The social and economic upheavals of the industrial revolution and two world wars has caused a breakdown in traditional Jewish family life, Rabbi Jeshaia Schnitzer, who is also a social worker, declared today. As a result, he said, the family has abdicated its role to the synagogue and the communal organization. He spoke at the fourth annual assembly of rabbis and social workers at the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.
Dr. Schnitzer pointed out that the synagogues today, despite their growth in attendance, no longer fulfill their past function as a place of prayer, nor can they adequately give the sense of “belonging” and the moral guidance that is “properly” the role of the parent.
Stressing that delinquency in Jewish youths has been found to exist among families in middle income groups, Dr. Schnitzer noted that despite material advantages, a void was found to exist between children and parents. Emotional neglect had replaced material disadvantage. Furthermore, Dr. Schnitzer stated, that neither the synagogue nor the communal organization was capable of providing the moral-ethical development necessary for the growth and maturation of Jewish youth.
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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.
