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The Southern Israelite
"First Annual Convention Southeastern
Orthodox Rabbis 99 In Savannah
Special to The Southern Israelite.
'Flic first convention of the Orthodox
Rabbis of the Southeast was held in
Savannah, Ga., May 20-22 at the Hotel
L)e Soto. Rabbis and laymen from six
states attended. Rabbi Nathan N. Ro
sen of the Synagogue B. B. Jacob, Sa
vannah, Ga., was official host to the
convention.
The objects of this conference, which,
incidentally, is the first of a contem
plated series of meets throughout the
Southern States, arc to weld together
the Orthodox Jewish activities in the
South and Southeast, to spread the
ideals of Orthodox Judaism in this area
and to establish a spirit of co-opera
tion between the clergy and the con
gregations.
Rabbis and lay representatives from
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Car
olina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and
Kentucky attended the conference.
They discussed synagogue activities,
prospects for uniform curriculum in
Hebrew schools of the South, the prob
ability of obtaining graduates from re
liable normal schools and teacher
agencies for distribution among South
ern Jewish schools, adult education of
men and women, merging of activi
ties, and the advisability of having one
board of directors composed of mem
bers of Rabbinical Assembly and lay
congregationists.
The purpose of this gathering of
Rabbis and laity of the Southern Jew
ish districts is to show that true Jew
ish activities should emanate from one
responsible source, and should be gov
erned along popularly approved lines,
and to show that state and county lines
must be ignored, if the traditional ban
ner of Judaism is to be raised high in
the South.
The first session was held in the
B’ni B’rith Jacob Synagogue. Rabbi
Nathan N. Rosen, who presided at the
opening session, greeted the visiting
Rabbis and laymen as the privileged
builders of a new “Baes Ha’shem”, the
Union of Orthodox Rabbis and Con
gregations of the Southeast. Rabbi
Rosen expressed a hope that “the spir
itual edifice dedicated to the dissemi
nation and fortification in the South
of our glorious Torah principles and of
our Jewish traditions will be an inspi
ration and a beacon light to Orthodox
Jewry of the South.”
Rabbi Israel Weisfeld, of Miami,
Fla., read a paper on “Problems Facing
the Orthodox American Rabbi”, and
Rabbi Nison Heifetz, of Nashville,
Tenn., read a paper on “Jewish Edu
cation.” Messages from the following
were read at the first session: Agudas
Harabbonun, of the United States and
Canada, the most prominent party of
Orthodox Rabbis of the United States;
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Sem
inary of New York; Hebrew Theologi
cal College of Chicago; Yeshiva Rabbi
Solomon Kluger of New York; Rab
binical Assembly of the United Ortho
dox Jewish congregations of America;
Yeshiva College Alumni, the Pardes
Rabbinical Monthly Journal of Chi
cago; the congregations at Miami,
Louisville, Memphis, Nashville; Rabbi
Herman L. Rosen, Manhattan Beach,
N. Y., brother of Rabbi Rosen of Sa
vannah, and from the following Rabbis
who were unable to attend: Rabbi
Feigon, of Gastonia, N. C., and Rabbi
Epstein, of Atlanta.
Greetings were also received from
Temple Mickva Israel of Savannah,
Savannah Section of Council of Jewish
Women and from the conference of
Jewish Women’s organizations of Sa
vannah.
Of more than ordinary pleasure and
interest to the Rabbis and laymen alike
was the following letter from I)r. B.
Revel, the head of the Yeshiva College
in New York:
“My Dear Rabbis:
“I hope that the organization will
become permanent and make for the
permanence of Jewish life and its fully
realized ideals, in the South. As leaders
of your congregations and communi
ties, may you help bring about the
wider recognition'that only in a con
tinuing and increasing concern for
Jewish knowledge, in extensive and in
tensive Jewish education, is our hope
for spiritual survival. Such an awaken
ing in part depends upon you, and will
more fully produce an increased spirit
ualization of our communities. Your
task is, in these ways and for these
ends, to raise the standard of Jewish
life and thought, to make for a fuller,
a more intensely Jewish awareness of
the true essentials and ideals of ex
istence, and to lead to a greater spir
itual happiness and sense of true devo
tion. to the ideals of the Torah. In you
and through you, Judaism is striking
deep roots; the field is fertile and the
seeds of faith and devotion should
ripen to a harvest of increasing Jewish
loyalty, wisdom, and faith.
