SETTLEMENT OF THE JEWS IN ENGLAND AND MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL.
Obstacles to the Resettlement of Jews in England--Manasseh ben
Israel--His Character and Attainments--Christian Students of
Jewish Literature: Scaliger, the Buxtorfs, Selden, and Vossius
--Women devote themselves to Hebrew--The Fifth-Monarchy
Men: Expectation of the Millennium--Enthusiastic Friends of
the Jews--The Puritans--Cromwell and Holmes--Nicholas'
Protection of the Jews--"The Hope of Israel"--Fresh Victims
of the Inquisition--Manasseh ben Israel's Negotiations with the
English Parliament--He journeys to London, and is graciously
received by Cromwell--A Council sits at Whitehall to decide the
Question of the Re-admission of the Jews--Prynne's anti-Jewish
Work--Controversial Pamphlets--Manasseh's "Vindication"--
The Re-admission of the Jews connived at.
1655-1657 C. E.
At the very time when the Jews of Poland were trodden down,
slaughtered, or driven through Europe like terrified wild beasts, a
land of freedom was opened, from which the Jews had been banished for
more than three centuries and a half. England, which the wise queen
Elizabeth and the brave Cromwell had raised to be the first power
in Europe, a position very different from that of crumbling Poland,
again admitted Jews, not indeed through the great portal, yet through
the back door. But this admission was so bruited abroad, that it was
like a triumph for Judaism. The Jews of Amsterdam and Hamburg looked
with longing to this island, to which they were so near, with whose
merchants, shipowners, and scholars they were in connection, and which
promised wide scope for the exercise of their varied abilities. But
settlement there seemed beset with insuperable obstacles. The English
episcopal church, which exercised sway over the English conscience,
was even more intolerant than the popery which it persecuted. Not
granting freedom to Catholics and Dissenters, would it tolerate the
descendants of those aspersed in the New Testament? The English people,
who for centuries had seen no Jew, shared to the full the antipathy of
the clergy. To them every Jew was a Shylock, who, with hearty goodwill,
would cut a Christian to pieces--a monster in human form, bearing
the mark of Cain. Who would undertake to banish this strong prejudice
in order to render people and rulers favorable to the descendants of
Israel?
The man who undertook and executed this difficult task did not belong
to the first rank of intellectual men, but possessed the right measure
of insight and narrowness, strength of will and flexibility, knowledge
and imagination, self-denial and vanity, required for so arduous an
undertaking. Manasseh ben Israel, second or third rabbi at Amsterdam,
who at home played only a subordinate part, the poor preacher who, to
support his family, was obliged to resort to printing, but obtained
so little profit from it, that he wished to exchange pulpit oratory
for mercantile speculation, and was near settling in Brazil; he it was
who won England for Judaism, and, if he did not banish, diminished
the prejudice against his race. To him belongs the credit for a
service not to be lightly estimated, for there were but few to help
him. The release of the Jews from their thousand years' contempt and
depreciation in European society, or rather the struggle for civil
equality, begins with Manasseh ben Israel. He was the Riesser of the
seventeenth century. As has been stated, he was not in the true sense
great, and can only be reckoned a man of mediocrity. He belonged to the
happily constituted class of persons, who do not perceive the harsh
contrasts and shrill discords in the world around, hence are confiding
and enterprising. His heart was deeper than his mind. His power rested
in his easy eloquence, his facility in explaining and working out
ideas which lay within his narrow field of vision, and which he had
acquired rather than produced. Manasseh ben Israel had complete grasp
of Jewish literature, and knew the Christian theology of his time, and
what was to be said on each point, _i. e._, what had been said by his
predecessors. On the other hand, he had only a superficial knowledge
of those branches of learning which require keenness of intellect,
such as philosophy and the Talmud. His strength was in one respect his
weakness. His facility in speaking and writing encouraged a verbose
style and excessive productiveness. He left more than 400 sermons in
Portuguese, and a mass of writings that fill a catalogue, but discuss
their subjects only superficially. Manasseh's contemporaries looked
upon his writings with different eyes. The learning amassed therein
from all literatures and languages, and the smoothness of form riveted
their attention, and excited their admiration. Among Jews he was
extraordinarily celebrated; whoever could produce Latin, Portuguese, or
Spanish verse, made known his praise. But even Christian scholars of
his time over-estimated him.
In Holland, which, by the concurrence of many circumstances, and
especially through the powerful impulse of Joseph Scaliger, the
prince of philologists, had become in a sense the school of Europe,
the foundation was laid in the seventeenth century for the wonderful
learning contained in voluminous folios. At no time had there been
so many philologists with early-matured learning, iron memory, and
wonderful devotion to the science of language, as in the first half
of the seventeenth century, which seems to have been specially
appointed to revive what had so long been neglected. All the literary
treasures of antiquity were collected and utilized; statesmen vied with
professional scholars. In this gigantic collection there was little
critical search for truth; the chief consideration was the number of
scientific facts gathered. The ambition of many was spurred on to
understand the three favored languages of antiquity--Greek, Latin,
and Hebrew--and their literatures. Hebrew, the language of religion,
enjoyed special preference, and whoever understood it as well as the
other two tongues was sure of distinction. Joseph Scaliger, the oracle
of Dutch and Protestant theology, had given to Rabbinical literature,
so-called, a place in the republic of letters beside the Hebrew
language, and even the Talmud he treated with a certain amount of
respect. His Dutch, French, and English disciples followed his example,
and devoted themselves with zeal to this branch of knowledge, formerly
regarded with contempt or even aversion.
John Buxtorf, senior (born 1564, died 1639), of Basle, may be said
to have been master of Hebrew and Rabbinical literature, and he
rendered them accessible to Christian circles. He carried on a lively
correspondence in Hebrew with Jewish scholars in Amsterdam, Germany,
and Constantinople. Even ladies devoted themselves to Hebrew language
and literature. That prodigy, Anna Maria Schurmann, of Utrecht, who
knew almost all European languages and their literature, corresponded
in Hebrew with scholars, and also with an English lady, Dorothea Moore,
and quoted Rashi and Ibn-Ezra with a scholar's accuracy. The eccentric
queen Christina of Sweden, the learned daughter of Gustavus Adolphus,
understood Hebrew. Statesmen, such as Hugo Grotius, and the Englishman
John Selden, seriously and deeply engaged in its pursuit for their
theological or historical studies.
But Christian scholars, with all their zeal, had not yet acquired
independence in Rabbinical literature; without a Jewish guide, they
could not move, or felt unsafe. To Christian inquirers, therefore,
Manasseh ben Israel's treatises, which presented many Rabbinical
passages and new points of view, were highly welcome. Much of the
Talmudic literature became accessible through his clear exposition.
