III⭘Cornill: In the same masterly address,Humanity in the Old Testament, this great Biblical scholar says:—‘But not only to man does the humanitarianism of the Torah extend, it cares for the brute as well, and places it likewise under legal protection, to which I know of no analogy in older extra-Israelitish codes. The Israelite ascribed a soul even to the brute, and saw in it a creature of God, which, while subservient to man by God, yet should not be helplessly exposed to his caprice. What a truly humanitarian sentiment finds expression in the Law; “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn”. The brute should not perform hard labour, and at the same time have food before its eyes, without the possibility of eating therefrom. I remember some time ago, to have read that one of the richest Italian real-estate owners, at the grape-harvest, fastened iron muzzles to his miserable, fever-stricken workmen, so that it might not occur to these poor peasants, working for starvation wages under the glowing sun of Southern Italy,to satiate their burning thirst and their gnawing hunger with a few of the millions of grapes of the owner.’⭘Literature and Dogma, 1, 4, andxi, 6.⭘History of the People of Israel.Preface.⭘Lotze:Microcosm,III.⭘Frazer:Passages of the Bible chosen for their Literary Beauty.—Preface.Compare the following from the same writer’sThe Folklore of the Old Testament(Macmillan, 1918):—‘The revelation of the baser elements which underlay the civilization of ancient Israel, as they underlie the civilization of modern Europe, serves rather as a foil to enhance by contrast the glory of a people which, from such dark depths of ignorance and cruelty, could rise to such bright heights of wisdom and virtue. The annals of savagery and superstition unhappily compose a large part of human literature; but in what other volume shall we find, side by side with that melancholy record, psalmists who poured forth their sweet and solemn strains of meditative piety in the solitude of the hills or in green pastures and beside still waters; prophets who lit up their beatific visions of a blissful future with the glow of an impassioned imagination; historians who bequeathed to distant ages the scenes of a remote past embalmed for ever in the amber of a pellucid style? These are the true glories of the Old Testament and of Israel.’⭘Huxley:Educational Essays.⭘Huxley: ‘From the free spirit of the Mosaic law sprang the intensity of family life that amid all dispersions and persecutions has preserved the individuality of the Hebrew race; that love of independence that under the most adverse circumstance has characterized the Jew; that burning patriotism that flamed up in the Maccabees and bared thebreasts of Jewish peasants to the serried steel of Grecian phalanx and the resistless onset of Roman legion; that stubborn courage that in exile and in torture held the Jew to his faith. It kindled that fire that has made the strains of Hebrew seers and poets phrase for us the highest exaltations of thought; that intellectual vigour that has over and over again made the dry staff bud and blossom. And it has exerted its power wherever the influence of the Hebrew scriptures has been felt. It has toppled thrones and cast down hierarchies.’ (Henry George.)⭘Renan:History of the People of Israel,chap.7.⭘Moses.This splendid lecture should be read in full. It is published in a penny edition by the ‘Land Value’ PublicationDept., Strand.⭘Dow: ‘Hebrew and Puritan’, J. Q. R.,iii.⭘Rhys:Lyrical Poetry from the Bible. (Dent.) Introduction.⭘Cornill:The Culture of Ancient Israel. Open Court PublishingCo., Chicago. ‘The Psalms in the World’s Literature.’⭘Jowett:Selected Passages from the Theological Writings, 1903,p.53.⭘The Prophets of Israel.Open Court PublishingCo., Chicago, 1895.⭘Stanley:History of the Jewish Church,iii, lecture 45.⭘‘Social Life in France in the Fourteenth Century’ (The Jews), Fortnightly Review,vol.57.⭘The Shield, edited by Gorky,&c., A. A. Knopf, New York, 1917. ‘Russia and the Jews.’⭘Herford:Pharisaism: Its aim and methods, 1912,chap. vi.⭘‘A Theist’s Impressions of Judaism’, J. Q. R.,xix.⭘Israel among the Nations.New York, 1893.⭘Rationalism in Europe,chap. vi.⭘Short History of the English People,chap. viii,i.⭘Essay and Speech on Jewish Disabilities,ed.I. Abrahams and S. Levy. (Jewish Historical Society of England) 1910.⭘From ‘A Letter on the Jew’ sent to a Jewish meeting, Capetown, July 1, 1906.⭘Milyukov: InThe Shield, ‘The Jewish Question in Russia’.⭘Lecky:Democracy and Liberty, 1896.⭘The Talmudic Story is fromThree Legends(Berlin, 1904), written and published by Tolstoy in aid of the victims of the Kishineff pogrom.⭘Schreiner: See Note177.⭘The British Protest, together with the French, German, and Russian Protests, were republished in pamphlet form by theJewish Chroniclein 1913.⭘Quoted in Davies’sGems from the Fathers(Bagster).
