I gave this speech at Chabad of east Lakeview on Shabbas, Parshas Chukas-Balak. It is based on a Shiur given by Rabbi Meir Yaakov Solovechik this past April in his lecture series, Jews and the Civil War.
Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel, America’s first Jewish congregation, founded in 1654 by 23 Jews of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Y. Soloveichik
msoloveichik@shearithisrael.org
212-873-0300 x206
Rabbi Dr. Soloveichik joined the Shearith Israel family in 2013 and is our tenth minister since the American Revolution. From the very start of his tenure, Rabbi Soloveichik’s sermons, public events, and classes have drawn enthusiastic crowds, and our beloved congregation has grown and flourished under his leadership. Passionate about Shearith Israel’s tradition and values, his ambition is to chart a future worthy of our congregation’s extraordinary history. Rabbi Soloveichik simultaneously showcases our unique traditions while also championing the unity of klal yisrael, all Jewish people, a value that Shearith Israel has always embraced. He is staunchly committed to strong outreach, community building, and higher Jewish education for men and women.
After graduating from Yeshiva College, Rabbi Soloveichik obtained his Rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton in Religion and currently serves as the Director of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. His wife, Layaliza, is an Assistant U. S. attorney, and together they are the proud parents of six beautiful children. In addition to meeting the demands of a full-time pastor and dedicated father, Rabbi Soloveichik manages to consume vast quantities of sushi, watch The Simpsons, and continue his elusive search for the perfect homburg.
Four score and seven years ago is perhaps the most famous phrase in the English language and is the most celebrated in America. On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln attended the dedication of a cemetery for Union soldiers who a few months before fought at Gettysburg on July 1st through July 3, 1863. The central attraction for the dedication ceremonies was Edward Evert, one of the most celebrated orators in America, who spoke for several hours and his words have been largely forgotten. Lincoln delivered brief but immortal remarks that are known to this day. The first half of the Gettysburg address described the essence of the American founding and explains that the war was being fought to preserve and advance all that America embodies and that what America embodies can be found in the words of the Declaration of Independence. That had been approved by the Continental Congress 87 years before. Lincoln at Gettysburg did not say “87 years ago”. Instead he uttered a phrase that utilized the word score referring to 20 years, so four score is 80 and seven is 87 years.
This Is how Lincoln began. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
These words have been studied, pored over, discussed, debated for generations.
Today we engage them but in an unusual way. We will join Abraham Lincoln, the most famous President in US history and that of a Rabbi that has been largely forgotten even among American Jewry, the community that he once ministered.
We analyze the Gettysburg address by telling the tale of Rabbi Sabato Morias. We begin by describing his biography. We will turn to one specific sermon given by Rabbi Sabato Morias, which will allow us to then conclude with an analysis and a deeper understanding of the Gettysburg address.
Rabbi Sabato Morias:
Sabato Morais (Hebrew: שבתאי מוראיס; April 13, 1823 – November 11, 1897) was an Italian-American rabbi of Portuguese descent, leader of Mikveh Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary, which initially acted as a center of education for Orthodox Rabbis.
Sabato Morais was born on April 13, 1823 in Livorno (or Leghorn, as English sailors called it), just south of Pisa on the western coast of the northern Italian duchy of Tuscany. Sabato was the third of nine children, with one younger brother and seven sisters. He was raised “in quite humble circumstances” and educated in Livorno.
Morais’ father Samuel descended from Portuguese Marranos who arrived in London in the 1650s, perhaps from colonial Brazil, and settled in Livorno around 1730. Sabato’s mother Buonina
Wolf was of German-Ashkenazic origin and it was she who decisively influenced her young son to pursue his religious vocation. Both Morais’ father and his paternal grandfather Sabato, after whom he was named, were Freemasons and immersed in rebellion spurred by the Napoleonic invasion in June 1796. “It was [Sabato, the paternal grandfather] who instilled a feeling for liberty into his compatriots. It was he who exclaimed ‘Up for liberty; down with tyrants . . . [and] in his son Samuel Morais was found a devoted Republican, a man who even suffered imprisonment for his political opinions, who was wont to exclaim ‘Even the boards of my bed are Republican.'” Imbued from childhood with a tradition of political engagement, and through his own involvement as a Freemason in the Risorgimento (the movement for Italian national unification), Morais became devoted to the republican ideals of Giuseppe Mazzini, Italy’s “Prophet in Exile.” Mazzini found safe haven in London after 1837, along with other exiled Italian nationalist leaders, including a number of Jews from Livorno.
