Emor. Morais, Sabato. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Emor. Morais, Sabato. Undated

Author

Morais, Sabato

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

15 pages on 15 sheets

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?

Language(s)

English

Source

Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Sabato Morais Collection, Box 9, Folder 24

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p30p0x890/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p30p0x890

Provenance

Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx9FF24_2.xml

content

On the truth of revelation
a
sermon delivered
on
Sabbath Emore
before to
before the congregation Mikvé Israel
of
Philadelphia

My dear brethren
Noble and majestic is the office of those, who are called upon to guide men in the path of truth--, to assiduously to watch over the house of Jacob--to shine as a lamp before the eyes of the faithful, to be as a lanthorn to them who walk in darkness. Noble but momentous is the charge of those who undertake to instruct the youth, to comfort the old, to admonish the rich, to console the poor, to inspire the love of virtue, the zeal of piety, the courage of faith--to gather all in the tabernacle of the Lord, to bless them, to invoke on them the God of justice, the God of mercy, to be a living example of devotion, forbearance and charity. Yet such is the mission you have confided to my feeble-hand--to my scanty understanding. To respond to this calling in a manner suitable to its dignity--to uphold my vocation in its sanctity and majesty will be henceforth my sole aim,--the polar star of all my doings. But you, my dear brethren and sisters, grant me your support and indulgence, that my spirits may be invigorated, that I may summon new courage in executing this arduous task. And if I occasionally fail in discharging it, to your wish and satisfaction, attribute it to my inexperience, but not to indolence or disregard of my duties. And Thou eternal fountain of bliss, Lord of Abraham! look down with a pitiful eye on thy poor and humble servant, let a spark of thy wisdom enlighten my career. Let thy spirit alone speak in me, a spirit of knowledge and understanding, a spirit of judgment and discretion, a spirit of love and fear of thee, that my word may find access

In by the hearts of these thy beloved children. Grant me favor in their sight; [?] me endow grant me health and strength, to consecrate myself to thy holy service. Stand at my right hand, that I may never stumble. [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "Concerning thy testimonies I have known of old, that thou hast founded them for ever" (Psalms 1-19 v 152) Every Israelite is in duty bound to believe that the law we possess, and which has been handed down to us by our pious ancestors, is an emanation of God, who vouchsafed to entrust it to us, for our own weal, and eventually for the weal of all mankind at large. This belief, it behoves us, as Jews, to hold and cherish as the greatest boon conferred on us--independent of any further research [Hebrew] [Hebrew] [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "Great is the power of faith, say our Rabbies, for through it alone, the future redemption of Israel, will be effected. * And to quote the sublime words of a moralist of oldØ "Search not what is above thee, dive not into what is concealed from thee, reflect only on that which is within the reach of thy faculties" Amidst the stormy gusts of adversity, while tossed about by the raging elements, Faith will open to us a way through the roaring billows, "the steep shall become a path and the craggy rocks a plain"O But as men are apt to be laid astray by false impressions, and even imperceptibly, a spirit of skepticism, may fatally creep into their minds, and work therein terrible consequences, it is needful necessary that they should seek for a stay, to the belief which they have been taught. Our sages in the Misna', were so convinced of this necessity, that they earnestly recommend us, to be always ready
O Isaiah 40. 4th Ø The celebrated Ben Sirah Chapt 3d v 18 * Mechiltal Beshalach

