TEXT 1. From Sanehiko Yamamoto1
[Tokyo, 15 January 1922]
The negotiations.
Kaizosha has the honor of most courteously inviting Professor Dr. Albert Einstein to Japan and asking him to give some lectures. We are both agreed about definitely satisfying the following commitment:
1. There are planned
a) One scientific lecture, in Tokyo during a period of six days, in particular, about three hours each day; and
b) Six popular talks, once each in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sendai, and Sapporo (for around two and a half hours).
2. If no inevitable obstacles arise, the speaker would embark on the trip at the end of 〈August〉 September or the beginning of 〈September〉 October2 1922. The sojourn in Japan will last about one month.
3. The honorarium (including the voyage as well as accommodation costs) amounts to two thousand (£2,000) English pounds.
Kaizosha transfers to the speaker half of the total together with this certificate through the “Yokohama Specie Bank” in London. The remainder will be presented to him immediately upon his arrival in Japan.
If it is impossible to come to Japan owing to unavoidable difficulties, the advance in the amount of English £1,000 should be repaid to Kaizosha.
In great respect, we both undersign:
Berlin, the — 1922
Tokyo, the 15th of Jan. 1922.
S.Yamamoto
(The representative of Kaizosha.)
TEXT 2. Report on a conversation with Prof. Einstein on the
day of his departure to Japan, on 29 September 19223
[Berlin,] 12 October 1922
Prof. Einstein declares that he is prepared to accept the invitation of Dr. Arthur Ruppin to visit Palestine.4 It will be possible for him to arrange his itinerary in such a manner that, on the return trip from Batavia,5 he will be able to stay in Palestine for 10 days . . . Einstein would like to stress that this brief stay should not be confused with his actual trip to Palestine.6 “One should only travel to Palestine directly and not on the occasion of a trip to other countries;” furthermore, he knows that in 10 days he cannot form an opinion on the issues which really interest him. . . . Moreover, it seems necessary to me, that our opinion on the establishment of the university7 be imparted to him as an official view. He will then campaign for this cause and be prevented from making random opinions on the plans for the university his own.
Kurt Blumenfeld
TEXT 3. Speech at Reception in Singapore8
[Singapore, 2 November 1922]
I feel highly pleased at the hearty welcome you, Mr. Manasseh Meyer, and all here, in your mansion, have given to me and to Mrs. Einstein. I have also been greatly touched by the impressive words you have made use of in the address which you have presented to me.9 On behalf of Mrs. Einstein and myself, I beg to thank you for the kind reception you have given to us. I am agreeably surprised to find here in the Far East such a happy unity amongst our brethren.10 Concerning your personal remarks addressed to me, they made me feel all the more happy on account of their recognition of intellectual ambitions, which is one of the finest traditions of our race. (Hear, hear.)
The flattering terms which you have used regarding my theory should not really have been addressed to me but to all the scientists of the last century and which was the result of the progress of science through the ages. I am glad to say that science is the property of all nations, and is not in any way endangered by international strife, for it always has a healing influence on those people who look beyond the horizon. If science is preeminent through its universal predomination, then one may ask “Why do we need a Jewish University?”11 Science is international but its success is based upon institutions which are owned by nations. If, therefore, we wish to promote culture, we have to combine and to organise institutions with our own power and means. We need to do this all the more on account of the present political developments and especially in view of the fact that a large percentage of our own sons are refused admission into the Universities of other nations.12 (Shame.) Up to now, as individuals, we have helped as much as possible in the interests of culture, and it would be only fair to ourselves if we, now, as a race, add to culture through the medium of our own institution. (Applause.) With this end in view let us work together with all those prominent men who are already devoting all their energy to the fulfillment of this great ideal. Once more I heartily thank you all for the great esteem which you have shown to me.
TEXT 4. “Chat about My Impressions in Japan”13
Manuscript completed on or after 7 December 1922.
Published January 192314
I have been traveling much around the world in the last few years, actually more than befits a scholar. The likes of me really ought to stay quietly put in his study and ponder. For my earlier trips there was always an excuse that could easily pacify my not very susceptible conscience. But when Yamamoto’s invitation to Japan arrived,15 I immediately resolved to embark on such a great voyage that must demand months, even though I am unable to offer any excuse other than that I would never have been able to forgive myself for letting a chance to see Japan with my own eyes pass unheeded.
