* For this version of the
Hebrew original, we are indebted to the politeness of Mr. Neumegen, of
Kew.
But
these men who wish to lead you astray, argue, that the times, which are
now changed, are opposed to the strict observance of the precepts of the
Law; hence, they say it happens, that the garden of the holy Law is
overrun with briars and thistles, that they (the altered times) are our
scourge, they compel us to consult prudence, and have recourse to
expedients, to break down the houses that the walls may be repaired with
the materials thereof, to deliver up a part of the camp to the enemy
that the remainder may be saved! But false and valueless are such
arguments. We will not and cannot conceal from you, how much the
prevailing disease of the present age, in the religion of the house of
Israel, and the perverted generation of faithless children, like raging
torrents making violent devastations, grieve and afflict every person in
whose heart our holy faith is firmly fixed, but more particularly those
whose duty it is to lead their congregation in the path of God, to seek
their everlasting happiness, and to promote peace between their
brethren. They silently trust in the Lord, and hope for his assistance;
they bend their shoulders to bear patiently their burden, and endeavour,
by every means in their power, to recal those who have gone astray. But
see you, our faithful brethren, see what these men, who change darkness
into light, and light into darkness, do, to save the ship of the holy
Law, which, being tossed, as they say, by the roaring waves of the
times, is in danger of being wrecked on the sea of religious anarchy,
and overwhelmed by tempestuous storms. They do not involve the Holy One
of Israel for help, they do not exert themselves with pious energy, nor
tremble with religious fear; they do not strengthen the weak in faith,
they do not awaken those that slumber; but, like the sailors in the days
of Jonah, who, when the ship sailed for Tarshish,
thinking to save it by lightening its
burden, cast the gold, the silver, and all the precious things into the
depths of the sea, so do these men pretend to save the sacred Law, by
unburdening it of its precepts and statutes!
Woe
to so unavailing a counsel! their eyes are deprived of sight, their
hearts of wisdom! Open your eyes, brethren, behold how many just and
righteous statutes have already been thrown into the raging sea of
reform, and have become the prey to its greedy waves; how many of the
commandments have been trampled under foot by the heedless and
presumptuous; still the sea continues to rage, the tempest is not
diminished, and they in the ship, who endeavour to lighten its burden,
falter, and reel like drunken men.
Therefore
brethren, know this, and impress it upon your hearts; our laws are bound
together with the strong cords of religion, and it is not in our power,
nor in the power of any mortal, to alter or diminish any precept
enjoined by our holy laws; they are delivered to us by one shepherd, an
everlasting covenant; there is nothing crooked nor uneven in them. The
words of our wise ancestors also, they are like an oak deeply rooted in
the field of faith, which cannot be broken nor uprooted; the righteous
walk firmly in their path, the wicked stumble. But granting it were as
the false and perverted reasoners imagine, suppose the everlasting
covenant could be altered, changed like a garment, and as an ornamental
dress shaped to fashion and worn at pleasure; suppose we were permitted
to weigh in the unequal balance of human understanding the respective
importance of all the precepts, in order to reject the less weighty for
the preservation of the heavier; and suppose human wisdom were capable
of testing, assaying, and purifying the holy doctrines of the Law of
God, so as to enable us to ascertain which precepts (according to the
demand of the age) might be removed, and which might never be
shaken,—would not every attempt to establish such a modification be in
vain? The faithless will never cease to imbibe the spirit of reform, in
accordance with the desire of their hearts, even as the wild heifer,
used to the wilderness, snuffs the wind unrestrained; they will never
satisfy their craving desire to throw off the yoke, and to ease the
burden of religion; their innate tumultous spirit and passions,
jealousy, envy, ambition, and covetousness—girded with the cords of
vanity, and their zeal and eager longing to add drunkenness to thirst,
will never rest or be at ease, until then have broken the iron chains of
our holy Law, and have become like servants free from the yoke of their
master. Therefore, although our power is limited, and our souls are bent
to the ground, because foxes have demolished our vineyards, and wicked shepherds have destroyed our holy
inheritance and trampled down our lovely plants, so that there is
nothing left enclosed and preserved, yet the hand of the Lord hath not
waxed too short for help. The King of the Universe, the Giver of the
Law, hath promised us, that it shall not be forgotten from amongst the
children of Israel. We trust in the Lord; although He hide His face for
a while from us, we still hope in Him. Brethren, ask of former days, and
they will tell you; inquire of earlier generations, and they will inform
you; that already in remote ages, there were times when the spirit of
irreligion reigned;—not as in the present age, when there are a few
only amongst the children of Israel who diverge from the holy faith, and
falsify its doctrines, and when there are still thousands and tens of
thousands in all parts of the globe, from the rising of the sun to the
setting thereof, who faithfully adhere to the religion of their
ancestors, and serve the Lord with a pure heart;—but in those times
when Israel had their own kings, they were nearly all sinners and
transgressors, they forsook the Lord, broke his covenant, worshipped
images and heavenly bodies, and practised all the abominations despised
by Him. But they did not long continue so; in a short time Israel
returned unto the Lord and followed Him with an upright heart, and were
faithful to His covenant.
