THE IDEAL JEWISH PASTOR: 
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED AT THE GREAT SYNAGOGUE, 
 ON JUNE 23RD, 5651 1891, 
 
 (Dii % Occasion of bis JnstaUaticm, 
 
 I'.V THE 
 
 REV. DR. HERMANN ADLER, 
 
 CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS 
 OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 PRINTED HY 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY WERTHEIMER, LEA AND CO., 
 
 CIRCUS PLACE, LONDON WALL. 
 1*891.
 
 THE IDEAL JEWISH PASTOR: 
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED AT THE GREAT SYNAGOGUE, 
 ON JUNE 23RD, 56511891, 
 
 n % aasiatt of jns Jfustallatunt, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. DR. HERMANN ADLER, 
 
 CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS 
 OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 PRINTED BY REQUEST. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY WERTHEIMER, LEA AND CO. 
 
 CIRCUS PLACE, LONDON WALL. 
 1891.
 
 Stack 
 Annejf 
 
 I 
 
 To MY BRETHREN IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS INAUGURAL SERMON. 
 
 IN a letter of congratulation addressed to me by 
 the great historian of our race, he writes in words 
 which should fill us with deep thankfulness and 
 high resolve : " The Jews of England are designated 
 by Providence to stand in the van of Jewdom, 
 rran reitt ^aWN "O, ' for they are men of mark.' May 
 you succeed in lifting them to the highest degree 
 of ideality." It is my earnest hope that the follow- 
 ing pages, however feeble and imperfect they are, 
 may contribute, at least in some little measure, to 
 the achievement of so exalted an aim ! 
 
 H. A. 
 
 2112075
 
 THE IDEAL JEWISH PASTOR. 
 
 MY DEAR BRETHREN, 
 
 It is just forty-six years ago since I sat in yon- 
 der gallery, nestling close to my dear mother, gazing 
 with childish wonderment on the strange ceremonial 
 that was being enacted below the installation of a 
 new Chief Rabbi. I then comprehended but little 
 of the discourse that was preached on that occasion ; 
 but since that time I have often read and re-read 
 the words that were spoken by my beloved father 
 and revered predecessor, nn //l ?b2T. He dilated on 
 the feelings of diffidence and trepidation with 
 which he entered upon his office, being a stranger 
 in a foreign land, the language of which he, as 
 yet, but imperfectly understood, and placed amid 
 surroundings that were altogether novel to him. 
 There are, I believe, several here to-day who 
 can recall the fervour with which he implored 
 Divine help and blessing a help and a blessing 
 which were indeed so signally manifested to him 
 from the moment that he set foot, on these shores 
 to the time when his soul returned to its heavenly 
 home, rnniani nunpn, sacred and pure. 
 
 My position is of an essentially different character. 
 I have grown up in your midst. I have endeavoured
 
 to draw my mental nurture from the rich stores of 
 our dear England's thought and learning. In my 
 paternal home, as a disciple and student, and sub- 
 sequently, during a decade of gradually increasing 
 responsibilities, every detail has become familiar to 
 me of the exalted office which I have been called 
 upon, by the Providence of God and the voice of 
 the community, to occupy. I am standing in the 
 presence of friends. Many of you are knitted to 
 my soul. We take sweet counsel together. Your 
 loyal friendship has proved a stay, a solace, and a 
 delight. And yet I must aver that I am inspired 
 by sentiments of anxiety and misgiving not less keen 
 and poignant than those which thrilled the heart of 
 our late Chief Rabbi. And you can, all of you, 
 appreciate, even as I hope you will all fully sym- 
 pathise with the motives and causes which prompt 
 those anxieties and suggest those misgivings. 
 
 May I not well stand appalled at the responsibility 
 cast upon me, to direct the religious government of 
 the many English communities scattered over every 
 part of the globe, extending even beyond the British 
 Empire ? How greatly has the Hebrew population of 
 the United Kingdom expanded within the last half- 
 century ; it has been trebled, if not quadrupled. Take 
 only the metropolis. It is no longer a city, but a 
 province, with its synagogues from Hampstead, in 
 the north, to Lewisham, in the south ; from Ham- 
 mersmith, in the west, to Stepney and soon, I trust 
 to Poplar in the east. And how great an increase
 
 has there been in the number of our institutions, both 
 educational and benevolent, each of them needing 
 some supervision, and making some rightful claim 
 on the Chief Rabbi's time and thought ! And how 
 heterogeneous are the elements of this population, 
 widely differing in their culture, ranging between 
 the two extremes of the religious thermometer, its 
 boiling and its freezing point, each section needing 
 a different kind of handling. Verily, as I think of 
 the multitudinous duties and responsibilities that 
 await me ; as I reflect on the grave problems by 
 which I am confronted ; aye, and as I hear of all that 
 I am expected to achieve, I ask, with Job,* nb DM 
 : Bfonj '-^3 DN TO D^? : - l s my strength the strength 
 of stones, or is my flesh of brass ? " 
 
