Adler, Herman -- Baal Shem of London

7/30/2019 Adler, Herman -- Baal Shem of London

1/27

Adler, Herman. The Baal Shem of London. Transactions ofJewish Historical Society of England [TJHSE] (190205), 14873.Accessed 10 May, 2013.http://www.jhse.org/book/export/article/12206.

You have heard of the process of white-washing in so far as it appliesto historic criticism. It is a process which has been adopted byseveral eminent writers in the interests of truth. The great his-torian, Professor Mommsen, whose recent demise is deplored by thewhole world of letters, has essayed to prove that the views commonlyentertained about the Roman emperors is not correct, and thatTiberius was by no means a tyrant of so dark a hue as he is ordi-narily depicted. Froude endeavours, and not without some measureof success, to clear Henry VIII. of the many imputations cast uponhim. Marat, the unlovely, has recently been described as the Peoples

Friend. And, indeed, gradually personages who were regardedaforetime as ogres are being transmuted into heroes or saints, sothat the present period of historic writing may be described as theage of white-wash.

I fear that I shall have to enter upon an opposite course, andcast something of a shadow upon a character that has hitherto loomedbefore the mind of Anglo-Jewry encircled with a halo of sanctity.But be assured that my colours will not be too dark. I shall speakof the Baal Shem as he was,

Nothing extenuate,

Nor set down aught in malice.

Chayim Samuel Jacob Falk, also called De Falk, Doctor Falk, orDr.Falckon, the subject of my paper, was a very enigmatic per-sonage, who resided for about forty years in London, and was known

148

the baal shem of london. 149

as the Baal Shem of London.1 The halo of reverence which had forover a century irradiated that name has, in a great measure, beendissipated by recent researches, but the veil of mystery with which
http://www.jhse.org/book/export/article/12206http://www.jhse.org/showimage.php?img=Vol05_0178.jpghttp://www.jhse.org/book/export/article/12206


2/27

the personage bearing it has long been shrouded has, despite muchinvestigation and several curious discoveries, not yet been entirelyremoved. At the same time it is remarkable how many of theenigmas have been solved by a search of contemporary literature,and how the accounts given in Hebrew sources have been corrobo-

rated by stray remarks that have been discovered in non-Jewishwritings.

Falks personality is of interest, as he was connected with a move-ment which has left its impression upon Judaism to this day. Healso came into contact with several noteworthy contemporaries, andlived on terms of intimacy with influential members of the Jewishcommunity in London. Sources for his biography are very sparse.They are: 1. Notices in various contemporary writings, whichwill be duly indicated. 2. References in the polemical works ofR Jacob Emden, his (Wrestling) and (the Trodden

Winepress). (The Lemberg edition, 1877, will be quoted.) 3. HisDiary, Or rather Commonplace Book, which came into the possessionof the late Solomon Herschell, Chief Rabbi, now in the library ofthe Beth Hamedrash of the United Synagogue. The Diary, firstdescribed by Dr. Neubauer in his catalogue of this library (No. 127),contains fifty-nine octavo pages, and is written in Spanish-Rabbinicand German cursive characters. It forms a strange medley of notesof a diary, an account of dreams, charitable gifts, catalogues ofbooks, Bible texts, Cabbalistic names of angels, recipes for makingcakes and spiced liqueurs, accounts of monetary transactions, lists ofpledges, &c.

The place of his birth is not known with absolute certainty.

1 See s.v. Baal Shem, in the Jewish Encyclopedia, where the term iscorrectly explained as the designation of certain people who were supposedto work miracles through the name of God. This term, Master of the Name,which at first was applied only as a special distinction to particular men, whowere considered great saints and in whose miraculous powers the people be-lieved, developed later into a professional title. The bearers o it represented amixture of quack doctor, physician, and Cabbalist.

150 the baal shem of london.

The statement copied by Picoiotto,1 from Alexander,2 that he cameoriginally from Frth, is certainly incorrect. For, in his epitaph, he


3/27

is described as having come from the East,. . AndEmden, his contemporary, and apparently well informed touching hisantecedents, states that he came from Poland.3 In all probabilityhe was a native of Podhayce, a town in Podolia, whence hailed hisfriend Moses David. Nothing is known about his father, except

that his name was Raphael the Sephardi. It is uncertain why andhow he received this appellation. Had he immigrated from Spainor Portugal?4 Falks Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew may havebeen due to his parentage.

Although the pseudo-Messiah, Sabbattai Zebi, had died in 1676,the evil effects of the agitation he had caused in Jewry remained.It led to the formation of sects, some of which taught doctrineslargely blended with Cabbalistic mysteries, and not entirely free fromideas at variance with the pure monotheism taught by Judaism.One of these sects was founded by Judah Chasid (the pious),5 who

held that the advent of the Messiah could be hastened by a life ofaustere asceticism and self-mortification. He and his followersmigrated from Poland to Jerusalem in 1700, by way of Frth, theTyrol, and Venice. Did Falk come to Frth with the intentionof imitating Rabbi Judiths example and journeying to the HolyLand? We know that his mother died at Frth and was buriedthere. A tombstone was at a later period erected on her grave byhis direction.6

It is claimed by that congregation that they assisted him when

1 Sketches of Anglo-Jewish History, p. 245.

2 Memoirs of the Life and Commercial Connections of the late BenjaminGoldsmid of Roehampton, London 1808.

3 p. 71b.

4 In his Commonplace Book he gives his full name as

Did he claim relationship with the Laniados, a Sephardicfamily settled in Italy and the East?

5 Not to be confounded, of course, with R. Judah Chasid the Elder, ofRatisbon, who died in 1217. See Grtz, Geschichte der Juden, vol. x., note 4, iv.,Die Polnischen Sabbatianer Jchuda Chasid und chajim Malach.


4/27

6 The Diary contains Memoranda of the gifts he sent to members of theFrth community, who had occupied themselves with the funeral.


he was in great wanta claim corroborated by the fact that, onseveral occasions, he sent the Frth community sums of money, andbequeathed them a substantial legacy.1

Was Falk a follower of the Sabbattian craze?

To Professor Schechter belongs the merit of having discoveredthe connection between Falk and Sabbattianism.2 For he cites somepassages, and draws attention to others, in Jacob Emdens writingsdenouncing Falk as a sectary with the utmost virulence, imprecating

him as , master of a demon, and , Samuel theImpostor.3These denunciations must, however, be taken cum granosalis. Emden viewed it as his life duty to imitate the example of hisfather, R. Zebi Ashkenazi, and to stamp out the heresy which hadproved itself subversive of Jewish faith and morality. He composedseveral treatises on the history of the pseudo-Messiah and his allegedadherents and apostles. The principal grounds for his attack on Falkare, that he was a friend of Moses David of Podhayce, and that hehad sheltered him when he arrived in London, after having beenexpelled from various congregations on the Continent.4 But in allprobability, Falk befriended his countryman, because, like himself,

he was a follower of the Cabbalistic school of R. Judah Chasid. Theother ground for Emdens indictment was the (cameo or amulet)on which the name of Samuel and Zebi were joined together.5 Butthere were other Samuels in Jewry besides Samuel Falk. It mustalso be urged in Falks favour that, in his Commonplace Book, whichwas never meant for the public eye, nothing is to be found in corro-boration of Emdens grave imputation. There is no evidence of hishaving kept any of the feasts sacred in the Sabbattian Calendar.

