Ridley Haim Herschell
Encyclopedia
Strzelno
Strzelno is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located south of Inowrocław. According to the June 2005 Census, the population numbered 12,486.-History:...
, 7 April 1807 - Brighton, England, 14 April 1864) was an Anglo
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
minister who converted from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
to evangelical Christianity. He was a founder of the British Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Jews (1842) and of the Evangelical Alliance
Evangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....
(1845),
Life
Herschell was born in StrzelnoStrzelno
Strzelno is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located south of Inowrocław. According to the June 2005 Census, the population numbered 12,486.-History:...
in the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
satellite state
Satellite state
A satellite state is a political term that refers to a country that is formally independent, but under heavy political and economic influence or control by another country...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
that had previously been under Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n control. His parents were pious Jews and Haim Herschell decided at a very early age that he wanted to be a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. He left home and studied under various teachers. Later, encouraged by his parents, he moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to study literature and lived a decadent
Decadence
Decadence can refer to a personal trait, or to the state of a society . Used to describe a person's lifestyle. Concise Oxford Dictionary: "a luxurious self-indulgence"...
life, "like a Christian" He visited England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the first time on vacation but returned to Berlin in order to finish his studies before moving finally to London via Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
In France he experienced a dramatic religious conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and struggled with his Jewish faith. He sought help from Roman Catholic clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
but eventually turned to English evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
contacts he had discovered in Paris through a mysterious letter of introduction he had been given before his conversion. Reconciled with his Jewish roots, but not his family, he left for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
He entered an institution for converted Jews in the East End of London and was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by Charles Blomfield, the Bishop of London in 1830, sponsored by high-society evangelical Christians, He married Helen Skirving Mowbray, a woman ten years older than himself from Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
whom he met apparently by a chance introduction in London. They had a shared interest in the fashionable Scottish preacher Edward Irving
Edward Irving
*For Edward Irving, the Canadian geologist, see Edward A. Irving.Edward Irving was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church.-Youth:...
. She had taken a deep interest in Judaism and the restoration of Israel and had already learned Hebrew. They were both ostracized by their families, moved to the poor districts of Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
and experienced hard times in spite of their upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
connections. They had the first of five children, two of whom would die young,
Having financial problems caused by a wayward brother who left for America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, they planned to go to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
where they could live less expensively in a Jewish community but were invited by Lady Olivia Sparrow, a wealthy landowner, to manage her schools in Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea , sometimes called Leigh, is a civil parish in Essex, England. It is part of Southend-on-Sea for administrative purposes. It became a civil parish in 1996. The council tax was increased to support it. A town council was formed. Leigh is the only parish in Southend...
, Essex and Brampton
Brampton, Cambridgeshire
Brampton – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Godmanchester south west of Huntingdon. It has a population over 5000...
, Cambridgeshire, But Ridley was more and more used as a preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
and pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
to the local people, He felt called to be an evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, which was supported by reports of amazing conversion experiences as a result of his preaching in the violent fishing village. One of the fishermen who heard him preach, Michael Tomlin, would eventually become a full-time Methodist minister in the town and a church bears his name to this day.
From 1846 he was minister of Trinity Chapel, in John Street/Newnham Street, off the Edgeware Road in West London, which could accommodate 1,200 people, was built and opened for Herschell by Sir Culling Eardley and other rich supporters. But his faith was to be tested many times, especially after the death of his much loved wife and his second son, In 1855 he re-married to a rich heiress, Esther Fuller-Maitland, who had been in the wings for many years and was a friend of the family. Ridley died 14 April 1864, while resting in the seaside resort of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, After his retirement to Brighton he was succeed by Carl Schwartz
Carl Schwartz
Dr August Ferdinand Carl Schwartz was a leading Hebrew Christian clergyman and minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Amsterdam, then Free Church minister in London....
who attempted to unite a Hebrew Christian movement
Hebrew Christian Movement
The Hebrew Christian movement of the 19th and 20th centuries consisted of Jews who converted to Christianity, but worshiped in congregations separate from denominational churches. In many cases, they retained some Jewish practices and liturgy, with the addition of readings from the Christian New...
in London from 1865.
Ridley and Helen had five children:
- Ghetal (1833–1909), who married John Scott Burdon-SandersonJohn Scott Burdon-SandersonSir John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, Bt., F.R.S. was an English physiologist born near Newcastle upon Tyne. A member of a well known Northumbrian family, he received his medical education at the University of Edinburgh and at Paris...
in 1853 - Esther (1834–1840)
- Mary (1836–1899)
- Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron HerschellFarrer Herschell, 1st Baron HerschellFarrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell GCB, PC, QC was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain in 1886, and again from 1892 to 1895.-Early career:...
(1837–1899) - Ridley Judah (1839–1862)
By Herschell
- Herschell, R. H. (1842) Reasons Why I, a Jew, Have Become a Catholic, and not a Roman Catholic. A Letter in Reply to The Rev. R.W. Sibthorp.
- — (1843a) The National Restoration of the Jews to their Fatherland, and Consequent Fulfilment of the Promise to the Patriachs. A Sermon on Hebrews 11:16 with a Preliminary Address by H.I.D.
- — (1843b) A Visit to my Father Land, Being Notes of a Journey to Syria and Palestine in 1843
- — (ed.) (1845–47) ישראל לקו The Voice of Israel. Conducted by Jews who Believe in Jesus of Nathareth as the Messiah 2 vols
- — (ed.) (1846) Psalms and Hymns for Congregational Worship
- — (ed.) (1848a) Jewish Witnesses; That Jesus is the Christ
- — (1848b) The Mystery of the Gentile Dispensation, and the Work of the Messiah
- — (1856) A Visit to my Father Land, Being Notes of a Journey to Syria and Palestine. With Additional Notes of a Journey in 1854
- — (1858) The Golden Lamp: An Eexposition of the Tabernacle and its Services
- R. H. H. [Ridley Haim Herschell] (1834) A Brief Sketch of the Present State and Future Expectations of the Jews: In a Letter Addressed to his Christian Friends
- — (1860) Strength in Weakness. Meditations on Some of the Psalms
About Herschell
- Binfield, C. (1997) "Jews in evangelical dissent: the British society, the Herschell connexion and the pre-millenarian thread", in M. Wilks (ed.) Prophecy and Eschatology Brewer, ISBN 0-631-19051-1
- Burdon-Sanderson, G. (1891) "Herschell, Ridley Haim (1807–1864), dissenting minister", in S. Lee (ed.) Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
- Jacobs, J. & Lipkind, G. (1906) "Herschell, Ridley Haim", Jewish EncyclopediaJewish EncyclopediaThe Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
, vol.VI, p.363 - Stunt, T. C. F. (2004) "Herschell, Ridley Haim (1807–1864)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press