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

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

which had been created to emphasize the best aspects of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

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 Elliot E. Cohen (March 14, 1899 – May 28, 1959) was the founder and first editor of ''Commentary''. Background While an undergraduate at Yale, Cohen contributed light verse to a campus humor magazine, ''The Yale Record''. Career Menorah Jou ...

, 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 Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

. Most moved away from Jewish identity (except Cohen, who became editor of ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'' 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 Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

become popular, but journal editor Hurwitz aligned the ''Menorah Journal'' with the American Council for Judaism (

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

) 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 *

Contributors

Writers: * Mordecai Kaplan *

Fritz Mauthner Fritz Mauthner (22 November 1849 – 29 June 1923) was an Austrian novelist, theatre critic and satirist. He was an exponent of philosophical scepticism derived from a critique of human knowledge and of philosophy of language. Mauthner was bo ...

Morris Raphael Cohen Morris Raphael Cohen ( be, Мо́рыс Рафаэ́ль Ко́эн; July 25, 1880 – January 28, 1947) was an American philosopher, lawyer, and legal scholar who united pragmatism with logical positivism and linguistic analysis. This union coale ...

Salo Baron Salo Wittmayer Baron (May 26, 1895 – November 25, 1989) was a Polish-born American historian, described as "the greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century". Baron taught at Columbia University from 1930 until his retirement in 1963. Life ...

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 moved t ...

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, she wrote books about the Holocaust. Life Dawidowicz was born in New York City a ...

I. L. Peretz Isaac Leib Peretz ( pl, Icchok Lejbusz Perec, yi, יצחק־לייבוש פרץ) (May 18, 1852 – April 3, 1915), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz was a Polish Jewish writer and playwright writing in Yiddish. Payson R. Stevens, Cha ...

* 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 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 wr ...

* 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, ...

* 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 Rev ...

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 Elie Nadelman (born Eliasz Nadelman; February 20, 1882 – December 28, 1946) was a Polish-American sculptor, draughtsman and collector of folk art. Early years Nadelman was born and studied briefly in Warsaw and then visited Munich in 1902 ...

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