Programs for greater relief for aged rabbis, more unified congregational activities, and extension of religious work to small, unorganized Jewish communities were mapped out by the executive board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations at its semi-annual meeting here.
After a two-day convention in Temple Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, the board decided principally to seek active cooperation from conservative and orthodox congregations throughout the country in aiding superannuated rabbis who are now in distress and require assistance.
As provided in bequests to the union’s $197,000 synagogue pension fund, it will be made available for r# lief of orthodox, conservative and ### form rabbis. Enlargement of the ### will also be sought during 1933. ### resentatives of orthodox and conser#tive congregations will be asked to ### operate in distributing the relief to needy cases.
Despite sharply curtailed budgets, the board approved the plan of the board of managers of synagogue and school extension to carry on more intensively its survey of congregational activities this year.
This latter board will gather and tabulate the varied educational, religious and social programs conducted by the 281 member congregations of the union, separate the ephemeral from the more permanent items, and then endeavor to formulate the nucleus of a standard, sound, communal program for the congregations.
Attempts to advance extension work in 1,000 small cities and villages, in which but handfuls of Jews live, will be made this year, it was agreed. This will be carried on by regional rabbis, by local rabbis who cover nearby areas, and by advancement committees of both laymen and religious leaders.
During the past year, hundreds of small cities and towns were visited by volunteer laymen and rabbis at regular intervals, to stimulate Jewish activities, it was reported. A goal of 1,000 cities has now been set, however.
Appropriations of $496,379 for the Hebrew Union College and for the work of the various units of the U.A. H. C. were recommended for the coming year. This is $55,000 less than last year. Retrenchments since the peak budget of 1929 will reach $300,000, it was estimated.
The committee on good will between Christians and Jews was encouraged by the executive board to carry on its program of research and demonstrations in definite localities, educational work in seminars, and articles in the Christian religious and lay press, to foster harmony.
The department of synagogue and school extension reported that 133 publications were put out during the past year and that textbooks were supplied to 40,000 pupils.
Scholarships and special bequests to the Hebrew Union College reached $32,464 in the past year, the report of the board of governors of the college to the union’s executive board revealed.
Julius W. Freiberg, of Cincinnati, was appointed chairman of the program committee for the 33rd council of the union which is to convene in Chicago, June 18-22. The committee met Sunday night in Chicago.
In his opening address to the Milwaukee meeting, Ludwig Vogelstein, chairman of the executive board, declared that unless proper guidance is offered modern Jewish youth, the perpetuation of the Jewish religion is jeopardized.
“Without proper leadership young persons are apt to be submerged in rank materialism, in cheap amusements and doubtful pleasures, leaving them without any ideals, with a soul yearning for something, they don’t know how to define,” Dr. Vogelstein said.
The union has launched a definite program for the benefit of Jewish youth which has as its primary object the preservation of faith, he explained.
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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.