to confound the unbeliever; and verily we cannot attain this aim, unless armed with forcible reasons. I therefore in the lecture, which I purpose to deliver2 this day1, will descant upon sundry some of the many reasons with which the perusal of an accredited hebrew work of a living authorØ has furnished me with, to prove the truth of God's word as revealed to his faithful servant Moses. If I succeed in furnenlisting your attention, you will, I trust, derive some benefit. Your faith strenghtened by incontestable proofs, will easily withstand the attack of incredulity. Skceptiscim that clay-footed giant, like the image in Nebucadnezar's dream, will drop powerless before the stone hurled against it by a staunch Belief. Lend me, my dear brethren, an attentive ear, that my words may penetrate your minds.
No great amount of erudition is requisite to know how languages have originated. Men having come in contact with each other, found it necs necessary to invent the means of communication. At first their words were few and limited to their mere wants, as time rolled on, owing to some accidental circumstances, languages underwent changes, they were refined, they became more copious and ultimately they obtained that high degree of elegance which they now a days they possess. The history of the English tongue, furnishes us with a very obvious example. The political convulsions to which Great Britain was frequently exposed, wrought in its language also, extraordinary revolutions, for while one power supplanted the other, the language of the conquerors and that of the conquered mingled together and eventually produced a richer and a more elaborated one. [Hebrew] of the most celebrated T. Reggio

Not so with the Hebrew. Infancy and adolescence are unknown to it. From its origin it was perfect, time has not enhanced its beauty, nor have human vicissitudes urged it on towards progress. Hence the rabbinical epithet [Hebrew] holy tongue. And holy it is--it is holy, because no man had no hand in it--it is holy, because from the days of yore, it stands as an imperishable memento of Him who first taught it to the world. Any one, however slightly conversant with our post-biblical literature, must be convinced of this fact. Has not the Bible always been the type after which our most famous writers have modelled their style? Of the multifarious works issued from the pens of ancient and modern Rabbies, is there any which can compete with the lofty, the inspired, the transcendent language, of the book of books? Most assuredly none. Every one has aimed at the mark, none has attained it. Even as the infant strives to reach its mother's breast, and spite of its impotency, redoubles its efforts, in like manner our renowned authors have eagerly striven to shape their productions on that unparalelled model. They recognized its supremacy, they knew they could reach the branches of the tree, and never the top, yet they clung to it, for they sucked therefrom the sweetness of its honey which is pleasant. And if the compositions of Judah A Levy, of Gebirol, of Aben Ezra of Erez Wezel and other eminent poets who have enriched the treasure of our literature, elicit our admiration, it is because we bask in them as in the reflection of a brighter Sun. No, the hebrew language claims no earthly birth, it rests on high, on the rock of old whence it was hewn, for one people

and one language the Lord has chosen to himself.
When the Almighty, breathing in to the inanimate clay, produced to the world that fathomless being Man, he acquainted him to his duties and with his rights, warning him at the same time, that should he infringe the former, he would forfeit the latter. Now, every one of us admits that the Deity will not inflict an unjust chastisement upon his children, for "He is merciful, How to anger and ready to pardon," therefore ere He imposed on our father Adam, certain obligations, on the fulfilment of which his future wellbeing depended, but the violation of which, made him liable to a rigorous punishment, He must needs have imparted to him the a thorough knowledge of the language in which he was addressed. You will naturally ask, who assures us that this language was the Hebrew? To this query I shall will reply, by referring you to a passage in Genesis. It runs thus "And the man said, this time, it is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, this shall be called woman [Hebrew] because from the [Hebrew] man she was taken"H Is not the word [Hebrew] the feminine of the word [Hebrew]? And it in another place "And Adam called the name of his wife [Hebrew] Eve, because she was (to be) the mother of all living [Hebrew]"Ø Again has not the word [Hebrew] a strict consonance of with that of [Hebrew]? But had I time to expatiate much longer on this argument, I could cite, many other passages bearing the same remark. I nevertheless2 feel confident1 that those adduced will suffice to corroborate what has been stated--that the Hebrew tongue is of a divine source, consequently called holy--that it was appointed by the Almighty, since He first gave life to Ø Genesis Chapt 3d v 20th H Genesis Chapt 2d v 23d

