Solomon Solis-Cohen 
Jewish Theological Seminary, Past and Future [PDF ebook] 
Address Delivered at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Commencement, New York, June 2, 1918

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. When – a few weeks ago – my friend, fellow student and fellow worker, the Acting President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, asked me to tell the friends, workers and students of the Seminary, here today assembled, something of its founding and its founders, I realized with almost sudden sharpness that a generation has passed since the Seminary came into existence. New workers have arisen, new friends have been made, new students have entered, of whom perhaps it may not be said that they know not Joseph – but to whom Joseph is a name, rather than a memory. It is to them, especially, that I am asked to speak.<br><br>Three and thirty years ago, the young men and some of the elders of my generation rallied around a great leader – my revered teacher, Sabato Morais of blessed memory – to work toward the realization of a great vision. The vision was not new, for men of an earlier generation had also beheld it and worked toward its actualization. With God’s blessing, it was our happiness to see the dream partially fulfilled.