Louisville, Ky.—On the morning of the fourth of December, we reached Louisville, after stopping on our way at Indianapolis and Madison, Indiana; in the first place we found but one Jewish family, in the latter, however, we became acquainted with several Israelites, <<51>> but they have not yet been able to form a congregation, though one of them kills [ritually] for himself and others without charge. If Madison should continue to flourish, there is no doubt but that many of our people will soon move thither from overcrowded large cities, and commence a religious organization of their own. Other towns on the Ohio, both above and below Cincinnati, besides Madison, have Jewish inhabitants; and we should not wonder if, should the immigration from Europe continue in the ratio lately prevalent, in the course of ten years twenty new communities would spring up. The same may be said as regards the Ohio below Louisville, although we had the opportunity to stop at Madison only, after leaving Wheeling. After we arrived at Louisville, we were asked by the board of the officers of the Adath Israel congregation to deliver a sermon on the Sabbath, which we accordingly did, from the Haphtorah of the day (Vayetze), Hosea xiii. 4: “And I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and any god beside me thou shalt not know, and not any saviour without me.” We called the attention of the audience to the peculiarities of the Jewish faith, to the simplicity of the divine Idea with us, since from our going out from Egypt to the present moment, we have had no revelation and no knowledge of any other power to aid or save us, than the holy Blessed One.

We also illustrated the third verse, as applicable to the removal of those who forgot their Lord and creator from the land of Palestine, “like the chaff that is blow; away by the storm from the threshing floor, and the smoke that escapes from the window.” This was spoken when Ephraim ruled over nearly all Israel; and still the fulfillment so fearfully tallied with the prediction; that we may apply the same warning to sinners, of all ages and countries. We then exhorted the people to remain faithful to God, who had not broken his faith, and to uphold the law under all trials and difficulties, in every position where Providence may place us.

We found the Synagogue a beautiful building, having a pretty portico, and a convenient arrangement within; only we regretted to observe that the work had not been well done; and will require repairs before long; this is much to be lamented, as the congregation have made great efforts to erect a structure worthy of themselves; and if we understood correctly, now owe only four thousand, for a cost of twenty thousand dollars; the whole of which, if we err not, has been contributed by themselves, with, perhaps, the exceptions of few small donations from elsewhere. We think that there are about one hundred and twenty members; but the day we were there, the number present <<52>> exceeded this greatly in the men’s department, and the ladies’ gallery was also well filled. If necessary, the seats could be greatly augmented, which would have been soon required, had the persons favouring the Polish Minhag, which differs exceedingly little from the German, to which the Adath Israel Kahal belong, not separated lately to form a congregation of their own; but it gives us pleasure to state that the Rev. B. H. Gotthelf assisted in consecrating the hall which they occupy as a temporary place of worship, thus showing that the separation has not led to estrangement and ill-will among the people. The dedication took place on the 21st of November, and we have been favoured with Mr. Gotthelf’s address, which he delivered on the occasion.

ADDRESS OF THE REV. B. H. GOTTHELF, AT THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW SYNAGOGUE AT LOUISVILLE, ON FRIDAY, THE 21ST OF NOVEMBER.

MY BRETHREN,

“In cheerful compliance with an invitation you so kindly extended to me, I Wee joyfully taken part in consecrating this מקדש מעט, or lesser temple, which you have this day dedicated to the God of Israel.

“To every reflecting mind, to every Israelite who loveth the name of his glorious fathers, who loveth his holy religion, it must, indeed, be a source of high gratification to see, that in this city, where scarce three years ago the first edifice was erected and consecrated to the service of the Most High—another holy dwelling, another house of prayer should this day be dedicated to the worship of Israel’s God, the Mighty One—One and One alone.

“But, my friends, I am not permitted to dwell on this sublime thought, as the hour has nigh approached, to offer up, for the first time in this holy house, our prayers to the Throne of our Maker—to Him, who has granted to you the joy of this happy day, and has given us the fatherly assurance, ‘Wherever thou rememberest and callest my name, I will come unto thee and bless thee.’

“I will, therefore, ask your kind attention, your friendly, brotherly indulgence for a few moments only, to admonish you, my brethren, most seriously, not to stop with the good and noble work you have but just so gloriously begun.

“You have founded a new congregation; you have established a house of prayer—as a minister of your faith, let me, therefore, remind you to be regular in your attendance on Sabbaths and holidays—so <<53>> that you may not verify on yourselves the words contained in the section for tomorrow, where Laban said unto the servant of Abraham, ‘Wherefore standest thou without, now I have prepared the house?’ For, although a man’s presence at ynagogue is no positive proof of his devout, religious, and moral disposition, yet his habitual absence therefrom may, and will show a want of regard for religious ob­servances, and an utter indifference to the spiritual progress, and tem­poral welfare, and prosperity of his fellow-congregators.