Upon young Sabato early rested the responsibility of aiding in the support of the family. While still a child he earned a little by teaching Hebrew hymns and prayers to other children, meantime pursuing his own studies under Rabbis Funaro, Curiat, and others, and then under his Hebrew master, Rabbi Abraham Baruch Piperno, and gaining honorable mention in belles-lettres under Prof. Salvatore de Benedetti. In addition to Hebrew and Italian, he acquired familiarity with Aramaic, French, and Spanish.
Morais arrived in London in 1845 from Livorno at the age of twenty-two. Spurred by economic hardship, he came to London as a poor young scholar,seeking his first appointment as assistant to the leader of religious services at the city’s most prestigious congregation, the Sephardic Sha’ar Shamayim at Bevis Marks in London . He failed to win the post, principally due to his unpolished English, but so favorably impressed those who interviewed him that within a year he would return to take the position of Master of the congregation’s Orphan school. Morais lived in London from 1846 until 1851 and came to know many prominent Jewish families through his congregational work and as the Hebrew and Italian tutor of their children. The Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore was a native of Livorno who befriended Morais. In London Morais met Mazzini and later corresponded with him. Morais reportedly turned over his passport to Mazzini before leaving London for America, enabling the exiled leader, who faced an outstanding arrest warrant from the Austrian imperial authorities, to travel surreptitiously to the continent and back to Italy.
Elected hazzan in Philadelphia[edit]
In 1850, owing to the withdrawal of Isaac Leeser who had served since 1820’s the pulpit of the Mikveh Israel Synagogue congregation at Philadelphia, the most prominent Jeiwsh intellectual in America left , and Morais was an applicant for the post. Why did Rabbi Isaac Lesser leave? Why did the position open? An argument broke out between the clerical leadership of the Synagogue and lay leadership over the Rabbi’s contract. By 1849 as one version has it, Lesser had demanded a lifetime contract, a larger salary and greater authority in the congregation. He had also antagonized many members of the congregation. Morias’s job as minister of the congregation was to both lead the services and preach. But Morias As he wrote during nine months of the year I give weekly instruction from this pulpit – meaning sermons. When the summer season begins I generally cease speaking in the vernacular and confine myself to reading the established ritual meaning Hazzunit. Some would prefer my following the last named course at all times, I have reason to believe.
Why would Morias say this? Why didn’t the congregation like his sermons.One reason could be that English was not his first language. The <proas was a man of principal and political beliefs. Morias often put his principles and political beliefs above his professional well being. One example of this was in 1858 in an episode known as the Mortara Affair. Morais had defiantly refused to recite the prayer for the nation in protest over President James Buchanan’s indifferent response to the abduction and
baptism of an Italian Jewish child named Edgardo Mortara in Bologna, a papal state. He had been taken from his home to be raised as a Catholic because his nurse had claimed that she had baptized him when he was sick. This galvanized Jew around the world and the Jews in America appealed to President James Bucanan, otherwise known as the worst President in the US. President Buchanan responded that this was a matter involving foreign nationals and he was going to get involved.
