Interesting Correspondence
DURING the whole of the time I was in the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, I was as in a state of mourning. Often, when at work in the bookbinding or finishing departments, I cried most bitterly. My beloved parents had cut me off-and why? For the truth's sake, for righteousness sake; yes, above all, for Jesus' sake.
At this time I received the following letter from my brother:—
"My dearly-beloved brother Isaac,—I can assure you that never in my life did I experience a more painful hour than that of last week, when our beloved father informed me that you had become a meshumad. I have read the last letter that father wrote to you, and I can assure you that he wrote the very feelings of his heart. It is not my wish to pain you by repeating the words that father wrote to you; but it is my object to call your attention to a few very important facts. You know, my dear brother Isaac, that I am not a fanatic, nor do I possess any religious fanaticism, as some of our nation possess; but very rationally I would like to point out to you two or three things. In the first place, I earnestly ask you, Where is your reason, your judgment, yea, your common sense? Where is the affection of a child towards his parents P Only think, you have not only forsaken the ways of God, but you have turned against your own father and mother. I ask you, Can a murderer be more cruel than you? for even murderers possess love to their parents; but you have turned away from your parents. Oh, how awful! I can understand men, who are philosophers, and who care not for religion, saying, conscientiously, that they cannot believe what they cannot see, although this is foolish and absurd; but I would pardon them much before you; yea, there is no pardon for you; for if you had said that you can no longer believe in God, whom you cannot see, I could pity you, for it is quite rational to disbelieve in something which men cannot conceive. But I solemnly ask you, How can you forget the affection of our beloved father and mother? Ever since our beloved parents have received the bad news that you have become a meshumad I have been quite surprised at the change in them. They are not the same people; misery can be read in their faces by all who see them.
" And then I would also call your attention to the great commandment given by the great God to His servant, our lord Moses—' Honor thy father and thy mother.' Remember, my dear brother, that you break the laws of social and moral society, and, above all, you break the great laws of God.
“One more important matter I would mention to you is this, you still have time to repent and become a Jew again—whether pious or not I do not care—for the name of a Jew is better than the kingdoms of the earth.
"Consider, my dear brother, if you remain in England, you will have to work hard for a livelihood; but at home you will be happy and a man of ease and comfort. I really think that you must consider; for unless you return home and become a Jew, father and mother will never be able to bear that, for I do believe that mother will never get over such a trouble. Only think, my beloved brother, the tenderness and love of a mother. With money you can buy many friends, but never a mother, never a father—especially such parents as the Lord has blessed us with. I do not think that there is any necessity for me to write to you much, for I am sure that you are old enough, and you have sufficient mind, to think over this painful matter. Dear brother, let it never come to pass that our very beloved parents should go to the grave with sorrow before their time. I do believe that mother will not live long if her state of trouble be as it is. Should you consider your ways and repent, and turn to the God of Israel, I wish you joy and happiness, and may God bless you; but if you do not take our advice, if you wish to remain a meshumad, then adieu, adieu. I am no longer your brother. But still, Isaac, Isaac, I do hope and trust that, for the sake of our dear and devoted parents, and for the sake of our whole pious, family, it shall never come to pass that you shall remain a meshumad, and leave everlasting shame and disgrace on us all.
“Once more. Do turn, do repent; but if you do not, then good-bye, good-bye forever and ever. Never shall we know—neither do we want to know—anything about you in this world, nor in the world to come.
‘Unless you repent and become a Jew, I ask you please not to write to me, for I count you as if you are dead—and would to God that it were true. I must mention to you this—for I don't think I shall ever write to you again—our darling brother Jonah Abel is dead. We are all convinced of the fact, that if you had not sinned against the great God, by turning away from Him, our house would not have been visited by the angel of death. Remember, dear Isaac, that our beloved Jonah Abel died through your sins. Oh! bitter, bitter is our life, because one has become a meshumad, the other has died. What will become of us? Would to God that we all died, or else that you might be cut off by death.”
The following letter I wrote in reply to my brother:—
“My dear and affectionate brother Hessel,—I have received your letter, and can assure you if ever I cried and shed tears over anything, it was over the letters I received last from our dear father, and then from you. In my previous correspondence I have told of my faith in Jesus Christ, in whom I believe as the promised Messiah. Dear Hessel, you know how earnest I always was in serving our God, and in living a holy life. Well, this is just my present feeling and desire. The same God I believed in when at home, I believe in now—JEHOVAH IS MY GOD. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and our fathers, in whose merits I rejoiced when at home, I rejoice in now; but the only difference in my belief is now, that it is impossible for me, as a sinner, to be justified through Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. I believe that the MESSIAH, who was promised, HAS COME, and through Him alone sinners can be saved, and be made just in the sight of the great God, who is holy. And now my resolve is, that even if called not only to sacrifice riches; but life, I must say, ' Here am I.'
