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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Women and Their Leisure
By MRS. LEONARD HAAS
On the day when this house of wor
ship was dedicated and Rabbis from
all over the country were compliment
ing us on. its beauty, I could not help
but realize that we could only enjoy
its loveliness if our contribution to
this community was fine enough to
make our temple a symbol of some
thing of which we could be proud.
When I was asked to make this
talk, I siezed the opportunity not be
cause I feel that I am an orator but
because I feel that the Jewish women
have an opportunity to lead the way
in the most magnificent work that has
ever been done by volunteers.
The Jewish woman has always been
primarily a mother, a wife—a home
maker. Jewish family life has been
a thing of beauty. Why have Jewish
homes always been so fine? Because
though the Jewish father was the
stern head of the family the mother
was taking her full share of responsi
bility, thus making this family life
what it was. The period of adjust
ment through which we are now liv
ing is worrying some. We hear on
all sides: What will become of the
home? What is to become of the
younger generation? We Jews have
faith that our strong family ties will
hold even though they appear in new
forms. Yes, the Jewish mother has
been a splendid homemaker through
out the ages. To keep that reputa
tion she cannot rest on her laurels.
There is a new meaning to that word
home and the Jewish woman has new
work to do.
In a recent interview a New York
Times reporter asked H. G .Wells
what would be outstanding in the next
chapter in the Outline of History.
Wells answered “The annihilation of
space." When New York is four hours
from Atlanta and Paris only thirty-
six. When scientists tell us that we
soon shall be able to breakfast in
New York, lunch in London and have
dinner again in New York, we real
ize what Mr. Wells means. Space is
literally being annihilated. How does
this effect the Jewish woman? It
does so very vitally. The four walls
of her house no longer bind her home.
When a woman could supervise all of
her children’s pleasures and knew all
of her children’s friends because they
were in her home—her job was within
the four walls. Those children are no
longer within the four walls of any
house. Those of you who have child
ren away at school realize how far
from your influence are even their
closest companions. Many of them
you shall never meet. A mother’s
home is always where her children are
and if modern inventions have en
larged the space which that home cov
ers then she should again assume her
share of the responsibility to keep
that home in order.
The intelligent modern mother real
izes that she must be more to her
children than a conscientious nurse
maid. There is the indisputable fact
that a woman’s chief interest is in
the home, but, she is bringing to the
rearing of her children an enlighten
ed view point, an intelligent consci
ence, and to the care of her home, a
heightened conception of home mak
ing, and through her sponsorship of
education, public health, social wel
fare and religion, she was immeasur
ably benefitted her domestic circle.
What are some of these jobs in the
larger home which are simply magni
fied pictures of the smaller?
There is the great field of welfare
work which offers the opportunity for
all kinds of interests. The field of
family rehabilitation has appealed to
many women. It requires special tal
ents. Leah Morton, in her book, “I
Am A Woman and A Jew” tells that
it took; her twelve years to learn that
what a social worker needs is not a
soft, emotional heart—but a clear ana
lytical brain. Handing out food or
money doesn’t put people on their
feet. But a careful study of individ
ual problems and constant encourage
ment can help a family to reach an
independent place in society. This
work is never finished and takes an
infinite amount of patience. But wo
men are used to work that is never
finished. Have you ever seen a little
boy’s hands that stayed clean ? Don’t
they have to be washed over and
over and over again ? And meals—as
soon as they are planned they are
eaten and have to be planned over
again. Welfare work requires this
same kind of patience, but if it re
sults in putting a family in a self-
respecting place in the community
isn’t it worth it? There is, too, the
field of research which is the founda
tion of all social work methods and
in which volunteers can make valu
able contributions. There is the job
of understanding community pro
grams so that you can explain the
need convincingly to a prospective
contributor.
In times like these the job of social
work is overwhelmingly large, more
than the trained worker can handle
without the aid of volunteers. We
could all find something of interest
to do in the field of social work, but
there are other fields of equal import
ance.
The field of educational work is of
peculiar interest to Jewish women.
The sooner we are ready to hold re
sponsible positions on boards of edu
cation and boards of institutions the
better our educational needs will be
met. There is another side to this
question of education and that is self-
education. It seems so illogical to
spend fifteen years getting an in
tensive education and then to sudden
ly stop. The business world seems to
force men to keep alert and informed,
where the social world requires that
women keep up with little more than
the latest Culbertson convention or
the fine points of the Eugenie mode.
But we must keep up. It has often
been said that the progress of the
world depends on how leisure time is
used. What progress can be made if
half of the people are willing to stop
learning at the age of twenty ?
