Health, peace, and good fortune I wish you to-day.
To-day we have ended the Torah once more;
To-day we begin it again, as of yore.
Be thankful and glad and the Lord extol,
Who gave us the Law on its parchment scroll.
J. L. GORDON.
(_Trans. Alice Lucas and Helena Frank._)
THE MACCABEAN WARRIORS
They were ready either to live or die nobly.
1 MACCABEES 4. 35.
* * * * *
AND King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be
one people, and that each should forsake his own laws. And he sent
letters unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that they should profane
the sabbaths and feasts, pollute the sanctuary, and build altars and
temples and shrines for idols; and whosoever shall not do according
to the word of the king, he shall die. And he appointed overseers over
all the people, and he commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice, city
by city. And they did evil things in the land; and they made Israel to
hide themselves in every place of refuge which they had. And they rent
in pieces the Books of the Law which they found, and set them on fire.
And wheresoever was found with any a Book of the Covenant, and if any
consented to the Law, the king’s sentence delivered him to death.
And in those days rose up Mattathias, a priest from Jerusalem; and
he dwelt at Modin. And he had five sons, John, Simon, Judas (who was
called Maccabaeus), Eleazar, Jonathan. And he saw the blasphemies that
were committed in Judah and in Jerusalem, and Mattathias and his sons
rent their clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourned exceedingly.
And the king’s officers, that were enforcing the apostasy, came into
the city Modin. And many of Israel came unto them, and Mattathias
and his sons were gathered together. And the king’s officers spake to
Mattathias, saying, ‘Thou art a ruler and an honourable and great man
in this city, and strengthened with sons and brethren; now therefore
come thou first and do the commandment of the king, as all nations have
done, and the men of Judah, and they that remain in Jerusalem; so shalt
thou and thy house be in the number of the king’s Friends, and thou and
thy children shall be honoured with silver and gold, and many rewards.’
And Mattathias answered and said with a loud voice, ‘_Though all the
nations that are under the king’s dominion obey him, and fall away
every one from the religion of their fathers, yet will I and my sons
and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers_.’ And Mattathias
cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying, ‘Whosoever is zealous
for the Law, and maintaineth the Covenant, let him follow me.’
Then were gathered together unto them every one that offered himself
willingly for the Law. And all they that fled from the evils were
added to them, and became a stay unto them. And they mustered a host,
and pulled down the altars; and they pursued after the sons of pride,
neither suffered they the sinner to triumph.
_Selection from_
1 MACCABEES 1. 41‒2. 48.
THE FEAST OF LIGHTS
KINDLE the taper like the steadfast star,
Ablaze on evening’s forehead o’er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendour shine above thy hearth.
Clash, Israel, the cymbals, touch the lyre,
Blow the brass trumpet and the harsh-tongued horn;
Chant psalms of victory till the heart takes fire,
The Maccabean spirit leap new-born.
EMMA LAZARUS.
THE MENORAH
DEEP in his soul he began to feel the need of being a Jew. His
circumstances were not unsatisfactory; he enjoyed an ample income and a
profession that permitted him to do whatever his heart desired. For he
was an artist. His Jewish origin and the faith of his fathers had long
since ceased to trouble him, when suddenly the old hatred came to the
surface again in a new mob-cry. With many others he believed that this
flood would shortly subside. But there was no change for the better;
and every blow, even though not aimed directly at him, struck him with
fresh pain, till little by little his soul became one bleeding wound.
These sorrows, buried deep in his heart and silenced there, evoked
thoughts of their origin and of his Judaism; and now he did something
he could not perhaps have done in the old days――he began to love his
Judaism with an intense fervour. Although in his own eyes he could not,
at first, clearly justify this new yearning, it became so powerful at
length that it crystallized from vague emotions into a definite idea
which he must needs express. It was the conviction that there was only
one solution for this moral misery――the return to Judaism.
The Jew of to-day had lost the poise which was his fathers’ very being.
