THE CHIEF RABBI.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16848, 31 May 1920, Page 4

THE CHIEF RABBI.

OFFICIAL TOUK OF DOMINIONS. (moat oxra otw correspondzot.) LONDON, April 8. From time to time_ the honorary offi ccrs of the United Synagogue have re ceived suggestions that the Chief Rabb of the United Hebrew Congregations o the British Empire should visit th< overseas Dominions and dependencies and the Executive Committee feel tha 1 such a pastoral tour would help to bine together the communities of the Em pire, and stimulat-o their, religiou! activities. Therefore, it was propoSfec that Dr. Hertz bo invited to cmbarl upon the tour in September next, ant to includc Canada, South _ tralia, and New Zealand in his itinerary. The subject came up* for discussion at the last meeting of the United Synagogue, when the Council were asked to ' resolve: —"That this Council cordially invites the Chief Rabbi to undertake a tour of the English-speaking Dominions, and that it be left to the honorary officers of the United Synagogue to make such arrangements in connexion therewith as they may deem desirable, and to invito the Council of the Jewish "War Memorial to share in the expensce of the tour." Authority was accordingly given, and historv will be made, for this will be the first time on record that the holder of the office of Chief Rabbinate has left tlio British Isles. It is expected that Dr. Hertz will be accompanied on his tour by the Vice-President of the United Synagogue, Mr Albert M. Woolf. They will leave England in October next, and journey to Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New ZeaZealand. The Jewish War Memorial is a body also associated with the United Synagogue in the proposed tour. Just about the time that the decision was made Dr. Hertz_ underwent an operation for appendicitis, and his progress is apparently quite satisfactory. But no details havo yet been arranged for the suggested Pastoral visit. At the annual meeting of the Coun : cil of the United Synagogue it was mentioned that 1919 has been a prosperous year. Of the seventeen con--1 stituent synagogues, six only showed deficits, two of them for amounts under £100. The gross revenue of the United Synagogue was £71,494, and the expenditure was £66,666. The aggregate gross revenue of the Constituent Synagogues was £52,192, and their local expenditure was £30,303. That there was less poverty was indicated by the figures of charity funerals, 229 in 1919, as against 423 in 1918. The material improvement in the position of the poor is likewise shown in the details of the Matzo account, the applications having been 1431, a reduction of 432 on the figures of the previous year. A suggestion was made for # a further general increase in the salaries of ministers and, other officials, for building operations at the Great Synagogue, and the reinstatement of the St. "John's Wood Synagogue.