Jewish Life October 1948

Vol. XVI, No. 1 O ctober, !|S 4§| TISHRI, 5709

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'That they may all form a single band to do Thy W ill with a perfect H eart.. . ” — Machzor

October/ 1948

Tishri/ 5709

S aul B ernstein , Editor L eo S. H ilsenrad, Associate Editor

Editorial Associates: D r. S amuel N irenstein , R abbi Manuel L aderman S ol N odel, A rt Director C O N T E N T S __ _______ ___________________2 EDITORIALS A NEW YEAR AND A NEW AGE .........____ --------------------------- Israel Tabak 4 THE COUNTENANCE OF THE PRIEST .....____ ................______ A. A. Davidson 8 ISRAEL AND THE GOLAH ______ .____.___ ----------------------- J Halevy Levin 13 THE GAON OF VILNA ...._____ ....... ___. - ....... — — ...M ey erW ax m an l7 BEYOND THE RIVER_______ ____ ......____ .— ------------- -------Gersion Appel 25 THE FORGOTTEN MILLION ____ |__________________________ Saul Bernstein 28 HOW INTOLERANT WE ARE] ------------ ---------- ---------------------------------C. Farr 34 MODERNITY AND MITZVOTH ...---------------------------- J a c a b Cohn 36 HIS IS THE LAND (A Poem) ------......------------- — ....... Ida Lublenski Ehrlich 41 THE JEWISH HOME VERSUS CAMPUS TEMPTATIONS 42 THE ILLEGALS (Picture Story) ----------------------------------------------------------48 THE HEBREW TEACHERS TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS ...............Saul Adelson 56 THEY DO CONSULT THE RABBI .........— ------------------- ......Solomon Moseson 59 MEXICO'S MIRACLE DAY SCHOOL -----------------------.........---------- . J. J. Yoshor 63 HEINE AND THE JEWISH SPIRIT (Book Review) -------- ................ Israel Gerstein 66 BOOKS IN BRIEF ____________________________________ :------------------------- - .. 68 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR -- -------------------------------- -------- ------------------------ -- 69 GLEANINGS ____......_..........._______..........__—__ ____ .Edited by C hayah Bath-Ami 71 An Interview with Solomon Ibn Gabirol ....._______ 74 Treasury of Hebrew Words ...-------71 Samuel • • . A Child of Destiny.__ 78 Hebrew in the News 71 79 So They W ent Up ........--------------- 72 H appy The Eye ________ INTER-YESHIVA ESSAY CONTEST ..... ______________________________ ....... 82 KASHRUTH DIRECTORY ------- ..------...... ,,.................. ..______ _________102 EXCERPTS SELECTED AND TRANSLATED BY NATHAN DRAZIN Permission to reprin t material from JEW ISH LIFE granted upon w ritten request. JEW ISH LIFE (successor to the “Orthodox Union” ) is published bi-monthly except August (five times a year). Subscription $1.25 one year; $2.25 —• 2 years; $3.00 — 3 years. Published by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, 305 Broadway, New York 7, N . Y. Officers s Samuel Nirenstein, President; Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein, William Weiss, Honorary Presidents; William B. Herlands, Benjamin Koenigsberg, David Levine, Samuel Mellitz, M. Morton Rubenstein, Vice-Presidents; Joseph Schlang, Secretary; S. Bendheim, Treasurer; Leo S. Hilsenrad, Executive D irector; Saul Bernstein, Assoc. Executive Director.

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"\\0H H i n*2 ARUn 1\BR UTR | f IRY1!

“And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing. . . 99 (Shemoth, 35:21)

Be TrueTo yourself . -. . your family . . . your country . . . your people . . . and your G-d Be A Loyal Member of Your Torah-True Synagogue Are you a memberfpa true, active member—of your local orthodox Synagogue? Your Synagogue offers you and your family a richer^ fuller, truly Jewish life. Your orthodox Synagogue serves you and all in your com­ munity EVERY DAY. You too have a Jewish birthright—of EVERY-DAY Service to the Almighty . . . of daily sharing in the glories of your Jewish heritage. Play your part in the building of the Jewish future and the strengthening of your community! From this moment on, go FORWARD as a staunch, active member of your local orthodox congregation!

JOIN YOUR ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUE TODAY! UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA 305 Broadway, New York 7, N. Y. A ll inquiries cordially welcom e.

THE NEW YEAR JEWISH LIFE extends its wishes ^ for a K’sivah V’chasimah Tovah to out readers and co-workers and to all Israel. We take this op­ portunity, at this .beginning of the third year of our publication, to ex­ press appreciation for the enthusi­ astic interest and loyalty of our fam­ ily of readers, and to the many able authors who have so admirably co­ operated in our work. Nor should we forget our advertisers, who have shown genuine understanding of the character and aims of JEWISH LIFE. All of us, together, have suc­ ceeded within a short time in making this publication an important factor in the American Jewish scene. May we all go on together to greater service and success. U. N. ■^•HIS YEAR'S High Holy Days co­ incide with the third regular ses­ sion of the General Assembly of the United Nations, being held in Paris. As all Israel stands in penitence be­ fore the Great Judge, many hearts will beseech that this institution be granted life and strength and pow­ er. Without a United Nations so en­ dowed, a third World War, the ul­ timate calamity, can hardly be avert­ ed. 2

One cannot anticipate the sudden metamorphosis of the United Na­ tions General Assembly into a po­ tent and independent authority. Its delegates are appointed spokesmen for governments, not elected repre­ sentatives of the peoples of the world. Yet the history of parliaments is not without examples of appoint­ ive bodies becoming converted into the direct instruments of the people. We who have faith in G-d and man will not yield the hope that the United Nations will transcend the limitations of their several national governments and become the instru­ ment of a great franchise — the Brotherhood of Man. May the com­ ing year, by G-d's grace, bring this blessing. CHURCH AND STATE ■J"HE ISSUE as to the religious as­ pect of the Israeli Constitution has become confused by the assump­ tion of a false premise. Many people have been led to suppose that this is a problem of "Church and State." The flaw lies in the fact that no Jew­ ish "Church" exists. The term "Church," in its broader meaning, corresponds to no Jewish institution. The Synagogue, in the aggregate, has none of the corporate ecclesiastical character which char­ acterizes the Church. The confusion J e w ish

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arises from the fact that some of our people have learned to appraise Jew­ ish values in non-Jewish terms. Thus, those who have "modernized” their thinking by adopting popular ver­ sions of Liberalism or Socialism pos­ tulate a Jewish "Church,” the imag­ inary counterpart of an institution familiar to the non-Jewish environ­ ment, and, On this premise, seek to subordinate in or eliminate from the proposed Constitution the require­ ments of the Jewish faith. It is a primary and self-evident fact of Jewish life that the faith and people of Israel are an inseparable and immutable whole. Any consti­ tutional scheme which ignores or minimizes this truth cannot make sense and must go the way of all nonsense. TN the process of founding a new ** state, it is by all means desirable to gain a fresh perspective. But it is of the essence that this stem from tjie ideals and historic experience out of which the state originated. If, as in the case of Israel, these have been formed out of long ages, rather than a short period, of strug­ gle, that is all the more reason for their primary consideration. There is no Jewish "Church,” but there is indeed a Torah. It is the historic context of the Jewish faith, Jewish history, Jewish life. Can there be any question that for a Jewish Constitution to be such, it must be not merely "in harmony” with Tor­ ah but rooted in it? How else can the Jew be truly 'at home’? No ques­ tion of domination by a non-exis­ tent Church applies here—rather the problem is one of domination by assimilationist dogmas, as opposed to October, 1948

the fulfillment of the true Jewish spirit. SYNAGOGUE ACTION ■pIE ABILITY of orthodox con­ gregations to see beyond the con­ fines of their own communities in facing basic Synagogue problems is being demonstrated in significant ways. One important form of com­ mon Synagogue action, undertaken by UOJCA at its recent Golden Ju­ bilee Convention, entails the applica­ tion of a comprehensive range of field service and group activities. An integral part of this plan is the regu­ lar distribution of JEWISH LIFE to congregational groups on a "Per Capita” basis. Many congregations have voted approval of one or an­ other variation of the "Per Capita” plan and a gratifying number have already put it into effect. Among these latter are the follow* ing Congregations : Knesses Israel of Seagate (Brooklyn, N.Y.); B’nai Is-, rael of Midwood (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ; Shearith Israel (New York, N.Y.); Agudas Achim (Brockton, Mass); Beth Jacob (Baltimore, Md.); Ohab Zedek (Cleveland, Ohio); Mikro Kodesh (Minneapolis, Minn.); Agu­ das Achim (Peoria, 111.); House of Jacob (Utica, N.Y.) ; Shaarei Hatikvoh (New York, N.Y.) ; and Etz Chaim of Flatbush (Brooklyn, N.Y.) JEWISH LIFE offers a hearty wel­ come to the many thus added to our regular readers. We look forward for additional thousands of new "Per Capita” participants joining our ranks within the coming months and anticipate with full confidence thé resounding success of the program of Synagogue Action so promisingly begun. 3

A N ew Y e a r and a

N ew Age By ISRAEL TABAK

^U R IN G the era of the Second Jewish Commonwealth it was customary to start counting the calendar years anew in honor of an occurrence of great national significance. (Talm., Rosh Hashonah 3). According to this tradi­ tion the coming year should not be termed 5709 ibut “The 1st year of the State of Israel.” For it marks the end of the first long and tragic chapter of Goluth and the begin­ ning of the new age of Cheruth Yisroel—Jewish freedom. Many generations before us have dreamt of this great event; many noble martyrs have breathed their last with this vision as their only solace. We are fortunate enough to be alive at this great time to. behold with our own eyes the dawn of the new day which our fore­ fathers spoke of as Athchalta Deg’ula (Beginning of the Redemp­ tion) . What should be our part in this great drama of Jewish re­ birth ? Are we of American Is­ rael to remain sympathetic specta­ tors and view from a safe distance The author is the Rabbi of Shaarei Zion Congregation, Baltimore, President of the Rab­ binical Council of America, and author Of the recently-published “Judaic Lore in Heine.”

