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Page 17
h Fducation, and for the develop-
t of Jewish scholarship. But we
know, first of all, what Jewish
ition means, and for what goal
ri\cs. When that is clarified, we
;na y e able to work together for the
common cause.
article fails, however, in that its
are misinterpreted, and that its
is lame. Imprimis: I am not at
convinced that the Jewish com-
; nity is in desperate straits, and that
ios is impending. The failure of
inv Federation Drives proves merely
that business depression was the domi
nant cause, for just a few years ago,
when the country was prosperous, in
io>t instances the Drives were success
ful. Moral bankruptcy cannot be gaug-
ed by financial assets. Indifference to
spiritual aims and to the Synagog may
e found in every age. If Mr. Hurwitz
will consult the issue of the Menorah
Journal, in which his own Jeremiad
appears, he will be much heartened by
the "Paradoxes of Jewish History", by
Cecil Roth. In that historical survey he
will discover that on many occassions
in Jewish history the same lamentable
conditions were discovered—in Italy,
Spain, France, and ancient Alexandria.
Yet somehow we muddled through.
And the present has enormous advant
ages in the activities of more yoshibas,
theological seminaries, Jewish Publica
tion Societies, the Menorah Journal,
the B’nai B'rith, and kindred organiza
tions, Rabbinical Conferences, Congre
gational Associations, J. D. C., the Ort,
and other allied groups, Charity Fede
rations, Dropsie College, Chairs of
Hebrew in many Universities, the Zion
ist Movement, etc., etc. Relatively, we
are living in the Golden Age of Jewish
life.
But, assuming that things are bad as
Mr. II urwitz charges, how has the
Reform theory caused all this mischief?
How can a theory, held by less than
one hundred thousand Jews, work such
havoc? How can this "Goyish theory",
sponsored by “Jewish hearts", as Mr.
Hurwitz concedes, disrupt the com
munal life of four million Jews? Are
the orthodox and conservative Syna-
gogs filled daily by worshipers, dedi
cated as they are to" the historical
conception of Judaism”? Why do not
the 3,'X>0.n00 non-Reforms “smash this
sorry scheme of things entire, and re
nt mid it nearer to their heart’s desire"?
' it possible that this “Goyish theory"
' won the actual assent of 3,900,000?
T he truth of the matter is that the
ftirm theory is not “Goyish" at all.
r did it originate in France or in
’ rmany. The seeds of it are in the
de, the Talmud and in Jewish life.
’ cil Roth, in the essay alluded to
,v e. has the following description
Jewish life in the Venetian Ghetto:
the Venetian Ghetto) relations
the outside world, whether ama-
social or literary, were close and
tant. Rabbis had begun to speak
••sus as one of the Jewish prophets
Gentiles on their side flocked to
the sermons in the Synagogs.
'ts complained how r Hebrew cul-
was neglected in favor of Italian,
'ance of the sacred tongue was so
read that there was a movement
ravers in the vernacular. The
of reform was rife. There was a
The Southern Israelite
strong current of opposition to the
I almud and 1 almudic literature.
Works were written attacking Jewish
tradition, evoking a whole literature in
Hebrew, Italian and Spanish in its de
fense. The ceremonial laws were not
infrequently neglected. Ingenious argu
ments were put forward in favor of
going in a gondola, or even riding, upon
the Sabbath Day. Mystical tendencies,
and the miraculous stories attached to
them, were openly scoffed at. The
nineteenth century was anticipated in
the disputes concerning the introduc
tion of instrumental music in the Syna-
gogs. We even find the phenomenon
of the card-playing Rabbi, more con
cerned with justifying Judaism to the
Christian than with teaching it to the
Jew. Literary and intellectual life,
though centered in Hebrew studies,
was by no means confined to them.
We find vernacular playwrights, apolo
gists, astronomers, mathematicians and
economists vying in activity. From that
day to this, it is doubtful whether so
surprisingly modern an atmosphere has
ever at any other time prevailed."
Let me repeat one sentence, “the
spirit of reform was ripe." If Mr.
Hurwitz will study the history of Jew
ish customs, ceremonials and ideas a
bit more intensively, he will discover
that the Reform theory, mirabile dictu,
has a Wahlvcrwandschaft with the
Talmudic theory. Talmudic lore was
evolved from external conditions. This
is precisely true of the Reform Move
ment. Judaism, to live, had to adjust
itself to changing invironments. Re
form was merely the logical extension
of that principle unto the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries, as Rabbinical
or Talmudic Judaism was the manifes
tation of the same principle in the early
Christian centuries. Karaism denied
that principle and died.
Samuel Adler declared: “What right
have we to reform!" The traditional
right to modify the Biblical ceremo
nials according to temporal and local
conditions. The question was often
asked, when we obtained that right.
From the people. The free will of the
people recognized the Talmudists; the
free will of the people will recognize
us also. We, too, arc “Talmudists”.
The Reformers never repudiated the
Talmudic principle; their objection was
to Talmudic authority.
But the gravamen of Mr. Hurwitz’s
charge lies in the contention that the
Reform theory made a breach in the
world-community of Israel, by remiss
ing that Judaism was a religion only.
If the implication in this contention
is that the Reformers wished to create
a schism, to separate themselves from
the world-community of Israel, it is
simply not true. In London, in 1841,
at a meeting attended by the wardens
and honorary officers of the different
synagogs, and by the London Commit
tee of Deputies of British Jews, a dec
laration was approved and signed by
the Chief Rabbi, S. Hirschel, to the
effect that all those “who reject and
do not believe in the authority of the
Oral Law cannot be permitted to have
any communion with us Israelites in
any religious rite or sacred act.” When
the wife of one of the organizers of
the heretical group died, burial was re-
(Continued on Page 22)
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