Growth of National Enrollme' nt Plan Encourages Lay
Leaders, Jewish Theological Seminary Administration
Excerpts of An Address Given by
Jacob Stein, Chairman of N.E.P.
For many years the Jewish Theological Seminary has been confronted by a serious financial
problem, for the rapid growth of the Conservative Movement has far exceeded the Seminary's
ability to train rabbis, cantors, youth leaders and other specialized personnel required by the fast-
expanding community.
In its efforts to find the funds necessary to enlarge its facilities and develop new programs
to meet the need, the Seminary instituted the National Enrollment Plan as a means of strengthening
its financial base.
The Conservative Movement today has more than 750 congregations affiliated with the United
Synagogue of America, and the membership of these congregations exceeds 350,000 families. The
Plan calls for each member family to pay an annual N. E. P. fee' of $10, which sum is to be added
to the member's congregational dues. Full participation could solidify the Seminary's financial struc-
ture.
The current drive to enroll all members of Conservative congregations as members of the Semi-
nary through the National En-
rollment Plan has been given
sharp impetus by conferences
which have been held in several
regions of the United States and
During recent months, the number of congregations
Canada. Jacob Stein, N.E.P. na-
tional chairman, reported that
which have joined the Honor Roll of those which have
Philadelphia, Chicago, B o s t o n,
adopted the National Enrollment Plan has increased con-
Los Angeles and Paterson, N.J.,
siderably. Newcomers include.
have been among the areas where
productive conclaves had been
Adas Shalom, Detroit, Mich.
held. Large turnouts of com-
Agudath Achim, Atlanta, Ga.
munal leaders were recorded at
Beth Aaron, Detroit, Michigan
each and concrete plans were
Beth El, Utica N. Y.
made to arrange for adoption of
N.E.P. in numerous congrega-
Beth Hillel, Philadelphia, Penn.
tions. A Michigan region con-
Beth Israel Sinai, Racine, Wis.
ference will be held in Detroit
Beth Kodesh, Canoga Park, Cal.
in January.
Beth Moses, Detroit, Mich.
The success of any undertaking
Beth Uziel, Philadelphia, Penn.
rests largely upon its leadership,
and the Seminary is fortunate
B'nai Israel, Freeport, N. Y.
that a good many top communal
B'nai Jeshurun, New York, N. Y.
leaders in the Conservative
B'nai
Zion, Chicago, Ill.
Movement have assumed respon-
Burbank Jewish Community Center, Burbank, Cal.
sibility for the successful devel-
Y.
Jewish Center of Mahopac, Mahopac,
opment of the National Enroll-
ment Plan. Among the regional
Kehillath Israel, Brookline, Mass.
chairmen who serve on the na-
Ner Zedek, Philadelphia, Penn.
tional committee under Jacob
Rhawnhurst Jewish Center, Philadelphia, Penn.
Stein is MAX GOLDSMITH, past
Rodfei Sholom-Oir Chodash, Chicago, Ill.
president of Adas Shalom, De-
Shearith Israel, Columbus, Ga.
troit, Mich.
Rabbi Harry Halpern, East
Temple Ramah, Northridge, Cal.
Midwood Jewish Center, is Rab-
binic Chairman of the N.E.P.
N. E. P. HONOR ROLL
JACOB STEIN, chairman of N.E.P., addressing New York meet-
ing with (left to right) Dr. Max Arzt, vice-chancellor of Semi-
nary; Stein; Dr. Louis Finkelstein, Seminary chancellor; and
Rabbi Harry Katchen, director of N.E.P.
"I think when we talk about the Jewish Theological Seminary,
we must talk of it as a means to an end—not as the end itself.
What do we expect of the Seminary, what do we want the Seminary
to do- for us? For only then can we properly measure what and
how much we should do for Seminary.
"A letter came in the mail last week from Dr. Louis Finkel-
stein, the chancellor of the Seminary, announcing with a great
deal of pride that the academic year of 1962-63 will mark the 75th
Anniversary of the Seminary. Seventy-five years is certainly a
long long time to think about and I could only look back over the
past 25 years for that is really the period of the full flowering of
the conservative movement.
"In 1929, when the present Seminary facility was constructed,
there were two hundred congregations in the conservative family.