He was undoubtedly doubly offended by this. First as a Sepherdic Jew of Italian origin and this was extremely personal to him but secondly, Morais had fallen in love with this new country precisely because it stood for something larger, a universal doctrine of human rights, something he felt Buchanan had failed. So on the next Shabbos Morias pointedly omitted it. Undoubtedly he felt that someone not standing up for human rights was not worth praying for. The congregation was scandalized by this. The Adchunta – a Spanish word referring to the lay leadership of the congregation. The Adchunta, the governing body of the congregation, met the very next day and demanded that he restore the prayer for the government. On December 2, 1858 one of the lay leaders sent Rabbi Morias a letter that was marked, strictly private and alluded “your refusal to recite the prayer for the government as you hitherto done.” This lay leader added the following ”you are aware that the Adchunta can suspend you from office which would be a step to discharge. You know the Board can command a majority to any measure their wisdom may induce them to think correctly. Are you prepared to be hurled from a position of pecuniary independence to one of one of unrequited labor in which you may find it difficult to earn a pittance.” To translate his eloquence into modern parlance, that is a nice rabbinic position you have there, it would be a shame if something happened to it.
In 1861 James Buchhana was replaced by a man who was in fact more to his liking, Abraham Linclon. Morias’s affection for Lincoln can be seen in a poignant prayer that he delivered on the death in the White House in 1862 of Lincoln’s son Willy. He did pray for Lincoln and with love.
He said the following: Bless the president of the United States. Bless him for his sterling honesty. Bless him for his firmness and moderation. Rekindle with joy his domestic hearth. Pour on him the balm of divine consolation. Grant that the end of his career be the maintenance of this government.
Unimpaired and unsullied as bequeathed by our illustrious ancestors.
Morias’s words were sent to Linolcon by a congregant. Lincoln responded in a letter thanking the Synagogue, the only known letter written by Abraham Lincoln to a Synagogue.
Morias’s trouble with his laity was only beginning. For during the war he emerged as a full fledged Republican and an opponent of slavery. Many of his congregants were Northern Democrats for whom Lincoln had to be replaced and the Southern demands had to be accommodated in order for the Civil war to cease. These people were known as Copperheads, a venomous snake.. This was initially an insult to them, but they embraced this term and wore a copper penny in their lapel. With the head of liberty. This came to a head on November 1, 1864 Maryland joined the Union, and voted to forever ban slavery. Soon afterwards Morais delivered a sermon celebrating this event. He indulged in rabbinic puns. He said thy name shall no longer be called Maryland but Merry-land.
“Not the victories . . .”
He indulged in rabbinic puns. He said thy name shall no longer be called Maryland but Merry-land.
For thou has breathed a joyous spirit in all the inhabitants. He was banned from delivering sermons, unless approved by the Parnass. The gag rule was held for two months. In February of 1865 Morias was again allowed to give sermons but must be religious in nature, no politics and on holidays. Before Pesach of that year Morias appealed to be able to speak as he saw fit.
As we said earlier Morias did not speak during the summer months. However, the Philadelphia Union League, a Republican organization dedicated to supporting Lincoln had requested that clergy deliver celebratory sermons throughout the city utilizing as their unified theme the verse from Leviticus that was emblazoned on the Liberty Bell, “Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
Rabbi Morias did not give a celebratory speech for several reasons. 1) that shabbat was the 17th of Tammuz when the Romans breached the walls in Jerusalem and begins the three week morning period. There was another reason. 2) The battle of Gettysburg was being fought. Morias knew that the battle was being fought but had no idea who had won. If Lee was victorious, the Confederate Army could soon be marching to Philadelphia.
Go through the speech.
Instead of focusing on American independence, he focused on what happened millennia earlier in Biblical Jerusalem. He compared biblical Jeruslaem to his own city of Philadelphia. He asked that the fate that befell the former, not occur to the later.
One remarkable sentence in the speech. He mentioned that the declaration of independence occurred 87 years ago. He knew that Mikvah was down the block from Mikvah Israel.
Moras had taught himself English from the text of the King James version of the Bible. He knew Hebrew. This is how Morais talked.
