The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 10, 1905, Page 6

HE FUTURE OF JUDAISM AMERIC? HEDREW PROPHESY FOR THE RACE @ WHAT Y THE REV. MENDOLA DE SOLA. repudia- stitutions Hebrews to € majority » sympathy The lism. Hebrew set the masses to-day, Hebrew teaching has days radic al prie In e [N TQ_ T > Argm CAN FLAQ rauicalism was Illo- by the aavance checkec Leeser .yon an way, an Isaacs, a Morias and other ex- ponents of traditional Judaism. and the hodox rabbis of the pre t time are equally I¢ of their ancestral f: in pro- claiming tho; ‘h He- brew and Christian alike rev Judaism survived the policy of a Jason Menelauvs, and Judaism will flour- n America when the present reform movement has been relegated to the pages of history. The descendants of the radi- cals of to-day will not be Hebrews, but divine in its origin and in its mission, will not be affected thereby. The providence that gu Maccabaean movement against the v of Hellen- Judaism ism will not forsake Israel now. History is ever repeating itself > proveTTTTT TS G 2OSGOGL050% O] ' Challenge to Hebrew ¢ Ministfy of New York T T T rrrrrrrrrne POGOGOOSSLIIIOISNOI00SS0N HERE cannot be the slightest American Judaism ay before a momen- isis, religious, politico- nomical and social, and it is, the duty of all those of clear thinking n speaking to work platform broad enough progressive Jew to stand 4 the 250,000 Jews who lived at herefore, Jewish 1880 his country had the time to kK < eir religious programme v »ut ntervention of the about 0,00 ox Russian, Roumanian nd Galician Jews who landed on these ores from 1881 to 1905, Temple Ema- and Temple Beth-El—to remain own Fifth avenue—would our ve »0d to-day where Chicago's Sinai Congregation of Dr. Emil G. rsch stands; synagogue closed on aturday and opened on Sunday, mo oly Ark and the reading of the Torah, Now that the barbaric May v 15, 1882, which by foreing thousands of Russian Jews try have interrupted the lopment of the American ogue have been practically an- by the last ukase of Nicholas IL g a liberal constitution to all s of Russia without distine- tion of creed or rece, there is hope that the 1,600,000 Jews living in this country nd so on BY ISIDOR SINGER, & Managing Editor Jewish En £0] will gradually consolidate in one homo- geneous group. The Jews of the United States need a religious declaration of independence sul generis. The following questionary may, then, serve as starting point to our Thomas Jeffersons, John Adamses, Benjamin Franklins,.and so on: “First—Did Almighty God really re- veal himself unto our patriarchs, unto Mosés and our prophets; i. e, are the monologues and dialogues in the Bible purporting to be these revelations to be taken as authentic manifestations of the divinity, or are they nothing else than the utterances of inspired, saintly men, similar to those mentiened in the Koran and in the Holy Scrip- tures of other nations? “Second—Are the commandments contained in the Pentateuch, and, above all, the Decalogue, really laws given by the creator of the universe, or are they simply human enactments given by Moses, or whatever the name of their originator may be? “Third—Does, for instance, the He- brew violating the Sabbath and the holidays and the dietary laws really act against the will of God, or is he only destroying by his scts the bonds of national unity? “Fourth—Has the rabbinical law, based, as It is, upon an Oriental text book of hoary antiquity, yet the right LEADING NECHANIG DRAWIN G- @ THINKERS ADOLPH LEWISHON. O A A A e e et % Zangwill on the Hebrews §§ POOO FEW years since Israel Zangwill, when on a visit to this country, delivered an address to his own people. A few of the epigrams which he then colned concerning the char- acteristics of the Hebrews are here of- fered: . The Jews had no country of their own. They could not possess the land of their fathers in reality. So they made & port- able Palestine. They carried it wherever they went. This was a spiritual country. It could not be assailed by their gppres- sors. There have been two conceptions of the Jew, One that he lends money and wants it back agdin; the other that he deals in old clothes. The truth {s Jews.have been everywhere. They have been everything except Pope of Rome, and they have come near to that. If they dealt in old clothes it was because papal decrees forbade them trading in enything eclse but old clothes and old iron Jews, in a way, were as good as United States bonds; only United States bonds may be converted, but when a Jew was converted he lost his value. Because Shylock was rich and Jessica )cré?