The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-01
FEAST OF PASSOVER
ELOQUENT SERMON BY RABBI
 MESSING.
Hir Theme at Temple Beth-or Was Broken to Bless'--Master Sanford Marcus Was
 Confirmed.

SVAAAIASu. The feast of Passover was celebrated yesterday morning at Temple Beth Or with unwonted solemnity. z,
 confirmation ceremony gave the &C., customed ritual of the day peculiar sanctity and importance The synagogue was swathed in white. The beautiful Temple never looked more imposing with its immaculate draperies of white and gold shining against a background of innumerable lamps.
 Master Sanford Marcus was the con- hrmant, or rather the Bar Mitzvah," which means Son of the Covenant" At the age of 13 every Jewish lad is accept ed into the covenant of Israel Master Marcus read the ancient Hebrew bene- dfctions in an earnest, impressive man. ner and later delivered a touchinA; little address to parents and friends which moved the great congregation to tears.
 Rabbi Messing's Sermon.
 Rabbi Messing's sermon was forceful and vigorous yet delivered with rare pathos and charm. The theme of the discourse was Broken To Bless" les son which the rabbi drew from one of the Passover Is so full. In introducing the theme the rabbi ex- plained that 1t was customary in every home where the ''Seder'' or symbolic meal of the Passover was celebrated, to have upon the festal, table three un- leavened cakes. From the breaking of the wheat to the baking of the dough these three cakes were especially guard ed against foreign admixture.
 At stated interval in the "Seder' meal the middle cake, which Is called in the ritual "The Broad of Poverty was broken into pices and handed around to the assembled guests for the blessing. This rifrf0na CnSfn0n tho snaakar Grid led him to consider the value of broken things.
 Value of Broken Things.
 T wonder if you have ever noticed" said Rabbi Messing. "how constantly the Bible from beginning to end dwells upon the value and blessing of broken things. One of, the deep truths of Scripture is that out of the wreckage of life God often finds the means for his highest service. The sacrifices of God. What are they? The broken and contrite heart.-'A broken spirit, thou wilt not desplse says David.
 And do we not see this same great principle-the power of broken things in our daily experience? It Is the break ing of the stone that reveals the sculp- tors genius. It is the breaking of the wheat that provides our daily bread. It Is the breaking of the rock that unveils the gold, the diamond and Ghe coal. We live in truth in a broken world. And be- SduSc t IS DIOheu IL IS a WOrlQ or Delp- fulness and service. The forest primeval fair as 1t may be to the outer eye, Is the lair of death. The forest cut down is the storehouse of human necessity. All nature, I repeat. rings with this great central theme of the Seder, broken to bless sacrifice as the source of helpful ness, breaking your bread and scattering the blessing of life.
 Meaning of Affiiction.
 Al IL primary lesson in spiritual life-broken to bless. For most of us the great problem of life is how to preserve unbroken our earthly treasures. We let a few crumbs fall from the grooming table, now and then, for the benefit of someone else, but the idea of a whole community being filled with the self-sacrifce of service, as the whole house is filled with the DOT tions of the middle cake on Seder Eve, Is a thing almost unknown today
 'So 1t is that God, in His wisdom; has to do for us what we dare not do for ourselves. He takes the precious bread of blessing in His hand and breaks it for us and through the breaking distilis a service of helpfulness that otherwise would never be felt.
 For example In breaking the body by disease, what stores of human sympathy God reveals. What constant, affection ate care is ours Even death itself makes life more loving. It binds us more closely together while living. Sor- row is the noblest of all discipline. Our nature shrinks from 1t but 1t Is not less a discipline. It is a scourge, but there Is healing in its stripes. It is a chalice and the draught Is bitter, but health pro- ceeds from its bitterness.
 Dispersion of Israel.
 Israel, too, has been broken to bless. Tn thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genisus xviii, 1D. The unity of Israel was dissolved, it's scat tered remnants dispersed to the utter most parts of the earth. that through Israel, at the end of Time. humanity might be united in the glorifcatlon of God and the love of man.
 Slaves in eternal Egypts, baking their strawless bricks, this people never lost hope in its ultimate destiny. For when- ever the Passover came, 1t still sang cheerily out of Canticles. To. the winter Is past, the rain is over and gone its way, the time of the birds singing Is come, and heard Is the voice of the turtle dove
 " 'Rotting in sun-lit Roumania. pigging in Russian pale,' yet whenever the Seder evening came. this unconquerable people with inextinguishable fire. proudly sang
 
 next year we shall be free men,
 No people have ever exhibited such qualities of self-repression under cala- mity. As a sheep before his shearers Is dumb, so he opened not his mouth Usaiah lii .. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, but took up the refrain of the poet:
 "'Be not swift to take offense,
 aN
 Anger Is a foe to sense,
 Let 1t pass.
 Brood not darkly OCT a wrong, Which will disappear ere long, Rather sing this cheerful song.
 Let 1t pass Let it pass. If for good they've rendered i'll,
 Let 1t pass
 O. be kind and gentle still.
 Let 1t pass
 Time at last makes all things straight, Let us not resent, but wait, And our triumph shall be great,
 Let 1t pass. Let 1t pass. The stone which the builders rejected is cornerstone. Only yesterday a Russian Jew. one of the great neglected was chosen from all competitors to paint the portrait of Americas great President, Abraham Lincoln. to be hung on the walls of Congress at Washington. His tory records no finer irony than the sig nal honor bestowed upon this alien ar tist. exile from unhappy lands. yet chos- the portrait of the great American who t-.vEEA