Penitential Sabbath (Shabat shubah). Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Title
- Penitential Sabbath (Shabat shubah). Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Author
- Morais, Sabato
- Format
- 15 pages on 5 sheets
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 10, Folder 2
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p31r6nm03/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p31r6nm03
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx10FF2_9.xml
- content
-
A sermon on penitence
[Hebrew]
Brethren! Have you heard the voice, which from heaven addressed us all? It cried thus [Hebrew] "Return O Israel! unto the Lord Thy God!" But....will He receive us whom we have long forsaken? Are we not those who yearly make to Him professions of love, but soon to relapse into our habitual inconstancy? Can we hope that the friend, whose word we have laughed to scorn, will again admit us into his favor? Aye: He yearns after our return. He beckons us to come nigh, and that we may cast ourselves into the boundless arms of His mercy. Hark! [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "I will heal their backslidings, I will love them dearly. And what does that best of friends ask as an atonement for our desertion? Does He demand that we tear away the heart which has led us astray? that we put out the eyes which have lured us to dereliction? Oh! Divine beneficence! A word can effect the reconciliation. To regain man's estranged affection, the utterance of the lips may be of no avail, but we can simply by that means appease the wrath of God. A [Hebrew] as pronounced by the adulterous King, will avert from us also the sentence of eternal death. Brother-sinners! We need but take words with us this day; for, so has the heavenly voice proclaimed [Hebrew]
Let those words be the breathing of a contrite spirit, let them betoken a mind that humbles itself before the wisdom of the Supreme Legislator; let them be the true expression of sorrow for irremediable offenses, and the Almighty will gladden us with the assurance [Hebrew], "that his anger hath turned away from us".
But you still doubt. You cannot believe that He who is clothed in purity, will draw us to His bosom, whose gar--ments are steeped in pollution. You remember that despite His warning, we sunk into the mire of sin, and you na--turally dread his rebuke. Follow me then and be inspired with courage. A murder and a robbery have been committed. The victim is an humble individual; the culprit a crowned head. Prompted by avarice, Ahab would seize upon a vineyard adjoining his palace. It belonged to one of his subjects; but the royal offer of a compensation for its relinquishment was refused. Wounded pride mingled with ill-suppressed anger, and Ahab could not disguise from his wife the cause of his humiliation. You know the sequel. Two ungodly men were procured, and Naboth, charged by them with treasonable and blasphemous language, suffered death. What
could not be attained by legitimate means, was gained by confiscation. "Go and enjoy thy vineyard, it is thine own; its former possessor can no more dispute thy right to it"; so spoke the wicked Jezebel. But that covetted vineyard, became all thorns and briers and thistles. Shame, remorse, horror of the blood that cried for vengeance, laid hold of Ahab. The words of the dauntless Elijah thrilled his whole being. He saw but destruction; an unquenchable fire blazed before his eyes, and his brazen countenance was at length bedewed with tears of repentance. The all-for--giving God received as an atonement his acts of contrition. We have not sinned so greatly. None of us has reenacted the atrocious deeds of that ancient Ruler; nor those of which Menasseh Sovereign of Judah became guilty. For, he set up altars to his debauching idols in the house of God. He reddened the highways of Jerusalem with the blood of the innocent; he burnt his own children at the shrine of the abominable Molock; yet sacred history records that because he finally humbled to the earth his proud spirit to the earth; because he prayed with intensity of fervour that he might not carry beyond the grave the burden of his inequities, God heard his voice, and accepted his repentance.
And the people of Nineveh did they not purchase redem--ption by pentience? Tradition reale relates, that they were given to stealing, to lying, to oppressing the needy; that they outraged nature by their crimes, still of them also we read [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, and he repented of the evil that he had said, He would do unto them, and He did it not." But why multiply examples to show that a broken and contrite heart God will not reject? Does the declaration of the Most High need be corroborated? Lo! He has said it, and imprinted it on the volumes of heavens inspiration.
"The wicked man who turneth from all his sins, and keepeth all my statutes, and doeth justice and charity, shall surely live, he shall not die; none of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him". Oh consoling words! Oh! joyous thoughts! No, my Brethren, be not dismayed. Despond not. We have lived in sin, but we shall not be cast off from the presence of our God. Let us say to Him [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "Take away all inequity, and receive us favorably" and He will answer from heaven. Yes, "my [Hebrew] anger is turned away from you".
