Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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MASMID Let us play in the heavens of earth And seek on the hills here below For the lovely, ease-garlanded mirth Who would, carefree, enliven our show . . . Let us gleefully, laughingly play On the earth-hills of many below Where, in smiles, we shall fritter away The short life-span that mirth will bestow: For no ladder can lead from the earth And escape the sun ' s fiery glow; Hence garner your portion of mirth As we dally together below. • • But if still you would clamber aloft You must look for your Nowhere alone, For not dreamers but dreams fill the soft Gentle void of the heavenly zone: Not Revore but Revissa may dwell On the heaven-capped mountain alone. No rapt mortal can soar from the dell To be king on his dream-child ' s throne . . . Yes, Revore, I should guide you aloft Where gilt beauty forever has shone. But I can not — for dreams need the soft Light perfume of the heavenly zone. . . . • • • Then she faded . . . she slipped into space Like all beauty, once bright, that must fade She went off . . . and no beauteous grace Now remains in my desolate glade . . . She has gone like all beauty once bright Whose charm and perfection must fade — My sweet dream-child has taken to flight And has left me alone and afraid ! ! ! But she shall be snatched out of space — Where, wrapt in herself, she had strayed — To be wreathed in celestial grace That never will tarnish or fade . . . Twenty-six

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MASMID You iiiiisl show iiic tlic roiul, I iinplorcil her 1 wouKI IciiJi ol ihc smootli-browed delights. I am glutted will) pangs of the valley, With its blood-chilling, venomous bites, And w ' luiKI Ic.Lin where the mountain-folk dally When liny (liiiil In liie towering heights. • Tiien she lield out Ikt li.uul ui the darkness And I stroked her smooth velvety hand . . . Come away from earth ' s indurate starkness Lead, Revissa, I beg ... I demand. How silken her fingers and smooth Wiien I touched her too-fairylike hand l n she fingered my forehead to soothe With its softness the brow-ridging band! But my dream-child stood still in the darkness Though she heard me entreat and command. Yet she quite had unlimbered the .starkness Willi her stroking, smooth velvety hand. ■k -k -k I know none of the pathways — she told me— That may lead to the star-laden sky. Though you, master creator, would scold me For you think that I, lawless, defy . . . What avail all entreaties to lead you — A mortal — aloft to the sky Where the fodder of earth can not feed you. And you, cloyed with delusions, shall die. Must you seek this strange pathway, she told mc To the regions no man may espy! But you, dreaming Revore, still would scold me And think that 1. fretful, defy. • • • Come, Revore, rest your head on my shoulder. Let a smile hide your shadowy frown ; Let your keen exultation grow bolder As you think of a dream-studded crown . . . For a bliss-haloed dimple will hide The dark fluttering wings of a frown, And the elves of discomfort will glide To the folds of my flowery gown — When you quiet your thoughts on my shouldei And you sleep as on pillowy down. For the joy in your heart will grow bolder When you think of your dream-studded crown.

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MASMID Urandeis: liis Approach to Ju.slice ? By A. M, Mi:yi;r.son What is juslin ' in ii ilian in world? In a Static society, wIkit ilir rrl.iiionsliip.s between the individual and tiie roiip, the wori er ami iiis im- pioycr, the citizen and ruler or rulers, are more or less permanently established, the jud c, upon whom falls the duty to settle litigation -wliich is unavoidable even under the most ideal of social systems — has a solid foundation on which to base his judicial decisions. The laws correspond more or less to the general conditions prevailing in that society, and the duty of the judge would then be to decide how far a given law was trespassed upon, what relationship was disturbed by the act of the defendant at court. He, the judge, would receive further help and guidance from the gen- erally accepted moral precepts and sense of values. His search for the right or wrong in any given case would thus be made easy, and his decisions would not be questioned in our hypothetical society. In a society like ours, however, where everybody and everything is in constant flux, where daily new, unforseen and uncontrolled forces destroy, qualify or create new relationships, continuous con- flicts are the rule rather than the exception. Con- cepts of right and wrong, good or bad, have lost their old meaning but have not as yet acquired a new one. It is impossible for law and legislation to keep abreast of the fast moving times. The task of the judge to discover .and apply justice in such a world becomes more and more diflicult to perform, often fraught with grave dangers, almost always determinative of the course the future will follow. The above is especially true of a country like the United States w ' here the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of all questions upon which it chooses to pass. Tlie Supreme Court of the United States has the last word on questions of law, its in- terpretation and application. It is true that the highest court of the land is sup[X)scd to be guided in the performance of its duties by the funda- nuntal law, the Constitution. Yet, every student of American Constitutional Law will agree that, in the words of Professor Felix Trankfurter, the Supreme Court is the C onstitution. In other words, the prejudiced opinions held by the majority of the members of that court at a given time hold the balance of power between conflicting forces in organized society, and are therefore the most supreme power in the country. Before the American public lies at present the problem: How far should the government go in control and supervision of industry and commerce? The N. R. A. and other Roosevelt policies are an attempt to gain for the government greater power in these matters. Yet the whole New Deal still hangs in the balance, because thus far the Supreme Court has not yet expressed an opinion on its constitutionality. Incidentally, this fact also ex- plains the vagueness and vacillations of the New- Deal. Under such conditions, the question as to how the judges arrive at their decisions becomes of utmost importance. As this paper is a study of Justice Brandeis ' approach to justice, we need concern ourselves only with his particular method and policies. It so happens, however, that Brandeis, in his personality, both before and after his eleva- tion to the Supreme Court, personifies the pulse of modern life and the clamor of the new forces for recognition. The philosophy of the New Deal, as far as it may he said to possess one, coincides in the main with the ideas and ideals of Mr. Brandeis. as expressed in his addresses, briefs and judicial decisions. When asked once what his social philosophy WAS. Mr. Brandeis answered: I have no rigid Tueni -seien