THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES . A . At'- we / c. SERMONS AND ADDRESSES SEBMONS AND SETTING FORTH THE TEACHINGS AND SPIKIT OF JUDAISM (SECOND SERIES) BY HEEMANN GOLLANCZ M.A., D.Lrr., RABBI PREACHER TO THE BAYSWATEE SYNAGOGUE, LONDON, GOLDSMID PBOFESSOR OF HEBREW, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD. 11 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. LONDON 1916 6-5*3 FOREWORD THIS book forms the Second Series of " Sermons and Addresses," published in the year 1909. All the Sermons included in this volume with the exception of three Consecration Sermons those at Walthamstow, Cardiff, and Newcastle and remarks at the Laying of the Foundation- stone at Reading, were delivered at the Bays- water Synagogue, to which the Preacher is attached. Ten Sermons have special reference to the present War and the messages it conveys to mankind. The " Prayer for Arbitration," though offered up as far back as 1911, is for obvious reasons added as a sort of pendant to these utterances on the War. At the end of the volume, three Addresses are appended ; they were delivered on im- portant occasions : at the Public Morals Con- ference in Aberdeen, at the Sunday Socials in connexion with Westbourue Park Chapel, and 2091326 FOREWORD at the Distribution of Prizes, Jews' College, London. The thanks of the author are hereby ex- pressed to his sister, Miss Emma Gollancz, for her kind help in reading through the proofs. The author sends forth this work with the earnest prayer that it may help to fortify his brethren in the Teachings and Spirit of Judaism, to strengthen their allegiance t;o their God, to their King and Country, and to bring home to them the duties which they owe, not only at a crisis in the world's history like the present, but at all times, to their brethren Israelites both far and near as well as to humanity at large. H. G. January 16, 1916. CONTENTS PAOB KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM . . .11 THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V . . 16 DR. MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER IN MEMORIAM . . 21 THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS THE BIBLE EPITOME .... 26 ON ZEAL . . . . . .31 " THE MIRACLE " . . . . . 39 PENTECOST AND PALESTINE . . . .45 CAPTAIN SCOTT . 53 THE SACRIFICE . . . . .56 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE . 62 RELIGION AND EUGENICS . . . .69 THOUGHTS ON A NOTED DIVORCE SUIT . . 74 "THE MODERN JEW " . 78 8 CONTENTS MM THE MODERATE JEW 87 THE CONSTANT JEW . . . . .93 SABBATH OBSERVANCE AND SYNAGOGUE ATTENDANCE 100 " THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE " . . 106 THE SPIRIT OP THE SABBATH . . . Ill IN THE PRATER 1Jnni3O3 HVn " HANUCAH " THE FEAST OF LIGHTS . . 118 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION . . . 122 " HALT ! " 132 THE READING SYNAGOGUE .... 138 " THE BOOK OF THE LAW "... 144 GOD'S LIGHT ...... 149 THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY . . 159 THE JUBILEE OF THE BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE . 168 A STUDY IN CHARACTER . . . .183 THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT 188 CONTENTS 9 MM AT WAB ... . 197 Special Prayer during the War . . 200 THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES . . 202 " REMEMBER " A WORD FOR THE POLISH AND PALESTINIAN JEWISH EXILES 207 A TEAR OF WAR . . . . . 214 "THE FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL GLORY" . 218 (The New Year, 56761915) "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" . . . 225 (The Day of Atonement, 56761915) THE HOME-CALL ..... 232 (A Neilah Address, 56761915) THE WAR AND THE JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE . 238 ISRAEL'S DESTINY .... 244 THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY: A HOSPITAL PLEA . 250 PRAYER FOR ARBITRATION AND WOULD-PEACE . 254 NEILAH THE CLOSING SCENE . . . 257 PUBLIC MORALS CONFERENCE . . . 263 ON TOLERATION : MENDELSSOHN, LESSING, AND LAVATKR . 271 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 281 KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM (Spoken on the Day of hit Funeral, Friday, May 20, 1910) MY FRIENDS ! Thirty-eight years ago the pulse of this country, the pulse of the whole of the British Empire, throbbed with an excitement which cannot possibly be surpassed, if equalled, in the annals of any people. One had to live in those times to realise its meaning. The Heir-Apparent to the British Throne had recovered, after a prolonged vigil of suspense and praying, from an illness that had brought him to death's door ; and the pent-up gratitude of a whole people found its expression in an outburst of " Thanks- giving" that left its impress upon the chronicles of the day. Some few years ago, when in the fullness of time it pleased God to call to Himself our well-beloved and ever-to-be-lamented Queen Victoria, and the same Heir- Apparent, then King, was awaiting the ceremony of Coronation, this country was staggered at the sudden turn events had taken, which owing to the King's illness, prevented the stately ceremonial from taking place. That self-same King, having reigned over his people for nine years, and gained their affection, increasing with every year as it passed, has this day been laid to rest, amid every demonstration of genuine sorrow that has ever accompanied the remains of any 11 12 KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM monarch or mortal to their last resting-place on earth. Thanks to God that in a democratic country like England, respect and veneration for the symbol of authority could be shown in the manner it was this day. Thirty-eight years ago it was my privilege to preach my first sermon, as a Thanksgiving Sermon for the recovery of the then Prince of Wales ; to-day it is my mournful privilege to address a few words to you and they shall be but few on the occasion of his home-going, after a brief reign of some nine years. Words are surely not needed to portray the solemnity of the occasion, the poignancy of the sorrow which has seized not only every citizen of the British Empire, but every in-dweller of every land far and wide, of every corner of the earth, whither the news of the death of the late King Edward has penetrated. A great and good ruler over men is being mourned with a universality of grief for which history is probably unable to afford a parallel. His greatness consisted not so much perhaps in the brilliancy of intellectual gifts, as in the depth of the emotional side of his character, in the kindliness of his disposition, in the qualities of sympathy and consideration, in his remarkable urbanity and bon- homie ; but, above all, did his greatness consist in his relation to questions outside his own realm ; in his power to convince others in the cause of Peace in a manner which implied no loss of dignity or honour to those concerned ; hence the title, which has already been attached to his name, perhaps the most brilliant of all titles he possessed even as King of England and Emperor of India, that of " The Peace-maker." In calling to mind at this solemn hour both his reign and his work, might we not think of the KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM 13 Psalmist's words, when he inquires : " What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days that he may see happiness ? " and replies, " Depart from evil, and do good ; seek peace and pursue it ? " When an ordinary mortal, who has crowded many acts of usefulness and benevolence into a comparatively short life, departs from earth, the best praise that can be given him consists in the silent contemplation of his works, and in the prayer that they may continue to shine forth in the living memory of man as an example and an incentive. On the present occasion it seems to me that it would be useless to enlarge upon the part played by our late lamented King Edward VII in upholding the best traditions of his country, founded as it is upon a Constitution which it has taken centuries to develop. You know the events of his life as well as I do ; excessive praise is, therefore, out of harmony with the hour ; the remembrance of his trials and triumphs will endure for ever. Our concern, as citizens and as Jews, is for the future. It is one thing to reign over a people, it is another and far different thing to reign in the hearts of a people. This was the secret of the peculiar fascination exercised by Edward VII ; it was the secret of his success as a ruler. Sunday next has this year been appointed as " Empire Sunday." The celebration will this year gain in significance and solemnity ; for with the thought of the link with the British Empire which has just been snapped by the chill hand of Death, the allegiance and the loyalty to this blessed realm will, if possible, be the deeper and the stronger. Judging from events in Parliament during the past year, it would seem that this spirit of allegiance to the Empire idea, the spirit of devotion to the Throne, 14 KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM requires strengthening ; and it is a painful and pathetic commentary on the attitude of some Britishers, to read between the lines of the leading British medical journal descanting upon the late King's illness, how recent Parliamentary discussions, involving the King's name, had affected the health of our late favourite King. May this unfortunate occurrence act as a warning in the future ; so that the reign of King Edward's successor, our present King, may rejoice in the whole- hearted allegiance and devotion accorded to him by every section of his subjects ! And this naturally leads me on to a few remarks concerning the status of our co-religionists in this happy land. As far as this country is concerned, there is some- thing which rises even above the Throne, something which is even higher than the Sovereign it is the British Constitution ; and it is because there is no jewel that is set therein which, at all events for the last half -century, sparkles with greater brilliancy for the blessedness of the realm than that of civil and religious equality, that we, as Jews, though mourning with the most profound sorrow the death of our well- beloved Sovereign King Edward, do not lose heart at this unexpected crisis in English history, but look forward with confidence and in hope to the days that are to come. We are grateful in our deep sorrow that we have lived under the benign rule which was, alas ! too short-lived, yet long enough to make us feel doubly grateful and doubly comforted by the thought that our late King was, by Heaven's mercy, spared to us thirty- eight years longer than it at one time seemed possible to us, in those dark and terrible days of anxiety and anguish experienced by a former generation. KING EDWARD VII IN MEMORIAM 15 How blessed has England been during the last two reigns which we have lived through, not alone in its rulers but through its rulers! May it ever continue so ! May it never recede from the lofty and commanding position of righteous hegemony to which we and the world have grown accustomed ! May the simple and devout life of Queen Victoria, the tact and intense humanity of King Edward, be blended in the character of our Sovereign Lord, King George, as he steps upon the Throne of his ancestors to rule over the millions of his subjects ; and may he, aided by the efforts of our Gracious Queen Mary, find his strongest support in the prayers and goodwill of his people, in their devotion and whole-hearted allegiance, irrespective of race, creed, or class ! And, brothers and sisters, while we weep for the dead, and pray for the living, let us at this hour, too, breathe a deep, deep prayer for her who has in the past done her work so well, borne so many trials and endured such crushing ordeals, for the sweet and noble lady of tears the Queen-Mother, who even in this hardest of all her sufferings will surely be true to her nature, and strive to be queen o'er her greatest sorrow. Heaven guard her and comfort her ! And as for the King of men, and the man of Kings, whom the world to-day is bewailing with an earnestness of sorrow far too deep for words . . . "The Peace he held most near his heart, That Peace to which his country's steps he led So well for us he played his royal part Broods o'er him lying dead ' So let him rest ! And let us pray I THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V (Spoken on Coronation-Day, June 22, 1911) FRIENDS! In a little work that fell into my hands the other day, I read in the preface the following words, which seemed to me to state in simple lan- guage the significance of the occasion for which we are met to-day : "The Throne is the rallying point of the British Empire. Great may be the differences in creed or politics ; deep may be the gulf which separates the many races under the British Crown, but the National Anthem unites them all. On sea or land, in crowded city or lonely prairie, ' God save the King ' rises from loyal lips wherever Britons meet together. . . . This marvellous mixture of peoples renders the task of the Sovereign an unceasing test of statemanship. ... As for the life-story of King George the Fifth, it has been a career which has finely fulfilled the motto of the Prince of Wales ' I serve.' Called unexpectedly, by the death of his elder brother, to the direct succession to the Throne, the King has risen to the greatness of his opportunities. By his side is Queen Mary, who has won the affection of the nation by her practical sympathy with the poor and her life-long pity for the suffering and the weak. . . . Monarchies, like every- thing else, have to justify their existence. The British Empire has been favoured greatly by the rule of 16 THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V 17 Queen Victoria and King Edward two very different personages, but each exercising an extraordinary in- fluence on the land they governed. Both strengthened the belief of the British people in the monarchical system. " To follow such high examples is a great honour, but also a tremendous responsibility. That our King and Queen may carry on this noble tradition and add to the lustre of the British Throne must be the sincere wish, as it is already the confident belief, of the hun- dreds of millions who in many climes call themselves British citizens," or live under British rule. And we, too, are here to-day as citizens of this realm to-day when the royal crowns have been set upon the heads of Their August Majesties to add our prayers and wishes for their continued and ever- increasing happiness to those which are offered up in every corner of the British Empire. It is not the first time, nor is it anything strange, that we, as Jews, join with all the loyalty in our breasts in the public demonstration of allegiance and good- will to the Throne. We join with our fellow-citizens in times of joy and sorrow, in times of war and in times of peace. But on no occasion can we be more deeply affected, I might even say interested, than at a time when a Monarch is consecrated to the high office of Ruler of his people ; for we are well aware that, in spite of the fact that ours is a constitutional monarchy, and that in reality the King reigns but does not rule, there is yet an influence that the English Sovereign is able to wield, which counts for much in national and international politics. No better examples can be adduced than those of the saintly Queen Victoria and the tactful King Edward VII. 18 THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V And when we Jews call to mind this day what the pure and peaceful atmosphere of the last two reigns has meant for the position of our race in this blessed country and its dependencies ; how the breath of civil and religious liberty, and the exercise of impartial justice, have quickened and strengthened the inherent powers of the English people, and have rendered the firmer and more solid the foundations upon which this Empire rests ; then, indeed, if but out of gratitude for what the English Constitution, with the Monarch at its head, has in the past done for us as part of the British people, our hearts should this day overflow with profound wishes and prayers for the Royal pair, who have been formally inducted into the glories and responsibilities of the most illustrious of Thrones. But King George and Queen Mary do not shine by the reflected light of their predecessors alone ; in the comparatively short period during which they have come into the public gaze, they have both given abun- dant evidence that they possess individualities of their own, that they have characteristics which are invalu- able in the making of an exemplary King and Queen, and that they mean to prove themselves fully worthy of the great traditions of the British Crown and people. No better augury can be adduced to justify this expectation of Their August Majesties than the utter- ance delivered by King George about a year ago, and which has been adopted as the motto of a National movement with which I am identified. On that occa- sion he remarked : " The foundations of national glory are set in the homes of the people. They will only remain unshaken while the family life of our race and nation is strong, simple, and pure." This utterance sounds like the saying of some great THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V 19 sage ; and, indeed, no man could give expression to so grand and lofty an idea, unless he himself be pene- trated by the conviction of its truth. How greatly would the happiness of an entire people and the prosperity of a nation be increased, if this dictum were adopted by all the men and women of a country ! It is to the homes of a people, to the simplicity and purity of these homes, that we have to look for the strongest foundations of national glory. And it is to the Royal Household and the Royal Court that we look to set an example in this respect to the people of the land. Happily for the present reign, this example is inherited ; for it was not flattery but ex- perience which prompted the late Poet Laureate, speaking of Queen Victoria, to say : "She wrought her people lasting good ; her Court was pure ; her life serene." The gorgeous pomp and ceremonial which marked the coronation of Their Majesties this day will not shine brighter in the recollections of the citizens of this country, than the lustre which will be derived from the bright example which they themselves will set in their own lives as the First Gentleman and Lady of the Realm. From the depths of our hearts do our prayers and petitions go up that our Heavenly Father, the Supreme King of kings, may grant strength and support to Their Majesties as they sit upon the Throne of their fathers ; we pray that He may endow them with health of body and health of mind to rule wisely and well ; that they may be spared the worries and troubles of conflict, whether from within or from without ; and that, preceding their children with the best example, they may be blessed to reign over a contented people, to 20 THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V their own honour and happiness, and to the honour and happiness of the entire nation. May it be the lot of his Majesty King George V to sanctify and solidify " the foundations of national glory " by a reign in which the exercise of uprightness and justice unto all classes shall be assured ! May " the homes of the people . . . remain unshaken . . . strong, simple, and pure " through the direct influence of the Crown ; and then, when the people raise their voices to testify their loyalty and allegiance, it will be no idle phrase or rabble-shout, but an earnest prayer and a pious wish, when they proclaim : " Long live the King " " God save the King." Amen ! Amen ! DR. MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER IN MEMORIAM (December 10, 1910) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! Those who are acquainted with the 51st Psalm will know the occasion upon which it was composed. Beautiful as it is in itself, there is one verse that stands out prominently, and must appeal to every child of man. It is so prayerful in its aspiration, so needful for every mortal, so indis- pensable when all else proves unavailing and vanity. mpa enn JIDJ rim D'r6x ^ *ni iina a 1 ? "0 God, create in me a pure heart, and renew within me the right spirit ! " Is there not, dear friends, a volume of prayer in this one verse ? Can we pray for anything better in life ? Can we forgo what is here prayed for, and yet live the proper life ? What is the value of wealth and knowledge without the possession of a pure heart ? What satisfaction will all the pleasures and joys of life yield, if the right and proper spirit be wanting ? Oh, if human beings would but realise this truth when ambitious schemes for material possessions enter their soul, when vexatious occurrences tear their hearts in twain, when unworthy desires assail them and life's mission is neglected by them ! Amid so much deceit and cunning met with in the world, amid the falsehood practised among the children of men, 21 22 DR. MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER amid the treachery which some consider necessary in pursuit of their own ends, what thought can more effectually strengthen us in the path of duty marked out for us in life, than the pathetic aspiration, " God, create in me a pure heart, and renew within me the right spirit ! " Purity amid impurity, the right spirit in face of so much that is wrong in the world ! Here is a tower of strength, a shield and buckler wherewith each one can arm himself, and prevent himself from falling a victim to the snares and delu- sions of this earth. It is just because we are mortal, and liable to sin, that we should pray for help, pray to be fortified, pray to be saved from the risk of doing wrong. The reckless and godless do not pray, because they will not be reminded of their follies and wickedness ; the wise and righteous feel the necessity to repeat this prayer, because they know that in the Sea of Life there are rocks and sandbanks ahead ; that unless they strengthen themselves before they are within reach of the danger, they may be overwhelmed, unmindful, un- prepared. Hence the value, the inspiration, the moral support of the prayer, " God, create in me a pure heart, and renew within me the proper spirit ! " If this one line of prayer alone were uttered by every mortal being each day of his or her life at morning and eventide, uttered with thoughtfulness and with a full intelligence of its comprehensiveness, would it be possible for man to sin, and render him- self unworthy of his origin and mission ? Dear friends ! A peculiar pathos, which can scarcely be known to any member of the congregation I am addressing, attaches to the simple yet beautiful text to which I have referred. I used these words in the address, which, forty-five years ago, I delivered in IN MEMQRIAM 23 the presence of friends on the occasion of my Bar- mitzvah. They come home to me at this hour with a special significance, amounting to solemnity ; for the words were suggested to me by one, and delivered in the presence of one, whose somewhat unexpected end has again this week called upon us to bow our heads in sorrow before the Throne of Him, in whose hands are the issues of the life of man. The news has already spread far and wide that the unique personality, that for forty-two years had pre- sided over the destinies of Jews' College as its Prin- cipal, has been removed from the scene of his earthly labours, and is being bewailed with a depth of feeling and a sincerity of sorrow, that will be rarely equalled in the case of the greatest and highest among us. For to us he always stood for the greatest and highest factor in the community responsible for the progress and elevation of Anglo-Jewry. Not only, therefore, have we ministers of the various English-speaking congregations, not only has Jews' College the training school of the Anglo-Jewish ministry suffered a grievous loss, but the Jewish community as a whole has lost a guide and friend, whose power and example among us it is almost impossible to translate into words. No picture, for- sooth, that will be delineated by any one of us of our ever-to-be-lamented and revered Dr. Friedlander will be perfect, and do him justice ; yet each of us may con- tribute some lines of the portraiture, and so help to produce a picture which, in the aggregate, may be somewhat worthy of the subject of our sketch. I do not to-day desire to present to you a bio- graphical notice of our departed teacher and friend ; you will have many an opportunity of perusing the story of his life-work. All that I can do is to convey 24 DR. MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER some impression, however feeble and inadequate, of the great yet silent power which the fascinating per- sonality of Dr. Friedlander exercised over those who came under his sway as a teacher, of the affection and devotion which his high and lofty character compelled in his pupils, of the privilege and inspiration which his friendship implied, and of the undying gratitude which a band of earnest communal workers places upon his tomb in honour of his blessed memory. I referred to Dr. Friedlander as a unique person- ality ; and if we consider him from only one point of view, I venture to think that this description of him is fully justified. For where, I ask, could there be found a better and truer type of the combination of meekness and profound learning than in the example before us ? His work in connection with Jews' College is the history of the College itself ; and many a past student can say of him, adapting the words used by Rabbi Akiba, when speaking to his pupils of the influ- ence of his wife, " All that we are is, indeed, due to him." And it dare not be forgotten, in speaking of his work at the College, that in his time he had to work against the heaviest odds and under the greatest disadvantages. His contributions to Hebrew literature will for ever bespeak his literary attainments, and will at the same time be a living monument of his intense love of Judaism, which was too deep and too reasonable to admit of the possibility of his being anything but tolerant in matters of religion. How forgivable and lovable his disposition ! This was but one phase of the meekness and modesty which characterised the man ; he could not think or speak ill of any man, nay, not even when he had undoubtedly received an injury from him. IN MEMORIAM 25 It was not, therefore, the abstract rules which he taught, the language and the literature which he explained, the intricacies of Jewish law which he expounded, for which we owe him a fullness of gratitude which cannot be expressed in words ; but it was the characteristics which unconsciously, as far as he was concerned, showed themselves in his example, the living teachings which his life-work afforded, in spite of his gentle and unobtrusive demeanour, that will live in the memory of those who came into close contact with him, and that, as we hope, will serve as a pattern to be copied, even if but imperfectly, in their own careers. And as regards the community (which as a whole is ungrateful), let it also do Dr. Friedlander the justice which he deserves, and not forget the work and the worker, let it think of him with a grateful heart and in the right spirit. How truly did he, in his own example, carry out the aspiration of the Psalmist, " God, create in me a pure heart, and renew within me the right spirit ! " How truly did he labour to inspire his disciples with the same lofty sentiments ! May these his disciples never prove false to his teachings ; and may those of our community who listen to the words which he speaks, delivered at the hands of those whom he trained, profit by the contemplation of a life rich in sublimity and noble in character ; so that when their course on earth be run and their work be done, it may as confidently be said of them as of the beloved master, who has just answered Heaven's call, having been summoned hence, " Mark the innocent man, and behold the upright ; for the latter end of that man is peace ! " THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS THE BIBLE-EPITOME. (1911) DEAR FRIENDS ! This is an age of centralisation and concentration, and occasionally we are reminded that the habit is overdone in our public life. Nowadays our food-stuffs are concentrated essence ; and in our hurry and haste the attempt is made in some quarters to satisfy the physical requirements of man's being by substituting tabloids, to be swallowed in an instant, for articles of diet usually partaken of at what is called a good square meal. Strange as it may appear, the same things seem to be happening in matters of religion. Religion and re- ligious observance seem to be taking up too much time for some people. Public worship has to be curtailed in some way ; and, therefore, expedients have to be sought for harmonising old relics of a religious past with the demands and exigencies of the time-saving present. Some of you may have read in the newspapers a few days ago that at a Conference not Jewish this time held in America, a certain minister of religion suggested that the Ten Commandments, usually read in the course of the Service, was out of date and too lengthy, and it 36 had therefore to be cut down in order to be read to the length of a line or half a line each. We are certainly used to surprises hailing from the other side of the Atlantic ; but this is really too pre- posterous a suggestion. Why include it at all in the service, if it take up too much time ? We have a short form, it is true, which is taught amongst us to our infants ; but there is good reason for that ; and we should have thought that members of an adult congregation would scarcely grudge the few minutes devoted to the rehearsal of the simplest, yet grandest, rules of instruction ever transmitted to, or possessed by, any body throughout any age. But, as I said, even religion, it is now demanded, should be administered in tabloid form. Well, I am even prepared to take at its word our community, or any community that derives its inspira- tion from the Bible, and its rules of conduct from the Pentateuch, and to point to one of the chapters read as to-day's Sabbath lesson. I would say that here, in the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, we have a whole Bible of instruction in con- centrated form the essence of religion and religious observance contained in a few verses. These can be taken and digested in very little time ; they require no commentary to make them clear and intelligible ; and yet I would ask : Are the commands and the warn- ings embodied in this nineteenth chapter of Leviticus observed even by the large majority of our own people ? See the number of commands and precepts set forth' in this beautiful chapter of Holy Writ ! The heading of the chapter might be the one word " Holiness " ; " Be ye holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." As much as to say, man's holiness, approach- 28 NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS ing the ideal which God sets before him, will be at- tained, if he will but carry out the duties which are enumerated in the verses that follow. In very truth, we might almost characterise this chapter as the Bible-epitome. Herein are emphasised the prime duties of filial love and obedience ; the importance of Sabbath observance and of the pure worship of God ; the laws of sacrifice, and connected therewith, the duty of charity ; the necessity for honesty in dealing with one another ; the high standard of integrity and the strictest truthfulness to be observed in all connexions ; the sinfulness of tale-bearing and slander, of secret enmity and hate ; culminating in that all-comprehensive statement, the originality of which those of another faith are so prone to rob us of, namely, the doctrine, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Then, again, we are reminded in this chapter of the sanctity of public worship, and that the Sabbath is a fit occasion for such solemn assemblies ; that the Sabbath itself, dating from hoary antiquity, and there- fore entitled to our respect, is to remind us of the respect we should pay to hoary old age ; that the stranger, once having taken up his abode among us, should be as the native ; the Jewish code knew nothing of an " alien " nor of an " Alien Bill " ; he was bidden " Do no iniquity in the case of a judgment." With what precision and forethought, too, are the very expressions chosen in this chapter ! What fine lessons do they convey ! As an example V2N1 ION KK 1KTn " A man shall fear his mother and his father," says the third verse. Why does Scripture place the mother before the father in this passage ? With good reason. We might think, from the order observed in the Fifth Commandment, " Honour thy father and THE BIBLE EPITOME 29 thy mother," that the father is entitled to greater respect than the mother ; this chapter comes to tell us that it is not so, but that the father and mother are entitled to equal respect at the hands of their children. Again : " Every man shall fear his mother and his father ; and ye shall observe My Sabbaths." In the juxtaposition of these two clauses may be found the answer to the question debated on Sunday last, at the Conference of the teachers engaged in religious instruction. It was asked, Of what use is it for children to be taught at the classes the principles and observances of Judaism, if they never witness their performance at home ? Nay, further, it was even suggested that it might be considered dangerous, something immoral, to set child against parent in consequence of such teaching. The answer is given above : " Every man shall fear his mother and his father." Beyond doubt, filial respect and obedience form the foundation of society it is the law of nature ; but this law dare not come into conflict with the Law of God. Filial obedience goes only to that length at which it does not clash with obedience to Heaven, with loyalty to religion. As soon as it does, then there is one law for one's parent, and another law for one's religion, which is absurd. Therefore, says Scripture, taking but one example, " Fear your mother and your father " ; but remember, when they bid you act contrary to what your Faith demands, then obey Me (says God), " Observe My Sabbaths." This, too, must be the principle to guide the religious teachers in Israel, whether school-teachers or pulpit- speakers. 30 NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS Their duty it is to teach and preach the lessons of Judaism, not the message desired of the people ; to declare the duties of their religion, and to hope that willing ears may produce faithful hearts, the fruit of which may be found after many days. It is not for the teacher to inquire whether the child witnesses the observances of Judaism carried out in the home, and perhaps to he discouraged in enforcing the lesson, because the child is bereft of the proper home- training in this respect. His duty is clear : to trust to the rising generation, to sow the seed in the mind and heart of the child, even though the parents' ears and hearts be closed to instruc- tion ; to trust to time and teaching to do their work, praying that if nothing else succeeds, the day may come when " the hearts of the fathers shall be turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers," and that in many an instance, though late in life, the Jewish father may learn to love his Judaism from the example of his own child. " May zeal for the Lord of Hosts bring this about," speedily, even in our days. Amen ! ON ZEAL (1912) DEAR FRIENDS ! On the last two Sabbaths we con- sidered the emotion of "Jealousy" in its several aspects. We derived our lessons from two phrases in Scripture, in which the Hebrew word for the expres- sion of " jealousy " occurred, viz., DTT^Q 1DN iwp'l " And the Philistines envied Isaac " (Gen. xxvi. 14), and again nnruo hm wpm " And Rachel was jealous of her sister" (ibid. xxx. 1). Now although this root N3.i? in the Hebrew language denotes a quality in the human subject which is far from admirable and righteous, it is but proper to point out to you that it also implies a good quality, in fact, that it bears within itself the idea of a mode of life, which has actually to be imitated by all who attach an importance to such expressions of human activity as firmness, sincerity, loyalty, and defiance, when it is a question of cherished principles, following upon inward conviction as to the righteousness of a cause. I need but remind you that this root xjp occurs several times as applied to God Himself, particularly in a connection which will be known to every Jewish man, woman, and child, in the Ten Commandments. " Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them (idols), for I, the Lord thy God, am KJi? '8 * a zealous n 32 ON ZEAL God.' " I have always objected to the ordinary transla- tion of this expression, " & jealous God," even though it be but an archaic form for " zealous " ; for the child, unable to make a distinction between archaic and modern forms of speech, grows up with the idea that the quality of " jealousy," in the sense in which we now use it as applied to man, is also an attribute of God the Creator and Preserver of the Universe. Such misconceptions from earliest years have to be avoided in the training of the child. But how then, are we to understand the expression, when applied to God ? Wherever in the Scriptures this word #}P. " jealous " or " zealous," or nwp the substantive, " jealousy or zeal," is used as applied to God, it occurs only in contexts which speak of the sin of idolatry, and of the necessity in the interests of man and for man's own good, of putting it down, and crushing it out of existence, by every means possible. In this sense only, God is a " jealous " God, " zealous " rather in His desire that His creatures on earth shall not go astray after the dictates of their own hearts, shall not give their allegiance to, or put their trust in, false objects of adoration false gods, fashioned by human hands, that cannot help when appealed to, frail and transitory as the fashioners of the idols themselves. The Hebrew expression then would come to mean " zealous for the maintenance of authority" or even (to speak more colloquially) " to take one's part" I would cite but two instances in the Bible where this idea is brought out very clearly, one in the Pentateuch, and one in the 1st Book of Kings. When Phineas, the grandson of Aaron, incensed at the corruption which Israel's contact with the people of Moab had brought about, on one occasion took the ON ZEAL 33 law into his own hands and destroyed the offenders, we read the following words : " And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy " (Numbers xxv. 10-11). This is the wording of the Anglican and Revised translations. Who can understand the meaning of Scripture from such a rendering of the Hebrew ? What is really meant is this : God approves the act of Phineas, and withholds His anger from the people D?iri3 7^i? na< iN}p_3 because Phineas " was zealous in maintaining God's authority among them " ; in other words, because " he took God's part and vindicated" the principles of morality and purity among the people. This is the undoubted significance of the terms i3i?? and *nwp in this connection. Again, when Elijah went about in danger of his life at the hands of Jezebel, and he came into a cave and lodged there, and the word of the Lord came unto him saying, " What doest thou here, Elijah ? " he answered : N3X 'ribs* 'rh n'? 'n&Jp (gener- ally translated) " I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy." What is really meant is, that God expresses His zeal on behalf of Jerusalem and Zion to be very great : the comfort intended is that God Himself will in the fullness of time vindicate the honour of Jerusalem and Zion, and restore to them the authority and influence which they once possessed, now lost to them. And now, dear brothers and sisters, having dwelt thus far, though briefly and simply in outline, upon the grammatical peculiarities of these expressions and their true meaning according to the Hebrew original, what are the vital lessons which these seemingly dry speculations may afford to every Jew and Jewess at all times ? Just as in our addresses on the last two Sabbaths, we showed the folly and sinfulness of the hateful quality in man, envy or jealousy, and denounced it as the canker of the system, working in time its physical and moral destruction, so do we commend for admiration and adoption by every right-thinking man and woman that characteristic which underlies the quality of nK?|? in its good sense " zeal " on behalf of a cause in which one believes, springing from sincerity and conviction, and expressing itself in ON ZEAL 35 loyalty and firmness, and even, if need be, in defiance. No human being has ever yet succeeded in the ordinary affairs of life without such qualities as a clear perception of aim, and the powers of determination and endurance to carry out that aim an endurance popularly known as "backbone" or "grit." And if this be so in the case of everyday things, what shall we say concerning the higher interests of life, concerning such possessions as are implied in the terms "race" and "religion"? With the wider aspect we cannot deal to-day ; but as regards our own racial and religious characteristics, how does the matter stand ? Should we, as Jews, not be " zealous " for the Lord, the God of Hosts ? Should it not be our dearest aim in life to vindicate the honour of our race by our mode and manner of living ? Should we not stand forth to the world as patterns of firmness and devotion, of sincerity and loyalty in the cause of Judaism, and the principles for which it has fought from the days of old ? In a few days we shall be celebrating the time- honoured Feast of Hanucah, which again brings home to us the splendid triumphs which our people were able to achieve, as long as they did not lose that one vital characteristic without which neither individual nor nation can succeed and live the sense of fidelity to the cause and mission for which it has been called into being. Eliminate that one characteristic from the pro- gramme of the Jew, and he ceases to be a Jew : no Jewish programme will remain in any country. Phineas saw the danger in those early days, and he rose up, and endeavoured, in his own drastic manner, to put an end to the danger ; thus vindicating the 36 ON ZEAL authority of Heaven, and sparing his own people the possibility of their extinction. Dear Friends : Let us take a lesson from the events which are passing before our eyes at the present hour. Into the causes and side-issues of the war we will not enter, but the facts we cannot ignore. Let us heed the warning. In the words of Amos, to-day's Haphtara : " Shall the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid ; shall evil befall a city, and the Lord hath not done it ? " No, dear friends, let us learn from the errors of others. That the Turks, contrary to all expectation, have been mercilessly beaten, and have suffered severely, is now a matter of history. What is it, apart from military considerations, which has been alleged time after time in all accounts of their defeat, to have contributed beyond doubt to their disaster and downfall ? It is that the Turkish people under the new regime, living under conditions for which they were scarcely ripe, had gradually lost that sense of fidelity to their cause and mission to which I have before referred. " What the Turks lacked more than anything else (we are told) is their ancient warlike spirit, their fanaticism, their discipline. The Young Turks, dimi- nishing the absolute religious power of the Sultan and the integrity of the army, have cut off the true unique sources of the vitality of the Empire." Again, the fact has been adduced to account for Turkey's present painful position, that " the once fanatical, furious, and dauntless Turkish army, which was formed into a homogeneous whole by religion and nationality , has taken into itself elements which have no interest in the maintenance of the Ottoman Empire, and whose sympathies were with the enemy. Historical ON ZEAL 37 experience teaches that States and Empires can be kept alive and flourishing only by the forces to which they owe their existence, and that was here pure Osmanism, which has now been mixed." What two splendid texts for Sermons for the Propa- gation of Judaism among the Jews ! Apply the several lessons having reference to the Turkish people, contained in these sentences, to our own people, and the application will be as true as any axiomatic truth with which we are familiar. If we Jews are to continue and live, if we believe that our cause and mission are not yet fulfilled, that we owe a duty to our race and religion, even a duty to humanity at large, then let us see to it that we preserve and lose not our ancient spirit, our fanaticism (of the right sort, by which I mean our " religious scruples," as it is often termed), our discipline. There is a form of " absolute religious power " which we too have to conserve, and which we dare not diminish ; there is a form of " integrity of the army " which we, as Jews, as the army of the Lord of Hosts, have to preserve, if we sincerely wish that the true unique sources of our vitality as a people be not cut off. And now, briefly, for the second text, pregnant with meaning and reflection for the Jewish people. Many a time have I discoursed on the subjects of " Assimilation " and " Mixed Marriages." Unless we Jews form at all times a " homogeneous whole" by religion and nationality ; if we "take into our camp elements which have no direct interest in the maintenance of our Empire Judaism, whose sympathies must be with our enemies" ; if we ignore the teachings of history that " States and Empires can be kept alive and flourishing only by the forces to 38 ON ZEAL which they owe their existence," and not by any admixture, Judaism and the Jew are bound to perish together, and to add but another example to the teachings and warnings of History. May such a state of things never come to pass in the case of the Judaism so dear to us ! But we have to be on the alert ; we have to be up and doing. No folding of the arms ; no cry of "peace," when there is no peace. Action, earnest action, is required, to rouse the slumbering Jew from his sleep of indifference ; to strengthen the weak and doubting in doctrine and duty ; to infuse into the minds and hearts of our children a knowledge and a love of our Creed and Practice as Jews ; to defend our cause against enemies from within and from without ; to resist the attempts to introduce by inter-marriage into our corporate body " elements which have no interest in the maintenance " of our race and religion ; and to emphasise in season and out of season the folly and the sinfulness of those of our brethren who, for mundane purposes, truckle to the habits of their non-Jewish neighbours, and ultimately cut themselves adrift from the House of Israel, to which they and their ancestors formerly belonged. Fidelity to our cause and mission ; zeal in the service of God and man. Be these our watchwords as Jews ; and may we, in being faithful to the cause, be helped by the " zeal of the Lord of Hosts " nxT nwvn nitox 'n nwp. So may it be, Amen ! "THE MIRACLE" (January 20, 1912) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! For some few weeks past the metropolis has had an opportunity of witnessing a remarkable representation of dramatic art, such as it has seldom, if ever, seen before. The ordinary play- goer may have been disappointed, and even this is not quite certain ; but to those who visit the theatre not merely for amusement, but for instruction, not merely to while away an hour or two, but to be uplifted by what they see and hear, to such the extraordinary performance of " The Miracle," produced in our midst at the present time, is not only a revelation in itself, but is further a revelation of the power of dramatic art, to appeal even without words not only to the sensations, but to the emotions of man. It was decided by the management to devote yester- day's representation to a special performance, to which only the members of the clergy of the various denomi- nations should be invited ; and it is because of this general invitation to the clergy, even to those denomi- nations which naturally dissent in the widest possible manner from the leading and central idea of " The Miracle," that I deem it appropriate to make this Play the theme of brief reflection in my address to you to-day. It is because we feel that, though imbedded in a 39 40 "THE MIRACLE" setting which is utterly at variance with the funda- mental creed of Judaism, there is yet so much to learn from the general tendence of the Play the leit-motif running through it is so general in its application, and so independent of creed and religious system that we have no hesitation in saying that no Jew or Jewess in whom the religious sentiment is strong, or at least exists, can witness this remarkable presentation of a Christian idea without becoming, on the one hand, more deeply impressed with certain religious and moral truths, and, on the other hand, more deeply attracted to the Judaism which he or she professes. It is not for us to touch upon the main idea on this occasion ; it belongs rather to the study of religion or ecclesiastical history ; it belongs rather to creed than to practice, to theoretical speculation or metaphysical problems than to practical rules of life. But as regards the moral and religious teachings, apart from the main idea which clusters round " The Miracle " ; as regards the subsidiary lessons which for practical purposes are every whit as important, perhaps even more important than the leading theme ; these teachings might well engage our attention for a few moments, even though the time at our disposal will not permit us to review them in full. When I first witnessed this splendid and solemn example of dumb show, so eloquent in its messages by the vividness and reality of its scenic effects without the utterance of a single word, I carried away with me at the conclusion of the performance three leading lessons. What are they ? First, that those who would be an example to others in the high office which they assume must first test their own powers and fitness for the higher life into which they are entering. They have to assure "THE MIRACLE" 41 themselves and this may be done, should be done, in all the privacy of self-communion that the mission which they are undertaking is theirs ; that no self- interest beyond that of being able to be of service to those whom they desire to benefit, lies at the root of their devotion ; and when this is realised, then it is necessary too that they assure themselves of their fitness by temperament and by resolution to fulfil that mission, and to discharge its duties, regardless of all temptation. The sirenic race of the world's pleasures dare not divert them from their vocation, which should claim their undivided attention and devotion. The alluring notes of the world's demands dare not draw them away from the duties which they have once taken upon themselves ; the grosser things of life should not alienate them from the higher life and more spiritual living : they have to be proof against the impulses, the baser and meaner impulses, which are continually at war within man, from the hour of his birth until the close of life. And this is the lesson, dear friends, which each and every man and woman may take to heart, even those leading ordinary lives, to whom life has been given that they may lead in the proper path others entrusted to their care, or who look to them for example and guidance. Secondly, the truth is impressed upon us, not by words, but by the action of the play, that whatever happens to us in life is the result of our own doings ; and one of the general causes which contribute to our errors in life is that, even in serving, we are prone to forget authority ; we refuse to obey, and our dis- obedience argues our fall. Surely every mortal knows that obedience is Nature's first law, and man is but a part of Nature. 42 "THE MIRACLE" Where, I ask, would be the happiness and order of the house if the authority of the parent were absent ? What would become of the state of society if there were no such things as laws and regulations, rendered effective by authority ? And to think that every man and woman should be a law unto him or her self, and society still remain sane and healthy ! There are times, dear friends, when we feel that we cannot always be self-dependent, or independent of the help of others ; there are times that come upon men which proclaim to them, in no uncertain tones, that their weak natures demand support from without and from Above ; that they are insufficient in themselves, and that they must gain the strength they require by the exercise of that faith which at times may be well-nigh dead within them, and which demands the purging fire of trial and tribulation to rekindle it, and make it burn anew and more brightly in the human breast. A reliant faith, then, in the goodness and mercy of Heaven is what is needed by mortals at all times, but especially in the hour when we are bowed down by the weight of woe, or maybe weighed down by remorse and self-reproach at the knowledge that we ourselves have contributed in no small degree to that condition of life, in ;which the horizon of our happi- ness has been darkened by the cloud that has gathered from the mists of our own ignorance and presumption. How necessary it is to emphasise this consideration, namely, that much, if not all, that happens to us, is the result of our own doings ; that much that happens to us could be avoided, did we but resolve upon a firm line of action in life. It is easy to cast our burdens upon others, even upon God ; but then, in the words of our Sages, " God helps "THE MIRACLE" 43 those who help themselves " ; and to no aspect of human activity does this apply more truly than to that in which the human subject, recognising the frailty and weakness of his nature, resolves to crush the tendency to disobedience within him, and to bend the knee 'in submission and humility to the Power " that says, and it is done." Thirdly. From first to last, apart from the symbol of Divine Power, there is one solitary figure which engrosses our attention ; at times it moves silently and slowly across the arena ; at others, it flits hurriedly across the scene ; now it is there in sincere adoration, forgetful of the world, at another moment it has flown from our sight and from duty, enraptured by the world ; we see it now bright and joyous in religious exercise, now gloomy and despairing at the recollection of some grievous sin. Who is this solitary individual that stands out so prominently beyond the range of hundreds of men and women moving before our eyes ? But a simple woman ; the maiden that had chosen a walk of life which she had not the power to sustain without fall- ing. Only the history of millions of human beings from the beginning of time ! We resolve ; we slip. We attempt ; we fail. We proceed ; we stop. How dreadful the prospect, however, if, when we solemnly wish to regain, we feel that all is lost ! Happily we wish to feel that it is not so ; for our peace of mind, for our continued existence, it is necessary that it should not be so; and hence the importance of the part played by the one solitary individual. The message conveyed in the role of " the nun " seems to me to be this That to reclaim one sinner, to call back to duty one human life, is worth the efforts of hundreds of the world's children. The 44 "THE MIRACLE" whole action, occupying over two hours, centres round the life-story of this one nun. How clearly did our sages of old recognise this truth when they remarked, " He who preserves one life is as though he had kept alive an entire world " ! May it be our aim in life to interpret this statement at least in this manner, that the life which is given to each and every one of us should be employed by us in so right and worthy a manner that we may be sure of its being preserved to us here and hereafter ; so that it may be said of us, that we have been partakers with God in the preservation and perpetuation of the world, which He has called into being. May this be our noblest privilege on earth, Amen ! PENTECOST AND PALESTINE (1912) DEAR FRIENDS ! Though the whole of last Sabbath's Haphtara is a stirring message to the people of the time, containing useful lessons for those of all times, yet the opening words of this passage from Hosea suggest thoughts to me on this Festival which I think you will readily understand and appreciate. The lesson from the prophet begins : " And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured, nor numbered ; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together " (Hosea i. 10-11). Just " as the sand of the sea cannot be measured or numbered," so may it be said of Israel that its influence cannot be measured or estimated. One is tempted to think that only when people dwell together in one geographically defined spot can they become great or powerful, and exert the influence which it is their mission to wield. But to disprove this, one need go no further than the example of Great Britain itself, which, by means of its far-reaching colonising power, has made its influence felt in every part of the habitable globe. 