Y.M.H.A. Religious Work

A Publication of the Council of Young Men's Hebrew and Kindred Associations entitled Religious Work of the Y.M.H.A.
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M79.13.1.4	4	relig001	PUBLICATIONS of the Council of Y. M. H. and Kindred. Associations BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dr. Cyrus Adler, Pres., Phila. Adolph Lewisohn, N. Y. Judge J. W. Mack, Chicago Jacob H. Schiff, N. Y. Hubert N. Straus. N. Y. BOARD OF EXPERTS Dr. S. Benderley I. Edwin Goldwasser, Chief Rev. Dr. M. M. Kaplan \| Rev. Dr. J. L. Magnes FIELD SECRETARIES Louis Brenner S. A. Goldsmith Falk Younker THE COUNCIL I. W. Bernheim, Louisville Alfred M. Cohen, Cincinnati David A. Ellis, Boston Harry Fischel, N. Y. Judge S. Greenbaum, N. Y. Isaac Hassler, Phila. Judge I. Lehman, N. Y. Judge J. W. Mack, Pres., Chicago Louis Marshall, N. Y. Jacob Newman, New Orleans Judge M. C. Sloss, San Francisco Mrs. I. Unterberg, N. Y. A. Leo Weil, Pittsburg Felix M. Warburg, N. Y. Religious Work of the Y.M.H.A. By Rabbi Aaron G. Robison Director of Social Work, 92nd Street Y. M. H. A. New York Document No. 7; Series 1915
	4	relig002	Religious Work of the Y. M. H. A. By Rabbi Aaron G. Robison Director of Social Work, 92nd Street Y. M. H. A. New York SCOPE: In discussing the religious work in a Y. M. H. A. we should cover the entire field of its activity. Every department of a Y. M. H. A. should have for its purpose the inculcation of some Jewish ideal; and the training which a young man receives in an Association ought to make him a well rounded American Jewish personality. Athletics, educational classes, and clubs are but avenues of approach to the soul of a young man, all of them converging to one point—Judaism. Y. M. H. A. activities are but the natural channels through which life in this country among young men naturally takes its course, and the Y. M. H. A. operates to direct them to the proper goal. We recognize that we cannot make a direct religious appeal to the average young Jew in this country, and for this reason the Y. M. H. A. attempts to reach the vast majority of the "unchurched," working indirectly and along natural lines. There are nevertheless a considerable minority to whom it is possible to make the direct religious appeal, and it is for these that the specifically religious work in the Y. M. H. A. is organized.
	4	relig003	FRIDAY EVENING: In the attempt to reach the spiritual side of the Jewish young man, it is highly advisable to utilize and vitalize for him the spiritual traditions of the Jewish people. In order to give him a Jewish perspective and to make his entire spiritual life radiate from his Jewish idealism, Friday night, the Sabbath Eve, ought to become for him the most significant and the most important evening of the week. Every effort should be made to make the Sabbath Eve stand out as "the Y. M. H. A. evening." To do this all excessive solemnity must be banished and a spirit of dignified joyousness created, bringing the atmosphere of the traditional Jewish Sabbath into the Y. M. H. A. on that evening. The building should be spotlessly clean, all the lights turned on in full force and everything done to make it pleasant and homelike. FORM OF SERVICE: Religious expression must always be as free and unconstrained as possible. The Procrustean method applies less to religious work than to any type of social expression, and it would be futile to create the service and expect the young men to fit themselves into it. Because young men have different ideals and needs, a Y. M. H. A. service must be something unique. Of course it is the duty of older people to impress upon the young men the vital necessity of keeping as far as
	4	relig004	possible within the confines of Jewish tradition so that their religious life should not be entirely estranged from that of their people. Anything that is prevalent in modern Jewish life, from a radical Reform to an ultra Orthodox service may be adopted by a Y. M. H. A. congregation. Perhaps the most fitting service would consist of the reading of some of our most beautiful Psalms, some responsive reading, and the singing of English and Hebrew hymns. Religious Services of this kind ought to appeal to the young man and at the same time the Association will not be criticized for conducting an untraditional service on the Sabbath. THE Y. M. H. A. CONGREGATION: The responsibility of organizing and conducting the service should be given over to the members of the Association, for it is indispensable to the success of the work that they be made to feel that it is their own. They should have a regularly organized congregation with officers and membership like any other constituent society of the Y. M. H. A. These officers should preside at the Friday evening service and one of their number ought to be deputed to lead the service. Of course care ought to be taken that one of the older men undertake this office and that he have the capacity for the work. Regular monthly meetings of the
