. 
 
 
 

 
 THE 
 
 TEMPLE PULPIT 
 
 A SELECTION OF 
 
 SERMONS AM) , ADDRESSES 
 
 DELIVERED ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. JAMES K. GITHEIM, 
 
 MIHIHTKK OK TKMPI.K KMANU-KI,, OF NKW 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 JEWISH TIMES, 11 ANN STBEKT, 
 1872.
 
 T 
 
 THE TEMPLE EMANU-J! L, 
 
 AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 J 
 
 HE AUTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Address delivered at the Laying of the Corner-Stone 
 
 of the Temple Emanu-EI, New York, Oct. 31st, 1866 1 
 
 II. Inaugural Sermon delivered at Temple Emanu-EI, 
 
 Nov. 14th, 1868. (First Part.) 13 
 
 I I. Inaugural Sermon delivered at Temple Emauu-El, 
 
 Nov. 21st, 1868. (Second Part.) 22 
 
 IV. Sermon delivered at the Consecration of the Temple 
 Shaare Emeth, at St. Louis, Mo., Friday, August 
 
 27th, 1869 87 
 
 V. Address delivered at the Laying of the Corner-Stone 
 
 of Temple Sinai of New Orleans, Novr.~19th, 1871. 51 
 
 VI. Sermon delivered at the Dedication of the Temple 
 Aliawatb Chesed of New York, Friday, April 19th, 
 
 1872 
 
 VII. " The Spirit of God in Man," a series of our sermons 
 delivered at Temple Emanu-EI, Sabbat h, March 2d, 
 
 1872. 1 '. 77 
 
 VIII." The Spirit of God in Man. ' Sabbath, March 16th, 
 
 1872. 2 87 
 
 IX." The Spirit of God in Man." Sabbath, March 30t!i, 
 
 1872. 3 95 
 
 X. "The Spirit of God in Man." Sabbath, April 13th, 
 
 1872. 4 105 
 
 XI. Oration del ivered at the Laying of the Corner Stone 
 of the Home for Jewish Widows and Orphans of 
 Now Orleann. . 1 Jfi
 
 VIII 
 
 XII. Oration delivered on the Fifth Anniversary of the 
 Home for Jewish Widows and Orphans of New 
 
 Orleans 129 
 
 XIII. Address delivered at the Funeral of Judah Touro, 
 
 at New Orleans, La., Jan. 20th, 1864 147 
 
 XIV. Address delivered at the Funeral of Judah Tou.o, 
 
 at Newort, B. I., June 7th, 1854 153 
 
 XV. Address delivered at the Dedication of the Tomb of 
 the Howard Association of New Orleans, and the 
 Transfer of the Bemainp of its President, Victor 
 Boullemet, April 15th, 1860 159 
 
 XVI. - Address delivered at the Funeral of Joseph Fatman, 
 
 at New York, Oct. 10th, 1869 165 
 
 XVII. Opening Prayer delivered at the Semi-Centennial 
 Anniversary of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan 
 Asylum Society of New York, April llth, 1872 171
 
 I. 
 
 ADDRESS, 
 
 Delivered at the Laying of the Corner-Stone 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL, 
 
 Cornet' of Fifth Aremte ami Forty-Third Street, 
 
 NEW YORK, 
 i 
 
 October 31st, 1866.
 
 A sacred task has been performed. The corner-stone 
 of a new house of worship is laid, and numbers have 
 flocked together to witness this simple, though time 
 honored ceremony, to testify by their presence the deep 
 interest they feel in the erection of the projected edifice. 
 Upon this foundation you have resolved to rear a house 
 devoted to the worship of the Most High, the Creator 
 and Governor of the Universe, the Father of all Alan- 
 kind , the Guardian of Israel a temple worthy of the 
 name you bear and the religion you profess. With the 
 completion of this edifice, you will possess a new reli- 
 gious home, wherein to assemble "from new moon to 
 new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath," in order to 
 pour out the inmost feelings of your hearts in prayer and 
 in praise before the Omnipotent and all-kind Ruler of 
 the Universe. 
 
 The corner-stone is deposited to a structure, which, 
 at its completion, will be a noble monument of a pious
 
 enterprise, a bright ornament to our faith and to our 
 people, and the just pride of its founders. Gradually 
 this temple will rise, assume its grand proportions, and 
 present to the eye of the admiring beholder the embodi- 
 ment of the master's finished design, of the artist's noble 
 conception. But not the material, however costly nor 
 the house, however beautiful nor the decorations, how- 
 ever magnificent, will furnish cause for exultation. 
 Architectural symmetry and ornamented walls are with- 
 out significance, unless man invest them with his senti- 
 ments and feelings, his ideas and principles. The senti- 
 ments with which, at a future day, you will enter the 
 portals of this temple will constitute its intrinsic orna- 
 ment ; the feelings which inspire our hearts at this hour 
 render this day and this occasion holy, solemn and joyful. 
 
 Deep in the human soul the Creator has laid a founda- 
 tion for the Divine. In the innermost recesses of the 
 human heart He has treasured up the elements of the 
 holy and heavenly, not in a dim, dreamlike, shadowy 
 state, but illumined by a bright, self-conscious intelli- 
 gence. They require not the helping hand of a skillful 
 master to be moulded into form and expression. Spon- 
 taneously they burst forth, if not forcibly repressed, 
 manifest their existence in the delight with which we 
 contemplate every pious enterprise, the joy with which 
 we regard every noble achievement, the sympathy which 
 we exhibit with every sacred cause. Whatever is con- 
 ceived in God, and for the honor of God, elevates and 
 expands our heart ; whatever is accomplished in God, 
 and for the honor of God, fills our soul with a holy glad 
 ness. For a divine voice within us proclaims aloud 
 31D DT6x ra~ip " The striving for the Divine is man's 
 highest happiness." 
 
 The erection of a house of worship is coeval with the 
 revelation of the law on Mount Sinai. The tabernacle
 
 of Moses in the wilderness was consructed at the special 
 command of God, in the words, " And they shall make 
 unto me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them," 
 (Exod. xxv. 8.) This primitive, movable sanctuary was 
 succeeded by the magnificent stationary temple at Jeru- 
 salem, and that again by the unpretending, widely scat- 
 tered synagogues. For, although the glory of the Lord 
 filleth the universe, although every spot where we call 
 upon His name, He has promised us His blessing, yet 
 in a house specially dedicated to His holy name we can- 
 not fail to be imbued with the Divine, and to rise to a 
 just appreciation of our duties as men, of our destiny as 
 Israelites. I will dwell among you ; that is, I will ani- 
 mate you with my spirit the spirit of wisdom and 
 understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the 
 spirit of truth and love, the spirit of knowledge and the 
 fear of God. 
 
 And this spirit is the spirit of our religion, the spirit 
 of Judaism. Tabernacle and temple have vanished ; 
 but this spirit has survived. With our dispersion, it 
 was wafted over the habitable globe, was enshrined in 
 every synagogue. Neither the burning South, nor the 
 frigid North; neither the rod of despotism, nor the shafts 
 of persecution, nor the genial influence of liberty could 
 weaken its force, abate our constancy, or shake our faith 
 in the Holy One. We stand here as the connecting link 
 of the past and future, anxious to transmit to posterity 
 the sacred inheritance, the heavenly truths, the divine 
 oracles received from our fathers, on the basis of which 
 the temple of harmony and peace, of happiness and salva- 
 tion for all mankind, shall one day be reared in its lofty 
 grandeur. 
 
 The Jewish religion bears within itself the guarantee 
 of its perpetuity. No incomprehensible mysteries con- 
 stitute its groundwork. It is dependent upon no out-
 
 ward condition, coupled with no peculiar social or political 
 relations, but is deeply and firmly rooted in the soil 
 of eternal truth. No current of history can flood it 
 away ; no storni of events affect its existence ; no pro- 
 gress of the human race supersede its importance, over 
 shadow its growth, sap its foundation or impede its 
 development. It addresses itself directly to the heart 
 and mind of man, and must thrive and flourish, wherever 
 the unsophisticated human heart manifests its warmth, 
 and the unprejudiced human mind diffuses its light. 
 From the time of Abraham, our father, to whom the 
 Lord vouchsafed the promise, " that in his seed all the 
 families of the earth shall be blessed ;" from the day of 
 the solemn proclamation on Sinai, " I am the Lord thy 
 God," Israel has been the standard-bearer of the grand 
 religious truth, which is destined, as we believe, to com- 
 pass the ultimate redemption of the whole human race. 
 
 The Jewish religion is founded upon three cardinal 
 principles that form its centre, and around which all the 
 laws, commandments, ordinances and principles are re- 
 volving as the planets do around the sun. These are 
 the doctrines of God, of man, and of the relations sub- 
 sisting between God and man. 
 
 The first of these doctrines teaches and enjoins the 
 belief in the absolute unity of God and his universal do 
 minion and providence. In all the sacred records of the 
 Bible, both historical, didactical and prophetical, this 
 doctrine is inculcated in language so distinct and explicit 
 as to admit of no other construction, The idea of a plu- 
 rality in the godhead, of an exclusive national Deity, is 
 foreign to our belief. At the very opening of Scripture, 
 we are informed that God created the heavens, the un- 
 limited space with its innumerable worlds, and the earth, 
 upon which all men are moving and have their being. 
 We are subsequently told that God made a covenant ot
 
 peace and instituted the rainbow as the sign of this cov- 
 enant, not only with mankind, but with all living crea- 
 tures. Abraham worshipped God as the Creator of heav- 
 en and earth, as the righteous judge of the whole earth. 
 Moses announced the Deity in that sublime sentence, 
 which forms the essence and nucleus of our creed, "Hear, 
 O Israel ! the Lord is our God, the Lord is One !" And 
 the lofty imagination of the psalmists and prophets was 
 kindled and inspired by the great truth, "that the Lord 
 is the God of the Universe, " whose throne is the heaven, 
 whose footstool the earth, whose rule and providence 
 extend to all the sons of man, and whose name is praised 
 from the rising of the sun to its setting 
 
 This cardinal principle, without which no true religion 
 can be conceived, has been cherished throughout our che- 
 quered history. It is our peculiar mission to preserve it 
 in its purity, to remain faithful to our trust, until to the 
 God of the universe every knee shall bend in adoration, 
 and every tongue shall swear fealty " on that day the 
 Lord will be One and His name One !" 
 
 The second doctrine concerning man is calculated to 
 sow the seeds of charity and love in the heart of every 
 true believer. It is embodied in the words of Scrip- 
 ture : " God created man in his own image. " It consti- 
 tutes the source from which spring and the goal towards 
 which are tending, all the efforts for the amelioration of 
 the human race. It is the basis of genuine humanity and 
 philanthropy. It teaches us that love of man is founded 
 on the grandeur of man's soul, its likeness to God, its 
 immortality, its powers of endless progress ; that, hence, 
 it is our duty to look npon every man, to whatever 
 nation he may belong, whatever creed he may profess, 
 whatever language he may speak, as our brother. This 
 doctrine finds its practical application in the divine 
 commandment communicated through Moses. " Thou
 
 shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Lev. 19, 18). It is 
 emphatically enforced in the beautiful words of the Pro- 
 phet Malachi, (ii. 10), " Have we not all one Father? 
 Hath not one God created, us '? Why, then should we 
 deal treachelously, one against the other, to profane the 
 covenant of our Father ?" It impresses us with the convic- 
 tion, that love and charity ought not to be confined to 
 family, country or lineage ; that as our heavenly Father 
 causes the sun to shine for the benefit of all, even so our 
 religion teaches, that love and charity are universal 
 blessings, and should knit all mankind in one sacred 
 bond of brotherhood. 
 
 The third doctrine is conveyed in the Scriptural in. 
 junction, " You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, 
 am holy, " ( Lev. 19, 2). This doctrine defines the rela- 
 tion of man to God, enjoins purity of thought and vir- 
 tuous actions, and prohibits uncharitableness and enmity 
 between man and man. For every wrong that we may 
 perpetrate, every injury that we may inflict on ovir neigh- 
 bor, every deed of violence that we may execute, every 
 species of hatred and animosity that we may cherish in 
 our bosom, every deception, fraud or falsehood, of which 
 we may be guilty, in a word, every unholy thought, 
 desire, word, or action in which we may indulge, alienates 
 us from God, obscures and blurs the innate holiness and 
 purity of our spiritual being. 
 
 These cardinal "principles, of which I have given the 
 merest outlines, constitute the life and soul of our reli- 
 gion, are incarnated in its every institution. Times may 
 change ; new systems of government and sociology may 
 rise in the horizon of history ; the human mind, in its lau- 
 dable thirst for knowledge and improvement, may conti- 
 nue to dive into the arcana of nature, bring to light new 
 and wonderful discoveries, cultivate the field of art and 
 enlarge the empire of science ; development and progress
 
 in all that concerns mankind may remain the watchword 
 of every age ; yet these cardinal doctrines of our religion 
 will remain truth, immovable truth, for-ever. They have 
 stood the test of thousands of years, have passed trium- 
 phanthly through the various phases and ordeals of histo- 
 ry, have been singularly active in the successively modi- 
 fied and progressive stages of civilization, and do this day, 
 and ever will, assert their claim to universal recognition. 
 But not by force, nor by violence, but by the spirit of 
 of the Lord, will it be accomplished. 
 
 Judaism thus appears to us a castle looming forth above 
 the ocean of time, standing as firm and unchanged as a 
 granite promontory in the deep, amidst the waves and 
 storms that beat upon it its entrance supported by two 
 imperishable columns ; allegiance to God, the name of 
 one ; good will to man, the name of the other. It is the 
 shining beacon enkindled by the Most High, when it 
 pleased Him to make His will known to man. It is the 
 code of peace, which teaches man to love his neighbor, to 
 relieve the distressed, console the afflicted, succor the 
 needy, assist even the enemy, when he is in need of our 
 assistance. It is the true conception of the great Creator, 
 recognizing in Him alone our Father, our God, our Ruler, 
 our Savior. 
 
 These principles constitute the spiritual foundation 
 upon which this temple will rise and be firmly planted. 
 Whatever difference of opinion regarding other matters 
 of faith and practice, of speculative and formal religion 
 may exist, upon this solid basis every synagogue is estab- 
 lished. There can be no dissent, no opposition from any 
 quarter. These principles form the root and trunk of the 
 sublime tree of our religion, which will find here a fruit- 
 ful, genial soil. But whilst root and trunk have been and 
 will be preserved in their pristine vigor and freshness, 
 the branches and boughs, the luxuriant growth of many
 
 10 
 
 centuries have been carefully trimmed and fashioned, to 
 afford an agreeable and wholesome shade to the present 
 and future generations. 
 
 You stand here as the representatives of Reform a 
 position which you have occupied ever since the organ- 
 ization of your society. Your object, from its very 
 inception, was, not to destroy, but to build up ; not to 
 weaken, but . to strengthen the pillars of our faith. 
 The great object of Reform, in my apprehension, is to 
 maintain religion by promoting progress, by spreading 
 an enlightened understanding of our religious tenets 
 and institutions, by vindicating them from reproach and 
 showing their claims to universal respect ; by breathing 
 into the young a generous devotion to them ; to attract 
 the luke-warm and indifferent by the beauty, appropri- 
 ateness, solemnity and efficacy of our public worship. 
 For the attainment of these great ends you have labored 
 with an ardent zeal, unflinching determination and un- 
 swerving constancy ; and it must afford you a holy satis 
 faction to contemplate this day the magnitude of your 
 strength and influence, and the success that has crowned 
 your efforts. 
 
 This corner-stone is an enduring testimony to the 
 great results you have achieved. Next to the favor of 
 Israel's God, to whose honor and glory you have offered 
 your willing sacrifices in the prosecution of this holy 
 work, your success is mainly owing to that harmony of 
 sentiment and feeling, that concert of purpose and action 
 which ever animated your ranks. The heaving agitation 
 perceptible in many a congregation of Israel, arising 
 from a struggle of old and new elements, of stability 
 and progress, of the impossibility of getting repose by 
 keeping things as they are ; the jarring strife and dis- 
 sension which divide many a Jewish congregation 
 against itself, until the old and new have had time to
 
 11 
 
 adjust themselves to one another, or to merge their con- 
 flicting views, wishes and aspirations into a painfully 
 devised compromise : this unhappy state of things is 
 unknown to you. Peace and harmony constituted the 
 banner under which you organized, under which you ad- 
 vanced ; and, under this banner, you will continue to 
 flourish and prosper. 
 
 But a short time will elapse when you will enjoy the 
 reward of your sacrifices, the realization of your hopes, 
 the fruition of your pious longings. In my mind's eye, 
 I behold the sacred, noble pile raised aloft on this foun- 
 dation in its beauty and grandeur the temple erected 
 in honor of the God of Israel, and dedicated to His 
 holy name and service. Its portals are opened, and a 
 pious throng are assembled within its walls. Pulpit? 
 desk and choir combine to render the religious exercises 
 solemn and edifying ; to engage the heart and the mind 
 of devout worshippers ; to create the temple, what it is 
 designed and destined to be, into a fountain of great 
 and blessed influence. And as strangers from all parts 
 will come hither and behold your fervent zeal, devout, 
 worship, your steady, intelligent piety, your warm open- 
 hearted benevolence, they will go from you as the ancient 
 Israelite left the temple of Jerusalem, bearing with him 
 impressions of God's majesty to the farthest part of his 
 beloved land.
 
 II. 
 INAUGURAL SERMON 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMAN-IJ-EL 
 Sabbath, Nov. 14th, 1868. 
 
 FIRST PART.
 
 " Unto man belong the resolves of the heart, 
 but from the Lord cometh the expres- 
 sion of the tongue" Prov. XVI. 1. 
 
 IT ia with a feeling of deep anxiety that I appear before 
 you this day that I begin to speak. I stand here 
 in response to your call. The resolves of my heart 
 prompt me to speak; but will the expression of my 
 tongue present to you a faithful picture of the senti- 
 ments and feelings that animate my soul in this hour ? 
 Will my voice be heard in this lofty, magnificent tem- 
 ple of the Lord ? Will my wordsfyi upon the attentive 
 ears of this numerous congrega^n assembled before 
 me ? Will the sentiments I am about to utter touch a 
 responsive chord in your hearts ? Will my effort have 
 a trace of that scholarly finish and logical acumen, which 
 characterize the performances of my worthy colleague, 
 the learned and justly revered rabbi of this congrega- 
 tion, with whom it will henceforth be my privilege to 
 share this pulpit? In a word, shall I be able to realize, 
 in a reasonable measure, the expectations based on my 
 election to this responsible position ?
 
 16 
 
 I consult my heart, and its resolves give a cheering, 
 encouraging reply. I look up prayerfully to my God ; I 
 put my firm trust in Him, whose kind providence has 
 thus far guided and sustained my steps, that he may 
 grant me the apposite expression of the tongue, so as to 
 render my ministrations a blissml agency in the promo- 
 tion of truth, light, and love. I lastly address myself to 
 you, my beloved congregation, with the earnest entreaty 
 and the firm hope, that my feeble voice be a welcome 
 sound to your ears, and my words, coming from the 
 heart, find a ready entrance into your hearts. 
 
 The office of minister is surrounded with many difficul- 
 ties ; it imposes a great responsibility. Impossible as it 
 is in any situation of life, and more especially in any 
 public position, to please everybody, it must neverthe- 
 less be the minister's duty to secure the approbation of 
 the congregation, while at the same time no earthly con- 
 sideration should induce him to swerve from the path of 
 truth, or to act contrary to his conscience and inward 
 conviction. Let us, then, in this hour of devotion inquire, 
 " How can the religious teacher in Israel best promote 
 the end of his mission ; how he is to act in order that his 
 labors may prove successful, and be deserving of the bless- 
 ing of God ?" 
 
 The answer is simple and comprehensive. Truth 
 light, and love must iff exemplified in his teachings and 
 in his actions. 
 
 Truth is one of the most precious gifts, with which man 
 was endowed by his Creator, Being a divine attribute, 
 it assigns to him so exalted a position as to justify the 
 words of the psalmist, " Thou hast made him a little less 
 thaa angels !" Its transcendant quality has been best ap- 
 preciated by our learned fathers, for they say " The seal 
 of God is truth." Its influence on the mind has been 
 well weighed, when they indited the beautiful admonition,
 
 17 
 
 " Man should ever fear God in private, confess the truth, 
 and speak truth in his heart." Why, then, should not 
 all of us, why should not, in particular, the servant iii 
 the sanctuary of God live and act in truth ? 
 
 But what is truth, in this application of the term ? 
 Truth is the correspondence of our thoughts and inner- 
 most convictions with our words and actions a cor- 
 respondence so precise and distinct, that not a diverging 
 line should be perceptible to our mind. And it is only 
 while thus living in truth that our labors will be truly 
 blessed. Whoever can rise on the wings of the mind 
 above the cloudy region of human error to the sunny 
 heights of pure, untramelled thought, must certainly ac- 
 knowledge, that truth alone imparts to man true dignity, 
 as also heavenly bliss. But to be, truthful, truthful in 
 everything, truthful towards every one, is a problem the 
 solution of which is attended with great difficulty. 
 Thousands are prostrated by the trammels of supersti- 
 tion, the fetters of pride, the chains of ambition, the pres- 
 sure of the passions, the mighty weight of gold. Truth 
 alone is exalted above all degrading passions and human 
 vanities ; truth alone reconciles all differences, surmounts 
 all obstacles. Is it, then, saying too much, that the en- 
 tire life of him must be truth, whose office and duty it is 
 to expound and disseminate the kjp of truth, given by 
 the God of truth ? 
 
 It is, therefore, an indispensable qualification of the 
 preacher to be a sincere friend of truth. In whatever 
 circumstances he may be placed, whatever the conse- 
 ' quences resulting to him from his action, nothing must 
 deter him from paying due homage to truth. No pre- 
 conceived opinion, no prejudice, no self-love, no interest 
 of any kind must bias his mind and sway his judgment. 
 As a sincere friend of truth, he must strive with an ardent 
 zeal to find it. The more conflicting the opinions on 
 
 2
 
 18 
 
 religious subjects have become in our day, the more 
 calmly and deliberately must he search, in order to be 
 able, correctly to distinguish between the true and the 
 false. And this zeal must animate him so powerfully 
 and completely, that it only ceases with the last breath 
 he draws on earth. It is not enough for him to blindly 
 accept whatever tradition has handed down, whatever 
 custom has sanctioned, and to answer every query pro- 
 pounded to him by the authoiitative, falacious dictum, 
 " Whatever is, is right !" Far from it. His conviction 
 must be the result of careful assiduous study. He must 
 be able to trace effects to their legitimate causes, to 
 separate the form from the substance, the essential from 
 the incidental, the immutable from the temporal and 
 local. If any one Stands in need of a thorough, well- 
 grounded, immovable conviction, it is undoubtedly the 
 religious teacher, whose pi-ovince it is to satisfy the in- 
 quirer and to convince the doubting and wavering. He 
 cannot successfully leach the truth by hollow phrases ; 
 his words must be the mirror of his soul. 
 
 And in harmony with his teaching should be his life 
 and actions. In the circle, in which he moves, his deport- 
 ment must be open, candid, bearing the stamp of truth. 
 While, on the one hand, he is often obliged, from the 
 peculiar circumstance* in which he may be placed, and 
 for the sake of the cause in which he is engaged, to act 
 with wise moderation, caution and pmdence, he must 
 never, on the other hand, from any motive whatsoever, 
 so far forget himself as to stoop to base hypocrisy, 
 and allow his actions to belie his inward conviction. 
 In order to be trusted, he must be truthful in all the re- 
 lations of life. No timidity, no fear, no prospect of 
 reward must ever determine him to misrepresent truth 
 by his words or actions. And should he even meet with 
 opposition, should he even be misrepresented, calumniated
 
 and persecuted, he must not swerve from his purpose. 
 The consciousness of having acted according to duty and 
 conscience is ample reward. " Truth will conquer its 
 way." 
 
 But how often do short-sighted mortals mistake error for 
 truth, and pronounce firmness a visionary idea. Has not, 
 for the last 1,800 years, 'our truthful religion been de. 
 cried as an exploded system, and our faithful adherence 
 to it been styled blinded* stubborness ? Well, then, we 
 want some auxiliary to arrive at the clear truth. " Light 
 shall prevail !" Can you conceive anything in nature 
 more beneficial and grand than light ? In our daily 
 prayers we praise the Creator of light ; every being joy- 
 fully greets the light ; the first manifestation of the crea- 
 tive power of the Lord of the universe is light. Who does 
 not feel a holy sensation filling his bosom, whenever he 
 reads the words in the first paragraph of Holy Writ : 
 " The/e was light." The blessings of light are incal- 
 culable ; they are divine. And here I do not merely 
 speak of the material light that invests every visible 
 object with form and outline ; I refer more particularly to 
 that spiritual light, which the Almighty has vouchsafed 
 to bestow on those he created in his own image : namely, 
 the light of reason and religion. " For the command- 
 ment is a lamp, and the law is light !" " The soul of 
 man is a lamp of the Lord." Religion and reason com- 
 bined form the spiritual light in man. It is true that he 
 who never saw the light of day from his birth, or who 
 was, by some misfortune, deprived of his sight at a later 
 period, may, nevertheless, not altogether pass his days 
 without joy or delight. Hut can he behold the splendor 
 of the sun, the moon's silvery beams, the sparkling bril- 
 liancy of the stars? Does the azure sky, the mountain's 
 grand scenery, the verdure of the forest, the meadow's 
 variegated lints, the waving harvests of the field open
 
 20 
 
 to him an enchanting vista ? Is he able to view the mil- 
 lions of charms so profusely displayed by nature and 
 art ? Can he look upon those who gave him birth and 
 nursed and reared him, on the brother, the sister, and 
 friend to whom he is warmly attached ? Alas, no ! 
 Life's highest enjoyments, life's sweetest joys are denied 
 him. And so, too, may he whose mental eye is over- 
 clouded and darkened by superstition and irreligion, 
 who cannot see the sun of truth, not live altogether with- 
 out joy or delight. But to appreciate properly and truly 
 the mysterious workings of Providence, the destiny of 
 man, the blissful emotions engendered by virtue, the in- 
 valuable blessing of Revelation, the humanizing effect 
 of the faith in the absolute unity of God, and how re- 
 fined and ennobled all mental culture is rendered, if 
 joined to true religion, based on firm conviction can he 
 appreciate all this ? Alas, no ! These pure, spiritual en- 
 joyments are utterly lost to him. 
 
