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Mr. Editor,—
The second annual examination of the pupils of the
Talmud Torah School took place at the Coliseum, on Sunday, the 26th
of January. I expected to find a more detailed account than a mere
notice of it in the last number of the Occident. Being, however,
disappointed, I take the liberty of transmitting to you the following
Report, hoping that you will allow it a place in your valuable
periodical.
The
examination commenced at about ten o’clock, in the presence of a
numerous audience, and embraced Hebrew Spelling, Reading and
Translating, Catechism, Arithmetic and Declamation. The performances of
the pupils in the Hebrew department (which absorbed nearly the whole
time) were interesting and gratifying in the highest degree. They
afforded ample proof, that there was no remissness on the part of the
Hebrew teacher, Mr. H. Goldsmith, but that the latter diligently strove
to impart to his scholars such
knowledge of the Hebrew language as our religious institutions require. The
spelling class went through their exercises in an easy manner, so did
also the second class, who translated portions of the daily prayer, the
ten commandments, and the thirteen Ickarim (articles of faith)
quite handsomely. Several chapters of the Pentateuch were translated by
the first class with correctness and precision, and the questions
proposed to them concerning the derivation and construction of the most
difficult words, were satisfactorily answered. Among others they
translated the benedictions of Jacob to his sons, which, as you know, is
not a very easy matter. The method pursued by Mr. G. is, to let the
pupils first read the whole verse, then translate it in regular
connexion, and finally he causes them to examine every single word in
its etymological construction and syntactical position, examples of
which method were given on this occasion.
By
way of climax, two boys were introduced who had been taught to translate
Rashi to the first Parashah of Mishpatim, and who acquitted themselves
quite creditably. I consider this rather a novelty in our days. There
was a time when it was customary to consider a pupil quite deficient in
learning if he could not read a Parashah of Rashi. And it was not seldom the case that a boy who was not able to
translate correctly a chapter in Genesis, was taught with the greatest
difficulty to read a portion of Rashi and even sometimes a Perek in
Mishnah to gratify the eccentric taste of his teacher or parents. But
this custom has long since been abandoned by modern pedagogues. And,
however great an admirer I am of that distinguished commentator, however
necessary he may be to a correct exegetical analysis of the holy text, I
still think that elementary schools are not the places where he can be
taught with any degree of advantage. He must be studied by a mature mind
and a good Hebrew scholar, in order to be fully appreciated. I should
not, therefore, like to have Rashi revived in our elementary schools.
The time spent on it is as good as lost. And “time” should always be
of weighty consideration with a teacher who has to superintend several
classes, and whose
principal object, therefore, must be to make his lessons as generally
available as possible.
There was not much time left for the examination
in the English department,* arithmetic being only attended to, in which,
as far as the examination went, the pupils proved to be proficient. The
intervals between the different topics of examination were filled up by
well selected pieces of poetry, which were recited in a satisfactory
style. I should have liked to see their specimens of writing and
composition, as this would have afforded more ample opportunity to judge
of the capacities of the scholars. I notice this absence in particular,
as there was nothing of the kind exhibited at the last year’s
examination. If declamation makes an integral part of the school plan
(which, of course, it should), it is quite consistent to let the pupils
exhibit their attainments; but if it is merely got up for the
entertainment of the audience, the reading of original compositions
would be by far more preferable. Persons not unfrequently entertain
mistaken notions on the nature and object of exhibitions of this kind.
If there is exhibited something ostentatious, calculated to satisfy
their desire of being amused, all is well:—and on many an occasion the
words of Handel could be applied, who, after the first performance of
his Messiah, was told by the king that he had been greatly amused,
replied in his blunt German manner: “I did not mean to amuse
but to edify you.” It should be borne in mind that the
immediate object of such exhibitions is, to enlist the patronage and
support of the public, and to convince them that these are not
unworthily bestowed.
The examination in catechism went off very well.
The pupils are taught in a
systematical manner, Mr. G. having written a small catechism, which he
uses as a guide, and which greatly facilitates his task.
