Friday, September 1'4, 1,ft—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEW

Rabbi Donin Outlines Orthodox Views on
Proposed Reform Synagogue in Jerusalem

Background- of Seals of
Theological Seminaries

Rabbi Hayim Donin, in a official announcement of his! with their objections to Reform
statement to The Jewish News, intentions, he merely succeeded as such.
in arousing the ire of a large
"Unfortunately the writers
this week outlined his views percentage of Jerusalem's in-
of your statements indicated a
as an Orthodox Rabbi on the habitants to whom the intro- lack tf understanding of the
issue that has arisen over the duction into a SYNAGOGUE religious motivations and reli-
request of Reform Jews to of doctrines and teachings such gious conditions in the Holy
establish a house of worship in as Reform do espouse in viola- Land despite their visits there.
tion of basic Jewish laws, is The Israeli religious ,situation
Jerusalem. Rabbi Donin wrote: undoubtedly an act similar to cannot and should not be meas-
"When I privately voiced ab- the introduction of the mis- ured within the American
jection to the Chief Rabbinate's understood reference to an I frame of reference which is
statement many weeks ago, "idol"' or "image" into the precisely what they have done.
House of God, which is also an Israel possesses its own unique
Rabbi Wohlgelernter who is in
act of violation of Torah Law. religious conditions. To define
a position to know, personally
This. comparison is an histor- even the religious practices
assured me that Dr. Glueck
could have had his school and ically very old one found in a and sentiments of Israelis on
number of Jewish sources, and the same basis that we use for
his chapel without any trouble
no one need take special offense American Jews is completely
at all if he had but handled
at its use. The proper transla-
the matter in a more diplo- tion of the Hebrew terms used faulty and leads to nothing but
confusing conclusions.
matic manner. I was assured
is immaterial and we need not
"I really don't see any
that the Chief Rabbinate was
get involved in semantics.
need for heated debate. Dr.
not out to hinder his efforts,
Glueck will probably end up
Claims Popular Objections
but that he himself was not
entirely innocent in the ex-
"In the face of popular vio- getting his school and chapel
plosion of this unfortunate in- lent objections, therefore, the and frankly, even as an
cident. Actually, the Chief Rab- religious members of the Jer- Orthodox Rabbi, it doesn't
binate has no control whatso- usalem Council and the Chief disturb me. I can't possibly
ever over the type of service Rabbinate had no choice but to believe that American - type
that any synagogue wishes to yield to the public opinion of Reform will make much
conduct. As a matter of fact, their constituents and to hinder headway t h ex e anyway. I
there already exist- several the project. Knowing the in- submit that the Chief Rab-
synagogues in Israel whose tensity of feeling concerning binate's pronouncement was
practices and • services deviate the project on the part of the a diplomatic error and that
from the traditional and in more religious elements, Rabbi the resultant publicity may
whose functioning the Chief Wohlgelernter confided in me have done Ref or in more
Rabbinate has never interfered.i that the popular reaction might good than their entire proj-
ect might have done in the
have proven even more embar-
Charges Flaunting
next decade. But under the
"When we talk about reli- rassing and caused more dam- circumstances, some of it pro-
gious freedom, however, it im- age had the Chief Rabbinate voked by the Reform them-
plies not only the right to wor- not issued the statement they selves, it was inevitable. I'm
ship and practice as one did.
inclined to think that the
"Surely, the Reform move- whole eruption was a bril-
pleases, but also the right to
expect of others to respect your ment is familiar with the neces-
liant stroke of Reform strat-
religious sensitivities. The Orth- sity of yielding to practical de- egy and they ought to thank
mands.
Even
the
idealistic
odox Jews of Jerusalem are
the religious groups for fall-
entitled to that consideration Orthodox must be allowed that ing prey to it.
too. It was unnecessary and luxury occasionally. It should
"I trust however that Amer-
unwise to have flaunted Re- be needless for me to add that
form services before them, the action taken did not reflect ican Reform Jews aren't under
knowing fully well how sensi- the opinion of Rabbi Wohlge- the mistaken impression that
tive they are about the matter. lernter, nor my own, nor for in an Israeli Reform Temple
Had Dr. Glueck limited his that matter of hundreds of they would feel at home. From
official request to permission thousands of other Orthodox the announced intentions of Dr.
for a School of Archeology Jews, both here and in Israel. Glueck to conduct the services
which is what it actually is in- The record will show that one in Hebrew, that hats would be
tended to be, permission would of the Municipal Council mem- worn, no organ would be used,
never have been denied. Dr. bers from Mizrachi - Hapoel etc., etc. it would probably be
Glueck could then have used Hamizrachi (religious parties) indistinguishable from most
the building for whatever pur- voted with Mayor Agron in the Conservative congregations and
poses - he wished thereafter, and matter. But though we too may even from many an Orthodox
the Chief Rabbinate would not have found the steps taken ob- one.
"I would advise us not to be
have interfered even with their i jectionable, it is a far cry from
fore-knowledge of his inten- the 'blind parochialism' and too hasty to condemn others
tions. But since he chose to `bigotry' for which the Chief for what we consider to be
make a public issue about in- Rabbinate has been falsely and their errors. The presumptu-
cluding a Reform' chapel, he unjustly accused. For it is also ous sin of self-righteousness is
should have had the consider- a matter of record, reported in something with which each
ation and the common courtesy the local Israeli press, that and every one of us can be ac-
to make such application in a quite a number of non- cused. Rather than engage in
city where the strongly reli- ! Orthodox elements and news- unfruitful dispute, we would
gious elements would not have ' papers supported the objections do better in this season of
to the building of a Reform Cheshbon Hanefesh to intro-
resented it as much.
"The country of Israel was chapel at this time, and for spect for purpose of critical
wide open before him. But by treasons having nothing to do self-examination instead."