This generation, having grown up under the influence of alien cultures,
was no longer capable of that return which he had perceived to be their
redemption. But the new generation would be capable of it, if it were
only given the right direction early enough. He resolved, therefore,
that his own children, at least, should be shown the proper path. They
should be trained as Jews in their own home.
Hitherto he had permitted to pass by unobserved the holiday which the
wonderful apparition of the Maccabees had illumined for thousands of
years with the glow of miniature lights. Now, however, he made this
holiday an opportunity to prepare something beautiful which should
be for ever commemorated in the minds of his children. In their young
souls should be implanted early a steadfast devotion to their ancient
people. He bought a Menorah, and when he held this nine-branched
candlestick in his hands for the first time, a strange mood came over
him. In his father’s house also the lights had once burned in his youth,
now far away, and the recollection gave him a sad and tender feeling
for home. The tradition was neither cold nor dead――thus it had passed
through the ages, one light kindling another. Moreover, the ancient
form of the Menorah had excited his interest. Clearly the design was
suggested by the tree――in the centre the sturdy trunk, on right and
left four branches, one below the other, in one place, and all of equal
height. A later symbolism brought with it the short ninth branch, which
projects in front and functions as a servant. What mystery had the
generations which followed one another read into this form of art, at
once so simple and natural! And our artist wondered to himself if it
were not possible to animate again the withered form of the Menorah――to
water its roots, as one would a tree. The mere sound of the name,
which he now pronounced every evening to his children, gave him great
pleasure. There was a lovable ring to the word when it came from the
lips of little children.
On the first night the candle was lit and the origin of the holiday
explained. The wonderful incident of the lights that strangely remained
burning so long, the story of the return from the Babylonian exile,
the second Temple, the Maccabees――our friend told his children all he
knew. It was not very much, to be sure; but it served. When the second
candle was lit, they repeated what he had told them; and though it had
all been learnt from him, it seemed to him quite new and beautiful. In
the days that followed, he waited keenly for the evenings which became
ever brighter. Candle after candle stood in the Menorah, and the
father mused on the little candles with his children till at length
his reflections became too deep to be uttered before them.
Then came the eighth day, when the whole row burns, even the faithful
ninth, the servant, which on other nights is used only for the lighting
of the others. A great splendour streamed from the Menorah. The
children’s eyes glistened. But for our friend all this was the symbol
of the enkindling of a nation. When there is but one light, all is
still dark, and the solitary light looks melancholy. Soon it finds one
companion, then another, and another. The darkness must retreat. The
light comes first to the young and the poor――then others join who love
Justice, Truth, Liberty, Progress, Humanity, and Beauty. When all the
candles burn, then we must all stand and rejoice over the achievement.
And no office can be more blessed than that of a Servant of the Light.
THEODOR HERZL.
(_Trans. B. L. Pouzzner._)
THE STORY OF THE MACCABEES
IT is good for Jewish lads to include warriors of their own race in
their gallery of heroes, to be able to say, ‘My people has produced its
brave men equally with the Greeks and the Romans’.
But still better it is for them to feel that these brave men drew
their courage from the purest of all sources, from a passionate love
for their religion, from a veneration for the good and the true and
the morally beautiful. The Maccabees boldly faced overwhelming odds,
not for their own selfish ends, but in a spirit of self-sacrificing
fidelity to the holiest of all causes. They threw themselves upon the
enemy in the temper that takes the martyr to the stake; they did it not
for gain or glory, but solely for conscience’ sake. They felt that God
was calling to them, and they could not hold back. Theirs was a unique
effort. Others had, it is true, displayed an equally noble courage on
the battle-field. But what they had fought for was their fatherland and
their mother tongue, their hearths and homes. To fight for Religion was
a new thing.
The little Maccabean band was like a rock in the midst of a surging sea.
Standing almost alone in their day, the heroes beat back the forces
that threatened to involve all mankind in a common demoralization. They
kept a corner of the world sweet in an impure age. They held aloft the
torch of true religion at a time when thick darkness was covering the
nations.
MORRIS JOSEPH, 1903.
CHANUCAH HYMN
ROCK of Ages, let our song
Praise Thy saving power;
Thou, amidst the raging foes,
Wast our shelt’ring tower.
