Dr. Moses Barron
MINNESOTA brings its greeting to the Intercollegiate Menorah Association as one of the very earliest Menorah Societies. It was really originated in 1903, when a handful of students in the University found it desirable to satisfy certain longings by taking up the study of Jewish history and literature. Some of us had found that it was of little avail to cry over the ashes of the past, and we thought that it would be much more proper to try and study the history, the literature, the ideals of the past for the inspiration to be found there, which might better fit us to cope with the problems of the present and the future. Our Society has grown from a mere handful to an enthusiastic company, so that we have from fifty to seventy-five, and even a hundred, attending our regular meetings. I give this fact simply to show what a profound influence the work of the Menorah has been, what an influence it necessarily must have in the future, in promulgating Jewish culture, Jewish thought and ideals.
Dr. Louis Grossmann
I AM reminded by our Chairman of the time when he was still a student at Harvard, in the earliest days of the Menorah movement, when I addressed the Menorah Society there. It was in the room of the Chancellor, unless I am mistaken, and there were a number of students. They were grouped about, some in chairs, some sitting on the floor, some perched on window sills, while others improvised seats on the furniture. I felt myself patriarchal in the midst of these young men. It was a remarkable scene and it was a remarkably helpful evening, helpful and refreshing to me. The pulses of youth always beat high and I caught the elation of it. Who would not have been touched by it? Some of these young men have since become leaders in thought and action, and I am not surprised.
Let me make a confession as to that evening. I not only felt a thrill but made also some observations. These young men had their ideals, but they had also their difficulties. And they spoke of them. We had an exchange of thought and of candor such as comes to a man in the ministry and to a teacher of students but rarely. They told me of their doubts. Young men, serious young minds, always will have their doubts. They want to earn their convictions. I hope the day will never come when young men will not insist on seeing things. These young men were quick-witted and ready with repartee and counter-argument, and I saw in each eye a glint of an ideal. The debate was strong, but the ideals were stronger.
The Power of Ideals
IDEALS are pulses that beat in their own way. An ideal is a fact of the soul; it is more than a definition or an argument. An ideal is always very certain and nobody wants to disprove it, nor can.
I notice the Menorah Association has for its aim the cultivation of ideals. It is natural that young men, with red blood in them, should hold dear the precious dreams of what might and should be. As I look upon ideals now, through the perspective of years, I see they have both strength as well as limitations. But I know that, however much life and experience challenges them, they are the best force in us. I respect and value them so much that I deplore the waste of the least of them. An ideal is a moral ambition, a great wish of a true, even if a bit naive, soul. And it should have the right of way.
Every work in life implies stern necessity and a fine wish. I am reminded of a bridge in Berlin which the Germans have built with inimitable art and truth. There are four groups, each at a corner. On one an elderly man stands erect and writing. It is History, stern and real. At his side stands a boy, lithe and graceful. There are ideals just as much as Law in the affairs of men. On the other side of the bridge stands another symbol of the two forces in Life: a man carrying a bundle, a bent man, who has borne the brunt of the pioneer days, and next to him also a youth. Commerce, however sordid, still implies morality and the generous side of man. On the third side stands the solemn figure of Religion, sober and haggard, the symbol of Faith and martyrdom. And the young man, next to it, seems sprightly and strong. Why must Religion be interpreted as dispensing comfort alone? Should it not also give strength and joy? In the last corner stands Pestalozzi, the teacher, and a boy looks up into his kind face. We crave for action and capability more than for knowledge and facts. And we crave for love more than for truth, and the real truth brings affections and enthusiasm.
In the meetings of your Association you speak often of ideals, you speak of them fervently. But ideals are not merely academic. They are personal. An ideal becomes yourself, if it is yours at all. It is a dynamic force within you. It pervades your whole being. It is an unseen but a very telling strength. It directs you, and it sends you on your errand of life. You cannot rest satisfied merely to know your ideal and to speculate about it. It is the engine of warfare in your career. Study ideals, not to contemplate and analyze, but to emulate them and to fill yourself with them. You have work to do. And work is more insistent than philosophy. You have work to do which no one else can do for you, or may do for you. An ideal is your Self at the highest power.