UBRARYQc ^UIBRARYdK i? -i it-* '> vvlOSANGElfx- "The Sabbath Question." SERMON Delivered by Rabbi William Rosenau, May 22, 1897, Before BALTIMORE, MD. "The Sabbath Question. SERMON Delivered by Rabbi William Rosenau, May 22, J897, Before Congregation "Oheb Shalom/ BALTIMORE, MD. BALTIMORE : Press of KOHN & POI^OCK, Sharp and Pratt Sts. 1897. Stack Annex 80 W ' ' My Sabbaths ye shall keep. ' ' (Thes. XXI' II: 2.) IF I speak to-day somewhat longer than usual, I beg C your kind indulgence. The subject selected for treatment is so important that, perhaps, more than the half hour ordinarily assigned to the sermon will have to be consumed to do justice to the theme. In fact, I know of no question presented to the Jew at any time during his career that could be compared in seriousness with the problem before us. We are surrounded by trying social and religious conditions. These compel us to be doubly circumspect before offering an opinion on any point at issue, and more especially on the one to be considered this morning. The division of Israel's kingdom under Rehoboam, the deportation of our ancestors into Babylonian exile, the destruction of the Palestinean state by Titus, the execution of countless sages during the reign of Hadrian, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabelle, the massacre of our coreligionists in Russia may all stand forth conspicu- ously from the history of Israel, because of the radi cal changes wrought by them, yet none of these events, however revolutionary, can be regarded as epoch-making for us as the one which the all-absorb- ing query of the hour, irrespective of the nature of the solution given by our people, must needs call forth. It touches the very life of Judaism. And its discussion, wheresoever carried on whether in so- called conservative or radical circles is prompted by an earnest desire to prolong that life. I refer to the Sabbath Question. 5008C79 This question is by no means new. Nor has it only yesterday been brought home to us. Ever since Holdheim, of blessed memory, established in Berlin his liberal synagogue, which provided for a Sunday Sabbath, in consequence of the claim of many that worship on Saturday was an impossibility for the modern Jew, clergy and laity in our ranks have de- voted considerable thought to the study of this question. An old controversy has, therefore, merel} r been reopened. The cause of this was a contribution on the future of the Russian Jew in America by a rep- resentative layman of Philadelphia to a New York Jewish weekly. In said contribution appears the strange suggestion strange, because made by one who affiliates with the orthodox wing of Judaism that the Russian Jews should, in order to have a future at all, dignify Sunday as a " Shabbos Sheni " or second Sabbath, transferring to Sunday, while it may still be done, that sanctifying spirit which in former times gave life and potency to Israel's histori- cal day of rest. American Jewry is all agog, and justly so by virtue of the recommendation which has been made. One of our religious journals has solicited opinions on the advisability of such a step from a number of people known to be deeply inter- ested in the promotion of Judaism's sacred cause. I, too, was the recipient of a letter asking for an expression of my humble views. I failed to respond for several reasons, among which there was none graver than the feeling that the time allowed was too short for me to frame a fair and intelligent answer. I did not wish to rush into print with convictions at best half formed. Now, however, that I have had ample time to study the problem from every point of view, I am ready to give to you the conclusions at which I have arrived, in the fervent hope that I may rouse all within reach of my voice to an appreciation of our critical religious situation. It matters little whether our Philadelphia corelig- ionist wrote in an earnest or satirical vein and I am inclined to believe that it was the latter yet so much, at least, is certain, that he was driven to his suggestion by his observation of the present hopeless plight of the historical Sabbath. We can not, must not and will not close our eyes to facts. Facts speak for themselves. The Sabbath as our fathers observed it is among many a thing of the past. It does not differ from the other days of the week. Neither its coming nor its going is hallowed by religious act. Its hours are not devoted as of old to uplifting wor- ship, but to degrading drudgery. On it it is not the house of God that is sought, but the office, the counting-house, the store, the factory. The Jew, in fact, has no Sabbath. This statement holds good not only of the reformer, but of the most orthodox as well. Non-observant as