“The Jewish adult mind of our age is not now equal to the Jewish problems of our age,” Dr. israel Goldman, of providence, today told the 38th annual convention of the rabbinical Assembly at a session devoted to stressing the importance of adult education.
Urging congregations to sponsor adult education units as independent institutions, Dr. Goldman said the aim of adult Jewish education must be “to familiarize the adult Jew with the thought life of the Jewish people as expressed in its classic texts. It must Judaize the mind of the Jews so that he shall know who he is and what he is and thereby be made spiritually whole.”
Rabbi Samuel M. Blumenfield warned against “exaggerated forms of denominationalism” in adult Jewish education. Dr. Simon Greenberg, reporting on a questionnaire survey on the congregational school, said that synagogue budgets did not allot sufficient funds for educational work, and urged formation of “a well financed national bureau of education” sponsored by the united synagogue, with its work under the sponsorship of a joint committee representing the rabbinical assembly, the united synagogue and the Jewish theological Seminary.
Reporting for the Seminary Committee, Dr. Ben-Zion Bokser said the Jewish Theological Seminary must redefine its function as an institution “charged with practical leadership in Jewish life,” as well as education. He proposed establishment of an information service on Jewish life, formation on the initiative of the Seminary of local synagogue chests to raise funds for various Jewish causes.
Dr. Robert Gordis, retiring chairman of the Social Justice Committee, urged rabbis to set aside one Sabbath for discussion of a social question from the point of view of judaism.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