 Dear Congregants, If I were to depend on my own 
 unassisted powers I should indeed be tempted to 
 despair. But I rely with trustful confidence upon the 
 help and guidance of my God and the God of my 
 fathers, God, my exceeding joy, who has brought 
 me thus far, and whose blessing you have this day 
 invoked on my behalf; and my soul is no longer cast 
 down nor disquieted within me. And I crave the 
 affectionate forbearance of the members of my 
 flock, that they may not expect more of me 
 than can be planned by one poor human brain ; 
 that they may not demand of me more than can 
 be wrought by two weak human hands. But I also 
 feel upheld I say it with deep humility by the 
 
 * Job vi. 12.
 
 8 
 
 all-absorbing desire which God has implanted in 
 me since my earliest years, and which my parents 
 fostered within me since ever I drew conscious 
 breath, the aspiration to become a worthy teacher 
 in Israel, the yearning to spend myself for the glory 
 of Judaism, and the welfare of its professors, and the 
 good of all my fellow-creatures. 
 
 It has been truly said that the worth of a man in 
 relation to his fellows depends upon the ideals which 
 he cherishes. Let me then point out to you what I 
 have conceived to be the ideal of a Jewish pastor, 
 which I shall strive to follow, though I can never 
 hope to attain it This ideal, it seems to me, is set 
 forth in a few words written in Exodus, chapter 
 xxviii. verse 30 : 
 
 to 1 ? 
 
 "AND AARON SHALL BEAR THE CAUSE OF THE 
 
 CHILDREN OF ISRAEL UPON HIS HEART BEFORE 
 THE LORD CONTINUALLY." 
 
 These words, in their literal sense, refer to the 
 Urim and Thummim which the High Priest was to 
 bear on his breast, and which, according to traditional 
 interpretation,* would seem to have been none other 
 than the precious gems on which the names of the 
 
 * Joma, p. 73
 
 9 
 
 twelve tribes of Israel were engraven. These he 
 should bear on his heart, which, in Scripture parlance 
 denotes the centre and source of all intellectual and 
 emotional life. " He shall bear the names of the 
 children of Israel upon his heart for a memorial 
 before the Lord continually," ever mindful that the 
 interests, not of any one powerful and influential 
 section, but of the whole house of Israel, have been 
 entrusted to his keeping. And if his brain and heart 
 would thus be entirely engrossed by solicitude for the 
 well-being of his people, if all disturbing elements 
 selfishness, prejudice and the fear of man had been 
 banished from his soul, then God would vouchsafe to 
 him His clear and perfect guidance,* and he would 
 be worthy to lead and to counsel Israel in every 
 season of difficulty and perplexity. 
 
 Dear Brethren, There are many essential differences 
 between the functions of the High Priest of old and 
 the duties incumbent upon the Jewish Pastor of our 
 time. But it appears to me that the obligation is as 
 imperative on the present-day religious guide as it 
 ever was on the blTin "jro the High Pontiff that " lie 
 shall bear tJie cause of tJte children of Israel upon his 
 heart before the Lord continually" He must ever 
 meditate on the needs of his community, sensitive to 
 all that will redound to Israel's shame or Israel's 
 honour. But he must not judge of events and decide 
 upon his course of action with the assumption of 
 sacerdotal infallibility. He must humbly bring the 
 
 * ibid, jnnm ns D <I D^B>E> D'Din onnm nx
 
 IO 
 
 cause before God, before Him who is the fountain of 
 wisdom ; so that, striving. for the divine light, he will 
 not be wise in his own conceit. Before Him who is 
 the Sun of righteousness ; so that, despising the soft 
 flatteries of an easy popularity, he will consider not 
 what will be the easiest and pleasantest policy, but 
 what line of action will stand the scrutiny of Heaven. 
 Before Him, who is the God of mercy and loving- 
 kindness, so that the poor and the oppressed will 
 confidently look to him for help and for defence. 
 Before Him who worketh great things, so that he will 
 not fold his hands in idleness, but will be for ever 
 striving and toiling, acknowledging no master above 
 him, save the Lord his God.* Y>rf?N 'n Nbs vaa b>37 ^VXff 
 "Before the Lord continually." Ready to sacrifice 
 his ease without murmuring and to surrender his 
 leisure without questioning, impressed with the force 
 of the words spoken by an ancient sage :} Dis 
 ns3^ b ppw ^s Timid 1 ? nas^ b mbta bra^i 
 
 : Vb2 maSPT mito b:D b TQSn ^ " When once a 
 man has been placed at the head of affairs, and has 
 been vested with the robe of office, he dare never more 
 say, ' Let me now have a care for my comfort ; why 
 need I concern myself for the affairs of others ?' Ah 
 no ; all the needs of the community henceforth de- 
 volve upon him." 
 