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the heroic events which are arous­ ing the admiration of the world? Or are we to be va part of the great Renaissance of Israel? XJSTHILE it is true that the ef­ fect of the Proclamation of the Jewish State upon American Jewry was at first very strong and that nearly all elements of our peo­ ple were swept along by the tide of victory, fear is already being ex­ pressed as to the impact of the event upon the Jewish Community of America. In fact, Jewish lead­ ers show, deep concern over the ef­ fects of the achievement of Jew­ ish Statehood upon the future of Amercan Jewry. Serious apprehen­ sion is expressed in certain quar­ ters for the future of Zionism in America. Some Jews are already beginning to look upon the Zionist movement as something which has achieved its objective and no longer has valid reasons for further ex­ istence. We have a Jewish State, they say, with a president, an army, a cabinet . . . now our job is done ; we can relax and turn to less ardu­ ous tasks. Long enough have we been bothered by this thing called J e w ish L IF E

“T h e Rabbinical Council of Zionism. Thank G-d our worries are America regards the creation of over. . •setei 'y. -. Many of our brethren, moreover, the State of Israel not alone as the will lean over, ¡backward in order most momentous event in the last to give proof of their ünadultêr- 2000 years, but it views this his­ ated Americanism. They will re­ toric happening as an opportunity double their efforts to forget their for the reestablishment of religious Jewishness in order thus to deny authority in Zion for world Jewry. “The tragic division within the the charges of dual allegiance, which are so viciously spread by religious ranks of American Israel, the enemies of Zionism in our ranks. the confusion and discord which is Thus tens of thousands of gbod daily increasing among our peo­ Zionists may soon find themselves ple, with various sects laying claim living in a great void- Zionism, to full authority in spiritual af­ that positive forcé which has given fairs, all this is due to lack of cen­ meaning and direction to Jewish tral authority in world Judaism life for !a whole generation, arid of the present. There was. a time, which has engaged all the energies when Palestine was the center of and resources of hundreds of thou­ supreme religious authority in all sands of our younger men and Israel. Whether a Jew lived in women, will suddenly lose its hold Babylonia or in Rome or in Greece, upon the masses and expose them he always looked to Zion for spir­ to the ravages of mass assimilation-. itual guidance and regarded its re­ ligious authority as supreme and TKIHAT a gloomy prospect it is binding. w h e n we contemplate the “T h e Rabbinical Council of strange disparity between the Yi- America therefore resolves to cre­ shuv, with its upsurge of Jewish ate a strong link between the reli­ patriotism, of Hebrew culture, of gious leadership of American Jew­ full and deep Jewish living, and ry and the highest religious author­ the American Jewish community ity in the Holy Land. It calls •upon with its /steady spiritual decline, American Jewry to regard the with its apathy and slow mental Chief Rabbinate of the State of decadence which is inevitably star­ Israel as a beacon of Torah light ing us in the face. for all our people to follow. It pro­ What are we going to do about it? poses to send a message to the The Rabbinical Council of Amer­ Chief Rabbi of Israel, Dr. Isaac ica gave éarnest consideration to Halevy Herzog of Jerusalem!, at the this question at its national con­ r i g h t opportunity, inviting his vention and adopted the following guidance and his blessing, in the resolution which was also endorsed endeavor to effect religious unity by the Union of Orthodox Congré­ in American Israel by reconstitut­ gations of America at its recent ing the seat of highest Torah au­ thority for World Jewry ¡in the Golden Jubilee Convention. ; 5 October, 1948;

State of Israel. Then we shall hopel tation of Jewish life. There are to see the fulfillment of the ancient | symptoms round about us that we prophecy of: 1 are getting to be denominationalFor out of Zion shall go forth \ ized like the Protestants in Amerthe Law and the word of G-d i ica. We now have four Jewish det nominations, with some rather vo­ from Jerusalem.” ciferous sub-denominations that are T H IS resolution has unlimited po­ beginning to assert their independ­ tentialities, and it must be ence. “Satan is dancing about glee­ popularised to the extent that it fully in our midst”, doing a fine would become a part of the dividing job. The Christian world thinking of every Jew. In the first has already begun to realize the place it is calculated to strengthen folly of this divisiveness and is the spiritual ties between Ameri­ seriously talking of consolidation. can Israel and the Jewish State. But we Jews are now only begin­ And these are the only ties | that ning the process of “divide and be will bind us to the Jewish State. conquered.” Are we still entitled We must get used to the idea that to the appellation of am chochom we shall have no right to interfere v’novorif—“a people of wisdom and with the internal political life of understanding” ? our brethren in Israel; this is strictly the perogative of the citi­ TH ER E is only one synagogue zens of their own country. Our T* that represents the true spirit link with Zion, therefore, will only of Unity, that is the synagogue of be as strong as our spiritual em­ “Klal Yisroel,” the historic Jewish pathy. So long as American Jews Synagogue. The orthodox Syna­ will look to Zion for religious guid- gogue does not discriminate against ance, they will be bound up with any Jew. Like a stout-hearted a bond of pulsating life to that father it welcomes all its sons who new and zestful and vibrant Jew­ enter its portals. The Jew steeped ish community ; and it will act as in tradition is welcome to the syna­ a source of rejuvenation for the gogue; the Jew who has shed a Atzomoth Ha-y’veyshoth among our good many customs and observ­ people. Should we fail to establish ances is also welcome to the syna­ such relationship, there is serious gogue; and even that Jew who only danger, then, that American Jews comes on the High Holy Days, he will drift farther and farther from too is not barred from the syna­ the Yishuv and will inevitably and gogue. The orthodox Synagogue is inexorably meet the fate of other the most liberal of all synagogues minorities who have been swal­ in America.' There is room in it lowed up by the insatiable melting for every. Jew who enters in a pot which sociologists describe so spirit of humility and faith. And vividly in their own nomenclature. every Jew feels at home there. Again, it will stop the fragmen­ Acceptance of the guidance of 6 J e w ish LIFE

the 'Chief Rabbinate of Eretz Is­ rael will end lawlessness in Jewish life. Discerning students of Jewish history have long recognized that the greatest factor in the miracle of Jewish vitality has been the uni­ versal Torah authority which all Jews have respected. Of late we have been witnessing a state of spiritual anarchy reminding us of the times when it was said: In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25). B a s i c principles of Jewishness which congregations have proudly and faithfully adhered to for gen­ erations are abolished at a meeting as if they would be a part of the by­ laws of some chevrah. Fundamen­ tal observances which form the very cornerstone of our tradition are discarded forthwith because a di­ rector of a congregation happened to walk into a certain house of wor­ ship while on vacation and decided to introduce the same “improve­ ments” in his own congregation. . . Restoration of central religious au­ thority for world Jewry will remove

this hefkeruth and will teach our people to look to Zion for guid­ ance in such vital matters. Q.REAT authorities in Jewish law have ever been alive to chang­ ing conditions, have grappled with the various problems of the day with forthrightness and courage. The august body of scholars that will constitutê the high authority of Torah in Israel will without doubt be specially qualified to cope with the problems which modern civilization will present, and to ad­ dress them in a spirit of under­ standing and magnanimity. Thus we may hope that with the recon­ stitution of supreme Torah author­ ity in Israel our people will again live by the conviction that even as there is one people of Israel, and one G-d of Israel, there is but one Torah of Israel. May we during the coming year be worthy to see the victory of Israel firmly established, and may the peace of Zion bring healing and peace to the people of Israel and to all the nations of the world.

REPENT ONE DAY BEFORE YOU DIE As Rabbi Eliezer preached« 'Repent one day before you die«' he w as asked by his students« 'but does a m an know on w hat day he will die?' Thereupon the wise sag e retorted« 'Indeed! Repent today lest you die tomorrow«* and all your days therefore will be in penance. King Solomon similarly said in his wisdom: 'At all times let thy garm ents be w hite/ —Talmud« S abbath 153a.

