The morning call., 1894-11-03
PULPIT OF TO-DAY.
No Homeopathic Doses
of Salvation.
DR.. Nieto Welcomes Large
Audience at the Sheriff. Israel
Synagogue.

A full house, with scarce a seat vacant,
greeted Ra bbi Jacob NietO last evening at
the Inauguration of the second series of
Friday evening services at the Taylor
street Synagogue.
Special music of a high order had been
arranged for the occasion. The choir has
been remodeled, Mrs. Alvina Heuer VII
son resuming her place, after some seven
months absence, as soprano, and Frank
Coffin and Miss Ella MeClOskey as tenor
and coniralto, respectively, in lieu of
Arthur Mesmer and Mrs. Harry Clarke,
resigned.
The proceedings opened with the singing
of the "Mah TOvu" by the quartet choir
and the Sabbath hymn by the cantor and
choir. The usual evening service was
then gone through. at the end of which
Mrs. Wilson gave a charming rendering Of
Dudley Bucks Fear Ye Not, o Israel"
Rabbi Met TO then assembled the pulpit
and delivered a powerful lecture, taking
Tor his ubject The Pulpit Needs Of To-
day." in the course of which he said:
81 was impell ed to speak on this subject
by reading two SIN all sentences. One was
bv the Right Hon. William Ewart Glad
stone. ex-rremier of England. aud read ::
Speak to US of our present needs and du-
ties. OF the way in which we can, here and
now, attune our souls to God The other was
! the transcript of a thought by a German
| divine: "A practical theologian who is to
| influence mems lives, must hrSt learn to
/ know life
The rabbi continued: "Preaching as an
art, featuring or pulpit oralory is very an
cient. 1t began first with the prophet in
| Israel, who stood in any convenient place
| and directed the attention Of the people to
of hi lin nrt IN Qir MN
transgressons. The prophet smoke al all
hours and on all occasions. From every
| phase of human life he deduced moral.
after this there came time when
learned scholars addressed the people
! mostly in most erudi:e language, necessi-
| tating the employment of an Interpreter.
| Then came the rabbi, with his learned
discussions of out-Of-date laws and trivial
| tiles of religion. He usually held a
school. where the privileged few listened
to his wisdom. The general public was
totally neglected during all this time.
prev TO all kinds of superstition.
''In Europe nothing was heard of pulpit
oratory till the time of Mendelssohn.
| Then there was a revival. indeed. Germany
leading the way, so far as Jewish pulpit
! address was concerned.
"Withn the last twenty years it has
grown upon the English people that ser
mon is a necessary portion of religious
service, and that no meeting for divine
worship is complete without an address
from the pulpit"
Rabbi Neto then voiced his ideas on the
| subject OF what the pulpit should be to-
dav He said that eXtempnran eOus ad-
dresses were much to be preferred to elab-
crate and erudite discourses. No ser
mon," said the young rabbi, that has
been prepared with the aid of a dozen ell
| cyclopsdias can touch the hearts of an au-
dience like pithy extempore address.
| How can an audience be expected to digest
a sermon in fifteen minutes that has taken
week TO prepare?''
The lecturer thought that the time has
gone by when congregations Will consent
| to sit, week after week, TO listen 10 some
stale scriptural sermon. What is wanted
nowadays 10 a sermon is that it shall be
on some subject of practical interest 20 the
people, something which touches their
daily lives. There is a heap more of re-
ligiOn in discussing matters Of everyday
IN terest than there is in homeopathic doses
OF salvation, no matter after what pre-
scTiption they happen to be made up.
The rabbi concluded by remarking that
II Is the duty of the pulpit to make itself a
powerful factor in educating the rising
generation and the masses. II is not mira
dig. that a minister should treat Of politics
IN his sermons, directing the ideas of his
congregation, and tending to inspire q
feeling Of patriotism and love of country