Fabric of My Life, the Autobiography of Hannah G. Solomon
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FABRIC OF MY LIFE The Autobiography of HANNAH G. SOLOMON The Gift of Elaine S Allei Avner in Memory of their jiM Parents Herman 8, Pearl SeTOer' Sweital and Sim & Laura Moore Avner. ^ University of Illinois f*: at Urbana-Champaign 1«:4NOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY HANNAH G. SOLOMON FABRIC OF MY LIFE FABRIC OF MY LIFE The Autobiography of HANNAH G. SOLOMON NEW YORK BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY "T/ie Jewish Book, Concern' 5707-1946 Copyright, 1946, by BLOCK PUBLISHING COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESS OF THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY PHILADELPHIA, PENNA. "If we could see the whole fabric of our lives spread out What a wonderful weaving it might show; Many a thread that we thought lost would re-appear And form strange patterns of cause and effect. But God holds the spindle and until He cuts the thread We go on adding a bit each day." Theresa G. Lesem TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Illustrations ix An Appreciation of Hannah G. Solomon xi Foreword and Dedication xiii PART I — WARP AND WEFT "Unto a Land That I Will Shew Thee" 3 "Spreading Himself Like a Green Bay Tree" 10 "Children Are a Heritage of the Lord" 19 "How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Foreign Land?" 29 "A Goodly Heritage" 35 "Thy People Shall Be My People" 46 "We Will Show You a Thing" 53 "Every Man to His Tents" 61 "Behold, How Good and How Pleasant ... for Brethren to Dwell Together in Unity" 66 PART n — PATTERN "Have We All Not One Father?" 79 <^ "My Brother's Keeper" 92 "Dream Dreams and See Visions" 101 "Down to the Sea in Ships" 116 [vii] PAGE "In Pleasant Places" 126 "Let Us Take Counsel Together" 144 "Is It Well With the Child?" 151 "Man Doth Not Live by Bread Only" 160 "Establish . ; . the Work of Our Hands" 166 "Saying: 'Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace' " 174 "Through the Valley of the Shadow" 182 "And, Behold, It Was Very Good" 192 "Whence Then Cometh Wisdom?" 205 PART III — TEXTURE "Three Score Years and Ten" 221 "When the People Offer Themselves Willingly" 227 "Before Honor Goeth Humility" 237 "And My God Showed Favor Unto Me" 247 "As a Tale That Is Told" 258 [viii] ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAOB 1. Frontispiece 2. "Children Are a Heritage of the Lord" 20 3. My "Public Appearance Costume" 44 4. And So — Henry and I Were Married 48 5. Ten Little Greenebaums Grown Up 62 6. The Three Solomon Children 110 7. The Way We Looked to Europe 118 8. The International Congress of Women 120 9. I Wore White for Evening, Too 168 10. Jane Addams Came to My Birthday Party 242 11. The Council Triennial in 1938 251 [ix] AN APPRECIATION OF HANNAH G. SOLOMON HANNAH G. Solomon was the foremost Jewish woman of this era. Devoted to the faith of her fathers and instinctively sympathetic in her understanding of human hearts and ideals, she rose to natural leadership in communal and national endeavor. The splendor of her vision is reflected in the numerous organizations which were created by her genius in our country and across the sea. Thus she became an inter- national figure. The Council of Jewish Women is her most distinguished achievement. It stands as her permanent service to the wel- fare of Jewish womanhood. She was appointed a member of The Women's Board of The World's Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago in connection with the Columbian Exposition of 1893. As chairman of her committee, she proceeded to organize The Jewish Women's Congress. At that time, Hannah Solomon had an inspiration which resulted in the founding of The National Council of Jewish Women. She indicated her lofty conception of the tenets of our faith when she chose Religion, Education and Philanthropy as the cornerstones for building the Council. Hannah Solomon's devotion to religion was reflected in her rare spiritual conception of life, which impelled her course and imbued her with zealous strength. She pioneered for [xi] woman's place in the modern Jewish world. While she cherished the old thought, she ever welcomed the new. She gave her best efforts to every educational movement which concerned intellectual advancement. Determined in her search for truth, she wrote and spoke to bring enlightened ideas within the reach of all women. Philanthropy was her watchword. Not only did she plead for humanity and justice, but she brought hope to the dis- couraged and comfort to the bereaved. She consecrated her life to service which was distinguished by kindliness and understanding. She possessed a profound intellect, a rare enthusiasm and a lovable personality. Hannah Solomon labored for the benefit of