ture in writing and garb. . . . “We sold our houses and our pos sessions without money. We left our synagogues to the Gentiles . . . we came to the synagogues, and we per formed a memorial service for the dead, and we read ‘El Malei Raha- mim,’ and we prayed for pardon and forgiveness, for we knew : the land of Israel atones for all sins, and our fathers would forgive us. And we took with us on our way the scrolls of the law and the holy objects to bring them to our country. And in many places they buried the holy books and scrolls of the law in the ground, because they could not take them. “And the boundary was closed to passage because of the multitude of people, and we camped, some here, and some there. And the roads were tumultuous with companies of Jews, and we sat, exceedingly many Jews, about 2,500 together, and we prayed beneath the canopy of heaven . . . and on the days of Awe (Rosh Has- hanah and Yom Kippur), we prayed exceedingly much, broken-hearted, and weeping on the ground: ‘When would we merit to enter Israel’s gates ?’ “And there came a day, and the stress of hunger prevailed, and there Tyas no bread for our mouth, and the heart sorrowed for the infants. And we stood and raised our prayers to God on high. And the Lord heard our cry, and while we were still praying, Arabs came and brought us food, and said: ‘Give us money, and you will get bread.’ “And many of us fell sick on the way, and there was no doctor, and no medicines and no drop of milk to keep the infants alive. There was only a prayer in our mouth to the Lord that He should help. And many were seized with trembling of the body as though with fever, and yet they walked with us on the way. And there were women near to give birth, and they were on donkeys, and they gave birth while they were rid-
in this barren, windblown, desert camp. Almost a Biblical account of how a spontaneous move started among the Yemenite Jews is contained in a letter written by one of the refugees. The account is contained in the ex cellent booklet entitled, “The Exodus From Yemen.” This is how the writ er described the exodus: “We lived in exile, waiting for the redemption to come, and did not know that it would come. There was one who went to the capital, and he returned with the tidings: ‘There is a state in Is rael.’ And we knew not whether his tidings were true. S ev e ra l days passed without a voice and without a sign. And during last year rumors increased, and men kept coming from afar and saying, ‘There is a king in Israel.’ Afterwards they said, ‘There is an army of heroes.’ And finally they came and said, ‘The pangs of the Messiah — there is war in Is rael.’ And we remained in exile, and knew not whether the tidings were true, hoping for the redemption, but the spirit was impatient. “Twice this year came the tidings that the redemption was near, and many sold all their possessions, and set out on the way. And only the third time, everybody left with the permission of the king. The tidings came by letter, but in the letter was written, saying: ‘Urge not on the end.’ But we were already prepared, and many with their possessions rolled up in sacks, waiting for the sign, and there was none . . . and upon a day came a letter from the Shaliah, saying: ‘Arise, brothers, and arouse yourselves. The proper hour has come. Our country awaits its sons and builders, for its redemp tion and yours, for raising its ruins and settling' its waste places. Sur mount the suffering and travail of the way, because without you Israel will not be redeemed. Delay not, nor lose the proper hour, lest you be late. Dare to go up at once, and do not leave behind you the ancient cul
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