Terumah. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Title
- Terumah. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Author
- Morais, Sabato
- Format
- 8 pages on 3 sheets
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 9, Folder 15
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3tx35s27/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3tx35s27
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx9FF15_3.xml
- content
-
For Sabbath Terumah
on the two-fold object
of the Synagogue.
Prayer & instruction.
Brethren! While striving searching for a text to a discourse, I met, in a Rabbinical work, with a singular anecdote. I will relate it. A ship was sailing fast towards the shores. The foreign traders who had taken passage in it, discussed the quality of the goods, from which they expected to derive great profit. Among the motley company, one person evinced no interest in the topic which elicited general attention. Questioned about the articles he had brought from abroad, he answered. "I have them with me, but they are hidden away" The incredulous querists expressed then the wish to be shown the trunks which con--tained his merchandize. but He said. "When we land, I will gratify your curiousity." But his fellow-passengers having discovered that nothing belonging to that individual had been stored away in the vessel, made very merry over the circumstance. Their jesting, however, soon turned into sorrow. For, having cast anckor; the officers of the custom-house, seized all the goods, and held them on the plea of some irregularity in the dealing of the owners. Meanwhile, he whom they had
considered a braggart, had gone his way. We meet him again at a public assemblage. It is in a Synagogue. A lectures he has delivered, revealed the vast amount of learning he possessed. His hearers greatly edified, offered him tokens of respect, and insured his future subsistence. The foreign traders, being Jews, repaired also to that Synagogue. Recognizing at what they saw, the moral taught by the man who said that what he owned was hidden away, they begged that he would exercise his influence in their behalf. for, they acknowledged that what he claimed as his own, was so valuable that it could purchase again what they had lost.
Y It will surprise you, dear Brethren, that an anecdote so curious should preface the section of this Sabbath. And I confess, that I also, perusing it in the Medrash, had to think long, before I could discover that its bearing it has thereupon. But I believe I have succeeded. Attend. Moses was commanded to bid our ancestors bring a tribute to God. The following is the wording of the sentence. [Hebrew] sp which literally rendered means, "Speak to the children of Israel, that they may fetch for me a leave-offering." We will pause to reflect
The gift presented to the Deity must be a Terumà, that is, it must accomplish an object of a two-fold character. It must honor God, while debating the mind of the Donor: the Divine request had not been simply for a Nedabah, but for a Jeremah, a term implying the idea of uplifting and exalting. But surely the glory of the Omnipotent cannot be inhanced, though we were to lay at the foot of His altar all the gold of Ophar, all the exhaustless treasures imbedded in the sea. For as He has declared by the mouth of the Psalmist "The uni--verse and the fulness thereof are mine" [Hebrew] What was then the precious metal poured out into the crucible intended to effect? What the cloth of the finest texture, what the rare timber, the purest oil and the various other materials beautifully proferred? We are told in the first part of this week's lesson [Hebrew]. "They shall make for me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them." Whatever man gives freely and willingly must be appropriated for the erection of a building dedicated entirely to the Lord. Un--derstand [Hebrew]. Not to pander to man's vanity. Not for our material gratification; but to sanctify
the Sovereign Creator, by the spiritualizing of his creatures. That was the Teramah sought for. The rearing of a Tabernacle, inspiring reverential awe, and hence best calculated as a school for the intellect and the soul. The presence of the Monarch in his palace, must prepare the mind of the subjects for the instruction therein imparted.