45 46 PENTECOST AND PALESTINE With the people of Israel, too, history has shown that its dispersion among the nations of the earth was a necessary element in the scheme of Divine working, having for its object the dissemination of the cardinal principles and teachings of Judaism, which could never have been accomplished had Israel remained stationary in its own land. Israel had to sin. Israel, for its punishment, had to be scattered as the sand of the sea, in order to carry its fertilising power to the four: corners of the earth. But there was a serious danger in this experiment ; and our people, every now and again in their dispersion, fell victims to the danger, for they forgot the cause through which they were carried into captivity. They forgot their God ; they forgot they were God's people ; they aped the manners and follies of the Gentiles among whom they dwelt ; they often even changed their God for that which was not God ; they aposta- tised, or withdrew from connection with their brethreni; and yet, when it suited them, they would call them- selves Jews. "When Israel forgot his Maker, he would build temples." So it has always been ; so it is even now. But the faithful among us have the consoling message of prophecy, which is of undoubted value in the work before us. " It shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." And when, continues the message, shall this happen ? When " the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together." The union of Israel's forces, the combination of Israel's strength the world over, the evidence of the corporate moral power and influence of the Jewish people scattered throughout the globe, these are the PENTECOST AND PALESTINE 47 conditions necessary for the fulfilment of Israel's mission to mankind. Now and again movements in our midst, here and abroad, seem to indicate the existence of a revival of Judaism or Jewishness in our midst. They may be but small movements ; they may be but spasmodic movements ; but they are sufficient at times to make their influence felt ; yes, if it be merely for a time, their influence must make for good. I have been led into this train of thought by The Palestine Exhibition and Bazaar, which was held among us during the past week. It is not for me here to praise the enthusiasm and devotion of those who have worked hard to ensure success to this latest movement, evidencing interest in Palestine and our brethren there. What I am more concerned about is to focus some of the impressions which the Exhibition must have made upon the observer ; how Jews, living in England, proved themselves, in the words of our text, " children of the living God " ; how, furthermore, " the children of Judah and the children of Israel were gathered together" on that occasion, and what was its significance. There was so much to see, and so much to learn on that occasion ; but I could not help being struck by a beautiful example of needlework, giving a fanciful illustration of the motto embroidered in letters of gold, words of Scripture read on the Sabbath before last : " I will break the bonds of your yoke." In a word, this seemed to me to be the keynote of the Exhibition ; this seems to me to be the keynote of Israel's salvation and ultimate redemption. " I will break the bonds of your yoke," says God. But we ourselves have to break the bonds of our 48 PENTECOST AND PALESTINE yoke first. Only then when we break down the artificial barriers between Jew and Jew, between the foreign Jew and the English Jew, between the West-end Jew and the East-end Jew, between the orthodox Jew and the progressive Jew, can we expect the bonds of our yoke to be lifted ; can we expect the fetters which are tightened around our people to be broken ; can we expect to take our proper position, not in one favoured country alone, but in the Parliament of the countries of the world. There, in the crowded avenues of the Exhibition, representing a street in Jerusalem (beautiful symbol !), there stood shoulder to shoulder the various types of Anglo-Jewry ; the richest and the poorest, the titled and the untitled Jews and Jewesses of this country, the staunchest and most lax in matters of Jewish ceremonial, the learned and the ignorant among us all endeavouring to further one object, all looking with their mind's eye to the distant country once our own one yet to be our own in God's good time. Why should this harmony not always be ? Why should we, as Jews, not always stand shoulder to shoulder in the great work which our mission demands ? Surely it is time we broke the bonds of our exclusiveness, of our self-interest or selfishness, of our snobbishness, of our affected superiority, of our timidity, and, if you like, of our spirit of faithlessness, when it is a question of dealing with the greater problem of the condition of our brethren in the lands of their oppression. What about our unfortunate brethren in countries like Russia and Roumania ? Have they no " bonds to be broken " ? Though, as some hold, the problem of the Jews in Russia is a Russian not a Jewish PENTECOST AND PALESTINE 49 question, let the highest and greatest among the Jews living in the favoured countries of Europe neglect no opportunity to press forward, and bring under the notice of the world's tribunal, the demand for justice, for emancipation, for regeneration, which comes from the millions of our fellow-religionists living (if we may use the term) under the iron heel of Russian despotism ? Little more than a week ago, in connection with only one point of Jewish oppression, namely the revival of the blood-accusation in Russia, did the embodiment of Christian sentiment and goodwill, in the form of a protest, show that the Jew has some friends, where Justice, and Liberty, and Life are at stake. May the Jew in distress never fail to find such friends among his own people ! for (in the words of our Sages) |K DniDK JV3C lovr SO1 B>nnn " The man who is bound in fetters, and labouring under disabilities, is him- self unable to free himself from the prison-house." Others must do it for him, or at least show him the way, and help him ; others living under happier and better conditions. " And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." " Sons of the living God," and therefore a living people ; one not moribund, but filled with the breath of life ; one not forgetful of, or ashamed to speak in, the language of old, the living Hebrew tongue ; but one whose identity is known by the language which he employs both in his Synagogue and in his daily life. Who can gainsay the beauty and power of the Hebrew language, the influence of its association with the days of our ancient history ? The object-lesson afforded by the Hebrew play at 4 50 PENTECOST AND PALESTINE the Exhibition, in which children of different classes of Jews took part, was touching in the extreme. It was a silent rebuke of the tendency of modern times to cultivate every language and literature save one's own ; to take care of and guard the vineyard of every other people, meaning its language and literature, and to neglect our own vineyard, the Hebrew Lan- guage and Literature. To say that Hebrew is not a living language, after one listens to the recital of " Joseph and his brethren " and of other Hebrew plays, by Jewish children gathered together in the Portman Rooms in the West, or as I also recently witnessed in the East of London by the children attending the Redmans Road, Talmud Torah ! Hebrew not a living language, when daily news- papers are printed in the language in various countries of Europe, and even in the metropolis ; when in Jeru- salem, in the schools and in the outer world, it is the vernacular, and becoming more so day by day ! I observed among the youthful actors, rehearsing the history of Joseph of old type of our own sufferings as a people some children of parents who scarcely sub- scribe to the ceremonies and ordinances of Judaism, but are yet proud to call themselves " Jews." These children see very little of the distinctive side of Judaism in their homes ; but yet who can tell whether their taking part in a Hebrew play in which the sonorous accents of the Sacred Language have become familiar to them, if only by a few weeks' preparation ; who can tell, I say, whether a stimulus may not have been applied indirectly which, in time, may quicken in their youthful hearts a sense of pride in the race of their fathers, an interest in the religion into which they were born, a fondness for the sacred language in which we pray, and with years may raise the deter- PENTECOST AND PALESTINE 51 mination to prove themselves, in every sense of the word, true children of Israel ? This is a pleasing and fitting reflection for us on this Festival of Revelation. I have, on a former occasion, referred to the grand work done in the Evelina de Rothschild School and the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem ; how the entire character and spirit of the Jewish popu- lation is becoming transformed by the operations of these schools, so that one is fully justified in re-echoing the wish expressed by the organisers of the Palestine Exhibition : " The attempt at once to make the growing Jewish population of Jerusalem self-supporting and indepen- dent, and for the first time in 2,000 years to foster an artistic impulse which shall have a distinctive Jewish character, should win sympathy and support from Jews all the world over." But this sympathy and support must be extended even further than the question of the individual or the schools. After all, whatever form of Judaism we profess or have been born into, whatever aspect of Zionism we adopt, one thing is certain : Palestine, as a country, should have more interest for the Jew than for the non-Jew. In a certain sense, Palestine is ours ; it is our pos- session ; how, or when, we shall again come to our own, we cannot say. They misunderstand the problem, the prophecy of the ancient Scriptures, or the meaning of modern movements, who think that all Israel will be forced to return to Palestine ; they who are unwill- ing may, as in the days of old when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, remain in lands outside Palestine ; but we, as a Jewish body, we, as a Jewish people, dare not lose sight of the fact that we have a prior right to our country of old. Alas for our slackness (perhaps it was 52 PENTECOST AND PALESTINE owing to our weakness) in days gone by, that we suffered every Power in Europe even Powers that now harass and butcher our poor brethren without mercy to encroach upon our rightful and lawful possession ! Alas that we did not do more to secure, by colonisation, a greater share of the country than we at present own. May the future make amends for past neglect ! np-m &6x mw vb&m TK " Jerusalem can only be redeemed," say our Sages, " by charity." Surely not by mere doles, gifts in money and kind, which frequently pauperise instead of raising. No, indeed, neither Jerusalem nor the Jew can be redeemed and regenerated by charity, as usually understood. But Jerusalem will one day raise its head again ; the Jew will have accomplished his mission in the world, when true charity, having " broken the bonds of the yoke " which enslave the world, shall as a golden chain link men's hearts together the heart of the unbeliever to the faithful, the heart of the Christian to the Jew, the heart of the Jew to his brother, uniting them in the all-encircling bond of Universal Love and Brother- hood, in the era of a Revelation which has yet to be made manifest in the world. May we live to see it. Amen ! CAPTAIN SCOTT (February 1913) DEAR FRIENDS ! It has been remarked by a great English writer, that " in the bow of the boat is the gift of another world. Without it, what prison would be so strong as that white and wailing sea ? But the nails that fasten together the planks of the boat's bows are the rivets of the fellowship of the world. Their iron does more than draw lightning out of heaven ; it leads love round the earth." And if this be true of the ordinary mariner engaged in a voyage round the world, how much truer is it of the sea-going life bent upon the voyage of discovery in unknown tracts of country, in icy regions, far removed from civilisation and the haunts of men ! What form of valour appeals more to the millions of the earth than that which is undertaken at the bidding of one's own adventurous ambition, or at the request of some learned Society, in the interests of scientific knowledge ? The nails which have held together the planks of the boat's bows of the brave party in quest of the South Pole have become the rivets of the fellowship of the world. From all corners of the earth, there is beatingat the present hour one common pulse of admiration and sympathy for the intrepid comrades, who in their 53 54 CAPTAIN SCOTT success met with failure, and who, in the hour of triumph, went to their doom. No more thrilling story of adventure, no more tragic story of heroic effort ending in disaster, has ever been told in the pages which have engaged the interest and roused the curiosity of men. Disasters, more appalling in their magnitude, do occur from time to time in the world's history ; but the heart of the British nation, with its keen love of the sea, and its association with exploring expeditions, melts in sorrow at the mournful intelligence that this brave Captain and his four com- panions have perished in the noble discharge of duty. The melancholy tidings have stirred not only the hearts of Englishmen, but expressions of sorrow and sympathy have poured in from every corner of the habitable globe. In memory of these undaunted workers in the service of Science, the national feeling gave expres- sion to its grief yesterday in the grand Cathedral of the City of London ; but the world's tribute is being sped along the wires of countries without intermission, while country is vieing with country, potentate and ruler are joining in the desire to do honour to the memory of men, who have added to the world's examples another illustration of patient endurance, of courage, and "no surrender," of fearless activity in the face of danger, where duty and devotion are concerned. While the Government will readily attend to the task of providing for those who were dependent upon the illustrious dead, we are pleased to learn that " it is sought to commemorate for future generations a unique and shining example of those qualities which make up the highest heroism ; dauntless courage and stubborn perseverance in the face of danger and CAPTAIN SCOTT 55 death ; the willing sacrifice, even of life itself, for the sake of weaker comrades ; unquestioning obe- dience to the dictates of duty and honour ; resigna- tion and unshaken fortitude in the last hour." Our sympathy, deep and sincere, goes out to the widows, relatives, and children of the brave men ; we invoke Heaven's blessings of comfort in their sorrow, praying that they may be sustained in their trial, grievous as it is, by the consoling thought, that those whom they hold in sweet remembrance have become renowned in history as men who died at the post of duty, in the performance of work, cheerfully undertaken, nobly done. THE SACRIFICE (1913) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! With this Sabbath we again begin the reading -of the Third of the Five Books of Moses. In character it differs entirely from that of the other portions of the Torah, and contains prescrip- tions for the Service of the Sanctuary by the tribe of Levi, the sacrifices being the leading theme, and sac- rifice in general being the foundation of practically all the various laws and ceremonies of cleanliness and self- denial with which the Israelites were charged by the Word of God. To some the recital of several of the chapters con- tained in this portion of Scripture may appear weari- some, out-of-date, and obsolete ; they may ask, " Cui bono ? " What is the use of spending time rehearsing year after year, for week upon week, laws which after all do not apply in the absence of Temple and Altar ? Personally I know the question is often asked; but then, leaving aside the sense of historic continuity which we should expect every Jew to possess the historic sense, so fine and grand a feeling, and yet one which can only be felt, not taught surely the words of Holy Writ contain within them the starting point for so much reflection and counsel (apart from their immediate purpose), that we should as Jews deem it a privilege to be taught the lessons of life H THE SACRIFICE 57 and living to draw our instruction from the fountain of Living Waters, which has welled forth from the days of old. To emphasise this remark of mine, we need go no further than the opening words of the Book of Leviticus : DIN Dn^K rroo htnttr> ' hx -an 'rh pnp D3D anp 3 " Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them : The man that offers of you an offering unto the Lord." A short clause and a dry one, I hear some exclaim. Not so, dear friends, one long enough for reflection, longer than you might care to listen to, and certainly not dry, but as fresh in its application to-day as it was at the time it was pro- mulgated. Nay more, with time these words may have gained in richness, and become spiritual rather than material in import. To deal with the subject of the Sacrificial System among the early Hebrews, its origin and purpose, its primary or derivative character, its advantages and abuses, and its various other phases in Jewish History, would be impossible within the limits of a pulpit dis- course. But I would, in a word, remind you that in spite of the importance attached to the System in the Hebrew Law-Book, in spite of the space and details allotted to it, in spite of the stringency with which these details were attended to and enforced, the very elaborate system of animal sacrifice as it was ordained among our people is, in its origin, according to leading Jewish opinion, foreign to Judaism, and like the alien of the present day, was rather tolerated than en- couraged. I repeat, I am now speaking historically, with special reference to its origin among the Hebrews ; once established as a system among the people, Animal Sacrifice was the central function of Divine Service. According to the great Maimonides, the " Sacrifice " 58 THE SACRIFICE was not a fundamental principle of Judaism ; in his opinion, it was ordained and grew up in consequence of an ancient usage which took root among the people, at a time when they observed the practices of the races among which they dwelt. These practices were base and barbarous in the extreme, low and degrading in their fulfilment. It was clearly understood that the early Hebrews could not have been removed entirely from the form of worship to which they had been accustomed. They were therefore commanded to offer this form of Service to God in the manner and according to the details prescribed in His Holy Book. Rather than being a command in the strict sense of the term, we should call it a concession. Other com- mentators among us have not overlooked this point, for in the very expression, nnp* '3 mx " When a man doth offer," or " Should a man offer," they detect not so much the absolute command or bidding, that it is man's duty to offer, as the conditions under which he may, if so inclined, bring an offering unto the Lord. : 3npr6 nyvBO itWDi man pipa -QT nnp> ^ DIK In tracing the growth of the system through the generations, the defects and dangers which it de- veloped were such as to neutralise the exercise of true religion and deep spirituality among the people. No wonder then that we listen to the denunciations of the prophets the preachers of the nation. No wonder an Isaiah rails, and an Amos chides, in respect of the sacrifices brought by the people, who brought them not as a means of superinducing religious exercise, but, as they imagined, as the end and object wherewith they could draw down upon them the grace of God, and propitiate His offended majesty. It was not the bringing of the offering which the Prophets denounced, but the manner in which it was THE SACRIFICE 59 brought, the absence of the true and proper spirit which should have prompted the sacrifice. Some thinkers are of opinion that the whole idea of Animal Sacrifice was reflexive, in this sense, that the animal sacrifice took the place of the man who had sinned ; that, instead of the slaughter of the human being who should have suffered, there was the killing of the animal victim ; and this being so, we can well understand that " if these animal sacrifices were to be of any value whatsoever, and to be pleasing in the sight of Heaven, it was clearly necessary that the bringing of them had to work their chief effect upon those who brought these gifts unto the Tabernacle or Temple of old, and offered them as an atonement for their souls." Furthermore, " if the slaughter of the animal did not awaken in the heart of the one who offered it the thought that he must henceforth and for all times slaughter and kill the animal spirit within himself . . . sacrifice his unholy wishes and wicked desires, in the task of serving His Creator and God, and leading a pure, useful, and holy life, and that this was the best and costliest offering which man could offer unto God then the sacrifice proved an abomination and a hindrance rather than a comfort and help to the individual who brought the offering ; for instead of bringing him nearer unto Heaven, it led him further away from the true worship of the One God." (Cf. my Children's Service Book for the New Year and Day of Atonement, p. 268.) We might deduce this lesson from the very words of our text : D3O anp* 3 DtK not, as the Anglican and certain Jewish versions render it : " When any man of you offereth," but iosy ODD nta " When you, man, offer of yourself " ; when he offereth part of himself, only then is his duty done. 60 THE SACRIFICE It goes therefore without saying that this system of Animal Sacrifice touched, from the very first, the very conscience of the people ; in ithe words of our Sages, it was a 1 ?^ "ilDDn in a matter which called for the strictest conscientiousness in its fulfilment ; it was a matter between man and God. The best and purest of its sort was alone acceptable as an offering unto the Lord. To offer that which was unfit, or obtained by unfair means, was an insult to Heaven ; 'rh pip D3O Tip* *3 Dix upon which the Talmud com- ments, ^TJH JD anpn *b fwjon mx no, DTK -now no 1 ? ca nxa> 5>ttn ID nnpn N? nnx |K. i 1 ?^ rrn !?Dn^ Who does not recall in this connection the trenchant words of Malachi : " And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil ! And when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil ! Present it now unto thy governor ; will he be pleased with thee ? or will he accept thy person ? saith the Lord of Hosts." It is impossible to enter into further details to-day ; but from what I have said, you see, dear friends, how fresh and profitable still are the words of old, rehearsed in the ears of the people Sabbath after Sabbath. If only we had ears to hear, and hearts to understand, the lessons taught in the seemingly dry words of ages past ! Surely I need not multiply words in summing up the message delivered unto us to-day. In the first place, understand that man, being mortal, is dependent for his very life on the fostering care of a Power outside, and beyond him ; that gratitude and the desire to offer Him thanks and service are the natural outcome of this feeling of dependence. In rendering Him our service, it behoves us to offer of the best of our powers and possessions, and this in the purest THE SACRIFICE 61 of spirits and with the truest of motives. It may even happen that we, in the exercise of conscience, may have to sacrifice our very selves upon the Altar of Duty ; for more costly and real than the sacrifice of flesh and wealth, which man is called upon to offer, we may have to sacrifice much of our very life-blood for the sake of principles and ideals ; and though, in the discharge of duty, we may be worried in the conflict, or have to suffer the penalty of our con- victions, let us realise that this is the meaning of Life, not the shadow but the reality, the restlessness of activity, the quickening of energy, the striving towards the goal which none can really see. The serious side of life, I do not mean the miser- able aspect, is lived but by the very few ; and it is as well that we have the consolation of one who has said : " I am convinced that the world will get tired, at least I hope so, of this eternal guffaw about all things. After all, life has something serious in it. It cannot be all comic history of humanity." No, indeed, dear brothers and sisters, Life is not all sport ; not if work be life's offering, not if blessed toil be man's noblest sacrifice. " 'Tis not for man to trifle ! Life is brief, Our age is but tbe falling of a leaf. We bave no time to sport away the hours, All must be earnest in a world like ours ; Day after day filled up with blessed toil, Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil." THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE (1909) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! Episodes in the career of Jacob, our forefather, form the contents of the Sabbath portion read to-day. "We long to dwell on the history of the patriarchs of old, for the simplicity of their life-story appeals to each and every one of us. In spite of the distance in time of outward form and manner, we meet therein with the same feelings, fail- ings, and experiences as those by which the men of the present day are affected. In the essence of things, men have changed but little during the last few thousands of years. And as I have pointed out on former occasions, it is just this special feature in the portraiture of Bible characters their simplicity, their naivet6, their naturalness that impresses us with the fidelity and genuineness of the narrative, and strengthens our belief in the truth of the Bible. Who can fail to be appealed to by the opening words of this Sabbath lesson ? It is a simple story, one that children love to hear ; but it is also one that children of larger growth should hear over and over again, and profit by its teachings. Who would dare to tear this page from the sacred record, and stamp it as unauthentic, unhistoric ? It is a scene in the kaleidoscope of human life as 63 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE 63 real and natural as it is possible to be, and it has been repeated more than once in the history of mankind. Jacob, having left his father's house for reasons well known, tarries on the way ; he lays himself down with the vault of heaven for his roof ; he dreams ; and in his dream he sees a ladder placed upon earth, the top of which reacheth unto heaven, the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. He sees the Eternal Being in his vision, promising him His pro- tection unending. "Jacob," in the words of Holy Writ, " awakes from his sleep, and exclaims, ' Verily the Lord is in this place, but I knew it not.' And he was afraid, and spake : ' How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' " How true, dear friends, is this description, applied to the generality of men ! The narrative on the face of it tells many a lesson ; read between the lines, it affords many a theme for reflection. Men are born, and men die, as dreamers ; the majority scarcely wake from their dream. Eating and drinking, trafficking and pleasuring, sleeping and rising, this is the con- stantly recurring, unvaried programme of by far the greater portion of human beings. Most men will not trouble themselves about such questions as, " What am I ? " " Whence came I ? " " Whither shall I go ? " Now and again circumstances will wring from them the confession : " Verily the Lord is in this place, but I knew it not." It is, however, in the patriarch's further utterance that I see reflected two distinct aspects of human life, as viewed by creatures of different natures. To the most favoured of us, Life means a struggle ; there are experiences and gradations through which the human being must pass, which neither station nor 64 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE power can avoid ; there are difficulties, and worries, and pains from which no wealth nor grandeur can purchase immunity ; in some aspects the prince is no better off than the peasant, and the rich man is no better than the beggar. Each human being, irrespective of birth and pos- sessions, has to pay his tribute to the inexorable demands of Life. In the case of the individual, the toll demanded may be expressed in terms of sickness and suffering, poverty and anxiety, even life itself. In the case of countries and peoples, devastating floods and earthquakes, social revolutions and destruc- tive wars, may be the heavy tax imposed as the conditions of existence. There are individuals to whom Life means one continuous toil ; who, in spite of hard work and energy, are unable to thrive ; whose every undertaking proves unsuccessful, and who ultimately, yielding to feelings of despair, cry out, " How dreadful is this place ! " " What a sunless, cheerless world ! Why these toils ? Why this misery ? " This is the most perplexing of all questions ; it is the riddle of Life. There are occasions, 'tis true, even during a man's earthly existence, when a commentary is afforded him upon much of that which seemed to him at one time mysterious ; an explanation is some- times given of the " why " and " wherefore " this or that has occurred in life : and it frequently happens, that the individual, ripened and humbled by experience, will acknowledge, " Verily God is in this place, but I knew it not ! " He will understand that this place the world dreadful as it may have appeared to him, is not so dreadful after all. Human effort, human industry, the chastening of human nature, the ripening THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE 65 of individual character, are elements not lost to the world ; they have their influence upon life in the aggregate, and they are factors in the development and progress of mankind at large. This is the ladder in the dream of earthly life, which every mortal dreams more or less ; " the angels ascending " are the efforts of human reason and human strength to rise above the level of the earth ; " the angels descending" represent the encouragement and blessing bestowed upon our efforts here below by an ever-watchful all-protecting Providence. If the creature of earth could but understand that man dare not say unto his Maker, "What doest Thou ? " ; dare not dictate unto Him, and ask, why he is not vouchsafed the blessings which others enjoy, why the angel has not descended and returned unto him, as he returned unto his fellow-men ; if men would but realise, that what may seem well to us is otherwise in the sight of God ; that partial evil is universal good ; then the striving after good, the ambition to rise above our surroundings, the desire to improve, even though the goal be not won, would ever be regarded as a gain to the world and not a loss, even a gain to the individual worker, though he cannot himself perceive it. Thus, then, while one individual, when speaking of Life on earth, will exclaim, " How dreadful is this place," the thoughtful and earnest person will realise, " This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Life, as has often been said, is a state of probation ; it is indeed the house of God, in which we are severally placed to act our parts, and to perform our service, according to certain general rules of action, yet with perfect freedom of will as regards special methods. 66 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE Life on earth is to prove itself the gate of heaven the avenue leading to the state of which mortal can but speak dimly, yet for which he can hope in fullest confidence, and pray for devoutly. There is no life, however poor and dejected, that may not be converted into a house of God, into the gate of heaven, if the gracious words be remembered, " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool ; what manner of house will ye build unto Me ... to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word " (Isaiah Ixvi. 1-2). There is no life, however well endowed, however highly placed and mighty, that has not to earn its title to nobility and worth by faithful service in the house of God, by honest endeavour, by diligent appli- cation, by cheerful effort in this world, by joyously assuming a due share in the task of supporting the falling among his fellow-creatures, helping to bring renewed health and life to the sick and suffering, spreading the blessings of education where ignorance reigns, and casting some rays of sunshine athwart the dark places of the earth. These qualities of the soul, such actions in the life of man, are " the angels of God, ascending and de- scending" in the scale of human life ; they are the graces which are able to change the face of earthly existence ; and, in place of its dreadfulness and terror, to render it none other but the house of God indeed, the gate of heaven. Dear Friends, Amid the uncertainties of life, amid the speculations of human reason, amid discussions upon the eternal verities, and doubts upon truths of religion, man is confronted with a phenomenon which admits of no doubt, and concerning which there is THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE 67 no inconsistency or uncertainty ; man is confronted with a fact, the reality and truth of which we are all made familiar with at one time or another. Week by week, during the last three weeks, the Reaper, whose name is Death, has borne away from the fold of our Congregation some honoured member, whose delight it was to join in the Service of this Synagogue, or even to take an active part in its administration. But a week ago, this pulpit resounded with earnest and deeply-felt words of eulogy in memory of one deservedly held in high esteem, both within our community, and in the wider circle outside our community. To-day it is my mournful duty might I not say privilege ? to refer to the loss of another valued member of this Congregation, stricken down in the best of his years, at an age when one might have looked for his co-operation and sage counsel, tempered by that charm of disposition which was reflected in his bright and cheerful countenance. In calling to mind the name of HERMAN MYER, we are thinking of one who, in spite of his professional duties, had the desire, and found the time, to do his share of work in the service of his brethren, both within the Congregation and without. His splendid activity in connection with the Board of Guardians for the Relief of the Jewish Poor is well known ; how, for a long succession of years, he, as Chairman, inspired with enthusiasm the members of its Industrial Committee, and laboured to the advantage of the Board's appren- tices. We call to mind how, in this connexion, he served for several years as Chairman of the District Canvass- ing Committee for this Synagogue ; and we would remind you, more especially at a time like the present, how a few years ago he presided at the deliberations of 68 THE DREAM AND THE REALITY OF LIFE a Special Committee, summoned to deal with a momentous problem, the question of effecting im- provements in the Sabbath Service held in this Synagogue. His breadth of view, his deeply Jewish heart, his kind and genial manner, invested the communal work which he undertook with an additional and special value. May his example fire others among us to work in the service of God and man, and to work as zealously and as faithfully ! May the reflection of his god-fearing life be the most potent source of comfort unto those now bewailing a devoted husband, a kind father, and an affectionate .brother! And may the life on earth of such men teach the lesson unto the end of time, that Life is, after all, what we make of it ; it may, rightly and worthily employed, become " none other but the house of God, truly the gate of heaven." RELIGION AND EUGENICS (1912) THE day's Haphtara, taken from the Book of Isaiah, begins with the following words, beautiful and full of meaning : " Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord ? . . . Hast thou not known ? Hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of His understanding ; He giveth power to the faint, and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail.; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary ; they shall walk, and not be faint." DEAR FRIENDS ! An article which I have just been reading in a certain Review, has impressed these words of Scripture on my mind with peculiar emphasis. The article deals with Religion and Eugenics, and is written by a medical man ; its tone is reverential, and its scope is scientific ; and the Jew must be particularly struck by the sympathetic refer- ence here and there to the Jewish people in their relation to the main problems of life and living. I think it may be of interest to you to hear some of the statements put forth by the writer, and to draw therefore some conclusions for ourselves. He begins by remarking that " when geology first made itself heard, and came into collision with the 69 70 RELIGION AND EUGENICS Mosaic account of Creation, it was felt that a blow was being struck at Religion, but after a while it was seen that no fundamental religious truth was assailed." I have pointed out this fact on more than one occasion from this pulpit, more especially when dealing with the early chapters of Genesis. "When the theory of evolution gained a general acceptance, a far more dangerous foe was supposed to have appeared, for it seemed to be at variance not only with fundamental doctrine, but also to en- courage materialistic views of life. . . . The theory of evolution is, however, making clear a fact . . . that there is in religion something indestructible, and which no scientific theory can endanger ; the danger is that these new ideas not being properly faced by religious teachers, there will be in the course of time a separation of the people into two hostile camps the scientific and the religious, and nothing could be more disastrous than this. " One of the fundamental truths of evolution is that death on earth is the inherent property of life ; it is preordained, unchangeable, and without it evolution would cease, because death makes for higher life and the passing of the individual makes for the betterment of the race and the future." And here, dear friends, I have specially to ask you to note this statement that " the lives of tJie parents are only to be justified by their service to posterity." If parents would only reflect upon such an utter- ance ; if they would but lay it to heart in their own dealings with the world, in their relation to their children and to others, what an advance would be made in the morality, in the strength and power, in the happiness of mankind ! RELIGION AND EUGENICS 71 Life has to ascend from lower to higher, and this is the aim and purpose which each individual has to bear in mind as he goes along the pathway which leads from the cradle to the grave. It is both the motto and the sign of the righteous and good life ; " they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint." " As to the development of the higher forms of life, it is not impossible to imagine that when God created original matter, He endowed it with power of ever evolving upward and onward, and that certain laws were laid down which, if followed, would lead to progress, but which, being neglected, would cause retrogression. . . . The highest ideals which Nature has ever before her are the continuation and improvement of the species . . . the sacred trust of handing on the force of life undimmed and glowing with . . . vigorous well-being. ..." The world has to understand more clearly than it does, that " the children of parents, who do not recognise the sancity and purpose of marriage, are not capable of reaching the goal which they can or ought to attain ; and their evolution comes to a stand- still at a greater or lesser distance from the point which it should reach. And be it remembered, the average quality of the race is but the average quality of the individuals composing it. ... " The writer asks the question : " Is there not a Divine Programme ? History is not a blind evolution any more than the world is the product of blind forces, or the effect of mere chemical combinations, without the agency of Mind or Purpose." And he replies : " The Creator appears to be slowly achieving His aim through an ever-advancing plan in the realm of men 72 RELIGION AND EUGENICS and nations as truly as in the universe framed for their habitation." " The everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of His understanding." It is refreshing nowadays, dear friends, when the Jew is frequently spoken of in anything but com- plimentary terms, to hear the author of this article in defence of his contention exclaiming : " In Israel is there not to be seen the hand of an all-superintending, ever-guiding Providence ? " Would that many of our own people would see the hand of Providence as this Christian does ; for then they might be proud of their origin, truer to the race to which they belong, more faithful adherents to the Religion into which they have been born I Nay, further, the world is told that " the Jews having survived one empire after another, notwith- standing the most continuous and barbaric persecution, prove that it is not races which die, but civilisations. What is it that has enabled the Jews to preserve their physical mental vigour ? It is that the laws of their religion are largely founded on Eugenics" on the principle that " like tends to produce like," and that in the parents' t hands is placed the most serious responsibilities of life for generations to come. How many times in the Pentateuch, in which the laws and the ordinances of the Jew are laid down, do we meet with the expression DSTinn^ through- out your generations intimating the close connexion between parent and child, intimating that duty is continuous, and ceases not with the death of the parent. There is an evolution in the spiritual and religious as in the material world. Our medical and scientific friend bears testimony to the fact that " the Jews have recognised that if nations, RELIGION AND EUGENICS 73 and not individuals only, are the forces which are moved against each other for the solution of the far- reaching, stern, and awful problems of life, it is essential that the eugenic message, delivered to them by God, through the mouths of His prophets, should be obeyed." Dear Brothers and Sisters ! These are not the words of a Jewish preacher addressed to his people ; they are the utterances of an independent scientific spirit, imbued with a deep religious conviction, yet deriving his facts from a clear perception of the teachings of history. And he gives to the world the result of his scientific investigation. Whatever effect his words may have upon the world at large, may they not be lost upon the Jew and Jewess of our days ! May we recognise that no more sacred trust is placed in the hands of the parents than the task of imbuing the minds of their children with a true appreciation of the meaning of Life, and of the necessity for its development and advancement ; and, as regards our- selves as Jews, let us understand that if " we wait upon the Lord, and renew our strength " in the performance of all that is good and holy, and by His help we " mount up with wings as eagles," rising above the petty concerns and selfish desires of earth, our reward will be (in the words so familiar to us all) " that our days and the days of our children shall be many upon the land" in which it has pleased God to suffer us to dwell, let us hope, for our own betterment, and as one small step forward in the evolution of the world's progress ! THOUGHTS ON A NOTED DIVORCE-SUIT (1909) THE Scriptural Moralist delivers himself of one of those sterling utterances, one of those startling judg- ments for which he is remarkable, when he exclaims : " It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting " (Eccles. vii. 2). At first sight we should almost feel inclined to doubt even the truth of the statement ; for who would willingly throw himself into mournful surroundings, when he had the chance of finding, in the joys and pleasures of existence, relief and relaxation from the trying conditions of real life ? But this is only one way of looking at the case. There are, dear brothers and sisters, more wholesome lessons to be learnt amid the tears and the sobs of the world than in the sunshine and brilliancy of the passing shows of existence. At all events, this much we may hazard : that the joys and pleasures would not be half so sweet, were it not for the trials and troubles ; and that the light would not be half so bright and pleasant, were it not for the shade and the darkness with which we are surrounded in the course of life. Yet we are often reminded that we dare not look upon life as a Vale of Tears : we are reminded that Cheerfulness is the best medicine for the disposition 74 THOUGHTS ON A NOTED DIVORCE-SUIT 75 of man ; and that without it Life itself would be unendurable. True ; to be always looking at the dark side of life ; continually to be having the grim spectre before one's eyes ; to regard Earth as a huge cemetery, and Life itself as one continuous funeral procession, would simply result in frustrating the design of creation, in checking the progress and ambition of mankind, and in reducing, instead of enhancing, the estimate of the value of Life in the sight of men. But to forget altogether that there is a darker side ; to forget that there is a serious and a solemn side to life ; to be continually hankering after empty vanities, seeking to indulge the baser instincts of human nature ; to go through one's terms of years regardless of the laws of God and man ; to lead idle, useless, immoral lives ; such conduct is unworthy of the being formed in the image of its Maker, created after His likeness. Looking upon Life as it often passes before our eyes ; judging by the experience gained from our daily newspapers the stage on which the comedies and tragedies of real life are re-enacted for the diver- sion of the gaping multitude, with a wealth of detail and reality that can scarcely redound to the benefit and blessing of the world ; learning from facts and practice how prone is the evil disposition of man to assert its sway, powerful in its weakness to do that which is wrong and wicked, and to lead others astray ; this being the case, and taking it for granted that human nature is much the same now as it was then, though divided by thousands of years, we can well understand the force of the Hebrew moralist's words : " It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting." For as true life means goodness, usefulness, helpfulness, and progress, we are more likely to learn these qualities amid conditions of 76 THOUGHTS ON A NOTED DIVORCE-SUIT earnestness, humility, solemnity, and trouble than in the gilded, varnished, artificial, and selfish haunts of pleasures and temptations. It is an acknowledged fact a trite saying instilled into our minds from the earliest period of life, that Indolence i is the mother of all mischief ; and it is therefore a lamentable experience that so much of the wickedness and vice of great cities proceed from the wealthy and leisured classes, more especially from young men and women, whom Fortune has favoured with everything except a strong brain and a sound heart, and a longing after healthful, useful work. To think that if the indolent, selfish, and pleasure- seeking ones in high Society, instead of corrupting the world by undermining the sanctity of domestic rela- tions, were to devote their time, their means, and their personal powers of attraction to the benefit of the less- favoured sections of the population how much misery might be alleviated and saved to the world, what blessings they might be to the world, and bring to the world ; what a different complexion this earth might wear ! Such are some of the thoughts, dear friends, which came to my mind on reading the judgment pronounced a few days ago in what has been termed " a squalid drama," involving petitions for divorce. We have nothing to do with the judgment or the details ; but we have to do with the moral of the drama. And none will differ from his Lordship's views, when he sees in this unedifying scandal "petty incidents in selfish, idle lives, containing nothing that is romantic, and not much that is even mock-heroic, and little that is legitimately interesting " ; and as regards the parties most directly concerned, " All four," he says, " appear to have looked upon life merely as an opportunity for THOUGHTS ON A NOTED DIVORCE-SUIT 77 having a good time, regardless of their duty to them- selves, to each other, to their children, and to their relatives, and indifferent to the good opinion of self- respecting persons." Herein, dear brothers and sisters, lies the moral of the whole case. There is a duty in life which we owe unto ourselves ; a duty we owe unto others ; a duty we owe to the world at large. It is the thought of this triple duty that will keep men straight and upright in life ; that will check the evil disposition in the hour of weakness ; that will permit us to see joy and gladness even in the toils and trials which we endure ; that will extract the best lessons for human guidance, those of comfort and courage in our tasks, rather from the house of mourning than from the house of gladness ; we having gained by experience the conviction that, granted true faith in the Almighty Power, often " the man who goeth forth on his way weeping, bearing the store of seed, will come back with song, bearing his sheaves." So may it ever prove in the case of the active and the faithful. Amen ! "THE MODERN JEW" (1896) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! There is a deep philosophy in the jingling rhyme of the Scotch poet, which can never be denied : " Oh wad some power the giftie gie us, to see ourselves as others see us ! " And though the portrait which is often presented of us from without be anything but pleasant and flattering, yet it is perhaps as well that we should not hide ourselves from our own view, but rather that we should dwell even upon the ugly features, lest in our own opinion we become too vain and proud. To apply this general statement to the Jew himself. As long as the Jew, having reached a state of com- parative liberty, ease, and affluence, is satisfied to remember the ordeals through which he has had to pass before he attained his present condition ; as long as he is alive to the mutterings of discontent, which are still heard on every side, at the influence which the Jew wields in almost every department of human industry ; as long as he is wise, and willing to avail himself of that liberty, and to employ his influence and affluence in a manner least likely to rouse the envy of others, all will go well with him. But if he is apt to think that all danger for the Jew is passed, as regards his social and economic relations in the world ; if he thinks that the wealth and power which he has acquired are able to ward off effectually and 78 "THE MODERN JEW" 79 for ever the evil results of green-eyed jealousy, and to assure to him undoubted security against the possi- bility of attacks from without, he is much mistaken. It is, perhaps, as well that now and again the Jew should be reminded that he has enemies abroad, not always open and frank, but often insidious and secret ones, and that these adverse criticisms have the effect of binding him somewhat more closely to the faith which has but a lax hold upon him. In the Quarterly Review for January there appears an article on " The Modern Jew," which will convince us that the statement which I have just uttered is by no means fanciful. The article is not signed. If it be from the pen of one who was once a Jew, it is lamentable ; if it be from a non-Jew, it is equally unfortunate ; for in either case it is written not in ink but in venom. And yet, dear Congregants, it is right we should know what is being said of us ; but it is more than right that we should learn, if it be possible, even from our enemies. Beyond calling your attention to the article, and giving you a few characteristic utterances, it is scarcely necessary for me to repeat all the arguments contained therein, as they are rather familiar to us at the present day. In fact, we fancy we are listening to the in- vectives of a Stocker or a Drumont ; and if it were not for the style, we might think that our old friend, Mr. Goldwin Smith, had made his re-appearance upon the polemical stage to annoy " the modern Jew." The writer starts from the time of Napoleon, and dwells largely upon the influence which the French Emperor had upon the status of the Jew ever since. " Never perhaps during his long exile," he begins, "had the Wandering Jew, that outcast among the 80 "THE MODERN JEW" nations, sunk so low as at the middle of the last century." . . . But " on September 27, 1791, the Jews were emancipated in France." " Free they had thus become," the writer continues, "but not equal to their fellow-citizens, and not like them. Can a people be born in one day ? Can they in one day put off the character which 2,000 years of isolation have stamped upon them ? Here was an Eastern tribe, dwelling alone, and not to be counted among the nations. It was made distinct from them ... by ordinances concerning food and raiment, by an all encompassing ritual, by a strange language and a still stranger discipline of its daily acts above all, by the anathema which forbade intermarrying with any but those of the clan : how could it become Frenchman and European by a stroke of law ? ' Two things,' M. Taine has observed, * the modern man never repudiates : they are conscience and honour.' " Our critic seems to agree that the modern Jew has little sense of either, that " his character falls below his intellect," " and bred up to repulsive or demoralis- ing trades, his soul like the dyer's hand is subdued to what it works in " ; in Michelet's words, " from buffet to buffet, from stripe to stripe, the Jews are mounting up even to the throne of the world." I am glad, dear Congregants, that it is because the writer of this article realises the truth of this last statement, viz., that the Jews have mounted up and will mount up as soon as they are permitted the liberty due to the human subject, that he is responsible for the malicious aspersions preceding this final outburst of despair at the present situation of the Jew. What ? The Jew has no honour in him ! Con- science is a thing of Christian origin ! " His char- acter falls below his intellect ! " "THE MODERN JEW" 81 To speak in such terms of the Jewish people who have ever placed such high store on honour, con- science, and character, is indeed startling ; it is beneath contempt, and requires no refutation. Is it true that " if Napoleon had more than kept his promise to Jacob, the children of the patriarch had forgotten theirs to the Emperor " ? Why? Because they determined to remain both Jews and Frenchmen ? I imagine that had they and their descendants not so thoroughly identified themselves with the country of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, and served it in every loyal and patriotic manner, the Jews of France would not have incurred that envy which is at the root of every anti-Jewish campaign. I don't think that the world should sneer at " the idea of a race which is bound, not to the soil they are sprung from but to the Law they carry in their bosoms " ; to our credit rather it should be said : for it shows that the Divine Law entrusted to Israel survived even the soil their nation was sprung from, namely Palestine ; and that though the Jew may lose both land and home, he cannot be robbed of those spiritual truths which are lodged and locked in the heart and mind of man. What are we to think of the following statement ? " It is a widespread and perhaps natural delusion to suppose that the modern Jew regulates his conduct by the Old Testament, diligently read and fervently followed. An immense delusion, nevertheless ! Private judgment of this philosophic kind has never had its day in Israel. The Jews as a nation, not only do not read the Bible, but are unacquainted with its contents." However much we should desire to see the know- 6 82 "THE MODERN JEW" ledge of the Bible increased among us, it is vicious to suggest that the ordinary Jew does not read his Bible, or is unacquainted with its contents. Equally vicious is it to say, that Judaism is not sufficiently elastic, and that, making allowances for obsolete ordinances, the Old Testament, even though filtered through the Talmud and the Shulchan Aruch, does not regulate our conduct to-day. It is surely only the blurred vision, engendered by wilful misrepresentation and malice, that cannot see something noble and worthy of boast in the view propounded by the writer of the article, that " the doctrine of the Jew is a discipline founded on rever- ence to a Law proclaimed amid the lightnings of Sinai by a Lawgiver. It is concerned with actions, not with statements of universal and necessary truth. " Do noble things, not dream them all day long ! " said Charles Kingsley ; and the line has been eagerly caught up as a grand expression of Judaism. Can any Faith, I ask, propound a grander doctrine than to " do noble things " ? We are told, " Judaism has made the modern Jew ; he is the outcome, not of private judgment exercised on the Bible, but of centuries fashioned by the Mishna and Gemara ; every fibre in turn thrills to the word his teachers have spoken. The Religion has formed the tribe" (we are not offended at the word " tribe ") " which cannot now develop into the habits of European culture, except the religion vanish. For it consists . . . not in beliefs, but in sacred customs." " Judaism has made the modern Jew." What else could have made him. At all events, even according to the