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The Southern Israelite Page 17 j! Spiritual Awakening Throughout the PP 7 or id American Judaism Is in Step With Progressive Knowledge. Social Science. and Expanding Understanding By ADOLPH S. OCHS Kncoi; aging signs are everywhere evi- ,] (>nt ,,t ;i spiritual awakening through- l)(1{ the world, and notably among the „f our faith. An awakening to t l,p fart that what we, as a religious projtlr. have preserved — through cen turies of oppression and suffering—is rapidly becoming the universally ac- rrptrrl conception of the Fatherhood of (; ( „| and the Brotherhood of Man. It called modernism, but it harks back t)l the underlying principles of the faith ,,f an ancient people, who gave to civ ilization and humanity the Ten Com mandment'-. the Prophets, the Proverbs, and the Psalms. Boginas, doctrines, tenets, creeds, and ordinances of religious faith that beget narrowness and bigotry are being dis carded, revoked, and destroyed. ••Lux <>t veritas,” says the motto of Vale, and it is emblazoned on its shield not only in Latin, but also in Hebrew. What we need is more light, more love, better understanding; and with light we must have truth. It is a great day in which we live, and the days ahead are full of promise and revelation. We must take our place m this forward movement toward a re ligion in step with the march of prog ress m knowledge, science, and under standing. American .Judaism is such a religion. Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise concisely de scribed it as: A religion without mysteries or mir acles, rational and self-evident, emi nently human, universal, liberal, and progressive, in perfect harmony with modern science, criticism, and philoso phy. and in full sympathy with uni- v et'a! liberty, equality, justice, and charity.” ^ ho cannot subscribe to these doc trines ? A religion that has as its underlying principles humanity, righteousness, and justice distinguishes the one possessing >t as a civilized human being and not of the brute creation. A< an indication of the approaches that are being made to this conception " f religion, the Right Reverend Charles H. Brent, Bishop of Western New ^ "ilc. said some time ago: • • That all men might accept God as Father and man as brother. It js which lifts up the whole human race to an unwonted height. . . . No th«u;ghtful man today can consciously submit to ordina- tnu; or consecration to life and service that is not as "ido as human contacts will permit.” P" urged an earnest striving after unity, together with th' exalting of the essentials in which all believe, quoting ' "entials from the New Testament: 'bar what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: ‘Thou shalt the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all "rind.’ This is the first and the great Command- And the second is like unto it: ‘Thou shalt love neighbor as thyself.’ On these two Commandments all the law and the prophets.” ! ' is Jewish doctrine in its essence, an indication of the change that is going on in the . some while ago I was called upon by a committee -enting a college that had heretofore been strictly ian. I was informed that they are reorganizing the institution on a more liberal and mod* ern basis; that they wanted to remove the narrow barriers to matriculation,, and that as an evidence of this change they wanted to have a representative Jew on their Board of Trustees. \\ e hear much talk of prejudice, dis crimination, exclusion of Jews, etc. Mv opinion is that we overemphasize these manifestations. We arc supersensitive, and are conjuring up ghosts of preju dice. We frequently bear of some club that calls itself exclusive, or some school that wishes to be select, or even some college that has restrictions against per sons of the Jewish faith. I should not feel injured or distressed in coming across anything of this kind. Why not seek consolation in the fact that if we are worthy of being admitted, and by our conduct and deportment are equal, if not superior, to those who do not wish association with us, we can say that we do not cure for admission where Jesus of Nazareth would be excluded for the same reason. What is the universal opinion of a Jew who does not wish to l>e known as a Jew? That he is ashamed of his parentage, perhaps disowning his sis ters and brothers; a deserter of his kith and kind. Does anyone respect such a person? What does he get out of life? Perhaps while basking in the hypocritical, sycophantic smiles of those who bold him in contempt, he may flat- ier himself that he lias some of the joy out of life; but if he lias any intelli gence and self-respect, lie must at times despise himself and feel akin to a man without a country. If bis industry, intelligence, and good luck have combined to give him higher ambitions and greater social distinction than prevail in bis family and circle of friends, surely he proves himself the more worthy of his position if he does not disown his origin. People who say they have no religion talk nonsense. Everybody lias a God. It may be the God of Mammon, or the God of Pleasure, or the God of Selfishness, or the God of Vanity. There is an Arab legend that says "There is a God for every people”. Then there i* the God of Comfort. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University, referred to that God in an address he made; and what he said as to Christians can, unhappily, as well be applied to Jews. Dr. Butler quoted a clergyman he heard once as say ing: The reason why Christianity no longer makes appeal to men is that they are too prosperous. They have erected a new God, comfort, and they are so con cerned with worshiping him that they have no time tor the God of their fathers. The modern American ideal of life seems to be to put a comfortable baby in a com fortable crib to be watched over by a comfortable nurse until it was able to go to a comfortable school, then to send it to a comfortable college, where comfortable teach ers would see that it did not work too hard; to find its way into a comfortable profession, marry a wife with a comfortable fortune; to spend twenty or thirty com fortable years, and to pass through a comfortable opiate to a comfortable grave.” But for whom can you have more respect than tor the man whose God is righteous- (Continued on page 27) PEBBLES IN A BROOK By Louis Ginsberg From ylntiny pebbles in its path, The brook strikes music sweet to hear: It shakes from little shards and rocks A mellow treble, clinking clear. And from the polished, rounded rocks The stream is lapping crystal tones. Oh. what a wizardry to suck A silver music out of stones! So from mv sorrows of the rocks My rill of days will strike its rimes To music, haunt ng one, as when From pebbles bubble silver chimes.