Never in my life have I been more envied in Berlin, and genuinely so, than the moment it became known that I was invited to Japan. For in our country this land is shrouded more than any other in a veil of mystery. Among us we see many Japanese, living a lonely existence, studying diligently, smiling in a friendly manner. No one can fathom the feelings concealed behind this guarded smile. And yet it is known that behind it lies a soul different from ours that reveals itself in the Japanese style, as is manifest in numerous small Japanese products and Japanese-influenced literature becoming fashionable from time to time. All the things I knew about Japan could not give me a clear picture. My curiosity was in utmost suspense when, on board the Kitanu Maru, I passed through the Japanese straits and saw the countless dainty green islets glowing in the morning sun. But glowing most of all were the faces of all the Japanese passengers and the ship’s entire crew. Many a delicate little woman, who otherwise would never be seen before breakfast time, was roaming restlessly and blissfully about on deck at six o’clock in the morning, heedless of the harsh morning wind, in order to catch the first possible glimpse of her native soil. I was moved to see how overcome they all were with deep emotion. A Japanese loves his country and his nation above all else; and despite his linguistic proficiency and great curiosity about everything foreign, away from home he still does feel more alien than anyone else. How is this explained?
I have been in Japan for only two weeks now,16 and yet so much is still as mysterious to me as on the first day. Some things I have learned to understand, though, most of all the shyness that a Japanese feels in the company of Europeans and Americans. At home our entire upbringing is directed toward our being able to tackle life’s struggles successfully as individuals under the best possible circumstances. Particularly in the cities—individualism in the extreme, cutthroat competition exerting one’s utmost energy, feverish laboring to acquire as much luxury and indulgences as possible. Family bonds are loosened, the influence of artistic and moral traditions on daily life is relatively slight. The isolation of the individual is seen as a necessary consequence of the struggle for survival; it robs a person of that carefree happiness that only absorption in a community can offer. The predominantly rationalistic education— indispensable for practical living under our circumstances—lends this attitude of the individual even more poignancy; it makes one even more aware of the isolation of the individual.
Quite the contrary in Japan. The individual is left far less to his own devices than in Europe or America. Family ties are very much closer than at home, even though they are actually only provided very weak legal protection. But the power of public opinion is much stronger here than at home, ensuring that the family fabric is not undone. Public and private reputation helps force to completion what is mostly already sufficiently secured by a Japanese upbringing and an innate kindheartedness.
The cohesion of extended families in material respects, mutual support, is facilitated by an unpretentiousness of the individual in regard to housing and food. A European can generally accommodate one person in his apartment without there being perceptible disruption to the household order. Thus a European man can at best mostly only care for his wife and children. Often wives, even women of higher status, must help earn a living and leave the children’s education to the servants. It is rare that adult siblings, let alone more distant relatives, provide for one another.
But there is a second reason, as well, that makes closer protective ties between individuals easier in this country than where we live. It is the idiosyncratic Japanese tradition of not expressing one’s feelings and emotions but staying calm and even-tempered in all circumstances. This is the basis upon which many persons, even those not in emotional harmony with one another, can live under a single roof without embarrassing frictions and conflicts arising. Herein lies, it appears to me, the deeper meaning of the Japanese smile, which is so mysterious to a European.
Does this upbringing to suppress the expression of an individual’s feelings lead to an inner impoverishment, a suppression of the individual himself? I do not think so. The development of this tradition was surely facilitated by a refined sensitivity characteristic of this nation and by an intense sense of compassion, which seems to be more vivid than for Europeans. A rough word does not injure a European any less than it does a Japanese. The former immediately counters by going on the offensive, amply repaying in kind. A Japanese withdraws, wounded, and—weeps. How often is the Japanese inability to utter sharp words interpreted as falseness and dishonesty!
For a foreigner like me it is not easy to delve deeply into the Japanese mind. Being received everywhere with the greatest attention in festive garb, I hear more carefully weighed words than meaningful ones that inadvertently slip out of the depths of the soul. But what escapes me in direct experience with people is completed by the impressions of art, which is so richly and diversely appreciated in Japan as in no other country. By “art” I mean all things of permanence that human hands have created here whether by aesthetical intent or secondary motivation.
