10 Friday, September 1, 1919

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Kraut's Adler Biography a Scholarly Work
Detailing Movement for Ethical Culture

By RABBI LEON FRAM

Temple Israel

In the course of my
travels throughout the
states of the United States
of America, I have had the
opportunity to visit many
temples and synagogues.
Quite frequently I see
emblazoned across the por-
tals of the temple the in-
scription, "My House shall
be called a House of Prayer
for all peoples." (Isaiah LW,
7)
This inscription is to be
found, however, only on
older temples, build 50
years ago or more. It is in-
conceivable that any con-
temporary Jewish congre-
gation would want such an
inscription at the entrance.
The temple of today is so ob-
viously attended by Jews
only; non-Jewish visitors
are always welcome, but

PROUDLY ANNOUNCING!!!
STUDENT LOAN SERVICE REOPENED

for Members and their Families who
quality under the Michigan Guaranteed
Student Loan Program. Limited
Number and Amount Available on "First
Come, First Served Basis."

Serving B'nai B'rith Members
and Their Families

Rabbi Leon Fram, founding rabbi of Temple
Israel, will receive the Distinguished Humani-
tarian Service Award at the Michigan Region,
American Red Magen David for Israel's tes-
timonial dinner-dance 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Adat
Shalom Synagogue.

they do not come in any
overwhelming numbers.
Why should a temple or
synagogue pretend to be
anything other than it
really is — a Jewish house
of worship?
What, then, motivated
the leaders of those congre-
gations of a previous gener-
ation who proclaimed so
loudly that their edifices
were constructed to accom-
modate all peoples? They
were quite sincere.
Judaism, they had come to
believe, was a universal, not
a national or parochial reli-
gion. It was the faith in the
One God of all mankind.
Its prophets had
envisioned "That day
when the Lord shall be
One and His name shall
be One." This was a faith
intended to meet the need
of all human beings. Why
not, then, say so? Why not
inscribe on the gates of
Judaism's house of
worhsip this invitation
for all peoples to join us
in the worship of the Uni-
versal God?
This was the question
that stirred in the heart of
the youthful Rabbi Felix

Adler, when he proclaimed
from the pulpit of Temple
Emanuel of New York on
Sabbath morning, Oct. 11,
1873, the doctrine of Ethical
Culture.
Rabbi Adler was con-
fronting head on the di-
lemma of Liberal Judaism
in the world of the 1870's.
This confrontation is the
theme of a newly published
book entitled "From Reform
Judaism to Ethical Culture:
The Religious Evaluation of
Felix Adler," by Benny
Kraut (Ktav).
To appreciate the drama-
tic theme of this book, as
well as the tragedy of the
life of Rabbi Adler, we must
try to recreate the atmos-
phere of the 19th Century.
It was the century of revolu-
tion, of emancipation, of
progress, of enlightenment.
In its background was the
American Revolution, the
Industrial Revolution, the
French Revolution, the Sci-
entific Revolution, the
Communist Manifesto.
Rabbi Adler was the
son of Samuel Adler who
was the rabbi of the
largest Reform congre-
gation of New York —

Temple Emanuel. Like so
many Jewish fathers, he
had dedicated his son at
birth to the rabbinate,
and was preparing him to
succeed his father as
rabbi of Temple
Emanuel. To this end, he
sent him to Europe in
order that he might re-
ceive his education in its
great universities and his
ordination in its great
seminaries.
The younger Adler
breathed the heady air of
19th Century Europe, its
universalistic philosophy,
its bright idealism, its
worhsip at the altar of the
intellect. He had been
taught by his father to re-
gard Judaism as the univer-
sal religion, and Reform
Judaism as the vehicle by
which the faith of antiquity
could be transformed into
the religion of the future.
The old ritual customs were
dispensable. The prophetic
ideal of the One God who
was to be worshipped by
moral conduct alone — this
was the essence of Reform
Judaism.
When he returned from
Europe to the land of
genuine freedom where the
idealism, which in Europe,
was still only a dream, could
be readily translated into
reality, he was intoxicated
with youthful zeal. He im-
agined himself the prophet
(Continued on Page 11)

AN EVENING OF NOSTALGIA
. . . Remember the Great Comedy of

JAN
MURRAY?
. . Remember the Great Dance Music of

THE FENBY-CARR ORCHESTRA?

a

sta rs

GROUP
THE CITY OF HOPE
67th Annual Dinner Dance
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1979

S at

Sheraton-Southfield Hotel
Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. — Dinner at 7:00 p.m.

Black Tie

($250.00 Minimum Contribution Per Couple)
This is the only fund-raising effort of the City of Hope Businessmen's Group

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Southfield, Michigan 48075

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