=Items of Interest=
_Death of Dr. Schechter_
Solomon Schechter, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, died suddenly on November 19. Dr. Schechter was a member of
the Board of Consulting Editors of THE JOURNAL, and from the first an
inspiring friend of the Menorah movement. THE JOURNAL was shortly to
have received his promised article. Endeavor will be made in an early
issue to give worthy appreciation of Dr. Schechter as scholar and
humanist and Jewish leader. Meantime, it may be noted that several of
his leading works are to be found in Menorah libraries: "Studies in
Judaism" and "Aspects of Rabbinic Theology." Attention may also be
called to Dr. Schechter's last book, published only recently, entitled
"Seminary Papers and Addresses."
_Relief of Jewish Students in Switzerland_
Menorah members have sent the following amounts through the
Intercollegiate Menorah Association for the relief of Russian Jewish
students at present in Switzerland: $38 from the University of
Pennsylvania; $23.50 from the University of Valparaiso; $18 from The
Johns Hopkins University; $9.50 from Temple University (Philadelphia);
and $6 from the University of North Carolina. The students at Harvard
sent approximately $100.
_Syllabus of Jewish History_
By special arrangement with the University of London, the
Intercollegiate Menorah Association has been enabled to provide
Menorah Study Circles with a Syllabus of Jewish History from
Mendelssohn to Herzl, prepared by ten Jewish authorities in England as
an Extension Course of the University of London.
_New Menorah Societies_
New Menorah Societies have been organized since the opening of this
academic year at a number of Colleges and Universities, including
Alabama, George Washington (Washington, D. C.), Rice Institute
(Houston, Texas), Temple, Vanderbilt, and Washington (St. Louis).
Menorah Societies are now in process of formation at a number of other
Universities.
_The Graduate Phase_
A Graduate Menorah Society was organized last year in Scranton, Pa.,
with Dr. Elias G. Roos as President.
A number of former members of the Menorah Society of New York
University organized last month into "The Menorah Alumni of New York
University," with Louis Weinstein as temporary President.
A Graduate Menorah Society has recently been formed in Montgomery,
Ala., with Harry Weil as President.
A Graduate Menorah Advisory Committee has been formed in Cincinnati,
with Mr. S. Marcus Fechheimer as Chairman.
_Joint Menorah Meetings in New York_
Continuing the pleasant practice originated last year, the Menorah
Societies in New York--at the College of the City of New York,
Columbia University, Hunter College and New York University, in
company with the newly organized "Menorah Alumni of New York
University"--held their first joint meeting of this year in the
Auditorium of Hunter College, the Hunter Menorah acting as hostess. It
was a most successful meeting, with an attendance of about 700 Menorah
members and friends.
Miss Sarah Berenson, President of the Hunter Menorah, introduced the
Chancellor as the chairman. The speakers were Miss Tamar Hirschensohn
of the Hunter College Faculty, and Mrs. Benjamin S. Pouzzner,
Radcliffe, 1912. Miss Hirschensohn drew a comparative picture of a
great Hebrew friendship celebrated in the Bible, that of David and
Jonathan, and notable friendships in the Greek and Latin
classics--Achilles and Patroclus and Euryalus and Nisus. Mrs. Pouzzner
spoke upon the Jewish women of the German Salons of the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. The Chancellor read communications to THE
MENORAH JOURNAL from Viscount Bryce and Hon. Oscar S. Straus (see
pages 281 and 297). After the speaking the Hunter Menorah held an
informal reception for the members of the other Menorah Societies.
The next joint meeting of the Menorah Societies of New York will be
held at Columbia University on Sunday afternoon, December 26. The
principal speaker will be Mr. Louis Weinberg, artist and lecturer at
the Metropolitan Art Museum and the College of the City of New York.
The subject will be "Culture and Nationalism." Besides the members of
the Menorah Societies in New York, members of Menorah Societies at
other Colleges and Universities home for their vacation are invited to
be present. It is hoped also that a number of delegates from various
parts of the country to the Menorah Convention which meets the next
morning in Philadelphia will be able to attend.