Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1924-11-28

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Central Ohio's Onh
Jewish Newspaper Reaching Every Home
a'wEEKLY newspaper FO^ THE JEWISH HOME
Demoted to Jlmerican
and
Jewish Ideati
Volume VII—21
COLUMBUS, OHIO, NCJ^KMJ^ER 28, 1924
Per Year $3,00; Per Copy loc
Judaism as a Way of Life Proposed by Prof. Kaplan
New Book by Learned Hieologian
StreMes View That Religious
Notion Yield to Civilization
Concept
BLAMES EMANCIPATION FOR CONFUSED TERMS
Insistence  on Torah  in  Jewish
Life 'Would Revolutionize
Educational Methods
"There is only one way o£ saving Judaism and that is to engage in .as¬ sociated, cndeivdr with the avowed purpose of making Judaism function as a way of life," declares Dr. Mor¬ decai M. Kaplan, in the foreward of his latest book, "A New Approach to the Problem of Judaism," which has just been published by the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, of which Dr. Kaplan is the leader.
"As adherents of Judaism, faced with a condition that docs not let us live at ease," Dr. Kaplan states. "It compels us to readjust ourselves socially and intellectually. To leave that readjustment to chance vite moral chads. We cannot afford to wait until a Sanhedrin, possessed of universal wisdom and representa¬ tive of the multifarious shades of Jew¬ ish belief and practice, will agree upon some happy formula that will satisfy the whole of Israel. Nor do we look forward to any new gospel or revela-
Therefore, as Dr. ^aplan empha¬ sizes, it is necessary to view Judaism as a civilization, as "thc spirit of a na¬ tion, and not as the cult of a denom¬ ination."
"What does Judaism mean to the average layman?" Dr. Kaplan asks in his took. "A few stories from the book of Genesis vaguely remembered, the duty of believing in one God, keeping away from. ham .'and, shellfish, attend- t^oh thc;.high-hoJy
C. J. W. MEETING
;. -^h    NEXT TUESDAY
The -#||^n:bus Section Council of Jewish ^^^nieo. will- meet next Tuesd.iy, Decemba'¦'2nd, at thc Eryden Road Temple	
Because of thc important matters to be discussed and the splendid program which has been arranged for, every niember is urged to be present., The afternooA's' program is in charge of Miss R(isina Weiler of the Junior Coun¬ cil Auxiliary.
parted parent. In the natural course of things even these few duties grow irksome. From the state of mind to thc conclusion that Judaism is alto¬ gether superfluous is but one step.''
Religious Civilization
"Judaism is not a religious philos¬ ophy but a religious' civilization. It is a cultural and spiritual complex of language, literature, history, customs, social institutions, organized about a conception ojE God which has the most far-reaching social and spiritual im¬ plications for human life of all times." • Dr. Kaplan points out that "at time in the past was Judaism treated by Jew" or Gentile as anything else than d civilization. The confusion as teethe true character of Judaism is a by-jModuct of the emancipation. Out of ftar lest we be charged with hy- phenate<l loyalty to the country of which we are citizens, our timid lead¬ ers and teachers have tried to reduce the Jewish civilization to a cult."
Our chief problem today. Dr. Kap¬ lan emphasizes, is to "reinstate thc Torah in the life of the Jew," to make it once again the "chief humanizing element" .in Jewish life. Torah should remind us that Judaism can function as a way of life only so long as the Jew is engaged in a lifelong process .of moral education.
Dr. .Kaplan then takes tip this con¬ ception of Torah in connection witH the education of the child and the youth and the re-education of the adult, point¬ ing' out that it would revolutionize of our present notions of moral and spiritual education. The Jewish adoles¬ cent who turns from his religion and becomes a hardened cynic is not neces¬ sarily the youth who received no spir- {Concluded on page 4)
Rebuilding Palestine is in Harmony Witb tbf^jSpirit of the Age
.^^Dpclaros A. H. Putney.
Former Chief of the Near Eastern
Division of the Department of
State Ccmunents Favorably
on Zionist Endeavors in
Moly Land
NEW YORK (J. T. A.)-^Favorable comment upo^ie report of the Zionist Organizatroh, acting as the Jewish Agency, to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations was made in a statement of Albert H. Putney, former Chief of thc Near East¬ ern Division of thc Department of State, and .p&& of the 'School of Diplomacy and Jurisprudence of the American University.