⭘Cornill: In the same masterly address,Humanity in the Old Testament, this great Biblical scholar says:—
‘But not only to man does the humanitarianism of the Torah extend, it cares for the brute as well, and places it likewise under legal protection, to which I know of no analogy in older extra-Israelitish codes. The Israelite ascribed a soul even to the brute, and saw in it a creature of God, which, while subservient to man by God, yet should not be helplessly exposed to his caprice. What a truly humanitarian sentiment finds expression in the Law; “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn”. The brute should not perform hard labour, and at the same time have food before its eyes, without the possibility of eating therefrom. I remember some time ago, to have read that one of the richest Italian real-estate owners, at the grape-harvest, fastened iron muzzles to his miserable, fever-stricken workmen, so that it might not occur to these poor peasants, working for starvation wages under the glowing sun of Southern Italy,to satiate their burning thirst and their gnawing hunger with a few of the millions of grapes of the owner.’
⭘Literature and Dogma, 1, 4, andxi, 6.
⭘History of the People of Israel.Preface.
⭘Lotze:Microcosm,III.
⭘Frazer:Passages of the Bible chosen for their Literary Beauty.—Preface.
Compare the following from the same writer’sThe Folklore of the Old Testament(Macmillan, 1918):—
‘The revelation of the baser elements which underlay the civilization of ancient Israel, as they underlie the civilization of modern Europe, serves rather as a foil to enhance by contrast the glory of a people which, from such dark depths of ignorance and cruelty, could rise to such bright heights of wisdom and virtue. The annals of savagery and superstition unhappily compose a large part of human literature; but in what other volume shall we find, side by side with that melancholy record, psalmists who poured forth their sweet and solemn strains of meditative piety in the solitude of the hills or in green pastures and beside still waters; prophets who lit up their beatific visions of a blissful future with the glow of an impassioned imagination; historians who bequeathed to distant ages the scenes of a remote past embalmed for ever in the amber of a pellucid style? These are the true glories of the Old Testament and of Israel.’
⭘Huxley:Educational Essays.
⭘Huxley: ‘From the free spirit of the Mosaic law sprang the intensity of family life that amid all dispersions and persecutions has preserved the individuality of the Hebrew race; that love of independence that under the most adverse circumstance has characterized the Jew; that burning patriotism that flamed up in the Maccabees and bared thebreasts of Jewish peasants to the serried steel of Grecian phalanx and the resistless onset of Roman legion; that stubborn courage that in exile and in torture held the Jew to his faith. It kindled that fire that has made the strains of Hebrew seers and poets phrase for us the highest exaltations of thought; that intellectual vigour that has over and over again made the dry staff bud and blossom. And it has exerted its power wherever the influence of the Hebrew scriptures has been felt. It has toppled thrones and cast down hierarchies.’ (Henry George.)
⭘Renan:History of the People of Israel,chap.7.
⭘Moses.This splendid lecture should be read in full. It is published in a penny edition by the ‘Land Value’ PublicationDept., Strand.
⭘Dow: ‘Hebrew and Puritan’, J. Q. R.,iii.
⭘Rhys:Lyrical Poetry from the Bible. (Dent.) Introduction.
⭘Cornill:The Culture of Ancient Israel. Open Court PublishingCo., Chicago. ‘The Psalms in the World’s Literature.’
