Part 8 (2/2)
BLOCH, Edward, born in 1810. While holding the office of first master in a Jewish school, was convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and then baptized by Pastor Kunze, in Breslau, in 1836.
BLOCH, Julius Paul, was born April 16th, 1816 at Jutroschin, in Prussia.
His parents, Simon and Zipporah, brought him up to be, like themselves, strictly orthodox. Being clever, before he was 13 years old, when he became ”Bar Mitzvah,” he had gained a thorough Talmudical education. He grew up a very strict pious Jew, never missing synagogue either morning or evening. In his fourteenth year he was apprenticed to a furrier.
Whilst thus earning his living, two missionaries came to Jutroschin.
Their advent caused a great commotion, as the city was then renowned as one of the strongholds of Judaism. The Jews determined to oppose their work, and Julius Bloch was one of the foremost to stone them. A year or two later he had to travel as a journeyman in his trade. This eventually brought him to Greifswalde, where he found employment with a Mr. Albert, who, at last, made him foreman in his factory. This man and his wife were true Christians, and often talked to him about Christ. He noticed, too, the peace they enjoyed in hours of the greatest adversity, and his faith in Judaism, as a religion of comfort, was shaken. At last he tried to turn a deaf ear to all they said, but the seeds of eternal life had been sown in his heart. He began to feel lonely and unhappy; he could no longer say the Hebrew prayers, Jewish ceremonies began to lose their hold, as having no solace for his disturbed mind. Of this time he says: ”I got a Bible, and began to read it. My conscience was awakened, and I became my accuser. I put the Bible away and determined to remain a good Jew, but the wounds of my conscience and heart became putrifying sores.
I tried to comfort myself that I had always lived a moral and blameless life; but it was all in vain.” At last his despair nearly drove him to suicide, from which he was only saved by throwing himself on his knees in prayer. That night he was ”born again,” and the next day, May 16, 1839, he openly confessed his newly found faith. The change became known to the Jews. Arguments and threats, and even the offer from a brother to establish him in business--all was in vain. The next year he went to Berlin, and after preparation was received into the Church of Christ, by Pastor Kuntze, on June 6, 1841. Further trials from his family awaited him, until he fled to Amsterdam, where Mr. Pauli, the Society's missionary, asked him to a.s.sist in the mission. From that time, 1843, until May, 1900, when he died, his work was signally blessed, many Jews through his influence being baptized. He thus pa.s.sed away ”as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.”
BLOCH, Moritz (in Hungarian, Ballage Mor), born in Timova, 1816, received a Talmudic education, then studied at the University of Pesth, then Orientalia at Paris. In 1841 he sent a pet.i.tion to the Hungarian Parliament, asking for the emanc.i.p.ation of the Jews. He translated the Pentateuch and Joshua into Hungarian, adding exegetical notes. In 1843 he was baptized in Germany in a Lutheran Church. The next year he was appointed Professor at the Lyceum in Syarvas, Hungary. He was an author of several works on educational and theological topics, and edited, in 1840, the ”Protestantische Kirchen und Schulbatt.”
BOCK, Wilhelm Isaac, a Jewish rabbi, after embracing Christianity, taught Hebrew in Frankfort on the Oder, and published ”Abraham Jugels Lekah Tob, or Catechism for Jews in German,” Leipzig, 1694.
BONAVENTURA, Meyer, a Jewish convert, wrote ”Das Judenthum in seinen Gebeten, Gebrauchen, Gesetzen und Ceremonien,” Regensburg, 1843.
BONN, first master in a school, baptized at Konigsberg in 19th century, is recorded to have been very zealous in the work of the German Home Mission, and preached the Gospel.
BORG, Ernest Maximilian, a Jew who held a similar position to Bock, was baptized much earlier in Breslau (de le Roi, I. 212).