This is most famously found in Psalms 90:10
יְמֵֽי־שְׁנוֹתֵ֨ינוּ בָהֶ֥ם שִׁבְעִ֪ים שָׁנָ֡ה וְאִ֤ם בִּגְבוּרֹ֨ת ׀ שְׁמ֘וֹנִ֤ים שָׁנָ֗ה וְ֭רׇהְבָּם עָמָ֣ל וָאָ֑וֶן כִּי־גָ֥ז חִ֝֗ישׁ וַנָּעֻֽפָה׃
King James Bible Translation:
For most Aemroicans this language of score is reserved for the Bible. No one spoke this way off the cuff, including Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln knew of the July 4th Gettysburg victory unlike Rabbi Morias. Lincoln also knew of the Union victory at Vicksburg. On July 7th a crowd of people appeared at the White House and Lincoln addressed them. In speaking to them Lincoln reflected as follows
We see in these impromptu words the roots of the Gettysburg address. Lincoln is pondering the significance of the fact that these greatest victories occurred on the 4th of July and that the civil war is being fought for the very doctrine declared on the first 4th of July, that all men are created equal. This, he says, is a glorious theme for a speech and resulted in the Gettysburg address. One thing he does not say is 4 score and 7 years ago, because he did not naturally talk this way. Several months later when he spoke at Gettysburg his language had changed, “Four score and seven years ago”. Could Lincoln have been inspired by Morias’s sermon? We do know that the sermon had been published and we do know that previously Morias’s words were sent to Lincoln. There is a strong possibility that Lincoln had seen this speech.
Jonathan Sarna in a 2015 interview::
EC: It was interesting that a sermon delivered by Rabbi Sabato Morais in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1863 used these words as he reminded his constituents that independence is “the event which four score and seven years ago brought to this new world light and joy.” Do you think Lincoln borrowed this phrase for his Gettysburg Address?
JDS: No previous Lincoln scholar noticed that the rabbi used that phrase. We do know that some of Morais’ sermons were sent to Lincoln and that he read them. Good politicians are known for borrowing phrases that will resonate with the public. So it is possible. All we know for sure is that Morais used the phrase before Lincoln and that the president had read some of Morais’ sermons.
From a Jewish Action book review on Jonathan Sarna’s book on Lincolns and the Jews:
Remarking on the similarity of the phrase in this sermon to the opening line of the Gettysburg Address which was delivered four months later, the authors of Lincoln and the Jews: A History write, “Whether Abraham Lincoln borrowed the phrase ‘fourscore and seven years ago’ from Morais for the commemorative address that he delivered at Gettysburg on November 19 cannot be known . . . . It is also possible that Lincoln read Morais’s sermon, which was published in the Jewish Messenger.” They proceed to prove that “other Morais speeches certainly made their way to the president.”
We cannot be sure if the President used these words because he saw Morias July 4th speech, but if not, the coincidence is uncanny and either way the story of Morias’s sermon sheds light on the Gettysburg address.
Mporias spoke this way because he learned English from the King James Bible. If Abraham Lincoln did not speak this way naturally but chose to begin his remarks with Four score and seven years ago, this is because he wished for the Gettysburg address to take on a Biblical tone to the ears of Americans. Lincoln had previously spoke inBiblical terms in a speech in 1861 at Liberty Hall he said:
He then broke a glass, no he didn’t, just joking. We have a reference to a Pasuk in Psalms. Independence Hall in Lincoln’s rhetoric is America’s Jerusalem, the declaration, the creed that all men are created equal was America’s covenant. Two years later Lincoln invokes language that sounds biblical. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Lincoln is seeking to achieve a Biblical inspired moment of covenantal remembrance and restoration.
Lincoln had mastered the sound of the King James Bible so completely that he can cast abstract issues of constitutional law in Biblical terms, making the idea that there should be one post office from New Hampshire to taxes sound as if it came out of Genesis.
Whether or not the Gettysburg Address was influenced by a Rabbi who had mastered the English of the King James version of the Bible, the striking linguistic link allows us to appreciate either way that the Gettysburg address is itself a sermon inspired by the Bible.
Indeed one other much discussed linguistic feature of the Gettysburg Address in the much discussed second part of Linocln;s remarks. “ We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
This phrase of “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” Five known copies of the Gettysburg address, two from before the speech.