Furious they assailed us,
But Thine arm availed us;
And Thy word
Broke their sword
When our own strength failed us.
Kindling new the holy lamps,
Priests approved in suffering
Purified the nation’s shrine,
Brought to God their offering.
And His courts surrounding
Hear, in joy abounding,
Happy throngs
Singing songs
With a mighty sounding.
Children of the Martyr-race,
Whether free or fettered,
Wake the echoes of the songs
Where ye may be scattered.
Yours the message cheering,
That the time is nearing
Which shall see
All men free,
Tyrants disappearing.
G. GOTTHEIL.
PURIM[78]
THERE was a certain Jew in Shushan ... whose name was Mordecai.... And
he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter ... and
when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own
daughter.... And Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus into his house
royal ... and the king loved Esther ... and she obtained grace and
favour in his sight....
After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman, and set his seat
above all the princes that were with him. And Haman said, ‘There is a
certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all
the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of
every people, neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not
for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king let it be
written that they be destroyed ... both young and old, little children
and women, in one day.’ And the king said unto Haman, ‘The people is
given to thee to do with them as it seemeth good to thee’.
Now, when Mordecai knew all that was done he rent his clothes ... and
charged Esther that she should go in unto the king to make supplication
unto him for her people――‘Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape
in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether
holdest thy peace at this time, then shall relief and deliverance arise
to the Jews from another place: and who knoweth whether thou art not
come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ ... Esther bade them
return answer unto Mordecai, ‘So will I go in unto the king ... and if
I perish, I perish....’
Then Esther the queen ... said, ‘If I have found favour in thy sight,
O king ... let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my
request; for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain
and to perish....’ Then spake the king Ahasuerus, ‘Who is he, and where
is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?’ And Esther said, ‘An
adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman’.
Then said one of the chamberlains, ‘Behold also, the gallows which
Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king (and saved
the king’s life) standeth in the house of Haman’. And the king said,
‘Hang him thereon’. So they hanged Haman.... And the king said, ‘Write
ye also to the Jews as it liketh you, in the king’s name....’ The Jews
had light and gladness and joy and honour. And whithersoever the king’s
commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness and joy....
... Therefore do the Jews ... make the fourteenth day of the month Adar
a day of gladness and feasting ... and of sending gifts to the poor.
BOOK OF ESTHER.
SERVANT OF GOD
SPIRIT and flesh are Thine,
O Heavenly Shepherd mine;
My hopes, my thoughts, my fears, Thou seest all,
Thou measurest my path, my steps dost know.
When Thou upholdest, who can make me fall?
When Thou restrainest, who can bid me go?
_O would that I might be
A servant unto Thee,
Thou God, by all adored!
Then, though by friends out-cast,
Thy hand would hold me fast,
And draw me near to Thee, my King and Lord!_
Fain would my heart come nigh
To Thee, O God, on high,
But evil thoughts have led me far astray
From the pure path of righteous government.
Guide Thou me back into Thy holy way,
And count me not as one impenitent.
_O would that I might be
A servant unto Thee,
Thou God, by all adored!
Then, though by friends out-cast,
Thy hand would hold me fast,
And draw me near to Thee, my King and Lord!_
Contrite and full of dread,
I mourn each moment fled,
’Midst idle follies roaming desolate:
I sink beneath transgressions manifold,
That from Thy presence keep me separate,
Nor can sin-darkened eyes Thy light behold.
_O would that I might be
A servant unto Thee,
Thou God, by all adored!
Then, though by friends out-cast,
Thy hand would hold me fast,
And draw me near to Thee, my King and Lord!_
So lead me that I may
Thy sovereign will obey.
Make pure my heart to seek Thy truth divine;
When burns my wound, be Thou with healing near!
Answer me, Lord! for sore distress is mine,
And say unto Thy servant, I am here.
_O would that I might be
A servant unto Thee,
Thou God, by all adored!
Then, though by friends out-cast,
Thy hand would hold me fast,
And draw me near to Thee, my King and Lord!_
YEHUDAH HALEVI, 1140.
