Gans, Eduard, born in Berlin, 1798, studied, and through the influence of the philosopher Hegel, embraced Christianity in 1825, and in 1828 became professor in the Berlin University. He wrote, among other works, "Das Erbrecht in Weltgeschichtlicher Entwickelung" (4 vols.), Stuttgart, 1834, which was translated into French by Leoménie, Paris, 1845; "Ein System des römischen Civil Rechts," Berlin, 1827. He edited Hegel's "Geschichte der Philosophie," and "Jahrbücher für wissenschaftliche Kritik." He died as professor in 1839.
Gelbflaum, Rev. Isidor, was born in the city of Warsaw, in Russian Poland, in the year 1865, of orthodox Jewish parents. We cull the following from his autobiography: – "My father was a corn merchant in very comfortable circumstances. His desire from the day of my birth was to bring me up in strict adherence with Rabbinical traditions, and I, on my part, followed dutifully and cheerfully the guidance of my dear father. But very early in my career, God graciously intervened, and in 1877 I came into contact with a colporteur of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who sold me a copy of the Hebrew New Testament. Though I was only then in my thirteenth year, I nevertheless read the newly-acquired treasure with intense longing to find out whether Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. I used diligently to read the New Testament whenever the opportunity presented itself. One day my father suddenly came into the room where I was reading the Acts of the Apostles. He immediately demanded the production of the book, and I instantly gave it to him. A few weeks later on I had occasion to be in the market-place, and I purchased another copy of the same colporteur, which I read with greater caution. Although I thus read the Book again and again, I could not understand it, much less could I apply its contents. I was like the Ethiopian eunuch, and needed some one to explain to me the meaning of the revelation of God's purpose to mankind. Soon after an event occurred which contributed greatly to determining my spiritual future. My parents, noticing the abatement of my zeal for rabbinical Judaism, decided to send me to a Yeshiba, and they determined on Pressburg, in Hungary. I had not been in Pressburg more than a week, when I was brought into contact with a Hebrew Christian missionary from Vienna, who was visiting the place at the time for missionary work. He spent over an hour with me explaining the things of God, and directing my attention to the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus. I remained in Pressburg till the spring of 1881, after which I returned to Warsaw. In 1885 a Protestant Christian lady in Warsaw became interested in me, and by her advice, and with a letter of introduction to the late Rev. Dr. Stern, I came to England in June of that year, only to find that my would-be instructor had been called home to his rest. I waited till the arrival of the Rev. J. M. Eppstein, who instructed me and subsequently baptized me in 1886. I then entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, and passed the following two years there in happy association with other converts to Christ. In 1888 I offered my services to and was accepted by the London City Mission, and worked among my brethren in the East End of London till March, 1893, when I was appointed by the British Society, and ultimately sent to Leeds. Since coming to that city, I have been the humble instrument, in God's hand, of leading many of my brethren to Christ, two of whom have become Christian ministers, one in the west of England and the other in the United States of America. A third convert given to me is an earnest Sunday school teacher, and a fourth a local preacher."
Gellert, Alexander, was a missionary of the L.J.S., first in England and then, in 1861, in Roumania, where he had some fruits of his labours, and died in 1870.
Gelling, Michael, was born 1597, and baptized 1616. He translated in Hamburg R. Isaac Troki's "Chizzuk Emunah," 1633, into German. Dr. John Müller made use of this MS. in his "Judaismus detectus," 1694, and it came into possession of M. Chr. Ziegra. Wolff in his "Bibliotheca Hebraica," iv. p. 639, gives detailed information about this MS. and a specimen of Gelling's translation. Bishop Kidder wrote a refutation of the "Chizzuk Emunah" in his "Demonstration of the Messiah," in 1694. Jacob Gusset likewise in his "Controversarium adversus Judaeos ternio," Dortrecht, 1688. The whole was edited by Arnold Borst, and published in 1712, at Amsterdam, under the title, "Jesu Christi Evangeliique Veritas, salutifera, demonstrata in confutatione libri Chizzuk Emunah." The Rev. A. Lukyn Williams is now answering the same in English, and the writer is translating it into Yiddish.