October, 1948

7

Another masterful story by thé au­ thor of "Dan Cohen/'

The Countenance Of The Priest By A . A. DAVIDSON J7VEN RAMBAM, they tell me, in Egypt, was troubled over the tendency of the Jews to shmooze d u r i n g the synagogue service. (What is the Arabic for Anybody know? Well, it's not im­ portant). I haven't been in Egypt lately, but in my old home town—f in Philipsburgh, this is—we still have the same trouble. You know how it is. I don't say we discuss, business of a Shabbos morning, when we should have our attention fixed on the service, but still . . . You know what I mean? However, there is one part of the davveriing that I have never known anybody to break into with conversation, and that is the Priestly Blessing, the “duehaning”, as we call it. There is something about that cere­ mony that fixes the attention of the congregation, and—but that's what I started to tell you about. Our congregation, “Ahavas Chesed", is the oldest synagogue in Philipsburgh. The oldest members have a tradition to the effect that “Teddy Roosevelt once visited the shul when he was Governor of New York”. At any rate, you see our §

congregation has its traditions, of them is the chant the Cohanim use when they go up to the “duchan” ; it is never heard in the other Philipsburgh shuls. A friend of mine, a student of Jewish music, says that he never heard it in any other shul in the country. How it probably came to our synagogue is this way— Y EA RS ago, during Grover Cleve­ land's administration, the con­ gregation was founded by a group of men who had all come from the same town in Europe. So it is very likely that the melody came from there. They were all related, and interrelated, to one another, and the two biggest families were the Courlanders and the Kahns. They were both families of Cohanim, and they were both big families—so big, in fact, that it used to be a standing joke that on the holy days when the Cohanim went up to the duchan, there were more people to give the blessing than to receive it. I don't believe that this was ever literally true, at least not in my time, but I can remember year J e w ish

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after year, when the platf orm *in front of the Ark was packed with Cohanim. And how that ceremony of the Priestly Blessing thrilled me as a child! The Cantor—old Reb Yossel An­ ton, it was, when I first began to notice—the cantor would begin his repetition of the Amidah, and we would all teeter on our toes and sing out the responses of the Kedushah with loud and uninhibited fervor. For a time then I was pre­ occupied with wondering, if, when Isaiah saw and heard the Seraphim sing “Holy, Holy, Holy”, did they pronounce it “Kawdosh Kawdosh, Kawdosh”, or “Keedeish, Keedeish, Keedeish” ? After a little bit, the men who were Cohanim would drift out to have their hands washed, so that they could bless us with clean hands. It seemed to me that half the shul would be going out, and I used to check them off men­ tally as they passed me : %1Q L D M r . A be Courlander , old

Mr. Jake Kahn, and old Mr. Nat Kahn; the Grocer Courlander, the Butcher Courlander, the Car­ penter Courlander; f the Glazier Kahn, the Tailor Kahn, the Peddler Kahn; Courlander der greisser, Courlander der Jdeiner, der reiter Kahn, der blinder Kahn (he was m e r e l y nearsighted), “Hussar” Courlander, and “Gendarme” Courlander, “The Rich One” (he wasn’t), “The Clever One” (he wasn’t) , “The Limping One”, “The One With the Nose’’ “ . . . and so on down to the younger members of the two Families,, who:: were, old October, 1948

enough to “duchan”, but not old enough to establish a chazakah on a nickname. I believe that, from time to time, there were non-Family Cohanim present, but if they had dared to use an alien nig gun I never noticed. They would have been drowned out! It- may seem strange that I de­ vote so much time to that particu­ lar melody, but I tell you, it did things to me! That it had no words—unless you call “ahahah” a word — only added to its unique quality, and that the chanting men were not trained singers, detracted nothing. When J heard it, I was caught up, and carried away by it. The time was no longer this century, nor the place that syna­ gogue. I felt myself in the fresert, in the presence of Mosheh Rabbenu and the Ark of the Covenant, and Aaron and his sons were lifting their voices to bless the Tribes of Israel. And the chant they were using was the samé one. Why'not? Weren’t the Cohanim the descend­ ants of Aaron? Couldn’t this mel­ ody have been handed down from father to son, along with the knowl­ edge that theirs was the Priest­ hood? So I reasoned. Nothing in my life has ever impressed one with the knowledge of the continu­ ity of Jewish history as that chant and ceremony did. 0 JT was my philosophy that “Rosh Hashonah made up for Tisha B’Av”, that is to say: On Tisha B’Av we mourn the destruction of the Temple. That splendid place OÍ4 wfyitev and gold,: the:;::Hoqse qf <9

Our Life, where the priests made atonement for our sins, where—-on the holiest of days, in the Holy of Holies, the Coheyn Godol pro­ nounced the Most Holy Name—the Sanctuary of Israel — destroyed! Alilah, alilah! But on Rosh Hashonah the priests came forth again. Do you understand ? The eighteen hundred and fifty years were as nothings as if they had not been; the Destruction, as if it had not occurred. “Where we stand is the Sanctuary!” the Cohanim seemed to say. There was no longer a sin-offer­ ing on Yom Kippur—but we still had the Priestly Blessing! There was no longer the rejoicing in the Temple courts at Succoth, no longer the Drawing of Water, the torches and the dancing—but we still had the Priestly Blessing! No longer a Paschal Lamb a t ; Pesach, but still—the Priestly Blessing! And Shovuoth came and went without the Bringing of the First Fruits, but not without—the Priestly Bless­ ing! For our sins we were pun­ ished, but this was left to us as a reminder that we were sure to be “a nation of priests and a holy people”. I know it says that “Levi hath no inheritance. . .” Not in the fields of Eretz Israel, but sure­ ly, in my heart, Levi had an in­ heritance. \X7ELL, I grew older; the cycle of the years went on. Another candle in front of the Memorial tablets, another empty place in the shul. There were thirty Cohanim on the “duchan” . . . twenty-five 10

. . . twenty. People died, people moved away, people became Ameri­ canized—or, at least, Germanicized — and joined the “progressive” temple. Fifteen Cohanim to duchan. 'Children were no longer be­ ing sent to the Hebrew school; in­ stead, a teacher came to the house to prepare the boys for the “Bar Mitzvah Ceremony”. They memo­ rized their Haftorah, said their speech, and one saw them no more. Twelve Cohanim on the duchan . . . ten . . . eight. The old rabbi had begun to doze gently in his front seat. The Jewish population, grad­ ually moving to another part of town, decided it could support yet another synagogue. “Ahavas Chesed”, long mellowed, now began to wither. Five Cohan;m up to du­ chan: old Mr. Sam Kahn, his cou­ sin, old Mr. Joe Courlander, and the latter’s three sons. I went to school with one of them, Jerry. Everybody in Philipsburgh took it for granted that he would eventually marry Helen Sam­ uels. Helen, however, got tired of waiting, and married some one else. It didn’t take her long to find out just what sort of person he was (“A specimen”, my Mother called him ), and there was a divorce. A Coheyn isn’t allowed to marry a divorced woman, but Jerry married her, anyway. Four Cohanim up to duchan. . . . They hadn’t been married a year, when Jerry’s old­ est brother, Max, was killed in an automobile accident. These things happen all the time, but we never grow used to them. Old Mr. Joe Courlander bore up well, but Max’s J ewish LIFE

widow didn’t. Not long after, she went tot live with her parents, she and the two little children. Three Cohanim at the duchan of the “Ahavas Chesed” synagogue, and the world went to war again. ^U R IN G my three years I had two leaves, none of them in­ cluding a yom-tov. The first time, I missed the apple-red face and white goatee of old Mr. Sam Kahn. “Dead”, they told me. The second time home, I heard the news about his cousin Joe’s young­ est son,Ajack. “Normandy Beach”, they told me. And, finally, I hand­ ed back my stencil, and came home again. Came Pesach. . . . I didn’t even notice “Old” Mr. Courlander—no first name neces­ sary now—go out to have his hands laved, but I noticed him return. Old, feeble—how very feeble he seemed!—and so stooped. Slowly he went up to the duchan, and placed his tallis over his head. We dutifully turned away, and the chazzan called out, “Cohanim” ! But there were no Cohanim, there was only one old Coheyn, and when I heard him lift up his voice—how it quavered!—in blessing, some­ thing tore at my heart. The Congregation realized that it might soon be without a Coheyn, but what could it do? The matter was discussed at every meeting, but the only suggestion came from the President. “Maybe we could hire a chazzan who is also a Co­ heyn?” he suggested. “And what’ll we do with the October, 1948

chazzan we already have—drown him?” asked the Treasurer. “Don’t tempt me!” the President muttered. And there matters stood. The silver cord was all but loosed, the golden bowl was all but broken. Yet — “Aaron and his sons for­ ever”, the Bible had said. T AST SUCCOTH I bought my own lulav and ethrog for the first time. My hands seemed all thumbs, and I was in mortal fear that I would drop the fruit and make it po&ul. I watched them out of , the corners of my eyes, and an at­ tempt to read the prayers with the rest of the eyes wasn’t a complete success. We said the Kedushah. I looked at the ethrog. Mr. Cour­ lander went out to wash. I looked at the lulav. My uncle nudged me, “Max’s children”, he said, point­ ing to the two boys, about four­ teen and fifteen, who were walk­ ing past us. “Max who?” I asked. “Max Courlander—you remember. Well, their mother moved back to Philipsburgh so the boys could be with the old man. Bright boys”, s a i d my uncle; “Also, frum”. “That’s nice”, I mumbled. Still, it didn’t penetrate. The old man came back, and went up to the duchan. So did the boys. He stepped out of his shoes. So did they. He pulled his tallis over his head. So did they. We looked away. The chazzan called out, “Cohanim!” The congregation was quiet. The old man’s wavering tones, and the fresh young voices of his grand­ sons were clearly heard. After each of the Blessings’ three phrases they U

I saw that they were indeed “Max’s children’*. The same sparkling black: eyes; The firm chin. The curls. It is easier to describe their faces and expressions than their grandfather’s. Where shall I find the right w ords to picture his face as he looked at them? Only ill the Yom Kippur Machzor are they to be found.

sang that same melody—that anci­ ent, wordless melody; that chant which I had feared was soon never to he heard again. Their voices soared, their tones were clear and sweet. When they had done, and they Came down, I looked at them, and

%vfJOW glorious was the counten­ ance of the High Priest as he came forth in peace from the Holy of Holies. . . . “As the canopy of Heaven, was the countenance of the priest . As the rainbow in the midst of the cloud. . . As the rose in the garden. | . As a bright star in the border of the east. . . As the light that shineth in the windows. . . As the sun when it rises over the earth . . . Was the countenance of the priest. . . .”

