Suicide is one of the many mournful occurrences in our society. It is like all other plagues and diseases which break out and spread because society does not take the necessary measures to safeguard the people against them.

There is no reason why a man or woman should commit suicide. The world is large enough, beautiful enough, and pleasant enough, so that no one should be willing to leave and exchange the brightness of it for a dark grave. With all its shortcomings, with all its disappointments, life is unquestionably more attractive than death, which is no more and no less than nothing.

When a person gets tired of life he believes that in a cold grave he will find rest. Despondency over the struggle for existence often 2makes a person declare himself bankrupt and forces him to return to the shadow of death. It is therefore unnatural for a woman, young and beautiful, especially an expectant mother, to nurture the thought that she has become tired of life and wants to seek repose in death. It is unnatural for a woman knowing that she will soon become a mother, which should encourage her to begin anew the struggle for existence, to look at life through dark spectacles, and consider a grave in Waldheim (Jewish cemetery) a bright spot.

Yet, there has recently been a suicide epidemic among Jews. The latest victim was Rose Azerovsky. Like all previous victims, she was an expectant mother. Everyone still has much to gain in life and nothing to expect from death. All these suicides were committed by non-religious persons. None believed that beyond the grave there exists a better world. All of these victims were young, beautiful and attractive women who could have overcome with but little effort, their trivial disappointments. By knowing that in the grave one loses everything which is sacred and dear, they should have had enough courage not to become tired of life, and should not have feared the so-called infamy of 3becoming a mother without any religious ceremony, in which they themselves did not believe.

It is neither the weariness of life nor the struggle for existence that drives many of our radical Jewish sisters to commit suicide. It is the belief that humanity has become so demoralized that it is a shame to be a member of the human race, any longer, which influences young, decent women to depart from this world without any reason. It is not the disappointment in oneself but the disappointment in society at large that forces a noble soul to divorce the body.

Who is to be blamed for this? The blame rests on the professional mud slinger who discourage the life of those who cannot endure a little hardship. On the grave of Rose Azerovsky we can only afford a sigh for the young soul who did not want to be in the midst of colleagues whose only ambition in life is to depict the worst of it.

There will come a time, when life will have no shadow and there will be 4no reason for a young beautiful woman, with hopes for an active future, to look forward to the grave.