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O Lord! who hadst compassion on our fathers, and
didst lead them forth with almighty power and an outstretched arm to
purchase them unto Thee for a people of thy inheritance, as it is this
day, deign to regard us also with thy visitation of mercy and grace, and
let our memorial ascend before Thee for our good and our happiness. Look
on our fallen state, that we have sunk from the high position of thy
favourites, and become a people despised and lowly, as though we were
cast off from thy mercy. Yet are we the same descendants of Abraham,
Isaac, and Israel thy servants, as were those who received thy law when
coming out of Egypt, and we are still thy witnesses, testifying of thy
glory and thy unity, and still ready to follow Thee whithersoever thy
providence may direct our steps.
O Father! hear us then in our
dispersion, and let thy light truly and safely guide us; let thy wisdom
inspire our mind, let thy word be fixed in our heart, and let our mouth
overflow with thy praise. Let us entreat Thee also to build up the
breaches of Zion and restore her desolations as aforetime; when we will
let incense ascend on thy altars, and lead sacrifices again to the
residence of thy glory. Nations then shall drink of the stream which
quickens us; people shall imbibe the wisdom which now strengthens our
spirit; and thine, O God! shall be the kingdom, and the names of idols
shall be abolished from the earth, and truth shall overspread every
land, and all shall feel and acknowledge that Thou, O God of Israel!
hast created all flesh, hast called forth every spirit, hast given life
to all that lives, and art alone in power and glory, uncreated,
unequalled, sovereign God, Lord everlasting, Saviour omnipotent, the
Father eternal, from ever till time shall be no more. Amen.
Brethren,—
It is now twenty-four years ago since this building
was opened, after being rebuilt from the foundation, and dedicated
<<584>>anew
to the worship of the God of Jacob. The hymn then pealed for the first
time in this house, and the unity of God was proclaimed as the watchword
of the congregation assembled within these walls, and they declared
themselves thereby as members and confederates of the family of Israel.
Of the many who then filled the seats a large proportion have silently
sunk into the grave, and their voice is heard no more in our assembly.
But the same spirit which induced them to labour in erecting this house,
which filled them with joy when they saw it completed, still dwells
among us, and we are here to declare on this anniversary again, as on
previous similar occasions, that we are of the same brotherhood of faith
and hope as were those who erected this house and left it as a legacy to
their successors.
Mighty changes have since then passed over the
earth; empires have been overthrown; new opinions in religion and
politics have made themselves deeply felt; thrones supposed to be
immovably fixed have been moved and hurled to the ground; science has
achieved new triumphs in the field of discovery and improvement; and all
this within the memory of comparatively young men; and nevertheless with
us the change has been light, and has not cast the decay of age over our
religion, and we follow the path which our fathers followed, and are
again here to call on the name of the Most High, and to speak of his
deeds which He wrought in Egypt, and of the signs which He displayed
among them, and we still emphatically feel that He is in truth the Lord
Eternal, to whom alone we are to direct our prayers, whose law alone we
are to consult as our rule of life.
It is indeed but a short time, comparatively
speaking, since the consecration of this Synagogue; many of you well
recollect the day and the hour when first they heard here the deep notes
of devotion from the man they had chosen as their messenger to the
Hearer of prayer; they yet recollect the beautiful anthems which
re-echoed joyfully from many a tongue joining in praise to the Father of
his people; yet in the age of the world it has been a period of unusual
activity, and events have crowded each other as they rarely do even in
the most turbulent times, and infant ideas have since acquired a giant
form, and have filled the earth with their fame. Everything has been
anew subjected to a searching inquiry, and what had been defended before
and been <<585>>considered beyond dispute, has again been dragged forward from
its repose and probed to its very foundation. The events of the day,
however, are the mere exponents of the secret influences which have been
at work; and though many may be astonished when viewing the terrible
revolutions lately witnessed as isolated facts, the calm inquirer and he
who watched the gradual development of the latent mighty thought of
popular power, will find nothing very remarkable in the event which was
clearly stepping hourly more and more forward, produced as it was by the
effervescence of mind which had long since commenced, and to arrest
which nothing was capable at all within the power of the civil and
religious government of the earth.
