Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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M A SMID the students and their collet;e. Only an open and sincere discussion of various problems will make for a more harmonious accord within the institution. The Commentator has blazed the brail. Let us hope that it will serve as a constant leader in this direction. THE TRIBUTE OF ALBERT EINSTEIN The acceptance by Professor Albert Einstein of the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, bestowed on him last October at Yeshiva College, is an indication of the increasingly prominent position occupied by the institution in the aca- demic world. This event assumes a greater sig- nificance when it is realized that, previous to ac- cepting the Yeshiva degree, Professor Einstein had refused similar honors from many of the largest and oldest universities in the United States. Professor Einstein evidenced by his action his recognition of Yeshiva College not merely as a center of religious learning but as an institution dedicated to the advancement of scholarship in all phases of culture. That Yeshiva College has come to symbolize for men like Einstein the eternal genius of the Jewish people, was most clearly shown by him in replying to the honor conferred upon him that not external success but a deep spiritual perception of life has been considered by it (Yeshiva College) as the most desirable attainment. When men of such note as the world ' s out- standing physicist pay such glowing tribute to Yeshiva College, the progress of the institution since its inception but seven years ago becomes little short of phenomenal. It is a tribute to the college, to its administration and faculty, to its students, and to its ideals. THE WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS The convocation this summer of the 19th World Zionist Congress places the problem of Zionism in stark relief before the Jewish people. The Zionist Organization has reached a crisis in its existence. The 18th Congress, held two years ago, witnessed t he degeneracy of the World Zion- ist Movement as the meeting place for all shades of Zionist opinion. It has become in the last two years the organ for the expression of but one among all the nationalistic views. The recent bolt of the Revisionists from the organization and the coolness of the Mizrachi toward the Congress indicate the disintegration of organized Zionism. These developments have been occasioned by the seizure of power on the part of one party and the negation of other groups as factors in the determination of Zionist policies. The coming World Zionist Congress, therefore, has as its major problem the reconciliation of all groups in the work of rebuilding Eretz Yisroel, and the restoration of the World Zionist Move- ment to its former position as the voice of Zionism in its broader sense rather than in any of its limited connotations. Unless it accomplishes this task it is definitely doomed to oblivion. In the early years of its existence the Zionist movement had many vital functions. It had to arouse an interest in the settlement and development of Palestine, to provide for educational facilities, health questions, and the general establishment of social and economic security. At present most of these phases are taken care of by the Palestinian population. All that is left for World Zionism is the consolidatioti of all Jewry. Failure in this issue will reduce the Congress to an insignificant body in the eyes of the nations of the world. Ju- iasm cannot afford to let this happen. The 19th World Zionist Congress must rise above person- alities and parties and must present a united front to Jewry and to the world at large. Eight

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.y EDITORIALS . THF. LAST OF THI-. I ' lONIillRS 193 witnesses the fourth radu.iiin ; cl.iss .it Ycshiva College; the last of its pioneers have come and gone. As they leave, they bear v ' iih them the memory of their freshman days wIkii Yeshiva had not yet emerged from its experi- mental .stage, when an air of hesitant uncertainty, though permeated by a spirit of optimism, per- vaded its halls. This year ' s graduates have ac- tively participated in the transition from the pro- bative period of the school to its establishment on a sound and secure basis. The college has now achieved a position where criticism, rather than weakening its stability and endangering its future existence, actually contrib- utes in no little degree to its improvement and continued expansion. A student organization, pulsating with life, is the most sensitive barometer of the success or failure of any institution of learning. The authorities of Yeshiva College need not view the development of a forceful, as- sertive student body with apprehension. The ac- tive interest displayed by the students at Yeshiva should indicate to the administration that they have been successful in instilling in their students an appreciation of, and love for, the college, and a deep concern for the furtherance of Jewish life and education in America. The burden of in- terpreting and transmitting traditional Jewish cul- ture in the midst of modern civilization need no longer rest on the shoulders of a few. The stu- dents of Yeshiva College have unequivocally ex- pressed their