Newark post., 1911-10-25
Strong Address On
The American Jew

Al the Temple of Truth, Of which Rabbi |
j. NJ. S. .>bels is pastor, Rabbi AleXan-
der Lyons, Phi. D., of the Eighth Avenue |
Temple, Brooklyn, N. Y, last night made |
an address on The American jew"
There were several present who came |
from other cities to hear Rabbi Lyons |
deliver his address. Much favorable COM
ment was given by some OF those pres |
ent who said that it was one OF the best |
versions of The American Jew" they |
have ever heard.
You and | are American Jews sald |
Rev. Lyons, in opening his address. "As
III, We represent a remarkable COM
bination Of powers ana possibilities. AS
Jews we are heirs to the Jewish ages
with all their spirirua. aspiration, their
moral enthusiasms and their quenchleSs
htroism. We are the product Of our past
and as such We are gifted with rich
spiritual ana moral power.
"As American Jews we possess an ad-
ditional element of strength in the con-
set9Usness that We are cJizens of a
country with remarkable past and a
srander future. To be an American is
to nave ones Bosom swell with the ex-
pectations of ardent hope. As Americans
We Jews have N this country our first
real home, before which tdere is not the
slightest justification for viewing the
future, otherwise than with cheerful ex-
pactation. Here may we not only pe
true to ourselves but ara expected and
stimulated u DO 50. Here We may make
our most exalted spiritual flights. here
entertNA our most o1static visions and
here we have free, Iair field to exhibit
the veriHcation OF the nobility Of the
precepts and principles to which We have
ever laid claim. There are Jews who
discredlt America by the avowed desire
Of distinctly Jewish country and ma
tionality elsewhere. They cannot, they
claim, be true here to their highest
aspirations. They are either preGenders
or deceived. They misunderst tand Ameri-
canism and do injustice to Judaism
Hence my contention that the Jew in
American life is gifted with an oppor-
tunlty as rich as it is new.
"A mans responsibility is proportion
ate with his possibility. There is a
popular expectation that d man Of " ealth
for instance, be more charitable than
one of moderate means. We have a right
TO expect higher level of living from
man OF culture than from one that is un-
cultivated. And so, in general, achieve
heat should correspond to endowment
consistently we American Jews who rep
resent an unusual combination of uuaIi-
ties and possibilities should be able to
lay claim to an appropriate achieve
mant.
We are indiffeFently permitting some
OF our grandest Institutions and valuable
customs to lapse into neglect that will
mean their disappearance and our reli-
gious doom. We have, for instance given
our civilization it's Sabbath conception
and yet We are rapidly becoming a Sab
bathiess people. We say that we can
not observe Saturday and we do not
observe Sunday. AS good Americans we
ought TO pay respect to one or the other
or be severely censured. We have enrich
ed the culture of the world with the
gift OF our Bible and yet we are in dan
ger fcomng under the disgraceful GEN.
sure of having given the Bible away and
of becoming in our khuwIedge and con-
duct, quite unbblical There are a null
titude among us who show no interest at
all in a religious life in whom we show
as little interest as they exhibit.
And as we are not measuring up to
our proper dignity religiously, we are
open to criticism in ethical achievement.
1t is true that we are charitable aAd
that we are mortal in reputation and in
fact, but we are far from the realization
of the demands of the idealism we preach
and the capabilities we represent. There
is still among us too much of the short
comings in charitable and moral efficiency
that we find in our environment We
are still too content to be merely as
good as others, while from the standpoint
of our true duty, it should be our beset-
ting ambition to be ever at least a little
better than others. Just as our people
once gave the world its most valued le-
ligious possession, so ought we aspire to
continue to be the eXemplars of reli-
gious devotion and ethical realization
Let us keep in mind that we claim to
be and are recognized as a chosen people.
Let us develop our finer Jewishness
and our n0bler Americanism Let it be
our abiding determination to become the
best possible Jews in order that we may
become the best possible Americans"