Services were held here last night as part of the annual Marshall Day Memorial Exercises in honor of the late Louis Marshall, a native of this city. Max L. Stolz, prominent local attorney and member of the Marshall family, presided over the event, which took place in the gymnasium of the Syracuse Jewish Communal Center of which the former Marshall home is a part. Tribute to the great Jewish leader was paid by several speakers.
Rabbi Philip Bernstein of Temple Brith Kodesh, Rochester, was the principal speaker. Discussing the German question, he advised the audience that the best way to meet it is “to be upright, like Louis Marshall, and give the best of ourselves”.
“Every Jew,” Rabbi Bernstein said, “holds within his hand the destiny of his people. Therefore, we must give the finest of ourselves, so that our work might be a credit to the entire Jewish people. We must serve our people, even as Louis Marshall did, working day and night for them. Too many of our leaders today, because of financial reasons, are standing inactively behind. Louis Marshall was never afraid of being a Jew, was never afraid to stand for the honor and welfare of his people. He never cringed. He always sought fairness and justice.
“Louis Marshall once said that there is no trouble in Judaism that cannot be solved by more Judaism. An ignorant Jew cannot know the meaning of self-respect. And first of all, we must have self-respect. And to be self-respectful, we need a Jewish education, a knowledge of Jewish lore. Judaism is a mature religion, and to know it thoroughly, one must be intelligently versed in Jewish history and culture.”
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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.