(News Letter from Philadelphia)
There is a ripple of unrest in the stream of Jewish life in Philadelphia. Its origin may be traced to several sources. That it is gaining in momentum is quite evident. Left unchecked it may assume threatening proportions.
Like the secular, so the Jewish community of Philadelphia has grown accustomed to be idolized. And no wonder. Here in this “cradle of liberty” have been laid the foundations for a number of the most substantial institutions-substantial in the cultural and spiritual sense-functioning on behalf of American Jewry. The Jewish Publication Society of America, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Jewish Theological Seminary, to mention a few-not only had their origin here but are still drawing a considerable portion of their sustenance. This should not be surprising. It is only natural that such men as Isaac Leeser, Sabatto Morais, Moses Dropsie, Mayer Sulzberger and, to differentiate between the dead and the living, Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen, and Dr. Cyrus Adler, all Philadelphians, should leave a lasting imprint upon Jewish life in this country.
PHILADELPHIA JEWISH COMMUNITY MODEL OF ITS KIND
Visitors to this city of brotherly love have not been reluctant to sing its praises, with the result that a certain air of self-satisfaction has become not one of its least noticeable characteristics. In its response to the national, as well as the local obligations this spirit has been evoked. Indeed, it has even been exploited to very good effect. Thus the records show that in its Foreign Relief activities the Jewish community of Philadelphia stands out as one of the most generous. In its Palestine endeavor it has assumed a first rank position. The Philadelphia branches of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and of the United Synagogue of America are perhaps two of the most active organizations of their kind in the country. In the local charities the same attitude obtains. Such men as Mr. Julius Rosenwald of Chicago, Mr. Mortimer M. Schiff and Mr. Louis Marshall of New York, on numerous occasions, have been quite frank in their admission that they view the Jewish community of Philadelphia as a model of its kind in this country, setting standards which other communities find difficult to reach. This is still true today except that.
The last campaign to raise the sum of $1,650,000 for the annual maintenance of the Federation of Jewish Charities, the great rallying center for the entire Jewish community, was by common consent the most hectic, the most uncertain in the local history of Jewish philanthropy. That the Federation would not find its annual effort easy sailing was anticipated. The appointment of Mr. Louis Wolf, one of the most influential members in the Jewish community, to the position of chairman of the campaign committee, it was thought, would be sufficient to offset the difficulty. It may be that under the leadership of someone other than the dominating personality of Mr. Wolf greater difficulties might have been encountered with the results less encouraging. Be that as it may, the campaign served to bring to the fore a number of problems that had remained in an incipient stage for some time.
PROBLEM OF KASHRUTH
One or two examples will suffice: Despite the fact that the preponderant majority of the Jewish residents of Philadelphia are either orthodox or conservative in their attitude towards Jewish life; despite the fact that out of twelve or fifteen English speaking rabbis in the city only three are exponents of reformed Judaism, with only two reformed pulpits from which to expound their doctrines, little thought was given, in the past, to the problem of Kashruth as it affected the Federation Campaign. Invariably the campaign headquarters were open on Saturday; and all the meals served in connection with the various functions of the campaign were visibly non-kosher. In the past there was slight remonstrance. This year there was organized opposition. It will not be long before the secret will be out, that eight of the leading English speaking rabbis in the city officially addressed a communication to the chairman of the campaign committee requesting that the Federation’s functions be Kosher. This communication resulted in the assurance that the wishes of the rabbis would be reckoned with and that wherever actual Kosher dinners would not be feasible the meal served would have fish for its main dish. Before the campaign was much under way this agreement was forgotten in a few instances. Rather than jeopardize the success of the campaign these rabbis, occupying the majority of the leading pulpits of the city, agreed to wait until this annual money-raising event was over and then bring the matter to a head.
As these lines are written a number of the directorates of the leading synagogues in the city have already formally indorsed the stand taken by the rabbis and are preparing a rather definite set of resolutions to the officers and directors of the Federation. Resolutions and agitations of this sort never did tend to solidify a community.
In passing it might be mentioned that this total disregard by the campaign authorities not only irritated the conservative rabbis in their relationship to the Federation but served to stimulate them to greater activity on behalf of traditional Judaism generally. They feel that with only three reform rabbis as against twelve or fourteen of their own, not to mention the Yiddish speaking, strictly orthodox group, more of the traditional Jewish spirit should manifest itself in the Jewish community-feel it and are contemplating a program with that in view. But that is another story.
When Mr. Jacob Billikopf came to this city eight years ago to accept the position of executive director of the Federation of Jewish Charities, an effort was made to reconstruct the old Federation so that it might be all inclusive in so far as the various philanthropies are concerned and thoroughly representative of all the elements in the Jewish community. To a very large extent this effort was successful. Before long the Federation obtained a membership of approximately 18,000 men and women. With probably one or two exceptions all the philanthropic and educational agencies functioning on behalf of the community were amalgamated in the new Federation. The budget was increased from $80,000 to $1,600,000.
While there has been no appreciable decline in the membership of the Federation there has sprung up any number of independent philanthropies, duplicating the work of the Federation. This has not been a source of strength to the parent body. In the course of the past six months five or six of these independent institutions conducted drives independently, with the result that the community as a whole was a bit exhausted when the big event of the year-the annual maintenance campaign of the Federation-was launched. How these problems will be solved is difficult to foretell. That they are serious and demand a solution is commonly admitted.
THE ATTITUDE TO PALESTINE
In the matter of Palestine, the Jewish community stands as divided today as it was before the Balfour Declaration. The hope entertained by some of the leaders that the completion of the Jewish Agency would bring about a change of heart on the part of some of the older members of the Jewish community failed to materialize. What progress the Palestine movement has made in this city in recent years-and it has made considerable progress in the last five years-has been from the bottom up and not from the top down.
The annual campaign for the United Palestine Appeal in this city is scheduled to take place the early part of May. The quota set for the current year is $350,000. The leaders of the Zionist forces are not unmindful of the difficulties they will face. As indicated, some still cling to the hope that the Jewish Agency may serve as a magic wand to bring about the desired harmony in the city of Brotherly Love and remove the indifference.
What will this indifference lead to? How will it react on the other agencies? Is it really undermining the spirit of harmony to which so much of the success in the past has been rightly attributed? Serious minded Jewry of Philadelphia is thinking.
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.
