Minnesota brings its greeting to the Intercollegiate Menorah
Association as one of the very earliest Menorah Societies. It was
really originated in 1903, when a handful of students in the
University found it desirable to satisfy certain longings by taking up
the study of Jewish history and literature. Some of us had found that
it was of little avail to cry over the ashes of the past, and we
thought that it would be much more proper to try and study the
history, the literature, the ideals of the past for the inspiration to
be found there, which might better fit us to cope with the problems of
the present and the future. Our Society has grown from a mere handful
to an enthusiastic company, so that we have from fifty to
seventy-five, and even a hundred, attending our regular meetings. I
give this fact simply to show what a profound influence the work of
the Menorah has been, what an influence it necessarily must have in
the future, in promulgating Jewish culture, Jewish thought and ideals.