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A
Sermon for Sabbath Kedoshim, Spoken in the Synagogue
Rodef Sholem, Philadelphia
By
Isaac Leeser
To
the God of Israel, the Father of all creatures, the
Lord of all spirits, be praise and glory, from the
rising of the sun to his setting, from all the
children of man, whom his power has called into
life, now and for ever. Amen.
Brethren,—
Having been invited by your Board of Managers to
deliver an address on this Sabbath in your
Synagogue, I know of no more fitting subject on
which to descant than the general tendency of that
religion which we all profess in common, whether we
are of the German or Portuguese mode of worship, or
whether we first saw the light in America or the
various divisions of the old world. We are all
Israelites, are either by descent or by adoption
sons of Jacob, and no one is exempt from a due
obedience to the law which is the outward token of
our faith, and no one, on the other side, can be
said to have duties to perform, if we take the
general mass, which are not equally incumbent on all
others. There are indeed different orders, such as
priests, judges, superintendents of public affairs,
and teachers of religion to whom peculiar
obligations are assigned; but these affect not
<<122>>their general obedience; and the especial
acts required of them only extend to the general
good, for the fartherance of which the various
selected classes have needs to be established; since
neither an Aaron, nor a David, nor a Samuel, nor an
Isaiah was selected in order to glorify himself; and
whatever either or all of these were called upon to
execute was merely to fortify the large masses of
their fellow-countrymen in the observance of the
precepts in which all had a common interest. But as
respects pure morality and the relative obligations
which each man has to the other, there was not, and
could not be any difference in the different ranks
of society, inasmuch as all had the same Chief to
follow, and all owed obedience and implicit fealty
to the same God, who declared all alike to be his
children.
Let us now take as the text of our reflection of
to-day the following verse from this day’s Sidrah,
את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי
תיראו אני ה׳׃ ויקרא י״ט ל׳׃
All duty is, according to the true principles of
Judaism, referable to one single cause, and this is
the will of God as revealed to us in his word. You
cannot indicate to me a single act which is
obligatory upon us and is not contained in or at
least derived from the Scriptures, and if it be
possible to point out any not so authenticated, we
may at once say that its execution is a voluntary
act on our part, but is no obligation, for the
infraction of which we are punishable, and for the
observance of which on the other hand we are
entitled to reward. Punishment and reward are
properly applicable to duty only we are ordered by
God to fulfil certain precepts, some of which are
easy and others difficult of execution, and the
measure of our disobedience or obedience fixes our
liability to divine and civil visitation for our
acts, or exhibits us as entitled to commendation
from God and our fellow-men, and the consequent
happy and gratifying results springing from this
state of things. It is according to this view that
we are simply bound to become acquainted with the
Principles of the revealed religion, which we
justly assume to be from <<123>> God, in order that
we may know what acts to do and what others there
are which we must avoid, and the closer any one of
us approaches the standard thus discovered the
nearer will he be perfect, so far as this is
practicable for us to become. At best will this
perfection be exceedingly difficult for us to
acquire; we are so surrounded with temptations, we
are so constantly imagining that we are excused by
circumstances for failing in our duty and faltering
in our path, that we must often feel shame and
contrition at discovering how easily we have been
lured away to do that which we would condemn in
others if we observed them guilty of the same
faults; and yet how little do we struggle before we
yield to allurement, how glad indeed are we to have
so paltry an apology, as an opportune and convenient
temptation to do what is wrong. This is our course
even when we know our line of duty; how much more
then must we be exposed to evil deeds should we be
absolutely ignorant of the source whence it is
derived. You have heard, no doubt, a great deal said
of the innocence of man in a state of nature, by
which is meant that state of lawlessness, where he
roams about at will without moral or civil
restraints, indulging in all imaginable fancies
which his own impulses may direct him to. Without
entering deeply into the inquiry whether such a
state ever can exist, even amongst the most savage
tribes, it must at once strike you, that the
unrestricted license in one, must operate to the
injury of all others; for it is not to be supposed
that, when a man is absolutely free to do as he
pleases, he will be restrained from any act of
aggression upon the person and property of others,
if he deems such a trespass, as we view it in our
state of civilization, conducive to his pleasure and
within the limits of his strength to accomplish.
