Chapter I: WILL seek that which is lost, and will bring again that which is

driven away, and will bind up that which is broken, and will strengthen that which is sick.

EZEKIEL 34. 16.

ATONEMENT PROMISE AND ADMONITION

I

SEEK ye the Lord while He may be found,
Call ye upon Him while He is near;
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the man of iniquity his thoughts;
And let him return unto the Lord,
And He will have compassion upon him,
And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven,
And returneth not thither,
Except it water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
And give seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth:
It shall not return unto Me void,
Except it accomplish that which I please,
And make the thing whereto I sent it prosper.

ISAIAH 55. 6‒11.

II

THEN shall thy light break forth as the morning,
And thy healing shall spring forth speedily;
And thy righteousness shall go before thee,
The glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer;
Thou shalt cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
The putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedness;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
And satisfy the afflicted soul;
Then shall thy light rise in darkness,
And thy gloom be as the noonday;
And the Lord will guide thee continually,
And satisfy thy soul in drought,
And make strong thy bones;
And thou shalt be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste
places,
Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations;
And thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The
restorer of paths to dwell in.

ISAIAH 58. 8‒12.

LORD, THINE HUMBLE SERVANTS HEAR

LORD, thine humble servants hear,
Suppliant now before Thee;
Our Father, from Thy children’s plea
Turn not, we implore Thee!

Lord, blot out our evil pride,
All our sins before Thee;
Our Father, for Thy Mercy’s sake,
Pardon, we implore Thee.

Lord, no sacrifice we bring,
Prayers and tears implore Thee;
Our Father, take the gift we lay,
Contrite hearts before Thee.

Lord, Thy sheep have wandered far,
Gather them before Thee;
Our Father, let Thy shepherd’s love
Guide us, we implore Thee.

Lord, forgive and comfort all
That in truth implore Thee;
Our Father, let our evening prayer
Thus find grace before Thee.

R. YEHUDAH.
(_Trans. S. Solis-Cohen._)

אֵל נוֹרָא עֲלִילָה

GOD THAT DOEST WONDROUSLY
(NE’ILAH)

GOD, that doest wondrously,
God, that doest wondrously,
Pardon at Thy people’s cry,
As the closing hour draws nigh!

Few are Israel’s sons, and weak;
Thee, in penitence, they seek.
O regard their anguished cry,
As the closing hour draws nigh!

Souls in grief before Thee poured,
Agonize for deed and word;
‘We have sinned. Forgive!’ they cry,
As the closing hour draws nigh!

Heal them! Let their trust in Thee
Turn aside Wrath’s dread decree;
Doom them not, but heed their cry,
As the closing hour draws nigh!

For our Fathers’ righteousness
Save us now in our distress;
Make us glad with freedom’s cry,
As the closing hour draws nigh!

R. MOSHEH.
(_Trans. S. Solis-Cohen._)

TABERNACLES

זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ

THE divine religion does not urge us to lead an ascetic life, but guides us in the middle path, equidistant from the extremes of too much and too little; it allows free play to every God-given faculty of both body and soul, within the limits drawn by the Divine Hand itself. For certain it is that what we devote to one faculty in excessive measure we withdraw from another faculty, and thus lose the harmony which should pervade our whole life. In general, let me impress this principle upon thy mind: the essence of our whole law is contained in these three things――reverence, love, joy. They are the way to bring us near to God. Thy contrition on the day of fasting is in no wise more pleasing to Him than thy joy on the sabbath or the festival, if so be that thy delight comes from a devout and full heart. Just as prayer requires reflection and devotion, so does joy in God’s commandments and the study of His revelation. Thou must rejoice in the love of Him who gave the Law, being persuaded that the giving thereof was an act of His love towards thee.

YEHUDAH HALEVI, 1141.

PALMS AND MYRTLES

THY praise, O Lord, will I proclaim
In hymns unto Thy glorious name.
O Thou Redeemer, Lord and King,
Redemption to Thy faithful bring!
Before Thine altar they rejoice
With branch of palm and myrtle-stem;
To Thee they raise the prayerful voice――
Have mercy, save and prosper them.

They overflow with prayer and praise
To Him who knows the future days.
Have mercy Thou, and hear the prayer
Of those who palms and myrtles bear.
Thee day and night they sanctify
And in perpetual song adore;
Like to the heavenly host, they cry,
‘Blessed art Thou for evermore’.

ELEAZAR KALIR, 8th cent.
(_Trans. Alice Lucas._)

THE HARVEST FESTIVAL

IN keeping in view the agricultural aspect of the Three Festivals, the modern Jew performs no unimportant duty. He realizes the fact that Israel was once a people who lived by tilling the soil, and that the commercial character which so largely distinguishes his people in these times is not, as is commonly thought, inborn, but is the result of the unkindly conditions in which they have been compelled to live. It is good for us and the world at large to remember that the history of our race has its idyllic side.

MORRIS JOSEPH, 1903.

* * * * *

THE vineyards of Israel have ceased to exist, but the eternal Law enjoins the children of Israel still to celebrate the vintage. A race that persist in celebrating their vintage, although they have no fruits to gather, will regain their vineyards.

BENJAMIN DISRAELI, 1846.

JOYOUS SERVICE

THE easily depressed, the despondent and morose man has often become what he is from mere selfishness. It is so delightful to pity ourselves, to yield to the ‘luxury of woe’, and sing a plaintive song of self-commiseration in a minor key. But the next step is to give your soul to the devil. Judaism is not more emphatic against the latter than the former, and I am sure that there are few wickeder thoughts than this: that God made me with a despondent, melancholy heart. Shammai said: ‘Always be cheerful’. R. Ishmael said: ‘Ever be joyful’. This Rabbi Ishmael died a martyr’s death in the second century of this era. Do you think that when he suffered he repined and said: ‘If I had known how my life was to end I would have wept my days away instead of joyously doing my duty’? Serve the Lord with gladness, and the gladness will leave its after-glow of resignation, contentment, and peace.