Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, will be observed by Jews throughout the world from sundown today to sundown tomorrow, bringing to a close the ten days of prayer and penitence which ushered in the New Year 5709.
Special services have been arranged at Ellis Island for displaced Jews awaiting admission to the United States. Services have also been arranged for Jewish servicemen and in Jewish institutions for the sick and aged.
Progress towards freedom and the future promise that Israel holds were stressed in a nation-wide broadcast by former Governor Herbert H. Lehman and Dr. Nelson Glueck, president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in a Yom Kippur program arranged by the American Jewish Committee. Gov. Lehman hailed the establishment of the elate of Israel and the promise it gives of creating a democratic oasis in the Middle East, while Dr. Glueck pointed out that “there is an inseparable connection between peace in Palestine and peace on earth.”
Palestine has long been “a scene of suffering, a symbol of tragedy,” Gov. Lehman said, but the problem is nearing settlement. “Today, with the new state of Israel an established fact, we can hope at last for a happy outcome. The new draft constitution of Israel is dedicated to ‘the sanctity of life and the dignity of man.’ It is described with pride, by those who wrote it, as an attempt to reproduce ‘the spirit of the United States Constitution.’ Israel is now functioning on the democrat is principle of equal rights for all within its province, regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.”
CONNECTION BETWEEN PEACE IN PALESTINE AND PEACE ON EARTH IS EMPHASIZED
Dr. Glueck, speaking from Cincinnati, emphasized the need for spiritual fortitude and vision “to withstand the ordeals of our era.” The existence of the state of Israel, “whish can neither be denied nor destroyed,” is a factor of great promise, he declared. “There is an inseparable connection between peace in Palestine and peas in the birthplace of universal religious conscience is of fundamental importance for our entire world.”
The Day of Atonement, Dr. Glueck pointed out, “occurs in a period of deep dismay and widespread physical and emotional disturbance.” The Jewish spiritual tradition, he said, “teaches us that there is no divorce possible between our relationship to God and our duties to our fellowmen and theirs to us.” He added that America has an important role to play in the world, “and Judaism a great mission in America and to the ends of the earth.”
The choir of the Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, under the direction of Dr. Carl Grimm, rendered the traditional High Holiday music, including the Kol Nidre service. The broadcast was hoard through the facilities of the Columbia Broadcasting System.
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