A gift of $5,000 as a nucleus of a fund to support work by the Hadassah in religious education, was announced by Mrs. Irma L. Lindheim, president of the Women’s Zionist organization. Motty Eitongon, head of the Eitongen Schild Company, is the donor.
The plan of religious education includes a revival of traditional religious ceremonies. In a statement Mrs. Lindheim holds that it is incorrect to assign persecution of Jews as the chief reason for Judaism’s longevity. The real reason is a strict adherence to religious customs. It is because this adherence is waning that Judaism is threatened, she believes.
“The ceremonies of the Jewish religion are really the symbol of Jewish unity,” she said. “They are the concrete expression of a live Jewishness. The tendency has been to look upon observance of religious customs as somewhat anachronistic, but that viewpoint is a misconception of the real foundation of Judaism. In these ceremonies really lies the strength of Judaism. I am of the opinion that there is no more ffeceive way of bringing about an adjustment of the American Jewish child to his environment than by making Jewish customs and ceremonies so attractive that he will love them and want to understand them.”
The Hadassah proposes to mobilize the Jewish women in the United States through various organizations, to carry out its plan of home training intended to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of Jewish life.
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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.