In this regard I hardly cease to be astonished and amazed. Nature and people seem to have united to bring forth a uniformity in style as nowhere else. Everything that truly originates from this country is delicate and joyful, not abstractly metaphysical but always quite closely connected with what is available in nature. Delicate is the landscape with its small green islets or hills, delicate are the trees, delicate the most carefully farmed land with its precise little parcels, but most especially so the little houses standing on the land; and, finally, the people themselves in their speech, their movements, their attire, including all objects of which they make use. I took a particular liking to the Japanese house with its very segmented smooth walls, its many little rooms laid out throughout with soft mats. Each little detail has its own sense and import there. Add to that the dainty people with their picturesque smiling, bowing, sitting—all things that can only be admired but not imitated. You, oh foreigner, try to do so in vain!—Yet Japan’s dainty dishes are indigestible to you; better content yourself with watching.—Compared to our people, the Japanese are cheerful and carefree in their mutual relations—they live not in the future but in the present. This cheerfulness always expresses itself in refined form, never boisterously. Japanese wit is directly comprehensible to us. They too have much sense for the droll, for humor. I was astonished to note that, regarding these psychologically surely deeply lying things, there is no great difference between the Japanese and the European. The soft-heartedness of the Japanese reveals itself here in that his humor does not assume a sarcastic note.
Of greatest interest to me was Japanese music, which developed partly or entirely independently of ours. Only upon listening to completely strange art does one come closer to the ideal of separating the conventional from the essential conditioned by human nature. The differences between Japanese music and ours are indeed fundamental. Whereas in our European music, chords and architectonic structure appear to be universal and indispensable, they are absent in Japanese music. On the other hand, they have in common the same thirteen tonal steps into which the octaves are divided. Japanese music seems to me to be a kind of emotive painting of inconceivably direct impressions. The exact tonal pitch does not even seem to be so absolutely decisive for the artistic effect. It much rather suggests to me a stylized depiction of the passions expressed by the human voice as well as by such natural sounds that conjure up in the human mind emotive impressions, such as birdsong and the breaking of waves in the sea. This impression is amplified by the important role played by percussive instruments, which have no specific tonal pitch of their own but are particularly suited for rhythmic characterization. The main attraction to me of Japanese music lies in the extremely refined rhythms. I am fully aware of the circumstance that the most intimate subtleties of this kind of music still elude me. Added to the fact that long experience is always presupposed for distinguishing the purely conventional from a performer’s personal expression, the relation to the spoken and sung word, which plays a considerable role in most Japanese pieces of music, also escapes me. As I see it, a characteristic of the artistic approach of the Japanese soul is the unique appearance of the mellow flute, not the much more strident wind instruments made out of metal. Here, too, is manifested the particular characteristic preference for the mellifluous and the dainty that is especially prominent in Japanese painting and design of products for everyday life. I was most greatly affected by the music when it served as accompaniment to a theater piece or a mime (dance), particularly in a Noh play. What stands in the way of the development of Japanese music into a major form of high art is, in my opinion, a lack of formal order and architectonic structure.
To me, the area of most magnificence in Japanese art is painting and wood carving. Here it is truly revealed that the Japanese is a visual person who delights in form, who untiringly refashions events in artistic form, converted into stylized lines. Copying nature in the sense of our realism is foreign to the Japanese, just as is religious repudiation of the sensual, despite the influence of Buddhism from the Asian continent, which is intrinsically so foreign to the Japanese soul. For him, everything is experienced in form and color, true to Nature and yet foreign to Nature insofar as stylization broadly predominates. He loves clarity and the simple line above all else. A painting is strongly perceived as an integral whole.
I have only been able to mention a few of the great impressions I had during these weeks, saying nothing about political and social problems. On the exquisiteness of the Japanese woman, this flower-like creature—I have also remained reticent; for here the common mortal must cede the word to the poet. But there is one more thing that weighs on me. The Japanese rightfully admires the intellectual achievements of the West and immerses himself successfully and with great idealism in the sciences. But let him not thereby forget to keep pure the great attributes in which he is superior to the West—the artful shaping of life, modesty and unpretentiousness in his personal needs, and the purity and calm of the Japanese soul.
