בס"ד
Vol. IX. No. 1 Nissan 5612, April 1852 |
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News Items |
Cleveland, Ohio [Get (divorce) given].—During
our recent journey we paid a visit of a few
days to this beautiful city, on the shore of
Now, as we
understand the case, there was danger to fear, that
should a divorce be pronounced by the court, it
might happen that the parties could not then be
brought together to consummate the separation by our
laws; wherefore, if the facts are as represented to
us, and thus far we have had no reason to doubt
them, the preliminary divorce on Jewish grounds was
not alone proper, but highly praiseworthy.
Mr. Levy, it
is true, occupies in the Synagogue no salaried
position; he is practically, like we are, a man of
the people; but he, like us, also teaches when
called on, and, we believe, lectures in the good old
fashion, perhaps, every Sabbath, and is will
supplied with books of the highest authority, and
has, probably, the best rabbinical library, in the
country. It is, therefore, nothing to the subject
that he is engaged in business; Judaism knows
nothing of idlers, of men who merely teach for
money; and though it is perfectly consonant both
with common sense and our practices, to support from
the public purse those who devote themselves to the public
service as Rabbis, teachers, ministers, Shochatim
and Synagogue servants, of whatever kind; it does
not say that rabbinical functions appertain alone to
those who hold office, or that none but those elected by especial
congregations for particular purposes to teach in
public, for no other reason than that they have to
support themselves by commerce or labour. Rabbi
Joshua,
the celebrated antagonist of Rabban Gamliel, was a
smith; and still this great chief of our Sanhedrin
disdained not to seek the humble roof of the
mechanic, to ask his forgiveness for the, perhaps,
unintentional wrong done him. We hope the day may
never come when we shall have privileged classes
among us, other than those owing their claims to
superior knowledge of the law. This is the standard,
and beyond this nothing is required to render a
man’s acts valid and recognisable in Columbus, Ohio,—On the
18th of November, the day we spent in the capital of
Ohio, the Israelites of the city, to the number of
thirty members, adopted a series of laws, reported
as a constitution by a committee previously
appointed, and finally organised as a congregation.
They have adopted the German Minhag. The officers
are, the Rev. Selig Lazarus, Hazan; Joseph
Gundersheimer, President; Samuel Amburg, Gabay, and Zanesville, Ohio.—Here we found but few Israelites; but the facilities for commerce are so great in and around this place, that we cannot doubt but that in a short time a considerable congregation will assemble here. |