Second part of Morning Rosh Hashanah service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn and lay readers & first part of Evening Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) service with partial sermon by Rabbi B. Gittelsohn. “Why I am Not an Atheist”, September 10 & 19, 1961. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.

TI-AV_90021-002

Item Information

Title:
Second part of Morning Rosh Hashanah service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn and lay readers & first part of Evening Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) service with partial sermon by Rabbi B. Gittelsohn. “Why I am Not an Atheist”, September 10 & 19, 1961. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Description:
This recording begins with the second and final part of a morning Rosh Hashanah service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn and congregant readers. This short segment includes announcements, the Adoration, the Kaddish and closing prayers. The recording then switches to an evening Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) service with the first part of sermon by Rabbi B. Gittelsohn. In his sermon, Rabbi Gittelsohn notes that, in the past, few would have claimed themselves atheists even though Jews have always disagreed about God and his relationship to man. In modern times, he argues, more people have questioned their faith and belief in God, often on the basis of their belief in evolution. Rabbi Gittelsohn asserts that the “experience of atonement is dependent upon a real and pervasive faith in God.” He believes that evolution leaves too much unexplained because many evolutionary changes took place “not as adaptations to existing environment but almost in anticipation of future environment” and because human beings developed consciousness, which took them far beyond any previous form of life, and made them “a ligament between beast and God.” Rabbi Gittelsohn states that “because of nature, because of evolution and most of all, because of man, I believe in God.” Choral music performed by the Temple Israel Choir, Herbert Fromm, conductor.
Speaker:
Gittelsohn, Roland Bertram, 1910-1995
Musical director:
Fromm, Herbert
Composer:
Fromm, Herbert
Creator:
Congregation Adath Israel (Boston, Mass.)
Date:
September 10, 1961–September 19, 1961
Format:
Audio recordings (nonmusical)
Location:
Temple Israel of Boston
Wyner Archives
Collection (local):
Past Voices, Audio Recordings, 1934-1979
Subjects:
Reform Judaism--United States
Jewish sermons--United States
Synagogue music--Sabbath services--United States
Rosh ha-Shanah sermons
Holidays--Religious aspects--Judaism
Psychology and religion
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Extent:
1/4" open reel tape (1 hour, 38 min., 58 sec.)
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/cr56qr151
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License (CC BY-ND).
CC BY-ND icon
Language:
English
Hebrew
Notes:
Related items: TI-AV_90021.003; TI-AV_90021.004
Preferred Citation:
Second part of Morning Rosh Hashanah service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn and lay readers & first part of Evening Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) service with partial sermon by Rabbi B. Gittelsohn. “Why I am Not an Atheist”, September 10 & 19, 1961. Audiovisual Collection, Audiovisual Collection, Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Notes (funding):
This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Notes (historical):
Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), social justice activist, Zionist, and writer, was Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel from 1953-1977 and Rabbi Emeritus thereafter. He served as founding rabbi of Central Synagogue in Rockville Center, NY from 1936-1953. During WWII, he became the first Jewish Marine Corps chaplain, and, in 1945, he delivered a moving, oft-quoted eulogy on brotherhood at Iwo Jima. After his retirement he was a co-founder of ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists).
Herbert Fromm (1905-1995), Temple Israel’s organist and Music Director (1941-1973), was a German-born conductor and composer forced to leave Germany in 1937. A prolific composer of religious music, much of which became part of the standard synagogue repertoire, and secular works, he also published many articles and essays and several books.
Identifier:
TI-AV_90021.002