The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], December 28, 1956, Page Page Three, Image 3

About The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume] (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1939-1992

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fridoy, December 28, 1956
Thie Southern Jewish-Weekly
Combining The Jewish Journal, The Jewish Citizen and The Jewish News
An Independent Paper Serving American Citizens of Jewish Faith
seeks to serve the Jewish communities of the South with
an ORTHODOX conscience, a CONSERVATIVE tone, and a REFORM outlook.
Edited and Published by ISADORE MOSCOVITZ. B.S.J.
Subscription, one year, $3.00; two years, $5.00.
Upon expiration, unless notified to the contrary,
subscriptions are continued.
P. 0. BOX 3467 PHONE EL 5-3459 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Entered as Second-Class Matter, at the Post Office
Jacksonville, Florida, Under Act of March 3, 1879
Member, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Sigma Delta Chi, Kappa Tau Alpha,
Seven Arts Features and the Chamber of Commerce.
“The Oldest and Most Widely Circulated Jewish Publication
in this Territory”
Why Habbis Leave Home
iisH i • .a mH ~
others who were trained and ordained as rabbis? . . . About
1,000 of them have drifted into social and organizational work
as paid directors of communal institutions . . . Most of them
do not even care to be known by the title of rabbi... In addi
tion, several hundred have drifted away from the rabbinate
into commerce, industry, law and other secular fields ... As
matters now stand, there are only 2,485 rabbis affiliated with
the six rabbinical groups in this country ...
“The question arises: Why do rabbis cease to be rabbis
and drift into non-rabbinical fields today when there is a
great shortage of rabbis in this country? ... Is it the fact that
communal work is financially more rewarding than the rab
binate , . . Or is it that in many congregation rabbis cannot
get along with the lay leadership?
“All indications point that the latter may be the case,
since the salaries of rabbis—plus their income from the per
formance of marriage, bar mitzvah and other ceremonies
provide an income as good as that of a well-paid social
worker ...” T T ~ . ...
In commenting on this same subject, J. I. Fishbein, editor
of the Chicago Jewish Sentinel says as follows:
The most interesting aspect of this survey is that it com
pletely contradicts everything we have b.een told during re
cent years concerning the so-called “religious revival” sup
posedly taking place amongst American Jewry. Among other
things, we have been propagandized with the idea that there
is a shortage of rabbis. Now we discover that there are plenty
of rabbis, but that they don’t want pulpits!
The reason, of course, is well known to anyone who be
longs to a “shul.”
The average American Jew—most of whom usually be
come active in a synagogue, not out of religious conviction as
much as for social and business considerations—does not re
gard the rabbi as a spiritual leader in the fullest sense of the
term He considers him more or less a “shamus, whose main
job is to handle the details that go with running a “shul.”
He is a convenience to have around to perform necessary cere
monies, keep the congregants spiritually satisfied, and in
general, handle any details that arise during the week. We
doubt that there are more than a handful of synagogues in this
•r any other city in which the membership considers the rab
bi’s primary task to provide intellectual and spiritual leader
ship in the real meaning of the word, '
Furthermore, all of us know that most balabotim who
make up the board of directors of the average synagogue,
regard the rabbi as more or less of a lackey, who is paid to
perform certain duties, and whom they consider no less a
hireling than their secretary or office boy. They have little
if any respect for intellectual attainments, since their own
standards for judging success centers almost exclusively
around the accepted criteria of an individuals mcome. All
of us have at one time or another witnessed instances m
which a young rabbi has been forced to bow low and scrape
before some ignoramous on the board, or the president of
(Continued on Page 6)
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In a recent issue of The Southern
! Jewish Weekly, Boris Smolar, editor
| of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, to
1 which we have been subscribing for a
quarter of a century, raised the fol
| lowing interesting questions: “The
i revelation by the Jewish Statistical
Bureau that of the 4,257 rabbis in this
I country only about 2,500 actually hold
rabbinical posts in congregations, has
given many Jewish leaders food for
• thought . . . What happened to the
THE SOUTHERN JEWISH WEEKLY
: :
i)WOTMH^IjBBP^BM^.::-:-:’: : !-:
By Rabbi Samuel J. Fox
(Copyright, 1956, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)
QUESTION: Why are two cups
of wine used during the recitation
of the grace after the wedding
dinner?
ANSWER: The two cups of
wine serve two distinct purposes.
One is used for the grace itself,
since it is customary to recite the
grace over a cup of wine. The
other is used to recite the nuptial
blessings, which have already
been recited under the canopy, as
the second set of blessings.
*****
QUESTION: Why are the two
cups mixed together after the
grace and the nuptial blessings
have been recited?
ANSWER: This procedure indi
cates that these two occasions
have been fused into one proce
dure and that the feast which has
just been concluded has been no
ordinary feast; but a feast of a
special character the wedding
feast. Some like to think that the
mixing of the two cups symbolizes
the fusion of the hopes and ambi
tions of the two individuals who
have just been united in holy
matrimony v
*****
QUESTION: Is it true that ac
cording to original Jewish tradi
tion the girl had no right in the
selection of her future husband?
ANSWER: The very first Jew
ish marriages recorded in the
Bible show this to be far from the
truth. Rebecca and Rachael were
not the brides of Isaac and Jacob
without their consent. Jewish law
insists upon a freedom of choice
for both the groom and the bride.
While it is true that originally a
father could marry off an under
age daughter, even then the
daughter had the right to annul
the marriage when she became of
age.
Social conditions at various
times in history made it a social
custom that brides accepted the
judgment of their parents, as did
grooms in some instances. Legally,
however, the marriage still had to
be one of free will on the part of
both bride and groom. The very
fact that Jewish marriage is con
summated by a presentation of
the ring to the bride indicates a
free will act of presentation and
a free will acceptance.
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Quiz
Box
Between You and Me . . . .
BY BORIS SMOLAR 1 Copyright Jewish, TeJegraphk
THE NEW YEAR
The new year will be one of the most try
ing years for Israel in the field of internation
al developments . . . Already United Nations
| Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold indi
| cates that “a bitter pill” is being prepared for
I Israel to swallow . . . And the present talks
between Eisenhower and Nehru also do not
promise good for Israel . . . The shadow of
I imposed decisions looms over Israel, and
' '
these decisions may contain more than one “bitter pill” . . .
At present the United Nations, acting at the inspiration of the
United States, is preparing to appoint a special committee to
deal with the Arab-Israel problem . . . The recommendations
which this committee will submit, will probably be adopted
and thus become UN decisions ... As matters stand now,
when Israel has very few friends among the 80 member na
tions of the United Nations, the composition of the committee
will be of utmost importance . . . And a possibility exists that
the Asian-African bloc, plus the Soviet bloc, plus some of the
countries which are under the Vatican influence, may form a
majority in this committee . . . With the United States defi
nitely set on a policy of appeasing the Arab countries, and
Britain never siding with Israel for the sake of helping Israel,
the Jewish State is really exposed to all kind of dangerous
recommendations by this committee .. . Friends of Israel will,
therefore, face this year a tremendous task of mobilizing
public opinion against possible onslaught on Israel by the UN,
where the anti-Israel nations are gradually becoming an
effective majority . . .
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JACKSONVILLE 2, FLORIDA
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