בס"ד
Vol. IX. No. 1 Nissan 5612, April 1852 |
<<21>> |
Testimonial of Respect to the
Rev. Isaac Leeser, at
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At a meeting of the
congregation Shearith Resolved, That this
congregation entertain the warmest emotions of
regard and brotherly love for Isaac Leeser, late
minister of the congregation Mikveh Resolved, That the thanks of this congregation be tendered to the reverend gentleman, for his able, eloquent, and instructive discourses, recently delivered in this Synagogue. Resolved, That the President appoint a committee to select a suitable testimonial of esteem and respect, to be presented to Mr. Leeser, in the name of this congregation. Resolved, That the Secretary transmit a copy of the foregoing resolutions to Mr. Leeser, and that they be published in the Occident and Asmonean. S. Valentine, Sec’ry.
As an appreciation of the piety and virtues of the Rev. Isaac Leeser, the invaluable services he has rendered to the cause of <<22>> our holy religion, as a minister and teacher of Israel; and, also, of his able and efficient efforts as editor and conductor of the Occident, the first Jewish periodical established in the United States; the above resolutions were proposed and unanimously adopted at a large meeting of the congregation, assembled at their Synagogue, on the 15th February, 5612. The President appointed the following committee to carry out the third resolution, viz.: Messrs. Nathaniel Levin, S. Valentine, and S. N. Carvalho. The committee procured a beautiful gold watch, on which is the following inscription: To The interesting ceremony took place at the Synagogue, on Tuesday morning, the 17th, at 11½ o’clock. A large number of ladies and gentlemen were early in attendance. Mr. Leeser was conducted to the centre of the Synagogue, opposite the hechal, where he was received and welcomed by the committee above named. The chairman of that committee, Mr. Nathaniel Levin, then read the foregoing resolutions, at the conclusion of which he adressed him as follows: Esteemed Sir, I regret that the pleasing duty assigned to me by this congregation has not been confided to some other member, who might have brought to the accomplishment of his task the treasures of learning and the power of eloquence. The occasion is one well suited to call for the wisdom of the sage, and the lofty language of oratory. Could I catch one ray of that golden flood of light, which your mind has so recently beamed upon us,—did I possess your facility in pouring forth those “breathing thoughts and burning words,” to which we have all listened with rapture and delight: then might I be enabled to express to you in suitable terms the warm and enduring friendship of your brethren in Charleston. It is both profitable and pleasant to dwell upon the past, and I trust that you will pardon me for reverting to circumstances over which <<23>> nearly twenty-two years have passed. In the year 1831,* a poor, uneducated youth was toiling in the rugged path of mercantile life, and earning a scanty subsistence by the sweat of his brow. Not adapted, either by the peculiar character of his mind or temperament, to this pursuit, he devoted the few leisure moments snatched from labour to the culture of his mental faculties. While yet a tyro in learning and in science, he was called, by a large Jewish congregation., from the counting-room to the sacred desk, to minister in a high, holy, and responsible situation. Though young in years, by dint of severe application and untiring industry, he soon made himself competent for all the duties of his sacred office. Not content with the mere ministrations of our Ritual, he infused new life and vigour into the torpid frame of his congregation, by the introduction of prayers and addresses in the vernacular. * The speaker was, in this
remark, somewhat in error. Mr. arrived in this
country in 1824. He left the Gymnasium, at Monster,
answering to the usual colleges in A short time after his
induction into office, a vile and slanderous <<24>> attack upon our religion and
the character of our people, called forth the latent
talents of the youthful minister, who stood forth
the learned exponent of With the mantle of literature
as your panoply, piety and virtue as your shield,
and a profound knowledge of God’s sacred oracles as
your sword, thus “armed in proof” you have,
throughout a series of years, waged an interminable
warfare against irreligion and infidelity, in the
varied duties which I have enumerated. You have
laboured assiduously to keep alive among your
brethren that sacred fire which the atmosphere of
this world is constantly threatening to extinguish.