writer, we are not indebted to any other " ism " for our modern Jew. It is certainly a guarantee for the stability of our - "THE MODERN JEW" 83 Faith if " every fibre in him thrills to the word his teachers have spoken." We see the results, where every man, even those below the average, attempts to exercise his private judgment on the Bible. It is just the strength of his "beliefs and sacred customs " which helps the Jew to develop the habits of European culture, and at the same time to see that his religion does not vanish. To cite apostates, or other writers, who know nothing of the Spirit of Judaism, even though they be bishops who can scarcely read a word of Hebrew correctly, is no support in favour of the contention " that Judaism is a religion of the letter, casuistically interpreted . . . which, by leaving the power of anathema in the hands of the Rabbis, has set up an omnipotent tribunal from which, except at the price of apostasy, there is no escape." Nor is the following statement anything else but a wicked libel upon the entire race and religion : "They wish to overturn society, not because they long after a kingdom of God, wherein the supernatural is the real, and immortality points its radiance even upon our earthly tabernacles ; to whom the ' Beyond ' is a chimera." It may be unpleasant, nay galling, to listen to ; but if the lesson taught us be only this, that we are still subjected to wilful misrepresentation and vile abuse, even in the pages of a British Review, it may be worth while to listen with patience to the statement, that, " to the Israel which now holds so large a stake in the lands, loans, syndicates, and joint-stock capital of Europe, America, Africa, and Australia there is but one Heaven, success." We are insultingly asked : " What has Jacob, the aupplanter, created in our day ? A world of specula- 84 "THE MODERN JEW" tion ; unbounded facilities of enjoyment, some light of sensuous music ; that is all." Is that all, indeed ? Were it not that the writer, in spite of himself, refers to some names of Jews that have adorned the annals of history, but whose mention he oft distorts to his own purposes, we might be tempted to answer his question ; but as it is, it is un- necessary. History, during the last century or half- century at least, the period of which the author is speaking, gives the lie to such a calumny uttered against " the modern Jew." Is it not, I ask, ludicrous to taunt us with the charge that " to the restoration of Christendom, the Jew will not bring one single idea." This is not the mission of the Jew ; the Jew's mission is either to strengthen Judaism ; or, if it is to affect Christianity, it is only by showing that Judaism has something to teach to Christianity. Yes, indeed, dear brethren, this is the annoying part, not to Jews, but to our non- Jewish traducers ; namely, the fact disclosed in the author's remark, that " the generations, not Israelitish, come and go ; they are subject to human vicissitudes. But Israel is the ever- lasting Jew ; Israel stands over against Japhet, and refuses to be absorbed." . . . Our kind author now inquires : " Since in the struggle for life Judah and Ephraim have survived, what is the fitting human policy which other nations should pursue in regard to them ? Their own happiness would, as we conceive, be promoted, and their dignity restored, if the Israelites learned from " Nathan der Weise " the principles of fair dealing, justice, and uprightness which Lessing and Mendels- sohn strove to inculate." We thank you, Mr. Critic, for your kind suggestions "THE MODERN JEW" 85 and advice ; but, as a race, we have learnt these lessons long ago, as far back, at least, as the time whence hail those soul-stirring accents of the "Ten Words" which we have again read in our Sabbath portion this day. If the Law of Moses which is the Law of God, does not teach the Jew and the world at large habits of fair dealing, justice, uprightness, and kind-heartedness, then it teaches nothing. Individuals among us may require, and do require to be reminded of their duties and their mission ; but, as a race and a religion, we know what is the mission of Judaism. We confess that we have our faults and failings ; we are but human, though we have a divine destiny. But you, nations of the earth, will never be able to reform us, by fixing upon us a tissue of falsehoods and exploded misrepresentations in order to degrade us in the eyes of the world. If you be honest in your apostolic mission, you are certainly by your present tactics going the wrong way to work, and are defeating your own ends. Judge us fairly and truly ; give us the credit for what we deserve, and deny us not the results of our efforts, and then we shall listen to your preaching and try to profit by your instruction. You observe, " the mission of Christendom is plain enough." If you were a fair exponent of Christianity, but you are not, we should, judging from your lips, believe its mission to be, to stir up race-hatred and narrow prejudices between Jew and Gentile by such insidious suggestions as the one that the Jew " is encamped on the ruins of Christendom " ; or by endeavouring to make an ignorant world believe the dangerous and obviously selfish report, " that the Jew will never be at home except in the Judengasse, or if 86 "THE MODERN JEW" he has still the heart of David and Maccabaeus, in the city of Zion." " Nay, indeed, you are mistaken ! " we reply, as we have replied before. The Jew can make himself at home anywhere and everywhere : he need not sacrifice his Religion to the State, nor does he sacrifice the State in favour of his Religion. He will continue to prove in the future, as it has always been his endeavour to show in the past, that " the modern Jew," while swearing his allegiance to the Sovereign of any land, need not necessarily forget his allegiance to the " Land of Promise " ; that to be true to his time- honoured Religion, is compatible with the purest devotion and patriotism as regards the land of his adoption ; and that while he seeks to render himself a worthy citizen of the kingdom of earth, he never loses sight of the fact that all on earth is but a preparation for the universal kingdom of Heaven. May this ideal never vanish from before the sight of " the modern Jew " I THE MODERATE JEW (March 1910) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! I hope too much uneasiness will not be occasioned by the visit and addresses with which our community has been favoured during the past week by a teacher of Religion hailing from the other side of the Atlantic. Personally, I do not attach the great importance to such periodical reminders that there is another phase of religion, or other phases of religion, differing from those which we profess, as some members of the Anglo-Jewish body seem to do ; but these have probably never thought of the per- plexing problems which at times assail the very beliefs which they think they themselves hold. And yet, dear friends, it would be rank folly and selfish obstinacy were we to close our eyes to the meaning of the latest message of this minister from abroad, were we to ignore the patent fact that there is at the present time a dissatisfaction and a rest- lessness within the whole camp of the Anglo-Jewish community, which has scarcely ever been so manifest in previous periods of its modern history. Things are not what they seem ; things are not as they should be. The denunciations, direct and indirect, which are being hurled at the very foundation and essentials of Judaism from within our own body would never 87 88 THE MODERATE JEW have been dreamt of, if Jews and Jewesses had not surrendered the best characteristics of the Jewish people, its loyalty, its spirit of self-sacrifice, its courage and fearlessness, its preference for the higher satis- factions of life, to the mere momentary gratification of material things. If the Jew and Jewess will not make any sacrifice to observe the Sabbath-day with the serene joy with which their ancestors observed it ; if they will no longer show the fearless courage to observe the ordinances of our Religion as in the days in which they were compelled to do so by the public opinion of the Ghetto ; if they have no scruples in bartering away their faith for the one object of outstripping their neighbours in wealth and rank ; is it surprising if now and again we witness the ludicrous attempt to har- monise, even in the most vital and essential aspects of our Religion, the exercise of a so-called Judaism with the modern requirements of the age, which, in other words, means, with the convenience of the Jew- born, and with the possibility of his or her getting as much of the material -things out of this life as he or she is able to obtain. Let me tell you, dear brothers and sisters, if you do not know it already, that the very word " religion " means " sacrifice," " a binding down " or " fettering " the sacrifice of your very convenience, and the " binding down " of your desires ; otherwise religion has no value. To give to another that which you do not want or value yourselves is, indeed, a poor sacrifice. And what about that aspect of religion which has reference to our Creator and Almighty Father ? For, do not misunderstand me, " Religion," it is true, should walk the earth, besides looking up to heaven. There THE MODERATE JEW 89 is the religion of the humane in addition to the re- ligion due to the Divine ; but yet daily experience con- firms the truth, how helpless all our efforts are, how weak we mortals are without aid from beyond us, without the help of that knowledge and revelation which comes from on high, without the sustaining influence which descends upon us from the Throne of Grace ; in a word, man's religion would go wrong and be misleading, were it not for the mfeBnining and cheering rays which converge upon tjjj fife and work of man from that portion of it which is Heaven- born. It is impossible for me in a few minutes either to point out the fallacies of those who, bred in a different school of thought, think or speak lightly of the time-honoured ceremonials of Judaism, or to provide you with a sure and safe remedy to guard against the difficulties and temptations in the way of observing these ancient traditions of ours. But I would beg of you not to be carried away by the most powerful oratorical nights into the belief that, amid all the chaos of doubt and dissatisfaction on matters of religious practice, there cannot be evolved a form of Judaism proper which partakes neither of the radical or revolutionary methods of one party, nor of the extremely rigid and uncompromising attitude of the other party of professed Jews. I maintain there is a moderate view of Jewish belief and Jewish practice which would safeguard the Judaism of old, and yet satisfy, if not the extremists among the zealots, that portion of the community which is a most valuable asset the spiritually-minded, who would like to see, even in the ceremonial exercise of our beautiful and high-souled Religion, greater evidence that the spirit of man is at work rather than 90 THE MODERATE JEW that the letter is slavishly followed, when that cere- monial is carried into practice. This is not the first time that I have insisted upon this aspect of Judaism of the Judaism which I profess, and of the Religion which I would wish you to glorify. I have amplified this idea in my address on Judaism a Dual System. In it I have endeavoured to show that Judaism consists of two sides, the spiritual and the formal. The two phases of Judaism combined form one homogeneous whole, in which one dare not be sacrificed to the other ; neither the spirit to the letter, nor the letter to the spirit. Remember this, too, dear friends, in having to listen to statements dealing with the weakness and impotence of our Religion in its efforts to save you by its ordinances, and by the injunctions laid down from ancient days for its preservation, and in turn for your own preservation. Remember this. It is easy for a religious guide and teacher to win men by a policy (however honest) of destruction rather than by a policy of construc- tion. Humanity revolts against bonds and bands ; it desires to be free ; and in the desire for freedom from restraint, it is prone and willing to give ear to that programme which takes off the yoke, and which deprives the Religious System into which ceremonialism enters largely, of those restrictions which, at one time or another, enter into conflict with, what I termed before, our convenience, or our material prospects and advantages. Whatever other motives or influences were at work to force on Christianity at the time of the Second Temple, to my mind this consideration relief from the yoke of the Law was a powerful determinant, THE MODERATE JEW 91 if not in the rise, yet in the early growth of Christianity. Let us take a lesson from the past. It is an easy way of solving a difficulty by refusing our obligations to duty or authority. I am the last to pretend that no difficulties exist, that there are no problems for Anglo-Jewry to face and to solve. Times out of number I have adverted to them from this pulpit, and others have done the same. Let it not go forth that we have been or are apathetic in face of the situation. We are ourselves dissatisfied with much that meets the eye ; but the worst that can be said of us is, that we have been powerless to cope with the situation ; for our suggestions, or advice with regard to certain matters in what we consider non-essentials have fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps now, when the sound of alarm is again heard within our camp ; when people are going much too far, because we have stood still and not moved far enough ; now perhaps once again a few may bestir themselves in various directions, to con- sider whether something cannot be done to repair the breach in the citadel, to save (as some think) the citadel itself. Brethren, it will depend upon the seriousness of the effort as to whether things are to improve in our midst, or whether they are so far gone as to defy all attempts at improvement. You may say, dear Congregants, that I have been speaking to-day in terms too general. I know it. The theme is too vast to particularise in a single address ; but this much I hope I have made clear to my hearers the caution to beware and to proceed slowly, when it is a case of pulling down instead of building up ; on the other hand, the caution to beware against the ivorship of a mummified Judaism. Our 92 THE MODERATE JEW Judaism has to be something alive and real ; something of value for the living present, and not simply a dead and dry relic of the past. It is the wish of all who dearly love their Judaism, despite the wrinkles of age, to see it live and thrive, and be preserved throughout the generations to come ; but for this purpose it behoves you and us all to see to it that the measures for the exercise of our Religion in the midst of the community be such that our Judaism be a religion of the life and not of the letter ; a religion of the soul and spirit of the free-born and not of the slave ; a religion whose growth is ensured, because it has an historical background, and can only be conceived as based upon its traditions of old. May Heaven help us all to see the need, and to suggest the means, for greater loyalty and deeper devotion towards our time-honoured Faith. Amen ! THE CONSTANT JEW (Seventh Day of Passover, 1914) WE transplant ourselves back some thousands of years, and listen to the words of an amorous youth address- ing a sweet maiden, one of " the daughters of Jeru- salem," protesting his love in terms such as only the Oriental mind is able to supply : TnT ^y Dmro -p 1 ? hy omra JOB> " Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm ; for love is strong as death, jealousy as powerful as the grave ; the heat thereof is as that of fire, a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench the love, nor can floods drown it ; if a man were to offer all the substance of his house in exchange for love, it would be utterly rejected." This, dear friends, is indeed the ideal form of love, so naively, so truthfully portrayed in the " Song of Songs," read during the Festival of the Passover. You will scarcely think, in spite of this introduction, that I am about to discourse to you on the subject of Love, doubtless a fascinating theme for young and old alike, especially considering the tendency of the present day for sensationalism, whether in the press or the pulpit. No, dear friends, though many a hint on this subject might serve a useful purpose in a mixed 93 94 THE CONSTANT JEW assembly of men, women, and children, yet I must pre-suppose that the domestic relations for which the Jewish people has ever been noted, are still as pure and exemplary as in the days of old, and that any words of mine on this head would be superfluous and uncalled-for. Taking, therefore, the ideal of domestic love as a prelude and as a type of another sort of affection, I am thinking this day, during the celebration of the Pass- over festival, of the ardent protestations uttered thou- sands of years ago by the Israelites redeemed from servitude protestations of love and loyalty to the God who had redeemed them, the promise to become a holy people worthy of the continued protection of their God and Redeemer. " Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm." Place My instructions and precepts, saith God (in His love for His people, His newly- acquired bride), place them upon the tablet of thine heart ; keep them constantly before thine eyes, as a seal upon thine arm. These were the conditions of the espousals ; for the love between God and Israel was strong, strong as death, which was the only power able to divide them ; His jealousy for the welfare and continued existence of His chosen ones was " powerful unto the grave ; the heat thereof was as that of fire, a mighty flame." During the days of Joshua and the Judges, in the time of the Kings of Judah and Israel, during the Captivity in Babylon, and ever since in the centuries of our dispersion, how wonderfully has this love of God for our people manifested itself ! It was " strong as death," whilst the " jealousy " of the nations " was cruel as the grave." Indeed, "many waters were unable to quench the love, neither could floods drown THE CONSTANT JEW 95 the love," which the Almighty bore towards the people He had taken to Himself, to prove themselves a king- dom of priests and a holy nation, a pattern to the world, a teacher unto mankind. Tn DDK " Constant and true " has ever been the bond of love which united God, as the bridegroom, to his bride the House of Israel ; for had this not been the case, Israel would scarcely have been alive to-day to testify to His existence. But have the love and devotion, the loyalty and constancy, been reciprocal ? Has Israel been true to its promise ; has it always proved itself worthy of the special protection vouchsafed to it from ancient days ? And if, in the past, at various periods of our history, the bride has oft forgotten her vow, and been false to the word she plighted to her Lord, what shall we say as we look around and take stock of our people and their Judaism at the present day ? At times one almost despairs ; one might say, one is shocked to observe the light and callous way in which men, born in the Faith, throw off their Judaism and every- thing beautiful pertaining to it, as though they were throwing off their outer garment. What is the real meaning of this jugglery in matters of Religion ? What is it that underlies this species of viciousness that seems to kick over every trace of Jewish observance, regardless of our grand historic past, regardless of our triumphs in the various depart- ments of intellectual activity, that has become the very source of envy to the world ? Speaking of our own community here, and things are just as bad, perhaps worse, in countries abroad, at one time people stood aghast when they learnt that one of the congregation did not keep the Second Day of the Festival. Now I would ask, what proportion 96 THE CONSTANT JEW keep even the Sabbath holy as it should be ? How many members out of a congregation of five hundred pay attention to the observance of the Dietary Laws with their hygienic and religious values ? As regards the Passover, which may be said to transcend even the importance of the Day of Atonement itself, what a farce, what a travesty, the way in which it is kept yes, kept out ! I am not in the habit of perpetrating a joke from the pulpit, that you know from experience ; nor do I wish you to treat it as such. But, you would scarcely believe it, I was lately informed that a co- religionist in the district, bent upon spending the Passover (which this year coincided with Easter) away from town, celebrated the Seder Service one night earlier, on the Thursday evening instead of the Friday evening. And so, dear friends, our Religion is being made, and unmade. But worse still. What shall we say as regards the rank hypocrisy which some of our people affect ? It suits their purpose still to call themselves Jews, and yet their actions belie even their weak protestations. Can you imagine my feelings, when in this morning's newspaper I read the account of a marriage in a Christian place of worship of the daughter of one who, an honoured and active member of the community, was once President of the Anglo- Jewish Association, the main purpose of which is to safeguard Jewish interests in unenlightened countries abroad. Nay, further, she is a grand-niece of one who, in the last century, valiantly fought the battle of civil and religious liberty for the Jews of this country ; and for this he laboured hard and struggled. But perhaps the most painful impression in this morning's intelligence is contained in the item that, innocent of the wrong they are doing, two young children, one the grandson THE CONSTANT JEW 97 of the only Jewish Master of the Rolls, whose brilliant career we Jews are proud to call to mind, and the other, belonging to one of our leading Jewish families, attended this Christian wedding-service as page and bridesmaid. Can hypocrisy go much further ? Can such infidelity to one's Faith, and such base ingratitude to the pioneers of civil and religious liberty, be exceeded ? Now, dear brothers and sisters, some of you may say to me, why tell us all this ? We are here to-day ; we observe the Sabbaths and Festivals. We cling to the Dietary Laws ; and are most strict as regards the Pass- over. I am here to sound a warning note even to you. I tell you, think not of yourselves alone, accustomed to fulfil your religious obligations from early years, but watch your children. While not acting as the tyrannical or senseless parent, endeavour by wise methods to preserve in them the same pride in their origin, the same love for their Religion and its ordi- nances as influence your own lives. Let even the ceremonials be carried out by you with rational moderation and in a dignified refining manner. And as for you, young men and women, treat not lightly, as many of you do, the Religion which has preserved us from almost the dawn of History, and secured our vitality as a people to the wonder and astonishment, often to the irritation and venomous spite, of the on-lookers of other Faiths. If you have any English pluck in you, if you have the backbone and grit of men and women of honour, instead of playing into the hands of your enemies (who are so anxious to win you over to their ways) by your surrendering all that our ancestors lived and even died for ; if you have the proper courage, I repeat, you would redouble your energies ; you would think a hundred times ; you 7 98 THE CONSTANT JEW would hesitate long before you wilfully threw off this ceremony, neglected that ordinance, before you con- sented, either out of shame, or to please another, to be a party to that faithlessness and treachery which at divers times in our nation's story have played havoc with our communal life. Beware, I say, of the com- panions you choose in your daily life ! Beware, you young Jews and Jewesses, of the attachments and alliances you form and enter into ! In the sudden flush of love, amid the gaieties and pleasures of life, you are unable to see the danger, the rocks ahead which threaten you with religious or moral shipwreck. Be warned, therefore, in time by the Voice of Truth, by the Sentinel at the Gate who holds the password. Your Religion appeals to you in the true accents of the lover : " Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm." May your Judaism be so deeply rooted in you from birth ; may it be strengthened within you by experi- ence ; may your attachment to it increase as years go on ; and may your love be so genuine and ardent in regard to it, that you may be able to feel in the words of our text, " Many waters cannot quench the love, nor can the floods drown the love that binds me to my Faith ! " -joy a, D"n t^, D"n n? KTI m-in " The Law is a Tree of Life, giving life to all, for with Thee, Lord, is the source of life." PRAYER And to Thee, Almighty God, to Thee as the Source of existence we pray, on this day of our National Freedom, to grant us freedom of body and soul, so that we may ever serve Thee with a perfect heart, that THE CONSTANT JEW 99 we may never incline to the right nor to the left in our allegiance to the way which Thou hast marked out for us. Be Thou with us in the time to come, as Thou hast been with us and our fathers in the days of old. May the coming season be unto us and unto the whole land one of health and not of sickness, one of brightness and not of gloom, one of joy and not of sorrow ! Sustain us all in Thy love, redeem us in Thy mercy ; send Thy comfort unto the mourner ; send healing unto the sick, enlargement unto those that are bowed down, freedom and redemption to those that are bound, salvation unto our brethren Israelites both far and near, until the time of Israel's glorious Redemption in the days of the Passover of the Future. Amen ! ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE AND SYNA- GOGUE ATTENDANCE AN ECHO OF THE CONFERENCE (January 1, 1910) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! You are doubtless aware that during the past week a Conference of Jewish Ministers, metropolitan and provincial, met in London for the purpose of considering many matters affecting vital interests of Jewry generally. I think it will not savour of partiality if I say, in a word, that in the opinion of those who are com- petent to judge, the Conference proved a decided success. The papers read, and the discussions which followed, rose to a high level, and the proceedings as a whole were worthy of the importance of the occasion. So far the clergy ; what about the con- gregation ? The papers read were not intended to be mere literary essays ; they have a practical bearing, and their value will be tested by their effect. The note of warning, not for the first time in the history of Anglo-Jewry, has been sounded. Will they who were referred to, or who were appealed to, listen to the words uttered in all sincerity and fervour ? With all the various topics considered by the Conference, I naturally do not intend to deal to-day, shiefly because some are personal, and affect the 100 ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE 101 Minister mainly, or at least in the first place. But there are some problems which affect each and every member of the congregation as members of the Jewish people ; and it is to the congregants to whom we have to look for the complete success of Con- ferences such as the one just held ; it is upon them that a grave and serious responsibility rests. In the forefront stands the question of " Sabbath Observance." How many times has this subject been dealt with from this and other pulpits ! How fre- quently has the historical antiquity of the Sabbath been pointed out, and the blessedness of its observ- ance insisted upon ! And yet, are we satisfied that our words, though attentively listened to, have worked a marked effect upon those to whom they were addressed ? Is not Sabbath desecration as flagrant now as it was years ago ; nay, has not the evil increased ? When preachers have at times, with all the earnest- ness and eloquence at their command, pleaded for a better observance of the Sabbath, they have not infrequently been criticised for having pointed out the evil, without offering the remedy. Brothers and sisters ! Tis not for us to point out the remedy ; we cannot minimise the importance, or limit the restrictions of the Sabbath ; we cannot extenuate its desecration. The Law is clear upon the point ; each individual Jew has his own destiny to fulfil, each is responsible for the fulfilment of the vital demands of his Religion. The observance of the Sabbath is but one of those demands, which though they present difficulties and are so frequently accompanied by a sacrifice in the fulfilment, have nevertheless to be discharged. 102 ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE The seventh-day Sabbath is the Sabbath of the Jew, and it dare not, it cannot by any means be transferred to any other day of the week, and still remain the Sabbath for the historic and conforming Jew. Let me then once again impress upon those of you here present, if not for your sakes, for the sake of your children or those dependent upon you, not to deal lightly with the sanctity of the Sabbath, to beware against the first promptings leading to its non- observance ; to remember that the institution of the Sabbath has not only a negative side abstention from work it has a higher and more solemn aspect ; the Sabbath is the means for sanctification for holier and nobler reflections, for introspection as regards oneself, and for communion with Heaven. Lose not that precious gift, the name of which is Sabbath ; lose not that precious perfume, the name of which is Sabbath ; they belong to you and to your children ; you rob them of what is their best posses- sion, if you do not put them in the way of preserving the Sabbath in their midst holy as it should be, as an anchor in the sea of the week's unrest and toil, as a source of comfort and hope amid the difficulties and trials of life. In this case, as in so many other situations in which man finds himself placed in the course of existence, let him remember D'DK>n p ;rS J"JJDD inti 1 ? ton " God helps those who make an effort to do the right thing" ; only let us not lose faith at the first failure ; let us hold out in confidence and trustfulness ; and the hard stone will in due course be turned into a pool of waters, the flinty rock into a fountain of waters. Is it a wonder, dear friends, that the Sabbath AND SYNAGOGUE ATTENDANCE 103 attendance in the various places of worship is so lamentable, if the Sabbath is not observed as it should be ? Here, if anywhere, we have most vividly pre- sented to our eyes the relation between cause and effect. How can our Synagogues be well-attended, if the shops, and offices, and counting-houses are well attended during the hours of Public Worship ? The problem of Children's Services has of late years obtruded itself upon our notice ; but such a question would probably never have arisen, had the firm attachment to our Religion impelled the men, women, and children among us to be present in full numbers at the Synagogue Sabbath Service, as it was in former years. Where is the fervour which marked those days of old, not many decades ago ? The current of religious enthusiasm seemed then to run through the entire body of Jewry, and comparatively few individuals escaped the effect. Now, even when we apply the battery to quicken the limp and 'slackened body of our people, there is no corresponding response, and we remain as lifeless as we were. Whether we hold with the introduction of " Chil- dren's Services " or no, and this is a matter which each individual congregation has to determine, one thing is certain ; that neither our children nor their parents dare be alienated from the services of the Synagogue, and that the sooner both young and old are able to join in the Synagogue Service, the better for the stability of our Religion. I would, therefore, again to-day appeal to you all to make an endeavour to be more regular in your 104 ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE attendance at Divine Service on the Sabbath Day ; to bring your children, so that they may be impressed from early years with the environment of the Syna- gogue Service ; but, above all, that you should give them at least that modicum of Hebrew knowledge which shall impart some interest, some living interest, to their minds and hearts, during the time they are assembled here. And not only a knowledge of the language of our people, but that of the history of our people, we should take care to implant in our children. They should be taught that we have an historical origin as grand and as exciting (if you like) as any other people, past or present. We have had our trials and our triumphs, our ups and downs, our splendours and our abasements. We have produced heroes ; and we have had our kings and princes, our wars and alliances ; we have given to the world codes and constitutions ; and we have given to the world poets and philosophers, musicians and physicians, sanitary science, and reli- gious truth. Do not tire of impressing these facts upon the minds of your children ; do it over and over again ; it is absolutely necessary if your children are to be proud of their race, not ashamed of the Religion which they profess. Let them know in so many words that there is nothing to gain worth having, by exchanging their religion (if such a thing be possible) for the religious doctrines of any other Faith. Not only nothing to gain, but let them beware lest, should they take the fatal step, they bring untold secret wretchedness upon themselves, such as perhaps only traitors know. AND SYNAGOGUE ATTENDANCE 105 I do not hold with the idea of social seclusion which some would advocate for our children. None of it. Our children must, by the order of nature, mix with the outer world in which they move. The walls of the Ghetto have been broken down ; may they never rise again ! But our children must be fortified with a thorough knowledge of their Faith ; they must understand their Religion and their position ; they must be able to recognise their strength and their weakness ; so that they may be able to meet their opponents when they feel themselves strong, or correct their own weaknesses in the points in which they are lacking. Only then when our children shall feel themselves proud of being Jews, may we hope that they will never lapse from the fold of Judaism, but will add to its strength and glory, until the day when all mankind shall understand the beauty and force of our Creed, and the words of the prophecy shall be verified, " In that day shall the Lord be acknowledged One, and His name One." Amen ! "THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE" (March 1911) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! I am old-fashioned enough to inform those of you who are unacquainted with the fact that this Sabbath is called by time-honoured custom IIDT r>3B> " the Sabbath of Remembrance." It is called so by reason of the circumstance that, as an additional portion of Scripture reading, we rehearse in the ears of the Congregation the concise yet telling three concluding verses of the twenty-fifth chapter of Deuteronomy, beginning with the words -IK>K nx IDT ptatf -|^> new " Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way when ye left Egypt." How much we might remember if we wished ; how much we would like to forget ! But Time and History form one long memory ; and if individuals forget, the facts are yet recorded in the Book of History by the unerring finger of Time. I will not to-day deal with the various applications which the words of our text might suggest with regard to the types of that first Amalek, that vexed and worried us as we left the inhospitable country of Egypt. But yet the word -IDT " Remember " this one little word is pregnant with a meaning and with a rebuke, which have an eternal application to the people of Israel itself. Israel itself has much to " remember " of its own doings and of its own neglect. 106 "THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE" 107 What speaker could run through the gamut of our nation's experience in one-third of an hour ? Yet we might fix our attention upon one particular epoch ; and what epoch is so vivid and capable of self -applica- tion as the present ? Brothers and sisters ! If you will each of you hold this one word before your mind, what an eloquent sermon you can each of you preach unto yourselves ! H3T " Remember " ! Remember what ? Your past history and your present attitude. Your olden religion and your present neglect of it. Your former ideals and your present slackness. Your ancient devotion and your present apathy. Are such thoughts of contrast not sufficient to engage your most serious attention and consideration, if not on your own account, yet for the sake of your children, for the sake of the future of our race ? I protest against the fine distinction that is fre- quently drawn, when speaking of us Jews, between race and religion. We Jews, even English Jews, are Jews both by race and religion. I care not whether a man be born in England or in Germany, in France or in Spain, he cannot by that fact throw off the inalienable connexion which he has inherited from his forefathers with the ancient race of the Israel of the Bible, nor with the present religion which his professing brethren follow. And as regards the racial endowment which he has in his very being, not even apostasy and conversion can root it out of him or his descendants. Who can tell whether it will not again reassert itself to the very life in the case of those who come after him ? We are told by scientists that no particle of matter is ever absolutely lost to the world ; it may be transformed nay, it becomes transformed but 108 "THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE" it is never crushed out of existence. If this be so with matter, I cannot believe that the higher and spiritual element, such as that implied in the term " race," can ever be stamped out of existence. This being the case, dear friends, roan N!? TOT "remember, and do not forget," your obligations to your race and religion. Why are some of our race ashamed of being known as Jews ? Why do they almost apologise to their non- Jewish friends for the accident ? Why do they often take the first opportunity they can, when it is a question of higher social rank or preferment, to leave the brotherhood to which they belong, and label them- selves with a religious connexion in which they cannot possibly have any faith, and to which, if they out- wardly conform, they bring the scandal of hypocrisy ? Have we not as Jews a history that goes back to the days of hoary antiquity ? Then why try to forget the glories and triumphs, aye, even the trials and sorrows, of our own history, and pretend to take such a keen interest in the history of other peoples ? I say unto you to-day rDGJ>n tih TOT " Remember, ... do not forget " the deeds recorded in the Book of History of what has befallen our own ancestors during the last 4,000 years ; and instead of wishing to hide your origin, be aglow with the thrill of a patriotism and a loyalty towards a race and religion which are your own and not of a more modern creation. Heaven forfend that I should mean to convey by these words the idea that as Englishmen, as Frenchmen or as Germans, we have not a loyalty or a patriotism which we should generously and cheerfully place at the service of the particular State of which we are citizens. No Jewish speaker need labour the point, for it is an axiom of the Faith of the Jewish people, to " pray for the welfare of the "THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE" 109 kingdom, and to seek the peace thereof " ; but what I do wish to emphasise is this, that loyalty to the State dare not clash, it need not clash, with loyalty to the Jewish Religion. We should have enough patriotism in our being to be able to have a twofold form of it, one for the race from which we have sprung, and one for the country which has housed us in the course of our journeyings in the world. Let us be but true to our race, loyal to our Judaism, and remember our past, and we shall not fail to be true and loyal to the land of our adoption. This is the chief lesson which I think can be preached from the one-word text -I1DT " Remember." Now you may think yourselves justified in inferring from my former remarks regarding the indestructi- bility of our race, that the Religion itself is a thing of secondary importance ; that as the life of the racial element is assured, we might dispense with the religious beliefs and exercises which cluster around the name "Jew." Do not be misled into such a conclusion. The race might drag out a miserable existence, and thus be perpetuated ; but it will only be a shadow and a sham, devoid of all glory and credit, if it relinquishes the methods by which it has hitherto preserved its vitality, in spite of overwhelming odds, in the arena of the world's battlefield. The race element in the Jew has to be strengthened by the religious element, if the Judaism of the Jew is to be a real thing, a source of strength and power to the cause, a means of rendering the Jewish Religion itself a virile living force in the midst of the people, ever and anon declaring its message and mission to the world at large, influencing the morality of man- kind without being itself influenced to yield to 110 "THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE" the lower and baser standards of action which have developed with a pseudo-civilisation. Nay, dear friends, " remember " on this " Sabbath of Remembrance " that for the Jew, true to his mission, there is no divorce between race and reli- gion ; they go hand in hand ; and it is impossible to conceive how the Jewish race can flourish, even though it survive, without the vivifying influence of the Jewish Religion. This means more than the possession of the mono- theistic idea, which, indeed, is the chief glory of the early rise of the nation. It means the continuance of the work of the Synagogue ; the continuance of the Judaism of the home ; it means that we shall not only uphold at all hazards the fundamental principles of our Faith, but that we shall not relinquish with too light a heart those traditions of old which have given poetry to our lives and comfort to our souls, at the same time that, beyond a shadow of doubt, they have helped, with the almost pathetic tenderness of a mother's care, to preserve the religious idea of Judaism itself. Judging from dangers in the past, judging from tendencies in the present, I earnestly say unto you to-day, resist, if not for your own sakes, for the sake of your children, all attempts to weaken your faith, or to wean you from your Faith, whether such attempts come from within or from without ; take heed unto your ways ; beware how and by whom you be led ; " Remember " ! THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH IN THE PRAYER unnwoa nn (Passover 1912) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! When, on the First day of this grand Festival, I referred to the views expressed publicly, touching a new form of Religion in our midst by certain Jews which I certainly cannot call " Judaism," I need scarcely say that my idea was mainly to fortify my own hearers on specific points which had been raised cardinal points of our ancient Religion, and to warn them against the views which had been propounded in the name of Judaism. And when I say that I was rather on the " defensive " than on the " offensive," I make no apology for my attitude ; I will simply add, that when a number of men and women (whose conscientiousness we would in no wise impugn), deeming the ordinary Service of the Syna- gogue defective and unappealing, and the hours of Public Worship among us inconvenient, resolve to meet together for the ends of united devotion, it is to a certain extent a matter for themselves, and need not trouble those outside their communion. But when, on the other hand, they openly publish, through the press and by other means, their religious views antagonistic to those held by the vast majority of their brethren, they then emerge from their obscurity, and expose themselves to the attack and in 112 THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH criticism of those who are in a position, and whose duty it is, to combat their utterances. When, in the words of the appointed leader of this movement, we are allowed " to exercise the force of our reason and our selection " as regards the Bible itself ; when the Abrahamic rite is in the balance ; " Kashruth " optional ; and the observance of the Sabbath has to adapt itself to our convenience, I should like to ask whether such a system can be called " Judaism," or whether it would not be more honest to call it " Jewish Eclecticism," that is, the system adopted by certain Jews of selecting from various sources those views which suit them best. I hinted, on the last occasion, at the problem of the observance of the Sabbath. We, Ministers of Religion, will neither place a premium upon nor legalise Sabbath- breaking ; we would rather leave it to the conscience of each individual Jew and Jewess to determine for him or her self how far they are able to keep the Sabbath ; but we will not sanction those methods which, in the past, have always constituted instances of the breaking of the Sabbath. Many an address, or series of addresses, have I delivered from this pulpit on the subject of the Sabbath ; its origin and historic development ; its high import and religious character ; its peculiar and indispensable force in the social fabric of mankind. But there is one aspect of the Sabbath which I should like to dwell upon to-day in emphasising the contention, that " sincerity and earnestness in the observance of the ceremonies" of Judaism have always been regarded as a vitally necessary element ; and that no one held stronger views than did our Rabbis of old, as do also the best and finest teachers of the present day, upon the theme that " the lip-service, the mere THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH 113 formalism which characterised many of the observ- ances, from a truly spiritual point of view was not only worthless, it was positively harmful." To show you how deeply impressed were our Sages of old with the idea now vaunted forth as almost something new, that " the Sabbath should be observed in the homes with an atmosphere of spiritual joy,'" I need only refer you to one paragraph incorporated in our Sabbath and Festival liturgy, which is familiar to every man, woman, and child attending our Sabbath Services, or that know their Prayer Book. It is a passage so well known, that it is perhaps too glibly uttered to admit of our appreciating both its meaning and its deep import ; but it is one well worthy of our attention, and I will endeavour to bring home its message to you in as brief a manner as possible. The paragraph occurs in the Amidah of the Friday Evening, Sabbath Morning, and Additional Services, and with slight variation in the corresponding Festival Services, immediately or almost immediately preceding the word rm and beginning nvi wnUN rfo Wr6i< unrnion 'Our God and the God of our Fathers, be pleased with our rest-day." If you will follow with me the words of this para- graph, you will, I am sure, recognise that the author was no mere formalist, no slavish ceremonialist, but one who himself breathing in daily life " an atmosphere of spiritual joy " was desirous of communicating some- thing of this spiritual joy to his own brethren, whether in the House of Prayer or in the precincts of the home. We pray to God in this beautiful prayer : n"i unnuoa ' Be Thou pleased with our rest " ; that is, our form of resting, the manner in which we observe our Sabbaths and days of rest ; not in the 8 114 THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH manner that each and every Jew and Jewess would prefer to select for themselves, but in the way that the whole house of Israel determines to observe them. Be Thou, Lord, pleased with our methods on the Sabbath Day ; and may we ourselves be pleased and gratified by regular Sabbath Service, by abstaining from daily pursuits, by a higher and more spiritual tone, by specific features to symbolise the Day's joy, whether it be by Bible-reading or Bible-study, or even in our dress and food. No dullness or asceticism, such as marks other faiths, but the true spiritual joy, springing from religious exercise. This is not an ideal, dear brothers and sisters, which we are unable to reach even at the present day. There are hundreds and thousands of Jewish homes, here and abroad, in which the Sabbath is characterised by the true ring of Sabbath joy. It warms one's heart, amid the vast amount of indifference, and materialism, and selfishness around us, to witness the joy and delight of Sabbath observance in the truly Jewish home. We ask God I'nisca i3Bnp " Sanctify us by Thy com- mandments," meaning, Help us to understand aright what is required of us as mortals and as Israelites ; that not in simply observing God's commandments is our duty done, but in so observing them that their fulfilment may sanctify us, make us better and more pious than we were before. Not the mere slavish discharge of a task, but man's instruction, his eleva- tion, his refinement, is the object of God's precepts and ordinances. inyiB3 '\y\a&\ -pioio WJQB> " Satisfy us with Thy good- ness, and gladden us with Thy help." What more natural prayer for the Day of Rest than this utterance ! When we call to mind the anxiety and toil of the THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH 115 days of the week, the restlessness and difficulties in- cidental to obtaining the means of livelihood for ourselves and those dependent on us ; the fact of how dependent we are for all that we gather upon the Mercy and Goodness of an Unseen Power ; how well adapted to express our gratitude, at the close of a week's work, are the words : " Satisfy us with Thy goodness, and gladden us with Thy help ! " ; in other words, we look with satisfaction and gratitude to the goodness which God has dealt out to us in the past, and we would be glad and rejoice, on the Sabbath day, in the thought that God's help has aided us in the struggle and battle of life. And, fortified with the desire to observe God's commandments, fortified with feelings of gratitude and confidence in respect of God's bounties and help to sustain us in the daily round of duty and conflict, we turn our eyes unto Heaven, and pray : mS tnt2l riOX2 "piy 1 ? " Purify our hearts to serve Thee in truth ! " And here, dear friends, lies the essence of the whole thing. Our Sages felt that to " serve " God at all, we must serve Him in truth, truthfully, with " sincerity and earnestness "; with "hearts purified" in the act and by the act of service and ceremony. Human nature may at all times, or at most times, fail or find difficulty in attaining this high standard, but this is the only standard in the worship and service of God, truthful service, constant and faithful service, resulting in, if not preceded by, the " heart purified." But to some of our people, the Sabbath of old has become so burdensome ; it stands in the way of so much more gain, more enjoyment, more advancement. They, therefore, will have none of it ; because they will not endure the sacrifice, or will not see that its 116 THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH due observance brings with it infinitely greater gain, deeper joy, and more lasting advancement, than the breach of the Sabbath can bring. If Jews would only look upon the Sabbath with a little more love and devotion, with a little more faith and goodwill, they would be amply repaid for any material loss which they imagine they sustain by its observance. And the author of our Sabbath prayer, therefore, bids us pray unto God : i^nSx 'n tikfWfl pBHp rot? |WiD1 ninx3 " Lord our God, cause us to inherit, in love and favour, Thy holy Sabbath ! " These words, dear friends, " in love and favour " are generally applied to God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, who instituted the Day of Rest. But I think they may equally well be applied to the one who observes the Sabbath. Not only was the Sabbath Rest a sign of God's " love and favour " ; but it is a necessity for the Sabbath observer to keep it holy " in love and goodwill," not regarding it as a burden, as a bar and barrier ; not grudgingly, or in a grumbling spirit, but in " spiritual joy," " calling the Sabbath a delight," " the desirable of days." And if we thus regard it, its object will be accom- plished ; its high purpose will be assured to each and every Israelite. We shall thank and praise God for the institution of the Sabbath, r>3K>n cjnpo for " having sanctified the Sabbath." But more than this ; not only has God granted the Sabbath day a special privilege by separating it from the other days of the week; not only has He made the Sabbath holy, sanctifying it for special purposes ; but He has given it a sanctifying power, so that those of Israel, who hallow His Name by resting thereon in the manner prescribed, may feel the duties and difficulties of life lightened, by reason of the sanctifying THE SPIRIT OF THE SABBATH 117 power which the Sabbath imparts to them ; may feel the tasks and strivings of life uplifted and ennobled ; may regard the ultimate purpose of life with a clear vision, with more sustaining satisfaction, with more beauteous prospect and longing, until the hour when all these experiences and feelings will co-mingle in the one long, unending vision, heralding " the Day which is all-Sabbath, the Rest of the Life eternal." "HANUCAH" THE FEAST OF LIGHTS (1913) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! In a few days we hope again to begin the celebration of one of those red-letter days in the Jewish Calendar which have a direct appeal to the Jews and Jewesses of all time, and not least to those of our own times. There are some Feasts or Festivals of ours that may be said to have but a languid interest for some of our people ; but if there be one Feast which is of all- enduring interest, which in its origin is likely to be ever-recurring in the history of Jews and Judaism, it is that of Hanucah the Maccabean Feast. For with- out entering into the details of the history of the Maccabean triumph, which is known to every Jewish schoolboy, was it not a question of life and death to Judaism that was the kernel of the situation in Palestine at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, who found his match in the comparatively obscure, yet dauntless champions of our cause, in the persons of Mattathias, the High Priest, and his five sons ? This was one of those crises in Jewish history which has repeated itself many a time since in the course of our contact with the nations of the world. The prosperity and adversity of our people have both and alternatively put our cause to the test. It is the eame with the nation as it is with the individual, and vice-versa. Who will doubt the statement that for some individuals prosperity is harder to bear than for others adversity ? In both cases, moral character, 118 " HANUCAH " THE FEAST OF LIGHTS 119 strength of mind and backbone, are probed. And moral character with regard to religious conviction and religious practice, is an endowment that at times is severely taxed. It was so when some of the Jews of the time were unable to withstand the glittering attractions of Hellenic influence, which roused the fury and fiery enthusiasm of the Maccabees ; it is even so at the present day, when Jews and Jewesses, in spite of the social disadvantages which their birth and race brought with them, have risen to wealth, to univer- sity distinctions, to social status, only to kick away the ladder by which they have risen, to deny their origin, and to withdraw from the fold in which they were born, and in which for some years they had been reared. Reared, true ; but how were they reared ? Were they brought up with intelligence, with enthusiasm, with the spirit of sacrifice affecting their religious training ; or was their training soulless, spiritless ? Did an unmeaning ceremonial, did unexplained observances, take the place of what is all-important in Religious Obedience, a knowledge of the spiritual idea underlying all that either Mosaism or Rabbinism entails upon the Jew and Jewess ? Did their teaching consist in laying bare the grand central idea, which, engaging the immortal spirit of the thinking child, must be ever-enduring and ever-lasting, and cannot so easily be dissociated from the principles or practices of the Religion professed ? Gradually and from earliest years should this method of religious training be cultivated in the budding mental intelligence of the child. See the method in which we kindle the lights during the eight days of Hunucah ! 