Letter from Ezekiel, Jacob to Morais, Sabato. Cincinnati, OH; Jan 1885 · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Letter from Ezekiel, Jacob to Morais, Sabato. Cincinnati, OH; Jan 1885

Author

Ezekiel, Jacob

Morais, Sabato

Date Created

24 January 1885

Location(s)

United States -- Ohio -- Cincinnati

United States -- Ohio

Format

4 pages on 3 sheets

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?

Language(s)

English

Source

Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Sabato Morais Collection, Box 3, Folder 10

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3mk65t5z/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3mk65t5z

Provenance

Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx3FF10_16.xml

content

Ezekiel & Bernheim,
Auctioneers.
Nos 134 Main and 31 Hammond Streets.
Cincinnati, Jan. 24th 1885.

My Valued Friend.
As the Sabbath has passed and I feel like paying off the debts due to my dear friends in the way of corresponden-ce, considering you in the category, I do not know what I can do better than indite a few lines to you, hoping they may come to hand in due time, and meet you our dear Nina and every member of your dear family in the full enjoyment of health. I peruse the weekly journals as they appear, and always find your name conspicuous in all that tends to the welfare of our people and the advancement of the true principles of our religion. your time appears to be pretty much taxed in writ wri-ting for the press, as well attending the various institu- tions of learning. I trust the Ministers Meeting passed off pleasantly at New York it being the first of the series we must hope it will prove the harbinger of mutual good-will among our leaders, which will again unite us in the effort to make a more com-plete Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and place our institution of learning on a firm basis. I must at this point say that I was somewhat

surprised, and no less chagrined, at your attitude to-ward our College, and the idea advanced to form a conservative Hebrew College in the East. I really thought that past experience of "Maimonides College" and its fate would have deterred another attempt to renew the structure, not but that I sympathised with that praisewor-thy institution during its existence. but the the utter im-practicability at this time to renew the effort; our College has too strong a hold on the Israelites of this country to ^ be either supplanted or a rival institution in-augurated. The fruit which our College has foun[?] ripened I know must be admitted to be above all censure,well aware I am of the indiscreetness at times of its President which we all admit, but as ^ I have written to you on other occassions, that Dr Wise will outlive his enemies, and the College must outlive him. I do hope mean personal enemies, for I know that personally no one stands more exalted in the opinion of Dr Wise than you do, and I have no reason to suppose that it is ^ not visa versa, indiscreet the Dr is, and we all freely ad-mit it, but the managers of our College will always endeavour to keep it unsullied, that the fruit we pluck from it annually will never cause us to thwart nourishing it with all the energy and diligence that has hitherto been bestowed upon it, and I must freely say that I was really surprised at your remarks concerning our College. A "Conservative College" here what can you teach

other than what we do. You have been with us and know too well that no influence is brought to bear by any of professors to divert or bias the minds of the students from the teachings of our Sages of blessed memory but they are taught from the original sources and their various commenta-ries and left to form their own conclusions when driftedaway from our institution into the world at large, it is among the impracticabilities to undertake to ham-per the minds of our students with either reform or orthodoxy the spirit of our age does not admit of it. I only wish we had a graduate to fill the vacancy in the Beth El-Emeth Cong. I am sure he would fill the posi-tion with credit to himself and honor to the Israelites of Philadelphia. My dear and valued friend I have known you long enough not to impeach your honesty in all youwrite and say. I am truly aware that the rapid en-croachment made on your time cherished principles of our blessed religion must be galling to you in the ex-treme, all we can do is to remain steadfast to what we think is correct, and accept the situation we are placed in. I am sure we could not have had any one more antagonistical to our College and its President than Dr Fred. De Sola Mendes. Look at his position now! it is the only way to get things right, is by holding on: as the late governor Wise of Va once said at a convention in the Secession times, was "to fight the Union in the Union under the Stars and the Stripes" not to seceede secede.

therefore instead of encouraging Secession of Congregations from our Union, let its friends and enemies encour-age and strengthen the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and by that means we can get good men in its management, and instead of some of our Eastern Rabbis (I will confine the number to a very few) endeavouring to popularize themselves, let them en-deavour to popularize the Union by adhering to it. and influencing others to join it. No my valued friend, it is the dollars and cents taken annually from the coffers of their Congregations that they wish to retain there causes the one or two to use some dissatisfaction with the College and its President as a pretext for to withdraw from the Union. I think that I could name a gentleman in New York that does not stand much over six feet as one in that category. I know it has been a practice among our people for years, that if they are not pleased with the Parnass of their Congrega-tion, to remain away from the Synagogue. The re-ligious services is but a secondary consideration, and so it is with Union and College, as the President of the College is distasteful[?] distasteful to some they are down on the Union and College as though the Union has no other motive than the mere College to foster-- I hope to read your next article taking the stand of Fred De Sola Mendes and go with us heart- and hand I fear to have tired you with this long rigmarole of College dic-tion, but it is from the impulse of my heart. May God bless you and yours with health and life. And with love to all. I am as ever. With sentiment & high personal regard and esteem
Yours very truly--
Jacob Ezekiel

Identifier

p3mk65t5z

identifier

SMBx3FF10_16