the Jew may be, he, how- ever, seems by no means ready to cut loose from religion altogether. The Jew is human, and, there- fore, can not get away from his feeling of dependence upon and his desire of communion with the Being Supreme. In the face of this so general violation of the Jewish Sabbath and the innate character of man's religious faculty, one is tempted to believe that the remark, "Well, they'll all eventually have to come to it," recently made by an advocate of the Sunday services because of the joy experienced over the com- pletion of another season of such meetings, will surely meet with verification. Nay, I will go even further and specify the time for the realization of this prophecy. I feel safe in asserting that within less than fifty years there will be few Jewish congre- gations in this country or elsewhere in which Sunday services will not have been established if the present universal disregard of the historical Sabbath con- tinues. We need expect nothing else. It will follow as naturally as effect follows cause. By the radical the innovation whersoever obtaining will be viewed with complacency. By the conservative it will be looked upon with fear. The former sees in it a ben- efit. The latter beholds in it naught but danger. In contemplating this question I at times felt that the radical was in the right. And then, again, I was overpowered by the conviction that the conservative stood on safer ground. During the past week I have again studied, and, perhaps, more carefully than ever, the significance of the Sabbath for Judaism. And with what results ? With none other than the growing conviction that the historical Sabbath is an indispensable factor of our faith. Let Sunday serv- ices find their way into Jewish congregations every- where and it must be at the expense of our strength and influence. Woe unto Judaism ! Its days must needs be numbered ! Woe unto Israel ! Its disin- tegration must needs be at hand ! But why this lamentation ? Why predict the de- struction of a Jerusalem ? Is there anything wrong in Sunday services ? May one not worship his Maker on any other day but Saturday ? There is nothing censurable in a Sunday service itself. If one wishes he may attend on Sunday two or three devotional meetings instead of one. We not only may but should pay our orisons to God every day of the week. God has no set time for listening to the supplications and praises of men. The wrong of the Sunday service lies in the consequences to which it gradually leads. Instituted for the sake of convenience, the Jewish Sabbath must soon be neg- lected more than it already is. Its neglect must in the course of time be followed by total abrogation. With the Sabbath gone, holy days and festive seasons, must eventually become mere memories. Ultimately Israel's individuality will be sacrificed. Customs and rites which have helped to preserve our solidarity will disappear. Intermarriage with the non-Jew will become a daily occurrence. The Abrahamitic cove- nant will meet with universal violation. And what shall be left of our heritage ? Not a religion that deserves the name "Judaism," but one that is "Theism" pure and simple. Our faith will be naught else but a system of ethics, with the God idea as its foundation. -And as the exponents of such a belief we shall have no more in common religiously with our past than has the Unitarian, who, too, be- lieves in one God and would have humanity aspire to the divine. But, says the Sunday-service champion : " Is not broadening our mission ? Is not constant progress our duty ? Is the Judaism of Moses that of the prophets ? or the Judaism of the prophets that of the Talmudists ? or the Judaism of the Talmudists that of the philosophers ? or the Judaism of the philoso- phers that of the pioneers of our century ? Does not reform constitute the " logos " of our whole history ? Should we not always lead the world in higher thought ? Or,, as the prophet has it, should we not be "a light unto the nations?" Are we not "to establish the mountain of the Eternal upon the top of the mountains ?" Are we not " to fill the world with a knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea ?" Are we not to make the synagogue " a house of prayer for all peoples ?" Does not the quin- tessence of our gift of the Sabbath to mankind lie in the Sabbath Idea ? And ought we not stand for that more than for a fixed day ? That reform or progress was the watchword of Israel at all times I will not gainsay. I am aware that no two chronologically consecutive expressions of Judaism corresponded in every detail. Yet one point is certain, that reform does not stand and never stood for a step naught else but a headlong plunge into a sea in which