Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
ask how much may be the fruit."
Dr. Cassel was an ardent lover of his own people. "Though he has left
us, he was by no means our enemy. He still fights against those who hate
the Jews," said the "Jewish Chronicle." It was he who raised his voice
against Stöcker in Berlin, and endeavoured by voice and pen to soften
down the excitement and anger of German Protestants, and to secure the
peace of his former brethren in the faith.
In the spring of 1891, when he retired from his duties, Dr. Cassel did
not cease to preach, wherever an occasion offered, and he continued to
write. So great was his love and zeal that he could not forego
instructing and baptizing Jews who wished to become members of the
Church of Christ through his instrumentality. The number of his converts
must exceed some hundreds. Many of them were in high positions, and
residing in various parts of the world.
Dr. Cassel's death took place, after great sufferings, on December 23rd,
1893, his last words being, "Wo ist denn das Himmelreich?" His funeral
was held on December 27th in the afternoon. In Christ Church, where the
coffin had been placed before the communion-table, a funeral sermon was
preached by the Rev. Pastor Weser from St. John i. 12. The Rev. Dr.
Dryander, the General Superintendent of the Lutheran community, also
addressed the congregation. After the service within the sacred edifice
the obsequies were completed, in the presence of a large concourse of
friends, at the old Jerusalem Cemetery, where Dr. Cassel's mortal
remains lie in their last resting-place.
We append a few testimonies to the life, example, and powerful influence
of Dr. Cassel:
Mr. C. Urbschat, of Königsberg, who for several years worked under Dr.
Cassel in Berlin, wrote of his labours:--
"Professer Cassel was a highly educated missionary, and showed
extraordinary ability in influencing the higher classes of Jews in
favour of Christianity by his lectures and by his pleadings on their
behalf. He was a man of profound learning, of great diligence, and of
restless zeal in propagating the Gospel of his Master amongst Jews and
Christians."
The "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums" said:--"When the anti-Semites
began to show themselves, Cassel remembered his origin, and opposed the
leaders, Stöcker, Wagner, and others with great decision and manliness.
It was this manly action that gives us some satisfaction for his
desertion of the parental religion. We have to judge this apostasy very
differently from that of many others in former and present times, as he
did not forsake his old creed for any worldly reason, or to get honours
and position, but rather because he followed a mystical line of thought.
God alone can judge the veracity and purity of his life; we dare not.
'Peace be to his ashes!'"
Of the two brothers who, though divided in life, died about the same
time, the _Jewish Chronicle_ remarked:--"The deaths of David and Paulus
(formerly Selig) Cassel remove two brothers, both of whom had won a
place for themselves among the honoured names of Jewish scholarship....
Paulus was the greater man of the two, a scholar and writer of a higher
type, and his works will live. He took a worthy part in the struggle
against anti-Semitism. Paulus Cassel was perhaps the first man to
recognise what was really meant by writing a history of the Jews."
One of Dr. Cassel's numerous converts, baptized by him in 1870, sent the
following most touching tribute to his memory:--"There was no way of his
life in which he failed to shine. Study and knowledge sealed in his
heart the great truths of religion. His was the faith which is clothed
in wisdom; his the wisdom which is hallowed by faith. His faith was to
him, as it should be to all of us, an armed angel. His affectionate
heart not only throbbed with love for his own kindred, but was alive to
sympathy with those who needed it. I always found him benevolent and
singularly gentle. He taught the world that the Jew, hitherto despised,
must be despised no more; he conquered a place in society, in the
highest society--the intellectual circle--for the people of his faith.
And this victory he won, not by dint of clamour, or falseness, or
obstrusive self-assertion, but by the force of his own intellectual
powers, his unsullied integrity, his admirable character. Dr. Cassel
gave mankind a useful lesson, a touching example, a glorious spectacle:
he showed how a Christian Jew lives! His knowledge was the altar on
which he stood to worship the great God-man! History confirms the truth,
which the Psalmist, whose music he loved, taught mankind ages ago--that,
'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'"
The industry of Dr. Cassel was truly prodigious, and was especially
evidenced by the large number and character of his writings.
A complete list of all his books and pamphlets would fill a large space,
so mention can be made only of his more important writings,
namely:--"Juden Geschichte" in Ersch and Grüber (1847), "Magyarische
Altertumer" (1848), "Von Warschau bis Olmutz" (1851), "Thüringische
Ortsnamen" (1856-58), "Eddische Studien" (1856), "Rose und Nachtigall"
(1860), "Weihnachten, Ursprünge, Bräuche und Aberglauben" (1862), "Die
Schwalbe" (1869), "Drachenkämpfe" (1869), "Vom Wege nach Damascus"
(1872), "Name und Beruf" (1874), "Löwenkämpfe von Nemea bis Golgotha"
(1875), "Das Buch Esther" (1878), translated by the Rev. A. Bernstein
into English and published by T. and T. Clark of Edinburgh (1888), "Vom
Nil zum Ganges" (1879), "Christliche Sittenlehre" (1880), "Aus literatur
und Symbolik" (1884), "Sabbatarche Errinerungen," "Die Hochzeit von
Cana" (1884), "Aus Literatur und Geschichte" (1885), "Aus dem Lande des
Sonnenaufgangs" (1885), "Kritische Sendschreiben über die Probebibel"
(1885), "Wie ich über Judenmission denke" (1886), "Das 900 jährige
Jubiläum der russischen Kirche" (1888), "Aletheia, Vorträge" (1890),
"Das 1000 jährige Reich" (1890). For Lange's Bible-Commentary he wrote
the expositions on the books of Judges and Ruth. His works against
anti-Semitism were "Wider Heinrich von Treitschke für die Juden" (1880),
"Die Antisemiten und die Evangelische Kirche" (1881), "Ahasverus"
(1885), and "Der Judengott und Richard Wagner." Dr. Cassel composed many
poems under the title, "Hallelujah," containing 188 hymns, and also some
dramas (Vom Könige, Das neue Schauspiel, Der Weiner Congress, Paulus at
Damascus, Paulus at Cyprus, &c.)
