Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Vintage Solomon Schechter/ JTS as viewed from the Lower East Side



Here's a really interesting cartoon. It depicts Solomon Schechter grinding up Lower East Side immigrant boys (with the help of Jacob Schiff, who is providing the "gold oil" to lubricate the grinder, which itself is marked "Jewish Theological Seminary") and churning out Reform rabbis, one of whom holds a Bible and another a ham sandwich!

The caption reads:

"The Jewish Theological Seminary, established to provide the East Side with Orthodox rabbonim, manufacturing Reform rabbis for the West and South."

Shaul Raskin (1878-1966), Der Groyser Kibitzer, 22 January 1909

I can't find a lot of information about Der Groyser Kibitzer, but it appears to have been just what it sounds like: a Yiddish parody sheet. I copied this image from David Weinberg's article on the JTS and "Downtown Jews" in Tradition Renewed.

1 comment:

  1. Information about Rabbis is always interesting. Thank you.

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