annihila- tion alone awaits us. Reform was always develop- ment along distinct lines Jewish lines. Our relig- ion to be Jewish dare not sacrifice characteristically Jewish institutions. Among these the Sabbath ranks by no means least nor last. The historical Sabbath is one of the vital organs in the body of Judaism. It is the testimony of the Jew to God's wondrous power. Justly, therefore, does the lawgiver speak of it as ' ' the sign between the Eternal and Israel throughout all generations." (Ex. XXXI : 13.) Commemorating as it does God's creation of the universe (Ex. XX: n) and his deliverance of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage (Deut. V ; 15), the Saturday Sabbath has become a part of Israel's spiritual life. I hope that none will charge me with advocating the belief in a six-days' creation because I base the establishment of the Sabbath upon the creation narrative contained in the Scriptures. Per- mit me to state before proceeding any further that I, like those who will no doubt judge me on more (?) scientific principles, consider the first chapters of Genesis, written merely for the purpose of emphasiz- ing what the fourth commandment, both in Exodus and Deuteronomy, aims to teach namely, that the one God, the Eternal, Jehovah, is Creator, Governor, and Sustainer of all that lives and moves. Yet, just because the historical Sabbath has its origin in these Scriptural passages it is for us an integral factor of Israel's faith. Another element that enters into the distinctive Jewish character of the historical Sabbath is the establishment of Sunday as the day of rest by the Christian world. We know that Sunday was origin- ally a day sacred to the Sun-God, and that the Emperor Constantine was responsible for its adoption by Christendom. It is, however, none the less true that when adopted by the church the church was prompted in its departure by the desire to differ from the synagogue as much as the willingness to make a compromise with ancient heathenism. The church's tradition as to the day of its Savior's resurrection was soon found helpful in giving Sunday a distinctly Christian character. If, therefore, the Saturday stands for the God, who is a Unity, the Sunday stands for the Trinity. And do not the thousand and one historical asso- ciations of the Saturday endow it with a special 10 claim upon the Jew ? The Saturday was to our fathers the oasis of the week. It furnished them with refreshment when their spirits were well nigh crushed by the heavy burdens they were made to bear. Ordinarily they were the slaves of slaves. The Sabbath found them rich and free as princes. That Sabbath they would not give up. For it they were ready to make the costliest sacrifices. The) 7 would rather part with possessions, home and life, and suffer want, persecution and maltreatment than desecrate that day consecrated by law and by the usage of centuries to the worship of their God. But, suggests the radical again : " L,et us breathe into the Sunday the spirit which made of the old Saturday a spiritual educator for our forefathers ! Let us transfer our whole mode of worship and all our customs from the seventh to the first day of the week ! ^ ould we not thus save the unparalleled healthful influence which the peculiar character of the old Jewish Sabbath wielded ? Preposterous ! The spice of the Saturday Sabbath lay for the most part in the numerous ceremonies which clustered about the home life. Shall we on Saturday evening welcome the bride of the Sabbath ? Shall we make it the occasion for family reunions ? Shall we observe the various other usages which still make our parental homes to many of us objects of fondest reminiscences ? Apart from the fact that such institutions would not thrive if removed from their native and planted in foreign soil their observance would demand sacrifices which the great majority of people would be unwil- ling to make. " But," interposes the radical again, " why hold fast to a day on which Jews will not and can not be 11 reached ? Are we not losing those who might prove valuable champions of our faith ? Can a cause live without advocates ? On Sunday Jews, like others, are at leisure ! Why not, therefore, preach the prin- ciples of Judaism to them then ? Would it not be advisable to make that concession for the sake of increasing the number of the possibly faithful ? Only make the trial and you shall see the religious regen- eration in our ranks." The trial has been made, and in some congregations with dismal failure. In others it has met with half-hearted encouragement. The Sunday service does not appeal to the Jew. It will never make its boasted power felt. It lacks the authority of history. And in those communities where