1 On the occasion of my visit to Frth I inquired of the Rabbi, Dr.Neubrger, whether anything was known of Falk there. He informed me thatthe first mention occurred in the congregational records of 1838, when thebequest was sent from London. It was believed that when he arrived in Frthhe was taken ill, and met with much kindly care.

2 Jewish Chronicle, March 9, 1888.


5/27

3 , p. 20b.

4 , p. 20b.

5 , p. 6. Emden asks, To whom does he refer by the name

Yemini? Thus did the Eybschtzer call himself. By the name Samuel herefers to Samuel the Impostor, the Baal Shed of London.


One thing, however, is certain, that he claimed to be a Cabbalist, andpretended to the possession of thaumaturgic powers. He lived at thetime when Europe was overrun by a multitude of deceivers, some ofthem self-deceived, who claimed to be able to discover hidden treasureby the help of the divining-rod and talismanic incantationsmen of

the type of Schrpfer, the necromancer, and Cagliostro, the brass-faced adventurer, as Carlyle calls him. It was the time when evengreat scientific geniuses were under the delusion that they could trans-mute silver into gold by the practice of the Black Art, or by WhiteMagic. Some notices of Falks doings at this time have been pre-served by Archenholz,1 who states that a certain Comte de Ranzow,a Major-General in French service, gives an account in his printedmemoirs of so-called Cabbalistic and magical operations, which hehad seen performed by this Falk in the territory of Brunswickand on his fathers estate, in the presence of many distinguishedpersonages, whom he names in his book, calling upon them to contradict

him if he does not speak the truth. Archenholz deems it probablethat the wonderful and incredible marvels performed by him weredue to the fact that he possessed some special knowledge of chemistry.During one of his wanderings the mysterious doctor came to West-phalia, where the authorities, incensed by his pretensions to discoverhidden treasures, sentenced him to be burnt alivethe penalty inflictedin those days on a sorcerer.2

Falk escaped this punishment by flight, and came to London.Emden quotes a letter,3 stating that about this time Falk married awoman of dubious character. This statement cannot be implicitly

relied upon, as Emden is always ready to believe anything to thediscredit of those whom he suspects of holding heretical views.Falk had no children, but mentions in his will a stepson namedCedalyah.4


6/27

1 England und Italien, i. p. 249. A translation of this work appeared in1797 with the title, A Picture of England.

2 In Emdens , PP- 58b, 59a, a similar story is told of a personnamed Samuel Essingen, who was in Warendorf (a town in Westphalia), and

who is also termed a Baal Shem.

3 , p. 71a.

4 Lyson, in his History of Middlesex (p. 442), mentions that, in thecemetery of the German Jews at Mile End there is a curions epitaph in memory


He arrived in London in 1742, and was received with the

hospitality which this country uniformly accords to refugees, withoutovermuch scrutiny as to their antecedents. He seems to have con-tinned here the methods which brought him into collision with theWestphalian authorities, though probably in a more guarded manner.He rapidly gained fame on the score of some exploits that seemedbordering on the supernatural.1 Among the feats told of him are hisskill in causing a small taper to burn for many weeks. When herequired coals, he had but to utter a Cabbalistic incantation, and thelumps glided obediently into his cellar. Plate, which he had left as apledge at the pawnbrokers, found its way to his chest in defiance ofthe laws of nature. When a fire threatened to destroy the Great

Synagogue, he is said to have arrested the progress of the flames bywriting four Hebrew letters on the pillars of the door.

On his first arrival in this country he probably gained his liveli-hood by playing on the credulity of the superstitious. Both con-temporaneous writings and his Commonplace Book contain referencesto mysterious journeyings to and from Epping Forest, accounts ofmeetings that were held, a tent he there erected, and of chests ofgold that were there buried. Did he keep there his crucibles andalembics for calcining, subliming, and dissolving? Probably he hadsome knowledge of a process akin to electro-plating, and knew how to

coat the base with the more precious metalsan emblem of his owncomposite character.

The Baal Shem succeeded in winning the confidence of hisacquaintances by investing himself with the glamour of saintliness.In a letter preserved by Emden,2 written by Susman Shesnowzi, afriend of Falks, he describes him as a kind of super-man. Hischamber is lighted by silver candlesticks on the walls, with a central


7/27

eight-branched lamp made of pure silver of beaten work. And albeitit contained oil to burn a day and night, it remained enkindled for

of the wife of Dr. De Falk, and it is in the Hebrew character, but the words areso composed that it has puzzled the most learned Rabbis. I have not succeededin the identification of the tombstone.

1 See Alexanders Memoirs, pp. 47-50. Hyam Isaacs Jewish Cere-monies, p. 335.

2 , pp. 69b-709.


three weeks. On one occasion he abode in seclusion in his house forsix weeks without meat or drink. When, at the conclusion of thisperiod, ten persons were summoned to enter, they found him seatedon a throne, his head diademed with a golden turban, a golden chainround his neck with a pendent silver star, on which sacred nameswere inscribed. Verily this man stands alone in his generation, byreason of his knowledge of holy mysteries. I cannot recount to youall the wonders he accomplishes. I am grateful that I have beenfound worthy to be received among those that dwell within the

shadow of his wisdom, &c.I believe that we are not justified in accepting this eulogium.Reference to his Commonplace Book indicates that Falk, though notdestitute of some knowledge of the Bible and Cabbalah, was but apoor Hebrew scholar, weak in grammar and even in orthography. Onthe other hand, Emden is probably too severe when he stigmatiseshim as an Am-haaretz (ignoramus), and when he says, on the authorityof his correspondent, that when called to the Law in his oratory ona Sabbath morning he could hardly pronounce the blessings, that itwas like the twittering of a sparrow, and that no voice could be

heard.Tidings of Falks fantastic proceedings soon reached the outerworld. We now find him coming in contact with personages of dis-tinction. Archenbolz (l.c.) mentions a royal prince, who in his eagerquest of the philosophers stone, applied to Dr. Falk. To his greatchagrin he was not admitted. R David Azulai, in his small book oftravels, (p. 13), mentions that, when in Paris in 1778, he


8/27

met the Marquis de Toma and the Marchesa de Croua, who had savedmany Jews from falling into the clutches of the Inquisition. Thishigh-born dame intimated to Rabbi Azulai that the Baal Shem ofLondon liad taught her practical Cabbalaha circumstance whichgreatly roused the ire of the worthy Rabbi.