⭘Jowett:Selected Passages from the Theological Writings, 1903,p.53.
⭘The Prophets of Israel.Open Court PublishingCo., Chicago, 1895.
⭘Stanley:History of the Jewish Church,iii, lecture 45.
⭘‘Social Life in France in the Fourteenth Century’ (The Jews), Fortnightly Review,vol.57.
⭘The Shield, edited by Gorky,&c., A. A. Knopf, New York, 1917. ‘Russia and the Jews.’
⭘Herford:Pharisaism: Its aim and methods, 1912,chap. vi.
⭘‘A Theist’s Impressions of Judaism’, J. Q. R.,xix.
⭘Israel among the Nations.New York, 1893.
⭘Rationalism in Europe,chap. vi.
⭘Short History of the English People,chap. viii,i.
⭘Essay and Speech on Jewish Disabilities,ed.I. Abrahams and S. Levy. (Jewish Historical Society of England) 1910.
⭘From ‘A Letter on the Jew’ sent to a Jewish meeting, Capetown, July 1, 1906.
⭘Milyukov: InThe Shield, ‘The Jewish Question in Russia’.
⭘Lecky:Democracy and Liberty, 1896.
⭘The Talmudic Story is fromThree Legends(Berlin, 1904), written and published by Tolstoy in aid of the victims of the Kishineff pogrom.
⭘Schreiner: See Note177.
⭘The British Protest, together with the French, German, and Russian Protests, were republished in pamphlet form by theJewish Chroniclein 1913.
⭘Quoted in Davies’sGems from the Fathers(Bagster).
IV⭘Philo: C. G. Montefiore, ‘Florilegium Philonis’, in J. Q. R.vii(1895) is a good introduction to the Moses Mendelssohn of Hellenistic Judaism.⭘Abrahams:Authorized Prayer Book, Annotated Edition,p. viii.⭘BothMrs.Lucas inThe Jewish Year, andMr.Zangwill inThe Service of the Synagogue(Routledge) have produced versions of Adon Olam. The following is by George Borrow inThe Bible in Spain:—Reigned the Universe’s Master,ere were earthly things begun;When His mandate all created,Ruler was the name he won;And alone He’ll rule tremendouswhen all things are past and gone,He no equal has, nor consort,He, the singular and lone,Has no end and no beginning;His the sceptre, might, and throne.He’s my God and living Saviour,rock to whom in need I run;He’s my banner and my refuge,fount of weal when call’d upon;In His hand I place my spirit,at nightfall and at rise of sun,And therewith my body also;God’s my God—I fear no one.⭘From the first Jewish Hymn Book in America—a free rendering.⭘The Menorah Journal,vol. ii, 1916. ‘A Plea for Orthodoxy.’⭘Hertz:Inaugural Sermon, Congregation Orach Chayim, New York, 1912.⭘Abrahams: ‘Judaism and Spiritism’, inJewish Guardian, October 1, 1919.⭘In Philipson,Old European Jewries, J. P. S.⭘Jacobs:Jewish Ideals. ‘And what great bliss and happiness did the Sabbath bring to the family life. When Friday evening came and the Sabbath lamps were lighted and our fathers sang their Sabbath hymns, they forgot, once in each week, all the sorrows and cares of everyday life, and all the affronts and insults which, without pity and without mercy, were heaped upon them, and at last on the Sabbath they felt released in body and soul from all troubles and burdens.’ (B. Felsenthal.)A SABBATH TABLE-SONG.Treasure of heart for the broken people,Gift of new soul for the souls distrest,Soother of sighs for the prisoned spirit—The Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.When the work of the worlds in their wonder was finished,Thou madest this day to be holy and blest,And those heavy-laden find safety and stillness,A Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.ISAACLURIA, 1560.(Trans.Nina Salaman.)⭘Songs of a Wanderer.⭘SeeAuthorized Prayer Book, Annotated Edition,pp. cxlixandcclix.⭘Also inSongs of a Wanderer.⭘The Ideal in Judaism, 1893.⭘Hertz: Passover as Israel’s birthday. ‘A people who, though they never founded a great empire nor built a great metropolis, have exercised upon a large portion of mankind an influence, wide-spread, potent and continuous; a people who have for nearly two thousand years been without country or organized nationality yet have preserved their identity and faith through all vicissitudes of time and fortune; who have been overthrown, crushed, scattered; who have been ground, as it were, to very dust, and flung to the four winds of heaven; yet who, though thrones have fallen, and empires have perished, and creeds have changed, and living tongues have become dead, still exist with a vitality seemingly unimpaired; a people who unite the strangest contradictions; whose annals now blaze with glory, now sound the depths of shame and woe—the advent of such a people marks an epoch in the history of the world.’ (Henry George.)⭘Akdomus: Translation of a thought at the beginning ofAkdomus, the Aramaic hymn that precedes theReading of the Law on Pentecost. I have not been able to discover the name of the translator.⭘Rosenfeld: From a forthcoming book of poems,Songs of a Pilgrim(Jewish Forum PublishingCo., New York). He is known to the non-Jewish world by hisSongs from the Ghetto—powerful descriptions of the New York sweatshop inferno. This volume has been translated into most Western languages. ‘It was left for a Russian Jew at the end of the nineteenth century to see and paint hell in colours not attempted by anyone since the days of Dante ... the hell he has not only visited, but that he has lived through.’ (Wiener.)⭘The Sinaist, 1, 2. ‘The Torah—our Greatest Benefactor.’⭘The Sinaist, 1, 3.TEPHILLINErect he stands, in fervent prayer,His body cloaked in silken Tallis;He seems a king, so free from care,His wife a queen, his home a palace.These bands he wears and softly prays,Devoting strength and mind to God;His body slowly, gently sways—He walks the ground his fathers trod.This daily commune with the MasterLifts him above mere common clay;The Jewish heart, like alabaster,Grows pure and purer every day.(Aaron Schaffer inStandardBook of Jewish Verses,New York, Dodd, Mead & Co.)⭘Sun and Shield—a book of devout thoughts for everyday use. Bloch PublishingCo., New York.⭘The Occident,vol.12. It is a pity that no selection of S. R. Hirsch’s Essays has as yet appeared in English.⭘Sermons,i. ‘Faith’, the last sermon preached by him. The Jewish idea of faith is that of fidelity, absolute loyalty to God. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’⭘Young Sorley, writing a few days before he fell in battle, says: ‘Real faith is not that which says “wemustwin for our cause is just”; but that which says “our cause is just; therefore we can disregard defeat”. All outlooks are at present material, and the unseen value of justice as justice, independent entirely of results, is forgotten. It is looked upon merely as an agent for winning battles.’ (Letters of Charles Sorley, 1919.)⭘Halevi’s Ode to Zion is one of the noblest religious poems in the literature of the World:—Pure and faithful, ever spotless,Was his song, even as his soul was;Soul, that when the Maker fashioned,With His handiwork delighted.Straight He kissed the beauteous spirit;And that kiss of grace, re-echoing,Fills with music all his singing,Whom it consecrated—poet. (Heine.)⭘For Israel Baalshem, See Schechter,Studies,i. ‘The Chassidim.’⭘Joseph:The Message of Judaism.⭘Songs of Zion.An excellent translation of a poem of great mystic beauty.⭘This hymn forms part of the New Year Morning Service.⭘Stories and Pictures.Peretz inimitably succeeds in revealing the whole inner world of Chassidic life. The Rebbe referred to is Nathan ben Naphtali Hertz, a disciple of Nahman of Bratzlav. The story is also related of R. Moses Sassow.⭘From a Sermon preached at Capetown to a Congregation of Refugees from the Transvaal during the Boer War.⭘Service of the Synagogue, Eve of the Day of Atonement. Only the last portion of this alphabetic acrostic is given here.⭘FromThe Royal Crown, Gabirol’s best known and most important composition, containing his thoughts on religion and philosophy, and expressing all his ardent love of God. In many congregations, this poem is recited at the conclusion of the Eve of Atonement (Kol Nidra) Service.⭘Abodath Yisrael, by Szold and Jastrow, Philadelphia, 1873.⭘Poems of Emma Lazarus,vol. ii.⭘This hymn introduces the concluding service on the Day of Atonement in the Sephardi Liturgy.⭘Cusari,ii, 50. The translation is from Gottheil,Sun and Shield.⭘Joseph:Judaism as Life and Creed.⭘Disraeli:Tancred.⭘Aspects of Judaism,p.109.⭘J. Q. R., 1903. For the Yiddish original, See Wiener,History,p.272.⭘The Menorah—the more correct title would be ‘The Chanukah Lamp’.⭘In England every morning service closes with this hymn being recited before the open Ark.
