“As these matters did not concern me, I was necessarily left out of consideration and had now no part in the studies of Raphael, except that of a mere occasional listener and looker-on. For the first time in over seven years Raphael and I were separated, no longer joined in study nor much together otherwise, for the preparations for the _Bar-Mitzvah_ absorbed most of his time, and he did not find leisure for our accustomed walks and pleasures. The change grieved me deeply. I realized now as I had not realized before the distinction between us; that he was one of the chosen people whose history and religion we had been studying, while I was an outsider, a stranger, not privileged to enter into close connection with the covenant brethren, nor to share in their most intimate concerns, their truest joys, and deepest sorrows. I cannot describe to you the melancholy which filled my soul at this thought; but it must have showed itself in my countenance or demeanor, for Raphael noticed it, and with true fraternal sympathy tried to soothe and console me. But his well-meant efforts were in vain. Nothing could assuage the keen pain which rose in my soul whenever I reflected that there existed an invisible but nevertheless real and undeniable dividing wall between me and the human being I loved best, a wall that would probably grow thicker and stronger as the years rolled on, until it would at last keep us utterly asunder, except, perhaps, as regards the superficial relations of mere formal friendship. “For months this dull pain gnawed at my heart until one day, when the _Bar-Mitzvah_ day was no longer far distant, there came to me, all unexpectedly and sudden as a lightning flash, a thought that promised redemption. ‘Why need I permit this wall to grow up between me and my beloved?’ I asked myself. ‘Why can I not become Raphael’s brother in the covenant of Israel? Israel is God’s holy nation, but it does not jealously restrict its membership to those born in the fold. Its gates open gladly to welcome those who seek entrance because of true union of sentiment with the hereditary guardians of the covenant. As Isaiah says: “Let not the stranger that joineth himself unto the Lord say, verily the Lord will separate me from His people.” I, too, may join myself to Israel, may share the burdens and the privileges of the Holy people, and take upon myself their name.’