birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." Or what more sublimely beautiful than the following passage from the prophet Joel:
"And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The spirit of beauty the Jews of old certainly possessed, they could therefore adopt any form and make it beautiful. The eminence which the Jews have since attained in the plastic arts is ample proof of the above contention.
The Zionists, therefore, in their struggle against Hellenism and in their call to their people to resume their ancient Hebraic ideals must not be accused of wishing to establish a stern and repulsive Puritanism, unadorned by beauty and the joy of life. On the contrary, to rejoice in the Lord was a given commandment, and the Jewish religion laid its entire emphasis on joyous and healthy living. But, the Zionists claim, the aim must ever be truth and justice, and beauty will come of itself. Plant the seed in healthy soil, nourish the roots and stem, and the blossoms are bound to sprout. But, without truth, beauty becomes despair, and life becomes
bad smell. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
And so the struggle between Jehovah and the idols goes on, and those who have faith know that Jehovah must conquer as he did of old. And the fact that those behind the standards of the Lord are few in number signifies nothing for "the victory standeth not in the multitude of an host." In the first Book of the Maccabees, the Chronicler records as follows:
"But as for such as were building houses, or had betrothed wives, or were planting vineyards, or were fearful, these he commanded that they should return, every man to his own house according to the law." This command Judas Maccabaeus issued right before the decisive battle of Emmaus, in which he gained a brilliant victory. And the Zionists, too, must ask all those who belong to similar categories to "return, every one to his own home." The re-establishment of the Jewish state after the Babylonian captivity was accomplished by a mere fraction of the Jewish people, and the former victory achieved by Hebraism over Hellenism can be repeated despite the small number of those in the field, for their strength is not in proportion to their numbers, but in proportion to the might of their spirit.
The Daughter of Zion
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II
III
By a little brook in Zion Waves a palm-tree to and fro; And beneath it weeps a maiden, Weeps and sings old songs of woe.
Songs of night and tears of sorrow From her lips and eyelids flow; For her people still are wanderers In a world of endless woe.
While she sings with soul so dreary,Waves the palm-tree to and fro;While she weeps with bitter anguish—Merrily the brook doth flow.