TEXT 5. To Sanehiko Yamamoto17
Kyoto, 12 December 1922
Esteemed Mr. Yamamoto,
Under the impression of the great services you have rendered to me and my wife during our presence in Japan, I consider it an absolute duty to inform you of the following. The ship18 is departing from Moji in only 16 days’ time and in the interim I have nothing for you to accomplish on our behalf. So I feel it is unfair of me to have us impose upon Mr. Inagaki and his wife during this interval.19 Much as I love them both, I ask you please, in order to relieve my conscience, to leave my wife and me alone in Kyoto during this quiet period. You are truly doing enough for us by making possible for us such a long stay in this wonderful city. I also ask you please not to have anyone travel to Fukuoka and Moji purely as a personal favor to us.
At this time I would like to express my profound gratitude to you for providing us with the opportunity to see this wonderful country and for making our lives more pleasant throughout in such a generous and caring manner.
Cordial greetings to you, yours,
A. Einstein.
My wife was not in Osaka yesterday, because I had ordered her to remain in Kyoto. I did this because it was not known to me in time that an official function was supposed to take place in Osaka.20 My wife was very unhappy about having been the source of a disruption through no fault of her own.21
TEXT 6. To Hans Albert and Eduard Einstein22
Kyoto, 17 December 1922
Dear Children,
Now you, d[ear] Albert, have been a student for a couple of months already.23 I often think of that with pride. The voyage is wonderful, even though Japan is quite exhausting. I have already given 13 lectures. I am very glad that I left you, d[ear] Albert, in Zurich; as I would not have been able to pay much attention to you anyway, and your studies mean more to you than any trip, no matter how nice, in which you’d have had to make official appearances in so many instances.24 The Japanese do appeal to me, by the way, better than all the peoples I’ve met up to now: quiet, modest, intelligent, appreciative of art, and considerate, nothing is for the sake of appearances, but rather everything is for the sake of substance. So now you really will be getting the Nobel Prize.25 Start looking for a house.26 The rest will be invested somewhere in your names. Then you’ll be so rich that, God knows, I may have to hit you up some day, depending on how things go. After my return home (end of March or beginning of April), I will soon have to travel to Stockholm to accept the prize. When I travel to Geneva then,27 I shall visit you, of course; I’m already looking forward to that. Then we can also consult about what we’ll be doing next summer. I am determined not to gallivant around the world so much anymore; but am I going to be able to pull that off, too?
You rascals didn’t write me at all; now it’s too late for Asia. If you want to write me before my return home to Germany, e.g., about the house, then write to Spain (University of Madrid) or—if you want to write fast—to the Zionist Organisation in Jerusalem. I am enclosing for you, d[ear] Tete,28 a few postage stamps collected along the way.
Affectionate regards to you and Mama29 from your
〈Albert〉 Papa.
TEXT 7. To Wilhelm Solf30
[Miyajima, 20 December 1922]31
[ . . . ]
I hasten to dispatch to you the more detailed information as a supplement to my reply by telegraph.32 Harden’s statement is certainly awkward for me, in that it aggravates my situation in Germany; nor is it completely correct, but neither is it completely wrong.33 Because people who know the situation in Germany well are indeed of the opinion that a certain threat to my life does exist. Admittedly, I did not assess the situation the same way prior to Rathenau’s murder as I did afterwards. A yearning for the Far East led me, in large part, to accept the invitation to Japan; another part was the need to get away for a while from the tense atmosphere in our homeland for a period of time, which so often places me in difficult situations. But after the murder of Rathenau, I was certainly very relieved to have an opportunity for a long absence from Germany, taking me away from the temporarily heightened danger without my having to do anything that could have been unpleasant for my German friends and colleagues.
[ . . . ]
TEXT 8. To Jun Ishiwara34
Moji, [between 23 and 29 December 1922]35
To my dear colleague Ishiwara as a memento, with whom I saw so many beautiful things, collaborated, and chatted many pleasant hours away. He is one of those few with whom I would very much like to ponder and work in a comradely spirit; because, in spite of all the differences in origin and tradition, a mysterious harmony exists between us.
Albert Einstein
Moji 1922.