LOFTY TOLERATION The Jew is the emblem of civil and religious toleration. "Love the stranger and the sojourner/' Moses commands, "because you have been strangers in the land of E gypt/' And this w as said in those remote and savage times when the principal ambition of the races and nations consisted in crushing and enslaving one another. As concerns religious toleration, the Jewish faith is not only far from the missionary spirit of converting people of other denominations, but on the contrary the Talmud commands the Rabbis to inform and explain to every one who willingly comes to accept the Jewish religion, all the difficulties involved in its accept­ ance, and to point out to the would-be proselyte that the righteous of all nations have a share in immortality. Of such a lofty and ideal religious toleration not even the moralists of otir present day can boast. ‘ t ■ • LEO TOLSTOY •

12

JfewiSH LIFE

• How will the established Jewish State affect Jewry in the Diaspora?

Israel and the By I. HALEVY LEVIN Jerusalem: eignty, the Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency would be­ ^ISCU SSION of the relationship come redundant, and having con­ between Israel and the Golah summated their task should vote would unquestionably benefit by themselves out of existence. It is postponement to some date in the now generally appreciated that the future, when the internal and in­ birth of the State of Israel, far ternational difficulties are settled, from putting an end to the task were it not that the swift passage of the World Zionist Organization, of events does not permit, procras­ has intensely expanded its magni­ tination. The formulation of some tude. The question has, according­ modus Vivendi, though it might ly, been lifted out of an ideological bear all the marks of an unripe context, and is now being discussed as a practical problem with wide solution, is a matter of urgency. The technical aspect, the demarca­ political ramifications. tion of the spheres of competence of the World Zionist Organization ■pO set some fears at rest, it is and the Government of Israel, is advisable to stress that the new certainly the least involved. The relationship is not without prece­ months that have passed since the dent. First the Zionist Executive, international endorsement of the and then from the year 1929, the Jewish State have permitted a num­ Jewish Agency was — or should ber of more *or less unanimous have been —*considered under Ar­ premises to be reached. Not so ticle Four of the Mandate for Pal­ Very long ago it was held that with estine, as, “an appropriate Jewish the achievement of Jewish sover- agency . . . recognized as a public body for the purpose of advising A frequent contributor to JEWISH LIFE of interpretations of the Eretz Israel scene, and cooperating with the adminis­ I. Halevy Levin is a leader of the Yishuv’s Torah V’Avodah movement. He is an official tration of Palestine in economic, of the Religious Youth Department of the social and other matters as may Jewish Agency. October, 1948 *13

affect the establishment of the Jew­ ish National Home and the inter­ ests of the Jewish population in, Palestine, and subject to the con­ trol of the Administration to assist and take part in the development of the country”. The Zionist Or­ ganization must continue to* per­ form some such function vis-a-vis the Israeli Government. The Zion­ ist Organization, will, of course, construe its functions more liber­ ally, and will not only “advise and cooperate with” the Administration (of Israel), but will assume the entire financial and technical re­ sponsibility for training, transport and settlement of those Jews who (to use EtérzPs phrase) “cannot or will not” remain in the countries of their residence. The operation of an international body within the borders of a sov­ ereign state, carrying out functions so comprehensive as the settlement of hundreds of thousands of im­ migrants, may give rise to delicate questions, and careful formulation may be necessary to set widelyheld apprehensions at rest. For this reason, probably, the sugges­ tion that Israeli Ministers of State be permitted to hold office on the Executive of the World Zionist Or­ ganization has been so vehemently opposed by the Americans ; whose fears on the score of divided loy­ alties are particularly acute. PERSONAL TIES

7T FAR more complex problem is that of the personal attitude and ties of individual Jews abroad to the State of Israel. Once again 14

the crux of the problem is that of dual loyalty. It is clear that this problem cannot be brushed aside as being of no substance, as is so impatiently done in the Yishuv. The extreme sensitivity of the Jews in the Golah is the outcome of un­ fortunate experience. Their natu­ ral sympathy for the State of Is­ rael will always bring grist to the anti-Semitic mill and will lay them open to new charges. Prudence and tact will be essential to avoid new complications and not to aggravate old ones. Zionist institutions overseas will act as agencies for assisting in the settlement of Jews in Israel — and thereby will assist in removing a painful international problem and in disseminating Hebrew culture. Both of these are of course legiti­ mate functions under any but a Fascist regime. It is, however, foreseen that the Zionist movement may have to engage in political ac­ tivity of a new sort, an inescapable corollary of its main purpose, in ensuring that Jews be permitted the right of emigration. This, ap­ plies especially to countries where their status and security are under­ mined. as in the Middle East. In this field, it is true, another Jew­ ish international bodv is active — the World Jewish Congress — as part of its more general function, of protecting the rights of Jewish minorities. Here again there is room for duplication, misunder­ standing and friction, which it will require wisdom on the part of Jew­ ish leaders and perhaps ingenuity on the part of lawyers to prevent J e w ish LIFE

ORIENTATIONS

sible statesman in Israel can afford to ignore this additional factor in framing our foreign policy. The dilemma is hardly eased by the fact that the Soviets’ whole-hearted aid in the troublesome initial period is thrown into greater relief by the’ very lukewarm and ambiguous sup­ port of the United States and the frank hostility of the Western Powers.

^■HE place of Israel in the present East-West controversy will have repercussions far beyond our own borders and, in view of the highly i n f l a m m a b l e atmosphere in the world today, will profoundly aifect the position of Jewries over­ seas. Providence, it appears, has re­ served for the State of Israel a CULTURAL CONTACTS role as a factor for peace in the world. Its debut was sponsored by JT has been almost an axiom of two major powers who upon no question of primary importance * Zionist work in the Exile, sub­ have ever exhibited a like degree scribed by all Zionist parties, that of unanimity. Similarly, it is its, any “gegenwartsprogram” (to use purpose to warn us of the perils a term out of the early Zionist vo­ of a too one-sided orientation, by cabulary) in the Golah, ran counter making our neutrality in the East- to the main purpose of Zionism. West cleavage an elementary neces­ Over decades all work was .of an sity for the upbuilding pf our State. organizational and fund-raising Both the American and the Russian character. The Golah was regarded spheres of influence will contribute solely as the source of finances and towards the ingathering and settle­ manpower, and no serious concern ment of the exiles, each in its spe­ was ever exhibited for those who cific fashion. The vast majority of could not or would not emigrate the European candidates for emi­ to Eretz Israel. There was a very gration are today far countries un­ airy “negation of the Golah,” which, der Soviet-influence. The bulk of in effect, meant that once having the finances that will make their given what it could in men and rehabilitation in Israel possible will substance to the upbuilding of Zion, the Goluth could, with a clear con-/ come from the American sector. science, die. With the exception of It is hardly necessary, therefore, isolated attempts in Eastern Eu­ to stress to what extent any parti­ rope and a more recent example in san attitude in the present world North Africa, in Tripoli, there has crisis can cause difficulties in the hardly been any consistent effort position of the Jews in the Dias­ to transplant Hebrew »culture and pora, and may conceivably, as a to introduce it into wider circles matter of self-defence, compel them in the Golah. to reduce their contacts with Israel Notable exceptions in this re­ to a minimum. gard, are of course, the Religious No Government and no respon- Zionist organizations, who, in their October, 1948 *15

concern for traditional Judaism, have fostered religious education and the study of our sacred litera­ ture, the wellspring of all that is specifically Jewish. The parochial schools in the United States are an outstanding case in point. Religious Zionism, it cannot be too strongly stressed, is the quin­ tessence of Spiritual Zionism. In its conception .of the Jewish na­ tional, revival as an instrument not only for the redemption of the Peo­ ple and the Land but of Judaism it is in duty bound to foster Jew­ ish culture wherever there are Jews. It is doubtful, what the sec­ ular | Zionists have to offer Jews outside Israel, particularly once the task of ingathering the exiles is completed, as one reasonably may expect it to be in the next two decades, other than a vague sym­ pathy for coreligionists. The Reli­ gious Zionists, on the other hand, are in exceptionally favourable po­ sition to rationalise the relations b e t w e e n Israel and the Jews

abroad. PRECISELY now when the term * “Israel” has entered the politi­ cal vocabulary of nations, the syna­ gogue, the religious school and an­ cillary institutions can exert an en­ hanced influence. The Bible and the Talmud are not only literature; they are the source, the repository of Jewish mores, culture and ethics. Hebrew is unlike any other lan­ guage under the sun. It is the language of religion. As such it is accepted among the Gentiles. Its dissemination will not rouse politi­ cal difficulties, it cannot be confused with dual loyalties, not, at least, as long as present standards of re­ ligious tolerance and democracy ate current. Religious Zionism can de­ velop a high degree of cultural au­ tonomy—not in the political sense that has been lent to the terip in the past by Dubnow and others— but purely and simply by consist­ ently pursuing and fostering its cultural ideal.