Nature, we may be sure, is as strong in one as in
another; the desire for gratification and to
possess is powerful in all alike. If therefore there
be no law to restrain the impulse to have and to
enjoy, there can be no peace, no property, no love,
no rights; but all would be one universal scene of
warfare, anarchy, hate and plunder the strong would
override the weak, and the latter would plan secret
and cunning devices to accomplish by craft what he
lacks in brute force, to be revenged on the other.
<<124>>
Consequently if you abolish law, you abolish
civilised society; for if even you might succeed by
any, the barest, possibility to enable a savage to
live alone in the recesses of a mountain fastness or
the solitude of the forest unrestrained and
uncontrolled, you cannot give him a single
companion, not to mention many, without establishing
at once a system of reciprocal rights and duties; no
one can submit unconditionally to the will of
another and be happy or even negatively content; he
will sigh to be released from the bonds of such
depressing slavery will want to know how far the
bounds of the power of his tyrant extends; and if he
can find none, he will not rest till he has
discovered some method to set a limit to the will
that oppresses him, so that he may tell him, “Thus
far shalt thou go, but approach nearer at thy
peril.”
So
far, therefore, is the law of God from abridging our
natural rights; so far is it from destroying our
independence; so little does it deprive us of the
least that we could claim as justly our due: that it
is at once the exponent of our rights, and the best
definer of our duties; since it marks out what we
must do to others and what we have an undoubted
right to require from them. All just legislation
must be a system of checks and balances; something
must be granted in return for every demand; there
must be relaxation for every exertion; there must be
an indulgence for every sacrifice required, and so
on the other hand there must be no reward without
toil, no glory without previous merit. Our wise men
have an expression which exhibits this ides in a
simple light מי שלא טרח
בערב שבת מה יאכל בשבת “He that has not
laboured on the eve of the Sabbath what shall he eat
on the Sabbath?” meaning, since it is not permitted
to labour on the day devoted to rest to dress our
food, no one can justly partake of a meal if he has
it not in readiness on the day of preparation which
precedes it; so also can no man expect reward
without he has deserved it; no rest if he has not
toiled for it; no renown if he has squandered away
the precious hours; no tranquillity of soul if he
has not subdued his evil inclinations in deference
to the demands of religion.
It
is accordingly not so much the gratification of a
desire to rule uncircumscribed in the world,
<<125>>
which induced our gracious and heavenly Father to
bestow on us his law, as the knowledge He had of our
fallible nature, that we required a guide, sure and
unwavering, which is to point out to us whatever we
should do or avoid; which should teach us when we
should aid our neighbour, and when to expect his
support; when we should bestow gifts and when we
may look forward to receive them; when we should
offer consolation and when we should be entitled to
have the sympathy of others bestowed on us; and we
may be sure, that mankind will be then in the
greatest state of peace and prosperity when the
fewest have cause to complain of the acts of
oppression committed and of the deeds of charity
denied them by others.
And O! how happily might our life glide away, if
each would look upon the other as his friend whom he
is bound to love and whom he is willing to cherish
as one equal with him in the eyes of the Creator;
if the strong would rejoice in his strength to
assist the weak against his oppressor; if the rich
would look with pleasure upon his wealth when it
enables him to open wide his hand to the needy one,
his brother; when the wise would glory in his wisdom
at the moment he steps abroad to diffuse the
cheering light of truth and science among those whom
his words may lead to a better appreciation of life
and duty; and when those who are humble would need
not fear to lay their distress open to the attentive
ear of their loving neighbours; when innocence might
freely claim the arm of power for its protection;
poverty appeal without dread of refusal to those who
have enough of life’s abundant store; and when the
simple might frankly ask for instruction and it not
be denied to them.