TEXT 9. To Bansui Tsuchii (Doi)36
[On board S.S. Haruna Maru,] 30 December 1922
Very esteemed Mr. Tsuchii,
With great joy and admiration did I read the translation of your thoughtful poem37 and your very friendly letter. It does not matter that you hugely overrate my accomplishments,38 if the words simply emanate from a pure soul. The scientific quest really is different from that of an artist. The latter will evolve with certainty if he has the ability to see and feel, the power to create, and the stamina and love of perfect creativity. Science, however, is like riddle-guessing or even playing the lottery. It is a rare experience of happiness when one finds something of real value. Many a highly talented young man labors until ripe old age without the severe goddess unveiling anything of her deep secrets to him; she is unpredictable and inquires little about the merit earned from a devoted search for truth. And the little she has entrusted to me must appear gigantically magnified to the uninformed, who do not know about the achievements of the forerunners and fellow seekers. Be that as it may—I am delighted about your enthusiastic words.
I found exceptionally fine what you said about your beautiful land and the peculiar transitional state in which it currently finds itself. But I do believe you were a little too harsh in your characterization. In nurturing Western sciences over the course of these couple of decades, Japan has already ascended to a high level, and the profoundest of problems are being tackled. Japan is not merely borrowing the external elements of civilization from the West!39 An inundation of foreign culture is dangerous for any country in which its own high values are too easily underrated and forgotten—I am referring to the artistic, social, and ethical traditions of your country that I admire and cherish so much. In such matters the Japanese does not recognize his superiority over the European; it would be of great service to bring this to his consciousness so that he can feel that, with the indiscriminate adoption of European customs, great values are being jeopardized. Japan may acquiesce to the civilizing spirit of Europe and America, but it must know that its soul is far more valuable than these external shimmering trifles.
With joy and with a trembling hand I accept the splendid reproductions of Japanese-Chinese works of art which you have bestowed upon me.40 They will accompany me on this voyage and they will soften the harshness of the transition to Europe. The Japanese artistic hand is of incomparable delicacy.
My extant collected works will soon appear in Japanese,41 and I will gladly permit myself to have them sent to you, although it will be difficult to insert a dedication. But I will try to do so. I am attaching a small card for your son.42
Please be greeted from the bottom of my heart and
please accept my warmest thanks, from your,
A. Einstein
TEXT 10. To Eiichi Tsuchii (Doi)43
[On board S.S. Haruna Maru, 30 December 1922]44
He who is familiar with the exertions of pondering scientific problems never feels empty and alone; he also gains a firm foothold against the vicissitudes of fate.
A greeting for the young man E-i-ichi,
Albert Einstein
TEXT 11. To Yoshi Yamamoto45
[On board S.S. Haruna Maru, 30] December 192246
You, esteemed Mrs. Yamamoto, will always epitomize for me the ideal form of Japanese femininity. Quiet, cheerful, and flowerlike, you are the soul of your home, which looks like a jewelry case, within which, like jewels, lie your darling little children.47 In you I rightly see the soul of your people and the embodiment of its ancient culture, directed primarily toward grace and beauty.
Yours,
Albert Einstein.
TEXT 12. Speech at Jewish Reception in Shanghai48
[Shanghai, 1 January 1923]
I was asked to say a few words about the University at Jerusalem.49 I arrived at the conviction that such an institution was necessary from personal experience. While I was studying in Switzerland, I did not even know that I was a Jew.50 I was satisfied to know only that I was a man. When I came later to Berlin, I became aware that many like myself felt the spiritual need.51 They required something whereby to make their Jewish consciousness articulate and audible, and as the need could not be supplied, some attempted to stifle it by artificial means, which brought them no satisfaction.
Then came Zionism and brought a new harmony into the souls of many.52 Now the Jewish University will provide the focus for the Jewish spirit and will enable Jewish scholars to find their bearings. It will not be so much a school for students as a rallying point for Jewish scholarship and an authoritative center of Jewish thought that will help to define and clarify our outlook throughout the wide world. And from it, influences will radiate that will enliven and inspirit the diverse communities of scattered Israel.
33. Nobel Prize in Physics, medal, 10 December 1922 (with permission of the Albert Einstein Archives, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
TEXT 13. To Svante Arrhenius53
Near Singapore, 10 January 1923
Esteemed Colleague,
The news of the award of the Nobel Prize reached me via telegraph on the Kitano Maru shortly before my arrival in Japan.54 I am very pleased—among other reasons, because the reproachful question: why don’t you get the Nobel Prize? can no longer be posed to me. (I would reply each time: Because I am not the one who awards the prize.)