The versions before the speech was spoken do not say under God. The three written after the address do say under God. The transcription of the press report the words “under God” in the speech. Historian Richard Holzer has suggested that Lincoln had not written under God in his original draft, but said them in the moment and incorporated those words in his own version of the address in the following days. As Rabbi Meir Yakov Soloveichik says “caught in the prophetic moment”. He added the words “under God ” on his own. For Lincoln this is a Biblical sermon. The blood of the battlefield is suddenly the blood of the covenant. The people gathered cannot sanctify the fields because the soldiers’ blood already sanctified the battlefield. Sanctified for America’s central principle, that all men are created equal. It is our obligation for Lincoln to those who died to ensure that their blood was not shed in vain.
Ranni Sabato outlasted his critics and in 1868 was granted a lifetime contract from the Synagogue, as MYS said an inspiration to rabbis everywhere. The 17 day of Tammuz, July 4th sermon is largely forgotten, but if we put ourselves in Rabbi Sabatos shoes, standing at the pulpit, not knowing the battles was won or lost, we gain a renewed appreciation of the perilous nature of the moment. It easily could have gone a different way. Lee did not march on Philadelphia, but he might have. He might have and then the victory of Vicksburg may have mattered little.
This a new lesson can be derived from Morias which also relates to the 17th of Tammuz. If you look in the Henrew calendar and realize that the first 4th of July in 1776 also fell out on the 17th of Tammuz.
There is a deep message. If the decisive point of the Union survival also occurred on or around the fourth of July which is also Sheva assur B’Tammuz, then this is a reminder that the American experiment is fragile, so fragile that it can so easily be lost, it can experience destruction, inn battle or just from failure to remain loyal to the true lessons of the American creed. But we owe the Declaration’s preservation to the past to those who came before. We are obligated as Lincoln said to ensure that these men shall not have died in vain.
The possible literary link between Morais recalling of Jerusalem and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and the knowledge that of the biblical themes that were inspiration for Lincoln’s words makes it all the more striking that is is the Jews today of Judea and Jeruslamin who in their own civic celebrations make manifest the lesson Lincoln’s words that we have to link independence and its celebration with the blood and sacrifice of those who fought for that freedom, those whose blood obligates us.Just as the battle of Gettysburg conclude on July 3rd, Israeli;s independence day is celebrated right after their memorial day commemorations. On the morning of the 4th of Iyur a siren is sounded throughout the land, everyone pauses their activities in reverent memory of those who died. There are few more stunning images of Israel today on highways where thousands of cars grind to a halt and travelers bow their heads in commemoration. Then throughout the day cemeteries are visited and only in the evening does the somber day gives way to the joy of the next day, independence day. These two days define one another. Those assembled in the cemeteries facing the unbearable loss of loved ones do so in the knowledge that the sacrifice of their family members makes the next day celebration of Independence possible. And the celebration of independence is done with the acknowledgement of millions of citizens that those who lie in the cemeteries who in Lincoln’s words “gave their full measure of devotion” oblige the living to ensure that the dead did not die in vain.
However, in America while we have a memorial day remembering those killed in battle defending America. That day is not linked to July 4th.
Therefore, there is no denying that the Israelis insistence on linking their independent day to their memorial day observance is not only fitting, it is actually more American, it is a truer fulfillment of Lincoln’s message at Gettysburg.
The joining of Sheva Assur B’Tammuz and the fourth of July in 1776 and four score and seven years later in Morias’s post gettysburg sermon of 1863 is a reminder that Gettysburg and July 4th 1776 must always be joined in our minds and civic observance. It is unlikely that memorial day will be moved to the 3rd of July but that should not prevent us from learning from the Israeli experience and Lincoln’s words. Imagine if millions of Americans pause on their leisure day of July 3rd to remember Gettysburg day and all the soldiers who sacrificed for America’s freedom, July 4th would be affected and marked in a manner worthy of this great country. Surely this would be more true to Abraham Lincoln’s great legacy that he left us.