{(}i,v . TECHNICAL TNSTITUTE — to impose its statutes on the Jews of 1905, or is it not the only logical and honest poliey on the part of our up-to- date theologians to vote its complete and unreserved abolition? < Fifth—Has the synagogue the intention to keep its real or nominal devotees in a perpetual state of suspense between the theories of the world mission of Israel, national Zionism, ‘Kulturzionismus,” moral Zionism and spiritual nationalism? “Sixth—Is the study of Bible, Talmud, post-Talmudical, neo-Hebraic literature and Jewish history to be considered as an integral part of Jewish religion proper, or are these matters merely as many branches of general human knowledge? “SBeventh—If the second theory be right, are we justified in continuing our present Sunday-school programmes and maintain- ing the instruction our rabbis give the adults from the pulpits of our syna- gogues? ‘‘Bighth—Were it, further, on the ground of the same theory which seems to be tacitly admitted by the overwhelming majority of our educated and well-to-do co-religionists in Central and Western Europe and the New World, not logical if our rabbinical seminaries were radical- ly to change their programmes—i. e., in- stead of training at a relatively enormous expense a few rabbis yearly for communi- ties which do not heed their preachings for fifty weeks of the year, to develop colleges for Jewish history, literature and religion, where Jew and Gentile alike could inform themselves about the past of Israel, her contribution to the world literatule and the tenets of her faith? “Ninth=Is the continued maintenance of Jewish hospitals, Jewish orphan asylums, Jewish cemeteries, a natural phase of the religious development of the Jew or rath- er the logical consequence of a reaction against the antl-Jewish policy of the Christian nations in the past? “Tenth—Do the leaders of American Judaism consider the erection of new synagogues and the artificlal constitution of new congregations a higher duty than helping our unfortunate brethren in East- ern Europe and the Orient to escape from political slavery, economical annihilation and spiritual anaemia?"” These and many others of similar im- beautiful, all Jews are rich and all Jew- €esses are beautiful. I wish it were so. A good looking Jew was considered the fool of the family, which is consolation for some of us. The black plague swept over Europe. The Jews escaped by reason of their dif- ferent hygienic laws. The Christidns charged him with poisoning the wells and ® ORI 0000 000005050 portance are the burning questions of the day. And if any of the orators on the programme of the Carnegie Hall celebra- tion would have the courage and could find the wisdom to give us in clear terms unequivocal answers to these questions, Amerjcan Israel, yea, the entire interna- tional Judaism would be grateful and a new epoch would be started in the his- tory of Judaism and indirectly in the re- ligious evolution of mankind. TEMPLE EMANUEL — thousands of Jews were put to death for not dying of the plague. Colonel Roosevelt told me that the Jews of his regiment were among his bravest soldiers. And when Hobson had to be “kissed it took a Jewess to do it. Jews not only furnished money for Co- lumbus’ expedition, but his first lieuten- ant was a Jew. This officer discovered to- bacco, which is greater than America. Carlyle said the Jews had no humor, but Carlyle was a Scotchman, A beggar stole a spoon from a wealthier member of his race who had entertained him. When detected the beggar said: “By taking the spoon I broke the eighth commandment, which says, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ If I had not taken it I would have broken the tenth, which says: ‘Thou shalt not covet.’ I saw I had to break c¢ne commandment anyhow, so I thought 1 might as well have the spoon.” It has always been the desire of Jewish fathers, however rich, to have learned sons-in-law, however poor. I do not find this custom prevalent to-day. To illustrate why there are no good Jews in fiction Mr. Zangwill related the story of the lion and the cub. The cub had seen a painting of Samson vanquish- ing a lion, and sald to its parent: “I have seen many contests between lions and men and always the men have been the victors. Why are there no pictures show- ing lions overpowering men?’ “It is be- cause we lions have no painters,” was the parent’s reply. The Jews have been scattered to the four winds among all the nations of the earth, They have been of immense ser- vice to every country that has harbored them. It reminds me of the story of the crocodile, which opened its mouth sc a bird might go into it and eat the lee which annoyed it. There was mutual be:ie- fit from the operation. It is not strange that sometimes the Jews find the croco- dile’s mouth closing upon them. It w: natural that Jews should congregate around their synagogues. They became to some extent isolated from the people among whom they dwelt. This isolation brought with it suspiclon. and suspicion caused more isolation for mutual protee- tion. In medieval times the nations of Europe had a conception of the Jewish character compared to which Shakespeare’s Shylock was a saint. It was this that brought about the compulsory ghetto. There are two general types of Jews, the German and the Spanish. The Span- ish Jews speak a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish. The German Jews speak Yid- dish, a mongrel of bad German and every other language in the world. The Jews financed the Crusades volun- tarily and involuntarily. There was noth- ing they had not financed, not even their own persecutions. In New York City the percentage of Hebrews ness interests and professions is as follows: Per Cent.| Cloaks, clothing (manufacturers) % Embroideries 50{Boots and shoes (re |Boots and shoes (w 98 Braid o |Laces Cloaks, clothing (laborers).... Children’s clothing and caps (manufacturers) ............ Children’s clothing and caps (laborers) Cigars (manufacturers) 850 40D Cigars (laborers) . 45 Millinery eckwear (men's) the various bus! in Per Cent ase’' O 70 80 eckwear (ladies’) Leaf tobacco 90/Lawyers Bristles SRS 98/ Physician Fancy goods and notions. 85|Shirts TGREHOES: -0 oo daks i i . 90 Bonnet wire 85 R Ladies’ hats e 5 3 Ladies’ waists (manufacturers. 5 Furriers e P 3 543 30 Hoslery o and skins. .. 35 Jewelry (jobbing) 2 »micals 5 Jewelry (retail) o a 7 Ivory .o Department stores 3 Amusement managers Actors Song' publishers Song composers 3 Belt (manufacturers) . Butchers (wholesale) Butchers (retail) .. Distillers 50| ERMAN Hebrews occupy a prom- the city .of New York, a as (S are highly respected In commercial and financi cirels There were only a few hundred in this until about the year 1848, and from that time they have emigrated to this in la numbers. There are t hundred thousands in They or their descendants have be- siness come les and crowd the ) nd medical profes- sions as well. Th have outnumbered the § nish and Portuguese Hebrews, who were at one time so prominent in commu- nai affairs, by a thousand to one, and by their ability and industry have become the leaders in the Hebrew community. Although nearly all the large benevolent 75 Brokers (stock) .. . 90/ Bakers 80 Dentists 5|Druggists 78{Teachers §0/Other bus! kers (real estate) itractors and builders ankers from ... IPVTV VIOV PPN socleties were originally founded by the Portuguese and all the first presidents were of that class to-day these institu- tions are managed almost entirely by the Germans, and that they are capably ad- ministered no one can gainsay The German Hebrews have, exceptions, adopted the modern or reform service in their worship. The two large temples—Emanu-El and Beth-El—in Fifth are their most conspicuous and synagogues. There are besides tentious temples in different parts city. Many of these temples hold on S ¥s as well as on Satur- days, but there is not yet any congrega- tion in this city that has followed the ex ample of Dr. Emil Hirch in Chicago whose congregation does not worship at " all on Saturdays, but holds service like their Christian brethren on Sundays only. with few service 0 Japanese as Flower Lovers @ MERICANS and Europeans may A have a love for flowers, but the people of Japan show in many ways that beautiful blossoms fill a much larger place in their hearts than in those of any other people. From the members of the royal family to the poorest beg- gar in the streets the love seems to be innate. In the palaces of Tokio there are exquisite vases of every description which are dally filled with rare blossoms. But the peasant in his paper hut is quite as particular to fill his bamboo vases with