To the editor,
Back in January of this year, I had a letter in the Great Bend Tribune on “Self-made Grain Men.” It profiled (among others) Albert Brunswig, Sr. (1852-1938). Just to recap: He came to Marshall County, Kan., from France. He was a go-getter. Not only did he farm, but he built early grain-elevators. He was active in the Masonic order getting his basic three degrees at Beattie; then he received the 4-14th degrees at the Lodge of Perfection at Marysville (which later went defunct). He got his 15th-32nd degrees at Leavenworth.
Mr. Brunswig moved from Kansas to St. Joseph, Mo. (circa 1909). Upon moving there he joined the Royal Arch Masons, Cryptic Masons, and Commandery of Knight Templar Masons (the latter is nearly all Masons who are Christians). However, Brunswig was an exception: he was Jewish. Additionally, he joined Moila Shriners Center, in St Joseph, Mo. He proved to be such a fine member, he was awarded the prestigious 33rd degree in 1925 .
Brunswig had grain-elevators in Missouri which shipped grain by rail to Ft. Worth, Texas, and all over the nation.
In our modern world, in recent weeks, our beloved nation has sadly seen antisemitic attacks on innocent people. That is deplorable. Even many Christians forget that Christianity itself owes its roots to Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, and so was the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John (among others).
The trouble is, in recent decades, people lose touch with “their origins.” It’s just like my late mom’s Riedl, Hampel, Kober, Lux, Reimer and other ancestors around Olmitz, Kan. Most (and nearly all) of the pioneering ancestors there came from Olmutz, Austria (now called Olomouc, Moravia, Czech Republic). Once there were great Synagogues at Olomouc and Brno, Moravia.
Years ago, I had a female cousin take a DNA-test in the primitive days of DNA. I was interested in my paternal grandmother’s female-line (called mt-DNA). To my surprise and pleasure, the report said that one part of a haplogroup belonged to Ashkenazi Jews. The family (in America) had been generations very far back. Yet, DNA could “see” further back in time.
Indeed, the first five Books of our Old Testament in the Holy Bible are the Pentateuch or Torah. They contain essentially history and truths central to mankind’s existence and moral tenets. As noted earlier, I’m a Trinitarian Christian (Roman Catholic), yet I still feel that some Jewish traditions are very wise, including male circumcision. Even non-observant Jews circumcise their sons. It was done as a sign of the covenant between themselves and Almighty God. Additionally, I favor it for its hygienic advantages.
In basic terms, Jews are hoping for the first coming of the Messiah. Christians are hoping for “the Second Coming” of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah. We humans, as mere mortals, are prone to quibbling. I firmly believe that “the Holy Spirit” will iron-things-out in Heaven.
In the meantime, on Earth, people need to do more befriending between Christians and Jews. Passover celebrates the Jewish people being freed from slavery. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ (who overcame a fate even worse than slavery --crucifixion) and paid for our sins on the dogwood Cross.
Christians and Jews worship God the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth and all things seen and unseen. If you know of no Jewish people in your neighborhood, feel free to ‘Google’ a synagogue. Many stream ‘live’ Shabbat (Sabbath) services every Friday night near sundown or 6 p.m. I watched one service last week. Try it. And, may our worthy actions heal our land.
James A. Marples
Esbon
