Jehiel

“ Jehiel Heilprin of Minsk, eighteenth century, wrote a history in the style of a chronicle, beginning [89] with Creation. It shows a naive belief in the historicity of the Midrash but is very valuable by reason of its collection of historic passages from Rabbinic literature. Secular education was slowly beginning to find its way among the Jews. Quite a number of German Jews studied medicine in Italy, chiefly from a practical point of view. ”

“ We all send love, and hope you are getting along all right. Was glad to hear father was gaining so fast.
“Your loving daughter,
“Hannah Jane.”
The letter dropped from Mrs. Clayton's fingers and lay unheeded on the floor. The woman covered her face with her hands and rocked her body back and forth.
“There, there, dearie,” soothed the old man, huskily; “mebbe Jehiel's will be diff'rent. I should n't wonder, now, if Jehiel would come. There, there! don't take on so, Harriet! don't! I jest know Jehiel 'll come.”
A week later Mrs. Clayton found another letter in the rural delivery box. ”

“ In the chamber above a woman sprang to her feet. Harriet had quite forgotten the stove-pipe hole to the room below, and every sob and moan and wailing cry had been woefully distinct to her ears. With streaming eyes and quivering lips she hurried down the stairs and threw open the sitting-room door.
“Jehiel! Hannah Jane! I’m here, right here--alive!” she cried. “An’ I’ve been a wicked, wicked woman! I never thought how bad ‘twas goin’ ter make you feel. I truly never, never did. ’Twas only myself--I wanted yer so. Oh, children, children, I’ve been so wicked--so awful wicked!” ”

“ A fun'ral is the only thing that will fetch Jehiel and—”
“Harriet, are ye crazy? Have ye gone clean mad?”
She looked at him appealingly.
“Now, Thaddeus, don't try ter hender me, please. You see it's the only way. A fun'ral is the—”
“A 'fun'ral'—it 's murder!” he shuddered.
“Oh, not ter make believe; as I shall,” she protested eagerly. “It 's—”
“Make believe!”
“Why, yes, of course. You 'll have ter be the one ter do it, 'cause I 'm goin' ter be the dead one, an'—”
“Harriet!”
“There, there, please, Thaddeus! I 've jest got ter see Jehiel and Hannah Jane 'fore I die!” ”

“ LORD by the hand of Moses.
14:035:007 And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.
14:035:008 And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle and three hundred oxen. ”

“ But they waited—waited, Thaddeus, jest as everybody does till their folks is dead.”
“But, Harriet,” demurred the old man, “surely you 'd 'a' had them boys come ter their own mother's fun'ral!”
“Come! I 'd 'a' had 'em come before, while Ella Perkins could 'a' feasted her eyes on 'em. Thaddeus,”—Mrs. Clayton rose to her feet and stretched out two gaunt hands longingly,—“Thaddeus, I get so hungry sometimes fer Jehiel and Hannah Jane, seems as though I jest could n't stand it!” ”

“ Now when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel adorned herself and stood upon a tower, and said, he was a fine servant that had killed his master! And when he looked up to her, he asked who she was, and commanded her to come down to him. At last he ordered the eunuchs to throw her down from the tower; and being thrown down, she be-sprinkled the wall with her blood, and was trodden upon by the horses, and so died. When this was done, Jehu came to the palace with his friends, and took some refreshment after his journey, both with other things, and by eating a meal. ”

“ When Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, had been ruler for four years, this message came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, "Take a parchment roll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you about Jerusalem and Judah and all the nations from the time of Josiah to the present. Perhaps the people of Judah will pay attention to all the evil which I intend to bring upon them, so that they will turn each from his evil way, that I may forgive their guilt and sin." ”

“ David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, 2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. ”

“ Go, and see after that cursed woman, and bury her: because she is a king’s daughter.
35 And when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands.
36 And coming back they told him. And Jehu said: It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elias the Thesbite, saying: In the field of Jezrahel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel,
37 And the flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel, so that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same Jezabel? ”

“ You and the Jews are thinking to rebel, therefore you are building the wall, and you have been to them for a king—according to these words! 7 And also, you have appointed prophets to call for you in Jerusalem, saying, A king [is] in Judah, and now it is heard by the king according to these words; and now come, and we take counsel together." 8 And I send to him, saying, "It has not been according to these words that you are saying, for from your own heart you are devising them"; 9 for all of them are making us afraid, saying, "Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done" ”

“ But Jehu’s character as a soldier was too well known to permit the rulers of Jezreel and the elders to entertain the thought of encountering him in open battle. So they made this answer:
“We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king. Do thou that which is good in thine eyes.” ”

