Greetings to the Jewish Theological Seminary on Its Fifty-fifth Anniversary.

Dear Dr. Finkelstein:

The fifty-fifth anniversary of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America is an occasion for congratulation not only to the members of your faculty, board of directors, alumni, and others associated with the institution, but the community. Of special importance today is the emphasis which your teachers and graduates place on the intimate relationship between religious traditions deriving from the prophets of Scripture and the democratic ideals for which we are struggling in the present world conflict.

If the world to emerge from the war after a victory of the United Nations is to be a world of enduring peace and of freedom, that peace and that freedom must be founded on renewed loyalty to the spiritual values inherent in the great religious traditions which have saved mankind from degradation in the past and which offer the greatest promise for civilization in the future.

The enemies of mankind who are arrayed in battle against us realized this, and therefore began their effort to subdue the world with an assault on religious institutions. It has become an attack upon all monotheistic religions and the principles which they have taught mankind—the dignity and worth of human personality, the value of reason and truth, the blessedness of mercy and justice.

The seminary has made impressive efforts to study the problems of relationships among men of different faiths. Never has it been more important for the lovers of freedom to work harmoniously together in mutual understanding.

The Institute for Religious Studies, established at the seminary and conducted in cooperation with Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant scholars, is an important symbol of national solidarity. It will in time, I trust, become an increasingly powerful instrument for enlightening men of all faiths regarding the basic values of each other's doctrine and practice and their common responsibility for the development of democratic civilization.

In the difficult days before us all, I hope that the seminary and those within the wide circle of its influence will continue to carry on their work for our country and for religious faith.

Very sincerely yours,

Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, President, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, N.Y.