| 158 and cruel usage ground them to the dust, and forced them to forsake their habitations, to abandon their houses and all their property, and to seek safety in flight. Thus, the large Court they inherited from their ancesters [ancestors] remained deserted and uninhabited, until it was seized upon and possessed by aliens. The sacred edifiices [edifices] it contained, namely the Synagogue and Medrash, were by them demolished, the whole of the property utterly ruined, and possessions, lawfully ours, devastated before our eyes. Then did our souls refuse all consolation! for how could we bear to witness the evil which befel [befell] our people!
As the light gleams forth from a spark, so did our Congregation take heart and return, again to form their establishments, and to take root on the holy Mount. But we could find no rest for our wearied feet-no place consecrated and appointed for prayer and instruction. Our aching eyes beheld how every nation and tongue, even from the most distant isles of the ocean, is here possessed of structures defended by walls, gates, and portcullis, whilst the people of the Lord, forcibly expelled from their inheritance by rapacious barbarians, were covered with obliquy, [obliquity ?] scorn, and disgrace. The cries of the people ascended unto the Lord, who dwelleth in Zion. He looked down, and in pity beheld their sufferings and oppression. And ever since the ruler of Egypt first assumed the government of the Holy Land-a ruler who maintains justice throughout his dominions-an edict was issued, permitting Jews to do whatsoever they deemed right and expedient, with respect to the rebuilding of their demolished Synagogues and Colleges. Us, likewise, the Lord, in his mercy vouchsafe to remember, and caused us to be reinstated into the heritage of our fathers, even to the afore-mentioned Court, which is called the Ruin of R. Jehudah the pious (of blessed memory.) Blessed be the Lord our God, the God of our fathers, who inspired the heart of the ruler of Egypt, to restore unto us the possessions of our ancesters [ancestors]: nor did we delay or lose time in the matter, but exerted our selves to rebuild Jerusalem. "We fenced it, and gathered up the stones thereof," and the sacred undertaking prospered in our hands, so that we have completed the Medrash, "and great is the glory of the house;" and also houses for the teachers of the law, and for the hospitable reception and entertainment of strangers, which were indispensably necessary to acomodate [accommodate] the many pious Israelites who visit the Holy City during the festivals. And on Rosh Hodesh Shebath last we joyfully placed a Sepher Torah in the Medrash, which we consecrated by the name of "MENAHEM ZION," for the Lord has vouchsafed to comfort his people.
But although we have thus, under the blessing of Providence, retrieved from devastation a part of the possessions bequeathed unto us by our pious ancesters [ancestors], yet our hearts are afflicted, and our eyes are dimmed when we behold the sanctuary of the Lord, the Synagogue, which still lies in ruins; nor is it in the power of all of us (the German Congregation) to rebuild it; for, alas, great is the number of our poor who stand in need of bread, and the debts we contracted in building the Medrash are large, and weigh heavily upon us.-The cause of our grief is thus ever present to our eyes, the ruins of the synagogue are heaped in the middle of the Court, and rank weeds spread over the consecrated pile. We, therefore, deem it our bounden duty to dispatch a messenger unto our brethren the children of Israel, who are dispersed and in exile, in order to acquaint them with "the salvation of the Lord in the land," so that they may arise and take pity on Zion, for it is time to show mercy unto her.
To undertake this laborious duty was the voluntary offer of our dearly beloved friend, that profound and renowned Rabbi, the zealous and honerable [honorable] AARON SELIG ASHKENAZI. He is a man confirmed in the fear of the Lord, of a faithful stock; and him we depute as our messenger, worthy of all trust, to make proclamation unto the communities of Israel, "according to the sight which he has seen in the holy mount," and to him we have given letters of authorization, containing full particulars as to his pious mission, and every necessary information relating thereto.
Now, therefore, let the righteous behold
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