The Sabbath Eve

IN quaint old Talmud’s pages,

Where speak the Jewish sages,

I found this pearl tonight:

Behold it, fair and white!

For, as the rabbins say,

Two angels guard the way

Of him on Sabbath eve

Who turns his homeward feet

Off through the busy street,

The synagogue to leave.

And if the lamps are lit,

If there the maidens sit

With the mother by their side;

If there the youths abide

At the quiet eventide—

Then speaks the spirit blest—

“Here let all blessing rest!

May every Sabbath be

Like this one unto thee;

Peace to this dwelling, peace!”

And he of little ease,

The restless demon, then,

Mutters a rough “Amen!”

But if the darkness there

Obscures the evening prayer;

If matron and if maid

Show worldliness displayed;

And if the youths have place

In regions low and base—

Then sneers the evil one:

“Be all thy blessings gone!

Make every Sabbath be

Like this one unto me!”

And, with his head bent low,

The other in his woe,

Must weep and utter then

His sorrowful, “Amen!”