"I read with great interest the first report made by the Jewish Agency to the League of Nations regarding prog¬ ress in Palestine. As I read it my thoughts went back to that -other tumn, only eight years agp, when the realization, first began to arise in the minds of i^ ..handful of enthusiastic Jews, and of d Still smaller handful of observant non-Jews that one of the by¬ products of the great European World War was to be the creation of an op¬ portunity for the actual erection of a restored Palestine of which thq Jewish had been dreaming for more than eighteen centuri^s;
"It was not, "however, imtil- a year later, that is, only .Scyen/years ago, that
thc great masses, bdt^*^'J^iVisli and non- Jewish, to the fact that a restored Jew¬ ish homeland in Palestine was at least a strong possibility. With this procla¬ mation came the beginning of the real opportunity  for the Zionist Organiza-
OBITUARY
Survival or Extinctiotf-The Problem of Jewry Today
By ELISHA M. FlilKDMAN
After a prolonged illness, death came to Mr. Jesse Harmon, aged 47 years, . at  McMillen  Sanitarium  Sunday,  No¬ vember 23rd.
Mr. Harmon, who was a commercial traveler and resided at 388^ S. Ohio Avenue was a member bf the Elka, Zion Lodge I. O. B. B. and of the Bry- <len Road Temple.
Funeral  services were held Tuesday at two p. ni. at the Schocdinger chapel, Rabbi Jacob Tarshish of Temple Israel officiating.     Interment   w^s   made Greenlawn Cemetery.
Mr. Harmon leaves to survive him^ two brothers, Max and Aaron Harmon, and a sister, Mrs. Henry Gumble.
'These dates should be carefully re¬ membered: for what the Zionist Or¬ ganization has accomplished in Pales- must bo fudged, first of all, with relation to the length of time which has elapsed since their work in Palestine began. Judged from this standard appears to an unprejudiced outsider that they have accomplished 'as mu<' could be fairly expected'by this The policy of the organization is one which manifestly is concerned with the laying of a solid foundation rather than with mushroom^ growth. With great wisdom and foresight the cornerstone of the" foundation has been made the own¬ ership of the soil of Palestine.
'Perhaps the greatest ground for confidence in the Zionist Organization is the knowledge that their work is in complete harmony with the spirit of the is becoming realized that, not only as a matter of simple justice, but also for the benefit of all humanity, that each of the peoples of the world, except the few with marked mental de¬ ficiencies, i$ entitled to a national cen¬ ter, where the spirit of the race can find its free self-expression.
"The nine new countries which ex¬ tend in n solid 'block across Europe from the White and Baltic Seas on north to the Black and Adriatic Seas the South, recompense the world for thc losses and sufferings'of the great war. The recent triumphs of the prin¬ ciple of self-determination are also to be found in Egypt, in Arabia and British dominions.
"Is the Jewish race only to be ex¬ cluded from this greatest of all human privileges? The answer to this ques¬ tion lies in the hands of the Zionist Organization. Its recent report justi¬ fies its friends, both within and without the organization, in believing that these hands are efiicient ones."
{Editor's Note: This article is one chapter of Mr. Fricdtnan's book "Sur- ival Or Extinction'' in vfhtch thc author gi^t » graphic and scholarly descrip¬ tion of the process of._dcvelopitimt and addpmion of Jcmsit thought in the last 2,000 years and treats of the ftMdaptentdl pMiian of modern Jewish life. The book is to be published shortly and it is' ihrottgh the courtesy of the author that the Jewish Telegraphic Agenty ii enabled to publish this chapter i vance.) ' .-»»,"
Jewish life is in a state of transition,   fpe old order, with its belief	
profound significance of every dot and jett^l-l in thc Bible, in the static nature, thc fixity and the soul-saving power of eyfeVy detail of. thc ceremonial law, the divine character of Rabbinic legislation,*Jl».fhe personal Messiah, and in miraculous restoration to Palestine—all ar^*|«ithering away under the mighty complex of cultural and social forces of mdScrn times. As an Arabic rational- in the dajfs of Saadiah said, "Our peopl^re divided into two classes, those that have intelligence but no belief and th^U^t believe and have no under¬ standing." ^\
The Jews today ard deprived of an uppejr class to cap their social life. Their intelligent men are estranged from their people and their faith. The Michclsons in America, Brandes in DctlmarH^pd Wasscrmans in Germany are not Jewish in any sense, except by the claitijs of a people whom they aban¬ doned. The Jewish social body is thus left'^cplcted and from its ranks is re cruited the new material in the ever continuitig process of assimilation.
Not a New Condition
This condition is not new. The twentictH, century phase of it is a continua¬ tion of a disruptive process, begitining in the ^|itt<!r decades of the eighteenth cen¬ tury. The eastern Jew, in Russia as in Amerjca, is manifesting the same proc¬ ess today as his more favored brother did Jn,'dcrinany, one hundred years ago.
