The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-25
DAY OF AroNRM ENT.

/
Impressive Services and Discourse at
the Temple Mickva Israel
! Yesterday was strictly observed by the
Jewish population Of this city. 1t was the
festival Of Yom Kppur. the day Of atone
msnt. dav Of fasting and prayer. All the
Jewish business houses were closed.
The day of atonement properly begun at
shutdown the evening before. at which time
| the Jews closed their places OF business and
| repaired 70 their places of worship, where
| lengthy services were held. Yesterday was
| observed with fasting aud prayer and at
| tendance at the synagogue during the whole
| day
| At the synagogue Mickvs Israel the ser
vices were very interesting, though lengthy.
lasting from $50 O'Clock in the morning
| until 80 in the afternoon without inter
! mission, and they were attended through
| out by a full congregation.
Rabbi l. F. Mendes presided at the syna-
gogue, assisted by Mr.. DeCastro and Prof.
Stenheitn. The day was divided into four
services, beside the memorial service. the
four services typifying the four stages of
hfe-infancy, youth. manhood and old age.
The concluding service contained the con-
fessions and prayers used at the deathbed
of all Israelites. All four Of the services
were in the original Hebrew.
The memorial service, which was con-
Quoted in English, Us an innovation of late
day. Ii Is dedicated 10 the memory of those
who have passed away during the last year.
The memorial service began at o'clock,
and was about half an hour in duration.
This service was composed especially by
Rabbi Mendes for the young men and young
women Of his congregation, and was replete
with wholesome comfort and beautiful sub
mission 20 the DEGREES Of an all-wise being.
The service was interpreted with music APP
propriate 70 the occasion.
Rabbi Mendes' sermon Tuesday night
was the talk of his congregation yesterday
and is said to have been one of the best OF
his many learned efforts. IL was devoted
to the observation Of Atonement day and
illustrated the true spirit of the observance.
The text was from Deuteronomy Nv. 81:
"For a merciful God ia the Lord thy God
he will not forsake thee; and be will not
forget the covenant Of thy fathers, which
he hath sworn unto them" The subject of
the discourse was the mercy Of God toward
his people
The speaker dwelt upon the thought that
no one can tell whether he will be spared
for another year, and consequently it is the
duty of all TO observe the opening of the
year in a proper manner. The day of
atonement should be observed with peni-
tence, fasting and prayer. Gods mercy
toward his people, however forgetful of him
they may be, is great. Gods mercy toward
his creatures is more benign than that
which we receive at the hands of our fellow
men, for, however mortal the crime may
be, however sinful we may be, Gods mercy
shines always above us. and that he is ready
to receive us 10 repentance is true If the re-
pentance is sincere.
In speaking Of the day he said: The
mercy Of God shown his people on Atone
ment day Is different from that shown dur
ing the rest of the year, for he encourages
them TO come to him, and does not wait for
them to commence their confession, but
speaks to them in the voice OF persuasion
and love. He promises, in the words of
the text: "He win not forsake thee nor
destroy thee,n and then proceeds to ques-
ton them upon their conduct and bearings
during the past year. These are the ques-
tions he propounded to them: Ny people,
you have given me house and dedicated
it to my name; you have built an altar
therein and consecrated it to my service
has that house been a place wherein you
have appeared to express the gratitude for
my mercyf Has that altar been the spot
whereon ye have knelt and lain down with
the burden of your griefsl Ye have sought
my comfort and my aid. ! have given you
faith purer, more simple more per-
feet, more magnificent than that Of
any other. | have given you a religion
which defies comparison with the others of
this world. have surrounded you with a
barricade of forms and ceremonies, dogmas
and ordinances, which are calculated TO
strengthen your position IN the world.
Have you observed that faithi Have
you respected that religioni Have
you adhered to those forms, or have you
neglected all these solely to court the favor
OF vour uratandad friends2 To thesa uues-
tions truthful reply of utter failure must
needs be made to chronicle the first act of
confession.
The beauty of Atonement day recognizes
the Importance and necessity of coming di-
rect to God, as we are the only nation that
has the privilege of direct communication
with God, and speak to him as child
speaks to it's parents. feeling convinced that
that merclful love o'ershadows all else.
The concluding exhortatlon was a special
address to the young people of the congre-
cation, reminding them Of the truth that
they were the future upholders of the
ancient faith, and in their hands rested its
support; therefore strict observance of
the day was necessary to inaugurate so i'm
portant work. They were recommended
to forget the dismal failures and discredlta-
BILE acts which brought down unfavorable
criticism upon them. and to take advantage
of the merciful love of that God whose
power and whose might reigned supreme.
The feast Of tabernacles. or of the in
gathering of the harvest begins next Mon
day and will continue eight days. There
will be a service Of alteration at the syna-
gogue Monday from 10 to IL o'clock In the
morning, with sermon by Rabbi Mendes.
There will be no other services during the
feast OF tabernacles until the eighth DAY.
~ 81. m fit