Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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M A S M I D w THE TRAGEDY OF GERMANY History is replete with the shattered illusions of mankind. Monuments of majestic splendor have been conjured up out of the fertility of the human mind to bask in the warm rays of specious reality and then fade into the ephemeral realm of lost dreams. The most recent of these fallen idols is the much-vaunted epitome of human progress — Deutsche Kultur. A Hegel might, with self-right- eous ingenuity, place Teutonic civilization as the synthesis of all human effort, but we, of this day and age, may, with even more righteous indigna- tion, assign to a civilization productive of a Hitler the ignominious position of antithesis to all that is noble and worthwhile in the lofty aspirations of civilized man. Persecution of the Jew is not a new nor an unusual phenomenon. It has been the peculiar fate of the Jew to receive the scorpion-like stings of Fate in far greater measure than any other race. The sharp crack of the whip and the corporal scourge of fire and sword are more the rule than the exception in Jewish history. Why, then, has the conscience of civilized man been aroused to so sudden a pitch of universal condemnation by the recent atrocities perpetrated by the present German government? We of the present generation have regarded, with increasing interest and hope, the efforts of those altruistic souls whose lives have been devoted to the stamping out of intolerance and the main- tenance of world peace. We have seen a League of Nations flower from the blood-drenched fields of the late war. We have heard denunciations of intolerance and discrimination voiced from the pul- pits of all denominations, from the convention halls of all sorts of organizations, from the public fora of every land. Barbarism had been, but more. The dream has ended, as all dreams do. And in its wake has come disillusionment. Germany has betrayed the hopes of mankind. Political, eco- nomic, and social isolation would have been a blow sufficiently devastating of the lives of the six hun- dred thousand Jews in Germany. But Germany ' s return to medieval barbarism stamps her culture as a sham, her refinement as camouflage, and her sense of right and wrong as so horribly perverted that the tortures of a Torquemada were tolerated in twentieth-century Berlin. ould that those Jews were alive, who so confidently and arrogantly proclaimed that from Germany goes forth the Torah and the word of the Lord from Berlin. Once again we are brought face to face with the inevitable reality. Poultices and compresses are mere temporary balsam to the harassed and lacerated body of the Jew. One road of promise is open — the road to Palestine, the national Jewish homeland. THE NEED FOR AN ENDOWMENT Life beckons to another fleck of college grad- uates. Though its welcoming gestures seem rather weary and mechanical, still youth needs no second invitation. Depressions may come and go. but the search for knowledge goes on forever. At a time when all about us the effects of economic stress

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Sixteen MASM1D permanently inspired. It is in this connection that my thoughts turn to 1 eshiva College, of which I am proud to be the Dean. Situated on Washington Heights, Man- hattan ' s highest point, Yeshiva College is in a sense a symbol of the heights of liberalism and tolerance our country has achieved, for it was founded, six years ago, by the very people that through the years have been subject to persecution and repres- sion and are at this moment in Germany feeling the oppressor ' s hand. The only college of liberal arts and sciences in America under Jewish auspices, though it accepts all qualified students and its faculty consists of scholars, Jews and non-Jews alike — Yeshiva College is devoted to the creation of an atmosphere where the age-old verities and the fruits of modern knowledge may be coordinated and compatibly absorbed. The significance of this direct entry of American Jewry — long recog- nized by patrons and seekers of learning — in the field of higher education has been widely acclaimed, and at the coming commencement, the Hon. Her- bert H. Lehman, Governor of New York State, will address the graduates. Yet the ideal of eshiva College is but an expression from the Jewish point of view of the ideal of all the liberal arts colleges, of all schools of liberal arts and science in the great universities. It is natural that most of these institutions were denominational in origin, for they rose out of a concern, not for the individual ' s livelihood, but for the well-being of the community, which I need not emphasize, de- pends upon the state of being of the men and women who are its citizens. The times are out of joint. Individuals in high places, here and abroad, have bemired our trust that the common decencies of life, that honesty, tolerance, magnanimity, understanding — in short, that spirituality and culture, will dominate and direct our lives. It is for their fostering of the ideals inherent in these aspects of life, for their disinterested pursuit of knowledge and development of character, that we turn to the liberal arts col- leges, and hope that in their spirit, and bearing their ideals, will rise the country ' s leaders of to- morrow. CONFIDENCE To Franklin D. Roosevelt Through all the darkness that enshrouds Today And leaves behind its poison of despair. Through hopelessness, an unexpected ray Foreshows the utter banishment of care. An unforeshadowed ray, a tiny hope, More glorious than a nabob ' s opulence, Enlivens man, who need no longer grope Since he is fortified by Confidence. What peerless giant, what colossal force Has suddenly performed this miracle? To what great instrument had he recourse To help him do the unbelievable? A single word to those who seemed forlorn And with it hope and confidence were born. -Bernard Dov Milians

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Eighteer MASMID have rendered thousands homeless and hungry, it seems almost a crime to divert funds for much- needed aid into the channels of education. Uni- versities and colleges all over the country have felt this attitude manifested in the tremendous de- cline of their income for running expenses. Yeshiva College has been no exception. The physical well-being of man is an essential component of progress. The advance of civiliza- tion has been marked by the gradual improvement of the living conditions of mankind. But always there has been recognized the underlying substratum of progress, the spiritual and intellectual develop- ment of the human mind. To this purpose the colleges of all ages have been dedicated ; and there has been no finer investment for the family of men than the continued support of thess centres of learning. A college progresses and expands in proportion to the facility with which it can meet its financial obligations. Thus, colleges of to-day live and grow on their endowments. Any college, which must resort to a hand to mouth policy for its support, must ultimately fail. By failure, I mean failure both in the necessary offices of careful supervision of a student ' s work and activities, failure in the disgruntled attitude of teachers who have not been compensated for their work, and failure in so far as the students themselves are affected by the precarious basis upon which their alma mater rests. In our own institution we have not yet reached so grave a pass. Our teachers are still enthusiastic, our students optimistic, and our ad- ministration actively interested in the individual work of each student. But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and credit should be given to those far-sighted men who have so zealously ad- vocated the establishment of an endowment fund for the support of Yeshiva College. An endowment would not only insure the permanence of an in- stitution upon whose maintenance depends the fu- ture of Judaism in this country, but it would offer the basis for that necessary expansion and growth which would make of Yeshiva College what it should be and what we hope it will be — one of the great unversities of the world. A beginning has already been made and several men have given liberally of their time and money for the development of this project. There has been organized the Yeshiva Endowment Fund, Inc., whose purpose is to interest men in patron- izing Yeshiva College, as well to supervise the investment of the money that has already been contributed. Every effort should be bent in this direction. Therein lies salvation; therein lies ex- pansion; therein lies the future of Judaism in America.