At
the time of the Maccabees, when the rod of the wicked blossomed, the
dominion of tyrannical rulers made powerful efforts to enforce the
rejection of the true law. Israel then valiantly fortified their hearts
with courage, not to turn away from the paths of religion; they
sacrificed all that was dear to them, they disregarded all their
treasures, they boldly encountered fire and water, they put their lives
in jeopardy, and fought unitedly as one man, with a strong arm and a
lion’s heart, until they subdued the enemy and saved their holy faith.
Again, some time after, there arose wicked and presumptuous men, known
by the name of Sadducees and Caraites, who had the temerity to deny the
law which was given to Moses our instructor, (Peace be with him;) they
invented crafty devices, and, seduced by the smoothness of their
tongues, many of the children of our faith, even kings and high priests,
were amongst their followers. But the existence of these sects was of
short duration; they withered like moss on the house tops, they wasted
like a garment eaten by the moth, they were consumed in their sins; both
they and the remembrance of them have been lost, and there are at
present only a few of them in existence, scattered here and there in
isolated corners of the world; whilst the tribes of Jeshurun, who
believe in the truth of both the written and the oral Laws, increase and
multiply upon the whole face of the earth;—even beyond the far seas
are thousands without number who, like one man, and with one heart,
worship the God of Israel and obey his commandments.
He
who has not denied his mercy to us from the time the heavens were spread
over the earth, who was our refuge and support, when oppression
overwhelmed us like tempestuous seas, when in the darkest ages, tyrants
ploughed, as it were, our backs, and made long furrows on them, saying,
Bow down, that we may pass over you, and make you the mark for our
arrows; He who promised that our memorial should never be forgotten
amongst men, and that the faith of the believer should never perish, He
will also be our tower and fortress in this age, when merciful and
gracious kings protect us, desirous to promote our peace and happiness,
as well as those of all the other subjects under their dominion; for
they are convinced, that the happiness and salvation of a country, and
of society in general, are only firmly fixed when based on the
adamantine rock of religion. Therefore you, faithful brethren, who
pursue righteousness, and in whose hearts God’s law is fixed, fear not
the scorn of those men who are desirous of alluring you from your faith;
nor allow yourselves to be scared by the terrific images of the
threatening danger which they charm into existence, to intimidate you,
to entice you to revel in the caresses of a strange woman, and to deal
treacherously towards your graceful and much beloved.
But
brethren! trust in the Lord, and hope for the assistance of Him who
delighteth in the happiness of His creatures, and in their
righteousness. He will help you with the salvation of His countenance;
and when He heals the ranging sickness of reform in this age, He will
fill up the chasms, and will send a spirit from His holy heights, to
bring back to Him those who have gone astray from the house of Jacob.
But until these happy days are come, be courageous, and unite with us,
in valiantly defending the tower of our glorious fortifications against
those who, although our enemies, enter the gates in the guise of
friendly allies, so as more easily to shake its foundation, and to lay
it in ruins for ever! But to those who repent in truth, and with a pure
heart, we stretch forth our friendly hand, and draw them to us with the
cords of love. May their portion be everlasting bliss!
He
who establishes peace in the high Heavens, may He grant peace and
happiness to us, and to all the inhabitants of the world, until the
glory of His kingdom be revealed over the whole universe!
In
the year of the world, 5605.
Voice of Jacob. |
