Communication to the Editor
“Christ himself, it is written in St. Matthew, ate of the flesh of the paschal lamb killed according to Jewish ritual, at the Passover meal before he was taken to be crucified. How, therefore, can a believing Christian oppose schechita?” Chief Rabbi Herzog asked in the course of a public debate on the question of schechita which he had with Dr. Johannes Ude, Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Gratz, arranged by the Gratz Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Chief Rabbi Professor Herzog, in replying to Professor Ude, asked whether the Christian theologians present would agree to bandon certain Christian rites which they regarded as divinely ordained because of unscientific experiments. The opponents of schechita, he said, were entirely unscientific in their anti-schechita arguments.
A Catholic medical man, who took part in the discussion, quoted a number of scientific authorities to show that schechita is so far the most humane method known for slaughtering animals. A Christian, he said, could not be an opponent of schechita. He urged Christian authorities to examine the passage in St. Matthew referred to by Chief Rabbi Herzog, which would show them that believers in Christ could not join in an agitation to prohibit schechita.
THE EASTERN STAR CONTROVERSY
Editor, Jewish Daily Bulletin,
Sir:
According to your Bulletin of June 13th about 10,000 Jewish members of the Eastern Star Order in New Jersey have decided to withdraw from the Order as a result of the unwillingness of the Order’s authorities to rescind resolutions passed in recent years making Christian references in the ritual man datory upon the members.
As director of the South Bend Masonic Research and Study Club, and as one who received the degree of the Order of the Eastern Star. I would like to state my opinion in this matter.
As a member of the Jewish faith I am glad to see 10,000 of my coreligionists consciously fighting for their religious principles. Never-the less, in justice to the majority of the Christian members of the New Jersey Grand Chapter O. E. S. I would say that while it is true that the first three points of the Star, namely: Adah, Ruth and Esther, are Jewish characters. Martha and Electa are absolutely Christian characters in spirit and in truth. While it is true that the General Grand Chapter is trying to hold and regulate all the Grand Chapters of American (the Grand Chapters O. E. S. of New Jersey and New York are not members of the General Grand Chapter) as non-sectarian, yet the ritual is absolutely Christian, as far as I can see it.
The same applies to the Order of the Knight Templars and also the Scottish Rite branch of Masonry. After the lodge of Perfection, their degrees are based on the Christian faith, and no Mason of the Jewish faith has any right to take those degrees.
Yours truly.
Dr. Jacob Goldman.
South Bend, Ind., June 14, 1929.
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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.