120 " HANUCAH " THE FEAST OF LIGHTS We begin on the first night by lighting one single light ; on the second night we add another ; and so on till the last night, when there meet our gaze the full power of the combined illumination of the eight lights of the " Candlestick." Thus, brothers and sisters, should our energies and efforts be directed in the religious training of our sons and daughters. See that there penetrate into their minds from the dawn of their intellectual life but one ray of religious warmth ; let each day, each month and year, testify to an increase in that religious fervour ; let it ever advance and increase, and never go back and grow weak ; and then we may rest assured that as years go forward, from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood and womanhood, our children will be possessed not only of the know- ledge of their Religion, but of that which is of far greater importance ; they will be filled with a fervour and enthusiasm which not all the seductive influences of the world will be able to win over ; they will remain to the end of their days firm in the Faith, worthy examples of a Judaism full of life and vigour ; they will glory in a form of Judaism which our brethren shall be pleased to imitate, and our neigh- bours in the land hold in respect and admiration. Religious Enthusiasm ! This is the text of the Hanucah celebration it is 'the message to Jews the world over, now and for all time. "What must strike the casual observer amongst us at the present day, is the absence of soul and living interest in so much of that which goes by the name of Religious Duty among a large proportion of our people. Blind imitation, sullen obedience, half-hearted adhesion, are at best the characteristics of so many who natter themselves that they are Jews still. But " HANUCAH " THE FEAST OF LIGHTS 121 we miss the heart, the warmth, which springs from conviction ; we miss the power which only enthusiasm in a cause can supply. Walking along yesterday, my eye caught sight of an advertisement, displayed upon a passing vehicle, of a play being performed at a certain theatre. Apart altogether from the plot of the play, the name of the piece is eminently suggestive : " The Shepherdess without a Heart." Dear brothers and sisters ! parents will never fulfil their duty towards their children unless they feel and act out their responsibilities as the Shepherd and Shepherdess of those entrusted to their care. And no parent will carry out this duty successfully, who is " the shepherd or shepherdess without a heart " ; for it is a trite saying, but too true, that only that which comes from the heart can go to the heart. Moreover, dear friends, in no department of human activity is this more true than in that of moral and religious training. Outward professions, public pro- testations, noisy demonstrations, are not the best evidences of deep religious fervour, of sound moral endowment. Religious warmth may rather be found deep down in the heart of man, kindled and rekindled by the gradual and slow yet persistent methods of the strong influence of example. If it live in the heart of the parent, it will live again in the heart of the child ; if the light burn in the heart of the father and mother, it may burn the more brightly in the hearts of their sons and daughters ; for in this sense, too, we may interpret the well-known words of the prophet of old : nna DK a rm j&i ^na i6 " The godly life is not to be discerned amid the power of physical force and material strength, but in the true possession of My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.' 1 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION (New Year, 56711910) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! While on the Continent in the course of my summer holiday, an English news- paper of considerable repute and circulation fell into my hands, and my eyes lighted upon an article dealing with Jewish matters, written beyond doubt by a co-religionist. I scarcely knew whether to be amused or angry at the remarks therein contained : but it occurred to me that if, at the time, I could not or did not feel inclined to write on the subject, I might at least bring some of the points there adduced under the notice of my Congregation, in order most vigorously to disclaim statements which in the main are unwar- rantable, and, at the same time, to sound a note of warning to those who listen to me. It is sad to reflect that a Jewish writer when he has the privilege to contribute to a highly-important non-Jewish organ, should not be able to speak from an objective point of view, but should introduce, nay, obtrude to the full his own personal point of view, or his personal wish in the matter, and thus mislead those readers who think they are listening to an authoritative presentation of the facts. Brothers and sisters, I laid up those statements in my memory, and I think there can scarcely be a more appropriate occasion on which to place them 199 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION 123 before you than this New Year's Day, on which, I take it, that as Jews, whatever other message it may bring to us, it is implied that we wish to renew our Judaism with the New Year, to fix its duties upon our minds not for this day alone, but for the coming year, aye, for the years that, with ^God's help, may yet be in store for us ; so that by a renewal of our sense of obligation towards our time-honoured religion, we may strengthen it in our own hearts and in the hearts of our children. The citizens of the land in which we live are told by this newspaper correspondent that " it is interesting to note how rapid and complete is the assimilation of many English Jews. There is so i little in these days to distinguish them from their fellow-citizens." Alas, dear friends, the assimilation, even as far as it goes, is certainly too " rapid " for us ; but to say that in the case of many English Jews the assimilation is " complete " is, indeed, going much too far. " Many " is a relative term, and I doubt whether, regarding the Jewish population in these isles, it is right to remark that the assimilation of a large proportion of English Jews is " complete." How frequently have I myself denounced (and I am sure my predecessor in office must have done the same) this undue assimilation which is going on in our community assimilation to the habits and methods of our surroundings an old evil among the Hebrews, dating back to the very early chapters of our history as a people. We are told that " complete religious toleration has done most" to bring about this stage of things. Then all I can say is, if in the attempt to obtain " complete religious toleration " we have lost, or wilfully thrown away, our Judaism, it is a thousand 124 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION pities that we ever obtained it here ; or, at all events, a thousand pities that members of our race should be BO ungrateful and rebellious as to exchange the gift of religious freedom for a grovelling servility, for the slavish following of the customs of those of our neighbours in the land, who themselves throw off the yoke of their own religious up-bringing. How valuable that " civil and political freedom," that "complete religious toleration," that induces us after a generation or two to kick away the ladder by which, after much struggle and suffering, we obtained our franchise as a citizen of this country our franchise as a child of Heaven ! It is painfully amusing to be informed that " there are still the old-world customs of an Oriental people, but, generally speaking, there is little in the life of the English Jew to distinguish him from his fellow of other creeds." So much the worse, if it were true. But the statement is audacious when applied to the general community of English Jews. I would use the words with which the writer continues, but in a different sense : " Perhaps this is never more apparent than at this holiday season of the year." He meant the summer holiday. But I would employ them to refer to this holy day and this holy season of the Jewish year. A goodly company of English Jews still adopt "the old-world customs of an Oriental people " on New Year's Day, on the Day of Kippur, on Tabernacles, on the other Feasts and Fasts, both in their homes and when they are away from home. And I take it, that the proportion of this number who are not strictly observant Jews would not wish to dissociate themselves from these old- world customs of an Oriental people, that they feel it a privilege to participate in the religious ceremonies THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION 125 and observances practised by their forefathers, even thongh these may now be shorn of some of the exaggerated features of old, and brought somewhat more into harmony with present-day methods. We have no objection (using the writer's words) to " many languidly passing vacation-days on the parades of well-known seaside resorts," or to " larger numbers every year taking their recreation in the form of golf, fishing, yachting, motoring, and shooting." But on these conditions : On the one hand, that they do not by their demeanour and conduct bring discredit upon the Jewish name ; and on the other hand, that the principles and traditions of Judaism be not sacrificed by them in the desire to indulge in every form of sport practised by their fellow-citizens. Nay, I go further and say, that there is nowadays no absolute necessity for the Jewish young man or woman, or for the adult Jew, in the pursuit of his pleasures or recreations, to violate the observances of Judaism, unless he or she wishes to do so. The writer of the article, as if recognising the process of cause and effect in the present condition of Anglo-Jewry, next turns his attention to the Jewish Religious Union, on the establishment of which he cannot bestow sufficient praise. But when he pro- ceeds : " The establishment of the Union was hailed with delight by a large section of London Jewry " well, unless I have been asleep in the interval, I can only characterise such an assertion as anything but accurate. I might, indeed, use a stronger expression. " Hailed with delight by a large section.' 1 If the writer wishes to deceive himself, or the promoters wish to deceive themselves in the matter, it is their business, but we certainly have some idea as to the true condition of things. 126 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION " The Synagogue, always the centre of Jewish life," we are told, " was losing its hold." Unfortunately but too true ; but we fail to see how the new movement will bring it back to its own. Regeneration must come from within, by judicious management, by progressive methods, by preserving our conservatism amid liberal applications, even by a not too " rigorous insistence on the letter of the law " in matters of unessential importance, to determine which should be the exclusive duty and right of the clergy once entrusted with their charge. And just the weak point in the formation of the Congregation on " Liberal " Jewish lines, as depicted by the writer of the article, is " the establishment of religious services supplementary to those provided by the existing Synagogues." We do not want supplementary services ; our ordinary services should be sufficient in themselves, and if they are not, they should be rendered sufficient ; they should be made to suffice as regards the spiritual needs of every earnest worshipper. We do not want supplementary services, I repeat ; the very suggestion is a condemnation of existing conditions : and if these conditions are open to improvement, then the improvement, I contend, should come from within ; and the general condition of the Synagogue Service throughout Anglo-Jewry and of Judaism itself will never be improved by adding another limb, weak or strong, to the body corporate of English Jews. On the contrary, such action will spell not strength but weakness, will be not helpful and supplementary but a source of distraction and dissension ; not the union which in the past bound all Jews together for the preservation and glorification of a common Faith ; THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION 127 not the united front which such seasons of Jewish year as the present could demonstrate among Jews in the various continents the world over, but the beginning of a disruption among the communities here, the signal for sects and schisms, such as we are told existed in the ancient city of Jerusalem before the hand of the enemy was able to lay it low. Heaven guard us from such a denouement ! But now, although the condition of things in the religious life of Anglo-Jewry, as portrayed in the article in question, is far from accurate, nay, is mis- leading when taken in a general sense and the fore- cast is, I venture to hope, too pessimistic, while the remedial measures for the preservation of English Judaism tacitly recommended to be found in the Union on lines of " Liberal Judaism " is almost ludicrous : yet, there is a substratum of truth worthy of consideration and reflection underlying the state- ments put forth regarding what I have before now termed the anaemic condition of Anglo-Jewry, more especially on its religious side. Let us to-day give a willing ear to what is being said, and let us take the lessons to heart. Let us sum up the situation. There is undoubtedly too much assimilation of the wrong sort going on in our midst. The Jew and Christian should mix in the world, but the Jew should know the border-line beyond which he should not go. There is much that the Jew may learn from his non-Jewish neighbour, but it should not be at the sacrifice of religious obedience and observance. If the Jew can learn from his fellow-citizen how to respect authority in religion, how to conduct himself with greater reverence in the House of God, and similar 128 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION lessons, then by all means let the Jew assimilate these qualities of the non-Jew, and his Judaism will not suffer ; on the contrary, it will become strength- ened, it will become more Jewish, not less Jewish. We often become wiser and better in this fashion ; for it is well known in common life that the lessons which we ignore when taught by those near to us are more readily appreciated and learnt by us when put forward by strangers. But, dear brothers and sisters, as regards the essential demands of our religious code, let me warn you on this New Year's Day not to assimilate yourselves to such a degree with your surroundings as to bring you and your own within the danger-zone of ultra- assimilation, which will leave to you and to your children no trace whatsoever of your ancient Faith and its beautiful traditions, once your envied heritage. Do not be of those who act upon the principle : rvan p Bnipn TnjD "I have banished everything sacred from my house : I do not believe in traditions that divide me from my fellow-man ; such things may have had some holiness for my fathers, but times have changed, and my ideas on such subjects have changed too ! " I exhort you, do not give a handle to the statement that " there is little in the life of the English Jew to distinguish him from his fellow of other creeds." This may be true as regards the cut of his coat or the shape of his beard, or the manner and method of his indoor amusements and outdoor games. Thank Heaven, there are still many among English Jews, or, if you will, Jews in England, who may be distinguished from their fellow-citizens in other respects also on the side of their race and religion. The outlook is not quite so pessimistic. Only see to THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION 129 it, dear friends, that you and your children preserve this distinctive badge ; suffer not yourselves to be cut adrift from the general body of Jews and to lose your individuality as Jews, to be submerged in the general population of the world. Do not answer : " I am a Jew by race, and this I never deny." You could not, if you wished. This is a fact that must stand for all time. Born a Jew, or descended from Jews, no power in the world can alter the fact. Besides, if you would wish to conceal it, the higher your position, the more difficult the task. There will always be some curious historical investigator to publish to the world the interesting, though perhaps vexatious, intelligence of Lord So and So's, or Sir So and So's, Jewish connexion or descent. No, if you wish to be known as Jews, and to feel it an honour to belong to this ancient Brotherhood, a sense of religitfus obligation must be super-added to that of mere racial connexion. Your homes must be those of Jews dedicated to Jewish thought and feeling devoted to Jewish ceremonial, discharged in a rational and impressive manner ; homes in which the observances identified with the olden religion of our ancestors may be witnessed by your children, even though they may have a somewhat modern setting. Who will not agree with the words spoken at the Church Congress a week ago by the Bishop of Ripon ? " We need a greater reverence for home and home-life. ... On the side of pleasure we ought to introduce a more fastidious and elevated taste, checking the pas- sionate love of continual excitement which seeks sensational enjoyment outside the home. " The home is the unit of national life. It is out 9 130 THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION of pure homes, ruled in rectitude, honour, and unselfish love, that will comei the men apt and fit to sustain the honour of England, to frame her laws, and to vindicate the reality and to manifest the persistency of her Christianity, and enable her to fulfil her destiny in the world." Substitute, in this last sentence, the term "Judaism " for the terms "England" and " Christianity," and you have the truth of the whole matter as regards our fate as Jews. See to the home, for out of it come the issues of the continued life of the Jew. But see also to the condition of that other home the House of Prayer, the Synagogue. Remedy its defects and blemishes. We are told they exist, and that is sufficient, whether we believe it or like it. There are people who never will make the attempt to see eye to eye with others ; perhaps they cannot. But i given the truth that the Synagogue Service can be improved in certain directions conformably with Jewish Law, and even with modern ecclesiastical authority, let us face the problem boldly and honestly ; let us not drive away our young men and women of the rising generation ; let us not wait to be taunted again and again with the reproach : " The Synagogue is losing its hold ; its services are uninteresting " ; and that, practically speaking, there is nothing left for English Jewry but to throw itself into the arms of the Union of Liberal Judaism, if it wishes to save its Synagogue Service. The Union, the aims of which, in its latest develop- ments, are directed against the very principles and foundation of our creed ! No, brethren, let us ourselves save the Service and the Synagogue ; and if it be necessary, even at some little sacrifice ; let us keep our children and our THE LIMITS OF ASSIMILATION 131 children's children attached to us by our own methods, and by our own religious force, if we believe that we possess any religious force. But, dear friends, with all the gravity possible I say it, there is a form of Union that we do require. Heaven guard us, I repeat, from the dangers of communal dissension ! We require all the strength and support we can marshal for the administration of our Synagogues, for the upholding and development of our Charities, for the improvement of educational work. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder among ourselves and with our neighbours in the land in the great fight which is constantly being waged against Poverty, against Ignorance and Vice, against Disease and Suffering ; and let us not fritter away our energies over trifling differences in matter of ritual or religion, in wrangling over metaphysical doctrines which belong to the realm of the Unknown, aye, the Unknowable. Let us, with the New Year, determine to unite our forces, great and small, strong and weak, to produce in the coming time a healthier Judaism than is known to the present generation, and to us will be the satisfaction and the strength, unto Judaism will be the honour, and the glory will be the Lord's, unto Him, the Creator of man and his Judge. May He judge us this day and every day in mercy and in love ! Amen ! "HALT!" (November 5, 1910) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! There was a time and the time is not yet past in some countries when the Jew had to defend himself and his religion against the attacks from without attacks directed against Israel from the avowed enemies of our Faith, who made no secret of their attempts to carry out their ruthless desire expressed in the war-cry : " Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, so that the name Israel shall no longer be held in remembrance ! " The scene has changed, as in the course of our history it was ever changing, as if to supply variety to our experiences ; and we are again to-day made aware, or rather reminded, of the old truth, " Those who would pull thee down and lay thee waste, come out of thyself." It is no use, dear friends, hiding the fact that we are living in critical times, as far as our Religion is con- cerned ; and it is, therefore, not without interest that we scan the historic letter addressed to the members of the Berkeley Street Synagogue by several of its warm supporters on the eve of a battle which is bound to affect the destinies of the Congregation in the future. Nay, more : the decision of this one Synagogue in the matter of religious reform is likely to make its influence felt far beyond the precincts of Berkeley Street 133 " HALT ! " 133 The letter or rather manifesto calling upon the members of the Congregation to pause before they agree to any violent and radical changes in the conduct of the Synagogue Service, is one conceived in a most temperate spirit, and is put forth with an earnestness of expression and a mildness of suasion which whatever the result do the signatories the greatest credit. In life we all have individual wishes and fancies, and cannot see that there is any flaw in them ; but sooner or later we learn the lesson that we cannot always have our own way ; that we have to give and take ; that, in the interest of the larger number, we must sink our individual wishes, however much we may believe that we are in the right. The democratic spirit of the age rebels against the government of one, it consults the majority. The manifesto to which I refer cries " Halt ! " to those who would introduce such drastic changes in the Service of the Synagogue as to destroy the distinc- tive character of a Jewish Service held by Jews. And it goes further, and sounds the note of warning to those responsible for the inordinate demands put forth, that such a step will have the effect of destroying the traditions of the Congregation, and delaying, if not altogether rendering impossible, the rapprochement between all the Congregations in the Metropolis, to which so many of us have ardently been looking forward for some time past. The signatories to this impassioned yet dignified appeal might have headed it with the words of Isaiah read on Sabbath last : " Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare : before they spring forth, I tell you of them " (xlii. 9). " Who is blind but my servant ; or deaf as my messenger that 134 "HALT!" I send ? who is blind as he that thinks himself perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant ? " (ibid. v. 19). We Jews, indeed, have a mission, and this mission has not yet been fulfilled in the world. And no faithful Jew who understands his mission aright need be reminded that, though he belongs to a Brotherhood, which is responsible as a whole for its fair name and fame, he has to render himself individually pure and upright, individually moral and clean, individually religious and observant as regards the ceremonies of his Faith. This is almost a truism, and yet it has to be insisted upon in taking into account the real meaning of Israel's mission in the world. If the Jew does not see this, then indeed the " Lord's servant " is blind. If each Jew were to do his duty to his own house, the mission of Israel would be accomplished even to-day. Now I must again, at the risk of repeating myself, refer to what I must characterise as the weakest and most unsound portion of the circular issued to the members of the Berkeley Street Congregation, as reprinted in yesterday's Jewish Chronicle. And it is only because it is published and may be read far and wide, that I have made it the theme of my remarks to-day. How many times more has it to be repeated that "Separatism in the form of worship" is not sufficient for the preservation of Judaism a worship in which the bulk of the Congregation joins but once or twice a year ? For even if the Service be as Jewish as possible, it will not help on the mission of Judaism if members do not even participate in the Service at regular and frequent intervals. But further ; no Synagogue Service, no Religion of the Synagogue, " HALT ! " 135 will effect our mission nothing but the Religion of the home. Any other statement is false. Who says that " strict observance of the Dietary laws and other customs is undoubtedly difficult, if not impossible ? "difficult, I grant you, but not impossible. Who says " impossible " ? Only those who will not make the endeavour, or who have never had the chance of so doing, because their parents, instead of showing them the right way, showed them the wrong way in their religious training. When, a week or two ago, I was told in the course of conversation by a true Christian lady occupying a high position in the City of London that, some years ago, she took to task a co-religionist, who at the time was also occupying a high civic post, for partaking at a banquet of the flesh of swine, what do you think could have been my feelings as a Jewish Minister nay, as a conforming Jew on hearing how a fellow- Jew was doing his level best not only not to preserve Judaism " as a distinct historic religion," but incident- ally to drag it down in the esteem of his fellow-citizens of another Faith ? And yet, I believe, this self-same individual with a distinctly Jewish name and Jewish appearance pays a patronising visit to a Jewish Syna- gogue once or twice a year I So much, therefore, for the value of mere " separat- ism in the form of worship " towards " the preserva- tion of Judaism." I have over and over again argued that, however difficult I ought to say inconvenient it is to observe the ceremonies of our religion (including even the Dietary laws), yet it is not impossible, and it depends solely upon the upbringing and will of the individual Jew or Jewess. I fail to understand, dear friends, the meaning of 136 "HALT!" the phrase, that " we are Jews a people charged with a distinctly religious mission," when we are told in the same breath that " strict observance of the Dietary laws and other customs is undoubtedly difficult, if not impossible." Wherein, then, does our distinctly religious mission consist ? When we speak of a distinctly religious mission, it must mean something even beyond the aspiration of teaching the world the glorious doctrine of the Unity of God, of pointing to the declaration of old, " In that day the Lord will be One and His name One." A distinctly religious mission must imply distinc- tiveness on the religious side ; something more than mere ethical teaching, however lofty ; it must imply the observance of such rules and prescriptions in the conduct of life as have in the past and will in the future keep the Jew, in certain respects only, distinct from his neighbour in the land ; nevertheless, not to such an extent as to interfere either with his deep loyalty to the land in which he lives or with the grand mission with which he has been entrusted from the days of old, as expressed in this day's Haphtara, " Behold, I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and charged with a command to the peoples " (Isaiah liv. 4). No, my friends, we require for the preservation of Judaism, not Synagogue Jews alone, but Jewish Jews Jews true not only to appearances but to ceremonial and traditional observances ; Jews who, for the sake of their "distinct historic religion," will not shrink from undergoing some sacrifice and inconvenience ; Jews who, in the search after honours and prefer- ments, will not by their conduct discredit Judaism in the eyes of their fellow-citizens. Above all, let it not " HALT ! " 137 be said of the religious teachers and lay leaders of the community, in the words of the prophet Isaiah : " His watchmen are blind ; they are without knowledge . . . dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber . . . these are shepherds that cannot understand" (Isaiah Ivi. 10, 11). The signs of the times are disquieting ; the needs are great and pressing ; the work calls for workers ; let it be undertaken in a holy and loving spirit, for the preservation of our common Judaism. Amen ! THE READING SYNAGOGUE (Remarks at the Laying of the Foundation-stone of the New Synagogue, founded by the Preacher, March 1900) A LITTLE over a year ago I had the pleasure of addressing many of those here assembled, when the first step was taken to publicly launch the idea of providing our co-religionists with a suitable place of worship for themselves and classrooms for their children in this Borough of Reading. To-day we have arrived at the second stage of this undertaking, a very important stage, too, when the foundation and corner stones of the building which is to be have been laid. I must thank the executive and committee of the congregation for the honour they have done me in asking me to preside on this important occasion, and I think the best wish I can express at the outset, and the one most pleasing to all here assembled, is that the day may not be distant when the synagogue and, if possible, the adjoining classrooms shall stand forth to the glory of God as an accomplished fact, to form a source of religious instruction, of joy and comfort to our brethren, even a centre of activity and usefulness in the interests of the general community of this borough. During the past twelve months, in the course of my enlisting the sympathy of the community on behalf of the Reading Hebrew Congregation, I have often been asked : Why do you take such a special interest in this 138 THE READING SYNAGOGUE 139 movement ? And my answer has been : Because I believe that a great social problem is involved in the history of the Reading Jews. They hail for the most part from the congested districts in the East of London, being sensible enough to understand that any movement tending to relieve such congested districts is a boon not only to the Jews themselves but also to the general population in whose midst they dwell. From the statements made on the occasion of the last public meeting by prominent members of this town, not of our faith, I am sure that the townspeople of Reading have a very high opinion of the Jews who have come to reside in this part of the country, and that they certainly do not view the migration with feelings other than favourable. The migration of members of the Jewish Faith to other provincial towns is a subject that might well be enlarged upon. But to save time I will pass over this point, and in a word or two endeavour to sketch the growth of the Reading Hebrew Congregation, and the position of affairs at the present moment with regard to the building arrangements. I am informed that the present Congregation arose from very small beginnings in December 1886. It had then a very small income, having but eleven members, and was known as the Reading Hebrew Burial Society. Since 1886 it has been reconstructed four times, having had many ups and downs, so much so that for a time the expense of maintenance fell upon the shoulders of two of its members. At the present time there are between 30 and 40 families residing here, and although the annual income is by no means large, yet it represents an amount of self -sacrifice and devotion on the part of its members which larger congregations might do well to emulate. There are 30 140 THE READING SYNAGOGUE children now being taught, and about twice that number waiting to receive instruction in Hebrew and religion, as soon as suitable accommodation is provided. Hitherto a large hall has been engaged in which to hold Divine Service on the High Holidays ; but this year there will be no means of even doing this, as the only hall available which was previously hired for the purpose has now been bought by a firm of printers. This in brief is the history of the rise of the Congregation. Now, as to its future prospects. In view of and since the public meeting held in January 1899, an immense amount of active interest has been displayed by members of the Congregation and a few friends in their desire to see a Place of Worship erected, which, if not large and costly, shall yet be such as to be worthy of the sacred object to which it is to be devoted, worthy of the Jewish name, and worthy of the town in which it is situated. As regards the estimated expen- diture to be incurred in putting up the proposed building, Mr. Ehrenberg, the indefatigable chairman of the Building Committee (of whose efforts I cannot speak too highly) will give you the exact details. The only financial points to which I wish to refer are that over 1,000 has already been collected, that the free- hold ground upon which we are now standing has cost 420, and that a considerable amount has yet to be collected before the building can rise to any height. In this connexion I have to acknowledge the kind assistance already accorded to the movement by our Christian brethren in this town, not so much on account of the material support which they have thereby offered, {but as an evidence of the good- will and right feeling which subsist among fellow- 141 citizens of various shades of religious belief when a sacred work is undertaken. But I would earnestly appeal to all present, Jew and Gentile alike, to those who have the means and have not contributed or contributed inadequately to this worthy undertaking, to do their share in helping the Jewish residents to have their synagogue firmly estab- lished without further delay. No thoroughly religious individual, of whatever creed, can be pleased to see any religious brotherhood in want of a suitable House of Prayer without lending a helping hand to supply the want. And here I would take the opportunity of correcting one of the many erroneous impressions abroad regard- ing Jews as a body. We often hear the expression, " The wealthy Jews." Nothing of the sort. There can be no greater mistake than to think that the Jews are as a body wealthy. We have our wealthy individual Jews ; but we here in England have a large mass of our brethren continually crying unto us for help ; and the cry comes not only from those resident among us, but from very many parts of the world, where the economic position of the poor Jew is much worse than it is here, for in those lands the sun of freedom never shines upon the poor Jew, and he never tastes of the sweet breath of liberty, which is the common property of each and every individual, irrespective of creed, in this Heaven-favoured land the home of freedom. And though the small circle of our wealthy Jews here is continually giving and never grows weary of giving, yet it is upon our middle-class hard-working men that we depend for that steady, uniform flow of help, which enables the Jewish community in England to do what it does, to keep off from the rates that large concourse of poor, a goodly proportion of whom in 142 THE READING SYNAGOGUE many instances are benefited by such methods that in course of time they become not only self-dependent and self-supporting members of our community, but also useful and active workers, loyally devoted to the best interests of this great and noble realm. Imbued with this spirit, the Jews of Reading will, I am sure, be ever willing to take their share of the public duties, and to join hand in hand with those of other denominations in the various municipal and social movements which are for the benefit of the town ; but it is to a properly built and equipped meeting- house that they look to serve them as a rallying-point, as a centre of usefulness, both for their own immediate spiritual and religious needs, and for that larger work outside their own communion which they undertake in conjunction with their fellow-townsmen. Besides other purposes, we look to the Synagogue that is to be built as a means of increasing mutual respect and admiration between the Jewish inhabitants and those of other creeds in the town ; as a means of rubbing off some of those prejudices which are yet so pronounced in the world around us, by giving a truer insight into the ceremonies of the Jewish people, and proving to those who know it not that the Jewish Ritual contains on mystery, and that its Services are open to the gaze of the whole world. And the members of the Building Committee look to you, ladies and gentlemen, to give them your generous support in furtherance of the sacred object which we have in hand; and we trust that a name, honoured both in the annals of Anglo-Jewry and in the history of Reading, will stimulate all to do their duty in a practical and liberal manner. The name of the late Sir Francis Goldsmid, Bart., once Parliamentary representative for Reading, stands for all that is THE READING SYNAGOGUE 143 generous and great among Englishmen and Jews of the last generation ; and we are delighted to see the traditions of that name sustained by his great-nephew, Mr. Osmond D'Avigdor-Goldsmid, and by his nephew, Mr. Claude Montefiore, both of whom are present to-day, and have participated in the day's functions. I most earnestly hope that my wealthier co- religionists in the Metropolis and elsewhere will come to the help of their Reading brethren. I un- hesitatingly commend this undertaking to those of their fellow-townsmen who have the means to aid the Jewish inhabitants in their present endeavour. I call upon the Jewish residents of this town and the surrounding district to do their very utmost to help themselves : and if they work heart within and God o'erhead they will not work in vain, for they will soon see their heart's desire fulfilled, and the Reading Hebrew Burial Society of twelve or thirteen years ago will emerge by a new birth into the New Reading Hebrew Congregation, full of life and vigour, diffusing the blessings of religion and enlightenment for many a generation to come. "THE BOOK OF THE LAW" (Delivered at the Walthamstow and Leyton Synagogue, founded by the Preacher, 1902) DEAR FRIENDS ! Some few months ago I attended here for a solemn function, the Consecration of this building to the Glory of Heaven, and to the spiritual elevation of our brethren resident in this district. To-day it is our privilege to assist in introducing into the Service of this Synagogue two new Scrolls of the Law, which have been purchased by the personal efforts of a small band of the ladies of this Congrega- tion, who have collected the amount required for the purpose. I am sure all those who have laboured to bring this Congregation to its present condition, must be thrilled with gratitude at the thought, that almost weekly the prospect of its success is growing more satisfactory, and that difficulties are gradually being overcome by a better understanding and an increase in mutual good-will among the members themselves. Such a feeling will be the best foundation upon which your Synagogue can be established, the truest guarantee for its future success and welfare. In the Sabbath portion read yesterday, there is contained the grandest Charter of the human subject, the " Ten Words," delivered from Sinai's height, not alone to the people of Israel, but to the whole body of IU "THE BOOK OF THE LAW" 145 mankind. If the Sacred Scroll of the Law contained no other exhortations but those inscribed upon the two tablets of stone, the heritage bequeathed to our people would be a great and glorious one. Now, dear friends, remember that God's Book of the Law, being such a grand and precious gift and posses- sion, is not on that account to be treated in the same way as other priceless possessions, of which man may boast. It is not to be locked away, hidden from the gaze of man, never to be looked at except on special rare occasions. With God's Law the Holy Torah it is far different ; and hence the importance of the Ceremony in which we are taking part to-day. Our relation to the Sepher Torah, and the relation of the Sepher Torah to us, must be practical and effectual. We are not to regard it simply with the eye of the archaeologist, as being the relic of past ages, the interesting curiosity at which we stare in astonishment. No ; for us Jews and for all good men and women, the Book of God's Law is to be a living well of instruction ; it is to 'guide our course of action in life ; it is to shape our acts day by day. 7D rim minn -IDD BMD vh " This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth," were the words addressed by God unto Joshua after the death of Moses, His servant ; and this same thought occurs to my mind on the present occasion, when you are assembled to do honour to the sacred Torah, which has been handed down from father to child, from one generation of Jews to the other. Let its precious truths ever influence your dealings in life ; meditate upon them ; practise them ; teach them to your children ; glorify them in the eyes of the people of the world. 10 146 "THE BOOK OF THE LAW" It was once a custom in early times to recite the *' Ten Commandments " during the Service ; but the custom was stopped, because it was said that certain heretics contended that the whole Jewish Law consisted in the " Ten Commandments." Ah ! dear friends, brothers and sisters of the House of Israel ! All I can say is, would that it could be stated of every man and woman of Israel, that he or she faithfully and scrupulously carried out all the wholesome duties contained in those " Ten Words " ! Does every Jew and Jewess render their undivided devotion to the One God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One who redeemed us from the slavery of Egypt ? Do >we never worship God and Mammon at one and the same time in the outer world ? Do we never serve two gods, while outwardly joining in worship in the House of Prayer ? Do we never take the name of God in vain either in our daily business transactions, or when occasion demands our presence in a Court of Law ? Are the words we employ in our conversation, whether in cold blood or in anger, always truthful, pure, and cleanly, worthy of the gift of speech which God has graciously given unto man ? Do we Jews keep the Sabbath-day holy as it should be, a day devoted to cessation from servile work, a day consecrated to God and holy meditation ? Do we never fail in the duty of respect, obedience, and honour to our earthly parents ? How about the sanctity of the relations which exist between man and his neighbour ? Do we never kill our fellowman by taking away his good name, his character, his means of livelihood, which stand for almost life itself ? Are Jews and Jewesses exemplary in their conjugal "THE BOOK OF THE LAW" 147 and domestic relations, so that the most perfect confi- dence exists between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters ? We do not steal openly and in the literal sense of the word ; but have our commercial dealings any of the taints of dishonesty, over-reaching, the taking of undue advantage, mental reserve, and other forms of unright- eous practice ? Do we ever trangress the commands which bid : " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour " ; " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house " ? These are some of the injunctions and warnings which form the kernel, so to speak, of that Book of the Law, which is never to depart out of our mouth, out of our midst, and upon which we are bidden to meditate day and night, so that its lessons may influence the whole tenour of our lives. Remember, again, these lessons are not to be stowed away, but to be continually before our eyes ; they are not to be as the precious jewel kept under lock and key, but as the glittering gem which sheds its lustre upon every action ; they are to be as the finger-post directing us which road to choose and which to avoid, as the beacon which disperses its light far and wide, as the signal which warns of the dangers ahead. The Law of God is no impossible code of action. In the words of Scripture, NTI D'DKa &6 " 'Tis not in the highest heavens," nor in the uttermost parts of the earth, beyond the reach of mortal man ; but it is IJWtf 1 ? -p3^ -7B3 " in thy mouth and in thy heart to carry it out " ; the observance of the duties con- tained in the Torah depends upon our own willingness, upon our own declarations, and upon our own determination of heart. 148 "THE BOOK OF THE LAW" As I remember remarking on the occasion of the Consecration of this Synagogue, that the best manner in which we can consecrate this House is by conse- crating our own selves, so I say unto you this day we are unable to " consecrate " the Sepher Torah, " the Book of God's Law " ; it is above our " consecration," for it is consecrated and sacred by reason of its contents, and the sublime doctrines which it enshrines. The only reasonable meaning of the expression is, that the sight of the Torah has a consecrating influence upon us ourselves ; that it reminds us, perhaps, of many a sacred duty hitherto forgotten or neglected ; that it rouses us to a better appreciation of that which we possess as members of the brotherhood of Israel, the people chosen for a Divine mission from the days of old. Attend in this Sacred House regularly and reverently ; listen to the readings from the Holy Book with a desire to profit by its teachings ; join in the Services with devotion and decorum ; see that your children visit the House of God, and gain a knowledge of our history and religion in the Classes attached to this Synagogue ; avoid all that brings discredit upon the name of Jew, within and beyond the walls of this sacred edifice ; join heart and soul, with one aim, one purpose, one sincere longing, to do all that is best in the interest of this Congregation, and in the interests of that common Judaism which binds us together, and renders us brethren. Then shall God's blessing rest upon your endeavours ; He will shield you and yours from danger and distress, from wasting sickness and unreasoning hate ; " the Lord will bless you and keep you ; the Lord will cause His countenance to shine upon you and be gracious unto you ; the Lord will turn His face unto you and grant you peace." Amen. GOD'S LIGHT (Preached at the Reconsecraiion of the Synagogue, Cathedral Road, Cardiff, September 8, 1912) DEAR FRIENDS ! If I may be permitted to strike a personal note on the present occasion, I would at the outset of my remarks say that it is with peculiar pleasure that I have responded to the invitation ex- tended to me to take part in this festive celebration, in so far as it was thirty-nine years ago, in the second year of my ministry, that I first occupied the pulpit in this city in the Synagogue which this sacred edifice afterwards replaced. I have since also preached in this building ; and I rejoice with you to think that the needs of the congregation and the desire to glorify the God of our Fathers have resulted in the work of renovation and alteration to this House of Prayer, in which for some years past you have assembled in times of joy and sorrow to pour forth your souls in solemn contemplation before the God of the spirits of all flesh. It is also pleasing to realise that, owing to the fore- sight and energy of a prominent member of your congregation, who has always identified himself with its interests and welfare, the financial incubus which I know has always weighed heavily upon the leaders of this congregation has become considerably reduced ; and it is sincerely to be hoped that the good example which has been initiated with regard to the redemp- 149 150 GOD'S LIGHT tion of the mortgage will be steadily followed, so that the joy which you experience in the celebration this day may within a very few years be perfect in the com- plete extinction of the debt with which you are still burdened. And now, dear friends, in the spirit of this day's ceremony let us attune our thoughts to holy contem- plation, and call to mind the words read yesterday out of God's Holy Book : ^33 i"?p3 nyK>i "pr^N 'n iy :jysn ^>33i "pa^ ^>33 7331 nnx ovn iivo -Oix " And thou shalt turn unto the Lord thy God, and hearken unto His voice, according to all that I com- mand thee this day, thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul." I can well enter into your feelings, dear friends, as you after some absence to-day again tread this familiar yet holy ground, and occupy your usual seats ; when the sacred Scrolls of the Law have again been deposited in the Ark of the Covenant, and the " Perpetual Lamp " is again burning " outside the curtain which is before the testimony." My thoughts revert to the Book of Old, and many a reflection is kindled in the glow of this very Lamp which burns steadily within the walls of this Tabernacle. I see before me the Tabernacle of Old reared in the wilder- ness, and I hear the Word of God addressing Moses, the great teacher of all mankind, saying "And thou shalt command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation outside the curtain which is before the testimony, Aaron and his stms shall order it from evening till morning before the Lord ; it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on behalf of the children of Israel " (Exodus xxvii. 