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The Southern Israelite
A Modern Interpretation of Judaism
By HANNAH G. SHULHAFER
"A Modern Interpretation of
Judaism" is the address gioen
by Mrs. Shulhafer on Coun
cil Sabbath when members of
the Council conducted the
Sabbath services at the Tem
ple. Mrs. Solomonson, as
Chairman of the Committee
on Religion, supervised the
plans, which followed the
annual custom inaugurated
by the National Council.—
Editor’s Note.
Otic of the world’s leading scientists,
Dr. Robert A. Millikan, says that every
great scientist from Aristotle through
Le Marck, down to Newton, Darwin,
and finally Einstein, has felt, after
years of work in the laboratory, the
presence of some cosmic force in spirit
operating throughout the universe.
After a lifetime of close, concentrated
and brilliant study into the mystery
of natural laws, each great man of
science has at last understood the how
hut not the why of this universe. It
was only by realizing the existence of
a cosmic spirit or force, call it God or
what you will, and by spiritual union
with it, has he had the courage and pa
tience to continue his painstaking task
of revealing little by little the natural
laws under which we live.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we are
not made of the same material as an
Einstein, hut our daily life is full
enough of perplexities and almost
hourly problems to he solved, decisions
to he .made, cares, annoyances and dis
appointments. What a hopeless and
depressing struggle or what a senseless
mad pursuit of empty pleasure our life
becomes if we ignore or fail to realize
the deep rhythm of the spirit that runs
through the world and unites us all.
I believe that this view of life rep
resents the creed of the intelligent and
mature minds of the present day. It is
a point of view that can not appear,
fully developed as did Pallas Athena
from the brain of Zeus. It is the result
of long and serious thought, soul
searching and effort.
It seems to me that the thinking in
dividual must go through a sort of re
ligious evolution which can roughly he
divided into three stages. The first is
Religion, as Darrow defined it recently
—the Religion to which countless mil
lions still pay homage. Belief in a per
sonal God, personal immortality, the
literal interpretation of the Bible
miracles. But there is no doubt that
the adherents to such a religion are
steadily diminishing and there is an
ever increasing number of those who
must find a substitute for what they
have lost, and thus they come to the
next stage in the evolution of their
spiritual experience. Since it is through
knowledge that they have lost their
primitive religion it is to it they now
pledge their allegiance.
And indeed have they chosen a lamp
unto their feet and a light unto their
path. As we all know from our own
experience, knowledge truly gives us
the hearing ear and the seeing eye.
Music, literature, painting, all the
beauty and culture of our life take on
form and meaning as we lift, through
knowledge, the veil that conceals them
from us. ‘‘Know Thyself,” means
something very definite when through
biology, pasychology and the kindred
sciences every commonplace event of
the day becomes important and preg
nant with possibilities, when we can
understand the springs whence our ac
tions flow, when we can control and
train them through knowledge and
understanding.
But the more one knows, the more
he appreciates the beauties and
wonders of nature, the more he under
stands the laws under which this uni
verse operates. As he contemplates the
marvelous works of man himself, the
more pleasure he receives from the ar
tistic; whether his experience with
knowledge be in the library, laboratory,
workshop, field or cloister, the thinking
man everywhere is finally thrown back
upon the fact that knowledge does not
secure the answer to the everlasting
why of his existence. Through knowl
edge alone he can not satisfy that crav
ing of the spirit for a purpose and
meaning to life. He inevitably comes
to the third and final stage in the evo
lution of his spiritual experience, lie is
compelled to recognize the spiritual
force that is the undercurrent, the vital
quality of this existence.
Once this inevitable fact is finally
sensed, what a marvelous change it
makes in our lives. Just as knowledge
broadens our vision, the realization of
the spiritual unity of the universe satis
fies the deepest desire of our being, and
gives to our hitherto unsatisfied and
restless existence a deep feeling of re
pose and contentment.
To realize the fullest possibilities of
our life it is necessary to carry our
religious experience to its logical con
clusion. Any one who stops at the first
you might call it, is an undeveloped
second of knowledge without wisdom,
stage of primitive religion, or yet the
person spiritually; but happy is he who
through travail and study, correlates all
his knowledge, reads it correctly and
arrives at a spiritual interpretation of
life. And here it is that we Jewish
women have an unusual advantage and
its inevitable corallory, an added duty.
For not only are wc women, we are
Jewish women and we inherit a re
ligion fitted to live today. Modern
knowledge has spelled the doom of
orthodox religion. We are the posses
sors of a faith that stands ready to
serve in this very complex civilization.
Ours is a workable religion—one that
we can live, day by day, hour by hour.
Judaism is above all a way of Life.
Confucius saw no good in the present
and tried vainly to bring back the good
old past. Buddha, by a kind of self
hypnosis into Nivvana, sought a way
to avoid a future which, to him, looked
as black as the black past. Christianity
feels that this life can not be made
just and happy for all so it concentrates
on a future beyond this earth for com
pensation.
Judaism works for life here and now.
It releases man through a universal and
spiritual outlook for a life richer, nobler
and happier. It teaches that the best
way to glorify God is to glorify, en
rich and ennoble the highest product
of his creation—man.
Judaism was the first religion to
reach the heights of monotheism—one
God for all mankind. This concept
necessarily gave rise to the thought
that all men are brothers united in
spiritual unity and co-operation, and
that they should strive in mutual under
standing for a better life here on earth.
Of all the ancient peoples and re
ligions, Judaism alone has survived be
cause its ancient banner was not
less sacrifice but service—actine
sort of leaven in society—fernuvuig
a protest against every injustice
As women, too, we are peo irly
fitted to sense this spiritual ti. that
unites the world. In the great m< , i n ts
of birth and death humanity is trulv
one. Then we realize that differ
are largely accidents of birth and en
vironment and that the great experi
ences of life are fundamental! the
same the world over.
We should carry this feeling over in
to our daily lives—to accomplish harm
ony and co-operation in service -ours
should be the eyes to ever see the ul
timate value and reality of things Too
often men engaged in the pitiless eco
nomic struggle forget that their par
ticular job or business is but one in the
great universal scheme, and its obliga
tion should be fulfilled, not only to
their own personal advantage, but
should likewise make a contribution to
the economic welfare of the group. We
Jewish women should keep this ideal
of economic justice ever before our
eyes, teach it, live it, and by not de
manding more and ever more in a ma
terial way from our husbands and
fathers, bring nearer the day when the
human element in industry shall have
a spiritual worth and not merely be a
pawn in a mad struggle for success.
To make ourselves worthy of our
inheritance as Jewish women, we must
first develop ourselves to the fullest
capacity of our birthright and environ
ment. This world would be a glorious
place if the full powers of our intel
ligence were brought to bear upon it'
improvement. This improvement will
not be God-sent. It can be brought
(Continued on Next Page)
t l o h riLrht ml t > !« S r^L! he \f CoUn u 1 ° f w wi ,* h Women who conducted services on Council Sabbath. From left
Shulhafer It ,!?!„, * r , s .‘ T ^ Gershon, Mrs. Sam Levy, Mrs. Sam Schoen, and Mrs. Philip E.
1 1 ro " ’ ^ r s. Leo G. Strauss, Mrs. Alfred L. Myers, and Mrs. Henry Solomonson,
Chairman of the Committee on Religion