Letter from John Samuel to Isaac Leeser · Isaac Leeser Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Letter from John Samuel to Isaac Leeser

Author

Isaac Mayer Wise

Contributor

Isaac Leeser

John Samuel

Location(s)

Albany

Philadelphia

Format

Letter. 11 page(s) on 11 sheet(s).

Type

Letter

Language(s)

English

Hebrew

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p39z90z3v/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p39z90z3v

Physical Characteristics

Unlined Paper

Manuscript

content

Tal. 2.
Hebrew
God is the most perfect existence, therefore Hebrew no altaretion can be thought in his divine Character for every altaretion is a proof of imperfection.
By that prim we learn:
a Hymns and praises so the Living God shall be the chief apart, prayers of supplication and respontenie? the second and smaler part of our liturgy. The Talmud itself is of this meaning
Hebrew
Purer words in that reference said the orthodox Hebrew.
After reverend gentleman said the opinion of the Talmud, he expressed his view about it:
The chief precept of our Religion is: to be holy, that is: so love God, for this is holiness. Inferior so this precept is: to acknowledge God, expressed in the first commandment of the revelation. If we acknowledge God, we love him and are holy. Our Holy Thora is the guide to the summit of this divine Dea?. Philanthropy, kindness and mercy to every creature both living and lifeless, rectitude for the whole human race, a powerful dominion above ourselves as well as above nature are the ways, which our Thora teaches us, to acknowledge the invisible Deity by his divine attributes. Be as kind and mercyful as our Thora will it, thus Gods benevolence is displayed unto you & but who total you will never acknowledge him Hebrew But yet a way shows no us our Thora to aim this holy end, and this way is the prayer, and therefore is it the most perfect services

because it guides directly to acknowledging of God, as our Thora said: Hebrew (Hebrew) If our prayers be Hymns and praises, the subjective effect is a direct display of God's divine character but if our prayers are supplanting or reporting our own foo-lishness or weekness are the direct, and God's omnipotence and mercy the indirect display. Therefore hymns are the former and prayers the latter part of our service.
b If the effect of prayer is subjective, we want in them no mediation between God and man, neither of the angels nor of other spiritual beings.
Hebrew
It is said in the Talmud Hebrew The Hebrew and the Hebrew are throughout against the mediation Hebrew This is the sublime character of our Religion, displaying us the purest and most perfect notion of God, of the features of his holy existence; guiding us the way to his perfection, she also represents us the possible perfection of man by the precepts of the revelation, for only to his likeness can God speak; by the precepts. In the Likeness of God in his own image the man was created, sons are you to the Living God, our holy doctrine taught us the perfection of the human ? that the man is the next intellectual being to God, he is his son, that he can acknowledge God and serve him without one mediation. No religion in the whole world possesses those high terms of truth, trust and eternal hopes. The Psalmist was inspired by those Deas and sung so lovely Hebrew. But those high notions make us very easily proud or haughty, therefore we need to be remined of our foolishness, meekness, transitoriness, invalidity and nullity, that shall be done by our prayers of supplication and repentence, and not by the notion of the mediation (that was the first reason of it) for this is an Sea guise strangely to our holy Religion.

C If the effect of our prayers shall be subjective, our service ought to be in the hebrew language—for this language is the tongue of our Prophets, of our solemn Psalmists, the tongue of our holy scripture. yea, the mere soun of those words awake our heart to a holier feeling and higher inspiration, to a sublime admiration of the most High. There exists no language, that possesses a character so sublime and adoring, simple and short, easy and living, this is the best vehicle of our thoughts before God. And again, no poetry had so aft and manifold the Deity to her object, nor sung so solemnly the attributes and perfections of God, as the hebrew did; there is no poetry possessing those riches of natural picturesque and scenery, which breath love and admiration in the heart. Those sentimental sentim sentences of the prophets, those conserated and deeply felt words of the holy Scripture are the best vehicle ? to adore our God. And again we ought to understand the words of our heart, and where is the son of Israel, who understands not the language of his Thora? If some should be so unhappy to be ignorant in the word of his holy book, they may weep and study, as our ancestors did in the time of Esra, but for the benefit of some we can'nt offer the whole
D All those prayers of reaangenie? or curses need to be expelled of our liturgy, what subjective effect can we expect of them? Hebrew.
E The sabbatical morning-service shall not be continued above 2 ½ or 3 hours including the sermon, and that of the festivals not above 3 or 3 ½ hours (Rabbi did not speak of a service without sermon) It is said in the Talmud, that Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Atarphon made their prayers very short, when they ministered in the Synagogue Hebrew

(I am afraid the multitude of Hebrew and the sing-sing of Hebrew and Hebrew shall bad suffer by that)
Now, my orthodox brother, here are the principles of Rabbi Wise, according which the new liturgy shall appear. Here is a mount of truths, of Information and conviction, there is Tara and Philosophy going hand in hand. What can in right be said against those truths? nothing, but so wish the whole liturgy may be to consequence of those principles, that all the congregations of Israel may adore our God according to those principles, and the new liturgy may be successful to unite Israel in Amerika into one great body
Hebrew
I am Joseph your brother
Rev. Mr. Elisser!
Dear Sir!
I send you those ripe fruits of Rabbi Wise, that the reading people may know, what we have to expect of this energiral? doctor, for it is more than sure, that he will give the impuls to great motions by his active spirit and multitude of sciences. He is powerful in the province of speaking as sublime in his ?eas. I have mistakes in my writing, but I am in haste and pray you to correct it. Some supscribers of the occident I gathered, and next I will send you the money.
Dear Sir
I am yours
LJ
Perhaps you can find place for those lines in your Journal of this month.