Now, precisely the same idea the Rabbinical parable I have narrated means to convey. Listen. The value of earthly goods is only imaginary. Today the anticipated gain may be in within gra reach, to morrow it will elude our Torah. For, as the moralist exclaims [Hebrew] [Hebrew]. "Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For verily, riches will make themselves wings and fly as an eagle toward heaven." Yet, it lies in our power to give stability to that which is naturally fluctuating. The wealth employed to further our spiritual improvement, will be uplifted from a acquire permanency. IT will be uplifted from a fleeting and perishable state, to a durable and indes--tructible condition. It will be in very deed--when so appropriated--a [Hebrew] "a leave-offering," exalting our soul to God. when it is so appropriated. But lest we be uncertain how to bring that noble end about; the allegory of the
Medrash points to the place where we should wend our steps in order effectively to reach our goal; even to the dwelling of the Most High. The construction of an edifice in honor to the Lord must command our ample means, but our attendance must promote the object it shall accomplish, to really be what its name denotes. Let us fully comprehend the moral communicated by the teaching of our Bible and our Sages. The sanctuary must be a spot, all the surroundings of which call forth feelings of reverence, and therefore most adapted for man there to commune with his Maker; but it must prove likewise a sacred lever, an impelling force urging our spirit upward to the source of perfection. The worship must prepare the mind for the instruction, the latter must render the former practically useful. [Hebrew] [Hebrew]. "Happy the king, who is extolled in his own house," say our Rabbins. But empty would be that praise bestowed on celestial attributes, which we do not at all endeavour to copy. Observe well. It is not stated in the Talmudical tale, that the scholarly traveller betook himself to the Synagogue, only to pray; but to preach so that we might infer therefrom the two-fold object of which that habitation must
must attain in order to fulfil its high mission.
Supplications and instruction must combine in order to achieve the two double purposes it is intended to subserve. But, has it ever occurred to you, my Brethren! that our Sy--nagogue has should have fallen short of the happy results it ought to have yeilded? Were the preacher of the Talmudical tale present, with when many come in, and others go out, methinks it would tax his abilities to the utmost, to speak in a manner acceptable to his hearers. For, they would not, most assuredly, pass a vote of thanks for his having alluded to their backslidings, though ap--parent to a casual observer. They would not make him the recipient of munificent gifts for having deprecated their tardiness, their unnecessary converse, or the undisguised distaste they evince for the sermons. Still, if he were true to his calling, he would brave a general displeasure, to perform a sacred duty. He might perchance resort to the gentlest expressions; but he could not forbear censuring the joining of the worship when half of the ritual has been rehearsed; that degree of restlessness, which induces some to absent themselves from these holy courts at a certain part of the service.
and the presumption that causes some to think them--selves so perfect, as to need neither instruction nor exhortations. Yet, were that preacher with us, I would gladly draw his attention to that which Augurs will for the future of our Synagogue. I would especially point out a father with his three sons, whom I invariably count among the earliest attendants, and whose decorous demeanour during the whole of the service may serve as a model, which others will strive to imitate. Were that distinguished visitor in our midst on this sabbath, I would show the spiritual joy pictured on that father's countenance, whose eldest son has been summoned to this sacred desk, there to read the word of God. He would then agree with me in opinion that, when parents act consistently with their professions, and set an enforce by their example a respectful attitude in the dwelling of the Almighty, the synagogue which they frequent, bids fair to fulfil its noble aim.
Y As to myself, I cannot conceal that I deem the application of the family of our Bar Mitzvah to this sy--nagogue an auspicious occurrence. And I congratulate myself therein. Yes, my dear young brother. Your conduct has not remained unnoticed. I have seen and rejoiced that you know, when here, before whom you stand, even [Hebrew]. "before the King of Kings, the Holy one, blessed be He." Continue in the career you have hitherto pursued. Let no outside pressure cause you to swerve. I hail you the occasion which qualifies you to be reckoned among the number with whom we may hold pu--blic worship. You are doubly welcome, because the paucity of the members of your privileged tirbe, denies us at times the satisfaction of conforming to the ancient custom of calling first to the Law, a descendant of Aaron. But your constant attend--ance will remove that difficulty. Remember then your noble extraction, and let it keep you in the path of righteous--ness. In the days of old; you would have been entitled to a daily support from the offerings which the faithful brought to the Temple. Seek now in the minor sanctuary we have dedicated to Israel's God, food for the mind, aliment for the soul. Let your demeanour be an impetus to your coevals to imitate it, let it be a cause for admiration among your seniors, and let it be instrumental in render-ing this spot a true habitation of the Lord, irradiated by His divine presence, as it is written, "They shall make, for me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them." Amen. - Identifier
- p3tx35s27
- identifier
- SMBx9FF15_3
Part of Terumah. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
Morais, Sabato, “Terumah. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed September 19, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/91220