Thc causes of this disintegration have :£^ traced with a master hand by Dr.' Arthur Ruppin in "The Jews of Today"!" Thc new culture was ushered in, socially, by the civil.emancipation of the Jew-and thc rise of modern capitalism and, intellectually, by scientific materialism 'alid'' rationalism.
The Jewish religion of eastern Europtf ftrcs very poorly under the impact of these mighty forces. Bred in a ghetto ijTolation, dependent thereupon for ritual and dogma and fostered by an intellectual inbreeding, the theology of old buckles and bends under the stress. Socially, the Jews became active in com¬ merce and science—the forces that abov&-.aU4;'others have broken ¦ international barriers. Freed and scattered amidst all the' peoples, the Jewish surface of con¬ tact increased for the play of these destru^ive forces. Separatist observances like the Sabbath, the dietary laws and-ritual-^'peculiarities vanished under their solvent~influence, ¦,  .',;-.
f '' A Foreign Awtiide
^Modern education in science and inihistQriCiil criticism has destroyed much of the basis of belief and practice. The 'a'qOptjon by Jews of thc language of the several countries, with the cuUurc }]Q)j'|^4iui''''" ^'>'^"> ^^^ expression, has suited in a.foreign attitude toward.J^^shjculture. Jews speak of the "Dark Ages" although the geniuses of Jewish'liistory—Saadiah,' Ibn Gabriol, Ibn Ezra, Jehudah Halevi,, Maimonides, Rashi and Bei|;i^cfsoil-r^ flourished in contrast to .Jlift ha^^^esk^o£r^^Jgw^bpeaf^'jwwld. -Ty{^^'j3J3s?incc'|,meatit ptle for Jew¬ ish history,'for'that'pcr-rodwitriessed the'sKi'.S&tiori'-*FiJfrwidh;jifis^:thc-tfWi fication of Jewish legalism and the arrest of its development under persecution and confinement. Acceptance of these terms shows the estrangement of Jews from Jewish thoughts.
Anti-Semitism, has also been an ever present influence. Its basis has been, first religious, then national and finally economic and its form physical, legal and then social, corresponding to the intellectual development of Europe. Cultural anti-Semitism is the newest phase of the growth of this anti-social force. How¬ ever, assimilation, baptism, and intermarriage offer an avenue of escape, and many a Jew avails himself of these means of being lost in "the average man".
Modern Jewish life, exposed to the changes and influences outlined, is un¬ dergoing a process of dissolution, which threatens the integrity of the Jewish people and its distinctive and essential values. Assuming the desirability and necessity of preserving the people and its essential values, what social and cul¬ tural adjustments to the new conditions can Jews make?
COLUMBUS ZIONISTS
TO ELECT OFFICERS
\ Zionist rally and election of of¬ ficers will he held Sunday,evening, De¬ cember Tth, at eight o'clock at the Co¬ lumbus Hebrew School, 558 E. Rich Street..
special program has been arranged for and several splendid speakers will address those present. A cordial invi¬ tation is extended everyone to attend.
2nd Anniversary of Local Talmud Torah Fittingly Celebrated
Well-Known Attorneys of Day¬ ton   and   Columbus   Addtress Large Gathering of HeVStpyf School Supporters
Last Sunday, November 23rd, is day which will be long remembered 'JW the annals of the Ivreeyoh Society and of the Hebrew School of Columbus. On that date was celebrated the second' anniversary of the School. To mark the occasion thc ladies of the Ivreeyoh were hostesses to over 150 people at a dinner which was followed by a pro¬ gram of unusual excellence. Mr. N. Finkelstein, acting as toast- aster, first introduced Mrs. J. Wise¬ berg, the new president of the Ivreeyoh, who welcomed those who had come to the celebration. ' Short addresses were made by the oflicers of the Ivreeyoh, directors of the school, by Rabbi Werne and the Messrs. Ben and Aaron Neustadt.
Thc principal speaker of the evening, Mr. Edwin J. Schanfarber, gave an spiring talk in which he congratulated those who are working for the Hebre\ir School, and said that he realized most clearly the necessity and importance of such an institution. He urged them to continue their efforts with unabated vigor and enthusiasm, so that they might reach the height of success, concluded with an eloquent toast to thc Hebrew School.
Mr. Schanfarber then, as a surprise to the audience, introduced his friend, Sidney   Kusworm,   a
closing 	
gratulations and' Best ^tyisHei to the Ivreeyoh and to the Hebrew Schqol, stating that he had long been interested
id active in work of that kind.
