“And during the time when the Hungarian or Polish Jewish youngster was brought to a level where he could understand the Prophets, and listen to rigorous biblical and legal studies, the American youngster is merely brought to the magnificent level of being able to stammer a few words of English-style Hebrew, to pronounce the blessing over the Torah, and to chant half the maftir from a text with vowels and notes on the day he turns thirteen — a day that is celebrated here as the greatest of holidays among our Jewish brethren. From that day onward a youngster considers his teacher to be an unwanted article.”
Moses Weinberger, Jews and Judaism in New York, 1887 (Jonathan D. Sarna, trans.)
Is that 1887 or 1987?
Sounds like it’s both.
The American part sounds like it’s both. The European part — I doubt that the few Jewish 13-year-olds left in Poland and Hungary in 1987 were any closer than their American brethren to the ability to “understand the Prophets, and listen to rigorous biblical and legal studies”.