1- ALE. FOUR

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

Issued Every Friday by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company .
ANTON KAUFMAN
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President

MICHIGAN'S JEWISH HOME PUBLICATION

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rejection of either of which stamps a definite character upon a the solace that lies in work and in service. 'It must itself show
people?
the way by contributing so far as it may of its men and of its
Now we hold that it is the business of the church first an d means to the great cause. It must put back of it the things that

foremost to insist upon the spiritual background of the great world make for selfishness and for self-aggrandizement and its lodestar

contest in which we are engaged and so to bring home to those must be a united community striving together for a commo
51.50 per year who sit in the pews that the sacrifices which we are bringing, and humanity.
n
which would be utterly unwarranted and absurd were there moth-
Offices 314 Peter Smith Bldg.
In times like these the organized forces of religion must not
Phone: Cherry 3381.
ing beyond material and Political issues at
stake, are , in the light lie down, but with undaunted courage, they must take up that
of contesting ideals that shall affect the whole future of humanity, task which they alone can meet and go fin -
RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,
ward tinder the inspir-
Editorial Contributor
worth while. Here, in crucial times like these. is the pulpit's op- ation of such words as those of the great prophetess of other days,

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portunity. To fail in its realization is to fail in all things. "Awake, awake, put on thy strength!" Battles there shall be to

The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of ntereet to the
Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorsement of the views
expressed by the writers.

church, is the responsibility that lies within organized religion to be to be fought at home and within ourselves. To the ultimat
e
keep up the spirits of a people in a time of great danger and dis- victory in these spiritual contests, the church and the synagogu
couragement. Say what one will ale tut the emotional appeal of must contribute their share. God grant that they fail not in their e

patriotism in war-time and grant to the fullest the almost super- high and holy and responsible task.

Entered as second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Postoffice at Detroit,
Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879.

human willingness to sacrifice ton the part of a great proportion
of the people, one cannot entirely escape the fact that uncounted

THE SYNAGOG IN WARTIME.

The need of a definite constructive program for church and
synagog, - was never so pressing as today. Front all sides the cry

1.

Closely allied with this phase of the program of the efficient lie won by our brave boys at the front, but battles, too, there shall

_ comes to our ears for efficiency and conservation of energy and

esources. Must not the pulpit, too, hear this call? Presumably

the foremost of moral agencies, it dare not be laggard when the
forces of business, of government, and of society , are all being

arc the multitudes who, however their lips may acquiesce in the
•ar-program are rebellious in their hearts and who ask themselves

day by day and hour by hour whether the game is worth the
candle.

Exit, the Jewish Congress

Especially is this true of those of whom the near demands the

nearest and the most heroic sacrifices. The giving up of material
treasure is after all not so difficult a thing. The regulation of our

BY HAROLD BERMAN.

