The Denver Jewish news., 1925-03-05

''luN' nlbl'ONrt u comes not from my
narrow minded partisan but from n
man who rfprcscnts tolerance in Its
hroadcst and Amcricanism in Its deep.
est implications.
Perhaps some Of our So-called en-
listened Jews who pride themselves on
their enlightened "l'hach-is" modernism
will now see themselves in the mirror
Of cultured opinion. as the cheap manni.
kins that they are
Regarding lnicrmarriagc there is
more or less n consensus OF opinion
among processing Jews, that marrying
cut OF the faith is the crucial step
lending to the extinction OF Israel'S
separate identity, and Is for that
reason to he condemned as the ulti-
mate breach Of loyalty. Most Of the
discussion of Dr .Eliot'S comment has.
however. ccntered about the question
uf the Dietary Laws and therefore ii
may be more to the point to dwell up
on that par,.cuar aspect Cf Jewish
loyalty.
II would not read any man or women
out of the Jewish fold. as some OF my
more partisan colleagues would, for
violating the dietary laws. On the
other hand. | would never say, MS has
been said 10y others that Jew can
be- an Orthodox Jew and not eat Kosh.
er. In order to deserve the epithet OF
orthodox one must adhere to certain
rules which are definitely prescribed in
the Jewish code and nbout which there
can he no confusion. One OF those
rules is the rule Of Knshruth, and no
lew can he truly Orthodox who dccs
not keep the laws of kRshruth. but.
of course.a a man MAY bc good Jew
even il he is not IN Orthodox Jcw.
even If he is not Republican. Orth.
odoN and Reform are only secondary
distinctions. They are only points Of
view in the larger category Of Judaism
as such. Certainly the most Orthodox
partisan would not think of denying to
II man like Louis Marshall the title
of good Jew although Mr.. Marshall has
not published the fact of whether he
does or does not adhere tc Kashruth.
And 50 think that in honesty with
ourselves and with the subject. we
should admit that II man does not
eat Kosher. he can he good Jew.
though he can lay no claim to being
an Orthodox Jew.
II should. however, he recognized by
those who themselves do not observe
the dietary laws, that those who do
observe them are helped thereby In
strengt hcning their Jewish conscious
ness. II is not true that The purpose
of the dietary laws is To promote health
Possibly that may hnvc been their pur-
pose wh"n they were originally pro
mulgated hut today when the subject
of dieteticS is devclopcd to II science, it
is silly to suppose that by eating
chicken which has not been killed by
n Shochct, or that even by eating ham.
we cndanger our health. The Irish
policeman at the traffic station is GER
tainly II standing rcfutation of that
argument. The purpose Of the dietary
laws has been from the very beginning
and is today intended ns n means of
mnking the jew feel that he is diff
fcrent, of reminding him that in small
things and in great things he is differ
cnt. What better reminder could there
he than the most prominent function
df life. that of his daily food? Thus
the laws of Kosher like many another
Jewish ceremonial are purported to
arouse the sense of Jewish identity and
difference. so that Jew set OF by
these fences, may not be tempted to
become absorbed, swallowed up. as-
simulated by his Gentle environment.
For that reason, there ought TO be
in every Jewish home certain customs,
traditions, ceremonies, by means OF
which the sense of Jewish identity may
be strengthened. Human nature Is
such that doctrinal differences alone
are not sufficient TO impress those dis
tinctionS. Every religion in order to
he vital must be Incorporated in def
lnite code of habits. Many of the laws
in the Bible cannot be explained er.
ccpt unon the ground OF inculcating In
Israel sense of individuality. Thus
the great Maimonides makes clear
many of the statutes which otherwise
are obscure. The Rabbis have form.
ulatcd the concept Of 'geder' the fence
consisting of these distinctive modes by
means of which Isracl's sense of dis.
o