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a Jew? Questions Asked at the Hall of Religion At a Century of Progress in Chicago By Albert T. Bilgray Albert T. Mil gray is a student of the Hebrew Union College. This narrative, written for the Hebrew Union College Monthly, presents some amusing views of the non-Jew regarding the Jews. I N AN exposition intended to demonstrate a Century of Progress in the medical, technical, and mechanical sciences there stands a build ing which modestly calls itself the Hall of Re ligions. Here under one roof are gathered ex hibits representing some twenty-seven sects and among them is one bearing the legend JIJDAISAJ. It is an interesting exhibit. In the center, attract ing one’s immediate attention, is an ark flanked by two menorahs, such as might be found in any synagogue. The curtain of the ark is drawn so that the sepher torahs it contains may be clearly seen. On both sides of the entrance are attrac tive show cases, the first devoted to books and scrolls, and the other to various ceremonial ob jects. Here one may see Masechet Erubin playing partner to Philipson’s “The Reform Movement in Judaism,” or a medieval book on abbreviations next to Kohler's “Jewish Theology,” or the scroll of Esther next to YVaxman’s “History of Jewish Literature." Some fifteen books arc here appro priately gathered to represent a bird’s-eye view of Judaism. On the other side of the entrance is another show case, this one devoted to ceremonial objects: spice boxes for the Havdallah service, ves sels for the Duchan service, phylacteries, a tall it h, Seder dishes, crowns for Sepher Torahs, a Mezuza, oil lamps. As appropriate background for the exhibit are the excellent murals by a well known Jewish artist, beautifully blended and executed. These panels depict ten significant ideas of Judaism, namely, The Law (Monotheism), Providence, Social Justice, Peace and Security, Religious Free dom, Faith, The Sabbath, Dignity of Labor, De mocracy, and The Messianic Hope. In the two main corners of the exhibit two automatic belop- tican machines (hidden from view) flash on two screens the story of Jewish progress in the last century. The contribution of the Jew to music, sculpture, painting, literature, architecture, drama, medicine, statesmanship, agriculture, general sci ence, child welfare, social service, philanthropy, education, communal organization, and religion is pictorially and vividly told. Thus, although a small exhibit, JUDAISM is fairly and adequately represented as far as the fast moving tourist at a World’s Fair is concerned. Lest any aspect of an apparently self-explanatory exhibit mystifying the visitor, hostesses from various Chicago Temple Sisterhoods and two rabbinical students stand ready to answer questions and offer explanations. It was in the capacity of rabbinical-student-solver of Judaism’s perplexing problems that the present writer represented the Jewish Exhibit. The initiation into my task was accelerated by the almost complete ignorance of the Christian visitor of Jewish ceremonial objects. Despite the fact that the scrolls stood clearly and easily rec ognizable, innumerable people asked: “What are those relics?”, “Are these altar cloths?", “What do these vestments mean?" Even after the details pertaining to the scrolls and the scroll covers were made clear, there came questions which sorely tested one’s self-control. An especially enlighten ing remark came from a middle-aged lady who after listening to three consecutive explanations pointed to the scroll-cover and asked, “Does the Rabbi put that over his head when he reads from the scroll?" Some looked awed and stupefied at the scrolls and with a trembling voice which denoted a feeling of the mysterium tremendum, asked, “Do you still have these things?" Others looked at the scroll crowns and asked whether they were used as incense-burners, while some de sired to know when the rolls make music. “Do the bells ring before or after they are put into the ark?" But even those who recognized that the objects displayed were scrolls, did not overwhelm us with their perspicacity. At least half of the in terested visitors wanted to know “whether these are the original scrolls” while some of the per sistent seekers for knowledge sought to know whether “these were the scrolls which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai?" and before receiving an answer confidently remarked, “Gee, aren’t they well preserved!” Others, too, there were who were sure of their ground. Innumerable times one overheard comments such as “It’s the Chinese exhibit,” or “Don’t the Chinese have a fine ex hibit?” Highly illuminating was the following confession made by an elderly maiden: “For many years I have been teaching my Sunday School classes that Jesus read out of a scroll. I never knew what a scroll was until I came here. Whenever my students would ask me what a scroll was I would always tell them to look it up and bring the answer the following session. I always intended to do the same but somehow both 1 and the children always forgot.” The fundamentalist belongs to a category all by himself— but a large category it is, for it consists of 95 per cent of the visitors at the Fair. Wry sin cere in his views, he tried time and again to save my poor soul from eternal damnation. Hopefully he would return each time, expecting finally to win me over. One woman came in for a week straight and asked, “Have you accepted Jesus Christ yet?” and upon hearing my simple answer of, “Not vet,’ would invariably reply, “You ought to; it’s your only salvation!” Mis sionaries would often use the following approach, “It’s your only chance; if you don’t ac cept Christianity now, it’s as if you were there with the Pharisees who cn.cif Him!” Logic did not deter their appeal as < following indicates, “You are the original p'opj] therefore, you ought to accept the Messiah h Some, apparently unmindful of Hitler ard \L Aryan hypothesis, would say, “You do not w ,-J persecution and yet you do not accept Cl risrff while others, thinking anent speculation as to tjJ kez would very naively ask, “When does th* M lenium come according to your calculation ?” 0 j “When will you accept Christianity?” The e such pathos in their voices as they would sadly b j hopefully ask, “Why do you not accept J*sus v The professional missionary, constantly d: i or leaving literature wherever he goes, uses 1 subtle though just as fallacious approach. ForgttJ ting all about modernism within Christianity, .1 will insist that Judaism has demonstrated its ; solute failure in that it has Reform and Orthodo wings. “We cannot even consider the Reform Jew I Jew. He has strayed so much from the trur patrI that there is absolutely no hope for him since h* will never return to Christianity, which is th- true Judaism. Thank God, that there are stil orthodox Jews left; not infested by modernism I they will yet point the way to the Millenium, wir the second coming of Jesus and the exaltation o- the true Jew." One missionary pointed out that a “good Jew] was automatically a Jewish-Christian, which : the very best kind of a Christian one can be. “My name is Schmuel Yaakov Williamson, * you see I am really a Jew—but the real kind ot A Jew—a Jew who is a Christian. Y ou see one in every forty Jews is a Jewish-Christian which I means there are 400,000 Jcwish-Christians in the I world. At the same time only one Christian in every 1169 Christians is a real Christian, so you see there are more Jewish-Christians than there j are real Christians. Of course, this is just right because it fits in with the Scriptures which tel! I us that it is the Jews who will lead the path to j the Millenium and the (Please turn to page 12 £4 H Here one may see exhibits of the synagogue or of Jenvish contributions to science or art. [6] * THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE