I fancy I see myself. What happy hours do we derive from that disposition of the mind which awakens us from a long dream, and stimulates in us the lively striving for enlarging our knowledge!

Such strivings are not for show and splendor, but solely for the supply of a want which, when unsatisfied, terrestrial life can have no charm for a thinking man. We feel a desire of establishing a system for our own use and application, which might serve us as a guide through public and social life, and for this purpose, my studious friend, the awakened mind of the youth of our nation will find an inexhaustible mine in the study of the Holy Scriptures, provided he enters upon with reflection and noble zeal. How amply will this repay the mind and the heart! Inconsiderate, dissuasive, and contemptuous opinions of shallow-minded persons will not confound him in his labors; he will find his recompense within himself, in his self-contentment, in the consciousness of his duty, in his self-estimation, which no mortal is able to deprive him of or even to lessen. Does the Jewish youth once succeed in climbing up to this summit, he looks down with smiles though not with contempt, upon the derision of the thoughtless; and even the applause of the crowd will appear to him superfluous and dispensable. Let this suffice for an introduction.

The remarks which I am about to lay before you and your colleagues, my studious friend, will perhaps appear to you singular and astonishing. If they produce those effects my purpose will be obtained. Such exhortations and encouragments roused me from a profound torpor. I myself was astonished when I first heard those new representations. Doubts followed upon astonishment, until I was at last enabled to receive and endure the full truth; and by further reflections, that religion, which alone is worthy of God and men, took so deep a hold within me, that nothing will be able to uproot it, and that I shall live and die in the same.

Pray, therefore, do not shrink from my communications; they will not be enforced upon your belief, but only submitted to your judgment. The method in which both of us, as well as the greater part of our brethren have been instructed, will easily furnish the explanation for this astonishment and these doubts; but patience, my friend! a soothing tranquility will ultimately follow.

(TO BE CONTINUED.)

THE THREE FRIENDS.

A PARABLE FROM THE MIDRASH.

A MAN had three friends, who unequally shared his estimation and love. One he loved exceedingly, the second in a less degree, and the third he scarcely thought worthy of his friendship. Being once surprised by a royal mandate to appear in haste before a despotic king, he was seized with terror, dreading to meet a serious accusation which was urged by crafty slanderers for his destruction. Lo! said he to himself, I can do no better than apply in this crisis to my trustworthy friend, on whom my soul has always so implicitly relied; he will surely go with me to the king; he will plead my cause, and establish my innocence. He accordingly repaired to the first of his three friends, whom he made acquainted with his request, but he peremptorily declined to accompany him; yea, he scarcely noticed him. He left this faithless friend with anxiety and disquietude of soul. Now, thought he, I will apply to the second friend, whom I will entreat to appear with me before the king, to whom he went without delay, and imparted to him his request. To appear with thee before the king, replied this lukewarm friend, I cannot; but I will follow thee to the palace. He proceeded to the third friend, whom he scarcely deemed worthy of notice, and stated to him his petition he immediately complied with it, went with him, spoke for him, established his innocence, and effected his liberation. The solution of this parable is very obvious. Wealth, loved by man above all, is the first friend that leaves him, and refuses to accompany him on the day of death, as Scripture says, "For when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him." The second friend alludes to his wife, children and kindred who follow him to the grave, where very often the memory of man is interred with his body. The third friend who goes and pleads for us, is the store of knowledge accumulated, and the deeds of piety practised by our devotion to the Divine Law, as Scripture says, "Thy righteousness shall precede thee, the glory of the Eternal shall be thy rereward." The King before whose throne we are cited, is the Most Holy One (Praised be He), the Supreme King of Kings.

THE NEW ERA.

VOL. IV.

APRIL, 1874.

No. 4.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE Congregation Shaaray Tefilah was founded in September, 1845, by a number of gentlemen who had seceded from the B'nai Jeshurun, better known as the Elm-street Synagogue. Some diffi culties about electoral rights caused this schism and induced about forty of the members to attempt the organization of an independent congregation. The first meeting for this purpose was held October

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by RAPHAEL D'C. LEWIN, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

VOL. IV.-12.