In
the course of the performances the Rev. S. M. Isaacs delivered a brief
address in his usual able manner. He pointed at the gratifying results
there witnessed, spoke of the advantages of a good education, and the
pitiable condition of those that were neglected, and energetically urged
every one present to support this institution, the existence of which
has hitherto been very precarious. He was listened to with great
attention and elicited general applause.
Another
very elaborate address was delivered by Jonas B. Phillips, Esq., who was
cheered with the greatest enthusiasm. I forbear giving a synopsis of it,
the learned gentleman having by special solicitation kindly consented to
its publication in the Occident. I have no doubt that it will be read
with great interest by every Israelite in the United States.
At
the instance of the Board of Directors cards were handed round, inviting
every individual to become a member, and a goodly number of new
subscribers were thus gained. The subscription is fixed at a minimum
rate of $4 per annum. There is, to my knowledge, no subscriber to a
greater amount than this on the list. העשיר
לא ירבה והדל
לא ימעיט seems in this
case to be religiously observed. It is, likewise, in perfect keeping
with the republican character of this country, where every thing is
conducted on the principle of strict equality. A deviation from this
rule, however, by those more favoured by fortune in our community would
be very desirable in a cause where the improvement of the moral and mental condition of our fellow beings is is
concerned. Yours truly,
J.
K. G.
Address
Delivered Before the Talmud Torah and Hebrew Institute, Jan. 26th,
1845, by Jonas B. Phillips, Esq.
Deeming
it my duty to acquiesce in every claim made upon my services by my
brethren, whenever by possibility they might aid them in their laudable
efforts to promote the welfare of our people, I accepted most cheerfully
the invitation with which I have been honoured to address you on this
interesting occasion, notwithstanding my conviction that the brief
notice, and conflicting engagements, would afford but a limited
opportunity indeed for preparation. I must therefore throw myself upon
your friendly indulgence, trusting that the devotion I bring to the
cause in which we are all so deeply interested, will apologize, if it
does not compensate for the deficiencies which may be apparent in the
address to which you will favour me with your attention.
Two
years have elapsed since the institution of the Talmud Torah, and we
have this day witnessed with unqualified gratification the practical
results which attest its importance and utility.
Most
sincerely do I congratulate the members of this excellent association
upon the success which has thus far attended their efforts; and upon the
prospect that the advantages which have already resulted from its
organization give promise of future benefits, which will amply repay the
care of those who planted the tree, who have watched and nourished it
and caused it to blossom.<
Such
an institution has long been a desideratum among the Israelites of
America, and in this we now witness the nucleus of one, which at no
distant day, may hold a rank second to none among the academies of
learning, in this most favoured and enlightened republic. Among the
various means philanthropy has devised to improve the moral and social
condition of mankind education is the foremost and most efficient; to
the general diffusion of knowledge, at once elevating and refining, may
be attributed the spirit of liberality which distinguishes the age in
which we live, and more particularly the inhabitants of this happy
country, where no distinction of creed excludes those who thirst for
knowledge from partaking of the pure stream which flows from her
exhaustless fountains. It is by the cultivation of the mental powers
that man is taught properly to appreciate his own importance and by such
appreciation become the better enabled to fulfil his important dutiesto
his God, his country, and to society. If permitted to grope his way in
darkness, “as one who is blind and seeth not” through the world,
desolate and miserable indeed is his condition. Ile turns aside from the
angel virtue, to be ensnared and ruined by vicious temptation. No flowers spring in his path, or rather he sees them not, and
passes them by without pausing to contemplate their beauties, or inhale
their fragrance, until at last he is thrown upon “the bank and shoal
of time,” without having the means within himself—the garnered
treasures of a cultivated mind—“to cheer the closing hours of his
life,” or smooth his progress to that “bourne from whence no
traveller returns.”
But
rescued from this darkness, educated, and taught to value the
benefactions of his God, to dive into the depths of science, to bring
from the mines of learning wealth which time cannot devour or adversity
disperse;—delightful indeed is his progress through existence; every
floweret that springs around him conveys some lesson he can estimate and
profit by; of him truly it may be said he sees
“Sermons
in trees,
Books in the warbling brooks, and good in every thing.”
