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To
the Editor of the Occident.
Dear Sir,—
At
a meeting of the subscribers to the Testimonial to
be presented to the Rev. Isaac Leeser, held at the
Vestry Room of the Portuguese Synagogue, on the 9th
inst., it was resolved that copies of the
Presentation Address and the answer that might be
received, be forwarded to the Editors of the
Occident and Asmonean, with a request that they be
inserted in their publications.
And in accordance with said resolution, I herewith
send you a paper, containing the full proceedings of
the presentation, for insertion in your periodical.
Yours, truly,
S.
Solis. Philadelphia
18th March, 5611.
The friends of the Rev., Isaac Leeser, late Minister
of the congregation “Micveh Israel,” presented him
with an elegant set of silver, at the house of Mr.
William Florance, on Tuesday afternoon, the 11th
inst., consisting of two Pitchers, elaborately
chased, two
Waiters, and six Goblets, all of the most elegant
workmanship.
The Waiters and Pitchers bore the following
inscription:
TO
THE REV. ISAAC LEESER,
FROM HIS FRIENDS,
AS A TESTIMONIAL OF HIS
ZEAL AND DEVOTION
IN
THE CAUSE OF JUDAISM
IN
AMERICA.
Phil. Adar. 6611.
<<51>>
The address of the Committee was written by Mr. S.
Solis, and delivered at their request by A. Hart,
Esq., to which the reverend gentleman made a feeling
and eloquent reply, the more touching to his
hearers, from their having been under his ministry
for nearly a quarter of a century. S. N. C.
Address Of The Committee.
Reverend Sir,—As a committee on behalf of your
friends, it becomes our pleasing duty to present for
your acceptance this testimonial of their high
appreciation of the zeal and devotion displayed by
you in the cause of Judaism in America.
As
the pioneer of Jewish literature in this country,
the self-imposed task of manifesting the ennobling
principles which our holy faith inculcates, and
which the following of its precepts cannot fail to
en gender, your task has been one which could derive
its support only in the firm conviction that in the
endeavour to elevate the standard of moral
excellence, you were but fulfilling to the utmost of
your power your duty towards God, and pursuing that
course which was best calculated to render your
brethren worthy of his mercies.
’Tis true, the field before you was an ample one.
And that in this proud and happy land civil and
religious liberty dwell together in peace and unity.
Here were no obstacles placed in the way of our
intellectual advancement. We might approach the
fountain of wisdom, and quaff of its delicious
waters to our heart’s content. But there was a
danger to this new delight. The maxims of a worldly
philosophy were mixed in the crystal draught; and in
imbibing them, a distaste was created within us for
some of the ordinances of that revered faith which
God had revealed, and time has sanctified.
’Tis true, our religion did not demand of us a
crusade against those who differed from us in faith
and worship—on the contrary, it commanded us to love
our neighbour as ourself, and whilst repelling the
attacks of those who would sap the foundation of our
religious edifice, it impelled upon us the duty of
showing our own strength, not the weakness of our
adversaries; and although it pointed out the race of
Israel as the chosen ones of God, it also made known
that all mankind were his children.
When but entering on the
confines of manhood, you ushered into existence your
work of “The Jews and the Mosaic Law,” both America
and Europe hailed it as a harbinger of your future
devotion to the cause of “Judaism and its
Principles” and our brethren abroad no less than
<<52>>we who have been bound to you by the ties of
love and friendship, and who have benefited by your
ministry and instruction for the last twenty-one
years, cannot but admit that the promise then held
out, has been fully redeemed. Your published works,
and the discourses to which we have had the
gratification of listening, whilst they have warned
us of the danger of innovations, and demanded of us
a firm support and adherence to the Law of Sinai,
have never been imbued with that spirit of bigotry
which views every discrepancy of opinion between
others and one’s-self, as worthy of proscription.
You have justly considered that a subject which
would not admit of a free discussion, deserves our
suspicion, and not our support. That the cultivation
of the understanding, whilst the heart is neglected,
would never bring to maturity the fruit of morality,
and that did we wish our people to occupy once more
their proud position among the nations of the earth,
virtue must place the laurel on the brow of wisdom,
and the love of God and duty towards mankind be our
aim and end.
