that the Executive Board be empowered to appoint a commission which shall, at the next convention, submit a detailed plan of such survey, together with estimates of expenditure, and, if possible, recommendations with regard to the personnel of a working staff. VII. As Jewish teachers we rejoice in the leadership of the Peace cause which is falling to the lot of our nation; the Peace program of recent administrations, as continued by the present administration, is perfecting at this time a series of peace treaties with the nations of the world. Resting our position on Israel's classic contributions to the world's peace ideals, we tender our heartfelt congratulations to the National Government upon its earnest efforts to maintain amicable relations with the Republic of Mexico. The perpetuation of such peace would be a moral and spiritual achievement of the highest order, which we pray it may be given to the administration to attain. We ask that a copy of this paragraph of our report be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. VIII. In the matter of the Conference's representatives on the Advisory Committee of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College, we recommend that they be elected by the Conference from year to year, acting on the report of a special nominating committee to be appointed by the President. The same procedure shall be followed in the matter of designating our representatives on the Board of Editors of the Department of Synagog and School Extension. IX. Your Committee recommends, as a first step in the direction of carrying into effect the President's earnest plea for a broader and more intensive religious education, and particularly for the training of teachers, that measures be taken by the Conference looking to the establishment of Teachers' Colleges, by the side of similar institutions already existing, to meet the needs of Liberal congregations in large Jewish communities in such cities as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. We recommend this matter to the favorable consideration of the Conference, and ask that the Executive Board be instructed to devise ways and means for its accomplishment. X. We approve the action of the Executive Board in arranging for the services of an Editor of the Yearbook and in the selection of an Official Reporter of the convention. We concur, moreover, in the plan of the Executive Board to secure the services of a permanent Executive Secretary, to be suitably remunerated for his services, and we recommend that the Executive Board be empowered to engage the services of such a Secretary as soon as the funds of the Conference permit. Under the inspiration of the President's Message, and as a result of the brotherly deliberations of this convention, may it be given to us, as finely suggested by the President, "to march forward with new enthusiasm and with hope enkindled, to solve the new problems under the new conditions of Jewish life in America". The report was received and taken up seriatim. All the recommendations were successively adopted. Rabbi Foster requested that his vote in the negative on Recommendation IX be recorded. The report was adopted as a whole. It was moved and carried that a special Nominating Committee be appointed in accordance with Recommendation VIII of the report just adopted. The Chair appointed the regular Nominating Committee to act as the special Committee. The report of the Committee on Social and Religious Union was presented by the Chairman, Rabbi Joseph Stolz. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS UNION To the President and Members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis: GENTLEMEN: The purpose of the Committee on Social and Religious Union as stated in the By-Laws of our Constitution is to "gather and collect statistics relating to congregational activities outside the pulpit and religious school, devise and recommend ways and means of emphasizing the central character of the congregation in the scheme of Jewish life, and suggest measures that shall make for the greater efficiency of the Synagog". Accordingly, your Committee would continue to urge the necessity of laying more and more emphasis both on the democracy of the Synagog and on the need of translating its activities into forms of social service, in accordance with the traditional position of the Synagog, as well as the social forces at work in our day. Reaffirming the resolution adopted at St. Paul, where the Conference declared its "gratification at the growth of a broader democratic spirit in the administration of our congregations and religious schools", and strongly recommended that "the Central Conference of American Rabbis through its members, encourage their respective congregations to make membership possible for all", your Committee would recommend: I. That this Committee be charged with the duty of collecting, during the coming year, the printed Constitutions and By-laws of the various congregations of our country and of making the data thus collected the basis for a report on a model Constitution and By-laws for our American Jewish congregations. II. That the Executive Board consider the advisability of placing upon next year's program a round table on "The Institutional Synagog", and a paper on "The Voluntary Offering as a Basis for Congregational Membership". Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH STOLZ, Chairman. ISAAC E. MARCUSON, MAX REICHLER, STEPHEN S. WISE, LOUIS WITT, HORACE J. WOLF. The report was received and taken up seriatim. The two Recommendations contained in the report were adopted. The report was then adopted as a whole. The Conference adjourned. TUESDAY MORNING, JULY 7 The Conference reassembled at 10:00 a. prayer was delivered by Rabbi Rypins. m. The opening The report of the Committee on Responsa was presented by the Chairman, Rabbi Kohler. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RESPONSA To the President and Members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis: GENTLEMEN: Your Committee on Responsa was enlarged during the year, but was given little opportunity by the members of the Conference to do any work, since very few questions were submitted to it during the year. But one or two questions were presented to the Chairman of the Committee, none of which, in his judgment, merited being submitted to the other members of the Committee. One question, however, was presented only a few weeks ago, too late to be submitted to any of the members of the Committee other than Prof. Neumark. The question was whether the Kaddish must always be recited standing, and whether only by the mourner or by the whole congregation; whether a distinction should be made between the dead, and finally whether the observance of the Jahrzeit should remain a permanent institution of the Synagog. Since I had in my report last year treated of the Kaddish at some length, I asked Dr. Neumark to write the responsum to this question. This is as follows: STANDING DURING THE RECITAL OF THE Kaddish The question of the propriety of standing during the recital of the mourner's Kaddish must be answered from the viewpoint of the Kaddish in general. The mourner's Kaddish had its origin in early Talmudic, if not pre-Talmudic, times, as can be seen in the Testament of Abraham, version A, xiv (see Jewish Encyclopedia, art. Kaddish), according to which Abraham is the author of the Kaddish Yathom (cf. also Tobit iv. 17, and my Toldoth ha'Ikkarim I, 180). But this was only in connection with the Birchath 'Abhelim in the first week of mourning (Sopherim xix, 12 ואומר עליהם ברכה ואח"כ אומר קדיש .(ומוצא שם האבלים The Kaddish of the mourner during the first year is a late institution, first introduced about the 12th century in Germany, and from all that I can see, the mourner was regarded as the substitute for the Hazzan. Now there is a controversy whether the congregation should rise for every Kaddish or only for especial ones (cf. Rambam, Jad, Hilch. Tphilla ix, 1, 5, 8, and Schulchan 'Aruch, Orach Chayim, Hilch. B'rachoth, 53, 1; Ture Zahab 1 and 56, 1 Haggah, and Magen Abraham 4). This controversy has never been authoritatively decided, and the Minhag varies according to the countries and congregations (in Poland the congregation remains seated; in Bohemia it arises). But there is no doubt that the Hazzan should always recite the Kaddish standing. Consequently the mourner, who is considered the substitute for the Hazzan, should also stand. In some congregations only one of the mourners (according to an established order of precedence) is admitted to the front row to recite the Kaddish aloud, while the rest of the mourners repeat silently or in a low voice. In our Reform congregations, where the Rabbi recites the Kaddish and the mourners repeat silently, none of them evidently can be considered a substitute for the Hazzan. Nevertheless it is evident that the old idea of the mourner reciting the Kaddish before the congregation still exists, and this Minhag should be continued, except in rare cases where there is definite and sufficient reason for not doing so. CAN A DISTINCTION BE MADE BETWEEN THE DEAD? If this question refers to the preceding, I would suggest that the mourners stand at all recitals of the Kaddish for the dead, for whom mourning is a legal duty, viz., relatives in the first degree. If this question be general, I refer to Yore' De'ah, Hilch. 'Abheloth, where certain distinctions are set forth as the established Din and Minhag. THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE Jahrzeit The Jahrzeit as a permanent institution in connection with the recital of Kaddish appears first in Germany about the 14th century, but since it goes back to an ancient practice known in Talmudic literature, Nedarim) and since its good influence is evident ביום שמת בו אביו ואמו in manifold ways, I would strongly favor its retention as far as possible. D. NEUMARK. In addition, as Chairman of the Committee, I would say, that while much may be adduced in favor of the individual mourner's rising for the Kaddish as the outflow of the soul, longing for comfort, to be found in submission to God's will, in conformity with tradition, there is also a consideration for, and a sense of sympathy with the mourner, expressed by the whole congregation rising for Kaddish, wherever it is introduced. The decision of this question must therefore be left to the congregation. In general I would here refer to the ancient Rabbinical dictum, mittoch shello lishema ba' lishema, “a good practice, even if not done for its own sake, but for some less spiritual motive, should still be encouraged, since it may eventually lead to a more spiritual view", applies to the socalled Kaddish Jew who attends divine service only in honor of his dead parents. While religion is not merely piety, nevertheless filial piety shown by the mourners may in the end lead to a more permanently religious attitude. FORBIDDEN MARRIAGES Is it per The following question was submitted to your Committee: mitted to perform the marriage ceremony in the case of a man who had married before a civil authority the half-sister of his mother, both having had the same father? My answer, sent by wire, as requested, was, “Certainly; see Lev. xviii, 13 and xx, 19". There marriage with an aunt, whether on the father's or the mother's side, is prohibited as incestuous. Now the very fact that this question could be asked by a member of this Conference, who knows his Bible well, indicates a prevailing view that the law of the land is the determining factor as to the legality of the marriage also for us Jews. Moreover, the general presumption is that just as marriage with |