BoRLING, Pastor J. Jacob, born in 1802, in Slavito, Russia, five times experienced as a child G.o.d's mercy when he was in danger of being drowned. He devoted himself diligently to the study of rabbinic and Kabbalistic lore, until this whole system surfeited him with disgust when he found that its votaries were far from being the saints they pretended to be. In 1821, the missionaries Saltet and Betzner visited Berditscheff, where the family then resided. Borling received a tract from them, but his mother tore it in pieces. Later the missionary Moritz arrived there, and as a born Jew he made a great impression upon Borling, so that he began to search the Scriptures, and at length was baptized by Saltet, his first missionary acquaintance, in 1823. In 1825 he accompanied Joseph Wolff to Schuster on the Persian border. In 1828 he went alone to Persia, to rescue German subjects who were sold into slavery, in which self-denying mission he eventually succeeded. He then studied in the mission house at Basel, and in 1834 he was appointed by the Berlin Society as their missionary in that city. There he worked zealously till 1840, when he accepted the call to become pastor of a Church in Bellowesch, in the government of Tschernigoff. Borling was the son-in-law of the missionary Goldberg, the brother-in-law of Hausmeister. The latter wrote, ”Leben und Wirken des Pastors J. J.
Borling.” (Basel, 1852).
BoRNE, Karl Ludwig (Loeb Baruch), German political and literary writer, born 1786 at Frankfort-on-the-Main, died in Paris, 1837. He was baptized in the Lutheran Church at Rodelheim, by Pastor Bertuah, on June 5th, 1818. In 1819 he became editor of the ”Zeitung der Freien Stadt Frankfurt.” Borne was a prolific writer. A complete edition of his works, in 12 vols., was published at Hamburg in 1862.
BRAHAM, John (Abraham), born in 1774, died 1856, a well-known musician in London, where he was as a Jew leader of the choir of the Great Synagogue, and became afterwards, as a Christian, especially popular for his song, ent.i.tled ”The Death of Nelson.” Of his children, a daughter became Countess Waldegrave, and later she married Lord Carlingford.
BRANDON, a convert, educated at St. Chrischona, Basel, was sent by the Scotch Church as missionary to Alexandria, in 1859. In 1862 he went to Khartum, and after receiving permission from King Theodore, he entered Abyssinia, and was partner with Flad and Stern in their labours and in their captivity. After the release of the captives, he was actively engaged in good work at Beyrout, Syria.
BRANIS, a daughter of Rabbi Kempner, was baptized in 1826, out of pure conviction. Her old father was also inclined towards Christianity, but died before he could come to a decision.
BRANISS, Christlieb Julius, born in Breslau, 1792, died 1873. He became Professor of Philosophy at Breslau in 1833. He was the author of several works on philosophy and metaphysics. One only requires mentioning here, ”De Notione Philosophiae Christianae.”
BRENZ, Victorin Christophorus, was baptized in 1601, together with his parents and the whole family. His father, Samuel Frederick Brenz, is known as the author of the ”Judischer Abgestreifter Schlangenbalg” (”The Jewish Serpent's Skin Stripped”) against which Solomon Zebi Hirsch, of Aufhausen, wrote ”Der Judische Theriak” (”The Jewish Theriak or Antidote”) Hanau, 1615. Brenz, junior, after finis.h.i.+ng his theological studies, quietly and patiently, served in 1624 as minister at Untermichelbach, receiving a stipend of 150 thaler, with which he had to support his wife and four children. Later he had the care of two churches, and yet he had to work in the fields as a labourer to earn his living. Then he had the care of seven parishes, in which he exhausted his strength, and died at the age of 47, in 1642.
BRILLIANT, a convert, laboured as an Evangelist among the Jews in the service of the Free Church of Scotland at Amsterdam, in 1866.
BROMET, M. S., a Dutch Jew, baptized in 1855, was very much persecuted by his brethren. He wrote several tracts, amongst which were--”De Wederkomst en de regeering van den Heere Jesus Christus,” ”Kort Oversicht van eenige gelijkenissen des Heeren,” ”De erste opstonding in verband met de Wederkomst des Heeren,” ”Het National herstel en de bekeering van Israel,” ”Elischoa G.o.d is miyn heil,” Amst. Doct., 1874-76.