In
the age wherein we live, few there are who possess
sufficient strength of character and energy of
purpose, to turn aside from the struggle after
wealth and power, to devote themselves to the cause
of truth; for mankind delight the most in those
undertakings whose fruit they can see bloom and
mature. But whilst earthly grandeur fleeting, the
knowledge of having laboured for the moral and
intellectual advancement of our fellow-beings, must
be a source of joy over which time has no power; and
we feel, Reverend Sir, that whatever may be your
future lot, (and may the Most High grant that its
meridian and close may be as full of fruition, as
its morning has been of hope!) this consciousness
cannot fail of affording you a foretaste of that
happiness, before which all earth’s delights are but
as “the shadow of a dream that is past.”
JOSEPH NEWHOUSE, Chairman.
HYMAN GRATZ,
WM. FLORANCE,
I. BINSWANGER,
S. SOLIS, Committee.
Mr. Leeser’s Reply.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee:
It
is a trite observation with many persons, who, like
me, have become recipients of a public demonstration
of regard and affection, on <<53>>behalf of their
friends and admirers, that the compliment was both
unexpected and undeserved by them. The world is just
in regarding all such disclaimers as a mere shallow
pretext, to hide emotions of inward pride that at
length an otherwise ungrateful public has duly
appreciated their merit, and acknowledged the
services they had rendered to their species.
Nevertheless, I trust you will do me the justice to
believe me, that though the reception of the
beautiful present you have just tendered me, was not
altogether unexpected, from the known attachment of
you, my friends, it was not needed to reward me for
the services, whatever they be, which I have been
permitted to render to the cause of our faith and
people, which is the cause of all mankind. Nay, the
very affecting manner in which you have worded your
presentation address outweighs the value of your
gift; and I shall never forget the words you have
employed, should even the time ever come when the
present itself might lose its intrinsic worth. In
all my public career I have not laboured for gain.
If I am at all a judge of my feelings, and I trust I
do not deceive myself, conscious as I am that we are
all too apt to overrate the purity of our own
intentions, and to under- value that of others; and
hence I required not at the close of my ministry
among you to receive a gift so valuable as a
recompense of my services.
You have been pleased to allude to my literary
labours, both as a writer and preacher, and to the
value you place on them. I assure you, however,
gentlemen, that in thus incidentally serving our
people, I also laboured in my own behalf, and this I
expressed some months ago in a sociable assembly, at
the southern capital of the Union, when allusion
made by a fellow-labourer to my services in the
cause of Judaism. Believe me, that though from early
youth a vague image of literary activity floated
before my mind, and however I pictured to myself the
pleasantness of the task to labour in the field of
Jewish literature, I had almost lost sight of all
these aspirations, when circumstances had induced me
to look to the pursuit of commerce as the employment
of my life.
But it is now rather more than twenty-two years ago,
when a vile slander against the fair fame of our
race and our religion, first propagated on the other
side of the Atlantic, forced me to enter the lists
as the champion of our cause. It is true, I was
unknown and very young; there were abler, older, and
more experienced men, who could doubtlessly have me
battle for the good cause, if not better at least
fully as well as myself; but my own honour and my
own faith were assaulted no less than the dearest
rights of my fellow-<<54>>Israelites. Could I then
stand idle, whilst I felt the power to strike,
without dishonour? Could I remain silent, whilst I
had the consciousness of being able to overthrow the
calumny? I could not; and I wrote my defence of
ourselves because I could not help myself, and hence
became unconsciously a champion for a cause, when I
only meant to maintain the purity of my own
character among others. To this simple circumstance
is owing the development of my subsequent life; the
vague image took a shape and form, and by degrees
was composed on detached sheets of paper, my first
work, “The Jews and the Mosaic Law,” written after
the toils of the day were over, in the quiet hours
of the night, when slumber rested on the eyelids of
most of my other townsmen. It is the simple truth,
that I had not the remotest idea of writing a book;
and I almost felt ashamed to acknowledge the fact to
my intimate friends, when it became known that I had
composed a volume of moderate dimensions.
The kind and indulgent judgment of the friends of
Israel, which is also exemplified in your Address,
has since almost convinced me that my fears and
hesitation were needless; still I feel too deeply
that that performance, like my later productions,
leaves me far short of the point of excellence which
I would gladly have attained.