Hence, Dutch scholars sought out Manasseh, courted his friendship,
fairly hung upon his lips, and gradually discarded prejudice against
Jews, which even the most liberal-minded men in the most tolerant
country of Europe had not laid aside. Manasseh was joined particularly
by those eager inquirers who were persecuted or declared heretics
by the ruling church. The learned Vossius family, even John Gerard
Vossius, senior, although filled with strong hatred against Jews, was
affable to Manasseh. His son, Dionysius Vossius, a prodigy of learning,
snatched away by death in his eighteenth year, on his death-bed
translated into Latin Manasseh's "Reconciler" (Conciliador) shortly
after its appearance. Isaac Vossius, the youngest son, who filled an
honorable office under the queen of Sweden, recommended Manasseh ben
Israel to her. By this family he was made acquainted with the learned
statesman Hugo Grotius, who also received instruction from him. The
chief of the Arminians, Simon Episcopius, sought intercourse with
Manasseh, as did Caspar Barlæus, who as a Socinian, _i. e._, a denier
of the Trinity, was avoided by orthodox Christians. He attached himself
to Manasseh, and sang his praise in Latin verses, on which account he
was attacked yet more violently, because he had put the Jewish faith on
an equality with the Christian. The learned Jesuit Peter Daniel Huet
also cultivated his friendship. Gradually the Chacham and preacher
of Amsterdam acquired such a reputation among Christians, that every
scholar traveling through that city sought him out as an extraordinary
personage. Foreigners exchanged letters with him, and obtained from
him explanations on difficult points. Manasseh had an interview with
Queen Christina of Sweden, which stimulated her kindness for the Jews,
and her liking for Jewish literature. So highly did many Christians
rate Manasseh ben Israel, that they could not suppress the wish to see
so learned and excellent a rabbi won over to Christianity.
Most of all Christian visionaries, who dreamt of the coming of the
Fifth Monarchy, the reign of the saints (in the language of Daniel),
crowded round Manasseh ben Israel. The Thirty Years' War which had
delivered property and life over to wild soldiers, the tyrannical
oppression of believers struggling for inward freedom and morality--in
England by the bishops and the secular government, in France by the
despotic Richelieu--awakened in visionaries the idea that the Messianic
millennium, announced in the book of Daniel and the Apocalypse, was
near, and that their sufferings were only the forerunners of the time
of grace. These fantastic visionaries showed themselves favorable
to the Jews; they wished this great change to be effected with the
participation of those to whom the announcement had first been made.
They conceded that the Jews must first take possession of the Holy
Land, which could not easily be accomplished, even by a miracle. For,
the lost Ten Tribes must first be found, and gathered together, if the
prophetic words were not to fall to the ground. The tribes assembled to
take possession of the Holy Land must have their Messiah, a shoot out
of the stem of Jesse. But what would become of Jesus, the Christ,
_i. e._, Messiah, in whom Jews could not be made to believe? Some of the
Fifth Monarchy visionaries conceded to Jews a Messiah of their own, in
the expectation that the struggle for precedence between the Jewish and
the Christian saviour would decide itself.
Such apocalyptic dreams struck a responsive chord in Manasseh ben
Israel's heart. He also expected, not the reign of the saints, but,
according to Kabbalistic reckoning, the speedy advent of the Messianic
time. The Zohar, the book revered by him as divine, announced in
unambiguous terms, that Israel's time of grace would begin with the
year 5408 of the world (1648). Manasseh in his innermost being was
a mystic, his classical and literary education being only external
varnish, not diminishing his belief in miracles. Hence he was pleased
with the letter of a Christian visionary of Dantzic, expressing belief
in the restoration of the glory of the Jews. John Mochinger, of the
old Tyrolese nobility, who had fallen into the whirlpool of mysticism,
wrote to Manasseh ben Israel in the midst of an eulogium on his
learning: "Know and be convinced that I duly honor your doctrines,
and together with some of my brethren in the faith, earnestly desire
that Israel may be enlightened with the true light, and enjoy its
ancient renown and happiness." At a later period another German mystic
of Dantzic established relations with the Kabbalistic Chacham of
Amsterdam--viz., Abraham von Frankenberg, a nobleman, and a disciple of
Jacob Böhme. He openly said: "The true light will come from the Jews;
their time is not far off. From day to day news will be heard from
different places of wonderful things come to pass in their favor, and
all the islands shall rejoice with them." In daily intercourse with
Manasseh were two Christian friends, Henry Jesse and Peter Serrarius,
who were enthusiasts in the cause of Israel's restoration. In France,
in the service of the great Condé, there was a peculiar visionary,
Isaac La Peyrère of Bordeaux, a Huguenot, perhaps of Jewish-Marrano
blood. He had the strange notion that there were men before Adam
(pre-Adamites), from whom all men except the Jews were descended.
In a book on the subject, which brought him to the dungeon of the
Inquisition, he attached great importance to the Jews. In another work
on "The Return of the Jews," he maintained that the Jews ought to be
recalled from their dispersion in all parts of the world, to effect a
speedy return to the Holy Land. The king of France, the eldest son of
the Church, has the duty to bring about this return of the eldest son
of God. He, too, entered into communication with Manasseh.
The greatest number of ardent admirers "God's people" found in England,
precisely among those who had powerful influence in the council and the
camp. At the time when the Germans were fighting each other on account
of difference of creed, invoking the interference of foreigners,
and impairing their own freedom and power, England was gaining what
could never be taken away, religious and, at the same time, political
freedom, and this made it a most powerful and prosperous country. In
Germany the religious parties, Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists,
in selfish blindness demanded religious freedom each for itself
alone, reserving oppression and persecution for the others. These
internecine quarrels of the Germans were utilized by the princes to
confirm their own despotic power. In England, the same selfishness
prevailed among the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Catholics, but
a fourth party arose whose motto was religious freedom for all. The
senseless despotism of Charles I and the narrow-mindedness of the
Long Parliament had played into the hands of this intelligent and
powerful party. England, like Germany, resembled a great blood-stained
battle-field, but it had produced men who knew what they wanted, who
staked their lives for it, and effected the rejuvenescence of the
nation. Oliver Cromwell was at once the head which devised, and the
arm which executed sound ideas. By the sword he and his army obtained
religious freedom, not only for themselves, but also for others. He and
his officers were not revengeful freebooters or blood-thirsty soldiers,
but high-minded, inspired warriors of God, who waged war against
wickedness and falseness, and hoped for, and undertook to establish a
moral system of government, the kingdom of God. Like the Maccabees of
old, the Puritan warriors fought "sword in hand, and praise of God in
their mouth." Cromwell and his soldiers read the Bible as often as they
fought. But not out of the New Testament could the Roundheads derive
inspiration and warlike courage. The Christian Bible, with its monkish
figures, its exorcists, its praying brethren, and pietistic saints,
supplied no models for warriors contending with a faithless king, a
false aristocracy, and unholy priests. Only the great heroes of the
Old Testament, with fear of God in their hearts and the sword in their
hands, at once religious and national champions, could serve as models
for the Puritans: the Judges, freeing the oppressed people from the
yoke of foreign domination; Saul, David, and Joab, routing the foes of
their country; and Jehu, making an end of an idolatrous and blasphemous
royal house--these were favorite characters with Puritan warriors.
