The intellectual and moral idealism in the leadership of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise was eulogized last night by Professor Albert Einstein, in an address delivered at a testimonial dinner at the Hotel Astor on the occasion of Dr. Wise’s sixtieth birthday celebration.
“Nature has endowed Stephen Wise with the qualities of a leader,” Professor Einstein declared, “and further given him a devotion to worthy goals without which consecrated work is meaningless. He combines in rare fashion love for intellectual and moral ideals with an equally rare perception of the practical and the necessitous.”
Responding to the addresses of the preceding speakers, Rabbi Wise described himself as “nothing more than a symbol of the causes which we together cherish. It is not merely I who am celebrated, but our common hopes as Jews and Americans. If it has been possible for me to stand with the least effectiveness as a symbol, it has been not because of my gifts but chiefly because of the gift of boundless and unfailing loyalty to the communities to which I have ministered on both shores of the continent.”
STATEMENT OF FAITH
In what might be described as a statement of faith, Dr. Wise declared, “I have believed and I have declared throughout my ministry that the Jew has entered into a precious and sacred heritage. He must be neither ashamed nor unequal to that heritage. I believe that the Jew must continue to live and that he will live and that moreover, in the Jewish national home of Palestine the Jew may have a resurgence of that morally and spiritually creative life which alone has made his people immortal.
“I believe that Jew and Christian must strive together in the interest of a deeper and finer understanding. I believe that, we celebrate today the deathless faith of the Jew in the guardian of Israel, in the immortality of the Jewish people and in the inviolable character of our obligations to one another as brothers who are the children of the living God.”
A BEACON LIGHT
Aldermanic President Bernard S. Deutsch, who is also president of the American Jewish Congress, declared that Rabbi Wise “stands as a beacon light, guiding safely to the shores of Israel many a storm-tossed ship which has wavered from its true course. He is the staunch proponent of unity for his race, and truly the bulwark of Judaism.”
Bainbridge Colby, in his introductory remarks, outlined and lauded the causes for which Dr. Wise has struggled.
“Every worthy cause has stirred his voice,” he asserted.
Judge Julian W. Mack declared in his address that Dr. Wise is “ever persistently persuading the minds and stirring the souls of his fellow men, and especially his coworkers in any undertaking.”
Sidney Hillman, labor leader, paid tribute to Dr. Wise’s championing of the rights of labor and of justice for the oppressed groups of this country.
Other speakers at the dinner, which was held under the auspices of a citizens’ committee headed by Bainbridge Colby, former Secretary of State, included Mayor LaGuardia, Morris Rothenberg, Rabbi Louis I. Newman, Rabbi Sidney E. Goldstein, Dr. John Haynes Holmes, Joseph M. Levine and Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick.
Reviewing Dr. Wise’s activity in the field of Zionism, Morris Rothenberg, president of the Zionist Organization of America, declared that “the Zionist movement owes much to Stephen S. Wise. In dark hours Dr. Wise has been a pillar of strength; in happy days. a source of inspiration; at all times a watchful defender of fundamental Zionist rights and principles.”
Rabbi Louis I. Newman, of Temple Rodeph Sholom, described Dr. Wise’s leadership in the American rabbinate, and asserted that the veteran Jewish leader is the embodiment of the heroic legacy of the rabbi. Rabbi Sidney E. Goldstein, Dr. Wise’s associate at the Free Synagogue, eulogized his activities in religious and political life.
NON-JEWISH TRIBUTE
“It is a happy thing to see Gentiles everywhere joining with Jews in celebrating Rabbi Wise’s birthday,” declared Dr. John Haynes Holmes of the Community Church.
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, in his address, agreed with Dr. Holmes in saluting Rabbi Wise in the name of the non-Jews.
Professor Albert Einstein’s address follows:
“It is not easy to be a good teacher of children. For it is difficult to recognize and develop the good, or successfully restrain the bad in nature. Nevertheless. it is easier to guide children for they seek guidance.
“To be a teacher of adults is far more difficult for, though in urgent need of leadership, they wish themselves to lead and rule.
“Only true intellectual and spiritual superiority make for truly effective work among adults. Thus, he must have personality, grace and eloquence lest he become a preacher in the desert,– a preacher to empty seats. It is no mean task to make truth palatable rather than hard and repulsive. The task of the Jewish spiritual leader is particularly difficult in that, by the tradition of his people, he is not invested with divine powers which would immunize his utterances from the criticisms of the community.
“Nature has endowed Stephen Vise with the qualities of a leader, and further given him a devotion to worthy goals without which consecrated work is meaningless. He combines in rare fashion love for intellectual and moral ideals with an equally rare perception of the practical and the necessitous.
“What I esteem above all in him is his courageous efforts to elevate the self-respect of the Jewish people. This is bound up with a deep tolerance for and penetrating understanding of everything human. Thus in the end, although a warrior for righteous causes, he is forgiving and tolerant.
“His devotion to the aims of the Zionist movement have gained for this great undertaking many friends among Jews and non-Jews. For this we thank him.
“On this occasion we extend to him our selfish wish that his extreme vitality and health may hold out against the great pressure of the duties which confront him. The rest we leave to him convinced that he will know what to do.”
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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.
