The Denver Jewish news., 1924-07-10
Ho,u Can We Hold The
Jewish Youth
An Interview With Dr. David In Sola
Pool
By LILLIAN BARON

may StllI not DC llNinE III JeNlNh ~
mosphere, or be constructivcly consci-
Gus of your Jewish blood and heritage.
may be only because your name and
race will not admit you to others. Your
Jewish consciousness may he of a mega
tive nature. not of positive one
DIR. David De Sola Pool, Rabbi of
the Congregation Shearith Israel
(Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue)
of New York City, was speaking of the
differences between n positive Jewish
consciousness and one which is enforced
by outside influences. He was speak
ing particularly of the necessity of cul-
tivating and instilling that Jewish con
seiousness during the early, premature
years OF ones life.
"The finally determining impression
able age is during adolescence" DIR.
Pool continued. Until then the boy
may have gone to Hebrew school and
to synagogue. But as soon as he
reaches the age of thirteen, and is OIL
clally admitted TO the ranks of his
people, paradoXically enough, he usu-
ally begins to break his contact with it.
The Hebrew school stops. The boy
makes rarer visits 10 the synagogue.
For the most part, he ceases TO receive
those positive Jewish influences which
are rightfully his. Only 20 per cent of
the Jewish children in America receive
any kind of systematic Jewish school
ing at all. The remaining 10 per cent
are left TO CLEAN whatever they can,
from the milicu, from hearsay, from
their parents observanccs of the holi-
days, from their Christian associations,
and from other casual and unreliable
sources. A still smaller percentage of
the youth of adoleSccnt age comes un-
der systematic and constructive jew
isi educational influences.
1T is obvious then, that out of pure
fairness to the child, some sort of
ordered Jewish contact must be pro-
vided. And 1t must he provided in n
form in which It's necessity is wrapped
in attractive appeal. Youth Graves fel-
lowship and friendship with others of
its own age and desires. And youth
Graves also self-cNpreSsion.
Combine the two. Give them first
of all the chance to meet in congrnial
groups. Let the group with an ideal Of
learning and service take the place of
the group devoted only to pleasure and
of the possible and dangerous gang.
And through that group give the op.
portunity of satisfyin: their instinc-
tive Jewish desires. Tinge 1t all with
the glow Of JewishncSS. both as 10 con-
facts and expression. and you have tho
means of not only avoiding the dan
gers of drifting, but of establishing IL
formative influence in the years Of
cropping and haphazard seeking.
"All this is not a simple thing to pro-
vide. But there is in existence an or
ganization which does it., and which
does it successfully. | am thinking of
YOUNG JUDEA. That national or
ganizatiOn, with a membership at pres.
ent of some fourteen thousand, has a
program which provides and super
vises continual campaign of educa-
tion. 1t is an extension system. since
its work cannot be done in the class
room or during school hours. But il
educates by appealing to the instincts
of the youth.
you must realize that a mere re-
cital Of the Jewish past is not enough
to hold the child. He will soon tire of
hearing the names Isaac, Abraham and
Jacob. And even the romance attached
to these names has no appeal for the
present-day youth. The past has to bo
brought into contact with the present
Yet the youth dramatizc the stories
in the Bible and Talmud. let him for
u ii'hi'hA iil'ilN'-f'li'Nf lllul ne lllllStll
Is Moses or Bar Kochha, and the child
will he left with vivid impression of
the dramatic incidents OF the past. and
an invulneruble pride in the fact that
he is lineally connected with it. The
same is true of every incident and every
festival in Jewish history.
"And another thing. The past, even
when it is brought into the present, is
not sufficiently nlluring to the child.
iYou must talk to him of the present
developing into the future, because il
is that in which the growing youth is
most interested In the Young Judea
program, the future takes a prominent
place in the program Of interests. Every
historical story that is told. or acted,
or ulked about, is connected with Pal
estine. and viii be linked with tho
meaning which that country had in