San Francisco Jewry Seeks New Ways of Awakening Jewish Conscious ness in New Generation (By Our San Francisco Correspondent)
If this be the age of youth, the Jewish child by no means has been overlooked.
In San Francisco as in other Jewish communities of the West, every effort of organized Judaism is being exerted today toward awakening a Jewish consciousness in the boy and girl that the coming generation may be equipped to assume the responsi-bilitics of Israel a few years hence.
Recreational groups, clubs, athletic teams, Bible study circles, and the like all catering to the varied interests of the modern Jewish boy and girl-are being conducted under the super vision of congregation authorities, with the sponsorship of Jewish leaders.
The whole modern tendency of infusing religious interest in the heart and mind of young Jewry by linking the synagogue with the diversified outside interests of the present-day boy and girl reached an impressive climax during the high holy days.
For the first time in the history of western Jewry, special children’s services were held in the afternoon of Yom Kippur at Temple Emanu-El, with Rabbi Louis I. Newman in the pulpit And the sermon that he preached to the children was as much an inspirational message to the parents as it was to the boys and girls who occupied a specially reserved section in the front pews of the colossal new temple.
While children’s services have been conducted successfully in New York for sometime, they were new to San Francisco and the impression that they made upon the young worshippers now is a subject of comment at Jewish gatherings in the western communities and of discussion in the western Jewish press.
Small girls sang in the choir. Boys took part in the service and read from the Torah. When the youngsters finally filed out there was a general feeling among the worshippers who represent the leaders of San Francisco Jewry that here was the last word in all that has been done in America to infuse a true love of Judaism and interest in Jewish affairs in the young of the present day.
There is no doubt but that the “experiment” of Yom Kippur not only will be continued as a permanent thing in San Francisco but will be copied by many other congregations in the West.
Congregation Emanu-EI has taken the lead for some years in the attention it has given to its religious school and to activities for the youth. With the recent completion of a spacious Temple House alongside of the new Temole. the congregation has been enabled to focus greater attention than ever before on religious education as well as in a diversity of other activities for the youth–athletics, dramatics, forensics, and the like-which make the Temple House a center for activities among the boys and girls of the Temple family.
This interest is not confined to Cogregation Emanu-EI Every other congregation in the West-Reform, Orthodox and Conservative-is devoting more attention to the youth than ever before; linking the religious school with recreational affairs as has never been tried in years past.
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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.