In every verse of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, they
saw their own condition reflected; every psalm seemed composed for
them, to teach them that, though surrounded on every side by ungodly
foes, they need not fear while they trusted in God. Oliver Cromwell
compared himself to the judge Gideon, who first obeyed the voice of
God hesitatingly, but afterwards courageously scattered the attacking
heathens; or to Judas Maccabæus, who out of a handful of martyrs formed
a host of victorious warriors.
To bury oneself in the history, prophecy, and poetry of the Old
Testament, to revere them as divine inspiration, to live in them with
every emotion, yet not to consider the people who had originated all
this glory and greatness as preferred and chosen, was impossible. Among
the Puritans, therefore, were many earnest admirers of "God's people,"
and Cromwell was one of them. It seemed a marvel that the people, or
a remnant of the people, whom God had distinguished by great favor
and stern discipline, should still exist. A desire was excited in the
hearts of the Puritans to see this living wonder, the Jewish people,
with their own eyes, to bring Jews to England, and, by making them part
of the theocratic community about to be established, stamp it with the
seal of completion. The sentiments of the Puritans towards the Jews
were expressed in Oliver Cromwell's observation, "Great is my sympathy
with this poor people, whom God chose, and to whom He gave His law;
it rejects Jesus, because it does not recognize him as the Messiah."
Cromwell dreamt of a reconciliation of the Old and the New Testament,
of an intimate connection between the Jewish people of God and the
English Puritan theocracy. But other Puritans were so absorbed in the
Old Testament that the New Testament was of no importance. Especially
the visionaries in Cromwell's army and among the members of Parliament,
who were hoping for the Fifth Monarchy, or the reign of the saints,
assigned to the Jewish people a glorious position in the expected
millennium. A Puritan preacher, Nathaniel Holmes (Holmesius), wished,
according to the letter of many prophetic verses, to become the servant
of Israel, and serve him on bended knees. The more the tension in
England increased through the imprisonment of the king, the dissensions
between the Presbyterian Long Parliament and the Puritan army, the
civil war, the execution of King Charles, and the establishment of
a republic in England, the more public life and religious thought
assumed Jewish coloring. The only thing wanting to make one think
himself in Judæa was for the orators in Parliament to speak Hebrew.
One author proposed the seventh day as the day of rest, and in a work
showed the holiness of this day, and the duty of the English people
to honor it. This was in the beginning of 1649. Parliament, it is
true, condemned this work to be burnt as heretical, scandalous, and
profane, and sentenced the printer and author to punishment. But the
Israelite spirit among the Puritans, especially among the Levelers, or
ultra-republicans, was not suppressed by these means. Many wished the
government to declare the Torah to be the code for England.
These proceedings in the British islands, which promised the exaltation
of Israel at no distant period, were followed by Manasseh with beating
heart. Did these voices not announce the coming of the Messianic
kingdom? He hoped so, and put forth feverish activity to help to bring
about the desired time. He entertained a visionary train of thought.
The Messiah could not appear till the punishment of Israel, to be
scattered from one end of the earth to the other, had been fulfilled.
There were no Jews then living in England. Exertions must be made to
obtain permission for Jews to dwell in England, that this hindrance
to the advent of the Messiah might be removed. Manasseh therefore put
himself into communication with some important persons, who assured him
that "the minds of men were favorable to the Jews, and that they would
be acceptable and welcome to Englishmen." What especially justified
his hopes was the "Apology" by Edward Nicholas, former secretary to
Parliament, "for the honorable nation of the Jews." In this work, which
the author dedicated to the Long Parliament, the Jews were treated,
as the chosen people of God, with a tenderness to which they were not
accustomed. Hence the author felt it necessary to affirm at the end,
that he wrote it, not at the instigation of Jews, but out of love to
God and his country. The opinion of the apologist was, that the great
sufferings brought upon England by the religious and civil war were a
just punishment for English persecution of the saints and favorites
of God, _i. e._, the Jews, and an urgent admonition to atone for this
great sin by admitting them and showing them brotherly treatment. The
author proved the preference and selection of Israel by many biblical
quotations. He referred to a preacher who had said in Parliament in
connection with the verse: "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets
no harm," that the weal or woe of the world depended upon the good or
bad treatment of God's people. God in His secret counsel had sustained
this people to the present day, and a glorious future was reserved for
them. Hence it was the duty of Englishmen to endeavor to comfort them,
if possible give them satisfaction for their innocent blood shed in
this kingdom, and enter into friendly intercourse with them. This work
also defends the Jews against the accusation of having crucified Jesus.
The death of Jesus took place at the instigation of the Synhedrion, not
of the people. In most impressive terms it urges the English to comfort
the afflicted and unhappy Jews. The pope and his adherents, he said,
would be enraged at the kind treatment of the Jews, for they still
inflicted cruelty and humiliation upon the people of God, the popes
compelling the Jews to wear opprobrious badges, and Catholics avoiding
all contact with them, because they abhorred idols and heathen worship.
This work, which, more than friendly, absolutely glorified the Jews,
excited the greatest attention in England and Holland. Manasseh ben
Israel was delighted with it, thinking that he was near his object,
especially as his friend Holmes at once communicated with him on the
subject, saying that he himself was about to prepare a work on the
millennium, in which he would emphasize the importance of the Jews
in the molding of the future. Manasseh ben Israel immediately set
to work to do his share towards the realization of his object. He,
however, as well as the Christian mystics in England, had one anxiety;
what had become of the lost Ten Tribes banished by the Assyrian king
Shalmanassar? A restoration of the Jewish kingdom without these Ten
Tribes seemed impossible, nay, their discovery was the guarantee of
the truth of the prophetic promises. The union of Judah and Israel
which some of the prophets had impressively announced would remain
unfulfilled if the Ten Tribes had ceased to exist. Manasseh, therefore,
laid great stress upon being able to prove their existence somewhere.
Fortunately he was in a position to specify the situation of the
Ten Tribes. Some years before, a Jewish traveler, named Montezinos,
had affirmed on oath that he had seen native Jews of the tribe of
Reuben, in South America, and had held communication with them. The
circumstantiality of his tale excited curiosity, and inclined his
contemporaries to belief. Antonio de Montezinos was a Marrano, whom
business or love of travel had led to America. There he had stumbled
upon a Mestizo (Indian), who had excited in him a suspicion that
members of his race were living in America, persecuted and oppressed
by the Indians, as the Indians had been by the Spaniards, and later
experiences confirmed the suspicion.
