9 9 4 A P P E N D I X K “The study of the Talmud, which cannot pique the interest of modern man, nonetheless had great educational value for Jews at that time. “That study was a kind of recruitment of the spirit, which disciplined the Jews intellec- tually. “I understood the great value of our traditional literature when, during my University professorship, I came in contact with the Hebrew youth of Eastern Europe. “I have a young friend who studied the Talmud until the age of twenty, and who, after spending three years at the University, wrote a remarkable work of mathematics. “The focus of his study has changed now, but the acuity of his thinking, for which the Talmud served as a gymnasium, always remains applicable to new fields. “Thanks to political emancipation and the recognition of the equal rights of citizens without exception as established by religious differences, the old life of the kehilla and the intimate union that once existed among the Jews has dissolved. “Emancipation brought us two problems: one social and the other spiritual. “The social problem is the most difficult for the individual, who must adapt to the new milieu and to the unmistakable national peculiarities of the Jew. “The desire to assimilate at all costs has corrupted the Israeli character. “In this regard, the terrible educational system inflicted on Jewish youth in Western Eu- rope has had a great influence, as has the concern with hiding one’s own origins and judging one’s own race carelessly. “If there have been cases of treason and religious conversion among us, it was not the result of a lack of character, but rather the material consequence of an assimilationist edu- cation. “Of course I am not talking about those cases where Judaism was abandoned due to social demands or those of a professional career, etc. “What consequences can be deduced from all these observations? “In place of the unity of the old kehilla, in place of these loosened religious ties, a new basis for our collective existence must be created. “In this regard the founder of Zionism, Dr. Theodor Herzl, has worked wonders. “National renewal, stimulated by the Zionist movement, has great significance for the continuation of the Jewish community. “The new generation has been uplifted by its own concept. “The new generation of Israelis already has its own milieu. “It no longer begs, nor does it keep its head bowed before the doors of others.” At this point Professor Einstein illustrated how Russian Jews, who lived according to our tradition and who have not broken with the national characteristics of our way of life, are those who have become most prominent in areas of modern culture. “The Russian Jews who settled in the United States and suffered the effects of a Yankee education have displayed inferior intellectual capabilities, as a friend of mine, the director of a hospital in Berlin, has assured me through his own experience.