HE

Jewish Congress, about . tory, a Jewish people united into one
which so much had been ; body by one ideal. They had pre-
written, debated from the i viously participated in many elections,
lives according to a program of prohibition that is new to us;
commandeered to special service. What can the synagog do in
platform, pulpit, the press as but those were American, English or
the curbing of our appetities for food and pleasure; the restraint
c as the street-corner, is now gone
these crucial times? What must it do to hold its non, and how
(,erinan elections, of whichever na-
upon our comings and goings are accepted not only with resigna- the way of all flesh, to be recalled tion they happened to
shall it approach its task?
form an infi-
with a sigh and a tear, and to be
tion, but with a feeling that these things are inevitable conditions
nitesimal part of the whole. But now,
resurrected when the souls of all the
That the whole program of church activity must be re-
they
were
voting
as
Jews
and at a
in the successful conduct of a great war. But what is not so dead will be summoned before the
arranged to meet the unprecedented conditions of our times should easy to accept with o
Judgment-seat of the i\lmighty. And Jewish election. The thrill was im-
ut flinching and without complaint is the
be self-evident. Indeed, that the whole program of organized re-
now is the time come to write the mense, and the sensation quite superb.
mother's sacrifice or the sacrifice which the young wife brings
obituary of the congress, to recount And it must be admitted that the
ligion must be reinterpreted to meet the exigencies of a time of
whose dream of happiness is suddenly shattered. And it is to its many virtues, as well as its faults. masses of our people vindicated them-
selvcs nobly in this their first lesson
testing that stands unparalleled in human history in the unchal-
When one undertakes to write a
such as these especially that the synagog must come as a messen-
in self-government, and gave no
biography of a person ■ vhose cor-
lenged conviction of a very considerable group of thinkers both
ger of glad tidings, buoying them up to face courageously the
poreal entity is still to be found grounds for the expressed fears of the
within and without the church. It would be but irksome repeti-
conditions that dark fur the moment seem to promise better things among the living, he is faced with the distrustful minority. The sight of the
tion to take up again in this connection the trite discussion as for all time to come.
danger of having his praises belied by people at the ballot-boxes was oar.
not easily to be forgotten. The en-
to whether or not the church-----in which term, of course. is in-
the subsequent doings of the subject
And yet this cann o t be done by mere preaching. Its actual
thusiasm and happiness of the great
of his labors. At any rate, it can be
cluded the synagog--has failed. Suffice it at the moment to con-
majority
of the voters was quite be-
accomplishment implies on the part of the church and synagog but incomplete work. But there is no
yond words. Even the elderly Rus-
cede that on the whole it has not always sensed its tremendous
a distinct function as a part of its war-program. In a general way, risk of contradiction when the subject
Opportunity nor risen to its responsibilties that are so titanic in
of the biography is in his grave and sian Jewess, bewigged and beshawled,
we might say that this is a part of the function of the church even beyond the pale of temptation, as was not absent, casting her ballot
these times, that before them the obligations of the church in
in normal times. \\''e refer to its inspirational power in times of well, and the congress idea may now with the same pious ecstacy in which
other days become Lilliuptian in comparison.
considered as having reached that she shrieks the responses to the
social stress. More than once we have pointed out that the church be
final resting place. Having started prayers in the women's compartments
Nor need it be brought home again that whatever claim to or synagog,
should not, in itself, be primarily a functioning agent shortly after the outbreak of the pres- of the synagogue, though she may not
consideration credalism and denominationalism and sectarianism
in the processes of social reform. By that we mean that the ent war, by a certain Russian refugee have been entirely clear as to the
meaning of the deed, thinking perhaps
may have in other times, today they must give way before larger
church very seldom has at its disposal a complete equipment for and recent convert to Zionism, as a that it was a vote for the
re-purchase
means of focusing attention upon the
and more insistent demands of a humanitarianism in terms of
the carrying on of social work on the highest possible plane. I.et Jew's demand for Palestine as a na- of Palestine or the rebuilding of the
winch alone a war-time religion; to be efficient, must interpret
it be confessed that church and synagog rather defeated their own tional haven of refuge, it immediately Temple and the immediate restora-
itself,
tion of the sacrificial oxen. However
purposes in their unreasoned taking up of all sorts of social activi- evoked a great deal of discussion, it may have been, the congress elec-
When we say this, of course we would not he misinterpreted. ties which found their expression in the institutional church. The mostly of adverse criticism. The tions were an adequate demonstration
writer of the present article was also
We do not mean, as sonic of our ever-watchful critics would con-
truth is that the institutional church is in some senses a monu- one of the outspoken critics of the of the essential democracy which re-
clude, that the Jew must cease to be a Jew and that CatIndics ment to the failure of the church.
idea at the time. the logic of the de- sides within the heart of the Jewish
:nand and it s deducibility from the masses, and their capacity for man.
and Protestants must instantly throw off those spiritual differ-
It is the business of the church and synagogue not to carry on premises appearing to him as absurd aging the complicated electoral ma-
chinery, and nowhere was there any
ences which are the result of historical and psychological influ- all sorts of activities but to inspire them; to plant deep in the in the extreme.
ences that have worked upon them for centuries. •We do not minds of . the people the seed of desire to do so that they shall feel
The idea found favor mainly among charge of any illegal practical made,
or of pursuing Tammany methods.
the representatives of the foreign. un-
mean that the religions of the world shall be thrown into a great the passion for service.
assimilated masses, and the Yiddish While these things were taking place
melting pot out of which should conic a creolless, and by that
Now in some such sense it should be part of One war-program press as their spokesman, and was and the destiny of the congress was
token, a spineless ethical system to which all men, thy wise and of an efficient synagogue to stimulate the people to a desire to strenuously opposed by the American- shaping itself, fate was quietly pre-
o
ized element of our people. The de- paring a great surprise for us. Idn
the simple, the fool and the philosopher. might equally give assent. serve. And this naturally links itself up very closely
, with its func- bate raged acrimoniously for many sia, hitherto the greatest oppressor of
So long as men are differently endowed spiritually and intellectu- tion to keep up the spirits of the people in time of their discourage- long and weary months, involving an the Jew', threw off the yoke of the
ally and so long as they look at life and the universe through dif- ment. There is only one solace for sorrow and that is the solace exchange of courtesies more deadly autocrats and became free, her free-
than poison gas and explosive shells, dom bringing freedom to all within
ferent eyes, a creedless church, or, to put it in tinore euphonious of work.
in some cases. It must be admitted her vast borders, Jew and Christian
terms, an absolutely universal church, is not conceivable.
Let this message be told again and again from our pulpits. that the argument was quite often not and Heathen alike, so that the main
cause for the calling of the congress
What we mean by the necessity of the church putting back If the people can Inc made to feel the sanctity of service they will at nil conducted in sportsmanlike
fashion, but, on the contrary, there fell away by itself. America also, the
