Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-03
PASSOVER
sermep br DR.. Islster mailman.

StEIkhDD Dl Ut. laAtoE AAhtA5D.
The services held at the Jewish Syna-
goglIe, on North Market street, yesterday
morning, were of an impressive character.
The sermon was in English, and was
preached by Rev. DR.. Kalish. He said:
The festival of the Passover, which we
commenced last Saturday, reminds us of
the greatest benefits God has bestowed upon
us and mankind at large. Our ancesto.s
passed in Egypt a long and horrible night
of slavery. When it was very dark at mid
night there came the Almighty word Of the
Most High in the midst of the land. In
that very same night King Pharoah sent for
Moses and Aaron, and said" "Rise up and get
youforth from among my people, bothye and
the children of Israel, and 90 serve the
Lord as We have said" A people of over
two millions left Egypt like one man, be
cause an un~quenchable fire burned in their
bosoms, and they followed their high mis-
sion. With the assistance of God they
broke their chains Of bondage. After
many thousands of years the feast of the
Passover is still celebrated all over the
world, with the same joyful heart for this
same benefit. And let us consider i'm this
solemn hour why this is SO.
l call your attention TO Deut. 4 chap. 20
verse. sBut the Lord hath taken you and
brought you forth out of the iron furnace,
even out of Egypt, TO be unto Him a people
of Inheritance as We are this day." The
expression, "a people Ofinheritance7 means
a people that are devoted to God; il means
thai Israelites shall devote all their bowers
to his service. The mission Oasrael is
very great and very high. II shall beamong
the nations a teacher of what is right. The
preservation of Israel through all her trials
and tribulations, loaded with shame and
insults-this is the best proof that Israel
was chosen by God himself as a people Of
Inheritance. Ii is true that there are those
in Europe as well as in this country who
say that piety is on the decline. But this
is not SO. Israel has not retreated but is still
advancing.
You must not think that we have moth
ing TO do in this world; that we have ac-
complished our mission. There are a great
many drawbacks among every religious de-
nomination. As long as anything that is
holy, that is not 10 be understood by plain
grammar, logic and rhetoric, so long is the
mission of Israel not ceased. We must be
actuated by a true brotherly spirit. Every
one claims to be a brother to all men, but
the question is whether it is a true brother
ly spirit. The welfare of all should be
paramount Of all our wishes and of all our
efforts.
The Talmud says there are three fine,
excellent gifts that have been given 10 Is
rael-three beautiful gifts has God given to
us, all Of which have been gained by Israel
through great suffering, namely: The holy
law, the promised land, and the eternal
life. Four hundred years had Israel to be
slaves in Egypt before the Lord considered
them worthy to receive the holy law. 1t is
true it was difficult to perform the law; it
is true 4 is still difficult to perform it. Is
it right to spend life in sensual pleasures
which are but for a moment, aud pass in a
moment? These people dig the quicker
the graves for their bodies, and their hair
more quickly turns gray. Their pains
and trouble are in vain; only
those who endeavor to enlarge
and purify their spirits, who always re-
move from their hearts the dross OF sensual
desires-Only these work and suffer not in
vain. Again, there are some men who,
only when they are frightened and unhap-
DIV. feel their hearts incline to God and His
holy law. When the weight of misfortune
cOmeS-when trouble and misery are
knocking at their homes, when heavenly
messengers bring them severe messages,
then they begin to repent and hasten TO
come nearer to God and His law. Happy
for them if their suiierings bring them COM
fort. Il called upon God when in distress;
lie set me ina large place; He set me free
and brought ME from darkness to light
Our forefathers travelled forty years in
the wilderness and a whole generation of
over twenty years of age that wen out Of
Egypt had died, and even our preacher
Moses had departed this life at the
boundary Of the desert, before Isreal had
obtained possession Of their Inheritance.
The third gift God has given the people
of his inheritance is Immortality. 1t is
true we are mortal beings, but there IS with
in us the spirit of the Father Of all things.
1t would be as supertluOus for me to al
tempt to prove the Immortality of the soul,
as for me to say ''now it is daylight" it IS
a truth within itself. There is not II
among a million Of men who would wish
to come to n~othingneSs and humiliation.
Such a feeling would not have existed if
there had not been an immortality. 1t Is
natural, and what is natural is true. We
would like TO live forever and therefore We
will live forever.
The heavenly life shall not he like the
terrestrial. We shall be elevated above
misery. trouble. tribulation, and even death.
There will be no anXiety-nO calamity.
No; if we would receive such a happy state
we must elevate ourselves. Our minds and
our hearts must be dressed in garments of
light. When we so live, then we are capa-
bic of living in the region of eternal truth
and enjoy heavenly bliss.