With the passing of the fifteenth day of AB [the eleventh month in the Hebrew calendar corresponding to parts of July, and August; it has thirty days], we observe the disappearance of beautiful summer. The High Holidays draw near at this time. To the Jew the coming of the High Holidays heralds the time when nature will shed her cloak of green leaves and flowers and will then wrap herself in shrouds of snow and frost. It gives him a hint that man is no more than a passing shadow, a flying speck of dust, who is here today and gone tomorrow. And the Jew becomes serious; a feeling of repentance touches his heart and a religious fervor penetrates his soul.

He begins to remind himself that he is naught but a toy in the hands of fate; clay in the hands of the Potter. He is not certain whether his death will 2be natural or unnatural; whether he will perish by the sword or by fire, whether he will be strangled or will die of hunger. He begins to recognize a change in nature. He sees that life is not a mere toy, but something far more serious; that the fear of God is present in all His work; that this fear affects all His creatures.

In the synagogue where the Jew comes to cry bitterly when he is distressed, preparations are now being made to receive, on the High Holidays, all those who seek comfort for the soul. But the Jew will greet the High Holidays this year with more enthusiasm for religion, and with greater fear and solemnity, and if his tears formed rivers last year, they will form oceans this year. Oceans of tears will deluge the World because of the curse and misfortune of the Jewish people, of our persecuted brothers and sisters overseas.

Yes, brothers and sisters, those unfortunate children of our people who are flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood, are now victims of the sword, and 3those who manage to escape the sword die of either hunger or epidemic. In war-stricken countries they who perish by the sword are better off than the ones who die of hunger.

Death stares at those unfortunate people each day; it tags along their shoulders, enfolds them in its bony arms, frightens them by its hollow eyes; it gnashes its skeleton teeth at them and girds them around with its ring-like ribs.

The misfortune of our people overseas is indescribable. There are no words in any language that can adequately depict these horrors. Ink will not suffice to describe their misfortunes; blood must be used--the boiling, red blood of young men who fell in battle, the black, congealed blood of our aged men and women, of our widows and orphans.

All this will rise up in the mind of the Jew while he is standing in the synagogue during the High Holidays. We will be shocked by the misfortunes 4that have befallen him, and tears will flow from his eyes.

But not with tears alone can we heal the wounds of our brothers and sisters. The tears that we will need in our peaceful country will neither appease the hunger nor eradicate the epidemics that afflict our brethren. Repentance, prayer, and charity destroy all evil decrees. Remember, however, that in the prayer book, above the word charity, the word money is emphasized, and if we wish to mitigate the plight of the unfortunate, we must come to their aid with money.

The synagogues and halls [halls are rented for the purpose of conducting the services on High Holidays] where Jews will assemble on the High Holidays can, for example, help the Jewish war-sufferers a great deal in a direct manner. War stamps should be affixed to all tickets for Rosh Hashonoh (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which are sold to worshipers. [Translator's note: Worshipers cannot enter the synagogue during the High Holidays unless they secure an admission ticket in Advance.] We should not forget that these 5stamps can yield a huge amount for relief. This will be a direct contribution from the synagogues and an indirect contribution from the Jewish public. The synagogues and halls will thereby fulfill their duty toward their war-stricken brethren and thus neither the synagogue nor the public will find it difficult to fulfill this duty.

To attain this noble objective, unity must prevail among all synagogues and halls in our city. The assessment that will be stamped on each ticket must not be optional, but compulsory. It should not be optional because many will neglect it, which, in turn, will mean a heavy material loss for the unfortunate. Unity among all worthy directors of synagogues and halls on this matter must be apparent. A moral obligation must be imposed upon all. Not a single ticket should be sold without a war stamp.

The printers who print synagogue tickets and the season's greetings cards should not forget to design a place on their printed material where stamps 6may be pasted. The Jewish printers should bear this in mind because they too, as members of our people, are morally obligated to the unfortunate Jews. They should feel proud that they can indirectly help the war-sufferers through their trade. They are the ones who should remind the presidents of synagogues, directors of halls and the Jewish public in general that they must affix war stamps to the tickets they purchase for the High Holidays. We know that the stamps were disregarded considerably last year. And it was a great sin. It will be a greater sin to disregard them this year because the misfortunes have increased this year.

We in America travel safely on the ship of life. But the ship of life on European waters has met with a shipwreck and millions of people are drowning and going under in a sea of blood and affliction. Who among us will not offer succor to those unfortunates? Let us all help. Help is needed.