⭘Philo: C. G. Montefiore, ‘Florilegium Philonis’, in J. Q. R.vii(1895) is a good introduction to the Moses Mendelssohn of Hellenistic Judaism.
⭘Abrahams:Authorized Prayer Book, Annotated Edition,p. viii.
⭘BothMrs.Lucas inThe Jewish Year, andMr.Zangwill inThe Service of the Synagogue(Routledge) have produced versions of Adon Olam. The following is by George Borrow inThe Bible in Spain:—
Reigned the Universe’s Master,ere were earthly things begun;When His mandate all created,Ruler was the name he won;And alone He’ll rule tremendouswhen all things are past and gone,He no equal has, nor consort,He, the singular and lone,Has no end and no beginning;His the sceptre, might, and throne.He’s my God and living Saviour,rock to whom in need I run;He’s my banner and my refuge,fount of weal when call’d upon;In His hand I place my spirit,at nightfall and at rise of sun,And therewith my body also;God’s my God—I fear no one.
Reigned the Universe’s Master,ere were earthly things begun;When His mandate all created,Ruler was the name he won;And alone He’ll rule tremendouswhen all things are past and gone,He no equal has, nor consort,He, the singular and lone,Has no end and no beginning;His the sceptre, might, and throne.He’s my God and living Saviour,rock to whom in need I run;He’s my banner and my refuge,fount of weal when call’d upon;In His hand I place my spirit,at nightfall and at rise of sun,And therewith my body also;God’s my God—I fear no one.
Reigned the Universe’s Master,ere were earthly things begun;
When His mandate all created,Ruler was the name he won;
And alone He’ll rule tremendouswhen all things are past and gone,
He no equal has, nor consort,He, the singular and lone,
Has no end and no beginning;His the sceptre, might, and throne.
He’s my God and living Saviour,rock to whom in need I run;
He’s my banner and my refuge,fount of weal when call’d upon;
In His hand I place my spirit,at nightfall and at rise of sun,
And therewith my body also;God’s my God—I fear no one.
⭘From the first Jewish Hymn Book in America—a free rendering.
⭘The Menorah Journal,vol. ii, 1916. ‘A Plea for Orthodoxy.’
⭘Hertz:Inaugural Sermon, Congregation Orach Chayim, New York, 1912.
⭘Abrahams: ‘Judaism and Spiritism’, inJewish Guardian, October 1, 1919.
⭘In Philipson,Old European Jewries, J. P. S.
⭘Jacobs:Jewish Ideals. ‘And what great bliss and happiness did the Sabbath bring to the family life. When Friday evening came and the Sabbath lamps were lighted and our fathers sang their Sabbath hymns, they forgot, once in each week, all the sorrows and cares of everyday life, and all the affronts and insults which, without pity and without mercy, were heaped upon them, and at last on the Sabbath they felt released in body and soul from all troubles and burdens.’ (B. Felsenthal.)
A SABBATH TABLE-SONG.
Treasure of heart for the broken people,Gift of new soul for the souls distrest,Soother of sighs for the prisoned spirit—The Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.When the work of the worlds in their wonder was finished,Thou madest this day to be holy and blest,And those heavy-laden find safety and stillness,A Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.ISAACLURIA, 1560.(Trans.Nina Salaman.)