(_Trans. Alice Lucas._)
HYMN OF GLORY
SWEET hymns and songs will I indite
To sing of Thee by day and night――
Of Thee, who art my soul’s delight.
How doth my soul within me yearn
Beneath Thy shadow to return,
Thy secret mysteries to learn!
And even while yet Thy glory fires
My words, and hymns of praise inspires,
Thy love it is my heart desires.
Thy glory shall my discourse be;
In images I picture Thee,
Although Thyself I cannot see.
O Thou whose word is truth alway,
Thy people seek Thy face this day;
O be Thou near them when they pray.
O may my words of blessing rise
To Thee, who, throned above the skies,
Art just and mighty, great and wise.
My meditation day and night,
May it be pleasant in Thy sight,
For Thou art all my soul’s delight.
JUDAH THE PIOUS, 12th cent.
(_Trans. Alice Lucas._)
V
THE VOICE OF WISDOM
_THUS saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man
glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord who exercise loving
kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth: for in these
things I delight, saith the Lord._
JEREMIAH 9. 23‒4.
* * * * *
_HE that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye,
shall He not see? He that instructeth the nations, shall not He correct,
Even He that teacheth man knowledge?_
PSALM 94. 9‒10.
GOD, WHOM SHALL I COMPARE TO THEE!
GOD, whom shall I compare to Thee,
When Thou to none canst likened be?
Under what image shall I dare
To picture Thee, when everywhere
All Nature’s forms Thine impress bear?
Hearts, seeking Thee, from search refrain,
And weary tongues their praise restrain.
Thyself unbound by time and place,
Thou dost pervade, support, embrace
The world and all created space.
Deep, deep beyond all fathoming,
Far, far beyond all measuring,
We can but seek Thy deeds alone;
When bow Thy saints before Thy throne
Then is Thy faithfulness made known.
Thy righteousness we can discern,
Thy holy law proclaim and learn.
Is not Thy presence near alway
To them who penitently pray,
But far from those who sinning stray?
Pure souls behold Thee, and no need
Have they of light: they hear and heed
Thee with the mind’s keen ear, although
The ear of flesh be dull and slow.
Their voices answer to and fro.
Thy holiness for ever they proclaim:
The Lord of Hosts! thrice holy is His name.
YEHUDAH HALEVI.
(_Trans. Alice Lucas._)
GREAT IS TRUTH
GREAT is Truth, and stronger than all things. All the earth calleth
upon Truth, and the heaven blesseth her; all works shake and tremble,
but with her is no unrighteous thing.... Truth abideth, and is strong
for ever; she liveth and conquereth for evermore.... She is the
strength, and the kingdom, and the power, and the majesty, of all ages.
Blessed be the God of Truth.
1 ESDRAS 4. 35, 36, 38, 40.
* * * * *
TRUTH is the seal of God.
TALMUD.
THE RIGHT LIFE
IT hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth
require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with thy God.
MICAH 6. 8.
* * * * *
WOE unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own
sight!
ISAIAH 5. 20‒2.
* * * * *
THE proper study of a wise man is not how to die, but how to live.
A man who desires to help others by counsel or deed will refrain
from dwelling on men’s faults, and will speak but sparingly of human
weaknesses. But he will speak at large of man’s virtue and power, and
the means of perfecting the same, that thus men may endeavour joyously
to live, so far as in them lies, after the commandment of reason.
BENEDICT SPINOZA, 1674.
THE GOODNESS OF GOD’S WORK
MEN frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous
than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on
this idea. They say that the good is found only exceptionally, whilst
evil things are numerous and lasting. The origin of this error is to
be found in the circumstance that men judge of the _whole universe_ by
examining one single person only. If anything happens to him contrary
to his expectation, forthwith they conclude that the whole universe is
evil. All mankind at present in existence forms only an infinitesimal
portion of the permanent universe. It is of great advantage that man
should know his station. Numerous evils to which persons are exposed
are due to the defects existing in the persons themselves. We seek
relief from our own faults; we suffer from evils which we inflict on
ourselves, and we ascribe them to God who is far from connected with
them. As Solomon explained it: The foolishness of man perverteth his
way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord.