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JUNE 2018 HISTORY
The Full Measure of Devotion
Jewish Commentary
On July 4, 1863, Rabbi Sabato Morais of Philadelphia’s Mikveh Israel congregation ascended the pulpit to deliver the Sabbath sermon. Those assembled in the synagogue knew that over the previous few days, Union and Confederate forces had been engaged in an epic engagement at Gettysburg, but they had no idea who had won or whether Confederate forces would continue onward to Washington or Philadelphia. That year, July 4 coincided with the 17th of Tammuz, when Jews commemorate the Roman breach of the walls of Jerusalem. Morais prayed that God not allow Jerusalem’s fate to befall the American capital and assured his audience that he had not forgotten the joyous date on which he spoke: “I am not indifferent, my dear friends, to the event, which, four score and seven years ago, brought to this new world light and joy.”
An immigrant from Italy, Morais had taught himself English utilizing the King James Bible. Few Americans spoke in this manner, including Abraham Lincoln. Three days later, the president himself reflected before an audience: “How long ago is it?—eighty-odd years—since on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives assembled and declared as a self-evident truth that ‘all men are created equal.’” Only several months later, at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, would Lincoln refer to the birth of our nation in Morais’s manner, making “four score and seven years ago” one of the most famous phrases in the English language and thereby endowing his address with a prophetic tenor and scriptural quality.
This has led historians, including Jonathan Sarna and Marc Saperstein, to suggest that Lincoln may have read Morais’s sermon, which had been widely circulated. Whether or not this was so, the Gettysburg address parallels Morais’s remarks in that it, too, joins mourning for the fallen with a recognition of American independence, allowing those who had died to define our appreciation for the day that our “forefathers brought forth a new nation conceived in liberty.” Lincoln’s words stressed that a nation must always link civic celebration of its independence with the lives given on its behalf. Visiting the cemetery at Gettysburg, he argued, requires us to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work that “they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” He went on: “From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion,” thereby ensuring that “these dead shall not have died in vain.”
The literary link between Morais’s recalling of Jerusalem and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address makes it all the more striking that it is the Jews of today’s Judea who make manifest the lessons of Lincoln’s words. Just as the battle of Gettysburg concluded on July 3, Israelis hold their Memorial Day commemorations on the day before their Independence Day celebrations. On the morning of the Fourth of Iyar, a siren sounds throughout the land, with all pausing their everyday activities in reverent memory of those who had died. There are few more stunning images of Israel today than those of highways on which thousands of cars grind to a halt, all travelers standing at the roadside, and all heads bowing in commemoration. Throughout the day, cemeteries are visited by the family members of those lost. Only in the evening does the somber Yom Hazikaron give way to the joy of the Fifth of Iyar’s Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day. For anyone who has experienced it, the two days define each other. Those assembled in Israel’s cemeteries facing the unbearable loss of loved ones do so in the knowledge that it is the sacrifice of their beloved family members that make the next day’s celebration of independence possible. And the celebration of independence is begun with the acknowledgement by millions of citizens that those who lie in those cemeteries, who gave “their last full measure of devotion,” obligate the living to ensure that the dead did not die in vain.
The American version of Memorial Day, like the Gettysburg Address itself, began as a means of decorating and honoring the graves of Civil War dead. It is unconnected to the Fourth of July, which takes place five weeks later. Both holidays are observed by many (though not all) Americans as escapes from work, and too few ponder the link between the sacrifice of American dead and the freedom that we the living enjoy. There is thus no denying that the Israelis’ insistence on linking their Independence Day celebration with their Memorial Day is not only more appropriate; it is more American, a truer fulfillment of Lincoln’s message at Gettysburg.