it has proven successful the apparent success must be attributed to the artistic singing of choirs, the oratorical powers or personal magnetism of the preacher and his ability to devise novel plans and measures for keeping the public eye centered upon the movements of his congregation. And, furthermore, should the Jew be ready to give up his self-respect at the slightest provocation ? What do you imagine does the non -Jewish world think of us when it beholds us adopting the Sunday in place of the Saturday Sabbath ? Its thoughts are not difficult to read. It says to itself : "In the Jew we have the Esau who would sacrifice his birthright for a mess of pottage. In the Jew we see the arch- materialist of our age." The true Jew is spiritual, made so by the idealism which his religion preaches. No faith contains teachings more sublime than are those which constitute the burden of Judaism. It is the idealism breathing through our whole religion 12 to which the Jews' creditable career during past ages is traceable. If there is anything that impresses one as ludicrous it is the exultation among Jews over the seeming success of the Sunday-Sabbath movement which we so often witness. It reminds one involun- tarily of a person who would rejoice over the demise of father or mother and the acquirement of a step- parent. No ! A " Shabbos Sheni " or a Sunday service will never give to the Jew a day of worship freighted with Jewish inspiration. A "Shabbos Sheni" or a Sunday service will never rescue our faith from ob- livion. What we need is a little more of the real appreciation and love for that which is Jewish. Here is work for our preachers and teachers. I hold that with the influence of our Rabbis exerted in favor of the Saturday Sabbath great results might be achieved. Had the radicals fought as heroically for the main- tenance of the historical Sabbath as they did for the institution of the Sunday service there would to-day be no Sabbath question. Why does this congrega- tion enjoy the enviable reputation of having the largest Saturday attendance in the United States ? Why ? Is it because Baltimore is less cosmopolitan than New York, Philadelphia or Chicago ? No ! Not by any manner or means. But because he who guided your destinies for nearly thirty-five years never ceased emphasizing the absolute necessity of the continuance of the Saturday worship for the life of Judaism as he never tired instilling respect for everything Jewish. Yes ! let but the pulpit speak with becoming reverence of all thai is Jewish and much of the irreverence often making itself seen in 13 the pew may never come to life. Do not tell me that the keenness of competition in mercantile spheres makes the observance of the historical Sabbath im- possible. I was told only a few days ago by one in position to express an opinion that the retail as well as wholesale establishments may keep closed on Sat- urday without loss or injury, because business is vir- tually at a standstill on Saturday forenoon, and com- mences only when the Jewish Sabbath is well nigh at an end. And may not the Jewish laborer look forward to the time when he shall be able to observe the historical day of rest, especially since a move- ment is already on foot in many places to make of Saturday a whole holiday for workmen instead of a half holiday as it already is ? Do you wish that Judaism should live ? Then, first of all, observe your Sabbath. Show that you possess ideals. Do not imagine that the Sabbath is being properly kept if merely you the aged heads of homes gather in your houses of worship while your sons are in the office, store or factory, your daughters are attending to the family's shopping and your younger children are taking painting or music lessons, and what not during hours that should be devoted to synagogal worship. Are you indifferent to the historical Sabbath ? Do you desecrate it because you claim that its observ- ance is with you an impossibility ? Then resign yourselves to your fate. Sunday services will grad- ually win their way into the synagogue. The death- knell of Judaism must needs be sounded. All Israel is called upon tp solve the Sabbath question. You are constantly working at its solution by your atti- 14 tude to the historical day of rest. If Israel feels that it still has a mission then let it not treat lightly an institution which is its religion's life. Let it exe- cute faithfully that injunction we to-day encounter in our scriptural portion of the week : ' ' My Sabbaths ye shall keep." (I,ev. XXVI : 2.) Let Israel do this for its own glory and that of its God. AMEN. Umv. of Calif. Library, 105 ^ University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 1 ir* % 5 <= m-u ^ UNIVER%. A 000069412 5