 Well, then, it is the duty of the preacher in Israel to 
 diffuse light, to impart clear information, and wherever 
 the clouds of error and prejudice cover the mental vision 
 to dispel them by the expression of his tongue. His 
 teaching must be an emanation from, and in strict ac- 
 cordance with, the word of God. He is to fan the glim- 
 mering embers into a blaze, casting about a refulgent 
 light. When Moses, the man of God, besought the Al- 
 mighty "to let him see his glory;" when David, the 
 pious king, sang " May the Lord let his countenance 
 shine upon us" when Solomon prayed that God might 
 endow him with wisdom what else did they desire but 
 luminous knowledge? What else did all the God-in- 
 spired men, the prophets of old, endeavor to diffuse 
 among the people, when they attacked the idolatry and 
 superstition and denounced the mere form-and lip-ser- 
 vice of their age, but the spread of luminous knowledge ?
 
 21 
 
 Such is the beautiful simplicity of our creed, that no 
 blind belief is enjoined on the Israelite, but that he is 
 commanded emphatically, to know the doctrines and prin 
 ciples of his faith, since to know is to believe. Those 
 mystical incongruities and absurdities requiring implicit 
 belief, which we meet elsewhere, are in no manner or way 
 interwoven in our creed. " Thou shalt know the Lord 
 *thy God," is a commandment we find on almost every 
 page of Scripture, where His existence and providence 
 are adverted to. " Thou shalt meditate in the law, and 
 teach it diligently to thy children," is enjoined with the 
 like urgency. And if we examine the history of our 
 fathers, of those times, especially, which are commonly 
 denominated the dark ages, we shall find that, although 
 the Israelite was shut out, as it were, from the light 
 of the world, his obscure abode was illumined by the 
 light of the Law. It was to him a source of consolation, 
 of sweet enjoyment, while it kept alive in his bosom a 
 hope of better days. If such was the practice of our 
 fathers in adversity, shall we pursue an opposite course 
 in our days of prospei ty ? Is it not, on the contrary, our 
 duty to obtain a clear knowledge of the essence and 
 spirit of our holy religion, and be thus enabled to vindi- 
 cate the purity and sublimity of its doctrines before the 
 eyes of the world ? To awaken, therefore, and foster the 
 spirit of inquiry, and a fervent yearning towards reli- 
 gious light, in the temple as well as in the school, is a 
 sacred duty devolving upon the religious teacher. 
 
 Truth often produces a harsh effect. Light often 
 leaves us cold. It is for this that mildness must be 
 coupled with truth, that warmth was associated with the 
 light. Both, therfore, will assert their beauty, efficiency 
 and supremacy, if joined by love. Love is one of the 
 cardinal principles of all true religion. It is the mighty 
 link and tenure by which society is held together, the
 
 22 
 
 animating principle of the human heart. Before its salu- 
 tary rays the differences of creed and opinion, the inequal-< 
 ities of fortune and position, vanish into air. The ties of 
 family, friendship, connection, are woven and sustained 
 under its heavenly influence. Love constitutes the very 
 foundation of our religion, the living principle of the 
 whole structure. Hence, the third requisite of the reli- 
 gious teacher is, that his words must breathe the spirit 
 of love. It is true that, in the discharge of the duties 
 of his calling, the preacher is often called upon to ad- 
 monish and warn. But the expression of his tongue, 
 although characterized by all the zeal and energy he is 
 capable of, ought never to merge into scathing rebuke 
 and denunciation. Whenever a son or daughter of Israel 
 has fallen into sin, whenever in an unfortunate moment 
 worldly considerations or passions gained the mastery, it 
 is the duty of the religious teacher " to recall the erring 
 by mild admonition, wise moderation and gentle per- 
 suasion. " Love covereth all transgressions," is the 
 beautiful maxim oi the wise king. I would expatiate 
 still more at length on the duties of the minister, and the 
 relation he bears to his congregation, were it not that I 
 intend to resume this subject on Sabbath next. Enough 
 however, has been said to show that his calling is a dim- 
 cult one, difficult on account of the momentous problem 
 he is to solve to do justice to his religion, to his con- 
 viction, to his God and his congregation. But he is sure 
 to succeed, his labors are sure to be blessed, if he is act- 
 uated by truth, guided by light, prompted by love. 
 
 My friends, during the course of my ministerial career 
 it has been my happy lot, to know something of the reci- 
 procal affection which is calculated to steel our energies 
 for renewed and vigorous efforts. My late sphere of ac- 
 tion, far away in the sunny South, with all the cherished 
 reminiscences of tokens of sincere love and tender solici-
 
 23 
 
 tude extended to me and mine, is, at this solemn moment, 
 fresh and vivid in my mind. The pain of recent separa- 
 tion has revealed the power of these affectionate liga- 
 ments, and memory shall never cease to recall the images 
 of my dear friends left behind me, whose warm attach- 
 ment and esteem I had secured, who, for a number of 
 years, were my colaborers in the cause of religion, 
 oharity, and progress. To-day I have performed my 
 first duty in your midst. If we are permitted to walk 
 together as minister and congregation, need I assure you 
 that your affection, your hearty esteem, will neither be 
 unprized nor um'eciprocated. Let me indulge the sweet 
 hope, that I am addressing the members of a new con- 
 gregation who, without exception, extend to me their 
 right hand of welcome and fellowship. Next to the 
 Divine approbation and that of my own conscience, I 
 covet the sincere, intelligent, and just affection of my 
 congregation. Without this my usefulness here will be 
 a failure ; with it, it will go on increasing till death or 
 God's providence in other ways parts us. May, then, 
 truth, light, and love characterize our intercourse, m;iy 
 our connection be based on mutual confidence and es- 
 teem, and it will redound to our salvation, to the con- 
 solidation of healthful progress and reform, to the glory 
 oi God and his everlasting covenant. 
 
 Almighty and most merciful God ! Great is Thy name 
 in the universe, and Thou art kind to all Thine creatures. 
 From the distance Thou didst call me, from obcsurity 
 Thou didst lead me forth, that I might relate Thy won- 
 ders in this house dedicated to Thy holy name ; that I 
 might proclaim Thy will to those who seek Thee in truth. 
 Grant me strength, O Father, to execute the mission on 
 which I am sent, that I may not be ashamed through my 
 errors, nor my congregation be ashamed through inc. 
 Guide and teach me, O God, and bless my ministration
 
 24 
 
 with Thy divine blessing. May error vanish and truth 
 prevail! May the hearts of those, who are now exclu- 
 sively bent on worldly objects, turn to Thee in sincerity 
 and truth. May thy blessing rest on this congregation, 
 so that prosperity, godliness and piety mark its onward 
 career ; may this temple prove a fountain of ever increas- 
 ing truth, light and love. Guide us all in Thy goodness, 
 for Thou art the God of our salvation, and in Thee we 
 hope and trust. Amen.
 
 III. 
 INAUGURAL SERMON 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL 
 Sabbath, Nov. 21st, 1868. 
 
 SECOND PART.
 
 " lie that reflecteth on a matter wisely 
 will find happiness; and whoso trusteth 
 in the Lord happiness attend him. " 
 Pro. xvi 20. 
 
 Y r EIiY relation of life has its peculiar duties ; every 
 new engagement, which we contract, "involves new 
 obligations. The right to demand on the one hand 
 implies the duty to perform on the other, and a clear 
 knowledge of our respective rights and duties is a pre- 
 requisite to establish a good understanding and har- 
 monius action. This rule holds good, whether we apply 
 it to the general social compact or to special relations 
 that are entered into by individuals or corporations. 
 
 In entering, therefore, on the duties of my office as 
 English minister of this congregation, you will bear with 
 me, if I endeavor to establish a clear understanding 
 with regard to our relative positions, duties and expec- 
 tations. The spirit of inquiry has penetrated every 
 department of life, and the objects arid ends of every 
 profession and pursuit are weighed and scrutinized. The 
 ministerial calling is not exempt from this scrutinity, nor
 
 28 
 
 does it claim such exemption. Its high purposes justify 
 its existence. The interests it represents, it is true, are 
 not comprised in the utilitarian tendency of the age; yet 
 are these interests the most important and the most 
 sacred within the range of human feelings, thoughts and 
 aspirations. How dreary a solitude would life be with- 
 out the light of revelation, without the conscious- 
 ness of an ever-watchful Providence above us, without 
 the hope of an endless hereafter ! Through what 
 a labyrinth of perplexities and contradictions touching 
 his origin and destiny would man have to grope his way, 
 if he do not possess a sure guide in the revealed Word of 
 God! And in order to secure the blessings of our 
 heaven-born religion to ourselves and posterity, congre- 
 gations are formed, temples and synagogues erected, 
 religious schools organized, teachers and ministers ap- 
 pointed. No Israelite, who has the interests of his religion 
 at heart, can be indifferent to these institutions and 
 appointments. He will promote the prosperity of the 
 first and facilitate the efficiency of the latter. Hence 
 the question will naturally arise, what are the relations 
 subsisting between a congregation and its minister ? 
 What are the mutual expectations, which each party is 
 justly entitled to cherish ? 
 
 The relation subsisting between the minister and his 
 congregation creates reciprocal obligations. The minister 
 has his duties, most urgent, most important, unceasing. 
 But while this is true on the one side, it is not less true 
 on the other, that the congregation, by the election of a 
 minister and the enjoyment of his services, bring them- 
 selves Under corresponding responsibilities to him, to 
 their religion and their God. Your election of a minister 
 is on your part a purely voluntary act. But when it is 
 done, while that relation subsists, while he continues 
 faithful to hia work, you cannot refuse to discharge the
 
 29 
 
 duties to which it gives rise, without guilt and dishonor. 
 You will bear with me, then, to-day, if I should speak to 
 you of some things, which have direct reference to my- 
 self and to my future ministry among you. Much as 
 we anticipate from that attachment, so happily com- 
 menced between us, it will not prejudice" our mutual 
 confidence, it will facilitate our future intercourse, and 
 lay a broader basis for harmonious action hereafter, if 
 at the outset of our connection we understand each other 
 and loock calmly and steadily at the duties, which we 
 are bound reciprocally to perform. 
 
 In my last sermon I defined, in general terms, the 
 course to be followed by the minister. He should be 
 actuated by truth, guided by light, prompted by love. 
 And it is necessary that his course should be thus truth- 
 ful, clear and conciliatory, since the difficulties he is 
 likely to encounter are of no ordinary character. Let 
 us not disguise the fact, that with all the progress 
 thus far achieved, things are yet in a state of transition, . 
 in the process of development. Although the congrega- 
 tion, in its aggregate capacity, is bound by the holiest 
 ties those of common lineage and religion, and has 
 united for a common object, that of, worshipping the 
 God of Israel according to the true spirit and intent of 
 our holy religion; yet from the periodical accretion of 
 new members, as well as from other obvious causes, it 
 cannot fail, that some time must yet elapse, before the 
 diversified opinions, habits, customs, predispositions, 
 predilections of the individual members will be blended, 
 so as to present a peifectly harmonious aspect in all 
 matters appertaining to the worship and discipline of the 
 temple and the religious practice in life. To persist in 
 bringing about this happy consummation, to render the 
 Temple the focus of religious light that is to radiate on 
 every side, is the legitimate province of the minister.
 
 30 
 
 On the other hand, it is a duty on the part of the con- 
 gregation, in order to establish a perfect understanding, 
 to cultivate an intimate acquaintance with the minister. 
 They should seek and offer opportunities to know, as 
 well as to become known to him. Mutual knowledge of 
 of each other will lead to mutual esteem (if, indeed, such 
 be at all deserving). Mutual knowledge, while it may 
 reveal imperfections, will yet bring out into more strik- 
 ing light the predominant good feeling; it will enable 
 him to adapt his instructions more perfectly to your 
 character and understanding, and prepare you to listen 
 with more profound attention to the truths he may utter. 
 Do not look upon him as if he were a spy upon your 
 conduct; as if his business were solely that of finding 
 fault with your lives; as if he were a monk looking out 
 of his sepulchral den with a green eye upon all the things 
 you hold most dear. He is a man like yourselves; of the 
 same social affections; the same intellectual perceptions 
 of all that is beautiful in the world around us; of the 
 same general infirmities incident to human nature. Do 
 not treat him, therefore, with a distant respect, with the 
 cold politeness of ceremony, as one whom you are to 
 meet only on state occasions, but as one who is to be ' 
 with you, a sympathizing friend in scenes of trial and of 
 joy, the most thrilling and affecting this side of the grave. 
 
 The Jewish ministry does not constitute a peculiar 
 order or privileged class of men. Its members have no 
 other authority but that of the law, no power but that 
 of truth, no influence but that of light and love. The 
 time has happily passed, when obedience was enforced 
 by anathema and excommunication. The bonds which 
 now unite congregation and minister are : mutual con- 
 fidence and esteem. And whenever these are wanting, 
 the connection becomes irksome and fails in producing 
 any good results.
 
 31 
 
 As a congregation it is, further, your duty to be in 
 prompt attendance at the stated times of divine service. 
 This sanctuary a speaking monument of your pious zeal 
 and sacred munificence, an object of pride and glory to 
 to the Jewish name this sanctuary is to be your re- 
 ligious home as well as that of your minister. It would 
 be disheartening indeed, if the devout attendants at the 
 temple should consist of a small minority, while the 
 principal part of the congregation were to keep aloof. 
 Justly could he complain : " Why did I come when there 
 is irt) man; why was I called, when there is none to 
 answer?" And when he comes forth, after days of mental 
 toil, with his message addressed to you, it is neither 
 honorable in you nor profitable for either, fb find you 
 absent. The idea of so much salary for so much labor, 
 and when both parties have fulfilled that part of the 
 contract, it is no farther matter, what course they pur- 
 sue, is infinitely degrading to the mind that entertains 
 it, while its influence disheartens and paralyzes the faith- 
 ful servant of God. If, according to your expressed 
 desire and solemn stipulation, your minister is bound to 
 preach to you and to your children the word of God in 
 the vernacular of the land ; if the whole design, for 
 which he has relinquished a field endeared to him by 
 many tender and holy associations, was to gain a larger 
 sphere of usefulness then neither honor nor honesty, 
 neither religion nor an elevated morality, can be satisfied 
 with the mere payment of money on your part, while 
 yon do not come regularly to offer your worship to our 
 Heavenly Father, and to hear the truth. Surely you 
 have not agreed with me, to pre,ach to empty benches. 
 An automaton could effect that as well and better than 
 a living man ; for it has no nerves or affections to be 
 lacerated and distressed by such an operation. There 
 are reasons, indeed, which in God's sight will excuse ab-
 
 32 
 
 sonce from this sanctuary ; but a little cold, a little raiu, 
 a little heat, or a little inconvenience produced by time 
 or distance, will never justify the forsaking of the temple 
 to any truly pious mind. Continue, therefore, I pray, the 
 beautiful example 1 have witnessed these two Sabbaths. 
 It is my hope that an honorable, just and elevated tone 
 of feeling will, in this respect, ever characterize all the 
 members of this congregation ; that they will carry into 
 practice the beautiful sentiment of the psalmist : " I re- 
 joice, when they say to me, let us go into the house of 
 the Lord !" 
 
 But your mere presence is not sufficient ; it is your 
 duty to give a reverential and careful attention to the 
 services of,God's house. The solemnity of your deport, 
 ment should correspond with the sacredness of the place 
 and of the worship here offei'ed. The stranger, when he 
 enters this place, should be impressed with awe should 
 be made irresistibly to feel, that he is among people, who 
 know how to value the blessings of their revered, time- 
 hallowed religion. Your children should grow up ac- 
 customed to your reverential and thoughtful conduct in 
 the house of God. Never should they behold in -you a 
 light, supercilious air, or an indifferent, careless, perhaps 
 sleepy countenance. You should offer the prayers of 
 your heart with the true spirit of devotion ; you should 
 listen to the exposition of the word of God, not with a 
 captious nor critical spirit, not with a desire for the 
 mere drapery of the sermon, but with a healthful appetite 
 for the truth. It should be your desire to hear the truth, 
 rather than seek for the mere enjoyment of a gratified 
 curiosity. 
 
 Nor is an attentive 'hearing sufficient. You will not 
 do justice to your minister, if you do not compare his 
 preaching with the word of God. No tradition, no as- 
 sertion of the holiest minister that ever preached is to
 
 33 
 
 weigh a feather with you, unless it be in hannony with 
 this revealed truth. My word is not to be your faith. 
 Y^u will do me great injustice, if you do not meditate 
 and search for yourselves in the word of life. It is my 
 prayer, that I may never utter one sentiment, never ad- 
 vance one opinion in this place, which the spirit of inspir- 
 ation will not indorse. But be assured, whether I succeed 
 in this or not, my efforts will be barren of their noblest 
 results, if they fail in stimulating you to a careful and 
 diligent study of the word of God, and the requirements 
 of your religion. And while I thus urge you to an en- 
 lightened independence, I ought to warn you against that 
 factious and criminal independence which finds fault with 
 the preacher, either because he does not say all that you 
 would like to have him say on all subjects, or because 
 he may utter sentiments that cross the track of your 
 opinions or your life. Of what worth to you is a man, 
 who will not speak the truth on those subjects which are 
 vital to your peace, your comfort, your salvation ? Of 
 what value to you is a man, whose cry is peace, peace, 
 when you are in danger of eternal strife ? What interest 
 have you in hearing a man, who aims either to tickle 
 your faiucy, amuse your intellect, or sport about the 
 mere flowers and drapery of this world, while he is afraid 
 to analyze your character, unfold the great principles on 
 which the noble structure of our heavenly religion is 
 based, and urge you to tread the road of life ! In the 
 truth you have a fearful interest, but in error you have 
 no interest. And hence the great question with you 
 should ever be, Has the preacher uttered the truth ? Is 
 it in harmony, not with our preconceived opinions, but 
 with the word of God ? There are many of you proficient 
 in secular pursuits, at whose feet I would willingly sit 
 and receive instruction in those things, with reference to 
 which your lives have been spent. But I should deem 
 
 3
 
 34 
 
 myself unworthy of my position here, unworthy of your 
 confidence, if 1 were to permit any of you to dictate, 
 what or how I shall preach, while I remain your minister. 
 You have chosen me to fill this post, because you had 
 confidence in me, that I would act wisely ; that I would 
 uphold and defend the banner of reform and progress, 
 which you have so firmly planted ; and it is my prayer, 
 that God will strengthen me to meet, in this respect, 
 your expectations and justify your confidence. 
 
 But my labors do not cease here, are not bounded by 
 the walls of the temple ; they extend farther. I refer 
 here more particularly to the religious training of your 
 children, in which sacred task it will be my duty to as- 
 sist. If you are at all desirous of establishing your reli- 
 gion on a firm and enlightened basis, the religious edu- 
 cation of the rising generation must not be neglected. 
 They should early be taught the principles of our holy 
 faith, arid the beauty and sublimity of its doctrines be 
 impressed on their minds ; they should be early in- 
 structed in the language and history of their fathers, to 
 recognize the ruling hand of Providence that shapes the 
 destinies of nations ; they should early be initiated into 
 the practice of those high duties prescribed by our reli- 
 gion, " to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk hum- 
 bly before the Lord,"Jand when they become old, they 
 will not depart therefrom. A solid, enlightened religious 
 foundation should be laid in the minds of the young, so 
 that when they grow up to become useful members of 
 society, fitted for any pursuit they may choose to adopt, 
 they may never cease to be good Israelites in the literal 
 sense of the word, " champions in the cause of God !" 
 
 My friends, Providence has permitted me to enter on 
 the duties of my office in your midst after nearly twenty- 
 three years of ministerial labor in this country. Shifted 
 to a new sphere of action, surrounded by new circum-
 
 35 
 
 stances, I may have much to learn, you may have much to 
 bear. Yet I trust, you will not find me an inapt scholar, 
 while I anticipate on your part a kind disposition, that 
 will not be eagle-eyed to detect infirmities, and a charity 
 broad enough to cover many imperfections. To-day I 
 renewedly devote myself wholly to your service, and to 
 that of our holy religion. Whatever toil of mind or con- 
 cern of heait appertains to this high position, whatever 
 is just and right, that you are authorized to claim, nor 
 will you find me backward in responding to it. And 
 whatever a minister ought to ask of any congregation, 
 whatever is just and right, and most for their highest 
 good, he should ask of them, all that, you may be as- 
 sured, will be expected of you. Being the first well-or- 
 ganized r< formed congregation in this large and enter, 
 prising city, possessing a temple that rivals, if not sur- 
 passes, in beauty and magnificence, any Jewish house of 
 worship in the world ; living in the midst of an enlight- 
 ened, liberal-minded community you have a high and 
 noble task to perform. Strange as it may sound, it is 
 nevertheless true, that to the Gentile world Judaism is 
 as yet only known by name, and all the interest evinced 
 in its behalf proceeds more from a vague curiosity than 
 a true appreciation of its merits. It is your duty, there- 
 fore, as well as your privilege, to continue the exercise 
 of your efforts and of your influence for the spread of 
 enlightened religious views, for the prosperity of our 
 people and the accomplishment of its mission, for the 
 triumph of truth, light and love, in this great Western 
 World. You should take a noble pride in sustaining 
 this congregation in all its arrangements, in its steady, 
 intelligent piety, its warm, open-hearted benevolence, a 
 model congregation this temple, with its beautiful, sol- 
 emn, elevating worship, a fountain of great and blessed 
 influence. And as strangers from all parts come hither
 
 36 
 
 and behold your order, your growing numbers, your fer- 
 vent zeal, your devout worship, your liberality, your 
 ardent patriotism, they will go from us as the ancient 
 Israelite left the temple, bearing with him impressions 
 of God's majesty to the farthest parts of his beloved laud.
 
 IV. 
 
 
 
 SERMON 
 
 Delivered at the Consecration of the 
 TEMPLE SHAARE EMETH. 
 
 (GATES OF TRUTH.) 
 
 AT ST. LOUIS MO. 
 Friday, 27th of August 1869,
 
 " This is the day, which the Lord hath 
 appointed, we will rejoice and be 
 glad thereon" Ps. cxvm. 24. 
 
 THIS invitation of the Psalmist to rejoicing and glad- 
 ness finds a ready response in your hearts in this hour. 
 For four long years have you anxiously looked forward 
 to this day. From the moment that the ground was 
 broken and active preparations were made for the erec- 
 tion of this sanctuary, the progress of the work was 
 watched with anxious hopes and deep-felt solicitude, and 
 from day to day you asked the question, nansi tOX 'no 
 D^npx "OD " when may we enter this house and appear in 
 the presence of God ?" Your exertions and sacrifices are 
 fully rewarded ; your hopes and expectations fully real- 
 ized. For the temple is now completed in all its beauty 
 and magnificence ; it stands here in its finished artistical 
 symmetry, presenting thai u silent harmony," with 
 which architecture delights the eye of the beholder, and, 
 " as a thing of beauty, will be a joy forever." 
 
 In uniting your efforts for this undertaking, you have 
 nobly discharged a duty, which you owed to your reli-
 
 40 
 
 gion and to your God- -and whereas the faithful perfor- 
 mance of duty imparts tranquility to the mind and 
 awakens joyous sensations in the bosom, of what a pure 
 and exalted nature must these emotions be, if such duty 
 involve a holy purpose, if its discharge aim at the accom- 
 plishing of an object, that will redound to the benefit 
 and salvation of ourselves and of those that will come 
 after us. To realize an object so grand, to perpetuate 
 the time-honored religion, which has been, for thousands 
 of years, the light, the solace, the shield, the very life of 
 Israel, you have entered on and accomplished this enter- 
 prise. With the dedication of this temple a new point 
 of union is created for the scattered sons of Israel, a 
 new sanctuary is established on freedom's soil, wherein 
 to worship the God of our fathers, the God of heaven 
 and earth, in conformity to His holy will, in accordance 
 with our convictions. With hearts full of gratitude we 
 have, therefore, "blessed the Lord our God, who has 
 preserved us alive, sustained us in health, permitted us 
 to enjoy this season," and to participate in the sacred 
 rite of dedicating this house to His holy name. 
 
 In examining the history of the Jewish settlements in 
 this country, the gradual formation of the congregations 
 already established or yet in a state of incipiency, that 
 are scattered over these States, it is a gratifying reflec- 
 tion, to observe the zeal and alacrity which ever were 
 and still are manifested by our brethren : to rally round 
 the standard of our religion, to unite in upholding the 
 Divine creed revealed on Sinai and designated as the in- 
 heritance of the congregation of Jacob. This fact is the 
 more gratifying, when the individual and sectional dif- 
 ferences of those, who unite for religion's sake, are taken 
 into consideration. Not a single case is known where a 
 whole congregation in the Old World seized the wander- 
 ing staff, to seek an asylum in the New World, as did the
 
 41 
 
 pilgrims of the Mayflower. Israelites immigrated as 
 individuals or single families, spread over the country, 
 until their number at a particular place warranted the 
 formation of a religious body corporate. Nor had they 
 anything more in common except their religion, but were, 
 in most cases, in every other respect, strangers to each 
 other. But there is something in the soul of the Israe- 
 lite, which prompts him to- join his brother-Israelite for 
 the consolidation of the religious truths entrusted to 
 him ; and that is, the consciousness of the importance of 
 his mission, for which he is selected : to be the bearer and 
 guardian of divine truth for all times and to all nations. 
 
 The ceremony of dedication, which we this day cele- 
 brate with holy joy and grateful hearts towards our God 
 and merciful Protector, is of deep importance to our- 
 selves, of absorbing interest to the stranger. Simple 
 and solemn in its conception, it is a type of the devotional 
 exercises, that will henceforward take place within these 
 walls. No imcomprehensible mystery is interwoven in 
 our creed. The absolute unity of God, as erst proclaimed 
 by Abraham and taught by Moses, yet forms the basis 
 and the keystone of our belief. God is our father, and we 
 are his children man is created in the image of God 
 and destined to immortality, are cardinal doctrines of 
 our faith. " The Lord is the immutable, eternal Being, 
 the omnipotent God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering 
 and abundant in beneficence and truth, keeping mercy 
 even unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, 
 transgression and sin" this heavenly message justifies 
 our hope in salvation. The divine commandment, " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," is the immovable 
 fountain-head of our moral law, and the invariable guide 
 of our practice. These truths, that are within the grasp 
 of the simplest understanding, and, as we are taught and 
 firmly believe, will one day be universally acknowledged,
 
 42 
 
 form the spiritual basis of our temple. The spirit of these 
 truths is embodied in every prayer we utter, in every 
 religious discourse that is pronounced from a Jewish 
 pulpit. Amidst all the transformations which, for thou- 
 sands of years, have changed the face of the globe, 
 amidst the downfall of thrones and the crash of empires, 
 we have preserved the glorious legacy inherited from 
 our fathers : of being the depositaries ol the heaven-re- 
 vealed word of being the living witnesses of the living 
 God, through all times and in all zones. 
 
