The New York herald., 1875-12-05
SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP
THE REV. DIR. MENDEs ON JACOBS VISION OF
THE ANGELS ASCENDING AND DESCENDING

THE REV. DIR. MENDEs ON JACOBS VISION OF
THE ANGELS ASCENDING AND DESCENDING
ON LADDER.
The great question with Jewish ministers as well as
with Christian pastors is how to get the people to
synagogue church. 1t IL not pleasant for minister
TO have to preach TO rows Of empty pews before
either side Of him And yet this is done by both jew
ish and Christian teachers Sabbath after Sabbath
throughout the year, except when special efforts or
occasions call the people forth. Again and again those
who do attend synagogue church exhorted to do
something to fill up the empty seats, but
little nothing is done. And there they stand
unoccupied at every service And once more
yesterday Dr. Nondes called tho attention OF
his congregation in Forty fourth synagogue TO
the decadcnce OF Judaism through the inertia neg
lect OF professors He painted for their entertain
ment a word picture, in which young was seen
leaving his fathers and home wandering his
weary way toward the land of his kindred. The sun
has gone down the western hills and fatigued with his
Journey the young rests and the darkness draws
its curtain the scene. Amid that weird darkness
which awes tho savage the young man has and takes
stone for his pillow, and with the canopy Of heaven
his covering and God for his protector he lies down
to sleep in that lonely forest But the forest is
illuminated with food Of light 1t is no
beam that illumines the place, ordinary sound that
down between earth and sky-silently yet active.
Whence comes that lghtH It's splendor grows
resplendent; its brlliancy more brilliant
SUCH
to witness, but the remains the channel OF COM
muncaton, and he hears the voice Of God telling him
that He would bring him back to this place Then the
young man, arousing himself, said, Surey the Lord
is in this place and knew it noti How dreadful is
this place This is other than the house Of Cod
and this is the very gate of heavcnn You recognize
the traveller Jacob who FIRST called that place
Bethel-the house OF God Then Dr. Mendes drew for
HE hpnr ptrtu hp bqnth han 0no
Of their temples is entered IL is magnincenty deco
rated with all the taste Of the times They give freely
toward furnishing shrine for their IDOLS They assem-
bic therein once q week for worship but the women
mainly, IL not wholly are there. The men are away
worshppng the gods that presumed preside
mercantile pursuits Butthough the number Of the abb
sentees large those who do assemble by means
uncomfortable in numbers We enter one Of their ho-
days and think, perhaps, to ind devotion there. But
there is mono AS the priest recies his intermnabe
prayers there Is no response from the congregation
Their bodies be sure there but their souls arc
elsewhere following their everyday pursuits And as
stand IN such place, who will assert that God Is
there whether We knew il or notP This ls the house
OF God and this the gate Of heaven. DR. Mendes re-
minded bis congregation that this heather picture
would very woll for people and temples
home, even for themselves IL was manifest enough
that his people understood the locality and accepted
the portraure as satisfying the condition Of probably
every Jewish congregation in the city Then applying
his pictures practical ends he transferred the scenes
from the Syrian forest aud the heather temple to
TnE HOMES AND FiREsDEs or EVERY ONE
OF them where peace and devotion godliness
Notwithstanding and descending the ladder Of
daily life. But we have lost much OF our early sim
pcty The father is no longer the priest and teacher
but merely tho bread-poddcr OF the household And
instead Of peace there exists dsscnsion there And no
one will dare assert that God Is there though knew
II not that such home Is the gate OF heaven. This
tho disease Of today and the Doctor said that
week he would portray the remedy--the syn
agogue ana the home-through which only
can Judaism be saved He would be glad,
no said, to receive suggestions from his
congregation, and would ponder them over before next
week, when his theme will be 'Bethel, the House of
| God and tho Cody House, Dr. Mendes offered
closing prayer In deep sympathy with the subject OF
his DISCOURSE and in which he amented the decadence
OF Judaism and prayed for It's revival Historic Juda-
ism TO DO slipping away from the grasp Of ortho
dox Israecs, and they havo nothing yet 70 take It's
place The teachers and some Of the older people arc
opposed to any innovation, and hence the young men
and women absent themselves or 80 where they
hear music and sermons that not the less Judastc
because they modcrn2ed. For selfpresorvation
they viii be compelled by and by to accept reform in
some shape; aud NJ moderate reform Is not accepted
now they may baye " take absolute radicalism ere
long