BRONKHORST, S. H. convert, student and missionary of the L.J.S., in Abyssinia 1859-1862, when he and Flad laboured together in Djenda.
BRuHL, John Henry, was born in 1823 at Schmiegel (Posen). He was sent to school at a very early age, and, before he was five years old, was able to translate the greater part of the Hebrew Pentateuch into German. A short account of the life of Christ about this time influenced him greatly. Later on he used, with his father, to visit a Christian family, and through looking at the pictures in it he became interested in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, though he found the Epistles beyond his youthful grasp. When about ten years old he was studying Isaiah, and was struck by the 53rd chapter; that which hitherto had been a lurking suspicion became an absolute certainty, and the more so as he saw how the princ.i.p.al Jewish commentators laboured in vain to prove that this prophecy could not apply to Jesus of Nazareth. His growing convictions of the truth of Christianity prevented his becoming a rabbi, which his parents earnestly desired, so he resolved to be a schoolmaster. During his course at the seminary, owing to the words of Dr. Zahn, the director, he was convinced of the truth. Through the London Jews' Society's missionaries at Amsterdam, where he then went, he decided to be a Christian. He came to London, where he entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Inst.i.tution, and eventually was baptized in 1846. Later on he pa.s.sed through the Society's Missionary College, and in 1851 went to Baghdad, where he laboured successfully. In 1853 he was ordained in Jerusalem. On his way back to Baghdad he preached to Jews, Mohammedans and fire-wors.h.i.+ppers, many of whom had never heard the Gospel before. Many missionary journeys were made by him between 1854 and 1864 through Persia and Kurdistan, leaving large numbers of believers in almost every place. After visiting England in 1856, when he received priest's orders and was married, he returned with the Rev. J.
M. Eppstein to Baghdad, where they remained until 1866, when the mission was given up, but not until there were numerous converts from both Jews and Mohammedans. The following year he was appointed to Lemberg, and in 1871 to Vienna, and in spite of immense difficulties gained many faithful believers in both these cities. In 1875 he became Princ.i.p.al of the Operative Jewish Converts' Inst.i.tution, where he remained for twelve years, when he retired from active work. During this time 160 Jews pa.s.sed through the Inst.i.tution, 70 of whom he baptized. By his death, in 1893, the Church and the world lost a great linguist, a good historian and mathematician, but, above all, a thorough and devoted Christian missionary.
BRUNNER, W., born in Brody, Galicia, in 1822. His parents were in good circ.u.mstances. After the death of his father at the age of 90, he came to England, where he was converted and baptized by the Rev. Dr. Bailey, Princ.i.p.al of St. Aidan's College. He was afterwards prepared for missionary work by the British Society, and laboured at Ma.r.s.eilles and in Switzerland. He had the privilege of bringing two brothers to the Saviour. He died in 1890.
BUZIN, Rev. Paul Theodor Ludwig, born in Clecko (Posen), was baptized in Sagord (Isle of Rugen), by Pastor Ockel. He then studied at Basel, and eventually became Pastor of a Lutheran Church in the United States.
CACHET, Rev. Lion, a Dutch Jewish merchant, embraced Christianity in 1849, then studied theology and went to South Africa in 1858. He officiated as pastor in different churches at the Cape and in Natal, and founded eight new congregations. In 1876 he became pastor of the Netherland Reformed Church at Velliersdorf. He took a great interest in missionary work among the Jews, which he promoted through the newspaper, ”Zuid Afrikaanische Stem voor en tot Israel.”
CALMAN, Erasmus Scott, born in Lithuania, became a convert to Christianity early in the nineteenth century. In 1839 he a.s.sisted Nicolayson in his work in Jerusalem, travelling with him all over Palestine, and being well received by the Jews. Later in life he took up his residence in London. A friend having left him a large legacy to enable him to work independently, he availed himself of just so much of it as would meet the wants of the poorest pauper. He left the money given him for his own comforts, probably with a large increase through his savings, to trustees for the support of aged poor Hebrew Christians.
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