Notwithstanding,
as I have already intimated, the avenues of education are here open to
all: a seminary of learning exclusively for the children of our own
faith is peculiarly important, and should be most liberally and
generally encouraged. Planted in a soil so congenial to its growth, as
free America, where we worship according to the faith of our fathers by
constitutional right, and not by toleration merely, there
is no obstacle to prevent such an institution from realizing the most
sanguine anticipations of its philanthropic founders. It is a duty we
owe ourselves—nay it is a duty we owe to our God, who has so signally
blessed and preserved us, through ages of persecution and disaster, to
teach the rising generation of Israel his holy and immutable law; the
sacred language in which their ancestors worshipped, in which the
inspired Psalmist sang the praises of the Most High—the preservation
of which sacred tongue, in all its purity and beauty, is an eternal
evidence of the truth of that religion, which is our pride and our
boast, and which must be our salvation. Most important indeed to
the welfare and future happiness of our nation is the education of our
children in the Hebrew language; and by whom should it be taught to
them—I might ask by whom can it be taught to them so
satisfactorily as by those who, from their early education and religious
instruction, are themselves capable of appreciating its importance, and
imparting to those under their charge the knowledge they have themselves
acquired—imbued with that spirit of reverence due to the sacred
antiquity of the language in which, amid the thunders of Sinai, the Law
of the Eternal was proclaimed? It is a lamentable fact, that there are
among us too many who are ignorant of the language in which the poets
and prophets of Israel sang, and wrote, and spoke with heavenly
inspiration; and if there were nought else to commend an institution
like the Talmud Torah to the most favourable consideration and support,
this alone should exercise a controlling influence over all desirous of
rescuing from forgetfulness—I had almost said from oblivion—the
language, the emphatical and poetical language, of our faith. The sacred
writings, which record the history of our forefathers; the laws which
govern us; the prophecies which are the source of our hopes of future
happiness and restored greatness; the Psalms, so beautiful in their
simplicity—so sublime in their poetry, are best appreciated by those
who can read them understandingly in that language in which they were
originally given to us. Their interest is impaired, their beauties lost,
and their force diminished in every translation. But there are other
considerations to influence the encouragement of this institution and
place it on a permanent foundation.
There
is undoubtedly a vast deal of talent among the Jewish children in this
country, the cultivation of which is a duty too sacred to be neglected.
If we neglect the soil, the very richness of which engenders weeds, we
have no right to complain that it yields us no crop, no profit, when by
its proper and wholesome cultivation it might have been rendered a
source of endless revenue. So with the minds of the young; if when
capable of receiving the seeds of learning we neglect to plant them
until it is too late, the reproach and shame are ours, when in later
years we find that which might have been a garden but a desert
waste—weeds exhaling poison where flowers might have bloomed, making
the air redolent with their delicious odour. I repeat, then, it is a
duty we owe to society—to ourselves—to our God—to educate the
children of our faith not only in the language and laws of our holy
religion, but in all other branches of learning calculated to render
them useful members of society, and qualify them for whatever stations
it may be their destiny to fill. The truth of Lord Bacon’s familiar
axiom that “knowledge is power” is no longer controverted or denied.
Whatever then has a tendency to
promote the intellectual and therein the moral improvement of a people,
must have a corresponding tendency to increase their greatness, and
secure to them the respect and confidence of other nations; and every institution organized for such a purpose, has undeniable
and irresistible claims to the fostering care and patronage of those who
by the wholesome lessons of experience have been taught to appreciate
the benefits of early and judicious education.
I
have often heard it remarked that too much learning has a tendency to
impair and not to strengthen the intellect. Nothing can be more
erroneous than such a doctrine: there is far more truth in the language
of the poet:
“Drink
deep, or taste not the Pierian spring,
A little learning is a dangerous thing.”
Study
expands the intellect; the mind, unlike material vessels, becomes the
more capacious the more it is crowded. Like the flower which expands its
leaves to the genial rays of the summer sun, it opens and blooms beneath
the life-giving powers of education; but the beauties of the flower are
all developed when its leaves are unclosed, and it blooms in fragrant
loveliness to the radiant god of day. Not so the mind: there is no limit
to its refinement and improvement; they increase with every step of
progress; the deeper you penetrate, the more unfathomable appears the
depth of the human intellect; the loftier the flight, the more dazzling
seems the brilliant goal which the ambitious student seeks to attain.
