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

/ I9e satos Of our souls and hearts are wide
! eg1T 10 pour forth the woes and throes of de-
mohshed hopes and sad bereavements, TO ad
mt gladly the consultations of religion anC
Inc s"eeter memories of the past. The
burning lava Of terrible Calamity
mas iayaSed cur houses ike those o.
C;e5t hercuianeum and POM eii, has almost
| purleu our city, to make It a Metropolis, &
cHy VI the dead. For many DAYS, week,
an months, has the angel OF death beer
SIN Ia our streets, following the dark shad.
oaneius scourge, gathering a rich
a. 'es1 CT souls tor the life beyond the grave
| G can also comprehend why our brethren
tns mem6ers of Beth E Emeth eongrega.
! eon' nave come hither To unite with US in
uy,IS honor to the memory of those who
| nte cnited IN death; i Is to demonstrate
ns peaceful relations between these two
e,isfe cations, that whilst we differ in the
! oo."eTd form We axe one in spirit standing
| uhittd IN life and death When we and our
ni-Ie Conservative brethren Jointly buried
| Iso'e near "a dear TO our heat. we beheld
| ~ the outward form was consigned to the
| eus'' how IN the course of time the bodily
IeeidFes "ane IN cur memory, and only the
| si'- t.uGi Qualities of the departed are kept
~ ~ mem6rance. Even so are the out
| %"-u forms of cur religion subjected 10
chGase and decay; they will be buried out OF
sleAt, whist the spirit of Judaism will live
| forever In Its grandeur and beauty in the
niIhu OF man. A day will come when our
Conservative brethren will, like tonight, unite
VIZ us In the worship of the God of Israel.
| %. !" IN us IN ex3laiming, as with one accord
r 9Ae"'a Israel adOnoi eloheau udonOi echod -
oA'li then let Us as heretofore live together
IN peace and harmony; upon the graves of
| nVo,s men and women, let us renew this
| oohd OF friendship and brotherly love:
| O9st may back to native dust be ground.
| Il, Z rom ON ITS cr1mbling house the spirit fy,
anu the storm Its aShes SreW around,
out our love. our love. shall never die"
having greeted you with this peaceful
message, my brethren, it behooves us now to
ass now shall we consecrate this hour to
the memory of our dead; and of what nature
sneli be our reflections upon the uncertainty
o. ne and certainty of death? Shall we,
| WIN merclless severity, present a picture OF
| terrible scenes and heartrending incidents
upon the canvas OF our perception, so as to
revive the agony and misery of the epidemic
t0Isooth; we have not come hither to night
| to tear open the deep wounds which have not
yet commenced to heal; we decline to prac-
tce the art of a certain class of preachers
who measure the success of their discourses
| oy ihelr uncharitabie practice to play upon
the very fibres of the human heart as upon
| a harp. until the chords of emo
ton and feeling break asunder with
The shrill sound of despair; until
| stream of tears from the eyes of their hesr-
! ers gratlties their vanity and proves the eff
cacy OF their speech. If reputation for
eloquent oratory is to be gained by such
cruel means, decline the honor; l shall not
play upon the heartstrings Of my people;
will not employ the power of language to
carry pain and sorrow In the hearts of man.
Ga the contrary, would to God that l could
WIPE the tear from every face, hush the signs
IN every breast, land cover the legious of sor-
row with multitude of coming Joy; that
IN IA tyrr,a 10 TO-, hao. L.