Today, in 1961, we have seven hundred and fifty congregations;
we have over 350,000 families and over one million individual
Jews in the movement.
"During the past twenty-five years this Seminary has made
remarkable strides. It has served us well. It conserved Judaism
when there was grave danger that the influences and temptations
of -the environment would reduce all Judaism to the level of an
ethical society.
"And so the Seminary came on the scene and it preached
"Let us conserve." Let us hew to the tradition, let us reinterpret
this tradition—and the success, of course, can be measured not
only in the statistics reporting the remarkable growth of our
movement but also in the tremendous feeling for Judaism that
so many conservative lay leaders have exhibited.
"And so after 25 years, through the efforts of the Seminary,
we have built a conservative Judaism in America. But, as in
business or politics, progress means problems. The more headway
we make the more are our expectations. We find ourselves saying:
"What have you done for me lately?" And at this point we must,
in a sense, assume the ancient role of prophet and peer into the
future. And so I said to myself, "What do I want as a business-
man, as a conservative Jew—perhaps not to the extreme right
of conservatism, certainly not to the extreme left—what do I
want?" And I thought there are four things that I would like to
see as the blueprint for the Seminary's work in the next 25 years.
"I would like to see, first of all, for our children to retain
their Judaism, at least at the level at which we have normalized
and stabilized ourselves. (Certainly we have departed far enough
from our traditions, too far perhaps, in some cases. So I would
be content for my children and their children simply to hold this
present line; defend the present beachhead. I want our children
to retain their Judaism to validate the effort, the time, the energy,
the" dedication and the devotion that we are giving to building
this Judaism, for certainly if any one of us here had an idea that,
as we pass on, all our work also will pass on, why should we give
it one more moment of our time—one more cent of our resources.
We would not build a single new building. And so our children
must retain our Judaism.
"The second part of this program is to have our children and
our children's children walk the streets with head held high, with
shoulders back, proudly and freely acknowledging their Judaism-
, proud, and still Jewish, because of their ability to resist the
blandishments of assimilation. We are living in an age where
gradually, thank God, quota restrictions in schools are being
' abolished. These restrictions on property conveyances are being
ruled illegal and the universal acceptance of civil rights will soon
become an accepted part of the American way of life. And as
this life of ours becomes easier in America, let us hope that our
children will continue to walk proudly as Jews.
"And the third thing I would like to see is the day when
the word "Jew" will be synonymous with a good person, with the
intellectual person, and with a honest person; when the word
"Jew" will be a label that can be worn proudly—that we would
like to see over the next 25 years.
"And the fourth part of my blueprint is—I would like to see
developed a relationship with Israel which will be mutually satis-
fying, wherein we will acknowledge our strong attachment to the
country, to its people, and, in order to strengthen it, we will
strengthen here in America our Jewish way of life.
"That is what I should like to see in the next 25 years. I
alone, or anyone of you alone, regardless of the amount of energy
expended, cannot achieve this. No money of mine alone, or of
yours alone, can achieve this and bring us to a high peak which
will be, to borrow a term from President Kennedy, 'the new
frontier' of American Judaism. The next 25 years are our new
Continued on Page 7
"Five Michigan Congregations Are N.E.P. Pacesetters "
An intensified drive to enroll 18 Conservative Michigan congregations in the
National Enrollment Plan is now underway and will culminate in a leadership con-
ference, which will be held in Detroit next January.
Adas Shalom, Beth Aaron and Beth Moses recently became the first Detroit
congregations to adopt N.E.P. Beth Israel in Flint, and Central Michigan Jewish
Community Center in Mt. Pleasant were the first out-state congregations to adopt
the plan. Over 200 synagogues in the United States and Canada have adopted N.E.P.
THE JEWISH THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY OF AMERICA
Broadway and 122nd Street
New York City
A scene from the original opera, "The Thief and the Hangman,"
which made its television debut on Directions '62, which is
produced by The Jewish Theological Seminary and the public
affairs department of ABC.
GROUND BREAKING ceremonies of the Seminary's American
student center in Jerusalem.
GOLD KIDDUSH CUP
Frankfort-on-the-Main (about
1600), on display at The Jew-
ish Museum of the Seminary.