rectly after the
dedication ceremonies, Mr. Noah, as self-appointed Judge of Israel,
sent a proclamation to all of the leading Jewish communities of the
world, declaring that Ararat was established and inviting citizens of
every country to come and make their home there. Those who were
content in their adopted lands, he wrote, might remain in their homes,
and he begged all Jewish soldiers in foreign armies to remember that
the Jew must be true to the obligation of the state in which he lives.
But he urged every loyal Jew who longed for the restoration of
Israel's glory to pay a yearly tax of three shekels (ancient Jewish
coin worth about a quarter in our currency) and to appoint deputies in
their respective countries who would elect a new ruler or Judge of the
Jewish state every fourth year. And that the new state should be
thoroughly democratic, Mordecai Noah appointed influential Jews in
every important Jewish community to act as his commissioners in
governing the city of Ararat.

To Hushiel the proclamation seemed all that could be desired and he
waited eagerly for the warm response he felt must come from every Jew
to whom Noah appealed. But to his great surprise, the post brought
letter after letter either of ridicule or denunciation; even the Jews
who lived in the countries of darkest persecution refused to listen to
his offer of a home in the new Jewish colony. True, many of them
longed to emigrate to America, the land which had been a place of
refuge to their brothers for so many years. Others dreamed of a return
to Palestine, willing to live there as exiles in their homeland until
the coming of the Messiah brought Israel's freedom. Letter after
letter from across the seas refused to aid Noah in his dream for
Jewish emancipation. "We are happy in our adopted land," wrote one.
"When God in His mercy sends the Messiah, then will He lead Israel
back to the Promised Land, Palestine, and not before," wrote another.
While the Jews of America, in their pride as American citizens, were
as swift as their brethren abroad to ridicule Noah's plans for Ararat,
denouncing them as impious or impractical.

But the boy's faith in the project never wavered. He did not venture
to offer his master sympathy for his disappointment, but in his shy,
boyish way, he did manage to assure Noah again and again that he still
believed in the city of refuge and longed to dwell there. And Noah
never failed to smile at his half-uttered assuranc