of it in these times its denominational differences is rather this
the better be able to face the tremendous problems which the
was much hitting below the belt, stab- biggest of all the neutral nations, be-
that the different sects and creeds, conscious though they be, and times bring, and if the synagogue puts them in the right mental bing your enemy in the back, kicking came a combatant on the side of the
Entente Allies, throwing herself
as they should be, of the character of their particular heritage, attitude for such service, it will be fulfilling a function of no small him when lying prone on the floor or
assassinating his character when the might and main into the struggle, so
should cease their bickerings upon minor matters of detail and value to the state and nation. Of enturse the congregations will
armor of his logic was invulnerable that what was formerly allowed to
form, of names and words that ultimately count for little, and furnish men and means for the carrying on of the great conflict. against your steel. I.ittle by little, her as a neutral is now become out of
the question.
stand united upon a program of active service in a cause that is The Service Flags that fly from so many places of worship in- and in due course of time, the haze
flints began to be given about the
in the respective brains of the oppon-
common to all.
dicate that these institutions have not been remiss in the proper
ents cleared away, reason began to indelicacy of holding a congress at
appreciation
of
the
duty
that
rests
upon
them.
Indeed,
it
is
fair
the present time, hints Of the embar-
take
the
place
of
unfounded
passion,
Once more it seems needful to explain this statement.
We
the congress idea narrowed down rassment it would cause in certain
would not interpret religion solely in terms of social service. to say that next to the public press, there has been no agency and
to a means of calling attention to the official quarters, hints that were greet-
Back of that service must be the great and constant inspiration more potent in arousing- a proper enthusiasm on the part of the demand of the Jew for better
treat- ed with murmurs of dissatisfaction .
that conies to him who in the supreme moments of his life may people as to the meaning of this conflict and as to the sacred
lent in the diaspora, which had quite And then the climax was reached
with unfailing confidence take up the words of the ancient re- lutes that it entails than has the pulpit. Let those who will, a logical basis of reason under i t. when at a meeting of the Executiv,
When it assumed this form, the oppo- Committee of the Congress a promi-
ligious philosopher, "I kt1O• that my redeemer liveth."
1 n a decry the church and synagogue for its failure. They know not sition of the more reasonable. and nent member introduced a resolution
whereof
they
speak.
more reasoning, people died out. and for the temporary postponement of
word, religion lutist deal with a program that touches mut spirit-
Especially is it to the credit of the church that throughout the the congress principle gained adher- the Congress, which was carried by a
ual as well as man intellectual and man physical. And truth
ence, as it then had something con- substantial majority, and, in such a
that never was a time when the spiritual implications of church length and breadth of the land these hundreds of thousands o f crete to offer the participants, some- manner was a lethal dose adminis-
teaching needed to be so brought to the forefront as is the case women are working as they are with their hands and their brains thing understood by the nations to tered to the Congress plan. This is
the season of Jewish Congresses. All
in behalf
of the great and holy cause. I land in hand the churches whom the appeal was to be made.
today. In times when all moral standards are upset by the tur- and
the women
s dubs of t h
\Viten this hail been accomplished, sorts of gatherings arc being held in
e coun t ry hav e
'
moil of the times. %•wn the ethical incentive seems to have been
gone bravely and intel- that is, when the principle of a Jewish newly-freed Russia, one was recently
taken out of the life of men and nations• when brute force pre- ligently forward in organizing the energies and the resources of congress had been agreed to, then a held in Salonica, another in Bulgaria.
vails, when might contests with right and demands on its altar American women. And best of all, this heroic work done by new war broke out as to the ways beside sundry other gatherings with
and means of convoking this assent- which the•wat seemingly didn't inter-
the supreme sacrifice, it is needful that the spiritual ideal of re- churches is being carried forward by the joint efforts of men and lily, a battle royal fought between the fere. But there is this difference, that
ligion be persistently emphasized and that men be taught ;mew women representaive of all phases of religious thought.
impetuous radicals who were fighting whereas these Congresses were con-
Never perhaps has a great crisis in human affairs found the for a thoroughly democratic congress, vetted for the purpose of dealing with
that "Not by bread alone loth man live but by whatsoever pro-
people of all denominations so ready to lay aside their petty differ- elected by a universal, direct and bi- purely niternal affairs, this American
eeeileth from the mouth of the Lord."
sexual suffrage, and the conservative Congress waste consider foreign and
ences in the great common cause as is !IO• the case. And of this
element that desired a mere confer-
universal
„
problems, some of which
Were we to build up a program for the efficient church in
fact
the
efficient
church
must
take
advantage.
Indeed,
in
it
it
suer
by the elders and leaders of the "" Imw become
time of War, WC heliCIT that this would be the first definite task
" ilawe d , whit '
must see its opportunity. While, as we have already said none people, whose knowledge of the deli- others mar cause embarrassment if
to which we would hold it. In times when history is tieing re-
cafe problems confronting their peo- considered at this time.
corded in human blood, religion scans in be the one agency that would be so foolish as to ask that fundamental convictions ur plc was more thorough and intimate.
from its very nature is fitted and able to lift man even a little religious problems be set aside by any group within the churches, And so the battle waged anew, enli-
vening the gloom and the dull mo-
above the cruelty and the barbaric passion that prevails, and into it is yet fair to ask that in times like these, the organized religious ments of the saddened ghetto. As is
forces
set
the
example
to
other
social
groups
by
forgetting
for
that attitude of mind wherein the spiritual is ascendant. That is
a customary in wordy battles between
to say, one of the tasks of the church today that looks toward little while the things that divide and by emphasizing as never impetuous youth and conservative
middle-age, between the poorer masses
spiritual efficiency is to preach persistently and unremittingly that before the common duty that unites men. Indeed, the time offers and the richer classes, this renewed
a high inspiration to the church to preach a unity of spirit among
tight was also conducted not exactly
'back of the conflict of political and economic forces that arc meet-
* in the world arena is the struggle for suPremacy of certain the religious men and women that shall reflect itself in a height- in accord with the spirit of noblesse
ens-d sense of unity among the different social classes and indus- oblige, but rather in the rough-and-
moral and spiritual ideals; and that in terms of the victory of
tumble fashion of political opponents
trial groups in our country.
Our brave boys in uniform will
when on a canvass for the vote and
the high ideal over the low ideal shall the final triumph of nations
appreciate an opportunity to read
In a word. religion should come today to be a unifying factor favor of their constituents. But the
be counted.
books, papers and magazines to
and nut a dividing force in our common life. It should stand so people demonstrated this time—as it
keep them in touch with Jewish
. Nor is this thought merely theological. One cannot read the
nost always does if it persists long
definitely for the community spirit and for that perfervid patriot-
matters, and to inform them of
enough in a cause—that unity, of
outpourings of the soul of the greatest Americans today, including