Miss Hattie Rappenport, accompan¬ ied by Mrs. B. W. Abramson, rendered beautiful vocal solos and Miss Florence Levin played two piano bers in a most artistic manner, closing with one of her own composition.
The program was concluded ia^^ the cutting of the birthday cake.
Lessons of Past endeavor to learn the lessons of the Jewish past, for history records similar periods. Twenty-three hundred and some odd years ago, Ezra led the return of a handful of Jews from Babylon. Separatist measures effected. The heathen practices were discarded. The Torah readings instituted. "The Man of the Great Assembly" was evolved, for the study and development of the law. Syna¬ gogues were'established and the begin¬ nings of a service and a ritual laid. Culturally, the Torah, as the core of Jfewish life, and socially, geographic segregation were the parallel preserva¬ tives of the people.
Under the destruction of the Jewish polity, Joshua Ben Gamala established elementary schools in Judea and R ban Jochanan Ben Zakkai founded academy at Jabneh,   The prayers w lengthened from the "Shema" to include the eighteen benedictions and the liturgy was called upon to sustain Jewish life. Toward the end of the second century
the Mishna was compiled by Rabbi Judah. Academics grew at Sura, Pumbeditha, Nahardea, Silhi and Narez. Rabbinic amplification of the law with thc intent of keeping the Jews a sep¬ arate group continued, and was com¬ mitted to writing in the Talmud, which was compiled by Red Ashi and Rabinah in thc fifth century. Education and an ever growing spiritual expression through ritual were preserving forces. But during the centuries that fql- lowed there appeared a continually re¬ curring conflict.
Two Balancing Forces
Jewish history shows a struggle be¬ tween two balancing forces, a preserva¬ tive legalism whose symbols often lost their significance and a series of m ments to reinterpret Jewish life.
The-first revolt was on the part of the Karaites led by Anan Ben David. Looking to the source o^ rabbinic leg¬ islation, the Bible, and antagonistic to legalism, the movement reformed Jcw- {Continued on page 4)
NEW YORK (J. T. A.). —"There is absolutely no foundation in statements that Mr. Morgenthau i any way dpnnected with the alleged ac¬ tions of Mr. Kaufman," declared Const. D. Xanthopoulos, Greek Charge d'Af- faires at Washington, in a statement issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
"I wish to repeht that we feel a deep sense of gratitude toward Mr. Mor¬ genthau, who for morc than one year, has devoted his talents and energies so faithfully to the assistance of the Greek refugees,"
PALESTINE    HEALTH   DEPART¬ MENT RENDERS REPORT
JERUSALEM (J. T. A. Mail Serv¬ ice)—The Annual Report of the De¬ partment of Health of the Government of Palestine has recently been pub¬ lished for the year 1923. It gives full information concerning vital statistics, epidemic service, anti-malarial meas¬ ures, hospitals and dispensaries, oph¬ thalmic service, sanitary administra¬ tion, relief, quarantine and all other activities of the Department.
The Report states that the recorded number of births in Palestine (Bedouin tribes,excluded) was 31,402 in 1923, against 27,516 during the preceding year. The number of reported deaths was 16,094. as compared with 12,17:- during 1922.' The increased death rate is attributed to the epidemic of measles which    affected    two-thirds    of
''Winning Jews to Judaism" Is Motto of U. A. H. C. Dep't.
Efforts   of   the   Department   of Sjmogog and School Extension of the U. A H. C. Reach Co¬ religionists in Every Nook ahd Comer of Land
WORK IN UNIVERSITIES
ON THE INCREASE
In a small western town live a- hand¬ ful of Jews. These Jews settled in this town many years ago, and through hard work have made a place for themselves. Children came into thc families. And during these years these families have unconsciously been growing away from Judaism. Through thc initiative of thc Department of Synagog and School Ex¬ tension of thc Uniqn of American He¬ brew Congregations,/a flourishing coib- • gregation now exists in that community. ^
of the largest cities of this country there arq a quarter of a million children, 75% of whom received no Jewish education whatsoever. , Through the initiative of the Department of Synagog and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congrega¬ tions, Hebrew Schools are being estab¬ lished, providing Jewish education for some of these children.
The significance and meaning of our Jewish Holy Days is not known among non-Jews and even Jews of America. Through the initiative of the Depart¬ ment of Synagog and School Extension, tracts are prepared, explaining in tf'nplc language the various Holidays, thus en¬ lightening both Jews and non-jrcws as the historical origin of these impor¬ tant days.
