The sun., 1900-12-07
rss Jsws avn rNs,S REL,osoS.
The vsWh sna Practice ~ tss Jews t"ss'
MoAern tshs~uces

fn ruE Enron or 1ur SrN Sir Your
! startling editorial In yesterdays srN, under
! the heading The Passing ~ tho SNnhsoEu"
! must have come ~ m. naiuf" ~ fnd" sur
. prise 10 that large class 81 American Hebrew"
. who. having thrown IN tho somewhat huf
4 dcn-orne yoke ~ orthodoxy. nt" nov ~
state of -lpthful somnplency. 80 far ns ~"
religious present and future Of the rae" Is
concerned
4 II can hardly he said however. that ~"
/ facts stated In your editorial vcr" startling
I because of their siransene-. Ih"f"H H not
( y Hebrew minister. orthodox "r reform,
throughout the breadth Of the land who
has not repeatedly from the pulpit seen NJ
! 10 decry tho decline Of the Jewish religion
! a- Witnessed by the religious laxitv of me
most socially prominent Hebrews lu-
| fortunately. however, the warnings of our
own family are always received with IN
| difference. and 1t Is not until strangers draw
! attention to our defects that We give due
! importance 10 their consideration In this
, case. therefore. the reflections upon the
religious status Of the jew made by secular
metropolitan newspaper may have more
| effect than all the rebukes and eIhortations
Of the pulpit
I do not intend To deny the statement made
by you that material advancement 10 the
| Jew nur, IN tnS gTeht Uboihy VI NhSS"'
| brought about religious laxity. Such fact
| is rendered plain by comparing the consre-
CATION Of Temple Emanuel. for instance.
with an orthodox congregation Of the East
Side. for It must be admitted that the SER
vices held In the former congregation repre-
sent reform OF the most advanced kind.
| therefore am compelled to admit your
premises.
But I most emphatically deny your deduc-
ton That IL TO say. | take exception TO
your assumption that the tendency OF the
more materially and let MS say education
ally and socially advanced Jews to reform
is conclusive evidence that the whole Jewish
religion must eventually pass away.
Watching the progress OF a foot passenger
down Broadway, we might theorze that he
would eventually topple over Battery wall
into the river. but We take into consider
alton the fact that he will stop before he
reaches the limit
| admit that so-caled Western twentieth
century civilization has caused general
laYity OF religious Observance on the part
OF the Jew but ! ask sQuareiy and falrls
IL the Jewish religion Il the only religion
that has suffered by the march OF progress'
How many Gentiles are there in the city OF
New York to-day who are Christians? How
many Gentiles are there in tho United states
of America. or, for that matter. In the whole
world. who are as religiously obserVaht
az were the Puritans of few centuries ago?
BE fair. and in comparing the relative de-
cline OF Jewish orthodoxy. compare rea-
lively also the decline OF orthodoxy Of every
other religion. I have no fear OF the result
The jew 10 easily the most regiously OBJ
servant devotee in the world to-day among
the most highly civilized nations. l am Of
the opinion that orthodoxy OF all religions
viii wane away in time. as the march OF prog
ress advances. but | am firmly convinced
that the Jewish religion will endure 50 long
as differences Of creed prevail.
The percentage OF Jews who marry Gentiles
10 very small. 4 providential race preludice
does more TO make & Jew stay Jews ,acn rac dTe %S
not az a faith, will never be allowed TO as
simulate with their Christian neighbors: the
spirit Of anti-Semitisn will never die
Therefore, if the fashion Of the day IL to
be religious land ] say this in no onensive
sense,. the jew who wants 10 worship his
Creator In some form or other will be COM
PEELED TO attend his own church whether IL
be orthodox OF reform,
point Of atheism Is not representative OF his |
race The future of the race cannot fairly
be gagged 10y his attitude any more than the !
future Of Christ anity can be gagged by the
proportionstely far greater number OF Cen
tiles who never attend 9 s, place OF worship rlap
and look upon the day OF rest as secular
holiday merely
The jew who throws of orthodoxy. re- |
peat i not to be classed as ahopeless hereto. |
Witness the number of jews who while they |
observe none of the dietary laws and keep |
their business open every Saturday in the |
year are stil TO he found devotedly rally |
ing around the banner Of their faith once !
every year on Yom Kipplr, the Jewish Day /,
OF Atonement How can any man. Gentle !
or jew, who has noticed Broadway on this !
most sacred dny of the Hebrew calendar |
and seen the number Of Jewish business |
houses all down the thoroughfare tightly !
closed up how can any man who has attended |
a Hebrew plaC. of worship on that day and |
watched the devotion shown there by Jews |
who are dead to all ceremonial religious |
feeling on perhaps every other day in the |
year how can such a man declare that the |
Jewish religion il decadontP
Comrare ms a. 10 faith with any other sect \
and YOU will come TO the conclusion that |
aven IL some Of US abandon orthodoxy we |
are more religously enduring as to creed |
than any other OF the higher order Of re- |
lisious faiths BERTRAM LRBHAR.
NEW YORK. Dec Q.