The Menorah Movement for the Study and Advancement of Jewish Culture and Ideals; History, Purposes, Activities

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ... Professor Stephen P. Duggan of the College of the City of New York Address at the Second Menorah Convention, at Havemeyer Hall, Columbia University, Monday Evening, December 29, 1913. After listening to that eloquent discourse of Mr. Hurwitz, * I feel very much like a certain parrot that belonged to a rector, and knew, so its owner claimed, all the responses in the church service. A woman who attended the rector's church also had a parrot, but this was a very wicked parrot and devoted most of its time during the day to saying I wish the old woman was dead. One day as the rector of the church brought in his parrot, the wicked parrot started out with I wish the old woman was dead, to which the rector's parrot replied, We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord! I say in all reverence to what Mr. Hurwitz said, We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord! I did not know just what I was going to say when I came here, but I received my suggestion from Mr. Hurwitz, and in the few minutes that I am going to speak to you my remarks will be practically along the lines which he outlined. When I was in Europe, particularly in Germany, I was very much annoyed at the constant accusation of materialism that was brought against us Americans. Of course, one has to admit there is some truth in it; nevertheless, when I considered that all the institutions that I visited there--whether they were universities or gymnasia--were all state controlled, not in our American democratic sense but in a very different sense, I could not help thinking of this institution at Columbia where I studied for several years, of its magnificent equipment, of its great endowment, of its large annual expense, all granted by private philanthropy, and through the ideals of the American...