"Dear Hessel, I can assure you that my love towards our beloved parents will never fail; yea, it will increase the longer I live. I am always ready to make the greatest sacrifice. If ever a son loved his parents, I believe I have loved mine; but I must confess that I love my Lord and Redeemer more. All my powers and graces are His. I am His property. He bought me with the great price of His own holy, and innocent, and precious blood.
"Although father and mother, and brothers and sisters, cut me off, yet will I trust in the Lord, who will take me up. I am very thankful that I am in England. The English people, I think, are the best people I ever saw in my life, except our pious Jews. If God should permit me to live all my life in England, and even if my life is to be poor, and I have to work for a meal till the very last hour of life, still will I be satisfied. May God in mercy bless the Queen of England, and all the English people, among whom I hope to remain as long as I live; for I would much rather live in England than in Russia, Germany, Poland, Austria, or anywhere else. I must say, dear Hessel, that having read in your letter of the death of our beloved brother, I mourn. My heart is full of sorrow; I shall always feel the loss; but I rejoice in knowing that all things are governed by the Most High, and whatever man may think or suppose, yet He will work in His own way. An English poet says the following true words:—
“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
“Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.'
“Dear brother, I do sincerely hope that it will never come to pass that you will blot me from your memory, for I only act as I believe I ought to act, according to the Bible. I sincerely pray that the Lord may visit you and our dear parents with His salvation. And oh! that the time may come when Israel shall be brought to the truth, and have faith to believe in the only name given unto man whereby he can be saved.
I remain, dear Hessel,
“Your affectionate Brother.
“12, Palestine Place, Cambridge Heath,
London, March, 1872.”
The following is a translation of my beloved mother's letter to me:—
"To my most affectionate and darling son Isaac.
“Darling child Isaac,—I take the pen in my hand with a sincere hope that the words which I am trying to write may not be in vain, but that the God of our holy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may apply them to your conscience and inmost soul.
“My dearest and loveliest child Isaac, I know that you have forsaken the holy and precious religion of Israel; but still I am convinced that all the steps you have taken are not for the sake of doing wrong; I have not the least doubt in my mind that you have been persuaded by the so-called Rabbi Stern. (Cursed be his name forever and ever! Amen.) Let me just state to you, my darling child, a very few observations, and reason with yourself, and see if you are right or wrong.
“In the first place, my dear child, I would call your attention to the fact that the Christian religion is an idolatrous religion. The heathen worship wood and stone images, and the Christians worship Jesus Christ, whose name is as hateful to us as swine's flesh, and much worse, whose life, when in this world, proved to be most blasphemous.
"I candidly ask you, darling Isaac, to think of the steps you have taken; for remember that your soul is damned forever. Oh, how grievous this is to me, to think that my own child, my own flesh and blood, he for whom I always sacrificed all that I could in order to secure happiness for him, yet shall be eternally damned.
Woe! woe! woe! better would it have been if the Almighty had dealt with me as He dealt with Lot's wife; much better would it be indeed if my mother had died before she travailed with me, than for me to have been brought up, in my old age, to see my most beloved son fall into the hands of the devil, and be forever damned. Isaac! Isaac! Isaac! remember that, through your perversion, our family shall also be damned; for there will always be a curtain between the throne of God and our family. Think of me, your tender and loving mother, of your devoted father; through you we shall be forever cursed by God. Isaac! Isaac! think of the young blood of your two little sisters, how you have clothed them with everlasting shame and disgrace; they are ashamed to go out into the open street, for the children of the neighbors run after them and cry, "These are the meshumad Isaac's sisters!" Oh, would God be very gracious unto us, and take our lives from us, and blot our names out from the remembrance of man's mind!
“Dear child, can you not have mercy upon your mother? Can you not have mercy upon your zealous and pious father? Can you not have compassion upon your beloved sisters and brother? Father does not know that I am writing this letter; in fact, he has determined not to know anything about you; he does not wish to hear your name mentioned in his presence; he has thrown away all things we had at home that belonged to you: all this in order to forget you from his mind; but I thought that I should like just to write to you, with a hope that it may touch your heart and bring you to repentance. If you refuse my advice, if you will not turn, then I am no longer your mother. Please do not write to me any more, unless you repent. If you will not repent, I do not want to think of you; but my only prayer is, that you may repent, or else for God to take your life or ours. Amen.
“Your grievous mother,
“BRAINAH LEVINSOHN.
“Kovno,
"June, 1872.”
The following is the letter I wrote in reply to my mother:—
"To my soul-beloved mother; may you live long in peace and happiness! Amen.
“Beloved Mother,—With unspeakable joy have I read your letter, and my heart is full of gladness to know that my darling mother still thinks of me. My dear mother, you know very well how I was always anxious to do your will, and do good to all, and observe the Taryag Mizvess [613 precepts], in order to obtain peace for my soul. You remember well how my heart thirsted after satisfaction; and you also know very well that over and over again I came to you and cried very bitterly, because I could not possibly obtain that satisfaction for my soul.
“Dearly-beloved mother, you know very well that there is nothing in the world which convinces our finite minds better than experience. Our holy nation, when in the Holy Land, often asked of Moses and his successors for signs and wonders, and when the Holy One—blessed be His name—had revealed Himself unto them, and had done wonders for them, then they believed. So you see that experience convinces, and makes men believe. So in relation to the steps I have taken since my arrival in England. I know and believe in things which I feel in my heart and soul to be the truth. If you only read through carefully the several letters I sent to father lately, and read the little book I sent not long since, you will see, I hope, that I am in the right way. Mother darling, I have learned by experience that by nature I am a sinner, not because have read it, or been told by anyone, but because I feel that I am such. I have also learned by experience that there is no one that can take away my sins save Jesus Christ, whom you hate; for I have tried to secure my happiness in various ways. I tried to silence the yearning of my soul by giving myself to the Written and Oral laws, and that filled my soul with misery. I also thought that giving myself to the service of a judge I should be satisfied. I thought by studying the German and Russian languages I should feel satisfied; but, darling mother, I have told you before, when you saw tears on my face, that there was nothing that I could obtain to satisfy me. All this, therefore, you know, was my sorrowful experience; but, darling mother, it has also been my sweet experience to realize pardon for my soul by believing in the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Though rejected of men, yet in Him I will trust all the days of my life; for He only can and does save me, a poor Jewish sinner, as well as the Gentiles. Oh! what a wonder, when considering that great love! Above all, I believe in Jesus, because I feel that He has satisfied the yearning of my soul. And I have learned that there is a heavenly home prepared for me by Him. Death, therefore, with its icy hand, shall not hurt me; for the Messiah has conquered him who had the power of death; there is, therefore, no death for those who believe, but eternal misery to those who do not believe.
“Oh I dear mother, I feel that I would not mind giving my life if only I could convince you by making you believe in the Messiah; yea, I feel that I would not mind to be accursed if only I could bring you and my dearly-beloved father, and brother and sisters, to believe in the same truths that I believe; for I know that my writing to you will not convince you, unless you are influenced by the same power that convinced me.
Dear mother, in closing this letter I would say that I love you and beloved father more than anyone in the world. I will do anything you like for you; nothing shall be too hard for me; but I feel I must obey my Lord and my Redeemer more even than you; so that I cannot possibly give up being a believer in Him. Darling mother, if you cannot conscientiously believe in Him, then I would ask you not to condemn me for believing. Oh! dear mother, do not cut me off from your mind. Oh! mother darling, forget not your Isaac, who loves you with all his heart and soul; but if you should cut me off, and entirely forsake me, then I will still love you and pray to God for my dearest and most affectionate mother. Darling, I do trust that you will be forever a mother to me, and I shall rejoice; but if you do not wish to have anything to do with me, then shall I trust in the great God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in the great Messiah, the Savior, Jesus Christ, who will never cast me off.
“Good-bye, loving, darling mother, good bye; it is sweet to me to think of you. When shall I hear from you again? I pray, my darling mother, that the Lord, who made me to believe in the truth which is in Jesus, may do the same to you; and oh! that the time may soon come when the spirit of grace and supplication shall be poured out upon Israel, and that Israel may be gathered together, and worship the Messiah, Lord of lords and King of kings. Please remember me to my ever-loving father, sisters, and brother.
“I remain, your ever-affectionate Son.
"7, Seward stone Road, Victoria Park,
“London, England.”