The history of the Jews: From the war with Rome to the present time

by H. C. Adams

In this century two Jewish impostors made their appearance, and obtained great influence over their countrymen, though the falsehoods they palmed off were different from those usually put forward by adventurers of their class. The first of them, one Zechariah, did not himself claim to be the Messiah, but to have discovered a new mode of interpreting prophecy, which showed, beyond dispute, that He was close at hand. A belief prevailed among the Jews, that if any man could attain to a correct pronunciation of the presumedly ineffable name of God, he would thereby acquire all knowledge and all power. Zechariah professed to have done this, and on that ground claimed to declare positively the day of the Messiah’s appearing. The Jews—a large part of them, that is—credited his pretensions, and went on the appointed day to their synagogue, clothed in white to receive their Deliverer.[120] What became of the impostor does not seem to be recorded.

The second pretender professed to have obtained a complete copy of the book Zohar,[121] of which only fragments were known to exist. He was a Rabbi, named Moses de Leon, who, being unable to support himself and his family by the income of his synagogue, devised this mode of raising money. It seems to have been a considerable time before it was discovered that the missing portions of the book were supplied from his own imagination. The credulity of the Jews, in general so astute, in this and similar matters, is very surprising.

In A.D. 1291, James II. succeeded to the throne of Aragon. He was as anxious as his predecessor had been for the conversion of the Jews, and issued several edicts with that design. He ordered that the Jews should attend the lectures delivered by Dominican friars on the points of difference between the Jewish and Christian faith, and further, be required to answer, if they could, the arguments of their instructors. If they refused to attend; probably—though this is not recorded—also if they refused to embark in a controversy, in which success would be more dangerous to them than defeat, they were to suffer such corporal punishment as the friars should adjudge.

This, however, was all that was imposed. The young king refused to repeal the righteous and merciful laws of his great-grandfather and grandfather; and strict justice to the Jews remained the rule in Spain until the thirteenth century came to its close.

FOOTNOTES:

[116] Raimond has been supposed by many to have been the author of the famous Pugio Fidei, a severe attack on the Jews. But that book did not appear till three centuries after his time, and was probably the work of a Dominican of the same name.

[117] At Tarragona, A.D. 1233 and again 1234.

[118] There can be little doubt that Alphonso knew how far he could venture in his efforts to uphold reason and justice, and where he must yield to the deeply rooted prejudices of his people. Had he attempted more, he would probably have failed to effect anything.

[119] He was pressed at the trial at Osuna to put the accused Jews to the torture, in order to extract evidence which would satisfactorily prove whether they had done the deed or not. Alphonso refused. He said that he had, two years before, allowed two Jews to be racked in order to discover whether they had stolen two golden goblets. Under the torture they confessed the theft, and were executed for it. Shortly afterwards the goblets were found in the possession of a servant. ‘Therefore,’ said the king, ‘I will have no more examinations by torture. It is evident that the confessions extracted by them are worth nothing.’ No conclusion could be more sound. But before another judge it would have been urged and believed that the Jews, or their ally Satan, had hidden the goblets in a servant’s chest, in order that a Christian might be unrighteously charged with the crime of a Jew.

[120] As these occurrences were nothing in those times without a miracle, it has been further declared that the Jews, when they entered the synagogue, perceived that their white dresses were covered with red crosses. This, however, is only the statement of a monk, a convert from Judaism who wrote two hundred years afterwards.