El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-09-19
The Survival of Judaism.

The following is an excerpt from q
sermon preached Saturday morning,
the first day of the Jewish year 5659. by
Rabbi Oscar Cohen. The text was
from Psalm lis, I, Il shall not die, but
live and declare the works of the
Lord:
Many have come to look upon Chris
tianity as destined to conquer the
world: it can point to the millions OF Its
adherents, including most OF the great
est people of the greatest nations. 1t
turns to Judaism and says: 1T Is only
obstlnscy that has kept you for two
thousand years out of my fold. Do you
not see what gigantic strides | have
made? Do you not see that God Is on
my side and that you are hopelessly
forssken? You will eventually have
to surrender to me- Yield now, for the
sooner the better" Our sister rellg-
ion is indeed bold enough to believe
that it will in time include all Jews / q
it's ranks. But when we remem Der the
steadfastness of our ancestors, when
we recall the martyrdom willingly and
heroically endured through centuries,
and when we see that not Obstinacy,
but devotion to principle and convlc-
tion of being in the right made them
cling to their faith and brave all for it,
we NAV believe there is some value in
the religion preserved so long in the
lace Oh SO many ODSthCIeS, JlldU tucTC Is
some truth in it which the Almighty
Ruler would not permit and will not
permit to be lost to the families of man
kind. We may believe that Judaism
still has a mission in the world, and
therefore we it's standard bearers must |
show the old time courage and stead |
fastness, must proclaim to the future |
the truths beaueathed us by the past. |
assured that these Twill not die, but
xuil "a nf q
Lord
Agnosticism and scepticism turn |
their batteries upon US and say: 1T |
is time you should give up the supersti- |
tions of former ages. Science, which |
is the standard of truth, knows nothing !
of God, and can find no soul, and proves |
many of your beliefs foolish. Keep up |
with the enlightenment OF the present
and let your old fashioned religion |
die.' But that sort of talk is not new. |
There always were unbelievers: there |
always were even some wise men who |
took one sided view of the universe |
so pat they could not grasp the truths |
taught by religion. And if there are |
more sceptics today than ever before. |
it is because there are more people |
than ever before, and the many minds |
have many opinions. Unbellef is an |
fad, which many adopt not |
because they are wise, but because they |
think themselves so. If science knows
nothing of God and can find no SOUL 1t
is because science does not know every
thing. After all the wonderful things |
it teaches, after ell the exhaustive eX-
plantations it makes of the universe
as whole and of its parts,
it still leaves unsolved problems, still /
cannot unravel the mystery of life and
the mystery of human suffering or des-
tiny, nor even the mystery of that very
order of things which it so infinitely /
describes. Reason is not satisfied with
the Incomplete statements OF science,
and looking deeper beneath the facts
revealed by ordinary knowledge catch
es q glimpse of conditions that lie at
the basis of these. Those fundamental
truths are the subject matter of reli
gion: and as they are eternal they will
not be dislodged by the passing opin
ions of individuals or even of schools
of science or philosophy. They still
teach, exhort and inspire, and will
continue to do so for coming genera
lions. They will not die, but live
and declare the works of the Lord
Worse than all have we to bear in
the indifference within our
own ranks, saying: What is the good
Of our keeping either the name or the
religion of Jesus? Why should we
continue to wear a badge which only
marks US as q target for the contempt
aud enmity and even persecution of
our fellowmen? Why fasten upon our
children a title that will bring upon
hem heaped ignominy and untold suf-
erings?" 1t must be admitted that
such a plea pos sesses a powerful per-
,uasive force. For besides the painful
recollection of the continued martyr
lom endured by the sons of Israel in
oygone centuries we have the plainest
evidence that even in these days of
ooasted enlightenment the fires of
prejudice and flames OF persecution
till glow. What blot on the much
;suuted civilization of this 18th century
s the barbarity exercised toward our
in some of the countries
II Europe, And even in this land of
of equality, of freedom, our ,
people are here and there made too .
aware of hostility against /.
hem, il not in open violent form, yet !
n insidious ways that humiliate and
nortify. Such is the virulence and
enacity of prejudice that many declare
t will never die out: and for what,
hey ask. should we still consign those
Who come after US to its cruel attacks? c
70 listen to this would be rankest cow
.rdice. Shall we dishonor the noble I
anne that we hear? Shall we prove :
unworthy of those ancestors who
trough hundreds of years suffered /
md bled, wandered footsore over the G