mankind without a thought of self. The Council of Jewish Women will ever hold her name in reverence. This great organization which she founded is guided by her spirit to achieve high ideals and support righteous causes. It has thus become a living memorial to the spiritual faith and the magnetic leadership of HANNAH G. SOLOMON. [xii] FOREWORD AND DEDICATION WHY DOES ONE WRITE an autobiography? Chiefly for one's children and grandchildren, and it is at the insistence of mine that I begin this chronicle. All grand- mothers have a tale to tell, for not only is the world of their youth full of charm and quaintnes's to succeeding generations, but there is ever a persistent desire on the part of one's young followers to have portrayed for them the life in which their forebears have participated. Then, too, grandchildren possess great faith in their grandmothers, whose wisdom and accomp- lishments are apt to loom large. On the other hand, have not grandmothers a peculiar insight into the potentialities of their grandchildren? It is the grandmother who often- times discovers the embryo of the genius that is to be. Her imagination gallops into space where float the colors of the rainbow ending in the pot of gold, and in her dreams she hears heavenly choirs intoning sweet songs of triumph and success. But, if fame or fortune really comes, it is the grand- mother who has learned that the most enduring gratification results not so much from actual attainment as from the work in which there was participation with fellow-men, or in the consecration to and consistent eff^ort toward a noble goal. It is this mature realization that a grandmother desires most yearningly to leave as her special message to those who follow her. Thus, as I near my eighty-fifth birthday, I find I am glad to review the paths I trod, both for my grandchildren and [ xiii ] for my children who have lived through so many of my ex- periences with me, sharing gladness or sorrow as they came, and the richness of each. I write, then, with a stil! firm pen, for Frank and Helen Solomon, my son and daughter-in-law, who are a tower of strength to me and whose home is as my own, and for Helen Levy, my beloved daughter, who has been at my side through all her life in perfect and indispen- sable companionship. To my five dear grandchildren do I dedicate this book . to Betty, Henry and Frank Solomon, and to Frances Hannah and Philip Angel and their small Philip and Henry, my two delightful great-grandsons. [xiv] PART I WARP AND WEFT "Seeking Wool and Flax" CHAPTER I ". UNTO A LAND THAT I WILL ." SHEW THEE . (Genesis xii:l) WHERE DOES A BIOGRAPHY BEGIN? Docs the life story of an individual have its origin in the distant past and is any of that past crystallized in a new-born soul? Do we start our pilgrimage conditioned by patterns already ingrained and will the failures and the successes of an earlier generation and ancient preferences and prejudices play their part? How far do fate and chance mold our behavior and our lives? Is memory to be trusted, or has time, in passing, so obliterated the poignancy of experiences which distressed us or enhanced our joy that we are unable to record them in true proportion? Do we remember clearly those moments when inspiration was born through contact with rich minds; those in which courage was instilled and new insight kindled? Time, in a measure, blots out the tragic and the sorrowful that darken our lives for a space leaving, nonetheless, an irrevocable im- press. How especially fortunate that memories of the pleasant recur and stand out in bold relief! In Chicago, where I have lived eighty-four years, I have known five generations: the pioneers, among whom were numbered the contemporaries of my grandparents as well as of my parents, Michael and Sarah Greenebaum. Then [3] followed my own generation, now overtaken by those of my children and grandchildren. My relatives and friends, my city and country, my heredity and the traditions of a foreign nationality and of the Jewish faith sum up the influences that shaped my early life. To the Jew, whether a voluntary or a forced immigrant, came the old call, "Get thee out of thy country . , . unto a land that I will shew thee." Many, of the pioneers' day, left Europe to escape religious persecution and to find freedom under a democratic form of government with a Bill of Rights as their shield; others departed to seek broader opportunities or to evade army service. All brought with them more than their bodily strength; they brought, in addition, talent and training and, oftentimes, wealth. My father, Michael Greenebaum, was the first member of his family to come to America, thus paving the way for all who later came from Eppelsheim, a small German village in the Rhine Palatinate, as well as for relatives from far and near.