20-21). GOD'S LIGHT 151 The Midrash (the store-house of Jewish allegory), in commenting upon the words of Holy Writ, very beautifully explains how it came to pass that Aaron and his sons were selected for the task of keeping the Lamp burning perpetually in the sanctuary. In very deed, it says, it was God's love of mankind in general, God's love of the people of Israel in particular, which made Him pleased to accept Sacrifice and Service at the hands of man. TIIX mxD nnsi D^iyn "?3 nx JT nnx nwo nruo o'piyn hih -VND nnx, 'r6 -oaip nx y\t>rb : nn: p^nn 1 ? -IDIN nnxi iis n-o 111x3 ux, -Ton TJ ni^ynV What can it be, the Midrash suggests, but the desire on the part of Heaven to give man an oppor- tunity of gaining for himself some merit and reward that has ordained an entire system of sacrificial rights and temple ordinances ? " Thou, Lord, givest food to the whole world, and yet commaiidest man to bring the offering : it is Thou, Lord, who givest light to the whole universe, and yet commandest the burning of the * perpetual light ' : through the light which cometh from Thee we see light, and yet Thou in Thy goodness biddest us kindle the lights of the candlestick ! " In truth, each and every creature of God can do something, however small, to testify to his feelings of gratitude for the benefits received daily, per- petually, from the Source of all Goodness and Everlasting Light. And to extend this idea some- what further, if our circumstances will not permit us to bring something that the world calls real as a token of our gratitude to Heaven, then we have the assurance that even the feelings which go towards forming our gratitude, feelings which are often more real than gifts, we are assured that these feelings and impulses on our part are not lost, but are 152 GOD'S LIGHT accounted by Heaven as the truest expressions man can offer, nvytfo ns-ixo nSpn mia meno And it was this consideration which gave Aaron and his sons the privilege of being the custodians of God's Light for all generations. If we refer to the Fourth Book of Moses, the seventh chapter, we shall find that in recording the gifts brought at the Dedication of the Tabernacle by the princes of the tribes, every tribe is represented but that of Levi, to which the priests themselves belonged. When Aaron saw this, his mind was greatly disturbed ; and in the pathetic words of the Midrash, he exclaimed : roura lanpn DWBOn hi nmnpa p*?n ^ rvn vh m raton " The princes of every tribe have brought an offering, and I have brought nothing towards the dedication of the Altar ; where- upon a voice from Heaven was heard rpna "$& "|"H :nvun nx TBIDI p^no nnNB> nrhw "As thou livest, thy merit and privilege are greater than theirs, for thou art chosen to kindle and keep in order the sacred Light." The desire and impulse to have a share in the world's good work brought with them their own reward. Surely, brethren, you need not be reminded in so many words that the material light to which reference is here made was but the symbol of a truer, richer light in the Sanctuary the Light of God's Holy Word. The Ton 13 " Perpetual Lamp " shed its rays upon the curtain which divided the " Sanctuary " from the " Holy of Holies," and transmitted some of its light upon the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Tablets of God's Law. The material light, therefore, which stood pinn nansS " outside the curtain," pointed to the necessity of kindling and preserving perpetually the Light of that Law which was kept ronsb JV3D in the Ark on the other side of the curtain, and which had to be the GOD'S LIGHT 153 perpetual fire burning upon the altar of man's heart, as far as concerned every individual member of the Jewish people. It was not sufficient that the com- mands of God were engraven upon tablets of stone ; inie>i?b -p^in 753 IIKO -ann 7^ anp a ; they were to be near to the soul and mind of man ; they were to be engraven upon the tablets of the human heart, the stony nature of which they should have the power of transforming and rendering capable of the noblest emotions and the highest aspirations. If the "Per- petual Lamp " Tn 13 was to afford material light to the physical senses, then the Ark of the Covenant nnyn jnx was to afford a higher light to the spiritual sight of man's nature, one which the Psalmist realises when he sings D'^y m'NO rm 'n niVD " The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes." How significant are the words of Scripture ! In emphasising the necessity of light for the Tabernacle, it does not say (as it does in speaking of the various fittings of the Tabernacle "h TipM) " Command the children of Israel that they take unto Me " a free- will offering, but ";T JVT pt5> T^K inpM " Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee," as the teacher and leader, the means for giving light unto them. God, indeed, of whom it says NDIBTQ no yr K">5? noy &niii31 " He knoweth what is in the darkness, and light dwelleth with Him " God did not stand in need of light, but man stands in need of the guidance of that light in every situation of life, equally in the bright sunny days of prosperity as in the dark and dreary nights of adversity, equally amid the warmth and fire of religious enthusiasm, so that it shall not develop into bigotry and fanaticism, as amid the difficulties and doubts of chilling unbelief, which is bound to end in spiritual and moral ruin. 154 GOD'S LIGHT It is God's Holy Word alone which, when all around is dark and dismal, can cast its cheering light to guard and guide us upon the way, to strengthen our faltering steps, and to keep our foot from slipping. Aaron and his sons had to keep this light in order Ip13 ny 31VD "from evening until morning." And thus it is God's Law which we should all preserve both in the darkness of the evening of existence, when the ordinary pleasures of life have lost their delight for us, as well as in the bright morning of our activity, when the vigour of youth and manhood might tempt us to ignore its guiding Power. It was the Priest in olden times who had to guard this Light in the Sanctuary, and to see that it burned always without risk of being extinguished ; at the present time it is the Fathers and Mothers of Israel who, as priests and priestesses, have jealously to guard the Light of God's Holy Word, to kindle it anew within the hearts of their children, and to see that it remains "an everlasting statute throughout their generations." Whatever may be said of the letter of the Law, the spirit which underlies every command in the Sacred Volume is as fresh and bright now as it was thousands of years ago, and is applicable to every condition of life at the present day. Conditions change, circumstances alter ; but we stand as much in need of the counsels and comforts, the teachings and warnings, the light and warmth of the Word of God as revealed in the Desert and preserved in the Sanctuary, as we stand in need of the air we breathe and of the manna with which we are supplied by Heaven's grace. See, says the Midrash Tanchuma, the world stands in need of as much light as it can get from the Sanctuary of God ! When a man builds a house, he will make the windows narrow from without but GOD'S LIGHT 155 opening wide within. Why ? In order that the rays of light, converging at the narrow opening, may diverge when entering the room, and thus diffuse their light. But the windows in the wall of the Temple were constructed on the opposite plan ; beginning with a narrow opening within the building, they gradually became wider as they reached the outer surface with this object, that the fullness of light which filled the Sanctuary might shed its rays without and illumine the whole world. And thus it is with the Sacred Torah ! Not alone should it give light within the Sanctuary of the home and the Synagogue, but it should illumine the outer world in which we move. Oh, if Jewish parents would only understand that there is no book which they can put in the hands of their children equal in any respect to the Book of the Bible ! If they would see to it that the study of Hebrew and the knowledge of Jewish History did not share the fate of the r6ns?Dn nw scapegoat of old, of being thrust aside as an intruder in the curriculum of refined education I If the Jew would himself be conscious of the power and influence which he, by means of the Bible-truths and the undoubted destiny of his race, can exert upon the history of the world, then indeed he would feel it his duty to be more earnest and active in under- standing for himself and for his children the message of that Book, which tells that Israel's mission in the world is not yet completed, and that the time has yet to come when, through the Light which the people of Israel shall kindle, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Let this then be the instruction and the message which every man, woman, and child present here to-day will carry away when they leave this Sacred 156 GOD'S LIGHT House at the conclusion of this Special Service. No Rabbi or Preacher can do the real work of consecrating a place of worship ; the consecration is personal and individual ; it has to come from those who have the privilege of meeting and worshipping within the precincts of the Building which is dear to them, and which they have laboured to raise and rear. Dedicate yourselves, I say, consecrate yourselves, and your Synagogue will, by that very act, become consecrated unto its sacred object, become the House of God. If godly thoughts be roused within you while you are assembled here for worship ; if all that is unholy and uncharitable be chased from your minds while you are engaged here in prayer ; if the fullest harmony and peace prevail among you in the hour that you are seeking God's protection and bounty, His grace and His pardon, then and then only will it be possible for you to feel with Jacob of old that this place is indeed awe-inspiring ; " this is none other than the House of God, in truth, the earthly gate leading to Heaven." But if, on the other hand, God forbid, not only while you are congregated in this Holy House, but while you are moving in the outer world, you break the covenant of peace with one another ; you vex and harass, in the name of religion, those who lead or serve you, those who have toiled hard for you in the past and whose services are at your disposal in the future, then, I say, it is no longer God whom you think to worship in your Synagogue but Moloch for, by your example, you will be passing your own children through the flames of envy and hate, of strife and irreligion, and in vain shall you then look for the blessings of Heaven. Remember, do not forget, that not on foundations of concrete or piles of bricks will the Synagogue of a GOD'S LIGHT 157 congregation stand firm, but it will rest with security upon peace and good-will, upon mutual forbearance and toleration, upon occasional self-sacrifice and self- effacement, upon honesty of purpose and unity of action among those who worship therein, and who undertake to labour for its continued usefulness. Disregard these essential elementary principles ; give way to the baser feelings of human nature ; sow discord and strife by tale-bearing and slander ; engage in God's work not for Heaven's sake but for your own aggrandisement ; split yourselves up into factions, because you cannot obtain the Synagogue honours or privileges to which you think yourselves entitled ; forget that, although charity may cover a multitude of sins, it cannot wipe out the effects of Dt?n %n communal dishonour brought about by public scandal ; forget that we have all one Father, and that no man dare deal treacherously with his neighbour, be he Jew or non-Jew, and then all that you can expect will be a repetition of what happened to us two thousand years ago, when we lost our Temple and our national independence, and suffered a shock from which we have never yet recovered. May the dismal picture which I have barely out- lined never become a reality in the case of this congregation ; but may this Synagogue continue and flourish as a centre of enlightenment, as a source of strength to the Jewish inhabitants of this important industrial centre, another strong link in the chain of the brotherhood of Israel ! May industry and integrity walk hand in hand to guide you all in the way of righteousness and honour ; and your handiwork will be established and blessed by the grace and mercy of that Being to whom we now address ourselves in prayer : 158 GOD'S LIGHT Almighty God ! At all times and seasons our eyes are directed unto Thee for the help and protection which never fail. And so at this hour are our eyes turned heavenward for the blessing which is to rest upon this Sacred House. Send, we pray Thee, Thy blessing unto the work of those who have laboured to adorn and enlarge this House ; Thy blessing, Lord, upon the members of this congregation, men, women, and children. May the brightness and beauty of this material structure call forth from the hearts of those who worship here corresponding feelings of cheerfulness and purity in the respective tasks in which they are engaged in daily life ! Create in them a pure heart, and renew within them the proper spirit ; and whensoever they enter these sacred walls, suffer them to be impressed with the holy character of this place, so that, by regular and punctual attendance, by reverential and devotional attitude here, they may be strengthened and enlarged by the influence of true communion with Thee, their Lord and Maker. May the present season of the year tend to impress upon them the more forcibly the holy truths of our religion and the duties of life ; so that however much they may have strayed from Thee in the course of the year, they yet may feel at the dawn of a New Year the inward conviction ip Hill" H1*$ '3X " * am mv Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." Thy Blessing, Lord, upon the Wardens and Leaders of this congregation, upon those who minister in Thy Holy Name and serve in Thy Sanctuary. Thy blessing upon the land in which we love to dwell for the breath of freedom which we enjoy. Guard Thou and preserve in health and happiness our King and Queen, together with the members of the Royal House ; bless the Chief Magistrate and Councillors of this City, the administrators and public workers of this realm. Save Thy people Israel here and in all countries of the earth. Amen. THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY (Preached at the Consecration of the Jesmond Synagogue, Newcastle, March 17, 1915). IN the Scriptural portion read on Sabbath last, Exodus xl., amid an overwhelming amount of detail referring to the construction of the Tabernacle of old, the following words occur : " And the Lord spake unto Moses saying : On the first day of the first month thou shalt set up the dwelling of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testi- mony, and cover the ark with a curtain. And thou shalt bring in the table and set its appur- tenances in order ; and thou shalt bring in the candlesticks and set up the lamp thereof. And thou shalt put the altar of gold for incense before the ark of the testimony. . . ." (vv. 1-5). And so prescription follows upon prescription, until we read, " It came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the dwelling was set up." In like manner, you, my friends, close upon 4,000 years since the scene of that first Tabernacle reared in the wilderness in a tract of country fraught at the present hour with a double fascinating interest you are to-day repeating the traditions of our forefathers of old ; you too have so well contrived matters as to IN 160 THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY hold this solemn function in the same month, Nisan, the first month of the year, if not on the first yet on the second day of the month the month which always stands out as the month identified, through the Passover occurring therein, with the thought of liberty and freedom for the body and soul of the human subject. And here we are all assembled to-day with joy in our hearts, and hopes for the future, in the knowledge that another edifice is being reared to the Glory of God by a section of His people, to cement the soli- darity of our brethren the world over, and to strengthen the cause for which the Jewish nation has come into being, has struggled and suffered, has at times been well-nigh crushed out of existence, but has yet by a supernatural power asserted its vitality, and risen with renewed energy, to prove to the world the truth of the prophecy, " Not by might nor by strength, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." But besides joyous thoughts which take possession of us on this great day, what are the lessons and warnings which a Consecration Ceremony preaches to us ? In what manner may we derive the truest benefit from this new House of God, both while musing within its walls, and when mixing with our fellow- men in the course of our duties in the outer world ? May the verses of Holy Writ, which we cited as our opening remarks, afford us some few suggestions to guide us on the way of life ! In setting up the dwelling of the appointed tent, as you are doing this day, you have also put therein the " ark of the testimony." These few words alone might yield reflections for hours ; but we can barely touch the fringe of the subject. " The Ark of the testimony ! " THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY 161 What a terrible responsibility, what a grave indict- ment is conveyed in these words ! They carry us back to the centuries of the past ; they fix our atten- tion upon the doings of the day ; they tell of joy for the Jew the highest joy; but they speak also of sorrow and disappointment, of sin and suffering ; they remind us of devotion to duty and faith and race, but also of detachment, of lapses, of apostasy, of sordid barterings with beliefs and traditions. The " Ark of the testimony " was our costliest treasure once ; it would be our costliest treasure even to-day, if we knew how to appreciate its value. What does it stand for ? The Ark of the Testimony stands for God's Holy Word, the Book of His Commands and His Will, the Sacred Depository recording the earliest beginnings of races and peoples, the Volume containing the lives of the great men and women of our race, the Messages of Heaven to our people and through us to all mankind. The Ark of the Testi- mony stands for the beacon that spread the light in the days of old, whose light will ne'er be dimmed, even though the breath of men would obscure or extinguish it. The Ark of old is the anchor amid the dangers, the balm of comfort amid the trials, the rock of strength amid the temptations of the world now as then. But looking upon the Ark, we remember that it is the Ark of the testimony ; it testifies not only to its own inherent worth and value; it testilies not on;y that it is the grand gift of God's grace ; but it also bears witness to the neglect to which it has been and is subjected at the hands of those who should be its custodians ; it bids us realise that the Jew and Jewess do not always value it as they should do ; that they fail to appreciate its charm when it stands in the way 11 162 THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY of the pursuit of worldly riches, social preferment, matrimonial alliances. Does the Jew of the present day keep the Sabbath holy, as the Ark of the Testimony would remind him ? Does he observe with fervour and love the beautiful ceremonies of his Faith, which, if rightly understood, have a deep spiritual meaning underlying the surface ? Does he always do his best to carry out "what the Lord requires of him, to act justly, to exercise kindness, and to walk in humility with his God " ? Is his service to Heaven a whole-hearted one, not one divided between God and Mammon ? Is he scrupulous in his dealings with his fellow- men, never taking an undue advantage, never dealing falsely for ill-gotten gain, never saying one thing with his lips, while harbouring another thought in his heart ? All these warnings are the warnings of true Judaism ; they flow from the Ark of the Testimony of old. If individual Jews heed not the warning and act to the contrary, let not the world blame Judaism, which is the highest form of morality and ethical conduct ; the blame attaches to the individual Jew, inasmuch as he departs from the standard of true Judaism. Let this thought impress itself upon all of us present here to-day, engaged as we are in the solemn task of dedicating this House to its high and lofty purpose. The words of our text continue : " And thou shalt cover the ark with the curtain." How necessary this precaution in a figurative sense ! In all ages and times attempts are made to inquire too deeply into the hidden mysteries of the Word of God, enshrined in the Ark of the Testimony. " Higher THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY 163 Criticism " and " Lower Criticism " are frequently at work to undermine the sanctity of the Torah, to examine too minutely the various parts of the Bible according to the standard of origins and dates of composition, forgetting that they have an intrinsic value of their own, irrespective of age and authorship. And in the lower walks of life men often lose faith in the Scriptures, because they are unable to harmonise a statement here and there with their own crude, half- disciplined thoughts. They would fain dive into the mysteries which the Lord hath not revealed to man, not content with the things revealed to him and his children. They often seek in the Book of Old that which is denied to mortal ; and not finding what they wish, they lose faith in the Divine Word, and estrange themselves from the Divine Being, until they lose faith in themselves. How suggestive, therefore, the prescription that the Ark should be covered with a veil, with a curtain I Man has to learn the lesson that Life itself is the greatest mystery of the Universe ; that the meaning of much of that which befalls us here in this world is hidden from our view as by a veil or curtain ; that we dare not grumble amid the trials of existence, and endeavour to lift aside the veil, asking why and wherefore we have been smitten ; suffice it for us to hope and believe that the days will come, if not in this world yet in the next, when a commentary will be afforded to mortal upon much of that which had seemed to him in this life mysterious and unintelligible. And how necessary this soothing thought of con- tentment, resignation, and submission at the present hour, when amid the wickedness of the world, amid the mysterious workings of Providence, amid the deadly conflict and carnage (the only solace for which 164 THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY lies in the probable chastening of the inhabitants of earth), in the face of this dreadful nightmare which has supervened upon the world with its unmeasured sorrow and misery, when the sun has almost ceased to shine, and the moon to give light in the valley ; how vital now the soothing thought, " Heart be still in the darkness of thy woe ; Bow thou silently and low ; Come to thee whate'er God will, Be thou still ! " "And thou shalt bring in the table, and set its appurtenances in order ; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and set up the lamps thereof." Apart from other reflections, " the table " is sym- bolical of man's actions ; " the table " points to the influence of the home, to a child's environment in the early days of training, 'n "OS 1 ? TS?K \rbvn m " This table has to be one continually before the Lord," sanctified by God's blessing, characterised by a high moral tone, by strict adherence to the rules and regulations of Jewish ceremonial ; in fact a Jewish table, with more meaning in the expression than is frequently understood. The " table " should be the rallying-point of the family circle ; the centre not simply for indulging the animal appetites, but for learning the lesson of moderation and sacrifice ; one of the opportunities for leading the thoughts of sons and daughters to higher views of life, to contemplate the ever-watchful eye of Heaven, the Power Above from whom all blessings flow. In a word, " the table " stands for home, and all which that magic word implies. Depend upon it, dear brothers and sisters, evil springeth not forth from the dust. Cultivate the THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY 165 souls of your children while they are yet young ; use your influence with them while they are under your roof, while at the same time that they may cause you the ordinary troubles of up-bringing, they cheer you in your daily toil, and give a meaning to the word " Home." Wait not till it be too late with your instructions, with your influence. Sow early in the furrows of your children's hearts, and rarely, if ever, will you be deceived or disappointed. Sow in their minds a love of what is good and beautiful, a sense of honesty and truth ; implant in them the habits of industry and love of labour, the hate of idle habits and vain pursuits ; warn them early of the dangers of evil companionship ; imbue them while young with reverence for religion, with modest pride in the annals of their own history, with a glowing picture of their nation's mission in the world, and how each and every Jew, aye, each and every Jewess, may contribute to bring that ideal nearer realisation. It is in this connection, dear friends, that " you shall bring in the candlestick and set up the lamps thereof." " The Candlestick," type of light and enlightenment, symbol of the blessings of instruction and education ! And what is the value of all instruction without religious instruction, without the education which goes to the root of our being ? For, as it has been well put, " the soul of. education is the education of the soul." Give your children an intelligent Judaism, a reason- able Judaism, a happy and cheerful Judaism, and they will never lapse from the fold, and become traitors to their Faith. Let them cultivate, if they will, the vineyards of others, but let them not forsake God's vineyard ; in other words, let them study the history and literature 166 THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY of any and every country, but let them come back with love and devotion to the study of their own history, their own language and literature. We have a history not of yesterday ; we may glory in a literature second to none in the ancient or modern world. And as regards this Synagogue, dear friends, see to it that it be not only a House of Assembly, a House of Prayer, but also a centre of spiritual uplifting, a centre of enlightenment and religious thought, nurtured and stimulated not alone by pulpit utterances, but strengthened more and more as years proceed by the Hebrew and Religious education to be imparted in the Classes attached to this Holy House. Our text continues : " And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense, before the ark of the testimony." Here we touch upon the very essence of this Con- secration Ceremony. According to our Sages, the " incense " offered in the days of old was to be typical of the " devotion " which should accompany all our prayers and petitions to Heaven. Lip-service is valueless ; it lacks heart and soul. " My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words without thoughts never to heaven go." Remember, therefore, dear friends, that whenever you are assembled in this Holy Place, and essay to address your Maker, your devotion, as the incense of old, should not only be pure but of the purest. Realise, too, wherein the consecration of the House of Prayer mainly and truly consists. The only true consecration is the consecration of ourselves to God's service ; the only true dedication is the dedication of ourselves to pious thoughts and worthy actions, pious thoughts directed towards the Fountain of all good, THE MESSAGE FROM THE SANCTUARY 167 worthy action extended towards those of His creatures who stand in need of the help of a kind brother or sister. May God's beneficence towards us inspire us with benevolence towards others ! It is to His never-failing goodness and mercy that we commit this House to-day ; we invoke His blessing upon all those who have helped in the building of this Sanctuary ; upon the Wardens and leaders of this con- gregation, upon those who will minister in this Holy House. We appreciate, too, the evidence of good- will and brotherly feeling on the part of the Chief Magis- trate and Councillors of this important city, as shown by their presence here to-day. May all who have shared in this day's celebration find the happiness resulting from the joy of true religion ! May all who will worship here in the days to come find inward satisfaction, lasting faith, potent comfort, and strength of body and mind, in serving their Creator with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might ! And as for all of us, both far and near, may God fortify our hearts, beautify our lives, and preserve our homes ! May God in the fullness of His goodness have mercy upon the scattered remnant of Israel ! Thy blessing, Lord, rest upon this House from this day henceforth and for ever ! And now, in the light of current events, while in deepest loyalty invoking Heaven's blessing upon our King and Country, upon the Counsellors of the realm and upon its brave defenders by land and sea, and trusting that the cause of Justice and Right which they have championed will triumph over the power of aggression and might, let us rise and fervently offer up to our Father in Heaven the following Special Prayer for the times : [Prayer, p. 200.] JUBILEE OF THE BAYSWATER SYNA- GOGUE (Preached July 5, 56731913) IN the course of the journey ings of the Children of Israel from Mount Hor, the place where Aaron the High Priest died, they came to the borders of Moab ; and in the words of the Scriptural portion read this day, " From thence they went to Be-er ; that is the well, whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, well ; sing ye of it : The princes digged the well, the nobles of the princes digged it with their staves, by the direction of the law-giver. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, and from Mat- tanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth." (Numbers xxi. 16-19.) Dear Friends ! How history repeats itself, and how remarkably the words of Scripture adapt themselves to every situation of human life, in every age and every clime ! I well remember fifty years ago the beginning of that migration of our co-religionists from the City of London to the various quarters of the 168 Metropolis. I have personal reasons for calling to mind the establishment of this Synagogue. Our brethren at the time having journeyed further west than the then existing places of worship in Great Portland Street and St. Alban's Place, felt the neces- sity of a House of Prayer in this neighbourhood, and, led by a few loyal spirits true to the traditions of old- time Judaism, they listened to the voice which bade : "Gather the people together, and I will give them water " not the material potion referred to in our text, but the water supplied by the crystal fount of Religion, the purest draughts of moral teaching px mm N^N D'D. And so for fifty years this Sacred House has served its holy purpose ; it has numbered amongst its foun- ders and supporters, among those who " digged the well " of Religious Instruction in this district, men of sterling merit, "princes and nobles of the people," men of a lofty Judaism, whose delight it was to follow " the direction of the law-giver " of old. This House has served, not merely as a House of Prayer, but as a source of inspiration ; it has generated the motive power for action beyond its walls a form of religious service in the outer world, which is, perhaps, even more comprehensive and far-reaching than the Service enacted within the precincts of this holy fane. Long before Charity Organisations existed in their present form, the members of this Synagogue, men and women, not only took their place in the pursuit of benevolent objects, but were in the van in the various depart- ments of philanthropic effort, social, charitable, and educational in work that lay far beyond this parish, or the precincts of this Synagogue. It would be invidious, as it would be almost impossible on the present occasion, to refer to individual names. This 170 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE is the task of the chronicler rather than that of the preacher ; but I should be wanting in duty were I not to call to mind in this connexion the inspiring influence of your former pastor, the late Chief Rabbi, whose pulpit utterances frequently set in motion some of those new departures in communal action which have now become hallowed by time and usefulness. The years have passed ; half a century has flown ; generations have come, generations have gone, since the day when the foundation-stone of this House was laid ; and here we are assembled on this Sabbath, very few of those who saw the glory of that day, but a few of those who worshipped here on the early Sabbaths after its opening, led in prayer by the veteran Precentor, who by the grace of God is happily with us to-day, taking part with grateful emotion in this special Sabbath Service. But time, dear friends, brings with it its changes, often its unkindly revenges. Our text implies that Life without the well of Religion, without the refresh- ing water of Faith, is a mere wilderness ; and so, in the words of the Psalmist, men passing through life with- out the influence flowing from the courts of the Lord's House, are but passing through " the valley of Baca, that of weeping " ; while men and women may, if they so desire, make of Life something more valuable and lasting, something more worthy a creature of earth aspiring after an inheritance yonder. Men may make of Life " a well " " a place of springs," in which " they may go from strength to strength " ; they may make of Life the Garden of the Lord, fragrant with the perfume of useful action, of satisfactory effort, of the best strivings of the human intellect and will to bring the human subject into closer touch with the holiness of Heaven. JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 171 From the wilderness the Children of Israel, we read, went to Mattanah, which in Hebrew means " gift " ; and from Mattanah they went to Nahaliel, signifying " the possession of God " ; and from Nahaliel they went to Bamoth ; in other words, they ascended " the heights." How significant these very geographical land-marks ! Religion itself, periodical religious exer- cises, regular religious services, are the best run gift on earth, with the necessity for which our Maker has endowed us ; in very truth, they are ^N^na a godly possession, entrusted to the fostering care of man, from whence man is able to ascend the heights nioa, and to hold communion with the Divine Spirit, of which, fashioned as he is in the likeness of his Maker, man himself holds eternally a portion in his own breast. Our forefathers fifty years ago sang this song : " Spring up, well, sing ye of it ; The princes digged the well ; the nobles of the people digged it ... by the direction of the law-giver." Dear brothers and sisters, ponder this latter clause. Whilst we rejoice this day in the celebration of this anniversary, and whilst we sing praises unto Heaven for the mercies vouchsafed to this congregation and to the community at large ; whilst we call to mind the beneficent influ- ence which this Synagogue has exercised during the past, and the position it still holds in the councils of the present, are we, to be honest, quite satisfied with the existing state of affairs in the congregation and in the community ? Is there no tinge of sadness or regret to mar the joy which wells up into our hearts on the present occasion ? Are the descendants of the early founders or wor- shippers doing all in their power to maintain the prestige of this Synagogue ? Is their interest in communal affairs as keen as it should be, such as 172 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE characterised their parents or grandparents ? Is their attendance at our Sabbath Service as regular as that of their forefathers, they who helped to rear this structure to the glory of God and their own inward satisfaction ? Is their outward adherence to Judaism and to the cause we hold dear, as Jewish as it might be ? What about their Sabbath observance generally ? What about their loyalty to the principles and tradi- tions which their forefathers cherished with their very life-blood ? Have they any interest in religious education for themselves and for their children ? Do they subscribe to the requirements of our Faith " according to the direction of the law-giver ? " Alas for the reply ! " Jeshurun is waxed fat and kicked." Country-houses, week-end parties, motor-travelling, even a Henley Regatta these, if not religious indiffer- ence itself, are responsible for a state of things which did not exist when these so-called advantages or plea- sures of civilisation did not exist. Remember, dear friends, the walls of the Ghetto were not broken down that the Jew might wander after the desire of his heart, without law and re- straint as regards his Religion. Remember that it was only five years before this Synagogue was estab- lished little, therefore, over fifty years ago that Jews were first permitted to take their seat in the English Parliament. And not quite so long is it since the Act for the Abolition of University Tests was passed. Great have been the strides in religious and civil equality since those days. Great have been the honours in academic and other walks of life to which Jews have been admitted in that brief space of time ; yet how dearly would these privileges have been pur- chased if they resulted but in a slackening or, worse, in the snapping of the bond which binds the JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 173 Jew to his Judaism and to all which that name connotes ! What is the use of possessing a beautiful Place of Worship if it be not filled with worshippers at least Sabbath by Sabbath ? Is it sufficient for men and women laden with the cares of the world, burdened as they are with Life's responsibilities, is it sufficient for their soul's satisfaction to pay a patronising visit to their place of worship on a few occasions during the year, as though they were attending a special " At Home," as though it were a task unconnected with their very destiny as human beings, as members of a distinct brotherhood ? No, dear brothers and sisters. Though it be true, in the words of our day's lesson from the Prophets : " God says, the heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool ; where is the house that ye built unto Me ? And where is the place of My rest ? " Though it be true, that bricks and mortar make not a sanctuary ; that " a praying heart never lacks a praying place " ; that " to this man will I look saith the Lord, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trem- bleth at My word ; " yet, surely, it is unnecessary for me to dwell upon the necessity for regular attendance at public worship, to dwell upon the advantages to be derived from meeting the members of one's own people under one common roof, if it be but to emphasise the community of interests which knits them together. Here in this place the Holy Law is publicly rehearsed as it was in the days of Ezra the Scribe ; here the language which has become " sacred " to us by the prayers and tears of centuries of history forms the lan- guage of our devotions ; hither to this place the Jewish child is tenderly led by its anxious parent, even before it is able to walk or articulate perfectly ; here at the 174 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE age of thirteen, on the occasion of his religious majority, he is called upon to signalise his entry into real life by taking part publicly in the Service of the Synagogue and reading a portion out of God's Holy Word ; here, in later years, the happy bride and bridegroom with Life's full sunshine upon them step forward to plight their troth unto each other in the hour in which, at the same time, they pledge themselves to found a true home in Israel. And again, when the Wheel of Fortune, revolving in the world, brings with it the darker clouds of existence, and our hearts, breaking under the weight of some domestic affliction, look for solace and relief, and we find them in hearing the names of our departed ones recorded at the Public Service in the House of Prayer ; we find here a spot where, amid the cloud and the gloom, we may nestle in security and restfulness : looking back upon such scenes, I ask, are all such associations nothing to the men and women of the world, nothing to the Jew and Jewess of modern days ? If so, where is our natural- ness ? Where are our feelings ? Are we of flesh and blood, or are our hearts turned to stone ? Have we no historic sense ? Have we lost all pride in our race and our religion ? How can you " tremble at the word," and hearing it do your duty in life, if you do not come to listen to the Word ? It dare not be. The people that in early days produced a Moses, a Deborah, a David, an Elijah, and an Isaiah, that could boast in the middle ages and in more modern times of a Maimonides and a Moses Mendelssohn ; the people that has been a factor in the civilisation of mankind, and scattered to the four corners of the earth, has made its influence felt in almost every department of human industry ; such a people dare not grow callous and indifferent to its traditions of old ; it dare not in the JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 175 process of legitimate assimilation to the outward manners and customs of the surrounding nations lose its identity, and forget its ultimate mission, by surren- dering the priceless heritage of its religious demands and duties at the call of convenience and expediency. Heaven forfend that in over-assimilation our people should share the fate of other nations and empires, whose greatness is now only known from their ruins ! You point to our Christian friends and the similar condition of things existing in non-Jewish places of worship and non-Jewish circles ; but this is neither argument nor justification. If Jews believe they have a mission in the world, they should precede the fol- lowers of other Faiths with a better example ; and, by their staunch allegiance to their own Faith, even help and make it easier for the religious teachers of other Faiths to impress upon the minds of their own flock the essential principles upon which all Creeds agree. There are some few among us who go to the length of advocating, among other senseless innovations, a Sunday Sabbath, certainly for convenience sake, and in obedience to the demands of the all too modern spirit ; but be it understood once and for all, the law- giver and the law-interpreter exist to emphasise the law, not to sanction its breach ; they cannot, for example, put a premium upon Sabbath-breaking and legalise it ; 'tis a matter between man and God ; there is no compromise. The old cry ^K 'rb " Israel is not wholly bereft," the future of Judaism is assured. But as regards our community at home, we have to make this general statement. We should like to see among our younger generation a little more of that true spirit of sacrifice, which was the characteristic of many men ia generation or two ago. Not that our benevolent and philanthropic Institutions have not increased by leaps and bounds ; not that individual munificence in charity has died out of the Anglo- Jewish heart ; but what we miss is the presence and active support of the children and grandchildren of men, once honoured in the community by reason of their active and liberal participation in its interests. The veterans have gone to their rest ; have their children or descendants stepped forward to fill up the ranks ? Is their constant prayer : " Give me, O Lord, made lowly wise, The spirit of self-sacrifice ? " JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 177 Sacrifice ! There's not too much of that in the world of to-day, more especially among the youth of any community. The good things of life, the blessings, the comforts, the luxuries of existence, instead of leading men unto God draw men away from God the Source of all goodness. Instead of producing gratitude in the human heart, they engender selfishness, vanity, often godlessness and irreligion. It is related in the Talmud, speaking of Simon the Just, that " there once came to him a youth of great beauty, whose hair flowed in graceful ringlets over his shoulders, stating that he was a Nazarite, and wished to have his vow annulled. " Young man, .hast thou lost thy senses ? " said Simon ; " why deprive thyself among other things of the natural and beautiful orna- ment of thy head, thy flowing hair ? " The youth replied : " I wish to lead a life of goodness ; my head of hair has proved an obstacle in my way, and I therefore desire to have it shorn." The youth con- tinued : " From early infancy I have tended my father's flocks. I loved God, my parents, and my fellow-men. I was contented and happy. One morn- ing as I led my flock to a brook, my eye was suddenly struck with admiration ; it rested on the limpid mirror, and I beheld an image of myself, whilst I heard the insidious whisper of vanity, ' Silly child ! Thou knowest not thyself.' I stood gazing at the reflected image, and lost in admiration of my own beauty, my eye was fixed upon the glassy surface of the water, and I stood playing childishly with the curling ringlets of my hair. When my rapture was at its highest, a gust of wind swept across the surface of the brook ; my mirror was ruffled, and my image disappeared. At first I uttered a dreadful imprecation ; but soon my better feelings gained the mastery, and my conscience 178 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE addressed me : ' Worthless clay, forget not thy origin nor thy end. Know that thy self-admired beauty is transient and perishable the beauty of goodness alone remains.' Contrition gnawed my heart, and I vowed to humble physically that beauty which had well-nigh destroyed me morally. For this purpose, reverend sage, have I come to thee. The object that excited my vanity shall fall beneath the edge of the scissors ; I wish no longer to be beautiful but wise." Young men and women of to-day ! Do you perhaps see yourselves reflected in this same mirror ? Do earthly possessions and material advantages, do the beautiful things of this world, help you on to the path of duty and the godly life, or do they kindle within you feelings of vanity and thoughts of self, which gradually draw you away from the ideals of a creature formed in the image of God, endowed with responsi- bilities not alone to oneself but to the world at large ? Do your personal attractions, your individual thoughts and feelings, the tinsel and glitter round about you, lure you from the ideals constantly held before your eyes by the teachings and comforts of Religion ? Brethren, I therefore say unto you this day, think well for your own sakes, for the sake of your children and children's children, for the sake of the Faith which has kept us alive amid the fires and waters of affliction that encompassed us ; think well, I repeat, before you wilfully forfeit from your midst that genius for religion which was the distinguishing mark of the Jew of past ages, and to disseminate which has been his mission in the world. To repeat my own words, I ask : What would the world be without the vivifying influence of the sacred well-spring of Religion, without its in- vigorating draughts, its soothing potions ? Since the days when Isaac, the patriarch, and his herdmen, JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 179 digged the well of living water in Gerar, the nations have envied us this possession the genius for religion ; men might torture and slaughter the Jew, but never were they able to kill and crush out Judaism. And will you now slacken the hold, and lose this talisman from your midst, when there is no need ? Beauty of form was the great moral law of the Greek : the power of force was the highest appeal to the Roman ; but Religious Truth and all that was beautiful and powerful in it, whether in its outward form or compelling spiritual force, was what the Jew lived and died for. Does the Jew of the present day always keep to the ideal of Judaism ? In their daily lives do Jews realise what Judaism stands for ? Do they realise that it stands for spiritual evolution, for a vital and active principle permeating every act of ours ? However much individual Jews may sin, Judaism itself ever stands for strictest integrity and a sense of personal and national honour ; for charity in thought, word, and action ; for the love of peace and holy living ; for the purity of the home, evidenced in faithfulness and domestic happiness ? Judaism stands for the example of a high order continuously presented before the eyes of our children or of those entrusted to our care. Whether Jew or non-Jew, if we think that we can build up our lives and the lives of our children with- out the fertilising influence of religion, we shall dis- cover our error when it is, perhaps, too late ; we shall find that in the words of Germany's great philosopher- poet, " we have been building on the ice ; we have been writing on the waves of the sea ; the waves roaring pass away, the ice melts, and away goes our palace like our thoughts." Be these, dear friends, some of the reflections which 180 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE you carry away with you when this Service is ended. Not one entirely for self-gratulation is this fiftieth anniversary, yet not without thankfulness and glad- ness ; but may this day arouse within us a rebuke, a warning note, a sense of deeper obligation as regards our religious duties ; so that (adapting the well-known words of the poet) " not rejoicing and not sorrow be our only thought to-day, but to act that each to-morrow finds us farther than to-day" further and more earnest in respect of the fulfilment of our duties as mortals and as Israelites. And as for you, my young friend, who this day attain the all-important season of Bar-mitzvah, the occasion on which you assume the responsibilities of your religious majority, how fortunate for you is the coincidence which identifies this landmark in your own career with the history of this congregation ! Surely this day's Service will preach to you its own striking message. May the lessons which I have sug- gested in the course of my remarks to-day not be lost upon you ; may you profit by your attendance in the House of God and by the teaching and example afforded by those near and dear to you ! Ever think of the duties you owe your God ; think of the duties you owe your fellow-man ; think of the duties you owe your- self. Moreover, be ever grateful to your parents for all the kindnesses they have shewn you from the hour of your birth until the present day. How many anxious days, how many sleepless nights, they have endured on your account, in order to promote your health, your education, your life-long happiness ! Thinking thus and acting thus, you will make of Life itself one sweet song, and the world will be unto you one huge Temple ; adoration will proceed from the feeling of gratefulness, and gratefulness will JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE 181 lead to contentment and happiness. Be this both your ambition and your lot in life I PRAYER. Almighty God ! Even as fifty years ago this House was dedicated to Thy service amid the prayers and hopes of men, so do we now commend to Thy keeping the future welfare of this congregation, praying as King Solomon did at the dedication of the Temple, " that Thine eyes may be opened toward this House night and day." At this hour do we lay our offering of gratitude at the footstool of Thy holy sanctuary, thank- ing Thee out of the fullness of our hearts for all the blessings which this House has shed upon the earthly concerns of those who worshipped here before us. Grant, Lord, that its mission may still continue in the years to come. May it help to fortify the faithful, to strengthen the doubting, to comfort the sorrowing, and to support the falling. Thy blessing, Lord, upon this whole congregation, men, women, and children. Thy blessing upon its Wardens and leaders, upon those who minister in Thy Holy Name. We pray for our beloved King and Queen, for the happiness of the Royal House, and the welfare of the realm ; we pray for the civic and religious leaders of the people that they may be strengthened in the several tasks in which they are solemnly engaged ; above all do we pray for the peace of the world the era in which " nation shall not lift up sword against nation," when creature shall be linked to creature, man to man, in the universal bond of friendship and brotherhood. Be Thou, Lord, ever with us and our brethren Israelites, far and near ; and for our sakes and for the sake of the world's honour, silence Thou the venomous tongue of the slanderer, 182 JUBILEE OF BAYSWATER SYNAGOGUE when in ignorance or malice he repeats the cruel and baseless charges of former ages against our people and against our faith. Fulfil Thou through the Faith of the Jew Thy promise of old : " Through thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Amen ! Amen 1 A STUDY IN CHARACTER (June 15, 1912) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! Had this Sabbath not been the First day of the New Moon, we should have read as the portion from the Prophets the 12th Chapter of the 1st Book of Samuel. What a striking chapter I It contains the plea and pathetic appeal of the prophet Samuel at one important period of his life. If we were to search through the Scriptures, I think we could scarcely meet with a more dignified character, with one in which a sheer sense of duty coupled with a remarkable modesty was the prevailing note. Like Moses before him (and our Sages remark, that he equalled or even excelled Moses), he would have been the last man in the world to speak of himself, and of his achievements on behalf of the people he was chosen to serve, and at the same time to lead. His was too retiring a nature to think of sounding his own praise ; his was too sterling and independent a character to think of justifying himself, or rather appealing for justice on his own behalf. This was his attitude under ordinary circumstances ; but there was a time and an occasion on which he felt impelled to throw off his habitual manner. He too felt, as so many public men at all times and in all ages feel, that there is a time to be silent, and a time to speak out ; not for the sake of speaking and advertising one-self, but for the sake of enunciating a principle, of empha- sising facts, of warning people of impending dangers, of pointing out the rocks and icebergs which those who 188 184 A STUDY IN CHARACTER should act the part of look-out men fail to see, or close their eyes against. This was Samuel's task on the one important occasion on which he broke through his natural reserve ; on which the prophet spoke his whole heart ; for he had nothing to fear, or care for, in confessing the innermost feelings which swayed him, in conse- quence of the persistent demands of the people he loved and served to place a king over them like unto the other nations ; and this, in spite of the fact that they had received so many clear manifestations of kindness and help at the hand of God, who had been their King all along, while Samuel had been their leader. Samuel had thrown into the discharge of his office an amount of devotion and self-sacrifice that was indeed remarkable. Not alone did he act as prophet and judge at home, being also, according to tradition, head of a " School of Prophets," but he instituted a system of pastoral tours abroad, visiting on circuit such provincial centres as Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. Therefore although the people were now permitted to have their king, it was yet accounted unto them as an act of base ingratitude towards Heaven and Heaven's appointed prophet, Samuel. And although the prophet could not, and would not thwart the wishes of those who clamoured for another head, he yet felt the sting of reproach which had been levelled at him. Perhaps he was not showy enough ; perhaps his quiet and unostentatious demeanour did not commend itself to the noisy folk of the time ; perhaps it was that sincerity, and the inward conviction that the discharge of duty comes before the plaudits of mortal men, were the regulating norm of his conduct ; perhaps it was his disinterestedness and selflessness that became proverbial <:b nm3) TiDin tanMPD run* htt ; perhaps A STUDY IN CHARACTER 185 it was that he had grown old and prematurely grey in the service of the community vhy nvap njpT (to use the words of the Talmud, Taanith, 5&), and this told against him in his advancing years ; at all events the fact remained, the people wanted another head, another Chief, whom they could call " King," and he had to retire. But not before he had told them some home- truths ; not before he had convinced them, by his own direct statements, and by signs and testimonies from Heaven, that they were in the wrong, and he was in the right. He appealed to historical events to prove his contention, that they were guilty of base ingratitude, in forgetting what God had done for them through the instrumentality of His own messengers of help. And the Bible narrative relates that they were impressed by his arguments, and by their singular corroboration from Heaven ; for " all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not ; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king." The prophet Samuel would not have been the honest and fearless, yet kind and helpful man that he was, had he not unburdened his heart to the people he loved so well. He, therefore, addressed them in the following words ; words that seem so genuine, and have such a ring of true human nature about them, that we need not be surprised if they have a general bearing upon events of subsequent ages, and have even a direct application to events as they pass before our eyes at the present day : " And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now behold, the king walketh before you ; and I am old and grey-headed ; and behold my 186 A STUDY IN CHARACTER sons are with you ; and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold here I am ; witness against me before the Lord, and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken ? or whose ass have I taken ? or whom have I defrauded ? whom have I oppressed ? or of whose hand have I received a bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ? and I will restore it to you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness." The moral, dear friends, contained in this fearless, yet pathetic, dialogue between prophet and people is so important, so universal of application, and so vital to the true interests of a community, that it might well form the basis of a discourse, or series of lectures, on the relations between the Spiritual Leader of a congre- gation and his flock. But I am unable to deal with the subject to-day for want of time. Yet one out- standing feature, one valuable lesson which lies on the very surface of this dialogue, may be brought home to us to our profit. It is the thought of the good-will and consideration to which years of service entitle a public worker : it is the reflection that the years of a man's life is the price which he has to pay for the experience necessary to carry on the work which is the mission of his life ; and that no book-learning, however indispensable and valuable, can supply the experience which only years bring with them ; it is the sense of gratitude for benefits received during a long course of years in the past, that should be the strongest argument and plea A STUDY IN CHARACTER 187 in favour of continued, even increased respect, as years go on, which the members of a community should pay to the public worker who has served them with zeal and devotion. The younger men of the present day, even in England, aye, some of those older ones too who are placed in responsible positions of honour to guide and lead the communal vessel, have many of them to learn this lesson, if they wish to direct the ship aright. Personally, I am astonished at times to hear the impatient, unkind, ungrateful terms, in which some of the most zealous servants of the community are spoken of, when long years of active service have rendered their powers somewhat enfeebled, and their vitality is not equal to what it was when they were in the meridian of life. It is this attitude on the part of the unkind critics amongst us that is responsible for so much pain and worry, for discontent among the members of the Anglo-Jewish Clergy, for the false position in which some of them are placed, and for the lower status than is their right, which they one and all occupy in the midst of our own community. Nevertheless one thing is certain, and one thing the community may rely upon ; and this is the most cheering reflection among so much that is unedi- fying and unsatisfactory among us : that be it the Reader of the Synagogue Service, or be it the Preacher of the Message of God, all will unite in the resolution expressed, in spite of the disappointments and vexations of his office, by the prophet Samuel in the hearing of the assembled people : "As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you ; moreover, I will teach you the good and the right way." THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT ( July 5, 1914, the Sabbath prior to the marriage of the Preacher's eldest son) WHAT a number of incidents are crowded into the Sabbath lesson contained in the 20th and 21st Chapters of Numbers, incidents in the history of our people passing through the wilderness, by no means joyous in character ! We have here recorded the death of both Miriam and Aaron, the murmurings of the children of Israel on account of the want of water, the consequent sin of Moses in deviating from the express command of Heaven, Edom's heartlessness towards his brother Israelite, and the punishment for rebellion of a large number of the people by means of the fiery serpents a plague only stopped when " the people came unto Moses and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against thee ; pray unto the Lord, that He may take away the serpents from us." And we learn that " Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard ; and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass and set it upon the standard, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked upon the serpent of brass, he lived." And the Israelites continue their wanderings, till they come upon the oasis in the desert ; they find the 188 THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT 189 water they had longed for, and they at length break forth, after much tribulation and hardship, in a Song of Joy, which makes them forget the -mo " wilderness " in the runD " gift " which they now possess, causing them to regard this very gift as a W^TO " heaven-sent bounty," gently leading them from thoughts of the gift to the Giver on High, and from ni2 "this height " naoart B>&n " the higher view, the top of Pisgah," ;ir^En '3B hy napeoi "they can look down upon all the desolation " they had experienced in the past with hearts tranquil and composed, even thrilled with joy and happiness. Dear brothers and sisters, I am sure I need not in so many words point out to you the application of these statements of Holy Writ to the events in every- day life of the millions of the earth in every age and every clime. Day by day the Reaper, whose name is Death, mows down at our side, oft with a suddenness that staggers our senses, many a one bound to us by the ties of friendship or kinship. Life itself to many is nought but a wilderness of toil and wandering, at times unable to supply even the manna or waters of existence the bare necessities that go to make existence itself endurable. Is it to be wondered at, considering the weakness of human nature, that men and women of the world at times give way to murmuring and discontent, and speak against the Lord and His leaders ? In spite, too, of so much benevolence and charity, there is so much heartlessness and selfishness in the world, which aggravate the hard social conditions under which men live, or rather pass their lives. And what about the suffering and the sickness, disease and plague, that at one time or another attack every household of the human race ? 