That you have been prompted to undertake this
mission from the gushings of that pure philanthropy
which overflows in the bosom of piety and virtue, we
all know and fully appreciate. It is a sacred
emotion, and does honour to your heart. With an
enlarged philanthropy, you have deemed it a duty of
the highest and most solemn character, to advance
the religions and moral culture of I thank you, in the name of this congregation, for those learned teachings and eloquent discourses, intended for our eternal benefit, which, if preserved in our hearts, will prove the surest guides to virtue and happiness. You have proved to us, that in the Bible is found the injunctions that constitute the foundation of religion, laws, and morals. You have recommended it to us as the Book of infancy and the Book of age, because in its divine pages may be found lessons of wisdom, applicable to each eventful period of life: our woes, our joys, our frailties, our hopes, our prayers to God, and our dependence on one another. You have shown that every page is redolent of love, affection, duty, and pleasure; the sentiment that exalts, the emotion that refines, the resolution that gives strength to virtue, and imparts firmness to courage; the determination that can sacrifice the fleeting joys of earth for the more certain and abiding beatitudes of heaven. For these lessons of religious knowledge and practical wisdom, accept our warmest expressions of gratitude. Although your labours have been unceasing and your efforts untiring, in the cause of our religion and the advancement of the true interests of our people: yet I regret to state that your pathway of life has not been strewn with flowers. Instead of gratitude and friendship, you have received injustice and hostility. You have merited the full measure of the regard and esteem of your brethren, but have received in its stead vials of wrath, calumny, and detraction, from a congregation whom you have faithfully served nearly one-fourth of a century. It affords us pleasure to know that the Parthian arrows burled by your enemies, though tipped with gall and wormwood, have fallen innocuous on your shield, .and you yet stand unmoved amid the impotent peltings of their fury; like the hardy mountaineer on the hillside, who grasps the more tightly the heather the fiercer the storm rages. In conclusion, Sir, I present you, in the name of the congregation Shearith Israel, with this testimonial of their regard and disinterested <<26>> friendship, not only for your zealous efforts in the cause of Judaism, but for your spotless character, your rectitude of conduct, and your consistent course throughout life. This ingenious instrument teaches, in powerful yet voiceless eloquence, wise, useful, and profitable lessons. It tells of time, the property of man, the measure of his pulsations. It speaks audibly of our lifetime, which is but a dot in the page of that Book which records the fate of nations. Your past life evidences that you have and will profit by its teachings. To all of us time is everything. Brief is the space that divides the cradle from the grave. We should, therefore, heed the lessons taught us by this simple monitor, and use, and not abuse, the precious moments as they fly. Accept, Sir, this memorial, this free-will offering of friendship and brotherly love, and with it the ardent prayer for your future happiness and prosperity, in which every heart present will respond. “The Lord bless you and preserve you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” During the delivery of the above address, Mr. Leeser was much affected, and replied to the remarks in an eloquent and impressive manner; but at times his feelings so overpowered him, that his voice was scarcely audible. His remarks were entirely unprepared, he being neither aware of the nature of the testimonial to be presented, nor of the character of Mr. Levin’s address; what follows, therefore, must be taken more as the substance, so far as memory serves to recall the same, than the actual words spoken on the occasion—one sufficiently embarrassing to excuse even a confused manner of speaking, and not permitting either speaker or hearers to recollect with perfect accuracy the expressions actually employed: Mr. Levin, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is with sincere emotions of heartfelt gratitude, that I thank you for this public approbation of myself aid my labours, which you have just tendered me, and more yet for the very kind words in which you were pleased to convey the same; and believe me, that to be thus received and, honoured, repays one for years of labour and anxiety, and devotion to a cause as sacred as ours. I fear, however, that you overestimate <<27>> my services, which I would be but too happy to believe had been so effectual in doing good, as you, Mr. Levin, have represented them. All I can claim is an honesty
of purpose, in which I will yield to none, to do all
that was in my power. Had my health, indeed, been
good, so that I could have devoted all the energies
of my mind to the pursuit of literature, I might,
perhaps, have achieved a degree of eminence to
become truly useful; but it pleased Heaven to
afflict me frequently with dreadful attacks of
sickness, which have stamped on my frame and face, I
fear, premature marks of age; and I cannot dwell on
the agonies which I have had to endure at these
intervals, without shuddering. Yet such as I am,
imperfectly educated and inferior to many, whose
health has enabled them to advance much farther, it
will ever be my pleasure, no less than duty, to devote myself
to It is possible that this is the
last time that it will be my privilege to address an
audience in this place; soon, in a few hours, I must
leave to return to my place of residence, and
whether we shall ever meet again, and when? are
questions to be decided by the God whose creatures
we are. Permit me, therefore, to give you a few
parting words of advice, since it is as a teacher in And wherever you are, my
friends, let your station be what it may, endeavour