In studying the Hebrew calendar of 1776, I was struck by the fact that the original Fourth of July, like that of 1863, fell on the 17th of Tammuz. It is, perhaps, another reminder that Gettysburg and America’s birth must always be joined in our minds, and linked in our civic observance. It is, of course, beyond unlikely that Memorial Day will be moved to adjoin the fourth of July. Yet that should not prevent us from learning from the Israeli example. Imagine if the third of July were dedicated to remembering the battle that concluded on that date. Imagine if “Gettysburg Day” involved a brief moment of commemoration by “us, the living” for those who gave the last full measure of devotion. Imagine if tens—perhaps hundreds—of millions of Americans paused in unison from their leisure activities for a minute or two to reflect on the sacrifice of generations past. Surely our observance of the Independence Day that followed could not fail to be affected; surely the Fourth of July would be marked in a manner more worthy of a great nation.
“Four Score and Seven Years Ago” – A Jewish Connection to Gettysburg
JULY 4, 2013MARC SAPERSTEIN
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July 4, 1863 was a Saturday, and Rabbi Sabato Morais, a Sephardi immigrant from Italy serving as religious leader of Philadelphia’s Mikveh Israel Congregation, delivered his Sabbath morning sermon. His sermon contains a phrase that might well have influenced the most celebrated speech in American history.
This particular Sabbath 150 years ago was unusual for several reasons. It was the American Independence Day, an occasion for celebration. However, in the Jewish calendar, it was also the 17th Day of Tammuz, a traditional day of mourning, commemorating the Roman breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in 70 CE, beginning a three-week period of solemnity that culminates with the 9th of Av, when the Temple was destroyed. This contrast in moods between the American and the Jewish calendars created a significant challenge for the preacher.
But there was a third complicating component that made the 1863 date unique: it followed immediately upon the conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg. On Saturday morning of July 4th, the news of the outcome of the battle was not yet accessible to Morais in Philadelphia — it would not be published until special-edition newspapers that afternoon. When he prepared the text of his sermon, and when he delivered the words from the pulpit, it was still unclear to the preacher and his congregants whether the Confederate Armies that had penetrated into Pennsylvania would break through the Union lines and threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington, D.C.
Morais’ sermon attracted enough attention to be published in a New York Jewish weekly six days later. The headline states that it had been delivered “at the request of the Philadelphia Union League.” This patriotic organization was founded in December 1862 in strong support of the war effort and President Lincoln’s policies. Weeks in advance, the League had urged all Philadelphia clergy to devote their July 5th Sunday morning sermons to a celebration of the July 4th national holiday. Following news of the victory at Gettysburg, the mood of those Sunday sermons was unambiguous. But for Morais, preaching on the 4th, the task was much more complex.
In his sermon, Morais confirms that he was officially asked to recall Independence Day, and that “A stirring oration on political topics may perhaps be anticipated as the most fitting manner of complying with the request.”
Yet Morais says that — both because of the date in the Jewish calendar and the bleakness of the current military circumstances–he cannot give the up-beat, inspirational, patriotic address that the Union League plainly desired. For his biblical text, [rather than selecting the verse recommended by the Union League for all sermons by Philadelphia clergy — the Liberty Bell verse from Leviticus, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof Morais reflected the prevailing mood (which would change so dramatically in just a few hours)] by choosing King Hezekiah’s words spoken during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem: “This is a day of trouble, of rebuke, and derision” (Isa. 37:3). Morais continues with an alarming allusion to the great battle some ninety miles away.
But the preacher could not totally ignore the July 4th occasion being commemorated throughout the North. And so he says, ‘I am not indifferent, my dear friends, to the event, which four score and seven years ago, brought to this new world light and joy.’
Three days later, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a small group and, according to the New York Times, he said, “How long ago is it? — eighty odd years — since on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives assembled and declared as a self-evident truth that ‘all men are created equal’.” [2] Morais also could have said “eighty odd years ago”; instead he used wording that echoes the King James translation “threescore years and ten” (Ps. 90:10), evoking an unusual event with what was then a highly unusual phrase — followed by “brought to this new world…”
Needless to say, some three months later, for the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, Abraham Lincoln elevated the level of his discourse from “eighty odd years” to “four score and seven years, our fathers brought forth to this continent,” possibly borrowing from the published text by the Philadelphia Sephardic preacher who, without knowing it, may have made a lasting contribution to American rhetorical history.[3]
[This article is based on the Preface to my Jewish Preaching in Times of War, 1800 – 2001 (Littman Library, 2008)]
- [1] The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler, 9 vols. (New Brunswick, 1953), 6: 319.