Falk also seems to have been on intimate terms with that strangeadventurer, Baron Theodor de Neuhoff, who, having headed aCorsican rising against the Genoese, was crowned king of the island,and on being subsequently banished, settled in London in 1749. Theerstwhile king buoyed himself with the hope of restoring his fallenfortunes by the recovery of treasures hidden in the depth of the


ocean. In this attempt he enlisted the aid of an aged Jewish Rabbi,who visited him while in prison.1 Falk records a mysterious meetingwith Prince Czartoryski, probably Adam Czartoryski, one of themost eminent princes of Poland, connected with royalty. He wasprobably leader of the reforming or Czartoryski party, opposed to theking, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski.2 Falk was also acquaintedwith a personage Emanuel, whom he describes as a servant of aking of France (Louis XVI.).

The Baal Shem is also believed to have given the Duke ofOrleans a ring as a talisman to insure his ascending the throne. This

ring Philippe galit is said to have sent to a Jewess, Juliet Goud-chaux, who passed it on to his son, the Duc de Chartres, subsequentlyKing Louis Philippe. The king at his death bequeathed it to theComte de Paris, and it is believed to be at present in Stow House,Twickenham.3

This ring is also mentioned in a brochure by Hermann vonScharff-Scharfenstein, entitled Das geheime Treiben, der Einfluss unddie Macht des Judenthums in Frankreich seit hundert Jahren (17711871), 2 Auflage, Stuttgart 1872, bei Heinrich Killinger. The writerdesires to prove that the Jews were the authors of all the misdeeds

recorded in history. He asks (p. 2): Why did the infamous Duke ofOrleans, Philippe galit, abandon Louis XVI? Answer: The Jewsinstigated him to high treason and to all kinds of abominable actions.The notorious Falk-Scheck, Chief Rabbi of England (sic!), gave Philippegalit a ring with a talisman of lapis lazuli. The ring with the


9/27

1 Identified with our Baal Shem by a series of arguments contained in anarticle : -by R. David Kahana, in Ha-Shiloach, vol. v. p. 54, who has made a special study of the Sabbattian move-ment. See also Varnhagen von Enses Biographische Denkmler, l Band2Auflage, Berlin, and Fitzgeralds King Theodore of Corsica.

2 In a letter sent to me by the late Professor David Kaufmann (datedFebruary 2, 1897) he writes: Besttigt sich meine Vermuthung dass derLondoner der Emdens und ein Sabbattianer war? Czartoryskiwar ja selber ein halber Schps? Unfortunately the brilliant scholar wastaken from us before he could answer my inquiry as to the reasons whichled him to regard the prince as an adherent of this craze.

3 Drumont, La France Juive, pp. 275, 276, quoting from Von GleichensDenkwrdigkeiten.


talisman was presented to the Duke under the pretence that itpossessed the magic virtue to seat him on the throne of France.Such a ring as the Rabbi Falk-Sheck gave Orleans is termed by theJews Kamaoth. And it was one of their stratagems to give suchrings to high personages, whom they thought useful for their purposes,in order to stimulate them by these fictitious talismans to energeticmeasures in the interests of Israel.

It is not the first time in Anglo-Jewry that we hear of suchmagic rings. Professor Berliner has drawn my attention to a Biblicalmanuscript in the Harleian Collection of the British Museum (Cod.12, No. 24, fol. 314-317), where mention is made of an English Jewwho possessed a demon enclosed in a ring.

Dr Falks principal friends were the eminent bankers, Mr.Aaron Goldsmid and his son George, to whom frequent reference ismade in his diary, and who would seem to have afforded him valuableadvice in respect to his legitimate mercantile transactions. Duringthe last twenty years of his life he became a man of means, owing to

his being engaged in pawnbroking and in successful speculations andinvestments in stocks. He resided in a commodious house in Well-close Square, where he had built a Synagogue, to which two Readerswere attached, and a Tabernacle, which is said to have been built inthe public garden of the square, the site now occupied by the dayschool of St. Pauls Church for seamen.


10/27

We find him using a coach and four for his journeys, andalternating his Cabbalistic lucubrations with solicitous care for thepleasures of the table. While certainly not a man of much learning,he was fond of books. He gives a list of the works he possessed,which indicates that he was not averse to grammatical, philosophical,

and controversial studies. He entertained relations with the ChiefRabbi David Tevle Schiff, , author ofTalmudic Miscellanies, edited under the title of by R.Gabriel Adler. Falk calls the Rabbi ,thus showing that even then the Rabbi of the Great Synagogue wasregarded as the Chief Rabbi of the Jews of the United Kingdom.

He was also on friendly terms with the newly appointed Rabbiof the New Synagogue, Moses Myers. In proof of the influentialposition he had attained, it may be mentioned that Simeon Geldern


had entered his name among the persons he intended visiting inLondon.1

Although there is some obscurity as to the method by whichFalk acquired his fortune, there is none as to the manner in which hedispensed it. He was of a highly benevolent disposition. We meetin his diary with many memoranda of various charitable gifts. Inhis will, dated April 14, 1782, and preserved in the archives of the

United Synagogue, he appointed Mr. Aaron Goldsmid, his son GeorgeGoldsmid, and his son-in-law Lyon de Symons, to be his executors.His principal bequests were a gift of two miniature Scrolls of the Lawin silver cases, still enshrined in the Ark of the Great Synagogue, andannual payments of one hundred pounds to the Great Synagogue;annual payments of ten guineas to the Beth Hamedrash of theAshkenazim and of the Sephardim, respectively; of twenty guineas tothe Frth Congregation and to various charities; of ten guineas tothe Chief Rabbi or High Priest, as he is called, for the time being,and of various sums amounting in the aggregate to about 160, thesurplus being entrusted to the executors for the benefit of the poor.These annual payments are regularly made by the Overseers of theUnited Synagogue. Eut owing to shrinkage of dividends the amountshave been materially reduced. The story of his having left a sealedpacket of papers to Aaron Goldsmid, with strict injunctions never toopen it under penalty of serious misfortune befalling the family, mustbe dismissed as apocryphal, for, besides other reasons, there is nomention of such a packet in the will. He died a few days aftermaking his will, on April 17, 1782, and was buried on the morrow


11/27

in the burial ground at Globe Road, Mile End, his grave being closeto that of R. Tevle Schiff. The epitaph on his grave declares, thatduring the forty years of his residence here he upheld the banner ofthe Law, and that at his death he devoted his entire property tocharitable uses. The annexed protrait is from an original painting in

the possession of Mr. W. H. Goldsmid by Copley, and is fully worthyof the artist.2 The likeness bears out the description of the Baal

1 Kaufmanns Aus Heinrich Heines Ahnensaal, p. 112.

2 The credit o having discovered this portrait belongs to Mr. Lucien Wolf.By dint of consulting the will of the late William Goldsmid and contemporarysale lists in the British Museum, he traced the picture to a descendant of the


Shem given by a contemporary, who writes that when he walksabroad he is garbed in a flowing robe, which strikingly harmoniseswith his long white beard and venerable features. May we notapply to him Popes famous lines slightly modified

If to his share some mortal errors fall,Look at his face and youll forget them all.

