The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-08-06
EMANUEL.

living as interpreted through Jewish
teaching had been brought home to you in
masterfully luminous and inciSiVe fashion
by your beloved minister, | nevertheless
felt that l must not forego the opportu-
nifty of bearing greeting of fellowship
and brotherliness from the populous Jew
ish community of the great East to the
growing Jewish population of the greater
West. The old and ever new theme Of Is
rael's aim and world mission is eloquent
of Inspiration, even to the faltering of
speech; aye, and added TO the power
lofty theme is the inspiration which must
needs rest upon whatsoever has been priVi-
legged, as l have been for the first time;
to look upon the native beauty and
majesty of this golden West-God's coun-
try in truth, most glorious of earth's
dwelling places for the children of men.
The opening verse of this mornings
scriptural lesson maps out for us a Sc
verely simple and direct programme of
thee this day blessing and a curse
Choose we. One recognizes herein forth
with the characteristic and unfailipg
however, with this healthful optimism,
which posts good and blessing as before
and above evil and curse. is the sane and
wholesome recognition of evil and dark
ness as forces to be reckoned with
though not unconquerable-in world of
action and strife. This setting up of good
and blessing as first and foremost amid
the things of life-by the SIDE of which
evil seems incidental and secondary-Will
remind you of that illustrious and classic
when for many years the Jewish schools
OF instrUction were rent asunder by the
with Say me Ra9 the umate
decision. but, as Zangwill happily pharses
it, the noble quality of Jewish optimism
asserted itself for all time in tie memor-
able dictum, Even though life be not
worth living we must live our life worth
lily and WELL When all this has been said
and allowing the aforementioned verse
to stand as an incontrovertible proof of
that full-blooded optimism which animal
ed and dominated the Jewish body poll
tic throughout all ages, the question OBJ
trudes itself, Is life in truth made up of
two radically different, antagonistic and
irreconcilable elements? Are not good and
evil, blessing and curse, rather to be i'm
agined like unto light and darkness, with
their shades and shadows and the infin-
lite gradations into which these dissolve
and blend? The sunshine Is the life-giv-
ing. 1oy-imparting power in this blessed
fertile State. After a few months have
sped you will cast your. eyes. searchingly
clouds, though these threaten to hide the
face c1 the sun, rejoicing at last when the
rains begin to fall upon the ground and
nourish the soil whence all sustenance
cometh. Again, after time, you will wait
as eagerly for the sunshine to break
through the clouds and scatter. these for
a season. Each in it's time and both to-
gether form mans lasting happiness
The question before us, l take it, is far
other than that, Time may have been
and absolute terms. AS time went on Git
is almost a truism to observer the condi-
tions of life became more intricate and
complex and paralleling the ever-increas-
ing complexity of lifes affairs, there has
come to be a corresponding compleXity in
the meaning and the working out of terms
which once were absolute Do not misun-
derstand me-not that any doubt or inde-
cision has arisen or ever can arise touch
ing the abyssmal gulf which separates good
from evil in the moral or ethical sense of
these terms. I simply hold that it is i'm
possible to predicate categorically that