The appointment in Washington of a national committee to study the League of Nations’ proposal for changing the calendar has revived the discussion in the American Jewish press on the possible effects upon American Jewish life. The “Detroit Jewish Chronicle,” writes on this subject:
“The proposed change in the calendar, which is now being considered by American committees prior to this country’s endorsement of the movement started by the League of Nations is fraught with grave dangers for Jews.
“According to the proposals made, the calendar is to be readjusted to divide the year into 13 months instead of 12. Each month is to have 28 days, and every first of the month is to begin on the same day. An extra day is to be added every four years, and is merely to be thrown into the heap as a leap-year-day without name or numeral. But as the first of the month according to the plan, would continue to fall on a Sunday and the leap-year-day would merely be thrown in without disturbing either the days of the year or week, the result would be that once every four years the Sabbath day would be moved up one day, falling some years on Sunday, others on a Monday and so on down the line.
“The danger of it lies in the fact that it is difficult enough as it is to guarantee the observance of the Sabbath, and that the Jewish calendar is misunderstood enough by Jews themselves. Further to complicate it might bring serious dangers to the observance of the Sabbath as well as the Festivals.
“A prominent figure in one of our leading fraternal organizations, speaking recently before a large Detroit gathering, was jesting about the Jewish calendar and unwittingly revealed the extent of the misunderstandings about our calenlar. He made reference to his mother’s birthday and said that as a boy he could not understand why it should have fallen one year on one day in the civil calendar, and the next on another. He did not explain to his audience how simple the whole matter was, that the mother’s birthday, followed according to the Jewish calendar, always remains the same on our count. And there are thousands upon thousands in our ranks who to this day fail to understand why the Jewish New Year, for example, falls either on a date in September or October, varying from year to year. They do not know, perhaps because they were not offered the right training, that in the Jewish year it always falls on the first day of Tishri.
“A change in the present civil calendar, as urged by the international proponents, threatens even more seriously to complicate matters for the Jewish people. The small number of Sabbath observers may be compelled to desecrate the rest day; and the uninformed and the non-observers will be thrown into greater confusion. It is no wonder, therefore, that spokesmen for English and American Jewry, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis, have for the past two years protested against the introduction of the newly proposed calendar,” the paper states.
After being completely renovated the Hebrew Sheltering and Aid Home of Lynn, Mass., was dedicated on Aug, 5.
A campaign to raise funds for financing the Rodefei Sholom Synagogue now being built in Houston, Texas has been launched. H. Evans is president of the congregation.
The new synagogue building will be completed in time for the High Holidays.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