 Momentous and paramount as are the spiritual 
 interests of his flock, he will not confine his activity 
 to these, but devote much anxious thought to their 
 * Horajoth, p. na, b. t Shemoth Kabbah, c. 27.
 
 II 
 
 temporal condition. His sympathies and his energies 
 will not be pent up within .the narrow limits of his 
 own pastorate, but will extend far beyond to the lot 
 of his brethren in countries afar off sympathies and 
 energies never more urgently needed than in these 
 troublous times, when the hydra of intolerance and 
 persecution, alas ! again lifts up its hateful head. 
 Imbued as he is with a fervent love for his country, 
 he will work with gladsome energy in every cause that 
 can tend to add to his country's welfare, and alleviate 
 the miseries of his fellow-men. And thus he will 
 prove himself the rightful successor, not merely of 
 those pious men who guided our community from the 
 days of Menasseh ben Israel, but likewise of those 
 who lived before the expulsion ; of men like Rabbenu 
 Yom Tob, the martyr hero of York Castle,* of 
 Jacob, Presbyter of the Jews of all England, whom 
 King John termed dilectus et familiaris noster, our 
 well-beloved and intimate friend ;f of R. Elias, named 
 Elyas le Evesk by the chroniclers, who lifted up his 
 voice in solemn protest against the spoliation of 
 the third Henry. 
 
 * Named mpn in Tosafoth Joma, p. 48a, f| D H'H, and in 
 all probability the author of the penitential hymn, p D3OX, sung 
 on the eve of the Day of Atonement, as appears from the introductory 
 line which is preserved in several manuscripts, "p flB'ITT 1 DV DV 
 : Tirta I^D TW TV nyt^ a 1 See Zunz, " Literaturgeschichte 
 der Synagogalen Poesie," pp. 286, 287, and Gratz, "Geschichte der 
 Juden," vol. vi., note 9, and Joseph Jacobs' forthcoming "Jews of 
 England under the Norman and Angevin Kings," pp. 109 in. 
 
 f Prynne's "Demurrer," Part II., p. 5.
 
 12 
 
 But it is to the spiritual claims of his flock that 
 the ideal pastor will devote his chief solicitude. He 
 will watch over God's house, imbued with the 
 anxious desire that the divine service held within 
 its walls shall enable the worshipper to realise the 
 lofty ends to which his communion with his Father 
 in heaven shall serve, to purify, to consecrate and to 
 elevate to a higher plane his life outside the syna- 
 gogue. He will therefore strive that every service 
 be characterised by dignity and reverence, by fervour 
 and devotion. His voice will be heard when he 
 has entered the Sanctuary, awakening the careless, 
 and stirring up the slothful, seeking to kindle in his 
 hearers' hearts the enthusiasm that stirs and quickens 
 his own soul. He will unfold to them the high 
 significance and spiritual purpose of the statutes 
 and ordinances of his faith, the observance of which 
 he has been appointed vigilantly to safeguard and 
 jealously to defend, as heirlooms to be faithfully 
 transmitted from generation to generation. And he 
 will teach that a mere blind and mechanical fulfil- 
 ment of these ordinances will not be acceptable in 
 the eyes of the Supreme, unless they serve as a 
 stimulus to the higher life a life of self-control 
 and abstinence, a life oi uprightness and of in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 It is the cause of the children of Israel which he 
 will most earnestly bear in his heart, eagerly solicitous 
 that they may be won for God and His Law. To 
 attain this end he will watch over the schools that
 
 13 
 
 they may ever remain nurseries of genuine piety and 
 sterling virtue. Nor in his care for the children of 
 the poor will he be unmindful of the sons and 
 daughters of the leisured classes, who stand in need, 
 not less, but rather more urgently of the wise and 
 wholesome restraints of religion. His care will not 
 be confined to the young during the brief period of 
 schooling. He will watch over the pupils at that 
 critical period when they are launched upon the 
 world with all its lures and enticements, endeavour- 
 ing still to instruct, to guide and to mould. Not by 
 vague exhortations, but by seeking to influence each 
 individual that comes under his ken. For the counsel 
 of the wise king will powerfully come home to him* 
 t Dn-rsb 7j?b rvtf n?.^ M? 2nn 3?1> T Be thou diligent 
 to know the faces of thy lambs : set thy heart to 
 the flocks." 
 
