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(JUDAICA.) Seixas, Gershom Mendes. A Religious Discourse, Delivered in the Synagogue in this City, on Thursday the 26th November, 1789.
A PRAYER FOR GEORGE WASHINGTON (JUDAICA.) Seixas, Gershom Mendes. A Religious Discourse, Delivered in the Synagogue in this City, on Thursday the 26th November, 1789. Agreeable to the Proclamation of the President of the United States of America, to be Observed as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. 16 pages. 8vo, disbound; browned, staining to the terminal two leaves, minor chips and edge tears. New York: Archibald M'Lean, 1789
one of only two known copies of this new york judaic rarity by the first american-born rabbi.
In 1768, Seixas (1746-1816) became the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel -- the first Jewish congregation in the country and at the time of this sermon the only synagogue in New York. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Seixas led his Congregation out of New York, first settling in Connecticut and later moving to Philadelphia (where he founded and became the first Rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel). After the war, the "Patriot Preacher" returned with his Congregation to New York and further established himself as both a religious and civic leader. "Seixas was thus not only a Jew integrated into the general culture and society, but a representative as well of an early amalgam of the discrete national backgrounds that fused to form the American Jew"--Beginnings, Early American Judaica, page 22 (1975).
In this sermon, given on 26 November 1789 -- a day proclaimed by Washington as a day of Thanksgiving -- Seixas explains a passage from Psalm 100, preaches a closeness and duty to God and encourages his congregants to support their civil government. Isidore S. Meyer, in the introduction to the 1977 facsimile edition of the Religious Discourse, writes that it "truly fulfills the task of carrying out completely the message that President Washington conveyed as to what Thanksgiving should mean." The printing of this sermon, according to the printer's Preface, was at the "Request of several Gentlemen who had heard the following Discourse delivered, the Printer obtained a Copy, which he now ventures to publish, although he has not received the Consent of the Author." Of particular note is a listing on verso of the Preface of the order of the 1789 service, i.e. which Psalms were read, and "a Festival Morning Service, from Kol Israel to the end of Adon Olam." In addition, two Prayers are printed following the sermon, a Prayer for the Government and A Prayer by the Hazan. The only other known copy of this sermon is located in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Evans 22134; Rosenbach 80; Sabin 78950.
All items are offered for sale subject to Swann Galleries' standard terms and conditions of sale, which are published in our catalogues and are posted below.
one of only two known copies of this new york judaic rarity by the first american-born rabbi.
In 1768, Seixas (1746-1816) became the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel -- the first Jewish congregation in the country and at the time of this sermon the only synagogue in New York. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Seixas led his Congregation out of New York, first settling in Connecticut and later moving to Philadelphia (where he founded and became the first Rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel). After the war, the "Patriot Preacher" returned with his Congregation to New York and further established himself as both a religious and civic leader. "Seixas was thus not only a Jew integrated into the general culture and society, but a representative as well of an early amalgam of the discrete national backgrounds that fused to form the American Jew"--Beginnings, Early American Judaica, page 22 (1975).
In this sermon, given on 26 November 1789 -- a day proclaimed by Washington as a day of Thanksgiving -- Seixas explains a passage from Psalm 100, preaches a closeness and duty to God and encourages his congregants to support their civil government. Isidore S. Meyer, in the introduction to the 1977 facsimile edition of the Religious Discourse, writes that it "truly fulfills the task of carrying out completely the message that President Washington conveyed as to what Thanksgiving should mean." The printing of this sermon, according to the printer's Preface, was at the "Request of several Gentlemen who had heard the following Discourse delivered, the Printer obtained a Copy, which he now ventures to publish, although he has not received the Consent of the Author." Of particular note is a listing on verso of the Preface of the order of the 1789 service, i.e. which Psalms were read, and "a Festival Morning Service, from Kol Israel to the end of Adon Olam." In addition, two Prayers are printed following the sermon, a Prayer for the Government and A Prayer by the Hazan. The only other known copy of this sermon is located in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Evans 22134; Rosenbach 80; Sabin 78950.
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March 22, 2007 1:30 PM EDT
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