New-York tribune., 1907-01-28
FOR A NEW JUDAISM.
WANTS SUNDAY SABBATH.
DR.. Stephen S. Wise Tells Jc1cs o
Plans of Free Synagogue.

The Pc, r,r Stephen S Wise delivered the first
of his series of lectures before the friends OF the
free synagogue at the Hudson Theatre yesterday.
He said. in part:
the gradual conversion of Jewish men and women
TO any form of Christianity We mean to he Vtay; a
rot be Jews will tnd no place IN me RI free o SE[s @
Jewish, but more Jewish. in the highest sense OF
The Free Synagogue will not knowingly a@ntag- @
onze any section faction in Jewry Its ONCE
tagonize but to reinforce not TO denE, pu II 10 ,+ az
firm; not TO destroy and oTerthroM. ollt 10 piant
IS designed primarily 10 reach those without syna
gogue anchorage. and there are tens and tens OF
thousands of such in this section or our city, IN
proof of which note the trebng Of the jewish pop
s and IN worse o iSS' of Jsh w life
The Free Synagogue means TO return 10 first priT-
synagogue aims and ideals. No desire for nov
novelty. and long TO return 10 the simple. native;
e In, @ m ~ & pos pr re seIear n Not 10 nnovate
but 10 renovate and renew; not TO destroy, but TO
reconstruct TO reform and TO reshape will he the
One feature of the larger programme of the Free
Synagogue to interpret the Jew to himself ana 10
world, to help the Jew rightly To prize his ancient
ficing reason for Israels fealty VIII he to estan-
llsh lecture courses and classroom instructor IN
literature Jewish history biblical and post biblical,
including medieval and modern This instruction
Rituaism elaborate ornate. cathedralizcd, IS not
the essence of tho synagogue PRAYER and aspira-
tion are. but not prayer petrifed into spirtlesS
ritualism. Which. think you. is further removed
on the sabbath day Of the High Church Jewish
wing, with endless song and liturgy and genufee-
ton and with barely word OF the messase touch
lnE ne Nllal ilings ioi "IiGh G Ie - an ae
and that word mlnnlzed IN every WaE OF an as as
sembiy O. Jewish men and w9laen, meeting doetieT
wcnlen can meet?
DR.. Wise spoke in depreciation Of what he called
prayer pe:ri6ed into spiri,Iess ritualsm. He con-
GUIDED
We have 10; merely given the Sabbath TO the
eroasy 0n6 that s We sa have 20 e or none Of It left for
ourselves Because we cannot have the seventh
though the earliest observance of the first day Sab
refrain from meeting for worship on that DAY,
which in this land and IN all European ands is me
quite generally and they neither can nor will. oh
the Sabbath it would still be the duty Of the
men the one day IN the week in which it is pos
s!o,e 10 reach tne II we must faerFe & st lorI IL
We must surrender the letter Of the Sabbath OBJ
sabbath aspiration alto ' snd sab6ath abb i eonsecratiG
t Free T be hot treS S9 S Sad PfMs es snd sd
assessments but solely by voluntary contributions,
with membership free and open & 70 the he smallest
with membership and office holding free and open
men The free and -i1 peNess Synagogue viii stand
for freedom hospitality inclrsivenesS o5otherho9d
ideal of Israel. A real peril to the fast waning
influence II church and synagogue inheres in the
resent system of church membership, which gives
countenance TO the wide spread notion that the
churches dominated by the rich that the Church
has no message apostleship 10 the poor that the
ministers among the paid lackeys of the
are the stronghold and support of plutocracy. The
Free Syna gogue, the free church. illustrates the
application Of the ideals Of religion TO the affairs
Of daily life
Or. Wise said that the pulpit Of the now syna-
gogre would be free. and that the Jewish race
possessed traditions OF fearless preachers in the
prophets. He continued:
As for the pulpit of the Free Synagogue and him
who is to stand therein. preaching my people in
Portland for the first time, seven years ago. said
My pulpit must he freel' and II was free One
year ago. 'preferring hard liberty the easy yoke
of servile pomp.' l said a group of prof
feling the pulpit of the congregation they repre-
sented. If accept a call 70 your pulpit; II must
be :ree and Unmuzzled" What followed is known
10 yOu.
The inexorable moral imperative is the essential
Of the synagogue, and this essential viii be me
need go outside Of the synagogue Tor ethical
teaching for the gospel of right living The holi-
ness prescribed by Israel was not virtue 10 be
attained apart from the world. Holiness was the
world the piety OF clustered Individual. bnt
the conservation Of the man living out his whole
life H. right relations to his fellow men. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor thySef: thou shalt love
the stranger thyself; these We're the impera-
tives If not the beatitudes OF Israel.
This recognition OF social righteousness. or social
determine the character of the philanthropic or
institutional effort of the Free synagogue. Not
charity, but social service, building upon the rock
OF social justice, will be the watchword or the
not the redeemed by the death OF one. but the
race self-redeemed by the life Of all