Rabbinical Association Convention Discusses Wartime Religious Problems

Problems of religious life during the war crisis were discussed at great length at the 17th annual convention of the Rabbinical Association of the Hebrew Theological College held in the Sherman Hotel here. The convention concluded with a resolution urging every member of the Association to work in behalf of the United Service Organization.

Rabbi Israel Gerstein of Chattanooga, Tennessee, read a paper on “The Rabbi and the Men in the Camp” in which he indicated the growth of interest in religion among the Jewish soldiers. Rabbi Lieutenant Max Braude, Jewish Chaplain of Fort Knox, Kentucky, described the nature of his office. Rabbi E. Louis Cardon of Springfield, Illinois, General Convention Chairman, pointed out that the interest of clergymen in the welfare of a soldier usually increases the loyalty of his entire family toward religious institutions. Formal treatment of the theological problems raised by the war appeared in a philosophical thesis by Rabbi Manuel Laderman on the subject “An Attempt At A Religious Answer to the Present Crisis.”

Great attention was also given to the release-time plan for religious education through the public school system. Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin, Educational. Director of the Associated Hebrew Schools of Chicago, lead the discussion in a paper entitled “Religious Education and the Public School.” The convention recommended that its members study carefully any plan for linking religious education with the public school system in their respective communities before taking a stand upon the matter. Rabbi Simon Dolgin of Los Angeles outlined the relevance of the ritual law to modern educational problems.

Dr. Laderman, Rabbi of the Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver, Colorado, was elected President of the Association. He succeeds Rabbi Oscar Z. Pasman of Ottawa, Canada.