Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-12-08


home-scenes of the family of our departei |
brother, because there it found the fullest e2 |
preston. de was one of the most ZealoH |
advocates of Judaism, and one of the mot |
active members of this congregation, a regt |
lar visitor to the synagogue, and stauno |
| friend of the Hebrew Sunday schoc. !
| As president of our congregation, he labord |
| faithfully to elevate Its position, and ID |
much to foster religious education, in tie !
| efficacy OF which he had an implicit fai1. |
He often told me that he could not compe-
bend how parents could be so reckless as o
neglect the religious training of their childro.
! Ali the happiness and peace of mind whic
now enjoy, he added, Is owing to my religious
culture and knowledge; Judaism hes ben
my staff of life, upon which | supported ~
/ self since was a mere boy. And the furter
| n. ID. Menken advanced upon the road OF
] life, the more augmented became his actSI-
| ties. He affiliated himself with many chr
| liable and benevolent associations; he wa; at
| the time of his death presidentof the Hebrw
relief association, yice-president of tie
united relief association, a member of the
| o. B. B., and other similar institutions. %
enumerRte what Nathan Menken id
| Tor suffering humanity at all times, a.d
J especially in those dark hours 't
calamity, would be fulsome; wirn
| bless his name, it is supeIfIous for the euo-
| gist to add a single word OF praise. How
ever, IN order to exhibit to You how BELOVED
our departed brother was also by these wlo
| do not share his religious views, | am enabld
| to show by reading few passages from
| letter l received from christian friend5f
| o1rs-Judge Simmons. Thus writes he
| gentleman: Il can freely and fully syrnp,-
! thize with the snrrowing survivors. yet it
| of one alone | would now write. One
| knew well and esteemed highly, for he ws
my friend and was his. Need | say thd
! friend was Captain Nathan D. Menken?
| have so freely and so often and openly eS
pressed my feelings toward HIM during hi
| life, and since his untimely death. that l i'm
agIne you would have no difficulty in deter
| mining who | meant, even were l 10 men
ton no name. Nearly ever since the termI-
nation of the late unhappy and unnatural war
| | have known Captain mensen, and though
we wore uniforms of opposite colors, aud
occupied opposite positions in the two
armies while the war continued, yet l never
knew Kim by one word or act to refer to that
unhappy period in any way to wound IN the
| slightest degree the feelings OF
the most sensitive follower Of
the Lost Cause On the contrary,
| going about relieving distress and doing
good wherever he could find subjac.s and OPP
portunity, and not waiting for them to be
hunted for, or brought to him. In this noble
work be fell martyr, a grand, golden type
Of the highest, purest specimens OF humanity
and Of manhood. l know not what your
faith may be In this respect, but mine Is that
our friend was enabled to repeat feelingiy
| in the dark hour, the beautiful language of
the PsaImist: Though l walk through the
valley and shadow of death. l will fear no
| evil, for Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort
| me, and that he is now at rest in the heav-
emily Canaan. May the God Of Abraham, Of
I-aac and of Jacob, bless and comfort the
heart-stricken widow and orphan children of
| i L 4
at9 his many virtues, and IN the remem-
brance of them find consolation in their deep
affection. And may his bright examples Of
| life be treasured and followed by his surviv
! ing brethren of your synagogue, and his very
| death be blessed and sanctIied to them all
| for their temporal and eternal good.
Thus speaks the Gentle of the virtues of
the Jew, paying a voluntary tribute to tie
excellency of jewish character as ii is in the
Jew, and thereby paying also a tribute to the
| efficacy end power OF the Jewish faith. The
departure of cur brother from the land of the
| living is, indeed, severe loss to this COM
mupity; the crown has fallen from our
heads, and our expressions Of grief are just
and timely. But, then, there is at least con-
ISOLATION In the thought that he has lived
noble life, and died a noble death. When
Aenophon was once sacrificing with a crown
upon his head, a messenger brought him the
news that his son Grylius had been slam in
the battle of Mautinea. Xenophon, in the
paroxysm of his grief, took the crown from
his head, and threw it to the ground. But,
when second messenger told him how
bravey and valiantly his son had fought, how
he had repealed the enemy while bleeding
from many Swounds, he placed again the
crown upon his head, and wept no
more. Even SO, brethren, has the crown
of glorious life not fallen
from our heads by the death Of q
man like Nathan Menken; it will remain in
It's elevated position, and adorn US until our
hearts cease to beat. Ye, too, my brethren,
members of the congregation Beth El Emeth,
have sustained great loss, inflicted by the
malignant foe o! the late calamity. Your
spiritual leader, Rev. DE-. Ferdinand Sarner,
has been removed from his useful sphere as
religious teacher to the spheres OF the life
beyond the grave. You have been deprived
Of your spiritual friend and guide, who loved
you well, and who with never-ceasipg pa
thence and fidelity taught you the sublime
lessons of morality, bepevolence and love
He sleeps In the dust, yet his heart is awake.
