The Denver Jewish news., 1923-09-06


ing pursued IN fhe Seminary nGr." and
this he said with all of the emphasis
he cnn give words, nor an;' one ever
venturpd to intimate the wish to make
propaganda for any particular shade of
Jewish thought. All that we have de-
sired. all that we now desire is the
Seminary should educate Rabbis in
everything taught by our ancient Rab-
bis and to enable its graduates to ap-
ply this knowledge to the needs of mod
ern Jewish life.
Jacob ii. Schin's Solfeituile for
Seminary
| Depressing for moment from the
main line of his thought. Mr.. Marshall
touched upon one of the most distress
ing incidents In the annals of New
York's Jewry. when he said: "Mr.
Schiff, when he died. was under the
impression that arrangements had been
perfected to provide for the financial
needs of the Seminary and he was mex
pressibly happy because the Seminary
was close to his heart. We never dis
illusioned him. Il know something
about that incident. and know how
deeply 1t would have distressed Mr..
Schiff to learn that promises made to
him by men amply able to provide the
necessary funds for the Seminary Ind
failed to do so. But this is not the
place to go into that story.
| ho, In, financial l
difficulties ever since" Mr.. Marshall
continued and its growth has been
hampered. We must increase the fac
ulty SO that the Seminary mny train
a large and ever increasing body of
young men for the rabbinate, for posi-
tions as teachers in religious schools
and we want to make 1t n institution
even more closely allied than 1t ever
has been with the traditional ideas 80
that the most Orthodox Jew may Ike as
snred II further assurance be needed
thah 1t is not leading his sons and
daughters AWAY from their ancient
moorings. There is an extraordinary
demand for such educntive forces. II
the number cf graduates were increased
tenfold positions would now he actually
awniting them.
An Additional Endowment Fund I'm
peratively Necessary
Accordingly. the Seminary Is about
to launch an appeal for an additional
endowment fund Of $1.OOO.OOO. 1t Is
worth noting that it has never before
mnde nn appeal to the Jews of this
country. We have the right to expect
that every right thinking Jew will Ike
swift to respond to this appeal. Should
the Seminary now fall from lnck Of
financial support 1t would. indeed, Ike
sad day for adherence to Judnism. The
responsibility rests on every Jew and
i must not be shirked."
He caught the question that was
framing itself cn my lips: Our young
people born and educated I'm this cOun-
try. insist on English speaking Rabbits
Members Of the rabbinate coming here
from abroad, what ever their scholar
ship. whatevel- their spiritual attri-
hutes. cannot reach our youth. because
they do not understand their psych0l-
ogy. Jewish children In this country
reared In our public schools and fami-
liar with American life. which IL their
life, cannot le taught the tenets of their
fnith or the history OF their people in
Yisl,ish. Most Of them do not even rel
ish the iden of being addressed in that
! tongue. On the other hand, they eager
ly desire to be Jews: they want to know
the history, the literature, the tradi-
ticns of their people; to understand
why 80 many Jews. during sixty gen.
eratiOns were willing to be martyred
for the sake of their ideals. any nre
| Interested in Hebrew as II living Ian
and to master it. If they are properly
taught by such Rabbis and teachers as
have been md are being trained in
the Jewish Theological Seminary they
will Ike certain to treasure Judaism
and make the dominant force in their
lives.
Shall They Become AgnOstics, Atheists?
II saw" want on Mr.. Marshall with
mn elOquence almost equal to that which
he thrills those who have heard him on
the public platform, Il say that unless
we are willing to ALLEVIATE our young
people, unless we are wiling to make
them agnostics or atheists, then the
time has come for the Jews of America
to preserve the institution which is
best calculated to foster Judaism on
this continent among the vast majority
of the American Jews.
IF the Jews of this country, whether
Orthodox or Reform or Conservative, or
what not, are ready to give this subject
| tl,a,. will rnSnNul