- [2] The Morais sermon was published in the “Jewish Messenger” on July 10, and it is conceivable that Lincoln was sent it and stored the phrase away for later use. The full text, published in the “Jewish Messenger” is available on the website of the University of Pennsylvania Library.
Marc Saperstein relocated to England in 2006 for a five-year term as Principal of the Leo Baeck College after teaching Jewish history and thought for 29 years at Harvard, Washington University in St. Louis, and George Washington University in DC. He is currently Professor of Jewish Studies at King’s College London. He was a Visiting Professor at Harvard in 2012 and Yale in 2013. A leading expert on the Jewish sermon as a source for history and religious culture, his most recent book is Jewish Preaching in the Times of War, 1800-2001. He is the brother of Rabbi David Saperstein.
| The Gettysburg AddressGettysburg, PennsylvaniaNovember 19, 1863On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a “monumental act.” He said Lincoln was mistaken that “the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” Rather, the Bostonian remarked, “The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech.”There are five known copies of the speech in Lincoln’s handwriting, each with a slightly different text, and named for the people who first received them: Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft and Bliss. Two copies apparently were written before delivering the speech, one of which probably was the reading copy. The remaining ones were produced months later for soldier benefit events. Despite widely-circulated stories to the contrary, the president did not dash off a copy aboard a train to Gettysburg. Lincoln carefully prepared his major speeches in advance; his steady, even script in every manuscript is consistent with a firm writing surface, not the notoriously bumpy Civil War-era trains. Additional versions of the speech appeared in newspapers of the era, feeding modern-day confusion about the authoritative text. |
Bliss Copy
Ever since Lincoln wrote it in 1864, this version has been the most often reproduced, notably on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It is named after Colonel Alexander Bliss, stepson of historian George Bancroft. Bancroft asked President Lincoln for a copy to use as a fundraiser for soldiers (see “Bancroft Copy” below). However, because Lincoln wrote on both sides of the paper, the speech could not be reprinted, so Lincoln made another copy at Bliss’s request. It is the last known copy written by Lincoln and the only one signed and dated by him. Today it is on display at the Lincoln Room of the White House.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
Nicolay Copy
Named for John G. Nicolay, President Lincoln’s personal secretary, this is considered the “first draft” of the speech, begun in Washington on White house stationery. The second page is writen on different paper stock, indicating it was finished in Gettysburg before the cemetery dedication began. Lincoln gave this draft to Nicolay, who went to Gettysburg with Lincoln and witnessed the speech. The Library of Congress owns this manuscript.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate we can not consecrate we can not hallow, this ground The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Hay Copy
Believed to be the second draft of the speech, President Lincoln gave this copy to John Hay, a White House assistant. Hay accompanied Lincoln to Gettysburg and briefly referred to the speech in his diary: “the President, in a fine, free way, with more grace than is his wont, said his half dozen words of consecration.” The Hay copy, which includes Lincoln’s handwritten changes, also is owned by the Library of Congress.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate we can not consecrate we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.
It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Everett Copy
Edward Everett, the chief speaker at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication, clearly admired Lincoln’s remarks and wrote to him the next day saying, “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.” In 1864 Everett asked Lincoln for a copy of the speech to benefit Union soldiers, making it the third manuscript copy. Eventually the state of Illinois acquired it, where it’s preserved at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Bancroft Copy
As noted above, historian George Bancroft asked President Lincoln for a copy to use as a fundraiser for soldiers. When Lincoln sent his copy on February 29, 1864, he used both sides of the paper, rendering the manuscript useless for lithographic engraving. So Bancroft kept this copy and Lincoln had to produce an additional one (Bliss Copy). The Bancroft copy is now owned by Cornell University.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Edward Everett:
Exploring Kotzk 