Memorial Group for Jewish Culture

Rabbi Jack J. Cohen Warns Against Jewish
to Start Aid for Education Programs
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Memo- works of major Jewish significance,
Education's Deterioration, Proposes Many
rial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and the publication of literature in
is to commence operations Jewish f i e 1 d s for children and
in 1965, expects to allocate funds youth.
Aroaches for Advancement of Our Schools which
The foundation plans to conduct
PP
for its programs out of income
Emphasis placed in current corn- tion are studied, and "the impon- introducing worship, Rabbi Cohen accruing to it in that year
a scholarship and fellowship pro-

munity discussions on the neeqs derables of a free atmosphere" are advises on methods of access that
for expansion of Jewish educa- analyzed. Rabbi Cohen emphasizes offer effective communication.
There is also the mat ter of
tional services points to the con- that "the wise educator under-
sideration of the issue as the major stands that he can hide nothing ethics, and Rabbi Cohen, warning
from the minds of his students" against fatal errors in ethical de-
factor in Ainerican Jewish life.
liberation, makes the point that
A thorough study of our school and he declares:
"however idolatrous and wicked
"Jewish education has nothing
systems and their needs is incorpo-
the German nation was considered
rated in a volume of great signifi- to fear from a confrontation with
during the period of Hitler, no
often-harsh reality surrounding
cance, just issued by The Recon-
sane, devout Jew ever urged geno-
the Jewish school; it has every-
structionist Press (15 W. 86th,
tide against it, which was recom-
NY 24). thing to fear from a continuation
In "Jewish Education in Demo- of the present ostrich-like bury- mended in the Bible for the Amale-
eratic Society," Dr. Jack J. Cohen, ing of the head in the sands of kites and the Canaanite nations."
The establishment of bureaus
denominational confines."
now the direct& of the Hillel
He does not fear introduction of Jewish education is viewed
Foundation at the Hebrew Univer-
by
Rabbi Cohen as "one of the
sity in Jerusalem, haS made a of educational' science in the Jew-
shall few healthy signs in the Ameri-.
thorough survey of the problems ish school, asserting: "We
and the needs and makes proposals labor in vain if we invest our can Jewish community that point
that deserve special attention by energies solely in improving the to our• ability to communicate
community planners, educators mechanics of Jewish education, in- with each other concerning the
and parents. eluding the training of teachers in intrinsic life of our people." .
It is a challenging work in which useful techniques, and do not In his criticism of the sectarian-
Rabbi Cohen sounds a warning simultaaneously stir the teachers ism of our s e m i n a r i e s, Rabbi
against possible deterioration: to sense the full creative uses that Cohen declares that "no Jewish
"Anyone who is sanguine can be made of scientifically con- community is, or should be, as
about the future of American ceived methods. For only when ideologically pure and mono-
Judaism had better examine the they see the science of education colored as our seminary officials
record of continuity of the Jew- in a wide philosophical perspective would like it to be." He is critical
ish school, which is notoriously can their own imaginations be also of competitive fund-raising.
He is critical of the fear to deal
bad. American Jewry is surviv- stimulated into creative activity."
In his study of the educational with the content of Judaism in
ing on an elementary school edu-
cational backgroun d, a fact processes, Rabbi Cohen touches at Jewish education and he proposes
which more than anything else length on the treatment of tradi- changes in the psychology of adult
dramatizes its cultural inepti- tion. He charges that "the teach- education, calling for the supple-
tude. Unless something can be ing of Jewish history suffers from mentation of "big attractions" with
done to increase the percentage denominationalism." He empha- seminar and text courses.
Rabbi Cohen states that the
sizes that the study of history
of students who continue their
Jewish education long enough "demands objecticity of treat- secondary school is the weakest
to attain proficiency in Hebrew ment," that "the teacher ought to link in American Jewish educa-
and acquire a rational under- realize how much can be accom- tion, that the high school suffers
standing of Jewish thought and plished toward creating Jewish from "missing rungs at the top
practice, we must expect that souls by the proper teaching of of the ladder," and he urges:
"The elementary school must re-
American Judaism will deterio- Jewish history."
direct the psychology of its stu-
He also advises that "both
rate into spiritual nothingness."
dents and their parents, so that
Israel and America should be
Dr, Cohen's admonition is based
they do not see Bar Mitzvah as
examined as sources of humani-
oil research and probing, on exam-
the final goal of Jewish educa-
illation of the doubts and curiosi- zation." He deplores that "Jews
tion but rather as a step in the
ties that enter into the approach to have always walked the tight-
life-long study of Judaism. The
educational programming. He rope between particularism and
next step is the high school."
states at the outset that: "A philos- cosmopolitanism" and adds that
Thereupon he pleads against
ophy of Jewish education must "the teaching of Israel in the
making Bar Mitzvah "the final act
reckon with four qualities common school must blend those ele-
to all educational experience: con- ments of nationalism and uni- of decision." He also advocates the
text, perspective, curiosity and versalism that have shaped the acceptance of Bat Mitzvah celebra-
Jewish people into the unique tions as necessary steps in the
doubt."
direction of proper educational
The religious aspects are under entity that it is."
In matters involving the teach- programming.
review in his handling of these
Concluding with "a word to the
needs, and methods of indoctrina- ing of customs and ceremonies, of