During the summer months thousands of Jews make their homes at various re- Many of them have been leaving their Judaism behind at home. Through tbe initiative of the Department of Syn-. agog and School Extension services are' becoming conducted ata large number o^ resorts during the summer months, tl^usi bringing Judaism to the Jews while on; wiciitions. '¦'','• " '  '
to reduce "the high rate of mortality during the epidemic of measles.
Apart from the epidemic of measles, many cases of smallpox, typhoid fever, dysentery, typhus, relapsing fever, diph¬ theria, pneumonia and other infectious diseases occurred. No cases of cholera occurred in 1923. The most successful branch of Public Health work during the year was the campaign against malaria. "In some districts," the Re¬ port says, "as, for example, the Valley of Jezrel, the whole area from Mer- chavia to Beisan, where in previous years there were several epidemics of malaria among the newly settled col¬ onists, the extensive work undertaken has reduced the disease to a few spor¬ adic cases."
In the towns, nearly a million inspec¬ tions wer^ made of potential mosquito bredeing places.   The total number of
Reading Room
The   reading  room  at  the   Hebrew School is now open from 4:00 P. M. ":00  P.  M.  daily except  Friday  and Saturday.
The public is invited to make use of lis room, where they will find daily papers in English and Yiddish, Hebrew magazines and books in English, Yid¬ dish and Hebrew. We trust that the Jewi.sh people, of Columbus will take advantage   of    the    privilege    offered
An Appeal For Books
The reading room committee will be pleased to receive any books that' one cares to donate to the Hebrew School, they may be in English, Yiddish or He¬ brew. All those who have books that they would like to donate, kindly call Citz. 47-16. •   '.   .
Donations.". $17.00 was collected at a B'rith held at the home of Mr. Sussman, Donald¬ son St., and Mr. L. Sherman of Cleve¬ land, t)hio, donated $8.00 for the priv¬ ilege of delivering the money to thc Hebrew School.
$50.00 was donated by Mr. E. J. Schanfarber on the occasion of the sec¬ ond anniversary celebration held last Sunday evening.
The membership campaign will be launched early in December. Full par¬ ticulars will appear in next week's issue of thc Chronici£.
unconsciously, their Judaism. Thraugii the initiative of the Department of Synagog and School Extension,'' "reli-' gious work among students in the vari- colleges is carried on, and in several institutions student congregations have already been established, thus winning for Judaism Jewish young people who gradually growing away from the faith of their, fathers.
Thus in- panorama is given a picture of the work of the Department of Syn¬ agog and School Extension. This work established in 1905, and during its ninetetn years of existence, it has many
remarkable achievements to' its credit. Many congregations have been organ¬ ized, religious schools established, im¬ portant text-books published, and Jew¬ ish Teachers' Associations founded.
The program of the work of this De¬ partment is divided into four categories: (a) summer services, (b) regional ac¬ tivity in synagog extension, (c) tract commission, (d) commission on Jewish education. These four m^in divisions carry on fourteen tasks which include: the solving of religious problems of Jews living upon farms, involving over 10,000, children; religious .problems of Jews living in small scattered groups, involving 1000 towns; reaching the un¬ affiliated Jews in large cities, and the unaffiliated and untaught children in metropolitan centers; looking after Jews and Jewesses in universities, involving 18,000 persons; providing religious serv- {Concluded on page 4)
MOSCOW — (J. T. A.) — The young¬ er generation of Jews who are growing up under the Bolshevik regime seems to have very little appreciation of Communist system. The All Russian Communistic Youth Association num¬ bers only 19,815 Jewish members, or 40 Jewish members to every thousand Jew¬ ish boys and girls between the ages ol fourteen and eighteen in Russia, accord¬ ing to the latent figures published here. Tpwish membership of the Communist rabid animals destroyed during the,year pa^ty amounts to 7 out of every thou- was 0571. sand adult Jews in Russia.
Leader of Polish Peasants Party
Appointed  Vice  Premier;
Will Take Up Minorities
Question
WARSAW (J. T. A.).-Stanislaw Thugutt, leader of the Polish radical peasants party, "Wyzwolenie" has ac¬ cepted the post of vice prime minister. Mr. Thugutt, who was formerly prime minister of Poland, is known as one of the few Polish political leaders who is inclined to solve the problem of the National Minorities in Polimd in a man- satisfactory to the latter. He has made definite promises in this respect, and out of office.
Immediately his appointment was made kfiown a delegation of represen¬ tatives pf the National Minorities, in¬ cluding Dr. Leon Reich, president of. the "Kolo", called on him, asking him to take up the matter of the National, Minorities. Vice Premier Thugutt promised to call a, conference after he has been sworn into office.
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