IN sum, the Menorah movement represents an organization and an idea.
If the organization has grown in extent and importance beyond the
fondest expectations, it is because the idea, conceived by students
and carried out by them, has found a welcome home in the American
university. And one of the reasons why the Menorah idea has seized
upon the imagination and caught the heart of the university man is
because it appeals both to his independence of mind and his pride. A
Menorah Society imposes no dogma, no ceremony; the independence of
thought so dear to the bosom of youth is given full scope. A Menorah
Society aims, first of all, to satisfy an aroused intellectual
curiosity with respect to the past and present and possible future of
the Jewish race.
But the real source of Menorah strength lies far deeper. Consciously
or unconsciously, from the very beginning of his affiliation with a
Menorah Society, the Jewish student responds to a call within himself
of _noblesse oblige_. It is pride of race--not vanity or brag, but a
pride conscious of its human obligation--that animates Menorah men and
women throughout the country. Knowledge and service, which may be
regarded as the very cornerstones of Jewish idealism, constitute the
twin motives of the Menorah movement.
The Menorah movement is the answer of the Jewish academic youth to the
challenge of American democracy. American institutions give us the
opportunity to develop all our capacities in freedom. The endeavor of
Menorah men is to preserve and enhance, for America and for mankind,
the best in us that may flourish in freedom, our Jewish heritage and
endowment.