Germanus, Johannes Isaac Levita, having been convinced that Isaiah liii. was a Messianic prophecy and fulfilled in Jesus, was baptized with his wife and his son Stephen by Joh. Draconites in 1546. Later he became professor of Hebrew in London and in Cologne. He wrote a controversial work entitled: "Defensio veritatis Hebraicae," Cologne, 1558, also a Hebrew grammar, "Mebo Imre Shofar," which passed through several editions; a treatise on the book of Ruth; and translated some of the works of Maimonides and Juda Ibn Tibon into Latin. His son, Stephen, who was a physician, translated the prophet Malachi into Latin.
Gerold, Rev. G. L., was a rabbinical student in Breslau, baptized by Dr. Stern in the year of his death, graduated at Cambridge, was ordained in 1898, and is now Rector of Easthope, Much Wenlock, Salop, in the diocese of Hereford.
Gerson, Christian ben Meir Biberbach, born at Reeklichhausen, August 1, 1567, received the usual Talmudical education, and was a teacher in several places. A neighbour, who was a Christian woman, borrowed from him ten pence, giving him as security a Lutheran New Testament. Curious to know the source of the Christian errors, he and his two brothers-in-law read it with much amusement. Yet finding there quotations from the Old Testament, he continued reading it more earnestly, comparing Scripture with Scripture, until his conscience was awakened and felt the need of salvation through Christ. He wrote afterwards – "I found such light, for which I have to thank the Lord God all my life." He was baptized by Pastor Silberschlag at Halberstadt, October 19, 1600. Gerson's son Stephen was baptized years later, but his wife got a divorce from him. He then taught Hebrew at Copenhagen, and eventually, after being persuaded by friends, he became a preacher of the Gospel. Testimony is given him that he heartily loved his people, and defended them against blood accusations. His works are: "Des Jüdischer Talmud fürnehmster Inhalt und Widerlegung," Gislav, 1707, Gera, 1613. A German translation of the eleventh chapter of Tract Sanhedrin. Gerson died on October 22, 1642, only 47 years old, as a preacher of the Gospel, in poverty. He was pastor of two parishes, receiving a stipend of six gulden, and had to work as a farm labourer for his living. In the Jewish Encyclopædia it is stated that Gerson was drowned at Roelheim, September 25, 1627. Here is a specimen of the contradictory statements of historians.
Gerson, Rev. Marks, was born in Kovno, Poland, in 1879. His father died when he was four, and his mother when he was thirteen. Up to that age he received the usual Jewish education and his elder brother kept him at school for another year, but then he had to make a start to earn his own living. He worked with relatives for five years, and then came to London, where the "Hebrew Christian Testimony" was instrumental in leading him to Christ. In 1898 he was admitted into the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, and in December of the same year was baptized by the Rev. G. H. Händler in Christ Church, Stepney. In June, 1899, he was confirmed by the Bishop of Stepney, and in 1901 he was accepted by the Church Missionary Society for training first at Clapham Common, then at Blackheath, and subsequently at the College in Islington. On the 18th of June, 1905, he was ordained in St. Paul's Cathedral, and since then he has laboured with good success in India: being stationed at present in Calcutta.
Gerstman, W. A., was a missionary of the L.J.S. at Jerusalem in 1837, and then on account of illness was transferred to Constantinople in 1840.
Ginsburg, Rev. Dr. Christian David, born at Warsaw, December 25, 1821, embraced Christianity there in 1846, was missionary of the British Society in Liverpool till 1863, when he retired in order to devote himself entirely to literary work. Dr. Ginsburg contributed a considerable number of valuable articles on Jewish topics to Kitto's Encyclopædia, published a book on the Karaites and Essenes, and a full account in English of the Kabbalah, its doctrines, development, and literature. But he will be especially remembered for his massoretic studies, and translation of Elias Levita's "Massoreth-ha-Massorah" in 1867, and of Jacob ben Hayim's "Introduction to the Rabbinic Bible," published in the same year. He was on the Revision Committee of the Old Testament. He edited the Massoretic Critical Text of the Hebrew Bible for the Trinitarian Bible Society, 1894, and also Salkinson's translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, 1886.
Ginsburg, Rev. J. B. Crighton, was instructed and baptized by the L.J.S. missionary Hausmeister, at Strasburg. After doing good work in England, and not without results, he laboured for many years in Algeria. Among his converts there were Moses Ben Oliel and T. E. Zerbib. He then laboured faithfully in Mogador, amidst many difficulties and trials, and lastly he had the charge of the mission at Constantinople from 1886, till the time of his death there, when he entered into the higher service of Heaven.
