and an excellent place of training for teachers in the chedorim, or in a modification of them.
R. Jochanan-ben-Zakkai, right after the destruction of the Temple by Titus, opened his academy and kept the soul of the Jewish nation alive, while her body politic was being destroyed. So let us follow in his steps, and act according to the requirements of our times.
Whatever the future of the Jewish race may be, it is in the hands of Providence, but we must act according to the dictates of dignified racial self-consciousness, that we may win the respect of the world, as our religion has already conquered the best minds of man. Will there be found in Israel a Peter Cooper, a Yale or a Vassar?
The "Jewish Chronicle" in 1882
SIR: In view of the Jewish Chronicle's present antagonism to Zionism, it must interest your readers to learn what was its sentiment on the subject two decades ago. I therefore send you the following extract from an editorial in its issue of November 3, 1882, a copy of which I picked up yesterday from among some old Jewish papers:
"This month is unusually prolific in articles on Jews and Judaism. No less than four of the principal magazines, the Nineteenth Century, the Contemporary Review, Macmillan's and Blackwood's contain articles of importance and of interest to Jews, each of which would be sufficient to attract attention both within and outside the community. We have almost an embarras de richesses in treating of such widely varying aspects of Judaism as are touched upon in these contributions. It is a very marked sign of the times that editors, who can gauge so well the interests of the reading public, are so ready to admit essays dealing with Jewish topics. It seems almost to prefigure the time when a magazine devoted entirely to Judaic ideas might find a wide public.
“Mr. Oliphant’s article in *Blackwood* we have treated of elsewhere, and here it only remains to deal with its general aspects. He brings out into further prominence the contrast of Eastern and Western Judaism, which formed the
basis of his preceding article. He reminds us once more that, with the vast majority of our brethren, their faith is a living reality prompting to exalted aspirations and noble ideals that are not of yesterday, but have been borne by our race throughout the centuries. If it is right to learn from.our enemies, it is still more our duty to listen to the teachings of our friends, and there is much that is instructive in the picture drawn by Mr. Oliphant of the Messianic hopes of Jews in the East. Before long, the question of the return cannot fail to come within the region of practical politics, and the problem will then arise for the Jews of the West whether they will sit by in inglorious case while the hopes of our race and religion are being brought near practical fulfillment. The age is big with change. The old order gives way to the new, and by no means the most unlikely outcome of the transition is the restoration of the Holy Land to those of the Jews who have self-denial enough and Judaism enough to keep true to the traditions of their fathers. If such a consummation is attained not the least of the names that will forever be connected with the movement is that of Mr. Laurence Oliphant.
"Meanwhile what are the prospects of a form of Judaism that seeks utter denationalization of our faith at a time when the national feelings of Jews grow stronger and stronger, as the storm gathers round the oppressed of our race in Eastern Europe? Miss Cobbe, like Mr. Voysey, a member of the Theistic Church, enthusiastically welcomes in the pages of the Contemporary the new Judaism of Mr. Montefiore, who will probably be somewhat embarrassed by the fact that his only allies are found outside members of his own creed. As we anticipated, Miss Cobbe demands some additions to Mr. Montefiore's programme before she can give complete adherence to it, and would require a Christian appendix to the New Judaism before its acceptance by the Theistic Church. She recognizes, it is true, the great advantages of historic tradition to a faith, and for this reason gives preference to the New Judaism over the other