MOSES MAIMONIDES, 1190.
THE TWO NATURES IN MAN
IT is because man is half angel, half brute, that his inner life
witnesses such bitter war between such unlike natures. The brute in him
clamours for sensual joy and things in which there is only vanity; but
the angel resists and strives to make him know that meat, drink, sleep
are but means whereby the body may be made efficient for the study of
the truths, and the doing of the will, of God. Not until the very hour
of death can it be certain or known to what measure the victory has
been won. He who is but a novice in the fear of God will do well to say
audibly each day, as he rises: ‘This day I will be a faithful servant
of the Almighty. I will be on my guard against wrath, falsehood, hatred,
and quarrelsomeness, and will forgive those who wound me.’ For whoso
forgives is forgiven in his turn; hard-heartedness and a temper that
will not make up quarrels are a heavy burden of sin, and unworthy of
an Israelite.
MOSES OF COUCY, 13th cent.
FREEDOM OF THE WILL
FREE will is granted to every man. If he desire to incline towards
the good way and be righteous, he has the power to do so; and if he
desire to incline towards the unrighteous way and be a wicked man, he
has also the power to do so. Give no room in your minds to that which
is asserted by heathen fools, and also by many of the ignorant among
the Israelites themselves, namely: that the Holy One, blessed be He,
decrees that a man from his birth should be either a righteous man or
a wicked man.
Since the power of doing good or evil is in our own hands, and
since all the wicked deeds which we have committed have been committed
with our full consciousness, it befits us to turn in penitence and to
forsake our evil deeds; the power of doing so being still in our hands.
Now this matter is a very important principle; nay, it is the pillar of
the Law and of the commandments.
MOSES MAIMONIDES, 1180.
THE WICKED SAITH IN HIS HEART
FOR they said within themselves, reasoning not aright,
‘Short and sorrowful is our life;
And there is no healing when a man cometh to his end,
And none was ever known that returned out of Hades.
Because by mere chance were we born,
And hereafter we shall be as though we had never been:
And our name shall be forgotten in time,
And no man shall remember our works;
And our life shall pass away as the traces of a cloud,
And shall be scattered as is a mist.
For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
And there is no putting back of our end.
Come therefore and let us enjoy the good things that now
are;
And let us use the creation with all our soul as youth’s
possession.
Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes;
And let no flower of spring pass us by:
Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be
withered:
Let none of us go without his share in our proud revelry:
Everywhere let us leave tokens of our mirth:
Because this is our portion, and our lot is this.
Let our strength be to us a law of righteousness;
For that which is weak is convicted to be of no service.’
Thus reasoned they, and they were led astray;
For their wickedness blinded them,
And they knew not the mysteries of God,
Neither hoped they for wages of holiness,
Nor did they judge that there is a prize for blameless
souls.
Because God created man for incorruption,
And made him an image of His own everlastingness.
WISDOM OF SOLOMON 2. 1, 2, 4‒9, 11, 21‒3.
REPENTANCE OF THE WICKED
THEY shall say within themselves repenting:
‘Verily we went astray from the way of truth,
We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and
destruction,
And we journeyed through trackless deserts,
But the way of the Lord we knew not.
What did our arrogancy profit us?
And what good have riches and vaunting brought us?
Those things all passed away as a shadow,
As a ship passing through the billowy water,
Whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found,
Neither pathway of its keel in the billows:
Or as when a bird flieth through the air,
No token of her passage is found,
But the light wind, lashed with the stroke of her pinions,
And rent asunder with the violent rush, is passed through
by the motion of her wings,
And afterwards no sign of her coming is found therein:
So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be;
And of virtue we had no sign to show,
But in our wickedness we were utterly consumed.
Because the hope of the ungodly man is as chaff carried by
the wind,
And passeth by as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth
but a day.
‘But the righteous live for ever,
And in the Lord is their reward,
And the care for them with the Most High.’
WISDOM OF SOLOMON 5. 3, 6‒11, 13‒15.
WISE COUNSEL
I