creation, with the special design, of revealing Himself to man, to cover his brow with an everlasting diadem [Hebrew], the crown obtained by implicit obedience to his sacred law--to render man little less than those Seraphic beings who hover round the throne of his glory. [Hebrew] H
Having thus, endeavoured to expound one of the many cogent reasons adduced in support of Revelation, allow me to proceed with another.
Let us now throw take a retrospective glance on view of the religious and moral state of society at the epoch, when this code of laws to which we adhere, issued from the hands of Moses. Thick darkness pervaded the face of the universe. We see mankind wandering in search of a Superior Being, free from material propensities, of a Being above worldly casualties, but alas! we see them led astray by their short sighted views. That still small voice which speaks within human hearts, told them of something beyond the flesh, beyond limit and space, yet they looked for it in the narrowness of their corporeal vision. They sought him in the sparkling firmament,--the lucid stars which illumine the night, the lunar sphere which to man's sight displays human features, elicited their adoration. When the magnificent luminary that cheers and lights up the world, arose in its splendour, they prostrated them--sleves with awe. As the cl pleas of thunder reverberated through the heavens, they bowed before that imaginary god tremendous in mighty. The devouring fire, the stormy hurricane found devoted worshippers. The faint idea which they entertained of a Creator, was associated with dread, and as a natural consequence, many evils accrued from such feelings. So to avert the anger of those implacable H Pslams 8 v 6th

gods, or to conciliate their favours, most inhuman sacrifices were offered to them, yeo, the blood of their dearest objects, was not spared in homage to those false divinities. Sometimes indeed, dread was blended with love, but what love? Not a pure, not an inspiring, an ethereal love, it was a love calculated only to warm the body and brutalize the soul. All those tendencies which man has in common with irrational beings, were brought into action, Temples were erected, where people thronged to indulge, without restraint, in lewdness; & immorality had arrived at reached its climax. Unable to soar after a more sublime idea of an infinite and loving God, men lowered their deities to their condition of themselves, own standard and invested them with their own material propensities. Amidst this aberration of human intellect, a religion is proclaimed which deals a deadly blow at to idolatry. The scattered members of paganism are reduced to ashes before the refulgent light which it emits, the erroneous and noxious belief in many imaginary powers, which spread terror upon throughout humanity--the immoral worship of Isis and Osiris, give room to a faith, which inculcates love and adoration to one only God, the first cause and centre of all virtues--reverence and obedience to the authors of our days--our dear parents--respect to property, and to all those social duties, the strict attending to discharge of which can alone secure man's true felicity. Nor is this sublime doctrine delivered only to a family or to a caste. At the foot of the mount Sinai, stand an assembly of above more than a million of people, who witness the appearance of the Godhead, and the agitated elements which bespoke his descent on Horeb.

All hear the imperishable words [Hebrew] and appalled at the marvellous sight of the Most High exclaim "We have seen this day that God doth talk to man and he liveth"H And though we often see Israel of old, when stimulated by material appetites, ready to relapse into error, though we often see the flag of rebellion unfurled by the seditious Horah and his accomplices, though we even see Moses taxed charged by those unworthy men with exercising despotic power, yet in vain we should we search for one who ever doubted the veracity truth of his prophecy " Lo I come into thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak to thee and believe in thee forever" All were convinced that God spoke with him on the Summit of Sinai, all beheld in his visage the irradiation of a celestial flame. And when we recall to our memory the miraculous wonderful manner in which our laws escaped escaped the fate of others, throughout the evils which befell our nation, can we for a moment harbour entertain a doubt as to their origin? While Syrians, Greeks & Romans, the inveterate foes of the Hebrews, disappeared from the face of the globe, and their laws perished with those who enacted them, our Torah, has descended to us intact unmutilated, through a series of upwards of three thousand years. Fire and torture were practised put in requisition to destroy it, but they proved inefficient. Every engine was All means were resorted to, against it, but it stood "as a fenced city and as an iron pillar"Ø Read the pages of our history, and you will find persecution succeeded by persecution, one mishap by another, without almost scarcely any intermission, for the lapse of many centuries and still the law of God passed through them unscathed, no one nothing has added to it, nor
Ø Jeremiah Chapt 1st v 18 H Deuteronomy Chapt 5 v 21

