Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-06-12

evergreens and flowers. Festoons Of cedar
and ivy were swung from pillar to pillar,
and these were tHIned with evergfeens and
maguol'ss. Hanging baskets filled with
trailing vines depended from the gallery,
and around its ledge were roses of rare
plants, the bright hues Of vsses miDgling
with deep green ard the pure white of the
lilies OF the valley. About the candela bras
gracefully twined delicate wre aths of white
or pale red f9wers. Huge baskets of roses
were placed about the platform, aud over it
| bent an arch of cedar with floral harp
suspended frem The center.
Sunday Evening
ushersd 10 the holiday which the ceremonies
ni confirmation yesterday concluded. 1t is
known among those who hold il dear az
Shewu3s, which means "weeks," hence, in the
vernacu'ar, the day is termed the feasl of the
weeks, the true signi6cation Of which lies in
the fact that the Jsraclites are comm uded in
Holy Writ tc nunber forty-nine days, Or
seven weeks, from the second night of Pass.
| over, and on the Gftieth day Shewuos cam
| mences The holiday comm smorates raauy
events OF great and minor importance in
Jewish estim alton, and Is accordingly marked
in diversity OF ways. PentscosL Is one OF
the three holidays upon which the male por-
lion OF the Jewish population ia the older
days were obliged 10 visit rasalem, there to
offer up their prayers and thanksgiving to
the great Jehovah for the blessings
vouchsaled to them, and the people brought
INTO the temple the choicest specimens
of the new crop which then filled the fields
| and farms. The 'feast of weeks" of the b. Die
| is more particularly a gala day for the agci.
culf 10 Palestine two crops were an
| nually harvested, one in the early stages Of
! summer, and the other ia autumn. Previous
10 the first harvest the farmer viewed with
much concern the ripeuing OF his new crop,
and with peculiar marks identified the frat
ripe fruits, designating all such "Bikkurim"
fret fruils; a. the holiday approa chsd the
farmers came together with their selected
fruits at their principal towns, and there,
with fue and Tyre at their head, marched
into the holy city and then into the Sanctuary,
where, amidst the chanting of prayers and
singing oil hymns, the fret fruits were Of
lered up to the bountiful Provider. Tnen
followed the joyful festivities in which not
only the farmers, but the priests, women and
children indulged as we'll. Thus il was cele-
brated as gala day.
RABBI sAMFIELD's SERMON
The sermon, or more properly speaking,
the lecture, delivered by Rabbi Samfsld,
WAC one of the most delightful the reporter
ever listened TO. Though his English,
only few years back, WIS hardly intel
ligi bile, he has wonderfully improved by
hard study, has d wealth OF expressive WORDS
at his comm and uses all The principal idioms
of the Language and his hearers. need nevr
miss single word he speaks. A peculiarly
Of accent and intonstion, which he still re.
tains, so far from de,rIc,ing from the inter
est OF his discourse. gives it indefnabie
charm, which like the roll of Scotchms ans
'r" must be heard 10 be appreciated.
In his sermon Sunday night he spoke If
the occasion as the anniversary OF an event
whose importance ii was impossible TO over
estimate-the delivery Of the DHalogue 10
man. Mount Sinai, the scene OF this reveal
lion Of the divine will, was described IN all
it3 grandeur az place meet for 90 mighty
work-a work whose effect is felt Ie lois
good hour, and will be as long as the world
moves in Its accustomed OF bit. CD thus
laid down rules Tor the government OF man
kind, whose worth is proven by the fact that
all government is based upon them. The
two tablets Of stone upon which they were
engraved are the pillars upon which society
rests to-day. To rend them is 10 involve the
world in chaos. Their stamp is visible upon
every legal code of the esrih. Aud not
one only of these commands, but
all of them; not one tablet, but
both, are preserved to-day in the
hearts of millions forming the framework OF
| their neral lives. Aneut dogmas and Gre eds
there Is discord. One sec constructs the Bible
one way, another sect puts altogether differ
erent construction upon favored or dificu
passage. But Catholics, Protestants, He
brews, all alike cherish "a divine these ieu
comm ands of God to His children. Even
those who believe in no creed, and deny the
divine origin of the D.calog que, agree tn at
whether God given or not, to di-regsrd it
would b. 10 disrupt society; 10 tear il
away would be TO Oestroy the very founda-
tion OF The grand structure civiiiz ion has
erected and cause il to crumbie INTO dust
He cared not whether men bslieved they
were by God 10 Moses on Noun, Sinai,
Mount Horeb or Mount Washington; he
cared not Eha. they believed AS to the M an-
ner Of their communication, if he yet be.