 These considerations naturally suggest themselves on 
 an occasion like this. The dedication of this temple 
 bears testimony to the vital power of our religion, the 
 sublime mission of our people, the continuing mercy of 
 God, who has promised, that even in our dispersion He 
 will not cast us off, nor break the covenant made with 
 our fathers. We stand here as the connecting link be- 
 tween the past and the future. To the past we recur 
 with feelings of pride mingled with sadness; to the 
 future we look with never-fading hope. There was a 
 time, when the stern- realities of life assumed so depress- 
 ing and crushing an aspect for the Israelite, as to leave 
 him no other resource but his patient trust in God and 
 the hope of brighter days. It is a remarkable fact, that 
 our name is associated with the destinies and the history 
 of almost every nation that ever existed, whilst our reli- 
 gion, taking its rise in the cradle of mankind, and send- 
 ing forth its branches to the ends of the earth, may be 
 termed the religion of history. May others claim the 
 host and the power, we rest contented with the spirit. 
 " For not by hosts, nor by power, is the salvation of 
 mankind to be accomplished, but through my spirit, saith 
 the Eternal." Who can deny the potent agency of Israel's 
 religion, directly and indirectly, in the civilization, the 
 moral a*id religious training of man ? The sanctuary,
 
 43 
 
 which is this day dedicated to its holy purpose, affords a 
 new guarantee for the perpetuity of our faith ; and, in 
 the fulness of our hearts, we may well exclaim with the 
 psalmist, " This is the day which the Lord hath ap- 
 pointed, we will rejoice and be glad thereon !" 
 
 But this deep and joyous interest, which we all feel in 
 the completion of this temple, must not grow cold or 
 wane, but receive a new stimulus from this very hour. 
 The outward structure is finished, but the inward struc- 
 ture, the edification of the soul, begins anew this day. 
 With the act of dedication we lay the corner-stone to the 
 spiritual fabric of holiness, which we are called upon to 
 raise within this house, and which is to sanctify us 
 before God. The object of this temple is, therefore, 
 fully expressed in the words of Scripture, which shall 
 serve as our text, n=TOB>n ?{? nn DT6N )V3 CK "D nT )'K 
 " This is none other but a house of God and this is the 
 gate of heaven." Gen. xxviiL 17. 
 
 Far be it from us to suppose, that we could rear a 
 temple, and be it ever so spacious, that is to serve as a 
 special abode for the Almighty ; we have no such gross 
 and material notions of the Deity. We pray with Solo- 
 mon, " Behold the heavens, and the heavens of heavens 
 do not contain Thee ; how much less this house we have 
 built." We exclaim with Isaiah, " Holy, holy, holy is 
 the Lord Zebaoth, the whole earth is lull of his glory !" 
 Indeed the patriarch Jacob, who first employed the term 
 " house of God" in our text, applied it to no structure made 
 of human hands. In a moment of pious inspiration he 
 designated thereby the awful spot, where God had ap- 
 peared and promised to him his heavenly protection. 
 This is precisely the case with us. We call this place a 
 house of God, because we are here impressed with a 
 deeper awe of God's majesty ; because His divine prom- 
 ises here speak loudest to our hearts ; because we are
 
 44 
 
 here more strongly reminded of His omnipotence ; be- 
 cause here the thought of v His goodness and holiness 
 thrills most powerfully through our souls ; because, in 
 fine, as " the gate of heaven," to our imagination it ap- 
 pears to stand on the confines of heaven and earth, that 
 are thus blended together in the light of eternal truth. 
 As the house of God it shall sanctify our whole life and 
 develop the divine attributes of our nature. 
 
 The temple is primaily a house of prayer, ;^a wa "3 
 Nip 11 r6sn "For my house, says God through Isaiah, 
 shall be called a house of prayer." Here we shall praise 
 God in the assembly of the devout, shall pay our vows 
 to the Most High, shall offer to Him the sacrifices of our 
 adoration and gratitude. Here we shall celebrate the 
 Sabbaths and festivals of the Lord and learn to distin- 
 guish between the holy and the profane. Here we shall 
 discard from our thoughts our secular pursuits, our 
 cares and our diversions, our hatreds and our envies, 
 and apply ourselves to the improvement of our mind 
 and the ennobling of our heart. Here we shall draw 
 from the fountain of life, the word of God, those 
 laws and precepts, those principles and maxims, which 
 man must observe, in order to enjoy happiness here and 
 to hope for salvation hereafter. Here, in the presence 
 of God, we shall fonn resolutions of amendment, that will 
 never be broken, and our faith in God shall increase in 
 purity and strength from day to day. 
 
 But the prophet significantly adds, Q-)oyn i>3^ " to all 
 the nations." The prayers offered, the service performed 
 here, must not be a closed book, but intelligible to all, to 
 the Israelite as well as to the Gentile. We have nothing 
 to conceal. Our religious doctrines need only be known, 
 to win the hearts of all. If Solomon at the dedication of 
 the temple already prayed, " But also to the stranger, 
 who is not of thy people Israel, who will come and pray
 
 45 
 
 in this house, mayest thou listen in heaven, and grant 
 his petition" how much greater is our duty, so to con- 
 duct our worship, that all who come may understand 
 and feel, that the name of the Eternal is called upon this 
 temple, and that it is a house of God !" There was a time, 
 when our fathers had to hide from the public gaze; 
 when the believers in the One and only God, persecuted 
 by prejudice, fanaticism and intolerance, were not per- 
 mitted openly to assemble for public worship, but were 
 obliged to perform their divine service in sequestered 
 localities, in fear and trembling. That time has happily 
 passed in all civilized countries, never existed for us 
 here, in Freedom's happy home. Everywhere through- 
 out the length and breadth of these States magnificent 
 temples are reared aloft, at the side of churches, in honor 
 of the God of Israel, as enduring monuments of Equal Lib- 
 erty and Freedom of Conscience. These temples, there- 
 fore, must reflect, not only in their exterior beauty, but 
 in their inward appointments the march of enlighten- 
 ment, the light of progress, the sublime spirit of re- 
 ligion. 
 
 If, therefore, as you have resolved, the Divine service 
 in this temple shall not consist " in mere lip-work, the 
 acquired precepts of men," words and ceremonies without 
 sense and meaning, but shall engage the mind and heart, 
 and leave a salutary impression for active life ; if you 
 here worship God in sincerity and truth ; if your soul 
 rises on the solemn tones of the organ and the sacred 
 notes of psalmody towards heaven to draw strength and 
 comfort for its life upon earth ; if these lofty arches sug- 
 gest to you the consciousness of your lofty, heaven-as- 
 spiring destiny, of your high dignity as men and moral 
 beings, of your grateful recognition of the goodness of 
 our Heavenly Father ; if the architectural harmony dis- 
 played here impresses you with the wished-for harmony
 
 46 
 
 of your own life ; if these finished proportions lead you, 
 to strive for that perfection enjoined in the Divine com- 
 mand, -pnf>x 'n oy rvnn D'on, " Thou shalt be perfect with 
 the Lord thy God ;" if, in fine, in your aggregate capacity 
 as a congregation, you will be distinguished by works of 
 piety, of love and humanity, even as this temple is con- 
 spicuous above other edifices then, indeed, may you 
 exclaim, " Let us rejoice, when they say, we will go into 
 the house of God, for it is none other but a house of God, 
 and this is the gate of heaven !" 
 
 And this house of God shall be called a house of prayer 
 for all nations ! Twenty-five centuries ago did the voice 
 of inspiration proclaim this heavenly message, which 
 has only gained strength with the change of times and 
 the lapse of ages. Israel's religion alone is capable of 
 furnishing the basis, upon which mankind may unite, the 
 banner around which all the families of man may gather. 
 It is founded upon no inexplicable mystery, embodies no 
 doctrines that are repugnant to reason, enjoins no com- 
 mands at which humanity may revolt. Its truths flow 
 directly from the eternal fountain, and will ever remain 
 the living springs of salvation. One God, the Father of 
 all ! One humanity, His children all !. An immortal 
 spirit animating every human being ! Moral liberty the 
 inalienable birth-right of every man ! Justification by 
 our own works ! Can we conceive of a creed more sub- 
 lime or more worthy of universal acceptance ? And this 
 is the creed of the Jewish religion, that is so often de- 
 rided, and of the Jewish people, that have been so long, 
 and in many bigoted and semi-civilized countries, are 
 still sorely persecuted. This is the divine revelation kin- 
 dled by the spirit of God in the spirit of man, and of 
 which Israel has been the faithful depositary throughout 
 the chequered phases of its existence. Silently, but efiec. 
 tually have these heavenly truths been cherished and
 
 47 
 
 cultivated under the weight of oppression, in the shades 
 of compulsory seclusion boldly, fearlessly do we pro- 
 claim them under the benign sway of liberty, and chal- 
 lenge the scrutiny of enlightened free-men. And al- 
 though the prevailing diversities of creed preclude the 
 prospect of an early religious fraternization, yet we un- 
 deviatingly cling to the conviction, that a day will arrive, 
 " when the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord 
 as the waters cover the sea, and the Lord will be ac- 
 knowledged One and His name be One." 
 
 The ' ' house of God," shall not only strengthen our 
 faith in the Holy One, not only inculcate truth, but shall 
 indelibly impress on our souls those principles of justice 
 and love, which are ever to guide our conduct, our deal- 
 ings with the world at large. The sanctification of life, 
 which is the principal aim of our religion, can only be 
 attained by the faithful execution of our moral duties, as 
 taught by the word of God. Justice and love are the 
 two adamantine pillars, upon which the welfare of society, 
 upon which the peace of communities and of nations, is 
 securely established. Acts of injustice, by which the 
 eternal boundaries are removed and the rights of our 
 neighbors infringed, are the sources of unhappiness and 
 of the hatred, which alienates man from man, spin pnv 
 P*1V, " Justice, only justice shalt thou pursue," is the ad- 
 monition of the first and greatest prophet to his age and 
 to all succeeding generations. Our temple emphatically 
 teaches this lesson. Whenever we enter its hallowed pre- 
 cincts, we are reminded, that it is dedicated to the God 
 of justice, and the beautiful words of the psalmist must 
 occur to our minds, " Lord, who may sojourn in Thy 
 tent, who may dwell upon Thy holy mountain ? He 
 who walks uprightly and who works divine justice !"- 
 Our faith in, our reliance upon divine justice, taught and 
 fortified in the house of God, would be empty sounds, if
 
 48 
 
 they did not stimulate us, to sanctify our lives by deeds 
 of justice and righteousness. 
 
 But simple justice would be cold and dead, if it were 
 not warmed and animated by love. The pious love to 
 God and, through God, to all men will be developed and 
 fostered in this house. It is our religious home, where 
 we appear as children of our universal Father. Outside 
 of this temple we meet with those diversified relations 
 of human society, with those unavoidable distinctions of 
 wealth, of position and of education, which are towering 
 icebergs between man and man, and coldly separate the 
 hearts. But here in the light of religion, before the sun 
 of the truth, that One God has created us, that we have 
 all one Father here the icy walls melt away and the 
 cold barriers are levelled to the ground. Here, in the 
 house of the One and Only God, which leads to the gate 
 of heaven, we are forced to acknowledge, that, as we 
 shall one day be equals in the realm of eternity, so we 
 are equals here before God, and the only distinction that 
 is valid and true, is " the distinction between the righte- 
 ous and the wicked, between him who serves God and 
 him who serves Him not." Our very prayer can only 
 then be of value, if the heart is free from hatred and 
 the prayer is the expression of genuine love. The con- 
 templation of divine love, which embraces every human 
 being, awakens this love to God and to our fellow-man 
 in our soul. 
 
 When you, my brothers, my sisters, enjoy prosperous 
 days, when happy events embellish your lot, and you 
 enter the house of God, to thank him for his benefits 
 is it not upon the altar of divine love, that you pour out 
 the libation of your gratitude ? And when your horizon 
 should be darkened, when dangers are impending, when 
 affliction shrouds your soul in mourning and gloom, and 
 you hasten to the house of God, to supplicate his help and
 
 49 
 
 comfort is it not the divine love, upon which you count 
 for aid and deliverance in the hour of trial and distress ? 
 And when remorso for an evil deed gnaws at your heart, 
 and you humbly petition for pardon, is it not the love 
 and mercy of God, on which you base your hope for 
 forgiveness ? Prayer then is the mediator, the electric 
 current, between the love of man and the love of God. 
 And this love shall be the abiding sentiment of our life. 
 Hence it is, that an ancient teacher declares ~\y~b mnNi 
 rnvu ina &a nr 1102, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself, is the highest principle of the law." But not 
 only our religion, but every creed which claims to be 
 divine, adapted to the wants of man and founded upon 
 a rational basis, must place this law at the very head of 
 its duties; and every house of God, which shall be re- 
 cognized as a truly religious institution, must foster and 
 cultivate in its prayers and teachings and in all its exer- 
 cises of worship, sentiments and feelings of love. 
 
 ]$o graver error can be perpetrated by men, farther 
 they can not stray from the right path, a more grievous 
 sin they can not. commit than perverting the Word, which 
 God has sent into the world for the promotion of love 
 and peace, into the means of hatred and hostility, of 
 oppression and persecution, by teaching and preaching 
 in the consecrated places, where love and peace should 
 be cherished and fostered, hatred and persecution against 
 those, who hold different religious convictions. This 
 temple will not be thus perverted. The prayers and 
 hymns which will here be offered, are invocations to our 
 heavenly Father to grant his blessings not only to ug, 
 but to all his children ; the symbols and ceremonies ex- 
 hibited here are designed to remind us, that God has 
 destined all the inhabitants of the earth to holiness and 
 salvation; and the word of God, which will be read 
 from this desk and interpreted from this pulpit, will ever 
 
 4
 
 50 
 
 breathe the spirit of peace and good-will to all the 
 children of man. 
 
 Truly then may we apply the words of our text to 
 this temple, " This is none other but a house of God, and 
 this is the gate of heaven !"
 
 V. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered at the Laying of the Corner-Stone 
 
 OP 
 
 TEMPLE SINAI, 
 
 OF NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 Sunday, Nov. 19th, 1871.
 
 WE are engaged in a holy work. The corner-stone 
 of a new Jewish house of worship is about to be 
 laid, and we have assembled to witness this symbolical, 
 time-honored ceremony and to testify by our presence 
 the deep interest we feel in the erection of this edifice. 
 Upon this foundation, it has been resolved, to rear a house 
 devoted to the worship of the Most High, the Creator 
 and Governor of the universe, the Father of all mankind, 
 the Guardian of Israel a temple worthy of the name we 
 bear, and the religion we proiess. With the completion 
 of this edifice, the recently organized congregation, 
 " Temple Sinai,", will possess a religious home, wherein 
 to assemble from "new moon to new moon, and from 
 Sabbath to Sabbath," in order to foster the eternal truths 
 of Judaism, pure and undefiled in spirit and in form, and 
 to pour out the inmost feelings of their hearts in praise, 
 in thanks, and in supplication before the eternal, omni- 
 potent, and all-merciful Ruler of the universe, who has 
 guarded and directed the destinies of Israel from Sinai's 
 world-redeeming revelation to the present day, and
 
 54 
 
 whose promised divine guardianship will endure to all 
 eternity. 
 
 The occasion forcibly calls to mind the prophetic 
 words of Isaiah (XVIII. 16): "Therefore, thus saith the 
 Lord Eternal, behold, I have laid in Zion as a foun- 
 dation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, 
 well founded: the faithful will not hastily waver." 
 
 Sinai and Zion ! Two names of the most thrilling 
 interest, of the deepest importance, of the most salutary 
 influence to Israel and to mankind. They are the 
 mountains of the Lord, from which heavenly truth gushed 
 forth and spread in ever-widening circles. They 
 are the fountain-heads of the religious and moral culture 
 of the human race, the elevated points, where heaven and 
 earth are happily blended, the divine and human harmo- 
 niously united. Sinai and Zion are household-words, 
 wherever God is worshipped in spirit and in truth, for 
 " from Sinai the Lord shone forth, at his right hand a 
 fiery law" "and from Zion comes forth the law and the 
 word of God from Jerusalem." 
 
 Sinai and Zion I What hallowed associations cluster 
 around these two names, whose pristine brightness has 
 remained undimmed in the march of many centuries and 
 the wide area of the earth's surface. They are forever 
 synonyms of light and truth. Even from this distant 
 spot in the New World we cannot help contemplating 
 them with a solemn veneration and sacred delight, as 
 their outlines and their historical importance rise before 
 our mental vision. The stone, laid as a foundation in 
 Zion, was the imperishable block, hewn from Sinai's 
 adamantine quarry. However fierce the storm of human 
 passions, however violent the onslaught of the miscon- 
 ceived zeal, engendered" by blind fanaticism, it was too 
 firmly imbedded, ever to be dislodged. It was " a tried 
 stone," designed and fashioned by the hand of Omnipot-
 
 55 
 
 ence, and upon its foundation the temple of truth and of. 
 love, the temple of knowledge of the One and only God, 
 the Father of all and of the fraternal bonds that should 
 unite all his children, was to be reared in all its holiness 
 and glory for the happiness of man. It was "a precious 
 corner-stone," exceeding all worldly grandeur and ma- 
 terial wealth, as it constitutes the immovable basis of 
 moral purity and greatness of soul. Whoever built upon 
 this stone his structure was well founded; whoever 
 stood "firm and faithful, did not hastily waver," but from 
 the midst of temporary gloom and harrassing trials he 
 looked forward, with the eye of hope, to a bright and 
 peaceful future. 
 
 "The tried stone, the precious corner-stone, laid as a 
 sure foundation in Zion," is identical with the corner, 
 stone of Judaism. To speak without metaphor. Judaism 
 is founded upon the belief in the absolute unity of God, 
 in the recognition and worship of the One spiritual, all- 
 wise, all-merciful and omnipotent Creator and Ruler of 
 the universe, who has created man in His own image by 
 endowing him with a soul, capable of comprehending 
 this truth, of unfolding its inherent intellectual and moral 
 powers, and destined for immortality. This truth, pro- 
 claimed from Sinai and ratified at Zion for the benefit of 
 all mankind, "in order, as Solomon prays, that all the 
 people of the earth may know, that the Lord is God and 
 there is none else" is neither enveloped in mysteries, 
 nor disfigured by types. It is in beautiful harmony 
 with human reason and directly appeals, in tender and 
 soothing accents, to the human heart. It is the perpetual 
 revelation of the eternal, immutable, ever-living God to 
 the spirit of man in every age. Before the heavenly 
 light of this truth, the lurid flames of idolatry and su- 
 perstition, and the meteoric flashes of atheism must pale 
 their ineffectual fires. The standard of religious truth,
 
 56 
 
 thus unfurled by Israel, will be held aloft, until all the 
 families of the earth will flock around it for their bles- 
 sing. 
 
 The belief in the One eternal God and Father, as 
 taught by Judaism, has proved, directly and indirectly, 
 the most potent factor in the advancement of true civi- 
 lization. It has steadily promoted the moral progress, 
 elevated the mind and refined the heart of man. It has 
 shed its heavenly light on, and clearly defined the eternal 
 principles of justice, of liberty, of brotherly love. At a 
 time, when darkness covered the nations, when heathe- 
 nism with its flagrant vices and gross aberrations bruta- 
 lized mankind, the law of Sinai inculcated as practical 
 rules for government and for life, " you shall have but 
 one law and one judgment for the native and for the 
 stranger," i. e. you shall mete out equal justice to all; 
 " you shall neither vex nor oppress the stranger," but 
 accord him the full measure of liberty which you enjoy; 
 "thoushalt love the stranger as thyself" a command 
 which appears as a complementary enforcement of the 
 comprehensive moral precept, " Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself." 
 
 And these principles were compressed into one beautiful 
 sentence, by the last of Zion's prophets, "Have we not all 
 One Father ? hath not one God created us ? Why then 
 should we t act treacherously one against the other ?" Yes, 
 the belief in one God, who embraces all mankind in His 
 paternal love and wise providence, must strengthen the 
 sentiment in the human heart, to regard and treat every 
 human being as the child of God, as a brother. Upon 
 this belief, therefore, " as the tried and precious corner- 
 stone," the world-wide temple of humanity is destined 
 to rise, slowly but surely, in its grand and lofty pro- 
 portions. 
 
 The memories and associations clustering around
 
 57 
 
 Sinai and Zion were never dissevered from Israel's 
 history; they are not simply the dead-letter record of 
 the past, but are enshrined as imperishable legacies in 
 the hearts of the people selected by God as the mis- 
 sionaries of divine truth ; they come to us to-day, en- 
 forced not only by the faith and constancy, the virtues 
 and sacrifices and sufferings of a long line of ancestry, 
 but by the lessons and experiences of the times in which 
 we live ; and we are resolved, not with any feeble ex- 
 pectation or faltering hope only, but with a firm persua- 
 sion and assured trust and faith, to send them down all 
 sparkling and blazing to the remotest posterity. In the 
 spiritual empire of religious truth " the sceptre has not 
 departed from Judah." The two great religious systems, 
 which ostensibly govern the civilized world, Christianity 
 and Mohamedanism, have sprung from Judaism ; what- 
 ever is sound and vigorous and fruitful in their consti- 
 tutions has been drawn from, and is quickened by her 
 life-sustaining maternal bosom. Judaism, like the sun, 
 is resplendent in its own light, while its plane! ary orbs 
 shine in a borrowed effulgence drawn from its primitive 
 fountain. 
 
 Truth remains unalterably the same. It is the signet 
 of God, stamped upon nature and history, upon matter 
 and spirit, eternal and immutable like God himself. The 
 principles and doctrines of Judaism, therefore, with 
 their divine charter of Sinai and their tried corner-stone 
 of Zion, must be true to all eternity. Xo expediency, no 
 compromise, no sophistry can shake their permanent 
 validity. If the recognition and worship of the Holy 
 One was ever true (and this fact must be universally 
 conceded), if at any time it was the precious corner- 
 stone of genuine faith and morality, then the doc* 
 trine of One God, who exists peerless and alone in 
 His divine majesty, must remain true, as long as the mind
 
 58 
 
 of man is capable of reasoning and the heart of man 
 susceptible of truth. 
 
 It was the peculiar, heaven-ordained mission of Israel, 
 to be the custodian, the propagator, the ever-existing 
 witness of this truth, the Messiah of nations, the light of 
 the gentiles. To this end it was appointed, by divine 
 mandate, " as a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation ;" 
 to this endit has been preserved throughout the checquered 
 events of history, amidst the crumbling of thrones and 
 the crash of empires, bravely sustaining the fierce and 
 prolonged storms of intolerance, of fanaticism and perse- 
 cution that raged around its devoted head. Beyond the 
 cloudy horizon of the gloomy present, it ever discerned 
 the bright dawn of a serene future, " when the knowledge 
 of God will cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea." 
 For although religious truth has advanced by slow 
 and measured stages, yet its dominion has visibly ex- 
 panded, and its future realization, though remote, is sure 
 and certain. In the words of the prophets Isaiah and 
 Micah, " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that 
 the mountain of the Lord's house shall be firmly estab- 
 lished on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted 
 above the hills ; and unto it shall flow all the nations. 
 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go 
 up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God 
 of Jacob ; that he may teach us of his ways, and we may 
 walk in his paths." Until that time, when all mankind 
 will know and worship the One and only God, Judaism, 
 the venerable and faithful mother, is willing and anxious 
 to live in amity, in brotherhood, and in peace with her 
 numerous offspring of variously apparelled daughters. 
 Synagogue and Church^ though differing in matters of 
 faith, are yet in perfect agreement on the moral law of 
 the Bible. Upon this broad platform we stand as a united 
 band of brothers, inspired by a common duty, to work
 
 59 
 
 for the improvement and happiness of our common race. 
 There is nothing more wonderful in the history of the 
 human race than the way, in which the religious and 
 moral ideal of Sinai has traversed the lapse of ages, ac- 
 quiring a new strength and beauty with each advance of 
 civilization, and infusing its beneficent influence into 
 every sphere of thought and action. The moral develop- 
 ment of mankind is sure to progress to its destined goal 
 by the assimilating and attractive influence of this grand 
 ideal. 
 
 In the present aspect of the world it devolves upon 
 Judaism, to present the standard of this ideal to the pub- 
 lic eye, in all its attractiveness and perfection, stripped 
 of mere speculative doctrines and ritualistic observances, 
 which in former periods of history were deemed necessary 
 for its preservation. True religion sanctions no doctrine 
 which collides with our reason or our moral sense, no 
 speculative theories or ceremonies, which, without being 
 opposed to conscience, are at least wholly beyond its 
 sphere. 
 
 Guided by these principles and considerations the 
 movement of modern reform in Judaism was inaugurated, 
 and has steadily gained the fervent sympathy and sup- 
 port of numerous faithful adherents. It is a plant of 
 spontaneous growth, emanating from within and not 
 from without, and hence must thrive and prosper. Re- 
 form means rational progress ; reform means life ; reform 
 means enlightened conviction ; reform means sublime 
 devotion to the holiest interests and to the grand ideal 
 ever cherished by Judaism. Under the banner of reform 
 Judaism has revived from its lethargy, has put forth its 
 native energy and vigor, and bids fair to realize its glo- 
 rious future. Directed at first to the abatement of crying 
 abuses in the synagogue it has steadily extended its
 
 60 
 
 sphere and its regenerating influence is now felt in every 
 department of Jewish life. 
 
 It has breathed order into chaos, chased away the 
 dense clouds of superstition that darkened the religious 
 horizon, and purified the spiritual atmosphere of Israel. 
 And these grand results have been achieved, " not by 
 force, not by violence, but by the power of truth." 
 
 Members of " Temple Sinai !" Words are inadequate 
 to convey to you my emotions of deep-felt gratitude for 
 having called me from the distant North, to express the 
 ideas and sentiments, which the act, in which we are 
 engaged, naturally inspires. It affords me a holy satis- 
 faction, to witness the substantial evidences on your part, 
 that the seeds, which your former teacher and guide has 
 sown in singleness of purpose and purity of motive, have 
 not fallen on barren soil. You have undertaken a holy 
 and glorious work. The corner-stone is about to be laid 
 to-day the temple will soon be erected and afford, under 
 divine providence, a lasting monument to your noble 
 efforts. Great, no doubt, were the exertions, great the 
 sacrifices, which it has hitherto cost you ; and still the 
 work is yet in its inception, and great, no doubt, will yet 
 be the sacrifices for its completion. 
 
 " Be strong, therefore, and of good courage, fear not, 
 nor be ye afraid." Persevere in your holy zeal. " Re- 
 main steadfast and faithful, do not hastily waver." 
 Continue to act, as you have hitherto done, in union and 
 harmony, with courage and perseverance, and all diffi- 
 culties will be easily surmounted, a triumphant success 
 will crown your efforts. 
 