some blossoms. Should one chance to stay at a hotel more “than twenty-four hours he will find fresh flowers every day to replenish those which greeted him on his arrival. Even the half-naked coolle will have a flower of some kind stuck behind his ear. At every corner and all along the streets there are nu- merous flower merchants, and it is sel- dom that a Japanese beggar will hesitate to part with his last coin to purchase a blossom. Parents choose flower names for their daughters, and a Japanese lady always adorns her person with the flow- ers which are appropriate to the season. No visitor to the land of the cherry blossom festival has failed to describe this most important occasion. The open- ing of the season is the blooming of this flower, and it is a national holiday. Thou- sands of people, dressed in their best, ‘wander about all day under the arch of overhanging rose red trees, refreshing themselves with tea or rice wine at the tea houses or buying souvenirs of the oc- casion at the many little shops erected for the day. Each owner of a cherry or- chard has his own private festival, and Finding of a Lost Tribe ;§ O s aaaaaa 2O T the north end of Hudson Bay is A an island about the size of the State of Maine, which is called Southampton Island, on which has beea discovered a lost tribe of Eskimo, which has been without any Intercourse ‘with human beings for centuries and until a few years ago had never seen a white man. Apparently these people have dwelt there since before the time of Co- lumbus. They are still in the stone age, knowing no metals. They grow no plants and their homes are bullt of the skulls of whales. Their huts are built by put- ting together the great jaws of whale and covering them over with skins. In the midale of this dwelling is the familiar elevated place on which stands the lamp. ‘With this they cook, light their dwell- ings, provide warmth, melt snow and dry their clothes. The whale is their chief ) sends out invitations eornamented with cherry blossoms to his especial friends. All sorts of games are played, and in the evening thousands of lanterns are hung on the trees. The royal court invites the nobility and the diplomatic corps to a gardent party. It is also the season for family picnics, which are looked forward to throughout the year by the humbler classes. Only too soon is the cherry blos- som festival at an end. The Japanese cherries are not intended to be eaten, but their value is simply in the blossom. It is the most luxuriant bloom of all, and of such importance that before the bursting of the blossoms the fact is advertised in all the local pa- pers. The cherry tree sometimes grows as tall as an oak, and during the time of bloom it is so laden with flowers that not a vestige of leaf is visible. The flowers have also a singular and delicate per- fume. The Japanese woman has a pretty cus- tom of making bher dress correspond to the flowers which are in season. At the ch Ty blossom festival she wears a kimon: ‘ embroidered with the flower so much evidence then. When the azalea season ccmes this garment Is replaced with one covered with effective sprays of the var colored azaleas, and this in turn gives way before the wistaria and chrysanthe mum. In the arrangement of their flowers the people of Japan show great artistic taste Each separate bud is allowed its chance to be admired. A single flower held by a crystal vase makes a feast for the eyes which is not forthcoming when dozens of the blossoms are crowded together and their individual charm eatirely lost. O] b ® means of subsistence. They use the bones In a variety of ways, even making their cups and buckets of it, by bending it in shape and sewing on the bottom. The tribe is composed of about ffty- cight individuals, about evenly divided between the sexes. They speak a dialect peculiar to themselves, quite uniike that spoken by any other tribes of Eskimo, A fact which shows the perfect isolation of the community is evidenced by their ignorance of soapstone. Among other tribes it is the favorite material for pots and kettles, and when they are unable to obtain it in their own neighborhood they will make long pllgrimages, lasting sev- eral years, in quest of this material. But as the people of this lost tribe are in fg- norance of such a stone they make t receptacles from slabs of limestone, which they glue together In rectangular shapes by mixing deer’s blood and grease.