From 1875-91 Dr. Cassel edited and published a weekly paper, "For
Christian life and knowledge," entitled "Sunem."
Such, in conclusion, was this truly wonderful son of Israel, and
follower of Christ. His gigantic intellect, marvellous ability,
persuasive oratory, brilliant pen, were alike consecrated to the service
of his Lord and Master, and to the spiritual welfare of his brethren.
Sage, philosopher, scholar, author, preacher and missionary, he was a
king amongst his fellow-men. His name will live immortal in the annals
of Jewish and Jewish missionary literature.
CERF, Karl Friedrich, born in 1782, died 1845, embraced Christianity.
Friedrich Wilhelm IV. conferred upon him the title of Royal
Commissionsrath for services rendered.
CERF, Friedrich Rudolf, with his wife, Angelica Henrietta, _née_ Israel,
belonging to Mendelssohn's circle, were baptized at Schöneback in 1818,
and their daughter in 1822.
CHERSKIER, a convert in Warsaw, translated the Book of Common Prayer
into Hebrew in 1836, since when 26,000 copies have been issued by the
L.J.S.
CHERSKI, Reuben, a native of Thorn, was brought up in Leipzig. When
quite a youth he entered a Christian Church, for which offence he was
locked up by his father in a cupboard. Sometime after he heard
Biesenthal and Poper speak to the Jews about Christ at the Leipzig book
fair. Then he found a New Testament among his father's books, and read
St. John iii., and was punished by him for doing so, forbidding him to
read it again. After this he received another New Testament from a
colporteur of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and read it with a
pricked conscience for disobeying his father. Then, after he and his
father were saved by Christians from a fire at Eisenach, he, being now
seventeen years of age, left for Frankfort to seek a livelihood there.
Through a paternal friend he got employment in the office of the "Freund
Zeitung." The chief editor, Israel Harsch, one day in a walk pointed out
to him a man in clerical costume, wearing gold spectacles, with a
countenance of great gentleness, by saying, "He is a Meshummad, a
missionary to the Jews." Cherski now recollected that he had seen him
once at Leipzig, and was warned to keep aloof from him. However, from
that time he began to attend Dr. Poper's meetings, at one of which he
met Dr. Biesenthal too, listened to their lectures, and left for Paris
apparently unimpressed. Then he met Poper again, received from him the
tract "Messiah, the Son of David, is also the Son of God," became a
changed man, wrote to his father a confession of his faith in Christ,
returned to Frankfort, where he found that his fiancée, Lydia, had in
the meanwhile also been converted.
CHRISTIAN, Gustav Christopher, baptized at Nüremberg 1719, and died
there about 1735. He was the author of two Judæo-German works--"Yesod
Emunath Yeshua" (The basis of the Faith of Jesus), Berlin, 1712; and
"Die Bekehrung's Israel," Schwabach, 1722.
CHRISTIANI, Friedrich Albrecht, was born in the middle of the
seventeenth century, died at Prostnitz at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. He was baptized in 1674 at Strassburg, having
formerly been the Chazzan (Precentor) at Bruchsal. After having occupied
for twenty years the chair of Semitics at the university of Leipzig, he
retired to Prostnitz. Christiani's works comprise the following, all
published at Leipzig. (1) "Zebah Pesah" (The sacrifice of Easter), an
account of the Jewish celebration of Easter in the time of Jesus, and at
the present. (2) "Seudath Purim" (The meal of Purim), 1677, a
description of Jewish fasting and feasting. (3) "Zahakan Melumad
Umethareth" (The Scholarly Gambler repenting) 1683, a German translation
of the work of Leon of Modena on gambling. (4) "Abravanel's Commentary
on the first prophets, with a Latin index," 1686. (5) "The text of Jonah
with the Targum Massorah and the commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Kimchi
and Abravanel, and a Hebrew Latin Vocabulary," 1683. (6) "Iggereth"
(Letter) 1676, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, translated from
the Greek into Hebrew. (7) "Traktat von dem Glauben und Unglauben der
Juden," 1713.
CHRISTIANI, Moritz Wilhelm, born at Altorf at the end of the seventeenth
century, died at Prague, 1740, probably a member of the Keyser family of
Schleusingen, Bavaria. He claimed to have been a rabbi at Schleusingen
before his baptism in 1715. Christiani wrote: (1) "Kurze Beschreibung
einer Jüdischen Synagogue und eine Beschreibung der Synagogalen
Gebraüche," Regensburg, 1723. (2) "Die Schlacht und Visiterkunst, _ib._,
1724." (3) "Ausgang von dem verstockten Judenthum und Eingang zum wahren
Christenthum," an account of his conversion, his profession of faith,
and several orations, Erfurt, 1720. (4) "Rede zur Einladung für
Rabbinische Studien," written in Hebrew and German, inserted in "Johann
David Köhler's Program," Altorf, 1785. (5) "A German translation of the
Sefer ha Minhagim of Jacob Levi (Matta Ril)," published at Bremen, 1733.
CHRISTIAN, Friedrich Ernest (as a Jewish teacher called Abraham Saul),
was baptized with his wife and two grown-up sons by Pastor Stemnitz in
1772.
CHRISTMANN was baptized in 1775.
CHRISTLIEB, Wilhelm, declared that it was a sermon which he heard
preached to the Jews by Pastor Dekan Soldanus in the town hall of Cassel