THE RELIGIOUS WORKER IN ERETZ ISRAEL I have visited and spoken at m any settlements/ an d have become convinced that one religious agricultural Settlement m anned by American chalutzim will bring about greater influence than hundreds of resolutions an d speeches. To our great sorrow, the public at large h as not yet rec­ ognized the effective influence of the religious Worker in the building of our land in the spirit of our religioon and tradition. —Rabbi Isaac Herzog, Chief Rabbi of Palestine.

16

J e w ish

LIFE

An appreciation of a great Sage, upon the 150th Anniversary of his death.

Qcum Of

\

By MEYER WAXMAN TT was said long ago “There is no prophet in his own city,” to which we may add, nor in his country, nor even in his genera­ tion. Verily, it is said in the Tal­ mud: “The righteous are greater after their death than during their life.” Few were the men of spir­ itual and intellectual distinction who enjoyed recognition and honor on the part of their contemporaries. One of such men was Elijah, the son of Salman, who is known as the Gaon of Vilna, or merely the Gaon. The exceptional reverence paid 'by all scholars of the day to Elijah and the honor bestowed by the masses at large upon this modest and retiring man who seldom took part in public affairs, constitutes a phenomenon in social behavior. It becomes unparalleled when we Contemplate that his generation was one which abounded in eminent figures—including men whose lead­ ership was unquestioned and whose names were made famous through­ out Jewry by their Halachic works.

Yet in this generation only one young man was crowned, by tacit consent, with the distinguished ti­ tle of “the Gaon.” At times, Eli­ jah was also called the Chasid, i,e., the pious one. We must also re­ member that at that period people were not generous in bestowing ti­ tles. ' Furthermore, at the time this honor was first bestowed on Elijah he was but thirty-five years old, serving neither as Rabbi of a com­ munity, nor as head of an Aca­ demy. None of his numerous works had yet appeared, for almost all of them were published posthum­ ously. His fame and the atmos­ phere of reverence surrounding him seem then to have stemmed from his very personality, and to have penetrated into the con­ sciousness of Jewry. To What de­ gree this reverence attained can be gauged by the words of Rabbi Chayyim Volozhin, the founder of the famous Volozhin Yeshivah, one of his disciples, who said of him, “G-<d, in His mercy, sent a light to our generation, the angelic and holy man, our teacher, Rabbi Eli­ Dr. Waxman is the author of the monu­ mental and vastly popular “History of Jew­ jah.” Numerous other great schol­ ish »Literature” and of “A Handbook of Ju­ daism.” 1 He is the head of the Department ars spoke of him in the same vein. of vjewish Philosophy snd. Religious ♦Thought : Nor did'the masses, falffar^ehigd at the Hebrew Theological •College, Chicago,' October, 1948 ;

in reverence. An eye witness testi­ fies that whenever the Gaon ap­ peared on the streets of Vilna, crowds surrounded him seeking to do him homage and to “feast their eyes upon the spiritual light eman­ ating from his saintly face.”1 What then was the source of this extraordinary reverence and honor? Was it his personality or his all* encompassing learning, his extra­ ordinary conduct,, his view of Ju­ daism, or all these things together ? Let us attempt an answer. THE GAON AND HIS ERA

K GENERALLY recognized char'“ acteristic of the man of genius is his bridging of the world of the present and that of the future, of whose coming he is the harbinger. The most typical characteristics of the culture of his age, and its ideals, are incorporated in his per­ sonality, and in him the spirit of the age is displayed in its essence. The man of genius however, points also to new intellectual and spir­ itual paths. The evaluation of this type of distinction by his con­ temporaries varies. If the innova­ tion in thought or view which he presages is completely strange to the age, then there results oppo­ sition. But if there is some con­ nection and relation between the old $nd the new, reverence and honor for the man may follow. Applying this test to the problem at hand, we note that traditional Judaism in the 18th century found its fullest expression in Lithuania. 1 R. Hayyim in his introduction to the Gaon’s commentary on the order Zeraim o f the Pafestitifem Talmud.

It was there that study of the To­ rah, observances of the precepts, and ethical conduct attained a large measure of fruition* The number of great scholars was' large, for there was hardly a town where one could not find a number of lay­ men who excelled in scholarship, and the list of the Rabbis of Lithu­ ania included numerous men of learning whose fame was pro­ claimed throughout Jewry. The dominance of love of Torah and devotion to J ts study were especi­ ally evident in Vilna, long known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania, whose very air breathed of learn­ ing. Moreover Lithuania in gen­ eral and Vilna in particular were full of men in all social strata who were distinguished by extreme pi­ ety and ethical character. In fact, scholarship, piety, and high ethical conduct were considered necessary qualifications for membership in communal councils and participa­ tion in public activity. These then were the ideals of the age of the Gaon. TDEALS, however, are rarely real* ized in life, and such was the fate of these ideals in 18th century Lithuania. While there were nu­ merous great Jewish scholars, their learning was limited both in range and in the time given to study. The Rabbis were occupied with pub­ lic affairs and could not devote their entire time to Torah. Some, like Samuel Avigdor, Rabbi of Vilna at the time, also engaged partially in commerce. The laymen were cer­ tainly occupied otherwise, and their J e w is h L I F E

study of Torah was limited. Like­ wise, in spite of prevailing piety and ethical conduct, there were also evident shortcomings in the mas­ tery of the Babylonian Talmud, of commentaries, and of the Codes. Few also mastered even partly the Palestinian Talmud, and very few other works of the extensive Halachi literature, such as the Tosefta, Tannaitic Midrashim, etc. The Bi­ ble, except for the weekly portion read on the Sabbath, was little studied. Some delved into the Kab­ balah. But many of the mystics did not excel in Halachic studies. It was upon that scene that there suddenly appeared a young man who realized the ideals of love and study of the Torah to the ul­ timate degree, both in extent of time devoted to it and comprehen­ siveness of knowledge. Small won­ der that he became a center of rev­ erence. He was simultaneously typ­ ical of his age and in advance of his contemporaries. Torah was no profession to the Gaon, as he never served as a Rabbi in any community. It was, in the fullest sense of the word, his soul and breath of life. He never interrupted his study for more than a half hour and these interruptions were few. His son, Abraham, testifies that at least dur­ ing fifty years of his life he never slept more than two hours a day, and these two hours were divided into half hour periods of which he used three during the night and one during the day.2 Nothing in­ terested him except study; he spoke little, even to his family, so as’ not October, 1948

to take time from study, and even closed the shutters of his window during the day and studied by can­ dle light in order not to be dis­ turbed by the noise from the street.3 Q I M I L A R L Y, he realized the^ other phase of comprehensive­ ness of study and knowledge to the fullest extent.' There was not a single branch of the vast Jewish literature, accumulated during the previous millenia, that he did not master thoroughly. We have t,he testimony of Rabbi Chayyim Volozhin that the Gaon knew the Scrip­ tures, both Talmuds, all Codes, and mystic works literally by heart, and to such an extent that he could re­ cite without hesitation the word or phrase preceding a word or a phrase selected by the inquirer from any work in the ramified Jewish literature .4 In his personal life, too Gaon Eli­ jah realized the ideal of his gen­ eration regarding piety and ethical conduct in as perfect a manner as possible. Not only did he observe every precept according to the, Codes in its minutest severity, but also such practices which, though mentioned in the Talmud, were al­ lowed by most codifiers to fall into desuetude because of changed con­ ditions of life. The mere fact that such practices were mentioned in the Talmud was to him sufficient reason for their observance. As to his ethical conduct, he was mod2 Saarath Eliyahu, a treatise on the life of the Gaon by his soh Abraham, P; 14. 3 Aliyath Eliyahu, P. f>5. 4 Saarath . Eliyahu| P. ,45-

19

est and humble, charitable to the extreme in spite of his poverty— for he was supported by the com­ munity—and was ready to bear the deepest misery in order to save humiliation to others. It is told that when a dishonest \Shamash of the community failed, for quit§ a long time, to bring him his weekly stipend, keeping the money for him­ self, he refused, in spite of the vig­ orous protests of his wife, to in­ form the communal officers of the act. He chose hunger for himself and. his family rather than accuse a fellowman of theft, though the perfidious act Was carried on for a long time. It became known only when the clerk confessed his crime on his death-bed.6 Such was the realization of the ideals of the generation by the Gaon in his own life. Small wonder that he served' to his contemporaries as a beacon of spirituality which threw its rays of light upon their own paths, and hence their exceptional reverence. THE GAON'S CONTRIBUTIONS

TH ER E was also an active phase of the Gaon’s genius by means of which he influenced not only his generation, but also those which came after him. He broke a new path in the study of the Torah which indirectly widened the con­ ception of Jewish education as well as the spiritual horizon of eastern European Jewry in general. As noted above, study of Torah in that generation was limited to the Baby­ lonian Talmud and Codes, and the method of study was casuistic, 20

while thé Scriptures, the Agada> and a large part of the Halachic books were neglected. Quite dif­ ferent Was the Gaon’s conception of Torah. It was to him the sum* of all goodness both in Judaism and life, and he looked upon the great mass of the literature of the ages, from Chumosh to the works of the last generation, as consti­ tuting one grand circle which pos­ sesses numerous radii dividing it into sections, with the Scriptures, from which all radii emerge, as the centre of the circle. It follows then that one who does not master the center fully is bound to- lose his way in the radii or the paths they mark. Again, since the Scrip­ tures are divine, every word pos­ sesses great importance. But words are not isolated; they combine into s e n t e n c e s and their meaning changes according to their punctu­ ation, accent and the rules of syn­ tax. Accordingly, one cannot mas­ ter the Scriptures without mastery of the Hebrew language and its grammar. Needless to say, the Gaon devoted years to the study of the Scriptures and mastered the language and grammar to the ut­ most degree, knowing literally tjie exact number of various letters in any section and penetrating into the very recesses of the meaning of the text .6 OUCH an approach to the Scrip­ tures was new in those days and and brought important results in changing the general views of that 5 Ibid, P. 27. 6 Àliyath Eliyahu, P'. 74. *

J e w ish

LIFE

generation as well as in the Gaon’s own scholarly activity. First of all, he insisted on interpreting the B i b l e in accordance with the Peshat, i.e., according to the plain logical and grammatical meaning. He was, of course, aware of the hundreds of interpretations found

Gaon then undertook a thorough study of all those sciences. His mastery is evident in his commen­ taries on the Biblical books, es­ pecially on Joshua, which contains a map of Palestine drawn by him, on Judges and on the Book of Chronicles, to which he appended

in the vast Jewish literature, and at times he employed them him­ self—for everything was holy to him. Still, he never lost sight of the Peshat. Peshat, however, means much more than the understanding of the words according to their grammatical meaning. Words con­ tain concepts borrowed from na­ ture and human life. A compre­ hension of such matters is there­ fore necessary. The Bible contains, besides laws, much about history and the land of Palestine. It is impossible to understand these properly without a knowledge of geography and without a knowl­ edge o f ' chronology. Nor can we comprehend many laws as expound­ ed in the Talmud, such as those relating to the calendar and the fixation of the holidays, without mathematics and astronomy. The October, 1948

chronological tables of the Judges and Kings. His historical knowl­ edge is displayed in his notes to the Tannaitic historical book, Seder Olam Rabbah. He composed a He­ brew grammar, a book oil trigo­ nometry and a treatise on astron­ omy. He repeatedly insisted on the value of the knowledge of the sci­ ences as a necessary means for understanding the Torah and urged his disciples to master them. This enlightened attitude of the Gaon not only stimulated chosen spirits of the generation to follow his way but planted the seeds from which there arose the great intellectual movement known as the Vilna type of Haskalah in the next generation. He applied the same attitude and method to the literature of the Oral Law. The Torah She-B*al Peh (the Oral Torah) which is an im21

mense expahse in its numerous strata, engaged the attention of the Gaon for many years. Here, too, he attempted to penetrate to the plain meaning of that Torah which often lay beneath mountains of var­ ious interpretations given by gen­ erations of scholars. He undertook bo find a path in this vast expanse and chart it. He searched for early sources, corrected faulty copying and printing, and wrote commen­ taries on numerous treatises of the Mishnah and also of the Talmud. The value of his emendations of the text of Halachic works, which embrace the entire Talmudic liter­ ature from the early Halachic Midrashim to the smallest treatise of the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds, is inestimable. From Tal­ mudic literature he .turned to the ramified literature of the Codes. Here too he quoted sources, cor­ rected errors, and appended com­ ments to difficult passages. The great circle of Jewish lit­ erature has innumerable sectors, and some of these are wrapped in a halo of mysticism known as Kab­ balah. These also claimed the in­ terest of the all-embracive mind of the Gaon, and there is hardly a mystical book which he did not emend or comment. Some parts of the Zohar he commented on at length. In spite of the cryptic style of Gaon Elijah’s comments and emen­ dations scholars from his day to the present have proclaimed them as a source which sheds light on thousands of difficult passages in the works of all strata of Jewish 22

literature. Moreover, his methods stimulated the scientific study of the Talmudic and post-Talmudic literature carried on by Western scholars, which enabled some of these savants to publish corrected and scientific editions of such im­ portant works as the Tosefta, Mekilta and Sifre—the last two are Tannaitic Midrashim on the books of Shemoth (Exodus), and Bemidbor (Numbers) and DevorinL(Deuteronomy), respectively. CONCEPT OF LIFE AND JUDAISM

^ H E GAON did not elaborate a * stytematic view of Judaism, but from stray notes in his works, es­ pecially in his commentaries on the Bible, we may formulate such a view. This, on the whole, does not depart from the traditional theol­ ogy of the ages, but widens and deepens it in numerous instances. Like all great traditional theolo­ gians, he posited that the goal to which a Jew should strive through­ out life is to attain the perfection of the soul. The means for its realization are Torah, observance of precepts, and ethical conduct. The Torah, the foundation of this perfection, should be the constant companion of man through life. Moreover, the study of the Torah must be pursued intensiyely in or­ der to penetrate to its depths and secrets.7 Since every Mitzvah has a definite time and manner for its performance, the observance of the precepts alone is not sufficient for a good life without the study of the Torah, the bread of life. There 7‘ Commentary on Proverbs, Ch. No. II, 5.

J ewish LIFE

is undoubtedly reward for the of the Torah, but the real reward is the ¡acquisition of its knowledge. H o w e v e r , though the Torah guards man from sin and supplies value to the Mitzvoth, still it is in need of support from both piety and ethical conduct, and man must possess both in order to receive its influence. Man must conquer in himself the two principal vices, covetousness and lust, through the cultivations of the virtues of mod­ eration. Man, says the Gaon, must develop his ethical self gradually and not strive to attain perfection immediately, nor must he overlook his individuality, for all men are not alike' in character. Further­ more, this distinctness of character must also be observed in the edu­ cation of children. The child must •be trained in accordance with his individual nature and character. 'pH E above indicates that the Gaon’s view of life and Judaism possess all the earmarks of the tra­ ditional view of the ages with cer­ tain additions which reflect enlight­ enment and liberalism. On the other hand, from a number of stories current in this day as well as from many passages in his works, we find that the Gaon displayed traits of intolerance and an inclination to rigor and asceticism. We have here a manifestation of dualism in this great personality which is especb ally evident in his relation to phil­ osophy. Several passages in the Gaon’s comments on the Code of Karo (Shulchan Aruch) contain harsh October, 1948

words against philosophy and its students, not excluding Maimonides.8 But we have also testimonies from several of his disciples that these remarks were never uttered by the Gaon, but were inserted by an editor of the manuscript. These also testify that the Gaon also spoke with exceeding reverence of Maimonides and even of Gersonides, the more radical Jewish philosopher.9 \ Indeed, one wonders if it was possible for thé Gaon, who knew thoroughly the entire mediae­ val Jewish philosophy, not to be influenced iby some of its works. The difficulty is aggravated when we find evident philosophical teach­ ing in his commentaries, especi­ ally in that on Mishley (Proverbs). The reconciliation between these contradictory traits in the person­ ality of the Gaon can be explained by the conflict in his soul between reason and the feeling of unbound­ ed reverence for tradition. As a logical thinker, he undoubtedly val­ ued reason but feared lest it over­ step its boundary. The very fact that he knew this extensive mass of literature by heart coupled with a reverence for teachers of old re­ pressed unconsciously any possible rational outbreak in him. He was fearless in contradicting authori­ ties in matters of legal interpreta­ tion, but in questions of concept he refrained from deviation from the path trodden by those who pre­ ceded him. 8 Commentary on Yoreh Deah, Ch. 179, 6. 9 Kiryah Neamonah, A history of the com­ munity of Vilna, by S. J. Finn. P. 152.