 As your fathers, the whole people of Israel, were as- 
 sembled in the days of yore at the base of Mount Sinai 
 and listened to the words of revelation, which since then 
 constitute the corner-stone of the temple of humanity, 
 so are you assembled this day around the corner-stone
 
 61 
 
 of "Temple Sinai," renewing your allegiance to God, 
 determined to remain faithful to the spirit of his holy 
 law. But unlike your fathers, you are not encamped in 
 a bleak, inhospitable desert, nor surrounded by hostile, 
 barbarian tribes, but are free citizens of a great and 
 glorious Republic, settlers of a thriving and noble. State, 
 residents of a fair city, whose changing fortunes could 
 not affect the high-minded impulses, the liberal and 
 generous spirit, by which its inhabitants were ever 
 distinguished. Indeed, the numerous attendance of our 
 fellow-citizens of other creeds, some to testify their inte- 
 rest and sympathy as spectators, others by active 
 participation in the exercises of the hour, practically 
 illustrates the beautiful line of the sacred bard, " Behold 
 how good, and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell 
 together in unity !" 
 
 Let the corner-stone, therefore, be laid with the ac- 
 customed rites by the worthy brotherhood, whose motto 
 is Light, Truth and Charity ; whose principles and 
 practice are in full harmony with the principles and prac- 
 tice of Judaism. 
 
 In the name of God, we solemly dedicate this corner- 
 stone, upon which the sacred edifice is to rest. May the 
 " Temple Sinai" realize the fervent anticipations of its 
 founders, become a fountain of holy and blessed influence, 
 a visible embodiment and messianic teacher of the two 
 cardinal principles of true religion. " Allegiance to God- 
 Good will to man/"
 
 VI. 
 SERMON 
 
 Delivered at the Dedication of the 
 
 TEMPLE AHAWATH CHESED, 
 
 OF NEW YORK, 
 
 Friday, April 19th, 1872.
 
 " In order that all the nations of the 
 earth may know that the Lord is 
 the true God, none else" (Z K. 
 vm, 60.) 
 
 WITH these words King Solomon concluded his ad- 
 dresses and his prayers at the dedication of the 
 Temple, which marked an era in Israel's history. These 
 words have an infinitely wider application than the place 
 and the occasion on which they were uttered. They not 
 only designate the object of every Jewish house of wor- 
 ship, but most emphatically express the end and object 
 of the Jewish religion itself. Ever since the divine pro- 
 mise was made to Abraham, " In thee and in thy seed 
 all the'families of the earth shall be blessed !" ever since 
 Israel received the glorious appointment, " You shall be 
 unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation ;" 
 Judaism has strenuously labored, in the various phases of 
 its checkered history, to realise this promise, to act in 
 the spirit of this appointment, to the end, " that all the 
 nations of the earth may know that the Lord is the true 
 God, none else." 
 
 5
 
 66 
 
 In dedicating, therefore, this magnificent temple to the 
 worship of the Most High, the Creator of the universe, 
 the Father of all mankind, under conditions and sur- 
 roundings so different from those which existed at the 
 time of Solomon, we are forcibly reminded of the eternal, 
 indefeasible validity of Israel's mission, " to be a coven- 
 ant of the people, a light of the nations," -\^ oy TVI;^ 
 3>U (Isa. 42, 6). However great the change which our 
 position to the outer world has undergone in the course of 
 centuries, our peculiar relation to God, as the lineal de- 
 scendants and heirs of those, who were divinely com- 
 missioned as the depositaries of the eternal religious truth, 
 as the custodians of pure morality, is as patent this day 
 as at any previous period of our history to every impar- 
 tial, unprejudiced mind. The cardinal doctrine of our 
 faith and of true religion in general, " Hear, O Israel, the 
 Lord our God is One !" is still repeated in our houses of 
 worship with undiminished fervor, and the decalogue still 
 regarded and revered as the corner-stone of morality 
 and social well-being. And, however much of the prom- 
 ised divine blessing may already have been imparted to 
 the families of man through our agency, still cfur task is 
 Hot finished, our mission not accomplished untill " the 
 whole earth is full of the knowledge of God, as the 
 waters cover the sea" until the spirit of God, the spirit 
 of wisdom and knowledge, the spirit of justice and bene- 
 volence, the spirit of counsel and of genuine fear of God 
 will animate the whole human race, and harmony, peace 
 and love will unite all mankind into one sacred bond of 
 brotherhood. Notwithstanding, therefore, all the politi- 
 cal, social, material, and intellectual changes, which have 
 taken place, and which have transformed the aspect of 
 the world, our present relation to God ib the same as 
 in the days of Abraham, of Moses and of Solomon. In 
 this respect the words of the prophet are literally verified :
 
 67 
 
 I, the Lord, do not change, and ye, sons of Jacob, shall 
 never cease. (Mai. 3, 6.) 
 
 Now the question arises, what are the consequences 
 of our changed outward relations to the world, and our 
 unchanged, spiritual relation to God ? In other words, 
 how can the duties attached to either be made to har- 
 monize ? 
 
 The proper illustration of this subject is, in my opinion, 
 alike interesting to Israelites and non-Israelites, and is 
 eminently suited to the truth-inspiring act, in which we 
 are engaged. 
 
 The twenty-first verse of the fifty-ninth chapter of 
 Isaiah shall serve our text : 
 
 " And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith 
 the Lord, my spirit that is upon thee, and my words, 
 which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of 
 thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy children, nor out 
 of the mouth of thy children's children, saith the Lord, 
 from henceforth and to all eternity." 
 
 The history of Israel is characterized by three distinct 
 periods : that of the patriarchs, of the political independ- 
 ence as a nation, and of the dispersion. 
 
 In " looking to the rock from whence we were hewn," 
 we find that Abraham had a pure conception of God and 
 His all-wise providence ; that he fostered a rational faith 
 in God ; that he practised sublime virtue and piety, by 
 which alone the temporal and eternal happiness of the 
 individual and of the race can be secured. The source 
 of blessing thus welling in Abraham, should not be suf- 
 fered to dry up, but was destined to become through him 
 and his posterity the ultimate property of all mankind. 
 Hence it followed, as a neceseary consequence, that his 
 descendants should cultivate and preserve this blessing, 
 or this faith, in. its purity, that through them, it might 
 be communicated to the families of the earth.
 
 68 
 
 The patriarchs, in their simple patriarchal family-life, 
 were able to foster this faith, without requiring a distinct, 
 exclusive relation to the outward world. They could 
 enjoy and cultivate this blessing in any country, in any 
 relation of life, under various political and social condi- 
 tions, and by their simple but sublime faith, by their 
 simple but heart-felt worship, by their pious walk before 
 God, be paragons of holiness and shining models to their 
 contemporaries. In this period, therefore, with one sin- 
 gle exception, we meet with no revelation of specific 
 laws, with no institution of distinct ceremonies and sym- 
 bols. It was enough for the patriarchs to exhibit a life 
 distinguished by a pure, firm faith in the One and only 
 God, and by the brightest virtues of humanity. 
 
 But when the descendants of Abraham had increased to 
 a numerous people, other methods were required to pre. 
 serve the divine blessing inherited from the patriarchs 
 for the benefit of the human race. " Delivered from the 
 iron furnace of Egypt," they had outgrown the simple 
 family relation, without yet possessing the prerequisites 
 for national independence. In order to accomplish their 
 inherited mission as custodians and propagators of reli- 
 gious truth, Divine Wisdom put them in possession of the 
 promised land ; enacted laws and statutes, civil and poli- 
 tical, adapted for the exigencies of their independent 
 national existence ; established a mode of public worship, 
 symbols and ceremonies in keeping with the spirit of the 
 age but all this with the specific object of creating a na- 
 tional unity, of blending and amalgamating the pure faith 
 in God, the pure religous idea, with the very life-blood of 
 the people. 
 
 But who does not perceive that all these acquisitions 
 and developments the possession of a country, the poli- 
 tical, agragrian, civil and ecclesiastical institutions, the 
 sacrifices and levitical orders were but radiations of the
 
 69 
 
 grand central focus, whose light was increased by their 
 reflecting beams. Who does not perceive that all these 
 institutions and laws, which fill the best part of the Pen- 
 tateuch and have mostly become inoperative, were es- 
 tablished by Divine Wisdom, to realize Israel's grand 
 mission as the depositaries and channel of the divine 
 blessing. 
 
 Looking through the vista of thousands of years, the 
 ancient commonwealth of Israel apears to us as a sunny, 
 fruitful oasis in the midst of the benighted, sterile desert 
 of paganism. 
 
 We have arrive'd at the third period. When eighteen 
 hundred years ago, under the providence of God, all 
 these institutions were subverted ; when the Jewish State 
 was dissolved, the political organization, the civil and 
 ecclesiastical constitution, the sacerdotal and levitical 
 orders, and the sacrificial worship, were overwhelmed by 
 the ruins of the Temple, Israel ceased to be a body poli- 
 tic and returned to its primitive family relation. The 
 remaining fragments of the people were scattered to all 
 parts of the globe, and the single families united in more 
 or less numerous religious communities or congregations, 
 held together by the bond of their common inherited 
 faith. 
 
 What has been, and what is now, our relation to God 
 under this changed state of things ? 
 
 We occupy the same relation to our Heavenly Father, 
 which we erst sustained, before it pleased God to create 
 our nationality, to lead us into the promised land, to 
 form us into a body politic, with distinct civil, political 
 and ecclesiastical institutions, in a word, before he in 
 vested us with that peculiar, exclusive character which, 
 for the time of its continuance, was deemed the most 
 efficient means of realizing our mission : to preserve intact 
 the world-redeeming religious truth. We have returned
 
 70 
 
 to the same relation to God, which the patriarchs occupied 
 in the days of old. The covenant of God with Abraham, 
 renewed and amplified on Sinai with the whole house of 
 Israel, has never been abrogated or superseded, but 
 applies to us iu its original force and significance. As 
 the seed and heirs of the great Patriarch it is still our 
 duty, not to suffer the source of the divine blessing to 
 become extinct or adulterated within us, but to be up 
 and doing, in order that the salutary rays of the true 
 knowledge and worship of God pour their saving light 
 on all the families of the earth. All the outward condi- 
 tions and insignia of our political and national existence 
 were no integral parts of the divine covenant, but simply 
 constituted the means of its preservation during a long 
 series of centuries. The covenant itself is still unchangea- 
 bly the same : That through Abraham and his seed all 
 the families of the earth shall be blessed. And this is 
 precisely the idea expressed in our text, " And as for me, 
 this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, my spirit 
 that is upon thee, and my words, which I have put in 
 thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
 the mouth of thy children, nor out of the mouth of thy 
 childi-en's children, saith the Lord, from henceforth and 
 unto all eternity." 
 
 From what has been advanced it will thus appear, that 
 in our present condition our relation to God is no longer 
 that of a peculiar people or nation, in a political sense of 
 these terms. We occupy the same ground which the 
 patriarchs occupied : we are distinguished as Jewish 
 families. Our peculiar relation to God only consists in 
 our peculiar mission : To foster the pure faith in the 
 Holy One by the worship of His Holy Name, in spirit 
 and in truth, and by a virtues and moral conduct. And 
 this our peculiar mission is not to be regarded as involv- 
 ing sacred obligations generally incumbent upon man,
 
 but as the special appointment by God of ourselves and 
 our children, to preserve the spiritual treasures confided 
 to Israel in all their purity, that they may become the 
 perennial source of inexhaustible blessings to all* the chil- 
 dren of man. We can not renounce this peculiar relation 
 to God without annihilating our identity, without ceasing 
 to be Israelites, without severing ourselves from a long 
 line of ancestry, creating a gap which can never be closed, 
 and bidding adieu for ever to our parental home. We 
 can not renounce this peculiar relation to God, until the 
 hope, which springs from its stem like an ever-blooming 
 branch, until the hope, which, like a radiant star, shines 
 through the gloomy night of our history, shall be real- 
 ized : the hope, that pure faith in God, genuine piety, 
 virtue and brotherly love will one day become the herit- 
 age of all mankind. 
 
 But our peculiar relation to God by no means implies 
 a peculiar relation to our fellow-men. Divested of all 
 specifically political and national characteristics, our 
 families constituting integral portions of the people of 
 the various countries of our birth or adoption, we cor- 
 dially mingle and earnestly desire to cultivate a friendly 
 intercourse with our fellow-citizens of other Breeds, in 
 all secular and human relations ; and this was precisely 
 the condition of the patriarchs. In all human and 
 worldly affairs they worked hand in hand with their 
 contemporaries; they only differed in their faith, in 
 their knowledge and worship of God, in their uncom- 
 promising virtue. In this respect they were far in ad- 
 vance of their age. In the patriarchal times, religion 
 was not yet united with the State with us Israelites 
 religion has been totally severed from the State for the 
 last eighteen hundred years. 
 
 But it may be objected that this view of our present 
 position and duties was opposed to the principle of pro-
 
 72 
 
 gress which we cherish, and of which this temple shall 
 afford renewed testimony and a glorious monument. It 
 may be asked, can it be possible, that for you alone 
 Moses should have lived and taught in vain that his 
 laws, his statutes and his ordinances should have been 
 ephemeral institutions that the prophets and God-in- 
 spired men, whom Israel has produced, should have left 
 no impress of their teachings that all the trials, the ex- 
 periences and the developments of history should only 
 serve to place you on the same ground which your 
 fathers occupied many hundred years before Israel was 
 created a nation ? Is not this retrogression rather than 
 progress ? 
 
 These objections, however plausible they seem, can 
 readily be answered. True it is, we firmly and unre- 
 servedly adhere to the religion taught by Moses, and 
 fervently declare: 3py r6np nsnio nt?D 1^> mv min, 
 " The law which Moses commanded us is the inheritance 
 of the congregation of Jacob." The great prophet has 
 not lived in vain for us, and the lessons and influence 
 of the God-inspired men, who taught in his spirit, are 
 not lost on our minds and hearts, although we are no 
 longer th* sole possessors of their doctrines, their ideas 
 and their teachings. The powerful stream of religious 
 truth, taking its rise with Abraham, and increasing in 
 volume and purity under Moses and the prophets, has 
 sent forth two great and mighty branches, which have 
 in part diffused the divine blessing in many directions. 
 But in order to properly appreciate our present relation, 
 it is necessary to distinguish between the Mosaic Polity r , 
 that is, the civil constitution of the people of Israel in 
 the shape of a theocracy, and the Mosaic Religion, that 
 is, the revelation of the Divine Providence and govern- 
 ment of the universe. The first, with all its laws, stat- 
 utes and ordinances, has lost its practical value ; the
 
 73 
 
 latter constitutes the unchangeable, imperishable scope 
 of Israel's existence. The peculiar polity was necessi- 
 tated by the conditions of the age, to secure the per- 
 petuity of religious truth. It was the means, and not 
 the end. Hence the Jewish religion survived the Jewish 
 State. The political institutions, the civil and ceremo- 
 nial enactments contained in the Pentateuch, had a tem- 
 porary and local value, and could never be designed to 
 stand forever ; but the Religion, for the preservation of 
 which they were instituted, should, through Israel, be- 
 come the law of the world. 
 
 And for this higher destiny the law of Moses made 
 ample provision. It not only enjoined on the people 
 obedience to God as the national Ruler, but also pure, 
 self-sacrificing love with all the heart, all the soul, and 
 all the might towards God as the Father; not only 
 the observance of the civil and ceremonial laws, but 
 also of the moral precepts of virtue and holiness ; not 
 only respect for the person and property of the neigh- 
 bor, but also disinterested love for the native and 
 stranger. The civil and ecclesiastical laws were but an- 
 cillary to the establishment of religious truth i. e., the 
 purest conception of God and his holy will ; the sanctifi- 
 cation of man by holy sentiments and virtuous deeds ; 
 the diffusion of justice in its highest sense, and love in 
 its sublimest scope. While, therefore, the laws in their 
 outward form were dependent upon existing conditions, 
 and had to stand or fall with these ever-changing con- 
 ditions, the spirit, which called them into being, is un- 
 changeable and imperishable, because it is the spirit of 
 religion, the spirit of God, which is immutable, which 
 retains its eternal creative vigor and freshness amidst 
 all the changes of the outward relations of life. 
 
 And it is this spirit, and not the letter, which we 
 cherish and revere. Not in their concrete outward form,
 
 74 
 
 but in their spirit, are the institutions of Moses and the 
 revelations of the prophets, our eternal, inexhaustible 
 sources of instruction and never failing guides. But it 
 would be an error to assume, that with the destruction 
 of its political nationality Israel had forfeited Divine 
 grace, had fallen from its high estate of being the di- 
 vinely-appointed teacher of genuine religious truths for 
 all mankind. Our status during the dispersion, similar 
 to that occupied by the patriarchs, is therefore no retro- 
 gression, but actual progress. Our relation to God is 
 unchanged. The realization of our mission is facilitated 
 by the law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, 
 which, in their spirit, constitute the inalienable inherit- 
 ance of the congregation of Jacob. 
 
 This conclusion is not the result of a speculative the- 
 ory, but is borne out by our long eventful history, in 
 which God has ever revealed himself to us, which has 
 planted the faith in the benign providence of God still 
 more deeply into our hearts, and enabled us, more fully 
 to comprehend our relation to God, our peculiar mis- 
 sion and our general duties to man. There is no people 
 on earth that can better learn its destiny and its powers 
 from its history than Israel can learn from its own ; and 
 in order to realize our present position, it is necessary 
 to comprehend the revelation of God in our history. 
 Through its mouth God speaks to us as solemnly as he 
 once did through the mouth of Moses. With the anni- 
 hilation of our political independence God himself has 
 reduced us to our present stage, to faithfully execute 
 the sacred commission which he entrusted to our hands, 
 'and to guard the precious treasure of religious truth, 
 not as a nation among the nations, but as families among 
 the families of the earth. History teaches us, that our 
 status as Israelites is a far higher one than it was at any 
 previous period, because it bears a purely religious
 
 75 
 
 I 
 
 character, and is separated from all political aspirations 
 and worldly grandeur. We stand nearer to God than 
 at any previous period, because our experiences in his- 
 tory have fitted us to understand, more clearly than we 
 have ever done heretofore, the object of our mission. 
 Our history served us as a special school, to be educated 
 for our calling. The end of our mission is but partially 
 gained ; for as yet only a portion of mankind enjoys the 
 promised blessing through Israel's instrumentality. Its 
 full measure shall be realized not by worldly power and 
 political ascendancy, but by purely spiritual means and 
 moral agencies. 
 
 Ever since our dispersion Judaism has been com- 
 pletely separated from the State, has assumed its pris- 
 tine purity as a religion of the mind and heart, of con- 
 viction and of feeling. We know, better than ever 
 before, that as Israelites it is our duty to worship the 
 One and only God, and to love Him with all our heart, 
 with all our soul, and with all our might. We know, 
 that as men we are sincerely devoted, in common with 
 our fellow-citizens of other creeds, to the country which 
 we claim as our own ; that it is our sacred obligation, 
 faithfully and cheerfully to perform all the duties of 
 citizenship and of humanity, to love every man as our 
 neighbor, as our brother, as ourselves. 
 
 It is well to define thus publicly and solemnly our re- 
 lation to the outward world, in the light in which it is 
 viewed by ourselves, since it frequently happens, that, 
 when Jews and Judaism are touched upon in the pulpit, 
 or the press, intelligent divines and enlightened writers 
 speak of the present generations of Israel as belonging 
 to the past, as constituting a peculiar people with pecu- 
 liar political aspirations. It is well to show, that our 
 religion simply defines our relation to God ; that in our 
 character as men, as citizens, we have no separate ob-
 
 76 
 
 jects, no exclusive ends to pursue. Our religion only so 
 far regulates our intercourse with the world, as it insists 
 upon a moral and virtuous conduct, upon the practice 
 of incorruptible honesty and justice, of diffusive benevo- 
 lence, as the only means of securing our eternal salva- 
 tion. In every other respect, our interests are identical 
 with the interests of the country whose children we are, 
 and for whose welfare and prosperity it is our duty to 
 pray and to devote our best energies. 
 
 It will thus be perceived' that our covenant with God 
 is a spiritual compact, which renders it imperative upon 
 us to see, that the spirit of God which rests upon us, 
 which has descended upon us from the patriarchs in un- 
 broken continuity, shall not depart from us and from our 
 children to all eternity ; that we are resolved to remain 
 the trustees of the divine blessing, the depositaries of 
 pure religious truth, until all divergent creeds shall have 
 disappeared ; until all the nations and all the families of 
 the earth will know and worship the One and only God ; 
 until, throughout the earth, God will be acknowledged 
 One and His Name One ; ' until all the nations of the 
 earth will know, that the Lord is God, there is none 
 else."
 
 ,. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN MAN," 
 
 A SERIES OF FOUR SERMONS, 
 
 DELIVEBED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL. 
 
 i. 
 Sabbath, March 2d, 1872.
 
 " And the Lord said unto Moses : ' Go thou up unto 
 this mount of Abarim and see the land ichich I have 
 given unto the children of Israel. And when thou 
 hast seen it, then shalt thou also be gathered unto 
 thy people, as Aaron thy brother hath been gathered. 
 Because you rebelled against my order in the desert 
 of Zin, at the quarrelling of the congregation, to sanc- 
 tify me through the waters before their eyes: these are 
 the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of 
 Zin. -And Moses spoke unto the Lord, saying, Let 
 the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint 
 a man, over the congregation, who may go out before 
 them and who may bring them in ; that the 
 Congregation of the Lord be not as a flock which 
 have no xhepherd. And the Lord said unto Nonet, 
 Take to thyself Joshua, the son of Nun, a man 
 in whom there is spirit, and thou shalt lay they 
 hand upon him. And thou shalt cause him to 
 stand before Elazar the priest, and befo e all the 
 congregation; and thou shalt give him a charge before 
 their eyes. And thou shalt put some of thy greatness 
 upon him; in order that all the congregation of the 
 children of Israel may be obedient. " Numbers 
 XXVII, 12-20. 
 
 THE opinion has long ago been expressed, D1P1D fN 
 miro iniNGrt "that the Pentateuch is not chronological- 
 ly arranged. " Some of its historical incidents and episo- 
 des stand in no connection with the passage immediately
 
 80 
 
 preceding and following, and the date of their occurence 
 can only be ascertained by a careful examination of the 
 Mosaic record. This absence of historical conciseness, 
 moreover, evidently favors the conclusion, that each of 
 the Five Books is the separate work of an independent 
 compiler. The passage quoted as our text obviously be- 
 longs to the close of the Pentateuch. 
 
 The day approached, when Moses must die. The 
 people, for whom he had so long cared, and whom he 
 had so anxiously led, were now ready to enter the pro- 
 mised land ; but he was forbidden to go in with them. 
 His work was done; his great task was accomplished; 
 and it only remained for him to render up his life. 
 
 Yet it was fit, that before this venerable servant of 
 God laid down his charg^ he should see that part of it 
 which could be transmitted, deposited in proper hands, 
 that he might die in the comfortable assurance, that the 
 great work he had undertaken might be vigorously 
 prosecuted after his death. Ever since the fatal day of 
 Meribah, the prophet knew, that he was doomed to die, 
 without setting the sole of his foot upon the land, which 
 was to form the heritage of his people. But now he 
 receives a distinct intimation, as his brother had before^ 
 that the appointed time was come and, like him, he is 
 directed to ascend the neighboring mountain, there to 
 render up his life. Observe well how he receives this in- 
 timation. What is the foremost thought in his mind ? 
 Nothing that concerns himself no regret of his own; 
 all his thought is for the welfare of the people : "Let the 
 Eternal, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over 
 the congregation, who may go out before them, and who 
 may go in before them, and who may lead them out, 
 and who may bring them in ; that the congrega- 
 tion of the Lord be not as sheep which have no 
 no shepherd." Here is the same loftiness of spirit, rising
 
 81 
 
 above every thought of self the same zeal for the honor 
 of God, the same devoted solicitude for the welfare of 
 the people, which had hitherto marked his whole career. 
 We may wade through folios of history and biography 
 narrating the mighty deeds of warriors, statesmen and 
 professed patriots, before we find another case equal to 
 it in interest. 
 
 The suit of Moses was heard, and Joshua, who had 
 already had opportunities of distinguishing himself by 
 his faithfulness and by his courage, was directed to be 
 solemnly inaugurated at the tabernacle as the future 
 leader of the Hebrew host. Nothing then remained for 
 Moses to do, but to pour out his heart before the people 
 in lofty odes and eloquent blessings. Then he retired to 
 the appointed mountain, that he might, before his death, 
 survey the goodly land, in which the people were to 
 establish that noble commonwealth, which he had so 
 laboriously organized. 
 
 Joshua was thus selemnly appointed as his successor, 
 and his fitness for the high and difficult office was cha- 
 racterized by a single word, which I propose to take as 
 the subject of my discourse for this and the next occa- 
 sion. " God said to Moses, Take Joshua, the son of 
 Nun, a man in whom there is spirit." The Hebrew " nn " 
 and its equivalent " spirit " are identical both in their 
 primary and abstract sense, nil and spirit, in their pri- 
 mary sense denote " breath,, " and this being the vital 
 function of the animal organism, nn and spirit are em- 
 ployed to designate the soul of man; the intelligent, im- 
 material and immortal part of human beings. And thus, 
 in its abstract sense, the term is applied in both langua- 
 ges to express life, ardor, fire, elevation or vehemence of 
 mind; the essential qualities of any faculty, affection, 
 sentiment and disposition, of virtue and vice, of good and 
 evil. Hence the terms : spirit of truth and spirit of false- 
 
 6
 
 hood spirit of love and spirit of selfishness spirit of 
 justice and spirit of oppression spirit of meeknsss and 
 spirit of pride spirit of wisdom and spirit of folly spirit 
 of liberality and spirit of avarice spirit of piety and 
 spirit of worldliness : are current in both languages and 
 are familiar to our ears. In order, therefore, to correct- 
 ly understand the quality of the spirit by which Joshua 
 is represented in our text as being animated, we must 
 refer to other portions of Scripture, in order to appreciate 
 it correctly. In the last chapter of the Pentateuch, 
 where the circumstance is alluded to, it is said of Joshua 
 DD3n nil JOE that he was full of the spirit of wisdom. 
 Joseph is praised as a man, 13 D^rpx rrn "ifc?X in whom 
 there is the spirit of God. Of Bezalel we read that God, 
 had filled him with the spirit of God. The question, 
 therefore, what is the spirit of God in man, which shall 
 become the standard of our thoughts, words and actions, 
 which shall overrule the human spirit is naturally sug- 
 gested. Let us explain by an illustration. 
 
