Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Now, that is over. The European mother is dead and there will never' be one like her. Wie are left to face for ourselves. And we are ill-prepared. YVe have depended for too long on European Jewry for new members for our congregation. We have looked too much to them for higher knowledge. As the orphan lacks the essentials of self-planning and progress, so we lack the necessary analyzation and methods to implant Orthodox Jewry forever in America. From what I hear and see, we are losing the battle. Knowledge be- comes more scarce and the basic bottom of our Jewish society is not only religious observances but the knowledge of the whys and wherefores of these observances. Too many seemingly Orthodox people consider it only as a front and something their parents taught them. European Judaism was an armed camp of Orthodoxy, armed, that is, with knowledge of its history and its Talmud. In America, we are but an ignorant people who do not even realize the extent of o-ur ignorance and the dangers it entails. The Jewish religion is curious in one respect, and perhaps in truth it is not so strange. The more we know, the more our belief and striving grow and we become better Jews. The less we know, the less we understand and the less we care. That is our danger. Wie have no content and it may de- stroy us. What then is the remedy? This question must remain. I myself can offer only these suggestions. It is clear that every Jew must support the basis of American Ortho, doxy, the Yeshivos. To the older members of the American Jewish com- munity I can say: Support Yeshivos with money and by sending your children there. To the Jewish youth: G0 to the Yeshiva and gain an ink- ling of your religion. Yeshiva. students: Study industriously and prepare for aid to the American Jewish community. Let your actions always re- flect good on the Yeshiva. For out of Yeshivos come those who must lead, teach and guide the congregations of America. Out of the Yeshivos come those balabati-my who are willing to cooperate and understand the rabbi who will represent their congregations. Secondly, support your Talmud Torahs. Organize them on the most efficient basis. Include those ideas which will attract the youth. and will indoctrinate them with the necessary beliefs and fundamentals of religion. Every child must go to a Talmud Torah at least. An intensive campaign must be started to maintain boys and girls in Hebrew schools for many years after their thirteenth and twelfth birthday. You must stress Hebrew and lengthen hours. Cultivate an active interest in the Jewish field of studies. The majority of students, who usually care, can do with some extra hours of study. 7

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The Future of American Urthedex Bernard Uuruff As OUR COUNTRY increased both in size and in population, so also did the American Jewish community grow until today it has assumed the most important place in the Jewish world. Inevitably, a.s this community grew and expanded in various directions and various modes of religious thought, it approached a crisis out of which a. religious or nonreligious path for the American Jew to follow would be determined. The war, with its ruthless extermination of European Jewry, has hastened this crisis until we may seo it before our very eyes. Orthodoxy is woefully unprepared to wage battle for the ascendancy of American Jewish thought. It may well be defeated. Perhaps the situation may be more clearly stated by an analogy. A child is born to a poverty stricken' mother. He is taken away at birth and- placed in a rich home, with money a.nd luxury at his disposal. But his mother still exerts a tremendous influence upon the youngster. She con- tinually sends messages guiding his actions and his mind. She visits him occasionally and explains to him the right paths a.nd ideas to follow. She teaches him love and respect. lt is through her that the child grows sp-iritf ually and morally. Suddenly, his mother is killed. He is left alone to fare for himself. He knows how to use his wealth very well. But his ideas, his mind and actions have all been under the ideals of his mother. Is he able bo follow and stumble in the paths she showed him? Or, as the years go by, will his remembrance and belief in his mother become but a fond memory and will he sway to whatever direction he chooses. If this youngster will begin to think and plan, begin to affirm his belief and his ideals, he may yet save himself and follow in his mother's footsteps. Orthodox American Jewry is that child! Born of European Jewry which sent its children over as immigrants, he soon found America a land of plenty. As time went on and wave after wave of immigrants reached these shores, the sand of American Orthodox Jewry was wet again and again with new adherance and stores of knowledge. There was no fear as long as Orthodox Jews immigrated here, as long as they represented the spiritual messages and guidance from Europe, as long as the basis of Orthodoxy was there across the sea. 6

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Finally, build up the congregation. Begin extensive campaigns if you wish to keep the synagogues alive and kicking. Give the youth a chance to run services, make speeches, organize clubs and educational and social affairs. Begin Sh-miros-Slzabbos campaigns. Get older men and Women to come and especially beg and force them to send their children to ser- vices. Forgive mistakes and misunderstandings. Explain, rather than threaten. Hold various types of classes for youth, older men, and women. Print magazines and papers. Yvake up and work to preserve our Jewish way of life. But one thing will remain foremost in our mind. We are working to foster Orthodoxy, the belief in God and Torah, the belief in the ideals set forward for us by our European brethren. With that view in mind, our compromises and innova.tions will be made in an Orthodox fashion, and Will further Orthodox traditions. ev ight by Solomon Katz How bewitching is the magic secrecy of night, The whisper of its mysterious power and might. Be parted thou glare of day with thy gaiety and bright light, For the sweet compulsions and bewilderment of night. Day is but a cheating gleam, Night a strange fascinating dream. Day, a mild penetrable sight, Night, a vast shadow full of stealth and flight. Bored am I by the garish and gaudy day, And long for the passionate silence of the night - mystic and grey. 8