umRs of your domestic happiness to an
nounce TO you the message of hope and con-
ISOLATION for the future. Has not Rabbi Ben
A5in already said in the talmud, "BOchu
l0arelin relor0 laaredah; shehena A,nonucl.oh
redndchnu iednochoh Weep not for those
whom we lost, but for those who mourn; for
the departed enjoy repcse, whilst we have
yet to experience sorrow. '-Moed Katan
Or shall we, my friends, devote this hour to
render praise and thanksgiving to those he
roesyet living, who have done their utmost
to stem the current Of calamity at the risk
Cf their lives, who poured out a food
Of humanity to quench the fam
ing FIRE OF pain and anguish? Far from it,
brethren; this is memorial service to GEM
memorate the virtues of the dead, and not of
the living. Moreover, the self-consciousness
OF their nobility and lofty self denial should
be their sole rewardj the glorious thought
that their Gshtle nnlnlstraions are remem-
bered by those sainted sous, who now dwell
with God and are written with letters of fire
in the hearts of the living, briggs an abund-
ance of greater blessings than the world can
ever give. No true philanthropist, no gem
uine benefactor OF the human race will, ever
seek or demand honors ANA enc0miums from
MS tsllow-men; such claims, based as they
are upon a calamity, upon the distress and
sutfeTipgs OF humanity, are not brought for
ward by true heroes; the expectation of fee
81, 4, Nf Ill 4
drags it down into the dust Of egotlsm aud
! Or snail we, my friends, sit IN judg-
ment over dead IsraeEtes to scrutinza their
moral conduct aud condemn the religious
indifference of those who kept aloof from
Israel's congregation, from Israel's religion,
from lsrael's God, whilst we shout hosannas
to the memory of those who, as
members of this congregation, co-operated
with US IN our sacred mission to bring men
nearer to God, nearer to virtue, and nearer to
happiness and perfection? Verify, we would
not hesitate to rebuke them from this pulpit
If they were yet among the living; we would
without reluctance denounce their irrehgi )us
spirit; we would remind them of their sacred
duty, to dedicate their lives to God upon the
altar Of religion, ard admonish them not to
live like INDECENT parasites amidst the reli-
gious associations Of man. But now, when
they are dead, ''wherI the silver coord is torn
asunder and the pitcher is broken at the
fountain, our lips shall be closed in silence;
we viii not hurt the feelings Of the widow
and orphan by passing sentence upon the
shortcomings of those they so dearly loved
and still cherish in their wounded hearts,
God forbid, that l be the Judge to render
the verdict, guilty" We are neither
Egyptians nor Romans, to arraign the dead
before the tribunal of the living; the spirit
Of our religion teaches US, that as soon as
the soul takes its flight to heaven, our juris-
rA,1N.z e
and God alone Is her sole and supreme
judge. Neither are we here tonight, pos
sesSsd of morbid tendencies and morbid
sentimentality, to hold a sednce to invoke
the presence of departed spirits, to elicit It'd
ings about the location of the summerland,
and TO make inquiry as to the conditions and
aspects of spirit-liie. Judaism has grown too
normal, too rational, to give license to visions
and illusions-our belief in the immortality
of the soul is too lofty to be dragged down
into the gross conjecture that the soul after
her redemption from the body and the ma
terial world, will again de6le herself by ma
t9rialistic manifestations or be ever chained
again to the body. There is eternal life for
the soul, but no resurrection for the body;
this rational behest of Judaism has guarded
ca against many false delusions and perDi-
cious errors. Moreover, we 1SraelItes should
not even make an attempt to lift the curtain
which separates US from the life beyond the
grave, to speak with arrogant self-compla-
eency about the unknown and unknowable
meachar kGrpGrgod, for our faith has taught
us an implicit confidence in the wisdom of
the great Adonoy; we refuse to speculate
upon the state of the soul after death
things divine and eternal, which God himself
has concealed from man. No certainty is re-
CURED: the probability, the expectation of an
eternal life, sutfices to impress US with the
great and momeDtous truth of Immortality.
Our teacher, Moses. possessed certainly mental
powers and the inspirations of a giant mind
as great and Sublime as any mortal; he had
even seen God face to face, as the biblical
allegory tells us; yet, IN regard to the state
Of Affairs after death, he lets it rest where it
belones-with God ;sapd answers our anxious
INQUIRY, "What knowledge hast thou, man
of God. gained In heaven regarding these
things p with the consoling assurance: "HG-
nistoros ladonoy etOHenu." These are things
wisely hidden by the Lord; to cophde 1t t.
hum is better than to torture cur spirit with
mystical subtihties. The open things belong
TO us and our children; there is your life here |
on earta. which IS an open revelation to you |
aud your children; use 1t well and wisely |
until YOU stand at the portals of another |
world, where your body cannot enter. There |
and then, and no sooner, shall the soul re- |
ceive from the Divine author of her be nR, the |
sublime and heavenly revelation that she could /
not have comprehended or known while IN |
the srro.s form and bondage of the body. !
Hence tie commemoration of the dead, the |
rlemorla service for our departed, is of the |
most rened nature, and exhibits as its high |
est obJets the sincerest hope IN the lmmor |
tailty ofthe soul, faithful homage to the |
virtues d our departed brethren, and revi- |
val of TIE covenant of love. which binds US
TO the liGng. By calling back to our memo |
ry now tie names Of our departed friends, |
let their failinRs be forgotten; let us only
dwell on that which was amiable In their
charscte, praiseworthy in their conduct and
noble iniher actions, 60 that by honoring
them weaso honor ourselves.-Terrible has
been the carnival of death which the malig-
nant scolrge has held In this city. But vast
and maal has also been the self-denial
ana herasm which It called forth; deep and
profoundhas been the sorrow and woe which,
like poisned arrows, pierced so many human
hearts, ut. deep and prolonged have also