Whilst on the one hand we dare not class him among Worthieswho have borne the designation of Baal Shem, it would be equallyunjust to stigmatise him as a rank impostor and to describe him asthe Jewish Cagliostro. He lived at a time when superstitionsflourished in rank luxuriance. Shall it be accounted to him anunpardonable offence, that he did not rise superior to the spirit ofhis age?

APPENDIX

A.Hebrew SourcesI. Abstract of letter in (p. 69, b), addressed by SusmanShesnowzi to his son in Poland.1

Hear, my beloved son, of the marvellous gifts entrusted to a son of man,who verily is not a man, a light of the captivity, who hath set his heart togather the dispersed of Ariel. He is a holy light, a saintly man. His name


12/27

is Samuel Falk, Samuel Jacob Chajim, the son of Raphael, the Sefard whodwells at present in the great city of London, Albeit I could not fully under-stand him on account of his volubility and of his speaking as an inhabitantof Jerusalem, yet he wrote an explanation of his words to the worthy MosesDavid, the aged and renowned Cabbalist who formerly dwelt in Podhayce,

and was then famed as a Baal Shem. He was certainly well known to theRabbi of our Community. He now dwells in the shadow of the before-

Goldsmids resident in Ashford. He was .enabled to prove its authenticity by apiece of parchment in the back of the frame, which contained a reproduction ofthe seven-branched candlestick with Hebrew inscriptions, and the signature ofFalk.

1 It was necessary to condense the letter, as it is couched in oriental exuber-ance of style. There was a further difficulty, as Emden changes laudatory intovituperative termsthus instead of ,


mentioned saintly man. And seeing his handwriting I have copied it ver-batim. [Here follow explanations of the Torahthe sorcerer mumbles words,but does not know their meaningas the writer himself testifies that heis not at liberty to reveal the mysteries. He then proceeds to relate the

sorceries and the juggleries.] My son, I have written to you this, that youmay show it to our Rabbi. He will certainly understand his words and holydeeds. How good, how pleasant and delightful are these wondrous mysteriesand extraordinary actions to the unsealed eye and the open ear.

Know thou, that all the candelabra on the walls, of which there are manypairs in each chamber, are of fine silver, in the form of the heavenly lumi-naries. There is a big candelabrum of pure silver, with double and triple lightsone above the other, with, eight branches and flowers coming out of the sides,of beaten work. And with this candelabrum he wrought a great miracle.On the eve of a certain Sabbath he put therein oil of the same measure as he

did each week. But the oil continued burning for three weeks, until heannulled the holiness of the light; then the lights were suddenly quenchedas though they had never burnt. This was a wondrous feat, more wondrousthan the miracle of Chanueah. On the night of Tuesday, the 8th of Kislev,we beheld this marvel with our eyes. In Cheshvan he withdrew into his housenear the bridge (London Bridge). His house was entirely closed, so that noone could go out, and there he abode about six weeks without food, drink, orsleep, or kindling any fire. In the sixth week from the commencement of


13/27

his retreat he directed that ten learned men should assemble, who hadpurified themselves by immersion in the Ritual Bath. At midnight we cameto his house, and then donned white surplices. On Wednesday he bade theCabbalist, Moses David, write in his note-book. Then he directed Moses andanother member of the Brotherhood, Jacob, grandson of Meir Eisenstadt, to

kindle the light of two candlesticks. When Moses had completed the writinghe asked the company to enter his chamber barefooted. Lo! and behold, thesaintly man was seated on his throne arrayed like an angel of heaven, diademedwith a golden mitre, a golden chain round his neck reaching to his waist,from which a great silver star was pendent, and on the star holy names wereengraved. His face was covered with a veil star-shaped, and his headgearwas marvellously fashioned of parchment, whereon holy names were written,And to each corner of the turban a star of pure gold was fastened, and nameswere engraven thereon as on the tablets. And who can describe the beautyof the painting on the tapestries that were hung on the walls with sacredfigures, as on the heavenly throne in Ezekiels vision; and on these figures

holy names were inscribed. In that chamber there were silver chains. Fivemen sat within, and five outside the chains. And before him a Shofar wasplaced on the table, which the saintly man had made, and also a trumpet, onwhich holy names were inscribed . . . .

This is the saintly man who, according to my poor understanding, stands


alone in our generation, for he knows the mystery of our Law and does

wondrous things. He is the friend of that great Cabbalist, famed throughout,the province of Volhynia, Moses David, known as the Baal Shem of Pod-hayce, who is well known to Rabbi Jonathan, Chief Rabbi of Hamburg, whorelated to him the wondrous deeds and the greatness of that man, so that theRabbi applied to him the words of the Tikkunin: Happy the generationto which such mysteries have been disclosed, even as Hannah said, He givethstrength to his king, and exalteth the horn of his anointed. [Then thefoolish man describes his marvels and acts in Goraloth (the casting of lots),and praises them as though they were Urim and Thummim, and afterdwelling upon this at great length he concludes:] lam grateful that I havebeen received into this Brotherhood, who by their piety can hasten the adventof the Messiah. I know that many will believe my words, but others whodo not occupy themselves with mysteries will laugh thereat. Therefore, myson, be very circumspect, and show this only to wise and discreet men. Forhere in London this matter has not been disclosed to any one who does notbelong to our Brotherhood.Your affectionate father,

Eliezer Susman.
http://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_2/%E2%80%9Cfile:///verehttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_2/%E2%80%9Cfile:///vere


14/27

II. A.bstract of a letter sent by Emden to a disciple in answer tohis inquiry touching the Baal Shem , ) p. 71a). The letter-purports to be a copy of a communication sent from England toPoland.