Goldberg, Dr. John Benjamin, was one of a number of rabbis and learned men, who were converted to Christianity in Jerusalem in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was baptized in Christ Church, Jerusalem by Nicolayson, in 1843. He had consequently to undergo much persecution and loss of property. In 1847 we find him as a preacher of the Gospel to his brethren in Cairo, and then, on account of illness; he was transferred to Salonica. In 1851 he was appointed as missionary at Constantinople, and from there he went, in 1860, to Smyrna. Goldberg was a most spiritually-minded and lovable man. His latter years he spent in England, and contributed to the "Hebrew Christian Witness," in 1874, two learned and very valuable and extensive articles on "The Language of Christ," and on "The Future Division of the Land of Israel."
Goldberg, Johann Peter, missionary to the Jews. We give the following extracts from his life and work, edited by his son-in-law, the Rev. J. A. Hausmeister: —
"It might appear strange that Goldberg should so soon give up his acquired profession and become a teacher; but the fact is, that, from his earliest years, he showed a disposition more for intellectual employment than for business, for the latter he never displayed any great talent. At the same time, he did not conceal his religious, or, rather, anti-Jewish tendencies, as he was always open and straightforward. These were in his case tolerated, because he was respected on account of his learning, and in a few years he was duly appointed as teacher of the whole Jewish community.
"Concerning his conversion, he, in his reminiscences, tells the story thus: 'On New Year's eve, 1803, I and several Jews went, out of curiosity, to the Hall, where the congregation of the Moravian brethren worshipped. Here, I heard, for the first time, of the birth, the destiny, the suffering, death, and the resurrection of our Saviour, and seized by a kind of foreboding feeling, my heart was filled with joy and happiness. Deeply touched, I left that sacred house with the resolve to visit it often, and the impressions of the love of God to men were so forcibly within me, that they also accompanied and refreshed me in my sleep. Yet, alas! this beneficial impression vanished soon, by reason of the implanted prejudices against Christianity, and of the unbelief which had already taken root in me, even in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. But since that night I felt, more and more, a disconsolate emptiness in my heart, though I continued, at a distance, from the way of life.' We hear here the knockings of God on the door of an erring heart, which refused to open itself. How often must the gracious God visit a man, now with love and then with affliction, before He can gain admittance into his soul. But a Jew has still more difficulties to contend against; for the prejudices against Christianity, which he imbibes from his youth, arise from the natural heart as soon as it has come under the influence of the truth. He has to contend not only against the enemy of unbelief, but also against the enemy of superstition, which bars his way in every direction. Though Goldberg was surrounded by various Christians at Neuwied, and came, sometimes, in contact with the Moravian brethren, yet many years passed before he submitted to the Word of God, and found the peace which the world can neither give nor take away. It is very telling for the character of Goldberg that he chose Neuwied for his home. With his former principal at Hamburg, he continued a friendly correspondence, and received from him repeated invitations to return to the situation, where every prospect for his advancement and happiness awaited him. But he was firm, and felt no matrimonial inclinations for the rich merchant's daughter, but rather chose for his partner the daughter of Solomon Rubens, the Jewish butcher at Neuwied. They were married in 1806, and she brought him something better than money – a true and loving heart; which helped him to carry his burden, and was ready with him to cast that burden upon the mighty shoulders of the Saviour, and to participate in his joy and peace. Nevertheless, many a rivulet flows into the Rhine, and the couple had to drink much of the bitter waters of Marah, before they tasted of the cup of salvation. I will only mention a few instances: —
"When Goldberg established his own home, he resumed his connexion with his family, not only by correspondence but by paying them a visit, which he had long yearned to do. In the very fruitful year of 1811 he started upon his journey, in spite of the dissuasion of the Austrian ambassador at Frankfort, who had told him that he was liable to punishment in his country, because he had failed to present himself for military service. Safely arrived at Regensburg, the superintendent of the police refused at first to give a visé to his passport for Austria, as it had not the signature of the ambassador, but he and his wife at last prevailed over the officer. In Vienna, again, the police told him that he would have to be transported home as a transgressor of the law, but through the influence of a banker, a cousin of Goldberg, and by means of a bribe, he was permitted to remain some time in Vienna unmolested. On his return journey to the Rhine he experienced immediate Divine protection, even in a more striking manner. He had made this journey on foot, and came one day very tired to a village and rested a little in an hotel. Black clouds covered the sky and announced the approach of a storm, when Goldberg resumed his march, though against the warning of the hostess, as he was very anxious to see his wife and children as soon as possible. As soon as he entered a thick forest, the rain came down in torrents, accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the wanderer had to stop. There was an open space in the forest with only a few stumps of trees in it, and he was meditating upon which of the stumps he should sit down. He decided for the one which stood on the right. Scarcely had he sat down, when the stump on the left was struck by lightning and shivered to pieces. He was thus much impressed with the wonderful protecting care of the providence of God.
