advocate for our adoption: the country congregations, being relieved from all expences except those of a religious or congregational character, would be enabled to support with more honour and better remuneration the clergy—who, feeling themselves (as their education should command) independent of obligation to their auditory, would preach the noblest and highest precepts of their creed, and urge a better worldly bearing. ”

“ In after-age, woman controls and influences the stronger passions of our nature: and no shape, no circumstance of life can occur, but where, directly or indirectly, the relation in which she stands to us affects every occurrence, and retards or gives an impulse to the current of our lives; and as surely as her support is sought for by her offspring, and her affection relied upon by her husband, so is she capable of achieving all that is desirable in her family. ”

“ It is equally clear that a bad Jew will never make a good Christian: and I am not quite sure if we ought not to be thankful for the removal of such an excrescence from our body.
In turning to those who are sometimes termed our aristocracy, that is to say—the wealthy portion of the [14] Jewish community, I would ask, Are you contented that the stigma which unjustly presses on the Jewish name should longer continue? I am free to admit that the Christians rather than the Jews require to be enlightened upon this point ”

“ In the execution of a scheme which depends greatly upon the majority of the community, for whom it is intended, taking not only a clear and comprehensive view of their present position, but upon their becoming deeply, and daily more deeply, interested in the amelioration of that position—which relies upon extending to all the feelings of a part, and will be successful in the highest degree whenever anything like [30] this unanimity of feeling prevails—the power of a well-directed press must be admitted not only to be great, but the necessity of it in a measure to be indispensable. ”

“ As they will have received the advantage of an education, in which religion and morality will have been combined with whatever is necessary for their [13] support through life, no imputation of chicanery—no supposition of dishonesty will attach itself to them, and your word will be taken. When their religious observances are known, they will be appreciated; and your pledge of honour as a Jew will be guarantee for the quality of your commodity. Thus everything is to be gained, and the accomplishment is within your own power. ”

“ This fact is so universally admitted, that associations for every object, whether religious or political, scientific or trading, have recourse to a governing body for carrying out their particular views; and, perhaps, I am not far wrong in stating, that the only exception in Great Britain of an extensive religious community being without a government is to be found amongst the Jews, not because the exigency is less, but because, from their first establishment in this kingdom, the want was never so much felt as at the present moment ”

“ We stand in a position where the past, the present, and the probable future are alike presented to our view; the first to instruct and warn us, and the two latter to furnish us with every motive to exertion which can be gathered from the impulses of hope and fear, from a perception of our own best interests and of those of our posterity. ”

“ To those, then, whom these considerations principally affect, I would say,—Put all your charities under a salutary control, and, under a united management, sink for once the mere desire to be chairman, committee-men, and managers. Act with others, and not as if you only were patrons and founders of the institutions you wish to see flourish. Unite for the purpose of doing good, not for granting patronage. Assist in educating the poor and needy, whether orphans or otherwise, and in afterwards placing them as apprentices. ”