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The Southern Israelite
Southern Shorthand
Business University
L. W. ARNOLD, President
86 Whitehall St., S. W. Atlanta, Ga.
Red Rock Co
SAM E. LEVY, Pres. ABE GOLDSTEIN, V.-Pres.
PRIOR TIRE CO., Inc.
Peachtree at Pine Street
Batteries—Woco-Pep—Oils—Service
HOOD TIRES
Dont Cuss—Phone Us!
WAlnut 9876 We Never Close
Phone MAin 2152-W
Modern Hebrew School
Office
593 Washington St., S. W.
ATLANTA, GA.
SAMUEL GEFFEN, Director
SPECIAL INSTRUCTION FOR BAR-MITZVAHS
Specialists In Jewish Education
(Continued from Page 37)
tigations carried on by the Character
Measurement Inquiry, and described
some of the tests used in measuring
character.
Various members of the class con
tributed important studies along spec
ial lines, notably Dr. Harry Comins,
who discussed his own particular field
of research, the project method of
teaching children.
The class was organized primarily
for the men who are holding fellow
ship in pedagogy at Teachers College,
Columbia University, fellowships
which were supplied by the Depart
ment of Synagogue and School Exten
sion and by the National Federation
of Temple Sisterhoods. There were:
Rabbi Sam. J. Wolk, of Cincinnati;
Messrs. Joseph Zubin, Morris Arzt,
and Morris Mondzak, all of New York
City; and I)r. Harry Comins, of Hart
ford, Conn.
Several rabbis who were summer
ing in New York City evidenced in
terest in the undertaking and were
invited to join the class. These were:
Rabbi Philip Jaffa and Rabbi Gus.
Falk, Regional Rabbis of the Union;
Mrs. Gus Falk; Dr. Bernard Bam-
lx'rger, who was recently appointed
Rabbi of Temple Beth Emeth, Albany,
N. Y., and Rabbi Lawrence Schwartz,
Assistant to Rabbi Harry L ev i of
Temple Israel, Boston.
Rabbi George Zepin, Executive Sec
retary of the Uoinn, was a guest at
the luncheon. In speaking of the suc
cess achieved by the seminar, Rabbi
Zepin said,
“We are standing at the threshold
of one of the most remarkable era*
ever known in Jewish history, and one
in which education will p l ay a ] ead ,
ing role. I look upon the experiment
of educating a group of men for lead
ership in Jewish education as one of
the finest things that the Union is
engaged in sponsoring.”
Rabbi Lawrence Schwartz spoke of
the mutual benefits to be derived from
a seminar of this kind and expressed
the hope that the seminar would be
continued from year to year.
Rabbi Falk said,
“I consider the seminar of great
value because it enabled those who
are interested in the problem of Jew
ish education to gather together and
discuss methods and means of improv
ing the educational system in our re
ligious schools.”
All those present expressed their
appreciation for the services given
without remuneration by Drs. Gamo-
ran and Mailer and by Rabbi Poliak
and voiced the desire that the experi
ment would be continued each sum
mer.
Repentance
By RABBI ALEX. ALAN STEINBACH
Brlli El Temple, Norfolk, Va.
Yom Kippur is significant in that
it directs our minds to thoughts of re
pentance. The frail human frame can
not prevent imperfect links from be
ing forged into the chain of human
existence, and for this reason it is
imperative that man should indulge
periodically in self-scrutiny with the
view of eliminating the dross that has
accumulated in his life. If the old
adage be true that a chain is no
stronger than its weakest link, it fol
lows logically that the most effective
method of strengthening the chain of
life is to strive uninterruptedly to im
prove its weak links. In the moral
sphere, this process is called Repent
ance.
If we concur in the view that evil
is an inherent part of human exist
ence, or as William James believes,
that it is a disease of the soul, we can
readily appreciate the value of re
pentance as an armor against the in
roads of evil. “The best repentance,”
says James, “is to up and act for
righteousness, and forget you had re
lations with sin.” This statement em
bodies the deeper purpose of Yom
Kippur. The burden of sin is automat
ically thrust aside through dedication
to the positive moral imperatives of
life. Expiation of guilt is possible only
when it leads to self-regeneration
through the re-establishment of a har
monious relationship between the hu
man soul and the power of the Divine.
No matter how deeply the soul has
been steeped in evil, it stands pure
before God if the individual renews
the ethical and moral covenant with
Tim. Such a covenant breaks down the
screen that has been set up between
:he individual and his Maker, and re
peals the benedictions of Providence.
Repentance, therefore, not only re
moves the consciousness of guilt, but
ilso enables the individual to go on
A r ith the duties of life as if he had
never fallen.
But repentance must be more than
i mechanical formalism. As Maimoni-
:les points out, it must be rooted in
the outpouring of the yearning heart
A life that has met disaster upon the
rocks of evil can not be salvaged
through the mere recitation of word
formulas. The moral filth on which it
crashed must first be washed away
The spirit that has been stained
through contact with sin, must be
cleansed, and a new quest for holiness
must be embarked upon. “Make for
yourselves a new heart and a new
spirit.” These words of the propne
Ezekiel constitute the basis of true
repentance. Spiritual rehabilitation i
consummated only with the cO ^ cl0U ^.
ness of having been purged. The ev
that anchored the soul to the
must be routed by a purifying
that will scorch the shackles an
mit the soul to soar heightward.
With the advent of Yom KiPP -
let us give ourselves over to
hearted repentance. Let us app'
this august day with a sincere
that it will mend us spiritually or .
us divest ourselves of our mo ^
ruption and garb ourseBes
spirituality that will r ® n er . . ^
thy to stand face to face
Divine Spirit.