Judaism has been assailed likewise amidst all this
din and clamour; many predicted that the development of new thoughts
would prove fatal to its isolation and to the hold it hitherto had on
the mind of its followers; many also have united their exertions to
produce a mighty effort to withdraw our members from a union with us,
and to offer them all sorts of inducements to surrender their adherence
to our faith; many farther have arisen among ourselves, to diffuse
strange notions, and to establish views not formerly received among us,
and have alleged that new measures must be supported to save a wreck of
Jewish principles, and to maintain a remnant of Israel’s descendants.
But though so much has been effected, as I have
said already, in the demolition of ancient things among other sects, and
even the removal of what had been established with so much labour, and
blood, and treasure, and wisdom in modern times, Judaism has thus far
stood the test of revolution, assault, and faintheartedness with
admirable strength and power of resistance, and the enemies without and
within have to this day, for which the Lord be thanked, exhausted their
labour in vain; and though it is no doubt that many have already
swerved, and that others yet will undoubtedly follow the same evil
example, there need be no fear of an impending destruction of our
people.
Those who only look at the surface may fancy that
they see symptoms of decay; because they aver that the changes from
oppression to liberty will induce many to yield quietly that religion
which they convulsively clasped to their bosom in times when mankind
endeavoured to deprive them of it by force; that the more enlarged
intercourse with the world <<586>>will cause a gradual fusion of our
nationality amidst the people where we reside by our taking in marriage
those differing from us in ancestry and belief, by which means our
descendants will be mingled up with others and be no longer
distinguishable; that the progress of ideas will sweep away the mutual
prejudices entertained by Jews and gentiles, and that the former will
then insensibly drop their peculiarities when the line of separation is
reduced to an almost inappreciable thread.
These may be the opinions of indifferent
investigators, when looking with surprise at the magnificent panorama of
mighty events which are developing themselves daily before their eyes;
but if so, they have not well understood the peculiarity of the Jews,
nor the characteristics of the gentile world. Great as are modern
events, they are not altogether unprecedented; there have been before
this times of quiet and enlargement for our people, although they lasted
but a brief space; and we have yet to learn that the ease of the present
will endure much longer. But even if it should, that does not say that
the Jew will for this reason not value his characteristic mission any
farther, and yield his religion to the common demand for equality and
fraternity, as though this sacrifice were necessary in the new
acquisition of liberty.
People forget, perhaps, that religion has no part
to play in the mighty and terrible drama which has of late been enacted;
at least it has no business to interfere actively and visibly in public
affairs. Modern nations have so long made the profession of certain
religious dogmas the arbitrary standard of political power, and have
made all sorts of privileges dependent on the profession of opinions
sanctioned by the state, that they cannot yet see that when they
emancipate themselves from this odious tyranny, the sufferers from the
long ages of exclusion have nothing to yield when invited to partake now
of human rights.
If it be necessary for us to reject any part of our
religious views, not to mention the totality of our faith, to be
entitled to equality in all things, what, I ask, have we gained by the
change over which we rejoice? Tyrants of ancient days, from
Nebuchadnezzar down, asked only of us that we should fall down and
worship the idol which they had erected; it was only what they called
doing a harmless thing which they required; we should only become like
them, and then we might have life, wealth,
<<587>>power, pleasure, or whatever
we might desire, even the privilege of persecuting our former brothers
of Israel. And now shall it be required of us to surrender, for
instance, our confident hope in the coming of the son of David, because
this belief militates against the idea of a perfection in human wisdom,
against the assumption that mere human reason can establish the kingdom
of peace, and secure in the best manner the sum total of human
happiness? If this be so, then is there no perceptible difference
between the tyranny of kings and democracies, or between the intolerance
of inquisitors and philosophical dreamers.
