I.—Is Jewish mission work necessary? Yes; because without it the majority of the Jews would never be reached by the preaching of the Gospel.
II.—How shall they be converted? By establishing in every Church societies of earnest Christians, who shall support proselytes from Judaism as missionaries among their own people.
III.—How shall these missionaries carry on their work? Not by dispute and argument, which create only intellectual knowledge, but through the promulgation of the way of salvation, must the Jews embrace the truths of Christianity, through which Christians also are converted.
IV.—How are the converts to be treated? Possibly they might primarily be organized into circles, in order to serve as leaven among their friends, but much depends upon their various former environments.
The idea of a Jewish national existence greatly impressed him, and he clung firmly to this hope for Israel's future. In 1891 he had the pleasure of appointing the first Norwegian Jewish missionary. After a remarkable, important and richly blessed activity for the Church of Christ, he fell asleep in 1892. Professor Bang called him "the Teacher of all Scandinavia," and testified that his death should be considered as an historical Church calamity. Caspari himself cherished but one ambition, to live and die in favour with Christ Jesus, and depended to the last on the Saviour's word, "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out."
Some of Caspari's works are as follows:
(1) "Commentar über Obadja," Leipzig, 1842, followed by (2) "Beiträge zur Einleitung in das Buch Jesaia." (3) "Untersuchungen über den Syrisch Ephraimitischen Krieg unter Jotham und Ahas," Christiania, 1849. (4) "Commentar zu Micha," ib., 1852. (5) "Theile des Jesaia seit 1853." (6) "Zur Einführung in das Buch Daniel," Leipzig, 1869. (7) "Quellen der Geschichte des Taufsymbols und der Glaubensregel," Christiania, 1868-9. (8) "Grammatica Arabica," Leipzig, 1842-48; a second edition appeared in 1866.
Cassel, Paulus (Selig), was one of the most distinguished Hebrew Christians whom Germany produced during the 19th century, and one of the most remarkable missionaries ever in the Society's ranks.
Speaking of the necessity of writing a history of converted Jews, the "Jewish Chronicle" said that the most important chapter of it would be that which, concerning Germany, contained the lives of such men as Benfey, Bernhardy, Lehrs, Neander and Veith; and after them should be mentioned Cassel, who became a pillar of the Reformed Church, and acknowledged that "a genius like Cassel is always an honour to his former brethren in the faith," whilst wondering that one who observed for so many years the Jewish ceremonial laws, ate at the table of Jacob Joseph Ettinger, the rabbi of Berlin, who was the admirer of Michael Sachs, and the author of the article, "History of the Jews," in Ersch and Grüber's great "Encyclopædia of Science," could have embraced the Christian faith.[10] It was indeed a strange spectacle, and a sorrowful one withal, for every Jew with any feeling whatever, to see Paulus Cassel teaching Christianity in the same city of Berlin, where his brother, David, was a well-known rabbi, training young men for the Jewish ministry.
We must, however, first speak of his early years. Selig Cassel, to give him his Jewish name, was born at Glogau, in Silesia, on February 27th, 1821, of Jewish parents. He was educated at the Gymnasia of Glogau and Schweidnitz, and subsequently at the university of Berlin, where he made a special study of history as a pupil of the famous historian, Dr. Ranke.