Send the Soldiers
Reading Matter

our own President, without realizing that the nations in conflict
are but symbols of contrasted conceptions of the purpose of life,
and by that token, symbols of contending ideals.

We speak of autocracy versus democracy as though the two
.terms were purely political in connotation. But must not he that

ism that brooks no division of sentiment that petty differences orces and ideals, and perseverance will
will of themselves be relegated to the background of man's thought break down all barriers, whether nat-
ural or artificial, so that we presently
and gradually disappear out of their lives.

what is going on in their own home
towns.

And so if the church is to be at all efficient in these crucial mouths of the Yiddish press and pop-
times, it must set up for itself a constructive program. But it ular orators had caused the walls of

lar literature in the hands of the

saw that the loud trumpets in the

Jericho to crumble in the dust before

must be a program of a character that from its nature and from
he blast, and it became agreed on all
lisoks beyond the surface understand their ethical and spiritual
the equipment at hand, the church is in position to carry out. sides to hold a Jewish congress, the
'itnplications? We speak of militarism versus arbitration as though
Essentially it must emphasize the spiritual side of men's lives in same to be broad in its sympathies,
'Otese would present a choice of means by which the affairs of these days when the brutish and the barbaric is ascendant. It comprehensive in its programme, and
stations may be conducted. But must we not really understand must inspirit and encourage a people that is weighted down under thoroughly democratic in its represen-
:
ation: The Jewish people within
:that. here are two. contrasted moral conceptions. the acceptance or a burden of woe and discouragement. It must envisage for them these United States were then treated

to a sight entirely new in their his-

Place this paper and other simi-

soldiers by sending it to:

E. J. DRACHMAN,

Representative Jewish Board for

Welfare Work in the U. 8. Army

and Navy, Knights of Columbus

Building No. 572, Camp Custer,

Battle Creek, Michigan.