23

JT IS by this inner struggle that * that we pan explain the Gaon’s tolerance, the ascetic conduct of his own life, and finally, his vigorous struggle against Chassidism. The rigor of conduct he imposed upon his family, is however,» pri­ marily ethical and does not in­ cline to extreme bodily asceticism. On the contrary, Gaon Elijah re­ peatedly asserts that one must en­ joy the things he needs for bodily health. In a famous letter which he sent to his wife when he was on his way to Palestine—he later changed his mind and returned home—he warns against the slight­ est indulgence in gossip or slander. For this reason, he enjoins upon her to isolate herself at home and avoid the company of women even at the stores. He enjoins his wife to be strict in the training of the children and to assure that peace and harmony should reign among them. He insists that the Sabbath day be spent in meditation and with a minimum of conversation. ’Without doubt, the' spirit of this epistle is one of asceticism and the path of life it outlines is difficult to follow, yet for all its extremity we cannot help but admire the pure ethics reflected therein. It is also due to the exceptional reverence of tradition and fear of deviation from its path, no matter how slight, that the Gaon carried on his struggle against Chassidism in a severe and even violent man­ ner not compatible with his gentle and humble character. He who passed his days in continuous study of the Torah, whose personal con24

duct was one of moral rigor, whose view of life was one of absolute seriousness, sensed in this move­ ment a profound danger. He saw in the lighter attitude of the Chas­ sidim toward life, expressed in a certain mode of hilarious conduct, especially in public gatherings, in their noisy manner of prayer, and primarily in the minimization of the value of the study of Torah, the beginning of a serious schism in Judaism. That history proved his fears groundless does not in any way reflect upon the motives of the Gaon in carrying on this struggle. Perhaps this very strug­ gle restrained certain incipient un­ healthy tendencies in the Chassidic movement and thus ultimately pre­ vented a final breach between the Chassidim and their opponents. Q R E A T and fundamental changes have taken place during the century and a half which separates us from the time of the Gaon, es­ pecially in Jewish life. The world of eastern European Jewry which produced such a personality has been shattered to its very founda­ tions, yet his influence has not ceased. Goethe said long ago: “One who influences his generation in­ fluences all generations.” W ho knows the way of the spirit, how it reveals itself in life? Not only do Rabbinic scholars still slake their thirst at the fountain of his Torah, but the rays of his genius still light the path of those who endeavor to devote their lives to the realization of Jewish ideals, though under changed conditions and in a somewhat different form, J e w ish

LIFE

• Concerning a soldier who came home—to his people. 1

beyond the River By GERSION APPEL I MMEDIATELY * upon my appoint­ ment as Jewish chaplain under the Veterans’ Adminis­ tration, I made my first visit to the hospital. It was a compact series of buildings situated in the heart of a beautiful stretch of New England countryside. The grounds were neat, and landscaped to resemble a miniature forest res­ ervation, complete with a lovely, little lake listening in the bright morning sun. The hospital, expand­ ing rapidly with the progress of the war, was now reserved almost exclusively for Tubercular veterans of both wars. In addition to being new at the post, I had, at the time, some of the nebulous fears com­ monly shared by those ignorant of the nature of thè disease. I admit feeling a trifle uneasy as I made my Rabbi Appel, hitherto a New Yorker,; now is the Rabbi of Congregation Bikhr Cholim, Seattle*, .Wash.; • 1 . .i.

October, 1948

way into the main , building and pass­ ed the open wards. The men were ly­ ing on their beds ; some were reading, others were just resting. I continued down the corridor, look­ ing for the first of t h e Jewish men whom I was to visit this morning. I found his room a few paces ahead, to the left. The door was closed and the small window in the center had been covered over. I subsequently learned to recognize this as a sign that the patient is in rather serious condition. I opened the door and quietly entered the room. It was an ordinary hospital room. The sun was streaming through a window, at the further end, which opened directly on a bed of flowers in early spring bloom. The patient was ly­ ing facing the window and, obvi­ ously, did not hear me enter. * “Gpod-morning I called out 25

cheerfully, by way of announcing my presence in the room. “Good-morning”, a voice answer­ ed hoarsely. The thin, dark' figure on the bed raised his head from the pillow and turned with much effort. “I’ve been expecting you, Rabbi”, he said, ex­ tending his right hand, uncertainly, in a weak handshake. “The orderly told me you might drop by this morning.” The man, a veteran of the first war, looked much younger than his fifty-odd years. However, the pro­ longed siege of illness had left its mark. His face was drawn, and his eyes sunken. He spoke with great difficulty in a parched foice. “Here, Rabbi, take the chair near the .win­ dow. You will find it more comfort­ able there.” We talked for a while. His man­ ner was courteous, but cool and re­ served. At first I ascribed it to in­ frequent contact with men of the cloth—a sort of awe that some of the men acquired in the presence of one who, it is supposed, con­ verses intimately with the Al­ mighty. “I am not what you would call a religious Jew”, he had said, apologetically, at one point in the conversation. It was my task, of course, to dis­ pel such initial restraint and to es­ tablish a more wholesome and a warmer relationship. I tried to do just that. It did not take long to realize, however, that the man was very lonely, and that the cool, stud­ ied reserve was but tfre artificial shell that encased that loneliness. I 26

made little headway on that first visit. I left him and continued on my rounds. Q N my following visits, it was gratifying to note that I had succeeded, to a degree, in penetrat­ ing his former reserve. He began to talk a little more freely about him­ self and his past experiences. From remarks here and there, I gathered that he had been born into a typi­ cal Jewish immigrant family, ob­ servant of the traditions and the festivals. He remembered his father as a sincere, moderately-cultured Jew whose pride was a modest col­ lection of the holy books. For some unexplained reason, he had left home, severing all family ties, at an early age to make his way in the world. He never married. His friends were few, and casual. There was nothing binding him to anyone anywhere. As the weeks went by, his condi­ tion grew worse. It became increas­ ingly difficult for him to speak. His voice was, at times, barely above a whisper. His eyes, cold and dark, took on a lonely, frightened look. He began to refer, ever more often, to a feeling of impending death. I tried to comfort him and to give him hope, but with little success. ‘Til be gone before those flow­ ers fall”, . he remarked one day, pointing to the window. “I can see the old fellow waiting to ferry me across the river.” I was pained by the remark, but he ignored me completely and conJ ew i ^h TAPE

tinued, as though in a daze. “Some* nights I see him standing there in the boat—waiting. I see the river, with the boat rising and falling on the waves. There should be a green valley beyond the river, I know, but I can’t see it. The mist is too heavy.” He took occasion to speak in sim­ ilar vein a number of times after that. I found these allusions, a fan­ ciful fusion of scenes from Dante’s ‘‘Inferno”, uncomfortably disturb­ ing. He also -began to evince a surpris­ ingly avid interest in matters Jew­ ish. He listened intently when, in the course of the conversation, I would refer to current Jewish af­ fairs, or to some Jewish custom or tradition of significance. However, I saw that he was laboring under a great emotional stress, which he was trying hard to control. ■pHEN, one day as I was about to leave, he turned to me abruptly and, in a voice that was almost a plea, he said; “Chaplain, I must talk to you about something of great concern to me.” I came closer to the bed and he continued, very earnestly. “I know that I haven’t lived much like a Jew all my life. Yet I know and, deep within me, I feel that I am a Jew. I am going to ask you to do something for me, Chaplain. It means a lot to me. ” His face was set grimly. “Let’s face it squarely. I’m not going to be around much longer. But when I die, I want you to see to it that I am buried as a Jew. Will you October, 1948

promise me that?” There dawned upon me the full import of the emotional stress that was preying on the man’s mind. I could see it clearly now. All these years, he had lived estranged from his family, far removed from his People, drifting aimlessly along the icy waters of an impersonal world. Now he felt utterly alone. He need­ ed desperately to know that he be­ longed to someone, that his life would not be swallowed up in a ghastly ocean of silence—unmarked and unmourned. In his pitiful and confused way, he was searching for some warmth, some measure of im­ mortality and, in final desperation, he felt that he would find it in a return to his People and his Faith. There he would receive compassion and warmth, there he would find peace for his restless and lonely spirit. I made him the promise. When I left there was a new brightness in his eyes. “I cian see the green valley beyond the river now,” he said quietly, “It’s soft and it’s warm.” He died peacefully that night. We buried him the following day in the Jewish cemetery. There were many kindly men and women who came to the funeral. There were also more than a few moist eyes às I prayed that We make room in our hearts for a lonely soul in Israel. As I stood there listening to the dying echo of the last notes of the Taps, the surrounding countryside was bathed in sunshine. The green grass seemed soft and warm. 27

i Gallant workers rebuild the shat­ tered life of Oriental Jewry.*

The M illion ... By SAUL BERNSTEIN K FTER the fearful losses which the people of Israel has suf­ fered, the effort to preserve preci­ ous Jewish life and lives has be­ come the driving motive of all Jewish effort, manifesting itself over a vast area. Strangely enough, this heightened Jewish sense of common destiny has been deaf to the cry of a vital region. A great segment of Israel, the Jews of North Africa and the Near and Middle East, has in recent years become faced with annihilation—g while American Jewry has ignored its plight and its very existence. The American Jew is apt to iden­ tify the Jew of Morocco, Tripoli, Syria, Iraq or Iran with some re­ mote and rather exotic picture, rather than as a living individual, directly related to him. It is of drastic importance that this blur be replaced by reality. In the lands stretching from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the borders of India there are today upwards of 900,000 Jews. Let us clearly realize that these form a major proportion of the surviving Jewish population of the Old World. Apart from the 28

