The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-01
DAY OF ATONEMENT
USHERED IN WITH SOLEMN AND
IMPRESSIVE SERVICES.
AT MICKVA ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
YOM KIPPUR SERMON DELIVERED
BY RABBI GEORGE sOLoMONS.

Day and Its nce-The Les
sons Drawn from the Practices of
the Day-Servfces Held This Morn
ing and This AfternOOn-Memoria
Service for Dead Mt O'clock.
Services MT B'Nai B'Brith Jacob
Synagogue Yesterday and To-day.
The Feast of TabernacIes.
Yesterday at sunset Yom Kippur,
the Day of Atonement, and the most
solemn of all the Jewish holy days be-
gan. 1t will close at sunset to-day.
The day is strictly observed by both
the orthodox and the liberal Hebrews
with fasting and prayer. Business
places closed promptly at o'clock and
will remain closed until the same hour
this afternoon. All betook themselves
to the synagogues for meditation and
prayer. Both the Synagogue B'Nai
Birth Jacob and the Synagogue Mickva
Israel were crowded to overlooking and
the services held were unusually SOL
emn and impressive.
At Mickva Israel Synagogue the
services began at els o'clock. The
impressive ritual service was read by
Rabbi George Solomons and several
beautiful selections rendered by the
choir. An appropriate sermon on Yom
Kippur was then delivered by Rabbi
Solomons. Rabbi Solomons took his
text from Leviticus xvi, $3.50: And
this shall be an everlasting covenant
for you, on the tenth day of the sew
enth month We shall atflict your souls
and do no work. neither the native nor
the stranger, for on this day shall We
sins before the Lord" Among other
things the speaker said in part;
Thus briefly does the scriptuaI COM
mand set forth the purpose of the day,
but there are various conflicting ele
ments causing our gathering here. The
Yom Kippur suffers from a double mis-
conception. There are a large number
of people whose view of their duties
in life does not extend beyond the linn
it's of their own families. Looking up
on religion as the invention of the
priests to control the people they look
upon Yom Kippur as the central joke
in the whole comedy. On the other
hand we have those who question
mourning, out WHO accept the literal eA-
preston of the law with childlike faith
and credulitv. Some have claimed,
also, that Yom Ki0Dur was not estab-
lished till after the destruction of the
first temple, j. e., 1000 years after the
death of Moses.
Fasting and It's Lessons.
cat the mention of Yom Kippur the
first thought that strikes us is that
of fasting. The wise parent surrounds
the children with all the advantages
and luxuries at his command. but is
careful at the same time to train the
children so that they can be independ-
ent of these things. &c. as our religion
in general teachers US to enjoy our
lives, the Yom Kippur impresses upon
us the necessity of taking care not to
make enjoyment our only aim, but so
to take our pleasure that we can dis
pense with it, if necessary. On this
day then we are to affiict our souls, as
proof of our self control and restraint.
1.-THE elements of the universe are
both mighty and awful agencies But,
we have seen, however powerful and
destructive they are yet when controll-
ed by an intelligent will, they become
helpful agencies for the benefit of man.
So, by the proper control Of the ele-
ments of human nature man can turn
them to the best and most useful pur-
poses. BY showing on this day your
mastery and control of the elements of
your own nature by asserting your
command over the passions, wants,
and desires craving for satisfaction,
shall We atone for your sins and purify
yourselves before God, shall we assert
the victory of the good over the evil,
the higher over the lower, the man
over the animal This is one of the
great lessons of the day.
Increase of Responsibility.
MAN. is distinguished from the rest
of creation: he was raised far above
the realm of inanimate nature. placed ,
beyond the sphere of the vegetable and
animal world, making him, in the
words of the great dramatists, the
beauty of the world and the paragon of
animals With the increase of power,
Of rank and of ability. comes also the
increase of duty and responsibility.
Because of the power of choosing he
must make the best and most of him
self that he can Each man must
stand on his own merits and be judged
according to his ability and capabili-
ty, and so we have the inexora BILE law
of eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
There is still more in the day. .Tu-
daism does not forbid the enjoyment
of the individual, it rather encour-
ages it, 1t comprehends, that as in the
bud are contained all the elements of
the flower. so in the foetus are con-
tanned all the elements of manhood,
so in manhood are contained all the
elements of divinity. AS many pro-