Letter from Morais, Sabato to Blumenthal, Joseph. Philadelphia, PA; Jul 1892
- Title
- Letter from Morais, Sabato to Blumenthal, Joseph. Philadelphia, PA; Jul 1892
- Date Created
- 27 July 1892
- Format
- 1 page on 1 sheet
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 6, Folder 10
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3r20sg28/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3r20sg28
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx6FF10_10.xml
- content
-
C
O
P
Y
Philadelphia, July 27, 1892.
Hon. Joseph Blumenthal,
My dear Sir:
Enclosed you will find my communication to Mr. Bernstein. Should your mind suggest another, let me know your views unhesitatingly. I confess that experience has set me against second hand pupils. You will remember the case of Fried-laender, on whom we spent time and money to no purpose, and that of Schlepinger, which was altogether very disappointing. I very much regret that the youth mentioned in Dr. Freidenwald's re-cent letters to me, did not apply. Possibly, the Orphan Asylum, of which he is an inmate saw fit to send the youth to Cincinnati. The requirements in its college are fewer than in our Seminary. The Rabbis it ordains need not be Talmudists nor even Hebraists. The ability to speak readily, with an odor of scholarship, is what gains for all of them lucrative positions. Orthodoxy or heterodoxy enters not into the question. Now, I do want our students to graduate as learned youths in the true sense of the word. I do want them to have settled principles, but I feel that unless their acquaintance with idiomatic English is thorough, unless they can command attention by an eloquence flowing from the heart and supported by erudition, they will never compete with W's pupils. It is a thousand pities that natives do not form the bulk of our students. The two whom I have under my strict supervision give hopes, but they are too young, and con-servatism needs now a half a dozen at least to defend it intell-igently and approvedly. In my reply to Mr. Cohen, I freely ex-pressed my ideas. I could not approve of placing in our new home, a person whose lack of knowledge of the vernacular, and whose tout ensemble might fail to command the reverence due to one vir-tually the principal guide of our scholars. Would to God that we could fill the Seminary with those "to the manner born", but N.Y., from where they ought to come, did not supply that dedideratum. As to the present season, I understood that an occasional session was to have been had. Though the heat is simply terrific, I have managed to instruct my pupils, even without my enjoying the best of health. I trust you are well, and I wish that you send bill to my cong. and to others if necessary, as well as copies of the report.
With kind regards,
S. MORAIS - Identifier
- p3r20sg28
- identifier
- SMBx6FF10_10
Part of Letter from Morais, Sabato to Blumenthal, Joseph. Philadelphia, PA; Jul 1892
Morais, Sabato and Blumenthal, Joseph, “Letter from Morais, Sabato to Blumenthal, Joseph. Philadelphia, PA; Jul 1892”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed October 18, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/88636