 Standing on the crest of a mountain or in a large plain, 
 where our eye, as far it reaches, may enjoy an unob- 
 tructed view, it invariably appears to us, as if we were 
 standing in the centre of an immense circle at our base, 
 and under the very central point of the hemisphere , of 
 the visible heavens, that seems to rest on the distant 
 edges of the horizon all around us; and though we may 
 change our position ever so often, every new standpoint 
 we may chose will still appear to us as the center of the 
 vast earthly circle, and the highest point of the celest- 
 ial vault will seem to be directly above our head. What- 
 ever point we may chose will seem to us the central 
 point of the horizon. This physical phenomenon, no doubt 
 familiar to you all, finds its analogy in the spiritual 
 horizon of man. 
 
 Every man is naturally fond to regard himself as the
 
 83 
 
 central point, around which the whole world is moving. 
 lie refers everything to himself, and his judgment is 
 regulated according to the interests he individually has 
 in any relation, circumstance or occurrence pronoun- 
 cing good what is useful, and bad what is injurious to 
 himself. " Dear self " is his ideal ; it is, as it were, the 
 text-book from which he draws the rules, that sway his 
 judgment of allthings in heaven and earth. 
 
 Of course you will rarely find. a person, that will con- 
 fess as much. But we do not now inquire, what man is 
 according to his' own confession, but what he is, when 
 stripped of all the guises which hypocrisy and self de- 
 ception have drawn around him. 
 
 I will readily admit, that, if we were capable of be' 
 holding the soul of man in its real state, divested of all 
 artificial guides, we would even then rarely discover sel- 
 fishness, so absolute and unqualified, as to be relieved 
 by no redeeming trait. Still this does not contradict the 
 position assumed, but only proves that there is seldom a 
 man to be found, who had not within him something of 
 the spirit of God, tending to mitigate his asperities arid 
 to soften his harshness ; but it is necessary to glance at 
 the godless spirit in man, in all its unvarnished hid- 
 eousness r in order to recognize, what is the true spirit of 
 God. 
 
 Absolute, unqualified selfishness, in its full force, will 
 in but few men continue beyond earliest childhood. It 
 has been justly remarked that the child is the greatest 
 egotist. It appropriates every thing to itself, has no 
 conception of mine and thine, of duty, moral obligation 
 and responsibility; its world is bounded. by the walls of 
 the nursery, and here it is met by persons, who only 
 give and bestow, witout demanding a return ; but as 
 our horizon expands, and the world increases in extent 
 to our view, in the same proportion do we learn and feel
 
 that we are by no means the centre of the universe, but 
 only a link in the infinite chain of all created beings, and 
 that all things are not intended for our special individ- 
 jial benefit, but also for the benefit of others. Yes, in 
 the soul of the wise, the impression gains ground, that 
 we are designed for the benefit of others and to pro 
 mote the beneficent ends of Providence, which we are 
 unable to fully comprehend. It is only when man is 
 duly impressed with this thought, that he ceases to be 
 DTK p, a son of man, and becomes D\vtf p/ a son of God, 
 inasmuch as he recognizes God as the Father of all man- 
 kind ; and having gained this conviction, he must recog- 
 nize in every human being the .child of God, equally fa- 
 vored, equally beloved, and equally protected by our 
 heavenly Father. It thus appears, that only he, who 
 holds his self-love under proper control, can worship God, 
 in spirit and in truth, as the God of the universe ; while 
 the slave of selfishness, who lives in the contracted 
 sphere of his own individuality, constitutes, as far as in 
 him lies, "a state within the state of God," and will 
 sooner or later rebel against divine government and 
 Providence. 
 
 There have been philosophers, who have tried to re- 
 duce the whole range of human duties to a single com- 
 prehensive proposition. One said, that the cardinal duty 
 from which all other duties flow, was the strict adher- 
 ence to truth. This proposition is by no means incor- 
 rect, as there is scarcely a sin which is not, directly or 
 indirectly, based upon a lie. Others maintained, that 
 the cardinal, all-comprehensive duty was to take God as 
 the model of 'our life and action. Who will deny, that 
 this proposition, too, contains a truth, as soon as we 
 have ascertained, which attributes of God we shall imi- 
 tate ; otherwise there would be people, who would choose 
 to imitate God's uncompromising justice and absolute
 
 85 
 
 power rather thau his infinite love and mercy. Others 
 have advanced still other theories upon this subject. 
 
 But we Israelites have no need of these philosophical 
 niceties and distinctions. We acknowledge the great 
 fundamental principle of the law, "|1O3 "|jn? ranxi, " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbor as thyself!" or as Hillel explains 
 it, T2yn tib TOni? ^D ^jn, " Whatever is hateful to Thee, 
 do not perpetrate against thy neighbor," with the re- 
 markable addition, " This is the whole law ; all else is its 
 commentary." 
 
 Selfishness, therefore, is not only one of the greatest 
 sins, but is the prolific source of every species of human 
 wickedness. There is not a vic% or a crime in the whole 
 calendar of human aberrations, that may not be traced 
 back to it as its fountain-head. The man, who respects 
 neither the property, nor the honor, nor the peace, nor 
 the life of his neighbor who insinuates himself into the 
 tender family circle, and ruthlessly undermines the do- 
 mestic peace and bliss of others, until the beautiful fab- 
 ric of family happiness becomes a desolate ruin does 
 not such a man unscrupulously place his own profit and 
 gain, his own satisfaction, the gratification of his own de- 
 sires, above the prosperity, the peace and happiness of 
 others ? 
 
 One of the great characteristics of the present day is 
 a lowness, a sordidness, a frigidness of thought and feel- 
 ing. Men think meanly of their nature, and hence their 
 conduct is selfish. We do not, indeed, see men in gene- 
 ral given up to gross vices. We do not meet around us 
 the ferocity or beastly licentiousness of the savage state. 
 We find many marks of improvement, when we compare 
 the present with earlier ages. But there is little eleva- 
 tion of sentiment. Comparatively few seem to be con- 
 scious of their high origin and destiny, their capacities 
 of excellence, their relations to God, their interest in 
 eternity.
 
 86 
 
 Thanks to God, in the history of every age and nation, 
 amidst the ravages of ambition and the mean aims of 
 selfishness, there have broken forth nobler sentiments, 
 and the evidences of a heavenly virtue. Every age has 
 been illustrated by men, who bore themselves like men, 
 who were animated " by the spirit of God," and vindi- 
 cated the cause of humanity men, who in circumstances 
 of great trial, have adhered to moral and religious prin- 
 ciple, to the cause of persecuted truth who have trod- 
 den the fairest gifts of fortune and the world in the pur- 
 suit of duty. This is the greatest value of history, that 
 it introduces us to persons of this illustrious order ; and 
 its nobleft use is, by th^ir examples to nourish in us a 
 conviction, that elevated purity of motive and conduct 
 is not a dream of fancy, but that it is placed within our 
 reach, and is the very end of our being.
 
 VIII. 
 
 ..I 
 
 E SPIRIT OF GOD IN MAN," 
 
 A SERIES OF FOUR SERMONS, 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL. 
 
 2. 
 
 Sabbath, March 16th, 1872.
 
 "Take to thyself Joshua, the son of 
 Nun, a man in whom there is 
 spirit." (Numbers xxvii. 18). 
 
 JOSHUA was animated by a spirit of wisdom, the spirit 
 of God, and it was in virtue of this attribute that he 
 was appointed as the leader of Israel's host, the suc- 
 cessor of the great man, Moses. We have seen in our 
 last meditation on this subject, that, opposed to this spirit 
 of God in man, is the human spirit manifested in selfish- 
 ness; that, prompted by this spirit of selfishness, every 
 man is apt to regard himself as the centre of creation ; 
 but that it is his duty to overcome this spirit of selfish- 
 ness in thought, word and action, by cultivating the 
 spirit of God that is, by ministering to the happiness 
 and well-being of others. 
 
 Now, in order to discharge our duty in this respect, 
 in ample form, it is not enough to blunt the sharpest 
 points of selfishness, to moderate our self-love in some 
 particular instances for in this way no general result 
 would be attained we have to go farther, we must apply 
 the axe to the root of the evil, by earnestly endeavoring to
 
 00 
 
 ascertain for ourselves the place and the claims to which 
 we are entitled in the human world around us. And this 
 process must not be conducted in a superficial way, by 
 putting a modest estimate on our importance for the 
 little circle, in which we live, but descending to the 
 actual grade which we occupy in the universe. 
 
 The celebrated saying, attributed to Thales, " Know 
 thyself!" has a wider application ithan that, in which 
 it is generally construed. For in order to under- 
 stand what we actually are, we must know others also. 
 The knowledge of the few dozen people, with whom we 
 have intercourse, and of the city in which we live, is 
 certainly of primary importance. But \ve must not stop 
 here. Let us calmly contemplate our vast, spacious 
 globe with its millions of human beings ; let us cast a 
 retrospective glance into the past, and see what large 
 multitudes have been swept away each generation con- 
 stituting the whole of mankind as well as look into the 
 illimitable future before us, and think how many genera- 
 tions will yet come after us ; the earth everywhere and 
 at all times an open, never satiated grave, and, at the 
 same time, everywhere and at all times teeming with 
 new births and productions; let us reflect how much 
 splendor and misery, how much wisdom and folly, how, 
 much virtue and vice, this earth has already borne and 
 is yet destined to bear ! And then turning our eye from 
 this earth, which can by no means appear to us as an 
 atom, and raising it to the hosts of stars above us, we 
 reflect that all those innumerable orbs are immeasm-ably 
 larger spheres of divine providence, the habitations of 
 living and sentient beings ; and still to our short-sighted 
 vision they appear as infinitesimal particles floating in 
 the immensity and infinitude of space ! When we reflect 
 that all these worlds count their existence by thousands 
 of years, and will continue to exist for thousands of
 
 91 
 
 years, after our bodies will have mouldered to dust ; and 
 then, astounded, amazed and stupified by such a con- 
 templation, we descend to ourselves and ask ourselves 
 the question, " What am I, and how much am I, a single, 
 frail and erring individual in connection with this vast, 
 unutterably vast sphere of beings?" Will not our 
 wisdom thus discover a standard for our littleness ? Will 
 not our pride be forced to exclaim, " How insignificant 
 I am compared with this infinitude !" And this whole 
 vast universe is taken in by God at a glance, and is 
 ruled by His providence ! 
 
 After such a contemplation could we still presume to 
 consider ourselves a centre, around which the whole world 
 revolves still cherish a desire of drawing all else into 
 our individual sphere, of rendering all else subservient 
 to our selfish ends ? Would it not be more natural and 
 more rational to bow our head in deep humility, and 
 pray, " Father, I renounce my self-will, I wholly confide 
 myself to Thee, to guide me in Thy wisdom, to assign 
 m& to the place I am fitted for, to aid me in applying 
 the powers and means, with which Thou hast endowed 
 me, to the welfare and happiness of Thy children." 
 
 In thus tearing the roots of selfishness from our bosom 
 and subordinating our will to the will of God, we give 
 evidence of being truly animated by the spirit of God. 
 
 But the work is to be done thoroughly. No bargain- 
 ing, no set-offs, no subterfuges, no cunning devices must 
 be resorted to. ."pn^x 'n DV n^nn D'TDn Complete as we 
 are, with our plans and our wishes, our hopes and our 
 fears, our predilections and onr aversions, our strong 
 and our weak points, undivided and without reserve, we 
 must confide in and. defer to God, if we mean to obey 
 the promptings of the spirit of God within us. The 
 spirit of God within us for the heavenly voice, whose 
 warnings and behests are constantly addressed to us, is
 
 92 
 
 within our own heart. D3'2n HE> nOKOl CiJKn N'n mi pN 
 " Truly, says Job, there is a spirit in man, and the breath 
 of the Almighty giveth them understanding." And it is 
 precisely this spirit, which spontaneously teaches every 
 man, in every grade and condition, how utterly insigni- 
 ficent, how utterly worthless he would be, if isolated 
 from the rest of his kind, if exclusively bound up in his 
 own selfish individuality. 
 
 There are, indeed, many situations and occurrences in 
 life, in which the feeling of our dependence is brought 
 home to us with a crushing weight. 
 
 We may array ourselves in the most costly attire, with 
 gems and jewels sparkling in brilliant profusion around 
 our persons, still it is not only God who knows and sees, 
 what Abraham expressed in sincere humility, "that we 
 are but dust and ashes " but we shall feel it ourselves, 
 at times most inconvenient and unseasonable. 
 
 We may fancy ourselves to possess the highest culture, 
 the most refined taste, the most penetrating understand- 
 ing, still th<;re are moments, in which we are forced to 
 confess that our counsel is at fault, that all our wisdom 
 is of no avail. 
 
 We may heap treasures of gold mountain high, "join 
 house on house, bring field near to field, till there is no 
 more room," still with all our wealth we are not able 
 to purchase exemption from sickness, to secure perennial 
 health. 
 
 We may command a host of servants, ministering to 
 our comfort, attending to our wants, enabling us to pass 
 a life of languid ease, of luxurious indolence still we 
 shall be compelled to undergo some indispensable per- 
 sonal exertion. 
 
 And who does not know, although he may seldom 
 think of it, that one day, sooner or later, each one of us 
 must meet the awful change, must submit to the unL
 
 93 
 
 versal law, from which even a Moses was not exempt, 
 which consigns all that is mortal to decay and to death, 
 and Which summons his immortal soul to the bar of 
 eternity ! And as neither ornate finery nor wealth, 
 neither accomplishments nor culture, neither rank nor 
 station, can save us from this impending doom, these 
 things will, in like manner, neither precede nor follow us 
 to our eternal home, in order to plead for us, to assert 
 there our claims to distinction and superiority. 
 
 But there is something which will precede us, which 
 will plead our cause with imperishable eloquence and 
 power. IplV fish "j^m, "Thy righteousness will go before 
 thee." The good deeds which thou hast performed, will 
 testify in thy favor to all eternity. And these good 
 deeds, in order to be genuine, must flow from the spirit 
 of God within us. 
 
 There are many deeds performed by man which are 
 but specious counterfeits of real goodness, hypocritical 
 devices to cover up actual moral obliquity. Who of you 
 does not call to mind the occasional munificent charities 
 of a once all-powerful, but now spotted and degraded 
 politician of this city, paraded before the public eye with 
 all the dazzling splendor of immaculate goodness and 
 righteousness. Were not these charities the wages of 
 corruption, designed to promote the selfish ends of their 
 author? It argues well for human nature to look upon 
 the effect and not upon the motive of deeds of charity. 
 Hut when the crafty hypocrite stands unmasked before 
 us in all the hideousness of his unrighteous, selfish mani- 
 pulations, his charities are without intrinsic value, and 
 can only serve " to point out a moral and adorn a 
 sermon." Charity of this kind is aptly compared in the 
 Talmud 1T3 p'jn ^>31B to a man, who performs the levi- 
 tical ablution, while persistently grasping the unclean 
 reptile, by which he was defiled.
 
 94 
 
 The only true standard, by which our good deeds can 
 be gauged, is the absence of selfishness. In looking 
 around and above us with an intelligent eye, we must 
 become aware of our individual insignificance, and that 
 we are by no means the centre, around which the whole 
 world revolves ; we must gain the conviction that we 
 are but satellites of the only great centre, around which 
 all worlds and all created beings are revolving. And 
 this great centre is God, whose spirit animates our being. 
 Let us listen to the voice of this spirit within us, and 
 our duties will be faithfully discharged, our task upon 
 earth be accomplished for our own good and the happi- 
 ness of others.
 
 IX. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN MAN," 
 
 A SERIES OF FOUR SERMONS, 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL. 
 
 3. 
 
 Sabbath, March 3Oth, 1872.
 
 Take to thyself Joshua, the Son 
 of Nun, a man in whom there 
 is spirit. (N umbers xxvn, 18). 
 
 TN my last two expositions of this text, I have endeav- 
 -^ ored to define the term rm or spirit, the possession 
 of which qualified Joshua, in an eminent degree, to suc- 
 ceed his great master as leader of the people, to marshal 
 their hosts for the occupation of the promised land. I 
 have tried to show, that every man is endowed with this 
 spirit of God, to whose voice he must listen, in order to 
 overcome the spirit of selfishness, which is lurking in 
 the human heart; I have endeavored, to expose the 
 fallacy of the wide-spread phenomenon, according to 
 which every man is apt, to regard himself as the centre, 
 around which the whole world is revolving ; and have 
 drawn the irresistible conclusion, that only those deeds, 
 which are devoid of selfish motives and ends are ema- 
 nations of the spirit of God within us, are entitled to be 
 characterized as good and noble. 
 
 It is owing to the prevalence of the spirit of selfishness, 
 that we meet with so little elevation of sentiment, and 
 
 7
 
 98 
 
 that comparatively few seem to be conscious of their 
 high origin and destiny, their capacities of excellence, 
 their relation to God, their interest in eternity. 
 
 The spirit of God, which is operative in man and by 
 the prompting of which all that is good, great and noble 
 is accomplished, the spirit of philanthropy and love, is 
 confined to neither age, country or people, but is active, 
 though in a limited degree and in isolated instances, at 
 all times and in every place. Judaism does not favor 
 pessimism; it abhors the idea of general depravity or ori- 
 ginal sin, but emphaticaly teaches the God-like character 
 of the human soul. Hence we are justified in assuming, 
 that the spirit of God is revealed and is manifested 
 through man, just as much in our day, as at any previous 
 period of history. We easily recognize this spirit by its 
 reverse. Every manifestation or action, which excludes 
 selfishness, is the product of this spirit ; but wherever 
 selfishness predominates, you look in vain for this spirit, 
 for it is wanting. 
 
 Let us illustrate this proposition by a few examples. 
 
 The spirit of God is called the spirit of wisdom. What 
 is wisdom ? It is the choice of laudable ends and of the 
 best means to accomplish them. Its scope is not limited 
 to the individual, but embraces the welfare of the whole; 
 is not bounded by our temporal existence, but includes 
 time and eternity. While estimating material advantages 
 and possessions at their comparative value, it is the chief 
 aim of wisdom, to promote the intellectual and moral 
 growth of mankind, its end the foundation of general 
 good. The spirit of wisdom is essentially the spirit of 
 benevolence. 
 
 Now contrast with this spirit of wisdom, the spint of 
 worldly prudence, by which most people are animated 
 and which they apply to practice a spirit which sternly 
 asserts individual claims and rigidly aims at securing
 
 99 
 
 selfish ends and you will no longer be at a loss, to dis- 
 cern the spirit of God, that should be reflected in our 
 works. The prudent man may be just and moral, and 
 yet be far from being benevolent and religious. 
 
 Justice differs from benevolence, not in its nature, but 
 in the circumstances, under which it is exercised. Both 
 justice and benevolence have the same object, the general 
 good ; but justice is limited to those cases where public 
 good prescribes a clear, pre'cise and unchanging course 
 of action ; while benevolence or its daughter mercy, is 
 exercised in circumstances, to which no definite rules can 
 be applied, and in which the general good requires, that 
 the individual should be left to his own judgment and 
 discretion. Thus true justice is something more than 
 that petty honesty, which seeks nothing but self, and 
 which is contented with regarding such established prin- 
 ciples as cannot be violated without incurring punishment 
 or disgrace. The whole nature of justice is impartial, 
 diffusive benevolence. 
 
 It may be observed, that, if it be the nature of justice 
 to avoid, whatever is clearly opposed to our neighbor, it 
 is unjust, in our dealings with others, to desire and seek 
 more than the value of our services and commodities. 
 Mutual benefit is the object of all human relations, the 
 very end of trade or commerce. We know, when our 
 neighbor contracts with us, that he expects an equivalent. 
 We know, that he renders his services, or makes a trans- 
 fer of his property for some adequate valuable conside- 
 ration, and we have no right to offer as an equivalent, 
 what we certainly know bears no proportion to the ser- 
 vices he renders or the property he transfers. A just 
 man, animated by the spirit of God, will never lose sight 
 of the interests of his neighbor. He will not, indeed, 
 feel himself bound, to take the same care of another's 
 property and interests as of his own for this is imprac-
 
 100 
 
 ticable. He will suppose, that every man, who possesses 
 common understanding, knows best his own interests, 
 and on this ground he will deal with him. But when 
 he certainly knows, that his neighbor is injuring himself, 
 that a proposed contract cannot be attended with mutual 
 benefit, he has no right to presume that his neighbor is 
 taking care of himself ; he has no right to be determined 
 upon realizing the fruits of his shrewd and sharp transac- 
 tion. As surely as he regards the rights of others, he 
 will feel, that he has no right to offer as an equivalent, 
 what he knows has no proportionate value. 
 
 Yes, it is but too true, that justice unconnected with 
 benevolence is not worth possessing. It is the growth 
 of selfishness, and knaves may boast of it. That man, 
 who makes his own private interest supreme who mo- 
 nopolises all honors, emoluments and profits that apper- 
 tain to his province who cares not how much his neigh- 
 bor suffers, if only his individual interests be advanced, 
 who can take pleasure in gains which, he knows, are 
 necessarily connected with the loss and injury of others 
 who, under pretence of leaving his neighbor to provide 
 for himself, will impose upon him as an equivalent, what 
 he knows to be worth nothing : that man may talk of 
 integrity, and hold high his head in a prudent, mercenary 
 world, but he knows not the meaning of justice. He 
 never felt that generous regard to right, that noble ap- 
 preciation of religion and benevolence, which is of more 
 worth and confers more happiness than all the gains of 
 selfishness. 
 
 If such be perfect justice, so incorruptible, what reason 
 have we to fear, that there is little of this principle, when 
 we see the expedients and precautions, which are adopted 
 to prevent men from abusing a trifling or important trust, 
 from sacrificing the interests of their neighbor to a trifling 
 or important gain ! We carry our own shame on our
 
 101 
 
 own foreheads. Most of our civil institutions grow out 
 of our corruptions and delinquencies. We cannot live 
 without mutual dependence, and yet we are forced, to 
 hedge each other round, to bind and shackle each other, 
 to institute inquiries and to watch with anxious caution, 
 less we should abuse each other's necessities, and take 
 advantage of trust, to betray it. At this very moment, 
 here and elsewhere throughout the country, in the Gene- 
 ral, the State and Municipal government, active investi- 
 gations .are carried on, to ascertain, to what an extent 
 the public functionaries have betrayed the various trusts 
 confided to them. Yes, is it not suggestive, is it not 
 humiliating, that a necessity existed for the appointment 
 of a " Committee on Frauds ? " If men were, what they 
 should be, if all were animated by the true spirit, we should 
 find in every man a guardian, instead of an invader of 
 our rights and interests. We should want no better se- 
 curity than our neighbor's word, and no better witness 
 than our neighbor's conscience. Imagination dwells 
 with delight on this state of peaceful, unsuspicious, un- 
 disturbed enjoyment. Is it never to be made a reality ? 
 Will the era never dawn on the horizon of man, of which 
 the prophet speaks, '6?ap "in hi wne i^l ijrv &6, "They 
 shall do no hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, 
 saith the Lord ? " 
 
 It is the glorious design of civil institutions to con- 
 centre public strength in support of individual right, to 
 guard the interests of the feeble by the majesty of the 
 State. But no government can fully accomplish the end 
 of its institution. No outward penalties can supply the 
 place of an inward principle of benevolence, of genuine 
 religion. They, who have power, can always find some 
 opportunity of abusing it. Judaism, the exponent of 
 true religion, an emanation from God, 'emphatically 
 holds, DY1D mo IT -pS? "1^ *bv ^V ^OiNH "whoever saith:
 
 102 
 
 What is mine, is mine; and what is thine, is thine ; 
 pronounces a doctrine of Sodom." True religion forbids 
 us, to abuse any circumstance, which puts our neighbor 
 in our power, or to extort his consent to injurious meas- 
 ures, or to reduce him to the necessity of sacrificing his 
 property, by threatening him with evils, to which we 
 are able to expose him. It recommends the weak and 
 poor to our protection. It renders the defenceless hovel 
 of poverty as sacred as the palace of affluence. It makes 
 the cause of the oppressed our own, and animates us 
 with generous zeal, to rescue the helpless from the grasp 
 of the oppressor. It calls on us, to frown on the base, to 
 separate ourselves from their fellowship JH pK> pmn to 
 keep none of their counsels, to follow none of their 
 examples. Men are prone to stoop to successful villany. 
 They seem to forget the steps, -by which wicked men 
 have ascended to eminence. They have only eyes for 
 the outward splendor and seeming prosperity, in which 
 successful villany is revelling. But the spirit of God 
 within man is inflexible. It can give no countenance to 
 dishonesty and wrong. It looks through the false splen- 
 dor, with which the selfish are surrounded, and sees and 
 detests their baseness. 
 
 A man animated by this spirit takes a firm, elevated 
 Around. He does not cling to every shadow of right. 
 He does not take advantage of ambiguity of expression, 
 to beat down what he knows to be a substantial claim. 
 He does not abuse the ignorance of his neighbor and 
 uphold, by legal subleties, an unfounded demand. He 
 does not press even his undoubted rights too close, lest 
 he should border upon injustice. He reverences the laws, 
 as they are the guardians of right. He holds nothing 
 merely because the laws do not take it away. He seizes 
 nothing merely because the laws do not prohibit it. His 
 motto is not : I will take all the law allows me. He
 
 103 
 
 considers, that laws do not create right, that there are 
 eternal principles of truth and rectitude, to which all 
 civil laws must be reduced as their standard ; and to the 
 spirit planted by God in the human heart and revealed 
 in His holy word, he refers all his actions, which relate 
 to his dealings and his intercourse with othei-s. 
 
 There is a natural law, that whatever belongs to the 
 earth, presses towards its centre. You may pick up a 
 stone, and fling it high in the air it is sure to fall back 
 to the ground, from which is was taken. A mysterious 
 force in the dark bosom of the earth irresistibly draws it 
 down, as it attracts every object and every particle, that 
 belongs to the earth. In a similar way does selfishness 
 act in man. It is the power of gravitation in the human 
 heart, a power, which, if left uncontrolled, wouM fain 
 attract to its centre all earthly objects, means and ap- 
 pliances and hold them fast with iron bands. Selfishness 
 is thus synonymous with darkness of soul, frigidity of 
 heart, spiritual death. 
 
 But there is another law of nature, which governs the 
 operations of light. Its power is not exerted in drawing 
 all things to its centre, but is, on the contrary, mani- 
 fested, by shedding its rays, and pouring its warmth on 
 all objects within its reach. This power preeminently, 
 exclusively resides in the spirit of God within man. It 
 is manifested in our diffusing the light of knowledge, in 
 our pouring forth the warming rays of sympathy, of 
 virtue, of benevolence, of true religion. It does not con- 
 tract, but expands the heart, inuring it to all that is 
 good, and true, and noble, and divine. (), that such a 
 light would burn in every heart. " Would to God, that the 
 whole people were prophets, that the Lord would en- 
 dow them with His spirit.' 2
 
 ,, 
 
 X. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN MAN," 
 
 A SERIES OF FOUR SERMONS, 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 TEMPLE EMANU-EL. 
 
