_"Every man who has seen the world knows that nothing is so useless as a general maxim."_ _Macaulay, in Essay on "Machiavelli."_ [Illustration: _MORDECAI M. KAPLAN (born in Russia in 1881, came to America in 1889), studied at College of the City of New York (A. B. 1900), Columbia (M. A. 1902) and Jewish Theological Seminary (Rabbi, 1902); held Rabbinical position in New York, 1903-1909; Principal since 1909 of the Teachers' Institute, and Professor of Homiletics since 1910 in the Jewish Theological Seminary. Fearless and original in thought, and exceptionally stimulating as a Menorah lecturer, Professor Kaplan has won the deep respect and friendship of Menorah students at the various universities where he has lectured on Jewish Religion and Education._] MOST of the pain, which according to Koheleth comes with the increase of knowledge, is in the unlearning of the old rather than in the learning of the new. Once an idea has become imbedded in the mind, it cannot be removed without causing a mental upheaval. Blessed are the young to whom unlearning is easy, or who have not much to unlearn. Whether our Jewish young men know much or little about Judaism, they are certain, as a rule, to have formed notions about it of which they must be disabused, if Judaism is to constitute an important factor in their lives. Strange to say, they have obtained these notions not from sources hostile to Judaism, but on the contrary from sources distinctly intended to inculcate both a love and an understanding of the Jewish religion,--such as catechisms and text-books used in our religious schools, and articles in encyclopedias meant for the enlightenment of the general public. The view of Judaism that one gets in this manner is not only a distorted one, but it has the effect of bringing all further reflection to a standstill. It lands one in a blind alley. The conclusion which a person generally arrives at when he consults these sources for information about the Jewish religion is that, whatever else Judaism might be, it certainly offers no field for the exercise of deep insight or broad vision. This largely accounts for the manifest sterility and uncreativeness of present-day Judaism. To give new impetus to fruitful and creative thinking in Jewish life, it is necessary, in the first place, to counteract the paralyzing spell of these routine and conventional interpretations of Judaism.