This foolish Susman received his wage for writing the preceding letter.Surely he deserves to be excommunicated. With regard to this Falk,although I do not know him personally, yet I have heard that he has comefrom Roland without any one knowing his antecedents, except that hepretends to be an adept in practical Cabbalah, and thus to discover hiddentreasures. He was imprisoned for the offence of sorcery in Westphalia, andwas in danger of being burnt alive if he had not fled. He then married awoman of evil repute and went with her to London. There he foundsupporters, especially among the lower orders, who thought to Profit by him.Some rich non-Jews believed in him, that he could discover for them thetreasures of sea and land. By means of wonderful feats, which were nothing

but jugglery, he succeeded in entrapping a wealthy captain, who spent all hisfortune on him. He has now been reduced to poverty, so that he is dependentupon Falks charity. But despite this the captain praises him among wealthyChristians, so that they spend much money upon him. By this means theBaal Shem is enabled to live as a man of wealth. He spends his bounty onthe men of his Brotherhood, so that they may spread his fame. Yet he is attimes penniless and obliged to borrow from tradesmen and shopkeepers.According to general opinion he is very ignorant. He claims to be a


Cabbalist, but his utterances and writings are devoid of sense. He himselfadmits this, for he says that no one understood his interpretation of theScriptures save Moses David. A trustworthy and learned man also informedme that he was once in his oratory when he was called to the Law, and hisenunciation of the blessing was like the twittering of a sparrow, almostinaudible, without clear articulation. I will not speak of his otherobjectionable actions, nor would I have stated anything to his disparagement,not even about his circulation of an amulet, as he is far away, and I do notknow that he has wrought much mischief, were it not that he is sending hismessenger Susman to Poland to confuse peoples minds. It is therefore myduty to unmask him. The fact that he is allied with Moses David, the friendof the Eybschtzer, testifies against him.

I will further tell you what this foolish Susman has done. He came tome and told me of the glories of this Baal-Shed, of which I had alreadyheard, and he also handed me his fictitious letter. I said to him: Were Inot already entangled in a controversy with the Eybschtzer I would sendforth my denunciation against you. Forthwith I wrote this to my disciple


15/27

in Danzig, for I knew that he (Susman) was going there and would boastthat I had concurred with him. Then my pupil wrote to me that Susmanhad made this groundless assertion, and that he was glad that I had acquaintedhim with the true facts of the case.

III. Extract from Asulais Itinerary, (p. 13b).

On Thursday, the Marquis de Toma came with the Marchesa de Croua.She sat with me and asked that I might pray for her. She afterwards saidthat she studied the Scriptures, and that she had visions of angels anddemons who spoke to her. But when they were of adverse influence shethrust them off. She gave a louis as a charitable gift for Hebron, andmentioned the Baal Shem of London. She said that the Jew gave her a bookon Cabbalah, and she told some other remarkable things. I answered heraccordingly. Afterwards she said that she was a very highly placed Princess,that she had saved many Jews from the Inquisition, that she was the daughter

of a Marquis, and that her husband was a Marquis, and other exaggerations.How much mischief did this so-called Baal Shem work, who in his conceitand arrogance revealed practical Cabbalah and conjuration to many princesand princesses to aggrandise himself! Many asked me about him. [Myattention was drawn to this passage by Professor Schechter.]

vol. v l


B.Sources in Languages other than Hebrew.I. archenholz, England und Italian, p. 240.

For thirty years a remarkable man has been living among this people,who is famed in the annals of Cabbalists. His name is Chaim Schuml Falk,but he is universally called here Dr. Falcon. A certain Comte de Ranzow,who a short time ago died in French service as Major-general, gives anaccount in his printed Memoirs1 of the so-called Cabbalistic and magic featswhich he had seen performed by this Falk in the State of Brunswick and onhis fathers estate in the presence of many distinguished personages, whom

he names in his books, and whom he asks to contradict him, if he does notreport the truth. It is possible that he used Schrpfers arts. Suffice it tosay that the man is now living in London without ever having followedopenly the rle of a Cabbalist. He resides in a splendidly decorated housewith a few friends. He is not engaged in business, lives in great moderation,and largely dispenses alms to the poor. He leaves his house very rarely,and when he does so he wears a flowing robe which well accords with hislong white beard and noble features. He is now about seventy years old. I


16/27

will not here recount the wonderful and incredible things which are told ofhim. The most probable explanation is that Dr. Falk is a clever chemist,and that he possesses some special knowledge of the science which he isunwilling to communicate to others. A royal Prince, who eagerly searchesfor the philosophers stone, desired to visit him a few years ago. He drove

to Falcons house, but to his great disappointment was not admitted.

In the Gentlemans Magazine for 1762, vol. 32, p. 418, there is anaccount of a Cabbalist and his connection with magic and mystery. Thearticle obviously refers to Dr. Falk, though his name is not mentioned.

II. Memoirs of the Life of Benjamin Goldsmid.

By L. Alexander London, 1808, pp. 46-50.

A mysterious circumstance occurred about the time of old Mr. Goldsmids

death, that occasioned much talk among our people then, and I think is notyet forgotten by many. A little before the above event, died a Cabalisticaldoctor of ours, named De Falk, a man of universal acquaintance, singularmanners, and wonderful talents, that seemed bordering on the supernaturalagency of spiritual life. He had made his will, and appointed Mr. Aaron

1 I have not been able to find a copy of these Memoirs either in the BritishMuseum or the Paris National Library.


Goldsmid one of his executors, and Mr. De Symons the other. Among otheritems, he left a packet of papers carefully sealed, in the care of the firstgentleman, to be securely treasured up, but never opened, nor looked intoon the severest injunction, as such an attempt to discover their contentswould be peremptorily attended with fatal consequences to the person whoopened it; but on the contrary, if carefully preserved, himself and familywould be highly prosperous in all their undertakings. I know this doctrine

is very unphilosophical in the present century, but I feel myself inclined todetail the public report on this head, rather than incur the blame of omissionby our people, who at that time looked on these parcels as the palladiums ofthe family.

This Divine, for so he may be considered, kept a private Synagogue inhis house in Wellclose Square, and exercised his benevolence in the mostsurprising ways, an instance of which 1 am about relating. Curiosity, the


17/27

most impulsive power over the human mind, acted over Mr. Goldsmidsresolution to keep this secret depot inviolably closed, till at last he yieldedto the silly desire of investigating the contents of one packet; when, astonish-ing to relate, his death ensued the same day, and threw the family into thegreatest consternation. When the fatal paper was found, it was covered with

Cabalistical figures and Hieroglyphics.

Upon this the remainder of the papers were secured by some of thefamily, who have placed them in a private corner, where they are not likelyto be disturbed. Many besides this family believe in such magical secrets,and the supernatural preparations of the adepts in the ancient Cabala of theEgyptians; a few instances of which I shall beg leave to insert, as they fallfrom living and creditable report, who do not study to deceive others nomore than themselves.

Mr. De Falk at Mr. Goldsmids table one day was invited to call on a

gentleman, who resided in the Chapter House in St. Pauls Church Yard, andhave some conversation with him in a friendly way on some curious subject.But when, says the gentleman, will you come? upon which he pulledout a small piece of wax candle from his pocket, and, giving it to him, said,Light this up, sir, when you get home, and 1 shall be with you as soon as itgoes out.