lieved they came from God and that God
would hold him responsible who broke them,
For if they believed themselves responsible
to man alone, their only care would be TO
10 Ike certain the eye Of man wac not upon
them. Every day and every hour they would
be violated. There must be deep sense Of
higher responsibility, a responsibility to
iheir Maker, whoseeye could see everything,
from whom no aclIon could be hid. The
belief in q God, the God of Israel, must All
mate all their lives. 81 am the Lord thy
God" was not spoken In audible tones. To
do that would require a laTynx, part of the
humsn mechanism. God said this to Israel,
but not in words. He spoke as day speaks
TO day, as night speaks to night. We need
not see the sun to know its grateful warmth /;
we need not behold the moon 10 rec ,guiz .
It's gentle leans. To him ii was a blessed
thought that MIA race were the mis-
sionafies of God, the instrument
through which He made known His Will to
a MS children. To zee TIE G entile, or even
the MOhamms dan or Chinam4U, enjoying
blessings which nothing but an Observance Of
these ten laws could bring filed him with
rapture. He hoped none Of his race would
be SO narrow minded "a 10 be envi0us of
others who thus were permitted to euioy the
blessings OF HIS chosen people. None OF
his feeling entered his heart. All the world
were kin, and if>he knew of one who recog
n z d the existence of a supreme God, an H.
divisible, incorpOreal being, and VINO trisd
10 obey HIS lave, 10 him he would extend
bis hand and call him brother God wa.
that mans father 200, aud would save him.
Referring 10 the: o d Testament ne said l.
WAS accepted b7 The whole Christian world.
True, they had added to il, but never had
they taken aught from it. Aud this addition
was being constantly revised. OIe Of the
learned doctors who was engaged ia making
the lates, trans alton, was asked why he did
not revise the Old Test smenl. His reply was
that 1t needed no revision, as the Jews were
more careful in keeping their records tn an
| the Christians had BEEN, and that the latest
translation of the New Testament would
make II conform closer than ever before to
the Old. Referring again to The TWO
| tablets of ernne, =boslid they were
still whole, but that of late hssure
had appeared and unless it wss
| - hnga e. 81
woul ID not accrue. He alluded to the com
mandment, Remember the Sabbath day 10
| keep It holy" S=versl years ago, at coun-
| ell OF ranbis, it was suggested that the dsy be
| changed from Saturday to Sunday. Then all
would be right. But learned rabbi replied
| that The Sabbath might be buried on Friday
evening, but it would never be resurrecled on
| Susday. This he believed, and ne would
never tamper with Gods commandments.
| The cry was that business prevented attend
aucs at The temple. Ii it was changed
| pleasure would b. the excuse. Ii was a
| serious subj CT. There il no man 10 Israel
nov who can undertake 1t. Oaly an Eli ali
| nigh, successfully do 80. The disregard OF
| H. il Junction was saPpiug away the life OF
tue race. The standard Of Intelligence Ts'
| bsi0z lowered. II vas not physical rest that
vas needed. God has provided night for
that. But it was spiritual res', time to
commune with God, season in which nobier
thoughts than those connected with business
might ne INDUCED in
The music by the choir, under the direc.
ton Of Prof. Schultz, was very beautiful.
COnfis matios Ceremonies Yesterday.
Al 10 o'clock an. yesterday the ak appli'
Giants for confirm alton, three boys and thre'
| girls, approached the aitar-the boys ap
| proachicg by the right aisle and the girls BY
The lei', both preceded by little children