There is also the great field of
civic work. The minute we realize
that the entire foundation of our lives
is in our government, that we depend
on our government for justice, for
persoal protection, for health pro
tection, for education—the minute we
realize this, we can see that it is no
longer time for the southern woman
to act the clinging vine and say that
government and politics are unlady
like. As Jews we must be interested
in the question of justice for all men.
We must see that our schools provide
education for our children, second to
none. We must see that institutions
such as Grady Hospital are able to
serve all who need it. We must pre
vent more mothers from dying each
year in Georgia than in other parts
of the country. We must see that
young boys are kept out of jails that
may make hardened criminals of them.
We must see that our cities and
streets are as beautiful as our own
gardens. These are the fields of civ
ic work. The acquisition of the ballot
did not emancipate women. Women
have to emancipate themselves. They
must act like adults, take the re
sponsibilities of adults, do the work
of adults.
Suppose that we have perfect jus
tice in our country, the finest educa
tion, the best care for the sick, the
most modern health laws—suppose
we have all of this and more—what
good is it to us unless we have
PEACE ? If the maintenance of peace
is not a woman’s province, what is?
It is not easy to get. In a speech
over the radio recently Newton D.
Baker stated that during the war
thousands of letters poured into
Washington daily with suggestions as
to how to run the war. Everybody
wanted to help. If one-half of that
same amount of effort were put into
developing a machine to insure perm
anent peace, we w r ould have peace. It
is too late when war has been de
clared. Then mothers have to bravely
send their sons to kill other mothers’
sons. But war must never again be
declared. To have peace we must work
for it now, every day, every hour and
uud a foundation so strong that no
amount of selfish propaganda can up
set. Norman Thomas says that the
money wasted in the last war could
have wiped out all of the slums in
the world. Think of what that means.
All of the misery—all of the heart-
iakes—all of the handicapped child
ren—all of these tragedies could have
een wiped out. Instead miseyy was
increased and fifteen years later we
are all suffering from the economic
effects of that war. Can we with a
"Women and I'heir Leisure" was given as a talk by Mrs. Leonard
Haas at the Atlanta Sisterhood' Sabbath, held at The Temple recently.
This worthwhile message is reproduced through the kindness of this
prominent Atlanta clubwoman. Mrs. Haas devotes much of her time
as a sincere worker in the Atlanta League of Women Voters, Temple
Sisterhood, and Council of Jewish Women, and her speech embodies
truth and sincerity of art earnest devotee of social research.
clear conscience sit still and do nntv,
ing about it? We must dn m „ re ^
sign petitions. We must know
is going on in the world and heln witk
all of our might. Let’s keep clear !
our minds what patriotism i s . If t h
child next door has infantile paralysi
our child is not safe. If the country
next door is sick financially or social
ly our country is not safe! We must
have world peace and you and I as
citizens of the world—as women—a?
Jews, have clear cut responsibilities
to see that peace is everlasting.
This is a sketchy picture of some
of the fields for work which the world
presents to day. Half of the adult*
cannot cope with world problems. Men
cannot do it alone. Women cannot
do it alone. But together there is
enough common sense in the world
for them to unravel the tangle in
which we ar ecoiled.
When we behold a world in which
people are starving because there is
too much wheat and and poverty
stricken because in certain countries
there is too much gold, we realize
that here is important use for our
leisure time.
Women have a greater amount of
leisure time than men and especially
Jewish women, because Jewish hus
bands are particularly considerate
and particularly good providers. We
must use this time to advantage.
What is the use of modern invention
that lessens drudgery and lengthens
hours if that extra time is to be spent
at cards. Think of what could be ac
complished if every one of you would
give only half of your leisure time to
something that interested you. How
much could be accomplished. Use your
talents. Leisure is unused capital-
use your capital. Realize your powers
to the fullest. Women whose hours
of leisure are squandered in aim
less pursuits are out of fashion. Their
clothes may be two jumps ahead of
Paris but their ideas are stuffy, t on-
sider your leisure time carefully an
find some work of interest.
People who are busy and occupied
are usually happy—but work is not
sufficient. When you are in the niids
of work and days of discouragement
come, you will wonder what is the
use of it all. Those days come ''hen
our philosophy of life that will cai
ry us through. The answer is 0U1
Jewish religion. The greatest an
noblest minds of the ages have n -
up a philosophy, a religion, ca
what you will that has served men an
women through the centuries. It
serve you and me when we have t
intelligence and understanding
grasp what Judaism has to teac •
And so today I beg you a?- n1 ® 1 .
women ready to assume respond •
—as Jewish women capable
the way—as mothers ms - agin*,
new and larger home use oU ^ . f
ure time to make the wot a
place in which to be born. l \ buiion
the chance of making the
that women have to make
the thrill of having done ov
If you privileged Jewis
not engage in a big part ‘
of the world today,
m’t miss
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do