If our religion must be destroyed, it cannot make
the least difference to the Jew who rules, and what opinions obtain the
supremacy; and for that matter, we might prefer one tyrant at a time to
the legions of opponents under the present system; for we might
ascertain the opinions required of us if a few or one would dictate, but
it is impossible so to frame our ideas as to satisfy the vast masses
which now rule. But it is freedom which is professed for all; and we too
enter into the new state of things, not because we are Jews, but because
we are men, and because, whilst we have no right to question any man
concerning his religion, and whilst we do not ask of him to modify his
opinions to please us, we cannot permit any one to concern himself with
what we believe or do in a religious relation, which we have not and
cannot surrender to the popular supervision, it being the sacred right
of conscience, over which we alone have to watch, and the regulation of
which must be left to the law and the customs of Israel, as expounded to
us by our religious teachers.
Now it is possible enough, nay, it is well known to
be so, that many will prove their worthiness of political liberty by
making all sorts of concessions, and by explaining away all the features
of our belief which appear perhaps somewhat harsh to non-Israelites. But
this is likewise certain, that it will be more in the first commencement
of the new participation in political privileges; but that when the
thing has become somewhat old by habitual use, the thinking portion of
Jews will revert to the instruction of Scripture, and profess anew what
is taught there, to the exclusion of all new philosophical speculations.
It is also true that prosperity is a severe trial to our people.
Persecutions they can face with indomitable courage; they are a brave
race, and for <<588>>endurance and persistency they are unequalled among
mankind. In Egypt, in Babylon, in Persia, and in Rome, they remained
distinguishable and united among the heathens; and when the Nazarenes
and Mahommedans arose successively with new and modified doctrines, some
few in comparison to numbers were seduced away from their allegiance,
but the vast majority either perished nobly upholding their faith, or
lived through poverty, contumely, abhorrence and disgrace, and
worshipped their God in humility and the want of every earthly comfort.
And when, from time to time, the hand of persecution relaxed its
tortures, and when Jews were found the companions of the kings and the
nobles, the trusted servants of the crown, or the confidential
physicians of pontiffs and priests, they, for this sake, did not, as a
class, prove false to their opinions. Again, I say, that some could not
bear this prosperity, as others succumbed before and since to the
terrors which surrounded them; but they have proved the exceptions, and
hence their example need not inspire us with the fear for the future,
which some enemies of Israel would uselessly inspire us with.
But let me call your attention, brethren, to one
remarkable circumstance, and this is the inveterate hatred which has
been always felt for the religion of Israel from the earliest history of
our people. It was the same in Pharaoh who knew not the Lord, the same
in Balak, king of Moab, who misled Israel to sin, the same in the bloody
tribunals of the middle ages, and again the same in the societies for
the seduction of the Jews from their faith, of which we have heard so
much of late years. Pharaoh, Balak, and the Inquisition did, in a
measure, succeed in their various ways to work mischief to us, and many
of us fell at the different epochs in which the above flourished in
their schemes of wickedness. Should, therefore, the enemies of the
present age meet with some little success, and obtain occasionally a
lukewarm sinner or a hireling renegade to join himself to them, we may
be assured, nevertheless, of one thing, that we have lost no strength by
this severance from us of an unworthy member; he has gone to those who
will overwhelm him with kindness and embraces, whilst we are rid of a
traitor, one false to God, false to his brothers, and false to himself.
Admit, even, that his conversion should be sincere, so much so as to be
above suspicion, <<589>>then we have lost one who could not defend his
ancestral religion, who had no heart for the law of Moses, who
understood not the glorious principle of the Unity of God, that glorious
principle which will ultimately prevail from one end of the world to the
other, as it is solely the true mystery of the creation; since from, the
highest planet, the most distant constellation, down to the minutest
dust which flits in the sunlight, there is discoverable one uniform
gradation, a single and uniform design.
