up a warm
defence for the traditional Jewish school, the heder, endeavoring to
save it from the ministerial "supervision," which aimed at its
annihilation. Finally a compromise was effected: the traditional heder
was to be left intact for the time being, but the proposed Crown school
was to be given full scope in competing with it. The Commission even
went so far as to work out a program of Jewish studies for the new type
of school.

[Footnote 1: In the government of Vilna. See Vol I, p. 380, et seq.]

[Footnote 2: The grandson of Rabbi Shneor Zalman, the founder of that
faction. See Vol. I, p. 372.]

The labors of the Rabbinical Commission were submitted to the Jewish
Committee, under the chairmanship of Kiselev, and discussed by it in
connection with the general plan of a Russian school-reform. It was
necessary to find the resultant between two opposing forces: between the
desire of the Government to substitute the Russian Crown school for the
old-fashioned Jewish school and the determination of Russian Jewry to
preserve its own school as a bulwark against the official institutions
foisted upon it. The Government was bent on carrying out its policy, and
found itself compelled to resort to diplomatic contrivances.

On November 13, 1844, Nicholas signed two enactments, the one a public
ukase relating to "the Education of the Jewish Youth." the other a
confidential rescript addressed to the Minister of Public Instruction.
The public enactment called for the establishment of Jewish schools of
two grades, corresponding to the courses of instruction in the parochial
and county schools, and ordered the opening of two rabbinical institutes
for the training of rabbis and teachers. The teaching staff in the
Jewish Crown schools was to consist both of Jews and Christians. The
graduates of these schools were granted a reduction in the term of
military service. The execution of the school reforms in the respective
localities was placed in the hands of "School Boards," composed of Jews
and Christians, which were to be appointed provisionally for that
purpose.

In the secret rescript the tone was altogether different. There it was
stated that "the aim pursued, in the training of the Jews is that of
bringing them nearer to the Christian population and eradicating the
prejudices fostered in them by the study of the Talmud"; that with the
opening of the new schools the old ones were to be gradually closed or
reorganized, and tha