faithfully to prove yourselves children of Permit me, also, to call your attention to one circumstance connected with this city. Twelve years ago, there was here but one congregation, all worshipping God after the same ancestral custom. But since then division has crept in among you, and you present the spectacle of a Jewish community divided into three sects: the orthodox, the moderate reformers, and the ultra-heterodox. All this should not be, and is the result of false teaching. Men have arisen who have propounded to the people doctrines not in Unison with our ancient system, and have invented fancies of their own, which they cherish as something sacred. This has produced the natural results, which have been predicted, that disunion and heart-burning would spring from a course where the will of man was regarded superior to the doctrines of <<29>> religion; and you have experienced estrangement in families, no less than division in religious sentiments, and parties have arisen, where formerly there was friendship and union. Are not the deplorable effects of erroneous teaching evident enough in all this? Surely, it is time that a reunion should take the place of the state of isolation now existing; and you, my hearers, can do much towards effecting it. The ladies, especially, can be successfully active in this matter. Let them exhort each other to reunite the bonds which have been severed, not in the spirit of fault-finding, not with harsh words, but by mild persuasion, in meekness and forbearance; and surely it must be discovered by all, that in truth all have but one object, one single aim, the advancement of our common faith. And oh! what a happy day it will be for me, should I return once more among you, and see you all assembled under one shepherd, in one house devoted to God, and all worshipping again in the same manner, acknowledging again the same faith as in former years. The evil effects of false teaching must have long since become apparent; and I trust that a wise forbearance and yielding may still tend one day to reunite those where disunion should never have lifted up its baleful head. As regards myself, to reply to the remarks which you addressed me personally, I can honestly assure you that I am deeply moved. For many years I have laboured hard and faithfully to discharge my duty, in the office which was bestowed on me without my solicitation. My labours were also not unblessed; and now I have been driven forth an exile from my home, banished from the very congregation which I have built up, under the aid of God. I will not trust myself to speak on the subject, I cannot do it; not one of you can feel the emotions which agitate me when I revert to the subject in my mind. I might say much, but I cannot, will not venture to do so. But let me tell you this, that it is true that I set forth this winter, to advance the interest of my publications, by a personal intercourse with my fellow-Israelites throughout the land, in which object I have also, in a measure, succeeded. But I had another object also, to appeal from the judgment of my late congregation to the verdict of the Israelites elsewhere; and I am truly happy that it has been in my favour. Wherever I tarried any time, I was requested to address the people, and their undivided attention, their kind reception of my remarks, their friendly expression of sympathy, have all tended to the my lacerated feelings, and to convince me that I have not altogether laboured in vain, and that mankind is not all unjust. Some such a thing was necessary, to tran<<30>>quilize my mind, to subdue my rebellious heart; and hence I am thankful that I ventured abroad in the late severe winter, and braved dangers inseparable from so long a journey, to enjoy the intercourse of my friends everywhere, who proved to me that all are not ungrateful, although I have cause to complain of those on whom I had the greatest claims. You have alluded, Mr. Levin, to
the tongue of calumny, which has been busy with my
character. I thank you, with all my heart, for your
expression in regard to this, that in your
estimation, and in the eyes of you all, my friends,
I stand clear and unspotted. And permit me to say,
that in so thinking, you do me no more than justice;
for if I were unworthy, I would not now stand before
you, not now be the recipient of a token of your
regard. I shall therefore receive this as a
testimony that you believe me worthy of the calling
of a teacher in It is possible that this may happen to me also. I leave you, there<<31>>fore, my friends, to guard my reputation, in which you all have shown a deep interest by your friendly presence this day. Believe no evil of me, of which you have no absolute certainty that it is true; and if it be necessary for you to condemn me, if the conviction be brought home to your mind that I have done wrong: then let me entreat you to judge me indulgently, and pronounce no judgment which is to banish me from your good will. There is but One pure; but One free from all wrong, and this is our Father in heaven; but it is man’s to err, it is human to transgress; the best have their faults, the most virtuous need forgiveness. In a few brief hours I shall be afloat on the broad bosom of the deep, on my return to my place of residence. Think of me when far away; forget me not when distance intervenes between us; and whether it be the will of God that I meet you again hereafter, and whether I shall speak to you again in the name of our common Master, concerning the way of life or not, I trust that you will think well of the absent, and retain me always in your good memory. At the conclusion of Mr. Leeser’s address, which occupied about thirty minutes in the delivery, an appropriate prayer was offered up by the Rev. Ellis Lyons, who closed the interesting ceremony, by singing “Adone Gnolam,” in which the congregation united. As Mr. Leeser intended to leave the city during the day, those present, especially the ladies, availed themselves of the opportunity of taking him once more by the hand, and with heartfelt expressions for his future health and prosperity, bid him an affectionate farewell. S. N. C. |