J. D. B. News Letter

The Jewish religion is a way of life and has no formulated creed or articles of faith the acceptance of which brings redemption or salvation to the believer or divergence from which involves separation from the Jewish congregation, according to a summary exposition of the doctrines of the Jewish religion contained in a 24-page closely printed report just issued by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.

The fundamental doctrines of the Jewish religion are enumerated as the unity of God, the unity and brotherhood of the human family in its descent from man created in God’s own image, born free, with the ability of choosing between good and evil. The perfection of humanity through the unfolding of the divine powers in man as the aim of history, the goal of which is the Messianic era, when a divine kingdom of truth and righteousness will be established on this earth. This era will usher in a social order of human perfection and bliss, of peace without end, when none shall hurt or destroy and when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. As a definite part of this conception, the Jews are regarded as a unique people that shall never cease from being a nation before the Lord forever.

It is not claimed that this people is better than others or that it possesses a special share of the divine love, but the People of Israel have been selected as a society of priests and a holy nation chosen from all peoples to proclaim the unity of God and to worship Him. Because of Israel’s selection from among the peoples, they have been judged more severely by God. Therefore, for their iniquities, they have been dispersed and have suffered, but in the end will be restored unto the Land of Israel. In support of this there is cited Amos and also Deuteronomy: “If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee.” This restoration will be not merely to compensate the people for all its sufferings, “but to enable Israel, unhampered by unfriendly environment, to carry on its work as an exemplary nation.” The glory of God itself, it is sometimes declared, will be the power that will perfect the world as the Kingdom of God. At other times it is taught that the agent will be the Messiah and again it is asserted that it will be Israel.

These principles are thus summarized: The choice of Israel, its imperishability and restoration, and the blessed future that awaits mankind, whether the immediate agent for its accomplishment be the Messiah, or God’s glory itself, or the people of (Continued on Page 4)

Israel itself. Another doctrine of Judaism is obedience to the Torah, the Law, the emphasis being not on belief but on righteous conduct. The Torah, written and oral, preeminently emphasizes the principle of justice. Other principles stressed are purity and truth, optimism and hope, joy and thanksgiving, holiness and the love of God.

Righteousness and compassionate love are demanded for the fatherless, the widow, the oppressed, the stranger and even the criminal. Charity is Zedakah, justice to the needy, and compassion is required even for the dumb animal. Other fundamental teachings are freedom of will and human responsibility, divine providence, retribution, immortality of the soul, resurrection of the dead, the power of repentence and of prayer, the need of study and education, and sanctification of labor.

Discussing the attitude of the Jewish religion toward the Gentile world, it is stated that although the Jewish faith brooks no compromise with other faiths, the Jewish religion, unlike other creeds, does not consign an unbeliever to eternal doom, for a man is not judged by creed but by deeds, inasmuch as it is taught that the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to come. While once the Jews carried on an extensive proselytizing propaganda, these activities have since been neglected. The Jewish religion enjoins application of one law for Jew and non-Jew.

The summary closes with a description of the varied forms of organized Jewish activity in the United States, mentioning all principal organizations and epitomizing the results achieved by them. Reference is made to the fact that the Jew’s interest in Palestine is universal and age-old, and mentions the deepning of this interest by the issuance of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 pledging the support of the British government toward the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, the awarding of the Mandate for Palestine by the League of Nations, and the adoptions the deepening of this interest by 1922 favoring the Jewish Homeland.

The amount of $15,555,519 has been raised by the Zionist movement through the Palestine Restoration Fund, the Palestine Foundation Fund and the United Palestine Appeal, from July 1918 to the end of 1926, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee distributed $67,360,000 between October 1914 and the end of 1926 for the relief of Jewish and also non-Jewish war sufferers and of Jewish pogrom victims in Russia, Poland, Roumania and 30 other countries, according to the summary.