Antonio de Montezinos, or Aaron Levi, had brought the surprising news
to Amsterdam, and had related it under oath to a number of persons,
among them Manasseh ben Israel (about 1644). Afterwards he went to
Brazil, and there died. On his deathbed he repeatedly asserted the
truth of the existence of some Israelite tribes in America. Manasseh
ben Israel was firmly convinced by the statement of this man, and made
it the foundation of a work, entitled "Israel's Hope," composed to
pave the way for the Messianic time. The Ten Tribes, according to his
assumption, had been dispersed to Tartary and China, and some might
have gone thence to the American continent. Some indications and
certain manners and customs of the Indians, resembling those of the
Jews, seemed to him to favor this idea. The prophetic announcement of
the perpetuity of the Israelite people had accordingly been confirmed;
moreover there were signs that the tribes were ready to come forth from
their hiding-places and unite with the others. The time of redemption,
which, it was true, could not be foretold, and in the calculation of
which many had erred, appeared at last to be approaching. The prophets'
threats of punishment to the Jews had been fulfilled in a terrible
manner; why should not their hope-awakening promises be verified? What
unspeakable cruelty the monster of the Inquisition had inflicted, and
still continued to inflict, on the poor innocents of the Jewish race,
on adults and children of every age and either sex! For what reason?
Because they would not depart from the Law of Moses, revealed to
them amidst so many miracles. For it numberless victims had perished
wherever the tyrannical rule of the Inquisition was exercised. And
martyrs continued to show incredible firmness, permitting themselves to
be burnt alive to honor the name of God.
Manasseh enumerated all the autos-da-fé of Marranos and other Jewish
martyrs which had taken place in his time.
Great excitement was caused among Dutch Portuguese Jews by the burning
of a young Marrano, twenty-five years old, well read in Latin and Greek
literature. Isaac de Castro-Tartas, born at Tartas, a small town in
Gascony, had come with his parents to Amsterdam. Glowing with zeal
and a desire to bring back to Judaism those Marranos who continued
Christians, he prepared to travel to Brazil. In vain his parents and
friends warned him against this mad step. In Bahia he was arrested by
the Portuguese, recognized as a Jew, sent to Lisbon, and handed over to
the Inquisition. This body had no formal right over Isaac de Castro,
for when arrested he was a Dutch citizen. The tribunal in vain tried
to induce him to abjure Judaism. Young De Castro-Tartas was determined
manfully to endure a martyr's death in honor of his faith. His death
was attended with the _éclat_ he had longed for. In Lisbon the funeral
pile was kindled for him and several others, on December 22d, 1647. He
cried out of the flames, "Hear, O Israel, God is one," in so impressive
a tone that the witnesses of the dreadful spectacle were greatly moved.
For several days nothing else was talked of in the capital but the
dreadful voice of the martyr Isaac de Castro-Tartas and the "Shema,"
uttered with his last breath. People spoke of it shudderingly. The
Inquisition was obliged to forbid the uttering of the word "Shema" with
a threat of heavy punishment. It is said, too, that at that time it was
determined to burn no more Jewish heretics alive in Lisbon.
The Amsterdam community was stunned by the news of successive
executions of youthful sufferers. De Castro-Tartas had parents,
relatives, and friends in Amsterdam, and was beloved on account of
his knowledge and character. The rabbi, Saul Morteira, delivered a
memorial address on his death. Poets deplored and honored him in
Hebrew and Spanish verses, and, horrified by the new atrocities of
the Inquisition against Jews, Manasseh ben Israel wrote "Israel's
Hope." Even the reader of to-day can feel grief trembling in every
word. Indeed, if martyrs could prove the truth and tenability of the
cause for which they bleed, Judaism needs no further proof; for no
people and no religion on earth have produced such numerous and firm
martyrs. Manasseh used this proof to draw the conclusion that, as
promised sufferings had been inflicted, so the promised redemption
and regeneration of God's people would be fulfilled. He sent this
Latin treatise on the existence of the Ten Tribes and their hopes
to a prominent and learned personage in England, to be read before
Parliament, which was under Cromwell's influence, and before the
Council of State. In an accompanying letter Manasseh explained to
Parliament his favorite idea, that the return of the Jews to their
native land--the time for which was so near--must be preceded by
their complete dispersion. The dispersion, according to the words of
Scripture, was to be from one end of the earth to the other, naturally
including the island of England, in the extreme north of the inhabited
world. But for more than 300 years no Jews had lived in England;
therefore, he added the request that the Council and Parliament grant
Jews permission to settle in England, to have the free exercise of
their religion, and to build synagogues there (1650). Manasseh made no
secret of his Messianic hopes, because he could and did reckon upon the
fact that the saints or Puritans themselves wished for the "assembling
of God's people" in their ancestral home, and were inclined to help and
promote it. He also intimated in his letter, that he was resolved to go
to England, to arrange for the settlement of the Jews.
Manasseh ben Israel had not reckoned amiss. His request and dedication
were favorably received by Parliament. Lord Middlesex, probably the
mediator, sent him a letter of thanks with the superscription, "To my
dear brother, the Hebrew philosopher, Manasseh ben Israel." A passport
to England was also sent to him. The English ambassador in Holland,
Lord Oliver St. John, a relative of Cromwell, told him that he wished
to go to the Amsterdam synagogue, and gave him to understand, probably
according to Cromwell's instructions, that England was inclined to
gratify the long-cherished wish of the Jews. Manasseh took care that
he be received in the house of prayer with music and hymns (about
August, 1651). However, the goal to which he seemed so near was removed
by political complications. England and Holland entered into a fierce
war, which broke off the connection between Amsterdam and London.
Manasseh's relations to his elder colleague, Saul Morteira (1652), and
the president, Joseph da Costa--it is not known on what account--became
strained, and in an angry mood he formed the resolution to leave
Amsterdam. The directors of the community succeeded in establishing
a tolerable understanding between the two chachams, but Manasseh had
neither the cheerfulness required nor a favorable opportunity to resume
his adventurous scheme.
