''The Menorah Journal'' (1915–1962) was a Jewish-American magazine, founded in New York City. Some have called it "the leading English-language Jewish intellectual and literary journal of its era." The journal lasted from 1915 until 1961.

History

1920s: The journal emerged from the Menorah Society (founded 1906) at Harvard University which had been created to emphasize the best aspects of Judaism in English, so that not only Jews, but others could see the richness of the culture, the literature and the religion. Horace Kallen, who worked with Henry Hurwitz on the magazine, developed a theory of cultural pluralism, where all the different religions and cultures in the US would emphasize the best of their religion and culture so that all could appreciate those individuals different from themselves as well as their cultures. The Menorah Society expanded from Harvard to other colleges and an Intercollegiate Menorah Association arose in 1913; membership peaked in the 1920s on 80 US and Canadian colleges and universities. Hurwitz started the Journal in 1915 and for the first few years, it emphasized the best of Judaism. 1930s: The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

that started in late October 1929 led the journal to cut publishing from monthly to quarterly. At the same time, Jewish intellectuals moved left, splitting readership. "In 1931, a core of key editors and writers, including Elliot E. Cohen, Herbert Solow, and Felix Morrow joined the Communist Party and its literary journal, the '' New Masses''. Most of these writers had abandoned the Party by 1934 for Trotskyism. Most moved away from Jewish identity (except Cohen, who became editor of '' Commentary'' of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

). (Solow's wife,

Tess Slesinger Theresa "Tess" Slesinger (July 16, 1905 – February 21, 1945) was an American writer and screenwriter and a member of the New York intellectual scene. Life and career She was born as Theresa Slesinger in New York City, as the fourth child of An ...

described much of the ''Menorah'' scene in the guise of fiction in her book ''The Unpossessed'' (1934).) 1940s–1960s: Following World War II, nationalist Zionism become popular, but journal editor Hurwitz aligned the ''Menorah Journal'' with the American Council for Judaism ( Reform Judaism) and so it was not Zionist. More specifically, Hurwitz advocated what he termed "Zakkaian Judaism" ( Yohanan ben Zakkai). The journal ended shortly after Hurwitz’s death (1961).

Founders

* Henry Hurwitz (1886–1961): long-time editor *

Harry Wolfson Harry Austryn Wolfson (November 2, 1887 – September 19, 1974) was an American scholar, philosopher, and historian at Harvard University, and the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Center in the United States. He is known for his seminal work on t ...

(1887–1974): historian, philosopher * Horace Kallen (1882–1972): advocate of "cultural pluralism"

Editors

* Henry Hurwitz * Herbert Solow * Elliot E. Cohen

Contributors

Writers: * Mordecai Kaplan *

Fritz Mauthner Fritz Mauthner (22 November 1849 – 29 June 1923) was an Austrian novelist, theatre critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, th ...

* Morris Raphael Cohen * Salo Baron *

Maurice Samuel Maurice Samuel (February 8, 1895 – May 4, 1972) was a Romanian-born British and American novelist, translator and lecturer of Jewish heritage. Biography Born in Măcin, Tulcea County, Romania, to Isaac Samuel and Fanny Acker, Samuel mov ...

* Lucy Dawidowicz * I. L. Peretz * I. B. Singer * Chaim Bialik *

A. M. Klein Abraham Moses Klein (14 February 1909 – 20 August 1972) was a Canadian poet, journalist, novelist, short story writer and lawyer. He has been called "one of Canada's greatest poets and a leading figure in Jewish-Canadian culture." Best known ...

Nina Salaman Pauline Ruth "Nina" Salaman () (15 July 1877 – 22 February 1925) was a British Jewish poet, translator, and social activist. Besides her original poetry, she is best known for her English translations of medieval Hebrew verse—especially o ...

* Randolph Bourne * Lewis Mumford * Isidor Schneider *

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

* Salo Baron * Cecil Roth *

Artists: *

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

William Gropper William Gropper (December 3, 1897January 3, 1977) was a U.S. cartoonist, painter, lithographer, and muralist. A committed radical, Gropper is best known for the political work which he contributed to such left wing publications as ''The Revol ...

William Meyerowitz William Meyerowtiz (1887–1981) was an American artist known for his paintings and etchings. William Meyerowitz was born in Ekaterinoslav on July 15, 1887. He and his father immigrated to New York City in 1908, and they settled in the Lower East ...

* Elie Nadelman *

Lionel S. Reiss Lionel S. Reiss (1894–1988) was a Polish-American Jewish painter born in Jaroslaw, Poland (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where he studied commercial art. His family had moved to the United ...

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

References

External sources

The Menorah Journal archive at HathiTrust
* * {{Italic title Magazines established in 1915 Magazines disestablished in 1962 Magazines published in New York City Jewish magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States