THE FEAST OF LIGHTS But chiefly when Thy liberal hand And homeward all their treasures bear; Our hymn of praise, For we Thy common bounties share. Lord of the harvest, all is Thine! New praises from our lips shall sound! 241 JOHN HAMPDEN GURNEY 109 THE FEAST OF LIGHTS Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre, till afar An eightfold splendor shine above the hearth. Clash, Israel, the cymbals, touch the lyre, Blow the brass trumpet and the harsh-tongued horn; Chant psalms of vict'ry till the heart takes fire, Remember how from wintry dawn till night, The foam-white walls with golden shields were hung, With crowns and silken spoils, and at the shrine Stood, midst their conqueror-tribe, five chieftains, sprung From one heroic stock, one seed divine. Five branches grown from Mattathias' stem, Towered in warrior-beauty, uncrowned king, Armed with the breastplate and the sword of God, Whose praise is: "He received the perishing." They who had camped within the mountain-pass, Couched on the rock, and tented 'neath the sky, Who saw from Mizpah's heights the tangled grass Choke the wide temple courts; the altar lie Disfigured and polluted; who had flung Their faces on the stones, and mourned aloud, And rent their garments, wailing with one tongue, Crushed as a wind-swept bed of reeds is bowed, CHANUKAH 243 E'en they, by one voice fired, one heart of flame, Though broken reeds, had risen and were men; They rushed upon the spoiler and o'ercame; Each arm for freedom had the strength of ten. Now is their mourning into dancing turned, Their sackcloth doffed for garments of delight; Week-long the festive torches shall be burned, Music and revelry wed day and night. Still ours the dance, the feast, the glorious Psalm, The mystic lights of emblem, and the Word. Where is our Judas? Where our five-branched palm? Where are the lion-warriors of the Lord? Clash, Israel, the cymbals, touch the lyre, Sound the brass trumpet and the harsh-tongued horn, Chant hymns of vict'ry till the heart takes fire, ΙΙΟ EMMA LAZARUS CHANUKAH I We welcome thee joyfully, glorious night, Invites us to praise Him, the great Adonoy. He was our Redeemer in dark days of old, Of brave, pious martyrs these bright candles tell, Who yielded their soul, praying: "Hear, Israel!" Of Hannah, the mother, and seven sons, so dear, Who sealed with their life-blood their faith without fear. But Israel's God never slumbers nor sleeps, They fought like true heroes for God, law, and land, To victory leading their heroic band, Once more was Jerusalem happy and gay, Be welcome then, welcome, O glorious night, RABBI LOUIS STERN CHANUKAH 245 III CHANUKAH II [This can be sung to the traditional Chanukah Hymn found in all Jewish Hymnals.] Let our grateful anthems ring, Joyous songs and gladsome lays, Hears their cry, from on high, Syria's mad and mighty host God wrought for our nation, "Feast of Lights "O glorious name! That inspired the Maccabees; Cowards, traitors-never! And to love God above, Right and truth forever. RABBI LOUIS STERN |