The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-11-01
Qhe QntelliQeneer:.
ot'cc, NoS. rs ana ~ Fourtecnih street
I MIXED MARRIAGES.


a RAbbls Rcnsons for Oppoyiue Them
ST. Louis Republican. &
| The subject OF mixed marriages Is bein
discussed now by nearly all the religion
and great many secular papers Of III
country. III M address before larg
audience at the synagogue on Eleventh
and Choutean avenue, Friday night, Rabb
Spi,z, after reading the 18Th verse Of til,
second chapter Of Genesis, said: gi#r
| The subject OF "mixed marriages. anon,
Israeli OF which We are to trent thii
evening, otltra ono OF the most ditlicul
problems In the history OF our people; ant
while 1t Just now. daily md hourly presset
Tor speedy solution, solution that shal
10 IN full accord with our broad aud ex
allied views Of humanity, It, on tho o,le
hand, affects our very life and being rs ,
distinct Religious organization. There can
not be q moments hesitation on our par
10 declare that NIL social barriers, whicl
hitherto have existed between one mat
and the other, must, even In their last YES
tigcs, be moved from the face OF the earth
We must ourselves cndcavor, and alsc
teach Others 10 Danish irom',l.e mind The
banefnl notion Of mcial, national or tribal
distinction and separation which for 80
long Il time has wrought misery and
Indebtedness among the children OF men,
Still, we cannot help admitting that this
question Of intcrmarriage between Jews
ana GeItilcs, IL TO III u most embarrassing
one, since 1t leaves us no other ulterna.
tive but to either lose our identity
us lsraclites or to keep o,lr doors closed
against so.calicd foreign elements, and thus
cause the old isnominious imputation oil
exclusiveness continue TO rest upon our
hearts and heads. No wonder, indeed,
That this topic is to many OF us n veritable
,oi me trangeFe. We stand, 20 10 say, be.
tween the Sayita and Charybdis and wcare
asked to choose. The question conironts
lis IN nll its import and seriousness. and
not only our Gentle brethren and friends,
Du! also our own rising generation have /.
right 10 demand OF us Il decisive answer.
Well i for one am opposed 10 mixed mar.
rlngesamong our people, and my opposi.
ton emanates from the most sacred con :.
victions OF both u man and III lsraelitc.
need not tell that l., though conservative
IN the practice and exposition OF our re.
iigous tests, respect the honest faith Of
every man. Righteousness can find It's
way to every human heart, even rs love
with its power OF bringing felicity is a gifl
that Is TO confer blessings untold upon the
home oleverv man, no matter whether Jew
or Gentle. You certainly 10 not believe
me capable Of regarding the Jews rs btiug
endowed with u. better fitness for sweet.
ehins the conditions Of conjugal life than
the Christian girl. would remind you Of
the words spoken here year ago now as
then "woaid not extoi the purity uud no.
bility u heart OF the Jewess to tho ex-
clusinn Of her sister OF another race and
NTH. Pure md true wonauhood is uni.
yersal. The ideal Of all beauty, for which
the German poet has found The extremely
happy term OF .'das cwig wcibliche," is
surely not limited 10 the, fair sex OF the
Semitic race. The woman is still, as she
has been ever since The days OF creation,
the mother OF all living" and the light
gnciously bestowed on her from on high
impaf.s blessings untold to The man, no
matter where, or when, or how he branched
out. | have not changed my conviction in
this respect since last year, nor will ever
dc. it. shall always believe in the truth |
have then expressed in these words. Nor
would l have you understand the IT'S con.
sderins n non Jewish husband less quail
fed to honor. love and respect his chosen
companion and toprescrye and strengthen
the family ties than his Jewish iellow.mau.
Sill IAN consistently aud firmly
orrosED TO MIXED MARRIAGES.,
To our people marrying outside Of the Jew.
lsh fold, Tor two distinct reasons:
First--We are still the bearers OF Gods
covenant, and the all.pervadins holiness Of
our religion finds its cnlminaliny.point in
our decprooted conviction of lsrael's great
mission among the nations. Thut mission,
the promulgation OF Gods law and truth
among all men, is not yet fulfilled, and the
day when the eternal shall be king over
all The earth, when the eternal shall be nc.
knowtedged one, and his name one" hus
not yet dawned over the world Next to
the Importance OF our. beliefin one God is
that of our being commissioned to carry
and spread this belief until it shall have
reached every, human heart. 1t is n cardi.
nal article, it is fundamental doctrine OF
our faith. 1t is, In fact, the sonditio sine
4ua non OF the Mosaic 'dispcnsa,ion. The
consciousness Of this grand mission, which
explains the never.disturbcd hope for the
promised u Messianic time, hus at
aii times proved the most powerful means
| lor The preservation OF Israel. Yet no;
we are the means and that mission is the
end! Israel is the divine inst, umeni, both
directly and indirectly, 10 bring MI man.
kind nearer TO God. Now, in order to
finally accomplish our mission We must re.
main intact; we cannot afford to be pre-.
malurely merged into and be absorbed by
tho US yet nnredeemed mass OF humanity.
| We admit Christianity has done noble
work in this direction; 1t has
proved a powerful and wonderful
agency. But this is no reason why we
should lose our identi,y-why, when the
work is not nearly done, nor properly
done, We should abandon our life and our
existence as lsraclitcs, tlntpmount to
which would be Il We were to generally
open the lloodgates OF intermarria.e We
claim no racial, national or tribal dstinc.
tivencss; we have renowned that n long
time ago. We are neither nation or a
tribe, nor racc-wc are simply M aggre-
gate OF families, every member OF wliicl,
ihtlst CutlllIuutt IllS Ut leT snare t0WafuS
he iullillment OF the mission OF Israel, I'm.
less she or he find no importance in the
same, or no validity. in which case hc or
she may be good man, a noble
woman, but their fellowship is then neces-
sarily severed from lsracl's holy cause.
We desire 10 live with and among our gen.
tile brethren and sisters; We are ANXIOUS 10
associate with them, eat with thom, deal
with them; rs men We are their brethren,
rs citizens their faithful companions in
peace md in war. In every national and
social movement We desire 10 be identified
with :hcnl. We long to be recognized MS
being flesh Of their flesh and bone Of their
bone But We cannot commit 4 spiritual
suicide! We cannot become false 10 our
sacred profession! We cannot renouuce
tho validity Of that holy hehcst Of our ia.
thels ior tile perpetuNtioh Of WHICH we haYe
waded through fire md blood, aud have
become people Of martyrs such us the
world has never seen and meyer will see.
We are willing TO and have Endorsed The
declaration Of tho Paris Synedrion, which.
In 1907, Welding 10 the demands OF the