He bas lett you as legacy his teachings and
hia noble example, for there never lived
purer man than DR.. Sarner; not one of you.
could rise IN this assembly and charge a SIN
gle vice, aye, the smallest vice upon his char
acter. He was nobleman, scholar withal,
and there was q depth of sentiment
within the recesses of his heart,
which prompted him to renounce COM
fort and ease for the sake of those he
loved. He was deeply attached to his family,
to his wife and child. When some time ago
| impressed his mind with the necessity to
take 4 vacation for himself, he answered us:
Il would like 10 do it, dear colleague, but
cannot bear even temporary separation from
my chlld-naf5hi keshuroh benufShob-my
soul Is rIVeted to hers" These beautiful
qualities and tie pristine purity Of character
in the life of your departed teacher should be
d noble example TO you ali. Seneca, the Ro-
man philosopher, said TO his friends IN the
agonies of death: ''Since l cannot leave you
any other acknowledgment Of the obIiga-
tons | have to you, [ leave you the best
thing | have, namely, the image of my life
and manners, which l entreat you to keep in
memory OF me; that SO doing you
may acquire glory" Even so, friends and
brethren, let us not lose a particle of
human virtue, of human goodness of moral
excellency, and, above all, leH not SO much
love be lest in the grave. From the sepui-
chre-from the tombs of the departed-I
hear tonight a Bath-Kol speaking unto US:
"Gire, ye maOrtals, to the iUing iOhat you
cannot any more giUe to the dead" Vain are
the outbreaks Of grief-useless the violence
ceIve the tokens of love; the father can no
more hear the faithful promise Of his chill
dren; the husband cannot behold the affec-
tionate look of his wife, and the friend Can
no more receive pledges of devotion. Love
is the principle of life, and, as such. let US
bestow it upon the living-upon the orphan
and the widow; let it stream from the heart
OF the widowed mother into the hearts of the
chldren-irom the hearts of the children
into the hearts of their sisters and brothers
beseech you, bury not so much precious
love ID the graves Of the departed, but let it
live as vital force in the relations of the
living. But, more than all, | recommend to
you to take care among yourselves not to
offend each other; suffer 10 harsh
sounds to disturb your domestic felicity. 1t
Is an idle thing to homer the dead If we have
not honored them alive; it is superstition to
speak molly of the departed whilst we SLAM
dered them for years previous to their death;
it is folly to give to the dead what we can
only give to the living. An Italian rabbi,
manuel, of FerIno, says: Achrdi mos hedO-
SHIN em0T-"atter death many are made
saints" who were far from being such during
life, and many are exalted and praised after
death, whilst during life society oppressed
and ignored them, though they deserved well
during life what was given them after death.
This ought not to be, brethren. Life is but
short, and we ought to make it as cheerful
to others as to ourselves. If you are a hus
band and father, deal gently with thy wife
and wisely with thy children. Eater not thy
home with clouded countenance and Ill hu-
NOR; bear with her faults, and those OF thy
children, kindly and with patience, for be-
hold, tonight they are near you in perfec:
health. Dost thou know thai it will
be SO tomorrow? Hence, my brother, give
to the living what thou wouldst not be able
to give to the dead And you. my sister,
who has not tasted the cup OF bereavement,
when thy children annoy you with their
manifold wants. when cares multiply, when
thou art tempted to forget affection and love
in the ill-temper of momentary passion, then
think how wretched, how unhappy the loss
of husband or child would make you, and
am sure thou wilt have patience and give to
the living to-day what thou canst not give to
TO exclainl as DAVID did: "WonId to God
had died instead OF thee" And if you all,
my bereaved friends. have listened to the
voices we have heard as the echoes of your
departed ones, you will understand fully the
solemnity and meaning of this celebration.