The Conference on Jewish Ma- gram. It 'will grant scholarships to
terial Claims Against Germany is university students specializing in
establishing the foundation in me- a Jewish field on a graduate level,
mory of the 6,000,000 Jews who and fellowships to persons quali-
perished during the Nazi holocaust. fied to carry out independent proj-
Allocations will be , granted to ects in Jewish scholarship, litera-
qualified organizations and institu- ture and the fine arts.
The foundation will consider
tions in aid of programs in Jewish
cultural and educational fields. The applications submitted by Jewish
funds of the foundation are lim- organizations a n d institutions
ited, and it will therefore focus for the year 1965 only if they
initially on selected programs and f all into any of the outlined
categories, according to the an-
only in those cases where local re-
nouncement.
sources are insufficient to provide
Such applications. are to be sub-
the funds sought from it, the an
milted before the end of November
nouncement stated.

Campaign Begun to Finance Hillel Facilities
at Wayne State University Religious Center

(Continued from Page 1)
Merrick and Kirby. This will be
the heart of the newly developed
campus. Weinstein pointed out that
the new heights reached in stu-
dent enrollment at WSU created
a problem of adequate facilities
for the religious organizations,
thus necessitating the building of
a unique religious center for the
14 denominations that now serve
the student body.
Each of the 14 denominational
groups will share the building
which, when constructed, will serve
as the new home for the Bnai
Brith-sponsored student founda-
tion.
To assure the financing of the
Jewish portion of the religious
center, the total cost of which

will be $1,250,000, a campaign
for funds has been inaugurated.
Leonard N. Simons has been
named general chairman of the
special gifts committee. Harry

Nathan is chairman of the Bnai
Brith Hillel Building Committee,

and Elias Goldberg and Avram
Charlip are treasurer and secre-
tary of the committee.

Contributions are to be mailed
to Milton M. Weinstein, president,
Wayne State University Religious
Center Foundation, 2442 First Na-
tional Building, and checks should
be made payable to the WSU Bnai
Brith Hillel Foundation.
Anyone who makes a contribu-
tion of $1,000 or more wig have
his or her name embossed on a
bronze plaque at the entrance to

the Hillel Center. If anyone wants
to make a contribution of $5,000
or more in memory of or in honor
of a loved one, a special plaque
will be placed on the door of a
room in the Hillel Center. Indi-
vidual plaques will be given to
contributors of $500 to $1,000.
A statement issued by the fund-
raising committee for the
facility provides the following
facts:
"Ever since its inception at
Wayne State University, the Bnai
Brith Hillel Foundation has car-
ried on its activities from a con-
verted residential building at 4841
Second. It had outgrown these
facilities many years ago and has
been limited in its activities.
"Now, with the community's
help, the Bnai Brith Hillel Foun-
dation at Wayne State University
will have facilities for expanding
the work of the foundation in the
new Religious Center Building.
The lounge can be converted to
a chapel to be used as the univer-
sity changes from a community to
a resident student population.
"In addition to the special facili-
ties for the various denominations,
the Religious Center Building will
include common facilities which
will be used by all groups. In-
eluded in these common facilities
will be a library to accommodate
religious material not found in the
general library of the university,
a meditation room which will not
be a chapel but a small, quiet
room specifically designed to pro-