Last week's analysis of the
Hebrew slogans in the seals and
book marks of American uni-
versities calls for follow-up ref-
erences to the seals of our Jew-
ish theological seminaries.
We are indebted to the public
relations department of the
Jewish Theological Seminary,
Hebrew Union College - Jewish
Institute of Religion, Yeshiva
University and Chicago's He-
brew Theological College for
information regarding their em-
blems.
Joseph B: Abrahams, who
was secretary to the late Dr.
Solomon Schechter, then presi-
dent of the
Jewish Theo-
logical Semi-
nary, and who
for 40 years
was secretary
of the Semi-
n a r y , traced
the history
of the seal ,
shown here, and it was de-
scribed for us by the Semi-
nary's public relations depart-
ment, as follows:
"When the Seminary rein-
corporated in 1902, Dr. Cyrus
Adler (successor to Dr.
Schechter to the presidency
of the Seminary) thought a
seal should be devised. A dis-
tinguished Jewish sculptor,
Louis Loeb and he, incident-
ally,' was the designer of the
Lincoln Penny—was commis-
sioned to express an idea of
Dr. Schechter's. Briefly, the
idea is that the light of
knowledge, while burning
fiercely, does not consume the
student, and nothing put this
more aptly than the Biblical
quotation which the seal now
carries: 'And the bush was
not consumed . '. The seal
was designed in medallion
form, and became -official in
1902.
"The seal on the outside of
the 123rd St. building of the
Seminary was done by Lee
Laurie, a well-known sculptor
called in by the architects,
who wanted something a bit
more modern to fit in with
the buildings. Laurie gave it
an Egyptian touch, which is
also compatible with the Bib-
lical motto.
"The medallion seal was de-
liberately created to anchor
the reincorporated Seminary
in 1902. It is used on most
of the Seminary's publica-
tions."
Chicago's Hebrew Theological
College provides us with this
information regarding the seal,

By PHILIP SLOMOV I TZ

Rabbi M. J. Wohlgelernter Replies to Reform Criticisms

Rabbi M. J. E. Wohlgelernter
has written the following letter
to The Jewish News, under date
of Sept. 10, in reply to state-
ments by Reform leaders on
the issue of a Reform congre-
gation in Israel:
"Let me clear one point at
the outset. The continued co-
operation among all elements
in Jewry for common causes
here and in Israel is not in
any way affected by the pres-
ent controversy. Nor does op-
position to Dr. Glueck's pro-
posal involve doubt as to the
Zionist devotion of its propon-
ents.
"My good friend, Mr. Morris
Garvett, flatters me by the im-
plication that my own pleasant
experience in communal work
alongside Reform Jews could
have the slightest bearing on
the official stand taken by the
Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which
has recently selected me as its
chief secretary. It is also wrong
to assume that a policy decision
on religious grounds might be
changed for fear of reprisals,
such as withholding financial
support. Both the government
of Israel and its rabbinical lead-
ers will not be intimidated.
"I should like to reassure Mr.
Garvett that it is not the inten-
tion of His Eminence, Chief
Rabbi Isaac Halevy Herzog, on

a

his forthcoming visit to the
U. S., to ask for contributions
from American Reform congre-
gations membership for activi-
ties in which the Chief Rab-
binate is engaged.
"It is necessary that we rec-
ognize a basic difference be-
tween the American scene and
the religious climate of the
Jewish State. Affiliation here
is an entirely voluntary affair.
Orthodox Jews, of course, ac-
cept the binding force of Hal-
acha, but cannot and have
no desire to interfere with the
devotions of synagogues
which deny the authority of
Torah.
"Religious life in the land of
Israel, on the other hand, is
organized like all governmental
services. The rabbinate fulfills
a state function within the area
defined by law. It cannot evade
responsibility in declaring what
is or is not authentic Jewish
belief and practice.
"However, neither the Chief
Rabbinate nor local religious
authorities are given to super-
vise the ritual of the various
houses of worship or the mode
of prayer . followed by individu-
als and groups. American stu-
dents of the archaeological school
to be constructed in Jerusalem
could very well have arranged
for their private devotions