True, we have hitherto returned evil for good. We have used divine gifts as weapons of war against the Lord. The faculty of speech, we should have employed to thank its Donor for every breath we draw, has been a source of contamination. For mere trifles we have taken the name of the Lord our God in vain. And how frequently, how very frequently Alas! in our eagerness to dispose of an object advantageously to ourselves, we have had recourse to an oath--would it were not false--ima--gining that we might thus more easily secure success. I am indeed painfully affected when in my daily walks I hear striplings utter profanities with an air of self-importance, and I have cause to think that that sin lies at our door. We are too apt to blend with our assertions the name of the Almighty, not to create upon the young the impression that the act denotes manliness. And the faculty of reason, how great has been its misappli--cation!! With it principally, we have, like the sin-ful inhabitants of the plain of Shinar, built a high tower, whence to fight against our heavenly Legislator. Whatever precepts of His law appeared irksome, we
would force God to acknowledge useless. And whereas He declared it a perpetual enactment, we dared set up our judgment against His wisdom. Thus it happened, that the sanctity of the seventh day was by some of us considered worn away by the lapse of ages, while others reduced it to a narrow compass. Thus it likewise happened, that we prided ourselves on being above prejudice, because we did not discriminate between what the revelation at Sinai called holy and its opposite. And through the agency of that faculty, we persuaded ourselves that the interest of our children lay outside of Judaism, and not within its pull.
Yes, we have ungratefully repaid the Giver of our noblest endowments; for more than I have said, or would venture to say before this audience, have we misused the powers of the mind; nevertheless, hope is glowing within my breast. I reflect on God's comforting declarations, and my faith is strengthened [Hebrew] "I will heal their backslidings, I will love them dearly". Should a man so address us, should a man we have repeatedly offended, promise to cast the veil of oblivion over the past, and be to us in future a friend and a benefactor,
we might hesitate to trust him implicitly. For, a pure brand though extinguished may again easily be ignited. A polished steel may once more grow rusty, so may the heart which had harbored been kindled with displeasure, be kindled anew set ablaze again with it. Therefore we learn that David, who had been, though without cause, hated by Saul, could not be induced ever to place himself within his reach. The expressions of fatherly affection from that unfortu--nate king, were doubtless sincere at the moment they were uttered; but the knowledge of human nature sug--gested to the young warrior a prudent course. He did not accept the offer of a return to the royal courts. But God is not a man. When we ran counter to the dictates of religion, when we openly defied the law He has given us, even then, celestial calmness did alone abide with Him. No rancor, no ill-will was by Him enter--tained against us. [Hebrew] The Most High is not moved by the various passions that alternately sway the feelings of mortal beings; so have we been taught. Inexorable justice led his hand to the book in which the names of transgressors are registered, and there were ours inscribed. But unaffected
by our perverseness, He continued serene in glory. Yet, because He does not delight in the death of the wicked, because our happiness is--humanly speaking-- joy to our heavenly Father, He invites us to repentance. [Hebrew] "Return O Israel, unto the Lord Thy God." We have sinned against Him with words, and He kept us alive. We have sinned against Him in deed, and He showered bounties upon us. We have preferred to his ordi--nances, the counsels of our elated minds, and He still preserved the soundness of our intellect. He blessed us in the city, when we failed to recognize that favor at His hands. He blessed us in the field, though we enjoyed its fruits without thanks. He gladdened us with the healthy growth of our children, notwithstanding that we did not acknowledge the boon as divine. But why so much undeserved kindness? Why such long-suffering? Dear Brethren! It is for the sake of this day. The Al--mighty made us live and thrive, in order that shame of our ingratitude might lead us now penitent to the footstool of His mercy. Can we any longer doubt the reception? Greetings like at a nuptial festivals will reeecho from heaven to heaven, when
we shall have taken with us words, and returned to the Lord of our existence, to the tried friend we have long abandoned. [Hebrew] "There are some, who can earn ever--lasting bliss in one a single hour". So wrote our Sages. Oh! let the present be so profitably spent by ourselves. Inconsiderate youth! Have thy lips been soiled with profane language? Purify them now with words of repentance. And thou heedless man who hast employed for thine own use, what appertains to God, the Sabbath-day and the festivals; bring forthwith a silent prayer to the sanctuary in lieu of a trespass-offering. And you who have set at nought God's holy prescriptions. You have who have defiled your souls with the eating of blood, and reptiles and the abomination, let the fire of religious zeal, consume every vestige of that pollution. We all shall become newly created beings, when we shall repent of our evil-doings, and fall prostrate before the compassionate Lord. Even now say I, now while in a state of blooming health, now while in the fruition of ample means, now in the enjoy--ment of high positions, now with a vigorous intellect. The searcher of hearts will see that no fear of approaching
death brought us nigh unto Him. No apprehension of some impending calamity, involving the loss of our substance, that of our credit, or the waning of our mental powers, wrought our conversion, and He will bid us welcome to His paternal embrace. Lift up your hands ye everlasting gates, and let the righteous enter. Who are they so gloriously titled? Those who have conquered sin in the days of their manhood [Hebrew] [Hebrew].
