Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, arrived on his fourth visit to the United States, cheered by Zionists, received cordially and with interest by non-Zionists.
Dr. Weizmann’s visit to the United States is an event in Jewish life. It makes Zionist history and also Jewish history.
The echoes of the recent controversy between Zionists and non-Zionists in this country having subsided, the irritation caused by the friction having been appeased, the situation in Palestine being, as it is, fraught with many problems, the course of action which will be chosen by the Zionist leader is a matter of interest to Zionists and non-Zionists [alike].
Of course, the outstanding problem facing the Zionists at present is the unemployment situation and what is termed the crisis which followed in its wake. When the facts in the situation are considered, when the human side of the problem is looked upon, the matter is of deep concern not only to affiliated Zionists but to all American Jews. No doubt this will be the dominant note in the discussions and the public receptions which will be given “from now on.” It should be recalled that it was Dr. Weizmann who, months ago, before the crisis in Palestine reached its present state, with his usual courage and vision, analyzed the situation and, as it were, predicted events.
“It is true that not all of the human material which has attempted to find refuge in agriculture in Palestine was fitted for it. We take note of this certainly with regret and deep sorrow. But we have no right to close our eyes to the fact that a certain part of the new settlers will be compelled to leave their places. This happens not because those settlers don’t want to work. The contrary is true. They have shown, and are still showing, a sacred devotion to the ideal of work and the national resettlement. But there are physical and psychological obstacles over which no effort can avail.” He described the situation upon his return from Palestine in the early spring.
“We were all glad to observe the large immigration of last year and we were inclined to see in it the beginning of the redemption, a symbol and a proof of the realization of the Zionist ideal. At the same time we did not give sufficient consideration to the possibility that such an overwhelming immigration can also bring disaster, if we do not simultaneously increase in the same measure our own efforts in order to increase the capability of the country to absorb the incoming masses.”
“If we do not increase our efforts.” “If” is one of the shortest words in the dictionary, but it is like many other monosyllables – the fate of a man, of a nation, of a movement, of a country, of an ideal, depends not on the large words, but on monosyllables. The Palestine situation has exercised a tremendous appeal for Jewish public opinion in the last ten years. If there was a time when Dr. Weizmann was called upon to bring the influence of his personality to bear upon conditions, it is now when he has before him one of the most difficult situations he has ever faced. However, Dr. Weizmann, a chemist by profession has, during his Zionist work, developed a new kind of chemistry. It is the chemistry of the public mind, the secret of international success, the blending of a variety of colors into the Blue and White. His new formula in the chemistry of shaping the American Jewish public mind, to be applied to remedying the Palestine situation, is looked forward to with more than interest.
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History does not belong to the popular subjects; Jewish history much less. American Jewish history is in its infancy as yet. It is not surprising, therefore, that the American Jewish Historical Society is not heard of frequently. It is a pity, however, that the facts brought out at its last annual convention in Philadelphia were not more widely broadcast. I believe that they are of interest even to those who have no particular inclination for the study of history.
American Jews were the principal backers in the development of the West. Philadelphia Jews were the prime movers in the settling of the early West and were employers of Col. George Grogham and Daniel Boone. They owed the sites of Chicago and St. Louis. So says Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach, president of the society, on the basis of extensive research work in the early records of the expansion of the West. The fact that many American Jews have succeeded so well as realtors is merely a reversion to type. This is interesting and instructive. What a fine thing it would be if prominent American Jewish realtors would make it possible for the accomplishment of “their ancestry” to be more widely known! They can certainly take pride in it.
By the way, those early backers of the development of the West were in partnership with Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Robert Morris.
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Dr. Chaim Tchernowitz, professor of Rabbinics at the Institute of Jewish Religion, finds fault with all three types of Jewish congregations in the United States. He is satisfied neither with Orthodoxy nor with Reform; not even with the Conservatives, who are in between. He objects particularly to the deviation from the substance of Jewish law. He cannot agree to the enthronement of the cantor, instead of the scholar. He cannot submit to the rule of the congregational president, instead of the leadership of the Rabbi. He is not attuned to the melodies sung in the present-day synagogues. He wishes that the center of Jewish life would be directed from the synagogue, the house of prayer, and return to the Beth Ha’Medrash, the house of learning.
How can all this be accomplished?
To Professor Tchernowitz it is a simple matter. He proposes that a Rabbinic Council, composed of recognized scholars, well-versed in the Jewish law and lore, be endowed with the authority to revise whatever is necessary in the Jewish religious laws in accordance with the requirements of the time. This Council would, he believes, bring about the fusion of the now disagreeing elements. A sort of “Council of Forty-Eight States” instead of the olden Council of Four States.
While some may agree with his criticism, it is difficult to see how a Rabbinic Council can remedy it.
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