''The Menorah Journal'' (1915–1962) was a Jewish-American magazine, founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

which had been created to emphasize the best aspects of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

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 ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). It was the successor to both '' The Masses'' (1911–1917) and ''The Liberator'' (1918–1924). ''New Masses'' was later merge ...

''. Most of these writers had abandoned the Party by 1934 for

Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

. 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 civil rights group and 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 wi ...

). Solow's wife, Tess Slesinger is presumed to have 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 Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

become popular, but journal editor Hurwitz aligned the ''Menorah Journal'' with the

American Council for Judaism The American Council for Judaism (ACJ) is a religious organization of American Jews committed to the proposition that Jews are not a national but a religious group, adhering to the original stated principles of Reform Judaism, as articulated in t ...

(

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

) 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 (1887–1974): historian, philosopher *

Horace Kallen Horace Meyer Kallen (August 11, 1882 – February 16, 1974) was a German-born American philosopher who supported pluralism and Zionism. Biography Horace Meyer Kallen was born on August 11, 1882, in the town of Bernstadt, Prussian Silesia (now B ...

(1882–1972): advocate of "cultural pluralism"

Editors

* Henry Hurwitz * Herbert Solow * Elliot E. Cohen

Contributors

Writers: *

Fritz Mauthner Fritz Mauthner (; 22 November 1849 – 29 June 1923) was an Austrian philosopher and author of novels, satires, reviews and journalistic works. He was an exponent of philosophical scepticism derived from a critique of human knowledge and of phi ...

Morris Raphael Cohen Morris Raphael Cohen (; July 25, 1880 – January 28, 1947) was a Russian-born American judicial philosopher, lawyer, and legal scholar who united pragmatism with logical positivism and linguistic analysis. This union coalesced into the "objecti ...

* Maurice Samuel *

Lucy Dawidowicz Lucy Dawidowicz ( Schildkret; June 16, 1915 – December 5, 1990) was an American historian and writer. She wrote books about modern Jewish history, in particular, about the Holocaust. Life Dawidowicz was born in New York City as Lucy Schildkre ...

* I. L. Peretz * I. B. Singer * Chaim Bialik * A. M. Klein * Nina Salaman *

Randolph Bourne Randolph Silliman Bourne (; May 30, 1886 – December 22, 1918) was a progressive writer and intellectual born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and a graduate of Columbia University. He is considered to be a spokesman for the young radicals living d ...

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...

* Isidor Schneider *

Cecil Roth Cecil Roth (5 March 1899 – 21 June 1970) was an English historian. He was editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. Life Roth was born in Dalston, London, on 5 March 1899. His parents were Etty and Joseph Roth, and Cecil was the younge ...

* Harry Wolfson *

Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) was an American Conservative rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism al ...

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 *

Simon Dubnow Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov; ; rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪdʑ ˈdubnəf; 10 September 1860 – 8 December 1941) was a Jewish-Russian Empire, Russian h ...

* Tess Slesinger * Charles Reznikoff *

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel ( – 27 January 1940) was a Soviet writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' and ''Odessa Stories'', and has been acclaimed as "the greatest prose write ...

Artists: *

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

* William Gropper * William Meyerowitz * Elie Nadelman * Lionel S. Reiss *

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

References

External sources

The Menorah Journal archive at HathiTrust
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menorah Journal Jews and Judaism in New York City Jewish anti-Zionism in the United States Magazines established in 1915 Magazines disestablished in 1962 Defunct magazines published in New York City Defunct Jewish magazines published in the United States