On the Trail of the Immigrant

by Edward Alfred Steiner

IN a little studio on the West side of New York, a Jewish sculptor modelled the clay for a medal upon which he was to engrave for grateful Israel, the memorial of its settlement in America two and a half centuries ago. The face of the medal bore the veiled form of Justice, casting the evil spirit of Intolerance from his throne and placing upon it the Goddess of Liberty, who is bestowing on all alike the rich gifts in her keeping. On the reverse side of the medal, Victory is engraving the date 1655, the year of the landing of the Jewish forefathers. The Victory modelled by this Jewish genius is not the triumphant, over-bearing, conquering spirit; but in her noble form are embodied graciousness, determination and a sincere gratitude.

At the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the landing of the Jews in America, held in Carnegie Hall on Thanksgiving day, November 30, 1905, these feelings were given utterance in various ways by various persons; but by none more truly than by the Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, in his opening prayer. “We thank Thee for America, this haven of refuge for the oppressed of the world. We thank Thee for the blessings of a permanent home in this country, its opportunities for development of life and advancement of mind and heart, for its independence and unity, its free institutions, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We reverently bow before Thy decree, which has taught us to find enduring peace and security in the sure foundation of this blessed land.”

The Jewish pioneers were cultured and far travelled men, who came from Portugal, Holland and England and their provinces. They were imbued by the adventurous spirit of the people whom they had left, in order to seek the undiscovered paths of the sea which led to fabled wealth.

It is no wonder if, at that early period when Jewish persecutions were at their height and the Jewish name under the darkest cloud, they had difficulty in gaining free entrance to their desired haven, and that the charter which was granted them was given grudgingly. It reads thus:

“26th of April, 1655.

“We would have liked to agree to your wishes and request that the new territories should not be further invaded by people of the Jewish race, for we foresee from such immigration the same difficulties which you fear, but after having further weighed and considered the matter, we observe that it would be unreasonable and unfair, especially because of the considerable loss sustained by the Jews in the taking of Brazil, and also because of the large amount of capital which they have invested in the shares of this company.[1] After many consultations we have decided and resolved upon a certain petition made by said Portuguese Jews, that they shall have permission to sail to and trade in New Netherlands and to live and remain there, provided the poor among them shall not become a burden to the company or the community, but be supported by their own nation. You will govern yourself accordingly.”

These Jews, true to their religious instincts, built synagogues wherever they settled and were called Sephardic Congregations. Until the beginning of the nineteenth century, they were the dominating religious and cultural type, and while yet retaining certain racial characteristics, they blended into the national life, having no small share in its development.

With the coming to this country of the German peasantry, there was brought from the villages and towns a not inconsiderable number of Jews, who scattered through the North and South upon all the highways of commerce, and who finally became the second strata of the Jewish life in America. At first, they were more or less amalgamated with the Portuguese Jews, but as their numbers grew overwhelmingly great, they developed their religious and social life after their own traditions and were distinguished from their Sephardic brethren by the generic name “Ashkenazim” (Germans).

Within this group developed the German Reform movement, which has in greater or less degree attracted all the Germanic Jews, and from which the merely traditional and ritualistic element has quite disappeared; so that at the present time it is not far removed from Unitarianism in faith and practice. Later, when the population of the Eastern portion of Europe found its way across the sea, under the impulse of great nationalistic movements in Austria, Hungary and Poland, a new factor was introduced into the Jewish communities, which brought with it Rabbinistic lore and faithfulness to the traditions of the Elders, and this factor tended to strengthen the Jewish consciousness. In after years a good portion of this group attached itself to the Reform movement and cannot be differentiated from the Germanic group; while the residue has become the link between it and the overwhelmingly large mass of Russian Jews, which was to come and which now forms the greatest proportion of the Jewish population.

This Russian Jewish group is not easily analyzed; it is neither heterogeneous nor homogeneous; it is Polish, Roumanian, Lithuanian, Bessarabian and Galician. It is steeped in traditionalism, overburdened by ritualistic laws, loaded by the fetters of Rabbinism, held under the spell of Kabalism and Wonder Rabbis, swayed now by this teacher and now by that one. It has no common centre or common aim, and has not analyzed itself nor its environment. Strongly individualistic, its members are united to one another and to the other groups, only by their common misfortune, an indefinable racial consciousness; intellectually and culturally, far below the other groups, it bears the marks of oppression and of the oppressor in its thought and in its action. Nevertheless, it is destined to be the determining influence in the future of Judaism in America, and as such, deserves special study and consideration.