Page 12 - HaShofar 5709 1948

as a mode of spiritual song that flows in· ecs,tasy
into the halls of the centuries. Balance and har-
mony, music and verse,-joy and melody-these are
the garlands our faith has wreathed upon duty's
brow. As the hand acts out the Mitzvah, the heart
acts out the Simchah shel Mitzvah. It is the com-
plete dedication from within that speeds perform-
ance visible to its proper consummation.
In the Jerusalem Temple there was a tradition
that he who prepared the spices for the incense
must say aloud that he grinds them well and that
th_ey are well ground, "because the- voice is benefi-
cial to the spices."
A husband eating mashed potatoes at dinner will
hardly be able to detect in them whether his wife
sang or scolded during their preparation, but the
ingredients of the mixture that was offered upon
the altar of worship were not acceptable unless
the spirit expressed itself in the gladness of making
them ready.
A NEW ERA FOR ISRAEL. AND HUMANITY
By RABB/ MORRIS TELLER
Hebrew Congregation and President of the League
for Religious Labor in Chicago.
The coming High Holidays will be the fo;st High
Holidays in the new era; for with the establish-
ment of Israel as a republic, a new· era has com-
menced which w.ill 11:ffect Jewish life vitally in many
respects and which will e'centually influence, by
example, the other nations. Many of us do not
realize that history is now being made in_ Israel
and that centuries later Israel and humanity wiU
look back to our time as epoch-making. It is not
only that in Israel the dispossessed Jews will find
shelter and homeless Jews will have an official
home that makes the establishment of the Repub-
lic of Israel so significant an event. It is because
we feel that while Israel will be more than the
"spiritual center" that the Jewish philosopher Ahad
Ha'am envisioned, while Israel will hav,e its po-
litical, economic and other problems that a govern-
ment must face, the "spiritual" aspect of life, the
religious ethical values of the Bible and the Rabbis,
will not be ignored in dealing with these practical
problems. We cannot expect perfection in a real-
istic world, but we have the right to expect an at-
tempt at the realization of the prophet Isaiah's
preachment, "Zion will be redeemed with Justice."
I cannot believe that the unjust practices of the
nations will be the practice of our unique people.-
The sense of Zedek, Mishpot, Yosher, Rachmonus
(Righteousness,· Justice, Equity, Mercy) is too
much a part of Israel's character to permit our
people to perpetrate the ruthlessness to which
Israel has been subjec_ted.
10 THE SHOFAR
A saint of a .recent generation was wont to ob•
serve that the affliction a Jew imposes upon him-
self on Yorn Kippur and the sadness he wraps
around himself at Tisha B'Av are simultaneously
within him fountains of rejoicing, because he is
conscious of fulfilling the requirement of his creed.
The year we welcome will bring endless oppor-
tunities for the performance of a Mitzvah. Let us
introduce once again into our vocabulary Sim-
chah shel Mitzvah, and let us teach the soul to
honor the phrase. Our lives will be the richer for
making of duty a joy; not a burden; a song, not a
snarl; a delight, not a fury. As men of gladness
we shall much more faithfully achieve our aim of
attracting others, particularly the young, to the
message of Torah. Then will the happiness we
wish each other for the new year be known to us
not onlY when we are doing what pleases us, but
what plyases Him Who is the ultimate source of
all happiness.
Rabbi Teller is spiritual leader of the South' Side
Basic p~ligious and moral truths are to be found
not only in religious and ethical books but also
in the statements of statesmen, Calvin Coolidge,
one of our otherwise ineloquent Presidents stated,
or quoted, the following eloquent and basic truth:
"If we as a people are too weak to take charge
of our morality, we shall not be strong enough to
take 9harge of our liberty." This is one of the
important themes ofour High Holiday season. This
is the rule by which, let us hope, Israel will con-
duct itself as a government. To maintain liberty,
morality must be maintained. ·
· Why are we constantly in fear of wars, depres-
sions, the loss of liberty and other social evils?
It is because the various aspects of life, the po-
litical, economic and social activities are divorced
from religion and morality. "Business is business"
is the rule of private enterprise and it becomes a
rationalization for inequity in business. The same
principle is applied in relationships among nation;;
with the_ tragic result that expediency displaces
justice and double-dealing is part of diplomacy. It
was David Lloyd George who interpreted the verse
of Psalms 14,9 :6 "High praises of God are in their
throat; and a two-edged sword in their hand" as
follows: "High praises of God are in their throat
on ·sunday in the Churches and a two-edged sword
in their hand on other days against the people who
produced the Psalmist:"
Unfortunately, the_ moral and religious values
_and ideals are regarded _either as too holy to be