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THE sun, in his purple robe, had set in the endless
west,
And night, clothed in sable garbs, had sent the
earth to rest;
In silence was all nature wrapped, a starry sky
above,
Which filled the heart with holy awe, devotion,
faith, and love.
Even the nightingale was still;
Holiness did all nature fill.
Wrapped in deep and holy thoughts, I gazed up to the
sky,
My breast was of emotion full, I sighed and knew not
why;
When suddenly a solemn voice, so plaintive and so
sweet,
Approaching me, I knew not whence, my list’ning ear
did greet.
I looked around in the dark of night,
And oh, what vision met my sight!
Methought I saw a female form, descending in a
cloud,
Her dress, her form, the East betrayed—she wore a
mourning shroud:
Her countenance, of beauty rare, and majesty divine,
Had traces of misfortune’s seal stamped on every
line.
Ah, ne'er shall I that face forget,
That tearful eye when mine it met.
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A mournful silence now prevailed, my heart did
loudly throb,
Her lustrous eyes were on me bent, as if my thoughts
to probe;
At last she gently raised her voice, in accents
thrilling, soft,
My son, she spoke, hast thou not heard that solemn
voice aloft?
Behold, I’ve sent thee in my name,
To Jacob’s seed this to proclaim.
Oh, children, hear your mother's voice, ‘tis Zion's
solemn call,
United, you will prosper e’er, divided, you must
fall;
You do not live as brethren should, in unison and
love,
You neither love, obey, or fear, that Parent from
above,
Who with a father’s true delight,
Wished you, his children, to unite.
Too long, alas; you have slumbered, and dreaming
lost your time,
You have carried God’s chastisement to every land
and clime;
Awake then, now, and hear these words, which Zion
does proclaim,
And write them down upon your hearts, with pens of
fire and flame;
That Israel’s hearts they may combine,
And Jacob’s seed to God incline.
For lo! when God from Egypt’s land had led you safe
and free,
And wonderfully you passed o’er the deep and roaring
sea;
When manna He from heaven sent, and water from a
rock,
And when the quails He did command around your camp
to flock:
‘Twas done only that e’er you might,
Like one heart in his love unite.
Why did He from the nations all, you as His own
select,
That you for Him, in faith and love, a temple might
erect?
Why did ‘midst thunder, smoke, and fire, from Sinai
He proclaim,
I am the Lord, thy only God, Unity is
my name?
Was it that you should lead a life
Of opposition, feud, and strife?
Why did through Jordan’s rushing stream He lead you
safe and dry,
And break the walls of Jericho at your united cry?
Why did Canaan’s mighty kings He crush and
overthrow,
And gave to you their land that did of milk and
honey flow?
Was that not done to make you great,
United in a happy state?
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Why did He give so small a land to you, of whom He
swore,
That you as heaven’s stars shall be, as sand on the
seashore?
Why did He, in His law command, that three times
every year
Your males shall in His holy place before the Lord
appear?
It was done not to scatter you,
But e’er to gather you anew.
Did He not make you prosperous, and fill you with
renown,
When His pious servant David did wear Israel’s
crown,
When Solomon He wisdom gave, a sanctuary to build,
Where His Shechina e’er might dwell, and be with
glory filled?
Was it not the Lord's great delight,
That you should prosper and unite?
Alas! had you your Father’s voice obeyed, and not
transgressed,
Ne’er should I have desolate been, but happy, loved,
and blessed;
And you, my children, would have lived united by
God’s hand,
A priestly nation to your God, and never lost your
land.
Nor ever felt the gentiles’ scorn,
Nor been dispersed and nigh forlorn.
Yet, though my wounds are painful still, my heart
crushed and sore
And eighteen centuries have passed since I such
misery bore,
My trust, my hope, my faith in God, is still as firm
as e’er,
He'll surely receive you again, if you His law
revere:
And Him alone seek as your Lord,
Him worship and obey His word.
But t’accomplish this you must with heart and soul
unite,
And cast off strife and jealousy, when God’s
commands invite;
Remember, too, that God to you a sacred mission
gave,
To teach the gentiles all that faith in Him alone
can save.—
No mediator they require,
If they the love of God desire.
And since the Lord revealed to you, by prophets’
mouth and pen.
That you shall at a certain time, (although He said
not when,)
From every corner of the globe, be gathered to your
land,
United there, in faith and love, obey the Lord's
command;
And that the gentiles shall agree,
That you to them a blessing be:
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Then; oh children, you can contrive by your UNITED
will,
That God, in Mercy, hasten may his promise to
fulfill:
It is a sacred duty which you now to Zion
owe,
For the sufferings which she bore, the mis’ry, and
the wo.
And now, farewell! but know and mind,
In union you’ll salvation find.
It
ceased, that voice, and I awoke, the vision
disappeared;
That rev’ry I shall ne’er forget, the voice that I
then heard;
Sadness filled my heart, and wo, when I began to
think,
That Judaism is like a ship that cannot float or
sink;
For ev’ry Jew himself deems wise,
Therefore, no leader can arise.
Oh! religion of my fathers, thy pristine beauty’s
lost,
Since Jews begin to vote for laws, which thee
so much have cost,—
For which thy children sacrificed, their wealth,
their homes, their all,
Nay, willingly as martyrs bled, sooner than see thee
fall.
Where are our shepherds! where our guides?
What is it that our ranks divides?
Our ministers are powerless, are nought but serving
men,
Our religious schools a mock’ry, synagogues
forsaken;
And all those laws, and wise commands, preserved
with so much care
By our sage and pious fathers, are practised now so
rare.
Why, in this land that free us made,
Does Israel thus retrograde?
Because Jeshurun has grown fat, therefore we
speculate,
Freedom has refined our taste, taught us to violate.
No unison ‘mongst us is found, as in those
days of yore,
When oppression made us pious, united us the more.
Some are reformed, and wisdom boast,
Some orthodox, indifferent most.
Oh
Zion! my heart weeps for thee, and grieving do I
pause,
For I fear thou hopest in vain for union in
thy cause;
So long as religious points decided are by vote,
And those that our God’s law neglect to leaders we
promote,—
No union will bless Jacob’s seed,
For all love power, all wish to lead!
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But, oh! Almighty God, I pray, have mercy and
forgive
The trespasses of Thy own flock, teach them in Thee
to live,
Open Thou their eyes and heart, that they see and
understand,
That, if divided, they must fall, united they will
stand.
Make Israel one heart and mind,
That Zion may soon comfort find!
J. R. |