“Youth and faith are yours, and the
eternal truth is with you; may the Lord
grant you power to effect these ends.
We bless you and your endeavors from
the House of God.
“Sincerely yours,
“B. REVEL,
“(Rosh-ha-yeshiva),
"Head of College.”
The second day session was a discus
sion of Jewish problems and the draw
ing of the following resolutions:
1. That all congregations affiliated
with the conference consult the Rab
binical Council of the South when en
gaging a Rabbi, and secure through
Council information as to his qualifi
cations.
2. That the Conference will issue
literature to all Orthodox congrega
tions, and will send two of its mem
bers to participate in the installation
ceremonies of newly elected Rabbis.
3. That the Conference go on record
as recognizing the value of the Ycshivas
and pledges its support.
4. That the Conference appoint a
committee to formulate and recommend
uniform curricula for such schools of
learning, religious schools of Orthodox
communities.
5. That the Southern Conference of
Orthodox Rabbis condemns mixed pew
worship; for the Jewish Orthodox re
ligion regards segregation of the sexes
a tradition consecrated by continued
practice of more than 2,000 years first
established in the Holy Temple at
Jerusalem.
6. That the Executive Board of the
Conference organize a sister organiza
tion among the women members of the
Orthodox congregations.
7. That the Conference go on record
as recognizing the high standards and
achievements of the Agudath Hera-
bonim of the United States and Can
ada, and pledges it its full support.
The second day session of the lay
men was held at the Synagogue B. B.
Jacob. Among the lay speakers on the
second day’s program were: I. Hersh
kowitz and H. Stern, of Nashville
Tenn.; L. Winkle and X. Kupferstein
of Miami, Fla., and Marx Wilenskv
of Savannah, Ga. The laymen pre-
sented for the Rabbis approval the set
of resolutions. The following resolu
tions were approved by the Rabbis and
adopted:
“In order to strengthen the appeal
of traditional Judaism in the South
eastern States, we, the representatives
of congregations in these States in con
vention assembled at Savannah, haie
decided to organize ourselves into
permanent Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations.
“In order to accomplish the purpose"
for which the Union is being organized,
we recommend to the joint conference
of Rabbis and laymen the following
“1. That the congregations in the
Union engage only such Rabbis a" ha.
secured Smichas from an accredit!
Orthodox Rabbinical Seminary.
“2. That the laymen assembled ir
convention express our thanks to Rabl
Isadore H. Weisfeld, of Miami, and
Rabbi Nathan N. Rosen, of Savanna!
for their painstaking effort" to male
this conference possible.
"3. We recommend that cities shoul
not engage any Shochet until he ha«
demonstrated to the Rabbi of the cit
his authority and ability to practice
his calling iti accordance with the law
of traditional Judaism.
“4. In case the city engaging :
Shochet is without the services of a
Rabbi, the Shochet must secure the
approval of the Rabbi in the nearest
neighboring city, provided such Rabbi
passes the qualifications expressed ir.
Recommendation 1.
“5. We recommend that Rabbi>
should have the authority to visit
Kosher meat markets for the purpose
of enforcing the due observance of the
Deity laws. The Rabbis should also
have the authority to see that all civic
laws relative to Kashruth and sanita
tion should be observed.
"6. We also recommend that the
Rabbis should have the authority to
inspect stores selling food purporting
to sell Kosher food products to s«*
that the food sold complies with all
the dietary laws.
“7. We recommend that a committee
of Rabbis draw up uniform curricula
for the Hebrew' and Sabbath Schoo
of the congregations in this organiza
tion.
“8. In order to spread Jewish edu
cation, we recommend that this >^ a
be known as ‘Send Your Chib! to 1
brew School Year’, and that b 1 1
officers, and laymen be requested
take advantage of every occask
public and other meetings to tost 1
tendance at the schools.
“9. We recommend that every con
gregation elect or appoint a
committee to direct the Hebrew
and faster attendance.
“10. We also recommend that
Parent-Teacher Association be organ
ized in every Hebrew school.
(Continued on Page 13)
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ELECTED BY SOUTHERN CONVENTION OF
ORTHODOX RABBIS
Left to right: Rabbi Benjamin Axelman, Charleston, S. C.; Rabbi Elijah
I). Stampfer, Memphis, lean.; Rabbi Rathan R r . Rosen, Savannah, (la.;
Rabbi Israel II. II cisfcld, Miami, lla.; Rabbi Nisen Heifetz, Nashville,