Sermon - 10/04/1908

Oct 4th 1908 [I believe there are two words written in Hebrew, also some markings to the right of this also appear to be Hebrew." Then under those markings it says

Sermon 4.130 1 [this is superscript and underlined]

"Out of the Depths I cry unto thee O Lord, listen to my Voice." These are the quiet words of this Evening's ritual & they are not words that are lightly spoken but give us the idea of a person in an anguis of Spirit desperately appealing to to a judge to deal with him leniently. there is no preamble it is a direct spontaneous prayer of a man who is suffering the Consequencies of his sins with all their attendent misery & wretchedness. It is the picture of a man lashed & lacerated by remorse which the memory of years of misspent life brings to him & the soulful yearning for one more opportunity to atone before his maker & vindicate his Character.

There is no other occasion on which the Jew feels so near his God as on this Eve - for he is more intent upon the Service & indeed much more sincere in his [illegible-tions]. What appeals to this Jew is profoundly on the Atonement Day is its absolutely human aspect which is alive beyond all Creed. It is a problem of worldwide interest that engages our solemn attention this Evening. Problem of Sin & pain to Atonement & for [illegible]. Ruled by passions yielding weakly to temptation & money. Slaves of degrading desire men feel their moral strength

oozing out of them - they become morally debilitated, dead to all that is good & pure. The sad thought that multitudes of men have this [?] [?] makes us pray to God for a clear vision whereby we may know ourselves & thus avoid many a pitfall. Everything [?] uttered by the Jews. Every thought comes from the depths of his soul on this day of judgment. Israel is self-abased prepared to meet his God. This evening we listen to the eternal voice that calls to us through the events that have passed in our own lives & in the course of history demonstrating cause & effect almost scientifically. Our past life seems to flit before the mind's eye swift as a flash of lightning in panoramic review - the picture destroys our equanimity & disturbs our innocence & the Jew in characteristic fashion shelters himself in the divine protection & spontaneously exclaims [?] "From the depths I cry unto Thee, hear my Voice. Mark well however that from the Jewish point of view life begins & ends with what the [?] men of wisdom have called [?] that is worship. Work & Service to achieve practical well-doing is the backbone of the Jewish religion. There is no royal [?] to Salvation a term that is really almost

meaningless - Even Faith and prayers are of no avail and a mere mocking echo unless accompanied by good deeds. No minister or intermediary of any sort can redeem us from the consequences of a sinful life except - our own moral regeneration, our own voluntary return to a life of purity. But In thunderous words this vigorous [?] [?] tells us :- When you make your prayers I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood . . . learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless & plead for the widow" (Is. 1:15) "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour, are the words of another man of the [?] Zecharaiah, Execute the judgment of truth & peace in your gates & let none of you imagine evil in your heart against his nieghbour." (Zech 8:16) That the fearful consequences in [?] maybe called penal & they are surely a punishment, the natural outcome of a certain cause - but they are not vindictive & indeed by no theological fiction can a revengeful wrath be proved against God. The result of sin due to a violation of the laws of God & nature may be fearful & sometimes tragic but they are divinely ordained

to heal & not to destroy, to build up character & not to weaken it, to bless & not to curse. As a priestly people we were appointed in the dark ages of the world to be & to continue to be the bearers of Light & of Truth & the Jew was permitted no deviation from the high standard of duty & lofty plane of moral excellence. Our Faith yet demands the consecration of life as a whole. It imposes upon every Jew a strict code in business relations & unfair gain & impure pleasure by this standard becoomes impossible. It is truly difficult to be a good Jew for many are the obligations imposed upon us. they pursue us ever & we cannot escape them any more than we can the consequences of duty deliberately disregarded. It is the consciousness of the this stern fact that we are made to recognize [?] that we have rarely if ever lived up to our highest moods & that we have defaced the image of God in our own hearts by the impurity of our lives. This thought it is that urges us all even the one who has almost severed his connection with his religion to exclaim [?] to pray the with trembling lips [?] From the depths I call upon Thee O God - answer me.

There is a beautiful [Midrash?] in keeping with our mood this evening. All things around us both animate & inanimate have fulfilled the Voice of Conscience Whisphers into our ears solemn words of warning. It ids us remember that there is an Eye above us that sees everything actions, thoughts & intentions; an ear that hears every sound, every word every whisper & a hand that registers them all in indelible characters. All things around us both animate & inanimate have fulfilled their task. They have done that to which they were bound by the divine law or to which they were led by instinct. The Sun has given light & heath to the earth, which in her term has completed her annual revolution round it. The moon in her monthly cruise has 12 times hidden her face & reappeared & while lessening the gloom of night has governed & regulated the tides. The fields have given corn, the trees their fruit, the gardens their ambrosial flowers. But then O Man what hast thou done? Where is the useful labor which thou has achieved? 365 times has thou had the opportunity of doing either good or evil - which hast thou chosen? Condemned to the eternal law of labor hast thou tilted the earth & forced it to yield the treasures hidden within it's bosom? Yet another field has been placed before thee.