December 20, 19M
CANADIAN  JEWISH
Chanukah Greetings
The Finest of Fruits, Groceries and Meats
WHERE QUALITY COUNTS AND SAVE MONEY
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(Aboth, 1. J). These three pillars have broken down. The Torah, both as the supreme divine authority to which all unconditionally subordinate themselves, and as a study, has been abandoned. People cannot be guided and directed in their religious, moral and ethical conduct by something they wro wholly ignorant of, of the existence of which they are hot even conscious. The service of the synagogue la in a dangerously weakened condition^ There is no urge for spirituality, for the inwardness of prayer, for prayer In general; there is no hunger of the soul for God; there Is no belief in reward and punishment in a Iifev beyond, and m the immortality of the sbuL The Sabbath and the festivals, with the exception of Tom Kippur, are not observed. As to charity and acts of lovingkindness. they ceased to be a great religious ideal, for too pursuance of which  people have
great incenUvc.
Yet. there is still some kind of a Judaism. There are still ^congregations and �yn*gogoe*k The Jews still believe in and practice certain things. What are they? What does- the Judaism, mainly, of this Continent, consists of? 1 shall list those, aeflgjooa etewent* areording to the significance attributed to them and to. their observance by the large Jewish masse*:
1. Clreusnrteion- It 4s atill getter-
but as a
religious rite by a Jewish Mohel, Is it still the covenant (B*rith) between God and Israel (Gen. XVII. 10), or, at least a symbol of the covenant, like the:Sabbath (Exodus XXXI, 17) ? As there Is no covenant any more there can be no symbol �of it. It is greatly surprising that I* The J^wiah-.I^ttirary, vol. I, edited by Rabbi 3Leo Jung (New York, 1*28), an authoritative exposition Of orthodox Judaism, Gen. XVII. 9-11, that enjoin circumcision, stand as the motto of the whole work 'all alone in the centre of the first page; This is surprising, as the Sabbath was equally a symbol of the covenant In rabbinic Judaism. Has the Sabbath, one of the two symbols of the 3*rith> been officiaHr die-carded even in. orthodox Judaism?
2. Cemetery. The centre of Jew-, ish religious gravity has shifted from the Irving to the dead, from the synagogue to the cemetery. The latter has become much more im-puitauti la ai�en �y�b greatsr carp, ^ is oftener Visited. Is. in very many places, much more beautiful, than the synagogue. Very . many belong to a congregation Just for. the sake of the cemetery. /Everybody want* to-be buried in a Jewish cemetery. There is growing up a cult of the dead and the cemetery'. The recital ot the KaddlseTas"a~'praTeT fWf the� dead, formerly a simple act of piety, holds a unique place In the service both of orthodox and re-Xumwd. Judaism. In J^^jn^y syssnragnea there would be no
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ices, especially on week-days, if it were not for the kaddisb-sayers who make up the Minyan. In many congregations, also in. reformed ones, there have been Instituted memorial services at the cemetery that, as a rule, are held on the Sunday before Tom Kippur. When Mazkir is recited all synagogues here are full to overflow, also in Europe; In the reformed Temple the Memorial Service on Yom Ki^r pur is the central feature of the day. It seems that Jews can pray, and pray . inwardly and from the heart, only for the dead; All this 'is: all the more strange and interesting, as the jews, as we said already, don't believe any more in reward (paradise) and punishment (hell), in the resurrection, and even �in ihe immortality of the soul. What the driving power behind this cult of.the dead is is hard to ascertain as yet. To all appearances, it is believed, as in the ages before .that, the dead JlysggJ***' where. In some " shadowy SheoT (nether-world > in the twf.ijrhi of consciousness as shosts. and that they can return to do some harm to the living.
J. Yotn Kippur. It is kept,
but only as a fast-day. as in the time when the jsrea; prophet lived, www�W^uUfc*r o� iiat. JUVU-th chapter of -Isaiah, tha: is the Haph-torah at the additional iMussaph* service on Torn Kippur. There are no preparations made for It by spirffuaT e^eWtsr*.
the soul and its reconciliation with God, atonement, penitence.. "Fshu-vaif, are not thought of on the day. and there is no outburst of emotion, except when the memorial service is performed. Many attend services, quite a few at the cost of great sacrifices, the majority do not attend, but almost all fast. Very many; of those who attend do not pray; those who do. mechanically mumble the � prayers they, do nor understand.
Why is the Yoni Kippur still kept ? The answer would need a lengthy historical and psychologi-. cal dissertation for which there is no room in this paper. But from the conclusion the careful reader might get some hints.
In this connection we must mention the case of the Rosh Hashen-ah. It was intended, .as it is evident from the Torah. and the Prayer Book, for a memorial and per, iten-tial day, and it was tf.uir.'y that In the ages of faith. In our a?e it has
become the JewTsTT ye.-nr'Tggr^'ga?". wha: the :?::cco:h was ir. pre-Juda-istio times. This :* *.*;:rv.;s. as ' it occurs to no Jew'. to -' ^sr.vioy :iv Jewish date in any' o> his deslin??. The Rowh Hasho-.i.V :s ' :,'*:?>�: :t> -religious chara^r. :: :s se-
cularized, it ts o?wrv^5 .*:?:> b> e\-�tJLBfC3.-S of   gTectir.*   .'ards.   for' which reason ;: ioe* -vt \Wserve a separate- n-asN'r :~
4 Wedding: Th- s.'*.�r:r.:-.:ra: or. of marriage by � reL:�"-or. .�        ts-^.er-