But when Oliver Cromwell, by the illegal but necessary dissolution
of the Long Parliament, assumed the chief power in April, 1653, and
showed an inclination to conclude peace with the States General,
Manasseh again took up his project. Cromwell had called together a new
parliament, the so-called Short, or Barebones, Parliament, which was
composed wholly of saints, _i. e._, Puritan preachers, officers with a
biblical bias, and millennium visionaries. The partiality of Cromwell's
officers for the old Jewish system is shown by the serious proposition
that the Council of State should consist of seventy members, after the
number of the Jewish synhedrion. In Parliament sat General Harrison, a
Baptist, who, with his party, wished to see the Mosaic law introduced
into England. When Parliament met (July 5, 1653), Manasseh hastened
to repeat his request, that Jews be granted permission to reside in
England. The question of the Jews was immediately put on the programme
of business. Parliament sent Manasseh a safe conduct to London, that
he might conduct the business in person. As the war between England and
Holland still continued, his relatives and friends urged him not to
expose himself to the danger of a daily change of affairs, and he again
put off his voyage to a more favorable time. The Short Parliament was
soon dissolved (December 12, 1653), and Cromwell obtained kingly power
under the title of Protector of the Realm. When he concluded peace
with Holland (April, 1654), Manasseh thought the time well suited for
effecting his wishes for the redemption of Israel. He was encouraged
by the fact that three admirals of the English fleet had drawn up
a petition in October, 1654, to admit Jews into England. Manasseh
presented his petition for their admission to Cromwell's second, still
shorter Parliament, and, probably at his instigation, David Abrabanel
Dormido, one of the leading men at Amsterdam, at the same time
presented one to the same effect, which Cromwell urgently recommended
to the Council for speedy decision (November 3, 1654).
Manasseh reveled in intoxicating dreams of the approaching glorious
time for Israel. He regarded himself as the instrument of Providence
to bring about its fulfillment. In these dreams he was upheld and
confirmed by Christian mystics, who were eagerly awaiting the
millennium. The Dutchman, Henry Jesse, had shortly before published a
work, "On the Speedy Glory of Judah and Israel," in the Dutch language.
The Bohemian physician, mystic, and alchemist, Paul Felgenhauer,
went beyond the bounds of reason. Disgusted with the formal creed of
the Evangelical Church, and the idolatrous tendency of Catholicism,
he wrote during the Thirty Years' War against the corruption of the
Church and the Protestant clergy, and wished for a spiritual, mystical
religion. By a peculiar calculation, Felgenhauer was led to believe
that the year six thousand and the advent of the Messiah connected
with it were not far off. Persecuted in Germany by Catholics and
Protestants, he sought an asylum in Amsterdam, and there formed the
acquaintance of Manasseh ben Israel. Between these men and a third
visionary, Peter Serrarius, the speedy coming of the Messianic time
was often the subject of conversation. Felgenhauer then composed an
original work (December, 1654) entitled "Good News of the Messiah
for Israel! The redemption of Israel from all his sufferings, his
deliverance from captivity, and the glorious advent of the Messiah are
nigh for the comfort of Israel. Taken from the Holy Scriptures of the
Old and New Testament, by a Christian who is expecting him with the
Jews." Felgenhauer places the Jewish people very high, as the seed of
Abraham, and considers true believers of all nations the spiritual
seed of Abraham. Hence Jews and Christians should love, not despise,
one another. They should unite in God. This union is near at hand.
The bloody wars of nation against nation by sea and land in the whole
world, which had not happened before to anything like the same extent,
are signs thereof. As further signs he accounted the comets which
appeared in 1618, 1648, and 1652, and the furious Polish war kindled
by the Cossacks. Verses from the Bible, especially from Daniel and
the Apocalypse, with daring interpretations, served him as proofs.
Felgenhauer denied an earthly Messiah, nor did he allow the claim of
Jesus to the title.
As this half-insane work was dedicated to Manasseh, he was obliged to
answer it, which he did with great prudence (February 1, 1655), gladly
welcoming the pages favorable to Jews, and passing over the rest in
silence. The good news concerning the near future was the more welcome
to his heart, he said, as he himself, in spite of the afflictions of
many centuries, did not cease ardently to hope for better times.
"How gladly would I believe you, that the time is near when
God, who has so long been angry with us, will again comfort His
people, and deliver it from more than Babylonian captivity, and
more than Egyptian bondage! Your sign of the commencement of
the Messianic age, the announcement of the exaltation of Israel
throughout the whole world, appears to me not only probable,
but plain and clear. A not inconsiderable number of these
announcements (on the Christian side) for the consolation of
Zion have been sent to me from Frankenberg and Mochinger, from
France and Hungary. And from England alone how many voices!
They are like that small cloud in the time of the prophet
Elijah, which suddenly extended so that it covered the whole of
the heavens."
Manasseh ben Israel had the courage to express without ambiguity
Jewish expectations in opposition to the opinions held by Christian
enthusiasts. They, for the most part, imagined the fifth monarchy,
which they alleged was about to commence, as the millennium, when Jesus
would again appear and hand over the sovereign power to the saints. The
Jews would have a share in it; they would assemble from the ends of the
earth, return to their ancestral home, and again build Jerusalem and
the Temple. But this would be only an intermediate state, the means to
enable the whole Twelve Tribes to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, so that
there be but one flock under one shepherd. Against this Manasseh ben
Israel composed a treatise, ended April 25, 1655, on the fifth kingdom
of the prophecy of Daniel, interpreting it to mean the independence
of Israel. In this work, called "The Glorious Stone, or the Image of
Nebuchadnezzar," and dedicated to Isaac Vossius, then in the service
of the queen of Sweden, he put forth all his learning to show that the
visions of the "four beasts," or great kingdoms, had been verified in
the successive sway of the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans,
and therefore the coming of the fifth kingdom also was certain. This
was shown in Daniel plainly enough to be the kingdom of Israel, the
people of God. In this Messianic kingdom all nations of the earth will
have part, and they will be treated with kindness, but the authority
will ever rest with Israel. Manasseh disfigured this simple thought by
Kabbalistic triviality and sophistry. It is singular that not only did
a learned Christian accept the dedication of this essentially Jewish
work, but the celebrated painter Rembrandt supplied four artistic
engravings representing Nebuchadnezzar's, or Manasseh's vision.
Manasseh had received a friendly invitation from the second Parliament
assembled by Cromwell; but as it had meanwhile been dissolved, he
could not begin his journey until invited by the Protector himself.
He seems to have sent on in advance his son, Samuel ben Israel, who
was presented by the University of Oxford, in consideration of his
knowledge and natural gifts, with the degree of doctor of philosophy
and medicine, and according to custom, received the gold ring, the
biretta, and the kiss of peace. It was no insignificant circumstance
that this honor should be conferred upon a Jew by a university strictly
Christian in its conduct. Cromwell's will appears to have been decisive
in the matter. He sent an invitation to Manasseh, but the journey was
delayed till autumn. Not till the end of the Tishri festivals (October
25-31, 1655) did Manasseh undertake the important voyage to London,
in his view, of the utmost consequence to the world. He was received
in a friendly manner by Cromwell, and had a residence granted him.
