The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-16
RABBI WISE ON
 JEW AND GENTLE A More Liberal Brotherhood Among Men Advocated A RECIPROCAL DEBT The Strong Personality of the Speaker Adds Forcefulness to the Timely
 Views Advocated-TaIks of
 Jews Conversion
RECIPROCAL

Rabbi Stephen s. Wise of the Free sym
 agogue of New York delivered one of the
 most powerful addresses ever heard in
 Birmingham to an unusually large gath
 ering of Jews and Gentiles yesterday
 afternoon at Temple Emanu-El.
 The subject of his discourse was, Jew
 and Gentile," and good summary of the
 substance presented was made toward the close of his addres sas follows "The
 question of Jew and Gentle must be set- tied by a more liberal brotherhood among
 men, and by deeper spirit of co-opera-
 ton in the cause of social equality and justice"
 In behalf of B'nai B'rith, local lodge, for whose annual celebration Rabbi Wise had been secured as speaker, Isadore Shapiro, made a splendid address of well
 come. He was followed by Rabbi Morris Newfield, who introduced the distin-
 guished minister to the people assembled as an old friend and colleague. Tribute to Magic City After having made an acknowledge
 ment of the honors of the occasion, Dr. Wise most happily seized an opportunity
 of paying high tribute to the Magic City. "1f as rank stranger" said he, "or still worse, as a rank northerner, l may
 be allowed to offer you people of this
 growing city a valuable suggestion, l
 hope you will not take it amiss, but will profit by my injunction. Instead of call ing Birmingham the Pittsburg of the South it would be more fitting for you to cali Pittsburg the Birmingham of the north ''
 The development of the subject, Jew and Gentile,' was, as Dr. Newfeld had previously hinted in introducing the speaker, an appeal for cooperation among sects rather than an outline of
 their dis-similtudes. Ably and conscien- tiousiy Dr. Wise pointed out what he termed the mutual or reciprocal debt' owed each other by the Jew and the Gentle for the present civilization. In
 reverting to the legacy left humankind by Israel, he said: "Judea, which I may call physically though not spiritually an insignificant part of Asia Minor, has given to the world Christianity, and Christian ity, though modified, for 1t has been Romanized, Hellenized and in some in-
 stances organized forms the basis of every civilized government. The Bible, as DeToqueville said, has given to man
 kind their ideal of God, ard their ideal
 of the supremacy of the universe !" Different Solutions
 l Dr. Wise then told his hearers of the different solutions that are being or fered for the problem of Jew and Gen.
 tile. "There Is one," he said which
 holds that the Jew must lose his identity
 must be lost to the sight of man. There is another which seeks the conversion of | the Jewish race.''
 | Speaking of the conversion of the Jews,
 Rabbi Wise said that If tte meaning of
 the term conversion" given by the Chris tians as an latitude of the soul" rather than a platitude of the lips, were taken into consideration, he could assure his people that there were not 10 Jews in the
 United States who had been really con
 verted. There are two classes of Jews, according to my observation" he said,
 "who have gone over to other creeds. The | first is the miserable, wretched, poverty | stricken Jew, who is seeking relief from | his misery, and the second is the wealthy | Jew, whose riches cause him to feel that 1 he must adopt a new faith in order to be | fashionable"
 | The entire address of Rabbi Wise was an exposition of most liberal views His appeal was made more effective by the strong personality of the man, whose earnest and eloquent talk struck like a plummet into the depths of reason. Dr. Wise left the city last night at 6 o'clock.