The next morning the gentleman hastened to try the experiment; helighted up his room with this bit of candle, which seemed to possess thevirtue of the ancient sepulchral lamps, that were found burning after beingburied many centuries, for he watched it all day and at night did not find it

in the least lessened from what it appeared to be when he first took it. Hethen removed it to a closet where it might be out of the way, observing itnow and then, expecting its going out, and Mr. De Falk to arrive thatminute.

Upwards of three weeks elapsed, and the inch of candle was still burning


in the morning of the day that De Falk called in the evening ill a hackney

coach, and surprised the gentleman, who had given over all hopes of seeinghim soon, as the candle showed no signs of diminution, but kept burning asbrightly as at first.

As soon as mutual civilities were over, the gentleman went upstairs tolook at his candle in the closet, and to his utter surprise found it gone, as wellas the stick it stood in. When he returned to Mr. De Falk he expressed hisastonishment at this occurrence, and inquired if the agent that removed it


18/27

would return the candlestick. Oh yes, replied De Falk, you have it nowin the kitchen below. It was sought after and found, as related, underthe dresser.

The quantity of money this gentleman was possessed of at times was

surprising, and yet on other occasions he was so necessitous as to be obligedto pawn his plate. When this was the case, Mr. Benjamin Bunns shop inHoundsditeh was constantly resorted to; but it sometimes happened that thearticles found their ways back to the owner before the premium and interestwas paid, as in the following instance, which is well remembered.

Having left a considerable quantity of plate with this convenient neigh-bour, he called sometime after with the duplicate and the money exactlyreckoned, and putting it on the counter, told them to save themselves thetrouble of going upstairs, as he had received the plate back, and they had. itnot then in their possession. This they found to be the truth, and nothing

else of other peoples deranged by the transposition.Once on a time as a fire in Dukes Place was fiercely ravaging, and theSynagogue was considered in very great danger of being burnt, he came onbeing applied to give his advice and assistance on this distressing occasion,when he only wrote four Hebrew letters on the pillars of the door, and thewind immediately changing the Synagogue was saved, and the fire subsidingdirectly, was happily got under without any further considerable damage.

His advice was sought for on all difficult emergencies, and he wasseldom unsuccessful in removing the obstacles that lay in the way of his

consultors. Many to this day have reason to bless his memory, not only forhis advice, but for the liberal and permanent donations he has left, whichare dispensed now by Mr. De Symons, the surviving executor,

III. Hyman Isaacs, Jewish Ceremonies, p. 355.

About fifty years ago there was a Jew of the name of Dr. Falk, who isvenerated among them, and who, if I am not mistaken, lived and ended hisdays in Wellclose Square, London. If I were to enumerate or specify all thewonders which they say he performed by means of the Cabbalah, it would fill avolume; but I shall confine myself and only mention a few of them. They

say it was the custom of this man, between twelve and one oclock on various

the baal shew of london. 165

occasions, to go in his carriage to Epping Forest. One night as he was goingthrough Whitechapel Road, one of the hinder wheels of his carriage cameoff, which certainly alarmed the coachman; but the Doctor ordered him to


19/27

proceed, and the hinder wheel, it is said, followed the carriage all the way tothe forest. The purpose or object of his journey is kept a secret; and all theproof we have been able to obtain on this point, after enquiry, is this.

Many Jews and Jewesses say they have heard so. They proceed

further and say that this doctor at certain times was very poor, and when sohis servants would inform him that they were in want of provision and fuelfor the household. When this happened, the doctor at set times would orderthree shirts to be aired by the fire. He then withdrew into a privatechamber, and the servants, being accustomed to his manner, knew how toproceed after he had left them. They wailed till they heard the sound of arams horn; this was a sign to them to bring him one of the aired shirts.This was done three times, and after this ceremony the cupboard was alwayssupplied with provisions, and the coals were in such abundance that it tookthem a long time to shovel them in and to shut the door. If a Jew should atall appear doubtful on hearing this matter related, he would be looked upon

as a hypocrite and a doubtful Jew.IV. Drumont, La France Juive, pp. 275, 276.

Le duc dOrleans, le chef de la Maconnerie franaise, qui conspiraitouvertement contre son cousin, navait point lexcuse de lignorance; il taitintimement li avec les Juils et savait que ctaient eux qui dirigeaient laMaconnerie. Le comte de Gleichen, dans son livre intitul: Faits remar-quables, raconte que, lors de son voyage en Angleterre, le duc dOrleansavait reu du Rabbin Falk-Scheck une bague talisman, un Kamaoth quidevait lui assurer le trne; cette bague, quoi que la prophtie ne se soit pas

ralise pour Philippe-Egalit, parait avoir t comme le gage de lengoue-ment incomprhensible que tous les dOrleans, part le fils ain de Louis-Philippe, ont toujours eu pour les Juifs.

Sil faut en croire lauteur du Judaisme en France, cette bague quePhilippe-Egalit portait encore au moment de monter 1chafand, aurait tremise par lui une Juive, Juliette Goudchaux, qui la fit passer au duc deChartres. Louis-Philippe garda ce bijou jusqua sa mort, et le transmit aumoment de sa mort au comte de Paris. Lanneau se trouvant trop grandpour lui, on lenvoya Paris un bijoutier juif nomm Jacques la vitrineduquel il aurait t quelque temps expos.


C.Falks Commonplace Book.

It contains 59 pages, several of them, however, being blank, and iswritten partly in square Hebrew characters, partly in Spanish-rabbinic or


20/27

Rashi script. It constitutes a strange medley. Interspersed with Cabbalisticand mystical notes and scriptural quotations, we find bills, accounts of excur-sions to the ForestEpping Forestin a four-horsed coach, prescrip-tions, dreams, lists of pledges, monetary transactions, and names of friends,acquaintances, &c.

An idea of the nature of the Diary may be gained by an abstract ofa portion of the first page. On Friday, 28th Nisan, 5532 (1772), R.Abele, who is well known as a heretic, came to bid farewell. I did notsee him, and sent him by Gedaljah [his stepson] three shillings for thethird time. He said to Gedaljah that he asked R. Simeon what is themeaning of the term Bath Kol [daughter of a voice], i.e. divine voicewhy is it not termed Ben Kol [son of a voice], and R. Simeon answered asa wise man. There follows a string of scriptural verses in which the wordKol occurs. This is followed by a Talmudic quotation interpreting a passagein Job, chap, xxxviii. Reference is then made to the inheritance of a man

named Mendel, in connection with which the assistance of R. Tevle Schiff issolicited. He is described as , President of the Beth Din of our London Community and of the kingdom.