"The Jews have many nice customs and rites as well as beautiful prayers. When the Spirit of God will some day revive this people, then will many a Jewish form and custom, which is now performed like an empty ceremony, be exercised in spirit and leave a blessing. One of these customs is, that after the service on the Sabbath and on feast days, the children approach the parents, who lay their hands on them and bless them.13 Also, when a Jew goes on a journey, the members of his family follow him and pronounce a blessing. It was so before Goldberg started on his journey that his mother-in-law laid her hands on his head, blessed him, and then added: 'Farewell, we shall never see one another again.' Yet Goldberg could not believe that these parting words would be fulfilled. When on his journey back he spent a night at Regensburg, and awoke early in the morning, there suddenly appeared to him near his bed, the form of a friendly woman, dressed in white, who looked at him complacently. He recognized her as his mother-in-law, looked at his watch, it was four o'clock, and was greatly astonished. He rose up and resumed his journey, and when he arrived at Frankfort, he met a Jew from Neuwied, of whom he enquired after his family, and was told by him that they were all well, and at last that his mother-in-law had died. Now he understood the meaning of the apparition. He used often to refer to this event and say: 'You know that I am no believer in ghost stories, yet I have, myself, experienced, and am convinced, that spirits can be in communication with one another.' Deeply moved, he returned to his family, and his arrival was to them a great comfort.
"We should have thought that all these experiences would have caused Goldberg to think right earnestly of making his peace with God, but this was not yet the case. When a man does not read the Word of God with prayer, and does not seek the influence of the Holy Spirit, no conversion can take place in his heart. Goldberg, at this period, had lost all faith in the Bible. He belonged to a society of so-called enlightened Jews at Neuwied, who contributed to a periodical entitled 'Measaph.' He, himself, wrote many nice Hebrew articles, with the object of enlightening his co-religionists, though his own mind was yet surrounded by darkness. His Jewish friends and some Christians used to read novels together, and lived according to the pernicious principles which the frivolous books inculcated. But though he was a member of this circle, yet the good hand of the invisible God kept him from falling into gross sins, so that all his experiences of Divine help and protection contributed, at least, to maintain in him the fear of God. He used often to speak of this with great thankfulness.
"The Lord had also continually given him a cross to bear, in order to bend his stiff neck. In those times of dreadful wars, Goldberg, on account of his knowledge of the Polish and Russian languages, was often obliged to act as interpreter among the troops of these nations who had their quarters there.
"In 1814, he was called one evening, very late, to quiet an uproar that had arisen among the Russian soldiers. This accomplished, he returned home late in the night, and in the darkness he did not observe a waggon that stood in the way, and fell over the shaft and broke his leg; and, consequently, was laid up for several weeks.
