I. 19 42
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
d
hiss
SECTION TWO
day
pro.
the
VOL. 44, NO. 49
and The Legal Chronicle
10e Single Copy; $3.00 Per Year
DETROIT. MICHIGAN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1942
RELIGION AND THE DEMOCRATIC IDEAL
was
tom
\I ix
man
acts
;Isul
to is
igh-
to translate them into practical
norms of conduct, and into in-
Editor's Note: The following Is the text
stitutional forms, which are the
of Governor Lelitnan's address at the
foundations of our democracy.
recent conference of the Jewish The-
ological Seminary of America. It Is
The ideas which guided Thomas
a ringing call to men of all faiths to
Jefferson in writing the Declara-
unite for the defense of the demo-
, !aft . traditions.
tion of Independence can be trac-
ed back through the heritage of
The first task of our generation
the Puritan evangelist, the Catho-
is destruction of the military
lic philosopher, the Mohammedan
menace. So long as the threat
sage and the Jewish rabbi to the
of pagan domination, hostile to
fountainhead of all western reli.
all forms of religion, of demo-
gion—the sacred Scriptures. The
cracy, and of truth, hangs over
41
history of the past two decades
4,
us, little can be achieved toward
has shown that the religious tra-
realization of the prophetic
40040
ditions are not merely the chan-
ideals of human brotherhood. It
nels through which democratic
, r w.
is useless to brood over what
70,
ideas have come to us, but in the
«
might have been. Stark reality
last analysis, the means by which
a « •
before us is the fact that Ger-
these ideas must be preserved
many, Italy, and Japan are unit-
and exanded.
ed in an effort to put mankind
The enemies of democracy are
in physical and spiritual bond-
only too well aware of the inti-
age. We must resist that effort
mate relation of the religious tra-
with all the energies and re-
ditions of the western world and
sources at our command.
democratic ideals; and in their
efforts to destroy democracy, the
But even while we are engaged
totalitarians have begun with an
in that vital task, we must also
attack on the institutions of re-
look ahead to the post-war world.
ligion. Following the ancient prin-
This must be built on founda-
ciples of pagan Rome -to "divide
tions secure against the spiritual
and rule," they have sought to stir
upheavals which have caused the
conflict among men of different
present menace to civilization.
The first prerequisite for the
faiths Its preliminary to an attack
on all the faiths. The strategy of
establishment of such founda-
"one by one" applies not only to
tions is the spiritual development
political units, but also in the
of our generation. We can no
spiritual domain. Hence Judaism
longer afford to indulge in adol-
was the first among the faiths to
escent dreams of endless power,
become the victim of totalitarian
without responsibility, of indiv-
aggression; but the Roman Cath-
idual comfort, without equivalent
olic and the Protestant religion
sacrifice. We must never again
soon followed. The Nazi radio
delude ourselves into taking for
still quotes the Koran in its ap-
granted the liberties which we
stowed on all as the children and peals for support from the Mos-
have, forgetting that they must the good life. As the Prophet
this, That he understandeth,
the servants of the living God, lem world; but we may be sure
be won all over again in each
and knoweth Me, That I am
Jeremiah put it:
that if ever men of Islam find
would become impossible.
age, through patient sacrifice and
the Lord who exercise mercy,
"Let not the wise man glory
Our democratic traditions are themselves subject to totalitarian
effort. In other words, we must
Justice, and righteousness, in
go back to the teachings of
in his wisdom, Neither let the
the offspring of the great religi- rule, their religion will be perse-
the earth; For in these things
Scripture, according to which the
ous teachings of past generations. cuted and its leaders imprisoned
mighty man glory in his
I delight, Saith the Lord."
full realization of man's person-
Jew, Catholic, Protestant, and and murdered, as ruthlessly as
might, Let not the rich man
have been the Jewish, the Cath-
ality is achieved not by the ex-
The history of our time of- Moslem as well—labored to clar-
glory in his riches; But let
ercise of power, material success
See RELIGION—Page 11
fers another demonstration of the ify the words of the Scripture,
him that glorieth glory in
fame or distinction, but through
truth that prophetic idealism is
the highest form of statesman-
ship, that ultimately injustice be-
gets injustice, and that those who
sow the wind will ultimately reap
the whirlwind.
No peace can endure, unless we
can bring to the world at large
a realization of this truth and a
determination to act upon it. The
only conceivable alternative might
be a peace established and main-
tained through overwhelming
force. But experience has shown
repeatedly that in the long run
Upon This Occasion We Take This
force must weary, slacken, and
stimulate attempts to overthrow
it. The task which develops. upon
Opportunity to Extend Our Best
us is therefore threefold: first,
to defeat the men of arrogance
Wishes to the Enitre Jewish
who are today struggling with
military might to enslave the
world; second, so to convince our-
Community for a Joyous
selves of the value of the moral
and spiritual truths that they
Holiday!
will become guides to our conduct
in private and public life; and
third, through precept and ex-
ample to win the world to a rec-
ognition of the moral principles
involved in these teachings.
This, it seems to me, is a task
in the purview of the religious
teachings of our time. They can
628 Woodward ave.
bring to mankind a recognition
of the supreme value of the hu-
man personality, and a universal
FURS • CLOTH COATS • DRESSES
desire to serve and know God.
SUITS • MILLINERY • ACCESSORIES
With these principles established
WOODWARD AT GRATIOT
and adopted, efforts to enslave
• CORSETS
mankind, to use men as tools, to
deny them the equal dignity be-
By GOV. HERBERT LEHMAN
here hi;;:hly ,esoive !beet these dead
hcd-
(Tye
ap.
:old.
Iter-
the
) at
sh not hetce died in vain...
en-
40
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oc.
ore.
and
hese
rved
of
101°400
'1fr
lem-
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Mo.
Le-
* ° *
MAKE
THIS
YOUR
PLEDGE
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War
TO
OUR
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ty
will
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fling,
light-
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ay-
ding..
us!
11
utor
it.
Chanukah
Greetings
1 1
D.
To our many friends
and customers on the
845
occasion of
Chanukah
eh,
tern
ur
•••••••.•
Greetings
404
ROLLINS a.