Continuity of Jewish Life Depends on Yeshivas, Orthodox Rabbis’ Appeal Says

The opinion that the continuity of Jewish life depends on the establishment of Talmudic Academies, Yeshivas, was expressed in a manifesto issued to Orthodox congregations by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis in the United States and Canada.

The appeal, which was signed by Rabbi M. S. Margolis, Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, Rabbi Israel Rosenberg, Dr. Bernard Revel and others, was issued on the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone for the Yeshiva College of America on May 1. The appeal urges upon American Jews that the most vital issue facing them is the problem of continuing higher Jewish learning in this country.

“The Torah has always been the foundation of our lives. Since we became a people it has been the secret of our existence among the nations of the world. The study and knowlege of the Torah have given us the strength to carry on until the present day. Wherever Jewish communities were scattered, they were accompanied by the Torah. The voice of Jacob has always been heard in the synagogues and in the houses of learning,” the Rabbis declared in their appeal.

“Today, if is our sincere and earnest desire to remain a distinct entity as behooves the descendants of a Godblessed race, to preserve the heritage of our fathers and to be a light to the world, we must emulate the action of our ancestors.

“Wherever they were exiled, they established houses of learning, Chedarim and Yeshivoth, small and large, so that the knowledge of the Torah might be increased and spread among all classes of the people. From these houses of learning, there would come wise, learned and God-inspired men who would influence their fellow Jews, natives of the land, to continue the way of Jewish life. From this, there would appear singularly talented men, even one in a hundred, who would be capable of being ordained to become a leader and teacher of influence, by their example and by the light of their learning, the entire community to walk in the ways of God.

“Judaism at present is living through a most difficult period in all the countries where Jewish communities are scattered. This situation is due to the great catastrophe, the result of the destructive world war which uprooted states and nations. Even the very existence of the old centers of learning in Europe and Palestine is endangered. They continue only because of the self-sacrifice of the students and deans of the old Yeshivas and institutions. Who, however, can predict their fate in the future?

“Here in America, conditions have arisen, due to the great prosperity which the Almight has bestowed upon us and due to the amazing growth of ignorance of things Jewish, which have brought about an increasing estrangement from Judaism. Ignorance of things Jewish, the main cause of all the evil, a submission to influences alien to the spirit of Judaism and the evil of apostacy are leading some of our people from the ways of Judaism and its holy traditions. There is no salvation from this threatening danger unless we collect all our strength and proceed with united force in the ways outlined to us by our rabbis and teachers of old, unless we unite and endeavor to raise the fortress of the Torah and to erect a Yeshiva which would be a shield against the dangers of laxity and Reform in this country.

“We are rendering our thanks to the Almighty that we have reached a stage when brilliant young men, born and reared in this country, are dedicating their living to the study of the Talmud and the Codes, devoted as they are to our people and to the Torah, with a view of becoming the leaders of the people to the glory of Israel,” the appeal declares.