 4. 
 
 Sabbath, April 13th, 1872.
 
 " Take unto thyself Joshua, the son of 
 Nun, a man in whom there is 
 spirit." (Numbers xxvii., 18.) 
 
 r |MIESE words, which thrice constituted the basis of 
 -- our meditation, force themselves upon our particu- 
 lar attention to-day, by the Haphtarah, which has been 
 read to iis, how Joshua, a man in whom there was 
 spirit, the true spirit of God, prepared himself for the 
 last hour. 
 
 After a long career of victorious warfare, followed by 
 an old age of comparative repose, during which, upon 
 his estate at Timnath Serach, in the mountains of 
 Ephraim, he was permitted to enjoy the blessings of the 
 land he had conquered, Joshua consciously drew nigh to 
 the term of his existence and, like Moses, determined to 
 give to the assembled Israelites the advantage of his 
 parting counsels. The tribes were convened at Shechem, 
 where the Tabernacle at this time seems to have been, 
 and where, on a former occasion, between the mountains 
 of Ebal and Gerizzim, they had entered into covenant 
 with God. Nothing can be conceived, more impressive
 
 108 
 
 or sublime, than the circumstance of this last public in- 
 terview of the a'ged leader with the people, whom he 
 had put in possession of the goodly promised land, and 
 , who had so often followed him in his victorious path. 
 In the midst of the elders, the chiefs, and magistrates of 
 Israel, surrounded by a respectful people, their illustri- 
 ous and venerable commander the oldest man in the 
 nation spoke to them as to his sons. And of what did 
 he speak ? He was a soldier, and his career had been 
 essentially military ; but he spoke to them, not of con- 
 quest the sound of the trumpet and the gleam of the 
 -sword cannot be recognized in his address but of the 
 holiness and the obedience which became the people of 
 God. It is such a discourse as a patriarch might have 
 given on his death-bed, or a prophet might have uttered 
 from the valley of the vision. There is nothing like it in 
 modern history, except the prophetic and inspired Fare- 
 well Address of our immortal Washington. 
 
 He called to mind the benefits, which, age after age, 
 had been showered upon the race of Abraham; he hum- . 
 bly summed up the victories to which he had himself led 
 them, in a single allusion ; and concluded, with the im- 
 pressive words, " Choose ye, this day, whom ye will 
 serve ; but as for me and my house, we will serve the 
 Lord." The entire people, w r ith one voice, responded to 
 this call by loud and hearty declarations of their deter- 
 mined faithfulness to their covenant with God. And 
 the aged Joshua, after he had written these words in the 
 book of the law, deposited in the ark, set up a stone 
 under a tree that grew near the Tabernacle, as a memo- 
 rial of the renewal of the covenant. His work, both of 
 war and of peace, was then done. He could now lay 
 down his head and die in thankful peace. 
 
 My friends, whoever can act, whoever can speak thus 
 in the last hours of his earthly career, must have lived a
 
 109 
 
 life, in accordance with the promptings of the " spirit of 
 God " within him. No fear, no misgiving, no terror, 
 can shake his equanimity. With a serene calm, with_ji 
 settled composure, with a holy peace, he bids adieu to 
 the world ; and the more rationally he may have loved 
 the world, the more tenderly he may have been attached 
 to his fellow-men, the more calmly he will depart. 
 
 The world I What is comprehended in this term ? 
 In its current application, the world is employed to des- 
 ignate the goods and pleasures of the earth, in so far as 
 they gratify the senses more than the spirit. Whoever 
 finds delight in the goods and pleasures of the earth, 
 and strives to obtain the first, and to enjoy the last of 
 him we say, that he loves the world. 
 
 Is it our duty, or is it a sin, to love the world ? In 
 former times there were many people, who withdrew 
 from the world, and retired into solitude from piety \ 
 They hated the world, scornfully spurned its goods, and 
 disdained its pleasures. It would be difficult, to find a 
 satisfactory answer to the question : What did these 
 people want upon earth what did they wish to accom- 
 plish for the good of mankind ? As far as Judaism is 
 concerned, neither the Mosaic nor the prophetical books, 
 neither the Talmud nor any rabbinical writings, attach 
 the least merit, the least religious value, to a withdrawal 
 from the active scenes of life. Judaism, on the contrary, 
 insists upon an active intermingling with the world, to 
 develop our powers and faculties for our own good, and 
 for the benefit of our fellow-men. It is opposed to a 
 sanctimonious, morose, misanthropical view of life. It 
 recommends cheerfulness. It says, nnotja 'n nx nay 
 " Serve ye the Lord with joy !" "pn N^K rrnv nrspn ps 
 nnOK'. ^ " The spirit of God only abides in a cheerful 
 heart." It does not denounce the love of the world, 
 provided our aspirations and indulgences are kept within 
 reasonable, within rational bounds.
 
 110 
 
 For whom can the earth have its treasures, and the 
 world its joys? For whom is nature renewed in her 
 smiling vernal attire ? For whom do the trees yield 
 their fruit the olive its fatness the vine its juice ? Is 
 it to rejoice the beasts of the field? No, no, you may 
 love the world but you shall love it rationally, appre- 
 ciate it correctly, and indulge in wise moderation. And. 
 this you are sure to do, when you consider, that the 
 treasures and joys of the world are gifts of God and, 
 hence, are designed to subserve wise and good purposes. 
 There is no absolute evil. Even the poisons in nature 
 are good in themselves. Wisely chosen, compounded 
 and administered by the skilful physician, they produce 
 a salutary effect. Injudiciously used, they kill, instead 
 of preserving life. And that is precisely the case with 
 the treasures and pleasures of the world. You may 
 strive for possession with prudent care, with wise dis- 
 cretion ; you may indulge with rational moderation : the 
 possession will thus be meritorious and laudable the 
 enjoyments have a salutary effect. Such is the language 
 of Judaism, such is the language of reason. 
 
 And it says further : The world, with all its treasures, 
 its pleasures and its glories, will pass away. No earthly 
 good endures, no earthly joy is lasting only the gains 
 and joys of the spirit will endure forever. Whatever of 
 an earthly nature we possess or enjoy, is subject to change 
 and decay. D^ljmTin ^6a. Ask your own experience. Many 
 a one entered the arena of life, under the bright rays of 
 a glorious morning sun, but before he had yet reached 
 noon, the horizon was covered with thick clouds, and 
 the sky became dark and gloomy. Many a tender babe, 
 tenderly nursed by delicate hands, surrounded by lux- 
 ury, pampered by indulgence the most exquisite but a 
 few short years had passed, when the boy or the maiden 
 was exposed to pinching want, because fortune, in her
 
 Ill 
 
 fickleness, had turned her back upon the parents, and 
 surrendered the children to the rough usage, to the cold 
 charities of the world. Who, therefore, does not per- 
 c'eive the instability, the precarious tenure, by which we 
 hold and enjoy all that is earthly, and appreciate the 
 world according to its true value ? Who would build 
 upon sand, when he can chose a firm, solid foundation ? 
 Judaism further says in full harmony with reason 
 Since all the possessions and enjoyments of life come 
 from God, you may wisely enjoy them, and render 
 thanks to God. T^X 'n n DDnni njnsn rtaxi. But in what 
 way can we best express our gratitude to God ? Is it 
 by thanks, couched in words of prayer ? Is the offering 
 of grace, before or after meal, sufficient acknowledgment 
 for the abundance, with which God has blessed us? 
 Prayer, it is true, is a gratifying, a salutary exercise, 
 most natural to the man endowed with the spirit of 
 God. In prayer, we become more fully conscious of the 
 grateful thoughts and feelings, which animate our 
 bosom. Prayer, therefore, should constitute a regular, 
 sacred family practice in every Jewish home. But our 
 gratitude to God for the blessings we enjoy is not to 
 be limited to fine sentiments, nor to beautifully turned 
 words. It finds its true expression in deeds. When we 
 console the afflicted ; when we dry the tears of the un- 
 fortunate ; when we soothe the wounds of hearts lacer- 
 ated by grief ; when we feed the hungry, clothe the 
 naked, relieve the oppressed; when we aid and support, 
 whenever our aid and support can sustain the tottering 
 and falling ; when we distribute from our abundance, to 
 chase away the ghastly spectres of want and misery 
 from the fireside of the poor then, and then only, do 
 we express genuine gratitude to God for the blessings 
 we enjoy. We cease to be men, and become minis- 
 tering angels on God's beautiful earth. Our earthly
 
 112 
 
 treasures cease to be dross and sordid pelf, but are 
 transformed into- treasures of heaven, because they ena- 
 ble us to perform God-like offices upon earth. 
 
 Active benevolence and charity is one of those virt- 
 ues, of which, the Mishnah says, we enjoy the fruits in 
 this life, while the principal remains unimpaired for the 
 life hereafter. The Jubilee of charity, celebrated a few 
 evenings ago, affords a practical illustration of this doc- 
 trine. Whose heart was not touched by genuine satis- 
 faction, was not filled with a holy joy, on reflecting, that 
 hundreds of helpless, innocent orphans, are tenderly 
 cared for, and prepared for the battle of life by the 
 provident hand of charity ? It was, indeed, enjoying 
 the fruit of your benefaction. The words cheerily sung 
 forth by the shrill voices of your beneficiaries could not 
 but have impressed themselves upon the assembled mul- 
 titude : 
 
 Where the shelterless 
 
 Standeth comfortless, 
 Let thine eye in loving kindness turn ; 
 
 To the motherless, 
 
 Ne'er be pitiless 
 Let thy heart and hand with blessings burn ; 
 
 Through the wilderness, 
 
 Streams of tenderness 
 Pour from out thy fountain's full supply ; 
 
 All the wretchedness 
 
 Turn to blessedness, 
 So shalt thou receive reward on high. 
 
 No, no, the idea of parting with the world, its pos- 
 sessions and its pleasures, never causes disquietude to 
 him, who has estimated them at their true value. The 
 enjoyments of earth have not rendered him a slave, the 
 possession of its treasures have not exclusively en- 
 grossed his heart. He has tasted, in wise moderation,
 
 113 
 
 the one and made a rational use of the other. This con- 
 viction stands at his side, like an angel of light, breath- 
 ing comfort, peace and hope into the soul, wheii soaring 
 aloft to the regions of immortality.
 
 XI. 
 ORATION 
 
 Delivered at the Laying of the Comer-Stone 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOME FOR JEWISH* WIDOWS AND ORPHANS 
 
 OF NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 August 7th, 1855.
 
 T ADIES AND GENTLEMEN : A solemn and in- 
 -*-^ teresting ceremony has been performed ; the corner- 
 stone of an edifice devoted to the objects of charity and 
 benevolence has been laid. The superstructure to be 
 raised on this foundation will be a noble monument to 
 the undying generous impulses of humanity that 
 prompted this sacred enterprise ; to the unflagging /eal 
 which hastened it to a successful issue. We have as- 
 sembled to celebrate the triumph of philanthropy over 
 selfishness ; of active benevolence over grasping avarice ; 
 of diffusive sympathy with the condition of our fellow- 
 beings over callous and soul-cramping indifference. 
 Works like this are calculated to redeem the character 
 of our age, and bespeak for it the veneration and regard 
 of succeeding generations. Works like this bear testi- 
 mony that material tendencies, immoderate love of lucre 
 and flinty selfishness do not form the exclusive character- 
 istics of our community ; but that the founders of this
 
 118 
 
 institution are fully alive to the claims of humanity, and 
 are ready, to the extent of their power, to alleviate the 
 sufferings and lighten the burden of distress, by which 
 they are surrounded. 
 
 However numerous the benevolent institutions of our 
 city may be, however various their objects, and however 
 liberally supported, still a serious void has been most 
 sensibly felt for some time past. By degrees the de- 
 sideratum, at fifst but casually hinted at, aroused a 
 general and most lively interest a noble enthusiasm 
 fanned the glimmering sparks into a bright burning flame 
 the scattered forces assembled in public meeting 
 diverging sentiments and views were made to harmonize 
 a well-digested plan was adopted an association or- 
 ganized and incorporated and, thanks to the well- 
 directed efforts of the energetic President and his no less 
 energetic coadjutors, the Board of Directors of the Asso 
 ciation thanks to the willing sacrifices of the community 
 at large, we have this day had the gratification of laying 
 the corner-stone of " The Home for Jewish Widows and 
 Orphans of New Orleans." 
 
 There is nothing in which the moderns claim more 
 conspicuously to surpass the ancients than in the noble 
 provisions for the relief of indigence and distress. The 
 public policy of the ancients seems to have embraced 
 only whatever might promote the aggrandizement or the 
 direct prosperity of the State, and to have cared little 
 for those unfortunate beings who, from poverty or inca- 
 pacity of any kind, were disqualified from contributing 
 to this. Their cultivation of the fine arts may be said 
 in the language of their own poet, 
 
 ' Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes, 
 Emolli'i mores, nee sinit esse feros," 
 
 to have softened their manner's, and to have reclaimed 
 them from barbarity ; yet that beautiful line, Homo sum,
 
 119 
 
 nil humani a me cdienum pwto ! " I am a man and deem 
 myself affected by whatever pertains to humanity "- 
 although greeted with one spontaneous burst of applause 
 by the assembled multitude, appears to have been ad- 
 mired as a fine sentiment, but failed to be recognized as 
 a rule of action in the varied interests and wants of 
 society But the beneficent influence of Scriptural ethics, 
 combined with the general tendency of our social insti- 
 tutions, has led to the recognition of rights in the indi- 
 vidual as sacred as those of the community, and has 
 suggested manifold provisions for personal comfort and 
 happiness. The spirit of benevolence and philanthropy 
 is coeval with the origin of the Bible. The Law, the 
 Prophets and the Sacred Writings enforce it on their 
 every page. The more widely and sincerely, therefore, 
 the authority of the Bible is acknowledged, the more 
 generally will this noble spirit be diffused, softening the 
 asperities of life, and mitigating the evils and adversities 
 that grow out of the peculiar condition and ineqnalitieb 
 of the social state. The spirit of benevolence and kind- 
 ness is of origin divine ; yet to the credit and honor of 
 human nature be it said, that in its most general and 
 comprehensive sense, we designate it by the name of 
 
 HUMANITY. 
 
 I have said that the spirit of benevolence and philan- 
 thropy is coeval with the origin of the Bible. A mere 
 glance at its contents will prove the correctness of this 
 proposition. It is remarkable, indeed, that centuries 
 before the renowned bard of Hellas sang in inimitable 
 lines the warlike achievements, heroic adventures and 
 primitive habits of his age centuries before Genius, 
 under the fancied inspiration of the muses, displayed its 
 versatile powers in the production of those poetical and 
 plastic creations, which form the pride of heathen anti- 
 quity and constitute models of taste for succeeding ages
 
 120 
 
 centuries before the liberal arts did " soften the man- 
 ners of man and reclaim him from barbarity," the M osaic 
 polity had already enunciated those sublime doctrines 
 of faith, which in the end will be universally adopted, 
 and established those principles of morality, which form 
 the only correct standard of all true civilization, and 
 really tend to humanize mankind. Under this system 
 the mind became enlarged under the awful contemplation 
 of the One, the Father of the Universe, and the heart 
 became expanded with the sentiments of true philan- 
 thropy, that formed the basis of the Divine code of laws. 
 It would be improper on this occasion to dilate on the 
 principles of justice, liberty and equality that characterize 
 all its provisions, but the spirit of its charitable institu- 
 tions and enactments well deserves a brief notice at our 
 hands. 
 
 The public institutions for the relief of the poor and 
 needy, under the Mosaic system, were in keeping with 
 the usages of that remote age and the occupation of the 
 people agriculture being the principal pursuit. They 
 consisted in tithes and gleanings from the field, the 
 orchard and the vineyard. But from the benefit of these 
 charitable provisions none was excluded. The stranger 
 in the gates had an equal claim with the native born 
 Israelite to this harvest of the poor. It was intended 
 for the afflicted, the needy, the stranger, the widow and 
 the orphan, that all might enjoy the blessings of God. 
 
 In like manner does Scripture enjoin the dispensation 
 of private charity, on the broad principle of compre- 
 hensive benevolence. " If thy brother become poor, and 
 fall in decay with thee, then shalt thou assist him, a' 
 stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee." 
 " If there be among thee a needy man of one of thy 
 brethren, within any of thy gates, thou shalt not harden 
 thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother :
 
 121 
 
 thou shalt open wide thy hand unto thy brother, to thy 
 poor and to thy needy in the land." Particular stress 
 is laid on the support and aid to be granted to the widow 
 and the fatherless, and the neglect of this duty was ac- 
 counted one of the most grievous sins. Job, in review- 
 ing his past life, pathetically exclaims in self-justification, 
 " Have I ever denied the wish of the poor, or have I 
 allowed the eyes of the widow to fail in vain hope ? 
 Have I ever eaten my bread by myself alone, and the 
 fatherless did not eat thereof? Yea, I delivered the 
 poor that cried, and the fatherless, that had none to help 
 him ; the blessing of him that was ready to perish came 
 upon me, and the heart of the widow I caused to sing 
 for joy." 
 
 This spirit of chanty and benevolence, instilled by 
 law and precept, celebrated in the glowing language of 
 the inspired writers, and strengthened by practice, for- 
 ever remained the distinguishing characteristic of the 
 people of the Bible. For a long time exposed to the 
 scorn, the contumely and persecution of the world, the 
 Israelites practically demonstrated this spirit of charity 
 and benevolence, in magnanimously forgiving and for- 
 getting untold injuries and wrongs ; in extending the 
 hand of brotherhood to the reconciled foe; in supporting 
 the needy of his kindred and faith; in sympathizing 
 deeply with human suffering ; in being ever prompt to 
 afford relief; in assisting in the promotion of every 
 scheme tending to enhance the improvement and increase 
 the happiness of our common race. 
 
 " Where'er we roamed along the brink 
 Of Rhine, or by the sweeping Po, 
 Through Alpine vale or champaign wide. 
 Whate'er we looked on, at our side 
 Waf Charity to bid us think 
 And feel, and kindness show."
 
 122 
 
 And these principles we still cherish and this spirit 
 we still foster, with a devotion that shrinks from no 
 obstacle and is ever sanguine of success. The cause of 
 philanthropy addresses itself to the noblest impulses of 
 the human heart. Wherever it flourishes, there is true 
 civilization. Here, in the land of the free and the home 
 of the brave, it finds a genial soil ; for the free are gen- 
 erous, and the brave humane. Under the glorious banner 
 of our blessed country we may freely pursue our mission 
 of peace, and found institutions for the promotion of the 
 comfort and well-being of our suffering fellow-creatures. 
 As the broad sheet of " the Father of Waters " glides 
 in its majestic grandeur along this bank, bearing on its 
 bosom manifold products of God's blessing and man's 
 industry : thus may our charity expand and in its course 
 supply the wants of the needy and minister to the com- 
 forts of the poor, console the widow and protect the 
 orphan. 
 
 Of all the Jewish congregations that are now existing 
 in this country, or that are in the progress of formation, 
 there is not one that had not its origin in the organiza- 
 tion of a benevolent society, or to which from its very 
 beginning some charitable institution had not been 
 attached. And these benevolent associations are not 
 founded upon the principle of mutual relief societies, 
 whose benefits are confined" to their own members. Their 
 objects are purely charitable. Their members enjoy no 
 other privilege but that of dispensing with prudence and 
 circumspection the aggregate sum of their own annual 
 dues and voluntary contributions in a manner best fitted 
 to promote the general good. And it is mainly owing 
 to this systematic charity, or rather charitable system, 
 that few, if any, of the descendants of Abraham are 
 found among the inmates of the public charities. The 
 solicitude manifested on our part to save our co-religion-
 
 123 
 
 ists from becoming dependent on a public charity, is not 
 so much founded in religious considerations, as in the 
 conviction that the chief object of charity is to prevent 
 pauperism. This object, however, can only be accomp- 
 lished by tendering our aid to the poor, while he has 
 yet the strength to retrieve his broken fortunes, while 
 the consciousness of his dignity and the hope of a better 
 future have not yet departed from his bosom. 
 
 For the last eleven years the Hebrew Benevolent 
 Association has been in active operation. Before yet a 
 Synagogue was built, tljis society had been instituted 
 and incorporated. Its object is to grant relief to the 
 poor and sick of the Jewish persuasion in this city and 
 its vicinity. Generously has it been supported, and 
 nobly has it performed its mission. Many a poor stranger, 
 fleeing from the tyranny and oppression of European 
 governments and seeking an asylum on these hospitable 
 shores, has received its timely succor and been provided 
 with the means to gain an honest living. And there are 
 instances on record of individuals thus relieved grate- 
 fully refunding the amount granted to them, and be- 
 coming active members of an institution, to whose well- 
 timed assistance, they were indebted for their indepen- 
 dence. The home of many a poor family has been 
 rendered cheerful by the dropping of its bounty ; and 
 many a poor pilgrim, stricken down with disease far 
 from his home and kindred, has received at its hands 
 that aid and sympathy which, under Providence, 
 snatched him from the portals of death, or, at least, 
 soothed the last solemn hours of his life. 
 
 During the ever-memorable epidemic season of 1853, 
 near 4,500 dollars were expended by this Association for 
 the relief of the sick and poor, and I may safely aver, 
 that during the comparatively short period of its exist- 
 ence more than $30,000 have been disbursed by it for 
 charitable objects.
 
 124 
 
 For several years this association stood alone in the 
 field of benevolence. But, as with the increase of our 
 population the calls for relief became more numerous and 
 varied, a new and powerful ally made its appearence. 
 In 1S47, the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society was 
 organized. Need I speak of the zeal and devotion with 
 which this society entered the lists to combat the ills of 
 life to which the poor and destitute are exposed ? As 
 well might I attempt to praise the beaming moon in a 
 cloudless night for the soothing light of her silver rays, 
 or the rose for the sweetness of, its fragrance. Who is 
 not aware of the deep, abiding affections that dwell in 
 the heart of woman ! In her gentle nature she is the liv- 
 ing representative of charity. Her warm sympathy is 
 ever sure to soothe the afflicted and to comfort the 
 broken-hearted ; for " the law of kindness is on her 
 tongue. " She lends to prosperity its transcendent lustre, 
 and inspires adversity with fortitude, resignation and 
 hope. And whilst her eye is melting with the tear of 
 compassion, " she spreadeth out wide her hand to the 
 poor ; yea, her hands she stretcheth forth to the needy." 
 Well may we say, with the sage of old, " Give her of 
 the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her 
 in the gates. " 
 
 Another society of two years standing is " The Hebrew 
 Foreign Mission. " As the title indicates, it has for its 
 object the amelioration of the spiritual, social and politi- 
 cal condition of Israelites in foreign countries. But it is 
 likewise within its province to introduce a system of 
 colonization, with a special view to the creating of settle- 
 ments in this country, in which the peaceful habits of 
 agricultural and pastoral life, to which the people of 
 Israel was exclusively devoted in the days of old, may 
 be re-established. As yet this society is in its infancy, 
 and has produced no practical effect. But who can doubt
 
 125 
 
 its future beneficial results ? who cannot foresee that in 
 the end it will be subsidiary, to some extent, in develop- 
 ing the resources and raising the moral influence of our 
 country ? 
 
 Another important' charitable institution of recent date 
 owes its origin to the munificence of one man. It com- 
 memorates a name that will ever be dear to us, will ever 
 be honored by the good and benevolent, and be specially 
 blessed by those who shall reap the benefits of that insti- 
 tution. I refer to the Jewish Hospital, known under the 
 name of the Touro Infirmary, the bequest of our late 
 lamented fellow-citizen Judah Touro. Its objects and 
 necessity are easily comprehended. For although the 
 Charity Hospital, a State institution, and the noble 
 Howards, a band of disinterested, high-minded citizens 
 have the specific object of extending their aid to all who 
 may require it although the Hebrew Benevolent Asso- 
 ciation has devoted its best energies to the relief of the 
 poor and homeless in times of sicksess and desolation : 
 yet the expediency of a Hospital, where patients, whose 
 religious convictions and profoundest hopes are in unison 
 with ours, receive the requisite attention and treatment 
 under our own supervision, will be admitted by every 
 well-disposed mind. Thrice blessed be the memory of 
 that good old man, whose last acts were in keeping with 
 the eminently benevolent tenor of his whole life whose 
 philanthropy was unprejudiced whose charity, although 
 judiciously beginning at home, was yet not restricted to 
 the pale of his own creed, but exceeded the boundaries 
 of the latter, and extended its benefits even to distant 
 communities. 
 
 In the course of my remarks I have given a succinct 
 history of our Jewish benevolent institutions. Each of 
 them has a laudable object, and demonstrated the neces. 
 sity of its existence. Whoever is acquainted with the
 
 126 
 
 details of their operations must have observed their use- 
 fulness and the happy results attained through their 
 agency. But it cannot be overlooked that the relief 
 granted by the above-mentioned charities is only of a 
 temporary character ; and yet there is a class of unfort- 
 unate beings among us who, from the helplessness of 
 their condition, demand our permanent support and pro- 
 tection. The poor widow who mourns the loss of a be- 
 loved husband, to whom she clung in prosperity and 
 adversity, in weal and woe, at whose side she was con- 
 tented in the humblest station, and resigned to the sever- 
 est strokes of fortune ; the orphan who is deprived of his 
 natural protectors, and forever remains a stranger to the 
 sweet influences of home, that exert their power and are 
 remembered with a melting tenderness to the last day of 
 life ; the one with the finer sensibilities of her sex and 
 the contracted sphere of her resources cramped in her 
 exertion to secure a maintenance ; the other with powers 
 and capacities yet undeveloped, tossed about by the 
 fierce waves of privation, and hunger, and unguided im- 
 pulse these unfortunate beings, every one must admit, 
 cannot be left to the temporary relief of a charitable 
 society or to the caprice and chance of private benevo- 
 lence, without jeopardizing their very existence. 
 