“But, my friends, assuming, however, that you will come here, and often, and at every stated-time, let no random thoughts, no profane aspirations, no idle talk interrupt the train of holy feelings by which the soul strives to elevate itself, and to contemplate its Maker. No, my friends, when you stand here, it must be with an inward feeling, with an humble mind, with a contrite heart, and, above all things, with purity, devotion, thoughtfulness, singleness of purpose, and with holi­ness of awe and joy. Such emotions should overflow in our souls, when we—frail human beings—are standing before our Almighty Maker; such feelings and sentiments must animate the hearts of us all, when we, children of the dust, pray to our God. And then, my dear brethren, then will you feel, that God dwells with you, that He is pre­sent even here in your sacred room—and in that feeling, you will exclaim with the great Israel, מה מורא המקום הזה, How awful is this place; and, like him, you will also be convinced, אין זה כי אם בית אלהים וזה שער השמים, ‘This is none other than the house of God, this is, indeed, the gate of heaven.’

“Thus, my friends, I have endeavored to show you, though I well know very insufficiently, the duties of an Israelite, to be present on divine worship, and there to deport himself as becomes such a sacred purpose. Let us now, before the service closes, with which we dedi­cate this House of Israel for its holy purpose, let us for an instant consider what our obligations are without these walls, in the daily walks of life; the exercise of which will secure to us the blessings of the Lord, and be calculated to contribute greatly to the acceptance of our supplications.

“This important subject has already engaged the attention of our great royal singer, David, when he inquires: ‘O, Lord, who may sojourn in thy tent? who may abide in thy holy mount?’ And his answer teaches us, that it is not he who prays the loudest; not he who fasts the most frequently; not he who adheres credulously to every trifling custom and senseless usage; no, my friends, it is he who exer<<54>>ciseth the purest morality; it is he who best performs his duties to his neighbour; who walketh uprightly, and acteth justly, and speaketh the truth in his heart. And the opinion which David here advances, is expressed and confirmed by all our prophets and all our sages.

“But as I cannot on this occasion define all the duties and obligations we owe to our fellow-men, without distinction of race or creed, let us therefore refer to only one, the most essential one. And, again, David it is who teacheth us the precious lesson: ‘Behold how good it is and how pleasant, when brethren dwell together in unity.’ Unity, what an inspiring, sacred word to a true Israelite! We shall dwell together in unity! Our faith is one in all our Synagogues, in all these States, in all Europe, over all the globe. Our faith, our hopes, our wishes and desires are one—the same as they were thousands of years ago; the same as they will be thousands of years to come,—yea, even unto the day when the great trumpet shall sound, and the fruition of our hopes become visible. And, therefore, my brethren, as our objects are the same, let concord, peace and friendship, mutual love and mutual kindness reign in your hearts towards. each other, and equally as much towards the elder congregation of this city, in existence. Do, I pray you, never harbour the idea for a moment even, that you have established a congregation, that you have consecrated a house of prayer as an Opposition to the other; no, my friends, let the only emulation that shall exist among you and us be, to try and see who can best do good; who by his good deeds, by his moral conduct, by his noble actions, shall aim to set the best example. You must never suffer or permit that petty strife, bickering, wrangling and contention, shall find a home in your convocations. No, my brethren in faith! but let us be united in love and good fellowship with each other; let us support each other in time of need; let us assist each other in the hour of trial; let us go hand in hand in religiously educating our children, the future happiness of which the Lord has entrusted to our care. Let us endeavour to accomplish all this while we can, while the blood of life courses yet in our veins; so that when yonder day arriveth, which they call the last, that great but certain day, when we will be summoned to appear before the Throne of the King of kings: we then may find peace and support in everlasting life, by the strong and righteous hand of the God of love.

“And this God of love, in His great goodness, may He bless you, members of the house of Israel, bless you and all who belong to you. May He bless and guide all Israel in all its righteous undertakings, so <<55>> that we may see verified the prophetic promise of our greatest prophet, ברוך אתה בואך וברוך אתה בצאתך, ‘Blessed be thou when thou comest, and blessed when thou goest,’ now and for ever more. Amen.”

Having been invited first by the old congregation, we were precluded by the shortness of our stay to speak in the other Synagogue; and, indeed, had we complied with all the intimations to address the people, our absence would have been prolonged much beyond what it was, although we were away much longer than we calculated on at our first setting out.—We were pleased to observe that Mr. Gotthelf enjoys the confidence of his constituents, and we still hope that he may have an opportunity of effecting much good. A school for religious education is much wanted at Louisville, and we have no doubt but due efforts will be made before long to establish one on a permanent footing.

Lafayette, Indiana.—The following gentlemen are the officers of this new congregation: S. Kuhn, President; H. Frank, Vice-Pre­sident; M. Amburg, Treasurer; — Holstein, Secretary; M. Kuhn, E. B. Shoenfeld, and — Fisher, Trustees; and Rev. Jacob Goodman, Hazen.

Fort Wayne, Indiana.—We have obtained the following names as the officers of the Jewish community of this place: Isaac Laufferty, President; Isaac Wolf, Treasurer; Jacob Weil, Secretary; and Rev. Jos. Solomon., Hazen.