Excerpt from The Profession of Judaism: Four Sermons Delivered on New Year's Eve and Morning, September 18th and 19th, and on the Eve, and Morning of the Day of Atonement, September 27th and 28th, 1895 To many of us, the past twelve months have been full of sad experiences, full of trials and visitations. Stern and harsh reality thwarted many a noble purpose and turned gladsome hope into grief and sorrowing. Many of us have seen how perishable are all earthly treasures, how frail mortal strength, how insecure is the tenure oflife. Here the tender bud, the fragrant blossom, is chilled by the early rime, there the strong, fruit bearing tree is uprooted by a passing storm. We look around about us on this night of remem brance with tear-bedimmed eyes, for many a place is vacant, many a seat is empty. \vith loving memory we linger on some sacred spots where, o'ershadowed by willow and monument, the dear ones sleep in eternal rest. And, oh, how many have passed through experiences compared with which death would be a welcome redeemer! The heart knoweth the bitterness of the soul, and no stranger can share its sorrow. Few there are of maturer age who can look back upon the past year without a sigh. It has not brought the fulfilment of wishes cherished at its entrance; our prayers tonight ascend in quest of the same blessings which we craved a year ago. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.