The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-10-11
CLOSING BOOK
OF JUDGE M EN- t
Prolonged Services and Fast
ing Observed by the Hebrews
YOM KIPPUR IS HERE
Fine Lecture Delivered Last
Night by Rabbi.

Last evening tEe hOl mara night or eve
Of Yom Kippur was observed by the He
brews Of this city by service Of prayer
and divine music Rabbi Merritt deliv-
cred lecture that was grand in thought
and expression. The services. which were
held at sedgwick Music hall, were largely
attended both BY the Hebrews and Gen
tiles of this city and the southwest.
Last nights prayer and lecture marks the
be ginning of a prolonged service today.
There viii be four services today with
cut intermission. namely. the morning.
afternoon. memorial and evening services.
y lecture viii be delivered in the morn
ing and in the afternoon. The services
will begin at 100 o'clock and last till
clock in the evening This is the day Of
atonement or Yom Kippur. The religious
Hebrew eats no food this day. but wor-
ships all day long. In this way he re-
penis Of his sin and begins the new year
with a clean record. This is the most
important part of the services begun ten
days ago in celebration Of the new year.
a beautiful legend in connection with the
says: "On the eve Of the Rosh Hashiona,
or eve of the new year. the legend is that
the book Of judgment is opened and by 1t
stands Gabriel with pen in hand. He
roakes a record there OF all the trans
gressions and sins of the Jews, which they
have committed in the past year. on the
right Of the TOm Kippur. Gabriel closes
the book of judgment. But before he
does this he gives to each Jew who has
r. pented Of his wicked ways a pure white
page on which TO begin the record for
his new year"
The music that was interspersed with
the prayers IN the service last evening
was grand in every sense of the word
The quartet composed OF Jack Shields
Bon Hull, Mrs. S. ". Shattuck, Jr., and
Miss Montez Dunbar. rendered the mag
n,fceut music and hymns Of penitence as
they have never before been rendered in
Wichita. The whole measure Of song was
gwen with such artistic rendering that
the art that produced il was forgotten by
the congregation as it listened 10 the soft
strains. Mr.. Jack Shields and Mrs. Shat
tuck each sang a solo in an elegantly
artistic style Mr.. Shields sang The
Tenitent," by Combs. Mrs. Shattuck
sang How Long Oh Lord. by
M'etzka. This quartet will be in the SER
wees today, each member giving a solo,
making six in all for the entire service.
The lecture by Rabbi Merritt is very
fine and was as follows:
Man is an intricate complex CT i'm
pulses, instincts and inclinations. peCu-
Iany sensitive to the influences that
f,ow in upon him from the outside world.
lie appears to be in state of compare
lively unstable equilibrium. He is pecu-
liarly apt TO be moved and swayed by
MS passions, prepudices and predelic-
tons The cruder and more imperfect
the man. the more completely is he char
acterized by deficiency in that self
conferred power to direct and restrain
the impulses that seethe within him and
by the want Of Will TO check and con-
troll the actions that certain impressions
almost mechanically arouse.
For instance. liquor exeites in the con-
irmed drunkard a blind and irresistible
desire to get possession Of It. no matter
what the consequences Opium arouses
in the victim of the drug a craving that
must be satisfied The equilibrium Of
such incomplete. imperfect being is easily
rests on a most precarious basis They
represent q return to a primitive condi-
ton OF mental life from which mankind
has evolved. One advance has been CO.
incident with moro stable emotional
equilibrium. a growing resistance to me-
chanical action, the growth of 8 self-cen-
tered viii that controls. directs, checks
regulates. expresses and restrsins the
acts that were formerly left 10 the mercy
of unhampered impulse.
Who Is the maa Of strength. asks a
Jewish sage, and in the same breath
comes the answer: He who has gained
control Of himself" lis first step toward
3 self-certcred strength and power is the
subordinstion of the passions TO the SOW
ereign will the bringing Of order and
harmony out OF the mass of chaotic i'm
pulse We have reached the stage
where each Of as may acquire a fair
measure Of this strength. It is possible
for each Of Us 70 become SO much the
master of himself as 10 successfully
bride the passion 70 which he might be
tempted to give way. An EFFORT is not
so readily productive OF the retsiiatory
blow IS in ruder DAYS for mental cul-
ture has brought with If physical control
Consideration and reflection have inter
vcned as effective checks upon impul-
sive action In short. men have learned
the lesson OF physical restraint
But there IS a nobier restraint. 70
which We have not yet attained there IS
another expression Of ourselves that we
DO not 81 readily control. there is an
other department Of our nature that We
do not subject u the same yigilanI sur
veillance. And * was the recognition Of
his weakness ard the realization q this
truth that led q keen observer OF men
and pious servant Of God. 70 sum up
mans conspicuous faults and short-cou1-
ings in the words Man 3udgeth ac-
cording e the outsi5e. but Gcd decideth
according 70 the heart" And as long rs
man remains the creature q rrejudics
and prediction. as long as he refuses -
recognize his limitations and short-cora-
ings. as long as ne Is content u b TIE
dupe II impulse and c-eiulity. this noblcr
mastery. this loftier self-contr0i this re-
strairt u Judgment VII remain ar ldeal
ss far frcu, realization IS when ex7eri-
snce clothed this spisrarn az samuel
with the dignity q AZ eternal tVuth.
We. q all others. my dear friends. have
greatest cause 10 6epIore the existence =
hasty. nl-cousicered 5udgment-tov I'D
people has ever been 50 punished ~ a.
lenses that we're 70; theirs NJ people
has aver been 81 -aartvrtze5 eor mag
ina-v crimes: no people hss ever been So
prosecuted ard exec-atei ~ rati7rai
pre5ulics and preiisPosiu7u- oar his