B. Samuels Esq.
Dear Sir!
I recommend to you my agent Mr. M. Light, who is authorized to collect agents of subscribers for the History of the Israelitish Nation, and wish you to recommend him to your friends.
I shall continue to write on the Jurisprudence of the Israelites, and afterwards republish it in pamphlet form. If you have to make to me any remarks on this subject I shall be pleased to read of you.
Please to give my best respects to your mother.
Respectfully yours
Dr Wise
New York December 26.1852

John Samuel Esq.
Dear Sir!
Being in possession of your favor of the 12. inst., I am sorry that I cannot serve you; as usually I have not preserved the articles on Jurisprudence. I am very lazy in this respect.
Please to inform the judge, that he can find a historical development of the subject in the appendices to each period of my “History &c, which will be continued in each of the following volumes.
I took the liberty of sending to you ten copies of the first volume of my History to supply you and your friends; since I cannot immediately send an agent to distribute them.
Please deposit some copies in a bookstore which you think most fit together with one of the annexed circulars. I sell to bookstores for $1,50 per copy.
Most Respectfully
Yours
Isaac M. Wise
Albany December 14: 1853.

a hundred times, without ever to reason or to think on any one subject; therefore I bid a farewell to jewish literature, to jewish quarrels, to jewish struggles, and threw my whole force upon profane sciences, and I shall in a month or two try my fortune as a philosophic author, an Essay on immortality with physical evidences I have nearly finished, and it will be published right of; if I am not more fortunate as a philosophical author than I was as a rabbi, I shall compile spelling books for little children or till the ground to earn a living and let humbuggers be ministers, teachers, professors, authors or whatever they chose to be. This may excuse for not having done what I promissed.
You remembered me or the school of Padua, and that is the most serious wound in my heart, which you could touch; first all the proud hopes, which I there entertained, which I see now fade away came some more, in my mind; secondly it grieves me very much, that our american jews could not come up to the great idea of establishing such a school; and third, it grieves me seriously to know, what pure Judaism I studied there and what a corrupted one we have here.
I wish you give my best respect to your mother and to your father.
I shall be happy to serve you in any way.
Faithfully
Your obd't s't
Dr Wise
John Samuel Esq. Philadelphia

Albany March 14. 1851
Dear Sir
Your favor of the 12. ins. was duly received, and I take pleasure in answering you instantly. You find the best account about the school of Padua in Dr. I. M Josts ? ?; in his ? ? you find only a brief sketch, while the former book contains an authentical and perfect historical account gathered from the written documents of that school. As to the statement of Hollam that 1350 be the date of its foundation I have to observe, that this is by no means correct; for if he refers to the rabbinic-cabalistic school, which once was a Padua and which was the foundation of the present one, we could show him in the different prefaces of rabbinical and cabalistic treatises that this school existed already in the 10th century, as you will find in Josts; and the present one was founded by exiles from Spain, or rather the old one was gradually converted into a scientific institute by those intelligent spanish jews, which was at the commencement of the 15th century. Were I not too much employed otherwise I would furnish you with a sketch; but I think it is too interesting as that you should allow one to do it for you.
You will be kind enough to excuse me, that I would not write any thing about jewish juris prudence; I retired altogether from the field of jewish literature for various reasons. I was beaten every way and with all sorts of rods; I was decried by all sorts of fanatics, fools, ignorants, ?; I was rejected, abused wherever I opened the door; I found that men as Mr. Isaac, Mr. Lyon, Mr. Rosen-feld, and others, who have knowledge enough to read the prayers and humbug the world with an assumed bigotry, with some dozens of every day sentences, which they compile to a sort of speech, and repeat them

I hope to give to the world a history of our nation, which will fully show the important position of Israel among the nations. You see, my dear sir, that I did not yet think how to publish it, as I was not sure of success; but now I have made my plan to this effect. As soon as the number of subscribers is important enough, I shall publish the first volume reaching to the destruction of the first temple. I shall first offer the business to Mr. Hart of Philadelphia; because he, being an Israelite, feels more in? in the matter than other publishers. If we cannot agree on the terms for I have about $1500,00 expenses for books necessary to the purpose—then I thought of going to Harpen or another publisher. If I can agree with none I publish it myself for my subscribers only; for them, after the work will be completed, I am sure every publisher will buy the copy right. It will remain a standard work for the next 25 years. This is my intention, and I see in your letter, it will meet with your approbation.
I wish, you would be kind enough, to let me have your corrections on the Jurisprudence of the Israelites.
Please to accept of my assurance of my best respect.
Truly Yours
Dr Wise

Albany, March 25. 1853
To John Samuel Esq. Philadelphia
Dear Sir
Your favor of the 24. inst. was duely received, and I take of this early opportunity to thank you for your kindness which you manifest in the interest taken in my intended publication. Permit me, dear sir, to give you a short history of my history, and you will find, that your suggestions are really welcome to me.
I felt for years the necessity of having a complete and unfalsified account of our nation in the English language, wherefore I commenced translating Jost's history of the Israelites; after I was done nearly half with the work I notified my attention to the public; but the opposition against this work was great both here and in Germany. Dr. Frankel of Dresden, and Dr. Sachs of Berlin, as well as Dr. Raphael of New York and others were greatly opposed to the work; because, they say, Dr. Jost did not write in the interest of Jews, but to obtain a professorship. I know this, but I had not the moral courage to undertake the composition of an original work. My friends in Germany, and especially Dr. Frankel urged the matter upon me; my friends here also wanted me to try, but every one doubted, that the work

Identifier

LSTCAT_item194