a Jew. Far from it, for I am clearly of opinion that every person endowed with ratiocination ought to have a clear idea of the truths of revelation, and a just ground for his faith so far as human reason can go.” While not an accomplished controversialist, Levi surprised Priestly as a “valiant champion,” and elicited from him a series of letters to “The Jewish Nation” at large, to which Levi again replied, later answering five other authors whose religious ire he had aroused by his first series of letters. (1789),
In 1795, Levi took part in the Anglo-Israel controversy which centered around the writings and prophecies of Richard Brothers who claimed to be the “King of the Jews” destined to gather together the Lost Ten Tribes for their march to Palestine. In 1797, Levi defended the Old Testament against the atheistic attacks of Thomas Paine in his “Age of Reason.” Levi was the first Jew who vindicated Judaism in English, and hence his relations with Cumberland are of especial interest.