 He will rally around him the poor and uncultured, 
 sympathising with them in their struggles, mitigating 
 their troubles, and advising them in their perplexities. 
 Nor will he hold aloof from those who are accounted 
 the spoilt children of fortune, but seek to shame 
 them out of their wasteful luxury and hard selfish- 
 ness. He will essay to win back to the fold those 
 on whom their Judaism sits but lightly, by holding 
 up our faith in its real garb, and showing how its 
 teachings are in harmony with all that is good and 
 noble and true in modern thought. 
 
 And thus in accordance with the Scripture texts 
 
 * Proverbs xxvii. 23.
 
 14 
 
 we heard just now, he will be at one and the same 
 time a shepherd and a watchman. A shepherd who 
 goes out before his flock ; a leader, not one who 
 allows himself to be swayed by every passing wind 
 of doctrine ; a man of tender heart, who guides his 
 sheep to green pastures and cooling streams, carry- 
 ing the young, the weary and the footsore in his 
 arms. And a watchman, a sentinel standing on 
 the lofty tower, patrolling the battlements, ever alert 
 with eye and ear, a vigilant guardian of the citadel 
 of religion and morality against the surprise of every 
 foe ; a doughty champion of the mission Israel has 
 still to accomplish on earth to spread the know- 
 ledge of the unity of God, the supremacy of virtue 
 and the brotherhood of man. 
 
 This, in the fewest possible words, is the ideal of 
 the true Jewish pastor which I have set before 
 me. In how far shall I be able to realise it ? I 
 answer in the prophet's words * : J??T T n ^ CTjbg V : 
 " O Lord God, Thou knowest." It is not in the 
 power of poor humanity to realise its high ideals. 
 
 On the earth the broken arcs ; 
 In the heaven a perfect round. 
 
 But of this I am assured, that if I but aspire to 
 the highest, God in His mercy will account the 
 pure intent as though it had been fully achieved f 
 
 nDi!TD n'npn 
 
 * Ezekiel xxxvii. 3. t Kiddushin, p. 403.
 
 15 
 
 But who would gainsay the fact that the task 
 which awaits me is, in sooth, gigantic ? I speak not 
 as one who is ignorant of the work that confronts 
 him. During the last twelve years I have learnt what 
 the English Rabbinate means, what it entails and what 
 it requires. How fully applicable to it are the words 
 of R. Gamaliel * : D3b jma "ON rmi0H7 DHM V^Tra 3 
 D3 1 ? 7/113 "ON m*nr : " Think you that I commit 
 governance unto you ; ah, no ! I give servitude unto 
 you." Not that I dread work. From my earliest 
 years I have bowed my shoulder to bear. To the 
 community I have given the vigour of my youth 
 and the strength of my manhood. For the com- 
 munity I will live ; for the community I will die. 
 But do not exact too much from me. Do not entirely 
 deprive me of a few interspaces consecrated to those 
 studies which are the rejoicing of my heart. Do not 
 expect me to be continually in evidence. The Chief 
 Rabbi's office is not the stage of a theatre ; the sphere 
 of a pastor's work is not the arena of a circus. 
 And even in those callings he is not the best actor 
 who plays to the galleries. 
 
 I can but re-echo the words spoken by him who 
 will ever remain the highest ideal of a nation's 
 guide : 
 
 : ^aa -CD ^? n-rn nrn b? n nbb ^n 1 ? S 33 ba/w t4b 
 
 " I am not able to bear all this people alone, because 
 it is too heavy for me." t And, therefore, I am fully 
 confident that I shall not succeed in accomplishing 
 
 * Horajoth, p. 10, a, b. f Numbers xi. 14.
 
 i6 
 
 aught of sterling value, unless you will, all of you, 
 extend to me your right loyal aid. Dear ministers 
 and fellow-workers ! Second me in all these various 
 labours, which I have imperfectly sketched, with 
 your deliberate counsel and your willing help. Let 
 me feel that I have in every one of you a zealous 
 coadjutor who will devote heart and soul to the 
 work demanded of him ! I ask every individual 
 member of the community to extend his loyal help 
 to me. Let me feel that every hand I grasp is that 
 of a true friend ! Give me your loyal help, Members 
 of my flock in the provinces, whose representatives I 
 rejoice to welcome here to-day, and whom I hope 
 soon to visit in your homes ! Give me your loyal 
 help, Brethren across the seas ! Though my voice 
 cannot reach you, yet will my written word, my 
 counsel and my guidance, ever be freely given to you. 
 And oh ! that a dear wish of my heart may be 
 fulfilled to me ere I pass away, to behold with my 
 eyes the various colonial communities that are so 
 often in my thoughts, so constantly in my prayers. 
 