But alas! how sad is the reality around us; there is
indeed much that is heavenly scattered all over the
earth; there are brothers and sisters of the needy,
there are those in whose houses the poor find a
cheerful welcome, to whom it is enough that a
fellow-being suffers, to excite their warmest pity,
as they hope to be heard in their hour of distress;
but there are many who can see unmoved the tears of
the orphan, and turn away unpityingly from the
streaming eyes of the lonely widow; to whom the
groaning of the captive is sweet music, and who
glory over innocence ensnared and
in<<126>>experience steeped by them into the
whirlpool of crime. And yet such as these are often
called the great ones of the earth; they are raised
high amidst those who have power, and many call them
the illustrious of mankind; the glittering star of
proud rank graces their bosom, and historians love
to record their deeds, and sycophants flatter them
by saying that in men so exalted that is venial sin,
a slight transgression, which is degrading crime and
low debauchery in the humble.
Do
you now wonder that the divine legislation, which is
ours, endeavoured to place and succeeded in so doing
all human beings on one level of obedience to a
superior law and subjection to one Supreme Being?
Assuredly not; for however low any one may stand in
the ranks of society, he feels in himself the spirit
divine which animates the most exalted; he sees that
they must eat, if even more dainty food than
satisfies him, of the products of the earth which he
cultivates in the broiling heat, whilst the heavy
drops of sweat course down his sunburnt cheeks; and
he sees that when they have surfeited themselves
with drink and food, they sicken from the excess
just as he, the labourer, does when he neglects the
prudential rules of temperance and moderation; that
when age creeps over them their hair whitens, and
their limbs totter just as is the case with him and
his compeers; that when an epidemic rages and mows
down the hard-working classes and those who live in
penury, it spares not the palaces of the rich and
great, but garners them in likewise into an
untimely grave; and that finally, should all things
go well with them for many, many years, they cannot
escape from the gaping, yawning tomb, though it be
a pyramid which covers their dust, or a mausoleum
which rises above their mouldering bones.
It
is therefore, I say, that the humblest labourer
feels within himself that he is a human being,
equal with the highest, that he has hopes and wishes
which carry him beyond the narrow space in which he
dwells here; that he has a right to look forward to
the time when he is to exchange his coarse attire
for garments of light and glory, when he is to be
the immediate servant of God instead of being
dependent on and subject to the arbitrary will of
man.
<<127>>
This future equality of all the sons of Adam,
however, is only possible on the assumption that
there is a Power who can effect this change; for in
human possibility it is not, and all the dreams of
the philanthropist must, however well intended, end
at length in sore disappointment. We may deplore
the evil which meets us at every turn, we may weep
for the tears of the innocent which we see flowing
unrestrained; but we have no means of altering the
lamentable state of things which meets our view. But
when we look upward the immeasurable sky, and behold
millions of suns revolving around their common
centre; when we reflect on the immense number of
intelligent beings for whom all these vast worlds
were created; when we contemplate on the
immeasurable reach of that almighty Strength by
which all this was called into being and is
sustained without fatigue, without weariness, with
watchfulness untiring and with intelligence
unflagging; we must come to the conviction that
there is hope for the needy and consolation in store
for the afflicted, of which nothing on earth can
ultimately deprive them; since He, who is alike the
God of the poor and the God of the great, is able to fulfil the desire of all the living, and heal the
wounds of all those who suffer, and restore
oppressed humanity to the full dignity of an
immortal spirit.
