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Page 6 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,