There is a very interesting body of Jews living in the Crimea, known by the name of Karites or Caraites, and sometimes called Tartar Jews, in consequence of their speaking the Tartar language. These men long ago rejected the Talmud, and for several generations have continued to regulate their sentiments and conduct by the Scriptures of the Old Testament alone. I often heard of them while in Russia, and invariably on inquiry received a favourable report of their conduct and behaviour. Many of them appear to be spiritually -minded men; but they were hated by other Jews, among whom there was a trite saying expressive of their hatred and contempt, to this effect — ' If a Christian be drowning, take a Karite and make his body a bridge by which to save him.' But I have never heard of their rendering railing for railing. The designation "•jnerally given by them to the other Jews, when speaking of their theological difference is, ' Our brethren of the Talmud.' They had amongst them copies of the New Testam'ent, which they considered a record of the life and doctrines of a godly Jew and his disciples, and they manifested to Christians no objection dispassionately to discuss the question of his Messiahship.
From observation, and from intercourse with Christian Jews who have laboured amongst their brethren, I am persuaded that the conversion of the Jews to Christianity has been greatly hindered by the following circumstances:—
1. Both Jews and Gentiles have fostered the notion that a Jew must necessarily forego his nationality on embracing Christianity. It may be true that they who are like Abraham are the children of Abraham; but he who is a.ineal descendent of that patriarch never can cease to be such on abandoning ' vain conversations received by tradition from the fathers.' The Apostle of the Gentiles, in common with other Apostles,— and, I may add, in common with their Master,— was a Christian Jew.
2 Jews have seldom an opportunity of witnessing the effects of Christianity in i them. The landholding community complain that the lands are passing away from them to the Jews. They are, because the former have preferred borrowing money from the Jews to enable them to live in a certain style, to curtailing their display, and thus reducing their expenditure, or to labour working with their own hands
' converting the soul.' They consequently form their opinion of Christianity from the conduct of men who are only nominally Christian. If they have never seen what they consider the beauty of holiness in Christians, and if all that they do see, and hear, tends to confirm their belief that Christians are utterly devoid of true religion, their prejudices against Christianity must become very strong. We accordingly find them frequently employing the term Christian as synonymous with blackguard. They need, therefore, ' living epistles ' to teach them, ' without the word,' that the Gospel ' is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.'
3. From what they see and know of the ecclesiastical creeds and ceremonies of Christians, the}' consider them as polytheists and idolaters, tritheists, and worshippers of saints, with dressed up representations of the virgin, and representations of God, which they consider blasphemous, as well as grotesque, and where such are not made use of, with conceptions of God scarcely less grotesque, while they have been taught to hold that God is a spirit, whom no man hath seen or can see.
4. Their usual criterion of learning is acquaintance with the Talmud. To this Christians attach no importance, and know little or nothing about it, and they are consequently despised. As in the days of our Lord so now, they make the commandment of God of none effect by their tradition. To the Jews it was commanded — ' When ye reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field; thou shalt leave them for the poor of thy people.' Upon this command, there are raised such questions as these:— How much must be left, if the fie'd be four square? How much, if it be triangular? How much, and in what form, if it be semicircular? How much, in what form, and where, if it be circular?