without interference, but for
the advance heralding of the
project as a seminary and tem-
ple.
"Religious Jewry in Israel
faces real philosophical prob-
lems. An imported American-
type service will not solve
the difficulty of a hard-press-
ed, six-day-a-week working
man or woman, who finds it
inconvenient to take time off
for attending the synagogue
on the Sabbath. The intellec-
tual difficulties of the left-
wing cooperatives who seek
expression for the inner
yearning of the Jewish soul
on Holy Days, will not be
met by responsive readings
from the Union Prayer Book
which may help to satisfy the
spiritual demands of the ave-
rage U S Reform congregation.
"Serious thought and research
is being devoted to theSe issues..
Legislative, administrative and
educational undertakings a r e
under way to be concentrated in
the Supreme Religious Center
nearing completion on King
George Street in Jerusalem,
which will house the High Court
and the various departments
of the Chief Rabbinate.
"There is a definite rise in en-
rollment for religious educa-
tion on the elementary and sec-
ondary level.

"Anyone who visited the Bilu
School in Tel Aviv, the Scout
Congregation in Jerusalem or
the B'nei Akiva and Ezra min-
yanim throughout the 'country
on the Sabbath, could sense the
temper of religious youth in Is-
rael.
"All friends of the Jewish
State would do well to let
the people of Israel develop
their own institutions and
programs—political, economic
and cultural—in the demo-
cratic processes they are-
evolving. Political parties and
elections, as well as expres-
sion of public opinion by mass
demonstrations, are perfectly
legitimate means for resolv-
ing differences. A community
that takes 'its religious life
seriously and agrees that the
State must provide such ser-
vices in the same manner that
it offers social welfare, can-
not be criticized for giving
the organized rabbinate rec-
ognition in this sphere. The
alternative would be chaos or
a serious split in Jewry.
. "Competent observers a n d
publicists, including S. Dingol,
editor of the New York Day-
Journal, agree that American
sponsors of the school should
`seek the peace of Jerusalem'
and withdraw plans for holding
services in its library."

reproduced here:
"The seal of the Hebrew The-
ological College represents the
scroll of the Law and a volume
of the Talmud. In this way, the
College indicates that its course
of study embraces both the
Written Law and the Oral Law.
The candle is
a reminder
that the Com-
mandment of
the Almighty
is the light of
the human
spirit. The
scroll gives the Hebrew name
and the English name of the in-
stitution which was founded in
Chicago in 1922, having ab-
sorbed the earlier Yeshivat Etz
Chaim which was organized in
Chicago in 1904. The Hebrew
verse that appears in the scroll
comes from Exodus 34, verse 27,
`after the tenor of these words,
I have made a covenant with
thee'."
We have been provided with
the following interesting infor-
mation about the Reform theo-
logical seminary:

The seal of the Hebrew Union
College, (I), which was adopted
iri 1902, depicted the' Menorah,
with qucitations from Isaiah 8,16
and Genesis 44,3. It was later
combined with the seal of the
Union of AMerican Hebrew
Congregations, and the Menorah
was changed to the Scroll. The
dates of the foundings of both
institutions — 1373 and 1875 —
appear on the seal.
The seal of the Jewish Insti-
tute of Religion (II), is a Jew-
ish coin of the period of the
second Jewish revolt against
Rome 132 - 135 C.E. This tetra-
drachm depicts the four pillars
of the Temple. The center arch
represents the Ark. The He-
brew characters around the coin.
spell Jerusalem. It is believed
that the eight pointed star is
an allusion to the name of Bar
Kochba ("Son of the Star"),
leader of the revolt against
Rome. The coins struck by Bar
Kochba were propaganda coins,
to stir the imagination and ex-
press the sentiment of the Jew-
ish people in the war against
Rome and in the restoration of
the 'Land of Israel as their inde-
pendent home.
The seal of the Hebrew Union
College — Jewish Institute of
Religion, n o
in use, since
the merger of
the two schools
in 1948, is a re-
production o f
t he original
Hebrew Union.
College seal, with the addition
of the name of the Jewish
Institute of Religion.
The Hebrew quotations on
this seal are from Isaiah—"Hat-
om Torah b'limudai" — "Bind
up the testimony, seal the in-
struction among My disciples";
and from Genesis "Haboker or"
—"As soon as the morning was
light .. "
The Yeshiva University seal
bears, in addition to the English
name of the institution, its He-
brew name at its foundirigL.-
"Yeshivath Rabbi Itzhak Elcha-
nan" — and a
design of the
Torah as the
major- symbol
of the Jewish
faith. The two
Hebrew words
Torah and
Madah—represent 'symbolically
the aims of the institution:
Torah for Jewish learning,
Madah for culture or knowl-
edge. The Hebrew date — 570G
(1945)—of the institution's at-
taining university status is
given on the seal.

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