	4	relig005	congregation ought to be held for two purposes : one to discuss any business that may be brought up, and secondly, for social purposes. They should issue membership cards upon the payment of nominal dues and an attempt should be made to make membership in the congregation and participation in the service, something of a privilege. THE CHORAL UNION: To supply music for the service, a Choral Union ought to be organized consisting of young men and young women. Some good musician should be secured to give the young people some knowledge of music, principally of sight reading, to acquaint them with the melodies of the synagogue and also to teach them some secular music. This Choral Union would serve as the nucleus for congregational singing at Friday evening services and in addition would become of vital importance to the social work of the Association. By mingling the secular with the Jewish music we are able to attract a larger group than we otherwise could. This Choral Union at the services ought not to act in the capacity of the choir, but rather as a large group in the congregation trained to lead the others in the singing. The leader of the service ought to make every effort to impress upon the congregation the necessity of joining the Choral Union in the responses and in the
	4	relig006	hymns. The music of the service depends most largely upon the success of this Choral Union. In organizing the religious work of an Association, the Choral Union should require first attention. SERMON: The sermon or lecture of the evening ought to be delivered by some Rabbi or prominent Jewish layman. Whenever possible one of the older and more experienced members of the Association ought to be asked to speak. It has been found that when this is done the young men come in much larger numbers for they begin to feel a personal interest in the work. The service together with the lecture ought to last no longer than one hour. The service itself from one-half to three-quarters of an hour; the sermon from twenty to twenty-five minutes. Whenever possible, the speaker should be asked to limit himself to that time. SOCIAL HOUR: Not only has it become necessary that Jewish social work be made religious, but it is equally important that our religious work be socialized. A dignified solemnity has never expressed the spirit of the Sabbath and ought not to-day. The Sabbath essentially is a day of joy and it should be made so in the Y. M. H. A. There should be one day in the week when all Y. M. H. A. members and their friends should come to-
	4	relig007	gather like a family party. To this end and in this spirit every Y. M. H. A. Congregation ought to have a Social Hour immediately following the service. This Social Hour ought not to be held in the auditorium but in a room of small dimensions so as to give it the atmosphere of "home." Since it is impossible to accommodate everybody, only the young people, young men and young women, should be invited. The proceedings should be opened by the President of the Y. M. H. A. Congregation who should try to summarize the address of the evening so as to inspire questions from the group. The members should be permitted to ask any question bearing upon the subject of the sermon, but the President ought not to hesitate to rule a foolish one out of order. The questioning should last from twenty minutes to half an hour, but no longer than that. After this first part of the program there should follow some kind of literary entertainment. It should consist of a recitation and readings,, preferably of Jewish interest, and care should be taken that only appropriate selections be offered. For this purpose there should be a literary committee to select the men on the program and if necessary to assign the proper subjects. A musical entertainment is usually impossible because a large number of Jews object to instrumental music on the Sabbath. Following this short program which
	4	relig008	is to last no longer than twenty minutes, the group should break up for general conversation until it is time to disband. Wherever possible it is even advisable to serve light refreshments, because this more than anything else serves to give that homelike feeling so vital to the atmosphere of the Sabbath Eve in the Y. M. H. A. A Ladies' Auxiliary might be of great value in this connection. DISCUSSION CIRCLE: Growing out of this religious work on Friday evening, there out to arise a demand for classes in Hebrew Bible or Jewish history. The demand might be further stimulated by the organization of a small group of men to meet on Sunday afternoon for the discussion of Jewish problems and the study of the Bible or Jewish history. This study and discussion group ought to be carried on in a prominent place so as to be in a position to attract others to it. Then if the departments of the Y. M. H. A. have as their definite goal the inculcation of the Jewish spirit and the creation among our young men of the American Jewish personality, we can with some confidence look forward to the day when the Y. M. H. A. will actually be a "Hebrew Association," an organization of Jewish young men banded together to live their lives in the spirit of Israel dedicated to the service of God and His children.