Mrs. Hamburger55 informed me that you were so kind as to invest the money temporarily.56 Thank you very much for this kind solicitude. You (and Bohr)57 also wrote that the official award ceremony has been scheduled for June, which I appreciate very much. I am returning from this wonderful trip at the latest at the beginning of April. I am very enthralled by the land and people of Japan, everything is so subtle and strange. And how conducive to thinking and working the long sea voyage is—a paradisiacal state without correspondence, visits, meetings, and other inventions of the devil! It is a special pleasure for me that I receive the prize together with my admired and beloved Bohr.
In the happy prospect of a cheerful reunion, at the latest in
Stockholm, I am, with all due respect and kind regards, yours,
A. Einstein.
TEXT 14. To Niels Bohr58
Near Singapore, 10 January 1923
Dear, or rather, beloved Bohr!
Your affectionate letter59 reached me shortly before my departure from Japan.60 I can say without exaggeration that it pleased me as much as the Nobel Prize. I find your fear of possibly getting the prize before me especially endearing—that is genuinely Bohr-like. Your new studies on the atom61 accompanied me on my journey, and my love for your mind has grown even more. I now believe I finally understand the connection between electricity and gravitation.62 Eddington came closer to the gist of it than Weyl.63
This is a splendid voyage. I am delighted by Japan and the Japanese and am sure that you would be, too. What’s more, such a sea voyage is a splendid existence for a ponderer—it’s like a monastery. Add to that the cajoling warmth near the equator. Warm water drips languidly down from the heavens and spreads calm and vegetative dozing—this little letter is a proof thereof.
Warm regards. To a happy reunion, in
Stockholm at the latest. Your admiring
A. Einstein.
TEXT 15. To Nippon Puroretaria Domei64
[On board S.S. Haruna Maru, 22 January 1923]65
Dear friends,
I was unable to answer your letter66 earlier because I had lost both it and the address. Mr. Yamamoto67 has again furnished me with the address, so I would like to reply to your questions, but am unable to recall them in detail.
First, I must point out that my observations about Japanese social and political conditions are so very limited that even I cannot rely on my own judgment. Concerning the first point I observed two matters which at a glance seem to be incompatible. There is neither conspicuous poverty nor a lack of money, but nevertheless piecework carried out at home is dreadfully ill-paid for the most part. As far as my observations showed, I believe that this riddle can be interpreted as the result of the fact that the people have few desires, their way of life is suitable, and in addition they are particularly moderate in their consumption of alcohol. Be that as it may, in any case I believe that this country will become increasingly industrialized, and owing to the political situation, it will become necessary to organize the working classes. If this organization is to be of value to the whole nation, it must not turn into a malicious movement which is carrying out opposition merely for the sake of opposition, such as happened with us in Europe for a long time. You must realize in particular that the main factor behind the lowering in wages for home work lies in the overpopulation of this country, and therefore it cannot be done away with by purely political methods. On the other hand, the struggle against militarism seems to me to be a purely political issue. In my opinion this constitutes a real danger to this nation. This is because, owing to its geographical position, Japan is fortunate enough to require little military protection. The Washington Conference created the first opportunity enabling us to hold out some hope on this matter.68 I am convinced that in the future efforts by the people will be linked to international cooperation as well as organization, and will never combine with military planning. I hope that Japan will draw a conclusion from this for its own sake and for the sake of all the countries in the world.
Special regards,
A. Einstein
34. Postcard to Arthur Ruppin, Jerusalem, 3 or 5 February 1923. In Einstein’s sketch, he added “halo” next to the drawing of himself and “Mrs. Ruppin” next to the drawing of Hannah Ruppin (with permission of the Albert Einstein Archives, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
TEXT 16. To Arthur Ruppin69
[Jerusalem, 3 or 5 February 1923]70
Dear Mr. Ruppin,
We are spending beautiful, unforgettable days in Palestine with the sun shining brightly and in joyous company. Your wife71 is standing next to me and is peeking at what I am writing about her. She is counting the days until your return.72 Yours,
A. Einstein.
TEXT 17. “Prof. Einstein on His Impressions of Palestine”73
[Berlin, 24 April 1923]
My Impressions of Palestine74
By Albert Einstein
I cannot begin these notes without expressing my heartfelt gratitude to those who have shown so much friendship toward me during my stay in Palestine. I do not think I shall ever forget the sincerity and warmth of my reception—for they were to me an indication of the harmony and healthiness which reigns in the Jewish life of Palestine.
