, 1874-09-13

t pentauce with good 1ntenslons. 1nen tne co!nln
: wear will undoubtedly bear delicious fruit
J, you. And 81 to-day ne shout to ono anosht
4 and to every man, s. a happy new-year," NO ri
: be surrounded during the whole year by the sir
core band Of holy aud pure lore towards OF
) brethren and fellow-mcn and, therefore.
l selves, for the day is holy"
: Oh, Father OF all, lend us Thy paternal hant
t and grant us Thy gody assistance. Grown thi
| now year with Thy kindness preserve and pre-
; tect US strengthen the weak and heal the sick
!, | console widows and orphans :; bless all men o.
| the whole. wide earth prevent what might in
; iure theln and giye what will procure their wei
fare forever and ever Amen!
DR.. TELsESTuAL.
Tie following is abstract of the sermon
delivered in Gormau by Dr. Felsenthai, ycster
day, in tho Tonple Of Zion congregation:
The nation of Israel is widely scattered nj
over the world no visible centre binds them to,
yethor; they are not q people, in the political
senso OF the word; they have no King, no High
Priest, no Sanhedriu. no common sanctuary
aad yet tnoy are u distinct and sharply-defncd
rart Of mankind; yot they are holden together
as hJ magic power. What. then, is it tina!
claractcrixes al Israel and unites them into one
brotherhood The answer ia: Common memo
ries, common hopes, and common faith.
It is NOT only long, it IL wonderful, hietory,
the memories OF which are roriyed on this festi-
vai day. And the and substance OF this
history, counting its years By the thousands, is
| tnat Israel Was sent into tho world, not 10 play
4 brilliant political part among the other na-
! tions, not to throw its sword into tho scale OF
universal history and to decide thereby the des-
tnics Of tho VI or!d, but to 1.-Two and to labor for
| an idea. This idea is: There IS but oue God
! and Isracl is HIS prophet.
/ Tho names OF innumerable heroes are in-
! .cribcd upon the pages Of history. and inmor-
tal1ty il clalmed Tor them-upon what grounds
| Upon t1lc grounds OF their valiant deeds On bat
| tlu-eelds: upou the successful Btatcsmanship
for tho advantage Of their special countries and
the like. Israel las his heroes too. Blu: their
Immortality rests upon their having been God
inspired, tcstifying by their life aud hy their
| death OF tho Holy Ono of Izracl and OF His i'm
| nutablo moral law and thereby maintaining the
great i1oa aud planting its roots deeply into the
hearts OF the nations. Israel's heroes heroes
Of great idoa. Whenever Israel remained
faithful to their mission, their position was a
glorious QUE. But when they became forgeIful
IT this idoa, when they disregardod the high
| trusts imposed upon them, they descended to a
very low position, aud covered themselves with
shame and contempt
How is it NTH you, nv friends? Will you
suffer yourselves to remain, or to become, indlf-
fcrent or cold towards the world-redse,nlus idea
to guard which is Isracls holy duty? Or doyou
Intend to bo all your life long just as jealous
and enthusiastio warriors for God and His law as
your forefathers have been?
lho sounds OF the SaoJar, rs well As to-day's
lection from our Dible and our prayers. have
directed our thoughts towards our patriarcns
Concerning this. tue following parable is related
in the Af1lrasl; . 4 Kings son had once to an
pear before his father, aud to defend himself
against certain accusations. And tue King said
to his son, Thou dcsifest to provo thy inno-
cence; why. then, wilt thou not appoint for thee
a good defender? On his account NAV become
mora CFaciDus{y inclined towards tfae Tp a
similar way We might conceive our Heavenly
Father saving to Israel, - Be reminded on thia
day Of -FOUR forofasae1s. and their memory will
contribute towards-proyiug your Innocence ?"
No. but to induce you to initiate them, and to be-
come friends aud servants OF the Lord, IS they
have been.
As all Israel shares in common certain memo |
1ies SO all entertain in common certaiu hopes
Often the present times appear cloudy dark
hopeless: yet. unto every true IBraelite the fu- |
ture is full OF light aud brilliant sunshine The
luminous visions Of prophets were no dolu- |
sire dreams; before our very eyes they are |
time will surely conc. when the Only One, the |
Source OF all life, tho King Of the universe will
be acknowledged by every human being, and on |
the most distant islands in the ocean.
Onward is the universal CRY of our nge on
ward is the motto III al the varlous endcarors
of classes and individuals. What has been hid /
den heretofore is searched for, aud becomes re-
veaed. AL the powers Of nature are made sub
baEfltuL W tAt H1li u uAn LUG arhfEHtOUB OF
ignorance are decreasing in their dimensions. and
the light Of knowledge and learning is extending
IT'D realm, aud penetrating into places which
have been considered inaccessible to it,
And religious aud moral afzirs a!ono should
remain staEnant? No, 1srael's religion is lot so
gloomy and pcssimlstic; it is hopeful, and with
u trust neyor so be shaken it inscribes upon its
banner the motto: Onward! Onward Tor ths
Of the world It is true, that some
times and to tho superficial observer the elsus
Of the times do not appear very encouraging.
Often it seems that. whila the Kingdom OF the
world inc1eases the Kingdom of God decreases
and that, while wo bespeak for Israel IN i'm
portant part in the future development OF the
religious idea in the world, with q considerable
number of modern Israentes the Jewish mission
is scoffed at, is denicd, is underratcd, and that
some even Incline to tho suicidal tendency of
with the Unitarians or With the Free
Religious Associations.
These associations, in as far as''they rcst upon |
Theism. aro our allies. and rendor unto us pow
,rful aid in overthrowins idolatry, error, and
spiritual darkness. Yet it would be an inc1c,,sa-
bio act Of sclf-dcstruction should We totally |
surrender to them. and give up our jewish indi-
Let them rather. conc over to ua unito
rth us, aud thereby be guarded against luctua-