 Give me your confidence, I exclaim to the various 
 sections of the community, with their many diver- 
 gent opinions. That such diversities exist it would 
 be but foolish and ostrich-like to deny. But I would 
 entreat them to deal with a forbearing spirit toward 
 each other, devoid of suspicion, devoid of distrust. 
 To my brethren in the West I say, Do not stig- 
 matise the denizens of the East as bigoted fanatics, 
 lost in the slough of mediaeval superstition. Granted
 
 that they may be inferior in refinement and culture to 
 their wealthier brethren, yet do they not teach many 
 a precious lesson of staunch, manly religious allegiance 
 and of glad willingness to make heavy sacrifices for 
 the sake of their faith? To my brethren in the 
 East, I say (though, happily, the East cannot 
 claim a monopoly in the possession of strictly 
 observant Israelites), Do not look upon those who 
 are not in entire agreement with you as though 
 they were outside the pale of Judaism. Give them 
 credit for being as solicitous as you are yourselves 
 for the welfare of our common faith. And to both 
 East and West I appeal, Let not your divergence 
 of opinion lead to schisms and divisions, to discord 
 and disruption. May the union of hearts continue 
 and strengthen ! At no crisis in the annals of our 
 race was it more necessary than it is now to present 
 a united front to the world. And confide in me that 
 my most earnest strivings will be directed to secure 
 this end. DSb#CO ri$$7, Truth and peace " are the 
 aims for which I will toil. For gratitude I ask not. 
 From the noble it comes spontaneously; from the 
 ignoble it never comes at all. But for this I do 
 ask and entreat you all, Give me your loyal trust ! 
 Give me your prayers ! Let me feel that your sup- 
 plications are joined to mine in this most solemn 
 hour! 
 
 ALMIGHTY FATHER ! The first prayer that ascends 
 unto Thee from this pulpit, which we consecrate this
 
 iS 
 
 day to Thy holy service, is for our beloved Queen, 
 her royal house, and our dear land. Even as Thou 
 hast been with our Sovereign throughout her life, 
 so do Thou still protect and shield her. As her 
 years advance may health and strength not fail her. 
 Grant prosperity to her Empire. To her legislators 
 and counsellors vouchsafe insight and faithfulness. 
 
 We pray unto Thee on behalf of Israel. Spare, we 
 beseech Thee, the remnant of Thy people that dwells 
 in the land of the North, that is so sadly peeled and 
 trodden down. Incline Thou the heart of its ruler to 
 deal with our brethren in mercy and justice. 
 
 And I raise my eyes to Thee and supplicate Thee 
 for my poor self. Thou hast promised* Qpb ^fl?1 
 Vgfrff) n^n Dptftf wy\ *&$ O^'-?, that Thou wilt 
 give unto Thy people pastors according to Thine 
 heart. Help Thou me to become such a pastor 
 according to Thy heart, who will feed his flock 
 with knowledge and with understanding. Thou 
 knowest my innermost thoughts. Thou knowest how 
 ardently there burns within me the desire to sanctify 
 Thy name and to glorify the faith Thou didst reveal 
 unto us. Send me Thy light and Thy truth, that I 
 may worthily accomplish this mission. Fortify me, 
 I beseech Thee, so that I may be able to bear the 
 heavy burden committed to my charge. Strengthen 
 the tottering knees ; uphold the weak hands. 
 
 Pour out the riches of Thy heavenly grace upon our 
 ministers and teachers, and upon all who maintain our 
 
 * Jeremiah iii. 15.
 
 19 
 
 synagogues, our schools and our charities. Do Thou 
 fulfil the blessing which I invoke this day not only 
 on Thy children who stand here before Thee, but 
 upon all, near and far, for whose spiritual welfare I 
 am from this day forth responsible. 
 
 THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU. THE 
 LORD MAKE HIS FACE TO SHINE UPON YOU AND 
 
 BE GRACIOUS UNTO YOU. THE LORD TURN HlS 
 FACE UNTO YOU, AND GIVE YOU PEACE. AMEN. 
 
 AMEN. 
 
 WEKTHKIMER, LKA & Co., Printers, Circus Place, London Wall, E.C.
 
 S,?,?.^. REGIONAL LIBRARY 
 
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