Discussing the “Ministering Functions of Religion,” Rabbi Samuel H. Goldenson delivered his inaugural sermon at Temple Emanu-El, Fifth Avenue and 65th Street, Saturday morning.
Dr. Goldenson was welcomed by the president of the congregation, Judge Irving Lehman, who revealed that Dr. Goldenson had asked that there should be no formal ceremony marking his induction. “I am happy indeed to be welcomed to the leadership of this congregation,” Dr. Goldenson said. “I am happy because it marks for me a greater responsibility. I hope you will want my services most earnestly. I believe in the communion of hearts, of life, and of soul. I shall stand here in your pulpit, but what I shall say will be determined by your wants, your response and your sympathy.”
Turning to the discussion of the three aspects of religion, Dr. Goldenson, who was formerly spititual leader of Temple Rodeph Sholom, Pittsburgh, declared that the first aspect was the cosmological one. “The ideas here speak of God in relationship to the Cosmos – His nature as the Creator, the supreme Architect of the universe.” The second point, he said, was that of social interest, social points of view and social program.
“And there is a third quality of religion,” he added, “which is perhaps the most important and most significant for human beings.” This quality, he pointed out, was the personal aspect, “religion as a personal experience, as it appeals to the individual and changes him to a personality.” The Ten Commandments, he declared, were addressed not ot the group, but to the individual.
Dr. Goldenson took up the question of character. “What is character?” he asked. “Everyone believes he or she possesses character. Let me look into the word character, break it into its ingredient parts, and find out whether we are really men and women of character.
“There is something distinctive and noteworthy about an idividual who is described as a character. The reason is that he has a certain amount of power. Because of that he lifts himself above the rest and becomes a character. He possesses power and power only, independence and independence only, freedom and freedom only.”
Another requisite of character, Rabbi Godenson said, is dependability. “Power becomes available only when we can predict its use. There is no position small enough not ot require controlled power. When power is controlled we are stable members of society.”
VIRTUE CONSECRATES POWER
The third requisite, according to Dr. Goldenson, is that the controlled power must be directed to worthy, useful ends. “Virtue,” he said, “is only the consecration of power.”
There are two tests, Rabbi Goldenson asserted, by which we can discover whether or not we have character. One is internal and the other external. The first we make by asking ourselves “upon what occasion have men and women come to me-only in insignificant, lighter moments? Then we have not impressed upon them our sincerity and goodness of heart.”
The external test is that of asking oneself whether he is living up to his professions, he said. “For example, we profess as Americans to love liberty. But do we love America enough to love liverty for someone else who doesn’t see eye to eye with us on questions of the structure of society or the economic order?
We are Jews, and as Jews we be# to a great profession, a great faith, a religion that is instinct with spirituality. To what extent do we live up to this profession? To what extent does this great synagogue, great in external splendor, make vocal and dynamic the spiritual clements of our religion? To what extent are we as individuals willing to pay the price of our Jewishness? And the price of Jewishness is always sacrifice. It takes strength, power and sacrifice to live up to the professions that we make.
“I have chosen this as the opening subject in my ministry in this temple because I believe that the ultimate solution of the problem of life lies here. We live in a ready-made world, and we are always looking for an instrumentality that would solve our problems for us.”
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.