190 THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT The burden is oft too hard to bear : discontent merges into despair, and then all is lost. One thing alone is able to save, to relieve the distressing situation. From the poison of the fiery serpent that bit us, we have to extract the balm to heal us amid our despair. We have to look upon these unwelcome and cruel visitors as messengers of peace and reason ; their mission is to rouse us from our lethargy, from our one-sided views of living, to detach us from our methods of life, all material, and nothing spiritual ; they bid us further look up from our earthly troubles to the Source of the ills and the good of existence ; and our hearts have to expand at the reflection, and be drawn heavenward. Then if we can extricate ourselves from the insidious whisperings of the world, and listen to the voice of Reason and Religion whose purview is not one world but two, not the finite but the infinite, not mortality but eternity ; then only when our experiences shall have served their end, and affected us for our own good, shall we ultimately be able to join in the Songs and Joys of life, and bless the rod that chastened us and gave us enlargement. It is this the promptings of reason and religion that can lay the surest foundation of the home of a man ; banish these from the domestic hearth, and the massive gilded palace becomes no stronger, certainly no happier, than the poorest hovel. There is no finer topic upon which the Jewish preacher can dwell than the blessedness of family life and the joys of the truly Jewish home ; and there may be potent reasons for my devoting a few moments to-day to the consideration of this theme. The portrait has so frequently been drawn ; the Jewish home has often been sketched ; but nowhere THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT 191 do I think we can find a truer picture than in the words of Holy Writ, ordinarily read on this Sabbath in continuation of the words you have heard to-day. In fact, these words of the 24th Chapter of Numbers may be said to add to the outfit, which is naturally part of every wedding-festivity, some equipment that may be considered of at least as much value as articles of dress and furniture, or of costly wedding-gifts ; for the reflections which, in barest outline, I would commend to each and every Jewish young man and young woman, more especially upon the eve of their wedding- day, affect the marriage state to a degree that goes to the heart and root of the matter. This Scriptural passage stands out prominently as particularly applicable to the characteristics of the Jewish home that desires to be blessed, and to be a blessing. Even the avowed enemy of Israel had to exclaim htrw 7nu3B>D 2ipy i^ns nia no " How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, thy dwelling- places, Israel ! " D^D "hy DniN3 'n ya: D^HND -in: *hy nwaa VBJ n^roa " As brooks are they inclined, as gardens by the river side, as aloes which the Lord hath planted, as cedars beside the waters." : inata xtwni D^O 33ND DTI DII D'CQ ijnn i^n D^D :>p " Water flows from his buckets, and his seed is in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted." It would take hours even to suggest the most important lessons conveyed in these words ; let us but skim the surface. " How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, thy dwelling- places, Israel ! " The very words " tent " !?nx and "dwelling-place" point to the simple home, 192 THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT established upon those principles of natural and unaffected development, which is the basis of mutual happiness. No ostentation and extravagant waste, no artificial aping of standards beyond our reach, but a due consideration for the position we can afford to take up in the world for our own peace of mind and contentedness of spirit. What is it that drags down day by day hundreds of our fellow-creatures, who might well prevent them- selves from sinking ? It is the desire to outshine others in matters of show and outward appearance. No, VD3 D^H33 " as the brooks do they wind." See the simple rivulet, the brook in its quiet and peaceful course ; there it winds gently its way along. No rushing torrent, no deafening roar ; its quiet ripple is its charm ; it flows almost without a murmur. How much better this peaceful calm of the hour than the noisy and vulgar roar of those possessed of the millions of the earth's gold ! Based upon such a foundation, no married life will ever end in regret and remorse, the heritage of restlessness and eager craving. "inj "ho rmJD "As gardens by the riverside." The calm and simple life to which I have referred does not, however,' imply indolent habits, slackness, and laziness in work. On the contrary. As the garden by the riverside requires care and diligence expended upon it ; as cultivation renders it a garden, and not a waste overgrown with weeds ; so method and in- dustrious attention must be applied to the home of man to make it the haven of rest, worthy of attracting within its walls those who are to dwell together, to take sweet converse together, to labour in unison for the furtherance of their own blessedness and for the general progress of the world. THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT 193 But there is one indispensable element, in spite of what men say, which has to keep the house together, if it is to be blessed, and to be a blessing. Israel's homes especially have to be 'n VD3 D^HKD "as aloe-trees planted by God." Religion must have its place in the home, if it is to be a home in the proper sense of the word. This is not the occasion to emphasise what form of religion, what quantity of religion, nor the quality ; but to insist upon the general principle, that a home divested of the true religious spirit, a home in which the historic ceremonials of a religion have been crushed out of existence by the quasi-refined spirit of the in-dweller, such a home will sooner or later look in vain for those comforts, and that strength, which only the exercise of religion is able to supply. Only when we regard the relation in which we stand to the highest Being, and at every bounty we enjoy connect the gift with the Giver, can we be satisfied and secure that our homes will remain D'D ^y D^~iK3 " as the cedar-trees beside the water," strong and safe, though the waters may roar, and the storms of life may gather over our heads. But in our own joy and happiness, in our own comfort and luxury, in our own expenditure and often waste, let us not forget the duty we owe unto others ; V^IQ D'D Sr "let water flow from our full buckets " for the benefit of those who stand in need of refreshing potions ; let kindness and practical help towards our less fortunate brothers and sisters enhance our pleasures and increase our joys. Let us not be selfish and self-centred ; but let us scatter the seeds of benevolence and charity in those 13 194 THE TRUE WEDDING-OUTFIT quarters which look to us for help D*3 let us think of the widow and the orphan, the poor and the destitute, the sick and the suffering, while the light of festive joy illumines our hearts and homes, and fills the tents of our dwelling-places with brightness and happiness. Built upon a foundation laid in the spirit, and according to the practice, to which I have adverted in briefest outline, the young Jew and Jewess may enter upon the marriage state with the assurance of a blessing from on high, with the confident belief that they will constitute themselves a true king and queen in their own household, and that they will reign over " a kingdom of their own, which is sure to be high and exalted " imate NBOni ttte . . . DTI. By mutual forbearance and selflessness, which must pervade the home where happiness shall dwell, they will reign in peace and harmony over their little kingdom, under the wings and protection of their Maker, the Supreme King of kings, Lord of Heaven and Earth. THE WAR REFLECTIONS AND MESSAGES AT WAR (September 5, 1914) FELLOW-WORSHIPPERS ! We hail with gratitude and delight, with a sense of religious joy, the reopening of this simple yet beautiful House of Prayer ; but unfortunately our joy and delight are tempered with feelings of sadness. On the Sabbath that this Sacred Fane was closed for necessary repairs and renovation, all was apparently still and quiet in the world around us : to-day, when we again assemble for prayer and fellowship in this interior, what a contrast ! We are witnesses of the most solemn and serious condition of the entire world, almost every country of importance in both hemi- spheres being involved directly or indirectly in the most ruthless war known throughout all ages. War, at best, dear friends, must always be regarded as the most savage instrument for the settlement of dispute ; but at a time and at an era when some optimists expected something tangible as a result of such efforts as Hague Conferences and Arbitration Schemes, it is indeed permissible to remark (in the light of present events) that the world has grown more savage and less humane than it has ever been in the course of history. " Civilisation " to honest men must be nothing but a by-word and a mockery a sham, responsible for the 197 198 AT WAR most atrocious actions, at least as far as the general spirit of brotherhood is concerned. I need not recount to you any of the details of this grim War that has stained the character of man, while it has stained the fair soil of Mother Earth in the countries which have so far been the seat of war. It sickens the heart of man, if he believes but a twentieth part of the published accounts of the horrors of the War, and if he realises the meaning of this fierce Contest for the Supremacy of an Idea, even when all is fairly played. But it would seem that we are only at the beginning of the Great Struggle at the end of the beginning, if you will ; would to God we could say we were at the beginning of the end ! And still we personally cannot think that the Dark Spectre will be allowed to continue its march much longer. A secret feeling seems to whisper to me the Cup of Woe will soon be full enough, and the word " Halt ! " will soon be heard. Perhaps because the Contest will soon be as fierce and furious as it will be possible to imagine ; and not from " goodwill among men," but from sheer necessity and exhaustion, the end will come perhaps sooner than experts predict. Meanwhile, we at a distance from the actual scene, though as much involved, dragged into the conflict wholly unexpectedly, have to remember that it be- hoves us to possess our souls in patience ; to look forward hopefully to the issue of events ; endeavour- ing, as far as possible, to remain calm and collected, however great the provocation be ; to see to it that our feelings as God's creatures, as members of the human stock, become not debased and lowered ; that our instincts suffer not in retaliation for what we know to be grievous wrongs and injustice. AT WAR 199 The task is not easy ; but this is a season of trial, testing character, probing our natures, especially bidding us think and reflect. "A clean heart create Thou in me, and a proper spirit renew Thou within me ! " This simple prayer, as grand as it is brief, was what the Psalmist uttered thousands of years ago. Let us, too, join in this aspira- tion, praying for a clean and pure heart, for the proper spirit to guide us amid the present trial. The clean and bright appearance of this Sacred Building, hal- lowed to us by so many associations, preaches the same lesson to us to-day : the freshness which is evidence of the renewal of the fine proportions of this House tells us of the necessity for man to renew the spirit which is within him, to ask God's help that he may grasp the proper spirit and retain it at all times, aye, the more so when the difficulty is the greater. Thank Heaven, no Jewish assembly need be re- minded of the duty of loyalty to the State ; we require no Roll of Honour to testify to our loyalty. Jews need not be reminded of the duty of benevolence to those in need, neither at a time like this nor at any time ; it is engrained in the Jewish character ; 'twere an insult to urge these duties in so many words. But there is a personal duty, too, which dare not be over- looked or minimised at a time such as this ; it is the duty of those who are non-combatants not to lose their heads, as the saying is : to attend to their daily work with as little hindrance as possible, so that the indus- trial and economic machinery shall not stop short or slacken, and so develop an internal enemy in addition to the external one. The State must be fed, clothed and taught, taught the higher principles of life even though the sound of 200 AT WAR cannon be heard near the gates. As long as a people has its cause just and righteous, it need have no fear, as the end will show. Have we not this day read in the Sabbath portion : " The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee : provided thy camp be holy " ? Let us extend the application of these words : Not only that our cause in the present conflict may be regarded as righteous, and our camp be holy, so that the Lord may defend the right and give up our enemies before us ; but that each one of us may defend the little camp of his own home from those evils which oft militate against a righteous and god-fearing life, against the clean and pure heart of the in-dwellers, and against the right and proper spirit of the human subject, who, amid the earthly concerns of life, has yet not belied his higher origin, retaining some points of contact still between his home here on earth and his everlasting home yonder in Heaven. [SPECIAL PRATER DURING THE WAR.*] Almighty God ! God of the spirits of all flesh ! At this distressful time in the history of the world, when nation is lifting up sword against nation, when the ravages of War are upon us, it is indeed meet that, amid the most joyous celebrations, we turn our eyes and hearts unto Thee. When we see how everything earthly is unstable, how in the words of the sweet singer of Israel, "all that is of man is false and failing," we are drawn irresistibly unto Thee, Maker of heaven and earth, our Strength and Support, in every age, and for all time, and we throw ourselves upon Thy bounty. 1 Written by the Preacher, delivered first on August 29, 1914, and repeated on successive occasions. AT WAR 201 Thou who wishest naught but peace and harmony in the world, surely Thou lookest not with favour and pleasure upon the ghastly spectacle of brother striving with brother, of fair lands devastated, of bread-winners falling victims to shot and shell, of women rendered widows, of children deprived of all they hold dear in life. Lord, we pray unto Thee for Thy miraculous intervention at this grave crisis in the world's history. The term " civilisation " has no meaning, when, in the cause of a nation's struggles, man would devour his brother in more brutal fashion than the beasts of the field. Help Thou the spirit of human progress amid the terrible cataclysm in which it is at present in- volved. Stay the ruthless hand of War before it has gone so far as to destroy every vestige of human feeling out of the hearts of the respective combatants. May he that putteth the armour on not boast of his strength and success ; for in Thy hands alone are the issues of the struggle, the issues of life and death ! Shine Thou forth in Thy splendour, Lord, as the God of Peace, as God of the spirits of all flesh, and stop this unholy War of Wars ; silence Thou the clash of arms, and suffer it no longer to be heard, by reason of Thine own great power, " which saith, and it is done." As in the days of old, we look forward for some great miracle, for some extraordinary manifesta- tion of Thy Divine goodness and help, to redeem the world from the sorrow, to cleanse it from the wicked- ness, to sustain it amid the despairing trial, and to reawaken it to a sense of humanity, progress, and mutual help, tending to the true spirit of the world's brotherhood. "For Thy salvation, Lord, do we hope." Amen ! Amen ! THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES (October 24, 1914) " And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of hia heart was only evil all the day. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, 1 will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground, both man and beast and creeping thing, and fowl of the air ; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." GENESIS vi. 5-8. THESE are the words of Holy "Writ immediately pre- ceding our Sabbath portion, referring to the state of the world some six thousand years ago. What remark- able words, what condemnation, when we consider them in the light of events happening to-day ! " The wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the day." But not more wicked than the world in which we are moving at the present day. It must have been a startling and staggering revelation to the first pair to behold their son slain at the hand of a brother ; but again, that was 6,000 years ago. What shall we say of the quality of the world now, in which millions of men are standing face to face with the deliberate purpose of mowing each other down the greater the 901 THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES 203 number the greater the earthly glory ! The inclina- tion of the thoughts of the combatants on each side is how to inflict the greatest loss upon the other, how to solve the real or imaginary quarrel which has led their countries into war by slaying their fellow-men in the most determined and cruel manner. And this is the spectacle which the world witnesses to-day. For this the world has grown old ; for this the arts of war and peace have been cultivated ; for this men have preached, and martyrs have died ; for this Religion has come into the world, supposed to lead and bless humankind ; for this Science has pursued its researches and developed its inventions ! Shame on the world as a whole ; shame on the sham term " civilisation " ; shame, above all, on those rulers of the world who have "God" on their lips at every turn, and are themselves the devil incar- nate ! Shame, shame upon the hypocritical leaders and counsellors of nations who have thrown the fire- brand into the midst of the peoples, and caused the conflagration that is now bringing disaster and desola- tion upon the whole earth ! Shame again upon those so-called men of science whose inventions, if not by design yet in practice, have become the curse of the world ! Can Heaven be pleased at such a sight ? If 6,000 years ago " it repented the Lord that He had made man, and it grieved Him at His heart," can He look down upon the earth that He has made with feelings other than of horror at the present wickedness, which has plunged practically the whole earth in the catastrophe through which it is passing ? But let us pause a second. Is the present state of the world, the present upheaval, a phase of its develop- ment in the ordinary course of events, or is it an 204 THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES effect ? Is it the result of the cupful of wickedness that has been accumulating during the past, and for which retribution is now being exacted ? Is this perhaps the time when peoples and races have to probe themselves, to see their deficiencies and weaknesses, to remedy these defects and repair these weaknesses ; and is it for this that they have been awakened to the truth and reality of things ? May be. But as indi- viduals we have to guard against one thing in dwelling upon the present horrors, and the grim spectre that is stalking through the world, we should probe ourselves, but we should not probe God. There is a danger and a risk in terrible times such as the present for faith to wane, for religion (I mean the inner religious spirit) to droop, for Heaven to be forgotten or forsaken in the thought that Heaven has forsaken the world. I feared it would be so ; I heard utterance given to it yesterday. This feeling, brothers and sisters, we have to guard against ; we have had trials and terrors before, per- haps, or probably, not so gigantic as these ; but then we forget we have only heard of them ; read of them ; but now we experience them. If Religion, if Faith, is unable to carry us through, to sustain and support us amid the trial, absence of religion, want of faith, can never do it. If Heaven hide itself from our view by a thick veil owing to the wickedness of the world, it will not add to the world's happiness or comfort if it hide itself from Heaven. This. is, perhaps, the most important lesson which this unrighteous and vindictive war teaches us. Do not lose your faith, but redouble your faith ; forsake not your God, but seek Him the more diligently. DINno iriQD NTH ta "Be not afraid of the sudden fear " ; strengthen your hearts and trust in the Rock THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES 205 of old. Yet, do your duty : having done your duty, as I have indicated, to yourselves, do your duty to others. Heaven knows, being secure yourselves, there is enough to be done for others. " If each man in his measure Would do a brother's part, To cast a ray of sunshine Into a brother's heart, How changed would be our country, How changed would be our poor ! " I need not explain to you to what I refer specially, namely, the teeming mass of our brethren, victims of this ruthless war, deprived of country, home and sustenance, who have sought the hospitality of our country, the hospitality of our fellow Jews and Jewesses. Never before in times of dire distress has our community failed in its duty ; never, too, has Bayswater failed to do its share. You will, I am sure, all lend a helping hand to the local organisation that is starting its work ; you will respond to the call which will be made to you in the course of a few days ; you will all help in the manner for which you are best suited, and thus somewhat relieve the anxiety, not 'only of our poor and afflicted kith and kin seeking our aid, but also the anxiety of kind and generous workers who are coping with all their heart and soul with the diffi- culties and intricacies of an almost overwhelming situation. If you, in common with the general population of this great country, will evince this spirit of benevo- lence in the hour of direst need, and help to cast a ray of sunshine into your brother's or sister's heart, distracted and agonised as it must needs be, you will 206 THE WAR AND THE BELGIAN REFUGEES be doing the noblest of work, for you will be having a share in saving the Divine Plan from the ruin which might otherwise overtake it amid the stress and fury of events. If the wickedness of the world can be redeemed at all, it can only be redeemed if it be opposed by the exercise of the piety and benevolence of a portion of its inhabitants. When the world was young, and its wickedness great, and God said, " I will destroy man whom I have created from off the face of the ground," how was it redeemed, how was the world saved, how was the human race the human species spared, so that it might live on, as it has continued ? By the merit of one man and his family. We read, " And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." The piety and goodness of the few could conquer and check the violence and wickedness of the multitude. This was " the Bow in the cloud " : it was the Bow in the cloud then ; it is the Bow in the cloud still. Be this the thought which we carry home with us to-day ; and may it influence our characters not only amid our present sorrows, but throughout the whole of our future existence ; the belief that the merit of man may draw down upon the world the mercy and grace of Heaven. " REMEMBER!" (A word on behalf of the Polish and Palestinian Jewish Exiles, February 27, 1915) " Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye went forth from Egypt." DEUTERONOMY xxv. 17. DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ! "We are told to remember, more especially on this " Sabbath, of Re- membrance," what Amalek did unto us by the way. Can we forget it ? Need we be reminded in so many words at the present day of the fate which, with unerring certainty, seems to have followed the destinies of our people from the hour in which they left Egypt, prepared to fight for their own freedom and for the development of their national being ? One Amalek after another has sprung up at every epoch of our history, at every corner of our existence, to fetter our growth, to arrest our onward march, to rob us of what were our rights, not only as a people but as members of the human race. Need we be reminded to-day of the march of opposing forces against us when on our way to the land of promise of the Amaleks we had to fight before our settlement in the land of Canaan ? And when once there, firmly settled in our own land, what envious eyes were not continually cast upon the small strip of country bounded on the west by the Mediter- ranean and on the east by the Syrian desert, " seven 907 203 " REMEMBER ! " eyes upon the one stone," to use the words of the prophet ! Was not the Palestine of the Jews of old, like the Belgium of modern times, the cockpit for the sur- rounding nations ever at war with one another ? And when centuries later the dread hour struck for Israel to be banished from their own territory, and they had to seek the protection of countries outside their own, can we ever forget the record of history which taught us how they fared, when they were forced to "wander from nation to nation, and from kingdom to kingdom " ; how many Amaleks they had to meet on the way, whose base treatment of them reminded them but too vividly of the Amalek they had once encountered on their departure from Egypt ? Their wanderings in the lands of their dispersion, even their fancied settlement in these lands, have ever been attuned to the minor key ; for never have they been free, even in the most favoured conditions, from some persecuting Amalek with hostile intent. More than once has it happened in the Stories of the Nations that, happy, contented, and prosperous as Jews have been in some lands, responsible even for the growth and prosperity of that land, the dark cloud has suddenly appeared to dispel illusion on the part of the Jew, and to show him that, though he be of all countries and the link between all, he yet is of no country, for in whatever country he may be domiciled at the time, each at its own sweet will may say, when it suits its interest, " Get thee away from us." Need I do more than breathe the names of mediaeval Spain and Italy, of Germany and France, of modern Russia and Roumania ? and with bated breath I would inquire, are we quite free in this blessed land of Great Britain, I will not say from benevolent " REMEMBER ! " 209 critics of the Jew (for such we welcome and respect), but from determined and insidious Jew-baiters of the type of the Amalekite of old, whose object it is to sow strife and racial hatred, to render the lot of the Jew not easier but harder and more cruel ; not so much perhaps in this country, for the spirit of fair play and justice here would not brook such machinations, but in countries abroad, where the malicious misrepre- sentation of the Jew might be taken literally and cause endless mischief ? And now, coming to the present day, with its tragic war, with the sudden upheaval of conditions in all the countries of the world, with the mad cry to arms and to diabolical destruction, with a future full, not of promise but of pity at the most favourable forecast, what of the Jew ? Has it ever occurred to you at a time like the present, how the Jew, owing to his unique position in history, especially since his dispersion, is affected by the present war ? To remind the world that he is a loyal citizen of every State whose hospitality he enjoys ; that while in peace he seeks the welfare of the country in which he resides, in war he shares to the full the duties and responsibilities of that State is simply to utter a truth which cannot be denied even by the most pronounced Amalek of modern days. But just in this respect it seems to me that the Jew occupies a unique position, scarcely an enviable or fortunate one, differing entirely from the citizens of countries generally. For when a German, or French- man, or Russian fights, he will fight, practically exclusively, in the army of the Germans, French, or Russians ; and his people will suffer accordingly, and in proportion to the population of his country ; but 14 210 " REMEMBER ! " when the Jew is called to arms the Jew, who is the adopted son of almost every country, and yet not regarded as the son of any he will be found in the army of each and every country, and will not be limited to the combatants of any single people ; the number of his co-religionists who serve in the various armies will, therefore, be quite out of proportion to his own numbers, and much higher than the propor- tion of fighting men supplied by the various countries ; his risks, too, are naturally greater. And to go further : the severest fighting in the pre- sent war, outside Belgium, has taken place in Poland, Galicia, and East Prussia, just the territories where Jews are most numerous, and where the devastation and destruction have been the most cruel, and the distress in consequence most pitiable and bitter. Here again, it is the secret brutal force of an Amalek acting against the Jew ; it is the irony of history. What the general outcome of this deplorable war of aggression will be, none can tell ; what influ- ence it will have upon the future destiny of the Jew, who can tell ? We will again hope, as we have hoped before, as we have hoped all along from the days of old. We dare not be cheated again as we have been on former occasions, when the map of Europe and beyond comes to be altered. Our brethren dare not be looked upon any longer in some lands as pariahs, as serfs, good enough to incur every risk and danger, good enough to supply the sinews of war and the sinews of peace, but yet not good enough to receive the franchise in those countries, not good enough to be trusted to move about freely in those countries in which they dwell ; good enough, however, to be robbed of colonies which have cost them decades and generations of patient and arduous " REMEMBER ! " 211 toil, endless treasure, and brotherly co-operation, in the attempt to render themselves self-dependent and self-respecting. In a daydream I look forward to the close of the war, and ask myself, "Will the peoples of the earth still persist, when this period of tribulation is over (if not brought about, yet let us hope making for the betterment of the world), will nations still persist in their senseless cruelty ; will the Christian Churches still, in the main, preserve a benevolent neutrality when it is the question merely of the Jew, and his status in the land ? Or, as we hope from the depths of our hearts for poor brave Belgium that a brighter day will soon dawn for it, and that, as the Phoenix, it will arise from the ashes of its destruction, shall we not also indulge the hope that the lot of the Jew will hereafter be changed for the better ; that his place in the world will be recognised ; and that, through new laws based on justice and equality, some amends will be made to him for the barbaric treat- ment meted out to him in the past, and some atone- ment will be made for the errors of the Church and State in days gone by in certain countries ? If the strong moral influence, for example, of England upon its allies and others, will not after the present sacrifices and material help readily given by our people, result in this consummation, I personally shall lose faith in humanity in the better side of human nature. Furthermore, I will not anticipate events, far less do I advocate a policy of spoliation, in making the following statement. But whatever the future of Palestine, whether it remain part of the Ottoman Empire or not, our people dare not be worse off in the future than they have been in the past ; our rights of colonisation at least must 212 " REMEMBER ! " be respected and advanced, and our tenure must be perfectly secure and secured. On this head I will say no more. But, on this " Sabbath of Remembrance," I must at the present crisis bid you remember the hardships and sufferings, the misery and starvation, the helpless plight of our brothers and sisters, which have already been brought about in Palestine as in Eastern Europe, specially in Poland. We Jews in this country have, to the fullest measure, made a ready and liberal response to the various general appeals which during the past months have been made on behalf of the sorely stricken popu- lation of Belgium ; we have splendidly risen to the occasion by helping our brave soldiers and sailors to withstand the rigours and hardships of a cruel campaign, by supplying them with some of the ordinary comforts of existence ; now a heartrending appeal has been issued to the community, in which words fail to describe the ghastly condition of our brethren in the Far East and Near East, and the necessity for immediate help to save souls. Though we are flooded with appeals at a time like this, something must be done, and quickly too, to alleviate and stem the current of wretchedness and death in these quarters. It is a hard time for each and every one of us ; little has been left to us to give ; all is being swallowed up in the cruel melting-pot of Militarism ; yet we must give of the little that we have, lest we lose the enjoyment of that little in the thought that we have hidden ourselves from the agonising cries of those of our own flesh sinking in the depths of despair, pining for want of bread, without a roof over their heads, without clothing for their bodies, wandering almost beside themselves amid the frost and the snow. " REMEMBER ! " 213 I shall be glad to receive without delay any contri- butions to this special appeal, and to forward them to the proper quarters. " Remembrance " is the motto of this Sabbath. Remember the duty you owe unto those in distress ; remember the bond that binds you to those of your race and religion ; remember the kinship which should knit all men's hearts together, and which we pray shall one day come to pass, when the world shall have learnt the truth that War is a curse, and that in Peace alone there are blessings untold ; " remember this ... do not forget." roB>n !?... -o A YEAR OF WAR (On the Sabbath preceding the New Year, 5676 September 1915) FRIENDS ! As, standing on the sea-shore, the observer watches the sun gradually approaching the line of the horizon, and in one moment sees it sink lost to the eye of man until it rise again, so do we on this Sabbath watch the declining of the Old Year, ready in a few days, with God's help, to greet the cheering rays of a New Year, which we fervently pray to the Almighty Disposer of Events may prove to the world at large a year filled with new hopes, new life, better ways, and happier results, than the world of man has witnessed in the one passed. What a year it has been ! What dread and sorrow ! What wickedness and inhumanity ! No one or anything will make me believe that War is righteous, or that it is, as alleged, one of the world's necessities. Alas for the morality of the world that cannot settle differences of opinion, differences in aims and ambitions, without having recourse to the vile methods that must make of God's fair earth a charnel-house ! Let no one pretend that it is in the name of Religion that such wars are waged it is a blasphemy to any form of the higher religious instinct to say so ; and if I were told that it is the essential characteristic of any system of Religion that I was asked to adopt, 214 A YEAR OF WAR 215 I should refuse to associate myself with a Religious System so degraded. No, dear friends, not Religion but Materialism has brought about the state of affairs of which we are the witnesses to-day. Not religion but irreligion has turned human beings into worse than brutes ; has set the face of creatures formed in the image of their Maker opposite the mouth of the cannon ; human flesh and blood, the tender offspring of good and noble parents, children nurtured in comfort and luxury, to fight against machines of cold steel and iron ; beings, in whom the Creator has breathed the breath of life, to be contaminated by the poisonous gases devised by the cruelties of Science. Surely this picture cannot bespeak Religion, it cannot argue a God ; but if it mean anything, it shows that Satan is not confined and chained to any one spot or place of abode, but stalks about in human form in every age and every country. Let us hope that the world will soon return to its normal state and regain its senses, realising that if Cain, in the infancy of the world, was branded a murderer in the sight of God, nations who become wholesale murderers in the course of a world-war cannot be looked upon with approval before the Judgment-seat of Heaven. How hard a struggle Life itself is, without the complications of external strife, each individual can testify as the years come round. Both young and old, rich and poor, men and women, the high and the low, none are free from ills, such as human flesh is heir to. Sickness and physical suffering, often ending in early death, is neither the monopoly of the poor, nor a condition from which the rich are immune. " Give us this day our daily bread ! " applies equally (if in 216 A YEAR OF WAR somewhat different form) to the rich as well as the poor ; and if this truth were ever doubted, it has come home to the world during the past year, when it frequently happened that he who retired to rest a person of wealth rose up in the morning to find himself little better than a beggar. Oh, how the world clutches at the shadow and neglects the substance ! Men think they have happi- ness, and are all the while harbouring the elements of sorrow. There is only one means of happiness in the world : it is to be found in the spirit of content- ment, in leading the simple life and pure, one pursued in the fear of God, one pursued in the love of man. It is said : " There's no royal road to learning " ; so, friends, there's no royal road to Heaven. We cannot indulge every passion and petty vice on earth ; we cannot be selfish, self-centred, arrogant, and rebellious in life, and yet hope to lead a good and happy exist- ence. We have to win the prize, if the prize has any value at all ; and " The virtue of the prize lies in the struggle." Put forth the effort, it is well worth it ; it nerves and braces one for the duties of life ; those who have gone through it, know the blessedness of it. I could not enjoy the gift that I had not worked for ; the tone and relish would be wanting in the possessing of it. And on what Sabbath is this thought more appropriate than on this, preceding as it does the advent of a new year, almost at the threshold of our Solemn Season ; for we are Jews still, with good in us yet, whatever some may say from within or from without ? Ponder the words read this day out of God's Holy Book, and none of you will go wrong in the conduct of life : these words : " I call heaven and earth to A YEAR OF WAR 217 witness for thee this day that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse : therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy off- spring : to love the Lord thy God, to obey His voice, and to cleave unto Him ; for He is thy life, and the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." "THE FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL GLORY" (The New Tear 5676-1915) DEAR CONGREGANTS ! The tradition of history has assigned a special importance to this Day of the Jewish Calendar. Ostensibly, it is called the "New Year," but it is unlike the New Year's Day of other peoples and races. To the Jew, this Day means much more than one of the means of marking time ; it has a deeper meaning than a public holiday usually has ; it does not stand simply for festive gatherings and the pealing of joy-bells ; no, it represents something higher, something that has a personal ring about it, something intimate to ourselves, something private rather than public in its appeal and significance. Let us, therefore, for the nonce leave aside the world and the war ; let us concentrate our thoughts within a narrower groove ; for, in the words of our beautiful liturgy vb Dvn e>np " the Day is holy, one belonging to the Lord," one to be devoted to thoughts of holiness and heavenliness. Some few years ago our Gracious Sovereign gave expression to an utterance which has since become the motto of the National Society of Public Morals. It has so direct and true a bearing upon the solemnity of the Season which this Day of the New Year heralds, 318 "FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL GLORY" 219 that I consider it well worthy of being made the basis of our reflections to-day. " The Foundations of national glory are set in the homes of the people. They will only remain unshaken while the family life of our race and nation is strong, simple, and pure" What a wealth of instruction is conveyed in these noble words ! What a fund of thought for each and every individual man and woman, for every Jew and Jewess, as he or she reviews the events of the past, or looks forward with anticipation to the future ! What a commentary this royal utterance might afford upon the events now passing before our very eyes, and explain much of that which is to us unintelligible and perplexing ! " The Foundations of national glory are set in the homes of the people." No people that has the aspirations of a nation can expect to have true glory unless it looks to the homes of the people. Are these homes as they should be ? Are they the centres of harmony and love, of peace and industry, of reverence and godliness, of content- ment and benevolence ? Do these homes testify to selfish effort, or to the expanding and development of the true religious spirit and the cultivation of the love of man ? Does the plant of gratitude spring up on the domestic hearth, and is the voice of prayer heard within the walls of the home ? And if, dear brothers and sisters, these are questions addressed to men and women generally, and at any period of the year, how much more solemnly do they address them- selves to us Jews, more especially at this Solemn Season of our year. Well might we look to it that our homes should be of the true Jewish type, as they were a few genera- 220 "THE FOUNDATIONS tions ago. Many a time have I pointed out the danger of our departing from the standard of Judaism Judaism as it was known years ago. Often have I cautioned you against the sandbanks of the Spirit of Assimilation, which has grown with the advance of our brethren in those countries in which religious and civil equality has been the well-deserved reward of their firm loyalty and devotion to the land of their adoption. Freedom and Social Equality have often proved the siren that, by her bewitching tones, has lured us away from the greater loyalty and devotion we owed to our time-honoured Charter as a people God's ancient people. And our national glory as Jews will only have its foundations truly laid, " if they be set in the homes of our people." Only when the true Jewish spirit shall take possession of the home ; only when the beautiful and poetic ceremonies of Judaism, carried out in a rational manner, again find their proper place in our homes ; only when the wife and mother, born a Jewess, shall recognise her obligations, religiously speaking, as a Jewish wife and mother, and under- stand that it is in her power to help to give new life and strength to Judaism, only then may the founda- tions of the national glory of Judaism be said to be properly set, and the vitality of our people in the future be assured. Dear brothers and sisters ! Let us not play with words on this Sacred Day. We either mean this day to be a " Day of Memorial " and a " Day of Judgment " or we do not ; though we should never lose sight of the teaching of the Sages, " Man is judged every day : man is judged at every hour." Let us not play the hypocrite : let us not repeat, in the course of the Service, these words " Day of Memorial," the " Day of Judgment," if they have no meaning for OF NATIONAL GLORY" 221 us. And if we be honest and mean what we say, then let our conscience call to memory, and pass judgment upon, the deeds of former years ; and if we find yourselves wanting, if we find that we hare been faithless to the demands of our Religion, if we still believe in the reality of Memory and in the certainty of a Judgment-day, then, without delay, let us set about making " the crooked straight and the rough places plain," and let our practices correspond with our professions. " The Foundations of national glory," runs the motto, " will only remain unshaken while the family life of our race and nation is strong, simple, and pure." If ever there is a time when the thought of home and the family-life is strongest in man, it is perhaps at the end of one year and the beginning of a new year. As the shepherd, the head of the family takes stock at that period of the charges entrusted to him. Have they been preserved in health and vigour ? Have they suffered from the storms of life, and their number been reduced ? Or, have they been spared, through the mercy of the Great Shepherd of the world, for useful ends and noble purposes, to prove themselves worthy children of parents blessed of the Lord ? " Strong, simple, and pure " the family life has to be, if "the foundations of our national glory are to remain unshaken." The stronger the family-life, the better for the race. This characteristic has always, been the boast of the Jew, almost the envy of the world. " How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, thy dwelling- places, Israel ! " Whilst this feature of the Jew was strong, no harm ever came to him : the foundations of our race remained unshaken ; we could defy the world. Have we declined in this respect ? Are we on the 222 "THE FOUNDATIONS wane ? Has the sacredness and security of the prin- ciple of family-life amongst modern Jews been assailed with any appreciable effect ? The hour is too short to-day to discuss this question in its various bearings. I will leave it to you, my hearers, and may Conscience make the reply, not to me but to you yourselves ; may Conscience pass its verdict. The family life must be " simple," if we are to be secure. Need I multiply words in pleading for the simple family life, free from undue show and needless luxury, free from extravagance, from false appearances and inflated grandeur ? How many times in the history of the world has the story been written of the fall from the high estate to the low ! How bitter has been the rude awakening to the reality of things ! 'Tis the simple life that brings contentment and happi- ness with it ; the craving for the great things of the world oft brings disappointment and remorse in its train. Habits of luxury and ease have more than once shaken the foundations of a nation's glory, and brought that people low. May the descendants of the patriarch who was styled on B"N " the simple man" realise, that in the simple life will be found true life and length of days ! If the Solemn Season of the Jew, ushered in by the New Year, has one outstanding message to speak to the heart of the Jew, it is the lesson of Purity. The family-life has to be " pure." Each individual member has to be pure, the community, the people as a whole must be pure, untainted, unmixed. How comprehensive a term is this word " pure " ! It applies to thought, word, and action. It appeals, as I have just said, to the unit as well as to the class. " Pure " and " clean " lie at the root of the Psalmist's OF NATIONAL GLORY" 223 prayer of old, which might well form an appropriate prayer for every Israelite this day : " God, create Thou in me a clean, a pure heart, and the right spirit renew Thou within me ! " The idea of purity as regards a people and every individual member of it is so wide and varied, that hours might be spent in dwelling upon the theme ; but each of you will be able to suggest the details to yourselves in the still moment of reflection. Yet, as the Minister of the Congregation, I would, in one sentence, ask whether you, as members of the Con- gregation, are doing your share, doing your duty to the utmost, by your home teaching and by your own example, to keep our race and our religion pure and unadulterated, free from the taints which must in the long run help to shake the very foundations of our national glory to undermine the stability and vitality of Judaism. And while speaking of home and family-life, my mind turns instinctively to the East of Europe, where the bulk of our brethren reside, where but a year ago many more found their home and could speak of family- life. What about these conditions to-day ? I would ask you to pause in your prayers, to think of them while supplicating the Throne of Grace, to drop a tear on their behalf when realising your own troubles and sufferings, and, if it be in your power, to give practical effect to your feelings of sympathy by sending them some help through the various agencies amongst us, which are endeavouring to keep them from absolute starvation, to send a bit of decent clothing to tens of thousands, aye, hundreds of thousands of our poor unfortunate brothers and sisters, many of whom were before this accursed War in affluent circum- stances, among the great in the land. 224 "FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL GLORY" I would not harrow your feelings on this New Year's Day by a recital of the all too-terrible con- dition of onr brothers and sisters in faith, who have become the shuttlecock of the contending armies, besieged and driven hither and thither, through no fault of their own, now by one party, now by the other. Hide not yourselves from your own flesh ; harden not your hearts, but give not merely what you can afford, but even more than you can afford, in return for your comparative security and ease in this blessed island of ours, whilst across the narrow " Straits " and beyond, the roar of cannon and the clash of arms are the terror by day and night. Mayest Thou, God, in Thine infinite mercy, turn the hearts of Thy children to Thee on this New Year's Day, and cause the din of battle to cease from among the peoples of the earth. Banish Thou for ever the repetition of cruel warfare, which brings desola- tion and sorrow upon Thy fair and beautiful world, while it wipes away millions of Thy creatures from off the face of the globe. Mayest Thou, Lord, spread the tabernacle of Thy Peace over all the families of the earth, thus proclaiming Thyself Sovereign Supreme over the whole world, speedily in our days. Amen ! "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" (The Day of Atonement, 56761915) mx pi worn a PMK no " What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Ps. viii. 5). WHAT a significant pronouncement on the part of the Psalmist ! How it comes home to us with redoubled force on this Solemn Day of Kippur ! What is the bond that unites the human being to his Creator ? What is it that differentiates the human creature from other created things ? Why is there such a thing as a Judgment-Day, and why do we believe in the reality of a Day of Retribution ? It may be summed up in two words the reply to all these questions. It is contained in the one idea Moral Responsibility. No greater tribute can be paid to the position of man in the economy of the world no higher destiny ; but a destiny that carries with it a weighty obligation : the reason, indeed, for his being remembered and called to account by his Creator on High. However majestic and perplexing that faculty of the human species, Memory, may appear to man himself, it may not always be realised that " Memory " is the marvellous link that binds man to God ; and as regards the Jew, and the vital importance that he attaches to this Day of Atonement, figuring as it does in his 15 226 Calendar as the Day of Days in the year, were it not for " Memory," the Day would have no meaning for him ; it would, in fact, never have been instituted. A few days ago I read an article by Sir Ray Lan- kester, some points of which I should like to repro- duce to you. The title would at first sight seem to have little to do with the special significance of the Solemn Celebration of Kippur, and yet " Darwinism and the War " might be made to yield reflections of the highest moment, common both to our great Atone- ment Day and to the horrid nightmare that has seized upon a mad world. Nay, further, it is perhaps owing to the fact that " Darwinism " has been misunderstood, or shall we say wilfully misrepresented, that the bitter, worse than savage holocaust called War, now being enacted before our eyes, is due. In the year 1859 the epoch-making book of Darwin appeared, having as its title, " The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." The author took care to explain " that he used the terms ' struggle for life ' and ' struggle for existence ' in a meta- phorical sense ; and that although there is neces- sarily a competition inevitably imposed by and following from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase, there is little or no fighting, and individual muscular contest. "Nevertheless, from time to time, heedless writers, snapping up, as they imagined, the latest scientific pronouncement in regard to their own pet views as to human conduct, have asserted that Darwinism jus- tified violence and brutality on man's part as a Law of Nature the survival of the strong. "And this misrepresentation has found no more "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" 227 flagrant example than in the person of the German General, who, writing in defence of aggressive mili- tarism, says : ' Wherever we look in Nature, we find that War is a fundamental law of development. . . . The natural law ... is the law of struggle. The law of the stronger holds good everywhere. Might is the supreme right, and the dispute as to what is right is to be decided by the arbitrament of war. War gives a biologically just decision, since its decision rests on the very nature of things.' ' Personally, dear friends, I should prefer to trust myself for guidance in this matter to the great scientist who asserts, that " there is no basis in fact for this absurd and pernicious statement. It is not true that warfare or anything resembling it is universal amongst living things, and that it is the law of Nature. Still less is there any ground for arguing (even if warfare were the general law of animal life), that this fact would justify a nation of human beings in carrying on aggressive . . . war against others, or in adopting the principle * Might is Right.' . . . " What has differentiated man from ' the beasts that perish ' ? What is the great mental quality that is absolutely peculiar to man, and that he himself has recognised from the earliest days of history ? ... It is conscious memory, which gives man the power of being at one and the same time the actor, the onlooker, and the critic. It enables man to distinguish between self and not self, and brings with it the sense of responsibility and reality. It is this which has created that ' moral law ' within us which is absent from the members of the brute creation. . . . The 4 moral law ' is an essential and integral part of the deliberative educative process of man. It is the work of the blood and tears of long generations of men. It 228 "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" is enshrined in his traditions, in his customs, in his literature and his religion. . . . Men live and die ; nations rise and fall, but the struggle of individual lives and of individual nations the struggle itself, and the success or failure of individuals and peoples must be measured not by their immediate needs, but as they tend to the debasement or to the perfection of this, man's greatest achievement" the possession and recognition of the Moral Law. It is in this that the excellency of man consists. Man has to rise by evolutionary methods from high to higher. He has to be above the animal, the brute, to prove himself the topstone of creation. Not only physical evolution and natural development, but also moral, spiritual, and religious evolution is the charac- teristic of man. "Thou hast made him but little lower than godlike, and crownest him with glory and honour " so sings the Psalmist : " Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands : Thou hast put all things under his feet." And therefore, being endowed with higher faculties, with superior intelligence, with a mission and a destiny on earth, there are eternal demands claimed from him. And the evidences of these demands are here in this life in this world. There is inherent in man's nature a sense of obliga- tion the idea of responsibility, calling into play the exercise of such qualities as truth and justice, con- fidence and honour, pity and loving-kindness. Tear these up as scraps of paper, and you tear up the charter of humanity, the guarantees of social life and order. Can there be a more appropriate theme, dear brothers and sisters, for this Great and August Day ? The " Moral Law " by which we judge our- selves and according to which we are judged ! The "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" 229 thought of Human Responsibility, which covers not one life, but an eternity ! With this idea before us, we can understand the depth of the reflection mpan '3 DIN pi insm '3 e>UX no, why we are strengthened in the belief, sanctioned and intensified by religious practice, that " mortal man is regarded," and his actions called to mind by the Judge of all the earth ; and that " the son of man is visited " for his conduct in life, having to render account of the stewardship of the opportunities and powers for good once placed in his hands. If what the world calls " education " or " culture," if what a false civilisation calls " ambition," if what the warlike and murderous methods of the craft we call " science " if these have no other effect but " to im- plant in humankind a false conception of duty and a debased morality," then, the world may depend upon it, sooner or later the cup of wickedness the cup of bitterness will be full, and it will read the writing on the wall " Mene, Mene, Tekcl " " Thou hast been numbered, thou hast been numbered and weighed, and thou hast been found wanting." It was not to intimidate, not to coerce into a form of superstitious religious exercise, but to present us with what Judaism has to teach on the subject, that our Sages in the " Ethics of the Fathers," gave expression to these words : " They that are born are destined to die . . . and the living to be judged . . . and to be made conscious that He is God, He the Maker, He the Creator, He the Judge . . . with Him there is no unrighteousness, no forgetfulness, no respect of persons, no taking of bribes. Understand, that every- thing is according to the reckoning ; and let not thine imagination persuade thee into the hope that the grave will be a place of refuge for thee, . . . for, against 230 "DARWINISM AND THE WAR" thine own will, thou shalt once have to give account and reckoning before the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He ! " Let the cynic sneer, and the critic raise doubts : after considering the mysteries of