"In November, 1815, a daughter was born to him; another, four years of age, suddenly died on the same day. His wife, likewise, fell into a dangerous illness, which lasted twenty-four weeks, and from continued watching by her bedside, he became exhausted and extremely dejected. He described his experience of that time thus: – 'Placed in a condition of tedious misery and all kinds of sorrow, and not having a single sympathetic soul to comfort me, I became utterly dejected. I could not think of God with a feeling heart, and, therefore, suffered indescribable pangs in body and soul. When once I lay down at midnight, and placed my miserable condition vividly before me, a feeling of despair seized me, and I cried out: "Lord, how long?" But immediately God set me up by instilling a beam of hope within my soul, that He would soon deliver me out of my trouble. This new hope revived me, and I felt peace; my wife, also, became better that very night and felt a refreshing influence. Then I went in a corner, wept and prayed for the help of God in the sense of Ps. xxxii. and xxxviii., and vowed to the Lord to read again His Word with reverence, and to place myself entirely under His guidance, and to be no longer so distrustful. From this moment another Spirit had the rule over me. Injurious books which had led me to unbelief were laid aside, and the Bible had a new attraction for me. Now also a longing after the promised Redeemer revived in me. In this manner, He who searches the hearts, and is near to them who seek Him in sincerity, prepared me gradually for the time when He, as the good Shepherd, would completely open the door to His fold for me, and translate me out of the darkness into His marvellous light.' So Goldberg could speak after he had already come to the knowledge of Jesus; but the way in which this was brought about was, in its beginning, obscure. He, himself, tells of the first occasion thereto:
"'In August, 1817, a learned Jew, who had recently come from London, where he was teacher for a long time, sent for me, and told me, in a cautioning tone, that a certain gentleman had visited him on that day and put the astonishing question to him whether there were not some Jews there who would be inclined to read the New Testament in the Hebrew language; in which case he could supply them with it gratis. Then, he added, that there is in London a Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, having agents abroad of whom this gentleman must be one, and, therefore, I should beware of coming in contact with him. But this communication effected a different impression upon me to that which was intended. The gentleman against whom I was warned was neither a preacher nor a missionary, but a universally respected merchant, by the name of Keetman. I had a great desire of becoming acquainted with this dangerous man, who took so much trouble to visit the Jews and to talk to them on religious matters, and as I was not in the habit of visiting people without any occasion, this desire increased the more. At last I ventured, one Saturday, to go to Mr. Keetman, and say to him that I had heard that he had Hebrew books, and if he wished me to copy them I should be ready to do so.' In this manner Goldberg became acquainted with an earnest and warm friend of Israel, and this acquaintanceship formed a new chapter in his life, which I cannot better designate than his awakening."
Goldenberg, D., was born in Piatka, Volhynia, in 1805. His father, Hayim Baruch, was a learned rabbi, and consulted by others on difficult rabbinic questions. His grandfather was a Zadik or wonder rabbi, and used to talk to him about the speedy coming of the Messiah. At the age of 10 his parents found him a bride, and at the age of 17 he was married, and went to live with his father-in-law in Tschidoroff. Passing through a severe illness, he began to think earnestly about the state of his soul before God. He felt the burden of his sins and frequently prayed for the advent of the Redeemer. His friends advised him to divert his mind by more diligent study of the Talmud, but he remained restless. At this time, in 1821, cholera visited the place, and he dreaded to die. Passing by just then a Christian school, he heard the children pronounce the ineffable name of Jehovah, which attracted his attention, so he bought a catechism to see what the Christian doctrine was, but he laid it aside. Then he received a packet of tracts and a New Testament from Myerson, who got them from the L.J.S. missionary Moritz when he visited Berditscheff. He was not long after convinced of the truth of the Gospel, visited Moritz, and with his friend went to Berlin, where he was instructed and baptized by Pastor Schultz ("Jewish Intelligence," 1824). His father came to Berlin and tried to win him back to Judaism, but when he found that he was thoroughly in earnest and happy in his faith, he left him in peace in a friendly manner. Goldenberg went then to London, and was thence sent to Poland, to witness for Christ among his brethren.
Goldinger, Tobias W., was a L.J.S. missionary in Poland in the forties of the nineteenth century, where he laboured successfully. He was, under God, the means of the conversion of a number of Jews, one of whom may be named here. Goldinger had once given the "Life of Friedrich Augusti" to the son of Rabbi L. Altschiller, of Marronopol, and this led to his eventual conversion. The case attracted at the time much public attention, as the young man passed through a great struggle with his family, but came out triumphant. Goldinger laboured latterly at Breslau, where the writer had the privilege of making his acquaintance at the end of 1872, and was very much impressed by his gentle Christian spirit. It is a pity that Pastor de le Roi, who was at that time his colleague, did not give us more information about him. It is probably because Goldinger, like many other Jewish converts, out of modesty was reluctant to publish to the world his personal history.
Goldsmid, Frederick, is known to have laboured as a successful missionary in India.
