Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Page 14 The Southern Israelite The Motto for This New ' w By MOSES P. JACOBSON Asheville, N. C. The future of Judaism lies in America. The largest body of Israel now is in the United States. The greatest output of Jewish literature is here. The most vig orous institutions of Jewish learning like wise are now here. Even after the war no one would have prophesied that a great edition of the Talmud would make its appearance here. Nor would anyone have imagined that a Jewish university would have been here a possibility. And yet these two improbabilities are now ac complished facts. Orthodox Judaism has gotten a firm foothold in this land and orthodox Jewry here has become con scious not merely of its strength in num bers but likewise of its dignity in scholar ship and of the momentum it possesses in the devotion of its adherents. It is be ginning to assert its rights of Jewish rep resentation in this our American world and it is threatening what hitherto has been the hegemony of Reform Judaism. Nevertheless in its forging to the fore it is meeting with a brave battle. Ameri can output of Jewish critical literature is enormous. We are criticising the ortho dox conception of the Bible. We are criticising the value of all our ceremonial observances. The great body of our peo ple disregard our Sabbath day without the least qualms of conscience. In our larger cities the only houses of worship that command constantly thronging con gregations are those which have made the concession of Sunday services. The rab bis who are most quoted are those who more or less have identified themselves with the Reform movement. The most progressive college for the education of rabbis is the College of Reform Judaism. Even those who have taken the full course in our other colleges in some in stances take post graduate work in the college of Reform Judaism. In the coun try at large it is not an uncommon oc currence for the children of orthodox parentage when they set up for them selves to break away from the synagog of orthodoxy and affiliate with the temple of Reform. Between these two extremes the half way house of Conservative Judaism is evincing equally a vigorous existence W bile not specifically denominating itself conservative one of our rabbinical col leges is graduating rabbis who almost to a man are tilling the pulpits of Conser vative character, ministering to congre gations which permit family pews, have the ritual at least partially read in the vernacular, and have the worship accom panied by organ and the singing of a mixed choir. Many of these Conserva tive rabbis have in their communities suc cessfully rivalled the local prestige of the Reform rabbis who until but recently were regarded the sole representative of Judaism to the non-Jewish public. And yet with all their corporate vital ity of these three houses of Israel the life of the individual congregations al most everywhere is languishing. The at tendance at worship is diminishing. Even those rabbis who yesterday elicited thron ing congregations are now complaining of the abatement. The critique of cur rent books and plays which replaced the the Jewish masses has I The pulpit is now trying sage in advocacies of s ,„ • onomic reform can conn immediately concerned win problems. Labor will solv. tions apart from the pulpit, likewise will ask of offj ( ! regulation in the matter m ternity. In politics almost • voice of the country to the ' novelty. :, d its mes- ■rai. f->. Ir,| m those lc economic " 1 »wn ques- > omanhno*! religion no ptional ma- tinaninmtn Moses P. Jacobson stern bidding of “hands off.” In all ot this, and all allied matters, the pulpit at the most can simply and is permitted simply to register haggardly more or !e popular acceptances. It is because of this state of affair that the synagog is being accnuly affect ed by the commercial depression o times. It is largely because the pe»'! feel that religion as articulated today i largely a supernumerary matter that they are curtailing the lavish supimrt of which they gave to it in the day> post-bellum prosperity. It is a t which they feel that they can do with"' when they need so desperately many things, such as the very necessities 1 and those luxuries which have 1 life’s second-nature necessities, people themselves have not yet e down to the breadline they duced the synagog and the congreg. almost to the breadline. Under such conditions it i- the impc 1 tive present duty of American Judai to look to its own defense-, to car its own life, to confine it- i edly to its own rehabilitate secure re-interested congregations manding from their niinisu of strictly religious sane of personal comfort, per- and personal inspiration give our ministers the 1 they have congregations such messages. We must for the molin' ourselves from the incub' and Asiatic Jewry. 1 hese left to their own resour funds into them is like pou to a sieve. Their probkn (Continued on pay message' guidance we must lence that ruing > ,ir least free Kumpean Id now he Pouring \sater in* re but the 1)