In
the education of children, I have always considered that their studies should invariably be regulated with reference
to the influence they will probably exercise upon their future
occupations, for I assume the position that there is no pursuit or
calling which is not facilitated by the advantages resulting from a
cultivated and well-stored intellect. “It is the discipline to which
study subjects the intellect at an early age which in after life the man
of business finds so beneficial; it strengthens the memory and imparts
the valuable power of concentrating the mind, without which no man can
excel in any profession. Wanting this power, the lawyer would become
bewildered in the intricacies of his profession; the physician a mere
trifler with human sufferings and life, and the merchant confounded in
the complications of his business.” It is from these considerations
that I have ventured the suggestion, that in the education of the
children of this institution, it should be regulated as far as
practicable with reference to their future occupations in life. And more
especially in this country is the influence of early education upon
business more apparent—and therefore its encouragement more important;
for where the highest honours of the republic are as here attainable by
all, the literary acquirements which have facilitated the business
operations of the merchant, the farmer, and the mechanic, also fit him
for the higher trusts which may be reposed in him by the people, and
qualify him for the grave discussions of the legislative halls.
To you, my young friends, who are now enjoying
the benefits of this excellent institution, I now address myself. Though
personally a stranger to you, I trust the few remarks I am about to
offer will not fall upon inattentive ears. In your future welfare, in
common with those from whom you are now deriving the advantages of
liberal education, I have a deep and abiding interest. It is impossible
to conjecture what may be your future destinies; what high and important
trusts may be confided to you: it is not then surprising that those who
now watch over your early years should regard with anxiety your progress
in your studies. By attention and assiduity you repay that anxiety, and
reward the zealous efforts of those from whom you receive daily
instruction.
“Youth
is the season of study:” the maxim is familiar yet not the less true.
The treasures of learning acquired in early years are inexhaustible;
gather them now; store them while life is in its “golden hours,” and
when you reach that period when you are to mingle with men, in the
various avocations to which you may be devoted, you will experience a
gratification the excess of which no language can describe, and your
hearts will throb with gratitude to those to whom you owe that “wealth
of intellect which is beyond all price.” While attentive to those
lessons which are to qualify you for the ordinary pursuits of life, and
teach you to respect the laws under which you live; and understand that
constitution which secures to you the proud and inalienable rights of
American citizens, attend with reverence to the moral and religious
lessons which instruct you in the faith and religion of your fathers.
Without a just appreciation of your duties to your God, all other
lessons lose their salutary influence, and even learning is deprived of
otherwise eternal value. Neglect not this admonition; for upon the
rising generation depends the future honour and welfare of Israel. It is
to you your fathers look for the perpetuity of that faith which
persecution could not shake, which calamity and dispersion could not
overcome. Let not their hopes be blasted; let them behold their buds of
promise bloom; that when summoned hence they may be able to exclaim as
they give you their parting benediction—“the glory of Israel has not
departed.”
Again
I address myself to you, who have a most abiding interest in the success
and permanency of this institution. Its objects are so well known that
nothing I can add can be necessary to commend it to the patronage of
those to whom the members of the Talmud Torah and Hebrew Institute
naturally and of right may look for encouragement, to persevere in the
laudable purposes for which they are associated.
We
know not to what high and proud destinies the rising generation of our
people may be devoted; but we do know that liberal principles are
rapidly extending throughout the world, and daily indications are
perceptible that the period is approaching when the children of Israel
will assume that position among the nations of the earth to which they
are entitled.
Let
us then encourage with unanimity and energy this young society; let us
unite in every effort to promote the mental cultivation of those in
whose welfare, morally, intellectually and politically we are so deeply
interested, and we may see herein the nucleus of an institution which
will tend more than any other ever organized to the welfare, honour and
glory of our people.
To
the members of the Institute I would say: while congratulating you upon
the success which has thus far rewarded your labours, persevere in your
efforts; there may be difficulties which energy will overcome. Let no
obstacles “make faint your purpose;” the cause in which you are
engaged commends itself to the favour and support of all, and to the
high and holy end you have in view.
“Assisting angels will conduct your steps.”
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