Among his companions was Jacob Sasportas, a learned man, accustomed to
intercourse with persons of high rank, who had been rabbi in African
cities. Other Jews accompanied him in the hope that the admission
of Jews would meet with no difficulty. Some secret Jews from Spain
and Portugal were already domiciled in London, among them being the
rich and respected Fernandez Carvajal. But the matter did not admit
of such speedy settlement. At an audience, Manasseh delivered to the
Protector a carefully composed petition, or address. He had obtained
the authorization of the Jews of the different countries of Europe to
act as their representative, so that the admission of Jews into England
might be urged not in his own name alone, but in that of the whole
Jewish nation. In his petition he skillfully developed the argument,
by means of passages from the Bible and the Talmud, that power and
authority are conferred by God according to his will; that God rewards
and punishes even the rulers of the earth, and that this had been
verified in Jewish history; that great monarchs who had troubled Israel
had met with an unhappy end, as Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus
Epiphanes, Pompey, and others. On the other hand, benefactors of the
Jewish nation had enjoyed happiness even here below, so that the word
of God to Abraham had been literally fulfilled:--
"'I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that
curse thee.' Hence I, one of the least among the Hebrews,
since by experience I have found, that through God's great
bounty towards us, many considerable and eminent persons both
of piety and power are moved with sincere and inward pity
and compassion towards us, and do comfort us concerning the
approaching Deliverance of Israel, could not but for myself,
and in the behalf of my countrymen, make this my humble
Address to your Highness, and beseech you for God's sake that
ye would, according to that piety and power wherein you are
eminent beyond others, vouchsafe to grant that the great and
glorious name of the Lord our God may be extolled, and solemnly
worshiped and praised by us through all the bounds of this
Commonwealth; and to grant us place in your country, that we
may have our Synagogues, and free exercise of our religion.
Pagans have of old ... granted free liberty even to apostate
Jews: ... how much more then may we, that are not Apostate or
runagate Jews, hope it from your Highness and your Christian
Council, since you have so great knowledge of, and adore the
same one only God of Israel, together with us.... For our
people did ... presage that ... the ancient hatred towards them
would also be changed into goodwill: that those rigorous laws,
... against so innocent a people would happily be repealed."
At the same time Manasseh ben Israel circulated through the press a
"Declaration" which served to explain the reasons for admitting Jews,
and to meet objections and allay prejudices against their admission.
All his reasons can be reduced to two--one mystical and one of
trade policy. The mystical reason has been repeatedly explained. His
opinion coincided with that of many Christians, that the return of the
Israelites to their home was near at hand. According to his view the
general dispersion of the Jews must precede this event:--
"Now we know how our nation is spread all about, and has its
seat and dwelling in the most flourishing countries of the
world, as well in America as in the other three parts thereof,
except only in this considerable and mighty island. And
therefore, before the Messiah come ... first we must have our
seat here likewise."
The other reason was put in this form: that through the Jews the trade
of England would greatly increase in exports and imports from all parts
of the world. He developed this point of the advantage which the Jews
might bestow at great length, showing that on account of their fidelity
and attachment to the countries hospitable and friendly to them they
deserved to be treated with consideration. Besides, they ought to be
esteemed, on account of their ancient nobility and purity of blood,
among a people which attached importance to such distinctions.
Manasseh ben Israel considered the commerce to which Jews were for
the most part devoted from a higher point of view. He had in mind
the wholesale trade of the Portuguese Jews of Holland in the coin of
various nations (exchange business), in diamonds, cochineal, indigo,
wine, and oil. Their money transactions were not based on usury,
on which the Jews of Germany and Poland relied. The Amsterdam Jews
deposited their capital in banks, and satisfied themselves with five
per cent interest. The capital of the Portuguese Jews in Holland
and Italy was very considerable, because Marranos in Spain and
Portugal invested their money with them, to evade the avarice of the
Inquisition. Hence Manasseh laid great weight on the advantages which
England might expect from his enterprising countrymen. He thought that
trading, the chief occupation, and, to a certain extent, the natural
inclination, of the Jews of all countries since their dispersion, was
the work of Providence, a mark of divine favor towards them, that by
accumulated treasures they might find grace in the eyes of rulers and
nations. They were forced to occupy themselves with commerce, because,
owing to the insecurity of their existence, they could not possess
landed estates. Accordingly, they were obliged to pursue trade till
their return to their land, for then "there shall be no more any trader
in the house of the Lord," as a prophet declares.
Manasseh ben Israel then took a survey over all the countries where
Jews, in his time, or shortly before, by means of trade, had attained
to importance, and enumerated the persons who had risen to high
positions by their services to states or rulers. However, much that
he adduced, when closely considered, is not very brilliant, with the
exception of the esteemed and secure position which the Jews occupied
in Holland. Then he quoted examples of the fidelity and devotedness
of Jews in ancient and modern times towards their protectors. He
forcibly refuted the calumny that the Jews had been banished from
Spain and Portugal for treachery and faithlessness. It was easy for
him to show from Christian authors that the expulsion of the Jews, and
their cruel treatment by Portugal, were at once criminal and foolish,
and most emphatically condemned by wise rulers. He took occasion to
defend his brethren against three other charges: usury, child murder,
and proselytism. To wipe off the stain of usury, he made use of the
justification employed by Simone Luzzatto, a contemporary Jewish
Italian author, that usury was objectionable not in itself, but in
its excess. Of great weight was the fact which he adduced, that the
Portuguese Jews, for whom he was pleading, abhorred usury as much as
many Christians, and that their large capital had not been obtained
from it. Manasseh could repudiate with more vehemence the charge of
murdering Christian children. Christians made the accusation, he
thought, pretty much from the motives that influenced the negroes of
Guinea and Brazil, who tormented those just escaped from shipwreck, or
visited by misfortune in general, by assuming that such persons were
accursed of God.
"We live not amongst the Black-moors and wild-men, but amongst
the white and civilized people of the world, yet we find this
an ordinary course, that men are very prone to hate and despise
him that hath ill fortune; and on the other side, to make much
of those whom fortune doth favor."
Manasseh reminded the Christians that there had been a time when they,
too, had been charged by heathens with being murderers of children,
sorcerers, and conjurers, and had been punished by heathen emperors
and officials. He was able to refer to a case of his own time, that of
Isaac Jeshurun, of Ragusa, a Jew repeatedly tortured for child murder,
whose innocence had come to light, and filled the judges with remorse.
Manasseh denied the accusation of the conversion of Christians to
Judaism, and referred to the injunction of the Jewish law to dissuade
rather than attract proselytes.
