The Denver Jewish news., 1924-05-15
Phi Sigma Delta


Germany's Shakespeare, spent most of
his short life seeking 10 discover It's
goal, and passed on without accom-
plishing his purpose. With somewhat
less zeal. but with equal desire, most
If us are prone to search ont the why's
them.
The Greek letter fratcrnities, com
posed Of college men. occasionally re-
ceive their need of such inquiry. Espc-
cially so. the Jewish fratcrnities. To
The Jewish people themselves is ascrih-
| ed n holy mission, and the result is a
pragmatic philosophy, II pcrpe ual q,cs-
iion of value. which reaches ont into
all fields of Jewish cndeavor. The poe
tic adagc that whatever is. is good
is TOO reactionary even fer the most
conservative and is countcrcd with the
query what is it good fur?'
This is the spirit of progress ihe
spirit of the times-and with il none
of us can have any quarrel. So long
as the inquiry is II scientific one, heal
thy and profitable introsp,ction. Hnt
when the inquiry seeks 10 determine
whether what is good for this or good
for ihat. ii ceases 10 he sc'cniiic and
becomes the instrument of I. illness and
hisotry.
To he spcciiic-It is well to ask
| wherein The worth of fraicrnltics lies.
| The answer may of itself create mot
ing good fellowship. inculcatng good
breeding. improving social approach,
. (ihc ability to make social contracts).' :
raising standards of scholarship. sus-
thinning interest in the university, or
pcrpctuating friendships. then these
thin-y IRE worth knowing so that en-
phnsis may he placed upon them. BY
the same also may defects be eliminat-
ed. Such inquiry is scientific. 1t
establishes fraternity values by logical
processes. IT answers the question
what are fraiernitics good for " by
The results of actual experience and
thus in turn becomes the starting point
for further progress.
Now, en- the other hand, we have the
lire of inquiry which asks of the jew
iSh fraternities, for example. what are
Won doing to combat anti-Semitism. to
support Zionisn. to further the
Memorah. To elect Jewish class officers,
to support your rciision?" If the
answer is nothing" the fraternities
are criticised as worthless. valueless.
mere social clubs. They are condemned
for lack of serious purpose and achieve
mci,t.
No reasoning could he more fallnci-
ous The movements referred to may
of he highest merit. But the fra
ternity also represents movement
which exists independently of and
apart from all Of the others. Its
merit is to he measured not by what
contributes to the others, but by
what it nccoinplishes itself. Its pur-
pose merely to he n fraternity is in it
self II serious ore. The problem of
acquiring and preserving higher etu-
cation is one of the most dfiicult.-
WHlu. Ill IT'S SNlitlOIl, Silt VI lii' Hlp.t
far-rea ching which any man is com
PEELED to face. 1t is one, not of study
alone, but of physical. spiritual. ethical
and social training 1t is in the sGlu-
tion of this problem that the activities
of the fraterni. les are conferred, and
IL is in terms of these activities that
fraternity values must he defined
Not long ago there appeared in The
Jewish Tribune" an article entitled
"Why the Jewish Fraternity is Fail
man. This article begins with the
statement that There is no longer any
Justification for the existence of Jew
iSh fra:ernitieS or fraternities the mem
bership of which is confined to Jewish
Students The substance of the au-
thor's thought is contained in the fol
lowing lines:
There is very little. if any, excuse
for the existence of any fratcrnties
They have all lost their ideals. regard
les, of how much the Allimnus prates
about them during his visits. But with
the Jewish organizations the case is
still sadder. They have work to do
and are capable of doing it. They have
"ideals" ready for them OF far greater
import than the artificial ones created
lby their Gentle conferers. Since they
Alaye refused to acknowledge these du-
Mics (for which purpose, by the way.