I
fear that I am trespassing on your patience, and
that I am becoming egotistical, much as I would
desire to avoid this fault. But you will still, I
trust, pardon me, for glancing at my course
subsequently to my composing my first work. The
Essays, which induced me by enlarging them to indite
a book, attracted the attention of some of your
congregation; and the office of minister having
become vacant here by the decease of my predecessor,
who had so eminently acquired the love and respect
of the people, I was summoned from Virginia hither,
against my own conviction of the propriety of the
step I was taking to assume the office of Hazen in a
community where I was not only personally unknown,
but where I had also not a single relative even in a
remote degree. It was indeed a fearful position for
a young man inexperienced in the ways of the world,
to find himself suddenly an object of marked
attention, and often of close scrutiny, among those
who bore to him the relation of a flock to their
pastor. My hands were weak; the understanding of my
duty perhaps not definite enough; what wonder then
that I should have failed at times, not wilfully,
but accidentally, in pursuing the exact course which
could have secured me in the best manner the
confidence and love of my constituents? It is
possible, too, that I have given offence to one, to
all of you, by an unbecoming <<55>>heat of
temperament, by not conciliating when this may have
been possible, by insisting on points when perhaps
it would have been prudent and wise to yield.
But, I assure you, that never did I wilfully offend
the least among you; never did I from malice, excite
to anger the humblest individual who sought me for
aid and counsel. I do not claim to be better than my
neighbours; do not imagine that I deem myself free
from the faults of humanity; still I trust that no
one can say, with justice, that during a long career
of public services, I have made myself obnoxious to
the charge of being unfaithful to my trust.
But I need not say this little, even, in the
presence of you, gentlemen, to-day, since you have
met here to bestow on me a testimonial of your
appreciation of my character and services; and it
would therefore be out of place to enlarge on the
topic. Permit me, however, to add, that if I have
unwittingly offended you or any one absent from this
assembly, I hope to receive a forgiveness, as from
the bottom of my heart, I am ready to forgive any
injury I may have received. Excuse me for saying
this, for alluding to past grievances; but it is
true that my career has been beset with
difficulties, with dangers, and that I have been
judged at times with a harshness which ought not to
have been exhibited, towards one, who, if not
otherwise entitled to indulgence, had a claim,
because he came among you a stranger, by your own
invitation, and suffering, as he frequently did,
from severe attacks of ill health.
It
is time, however, that I close my remarks, already,
perhaps, too long. You have spoken of my sermons;
and indeed, if I have any merit, it is to these that
I may point. The chair of instruction among us had
long been vacant, when the summons was addressed to
me to arise and teach the people. I need not tell
you how gladly, yet with how much fear, I responded
to the call. It is not in the spirit of boasting
that this is said, but it is a satisfaction to
reflect, that a course commenced with trembling,
gradually obtained the approbation of many judicious
persons in several countries, and that since then
others have been summoned to spread farther and
farther the message of peace, which was delivered to
us at Sinai. In thus responding to the demands of
the times, I but fulfilled a pleasing duty, and no
one can appreciate the delight I have felt at
observing the close attention indulgent audiences
have given to my instruction, not alone here, but on
the banks of the St. Lawrence, on the shores of the
Hudson, by the waters of the Susquehanna, on the
confines of the Chesapeake, on the margin of the
Ashley, Savannah, and Mobile rivers, and the city
which stands <<56>>near the mouth of the mighty
Mississippi—wherever, in brief, it has been my
privilege to proclaim the word of our God. You are
right, that I have endeavoured to teach it without
bigotry, without intolerance; and as an editor of a
Magazine, established for the diffusion of the
truths which we treasure, I have allowed persons of
a variety of opinions to address my readers, fully
convinced that the good cause could never suffer by
a free and candid discussion. Error only shuns the
light; but the torch of reason may freely illuminate
the holiest gift of God without in the least dimming
its lustre.
What my future course may be, is only known to Him
who measures all our steps; into His hands I commit
my ways, and I trust in His mercy, that His light
will not be wanting to guide me right; but whatever
may betide me, be it weal or woe, His past mercies
shall not be forgotten, and His goodness manifested
in so many ways shall not fade from my mind. And as
regards you, Gentlemen, your friendship, which I
hope always to enjoy, shall ever be highly prized by
me. The gratification of this hour shall long remain
a bright period in my recollection, and I trust that
you, too, will not forget him who came at your call,
to officiate in the sanctuary which you had
consecrated to the God of Israel, where he has been
permitted to earn that reputation which your
kindness has so handsomely acknowledged this
day.—And if this be the last time we shall ever
officially meet again, I bid you all, Farewell. |
