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| Psalms Scroll (Photo by Pete unseth) |
The King James Version of Psalm 90 waxes philosophical about the fleeting days of human lives: The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if
by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is
soon cut off, and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom.
Certainly "labour and sorrow" was the order of the day on July 4, 1863 when the Battle of Gettysburg had just ended.
Huff Post Religion writer Marc Saperstein explains that this was a Saturday, and Rabbi Sabato Morais of Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel Congregation was therefore set to deliver a "Sabbath morning sermon."
Morais was faced with a paradoxical task. It was not only July 4 – a traditionally upbeat holiday in American history, but it was also the 17th Day of Tammuz – a traditional day of mourning in the Jewish calendar.
Plus, the outcome of Gettysburg was not yet fully known (news did not travel that fast back then), and Philadelphia was a mere 90
miles away from the tragic site.
The rabbi therefore chose a different biblical text from the one recommended by the Union League (i.e. the "Liberty Bell verse" from Leviticus,
which stated: "Proclaim
liberty throughout the land…"). Morais instead read these words from Isaiah 37:3 concerning the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem: This is a day of trouble,
of rebuke, and derision.
Nevertheless, he assured the congregation that he "was not indifferent" to that first Independence
Day "which four score and seven years ago, brought to this new world light and joy." The complete text of this sermon was then published in the Jewish Messenger on July 10, 1863.
Had Lincoln read it? Had the phrase "four score and seven years ago" remained with him while composing the Gettysburg address? Saperstein emphasizes that possibility…
Resources
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+90&version=KJV
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-saperstein/gettysburg-address-jewish-connection_b_3539959.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
Copyright July 8, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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