Goldstern, Israel, a native of Lemberg, Galicia, educated in strict orthodoxy. Already in his early manhood he became President of a Talmud Union. Failing in health, he journeyed to the Bath Heines, and on his way met a Christian merchant who, in a conversation, convinced him that the Talmud has no Divine authority. This shook his faith in modern Judaism. For two years he had no peace of mind. His widowed mother, in order to divert his attention, got him married. But it did not last long before he came into collision with his family on account of his religious views, so he left for Constantinople, whither his wife followed him. Eventually he was baptized by Pastor Bonnet, in Cologne, in 1875, while his wife still hesitated to take the decisive step. His father-in-law, when he found out the place of their residence, brought a suit against him for embezzling his property, because before he left Lemberg he had pawned his wife's ornaments, which he himself had given her. However, his friends at Cologne, paid the whole sum. He afterwards studied theology at Barmen, and became missionary of the Westphalian Rhenish (now called West German) Society, under which he has been labouring with much blessing upon his efforts ever since. He succeeded the writer at Frankfort-on-the-Maine.
Gottfried, Johann Adam (Nathan), born at Altona in 1726, died in 1773. After losing his father in his youth, his mother sent him to an uncle, who was a diamond cutter in London, to learn the trade. There he somehow heard the name of Jesus and got to love it. He soon returned, and his mother went with him to another relation, Rabbi Koppel Fränkel, at Fürth, under whose auspices he made rapid progress in Jewish learning, so that at the age of 17 he was asked to take charge of a school in the country. Two years before, two rabbis predicted that he would yet become a Meshummad. The Jews in former days used sometimes to call a sharp boy Meshummad or ganov (thief). At the age of 21 he passed by an evangelical church at Sulzberg, and listened to the worship there, and was solemnly moved. Henceforth he studied the Scriptures, especially Isaiah liii., as he had heard that Christians refer to it. The result was that he made a public confession of his faith, and was baptized by Pastor Pfeiffer, at Erlangen, in 1750. He studied theology, but was too humble and timid to ascend the pulpit. So he maintained himself by teaching Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and French, and by writing. One of his works is entitled: "Der troslose Jude in der letzten Todesstunde." Another is, "Der bussfertige Sünder Schriftgemässe Vorstellung und freundliche ermahnung an sämmtliche proselyten der jetzigen Zeit. Vernünftiger Unterricht über die natürliche Religion und desen Vornehmste Streitigkeiten und über die Christliche Religion."
Gottfried, Philip Selig, born in 1722 in a little town near Halle. When ten years old his mother died, and the Jewish authorities would not allow her to be buried there, because they had heard a rumour that "she had in her dying hour committed her soul into the hands of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world." His father had to take her at night to Halle for burial. Philip was then sent to a school at Fürth, where he studied the Talmud diligently. He narrates in his autobiography, 3 volumes, Leipzig, 1755: "I can, without boasting, say that when I was 13 years old I could repeat by heart 500 pages of the Talmud without mistake, and deliver a Derashah (sermon) on a solemn occasion." His father then got a theological student to instruct him in Latin and German, but made it a condition that he should not mention the subject of religion to the boy. However, the teacher and his clever, inquisitive, pupil soon had disputations together. It happened one day that a Jewish girl passed by their house, dressed in black and accompanied by a number of Christians leading her to church to be baptized. A neighbour asked Gottfried whether he liked the procession, and his reply was that "it looks like leading a criminal to the place of execution." "Quite right," said the other, "the girl is led as a sinner to Jesus to have her sins washed away by the blood which He shed on the cross." Gottfried continued his disputes about Christianity with his teacher, who sometimes was perplexed in not knowing how to answer his objections. He brought a Hebrew scholar to him and they read Isaiah liii. together, Gottfried quoting the rabbinical interpretations of it, and the other refuting them. After the debate was over, Gottfried earnestly reflected upon the subject, and was convinced that the Christians are right. He then bought a New Testament for 12 groschen, and studied it critically. After a long inward struggle and earnest prayer, he by the aid of the Holy Spirit triumphed over his intense prejudices, and applied to a pastor for Christian instruction. Before his baptism, in 1738, he had to answer 400 questions in his examination. Two sisters followed his example. The father disinherited them all. The convert Friedrich Augusti was then very kind to him. In 1788 he published a Kabbalistic work entitled "Sepher Shimush Tehillim." His chief work was his weekly paper, "Der Jude," in 9 volumes, Leipzig, 1767-1771.