The recommendation of Julius Rosenwald for the abolition of sacramental wine was opposed yesterday by Rabbi G. Wolf Margolis, President of the Assembly of Hebrew Orthodox Rabbis, who said:
"Mr. Rosenwald is a philanthropis, but he is not an authority on religious matters. The reform rabbis at the convention are not authorities on the Talmud, which they have discarded. Their opinion as to the obligation to use sacramental wine should not have great weight."
Rabbi Solomon E. Jaffee (##) the question of the religions obligation of the use of wine (##) thoroughly threshed out before House and Senate committees (##) Washington before the Volstead act was passed and that both committees were convinced that (##) should be exempted. Putting aside the question of necessity, Mr. Samuel Buchler said that the use of the wine, as an ancient religious custom, should be exempt from attack.
"Grape juice, according to Jewish law, is not wine, and hence cannot replace wine in the ritual, " declared Dr. Philip Klein, Rabbi First Hungarian Congregation of Ohov Zodok.
Dr. Jacobs, Rabbi of Montefiore Congregation and Chaplain of Sing Sing, suggested that instead of revoking the laws completely there should be "stricter regulation and prosecution of wrongdoing individually."
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.