The times., 1901-04-07

and their Jewish Chautauqua movements:
Jewish national societies have sprung up
among the students of German and Aus
trian universities-all influences tending
in this one direction
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
As we look ahead into the century
which is now opening and cast our eye
| over the forces which the Jews will bring
into its life, We can easily see that these
, forces tend in various directions
We have first the Orthodox wing of the
Jewish Church. which stands upon the
broad basis of what the past has evolved
II holds firmly to the inspiration of the
Biblical word and the divine character
OF its Interpretation as handed down in
the oral law. it tries to regulate it's life
by Talmudic ordinances as evolved in the
| latest law books. and is unwilling to make
any but aesthetic concessions to changed
| circumstances. believing that we must
adhere strictly to all the me-honored
ceremonies of the synagogue. At it's side
stand the Conservatives, who are willing
20 make some concession to present de-
mands, but believe that these concessions
should be most sparingly and grudgingly
made. and who theologically, at least in
theory. occupy the same position as do
the Orthodox. 1t is safe to say that the
greater number of Jews in the western
European States belong to this wing of
the synagogue. Between the Conserva-
tfves and the Ethical Culturists stands
the Reform party, more numerous in the
United States than anywhere else. whose
position it is hard to define and in whose
ion and of practice. All the Reformers
have openly or tacitly broken with Tai
nudic Judaism-the more conservative
among them seem to believe that a new
Judaism can be built up upon the Bible,
only without it's traditional interpreta-
tion; while the advanced body do not
even look upon the Bible as binding. but
merely as a starting point for further
dev elopment They do not consider the
Bible as inspired in the old accepted sense
of the term; they welcome biblical criti-
cisn as an aid to the understanding of
the early history of their people; they do
not believe in the special election of Israel.
and have well-defined adherence of
anything like a creed They are prac
tically Theists with Jewish racial col
orng. Nor do they believe in the coming
of a personal Messiah; rather, in the ad-
vent of a Messianic time I'm which right
eoUsness and goodwill shall prevail and
all the earth acknowledge the one God.
To bring about this time is according
to them. the mission of the Jew-a phrase
very current in these latter days, the full
filing of which has been made the pre-
text for dejudaizing Judaism, so as to
make it acceptable to non-Jews. Mr.. Os-
wald John Simon, of London, has even
gone further He believes that if the Re-
form party is earnest in its pretensions,
tory-to become an active missionary pow
er A few years ago he attempted TO
found a Jewish Theistic Church, which
should in no way be colOred by Jewish
ceremonial. The movement was, of
course. a failure The original attempt.
some nineteen hundred years ago led to
the founding OF the Christian Church, and
Jews themselves have suffered too much
from missionaries of other faiths to take
to this work with pleasure. But, in ad-
dition to these, there is also large body
of Jews whose connection with the syn
agogue is purely nominal. and who know
of it only wheT they need the services Of
it's sanction or the respectability of its
connections The hold which the jewish
Church has upon them is small indeed,
and nany of them hope. in the twentieth
century, to dOff their Jewish gaberdine