“ Are we not the bondservants of Egypt, even as our fathers were? I tell thee, Joseph, it is not well with Israel.”
“Nay! thou art over-anxious, Judah. The land is at peace. The harvests are good, trade prospers and extends; we and our wives and our children dwell in safety. None hinders us in our worship. Why then take so sore to heart these Gentiles? They are the slaves, who in their folly worship dumb and senseless images. Is not Israel free in her God? Moreover—a word in thine ear—how thinkest thou, Judah? Will Ptolemy much longer lord it over us in Zion? ”

“ It is one of the absurd fallacies of Anglo-Israelism to presuppose that the term " Jew " stands for a bodily descendant of "Judah." It stands for all those from among the sons of Jacob who acknowledged themselves, or were considered, subjects of the theocratic kingdom of Judah, which they expected to be established by the promised " Son of David " the Lion of the tribe of Judah whose reign is to extend not only over " all the tribes of the land" but also " from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." ”

“ He sees the nations gather beneath the walls of Jerusalem (in the valley with the ominous name, Jehoshaphat, "Jehovah judges") for the last onset, to be annihilated by the intervention of God. Then the golden age will be ushered in.
The heads of the people are priests and elders; of king and princes there is no word. The Judah and Jerusalem which the prophet addresses are the religious community which assembles in the temple; people and congregation are the same thing. This one observation takes Joel out of the company of Amos and Hosea and puts him by the side of Malachi. ”

“ What! says Jezebel (v. 7) , Dost thou govern Israel? Arise, and eat bread. She does well to persuade him to shake off his melancholy, and not to sink under his burden, to be easy and cheerful; whatever was his grief, grieving would not redress it, but pleasantness would alleviate it. Her plea is, Dost thou now govern Israel? This is capable of a good sense: "Does it become so great a prince as thou art to cast thyself down for so small a matter? Thou shamest thyself, and profanest thy crown; it is below thee to take notice of so inconsiderable a thing. ”

“ Rabbi Jechiel was now established at court. He was the King's favorite. He even taught the King some of the secrets of alchemy. All this aroused the jealousy of the other courtiers and counselors. One day some of them remarked to the King,—
"We do not understand how your Majesty can tolerate a Jew living in your palace. You do not know the nature of a Jew. He is so unlike a Christian. It will surprise your Majesty to learn that he actually despises you, and of course all of us." ”

“ Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
8 Judah, you are well known to your brothers. Your hand's on the nape of your enemies' neck. Your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, Judah, you rose above preying my son. You kneel and stalk crouched as the lion and her cubs. Who shall found us? 10 The sceptre will not leave Judah, nor the lawmaker's staff between his legs. So long as they come to Shiloh, him will the people obey. 11 I will bind his foal to the vine, and to the best vine his donkey's foal. ”

“ They deny the sceptre has ever departed from Judah, as they have a prince of that house reigning, and understand the prophecy of the gathering of the Gentiles at the coming of Shiloh, is to be fulfilled on the appearance of the Messiah, who is not yet come, when all the inhabitants of the world are to be Jews. ”

“ Thou'lt have to go to Jerusalem, for business awaits you there, and to Jericho, perhaps, which is a long way from Galilee, but I'd not have thee leave Judea to preach a strange creed to the Gentiles. I know no reason now, Father, for me to leave Judea, since I am not among the chosen. If thou hadst been, Joseph, thou wouldst not have left me in these last years of my life? Jesus is dear to thee, but he isn't thy father, and every father would like his son to be by him when the Lord chooses to call him. ”

“ THERE was a good Jew named Nehemiah, whom the King of Persia had made his cup-bearer. One day one of the Jews came from Jerusalem, and told Nehemiah how sad all was at their home, the city that once had been so beautiful. There was a little bit of the Temple built up, but all the streets were heaps of ruins, and only a house or two here and there built up; and the robber tribes round were always breaking in and doing mischief. ”

“ Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him. Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite. ”

“ Admit, for a moment, your belief to be correct—say the Messiah has not made his appearance—that all the heavenly hosts are waiting with that anxiety and reverence becoming superior beings, to shout the fulfilment of the word of Jehovah long since given to his holy prophets, that the Deliverer of Israel, the King of Jacob, has now come: admit this, and when he comes will he suffer afflictions of body, or death?
Jew:—"I conclude not." ”

“ All the people of Judah brought the king over, and also half the people of Israel. 41 Behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, "Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David's men with him?" ”