Now it is the repugnance of many to the principle
of the Unity as professed by us, which is the key to all the efforts
made for our extermination, and to the hope constantly expressed that at
last the means have been discovered of effecting it. So whilst there
are, I am glad to acknowledge, thousands on thousands who wish to make
us free on principles of humanity and justice, there are, perhaps, as
many others who acquiesce in the movement solely from an inimical
feeling to Judaism. They have seen from history and experience, that
persecution and exclusion riveted but the closer the bonds which unite
us to God; so they then deem it a duty to try the opposite extreme, and
to see whether or not a perfect equalization of Jews and gentiles will
not induce us to forego our identity, and become like them.
It is with us as it was with Samson. We, like him,
are asked, “In what does your great strength consist?” But it is not,
like him, an outward token, but the inward spirit which constitutes us
Jews; yet like Samson’s personal prowess, it depends upon the will of
God, and on the condition that we follow the orders which we have
received. We must not, therefore, fall asleep on the lap of a false
Delilah, of a gentile invitation to yield ourselves captives to the
charms of the world, as though a new era had commenced, and vigilance
were no longer requisite. For if we do so, we shall be left, for a
season, to the tender mercy of our new confederates, and the spirit of
God will depart from us, and only after violent sufferings will it
revisit us, perhaps to kindle again into life at the very moment only
when we are compelled to bid farewell to the earth and its
enjoyments.—This is told you, that you may not be disheartened at
occasionally hearing of a defection from our ranks. It is deplorable,
deeply to be regretted, that an Israelite, the humblest of his tribe,
should be false to his faith; but we should regard any apostasy arising
from the present state <<590>>of freedom, even if perpetrated by the greatest
and most influential, as nothing fatal or particularly remarkable;
since, at all times, there have been sinners and transgressors, and for
all that the lamp of Israel has not been quenched.
The Scriptures, brethren, are a true record of the
past and the future. Other writings may give a faithful narrative of the
occurrences which have taken place; we will assume that human
information may be able to grapple with facts, though even this is
somewhat doubtful, to judge from the ill success which historical
investigations have so often met with. But the recesses of the future
are absolutely locked up, and inaccessible to human ken. Not so to the
eye of God; for this pervades all which will be, and there is no
uncertainty to shroud from Him the events which are coming. Nay, they
have come already, so He announces them; because there can exist no
conformation of events and circumstances to preclude their coming to
pass in reality, just as his knowledge has foreseen them. If, therefore,
the Scriptures speak of the eternal duration of a precept, we need feel
no alarm about its ever ceasing to be respected. Eternal it must be,
because it is so stated; abrogated it cannot be, unless it be limited by
some other circumstance announced and conditioned by the same authority.
Now it appears from inspection that Judaism, in its
peculiar precepts, has received the stamp of eternity from the Author of
our being, and hence it is proved indestructible in the wisdom of
Providence. You have been told before, but it cannot be too often
repeated, that the phraseology of the Bible is not one of accident but
of design. Its omissions are of importance as much as what it contains;
and its precepts are of that character that they have to be so
understood as the words in which they are given convey them to us, not
as arbitrary reasoning would perhaps wish to make them. If, then, it is
said in the Bible that we shall do so, but not otherwise, we must
implicitly follow the commandment, and not reason it away by any fancy
of our own, however ingenious it may be. Nor must we be deterred by the
assertion of others, that it is not necessary for us so to act, as to
place a bar of separation between us and the world; since the law in
obedience to which we allege to act, could not have meant it so
particularly as we deem it to be. But this much we may safely allege,
that as the law is <<591>>both imperative and prophetic, both relating to
conduct and indicating futurity, it teaches this important principle,
that its precepts are infallible and not to be repealed, and that, at
the same time, they will be always obeyed by the true descendants of
Israel, which term comprises all those who will remain true to the
religion of their fathers during all the changes and vicissitudes which
have been, and are, impending over us. With this preface let us briefly
elucidate the verse 24 of Exodus 12.
ושמרתם את הדבר הזה לחק לך ולבניך עד עולם׃ שמות
י״ב כ״ד׃
“And you shall observe this thing, as a statute
unto thee and unto thy children for ever.”