 An eminent modern writer thus graphically depicts 
 the precarious condition of the fatherless. " There 
 seems, " he says, " to be a sort of chance in the lot of the 
 orphan offspring of the poor. On some the eye of bene- 
 volence falls at the very first moment of their uttermost 
 destitution and their worst sorrows, instead of begin- 
 ning, terminate with the tears shed over their parents, 
 graves. They are taken by the hand, as soon as their 
 hands have been stretched out for protection, and admit- 
 ted as inmates into households, whose doors, had their 
 fathers and mothers been alive, they would never have
 
 127 
 
 darkened. . The light of comfort falls upon them during 
 the gloom of grief, and attends them all their days. 
 Others, again, are overlooked at the first fall of affliction, 
 as if by some unaccountable fatality ; the wretchedness, 
 with which all have become familiar, no one very tender- 
 ly pities ; and thus the orphan, reconciling herself to 
 the extreme hardships of her condition, lives on uncheered 
 by those sympathies out of which grow both happiness 
 and virtue, and yielding by degrees to the constant pres- 
 sure of her lot, remains poor in spirit as in estate, and 
 either vegetates like an almost worthless weed, that is 
 carelessly trodden on by every foot, or if by nature born 
 a flower, in time loses her lustre, and all the days leads 
 the life of wretchedness and misery. " 
 
 To preclude the possibility of so gloomy a lot ; to 
 provide a home for the homeless ; to offer a retreat to the 
 venerable matron and solace her widowed heart in her 
 declining age ; to come to her assistance, when in the 
 loneliness of her grief and the intensity of her afflic- 
 tion she lifts up her weeping eyes on high, exclaiming, 
 " O Father, whence shall come my help ? " to relieve 
 her mind from the sordid cares, paltry wants and petty 
 humiliations, that would shroud her weak timid nature 
 in the gloom of despair ; to provide an asylum for the 
 fatherless ; to watch over the tender years of their child- 
 hood with a mother's affection ; to superintend their 
 bodily wants and promote their mental culture ; to guard 
 them from temptation and vice ; to elicit the faculties of 
 their minds and teach them the ways of religion, of vir- 
 tue, of honor and of rectitude ; to equip them for life's 
 perilous voyage, that they may become useful members 
 of society, and feel that they too have a portion in God's 
 beautiful heritage : to realize these transcendently noble 
 and philanthropic ends, this institution has been founded. 
 
 Shall I farther elaborate its objects ? No, I must for-
 
 128 ' .. 
 
 bear. It would be presuming too much on your indui. 
 gence, which I fear I have already overtaxed. Only this 
 let me say in conclusion. 
 
 The institution which has this day been founded is the 
 youngest and fairest of her Hebrew sister-charities, and 
 deserves to become the cherished pet of our community . 
 The zeal and devotion that have hitherto characterized 
 your exertions in its behalf, must not be suffered to cool. 
 Additional sacrifices, no doubt, will be required to place 
 it on a firm and permanent basis, and to fully realize the 
 purposes for which it was called into life. Let these 
 sacrifices be promptly made when needed. Let the spirit 
 of benevolence and philanthropy continue to guide your 
 deliberations and labors, and the blessing of God will 
 prosper your design. And as the eye is riveted by the 
 soft light of the morning dawn, the heart by the chains of 
 love, the mind by the power of truth so may your 
 generous impulses be directed, with an abiding solici- 
 tude, towards " The Home for Jewish Widows and 
 Orphans of New Orleans. "
 
 XII. 
 ORATION 
 
 Delivered on the Fifth Anniversary 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOME FOR JEWISH WIDOWS AND ORPHANS 
 
 OF NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 J anuary 8th, I 85 I.
 
 sun of the glorious Eighth of January has again 
 reached its meridian altitude. Shedding its i*ays 
 upon those fields rendered memorable by patriotic valor, 
 it warms our hearts with patriotic fervor, kindling anew 
 the memories and associations which cluster around this 
 day, and around " the good men and true," who staked 
 their lives for their country's good. Forty-six years 
 have elapsed since the last invader was met and van- 
 quished upon American soil upon Louisiana's sunny 
 plains. From the date of that victory no foreign foe has 
 dared approach our shores, or molest our flag. Secure 
 in our conscious strength, our resources were steadily 
 developing/ All the elements constituting a nation's 
 greatness were active in working out and clearly defining 
 our country's proud destiny. Material prosperity, moral 
 progress, social advancement, political growth, and all 
 the attributes of an enlightened civilization and of an in- 
 creasing powerful influence may be traced in the history 
 of this short period, in a degree that is without parallel
 
 132 
 
 in the annals of mankind. The young Eagle, growing 
 apace and soaring aloft, had his eye steadily fixed upon 
 the great orb of liberty as the fountain of his strength 
 and the condition of his life. 
 
 A day suggestive of such reflections is fit to be honored 
 as the holiday of freemen. For, what mean the thunder- 
 ing voices of the booming cannon which greeted the 
 shades of yesternight and broke upon our slumbers at 
 this morning's early dawn ? What mean those gallant 
 bauds of citizen-soldiery that parade our streets to the 
 enlivening strains of martial melody ? What mean those 
 flags, which, from dome and mast, float upon the breeze ? 
 What mean all these indications of a general holiday, 
 military and civic, public and private V They are, surely, 
 no preparations to repel a foreign foe ; nor are they 
 merely the signs of a vain popular enthusiasm, venting 
 itself in hollow show and empty pageant. They have a 
 deep significance. These jubilant demonstrations are to 
 us unequivocal pledges that the spirit of the fathers has 
 descended upon the sons ; that, as in days gone by, the 
 people rose as one man in defence of RIGHT, JUSTICE, and 
 LIBERTY, they are ready to do so again, whenever and 
 from whatever quarter the attempt should be made, to 
 crush these precious legacies secured to us by solemn 
 compact. 
 
 The occasion for which we have met within these walls, 
 is in keeping with the historic character of the day. We 
 celebrate the anniversary of the founding of an institution 
 whose object it is, to do battle with and to overcome the 
 misfortunes and distresses, to which a portion of our fel- 
 low creatures are subjected. We celebrate the triumph 
 of philanthropy a cause which brings into play the 
 noblest instincts of human nature. If* patriotism is the 
 crown of the citizen, charity adorns the man. 
 
 Five years have elapsed since the Home for Jewish
 
 133 
 
 Widows and Orphans wns dedicated to its sacred pur- 
 poses. During this period of its existence, not only its 
 necessity and usefulness, but also the active sympathy 
 and liberal support of our community in its behalf have 
 been fully demonstrated. Whilst the original thirteen 
 inmates, with whom it was opened, have swelled to the 
 number of souls which Jacob brought down with him to 
 Egypt, the number of contributing members and the 
 amount of extraordinary donations have increased in pro- 
 portion. We have the satisfaction of knowing that r ts 
 bounties could be, and were, dispensed without stint or 
 limitation. No test of nativity is contained in our Con- 
 stitution and By-laws, nor is there an instance on our re- 
 cords, in which the board of officers had not acted in the 
 most liberal spirit, in the consideration of any application 
 presented to them. And thus not only natives of Louis- 
 iana, but also of our sister States, Alabama, Mississippi, 
 Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, and New 
 York and of foreign countries, of Poland, Germany, 
 France, Belgium, Holland, England, the West Indies 
 and Canada have found shelter within our Home. If it 
 be borne in mind, that with the exception of Mobile, 
 where we have sixteen regular members, a few Southern 
 States, in which some of our regular contributors are 
 scattered, and the city appropriation, to which we are 
 entitled by law, we receive no permanent appreciable 
 support from any quarter, and that the deficiency in the 
 large expenditure for the maintenance of our institution 
 has to be covered, annually, by our own voluntary sub- 
 scriptions, in addition to our annual dues the liberality 
 displayed in the granting of the benefits of our Home 
 will become still more conspicuous. The past five years 
 have shown both our capacity and our willingness to do 
 good in the right direction. Our Home is no longer an 
 experiment, but a fact. Its beneficial results are patent
 
 134 
 
 to all. Other communities have followed our example. 
 The innocent babe yet unconscious of its forlorn state the 
 guileless child, tearfully looking about for some guiding, 
 protecting hand the.helpless matron, yearning for some 
 quiet place, where to repose her troubled head and heal 
 the wounds of her afflicted heart, have alike enjoyed the 
 protection, the fostering care and domestic comfort suit- 
 able to thoir age and condition, within the walls of our 
 Homa. The gratifying results, the amount of good thus 
 far achieved, must engender within us the desire to in- 
 crease and render permanent the efficiency of our institu- 
 tion to place it beyond the contingency of a failure to 
 secure to it a perpetual basis to create it into a monu- 
 ment " more enduring than bronze," beaiing testimony 
 to the children and the children's children of the charit- 
 able disposition and noble generosity of their fathers. 
 
 In what language, more impressive and more touch- 
 ing, can fathers speak to their children, than in the lang- 
 uage of those noble monuments, which are speaking 
 evidences of the pious and benevolent sentiments that 
 animated their hearts ? Whenever we cross the thresh- 
 old of an institution devoted to the amelioration of 
 suffering humanity or to the mental and moral improve- 
 ment of our race, we are seized with emotions of the pro- 
 foundest gratitude and reverence for the memory of its 
 founder. We feel that we stand on holy ground. A 
 sympathetic chord is touched in our hearts. We are 
 forced to admire the palpable evidences of the nobler in- 
 stincts which God has implanted in the human soul. The 
 selfishness of our nature is hushed. Bright visions of 
 philanthropy and love dawn upon our mind, and seldom 
 we leave the consecrated spot without conceiving the firm 
 resolve, to contribute our share to the furtherance of 
 general good, to exercise the God-like privilege of pi-o- 
 tecting the weak, comforting the desolate, instructing
 
 135 
 
 the ignorant, and supporting the needy. The Girnrd 
 College, the Astor Library, the Smithsonian Institute, 
 the Touro Almshouse and Touro Infirmary, are enduring 
 and honorable monuments to the memories of their re- 
 spective founders. These and similar institutions speak 
 in a language that is universally understood, the sound 
 of which will be distinctly heard above the selfish clamor 
 of the present and of future generations. 
 
 Is it not natural, then, that you should glory in the 
 idea of having founded an institution that will not perish 
 with your death, but will perpetuate the spirit and the 
 feelings which called it into existence, in the minds and 
 hearts of your children? This Home is the proudest of 
 your enterprises, the safest and most creditable of your 
 investments. Of all your earthly possessions and treas- 
 ures it is the only one of which you can say with cer- 
 tainty, " We shall leave it as a patrimony to our children." 
 You cannot say this of the houses which you inhabit, 
 and which you have not inherited from your ancestors. 
 But the foundation, upon which our Home is erected, we 
 have received as an inalienable and indestructible legacy 
 from our fathers and shall bequcathe in like manner to 
 our children. Upon this foundation charity and love 
 our posterity will continue to raise superstructures more 
 grand, more extensive still, for the benefit and salvation 
 of mankind. 
 
 Of all the human efforts that excite our admiration, 
 works of public utility and benefaction are the most 
 salutary nd precious. Every single act of charity be- 
 stowed upon an individual adorns the heart that prompted 
 it, as every single virtue is an ornament to its possessor. 
 Hut as a single virtue does not suffice, to conquer the 
 evil propensities of our nature, so is an isolated alms in- 
 adequate to relieve general want, to alleviate general 
 distress. All we know of it with certainty, is the gener-
 
 136 
 
 ous emotion which thrills our heart in its bestowal ; but 
 we have no guarantee that the seed thus sown may not 
 fall upon a barren soil. In depositing, however, our 
 offerings of benevolence upon the altar of institutions 
 designed for public benefaction, we can witness with our 
 own eyes the fire, which descends from heaven, to con- 
 sume the sacrifice. 
 
 The sight of the needy and the distressed causes your 
 tender heart to ache ; you bestow your gift, in order to 
 soothe at once their pain and yours. But may not, in the 
 very next hour, a similar spectacle of woe inflict a still 
 deeper pain upon your heart, whilst you have not the 
 power to soothe it ? Now the public institution, sus- 
 tained by general co-operation, affords you a guarantee 
 of its permanent ability. Philanthropic corporations are 
 established for specific purposes. The means entrusted 
 to 4heir hands must be employed in the furtherance of 
 distinctly expressed ends, and cannot be diverted from 
 their legitimate objects. The aggregate contributions of 
 individuals become a consolidated fund, which forms the 
 common property of the community. Private charity re- 
 dounds to the credit of the individual, but public charit- 
 able institutions reflect honor upon the community and 
 the nation. 
 
 And is any one bold enough to say, I am a member of 
 this community, but a stranger to its noble efforts in the 
 field of charity ? I will have nor share, nor portion in 
 the good and excellent works that are fostered on its 
 bosom ? Dare any one say, I belong to the nation, but 
 I do not practice those virtues which constitute my na- 
 tion's honor and greatness ? As well may you say, I am 
 a man, but am not affected by anything appertaining to 
 humanity ! 
 
 That charity is a distinguishing characteristic of our 
 people, has so frequently been made the theme of charity
 
 137 
 
 orations, that I fear the re-statement of this proposition 
 will be considered trite and threadbare. Yet a truth, 
 however old, loses nothing of its force by repetition, more 
 especially if it is strengthened by recent stubborn facts. 
 I shall not, therefore, on this occasion, refer to the 
 maxims of love and laws of charity taught and enjoined 
 by the Inspired Volume, which constitutes the fountain 
 of our faith and the standard of our actions ; I shall not 
 tire you with quotations from our national literature, 
 dogmatical and ethical, in which the principles of univer- 
 sal benevolence are insisted upon as the indispensable 
 criteria of a righteous life ; nor shall I open the book of 
 history to cull from the experience of past centuries such 
 incidents as might strikingly illustrate the practical work- 
 ing of these principles and doctrines. Recent events are 
 sufficient to corroborate our proposition. 
 
 Not many months ago the whole civilized world was 
 startled by the intelligence, that the most shocking out- 
 rages had been committed in Syria. Fired by religious 
 fanaticism, the Mohammedan Druses attacked their 
 Christian fellow-subjects, and dealt out death and de- 
 struction among their defenceless victims. In their un- 
 holy and savage zeal they vowed to exterminate the 
 " infidels " from the face of the land. Nor age, nor sex 
 was spared. Thousands were cruelly massacred, whilst 
 the remaining thousands sought their safety in flight, 
 and were thus exposed to utter destitution, the horrors 
 of starvation, and the cruel tortures that -awaited them at 
 the hands of their fierce enemies. 
 
 The pitiful cries of these wretched people had no sooner 
 reached the shores of Europe, when sovereigns and states- 
 men and imperial legislatures were moving, to succor 
 and protect their brothers-in-faith against the inflamed 
 passions of the fanatic sons of the desert. But sovereigns 
 and statesmen and imperial legislatures are swayed by
 
 138 
 
 political considerations, and accustomed to move within 
 the circumscribed sphere of diplomatic prudence. From 
 their exalted station they are wont to look only upon 
 etitire provinces and lands and peoples, whilst the dis- 
 tresses of individuals, or even the calamities of commun- 
 ities, rarely move their hearts to active intercession. 
 The sufferers in Syria stood in need of immediate help. 
 The voice of humanity, which is the voice of God, 
 pleaded in their behalf. And it so happened that the first 
 man who rightly and opportunely published to the world 
 an interpretation of this voice was a Jew. He is one of 
 Israel's noblest sons, and has devoted, for the last quarter 
 of a century, his time, his means and his energies to the 
 amelioration of the condition of his oppressed and per- 
 secuted brethren in various countries and climes. Having 
 so frequently listened to the groanings of his own co- 
 religionists, his philanthropic heart instinctively warmed 
 for the suffering strangers, and impelled him to prompt 
 action. But his communication to the London Times, as 
 simple in its' style as sublime in its object, will speak for 
 itself : 
 
 " To the, Editor of the Times : 
 
 " SIR I have noticed with the deepest sympathy, the statement 
 made last evening in the House of Lords, that, owing to the recent 
 outbreak in Syria, there are 20,000 of the Christian inhabitants, 
 women and children, wandering over its mountains, exposed to the 
 utmost peril. Being intimately acquainted with the nature of that, 
 country and the condition of its people, I appreciate, I am sorry to 
 say, but too painfully, the vast amount of misery that must have 
 been endured and is still prevalent. 
 
 " I believe that private benevolence may do something towards 
 the alleviation of the distresses of the unhappy multitude now de- 
 fenceless, homeless and destitute. 
 
 " I well know, from experience, the philanthropy of my fellow- 
 countrymen, and I venture to think that the public would gladly 
 and without delay contribute to the raising of a fund to be applied
 
 139 
 
 as circumstances may require, and under judicious management, 
 for the relief of these unfortunate objects of persecution. 
 
 " I would suggest, therefore, that a small, active and influential 
 committee be at once formed, with the view of raising subscrip- 
 tions, and of placing themselves in communication with the British 
 Consular authorities throughout Syria, so that assistance may be 
 rendered by the remittance of money and the transmission of 
 necessary supplies ; and I take the liberty of enclosing my check 
 for 200, towards the proposed fund. 
 
 " * * * I have the honor to be, sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 " MOSES MONTEFIORE." 
 
 " East Cliff Lodge, Ramsgate, ) 
 July 10th, 1860. f 
 
 But this is not an isolated instance. Simultaneously 
 with this communication there appeared a letter of the 
 same import, written by another eminent Jew, and pub. 
 lished in the Siecle, of Paris. It was from the pen of the 
 eloquent advocate and liberal statesman, whose voice at 
 one time was potent in the councils of France, and who 
 ranks among the first barristers of the Empire. After 
 portraying the wretched condition of the sufferers, Mons. 
 Cremieux thus proceeds: 
 
 " French Israelites ! let us be the first to come to the help of our 
 Christian brethren ; let us not wait for the results of diplomacy, 
 always so slow, which will regulate the future. Let us come to 
 the help of these unfortunates. Let there, this very day, a large 
 subscription be opened at Paris, and to-morrow an Israelitish com- 
 mittee be organized. 
 
 " Let us not lose one day, not one hour. Let the signal for a 
 vast succor proceed from the midst of a Jewish body, formed in the 
 capital of civilization. This signal will nvjet with a response from 
 our brethren in England, Germany, Belgium, Holland, and all 
 Europe, both in the countries which acknowledge them as citizens, 
 and in those which still withhold from them this noble title. 
 
 " You, also, Jews of America, where liberty of worship marches 
 triumphantly ; you, also, w r ll come to the help of the Catholics in 
 Asia, so cruelly oppressed by superstition. Let all of us bring our 
 contribution to this holy work the opulent Jew his large offering, 
 the poor Jew his little mite.
 
 140 
 
 " But a still grander idea may be expected to issue from this 
 burst of devotion. Who knows ? God, who governs all things, 
 has perhaps permitted this awful catastrophe, in order to afford the 
 followers of all religions a solemn opportunity to assist each other 
 to defend themselves against those furious animosities, daughters 
 of superstition and barbarism. A permanent committee in every 
 country, carefully watching all attacks made on the liberty of 
 conscience, a general fund for the support of the victims of fanatic- 
 ism without distinction of creed this is the establishment which 
 must be founded and sustained. Yes, the evils which at this 
 moment innocent victims undergo, will awaken the sympathies of 
 all. They will fructify the thought of protecting the future 
 against the return of the scourge, which our age repels with 
 horror religious persecution." 
 
 These efforts of two Jewish laymen were fully endorsed 
 and actively supported by eminent ecclesiastical author- 
 ities. The Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, the highly es- 
 teemed and learned Dr. N". M. Adler, deemed the occa- 
 sion of sufficient importance to issue a pastoral letter to 
 his flock, in which the following passage occurs : 
 
 " I need not remind you that oar holy religion, whose basis is 
 the commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, urges upon 
 us the duty of dispensing our charity without distinction of faith, 
 sect or class it enjoins upon us emphatically to deal out bread to 
 the hungry, to console the afflicted, to cover the naked, and not to 
 hide ourselves from those who are bone of our bone, and flesh of 
 our flesh. However divided and separated we may be by seas 
 mountains, languages and creeds, still we are descended from the 
 same Father, the same God has created us, we belong to the same 
 undivided, original family." 
 
 A letter from Bordeaux, in the London Times, an- 
 nounces that the Grand Rabbi of that city, together 
 with the members of the Consistory, presented them- 
 selves at the Archbishop's Palace, and handed to Cardi- 
 nal Donnet the produce of a collection made by their co- 
 religionists in favor of the Christians in Syria. 
 
 Nay, more than this. A number of boys belonging
 
 141 
 
 to the sorely-oppressed congregation of Rome, made a 
 collection among themselves, and transmitted the same 
 to Mr. Cremieux, to be applied to the relief of the Syrian 
 Christians. Mr. Cremieux acknowledges the receipt of 
 this contribution and the accompanying appropriate 
 letter, under date of September 5, I860, in the following 
 beautiful words : 
 
 " My Dear Children : 
 
 " Your pious gift and the touching letter accompany ing it are at 
 hand. Foster within you these good, and noble feelings, the seeds 
 of which are planted in your juvenile hearts. There in nothing 
 more pleasing to God than sympathy with the unfortunate. There 
 is not a more sacred command than this : " Thou sbalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself." And in the century in which we live, my 
 dear children, the neighbor, whom we are commanded to love, is 
 the man who suffers, no matter what faith he may profess or in 
 what religion he may have been born. The God, whom we w.r- 
 ship, wills, that we succor the distressed." * * * 
 
 Now, if we bear in mind that these strenuous charita- 
 ble efforts were made by Jews in behalf of those very 
 Christians, who in the year 1840 had inflicted the cru- 
 elest persecutions which fanaticism could devise, upon 
 the Jewish inhabitants of Damascus, we are justified in 
 asserting if stern facts and undeniable deeds prove 
 anything that charity, in its amplest sense, is a dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of our people, inculcated by 
 our religion, taught in our schools and Synagogues, liv- 
 ing in our hearts, and influencing our conduct. 
 
 For ourselves there would be no need of recapitulat- 
 ing and emphasizing these occurrences, further than ad- 
 vert to them as bright examples worthy of our emula- 
 tion. We know that they are the natural out-pourings 
 of deeply-rooted and fondly-cherished sentiments, which 
 we hold in common with Israelites all over the globe. 
 But the charge of unfeeling exclusiveness and sectarian 
 narrow -mi ndednesa (to use the mildest terms) is so ire-
 
 142 
 
 quently dinned into our ears and repeated ad nauseam, 
 usque, by prejudiced journalists, writers of fiction, and 
 even authors of serious literature, that an occasional 
 refutation of these scurrilous skeptics not only ceases 
 to be a violation of the rules of modesty, but is ren- 
 dered necessary by the peculiarity of our position. The 
 Scriptural proverb, " Let another man praise thee, and 
 not thy own mouth ; a stranger, and not thy own lips," 
 can only have reference to vain-glorious boastings, or 
 over-weening claims to fancied or real superiority over 
 others; but if our individual or national character be 
 aspersed, then a vindication of our honor and dignity by 
 an appeal to truth, is in consonance alike with common 
 sense and the most rigid notions of propriety and mo- 
 rality. 
 
 For ourselves, we need not cast our eyes beyond the 
 boundaries of our city, in order to point to instances of 
 practical Jewish charity, emanating from individuals or 
 communities. The name of Judah Touro, of blessed 
 memory, is a host in itself, whilst our noble institution, 
 the creation of our united efforts, bears testimony to the 
 fact that we do not hide ourselves from the cry of dis- 
 tress. The celebration of our anniversary should, there- 
 fore, enlist our liveliest interest and enthusiasm. To re- 
 joice in the happiness of others is the purest and most 
 heavenly joy which the human heart is capable of in- 
 dulging. It is the strongest test of genuine love. Hence 
 it is that to be instrumental in founding the happiness 
 of those, who otherwise might remain a prey to misery 
 and wretchedness, is to man a source of unalloyed grati- 
 fication. Can we this day, after five years' experience, 
 contemplate with indifference the amount of good 
 effected by our Home? Is it nothing to us, to have 
 aided in drying the tear of the widow in providing for 
 the wants of the orphan in giving a home to the home-
 
 143 
 
 less ? Is it nothing to us, to have aided in neutralizing 
 the fearful effects of poverty leagued with sickness, by 
 removing at least the care and want from decrepid age, 
 and substituting therefor the smiles of ease and plenty ? 
 Is it nothing to us, to have adopted the fatherless, and 
 to superintend their physical well-being, and their moral 
 and religious training ? Have we not good reason to 
 rejoice in the happy results which, under Providence, 
 our young institution has been instrumental in pro- 
 ducing ? 
 
 Wealth and poverty affluence and want prosperity 
 and adversity, are no idle terms in the dictionary of 
 life. They designate an actual state of things. How 
 many of our fellow-beings are subjected to unspeakable 
 privations and cares, while others are enjoying comfort 
 and ease, and others again reveling in the luxuries aud 
 superfluities of the world. The social economy is mys- 
 terious in its arrangements. Yet the Bible teaches, 
 "And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was 
 very good." This necessary dependence, then, of one 
 class of society on the other, may be turned, and does, 
 in fact, redound to our good. For when may man feel 
 happier and more conscious of his worth than in the act 
 of relieving the burden of his neighbor? The divine 
 spark of love is kindled in his bosom, and love begets 
 charity, and charity begets happiness. In parting, there- 
 fore, with a slight portion of that substance of which we 
 are but temporary stewards, in aid of individuals or the 
 support of institutions of public benefaction, we practi- 
 cally acknowledge the benefits which our all-kind Father 
 has bestowed upon us, and feel exalted in the reflection 
 that he has favored us to be the distributors of hi* 
 bounty. 
 
 But whilst indulging the pleasing emotions, which 
 our anniversary must needs awaken in our hearts
 
 144 
 
 whilst congratulating ourselves upon the happy results 
 thus far achieved through the agency of our Home, let 
 us not relax in our efforts to establish our institution 
 upon a still more solid and permanent basis. So long 
 as the existence of our noble charity is likely to be 
 affected by the vicissitudes of the times and the reverses 
 of individual fortunes so long as its income is likely to 
 be regulated by the " profit and loss " of the commu- 
 nity so long as its destiny is bound up with the ever- 
 shifting successes and failures of commercial enterprise 
 so long we cannot say that it will be equal to all emer- 
 gencies, or certain of perpetuity. It is only then, when 
 a permanent fund shall have been secured sufficiently 
 large to cover, by its revenue, the greater portion of 
 our expenditure, that we can say, Our Home is pro- 
 tected against every storm, and able to dispense its 
 benefits, as heretofore, without stint and without inter- 
 mission. The fund thus iar accumulated is too small to 
 insure the end proposed, and looks for its gradual in- 
 crease to our Anniversary gatherings. Shall it be said 
 that the prevailing crisis, harrassing and distressing 
 though it may be, should deter us, on this occasion, 
 from acting in the spirit of our accustomed liberality ? 
 The more keenly we may feel the prostration of our own 
 hopes, the mora strongly should we be impressed with 
 our duty, not to deceive the hopes of those whom Provi- 
 dence has placed in our charge, and who await protec- 
 tion and maintenance at our hands. 
 
