An appeal to American Jews to think of Judaism as a constructive way of life was made Friday night by Rabbi Louis I. Newman at the Oneg Shabbat of the Youth Congregation of Temple Rodeph Sholom, 7 West Eighty-third street.
“We are witnessing a remarkable revival of Jewish culture, and the synagogue is gaining thereby,” Dr. Newman declared. “American Jews must not think of Judaism merely as a bulwark against anti-Semitism but as a constructive way of life. Independent of outer circumstances, the Jewish laity, particularly in the so-called reform or liberal circles, must encourage personal piety and personal faith if Judaism as a religion and cult is to exert authority among its adherents. The time has come to recover, not to discard, Jewish ceremonies and to make Jewish, rather than general, humanist or non-sectarian, ideals the motivating factor in the individual conduct of Jews.”
Wendell Phillips also spoke.
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