Repeated reference is made in the Diary to his visiting ,the meeting chamber in the forest, and to his placing a chest containing goldin. the custody of a certain R. Tobias and his two sons, Rabbi Simeon andR. Abraham, the first-born. I have consulted Buxtons Epping Forestand Fishers The Forest of Essex, but have found no reference to anyhidden treasure. An interesting catalogue is appended of books which hetakes with him on his journeys, and another list of books which he places in

his Succah. They are principally of a Cabbalistic character, but there are alsotreatises on ethics and grammar, and polemical works like andprobably indicating that he occasionally engaged in religious disputa-

tions with Christian acquaintances.

We read about a sensible question addressed to him by R. AbrahamDoctor: Why are the imprecations in Ps. cix. couched first in the plural andafterwards in the singular number? (the question perhaps indicating that heguessed the correct solution of the difficulties in this psalm). References aremade to his business transactions; lists of candlesticks, gold watches, rings,a ewer and basin, which had been left as pledges, and which, not having beenredeemed, were sold. We read of his purchasing lottery tickets (this objec-tionable mode of gambling not having been prohibited until 1826), accom-panied by a special prayer for the success of his speculations. Dealings of a

http://www.jhse.org/showimage.php?img=Vol05_0197.jpg


21/27

move ambitious character are mentioneda sum of 3402 which he deliversin bank-notes to R. Tobias: purchase of bonds of a French loan to theamount of 86,600 francs; three bonds of the French East Indian Companyof the value of 42,000 francs. We meet with copious references to charitablegifts. Through Jochanan I sent to Frth 5 for the Burial Brotherhood;

5 for charity to be distributed among the poor; 4, 10s. for the tombstone;19 to the brother of Moses, the Shochet. To the person who had under-taken the burial of my mother I sent a present of silver. To Moses, who wasfirst in the performance of this religious duty, a guinea and a half.

Further on there is an entry characteristic of his vanity. I gave tenguineas to the funds of the congregation. When R. Isaac the Chazan hadreceived this amount, he communicated to me the intention of the Parnas .R. Meyer, to name me a (a privileged member). Heaven forfend,I replied, that I should be named in this connection, for I am a , ahouseholder of the whole World. I warned him not to entertain such an

intention, and tendered my thanks. I gave him a present of two guineas,and I believe that I owe him a guinea for his Purim gift.

Under date 1772-3 (pp. 25, 32), there are several references to PrinceCzartoryski couched in somewhat cryptic language, the interpretation ofwhich is rendered doubly difficult by grammatical and orthographical inac-curacies. when the projected visit of the Prince had been announced, Falkwas too ill to receive him, On Monday, the 23rd Tebeth, Norden receiveda letter of R Simeon from the prince R. Jacob was with the Prince, andsaid that he had handed to Salli Norden, the day before, a letter of creditof R. Simeon Boaz.

On Wednesday, the 24th shebat, the Prince departed for Kalisch. Therehe took counsel with Kosman on Friday night for about four hours, and asstated in a letter written by him to R. Jacob, when they separated from theConference the Prince embraced and kissed Kosman. Under date Friday,Shebat 26th, he mention a letter which he sent to the Prince Emmanuel,servant (or Minister?) of the king of France.

Interspersed with these entries, mention is made of pills for the gout.There are recipes for the making of cakes and spiced liqueurs, lists of barrelsand bottles of wine which he purchased, and accounts of his clothing, suitsof honour, white and black garments, payments to his tradesmen

s. d.

Baker . . . . . 25 16 6

Grocer . . . . . 7 8 8


22/27

Coal Merchant . . . . 15 15 4

Coachman . . . . 9 14 9

Wages to Samuel, his manservant, to Suky, his maidservant, 4 a year.

He asks forgiveness for having omitted to celebrate the feast of the 15thShebat by partaking of various kinds of fruit.


Reference is made to the death of his wife.

Towards the end of the Diary frequent mention is made of his friends the

Warden, Aaron Goldsmid, and of his son George, who generously lent himconsiderable sums, which he punctually repaid. He carefully notes the exactweight of two silver cups which he presented to Lyon de Symons on hismarriage to Polly, daughter of Aaron Goldsmid, on Wednesday, Kislev 4,1781. The name of the bridegroom is given thus, ?,?? ??? ?? ,?? ????, ????????and of his mother, the pious ????? (Fradche?).

D.Copy of Inscription on Grave.

[????? ???.?? ????]

????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ???? i ???

???? ??? ???? ??,??? ??? ????? ??????

??? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????; ????.????? ???????

????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ????????????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????

??????? ????? ?? J ????? ?? ???? ??????

??????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????, ???? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? t:: ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??????.


23/27

???????????


[Translation.]

Here is interred

[SAMUEL JACOB CHAYIM]

An aged and honourable man, a great personage who came from the East,an accomplished sage, an adept in Cabbalah, the learned Rabbi Samuel,son of the learned Rabbi Raphael of blessed memory.His name was known to the ends of the earth and distant isles.During the forty years that he resided here he uplifted the banner ofthe Law and of Divine Worship.He studied and kept the Law, the Commandments, and Statutes.At the time of his decease he devoted all his possessionsa great substanceamong many different charities.For the merit hereof may the Creator of the heavens and theFounder of the globeBind up his soul in the Garden of His Eden with the other righteous men.And may He grant him the privilege of arising at the Resurrection with theother dead of Israel, whom He will hereafter raise up.He departed with a good name on Thursday, the fourth of the month ofSplendour, i.e. Iyar (April 17th), and was buried with honour and withmourning on the morrow, Friday, the twentieth day of theOmer, 5542 a.m. (April 18, 1782).May his soul be bound up in the bond of life!


E.Falks Will.

Extracted from the Registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

In the name of Almighty God Amen. I the underwritten Samuel DeFalk of Wellclose Square of the Parish of St. John, Wapping, finding myselfindisposed but of sound mind and memory and fully capable to make mylast Will and Testament and knowing the certainty of death and the un-certainty of the hour thereof do hereby come to make this my Last Will andTestament in manner following that is to say In the first place I do


24/27

recommend my soul to Almighty God Second I do hereby nominate andappoint to be Executors of this my last Will and Testament Mr. Aron Gold-smid and his son Mr. George Goldsmid of Leman St. Goodmans Fields andMr. Lyon de Symons of Great Prescot Street Goodmans Fields giving throughmy said Executors full Power and Authority of all my Estate and Effects

goods wares and chattels whatsoever to dispose of and settle the same insuch manner as I shall hereafter either in writing or in words explain thesame to my said Executors and that they shall be in every respect believedin such manner that no Person or Persons whatsoever shall oppose or con-tradict whatever these my Executors shall do or act. Witness my Hand this14th day of April 1782 (Other language) Signed Published and declared in thepresence of me Abraham dHambourg Signed published and declared in thepresence of me and in the presence of the above Witness Abraham dHam-bourg. Joseph SchabracQ.

Translated from the Hebrew.

