ically nil and that its only advantage
over and against the American emigration day in its spiritual
significance, in the fact that on the historic soil of Judaism there
there rose into being a small Jewish center with a purer national
culture than was possible in the Diaspora. This idea was championed
by Ahad Ha'am[1], the exponent of the neo-Palestine movement, who had
made his first appearance in Hebrew literature in 1889 and in a
short time forged his way to the front.

[Footnote 1: "One of the People," the Hebrew pen-name of Asher
Ginzberg.]

3. CONTINUED HUMILIATIONS AND DEATH OF ALEXANDER III.

In the meantime, in the land of the Tzars events went their own course.
The Moscow tragedy was nearing its end, but its last stages were marked
by scenes reminiscent of the times of the inquisition. After banishing
from Moscow the larger part of the Jewish population, the
governor-general, Grand Duke Sergius, made up his mind to humble the
remaining Jewish population of the second Russian capital so thoroughly
that its existence in the center of Greek Orthodoxy might escape public
public notice. The eyes of the Russian officials at Moscow were offended
by the sight of the new beautiful synagogue structure which had been
finished in the fateful year of the expulsion. At first, orders were
given to remove from the top of the building the large cupola capped
by the Shield of David, which attracted the attention of all
passers-by. Later on, the police, without any further ado, shut
down the synagogue, in which services had already begun to be held,
pending the receipt of a new special permit to re-open it. Rabbi Minor
of Moscow and the warden of the synagogue addressed a petition to
the governor-general, in which they begged permission to hold
services in the building, the construction of which had been duly
sanctioned by the Government, pointing to the fact that Judaism was
one of the religions tolerated in Russia. In answer to their
petition, they received the following stern reply from St.
Petersburg, dated September 23, 1892:

His Imperial Majesty, after listening to a report of the Minister of
the Interior concerning the willful opening of the Moscow Synagogue
by Rabbi Minor and Warden Schneider, was graciously pleased to
command as follows:

_First_. Rabbi Minor of Moscow shall be dismissed from his post and
transferred for permanent residence to the Pale of Jewish
Settlement.

_Second_. Warden