Our Menorah Society this year has done at least two things. First, it
has definitely held to a program of work; secondly, it has become
accredited as representative of the Jewish students to the Jewish
students themselves, and even more to the non-Jews. The opposition
that some of the students manifested in other years has not been so
active, and the Society drew a large proportion of them, sometimes all
of them, to its meetings. The non-Jews, especially among the Faculty,
have exhibited an actively interested and helpful attitude. In this
connection, our thanks are due Prof. J. E. Wrench, of the History
department, whose presence at all of our meetings greatly stimulated
profitable discussion.
Of the Jewish faculty men, Dr. Henry M. Sheffer, of the Philosophy
department, one of the founders of the Harvard Menorah Society, took a
particularly active interest in the work, especially in the
preparation of our programs. The program for the second semester was
on "Typical Hebraic Ideals", as follows:
I. Transitional:
1. Hellenism J. Sholtz
2. Emancipation J. L. Ellman
II. Contemporary:
(a) Religious
1. Orthodoxy Wm. Stone
2. Reform Robert Burnett
(b) National
1. Assimilationism A. Hertzmark
2. Zionism D. A. Glushek
(c) Literary
1. Yiddish M. Glazer
2. Neo-Hebrew C. Goldberg
III. Prospective:
The New Hebraism Dr. H. M. Sheffer
This program was devised with the idea of creating a definite reaction
to Hebraism. So, the papers on Hellenism and Emancipation tried by the
contrast of transitional periods to make Hebraic ideals as a whole
stand out. The meeting on Reform and Orthodoxy was devoted to an
historical analysis of the forces underlying the present situation in
Judaism. The papers on Zionism and Assimilation, again, summed up from
another angle the characteristics of Hebraic aspiration. And at the
two last meetings, present Jewish life and ideals were discussed in
terms of their literary and philosophical expression.
Along with these meetings we had several lectures by Dr. H. M.
Sheffer, Rabbi A. A. Neuman of the Dropsie College, and Dr. H. M.
Kallen of Wisconsin. These meetings were in every case productive of
great enthusiasm. Prof. J. E. Wrench addressed a meeting composed in
numbers equally of Jews and non-Jews on "The Jew and Christian in the
Middle Ages", and we also had an address by Dr. A. T. Olmstead,
Professor of Ancient History, on the "Book of Kings".