When was this announcement, which, as said,
partakes of the nature of prophecy and precept, made? The reading of the
context will answer you, At the time that the Israelites were still in
Egypt, but expected to be permitted to quit the land of their bondage
through the threatened slaughter of the first-born. Freedom was not yet
theirs, it was only in anticipation. The taskmasters were subdued, to
some extent, by the terrible plagues which had been inflicted on them.
They were, nevertheless, still powerful to hold in bondage their slaves
who had served them well for near two hundred years; and had the
deliverance not taken place, as promised, it would have been utterly
impossible for the Israelites to have observed the Passover, of which
institution the precept in question speaks, neither then nor to
perpetuity, as is here enjoined.
But what was the result at the time? The
deliverance did take place at the precise hour and in the manner
indicated; and ever since the Passover has been observed, both as a
national mark of thanksgiving to our great Deliverer, and as a token
that we accept Him as our Sovereign and God, and acknowledge no one
besides Him as having power in heaven and on earth. Our encounters with
adversity of all kinds have been fearful enough to try the strength of
our attachment to our Father; and notwithstanding our frequent
backslidings, we have not altogether forsaken Him, nor have denied our
fealty to Him to adopt a stranger God. And when a man, from our own
midst, arose, and proclaimed himself, or was by his followers
acknowledged, a part of the godhead, and when mighty nations, unknown
when we went out of Egypt, adopted
<<592>>the new system thus introduced on
earth, and threatened us with all the terrors which fiendish malice
could devise; and when bloody conqueror arose in the plains of Arabia,
and announced himself as a prophet of a new message in the name of the
Most High, and waged fierce warfare against those who refused to
acknowledge him and his mission; and when other inventions of men were
offered to us, to forego our testimony to the truth of God’s Unity: we
stood firm, if not unshaken; and every spring season, in its annual
return, saw us celebrating the Lord’s Passover, even as we were
commanded.
And what mattered it to us how few there were left
who could thus glorify the Lord? Each man felt himself the
representative of the Patriarchs, and each woman knew that she bore in
herself a lineal descent from the mothers of Israel, those noble matrons
who stood side by side with their glorious spouses to proclaim the power
of the Creator in periods when darkness overspread the earth, and when
the light of truth flickered, at times, like an expiring lamp, being fed
only by the efforts of a single family.—This has been our course for a
very long period; and the faith which was so firmly rooted, so
beautifully upheld, has not been left unfruitful in its effects, and at
this day the followers of the God of Jacob are more numerous than they
have been probably since the destruction of the temple. They have
increased even in the measure men attempted their destruction; and they
have survived the perils which all thought would make an end of them.
And thus have we been brought to the present period
in our history; for though yet persecuted in many countries, we have
obtained freedom in many others, and the secular sciences are open for
our competition with other men. The period of transition is already
nearly past; and though severe blows have been struck by the ungodly
against our union, and though some have endeavoured to produce sectarian
divisions among us, still we may freely say that no success has attended
these unholy efforts. The newness of freedom may, perhaps, have inspired
some of these movements; but we are daily getting more used to it; and
before long we shall look round, examine our position, and fall back
upon the word of God alone as our standard, and reply to all opponents,
in the language of Scripture, that our law, with all its peculiarities,
was given to us and our descendants for ever.
<<593>>
The time of duration is indefinite; and as no
probably period has been fixed, we cannot listen to any appeals which
counsel us to adopt any system which dispenses us of the observation of
the precepts. Only be ye all of good courage and unwavering in your love
for the law of God; be not dismayed at the backsliding of your
neighbours or of your own household, should this unfortunately be the
case; but adhere firmly, as though on you depended the salvation of
Israel, and the permanence of the religion of Sinai. If thus you do, the
blandishments of peace, or the storms of war, will pass by you without
injuring the word of God which is in your mouth; and you can look with
scorn upon the silly effects made to withdraw you from your allegiance;
and each recurring year will see you devoted to God, true to the faith
which He established on earth; and in early youth, and in extreme age,
in times of rest and of persecution, should they dawn again, will He be
with you and bless you, even as you desire, until the end of days. Amen.
Fri. Shebat 3d, January 26th, 5609. |
