The Denver Jewish news., 1920-11-10

plicable to the average young girl or
person in general, but please bear in
mind we are concerned now only with
the Jewish girl. W. f. George, the
English novelist. when speaking rec,
emily in New York City on the Amer
lean woman, said he noticed II belief
amounting almost to a religion that
the young American girl must have II
good time. And this seems true For
this her whole scheme of life is plan
ned-her clothes, her amusements, her
light accomplishments. Religion, re-
sponsibility, restriction. are not the
three RS to he cultivated in her cur
riculum, but are sacrificed on the altar
of good times-good times at any cost
good food at any price, good clothes
ut the tailor's price. cheap shows at n
high price, good effort at no price.
This is fostered by the over indulgent
plrcnts-the good mother without Wis.
the pursuit of the wherewithal to pay
for these pastimes, that his role IN
the scheme of home is that of the
useful IL not ornamental cash register
his right hand often cramped from
frequent signature lower right. What
sort of atmosphere is thus createdi
A home often where the only book
discussed is the bank-bOoli-the only
music appreciated. the siazz-the only
picture viewed. the movie.
added to this is the woful ignor
ancc on the part of the Jewish girl
of her Bible. her history, her great
Inheritance of holiness and righteous
ness.
Year after year, when ! organic"
my own special class for Bible study.
II class composed of seniors and posi-
graduates. girls of about Is years and
over. the first question l ask is. How
many of you have been. confirmedT
All hands as n rule go up. Then
ask, How many of you have brought
your Bibles with your Not hand
except of those girls who have been
in the class the year before. Most OF
them do not know whence. where and
how the Bible came to us or the name
of the first book of the Bible. or who
wrote the Psalms. or the Proverbs. AZ
to prayer, I recall II girl asking me-
how it Is that we in school say grace
before every meal "Is 1t not Christ
ian custom" she asked? ! was pleas
ed to tell her that we are the makers
of grace Examine an old Jewish
prayer book and you Will find grac"
for every occasion. grace at rising an !
lying down, before eating-for every
act of life A girl. one who graduated
rom her home high school and wa
even confirmed, when asked to tell tn"
story of David and Golikth. said David
married II foreign woman name
Goliath. Another girl when asked +"
give the story of Sodom and Gcmorrah.
said that SOdom wOOed and won
GemOrrah for wife. Another girl
when asked if she had ever heard Of
Judas Iscariot, said. "Oh, yes indeed
but when asked whom he betrayed
smiled and said. "Why l have really
forgotten the gentleman's name" |
could multiply these illustrations.
Now all this may be in the general
running of any school girl days worl;
and food for the comic column of n
newspaper. but the danger and trag-
edy lies in this-that with little knowl
edge. which is in itself dangerous
thing. and no realization of the value
of her priceless inheritance, she sells
it for n mess of potage, carelessly put.
ting on Esau's garb.
"And so one hears quite frequently
of operations for cutting off appen-
Gices on names and noses and even
the submerging in the baptismal
fOunt. This is the kind of operation
that may be successful in getting the
pntient into certain churches. schools
hotels. clubs, etc, but the patient sure,
ly dies.
Il once wrote to about forty-fivc
heads of the best girls schools in the
country. asking their attitude as to re-
ceiving Jewish girls and their candid