diminished taken from it, "for the word of the Lord is right and all his deeds are true" [Hebrew]--H
But although the two arguments hitherto adduced in support of Reve-lation are such as any unprejudiced mind, will be ready to acknowledge, still the incredulous may object2 to palliate their obduracy1, that these reasons are extrinsic to the subject, that they are mere inductions, not resulting from any facts. Let us then see whether Holy Writ does not contain in itself arms for its own defence, let us see if we can trace the Divine source whence it emanates, in the very pages of that inestimable book, and once for all, convince the unbeliever of the false doctrines he professes, of the fragile prop he leans upon, which (to say it will use the language of Job) is nothing but "a spider's web"Ø. We will pass over the exposition of the events, where, the simplicity of the language, the close connexion, which links them, the genuine account of incidents which human invention could never have reached, bespeak of the fidelity of Him who committed them to his flock as he received them from the Deity--we will rather dwell upon several precepts enjoined therein.
To enable us to distinguish between the animals which an Israelite is allowed to eat, from those which are forbidden, the Mosaic law gives two signs. A cloven-footed and ruminating animal appertains to the first, others wanting [?] these two characteristics belong to the last. Now, whoever is familiar with the Bible is aware, that only ten sorts of animals are mentioned as belonging to the former class, and by a talmudical
Job Chapt 8 v 14 H Pslams 33 v 4

argumentation upon the subject, we learn, that those ten species alone are to be found possessing the required marks. Furthermore, we read, that four sorts of animals exist in creation having one only of those signs required by the Scriptures, and as such are prohibited; at which we marvel and ask, how could Moses know that in all the animal kingdom, there could not be found an eleventh species of the former, or a fifth of the latter? Was he a hunter1 or an archer2 or asks R. Hackiba in the Talmud [Hebrew]? ?[Hebrew] H Had Moses travelled to the remotest part of the globe? Had he visited all climates, all regions? Had he repaired even to the yet then undis--covered country of America? Had he during these voyages examined all animals, observed their formation, their nature nutrimental properties whether salubrious or pernicious? as a nutriment? No one, however deeply imbued with irreligious principles, will make so preposterous an affirmation. Nevertheless, though man's ingenuity has contrived the means of reaching the furthest extent of the inhabited world globe, notwith--standing the wonderful discoveries made accomplished by naturalists, spite of many scurrilous works intentionally penned to demolish the foundations of our sacred faith, no one has as yet disproved the Bible, no one has hitherto produced neither will any one ever produce an eleventh sort species of animals, cloven-footed and ruminating, or a fifth sort possessing one only of the required marks, for He, by whose command the world was and is, "knows all which is under heaven"Ø The nature of all living beings, their formation, is not hidden from Him, for they are the work of his fingers. And He for a special purpose has made his inscrutable will Ø Job Chapt 28 v 24 H Sephri Re Perashat Ree"

manifest to Moses, that Israel should abstain from the flesh of those animals, which would pollute their souls, for the Lord has selected Jacob to Himself as "a kingdom of priests and as a holy nation" [Hebrew] H
And now since we have undertaken to prove the truth of the Bible by the Bible itself, let me ask you. can any rational being, on perusing that volume, and reading the numerous predictions with which it is replete, sink into skceptiscim, and without sparing a thought to learn whether time has verified them, shut the book and say "I am infallible, no argument can alter my purpose". Such a proceeding course would indeed equal be like that of him, who to convince himself that the sun does not shine should close all the shutters of his abode dwelling house No, it is our firm belief, that whoever ponders on those events in our history, announced by the mouth of Moses long ere they had come to pass, must unhesitatingly confess, that they spring from a higher source, that they are the productions, not of a short-sighted man, but of that over-ruling Providence, who alone "beholds the end of a matter even at its first beginning" We read in the Bible that twelve individuals were sent to explore the holy land--at the expiration of forty days they returned to the wilderness of Paran, where Israel encamped, to render an account of their mission. But alas! those men who had beheld the sight of the living God, were dismayed at the sight of men. The aspect of the gigantic inhabitants of Canaan, terrifies them, it sways their feelings. As by an electric force, the dread they experience is communicated to the whole nation. Mindless of Forgetting the promises received from their Heavenly Protector, they H Exodus Chapt 19 v 6