27, 1845, Mr. Louis Levy presiding, and Mr. Aaron S. Solomons acting as secretary. Among those present, now living, were Benjamin I. Hart, John D. Phillips, Abraham Kastor, Arthur L. Levey, E. Seller, M. Levett, Henry Simons, George S. Mawson, Sol. I. Hart, H. Leopold, Isaac Isaacs, Abraham Godfrey and John M. Davies. At this meeting, committees were appointed to purchase or rent ground for the erection of a Synagogue, and to obtain a charter, and a burial ground. Having enlisted on their side the respected pastor, Rev. Samuel M. Isaacs, who had for six years previously been minister in the Elm-street Synagogue, this new congregation commenced at once to hold Divine worship in a room on Franklin street, near Broadway. It was doubtless for this reason that at first the members styled themselves the "Franklin-street Association," which name was however in January 1846, changed to the "Congregation Shaaray Tefilah," at which time also a Constitution and By-Laws were adopted.

In the following month, two lots of ground on Wooster street between Spring and Prince, were purchased for $8,000, and on July 7, 1846, the corner stone of the new building was duly laid, the Rev. S. M. Isaacs, delivering the oration, and performing the ceremony. The Committee of arrangements consisted of Messrs. Louis Levy, Isaac N. Samuels, Benedict Joseph, Arthur L. Levy and John D. Phillips. The consecration of the synagogue took place on June 25th, 1847, with appropriate exercises. The dedicatory sermon was preached by the minister, Rev. S. M. Isaacs, and addresses were also made by Rev. Isaac Leeser and Mr. Henry Morrison. The musical exercises under the direction of Mr. Edward Woolf, who at a later date became the Choir Master of the congregation, were of a high order, and were much admired. The cost of the new synagogue was $30,000, and the roll of members at the time of the dedication showed about 120, or three times as many as when the congregation was started.

In 1847 Mr. John I. Hart succeded Mr. Louis Levy in the presidential chair, and retained office until 1855, when he resigned. In recognition of the efficiency with which he discharged his duties. no less than for the many valuable services rendered to the congregation, a committee of the members presented to him on his retirement from office a handsome silver testimonial, which is now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. B. L. Solomon. The presidency then devolved again on Mr. Louis Levy, who ably filled the chair

during this second term for a period of four years, when he was succeeded by Mr. George Godfrey in 1859, who in his] turn, was succeeded in the following year by Mr. Edward Josephi, who died in office in 1862. Mr. Barnett L. Solomon was then called to the chair, and to this day fills the position with honor to himself and to the great advantage of the congregation. His practical ability as an excutive officer, his sincere disinterestedness on behalf of the congregation, his genial and generous disposition, and the high social position he enjoys, all combine to entitle him to the annual compliment of a re-election to office.

The building in Wooster street was considered in its time quite an architectural feature of the city. It was tasteful, harmonious, and in perfect keeping with the idea of a synagogue. The services were well attended. In 1860, however, the up-town movement rendered a change of locality almost indispensable. When, therefore, four years later this matter became so imperative as to no longer admit of delay, the Trustees leased a commodious hall at the corner of Thirty-sixth street and Broadway, which being converted into a Synagogue, was in September, 1865, duly consecrated and opened as the temporary abode of the congregation until such time as a new building was obtained. The Wooster-street Synagogue was then sold at a heavy sacrifice, on the condition that it should be immediately taken down, as the congregation would not permit any secular use being made of a building which was once a house of worship.

Immediately after the removal from Wooster street, a Hebrew and Religious school was established, which year after year continued to increase in usefulness and in the number of pupils, until at the present time it is attended by about 225 children, and is regarded as an invaluable auxiliary to the synagogue. The school has been successively under the superintendence of Rev. S. M. Isaacs, Mrs. A. N. Cohen, Mrs. L. Lavanburg, Mr. M. S. Isaacs, and Rev. Dr. Mendes, the present Honorary Superintendent.

In 1865, the position of Reader was created, and Rev. H. Phillips, the present incumbent, elected to that office. This gentleman soon gained the esteem of the congregation, and by his pleasant voice and the devout manner in which he performs his duties has done much toward maintaining that decorum which should always prevail during a religious service. In this year also, a choir composed of men and boys was formed, under the direction of Professor Woolf.

In 1867 four lots on Forty-fourth street, between Broadway and