THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

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ANTON KAUFMAN

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RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,

overwhelming majority of the reform rabbis of America. A catr
must be weak indeed that requires misrepresentation of the kind
resorted to by Mr. Lipsky to bolster it up. But the cause will not
be helped by such methods, which are surely as distasteful to son w
Zionists as they are to the non-Zionists. It were well for Mr.
to remember the rabbinic injunction, "Ye wise men, be cautious (;f
your words."

- Editorial Contributor

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est to the Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorse-
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at the Post Office at Detroit,
Entered as second-class matter March , 1916,
Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 1917

Mr. Louis Lipsky and the Rabbinical
Conference

Once more Louis Lipsky, chairman of the executiv , :. committee
of the provisional Zionist committee, has spoken. His utterance in
this instance is marked by his characteristic inaccuracy of statement,
not to say by his wonted disregard of facts. In the man who, in his
instructions to fellow Zionists, can urge that a solemn pact be inter-
preted "liberally and not literally," and who in his official report to
the body which he represents, can suggest that the very opposite
course be followed, nothing is very surprising. Yet it does arouse
our wonder that even a man of Lipsky's caliber can have the temerity
to interpret the actions of a body with which he has no official or
unofficial connection with utter disregard of the facts in the case,
and with the single end in view of distorting the truth to suit his
own ends. Nothing less than this is adequate to describe what Mr.
Lipsky has to say about the action of the Central Conference of
American Rabbis in its repudiation of political Zionism. His state-
ment, published in the New York Times, reads in part, as follows :

The vote of the Buffalo conference was 68 to 20,against Zionism, but the
rabbis present were not representative of the great body of reform rabbis,
of whom there are more than 400 in the country.
The majority of these are really in favor of Zionism, said M. Lipsky.
The conference was • dominated by such influential opponents of Zionism as
Dr. David Phillipson, Dr. Samuel Schulman and Dr. Kaufman Kohler. The
congregations—the majority of the Jewish people—are with us no matter
what action a small group of rabbis may take.
This small element, which shows its head when it sees that the Zionist
movement is making strides toward realization, is made up largely of rabbis
who want no change. There is a great deal of wealth in their congrega-
tions, and, with the assistance of this wealth, these rabbis have been able
to identify themselves with charities and philanthropies, thereby rendering
themselves so formidable in the councils of rabbis that they can readily
swing to their support the younger rabbis who are afraid to oppose them.

The Title "Rabbi"

Recent numbers of the Jewish Chronicle of London contain con:
munications from various sources, voicing indignation that a gradu-
ate of an American theological school, in charge of a London Jewish
congregation, should presume to use the title "rabbi." The most
that, according to English usage, such a graduate might hold him
self entitled to, according to these gentlemen, is the title "Reverend, -
that of "Rabbi" being reserved solely for those who have gained di(
Hattarat Hora'ah which entitles them to answer authoritatively all ques-
tions of Jewish law that may be brought before them.
To us on this side of the waters such quibbles about titles seem
foolish and puerile. As a matter of fact, we know of none in thi
country who are more surely entitled to bear the honorable name
"Rabbi" than the graduates of the Hebrew Union College or the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America. And yet it may be that
we are too lax in the bestowal of titles of honor, to which only they
are rightfully entitled who, after a course of study in a recognized
college or university, have passed their examinations and received
their ordination at the hands of men authorized by position and schol-
arship to confer the same upon them. It is a matter of commnn
observation that in this country every 'shochet and mohel is called
"rabbi." Our titles are too cheap. Perhaps if they were used with a
little more discretion and discernment, they might be more highly
respected, not only by the men who bear them, but also by our com-
munities in general.
On the other hand, the mere possession of a title does not con-
stitute a man worthy to bear it. Mere scholarship or rather the
bare fact that a man has pursued a prescribed course of study pre-
vious to graduation ought not entitle him to bear the honorable title
"rabbi," if after ordination he has been guilty of conduct unbecoming
to a spiritual leader. Institutions of learning, conferring a degree of
this kind, should be granted the power of revocation of the title in
case the bearer of it has proved himself to be unworthy of it. But
to pass judgment upon the rabbi in the fashion that our English
friends referred to, are accustomed to do, is unthinkable to us Amer-
icans. Who shall say as to whether we arc they arc nearer right in
the matter?

To hold that when, by an overwhelming vote of more than three
to one, the rabbis in conference assembled, repudiated a nationalistic
and racial interpretation of Judaism, they did not voice the senti-
ments of the American reform rabbinate, is nothing short of imperti-
nence. Mr. Lipsky's assertion that there are more than four hundred
reform rabbis in the country, whereas the last year book of the con-
ference shows less than two hundred and fifty, among whom are a
number of conservative ministers, is indicative of his accuracy of
statement. That Mr. Lipsky wrote his interview for the purpose of
misleading the general public and without any knowledge of the facts
at issue, is amply proved by his inclusion among the leaders of the
opposition, whose standpoint swayed the younger men, the name of
Dr. Kaufman Kohler. Apparently Mr. Lipsky did not know that
circumstances beyond his control had prevented Dr. Kohler from
being present at the Buffalo meeting, and that at the time of the
debate on Zionism the good doctor was removed from Buffalo by
many hundreds of miles. He simply drew upon his imagination, as
he is accustomed to do when facts are inconvenient to his purposes.
All of this would be entirely without significance did Mr. Lipsky
speak only for himself. However, his re-election as chairman of the
executive committee of the provisional committee of the American
Federation of Zionists, after his famous letter in which in effect he
urged the repudiation of the peace agreement makes him the author-
ized mouthpiece of that organization, and gives to his utterances
official sanction. It is methods of this sort which are bringing official
Zionistic organizations into disrepute.
So far as the conference is concerned, it makes little difference
how Mr. Lipsky chooses to interpret its action. The fact is clear
that when by a decisive vote of 68 to 20, it set itself squarely on
record as against political Zionism, it voiced the sentiment of the

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Saginaw and the War Fund

Another Michigan city has placed its name on the honor roll in
connection with the Jewish War Relief Fund. Saginaw has responded
to the appeal of the Detroit committee with some measure of gen-
erosity, though in all fairness it must be said that a number of the
Jewish citizens of that city are still to be heard from. Absence from
the city on the occasion of the Detroit committee's visit there, or
other causes conspired to keep them away froM the meeting. While
the contributions given represent a generous spirit on the part of
the donors, the Saginaw community can scarcely rest satisfied until
every Jew and Jewess within its gates has done his or her duty. Fur-
ther returns from those who have not yet given will be eagerly
awaited. The place which Saginaw shall occupy among the self-
respecting communities of Michigan cannot be definitely determined
until all returns arc in.

The Death of William Saulson

One cannot permit the death of William Saulson to pass without
a word of well-merited tribute. Few have been the men in the Jew-
ish community of Detroit who, by unselfishness of action and by
unquestioned sincerity of motive, have won so high a place in the
esteem of their fellow Jews as William Saulson. Uncompromising
in his Orthodoxy, and loyal to every tradition of his father's faith.
Mr. Saulson was justly regarded, during the many years of his resi-
dence here, and until ill-health compelled his removal to California,
as a pillar of the Orthodox community. Nor did he sever his rela-
tions with Congregation Shaarey Zedek, to whose upbuilding he con-
tributed so much, even after his departure from Detroit. His loyalty
to the United Jewish Charities is also attested by the fact that every
year in its due season his check in support of this institution, came
unsolicited. He was a man who won and deserved to win the whole-
souled respect of the community, Orthodox and Reform alike. To
those who mourn his loss the sympathy of the entire community
goes out.