Treasure of heart for the broken people,Gift of new soul for the souls distrest,Soother of sighs for the prisoned spirit—The Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.When the work of the worlds in their wonder was finished,Thou madest this day to be holy and blest,And those heavy-laden find safety and stillness,A Sabbath of rest.This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,A Sabbath of rest.ISAACLURIA, 1560.(Trans.Nina Salaman.)
Treasure of heart for the broken people,
Gift of new soul for the souls distrest,
Soother of sighs for the prisoned spirit—
The Sabbath of rest.
This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,
A Sabbath of rest.
When the work of the worlds in their wonder was finished,
Thou madest this day to be holy and blest,
And those heavy-laden find safety and stillness,
A Sabbath of rest.
This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,
A Sabbath of rest.
ISAACLURIA, 1560.(Trans.Nina Salaman.)
⭘Songs of a Wanderer.
⭘SeeAuthorized Prayer Book, Annotated Edition,pp. cxlixandcclix.
⭘Also inSongs of a Wanderer.
⭘The Ideal in Judaism, 1893.
⭘Hertz: Passover as Israel’s birthday. ‘A people who, though they never founded a great empire nor built a great metropolis, have exercised upon a large portion of mankind an influence, wide-spread, potent and continuous; a people who have for nearly two thousand years been without country or organized nationality yet have preserved their identity and faith through all vicissitudes of time and fortune; who have been overthrown, crushed, scattered; who have been ground, as it were, to very dust, and flung to the four winds of heaven; yet who, though thrones have fallen, and empires have perished, and creeds have changed, and living tongues have become dead, still exist with a vitality seemingly unimpaired; a people who unite the strangest contradictions; whose annals now blaze with glory, now sound the depths of shame and woe—the advent of such a people marks an epoch in the history of the world.’ (Henry George.)
⭘Akdomus: Translation of a thought at the beginning ofAkdomus, the Aramaic hymn that precedes theReading of the Law on Pentecost. I have not been able to discover the name of the translator.
⭘Rosenfeld: From a forthcoming book of poems,Songs of a Pilgrim(Jewish Forum PublishingCo., New York). He is known to the non-Jewish world by hisSongs from the Ghetto—powerful descriptions of the New York sweatshop inferno. This volume has been translated into most Western languages. ‘It was left for a Russian Jew at the end of the nineteenth century to see and paint hell in colours not attempted by anyone since the days of Dante ... the hell he has not only visited, but that he has lived through.’ (Wiener.)
⭘The Sinaist, 1, 2. ‘The Torah—our Greatest Benefactor.’
⭘The Sinaist, 1, 3.
TEPHILLIN
Erect he stands, in fervent prayer,His body cloaked in silken Tallis;He seems a king, so free from care,His wife a queen, his home a palace.These bands he wears and softly prays,Devoting strength and mind to God;His body slowly, gently sways—He walks the ground his fathers trod.This daily commune with the MasterLifts him above mere common clay;The Jewish heart, like alabaster,Grows pure and purer every day.(Aaron Schaffer inStandardBook of Jewish Verses,New York, Dodd, Mead & Co.)
Erect he stands, in fervent prayer,His body cloaked in silken Tallis;He seems a king, so free from care,His wife a queen, his home a palace.These bands he wears and softly prays,Devoting strength and mind to God;His body slowly, gently sways—He walks the ground his fathers trod.This daily commune with the MasterLifts him above mere common clay;The Jewish heart, like alabaster,Grows pure and purer every day.(Aaron Schaffer inStandardBook of Jewish Verses,New York, Dodd, Mead & Co.)
Erect he stands, in fervent prayer,
His body cloaked in silken Tallis;
He seems a king, so free from care,
His wife a queen, his home a palace.
These bands he wears and softly prays,
Devoting strength and mind to God;
His body slowly, gently sways—
He walks the ground his fathers trod.
This daily commune with the Master
Lifts him above mere common clay;
The Jewish heart, like alabaster,
Grows pure and purer every day.
(Aaron Schaffer inStandardBook of Jewish Verses,New York, Dodd, Mead & Co.)
⭘Sun and Shield—a book of devout thoughts for everyday use. Bloch PublishingCo., New York.
⭘The Occident,vol.12. It is a pity that no selection of S. R. Hirsch’s Essays has as yet appeared in English.
⭘Sermons,i. ‘Faith’, the last sermon preached by him. The Jewish idea of faith is that of fidelity, absolute loyalty to God. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’
⭘Young Sorley, writing a few days before he fell in battle, says: ‘Real faith is not that which says “wemustwin for our cause is just”; but that which says “our cause is just; therefore we can disregard defeat”. All outlooks are at present material, and the unseen value of justice as justice, independent entirely of results, is forgotten. It is looked upon merely as an agent for winning battles.’ (Letters of Charles Sorley, 1919.)
⭘Halevi’s Ode to Zion is one of the noblest religious poems in the literature of the World:—
Pure and faithful, ever spotless,Was his song, even as his soul was;Soul, that when the Maker fashioned,With His handiwork delighted.Straight He kissed the beauteous spirit;And that kiss of grace, re-echoing,Fills with music all his singing,Whom it consecrated—poet. (Heine.)
Pure and faithful, ever spotless,Was his song, even as his soul was;Soul, that when the Maker fashioned,With His handiwork delighted.Straight He kissed the beauteous spirit;And that kiss of grace, re-echoing,Fills with music all his singing,Whom it consecrated—poet. (Heine.)
Pure and faithful, ever spotless,
Was his song, even as his soul was;
Soul, that when the Maker fashioned,
With His handiwork delighted.
Straight He kissed the beauteous spirit;
And that kiss of grace, re-echoing,
Fills with music all his singing,
Whom it consecrated—poet. (Heine.)
⭘For Israel Baalshem, See Schechter,Studies,i. ‘The Chassidim.’
⭘Joseph:The Message of Judaism.
⭘Songs of Zion.An excellent translation of a poem of great mystic beauty.
⭘This hymn forms part of the New Year Morning Service.
⭘Stories and Pictures.Peretz inimitably succeeds in revealing the whole inner world of Chassidic life. The Rebbe referred to is Nathan ben Naphtali Hertz, a disciple of Nahman of Bratzlav. The story is also related of R. Moses Sassow.
⭘From a Sermon preached at Capetown to a Congregation of Refugees from the Transvaal during the Boer War.
⭘Service of the Synagogue, Eve of the Day of Atonement. Only the last portion of this alphabetic acrostic is given here.
⭘FromThe Royal Crown, Gabirol’s best known and most important composition, containing his thoughts on religion and philosophy, and expressing all his ardent love of God. In many congregations, this poem is recited at the conclusion of the Eve of Atonement (Kol Nidra) Service.
⭘Abodath Yisrael, by Szold and Jastrow, Philadelphia, 1873.
⭘Poems of Emma Lazarus,vol. ii.
⭘This hymn introduces the concluding service on the Day of Atonement in the Sephardi Liturgy.
⭘Cusari,ii, 50. The translation is from Gottheil,Sun and Shield.
⭘Joseph:Judaism as Life and Creed.
⭘Disraeli:Tancred.
⭘Aspects of Judaism,p.109.
⭘J. Q. R., 1903. For the Yiddish original, See Wiener,History,p.272.
⭘The Menorah—the more correct title would be ‘The Chanukah Lamp’.
⭘In England every morning service closes with this hymn being recited before the open Ark.
