'O Lord and King, who art full of compassion, in whose hand is the soul
of every living thing and the breath of all flesh, who killest and makest
alive, who bringest down to the grave and bringest up again, receive,
we beseech Thee, in Thy great loving-kindness, the soul of our brother
who hath been gathered unto his people. Have mercy upon him, pardon all
his transgressions, for there is not a righteous man upon earth, who
doeth good and sinneth not. Remember unto him the righteousness which
he wrought, and let his reward be with him and his recompense before
him. O shelter his soul in the shadow of Thy wings. Make known to Him the
path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand are
pleasures for evermore. Vouchsafe unto him of the abounding happiness
that is treasured up for the righteous, as it is written, Oh how great
is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, which
Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the children of men!
'O Lord, who healest the broken-hearted and bindest up their wounds,
grant Thy consolation unto the mourners: put into their hearts the
fear and love of Thee, that they may serve Thee with a perfect heart,
and let their latter end be peace.
'Like one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and in
Jerusalem shall ye be comforted. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither
shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting
light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
'He will destroy death for ever; and the Lord will wipe away tears from
off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off
all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.'
CHAPTER VIII
THE SURVIVAL OF JUDAISM
The Messianic Hope has an intimate connection with Eschatology. Whereas,
however, the latter in so far as it affirmed a Resurrection conceived
of the immortality of Israelites, the former conceived the Immortality
of Israel. It is not necessary here to trace the origin and history of
the Messianic idea in Judaism. That this idea had a strong nationalistic
tinge is obvious. The Messiah was to be a person of Davidic descent,
who would be the restorer of Israel's greatness. Throughout Jewish
history, despite the constant injunction to refrain 'from calculating
the date of the end,' men have arisen who have claimed to be Messiahs,
and these have mostly asserted their claim on nationalistic pleas. They
were to be kings of Israel as well as inaugurators of a new regime of
moral and spiritual life. But though this is true without qualification,
it is equally true that the philosophers of the Middle Ages tried to
remove all materialistic notions from the Messianic idea. It is very
difficult to assert nowadays whether Judaism does or does not expect
a personal Messiah. A very marked change has undoubtedly come over the
spirit of the dream.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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