An important element in the Service is religious instruction. The means
adopted were the reading of the Torah and Haphtarah, the introduction
of moral lessons, principles of faith, exposition of Divine precepts
into the Service, and lectures containing various lessons,
exhortations, and explanations of the Biblical and Post-Biblical Sacred
Literature. These lectures are an ancient institution. The prophets
instructed the people, especially on New-moon and Sabbath (2 Kings iv.
23); the Scribes and the Rabbis of the Talmudic age expounded the Torah
and other Biblical and Post-Biblical writings; they were followed by
darshanim and maggidim, the modern preachers and ministers. The aim of
these lectures is to create, maintain, or intensify the fear of God and
the love of the Torah (אהבת תורה ויראת שמים).
The Sermon has lost much of its original force and influence. The cause
of this fact is probably to be sought chiefly in the materialism and
scepticism of the age, but to some degree also in the character of the
sermon. It cannot be denied that the pulpit, instead of being made a
place from which Love of Torah and Fear of God receive life,
encouragement, and strength, is frequently turned into a platform for
discussing communal or personal quarrels or theological controversies,
or creating a discontent with existing institutions, without
sufficiently considering the result of such discontent. Themes like
these are not outside the province of the preacher, but they must not
be the staple of his discourses, which must principally seek to foster
אהבת תורה ויראת שמים in the hearts of the congregants. As to the
history and literature of this branch of the Service, see Zunz, Die
Gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden. Berlin, 1832.