God be praised

On this day the second of the month Iyar in the year 5142 findingmyself of sound mind and understanding I do again confirm what I yesterdaythe first of Iyar (April 14th 1782 according to the Christian reckoning) signedwith my own Hand that after my decease (which Heaven defer) Mr. AronGoldsmid his son Mr. George Goldsmid and his son in law Mr. Judah Lionson of Samuel of blessed memory shall be my Executors And whereas in thewriting which I signed yesterday it is mentioned that what I might inwriting or by word of mouth further order my Executors to do should all

take place I therefore direct as follows (the first of all things is to fear theLord) that my Executors shall give every year yearly for ever 100 say Onehundred Pounds sterling to the behoof of the great Synagogue of the holyCongregation here in London which is called by the name of the Dukes PlaceSynagogue They shall also give to the Hambro Synagogue of the HolyCongregation here at London every year yearly for ever 15 say Fifteenpounds Sterling they shall also give to the New Synagogue here in Londonevery year yearly for ever 15 say fifteen pounds Sterling they shall also


give to the holy Congregation of the Portuguese here in London everyyear yearly for ever 15 say fifteen pounds sterling They shall alsogive to the Beth Hamedrash of the Holy Congregation of the GermanJews here in London every year yearly for ever 10 say Ten poundssterling they shall also give to the Beth Hamedrash of the Holy PortugueseCongregation of the Jews here in London 10 say Ten pounds Sterlingevery year yearly for ever They shall also give to the four Charitable


25/27

Societies called Talmud Torah the Society called Gidul Jethomim the Societycalled Malbish Arumim and the Society called Meshibath Nefesh to eachof the said Societies every year yearly for ever 5 say five pounds sterlingthat is to say to the said four Charitable Societies together 20 say Twentypounds every year yearly for ever They shall also give to the Congregation

at Frth (whom the Lord protect) every year yearly for ever 20 say Twentypounds sterling They shall also give every year yearly for ever to the HighPriest of the Great Synagogue that is to say to the High Priest for the timebeing whosoever he may be Ten Guineas say ten pounds ten shillings, to mystep son Gedaliah they shall also give every year yearly during his life TenGuineas say ten pounds ten shillings. To the learned Mr. Joseph Sheknopzhthey shall give every year yearly during his life three guineas say threepounds three shillings. To Mr. Mendle Reader in my Synagogue they shallgive during his life five guineas every year yearly say five pounds fiveshillings. They shall also give out of my Estate as a present to my ServantMendle Ten Guineas say ten pounds ten shillings as a present they shall also

give as a present out of my Estate to Mr. Hirsh Bristol ten guineas say tenpounds ten shillings. They shall also give as a present out of my Estate toMrs. Rachel wife of Meyer of blessed memory ten guineas say ten pounds tenshillings. They shall also give as a present out of my Estate to Mr. Aaronunder-Reader in my Synagogue five guineas say five pounds five shillings.They shall also give as a present out of my Estate to my Servant Meyer fiveguineas say five pounds five shillings. They shall also give out of my Estateas a present to Mr. Moses Priest in the New Synagogue ten Guineas say tenPounds ten shillings. They shall also give out of my Estate as a present toMr. Abraham Doctor ten guineas say ten pounds ten shillings. They shallalso give as a present out of my Estate to Mr. Levi Throko ten guineas say tenpounds ten shillings. They shall also give as a present out of my Estate toMr. Menish at the Hague One hundred Dutch Guilders say One hundredGuilders Hollands They shall also give as a present out of my Estate to Mr.Susman at Amsterdam five guineas say five pounds five shillings. They shallalso give as a present out of my Estate to Mr. Mordecai the son of LinaDresden ten guineas say ten pounds ten shillings They shall also give as apresent out of my Estate six guineas say six pounds six shillings to Mr. Jacobson of Lina Dresden. They shall also give as a present out of my Estate toMr. Abraham the son of Shelomo of blessed memory usually called AbrahamNancy the sum of fifty guineas say fifty two Pounds ten shillings And they


shall moreover give as a present to the said Mr. Abraham Furniture HouseUtensils and Books to the amount of Fifty pounds in the whole. My Booksof Torah with all their Ornaments Holy Dresses and Holy Utensils shall befaithfully given to the Great Synagogue of the Holy Congregation here inLondon as a present and as those who are remembered or mentioned in this


26/27

Will to whom the specified Sums are to be given every year yearly for everto the behoof of the Great Synagogue in London and as to what further maybe requisite either for the burial or to take ten men to learn the first year orto give money to the poor between the decease and the burial and in thethirty Days of Mourning be it what it will to the Honour of the living and the

Dead it shall all be left at the option of the Executors aforesaid to do as theyshall think proper and also whatever may be left of my Estate after all thathas been mentioned shall remain in the Hands of the aforesaid Executors attheir Option to divide it to the Poor and if in a short or a long time be itwhen it will any Relation of mine should come who is entitled to haveinherited me the Executors shall give him five pounds say five pounds out ofmy Estate and therewith he shall be cut off from my Estate and shall have nofurther claim whatever not even for a farthing upon my Estate. To all theforegoing I now come to sign my name and all has been written in thepresence of the Executors Mr. Aron Goldsmid whom the Lord protect And inTestimony I now sign my name London the day on the other side written.

We are witnesses to the above signature Falk the son ofAbraham Gisa, Belah Behilah.

The aforegoing is a faithful translation out of the Hebrew Language ofthe Will of Dr. Samuel Falk hereunto annexed. Translated by me theunderwritten London 6th May 1782. Quod Attestor Josh Schabracq NotyPub 1782.

Proved at London with a Codicil the 11th May 1782 before the wor-shipful Andrew Coltee Ducasne Doctor of Laws and Surrogate by the Oaths

of Aron Goldsmid George Goldsmid and Lyon. De Symons the Executorsnamed in the Will to whom Administration was granted having been firstsworn duly to administer.

May 18, 1782 Henry Stevens

George Gortling Deputy Registrars.

James Tously

In the ExchequerGoldsmid and ano against Lehman.

This paper writing was shown to Joseph Shabracq at the time of hisexamination in the above cause on the part of the Plaintiff and was deposedunto by him before me.


27/27

B. Hotham.

J. Nathan.


According to the Bequest and Trusts Account of the United Synagoguethe bequest of Dr. Falk (1782) 3355, is at present invested in Metropolitan3 per cents. yielding 100, 12s. The sums annually given are

s. d.

Frth Congregation 4 8 0

Beth Hamedrash 12 0 0

Talmud Torah 4 0 0

Bread, Meat, and Coal Charity 2 4 0

Portuguese Congregation 11 0 0

New Synagogue 6 12 0

Hambro 6 12 0

Great 45 12 4

Chief Rabbi 4 12 0

The above documents and facts were placed at the disposal of the writerby the authorities of the United Synagogue.

Date post:	14-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	leekaye
View:	224 times
Download:	0 times

Adler, Herman -- Baal Shem of London

Documents