"Now, because I believe, that with a good conscience I have
discharged our nation of the Jews of those three slanders.... I
may from these two qualities, of Profitableness and Fidelity,
conclude, that such a nation ought to be well entertained,
and also beloved and protected generally of all. The more,
considering they are called in the Sacred Scriptures the sons
of God.... I could add a third (point), viz., of the Nobility
of the Jews, but because that point is enough known amongst
all Christians, as lately it has been shown ... by that worthy
Christian minister, Mr. Henry Jessey ... and by Mr. Edw.
Nicholas, Gentleman. Therefore I will here forbear and rest on
the saying of Solomon ... 'Let another man's mouth praise thee,
and not thine own.'"
Cromwell was decidedly inclined to the admission of the Jews. He may
have had in view the probability that the extensive trade and capital
of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, those professing Judaism openly
as well as secretly, might be brought to England, which at that time
could not yet compete with Holland. He was also animated by the great
idea of the unconditional toleration of all religions, and even thought
of granting religious freedom to the intensely hated, feared, hence
persecuted Catholics. Therefore, he acceded to the wish of the Jews
to open an asylum to them in England. But he was most influenced by
the religious desire to win over the Jews to Christianity by friendly
treatment. He thought that Christianity, as preached in England by the
Independents, without idolatry and superstition, would captivate the
Jews, hitherto deterred from Christianity.
Cromwell and Manasseh ben Israel agreed in an unexpressed, visionary,
Messianic reason for the admission of Jews into England. The
Kabbalistic rabbi thought that in consequence of the settlement of
Jews in the British island, the Messianic redemption would commence,
and the Puritan Protector believed that Jews in great numbers would
accept Christianity, and then would come the time of one shepherd and
one flock. To dispose the people favorably towards the Jews, Cromwell
employed two most zealous Independents, his secretary, the clergyman
Hugh Peters, and Harry Marten, the fiery member of the Council, to
labor at the task.
At last the time came to consider the question of the admission of
Jews seriously. They had been banished in the year 1290 in pursuance
of a decree enacting that they should never return, and it was
questionable whether the decree was not still in force. Therefore,
Cromwell assembled a commission at Whitehall (December 4, 1655), to
discuss every aspect of the matter. The commission was composed of
Lord Chief Justice Glynn, Lord Chief Baron Steel, and seven citizens,
including the Lord Mayor, the two sheriffs of London, an alderman, and
the recorder of the city, and fourteen eminent clergymen of different
towns. Cromwell mentioned two subjects for discussion: whether it was
lawful to admit Jews into England, and, in case it was not opposed
to the law, under what conditions the admission should take place.
Manasseh had formulated his proposal under seven heads: that they
should be admitted and protected against violence; that they should
be granted synagogues, the free exercise of religion, and places
of burial; that they should enjoy freedom of trade; and that their
disputes should be settled by their own rabbis and directors; and that
all former laws hostile to Jews should be repealed for their greater
security. On admission, every Jew should take the oath of fidelity to
the realm.
There was great excitement in London during the discussion on the
admission of the Jews, and popular feeling was much divided. Blind
hatred against the crucifiers of the Son of God, and blind love for
the people of God; fear of the competition of Jews in trade, and hope
of gaining the precedence from the Dutch and Spaniards by their means,
prejudiced ideas that they crucified Christian children, clipped coin,
or wished to make all the English people Jews--these conflicting
feelings disturbed the judgment for and against them. Cromwell's
followers, and the Republicans in general, were for their admission;
Royalists and Papists, secretly or openly his enemies, were opposed to
the proposal. The people crowded to the hall where the Jewish question
was publicly discussed. At the very beginning the legal representatives
declared that no ancient law excluded the Jews from England, for
their banishment had been enacted by the king, without the consent of
Parliament. The city representatives remained silent; the most violent
were the clergy, who could not rid themselves of their hatred against
Jews, derived from the gospels and their theological literature.
Cromwell, who most earnestly wished to see them admitted, therefore
added three clergymen, among them Hugh Peters, from whom he expected a
vote favorable to the Jews. The question was not brought to a decision
in three sittings. Cromwell therefore ordered a final discussion
(December 18, 1655), at which he presided. The majority of the clergy
on this day, too, were against the admission of Jews, even the minority
favoring it only with due precautions. Cromwell, dissatisfied with
the course of the discussion, first had the theological objections
refuted by Manasseh ben Israel, then expressed himself with much
warmth, and reprimanded the clergy. He said that he had hoped to
receive enlightenment for his conscience; instead, they had made the
question more obscure. The main strength of his arguments was: The
pure (Puritan) gospel must be preached to the Jews, to win them to the
church. "But can we preach to them, if we will not tolerate them among
us?" Cromwell thereupon closed the discussion, and resolved to decide
the matter according to his own judgment.
He had not only the opposition of the fanatical clergy to contend
against, but also that of the multitude, who shared their prejudiced
feeling. The enemies of the Jews made every effort to win over the
people against their admission. They spread the report that the
Jews intended to buy the library of the University of Oxford, and,
if possible, turn St. Paul's into a synagogue. They sought to bring
Cromwell's friendship for the Jews under suspicion, and circulated the
report that an embassy had come to England from Asia and Prague to
find out whether Cromwell was not the expected Messiah of the Jews. A
clerical pamphleteer, named William Prynne, stirred up a most fanatical
excitement against the Jews. He composed a venomous work, "A Short
Demurrer," in which he raked up all false accusations against them of
counterfeit coining, and the crucifixion of Christian children, and
briefly summarized the anti-Jewish decrees of the thirteenth century,
so as to make the name of Jew hated. From other quarters, also, various
publications appeared against them. John Hoornbeek, a Dutchman,
composed a book on the conversion of the Jews, in which he pretended
to be their friend, but actually sought to asperse them. John Dury, an
Englishman residing at the time at Cassel, was also resolved to make
his voice heard about the Jews; he weighed arguments for and against
their admission, and at last inclined to the view that it was a serious
matter to permit Jews to enter England. His work was printed and
distributed. Probably at Cromwell's suggestion, Thomas Collier wrote a
refutation of Prynne's charges, dedicating it to the Protector. He even
justified the crucifixion of Jesus by the Jews, and concluded his work
with a passage in the taste of that time:
"Oh, let us respect them; let us wait for that glorious day
which will make them the head of the nations. Oh, the time is
at hand when every one shall think himself happy that can but
lay hold on the skirt of a Jew. Our salvation came from them!
Our Jesus was of them! We are gotten into their promises and
privileges! The natural branches were cut off, that we might
be grafted on! Oh, let us not be high-minded, but fear. Let
us not, for God's sake, be unmerciful to them! No! let it be
enough if we have all their [spiritual] riches."