earthly experience, we range ourselves on the side of the poet who sings : " Beligion's all. Descending from the skies, To wretched man, the goddess in her left Holds out this world, and in her right, the next ; Religion . . . Supporter sole of man above himself; E'en in this night of frailty, change, and death, She gives the soul a soul that acts a god. Religion ! Providence ! an after-state ! Here is firm footing ; here is solid rock I All is sea besides." PRAYER. Almighty God ! From the depths do we call unto Thee this day, immersed as the world is now in a deep sea of troubles. Thou hast indeed implanted in our hearts a sense of right and wrong ; a sense of moral responsibility was to be our anchor in the troublous sea of Life ; but we have rejected Thy good counsels we have followed after the inclina- tion of our own hearts, and all have gone astray. We have led a life of selfishness and extravagance ; we have taken hold of the shadow and lost the sub- stance ; we have cared for ourselves alone and have forgotten our fellow-man. The world has grown used to the thought : " I and none else." There- fore, Lord, is this trouble come upon us. Help us, God, this day to search our ways, to find out our defects and shortcomings, our petty vices and graver sins, so that we may return unto Thee with spirits penitent and cleansed, and learn once again that "DARWINISM AND THE WAR 1 ' 231 only when Thou art near us we are in the land of the living, whilst when Thou art afar off we are dead, even though we live. With hearts full of trembling, yet sustained by hope, we pray unto Thee that Thou mayest rid the world of the tyranny which this cruel War imposes upon it ; hasten Thou the time when the cause of Justice and Right shall prevail ; when all races and creeds shall recognise that in Peace alone may be found the blessed- ness of existence, and all the families of the earth shall be led by Thy Word and Will. God, send Thy Light and Thy Truth to guide us, now and for evermore. Amen I THE HOME-CALL (A "Neilah" Address, 56761915) " The world hath its delights, And its delusions, too ; But Home to calmer bliss invites, More tranquil and more true. A glance of heaven to see, To none on earth is given ; And yet a happy family Is but an earlier heaven." FELLOW-WORSHIPPERS ! If such be the joys of the true home on earth, what about the joys of our true home in heaven ! The delights of the earthly home we know more or less, if we wish it ; are we preparing ourselves to taste of the delights of our heavenly home ? Children of Israel ! Are you yet far from that home, from which, by your actions during the past, you have estranged yourselves ? Or do you feel that, purified by the sincerity and truthfulness of your penitent feelings during this solemn season, purified by the influence of the prayer and fasting on this august Day, you are nearer the home of your Parent, God's home of love and mercy ? If not, remember the door is open still. See the Parent waiting for the erring child to return ! An hour that is all that is left us of this Great Day may not be a long time compared with God's exist- 832 THE HOME-CALL 233 ence, " in whose sight a thousand years are but as yester- day, and as a watch in the night." But, compared with the duration of the life of man, " whose years are spent like a tale that is told," an hour is of golden value ; for an hour, or even a minute, may at times have the power of extending its influence, for better or worse, not only to the life on earth, but even to the life beyond the grave. We shall soon be repeating the beautiful words of the Liturgy, and beseeching God to open the gates of heaven ; to " open His goodly treasure for us ; to help us, and not to prolong the struggle, but to save us with His own salvation." And again we shall pray: " open Thou the gate for us at this the time of the closing of the gate, for the day waneth. The day waneth ; the sun goeth down ; let us enter Thy gates." When we repeat these simple yet pathetic words, let us give them a real meaning in our heart of hearts. Let us realise how dreadful is the situation to be kept out of God's Home, and how blissful the state of him who enters the gates of God. For what, dear brothers and sisters, do we find on crossing the threshold beyond those gates ? No less a glory than the Home of God's Love and Mercy. God's Love ! " What a volume in a word ! an ocean in a tear ! a seventh heaven at a glance ! " Without God's love, man could not be created ; but without God's mercy, man could not be sustained. If God's justice were not tempered with mercy, how could we be suffered to live for even a single moment, seeing that we are so frequently faithless to the professions of constancy and gratitude towards our Heavenly Parent who has existed from old ; that 234 THE HOME-CALL we so often wander away in sinfulness from the Home of our best Friend and Guide, in spite of the assurances we repeatedly offer, we ourselves doubting at times whether we could be so heartless as ever to shrink for a moment from our best of duties. Each heart, however, knows its own weakness but too well. In the busy turmoil of daily life, with its engrossing demands and its temptations, we often do shrink from the fulfilment of the best and simplest of duties : and were it not that we are suddenly startled at stated periods of our life-course by the trumpet-call of awakened conscience, our moral con- dition would, in very truth, be hopeless ; and nought would be left us but despair. How grateful then should we be as Jews for these periodical reminders of God's mercy and love ! Happy shall we be, if we have regarded this Season of Peni- tence in its proper light ! I need not repeat the warning which I have frequently uttered, that these Days are but additional and special reminders of God and Duty, not exclusive ones ; for each day, each hour, is holy and to be hallowed ; each day, each hour, should be fraught with some blessed toil ; each day, each hour of life, should bear evidence of some spoil conquered in the conflicts of existence. Yet thrice-happy shall we be, if we have employed this precious Day of Atonement as a day of inward contrition and not merely of outward profession, as a day on which those who have need of it have formu- lated a new programme for next year's work, and have not been content with simply repeating by word of mouth the old form of the old liturgy. Surely the present conditions under which we are living are such as to awaken us all to a sense of the reality of things. There is no room for sham and THE HOME-CALL 235 make-believe in these times ; the scales must surely have dropped from our eyes by this, if we have sense and feeling at all. Whither have we drifted ? "Whither has the world drifted ? What will be the verdict upon monarchs and rulers and peoples, when the history of the times comes to be written, not now while partiality is but natural, and excitement is at its highest, but in days to come ? But more important still, what will be the verdict passed by the unerring judgment of the Ruler of the Universe upon guilty nations, upon individuals, whose souls are steeped in blood and sin ? Let us beware, lest by indiscreet speech, lest by some foolish act, we add fuel to the fire which is raging round about, and devouring so much that is good and useful in our midst. However hard it may be, restrain needless excitement, beware against stir- ring up racial feelings, and rousing animosities ; subdue your sudden fears ; think of the desolation and destruction spread about in the world ; think of the sorrows which have beclouded the homes of so many hundreds of thousands of the world's inhabi- tants ; think of our suffering brethren far and near ; drop a tear, amid your personal requests to-day, for our kith and kin in distant lands enduring the horrors of the cruellest, the most relentless of conditions. What a fullness of comfort lies in the assurance of our Sages, that even " when the gates of Prayer are closing, the gates of Tears are open in Heaven ! " Be not ashamed to give vent to your feelings because of the nearness of your fellow-man ; remember we are all sinful beings before God. But do be ashamed when you think yourselves in the presence of the Lord your God : " Confess yourselves to heaven, repent what's past, resolve to avoid what is to come ! " 236 THE HOME-CALL As the Chief of the Congregation in Talmudic times was wont to address his hearers on the Great Public Fast, so do I say unto you this day : " Brethren, it is not the fasting, nor the sackcloth, which can draw down upon us the grace of Heaven ; but Repentance and Good Works are able to gain for us Heaven's favour : for, of the inhabitants of Nineveh it is said not that God saw their fasting and their sackcloth, but that God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not." Passing through one of the streets of London a few days ago, I was particularly struck by one of those War-posters, which have recently been the subject of such undeserved criticism, but which to my mind may supply some striking lessons to those who need it ; they may yield thoughts even suited to the great and Solemn Season which appeals to the most lax amongst us Jews. The words which this one special poster contained might well form the text of an entire discourse ; I shall, however, use it to conclude my address to you to-day, for it is a great message ; and may this message not only ring in your ears as you quit this Holy House to-day, but may its tones increase in intensity as the days of your life be prolonged upon the land which the Lord your God giveth you. The admonition runs thus : 11 There are three types of men : Those who hear the call and obey, Those who delay, And the others : To which do you belong ? " The Day of Kippur has given " the call." Our THE HOME-CALL 237 merciful Father and King awaits your coming and return. Do not delay, but obey. Above all, turn not a deaf ear to the call, if not at this hour yet before it be too late, when the struggle and war of Life shall have ended. Enrol yourselves to-day in the bands of the Army of the Lord of Hosts, and He will lead yon to victory ! THE WAR AND THE JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE (The Feast of Tabernacles, September 23, 1916) DEAR FRIENDS ! The transition from grave to gay is not easy. We have but just concluded the most solemn days of the Jewish year, and this Festival of Tabernacles, though containing much that is cheer- ing and joyous in character, is yet solemn in its teachings and comforting in its spirit. I have naturally at times during the past year alluded incidentally to the universal crime of War, which in its maddened fury would seem to be running amuck in this world of ours. But I have not dealt with the subject in some of its specific aspects. Personally I am not satisfied that the Churches in their corporate capacity have allowed their voices to be heard sufficiently in protest on the subject, or have done sufficient to show that they at least abhor this vicious thing War in principle and in practice. It is one thing to be patriotic, and loyally support the State in its efforts to defend itself when grossly attacked and endangered ; but it is another to hold one's peace and say little or nothing, and to whisper in a still, small voice the word " Pity, 'tis Pity," and do no more. I should not like to think, nor have it thought, that the Jew has any delight in war, though he may prove WAR AND JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE 239 himself on the battle-field as valiant a hero as his non- Jewish fellow-in-arms. As far as I am concerned, I have in general terms expressed myself more than once on this subject. War, to many a mind, is a thing deeply to be deplored ; it has been described as " the sum of all villainies." To my mind, it is the sign of Cain which brands the foreheads of nations ; and no one more than myself would raise the prayerful wish that the time may come when, for the settlement of grave international questions, recourse may be had not to grim war, but to more humane and civilised methods. According to ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, war was not only necessary but indis- pensable ; and do we not know, alas, have we not heard, what some modern thinkers have professed to believe that war is required for the development of mankind ? And yet, living as we are through this dreadful reality of war, who can bring his mind to believe that the Creator of the Universe, " who maketh peace in the high heavens," of whom it is said, " Peace, peace, to far and near, saith the Lord " ; who can believe that He looks with pleasure upon the inhabitants of the earth He Himself has created, engaged in deadly con- flict with one another ? The earth was intended to be a Garden of Eden, the abode of security and peace ; it is man's own action that causes it to be turned into an arena of destruction, in which the wildest passions are let loose, and in which man himself becomes reduced to the level of the savage and devouring beast. This is neither the occasion nor the place to deal with the question, as to how far the share of our country in the cruel war in which we are now 240 THE WAR AND THE engaged, is justified. Nor is there any doubt as to the attitude of us all, Jews included, in the present dire conflict. The country's duty and our duty is clear. We have entered into the War, and it has to be ended. Within these two limits of action untold trials and sufferings have to be borne, not only by the brave men who have to expose themselves to the thickest of the fight, but by those who remain behind ; those either dependent upon these brave fellows, or those left at home to pass away weary months in anxious suspense and fear, many in sore deprivation, others in temporary solitude, ending so frequently in perpetual bereavement. Nay, further, the present war, unprece- dented in its side-issues and effects, has octopus-like laid its ugly claws upon almost every class and section of society, from which even the highest and richest are not exempt. It is no mere figure of speech to assert that, in certain respects, this War has placed the prince and the peasant on a level. Who can hide his face in the presence of such miseries, borne in the train of War ? And who dare stand aloof and refuse help by those means at his command, when the help of every individual citizen is required ? The dim and darkened lights in the streets of our cities, the duller radiance in our very houses at the present time, these, dear friends, are not only symbols, but evidences of the darkness and sorrow in which all Europe is plunged, of the gross darkness which has enveloped some of the brightest and lightest of the nations of the earth. No persuasion, no mock heroics, no noisy jingoism were necessary to induce our co-religionists in this country to realise the danger and the needs. How JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE 241 thoroughly they have identified themselves from the outset with the country's cause and well-being, eager to stand shoulder to shoulder with their fellow-citizens on the field of battle and other fields of activity, and join in every patriotic movement which the present situation calls forth ! It is true Judaism, Jewish patriotism, " to pray " (and to work) " for the welfare of the country in which we live, for in the peace thereof shall we have peace." But in praying and working for our own country, let us not forget the claims of other countries, as far as lies in our power. Above all, let us not forget the claims of our sorely oppressed brethren, especially in the lands of Eastern Europe, whose unfortunate lot it has been to reside in those districts in which the con- flicts of War have raged hottest, and which have twice or three times been the camping-grounds or battle- fields of the respective fighting sides. The misery of these tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, it is possible that the number may reach millions, of our own kith and kin brother Jews and sister Jewesses is appalling. We are informed that their misery and want are indescribable. A new Exodus for them, but even without provision for the way ; scared and starv- ing, tattered and torn, wandering Jews, alas, have these innocent aged men, tender women, and helpless chil- dren become, in their march from burning towns and villages along devastated and parched tracts of ground. Have a care for these, too, as the appeals for help reach your ears. May they reach your hearts ! " Open thou wide thy hand to thy poor, thy needy ones " to use the words of Holy Writ spoken in connexion with our joyous Festivals. We have had a Belgian Day, a French Day, a Russian, nd a Serbian Day, why should we not have, in addi- 16 242 THE WAR AND THE tion to any official collection which we hope will soon be started, a Day for the Jews of Eastern Europe ? I feel sure that a street-collection on similar lines would be a great success, more especially if it be general, not only in the Metropolis, but also in the towns in which large numbers of Jews reside. Such a collection would moreover, at one and the same time, be a Christ- ian tribute of good-will, and evidence of the opinion entertained of the Jews of Great Britain, and a tribute of sympathy and kindly help on behalf of our thrice unfortunate brethren in Eastern Europe. Ye brethren of mine, who are English born ! You owe it to the spirit of freedom and toleration, by which in modern days this country has done much to make amends for the troubles which the Jew of early and middle English History had to endure in this isle ; you owe it to this spirit of religious liberty to prove your gratitude in a practical and liberal form. And ye, brethren, who have made England your adopted country, hailing from lands whence the spirit of freedom was banished, where creed was a bar to progress, even to life ; where to be a Jew was to be a social pariah, you forsooth should show, in no unmis- takable manner, how grateful you are for the sweet breath of liberty you are permitted to inhale, and for the opportunities for advancement which in this Heaven-favoured land are open to Jew and Gentile alike. Vie then with each other (for this sort of warfare is permitted) in every patriotic effort now before us as citizens of the land ; vie with each other in the endeavour to succour your own fellow-creatures ; and in responding to the various claims made on behalf of the sorrowful victims of this cruel and wicked War, think twice of your poor brethren JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE 243 beyond these shores, and let the silken link of sym- pathy bind your hearts to theirs. In no better manner can you prove your homage to our gracious Sovereign, your loyalty to the country you inhabit. What nobler theme for any citizen, the honour of the King, the welfare of the people ! When the love of one's fellow-men is blended with the honour due to the Ruling Power, there need be no fear for the security and stability of the Empire nor for the progress and advancement of the nation. Heaven defend this realm ! Heaven advance her people ! May God cause the clash of arms to cease, and the din of war to be no longer heard in the world ; and may He spread the Tabernacle of Peace over all the families of the earth, speedily in our days. Amen I ISRAEL'S DESTINY (May 29, 1915) " So it would always be, the cloud covered it." MY FRIENDS ! A hundred sermons could be preached from the one Sabbath portion constituting this day's Reading of the Law ; and yet I wonder to how many in this assembly has the Reading proved of living interest, making a direct appeal not only to the historic sense of the worshippers, but to the emotions of the heart of a people, in whose destiny emotion has played so large a part. I will take but one instance, almost at random. It is contained in the 9th chapter of Numbers (verses 15-17), in which we are informed : " On the day that the sanctuary was reared up, the cloud covered the sanctuary, . . . and at even there was on the sanctuary as it were the appearance of fire until the morning. So it would always be : the cloud covered it, and the appear- ance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tent, thereafter did the children of Israel journey forward." In itself a valuable historic detail of events, as they occurred several thousand years ago. But why repeat the same to-day ? I will tell you. Because these Ml ISRAEL'S DESTINY 245 words embody a good deal more than they say. Read between the lines ; look beneath the surface ; and you will find plenty of food for reflection, nationally and individually. From the days when the Sanctuary was reared in the desert as a direct result of the Exodus from Egypt and the Great Event of Revelation on Sinai, the envy of the world was at work to strike a blow at the Israelites' national prestige almost before we were properly a nation. Truly, indeed, do our Sages grasp the point when they assert in their cryptic way The name wo " Sinai " suggests the sound of n (Sinah) " hate " ; in other words, the preference shown to the people of Israel at Sinai was the cause of all the hatred that has dogged their footsteps in the course of subsequent history ! HDD ptron riK D'pn DV31 pe>on nt< pun "On the day that the sanctuary was reared up, the cloud covered the sanctuary " ; rvrr p UDD' pyn TDn : " So it would always bo, the cloud covered it." The people of Israel would always have its ups and downs, in every age and every land. At one epoch it would raise up the Sanctuary in the desert of its worried existence ; it would lift up its head and try to draw in the sweet perfume of civil liberty and religious toleration (simply toleration, mark you) ; at another, " the cloud would cover it " the cloud of misrepresentation and wilful, base invention, the cloud of malicious hatred of race the old envy from Sinai's days. " A thousand years, God, in Thy sight are but as yesterday, and as a watch in the night ! " And three or four thousand years bring us up to date ; land us on the banks of the Neva, on the Danube, on the 246 ISRAEL'S DESTINY Seine, and even on the Thames. No fancy picture, friends ; one just taken by the most improved camera of modern days. Read the writing on the wall to-day, and the words of old will come home to you as true, pyn Ton iVPP p 13DD* u So it will always be " with the prospect of the Jew " the cloud will cover it," often when he least expects it. I do not wish to labour this point to-day ; it is somewhat painful. I merely suggest ; things seem to have an ugly appearance in some countries abroad and even in our midst, here in England, hitherto the home of freedom and liberality, the asylum for the oppressed and persecuted, the escutcheon of which, as I told you at the time some years ago, has already been somewhat stained by a hard and senseless Aliens Act. The difficulties and distresses of war have not made some of our English people any the saner : there seems to be an undercurrent of traitorous lawlessness, calculated in the long run to undermine the stability of this realm which has always stood for honour and justice, for kindness and sympathy, for freedom and equality to undermine it in the attempt to worry the Jew, who, after all, in the eyes of some people, is only " the foreigner," do what he will, give what he will, sacrifice what he will. Some few agitators would deny to him his hard-earned privileges, the rights to which he is entitled by the law of humanity, which is older than the law of any individual State. It is the old, old story, only with the scene shifted. The drama of Jewish History has been played on various stages, now in Egypt, at another time in Babylon ; it has had a brilliant run in Spain, and it has been toured in Germany and England. It is after all but a reflex this national aspect of ISRAEL'S DESTINY 247 the individual life of the Jew, of the life of the individual man and woman of the world. We rear the Sanctuary of our existence we raise our hopes and expectations in our own personal activities, or in the careers of the children we have reared and loved. But, we cannot always be sure of the result of our actions ; we cannot command events ; we cannot will it that success shall always be our lot, pray we ever so hard. " So it always was ; so it always will be the cloud covers it." The cloud of uncertainty, the cloud of sorrow : our calculations will not always hold ; our plans and wishes oft miscarry. Life has its alternations : " Who can say unto God, what doest Thou ? " But is there no comfort amidst the darkness and the cloud ? Indeed there is, dear friends, both for the people of Israel and the individual Jew and Jewess. Though " the cloud may cover " the home of our activities ; though the Sanctuary of our national and individual existence may be enveloped in darkness and gloom ; yet, in the words of our text, rM 5?N rwiOl amid the cloudy conditions of life there is " the appear- ance as of light in the night." However despairing the inational sorrow, however painful the individual grief, however low the cloud may have settled upon the sanctuary of our hearth and home, we dare not lose sight of the brightness that struggles to pierce through the darkness of the night. There is a heavenly light that shines even in the darkest corner of God's earth. It may but flicker and burn irregularly ; but may not that be due to the poor faith and starved soul of mortal, to the blurred vision of him or her who, despairingly, shuts out the rays of Divine Goodness and Mercy, striving as they do to enter the dark recesses of the afflicted soul, 248 ISRAEL'S DESTINY to bring light out of darkness, comfort in place of sorrow ? But after all most depends upon man himself amid the hard conditions of life. We read, " that when the cloud had lifted from off the tent, thereafter the children of Israel journeyed forward." What a grand lesson to man, indispensable, indeed, to human existence ! Once the cloud has lifted from off our heads, we must journey onwards, and continue our usual course. It has been so ordained by Almighty Wisdom. It is our duty as members of a nation, our duty as men and women. We dare not hug our sorrows and disappoint- ments to the exclusion of the claims made upon us. Grief dare not destroy our interest in life ; oft it may redouble our energies, and bring us the balm for the wound. Disappointments in our social or professional careers may cause us pain, but they dare not bring about indifference and stagnation in the way of public or private duties. " Sufferance is the badge of our tribe " as Jews ; let us fulfil, in spite of the greatest provoca- tion, the advice of our Sages of old D^l^yn }D nTi D^biyn |D *6l " Be rather of those put to shame than of those who put others to shame." And though envy, injustice, and hate stand in the way of our course ; though misrepresentation may do its fell work for a time, attempting meanly to stem our progress in the world ; though for the selfish and material ends of men devoid of conscience and humane feeling and honour, the Jew may be pushed back in his career ; let us not lose faith in that secret unde- fined influence which has galvanised our oft inert body in the centuries of the past ; let us not waver in our allegiance to the powers on earth, to whom our loyalty ISRAEL'S DESTINY 249 is due ; but above all, let us not waver in our allegiance to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, the Supreme King of kings. We must be true to the God of our fathers ; and await the time when our hour shall come, and the Jew shall be justified in the sight of the whole earth. Amen ! THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY A HOSPITAL PLEA (June 12, 1915) WHEN, in the words of a Talmudic allegory, the Almighty was about to create man, He called together before His Throne a council of the angelic hosts. " Create him not ! " spake the Angel of Justice. " He will be unjust towards his brother man ; he will injure and oppress the weak, and cruelly ill-treat the feeble." " Create him not ! " said the Angel of Peace. " He will stain the earth with the blood of his brethren ; the firstborn of his race will be the murderer of his brother." " Create him not ! " said the Angel of Truth. " Thou mayest create him in Thy image, after Thy likeness, and stamp the impress of truth upon his brow ; yet he will desecrate with falsehood even Thine own sanctuary." And more they would have said, but Mercy, the youngest and dearest child of the Eternal Father, stepped to the sapphire throne, and knelt before Him and spake : " Father, Father, Create Him, I pray ! Create him after Thine own image, as the favoured child of thy goodness. When all others forsake him, I will be with him. I will lovingly aid him and turn his very errors to his own good. I will touch his heart 250 THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY 251 with pity, and make him kind to others weaker than himself. When he goes astray, turning from the ways of Truth and Peace ; when he transgresses the laws of Justice and Equity, I will still be with him ; and the consequences of his own errors shall lead him back to the right path ; and so Thy forgiving Love shall make him, penitent, once again Thine." The Father of the World listened to her voice, and with the aid of Mercy created man. So many times have I pleaded the cause of the Hospitals and Medical Charities among us I do not think I have missed one year since the inception 43 years ago of the " Hospital Sunday " movement that I will this year let the Talmudic allegory, which I have just cited, plead the cause of this highly beneficent Institution, which comes to the aid of the millions of the sick in our midst. And if ever there was a year in which its claims upon the help of the population, rich and poor, high and low, were paramount and binding upon us, it is this year, when sickness and suffering have been brought about by man, and have to be atoned for and mitigated by man. Man has sinned grievously in contributing to the causes which, apart from personalities, have made it possible to bring about this degrading war ; and man must wipe away its evil consequences. Truly did the Angel of Justice foresee future events, when uttering the words : " He will be unjust to his brother man. He will injure and oppress the weak, and cruelly ill-treat the feeble." Have we not had sufficient instances already in the course of the present war to testify to the existence of this baser instinct in man ? And as for the Angel of Peace beseeching Heaven not 252 THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY to create man, " for he will stain the earth with the blood of his brethren," alas, what has been our bitter experience during the past twelvemonth ! what may it yet be before this insensate war has ended ! Blood flows like water human blood, the blood of one's nearest and dearest, the blood of the prince and the blood of the peasant all because peace has been broken among men, and like savage wolves do they meet one another. And in like manner has Truth gone to the wall ; falsehood has been triumphant ; pledges and treaties have been broken and torn to shreds ; discord and strife have sown their evil crop ; and men have desecrated God's own sanctuary the wide, wide world, earth and sea, even the air, in his conquest of the things that avail not in the Day of Judgment. And yet, dear friends, the world goes on, and it will go on, in spite of the wickedness, in spite of the vio- lence, in spite of the evil and the false. How ? By what means ? By means of the Attribute of Mercy, which has yet a place in the Divine Scheme of existence. " When all others forsake him," says Mercy (that is, when he forsakes all others), " I will be with him. I will lovingly aid him, and turn his very errors to his own good : I will touch his heart with pity, and make him kind to others weaker than himself." This, dear friends, is the opportunity offered by the Metropolitan Hospital Fund year by year ; it touches the heart of man with pity, and makes him think with kindness of his sick and suffering brothers and sisters. And this year it brings before our minds not only the vision of those great Palaces of Pity in our own midst our Hospitals, with their Training Centres, the Schools of Medicine but it conjures up scenes beyond our A HOSPITAL PLEA 253 own lands, the battle-fields with the sick and wounded even our own sick and wounded, tended by skilled physicians and untiring nurses, even those trained by us and known to us. Need I say more, and multiply words to evoke your hearty support of a movement fraught with so much blessing to the unhappy ones of the world, unhappy because for the time being they are suffering affliction, they are prostrate and helpless ? How we should long to do something to prove that man is, after all, fashioned in God's image according to His likeness ; that man is ready to bring a sacrifice for his own shortcomings ; ready to help a suffering brother or sister ; ready to show that, amid the baser instincts of his nature, he is yet possessed of that feeling of kindness and pity akin to the Loving-kindness and Mercy showered upon the world hour by hour by the Creator of the Universe, and by means of which alone Loving-kindness and Mercy this world will continue throughout the ages to come. Amen ! PRAYER FOR ARBITRATION AND WORLD-PEACE (March 1911) ALMIGHTY GOD ! On this Sacred Sabbath on which we proclaim the "New Moon," heralding as it does the Festival known as the " Season of Freedom," which from the dawn of our history has been identified with our deliverance from Egyptian bondage, at this hour we would raise our eyes unto Thee, who directest the affairs of humankind, leading them in the way of success. We are thinking at the present time of the great efforts put forth by men holding highly responsible positions in the New World and in our own midst, towards cementing, by means of arbitration, the har- monious relations existing between ourselves and our English-speaking kinsmen across the ocean. Lord, prosper Thou this noble undertaking, and crown it with the blessing of Thy Divine Grace, so that men shall not continue to live under the dread of a bondage which they have tightened around them- selves ; but that, in the interests of humanity, there may soon break upon the horizon of the world the dawn of the " Season of Freedom " from the artificial bands which our imperfect civilisation has forged about us. Thus do we pray that the human intellect may, in 25* PRAYER FOR ARBITRATION 255 the future, so pursue its scientific researches, that they may prove not a curse but a blessing unto man ; that they may be pursued not for the purpose of devising ever new means of destroying but of preserving our fellow-creatures ; helping by greater light to cure their ills, to lengthen their days, and to minister to their ever-increasing cheerfulness and happiness in life. May the grim spectre of War with its wretched train of evils be once and for ever banished from the thoughts of man ! Within the circle of this humane effort in the interests of peace, may nation after nation gather, so that in these our days a splendid advance may be made in the glorious work of binding more closely together, for the progress of the world, nation to nation, man to man ! "NEILAH" THE CLOSING SCENE (1914) FELLOW- WORSHIPPERS ! I well remember some fifty years ago, as a school-boy, my attention being arrested by two companion pictures displayed in a shop window. They were not only curious in design, but suggestive even to a youthful mind. One represented the death-bed scene of the righteous, the other the death-bed scene of the sinner. In one case there was depicted the serene countenance of the departing, his spirit about to be received by a host of angels, rejoicing in their new visitor, whilst the evil angel was turning away in shame. The other picture told a very different tale : the angels of light and brightness had their backs turned upon the impenitent sinner, whilst the Angel of Evil was gloating with grim joy over his newly- acquired prey. Symbolism of this kind, dear friends, may not always be true in all detail, nor may it be true at all ; but it may prove highly suggestive to the mind of man. The child is, after all, father to the man ; and that which impresses the budding intelligence of the child may not be altogether unnecessary for the riper knowledge of the mature man or woman. Here we are now assembled at the " Neilah " or " Concluding Service " of this great Day, typical of the Evening of Life, the concluding hours of mortal 17 as? 258 "NEILAH" THE CLOSING SCENE existence. What has been the net value of our earthly service ? What has been the net value, the summing-up of the judgment on ourselves to-day, the practical out- come of the hours we have spent in this Holy House during this Day of Atonement ? Do we feel that, in spite of the frailty of human nature, we belong to the band of the righteous, having been improved by the Day's devotions and earnest resolutions, deeply penitent for what we have failed to accomplish in life, regretting the deeds we should have left undone ? Do we feel that the angels in heaven are rejoicing as they witness our serene spirit, our peaceful conscience, our at-one-ment with our Heavenly Maker ; or, Heaven forbid, are our hearts still cold and callous, indifferent to the warning voice of religion, scornful of any judgment in the Hereafter ? Has this day had no effect upon our natures ? Shall the " Neilah " of life deepen its shadows upon us, and chase from our presence the cheering Angels of Penitence and Reconciliation, so that none but the Angel of Darkness remains with us, for we have not willed it otherwise ; our actions have banished from us the comforts and rewards of a holy and religious life. How significant in this connexion are the words of our Sages ! Our Wise Men of old painted these pictures, representing the righteous and the wicked, long, long ago. They remark as follows : NI 2iB k in'2 1 ? :>n2D s&n DTK"? pta rne>n -ON^D > ntJDi "piy jrfajM pi^n 13 NVO waS wc^a :jn jn -|&6iDi, n&an ratj^> p KITE? n'rv -IOIK 2112 tin "iQTi 1 ? Kin is6 OKI " Two angels attend upon man, and accompany him on the eve of the Sabbath, as he proceeds from the "NEILAH" THE CLOSING SCENE 259 House of Prayer to his home, one good and one evil. If, on his return, he finds the Sabbath-lamp lighted, the table spread, and everything else well ordered, the Good Angel exclaims : ' May it be even so on the Sabbath which is to come ! ' and involun- tarily the Evil Angel has to respond, Amen ! Whereas, if the home be not of the Jewish type of home, and all these accessories of the religious life of the Jew be wanting, the picture is reversed, and the Angel of Evil has gained the footing." What did our Sages mean, when they painted the Sabbath joy in these vivid colours ? Surely they did not limit their view to the sanctity of Sabbath observ- ance alone ; they meant much more than they said ; their words had a much wider application. The Sabbath was simply taken as a type, a type of the whole of man's life here, a type of the life which is to be. They call upon the Jew so to conform himself to the demands and duties of the Jewish life, of the higher life, here in this world (which is the mB> 3"iy " Eve of the Sabbath " of the next world), that there shall be no question of his gaining the approving smile of Heaven, when the angels of grace shall usher him into the presence of the Almighty Being Maker and Judge of the universe. These messengers of Heaven should be able to testify that throughout the whole of our mortal existence we have seen to it that pi^n -o " the lamp " of our moral and spiritual life was kept " well trimmed " ; that iny jr6e> " the table " of our actions was " fit and proper " ; and that njmo HDD the rules as laid down for our " general conduct " were "well ordered" and observed. And as for this Day of Kippur, shall it pass, shall its closing hour fade away, without its leaving a trace to mark it ? " Shall 260 " NEILAH " THE CLOSING SCENE the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid ? " Shall the " Neilah Service," with its solemn associations, have no effect ? Shall the " Neilah," the Closing-scene, not awaken memories of life's duties, of opportunities neglected, of resolutions formed during the long day that has passed, of resolutions formed during the years that have gone ? Shall it not speak of life's fleeting character, and impress upon us the truth ? " How long we live, not years but actions tell ; that man lives just, who lives the first life well." Dear friends, may our thoughts to-day have been worthy of the solemn occasion ; and may this Day prove to us all one of satisfaction and joy ! May such be the earthly lot of the god-fearing man, of the god-fearing Jew one of contentment, one of blessedness, one of peace ; and may such be the Heavenly portion reserved for him on the Sabbath which is to come. Eft&Wi r6 nnu1 rat? tat? DV Amen ! THREE ADDRESSES REMARKS AS DELEGATE OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PUBLIC MORALS AT THE PUBLIC MORALS CONFERENCE IN ABERDEEN (February 24, 1913) IN referring to the thrilling story of Captain Scott and his brave party a few days ago, I quoted the words of Ruskin, "In the bow of the boat is the gift of another world." To-night I would use the same words in a different application. Human life itself is often likened to a ship tossed on the ridges of the waves, beaten and battered by storms and tempests ; and it depends upon its conduct on the journey as to whether it will once obtain the gift of another world. There are gallant ships riding the storm, that sail proudly and securely, and ultimately reach port in safety ; but we know too well that there are boats ever on the point of danger ; their course is unsteady ; they reel to and fro like a drunken man ; they become immersed in the sea of destruction sinking ships of human freight, such as we have in view to-night. It is to help such, to hand them the lifebelt where- with to save themselves from destruction and death, that we are met here ; and not only to help them, but to help the country, the nation, the empire to which we belong, aye, the larger empire of humanity, so that the world may have a better crew from which to man the boats of the future. 263 264 THE PUBLIC MORALS I have travelled a long way to be among you on this highly important occasion ; but I shall be quite satisfied and amply repaid if my presence and my humble words have the effect of preventing one single life from travelling a much longer distance, away from the path of duty, away from the hopes of a being formed in the image of God, away from the satisfaction of living, away from the ultimate salvation of man. I am here not in ray individual capacity, but as representing the National Council of Public Morals, and I am bidden to convey to you the fraternal feelings of this Council and its indefatigable Director, and their ready promise of co-operation. We are grateful to reflect that the Conferences held by the National Council at Edinburgh and Dundee have inspired you to hold this Conference and to give practical expression to your very deep desire to improve the moral condition of Aberdeen. You have to-day gone one important step further on the road to success ; and no wonder, for you have had on your Aberdeen Committee preparing for this great Meeting men who could speak with authority upon the various phases of a vast subject in a manner second to none in the country. The Reports of the Sub-Committees which I have had the privilege of perusing are worthy of the reputation of those who have been engaged on the subject. If I dare I would compliment them upon the thoroughness and mastery of detail of which the Reports give evidence. The objects of the National Council (as you are doubt- less aware) are summed up in one expression, " The Regeneration of the Race Spiritual, moral, physical." Scientists pure and simple might feel inclined to reverse this order and say physical, moral, and spiritual. And with good reason, for unless the CONFERENCE IN ABERDEEN 265 physical conditions of the human subject are right, how can we expect the moral and spiritual conditions to be of the right order ? Matter and mind are inter- woven in the human organism ; though differing in essence, they are one in the working of the individual. Unfortunately for the human race, increase in civilisation has not always brought with it a moral and spiritual increase, more righteousness, an advance in the betterment of society. On the contrary, it has rather brought in its train in some aspects of life moral degradation and spiritual decadence. Telegraph, telephone, phonograph, etc., are so many material advantages for which we are thankful to the ingenuity of man deriving inspiration from Divine knowledge ; but what about the moral side ? Civilis- ation has increased deadly instruments of destruction in the form of engines of war ; and it has brought forth none more deadly than the unholy pursuits which war against the foundations of a nation's glory, sapping the strength of its manhood, destroying the purity of its morals, infecting and impoverishing through uncleanness the life-blood of the people. Now when I speak of the work of the National Council of Public Morals, I wish to make the following points perfectly clear once and for all. Our work is not confined to the White Slave Traffic alone this is but one portion of it ; it appeals not to girls and women alone, for it addresses itself to the youths and men of the nation ; and its message and warning are equally directed to the rich and leisured classes as they are to the poor and toiling masses. First, the hydra of vicious effort against which we are directing our energies is a many-headed monster ; besides the traffic in human lives, there is the dissemination of noxious and pernicious literature, 266 THE PUBLIC MORALS whether in book-form, or newspaper form, or even in picture form. There is the sin of betting and gambling, by no means confined to the lower strata of society, and for which those in high places are to a certain degree responsible. There is the horrible misuse of the gift of the tongue in the foul and obscene language which is used openly in our public streets. There is the question of the character of our theatrical and music-hall representations, which require careful watching and jealous guarding. All these problems lie near to the heart of our National Council ; and where legislation is inadequate or imperfectly enforced, it is its business to take up the matter with a view to the strengthening or the better enforcing of the law. And in saying this, there is no desire to interfere with the liberties, with the legitimate rights of the people, with the wholesome pleasures of youth ; but it is the wish to bring the people back to their rights as true human beings, to reclaim them as " a seed blessed of the Lord," and for this purpose to help them to regulate their pursuits and pleasures according to the standard of right and wrong, to help them to enjoy life without the gall and wormwood which, through their own ignorance or through the neglect and vice of others, is often mixed up with it. The name of woman is so much to the fore in one portion of the work we have in hand, that there is a tendency, amid the multitude of roads, to forget the duty imposed upon the sterner sex, and further- more to leave out of account the large share of sin which attaches to man in the various aspects of wrongdoing which come under the notice of our Society. Man's boast is that he is " lord of creation." Then CONFERENCE IN ABERDEEN 267 I say : Prove yourself such. Be the man, but not the beast ; be the lord and not the slave ; be worthy of Creation's purpose, which is, the steady progression and gradual uplifting of the human species, to ensure the stability and permanence of the world. I have always held the view that as regards the immorality in the narrower sense which exists in the world, man is the sinner, the chief offender : and I was therefore pleased to read towards the end of the Aberdeen Committee's Report that it is within the power of those who train our youth "to give denial to current lies about the impossibility or physical undesirability of male chastity." Why put the blame upon the poor unfortunate, why harass and loathe her, when man acts as the tyrant, often as the tiger ? It is entirely a matter of education, a matter of self-control for the man in the first instance. I remarked that our work applies as much to the higher classes as to the lower, to the rich as to the poor. Teach the men and women in high society the lessons of a sounder morality, and you will thereby reduce some part of the evil which we are combating. In spite of the irritation caused by the criticism contained in the term "the idle rich," there is a great deal of truth conveyed in the charge. We hear and read of the evils of over-crowding, of poverty, of want of employment, but a stout wall or something else keeps the world in many cases in ignorance of the evils which exist under the contrasting conditions, palatial residences, wealthy surroundings, the absence of desire for genuine work and health-giving employ- ment. No one wishes to make a sweeping statement in this respect ; there are many among the rich who splendidly recognise their duty in life, but there are many among the younger members of the upper 268 THE PUBLIC MORALS classes, or even of the higher middle class, who do not. More sacrifice on their part is required, more work. One looks for that seriousness which among the lower middle class is engendered by the mere fact that their livelihood is not ready-made, but has to call forth healthy effort in the making. In the course of my life I have had a pretty good experience of men and manners, of all sorts and condi- tions of men ; but I must confess that the longer one lives, the more one learns. Not many days ago I was shocked to hear of an instance of a terrible moral plague-spot attaching to the domestic relations existing in one of the leading families in the kingdom, a state of affairs which was responsible for the most degrading complications of family life on a somewhat wholesale scale. How true the words of Holy Writ : " Parents eat unripe grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge ! " All this goes to show what a grave and gigantic programme such a movement as the National Council of Public Morals sets itself to carry out ; how valuable it is that Councils should exist throughout the Empire affiliated to the parent body. Great Conferences on the subject have been held with success in Wales, in various parts of England and Scotland ; one is to take place in April in Ireland, where a great Irish Council will be formed for Ireland ; and Aberdeen has shown that it will not be behindhand in the attempt to improve the moral status of its citizens. It is perhaps necessary to point out that alliance with our Council does not in any way interfere with your autonomy and responsibility ; you are absolutely free to adopt such lines as in your judgment are best to cope with the evils in your own midst. But we heartily welcome you as co-workers, and we CONFERENCE IN ABERDEEN 269 are proud of your alliance. This free union in a great national cause (in which all sections are united, regard- less of creed or party) augurs well for the success of the movement throughout the whole of the country, showing a united front to a common enemy. For besides uniting all sections of the religious com- munity, we are uniting all the forces which make for righteousness, the scientific, literary, educational, and social organisations. Though, as I said before, our object pithily put, is " the Regeneration of the Race," the methods we employ are compressed in the Three Notes, Co-operation, Pre- vention, Construction. Yet our co-operation does not imply over-centralisation, but a harmonious working together for one and the same end upon lines identical, as far as it is possible and wise. Is it necessary to labour the old truth that Prevention is better than cure ? As in the case of all things, so in the case of the evils with which our Council has to deal. Let the young be taught the value of life, the sanctity of the marriage-tie and of parenthood ; let the tuber- culous and feeble-minded be under some sort of control in the matter of marriage ; let our books and newspapers eschew all that is vicious and of a cor- rupting tendency ; let our drama be clean, and our music-hall refined and inspiriting ; and the succeeding generation will be the better for the preventive mea- sures taken by the former generation. And thus in the very process of Prevention you have constructed, you have laid the foundation of a new form of living ; for you are increasing the benefits of true civilisation not by the mixed processes of addition and subtraction, the give-and-take principle which is going on round about us, but you are ensuring that the subtraction by falsa and impure methods from what is needed to build 270 THE PUBLIC MORALS CONFERENCE up a healthy, vigorous manhood and womanhood shall not be greater than the addition of those forces essen- tially required in the formation of a being worthy to take its place in the economy of the world. In speaking to you to-day I am acting in a dual capacity. In the first place, I am here as the mouth- piece of the National Council of Public Morals, but I cannot help realising that, taking the nation of Israel as a type of ordinary humanity with its weaknesses and failings, the message comes to the social reformer to-day as it did to the prophet of old : " Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgressions and to the house of Jacob their sins." I am further reminded to-night of the laconic and suggestive utterance contained in that remarkable storehouse of Jewish learning, the Talmud, which runs as follows : " The loss of purity in Israel was responsible for the fruit of the country losing its taste and fragrance." The author may have meant these words literally or not ; but we give them to-night an appli- cation in harmony with the nature of our proceedings. Is it not true, I ask, that with the decline of social cleanness and national purity, there must be a corre- sponding decline in the quality of the fruit of the land, I mean the children that are born, the men and women that are to be ? The Crusades in medieval history had one objective, it was to save and rescue one city ; the mission under- taken by our Crusade is to save two worlds, this and the next ; and a mission affecting not only human beings living in our own times, in our own midst, but indirectly generations yet unborn. This is the work in which our National Council is seriously and actively engaged ; be it your desire and privilege to have a hand in it ! MOSES MENDELSSOHN, LESSING, AND LAVATER (Lecture delivered before the Members of the Sunday Evening Socials in connexion with the Westbourne Park Chapel, on February 9, 1913) A LESSON IN TOLEEATION. IT is refreshing and comforting to contemplate, that amid all the strife that is going on in the world, the human subject has for his guidance not only the maxims of conduct presented to him in the books of wisdom compiled at different times and among the various nations of the world, but he may find the best lessons and the noblest examples as well as the soundest warnings and admonitions in the lives of the men and women who have passed before his eyes, either in days gone by, or in the age in which he himself is living. In making this statement I have before my mind the names of two men who lived in Germany in the eighteenth century, and that of a third who formed a contrast to the two by reason of his methods in the very aspect of human thought, which it is my intention briefly to emphasise this evening in the midst of an assembly composed of members of a faith differing from my own. My very presence here among you emphasises the theme of my remarks to-night, and I rejoice to think that time, begetting mutual con- 371 272 A LESSON IN TOLERATION fidence between men, has made my presence possible. This is the third occasion during the last three years on which I have felt it both a pleasure and a privilege to respond to the invitation emanating from those who arrange your pleasant Sunday Evening Socials in con- nection with this Westbourne Park Chapel, guided as they are by the stimulating personality of your revered Pastor, my old yet ever young friend Dr. Clifford, who is ably assisted by Dr. Watkins. I know you are always anxious for me to discourse on themes such as have a living interest for Jew and Christian alike, which give an insight into the meaning of Judaism, into the views held by Jews on some of the essential concerns of religion, and on the relationship which should subsist between the professors of true Judaism and true Christianity in the interests of human pro- gress and for the betterment of the world. Now the names which present themselves before me to-night are those of the Jewish Sage, Moses Mendelssohn, and of his Christian friend Lessing, the author and drama- tist, while over against them stands the contrasting figure of the over-zealous Protestant clergyman of Zurich, Lavater. I think I could engage your interest sufficiently in the biographical details alone touching these three men of the eighteenth ceutury ; but this is not my object on the present occasion. I prefer to dwell upon the one theme, which is the leading lesson of the remarkable friendship and devotion that united in the strongest bond the conscientious Jew, Moses Mendelssohn, and the conscientious Christian, Ephraim Lessing an attitude so diametrically opposite to that adopted by a member of the Christian Church in the person of a mutual friend and acquaintance Lavater. The