eagerness to assume a considerable share of this responsibility. THI , ( OMMF.NTATOR BLAZING A NLW TRAIL W ' ltli this rssuc of the annual Masmid, wc L ' l.ulK ink Id the flommtntator our position as the organ .ind medium of student expression in N ' tshiv.i ( (ilkgc. A biweekly newspaper, wc tell, constantly m touch with the pulse of student opmion and sentiment and alive to the problems of the day, is a more effective means of gauging imdcrgraduate feeling than an annual designed to perpetuate .scholarship and to record the history oi collegiate activities. The Commentator has entered upon a com- mendable course. In its vigorous and forceful ap- proach to questions of vital importance to the student body, questions of Jewish, national, and international significance, as well as problems of an institutional nature, it has announced its in- tention of attacking all problems op)en-mindedly, critically, frankly, and constructively. It has focu.sed the attention of both students and authori- ties on matters fundamental to the continued success of the institution and the strengthening of its position as the center of Onhodox Judaism in . merica. toreover the Commentator has served and. we hope, will continue to serve as a guide to the .idministration in the development of aca- demic policies. . warning must be sounded, however, against any attempt at the suppression or censorship of student expression. Far from solving contro- versial issues, such aaion can only lead to bitter resentment and a distorted relationship between

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M ASM ID Jylaiinonidcs and I he J resent ireneral if n h) I)K. 1-tl UNAKIi KlVI.I. The last words of tlif Pentatcudi — And in re- spect to all that mighty hand, and in the great, terrific deeds which Moses displayed before the eyes of all Israel — are applicable, in a figurative sense, to Maimonides, to his Code and to his great Guide. Also applicable to him are the preceding words — which the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt. ' How mysterious are the ways of Providence and of Israel ' s millenial history! Egypt, the land where Israel became a nation and the people of the Book given by God to Moses, born and reared in Egypt, was also the land where the second Moses revealed himself and gave his people the Mishna Torah, the clearest and fullest exposition of the Torah in its totality. Maimonides was the diadem in the crown of the golden age of Jewish creativeness, the era in our history that bequeathed us some of our greatest permanent national treasures, — some of the things we cherish most in our national culture, — the period that has left a most indelible im- press upon the course of our history. His interpretation of Israel ' s basic beliefs has become part of our liturgy; his halakic works are still the subject of daily study in the Tor.ih- academies throughout the world. Called by his contemporaries the light our our eyes, he con- tinues to be the Light of Israel, not only bv virtue of what he has achieved, but by virtue of what he was, by his heroic moral and intellectual stature, symbol of intellectual height and spiritu.U serenity. The radiance of his personality shone upon all alike and its blessings have re.iched all succeeding ages. As with all men who ha -e helped to make his- tory, pathfinders who have been in many respects centuries ahead of their time, many were his critics and detracters. Many of his views on method and substance have been centers of fierce and protracted controversy ever since his day. Among his opponents — and there can be no doubt of the honesty and lofty motives of most of them — there were many worthy of him. But, friend or ad- versary, no one during the last thirty generations could afford to ignore, to be indifferent to, this sovereign of the spirit and monarch of the mind. In the centuries — old symphony of admiration, reverence and glowing tribute, there were — and there still are — discords of denunciation of the technique and finality of the Mishne Torah, of the codification of theological and doctrinal views at its beginning, and of the views themselves. Mai- monides is still unjustly accused of having aimed to make his Code the final authority on all matters of law and creed, and thus of tending to stifle further free discussion and arrest continued de- velopment, making the study of the Talmud unessential. As a true disciple of Hillel, Maimonides loved pe.ice and bore denunciation and even vilification with dignity, holding no resentment against his detracters. He seldom defended himself, but fought for the truth of his views. Humility, the very essence of true greatness, was to him the crown of all virtue and he laid no claim to in- fallibility. To quote his own words: I never pride myself on not making mistakes ; on the con- trary, when I discovered one, or if I am convinced of my error by others, I am ready to change any- thing in my writings, in my ways and even in my nature. But much higher than his epoch-making works. towers Maimonides, the man. He has become to succeeding generations the symbol of pure motive, of selfless quest of truth, of noble tolerance and intellectual honesty. To the House of Israel, he has ever been the symbol of the complete and per- fect Jewish personality, of the harmonious union Kiie