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1. The pious
Israelite speaks with the most profound veneration of the books of Holy
Writ and their contents, and carefully avoids all expressions that can
lower them in the eyes of the people.
2. He speaks of
other religions suitably and with respect, seeing in them the support of
morals and the public peace.
3. He proclaims
himself loudly, and with a joyful pride, a follower of the faith
of his fathers, and seeks only the glory of being counted among the
noblest and the best of his community.
4. He honours God
from the bottom of his heart, having always present to his mind the
power, the wisdom, the goodness of the great Creator, that are proved to
us by the phenomena, and the history of the world.
5.
He loves God with all his soul, all his heart and all his means; and is
ever ready to sacrifice his all, rather than disobey his God.
6.
In happy days he does not become arrogant; and he recognizes in all the
good that falls to his share undeserved marks of divine grace.
7.
In his days of affliction he neither abandons himself to despair nor
dejection, but he bears with an entire resignation all the decrees of
Providence,. with the assurance that
nothing which comes from God can be wrong.
8.
He sanctifies all his sensual and moral enjoyments; believing that he
owes them to God as a duty of self-preservation, and on suitable
occasions he expresses his gratitude by words.
9.
He commences and finishes his daily work by acknowledging, in accordance
with the Shemang, the divine power, by taking upon himself to follow all
religious duties; and having always in remembrance the benefits which
God heaped upon our ancestors at their departure from Egypt; and each
time that he finds himself in a suitable disposition of mind he makes
use of the formula that is found in our book of prayer.
10.
To these pious meditations he joins a prayer in which he elevates his
soul to God and expresses all his desires, on the accomplishment of
which he is sure his prosperity depends, without prejudice to that of
others; and for this purpose too he can make use of the prayers found in
our books, whenever possible.
11.
If the Hebrew language is not altogether unknown to him, he must
not exclude it entirely from his meditations, and ought always to
contribute to the general diffusion of this language, which in all times
has been an ornament to Israel.
12.
As often as possible, and every Saturday, and feast days, he attends
divine service, and is anxious to contribute to have it executed with
becoming dignity, and that it be truly instructive and edifying.
13.
During his performance of divine worship, he executes with becoming
fervour all ceremonial acts which, agreeably to our ancient uses; have
been introduced: such as the Tzitzit ציצית
phylacteries
תפילין the benediction of the
priests ברכת
כהנים
&c. He gives his attention to ceremonial acts, which do not require him to take an active part; such as blowing the
cornet תקיעת שופר
reading the law
קריאת
התורה
&c.
14.
At home also, he observes, without the spirit of bigotry, those
religious forms which have become sacred to him under the paternal roof,
and which have for him a power of edifying, whether they are mentioned
or not in the Holy Write; such as the inscription on the door-posts
מזוזה, the
tabernacle סוכה, the recitation of the
Omer, the lighting of lamps at the feast of Hannucca
חנוכה, the
recitation of Haggadah, and of the Kiddush.
15.
He honours the Sabbath and the feast-days as days consecrated to the
Lord by private and public devotions, by changing clothes, by rejoicing
in his family circle, and by the suspension of all kinds of work, or
that which could disturb him in the solemnities of the occasion. The
observance of Saturdays and feast-days, being a true repose for the body
and mind, would not be so, if those days cause him much trouble in the
exercise of his duties. A pious and correct sentiment will direct us
more safely in this than all particular rules.
(To
be continued) |
