The three-day convocation here marking the 81st Founders’ Day of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion closed today after observances that included the granting of honorary degrees to outstanding-American Jews in the secular and religious fields and meetings of Reform religious leaders from all parts of the country.
Addressing a banquet here last night, Simon Sobeloff, Solicitor General of the United States, declared that “hundreds and thousands of people are turning to religion, driven by a desperate need to find a meaningful philosophy of life.” Asserting that Judaism would not “deny the value of giving such seekers inner peace.” Mr. Sobeloff insisted that these people must “also be helped to understand that religion is not a means of unburdening men of their responsibilities. It is a call to assume burdens, to give life to the ethical and social ideals which from the days of the Hebrew prophets have been the core and the heart of what we have come to identify as the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition.”
Mr. Sobeloff and Dr. Samuel S. Hollender, former chairman of the board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, were awarded honorary Doctorates of Human Letters by HUC-JIR president Dr. Nelson Glueck for “outstanding contributions to our national life. Rabbi Edgar E. Siskin of Glencoe. Ill., was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity while Rabbi Frederic A. Doppelt of Fort Wayne, Ind., was given the degree of Doctor of Hebrew Letters, Services on the opening night of the three-day observance were dedicated to Dr. Julian Morgenstern, president-emeritus of the Seminary, who is celebrating his 75th birthday.
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