all yield to despair, they upbraid the leader, aye nay, they menace his life. But the Lord appears, and provoked to ire against that sinful congregation, inexorably pronounces upon them a severe judgment. The forty days of the exploration of the land, are commuted into forty years of vagrancy. The bodies of all that generation of men, are condemned to perish in deserted places. Two individuals alone are to escape, Joshua the predestined successor of Moses, and Caleb the son of Yephanne. Their piety saved them. Though included in the number of the explorers, they joined them not in their froward behaviour. When the rage of the people, like a tempestous torrent whirlwind threatened to carry all before it, they sought to curb its violence; they obeyed the voice of the Lord and of Moses his servant. Such a deportment deserved a reward and they had it. After the lapse of five and forty years we see them alive, full of vigour and activity. Time seemed but to have but glided over them, for its traces are were scarcely perceivable discernible. "It is now forty five years since the Lord sent us to spy the land of Canaan," said the aged Caleb to Joshua "and yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me, as my strength was then, even so my strength is now, for war, both to go out and to come in"
H [Hebrew] The word of the man of God proved true, the righteous men inherited the land on which their foot trod, and enjoyed the fruits thereof. Did the lives of these two individuals depend on the will of Moses? Could he control the power of death and say to it "Stay now thy hand"? Ø Or could Joshua and Caleb say "We have made a covenant with (?) death, and with the grave we are at agreement"? ☼ No, ☼ Isaiah Chap 28 v. 15 Ø II Samuel Chap 21, v 16 H Joshua Chapt 12, v 10th and 11th

my beloved friends, it was their piety, their zeal that protected them, it was the Lord whom they had faithfully served, who that preserved al them alive, "for as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth & maketh it, bring forth and bud, that it may give [?] bread to the eater2 feed to the sower1, so says the Lord" shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall never return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and speed him for whom I sent it forth" Ø And now before I conclude this lecture, which (without regarding to the mode manner in which the subject has been treated) you must have found of some importance, let me remind you of my first words, let me exhort you to have faith--faith in God and in his holy statutes, faith in the prophets and in their sacred words, faith in our sages and in their traditions, faith in the futurity of Israel and in the immortal-ity of our soul, which is the anchor of our salvation a in our last hour. Let us warm our hearts and souls in the vivifying fore of the law of Sinai, bear in mind that by faith alone our pious ancestors surmounted all difficulties, overthrew every obstacle H [Hebrew] But at the same time let me remind you that this religion for the preservation of which we did and we do yet suffer, is founded upon incontestable proofs; that the religion we profess, and fo which has been sealed by the blood of thousands of martyrs, stands as immoveable as the mount of God where it was delivered. Let us then cling to it, let us hold forth to gather ourselves round this tree which is life to them who lay hold of it, let us follow the steps which our blessed law indicates, for her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace [Hebrew] H H Proverbs Chap 3 v 17 H Jeremiah Ø Isaiah 55 v 10 and 11

Let us show to the world that we are the faithful children of faith-ful parents [Hebrew].
Almighty Father! It was thy gracious will that Israel should always remain a distinct nation, that they might carry the standard of truth wherever they sojourned. It was thy blessed will that Israel should incessantly meditate on thy law, that they might learn how to serve thee with a pure and a sincere heart.
Grant O God, that this holy law may never be forgotten by us, by our children, nor by our children's children. May it be our staff in the pilgrimage of life, our solace in the days of calamity. Grant O God thy heavenly support to all those who labour for the diffusions of thy holy behests. Grant prosperity and everlasting peace to this happy country, where the residue remnant of Jacob have have found rest for the sole of their feet. May tranquillity be within their her gates, and security without. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before thee O Lord my rock and my redeemer" H [Hebrew] H Psalms 19 v 15

Identifier

p30p0x890

identifier

SMBx9FF24_2