mote individual reflection and
meditation, four classrooms to be
used by the • various religious
groups, a general office and a
lounge.
"It is a known fact that two out
of three students voluntarily indi-
cate religious preference at time
of registration. Wayne State Uni-
versity happens to have a particu-
larly large percentage of Jewish
students. The fast-growing Jewish
student community embraces those
from metropolitan Detroit area as
well as many from other communi-
ties.
"Many and varied are the prob-
lems Jewish students face away
from home in non-Jewish environ-
ment—the • need for adjustment,
for developing social relationships,
for maintaining and strengthening
their Jewish consciousness, f o r
understanding teachers and the
goals of higher education—for just
being able to talk freely to a
sympathetic, understanding ami-
able adviser. The rabbi-director is
counselor, advisor and intellectual
adviser to his college flock. They
come to him with problems they
are reluctant to discuss with their
parents. Not only for religious
guidance, he is engaged in exten-
sive counseling work such as com-
plicated personal problem s,
courtship, marriage as well as
inter-marriage and a youth's ad-
justments to maturity."

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
48—Friday, October 9, 1964

Jewish education will be con- in 10 c o p i e s, to the Memorial

sidered an area of major respons- Foundation for Jewish Culture, 3
ibility by the foundation. It expects East 54th, New York, N.Y., 10022.
to aid programs calling for the de- The applications should contain
velopment of teacher training in detailed descriptions of the activi-
Jewish subjects, rabbinical training ties for which funds are requested,
by yeshivot and rabbinical semi- precise budgetary data and infor-
naries, and the training of proles- mation on other sources of income
sional staff members for cultural which may be available for the
and educational activities in Jew- projects. Details of the scholarship
ish communities. and fellowship program and the
The foundation also will assist filing data for applications will be
in the establishment of chairs in announced at a later time.
Judalca at colleges and universi-
Hebrew Corner
ties, the publication of Jewish
textbooks, and the development
of Jewish educational promuns
for students at colleges and uni-
There are many reasons that Israel
versities.
should become a world tourist center.
The
country is holy to three religions:
granted
in
Allocations will be
Jews, Christians and Muslims.
aid of research a n d publication
Ever since the destruction of the
ant. the going into the Dias-
programs in Jewish fields under- Temple
pora, Jewish pilgrims kept a living
taken by universities and other contact between the land of our fathers
the Dispersion. The Pilgrimage to
scholarly institutions, with special and
Jerusalem began anew in the State of
attention given to the period of the Israel. On holidays thousands of Jews
from Israel and the Diaspora gather
Nazi holocaust. ,
on Mount Zion.
Aid will be granted toward the
Many Christian pilgrims would also
come
to Bretz Israel. The Fathers of
translation and publication of the Christian
Church influenced this

Israel Tourism

profession," Rabbi Cohen admits
that "the lot of the Hebrew teacher
has been a hard one," and he
asserts:
"No improvements in the condi-
tions of the teacher's employment
can match the reward of 'ntimate
creative dialogue with the many
young minds he instructs."
Rabbi Cohen's work is challeng-
ing. If it could be introduced as a
textbook in adult education pro-
grams, it would truly guide and
direct communities towards the
rescuing elenvients it proposes to
avert the deterioration it warns
against. —P.S.

movement. The first Christian to be
baptized was immersed in the waters
of the Jordan.
Among the ancient scrolls found
in the country is the oldest copy of
the book of Isaiah. This is the most
ancient manuscript of the Bible.
Our summer months are blessed with
sunlight and a blue sky. Many are
the nice days in winter and in fact
there is only an average of 50 raining
days a year in Israel.
Types of life adopted by Jews set-
tling in Israel over the country and
in Idbbutzim in the country are the
only example in the world of full co-
operative living in modern society.
Israel is a young country that is
absorbing a large immigration from
all parts of the world. The country is
a great museum of customs.
Translation of Hebrew column
Published by Brit Ivrit Olarnit,
Jerusalem

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