The fruit of the _Sanhedrin’s_ deliberations was a charter which defined the relations between Jew and Gentile in France. While retaining the essential features of Judaism, the Rabbis wisely conceded much to the demands of the country which so generously adopted them. The Nine Responses of the document form a rational compromise between the rights of God and the rights of Caesar: polygamy is forbidden; divorce is allowed in accordance with the civil law of the land; intermarriage with the Gentiles is tolerated, though not sanctioned, by the Synagogue; French Jews are bidden to regard the French people as brethren; acts of justice and charity are recommended towards all believers in the Creator, without distinction of creed; Jews born in France are exhorted to look upon the country as their fatherland, to educate their children in its language, to acquire real property in it, to renounce pursuits hated by their neighbours, and in every way to endeavour to earn the esteem and goodwill of the latter; usury is forbidden towards the stranger as towards the brother; and the interest raised on loans is not, in any case, to exceed the legal rate. Thus an effective answer was given to all the legal arguments which had been advanced by the opponents of Jewish emancipation, and an honest attempt was made by the doctors and chiefs of the nation to remove from the children of Israel a portion at least of that odium under which they had so long laboured. ♦1808 March 17♦ When the _Sanhedrin_ had brought its labours to an end, the Emperor repealed the exceptional measures of 1806 and recognised the Consistorial organisation which for a century fixed the status of Israel in France. Every two thousand Jews were to form a community under a synagogue and a board of trustees, with Paris for their centre. Napoleon, it is true, while granting this liberal charter, was compelled to yield to the anti-Jewish prejudices of the people of Alsace and other parts of Eastern France, where the Jew was hated more than ever, for the disasters of the Reign of Terror and the distress caused by Napoleon’s campaigns, by impoverishing the peasants, had delivered them up to the tender mercies of the money-lender. In accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants of those districts Napoleon took some steps highly detrimental to Jewish interests. He enacted, for example, that loans to minors, women, soldiers and domestic servants, as well as loans raised on agricultural implements, should be null; that no more Jews should be allowed to enter Alsace; that every Jew should serve in the army; and that no Jew should engage in trade without permission from the Prefect. The duration of this decree was limited to ten years. But, such local disadvantages and the indignation aroused thereby notwithstanding, the well-earned gratitude of Israel was expressed in many Hebrew hymns composed in honour of the Deliverer whom the Lord had raised for His people.