willing to go on with a quotation that would have contradicted his
sentiments. He added, “The Messias will come, whether suffering or
triumphant(2). I am a Jew. I called you at the hour of your birth by the
name of Manasseh-ben-Solomon. I called on you by that name, which I felt
had clung to the bottom of my heart from that hour, and which, echoing
from its abyss, I almost hoped you would have recognized. It was a
dream, but will you not, my beloved child, realize that dream? Will you
not?--will you not? The God of your fathers is waiting to embrace
you--and your father is at your feet, imploring you to follow the faith
of your father Abraham, the prophet Moses, and all the holy prophets who
are with God, and who look down on this moment of your soul’s
vacillation between the abominable idolatries of those who not only
adore the Son of the carpenter, but even impiously compel you to fall
down before the image of the woman his mother, and adore her by the
blasphemous name of Mother of God,--and the pure voice of those who call
on you to worship the God of your fathers, the God of ages, the eternal
God of heaven and earth, without son or mother, without child or
descendant, (as impiously presumed in their blasphemous creed), without
even worshipper, save those who, like me, sacrifice their hearts to him
in solitude, at the risk of those hearts being PIERCED BY THEIR OWN
CHILDREN.”
(2) The Jews believe in two Messias, a suffering and a triumphant one,
to reconcile the prophecies with their own expectations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account