friendship of Mendelssohn and Lessing reminds one of the splendid example of David and Jonathan of A LESSON IN TOLERATION 273 old, which rested on a solid basis that of the vindica- tion of right and justice. The weakness of Lavater's position, however conscientious he himself may have been, lay in the fact that he was so constituted that he was unable to recognise the possibility and the beauty of such a frame of mind as toleration in religion. If the sympathetic and broad nature of the former two lead us back in thought to the Bible narrative of an exemplary instance of friendship, the calculating and somewhat cruel attitude of Lavater towards his old friend Mendelssohn brings into bold relief the con- versionist attempts with which we are familiar at the present day, attempts to win people from the faith into which they were born, and in the case of Jews in particular, to engage in the unholy traffic of endeavour- ing to turn a handful of weak or bad Jews into weaker or worse Christians. The best spirits of the world can never look upon such conduct with favour, they recoil from it ; and the utterances of the German Christian dramatist and author, as well as those of the German Jewish philosopher, leave no doubt as to what was their opinion concerning man's duty to hold in respect, even while differing, not only the views of others in the ordinary aspects of daily life, but espe- cially their views in the domain of higher thought and action, that of religion. But before I make any further allusion to these, I should like to refer as an act of bare justice though as an authority it may be considered antiquated to the bold stand made by the English writer towards the end of the previous century in this very matter when, in the year 1689, John Locke issued his famous " Letter concerning Toleration " in which, among his arguments, he remarked (p. 5) : " The toleration of those that differ from others in matters of religion is so agreeable to the Gospel . . . and to the genuine 18 274 A LESSON IN TOLERATION reason of mankind that it seems monstrous for men to be so blind as not to perceive the necessity and advantage of it in so clear a light. . . . That any man should think fit to cause another man, whose salvation he heartily desires, to expire in torments, and that even in an unconverted state, would, I confess, seem very strange to me, and I think to any other also (p. 4). ... What I say concerning the mutual toleration of private persons differing in religion, I understand also of particular churches (p. 15). Nay, if we may openly speak the truth, and as becomes one man to another, neither Pagan nor Mahumetan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion. The gospel commands no such thing. The church, which judges not those that are without, wants it not. And the Commonwealth, which embraces indifferently all men that are honest, peaceable and industrious, requires it not. Shall we suffer a Pagan to deal and trade with us, and shall we not suffer him to pray unto and worship God ? If we allow the Jews to have private houses and dwellings amongst us, why should we not allow them to have synagogues ? But if these things may be granted to Jews and Pagans, surely the condition of any Christians ought not to be worse than theirs in a Christian Commonwealth." How true religion may express itself in the world, has been splendidly taught by Lessing in his famous drama, " Nathan der Wise," which has been called " one of the noblest pleas for toleration ever penned." In it, furthermore, he has raised the most enduring monument to friendship in the person of his friend and co-worker in the cause of toleration in religion, Moses Mendelssohn. How true religion may express itself in the world this may also be learnt from the reply which Mendels- sohn felt himself constrained, much against his will, to send to the Swiss clergyman who more than once had, by his conversionist advances, worried him, a man of an eminently pacific nature, and one none too strong physically. I will now let you judge for your- selves as to the value of these Evidences of true Chris- tianity and true Judaism by reading to you, first, from A LESSON IN TOLERATION 275 the third act of Lessing's drama the telling apologue of the " Three Rings " (which, by the way, may be traced to the " Decameron " of Boccacio, and is also found in a Jewish work, " Shevet Jehuda,") and I will then ask you to listen with me to the reply given by Mendels- sohn to Lavater in the course of a correspondence which passed between them. This latter I have trans- lated from the German of the first edition. Sinking my individuality for the nonce, I prefer to act as the mouthpiece through which you may hear some of the finest and most liberal utterances on the sublimest concerns of human existence, delivered by two of the choicest spirits that adorned the age in which they lived, that might have adorned the annals of any age. LAVATER'S LETTER TO MENDELSSOHN. On one particular occasion, Lavater addressed the following letter to Moses Mendelssohn : " MOST HONOUBED SIB, I know not how I can afford you a better expression of my admiration for your excellent writings and for your still more excellent character, that of an Israelite in whom there is no guile, nor how I can make you a better return for the great pleasure which I, some years ago, derived from your agreeable society, than by dedicating to you the ablest philosophical enquiry into the evidences of Christianity that I am acquainted with. 1 know your deep penetration, your constant love of truth, your incorruptible impartiality, your tender regard for philosophy generally and for Bonnet's writings in particular. ... I, then - fore, venture to beseech you before the God of Truth your and my Creator and Father and to conjure you to read this work, I will not say with philosophical impartiality (for this I am sure you will do without my request), but I will beg you to publicly refute it should you find the essential arguments in support of the facts of Christianity untenable ; but should you find them correct, then to do that which prudence, love of truth, and uprightness demand what Socrates would have done had he read the work, and found 276 A LESSON IN TOLERATION if unanswerable. May God yet cause much truth and virtue to be disseminated through you, and suffer you to enjoy that happiness which my whole heart wishes you I " MENDELSSOHN'S REPLY. To this epistle Moses Mendelssohn replied as follows : ' HONOURED PHILANTHROPIST, You have deemed it right to dedicate to me your translation from the French of Bonnet's Enquiry into the Evidences of Christianity, and, at the same time, most publicly and solemnly to conjure me to refute that work, should I find the essential arguments in favour of Chris- tianity untenable ; but should I find them conclusive, ' to do what prudence, love of truth and uprightness bid me, what Socrates would have done,' etc., that is, to abjure the religion of my fathers, and embrace the one which M. Bonnet defends. ... I must confess that I should have expected anything rather than a public challenge from a man like Lavater. . . . What, sir, could have induced you to drag me out in this manner so contrary to my well-known wishes, and to force me into a public arena into which I was ever most anxious not to tread ? Even if you regarded my reserve as the outcome of mere timidity and bashfulness, surely even such a weakness of mine might have deserved the con- sideration and forbearance of every charitable heart. Under- stand, however, that my scruples as regards engaging in religious controversy never proceeded from timidity or bashfulness. I might affirm that it is not since yesterday that I began to enquire into my religion. I recognised the necessity of putting my opinions and actions to a test from the earliest years ; and when, from early youth, I devoted my hours of repose and relaxa- tion to philosophy, and to the arts and sciences, it was done with the sole object of qualifying myself for this most important investigation. I certainly could have had no other motive for pur- suing these studies. . . . Had I, after so many years of enquiry, not fully made up my mind in favour of my religion, I should, of necessity, have shown it by my public conduct. I cannot imagine what should have bound me to a religion, to appearances so very severe, and so universally despised, had I not been convinced in my heart of its truth. . . . On the contrary, my theological investiga- tions have even strengthened me in the faith of my fathers. And yet I could wish to pursue the even tenour of my way, without A LESSON IN TOLERATION 277 rendering to the public an account of my convictions. I will not deny that I have perceived in my religion some additions and abuses of man's making which, alas, obscure so much of its ori- ginal splendour. But where is the friend of truth who can boast of having found his religion free from those pernicious corruptions incidental to human institutions ? We all of us, searchers after the truth, know what these blemishes are, the poisonous breath of hypocrisy and superstition ; and how dearly we would wish to rub it off without detriment to that which is really good and true. Nevertheless, as regards the essentials of my religion, I am as firmly, as irrefutably convinced as you, Sir, are, or M. Bonnet can be, of those of yours ; and I herewith declare before the God of truth, your and my Creator and Supporter (by whom you have conjured me in your dedication), that I will adhere to these principles of mine as long as my soul does not change its entire nature. We have to finish certain enquiries once in our life in order to be able to proceed. This, I may say, I did with regard to religion several years ago. I read, compared, reflected, and took sides. Despite all this, Judaism might have been roughly handled in every contro- versial text-book, and mocked at in triumph in every academy, without my ever dreaming to enter the lists on its behalf. With- out the slightest protest from my side, the would-be scholar or smatterer in rabbinic lore (deriving his little learning from old scraps which no sensible Jew ever reads or even knows of) , might have amused himself and his readers by presenting to the world the most ridiculous conception of Judaism. As for me, it was my desire to give the lie to the wretched judgment passed on the Jew by living a life of virtue, and not by controversial writings. My religion, my philosophy, and my position in society, afford me the best reasons for avoiding theological disputes, and for treating in my publications of those truths alone, which may be of equal service to members of all creeds. According to the principles of my religion, I am not to seek to convert any one who is not born according to our laws. The spirit of conversion the origin of which some would foist upon the Jewish religion is, indeed, diametrically opposed to it. Our Rabbis all teach, with one accord, that the written and oral laws which conjointly form our revealed religion are binding on our nation only. Moses com- manded us a law ; it is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. All the other nations of the earth, we believe, have been bidden by God to be guided by the laws of Nature and by the religion of the patriarchs. Those who regulate their lives accord- ing to the laws of this natural and rational religion are called ' the 278 A LESSON IN TOLERATION virtuous of other creeds,' and are ' the children of eternal salva- tion.' Our Rabbis are so averse to proselytising, that they bid us dissuade by forcible counter-arguments any one who comes forward spontaneously to join our faith. We should make him reflect that by such a step he needlessly subjects himself to a most rigorous system, that in his present condition he has only to subscribe to the ' precepts of a son of Noah ' in order to be saved ; but that the moment he embraces the religion of the Jew, he subscribes of his own will to all the rigid rites of that faith, and he then has to conform to them strictly, or await the punishment which the Law- Giver has proclaimed as the penalty for their being transgressed. . . . The religion of my fathers does not wish to be propagated ; we are not to send missions to both the Indies or to Greenland to preach our religion to those distant peoples. . . . Whoever is not born conformably to our laws has no occasion to live according to them. We alone consider ourselves bound to observe them, and surely this need provoke no ill-will on the part of our neighbours. Let our notions be held ever so devoid of rhyme and reason, yet there is no need to fight about them. We act according to our convictions. Others are certainly at liberty to question the validity of laws to which they are, according to our own admission, not subject ; but whether they are acting in a spirit of fairness, in a social and charitable spirit, in ridiculing our laws and customs, this must be left to their own consciences. So long as we do not desire to win others over to our way of thinking, what is the use of squabbling ? Suppose there lived among my contemporaries a Confucius or a Solon, I could, consistently with my religious prin- ciples, love and admire the great man, without ever hitting upon the ridiculous idea of converting a Confucius or a Solon. Why should I convert him? ... I have the good fortune to count among my friends many an excellent man who is not of my faith. We love each other sincerely, notwithstanding that in matters of belief we differ widely in opinion. I enjoy the delight of their society, for while it delights, it improves me. Never yet has my heart whispered to me silently, ' What a pity for this excellent soul 1 ' He who believes that no salvation is to be found beyond the pale of his own Church must often feel such sighs rising within him. . . . There is, furthermore, nothing inconsistent in my being bound to remain neutral with the fact of my having detected national prejudices and religious errors among my fellow- citizens, provided that these errors and prejudices do not altogether destroy either natural religion or the natural laws. . . . These are the motives with which my religion and my philosophy supply me A LESSON IN TOLERATION 279 for studiously avoiding religious wranglings. Add to them the social conditions under which I live among my fellow-citizens, and you cannot but justify me. . . . How grateful ought not my co-re- ligionists to be to the ruling power which includes them within the bond of its benevolence, and permits them to worship the Supreme Being without let or hindrance, according to the rites of their an- cestors I In this respect they enjoy in the state under whose pro- tection I live the fullest freedom ; and should not my brethren hold aloof from attacking the dominant religion : in other words, from attacking their protectors on the very side which men of true worth must always regard as the mcst sensitive ? I have resolved to act at all times according to such principles, and consequently to avoid religious controversy with the utmost precision, unless some extra- ordinary occasion compelled me to alter my decision. Private appeals from worthy men I have been bold enough to pass over in silence. The importunities of smaller spirits, who considered themselves justified in attacking me publicly on account of my religion, I thought it right to treat with contempt. But the solemn conjuration of a Lavater forces me at least to make a frank avowal of my opinion in public, lest too persistent a silence on my part might be construed into contempt for the writer, or into an admission of his views." In bringing my remarks to a close, I do not think that I could choose any more apposite words than those occurring towards the end of a second letter sent by Mendelssohn to Lavater ; for, I take it, they thoroughly express the views entertained by all right- thinking people in every age and every country : " The truths which we recognise and espouse in common are not yet sufficiently current that we may promise our- selves any important benefit from a public discussion of the points on which we do not yet agree. What a happy world we should live in if all men espoused and carried into practice those holy truths in which the good Christian joins with the good Jew ! May the Lord hasten those happy days in which no one shall hurt or destroy, for the whole earth shall be full of the Lord as the waters cover the sea ; the day of which 280 A LESSON IN TOLERATION it is written, " And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know Me, saith the Lord, from the least of them unto the greatest of them." With this aspiration I fervently conclude, adding in the words of Malachi, " Have we not all one Father, hath not one God created us ? " JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW (Addrest delivered at the Distribution of Prizes on Sunday, October 31, 1915) LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ! Last year the Executive of this Institution, under press of circumstances still, alas ! engrossing all men's minds, passed over anything in the nature of a public function to mark the Annual Assembly with which for many years we have all grown familiar. This year they have decided other- wise. Notwithstanding the all-absorbing tasks that English Jews in common with their countrymen are called upon to discharge, and readily and loyally do discharge, in the cause which we are defending ; not- withstanding the fact that students are called upon to leave their cherished studies and participate in the sterner demands of war, the authorities of Jews' College have this year deemed it their duty to let the community take cognisance by a public distribution of prizes of the existence and claims of this College. And it is quite consistent with the gravity of the times ; it is acting in the true spirit of Judaism. Even now, as in the days of old, it is impossible for all to go forth and fight when the trumpet-call summons. And the same conditions hold good to-day, as in the early days of our nation's story, when King David made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel that " as his part 881 282 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff ; they shall share alike." The intellectual and spiritual concerns of man are " the stuff " which has to be guarded even when con- flicts rage, and there is a merit and an equal share unto those who tarry by the stuff and who strenuously help to guard it. The intellectual and the spiritual are the possessions upon which, after all, the vitality and security of communities and nations depend. The whole educational machinery of a country cannot stand still, doomed to idleness, even when war rages round about. The spiritual forces cannot be suspended. Have we not to look ahead and consider the time (may it soon be in sight !) when, our victory acclaimed, the clash of arms shall cease, and the arts of peace shall flourish in the land, when the springs of instruction shall again scatter in fullest measure their fertilising draughts athwart the parched desert of national and corporate existence ? Members of the Council, Students of Jews' College, Ladies and Gentlemen When your genial Chairman courteously approached me with a kind message from the Executive, and I consented to preside at this annual function, I did not minimise to myself the task that I had undertaken ; and I trust that in the limited time at my disposal I shall say sufficient to engage your attention, and even to give you food for reflection when you have left this hall. I look back some fifty years to the building in Finsbury Square, an unpretentious one, 'tis true, yet filled with an atmosphere of earnestness that might well be envied by many a more ambitious seat of learning. Our ever-to-be-lamented Dr. Fried- lander, the man of saintly character, had not yet come to these shores as its Principal ; but we had JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 283 the pious Barnett Abrahams and Mr. Heineman, together with the conscientious non-Jew Mr. Beni- fold as Headmaster, to direct the training of the Institution. I think I might claim the longest association with Jews' College of any one living to-day ; and if, during the last two or three years, I have not been so closely identified with its working, it is for reasons into which I do not think it right to enter on the present occasion. " Jews' College Then and Now," might be a fitting title for an address to you. It will be my purpose to-day to bring out some few points dealing with past and present, in respect of what is practically the Kabbinical Seminary of Anglo-Jewry the Training Institution par excellence of Ministers and Teachers of Religion for Jewish Communities. I. In the first place, we have to note the all-important difference in the whole organisation of the College the essential internal character of the Institution in its early history as compared with its present constitution. There was then a Jews' College School and a Jews' College ; the former a sort of feeder to the latter ; the latter the evolutionary product of the former. There was a natural and gradual transition of units from the School to the Upper Class, designated " the College." And I will take this opportunity of expressing the view that it was a thousand pities that the School was ever abandoned. I am inclined to think that it was a sad day for English Jewry when this occurred ; for I feel convinced that the proverbial ignorance of the present generation of English Jews of the Hebrew language and literature and perhaps the amazing want of sympathy with Jewish learning is to a 284 JEWS' COLLEGETHEN AND NOW great extent due to the abolition of what was once known as the Jews' College School, of which perhaps we may regard the Preparatory Class, which came into existence later, as a poor shadow and substitute. I entered the School somewhat under the age of ten, and I entered it, even at that early age, with a clear view and determination to become a Jewish minister. This was no after-thought. But the point I wish to bring out is that the sons of many of the leading members of our community, who of course were not intended for the ministry, were pupils of the school. Hebrew entered into our daily study. None of your Sunday mornings' and Wednesday afternoons' hour or two of Hebrew lessons. Is it hazarding too much to say, that if members of the community a generation or so back had done their duty to their children in respect of Hebrew instruction, in other words, if that Lower School had been continued, if only as a school to be left after Bar-mitsvah for a Public School (as happened in many cases), developing adequately with modern educational requirements, we might not now have to witness the prevailing ignorance as regards Hebrew knowledge among the mass of English Jews, and what is worse, the astounding assertion as to the uselessness of this knowledge, and the justification for even killing it outright. No wonder the Chairman of a Special Committee on Jews' College some few years ago, confusing issues which to my mind he either ignored or failed to grasp, gave it out that " there was a level of scholarship which for practical purposes it was unnecessary for the students of Jews' College to attain. There was a stage of Rabbinical culture at which it became so advanced as not to be understood by the average members of the ordinary congregation." All I can say is, that the JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 285 spokesman on the occasion, representing but a portion of Anglo-Jewry, might be answered in the words once addressed by Balak to Balaam, " Perhaps thou seest but a part, whilst the whole thou dost not see." He would fain speak for the whole of Anglo-Jewry ; but what about those congregations, I should say commu- nities, outside his own sphere, such as the Federation of Synagogues, who will have nothing but advanced Hebrew learning ? As it is, we have ignorance or something like it on the one hand, and all-absorbing interest in Hebrew on the other hand ; and so, if the members of some congregations do not require Rabbinical learning, there are congregations like that in the northern district of London, in which the minister can satisfy his people only if fully equipped with Jewish learning ; in which district, owing to a flaw in our machinery for supplying this equipment, a Beth Hamidrash with its own " Rav " has for years been planted. Why did the " Federation " take root ? Why is the foreign ele- ment throughout England so averse from mixing as it should with the English element ? A general respect and recognition of Hebrew learning and even of Rabbinical studies has been growing amongst those outside, while its appreciation has lessened with those in authority among us. The knowledge of Hebrew language and literature and all Hebrew learning is at the root of all Western civilization if we dare now use this term at all. Of course the Universities have their Chairs of Hebrew. Cambridge University has its Reader in Rabbinics. The Nonconformist training colleges have their Hebrew classes. But for Jews' College and for Anglo-Jewish ministers, would-be leaders of thought among us have had the temerity to assert that "advanced Rabbinic 286 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW culture " is to be a thing of the past, and to be con- sidered " useless " ! Years ago, over twenty years ago, in conjunction with others, I pointed out the danger, and warned those in authority who ought to have moved, but in vain. The answer given was " There is no unrest " ; the reply was " Peace," when there was no peace. And Time has proved that the specious peace was stagnation. Leaving this question of the general attitude towards higher Hebraic learning, I turn now to you, students of the College, who are qualifying for the high vocation of the Jewish ministry, and I bid you avoid the path of ease in your studies, and endeavour to render yourselves as fully qualified as you possibly can. Whether you feel that ultimately your main work will be that of the good parish-priest, or whether you feel that your bent is rather for the full Rabbinical function, do not forget that learning is so inter- dependent that it is impossible to estimate its value from any utilitarian point of view : what may appear unnecessary, may prove to be vital and essential. One who has himself gone through the mill strongly advises you, as members of a theological college, to devote yourselves pari passu with your general Uni- versity studies to the successive stages of Hebrew Language, Hebrew Literature, and Jewish Theology. Obtain your University degree as soon as is practic- able, and consonant with a good general knowledge of subjects other than Hebraic. Being in training for the ministry, devote the fullest share of time and thought to your Hebrew and Rabbinic studies. To save your- selves much tribulation, loss of confidence, and lack of influence, when you are once in office, see that you obtain the various theological certificates before leaving the College. And I deem it my high duty unequivo- JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 287 cally to state that those of you who are endowed with the necessary equipment should not neglect to secure the highest and only effective diploma effec- tive from the standpoint of professional status in Jewry, namely the Hatarath Horoah. I am concerned with, and do not wish to minimise, the actual technical aspect of this diploma, fully aware as I am that there have been and are many scholars possessed of the neces- sary learning, who have for some reason or other not secured the diploma, and thereby have not the status which would give due weight to their opinions. I need not dwell on this professional aspect of the matter, so all - important while Anglo-Jewry is in theory, and when it suits it in practice, under Rabbi- nical rule. The object lesson has been placed before the community, and has surely been driven home by now. You will have to reproach yourselves if those who have the necessary ability take the easier course, failing to recognise the value, from no selfish stand- point, but from that of the profession, of what may be termed the Charter of the Anglo-Jewish clergy, the obtaining of which was only secured by the stoutest struggle that has ever been fought within the commu- nity against overwhelming odds, thereby to restore to a nondescript class of clerical servants their right pro- fessional status, and the privileges and responsibilities of their calling. And to students generally I may give this piece of advice, based upon observation and experience : do not give up study and self-improvement, having obtained your ministerial post ; and this applies to learning in general, both secular and religious. Let learning be your relaxation after your arduous com- munal work. Remember, college-training is simply a stimulus, a path-finder ; it cannot teach you every- 288 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW thing, nor can it stock yon for all the years that lie before you ; it can only direct your studies, and must leave the rest to personal effort. II. Again, two or three decades ago, general Hebraic studies were pursued at the College on the part of students without University examinations in view, their object being solely the attainment of knowledge ; it was scarcely required of them that they should have any hall-mark of learning. The spirit of the present day, not only at Jews 1 College, but at colleges generally, demands the hall-mark of the University degree, which, when it has been obtained, we may affect to think lightly of, but not before. Accordingly, at this College an important departure was made some years ago, when an arrangement was carried through by which students received most of their training in secular subjects at University College, leaving the staff of Jews' College free to attend to the Hebrew and theological instruc- tion. This plan has worked well, and has proved successful. It has marked a great improvement on the methods in vogue at the time when one man was expected to do the work usually discharged by three or four professors, when one man was called upon to teach both the higher and the highest Hebraic subjects, and at the same time to give instruction in classics, mathematics, and foreign languages. Quod erat absurdum. Apart from the many advantages derived by the College students from contact with teachers and students at the University, there have been corresponding advantages within the College : the College has now, in addition to its erudite and strong Principal, a staff of teachers for specific branches of Hebraic and Oriental study, who for knowledge and zeal deserve the fullest confidence of the community. The College curricula form now JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 289 an organic whole, with direct reference to the secular degrees and the Hebrew and Rabbinical certificates. The march of the times has demanded this devolu- tion in teaching, inverting the words of Pope, " one science can only one genius give," and realising that one genius can only attend to one science, if that science or branch of learning is to be taught thoroughly and efficiently. Further, if I might add one word more on this head, it is this : That the Principal of an institution like Jews' College should have the fullest time at his disposal to supervise rather than to teach ; organisation and supervision and not in- struction should be the Principal's primary task. And it would be to the advantage of the institution. III. Comparisons, it is a trite saying, are odious. Nevertheless, if we compare the calibre of the Council of those days with that of recent years, what a differ- ence must we note ! Who will deny that in those days they were all good men and true, fond of their pet Institution, friends of the teaching staff, and even friends of the students ! Some were generous and kind to a fault. But speaking generally, and of the Council in its corporate capacity, there was one thing lacking then which cannot be said of the present com- position of the Council. Activity was not then a characteristic of the Council. Further, it was, with a few exceptions, entirely deficient in men of train- ing, such as are urgently needed for the government of a College. It was not representative ; and its hap- hazard constitution was certainly not calculated to improve the status or the outlook of Jews' College. I well remember in those days how the Council was irreverently spoken of as the " sleepy Council," I hope for no other reason than that, being all such amiable gentlemen, they readily nodded, but never 19 290 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW even dreamt to differ on matters of great moment and on subjects open to serious discussion. I should, how- ever, like to pay my due tribute to Dr. Nathan Adler, the then Chief Eabbi, who showed practical interest and activity in the welfare of the College. He felt it his duty to pay at least his weekly surprise visits, to test the instruction given at the College, and even went so far as to have two students in training for the ministry come to his house for instruction in Talmud. I am pleased to say that I was one of those students who can boast of what we rightly prized as a high privilege ; for Nathan Adler was indeed a revered and powerful influence in those days ; but though he had followers, he had not helpers able to antici- pate the needs of a rapidly growing community, re- quiring a well-equipped and well-organised College to safeguard the spiritual welfare of Anglo-Jewry. Yet there were men who were anxious and ready to help; and among them we should not withhold a meed of praise from those who exercised in earlier and later times a strong influence upon the internal working of Jews' College, and who were in a position to advocate its claims by reason of their connexion with the organs of Anglo-Jewry, the Voice of Jacob and the Jewish Chronicle. Such were Jacob A. Franklin, Michael Henry, and Asher I. Myers. Furthermore, addressing you in this building, I should be wanting in duty were I not to make men- tion of another member of the Council who somewhat later took a very active and practical interest in Jews' College. I refer to its noble-hearted and generous friend, Mr. Charles Samuel, whose kindness of heart was only eclipsed by his extraordinary modesty. He, indeed, was one of those who did " good by stealth, and blushed to find it fame." JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW Coming to our own days, whatever criticism may be directed against the present state of the College, no one dare deny that the present Council of Jews' College consists of active and alert workers, men accustomed to communal administration, men of University training, experts in educational methods, men versed in theo- logical and general learning, and men of practical ex- perience in the whole range of varied ministerial work. IV. Next we have to observe a great difference in the attitude of the community generally towards Jews' College in those days as compared with these. Then the feeling was more kindly and considerate it was perhaps of the form of a benevolent neutrality ; now it partakes of the nature of carping criticism ; there is scarcely a kind word for all the labour and efforts so sedulously put forth by managers, teachers, and students. As a whole the community is as ungrateful as it is ungenerous in its relation to Jews' College ; it never responds to its claims, and then finds fault with its limited results. And what shall we say of those atrabilious critics, who are so obsessed with their own preconceived judgment as regards Jews' College, that facts and arguments are wholly lost on them ? It has always seemed to me that the whole question of moral and material support of the College might easily be solved in a practical way. It is for the community to say whether it wants the College or no ; not for the College to thrust its wares on an unwilling community. Instead of passing the hat round year by year, as if it were for some deserving charity, you might try the drastic experiment of closing the College for a time, and let the community see how it will fare. I have always denounced the practice of a frequent appeal, or the annual trial of strength a sort of public encounter for winning stakes as the most degrading and damaging 292 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW factor in the present position of the College. It gains for the College neither confidence nor respect, which are vital to the well-being of any collegiate institution, let alone such an Institution as this. Jews' College ought to have been placed a generation or so back, by means of valuable endowments, upon such a firm foundation in regard to financial strength, as to have been rendered independent of the unseemly wrangles that now and again gather like dark clouds around the demand for more liberal support. As regards its moral claim the claim for greater recognition of its work one need only point to the Table in the Annual Report headed "Appointments held by Ex-students," to supply the clinching retort to those members of the community who see black spots in everything affect- ing the College. Taken class for class, our ministers, as a body, sprung for the most part from Jews' College, compare favourably with those of other denominations ; if they are not all they should be and I am not prepared to admit this or if some have not attained to that standard of fitness which they should have done, it is perhaps because the com- munity has not done its duty in supplying the College with the wherewithal by means of which these men in their student-days could have been retained for a few years longer at the College, and not been allowed to pass from its walls until they were completely equipped. But when all is said, most depends upon individual characteristics and efforts, upon individual upbringing, upon individual conscientiousness, and other innate qualities. And here I am bound to touch upon a very important consideration. It is inevitable that varying schools of thought must proceed from Jews' College ; and the community should not be shocked or alarmed when JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 293 such conditions assume practical shape. It is the only honest way, and the only rational process. Jews' College is a training school, an intellectual centre ; it is not a forcing-house. The plants therein trained have to develop naturally ; the students are, or should be, encouraged to be thinking subjects, not moulded in a cast-iron form. Whatever views they may imbibe at the College, or may have imbibed before they even entered the College, these views may change, either in the course of training, when experience becomes riper and knowledge wider, or when the methods of congregational life come home to the minister when in office, as he comes face to face in later life with the reality of things, with apparent abuses or real hypocrisy in the name of religion, unfortunately so frequently inseparable from all religious denominations. In such cases there dare be no oppression, no persecution, no hardship ; it matters not whether a would-be minister finds, after years of study, that he cannot start upon the work he and others had for years marked out for him, or whether a full-blown minister, in office for years, finds for one reason or another that he cannot continue in the same trend of thought upon which he started his official career. There dare be no bonds, no price, for the failure to comply ; no penalty to be exacted for the change in religious views. Different spheres of action are open to such, and we have no right to press them unwilling into the service of the synagogue. Remember, you cannot make men religious by Act of Parliament ; and you cannot employ compulsion or conscription in the making of ministers. Especially to aspirants for the ministry do the words of God as addressed to Gideon apply ; " Let those who are fearful and faint-hearted return and depart." 294 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW I would ask, does not the mere mention of the names Hillel and Shammai suggest to us that in ancient Jewry there was room for different schools of thought ; and that there was the splendid toleration of varying opinions among the most ardent and punctilious of the Rabbis ? And to come to another point, I attach no importance to the view sometimes expressed, that the entry of the sons of a few moneyed men would settle the problem of the Anglo-Jewish clergy, though it might be evidence that the recog- nition of the spiritual claims of the community was occasionally deemed as important as the Bar and other professions and callings. The Teachers of our race have never been judged by the standard of worldly goods, and their spiritual worth has not been estimated by their material worth, though modern requirements demand that the profession should be adequately main- tained in a dignified social position. Further, I will say this for the teachers of the Churches generally. To take two instances from modern times, a recent Archbishop in his youth had followed the plough, and the late Pope of Rome was of peasant origin. Address- ing a Jewish assembly, I need scarcely cite instances in Talmudic times of the most distinguished Rabbis being of humble social position. As their names imply, Rabbi Yitschak Napecha was a smith, Rabbi Jehuda Chaita a tailor, Rabbi Jochanan Hasandler a shoemaker, and Rabbi Jehuda Hanechtom a baker ; the patient Rabbi, Hillel, was a day-labourer, Rabbi Sheshet was a wood-carrier, Rabbi Chanina a pavior, and Rabbi Joseph worked at the mill. 1 mm tfvn DHD^ DJ a nmn is the opinion of our 1 For further particulars, see my Paper on " Dignity of Labour in the Talmud," The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, July 1891, and The Times, September 1891; also (in Hebrew translation) the Hamelie, November 13 and 14, 1891. JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 295 sages of old : " Take good care of the sons of those who have not too much of this world's goods, for it is from them that the learning of the Torah proceeds." Ladies and Gentlemen We are occasionally treated to a flippant comparison between the Jewish minister and the Christian clergyman, and told " what the higher functionaries of the Church did for their community." But I think we may safely say that there have leen and there are members of the Anglo- Jewish ministry who in erudition, in eloquence, in educational and philanthropic efforts, are the equals of the clergy of other denominations. Moreover, we are in the habit of forgetting, when speaking of the higher functionaries of the Church of England, that there is the greatest possible difference in tastes and style of work, between say two such Bishops of London as the late Bishop Creighton and the present Bishop Ingram. One \vill always be known as the scholar, the other as the parish worker, yet both as bishops ; and no one in the Church of England, with any sense of decency in him, will deny nnto each the fruits of his labours in the divers paths. And in saying this, I wish clearly to express my belief that it is possible for a Jewish Rabbi to do the social and philanthropic work which now devolves upon the ministers of all denominations, the method and degree of this work varying according to indi- vidual qualities and tastes. It was a step in the right direction when, at the instance of the authorities at Jews' College, the United Synagogue assented to the proposal that the services of aspirants to the ministry, between the time of their graduation and their assuming office, should be utilised in the social and religious work of the community, specially in East London. It is a form of training that is bound to 296 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW stand them in good stead in later years, and will redound to the benefit of the community itself. Ladies and Gentlemen At one time there was a chance of calling into being in England, as leaders of British Jewry, a band of Rabbis worthy to rank with such as flourish in the Jewries of the world a band of author- ised and recognised spiritual leaders, strengthening and supporting with due loyalty the leader of their choice, the choice of a whole community -primus inter pares, in accordance wrth the true spirit and practice of Jewish law and custom. But, in spite of the desire to be optimistic, to my mind the opportunity which was once ours has been missed, has perhaps gone for ever. And why ? Because in the past and I say it with a solemnity attaching to the thought of something sinful there has been in our community here no right organi- sation or system, no free development for the clergy; there has been a tacit policy of repression, actual and latent ; a system in which right ambition has been checked, less than mediocrity encouraged ; there have been determined attempts at levelling down instead of levelling up as regards the 'clergy, and at hampering the honourable claims of the clerical calling for well-defined order and recognised gradation. But if, proving as I hope a false prophet in this my forecast, there be any chance of salvation for the ecclesiastical organisation yea, for Judaism itself in Anglo-Jewry, then it might perhaps come about through the better appreciation on the part of the community of the benefits in the past which Jews' College, in spite of overwhelming disadvantages, has conferred upon the Jewish congregations of the British Empire. In return for these benefits, let the com- munity determine once and for all to make amends JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW 297 for its remissness in the past, and rally round Jews' College with all the moral and material support it can grant it. The continued life of Anglo-Jewry as a religious community depends upon the proper handling of its main seminary of learning, upon the fullest confidence being reposed in its work and workers, and upon the solution how the best and highest results may be obtained as regards the men trained within its walls. V. I would like to conclude with a few words of counsel to the students who sooner or later will be entering upon their duties as Ministers of Religion, and on whom rests so heavy a responsibility for the future of Anglo-Jewry. 1. As students, I say, have the grand aim of your sacred vocation always in view, its potentialities for good in various kinds of work, and do not dwell too fondly on minor considerations. 2. Determine, if you be old enough and sufficiently set, your ideal in the profession itself, and persevere in that aim, whatever the difficulties, the hindrances, or the provocations. 3. Do not despise the drudgery of any office you undertake, but carry all through cheerfully ; for cheerfulness in the discharge of duty is both the secret and the evidence of success. 4. Do not expect your own way in all things, and do not magnify trifles ; train yourselves to be patient and to endure. But more than all else, 5. Though you should learn to be forbearing, do not sacrifice great principles ; cultivate independence of judgment, and fawn upon no one. And lastly, dealing with the social aspect, 6. Once in office, make no distinction in your atten- tions between the richer and poorer members of your 298 JEWS' COLLEGE THEN AND NOW congregation. They are equally entitled to your con- sideration ; and indeed you may often learn more of true value in life and in the exercise of your duties from contact with members not so well circumstanced, who may more directly need your counsels. But do not, on the other hand, fail in your recognition of the splendid work and devotion to the Jewish cause of those in our community whose wealth and position, added to their sterling qualities, entitle them to our unstinted appreciation. All the same, esteem your own high office in the House of God as more exalted than the patronage of the rich of whose grudging favours, almost to the shame of the community, we have heard too much of late. I would finally add and underline one important and general consideration. I hope, for your own sake, that the authorities will see to it that no one should be appointed to a post as minister of religion unless he be properly equipped. In the end it is no kindness to you if you be spared the necessity of taking this or that qualifying theological examination. 7. Be natural, yet cultivate good habits ; do not affect singularity of dress, manner of speech, etc., thinking thereby to impress people with your sup- posed greatness and superiority. It may appear to you to succeed for a time ; but depend upon it, sooner or later, you will be disillusioned. I have done. My concluding words to you, students of the College, are those once expressed by a thinker about a century ago : " What you wish to be, that you are ; for such is the force of our will joined to the Supreme, that whatever we wish to be, seriously, and with a true intention, that we become." WOEKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. THE HOLY BIBLE. Revised for use in Jewish families. [Murdoch & Co.] MAIMONIDES' "MORE NEBUCHIM." (Guide of the Perplexed.) Part-translation. [The Society of Hebrew Literature.] THE ETHICAL TREATISES OF BERACHYA HANAKDAN. Being the Compendium and the Masref. Edited for the first time. Hebrew Text, Translation, Introduction, and Notes. [David Nutt, Long Acre, London.] " The science of Judaism and our knowledge of the medieval Hebrew literature are enriched by Dr. Gollancz's careful and scholarly editing of this Berachya text. . . . Dr. Qollancz' a Introduction is an elaborate essay dealing with all that can be said of Berachya. Dr. Gollancz has not con- fined himself to a discussion of Berachya'a ethics alone, but has touched on the entire body of Berachya criticism, in the course of which he runs counter to Dr. Neubauer and Mr. Joseph Jacobs. The book is excellent. The translation, annotation, and redaction of the Hebrew text are elaborate. The scholarly tone is apparent throughout the volume, which in itself is a fine example of the bookman's art." Jewish Comment, Baltimore. " Prof. Gollancz, who in the elaborate Introduction to the present work supplies a full and clear account of the whole discussion . . . has fully earned the thanks of Hebraists and others by his thorough and patient examination of the whole subject." The Athentzum. "Superb edition . . . prepared in a sumptuous and scholarly manner. . . . Many a literary problem is now set at rest. . . . What enhances the scholarly value of the edition is the luminous and exhaustive Intro- duction . . . the book is brought up to the highest standard of modern scholarship." The Jewish World. " In a very beautifully produced volume Dr. Gollancz has edited for the first time " The Ethical Treatises of Berachya. ... As to the identity and age of Berachya, the statement and criticism of these theories occupies a large part of Dr. Gollanzc's learned and critical preface. . . . Dr. Gollancz presents us with an able series of conjectures of his own, chiefly built up on the basis of fact. . . . The thanks of all are due to Dr. Gollancz for editing the texts so carefully from Parma and Munich MSS., and for providing us with a rendering at once simple and elegant of a work which well deserved rescuing, as he has done, from the neglect of ages." The Jewish Chronicle. TRANSLATIONS FROM HEBREW AND ARAMAIC. Including the Targura to the " Song of Songs," The Book of the Apple, The Ten Jewish Martyrs, A Dialogue on Games of Chance (Leo de Modena). [Luzac & Co., London.] "The contents of this volume are attractive and valuable. . . . Those who cannot read the original will feel indebted to the accomplished Gold- smid Professor of Hebrew at London University College for his painstaking work as a scholar and translator." Homiletic Review. CLAVICULA SALOMONIS. Description of a Hebrew MS. newly discovered. [David Nutt r London.] MARCO LUZZATTO'S GLOSSES. On Menasseh ben Israel's " Conciliator " (Hebrew and English). Collected and edited for the first time from the unique MS. in the Editor's possession. [Luzac & Co., London. Bloch Publishing Co. New York.] " The title of this small volume speaks for itself, and the translation of the well-known Rabbi may be relied upon as correct and excellent." Atiatic Quarterly Review. SINDBAN AND THE SEVEN WISE MASTERS. First English translation from the Syriac. [Folk- Lore Journal.] TARGUM TO THE " AMIDAH." First English translation. [Semitic Series, Kohut.] CHILDREN'S SERVICE BOOK. For the New Year and Day of Atonement. (Hebrew and English.) First and Second Editions. [Wertheimer, Lea & Co., London.] "The outcome of Dr. Oollancz's solf-eacriflcing labours is an exceedingly useful volume. The book contains some valuable notes. . . . Dr. Oollancz'* prayers are among the best things in the book." The Jtwiah Chronicle. THE BOOK OF PROTECTION, being a collection of charms edited for the first time from Syriac MSS., with 27 Illustrations. [Oxford University Press.] " The publication of these charms is of extreme value from a philo- logical point of view, and Professor Gollancz has rendered a great service to Syriac literature by his scholarly publication. He has often succeeded in giving an intelligent translation of texts otherwise very corrupt and unintelligible. . . ."Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. "Dr. Gollancz is to be cordially thanked for making public these interesting texts, which are quite a new feature in our Syriac literature. Besides the texts there are a number of quaint illustrations well reproduced from the MSS. A and B." Journal of Theological Studiet. SEPHER MAPHTEAH SHELOMO (Book of the Key of Solomon). A facsimile reproduction of an original Book of Magic in Hebrew, profusely illustrated (described in "Clavicula Salomonis" above). [Oxford University Press.] " In the present work Dr. Gollancz supplies an excellent photographic reproduction of the entire MS., the original of which remains in his possession. . . . He prints, in addition, a number of extracts with translations by way of helping the student to read and appreciate the cursive Italian script of the original. . . . Our gratitude to Dr. Gollancz for the fine form in which this peculiarly interesting text has been placed before students of mysticism and folk-lore." The Athenaum. THE FOUNDATION OF RELIGIOUS FEAR. Translated for the first time from the Hebrew, and published in advance of a critical work by the author on Joseph Kimchi's Shekel Hakodesh. [Unwin Bros., Ltd., Gresham Press, London.] " It is a book for the bedside and for that solitude which is the retreat of the troubled and perplexed. It makes a valuable contribution to devotional literature, and few men could have caught and communicated the spirit of the original better than Dr. Gollancz has done." The Christian Commonwealth. SERMONS AND ADDRESSES setting forth the Teachings and Spirit of Judaism. [Unwin Bros., Ltd., London. Bloch Publishing Co., New York.] " These thoughtful pages teem with exhibitions of soundest erudition. Dr. Oollancz is one of those modern Jews who cherish no sympathy with any lax or reckless modernist speculations. But his outlook is of extra- ordinary breadth. . . . The volume is one which will be found to be full of varied interest, and for religious readers of all classes." Homiletio Beview. " Have some interest even for those who are not Jews. . . . They contain many things well said, and touch many topics of modern interest. . . . Altogether this is an interesting volume." The Guardian. " Here we have 'a volume of ordinary Synagogue Sermons by a dis- tinguished Jewish minister, one who is fully alive to the disturbing influences of the twentieth century civilisation, but would have his congregation hold fast amidst them all to the laws and traditions of the fathers. . . . Among the addresses as distinguished from the sermons, the most important is one that was delivered by Dr. Qollancz as President of the Jewish Historical Society . . . and admirably exemplifies the author's acknowledged mastery of Anglo-Jewish history, not only in its broader aspects but in its obscure phases and minute details." The Glasgow Herald. " Forms valuable contribution to modern Jewish pulpit literature The eighty-eight addresses, spread over a period of thirty-five years, deal in a very eloquent manner with almost all important issues of modern Judaism. By publishing these lectures, Professor Oollancz undoubtedly rendered a great service to all English-speaking Hebrews on both sides of the Atlantic. ... Dr. Oollancz is painstaking to vindicate the position of Judaism. . . . Dr. Oollancz possesses the mysterious power to strike the chords which vibrate sympathetically in all earnest minds and hearts of different shades of religious opinion." The American Israelite. " This bulky volume helps us to realise what an important place the sermon must play in the Jewish Synagogue which has the good fortune to have in its pulpit so earnest and so scholarly a man as Professor Hermann Oollancz. . . . One or two of the addresses show Dr. Oollancz as a powerful protagonist of Judaism. . . . Quite a notable thing in its way is the Semitic Revivalism." The Newcastle Daily Chronicle. "All that he has to say may count on an attentive consideration from his co-religionists, and also from those who wish to know something of what a representative Jewish speaker ... a man of proved scholarship, of wide interests and many activities, has to say on ... the various subjects on which he writes, often with obvious forcefulnesa and effect." Bookielltr. ht resent |Jrtas BEOTHEES, IJMITED WOKING AND LONDON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 315 3 1158 00679 9711 DC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 001 254815 2