But a sudden thought distresses my mind. Might I not, while endeavouring to prove the efficacy of repentance, have closed against some of you the way of salvation? The knowledge you have obtained of God's graciousness, and of the complete forgiveness of sinners, might, I fear, lure you into a fatal security. You might imagine that since the prophetic declaration that the impious shall not fall through their former wickedness, is not limited to time, you could as well defer returning to the Lord, and that another year will effect precisely the same purpose. My Brethren! If such be the impression you have derived from my discourse, consider it false in principles, & dangerous in practice. Only a deadly enemy
could have so spoken to mislead you. No, trust ye in God; never despair of His mercy, though you had followed sin to the verge of the grave; but tempt not the long-suffering of the Deity. My friends! Ponder on this sentence. It closes the book, the last chapter of which we have read this morning, and which I have often quoted [Hebrew] "The ways of the Lord are right, the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall by them". Yes, penitence has an irresistible force, it throws down every impediment standing between the sinner and his eternal hap--piness [Hebrew]. It opens to him the portal of a spiritual Eden, and raises him aloft to shine as the brightness of the firmament [Hebrew]. But this same hope of obtaining remission for all our misdeeds, is that which consigns many to lasting perdition. For, penitence deliberately postponed; the penitence displayed after the occasion for sinning has removed itself; the conversion deferred until age has subdued the passions, and the cravings of the flesh are felt no more, is hypocritical. The impartial Judge will cast it aside. It is worthless.
Let us then rise in our manhood. Let us strip off the garments of impurity, which are tightly set around us, while the strength of our hands can do the act. Let us gird on the sword of the might to repel sin, while we possess yet the powers of resistance. In a word, let us repent in time. Who knows, but this may be the last offer of conversion I make, and some of you receive from my lips? Have we not seen youths die while basking in the sun-shine of their existence? How many alas! have I accompanied to their final home, who thought themselves destined to reach a prolonged life old age! Parents wept, husbands lamented, wives cried in anguish, children sobbed and pierced the sky with their shrieks, but in vain; the sentence could not be reversed. Happy, unutterably happy they who have made timely provisions against the departure. Once more, my beloved Brethren, listen to the voice that calls [Hebrew] "Return O Israel unto the Lord Thy God [Hebrew]. "Take with you words, and turn unto the Lord." Let us then pray.
Parent of good! Compassionate Lord! We come unto Thee for pardon, and for support, for strength and consolation we have disregarded the appeals of conscience, and hearkened to the demands of our passions. We have gone astray from Thee, to follow the imaginations of a perverted mind, but we now return. Not by reason of our inability to sin, but because we seek Thy love more than life. Through it we have been undeservedly filled with the yielding of the earth, and we have given thereof to our children. yet we longed for more, and to obtain it, we ran counter to Thy command. But Thy ungrateful servants are covered with shame. Oh! let that be an ac--ceptable offering of atonement. And as Thou didst vouchsafe to bestow Thy bounty upon us, when we slighted the divine favor, so grant us undiminished sustenance and comforts, and delights, as a reward for our return. Smile upon our efforts to continue repentant, and infuse into us spiritual vigor, that we may drive back the enemy of our happiness: the lust of gain. Too long have we been its victims, that we may hope to succeed unaided, but with Thee O God! at our right-hand, we shall be made joyful over our victory. And those whose bright anticipations the past year has buried therewith away, those whose hopes have been blighted;
those whose eyes swell with tears that the thought of the beloved departed, those to whom the past year has brought but sorrow and sickness, inspire O Lord! with a heart that leans on Thee for consolation, with a mind that acknowledges the righteousness of Thy decrees, and with a belief that they are tried as gold is tried, that they may return to Thee cleansed of all dross, and receive Thy fatherly blessing. So may it be. Amen. - Identifier
- p31r6nm03
- identifier
- SMBx10FF2_9
Part of Penitential Sabbath (Shabat shubah). Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
Morais, Sabato, “Penitential Sabbath (Shabat shubah). Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed September 19, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/91092