V⭘Spinoza:Ethics.⭘Guide to the Perplexed.⭘See Notes7–9.⭘Maimonides:The Eight Chapters on Ethics,ed.Gorfinkle, New York, 1912.⭘Jacobs:Jews of Angevin England,p.172.⭘Ethics of the Fathers:Authorized Prayer Book,pp.184–209. A good edition, Hebrew and English,with commentary, is by Gorfinkle, in Library of Jewish Classics, Bloch PublishingCo., New York.⭘‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’: The Jewish mystic’s Ladder of Perfection. Its author is Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair—a second-century saint and teacher.⭘Yellin-Abrahams’Maimonides, J. P. S.⭘The Literary Remains of Emanuel Deutsch, ‘The Talmud’, for a larger selection of Talmudic sayings.⭘The Discipline of Sorrow, 1911. ‘The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore, namely, that really we have no claim on a long life; that we are each of us liable to be called off at any moment, and that the main point is not how long we live, but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span—for short it is at best.As in every battle, so in the great battle of Humanity, the fallen and wounded, too, have a share in the victory; by their sufferings they have helped, and the greenest wreaths belong to them.’ (Felix Adler inLife and Destiny, New York. McClure, Philips &Co.)⭘See Note235.⭘Aspects of Judaism,ii, 5.⭘Adler: ‘Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild—a Funeral Address’.⭘Penini: translation in Gottheil,Sun and Shield.⭘‘The Jewels’—based on a version by S. T. Coleridge.⭘Cf.Authorized Prayer Book,p.318.⭘Ethics of the Fathers: The fourth chapter ends with the words of R. Eleazar Hakkappar:—‘The born are to die and the dead to live on again; and those who enter the eternal life, to be judged. Therefore, let it be known, understood and remembered, that He, the Almighty, is the Maker and the Creator; He is the Discerner, He the Judge, He the Witness, He the Complainant; and that He shalljudge in the hereafter, before whom there is no unrighteousness, and no forgetting, no regard for rank, no taking of bribes. Know that all is according to reckoning. Let not thy passions persuade thee that the grave will be a place of refuge for thee. For without thy will wert thou created, without thy will thou wast born; thou livest perforce, and perforce thou shalt at last die, and perforce thou shalt in the future have to give account before the Supreme King, the Holy One, blessed be He.’
⭘Spinoza:Ethics.
⭘Guide to the Perplexed.
⭘See Notes7–9.
⭘Maimonides:The Eight Chapters on Ethics,ed.Gorfinkle, New York, 1912.
⭘Jacobs:Jews of Angevin England,p.172.
⭘Ethics of the Fathers:Authorized Prayer Book,pp.184–209. A good edition, Hebrew and English,with commentary, is by Gorfinkle, in Library of Jewish Classics, Bloch PublishingCo., New York.
⭘‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’: The Jewish mystic’s Ladder of Perfection. Its author is Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair—a second-century saint and teacher.
⭘Yellin-Abrahams’Maimonides, J. P. S.
⭘The Literary Remains of Emanuel Deutsch, ‘The Talmud’, for a larger selection of Talmudic sayings.
⭘The Discipline of Sorrow, 1911. ‘The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore, namely, that really we have no claim on a long life; that we are each of us liable to be called off at any moment, and that the main point is not how long we live, but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span—for short it is at best.
As in every battle, so in the great battle of Humanity, the fallen and wounded, too, have a share in the victory; by their sufferings they have helped, and the greenest wreaths belong to them.’ (Felix Adler inLife and Destiny, New York. McClure, Philips &Co.)
⭘See Note235.
⭘Aspects of Judaism,ii, 5.
⭘Adler: ‘Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild—a Funeral Address’.
⭘Penini: translation in Gottheil,Sun and Shield.
⭘‘The Jewels’—based on a version by S. T. Coleridge.
⭘Cf.Authorized Prayer Book,p.318.
⭘Ethics of the Fathers: The fourth chapter ends with the words of R. Eleazar Hakkappar:—
‘The born are to die and the dead to live on again; and those who enter the eternal life, to be judged. Therefore, let it be known, understood and remembered, that He, the Almighty, is the Maker and the Creator; He is the Discerner, He the Judge, He the Witness, He the Complainant; and that He shalljudge in the hereafter, before whom there is no unrighteousness, and no forgetting, no regard for rank, no taking of bribes. Know that all is according to reckoning. Let not thy passions persuade thee that the grave will be a place of refuge for thee. For without thy will wert thou created, without thy will thou wast born; thou livest perforce, and perforce thou shalt at last die, and perforce thou shalt in the future have to give account before the Supreme King, the Holy One, blessed be He.’