Cemach Feldstein

“ However crowded our Sukka, no matter how weak and shaky, or how difficult the possibilities may be, we must never stop lifting up our glance to heaven. While contemplating the twinkling ever-lasting stars, we must be mindful of the eternal radiant human ideals which they symbolize. ”

“ Education and ghetto seem to be, taken at first glance, two contradictions. Even so, the Jewish will for life and Jewish faith negate these differences, while creating possibilities in educational work during circumstances of a constant threat of the danger of warfare.
Education in the ghetto must be elevated by the highest humanistic ideals, never glancing aside at the surrounding nightmare. It must be dependent upon the hope for a brighter and better future. The children must be raised in the belief that a better future will arrive shortly. Their upbringing must be Jewish ”

“ Yetsies-mitsraim, the Exodus from Egypt, was a turning point in our history. Liberation first opened the road to independence and to a free life. The people still had to undergo a great wandering and overcome many upheavals and blunders until it established its own foundation, but the exodus from Egypt was the first condition for the existence of the people, for its religious and national unification. Still, in slavery alienation, even an ancient and tried people cannot maintain its national integrity and its moral stance. ”

“ Only in the Jewish community will our youth be satisfied and find soulful equilibrium and opportunities/possibilities from material and spiritual existence.
It is clear that in our school, there must reign, even by means of instruction in all of the subjects, the "work principle" and the children must become used to being independent from the very beginning. Besides that general principle, all of the children from age 14 must start to learn a trade and receive elementary instruction in gardening and agriculture. They must know how to use a hammer, a saw, or a sickle. ”

“ We mean the freedom that includes people living together freely and happily, the freedom to take part in the battle with nature in order to place all of her hidden treasures at the disposal of human civilization. For us, freedom entails equal justice for those who create honorably. ”

“ As opposed to normal times, the ghetto creates many different conditions for various things. The ghetto initially makes for a special atmosphere and creates particular possibilities for achievement in the sphere of education. For example, there are, right now, during the spring and summer, opportune times for work in childhood instruction. Therefore, the problem of our youth's education is, at this time, especially relevant for us.
Education is dependent upon belief in the future. It requires time and perseverance. ”

“ Until this time, we have been foolish, evil, and unjust. Now, we desire to become otherwise; better, finer and more just. Therein lays the opportunity for our constant personal and social renewal for the sake of the uninterrupted perfection of our souls. ”

“ This is the true Jewish observance of cultural values and Spirit in general. It is false and dangerous to cherish culture because of the material benefit that it can bring us. Knowledge and Art have intrinsic worth in and of themselves. They should never become desecrated for profit, party of political purposes. ”

“ Meanwhile, our existence is very difficult. Our life stands short moments away from not-being. But we still hope for a way out. We hope for a solution for our people to receive equal rights to live and work among the nations. ”

“ It cannot be imagined that the Jewish nation and its special cultural spirit should disappear while, at the same time, other peoples and their national cultures are becoming stronger. Therefore, the feeling for human values and cultural self worthiness of the Jewish people in relation to other peoples must be implanted in our youth. Jewish history must fulfill a central place in our educational system.
In the conditions of the ghetto, Yiddish is the natural language of instruction. ”

“ As always, in Jewish history, past and present are so very similar that they can almost never be separated one from the other. It is said that the "children" have the same fortune as their parents, i.e., forefathers. ”

“ We no longer retain a naïve and romantic attitude toward the military and political exploits of the Hasmoneans. We know now that after a short flourishing, an inner degeneration began to set in and that political independence was s sham. ”

“ In general, the emphasis must be on professional training. No less important is the strengthening of the Jewish will to live and for a feeling of responsibility for the Jewish community in its present situation. ”