foundation for German culture at an American university was to demon-
strate publicly that despite his preoccupation with Jewish problems, he had
forgotten neither his “birthland” nor his adopted country.^48
Schiff bequeathed $1,350,000 in his will to charitable causes, but more
impressive were the millions he distributed during his lifetime. On his
seventieth birthday alone, friends estimated that he gave away half a mil-
lion dollars.^49 Well aware that charitable giving added to his importance,
he enjoyed the praise of prominent Christians. With some, notably
Charles W. Eliot of Harvard and Andrew D. White of Cornell, philan-
thropy led to genuine friendships. Meanwhile, his circle of Jewish asso-
ciates, some of whom (like Julius Rosenwald of Sears, Roebuck) also be-
came close friends, expanded. Hardly any person of substance involved in
Jewish affairs anywhere in the country was unknown to him.
There were other rewards as well. Philanthropy was a challenge for
Schiff, affording him the way to test new approaches and institutions. Not
all his ventures succeeded, but he courageously explored unfamiliar terri-
tory. Genuinely moved by the plight of the needy, he also reaped the inner
satisfaction that philanthropy brought. Contemporaries commented on his
distaste for public acclaim, and he often stipulated that his gifts not bear his
name. Most important, philanthropy was for him the fulfillment of an on-
going responsibility. When his doctor once ordered him to reduce his
workload, he relinquished some of his business obligations but refused to
cut back on charitable commitments. The banker trained his children in
the duties of giving. Only by fulfilling the social demands imposed by
wealth could they live up to the standards that their father set for a con-
scientious American Jew.^50
An Orthodox religious upbringing had instilled in Schiff a fierce loyalty to
biblical and rabbinic teachings on philanthropy. Explaining to non-Jews
that the Bible spoke not of charity but only of zedakah,or justice, he said
that he objected to the word charity:“The ancient Hebrew lawgiver...
knows no such word as charity; to him even giving to the poor is only an act
of justice, and justice is the expression he solely applies, when he urges his
people to their duty to the needy and dependent.” He told Forwardeditor
Abraham Cahan only half-facetiously that his emphasis on justice—“jus-
tice to the lowly, justice to the delinquent, justice to every member of
human society”—meant that Schiff the arch-capitalist wasn’t so distant
from Cahan the Socialist.^51
In line with the teachings of premodern Jewish sages, Schiff believed
that true philanthropy meant providing a job for the unemployed. It was
“something terrible,” he said, for a person to want honest work and not
find it. He applauded attempts at self-help and mutual aid, ideas that Jews
Leadership and Philanthropy 59