It
is owing to this that we so often find such
expressions אני ה׳
or אני ה׳ אלהיכם “I
am the Lord,” or, “I am the Lord your God,” as the
reason assigned for the observance of any particular
precept either of simple religion or morality; for
instance “And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, and
what droppeth in thy vineyard thou shalt not gather
up; for the poor and the stranger shalt thou leave
them; I am the Lord your God,” (Lev. xix. 10;) which
Rashi explains, “I am the judge to demand
recompense;” and so to verse 17, “Thou shalt not go
about as a talebearer among thy people; thou shalt
not stand idle by the blood of thy neighbour; I am
the Lord;” which is expounded, “Faithful to bestow
reward, and faithful to bestow punishment.” It is
because God is ever living and ever present,
consequently always ready and well informed of the
affairs of man, that He is emphatically our God, and
capable to supervise mankind to
<<128>> see whether
or not they are faithful to their trust, and
sedulous in fulfilling the various duties which He
has assigned.
In
this respect now, namely, that there is bet One; to
whom all are responsible and all are compelled to
look for the fulfilment of their wishes, we must
consider all men upon one and the same level,
wherefore it is also but just that all should love
the same relative obligations towards each other.
Station and wealth are merely accidental
circumstances which in the present state of society
must be assigned to the few for the benefit of the
many, wherefore their possession does not absolve
any from the smallest requirement which is
obligatory on others; and so likewise the humbleness
of our position is no reason why we should permit
ourselves trespasses and violations of the rights of
our fellow-men, since neither the possession of
worldly goods or their absence can absolve us from a
strict regard of the personal rights of our neighbours.
But it is not alone simple moral rules which the
Scriptures contain, and which we are bound to
observe; for there are other precepts which have
reference more to the dependence which we have on
God, as our immediate Sovereign, and which are not
less necessary for our happiness, than the mere
rights of humanity. I have already told you, that
all duty depends on the revealed will of God;
philanthropy, therefore, and charity in its most
extended sense, are only obligatory on us because
they are part of the divine ordinance, which to
enforce He announces himself as the Judge, who is
sure to measure out a recompense for our deeds, be
this reward or punishment. But in order to impress
us the more strongly with the acknowledgment of his
sovereignty, and thus to render us the more
energetically the friends of our species, He has
assigned to us other duties, which in appearance
only refer to our position to the Lord alone,
although they are secondarily calculated to govern
our will, and to render us therefore more obedient
in all other things.
To
this class of duties, we may reckon the observance
of the Sabbath and festivals, as also the resort to
places of worship, wherein the name of God is
especially invoked. Our text accordingly says in the
same strain, as of the moral precepts, to which we
have already <<129>> referred: “My Sabbaths shall ye
observe, and my sanctuary shall ye reverence, I am
the Lord;” which close of the verse we may freely
expound as the others, “Ready to reward those who
obey me in this, and to punish those who wilfully
refuse obedience.” It says, then, that as much as we
look to God to reward and punish us according as we
are merciful and just, or the contrary, so also
will our observance of Sabbath-keeping, sad
propriety in public worship, or the neglect thereof,
entitle us to God’s mercy or his wrath. It would
detain us too long to exhibit all the requirements
which the observance of the festivals of the Lord
demand; we can only deal with generalities, and I
must therefore confine myself to them. We may,
therefore, inquire what effect will the keeping holy
of a particular day have upon us? Simply this, that
whenever it recurs it will impress on our mind the
well-attested fact, that it is a part of the law
revealed to us by our Benefactor, Who gives us life
and intellect, who moreover extends to us his
helping hand to aid us in our distress, just as He
acted towards our fathers, when He appeared as the
Avenger of their wrongs, and broke asunder their
bonds of slavery, and bid them go forth to an
everlasting freedom. It is this God also who demands
of us to be kind to the poor, and to love each
other, inasmuch as we have been servants to Pharaoh
in Egypt consequently, the observing of any festival
will awaken us to reflect that in addition to the
mere act of resting which we do as a religious duty,
we offer our homage to the Lord for the benefits we
have received from Him, under so many and varied
circumstances, and we tell at the same time, that we
will do something, however little it may be, to
deserve the continuance of his mercy; consequently,
we shall be incited to make the rest from labour a
happy day to all our dependents, to grant them
respite from toil, so that they too may have leisure
to devote their thoughts, withdrawing them from the
constant routine of exertion, to the reflection on
Him who made us all, both servants and masters,
after his own image, which means, making man but
little less than angels, by imparting to him an
intelligent soul, which is destined to live for
ever.