While the admission of Jews met with so many difficulties in England,
the Dutch Government was by no means pleased with Manasseh ben Israel's
efforts to bring it to pass, fearing, doubtless, that the Amsterdam
Jews would remove to England, with all their capital. Manasseh was
obliged to pacify the Dutch ambassador in an interview, and to assure
him that his exertions concerned not Dutch Jews, but the Marranos,
watched with Argus eyes in Spain and Portugal, for whom he wished to
provide an asylum. Manasseh waited six months in London to obtain from
Cromwell a favorable decision, but without success. The Protector
found no leisure to attend to the Jewish question, his energies were
devoted to obtaining the funds necessary for the government and foreign
wars, refused by one Parliament after another, and to frustrating the
royalist conspiracy against his life. Manasseh's companions, who had
given up all hopes of success, left London; others who, having fled
from the Pyrenean peninsula, were on their way thither, turned back,
and settled in Italy or Geneva.
But the friends of the Jews were unwearied, and hoped to produce a
change of mind in the people. One of "the saints" published a small
work (April, 1656), in which he briefly summarized the proceedings at
the discussion on the admission of Jews, and then added:
"What shall be the issue of this, the most high God knoweth;
Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel still remains in London, desiring
a favorable answer to his proposals; and not receiving it he
hath desired, that if they may not be granted, he may have a
favorable dismission, and return home. But other great affairs
being now in hand, and this being business of very great
concernment, no absolute answer is yet returned to him."
To elicit a thorough refutation of all the charges advanced by the
enemies of the Jews and the opponents of toleration, a person of
high rank, in close relation with the government, induced Manasseh
ben Israel to publish a brief but comprehensive work, in defense
of the Jews. In the form of a letter he stated all the grounds of
accusation. These included the current slanders: the use of the blood
of Christians at the Passover, curses upon Christians and blasphemy
against the God of the Christians in Jewish prayers, and the idolatrous
reverence alleged to be shown the Torah-scrolls. The defense of the
Jews, which Manasseh ben Israel composed in reply (April 10), and
which was soon afterwards circulated through the press, is perhaps
the best work from his pen. It is written with deep feeling, and is,
therefore, convincing; learned matter is not wanting, but the learning
is subordinate to the main object. In the composition of this defense
Manasseh must have had peculiar feelings. He had come to England the
interpreter or representative of the people of God, expecting speedily
to conquer the sympathy of Christians, and pave the way for the
lordship of Israel over the world, and now his people was placed at
the bar, and he had to defend it. Hence the tone of this work is not
aggressive and triumphant, but plaintive. He affirmed that nothing had
ever produced a deeper impression on his mind than the letter addressed
to him with the list of anti-Jewish charges.
"It reflects upon the credit of a nation, which amongst so many
calumnies, so manifest (and therefore shameful), I dare to
pronounce innocent. And in the first place, I cannot but weep
bitterly, and with much anguish of soul lament, that strange
and horrid accusation of some Christians against the dispersed
and afflicted Jews that dwell among them, when they say (what
I tremble to write) that the Jews are wont to celebrate the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, fermenting it with the blood of some
Christians whom they have for that purpose killed."
To this false charge so often made, among others by Prynne, the
greatest part of his defense is devoted, and it is indeed striking. He
traced the accusation to false witnesses or the confession of accused
persons under torture. The innocence of the accused was often brought
to light, but too late, when they had been executed. Manasseh confirmed
this by an entertaining story. The physician of a Portuguese count had
been charged by the Inquisition as a Judaizing Christian. In vain the
count pledged himself for his orthodoxy, he was nevertheless tortured,
and himself confessed that he was a Judaizing sinner. Subsequently the
count, pretending serious illness, sent for the inquisitor, and in his
house, with doors closed, he commanded him in a threatening tone to
confess in writing that he was a Jew. The inquisitor refused; then a
servant brought in a red-hot helmet to put upon his head. Thereupon the
inquisitor confessed everything demanded by the count, who took this
opportunity to reproach him with his cruelty and inhumanity.
Manasseh ben Israel besides affirmed with a solemn oath the absolute
falsehood of the oft-repeated charges as to the use of Christian blood.
After meeting the other accusations against the Jews, he concludes his
defense with a fine prayer and an address to England:
"And to the highly honored nation of England I make my most
humble request, that they would read over my arguments
impartially, without prejudice and devoid of all passion,
effectually recommending me to their grace and favor, and
earnestly beseeching God that He would be pleased to hasten the
time promised by Zephaniah, wherein we shall all serve him with
one consent, after the same manner, and shall be all of the
same judgment; that as his name is one, so his fear may be also
one, and that we may all see the goodness of the Lord (blessed
for ever!) and the consolations of Zion."
This last work of Manasseh ben Israel produced in England the favorable
effect desired. Though Cromwell, amidst the increasing difficulties of
his government, could not fully carry out the admission of the Jews,
he made a beginning towards it. He dismissed Manasseh with honorable
distinctions, and granted him a yearly allowance of one hundred pounds
(February 20, 1657) out of the public treasury. The Jews were not
admitted in triumph through the great portal, but they were let in by
Cromwell through a back door, yet they established themselves firmly.
This was in consequence of an indictment brought against an immigrant
Marrano merchant, Antonio Robles, that he, a Portuguese Papist, had
illegally engaged in business pursuits in England, but he was acquitted
by the Protector on the ground that he was not a Catholic, but a Jew.
Thus the residence of such Jews was suffered; they could therefore drop
the mask of Catholicism. Two respected Marranos, Simon de Caceres and
Fernandez (Isaac) Carvajal, in fact received Cromwell's permission to
open a special burial-ground for the Sephardic Jews settled in London
(1657). In consequence of this permission it was no longer necessary
to make a show of attending church or of having their newly-born
children baptized. But they occupied an anomalous position. Being
strangers, and on account of their insignificant numbers, they lived
not exactly on sufferance, but were ignored. Thus Manasseh ben Israel's
endeavors were not entirely vain. He did not draw the pension awarded
him, nor did he live to witness the coming up of the seed scattered by
him, for on the way home he died, at Middelburg, probably broken down
by his exertions and the disappointment of his hopes, even before he
reached his family (November, 1657). His body was afterwards brought
to Amsterdam, and an honorable epitaph was put over his grave. But his
zealous activity, outcome though it was of Messianic delusions, bore
fruit, because it was sincere. Before he had been dead ten years, Jews
were gradually admitted into England by the monarchy which succeeded
the republic. A community was assembled which soon became organized, a
room was fitted up in King street as a synagogue, and Jacob Sasportas,
the wanderer from Africa, Manasseh ben Israel's companion, was
chosen rabbi. The branch community of London took as its model that
of Amsterdam. From this second stronghold, occupied by Portuguese
Jews, afterwards proceeded the agitation for popular freedom and the
liberation of the Jews.