AARON COHEN ADDRESSES A JEWISH AUDIENCE.
The world gave Aaron Cohen credit for being exceedingly wealthy, and
fabulous tales of the success of his ventures obtained credence with
the people. Instead of the age of romance being over, there was never
a time in the world's history which afforded so much material for
romance as the present, and in which it was so eagerly sought after
and believed in. Imagination is more powerful than science, and this
is the age of both. Small wonder, therefore, for the current report
that Aaron Cohen was a millionaire; but such was not the case. He had
money and to spare, and his private establishment was conducted on a
liberal scale. Had he retired at this period he might have done so on
an income of some five thousand pounds, which people's imagination
would have multiplied by ten; and he might have justified this flight
as to his means were it not that in addition to the charities to which
he openly subscribed, a considerable portion of the profits of his
enterprises was given anonymously to every public movement for the
good of the people and for the relief of the poor. For several years
past great curiosity had been evinced to learn the name of the
anonymous donor of considerable sums of money sent through the post in
bank-notes in response to every benevolent appeal to the public purse.
A colliery disaster, a flood, an earthquake in a distant country, a
case of national destitution--to one and all came large contributions
from a singularly generous donor, who, in the place of his signature,
accompanied the gift with the simple words, "In Atonement." Several
well-known benefactors were credited with these liberal subscriptions,
but so careful was the giver in the means he adopted to preserve his
anonymity that they were not traced to the right source. They were
strange words to use to such an end. In atonement of what? Of an
undiscovered crime, the committal of which had enriched the man who
would not sign his name? A few ingenious writers argued the matter out
in the lesser journals, and although specifically they were very far
from the truth, they were in a general sense more often nearer to it
than they suspected.
These charitable donations were Aaron's constant appeal to the Divine
Throne for mercy and forgiveness for the one sin of his life, and thus
did he effectually guard against becoming a millionaire.
He was, indeed, unceasing in his secret charities to individuals as
well as to public bodies. Many a struggling man never discovered to
whom he was indebted for the timely assistance which lifted him out of
his troubles, and started him on the high road to prosperity; many a
widow had cause to bless this mysterious dispenser of good. If upon
his deathbed a life-long sinner, repenting, may be forgiven his
numberless transgressions, surely a life-long record of noble deeds
may atone for an error prompted by the purest feelings of love. Such a
thought did not enter Aaron's mind; the flattering unction was not for
him. He walked in sorrow and humility, wronging no man, doing good to
many, and faithfully performing his duty to all. At the Judgment Seat
he would know.
Perhaps of all the institutions in which he took a part, those which
most deeply interested him were the Jewish working men's clubs in the
East End. He was one of their most liberal patrons; their library
shelves were lined with the books he had presented, and he frequently
took the chair at their Sunday evening gatherings. The announcement of
his name was sufficient to crowd the hall; to shake hands with Aaron
Cohen was one of the ambitions of the younger members. When he made
his appearance at these gatherings he felt that he was among friends;
there was a freemasonry among them, as indeed there is among Jews all
the world over. Aaron devoted particular attention to the young
people. He knew that the hope of Judaism lay in the new generation,
and it was his aim to encourage in the minds of the young the pride of
race which engenders self-respect and strengthens racial character. He
regarded old customs as something more than landmarks in his religion;
they were essentials, the keystones of the arch which kept the fabric
together, and he was anxious that they should be preserved. Symbols
are unmeaning to the materialist; to those who have faith they convey
a pregnant message, the origin of which can be traced back to the
first days of creation, when God made man in His own image. They are
the links which unite the past, full of glorious traditions, and the
future, full of Divine hope. Of this past Aaron spoke in words which
stirred the sluggish fires in the hearts of the old, and made them
leap into flame in the hearts of the young. "I have heard," he said,
"of Jews who were ashamed that it should be known that they were Jews;
of Jews who, when Jews were spoken of slightingly in Christian
society, have held their tongues in order that they might perchance
escape from the implied disparagement. I will not stop to inquire
whether this springs from cowardice or sensitiveness, for in either
case it is both wrong and foolish. Lives there any member of an old
historic family who is not proud of the past which has been
transmitted to him as a heritage, who is not conscious that his
lineage sheds a lustre upon the name he bears? Not one. He pores over
the annals of his race, and, pausing at the record of a noble deed
performed, thinks proudly, 'This deed was performed by my ancestor,
and it lives in history.' He takes up a novel or a poem, and reads it
with exultant feelings, as having been inspired by another ancestor
who, mayhap, shed his blood in defence of king and country. Let me
remind you, if you have lost sight of the fact, that there is no
historic family in England or elsewhere the record of whose deeds can
vie in splendour with the record of the Jew. His history is at once a
triumph of brain power and spiritual vitality, and the proudest boast
a Jew can make is that he is a Jew. It is not he who holds the lower
ground; he stands on the heights, a noble among the men who presume to
despise him. Be true to yourselves, and it will not be long before
this is made manifest and universally acknowledged. In personal as
well as in racial history you stand pre-eminent. What greater
schoolman than Maimonides? What greater master of philosophy than
Spinoza? What poets more sublime than Isaiah and Ezekiel? In infamous
Russia Jews who practised their religion in secret have been among its
most eminent ministers of finance, and the glory of Spain departed
when it persecuted our brethren and drove them from the country. The
Disraelis, father and son, were Jews; Benary was a Jew; Neander, the
founder of spiritual Christianity, was a Jew; in Germany the most
celebrated professors of divinity were Jews; Wehl, a Jew, the famous
Arabic scholar, wrote the 'History of Christianity'; the first Jesuits
were Jews; Soult and Messina were Jews; Count Arnim was a Jew;
Auerbach, Pasta, Grisi, Rachel, Sara Bernhardt, Baron Hirsch, the
philanthropist, Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn--all Jews. These are but a few
of the names which occur to me; are you ashamed to be associated with
them? In war, in politics, in philosophy, in finance, in philanthropy,
in exploration and colonisation, in all the arts and professions, you
stand in the front rank. I see in this audience many young men, some
of whom, I believe, are by their talents destined to become famous,
and some to grow rich by their shrewdness and industry. To them I say,
Work and prosper, and work in the right way. Whatever be the channel
they have chosen to the goal they wish to reach, let them work
honestly towards it, and when they stand upon the fairer shore let
them not forget their religion, let them not forget that they owe
their advancement to the intelligent and intellectual forces which
have been transmitted to them by their great ancestors through all the
generations."
This address was received with enthusiasm, and Aaron's hearers went to
their homes that night stirred to their inmost hearts, and proud of
the faith of their forefathers.