No one who has come into contact with the Jews of Palestine can fail to be inspired by their extraordinary will to work and their determination, which no obstacle can withstand. Before that strength and spirit there can be no question of the success of the colonization work.
The Jews of Palestine fall into two classes—the urban workers and the village colonizers. Among the achievements of the former, the city of Tel Aviv made a singularly profound impression on me.75 The rapidity and energy which has marked the growth of this town has been so remarkable that Jews refer to it with affectionate irony as “Our Chicago.”
A remarkable tribute to the real power of Palestine is the fact that those Jewish elements which have been resident in the country for decades stand distinctly higher, both in the matter of culture and in their display of energy, than those elements which have only recently arrived.
And among the Jewish “sights” of Palestine none struck me more pleasantly than did the school of arts and crafts, Bezalel, and the Jewish workingmen’s groups.76 It was amazing to see the work that had been accomplished by young workers who, when they entered the country, could have been classified accurately as “unskilled labor.” I noted that beside wood, other building material is being produced in the country. But my pleasure was tempered somewhat when I learned of the fact that the American Jews who lend money for building purposes exact a high rate of interest.77
To me there was something wonderful in the spirit of self-sacrifice displayed by our workers on the land. One who has actually seen these men at work must bow before their unbreakable will and before the determination which they show in the face of their difficulties—from debts to malaria.78 In comparison with these two evils, the Arab question becomes as nothing. And in regard to the last I must remark that I have myself seen more than once insurance of friendly relations between Jewish and Arab workers. I believe that most of the difficulty comes from the intellectuals—and, at that, not from the Arab intellectuals alone.79
The story of the struggle against malaria constitutes a chapter by itself. This is an evil which affects not only the rural, but also the urban population. During my visit to Spain some time ago, we submitted to the Spanish Jews a proposition that they send, at their expense, a specialist on the subject of malaria to Palestine, and that this specialist should carry on his work in connection with the work of the University in Jerusalem.80 The malaria evil is still so strong that one may say that it weakens our colonization work in Palestine by something like a third.
But the debt question is particularly depressing. Take for instance the workers of the colony of Deganiah.81 These splendid people groan under the weight of their debts, and must live in the direst need in order not to contract new ones. One man, even with moderate means, could, if he were largehearted enough, relieve this group of its heartbreaking burden. The spirit which reigns among the land and building workers is admirable. They take boundless pride in their work and have a feeling of profound love for the country and for the little locality in which they work.
In the matter of architectural taste, as displayed in the buildings, in the towns and on the land, there has been not a little to regret. But in this regard the engineer, Kaufman,82 has done a great deal to bring good taste and a love of beauty into the buildings of Palestine.
To the government83 considerable credit must be accorded for its constructions of roads and paths, for its fight against malaria and, in general, for its sanitary work as a whole. Here the government has no light task before it. One can hardly find another country which, being so small, is so complicated by virtue of the divisions among its own population as well as by virtue of the interest taken in it by the outside world.
The greatest need of Palestine today is for skilled labor. No academic forces are needed now. It is hoped that the completion of the technikum84 will do a great deal toward meeting the need of the country for trained workmen.
I am convinced that the work in Palestine will succeed in the sense that we shall create in that country a unified community which shall be a moral and spiritual center for the Jewries of the world. Here, and not in its economic achievement, lies, in my opinion, the significance of this work. Naturally we cannot neglect the question of our economic position in Palestine, but we must at no time forget that all this is but a means to an end. To me it seems of secondary importance that Palestine shall become economically independent with the greatest possible speed. I believe that it is of infinitely greater importance that Palestine shall become a powerful moral and spiritual center for the whole of the Jewish people. In this direction the rebirth of the Hebrew language must be regarded a splendid achievement. Now must follow institutions for the development of art and science. From this point of view we must regard as of primary importance the founding of the University which, thanks largely to the enthusiastic devotion of the Jewish doctors of America, can begin its work in Jerusalem.85 The University already possesses a journal of science which is produced with the earnest collaboration of Jewish scientists in many fields and in many countries.86
Palestine will not solve the Jewish problem, but the revival of Palestine will mean the liberation and the revival of the soul of the Jewish people. I count it among my treasured experiences that I should have been able to see the country during this period of rebirth and reinspiration.