This view of the Sabbatic rest is not a mere fancy,
an orato<<130>>rical figure of speech; on the
contrary, it is a literal transcript of various
texts of the Law, which any one, who is even
moderately familiar with it, will readily recognise.
It is therefore quite proper to distinguish it as
one of those precepts for which especially reward
and punishment are indicated by the addition of the
words “I am the Lord;” for, as respects our
fellow-creatures, the brute even, it inculcates
humanity the most elevated and universal, since all
shall rest, and on God’s day all shall cease from;
all shall be refreshed and recover new strength for
the coming period of labour, and all shall thus have
leisure to rise from the earth, and elevate
themselves above its cares and disappointments, and
enjoy a day of undisturbed serene repose, a fit
emblem of the rest of everlasting life, when the
labour of the child of sorrow shall be over, and no
more shall be heard the groans of those heavily
oppressed. And as regards our relation to the
Creator, we testify, by our devoting to Him
one-seventh part of our time, that we believe in his
having made us, that we trust in the correctness of
his word, which teaches us that outward nature is
not a necessary pre-existing thing, but the effect
of his potent will, which called all forth, and it
was, when He commanded that it should, and
everything stood forth obedient to his nod. And
there is need for us all so to acknowledge God in
our heart and in our deeds; we all are apt to forget
that we are accountable, we are all too eager to lay
up treasures in this world, to labour for self-aggrandizement,
for the advancement of ourselves and our immediate
connexions; we fancy that success is in our hands,
that we can mould circumstances to our purposes; we
forget that we ourselves are but flowers of the
moment, that are easily cast down and scattered
broken to the four winds of heaven; and the longer
we continue to toil, the more we became
self-reliant, the less are we troubled by the
reflection that our end is drawing on apace. If,
however, we occasionally halt for a period; if on
the weekly rest which we devote to God we impress
on our mind that it is not by our strength, but by
his blessing that prosperity attends us as a
handmaiden, ready at our bidding: we shall be
humbled in his presence and think less of time than
eternity, and be willing to listen to his commands,
and <<131>> take Him as our Counsellor in every
period and phase of our existence.
So
it is also with the other precept which our text
contains, “And my sanctuary shall ye reverence,” as
it is likewise calculated to engender fear of God
and love for man. The house where the name of the
Most High is invoked, is not designed for those only
who live at ease, but for all who feel themselves
burdened with the weight and afflictions incident to
the human state. The poor has indeed sore necessity
for seeking the aid of his God, who is ever near to
listen to his cry; the affluent however, is not
exempt from cares and troubles, and the brightest
day seldom passes away without some little cloud,
to obscure the brilliancy of our horizon; he too
should therefore not be absent when the worshippers
assemble to do honour to their glorious King,
especially on the festivals and Sabbaths, when a
universal repose dwells among the children of
Israel. The sanctuary is to unite all the sons of
man in one brotherhood, it is to encircle them with
a universal bond of love and attachment towards
their God and towards each other; one shout of
praise should burst from all lips, one universal
acclamation should attest the faith of all in the One
who is the sole Lord and Saviour of mankind, and one
feeling should animate all, to leave nothing undone
to attest the sincerity of their faith and the truth
of their attachment to their religion, which is the
immediate gift of the Supreme, and which all our
forefathers received as their portion when they
exclaimed, “Whatever the Lord hath said will we do.”
Thus acting, we shall best testify that we believe
in the Lord as the Rewarder and Avenger, and we
shall thus earn his approbation, and prepare
ourselves for that happiness which is the treasured
portion of those who love Him and keep his
commandments. Amen.
May 1st, Nissan 29, 5611. |