 Fathers and niothers ! you, around whose bosoms the 
 tender chords of parental affection those endearing 
 bonds of nature's workmanship are lovingly entwined, 
 think, O think, if your own children (which our heavenly 
 Father avert) were to be left by the inscrutable designs 
 of Providence in the cold and chilly orphanage of life 
 left to suffer the hunger, and the want, and the destitu-
 
 145 
 
 tion, which, no doubt, many of you in your benevolent 
 missions have painfully witnessed left to the fortuitous 
 mercy of the world : would not your souls glow with 
 gratitude in the realms of eternity towards the good 
 and charitable, who would stretch forth their hands aud 
 protect and guide your offspring ? How know you, that 
 among the little band of our adopted children there are 
 not some, whose infancy gave promise of as bright a 
 destiny as is smiling on yours ? How know you, in the 
 uncertainty of all human things, what may be the lot of 
 the babes you love ? 
 
 Husbands, you, whose heart rejoices in the affection 
 of a beloved and loving wife who cherish her with' a 
 devotion that is ever bent upon strewing the roses of 
 comfort and peace around her path, upon shielding her 
 tender nature against the rude storms of adversity who 
 feel happy in the thought of being near her, to share 
 her joy, to chase away her sorrow, and to enable her to 
 perform the duties of life with a blissful and contented 
 serenity would you not bless the hand extended to her 
 in the dread hour of bereavement and trial ? Would 
 you not invoke a benediction upon the abode where, in 
 her declining years, her wants would be supplied, and 
 the pangs of her loneliness be soothed by the sympathy 
 of kind and benevolent hearts ? 
 
 Young men ! you, who have grown up in the lap of 
 abundance whose infancy and childhood were the con- 
 stant objects of a father's kind solicitude, of a mother's 
 tender care and watchfulness whose wishes required no 
 talisman but the expression who enjoyed the protec- 
 tion and guidance of affectionate parents to warn you 
 against vice and inure you to virtue do not your souls 
 glow with sympathy for those of your fellow-beings, 
 who were born like yourselves, with muscles, and nerves, 
 
 10
 
 146 
 
 and hearts, and every capacity for suffering, but are be- 
 reft of their natural protectors ? 
 
 Be ready then, to-day, to testify by your generous do- 
 nations the sincerity of your compassion and benevolent 
 sentiments. It is a debt of gratitude which all of you 
 owe to the Dispenser of all good. Give "extension and 
 permanency and you can do it to our noble institu- 
 tion. Let the generosity of your own natures supply 
 what may be defective in my appeal. Cramp not the 
 benevolent expansion of your hearts. Paralyze not the 
 sublime impulses of your nature. Weigh not on the lin- 
 ger of cold and niggard calculation the contributions 
 you are to offer. Let the amount to be realized warrant 
 us in increasing our permanent fund, and thus afford an 
 additional guarantee to the stability and perpetuity of 
 our Home.
 
 XIII. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered at the 
 
 FUNERAL OF JUDAH TOURO, 
 
 AT NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
 
 Friday, January 2Oth, 1854.
 
 A GOOD man has departed ; a righteous Israelite 
 has been gathered to his fathers. Judah Touro is 
 no more. His soul has returned to God ; his earthly re- 
 mains are about to be borne to the silent tomb. He 
 reached the advanced age of 78 years and 7 months, 
 having been a resident of this city for 52 years. 
 
 The death of the good and benevolent never fails to 
 utrike a sympathetic chord in the hearts of the survivors. 
 Regret and sorrow at their loss become manifest. And 
 these feelings are the more general, the more deep, the 
 more earnest the wider the sphere in which this good- 
 ness was displayed, the broader the scale on which this 
 benevolence was practised. Among the crowd of mourners 
 assembled around this coffin, there is none who is related 
 to the deceased by ties of consanguinity. Yet, may I 
 venture to assert, that many a heart throbs with genuine 
 grief, that many an eye drops a genuine tear, as if la- 
 menting the death of a brother, the loss of a father.
 
 150 
 
 What is it, that has won for our departed friend the 
 hearts of his fellow-citizens ? What is it, that has 
 gained him the love and esteem of all who knew him ? 
 What is it, that has made his name shed a lustre on our 
 city, and caused it to be pronounced in the most distant 
 sections of our country, with an affectionate reverence ? 
 It is not the brilliancy of his mind for he had no pre- 
 tensions to learning or scholarship ; it is not his political 
 influence for he loved retirement ; it is not the splendor 
 of his establishment for he was notorious for the simp- 
 licity of his habits ; nor is it even his wealth for there 
 are many, who possess a vastly larger amount of earthly 
 substance, whose names, nevertheless, do not emerge 
 from obscurity, nor command the love and esteem of 
 their contemporaries. Judah Touro is renowned and re- 
 spected for his broad philanthropy, for his unprejudiced 
 charity. His qualities emanated directly from the heart, 
 and could not fail to win the heart. He was public- 
 spirited without parade ; he delighted in doing good, 
 without ostentation ; his greatest weakness was his an- 
 tipathy to see his name published to the world ; the con- 
 sciousness of having done a good action was to him suffi- 
 cient reward. 
 
 I shall not, therefore, on this occasion, offend his 
 memory, by attempting to give a specific account of the 
 extent of his liberality. Nor is it within my power to 
 do so. The hundreds and the thousands which he de- 
 voted to patriotic objects, or to the relief of general dis- 
 tress, may be partially known but who can tell us the 
 amount of individual suffering, which his timely aid 
 alleviated ? Who has registered the names of distressed 
 widows, of forlorn orphans, of destitute strangers, that 
 were the recipients of his bounty ? However lonely he 
 may have felt in the declining years of his pilgrimage on 
 earth, the deeds of benevolence, the friendly acts of kind-
 
 151 
 
 ness which he had noiselessly performed, must have 
 clustered round his heart like guardian angels, shedding 
 a light on his path, and pointing forward to a bright 
 future. 
 
 The philanthropy of the deceased knew no distinction 
 of creed or nationality. He did not confine his charity to 
 the pale of his own religion. He considered Jew and 
 Gentile to have an equal claim on him. Wherever he 
 deemed his assistance well applied, he was ready to render 
 it. Individuals and corporations can bear testimony to 
 this beautiful trait in his character. In his life and ac- 
 tions were exemplified the words of the prophet, " Have 
 we not all one Father ? has not one God created us ? 
 why then should we be treacherous one against the 
 other?" 
 
 But whilst rendering justice to his high virtues as a 
 man, whilst admiring his unimpeachable integrity, his 
 general benevolence, his unstinted charity, the constancy 
 of his attachment to his friends, and the uniform kind- 
 ness to his servants we cannot pass by in silence his 
 noble qualities as a citizen. .Among the ranks of the 
 brave patriots who, in 1814 and 1815 defended our city 
 against foreign invasion, Judah Touro was to be found. 
 Nor did he escape unharmed. The effects of the fatal 
 ball that struck him, clung to him for the remainder of 
 his life. Though conservative in his views, he has con- 
 tributed materially to the improvement of the city, by 
 ornamenting our principal streets with some of the finest 
 mercantile edifices, which reflect credit on this Southern 
 emporium of commerce. And truly may we apply to 
 him the words of Solomon, " By the blessing of the right- 
 eous the city is exalted." 
 
 Within this city, too, he has left a lasting monument 
 to his munificence and his religious fervor. A descend- 
 ant of Abraham, a firm believer in the One (Jod, who hns
 
 152 
 
 created heaven and earth, who has revealed his word 
 from amidst the thunders of Sinai he has founded and 
 endowed a Synagogue, in which the time-hallowed wor- 
 ship of Israel is performed, in which the Law is read and 
 the Hymns of David are chaunted in their original tongue. 
 And thus the evening of his life was cheered up by the 
 delight and solace which he derived from a regular at- 
 tendance at that place of worship, and the solemn com- 
 munion with his Maker. 
 
 And this good man has passed away. No more shall 
 we look on his venerable form ; no more shall we receive 
 the hearty grasp of his hand. But his name will not be 
 forgotten, his memory will be blessed by generations to 
 come. He bore with fortitude the ills of his decline, and 
 prepared himself for the approaching end. And when at 
 last his senses were veiled by the shadows of death, and 
 all earthly objects had faded from his view then 
 could be plainly discerned, from his occasional low mur- 
 murings, the repeated prayerful ejaculations, "Oh God," 
 " Holy Father !" indicating his firm trust in God, hi* 
 hope in a blissful immortality.
 
 XIV. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered at the 
 
 FUNERAL OF JUDAH TOURO, 
 
 AT NEWPORT, B. T. 
 
 Tuesday, June 7th, 1854.
 
 FULL seventy-nine years have elapsed two genera- 
 tions have since passed away when, within the pre- 
 cincts of this town, Judah Touro was ushered into life. 
 Like his ancestor Jacob, he took the pilgrim-staff in 
 hand from the North he travelled to the then dis- 
 tant South. Like the patriarch, the Lord was with 
 him and prospered his ways ; like the patriarch, it was 
 bis last injunction, " When I shall sleep with my fathers, 
 then carry me away and bury me in their burying- 
 pbice." To-day, therefore, we are gathered round the 
 bier of the departed, and are about to conduct his earthly 
 remains to their final resting-place, that they may sleep 
 side by side with the ashes of long departed kindred. 
 
 The life of Judah Touro is marked by none of those 
 brilliant achievements, by none of those dazzlingly strik- 
 ing incidents, which are generally considered to consti- 
 tute human greatness. His 'word never marshalled into 
 battle array, and led to victory the hosts of his country- 
 men; his voice resounded not in the halls of legislation,
 
 156 
 
 nor had he the gift, " the applause of listening Senates 
 to command." But in all that is truly honorable, and 
 generous, and noble, he was foremost among the fore- 
 most. His heart was instinct with that true benevolence, 
 which forces the tear of sympathy into the eye, and opens 
 the hand to succor and to relieve. A sublime goodness 
 characterized his actions, an exalted virtue adorned his 
 life. The warm impulses of a generous soul gushed forth 
 from nature's purest fountain. 
 
 His charity, like his friendship, knew of neither sec- 
 tional nor sectarian boundaries. The catholicity of the 
 one was equalled by the constancy of the other. Modest 
 and unpretending, meek and humble, even to a fault, he 
 delighted in going good in secret, and felt happy in the 
 consciousness of being the unknown cause of the happi- 
 ness of others. 
 
 And to these virtues and principles he remained true 
 to the end of his days. Years will roll on another 
 generation will succeed us many a name, now shining 
 in the meridian of its glory, will be forgotten ; yet the 
 name and memory of Judah Touro will ever live in the 
 hearts of posterity. Through the length and breadth of 
 this country, the name of this philanthropist will ever be 
 coupled with the beautiful words of Scripture, " The 
 memory of the just will be for a blessing." 
 
 Yes, my friends, the memory of the deceased will ever 
 be blessed. Whether we consider his character as a 
 man, as a citizen, or as an Israelite, it equally claims our 
 admiration, our affectionate regard. Through his muni- 
 ficient bequests, so liberally and so judiciously distrib- 
 uted, he has erected to himself numerous monuments, 
 more durable than moulded bronze or chiselled marble, 
 which the gratitude of others may raise. The religious 
 and educational seminaries, the asylums for the poor and 
 suffering which he has either established or endowed
 
 157 
 
 for the ennobling of the heart, the improvement of the 
 mind, and the alleviation of distress, are bright evidences 
 of the deep interest he felt for all that tends to ameliorate 
 the moral and physical condition of man. The-Touro 
 Infirmary, the Touro Almshouse, the Synagogue, founded 
 by the deceased in that Southern metropolis, which had 
 been his constant residence for more than half a century ; 
 the Touro Tablets, which will decorate the walls of many 
 a hospital, asylum, school and sacred place of worship 
 throughout this country, will ever bear witness to those 
 heavenly feelings of benevolence and philanthropy, which 
 animated his good and pious soul. 
 
 " The fruit of the just is a tree of life." Such a tree 
 of life, affording shade and shelter to many a weary pil- 
 grim, has been planted by the deceased. 
 
 Are we, then, met to grieve at his death ? Not, cer- 
 tainly, for the sake of the departed. He had passed the 
 ordinary goal ; he had fulfilled his- great mission and was 
 waiting for his recall. Sensible of the approach of his 
 end, convinced of a happy immortality, death was to him 
 the commencement of a higher life an admission to the 
 benign presence of his Father, who is also our Father 
 of his God, who is also our God. 
 
 Shall we mourn the loss we have sustained ? Time 
 mellows and corrects our feelings. The predominant 
 emotion of my bosom is, profound gratitude to heaven 
 for giving us such a man, and sparing him so long. I 
 lose my regret that he is dead, in my deep joy, that he 
 has lived. And this I believe to be the general senti- 
 ment of his brethren and friends, of the trustees and re- 
 cipients of his bounty. The priceless value of such a 
 man is thus best appreciated. In the contemplation of 
 his life we should become profoundly and solemnly im- 
 pressed with a conviction of the infinite importance, 
 which may be given to the life of man on earth by a
 
 158 
 
 beautiful and conscientious devotion, of all the means at 
 command, to the nurture and development of the soul's 
 highest faculties, to the culture and manifestation of the 
 soul's purest affectioiis. 
 
 This occasion, then, is not one of exclusive mourning, 
 for the sake of either the dead or the living, but rather 
 one for the expression of fervent gratitude for the precious 
 example of such a life and death, for the lessons of true 
 wisdom it is designed to teach, and for the devout and 
 lofty aspirations, which it should excite. In this spiiit 
 let it be improved by us ; in this spirit let us raise our 
 hearts in prayer to our Creator and heavenly Protector.
 
 XV. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered at the Dedication of the 
 
 TOMB OF THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION 
 
 OF NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 AND THE TRANSFER OF THE REMAINS OF ITS PRESIDENT 
 
 VICTOR BOULLEMET, 
 Sunday, April 15th, I860.
 
 YOU are assembled here, to perform a solemn cere- 
 mony, a self-imposed duty. You are about to re- 
 move from their temporary vault the cheiished remains 
 of a co-laborer in your work of charity and benevolence, 
 and deposit them in the newly-erected tomb, which bears 
 the name of the immortal philanthropist, whose sublime 
 example you have chosen for your guide. The act, in 
 which you are engaged, is no vain ovation to the living, 
 but a sincere tribute of respect to the memory of departed 
 worth. It is an illustration of the fact, that associations 
 like yours, formed for purposes of pure benevolence, serve 
 to keep alive and active the kindly sensibilities of the 
 heart, by inducing an observance of the tender and 
 humane duties which ennoble our nature. 
 
 Nearly four years have elapsed, since we were engaged 
 in solemnizing the sad funeral rites on the mortal re- 
 mains of Virgil Boullemet, your late lamented president. 
 Cut off, as he was, in the prime of life, by a disease 
 which he contracted in the active paths of his humane 
 
 11
 
 162 
 
 exertions, his death was one of those mysterious and dark 
 dispensations of that Providence " whose ways are not 
 as man's ways " a dispensation which, bringing home to 
 the most careless, the sense of the frail tenure of life, 
 awes the mind into stillness and solemnity. But severely 
 as the blow must have been felt by the dearer friends of his 
 own family, the sorrow of others for the loss ol a virtuous 
 man, whose life had been ardently devoted to the service 
 of humanity, to the amelioration of the condition of the 
 sick and the needy, has in it little of bitterness. It is 
 sad, and solmen, and calm, and durable. 
 
 The deceased requires no studied eulogy, no ostenta- 
 tious panegyric at my hands. You, his fellow-laborers, 
 who have been both witnesses and sharers of his labors 
 of love, will coincide with me, when I say that his eulogy 
 is written in the hearts of thousands yet living, to whom 
 he proved, under Providence, " an angel of mercy that 
 bore healing on his wings," whilst thousands, whose 
 pains he was instrumental in soothing, but whose lives 
 he was unable to save, pronounced with their last breaths 
 the most effective panegyric before the very throne of the 
 Eternal. 
 
 You are surrounded by the emblems of death. Within 
 these vaults sleep many of those, who were dear to you 
 in life, with whom you exchanged a friendly grasp, whom 
 you warmly pressed to your bosom. The light of their 
 eyes once beaming intelligence and love, is quenched ; 
 their hearts have ceased to beat ; their noble forms, once 
 instinct with manly vigor or melting beauty, have 
 mouldered to dust. But above us there shineth forth the 
 bright orb of day, and the blue arch of heaven is stretched 
 out in immeasurable expanse, suggesting the idea of in- 
 finitude-, of eternity. And whilst daily experience 
 teaches us that sad lesson, that "in the midst of life we 
 are in death," the voice of nature, which is also the voice
 
 163 
 
 God, strikes "the consoling conviction into our hearts, 
 that from the midst of death we look forward to life 
 eternal, to immortality. 
 
 " The Koul, secured in her existence, smiles 
 At the drawn dagger, and defies its point ; 
 The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
 Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, 
 But thou shall flourish in immortal youth, 
 
 Unhurt amidst the war of elements, 
 The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds." 
 
 To erect tombs, where the temple of clay once tenant- 
 ed by the immortal foul, is to be enshrined, is a noble 
 custom. It is in consonance with the deepest feelings of 
 human nature. These tombs become sacred shrines, 
 where not only the names of the departed are snatched 
 from oblivion, but where their virtues and generous deeds 
 are remembered for good. Many a weary pilgrim, whose 
 stops will be arrested on passing this spot, and reading 
 the noble name engrossed upon this tomb, will speak 
 with the poet : 
 
 " Peace to the good man's memory, let it grow 
 Greener with years, and blossom thro' the flight of ages ; 
 
 Let the light 
 
 Stream on his deeds of love, that shunned the sight 
 Of all but Heaven, and in the book of fame 
 The glorious record of his virtues write, 
 And hold it up to men, and bid them claim 
 A palm like his, and catch from him the hallowed flame."
 
 XVI. 
 
 ADDRESS - 
 
 Delivered at the 
 
 FUNERAL OF JOSEPH FATMAN, 
 
 AT NEW YORK, 
 
 Sunday, October lOth 1869.
 
 A GOOD MAN has departed ; a righteous Israelite 
 has been gathered to his fathers. Joseph Fatman 
 is no more. His soul has returned to God ; his earthly 
 remains are about to be borne to the silent tomb. 
 
 How solemn are the reflections that arise in o - ir minds, 
 in performing the last sad office of love, which the living 
 may minister to the dead, how serious the lesson thus 
 afforded ! The teeling of our nothingness, of our frailty, 
 of the precarious tenure of life, and the certainty of death, 
 strikes our soul with overpowering conviction ; and 
 prayerfully we look up to him, who is the source of eter- 
 nal life, upon whom we are dependent, and in whom we 
 trust in life and in death. But amidst these solemn emo- 
 tions, our memory involuntarily reverts to the lamented 
 departed, and we can scarcely realize the fact, that he 
 has been called away from his work on earth " to that 
 eternal bourne from whence no traveller returns." 
 
 " Man is but a pilgrim here below." Such is the lang- 
 guage of Holy Scripture, such the expression that so fre-
 
 168 
 
 
 
 quently greets our ear, when the career of an earthly 
 pilgrimage is closed in death. This aphorism is no figure 
 of speech, but an incontrovertible truth, a stern reality. 
 We may ignore it amidst the struggling activities and 
 diversified pursuits of life ; we may strive ami work, 
 labor and toil, plant and build, as if the earth were our 
 eternal home, yet the hour will come, sooner or later, that 
 will call us from our task, and force us to relinquish our 
 post. In that hour, when our account with earth is settled, 
 the value of our life is not measured by our worldly success 
 and possessions, but by our exertions for the good of 
 others, for the amelioration of the suffering, and the pro- 
 motion of the welfare and happiness of our fellow- 
 mortals. 
 
 Measured by this standard, the life of the deceased 
 assumes a high value. Engaged in commercial pursuits, 
 which but too often cramp the kindlier impulses of human 
 nature, he achieved success without sacrificing the good 
 will and kindly regards of his 'neighbors, while his heart 
 remained instinct with that true benevolence which 
 prompts the active deed. If any evidence of the genuine 
 worth of the private and public virtues of our departed 
 friend were needed, it is amply furnished by this large 
 gathering of mourning friends, who, in his demise, de- 
 plore the loss of a good, honorable man, of a zealous 
 laborer in the cause of charity. The goodness of his soul 
 was not confined to the narrow sphere of home, but was 
 cheerfully exerted for the benefit of his fellow-mortals at 
 large. The noble qualities of mind and heart, with which 
 God had blessed him, were not suffered to congeal by 
 selfishness, but warmed into life and deeds of benevolence 
 and love. On the memorial-tablets of those sacred insti 
 tutions of humanity, that are flourishing in our midst, 
 the name of Joseph Fatuxan will ever occupy an honor- 
 able place. The Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Hebrew
 
 169 
 
 Orphan Asylum have been principally benefited, not 
 only by his munificent contributions, but by his personal 
 attention and labors ; and many an hour he snatched 
 from the enjoyments of home and business pursuits, to 
 promote the welfare of those institutions. And thus cut 
 off in the maturity of manhood, the deceased has not lived 
 in vain. And although the highest term of human age 
 was not vouchsafed to him although he was not spared 
 to enjoy a season of rest, of recreation, of undisturbed 
 enjoyment of life's blessings in life's tranquil evening 
 hours, yet welcome and promising must be to him the 
 dawn of eternal life, since his earthly career closed upon 
 a useful activity, and the palm of approbation and love 
 of all who knew him, will decorate his peaceful grave. 
 
 But whilst deeply deploring the loss which our com- 
 munity has sustained in the death of so good and charit- 
 able a man, I shrink from intruding upon the sacred 
 privacy of grief, which this bereavement has inflicted 
 upon the immediate family of the lamented deceased. 
 Yet, can we forbear expressing our sympathy for, and 
 mingling our tears with the tears of the sorrow-stricken 
 widow, who has lost the companion of her youth, the pro- 
 tector and solace of her declining age ? Can we forbear 
 feeling a sympathy for, and mingling our tears with the 
 tears of the sorrowing children, who mourn the loss of an 
 affectionate and devoted father ? On these profoundly 
 solemn occasions, when the perishableness of our earthly 
 existence strikes our hearts with irresistible force, when 
 oxir horizon is shrouded in darkness and gloom, we look up 
 to God, and derive comfort and courage from our faith in 
 his eternal goodness and mercy. The conviction that our 
 soul is immortal, the hope that we shall one day be re- 
 united with those who were dear to us on earth, must 
 exercise a soothing influence on our grief, and cause the 
 mourner to submit with resignation to the will of Provi-
 
 170 
 
 dence. On the earthly form of the departed we cast a 
 last, loving, lingering look, but his spirit has returned to 
 his God, into the realm of eternal life and bliss ; the seeds 
 of love and of virtue, which he has sown in the hearts of 
 his children, will bear ennobling fruit and immortalize 
 his name and his lineage, while his deeds of benevolence 
 and charity, and his memory, will be for a blessing.
 
 XVII. 
 
 OPENING PRAYER 
 
 Delivered at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary 
 
 OP THE 
 
 Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society 
 
 OF NEW YORK, 
 
 Thursday, April Nth, 1872.
 
 A LMIGHTY GOD ! Creator of heaven and earth ! 
 -*- Father of all mankind ! With a deep sense of our 
 dependence upon Thy loving kindness, we approach Thee 
 on this festive and gratifying occasion, and bless Thy 
 Holy Name. Thou art our Everlasting Shield and 
 Heavenly Protector ; " with Thee is the source of life ;" 
 from the fount of Thy revelation do we derive light ; and 
 by Thy infinite mercy are we sustained. 
 
 Allkind Father ! Love is the effulgence of Thy glory ; 
 love is the eternal pillar that supporteth the universe ; 
 the mysterious link that holds in unison worlds without 
 end ; the heavenly tie that binds Thy children to Thee, 
 that unites and fraternizes the sons of man. 
 
 Omnipotent God ! Thou commandest and spheres 
 spring into existence ; Thou speakest and life throba 
 through the pulses of creation. The eyes of all hopefully 
 wait upon Thee ; for Thou openest Thy hand and pro- 
 videst for all living beings, and Thy mercy extendeth 
 over all Thy works. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God,
 
 174 ' 
 
 who hast preserved us alive and sustained us in health, to 
 participate in this jubilee of charity. 
 
 We thank Thee, O God, for the protection which Thou 
 hast extended towards our Society. Small was its be- 
 ginning, but its sphere has wonderfully increased in ex- 
 tent and in usefulness. Devoted originally to the inci- 
 dental relief of the poor and needy, it has established a 
 home for the homeless, where the tears of the orphan are 
 dried, and helpless innocence finds comfort and protec- 
 tion. The tree, planted' fifty years ago by the hand of 
 charity in the soil of humanity, now affords a grateful 
 shade to those who are sheltered under its branches. 
 
 Guide and strengthen us, O God, in the direction of 
 our efforts to alleviate, in some degree, the distresses that 
 are incident to human life. May Thy blessing rest upon 
 the Asylum and upon all those that have found, and "are 
 yet destined to find shelter under its roof. May har- 
 mony, kindness and love link together all its children as 
 members of one family and virtue and piety be their 
 portion of inheritance, their inalienable guides through 
 life. 
 
 And we beseech Thee, O God, to bless the officers, 
 patrons and members of the Society, and all those who 
 have nobly contributed, and those who will hereafter 
 contribute towards its support. May their generous zeal 
 continue unabated, and warm hearts and liberal hands at 
 all times be ready to aid in the prosecution of so sacred a 
 cause. What greater happiness can there be for man 
 than to ameliorate the condition of his fellow-man, to 
 render cheerful the otherwise gloomy lot of the widow and 
 the fatherless ! Reward, we pray Thee, the sacrifices 
 made in behalf of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan 
 Asylum Society in the plenitude of Thy grace ! 
 
 This fiftieth anniversary of the institution must needs 
 reminds us of the transitoriness of human life. Its found
 
 175 
 
 ers and many of its members have returned to their 
 eternal home, to reap the reward of their good deeds 
 done upon earth and we bless their memory in this 
 solemn hour. Grant, O God, that the living patrons, 
 members and supporters, be long spared in health and 
 prosperity to witness and enjoy the happy results attained 
 by their sacrifices and well-directed charitable efforts. 
 
 Continue, O God, Thy heavenly protection over our 
 beloved country. May it increase in renown, in prosper- 
 ity and in virtue. May peace, harmony and obedience 
 to law prevail among the people, and the various sections 
 ever be closely united by the bonds of true patriotism 
 and brotherly love. 
 
 Bless, O Father, all those here assembled. May the 
 occasion not pass by without a salutary effect, but .be 
 conducive to the steady cultivation and development of 
 the blissful feelings of benevolence and philanthropy in 
 thought, in word, and in deed. 
 
 And may the grace of the Lord, our God, be upon us ; 
 and the work of our hand be firmly established upon us ; 
 yea, the work of our hand do Thou firmly establish it, 
 whom we adore as our God and our Father for evermore. 
 Amen.