seared fragments of eastern Euro­ pean Jewry, these are the only large body of Jews among whom the trational Jewish way of life survives in unbroken continuity; they are the product of ancient Jewish com­ munities, many of them once the" centers of Jewish life and learning they are our direct link with the roots of the Jewish people and the Jewish faith. W ITH the attention of Ameri­ cans naturally centered upon Europe and Palestine, it required the clash of Jewish and Arab inter­ ests to disclose the fact that Orien­ tal Jewry form a prime factor in the world Jewish situation. Already a significant element of the popula­ tion of the State of Israel, they form a principal reservoir of Pales­ tinian immigration. Their position in the Moslem and Arab lands which flank the state of Israel on every side and which loom large in the geopolitics of these days has finally torn the veil which obscured them from the view of American Jewry. The grim fact is revealed that the Jewish communities in this area J ewish LIFE

are in the most desperate straits. brethren throughout the Near and Their problem is an integral part Middle East, set out to attack the of the problem which taxes the re­ problem as a whole. They saw it, sources of American Jewry; its not as an occasion for casual phil­ solution is inseparable from the anthropy, but one of saving and rest and must be undertaken ac­ rebuilding a people. cordingly. Fortunately, within the past two T H E area in which Ozar Hatorah operates is a vast morass jin years a ray of light has relieved the unbroken darkness of the east­ which the fabric of medieval life, ern scene — the work of “Ozar Ha- decayed and devitalized, is ferment­ K 1' is a voluntary organ­ ing under the impact of the everization devoted to the redemption expanding influences of the West­ of the Jewish population of east­ ern world. The Jews particuarly, ern countries, more recently func­ living on the margin of Oriental tioning under the name of “The Society, have suffered the collapse Committee for the Forgotten Mil­ of their social and economic foun­ lion.” The work of this organization dations. While many continue to young as it is, is epic. They have cherish the precious inheritance of not merely saved lives, they have Jewish observance, a spiritual and saved life. With no political axe intellectual blight has spread with to grind, with no interest at heart sickening speed. The crude eco­ but that of G-d, Torah and Israel, nomic life of these lands offers no with no personal benefit to gain, haven between economic security or and indeed with no resources be­ pauperdom ; the petrified cultural yond the funds which its handful pattern leaves no gradations be­ of members personally subscribed tween accepted religious attachment or secured and their own unaided and spiritual and cultural destitu­ efforts, Ozar Hatorah has achieved tion. World War II climaxed a turn results which, with due considera- of history by which Jews of the ation to the enormity of their task, Near and Middle East have been flung, en masse, into a bottomless are deeply significant. The founders and active leaders pit of poverty and demoralization* Ozar Hatorah, then, confronted of The Committee for the Forgotten Million are Joseph Shamah of Jeru­ a scene characterized by wide­ salem, Isaac Shalom of New York spread physical starvation ; by an and Ezra Teubal of Buenos Aires incredibly low standard of living; — all of whom are of Sephardic by families of ten or twelve — in­ extraction, are prominent in busi­ cluding married children and their ness fields, and have given unceas­ offspring — living in a single room, ingly throughout their lives of their without sanitary facilities of any means and efforts to Jewish causes. kind ; by a decline of morality ; by These three men, early in 1946, a children’s mortality rate of 60%; Viewing the grim situation of their by a 50% incidence of tuberculosis, October, 1948 29

Ozar Hatorah em issary visits a Morroco school

syphilis, eye disease and similar sicknesses; by the disintegration of educational institutions ; by hordes of children — Jewish children roaming the streets hungry and all but naked, growing up in ignorance of all that their forefathers and ours have cherished and preserved throughout the ages; by a. whole proud people sinking, body and soul, into the abyss. Of the more than 900,000 Jews in these lands, Mr. Shamah has reported, “50 to 60<fy of them, or over half a million, are in the most appalling poverty, health, and incapable of earning a decent living.” 'pH E approach of Ozar Hatorah * to this great problem is based upon education. The organization aims at the salvaging and recon­ struction of the “forgotten million” through, the redemption not only of their physical being, but of their Jewish character. ; They must be saved as Jews. Can they be Jews, 30

without Torah? Can they hold fast to Torah, without sound teaching and adequate schools, without train­ ing which will equip them, not only to give a livelihood and to acquire the necessary quota of secular knowledge, but to apply their be­ liefs and traditions effectively to the circumstances of modern times? On the other hand, the boundaries of Torah are limitless; today, as in former days, it can blend with and sanctify every aspect of human endeavor; it is applicable in every aspect of vocational training. De­ clares Mr. Shamah: “We can teach a child to become an automobile mechanic, or ' a sewing machine operator with Torah.” So the redeemers of the “forgot­ ten million” embarked upon their revolutionary plan to establish a network of schools throughout this great area. These schools would nourish the body, feed the mind, train the hands and nurture the spirit. From them would emerge men and women equipped to cope with modern requirements, whether in their native communities o r— as destiny seems to point fpr many of them — as healthy, vital recruits in the building of the land of Is­ rael. Out of these sdhools would come Jewish life, carrying forward all that the Jew holds precious in firm integrity. T h e Ozar Hatorah program, Ibroad-visioned yet realistic, could not be achieved by any handful of men alone, however determined. The capital outlay, designed ulti­ mately to be based upon a $5,000,000.00 foundation and a $1,000,000.00 building fund, could be met J e w ish LIFE

Moroccan adherents of Ozar Hatorah

only with the cooperation of re­ sponsible organizations in t h e United States, and this was not at hand. Furthermore, self-emancipa­ tion is the key to modern Jewish history—the people must be helped to help themselves. The Ozar Ha­ torah plan premised a constantly increasing local participation until its institutions became self-sup­ porting. Fortunately, once the lead­ ers of the organization began to propagate their program, volun­ teers in many communities ap­ peared who were eager to help to the best of their means and ability. Too, the response of the masses of the impoverished was hearteningly enthusiastic. With r e m a r k a b l e speed, the program was set under way, aided by the local committees which sprung up everywhere. J^IMITED financial and human re­ sources made it necessary that whatever teachers and schools still survived in the several communities October, 1948

be utilized until new structures and properly trained instructors could be acquired. Both schools and teachers thus found can only be characterized by: nebuch! Unven­ tilated rooms, on the floors of which were packed 100 or more tattered youngsters, learning by rote—with one book for the whole class—-from a poor starved soul of a melamed who himself was but little blessed with learning. In many communi­ ties an ev§n worse situation pre­ vailed, with no manner of school whatsoever surviving and with tens of thousands of children remain­ ing utterly illiterate. In various lo­ calities there did exist government schools, whose fees were beyond the resources of tjie Jewish parents and which offered, of course* only secular instruction. Again, there were the schools of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, with a total of 47,*000 Jewish pupils — but with a fixed policy of ignoring or elim­ inating religious teaching and with a markedly non-Torah orientation. 31

Crude as was the material at hand, it was quickly infused by the spirit and methods of Ozar Hatorah, and in many places tem­ porary classrooms were immedi­ ately acquired and made to func­ tion. The response of the people was a stilling demonstration of resurgent Jewish character. How­ ever decadent might be the par­ ents, they went to every length to secure a place in the schools for their children; however abandoned might be the children, they flocked to the schools like sparrows to breadcrumbs, and proved them­ selves alert, keen-minded, thirsty for knowledge and for salvation. T H E cost of maintaining each school, due to the frightfully low standard of living, was incredibly low by Western standards. Never­ theless, the funds of the organiza­ tion were strained to the utmost to provide the few pennies per day which it cost to feed each child, to pay the teachers their meagre remuneration, to introduce curri­ cula and to purchase equipment, textbooks and supplies, including fabric and sewing machines for making simple articles of clothing for the near-naked pupils. The lat­ ter were made by th e , students themselves, and marvels of ingenu­ ity were performed in teaching them to fashion and make the needed garments out of the most inexpénsive cloth such as army sur­ plus khaki. Advocates of <<scientific,, philan­ thropy may cavil at this seemingly abrupt method of proceeding to 32

tachlisii. Unquestionably, however, the critical situation compelled im­ mediate. action, while the intimate personal familiarity of its sponsors with the conditions involved, their long experience in Jewish endeavor and their sound and successful business training permitted them to take a drastic short cut without fear of taking false steps. No bet­ ter testimony could b l found to the sound approach of the Com. for the Forgotten Million than the report of its first year of ac­ tivity. This lucid and comprehen­ sive report, published in October, 1947, covers operations in Morocco, Algeria, Tripolitania, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Pales­ tine. Sober and restrained in lan­ guage, it nevertheless is eloquent of vital achievement. TN Morocco, for example, the or­ ganization, with its local com­ mittees, not only revitalized exist­ ing Talmud Torah schools and Yeshivoth and found them improved quarters and competent teachers and introduced modern curricula, but opened new schools of both kinds in several communities. Sim­ ilarly in Tripolitania, where Ozar Hatorah also participated in the es­ tablishment of a much - needed teachers’ seminary. