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| Jews in 19th
Century Palestine |
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Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
35. |
Jewish Family in
Mount Zion
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The Jews [of Jerusalem] are divided into three principal divisions, the
Sephardim, the Ashkenazim, and the Karaim. Nothing can be more striking than the
marked difference in appearance and costume between the Sephardim and
Ashkenazim. The former are far superior in culture and manners; they have
generally dark complexions, black hair, and regular features; they are fairly
industrious and honest; they dress in Oriental costume, and are not wanting in a
certain dignity . . . .The Sephardim speak Spanish, and trace their descent from
the Jews who were driven from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the
fifteenth century; hence their name from Sepharad, the Spain of the Rabbins.
They are Ottoman subjects, and their chief rabbi, who bears the title of Hakim
Bashi, is a recognised official and has a certain degree of civil authority. The
Sephardim have a curious tradition that their ancestors were settled in Spain
before the date of the Crucifixion, and they thus claim to be exempt from the
consequences of the outcry of the Jews, "His blood be upon us and our children."
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 118.) |
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Jews of Jerusalem |
Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
69. |
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The Ashkenazim, on the other hand, have
pale complexions and flaxen hair, from which
two long love-locks hang down, one on either
side of the face; and they always wear the
long Eastern robe (caftan), with a hat of felt
or fur . . . .The Ashkenazim are chiefly of
Polish origin, they or their immediate
ancestors having come from German, Austrian,
or Russian Poland. They are subdivided into
Peroshim (Pharisees) and Khasidim (Cabalists).
The [Sephardim] accept the Talmud, whilst the
[Ashkenazim] believe also in oral tradition
and the transmigration of souls, study the
Cabala, and in their religious worship
sometimes run into wild excess. The Karaim or
Karaites, who do not acknowledge the authority
of the Talmud, form a small community apart
from the other sects. Much has been done
during the last twenty years to ameliorate the
condition of the Jews at Jerusalem by Sir
Moses Montefiore, Baron Rothschild, and other
wealthy European Jews, and every year sums of
money are sent for distribution amongst the
poor. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1,
pp. 118-119.) |
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Source:
Photographs of Charles Lee Feinberg. |
Western Wall Plaza
Recently Cleared |
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Another phase of the picture-strange,
fantastic, incongruous-often meets the eye in
street or market. A Jew, with pale, solemn
visage, tattered fur-lined robe, and bearskin
cap, stealing timidly along the path. Another,
with heavy black turban, black girdle, and
flowing Oriental gabardine, his hands folded,
and his face the picture of suffering and
sorrow. (Source: Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p. 68.) |
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Kibbutz Children at Degania B |
Source:
Photographs of Charles Lee Feinberg. |
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We can never understand the depth and
continuity of the religious life of the Jews
without remembering that from the beginning a
religious atmosphere surrounded the child of
Jewish parents . . . .Devotion to the law
constituted, in the esteem of the Jews, the
chief aim in life. Jewish parents were more
concerned to give their children a knowledge
of the law than they were to leave them an
earthly inheritance . . . .There is no
department of study that could be pursued with
more profit at the present time than the
national history of the Jews, especially as it
respected the methods adopted by parents to
bring up their children. The private and
united prayers, domestic rights, weekly
Sabbath, and the festive seasons were all
employed with a reference to bringing up
Jewish children in the knowledge of and with a
true love for the lands, traditions, and
institutions of their people. And it is true,
even to this day, that the children of the
Jews are better trained in the knowledge of
the Scriptures, and in the ordinances and
customs of the Jewish Church, than the
children of any other people on the earth.
(Source:
Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 110.) |
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See Arabs,
Bedouin,
Muslim Customs,
Samaritans,
or
Samaritan
Passover |
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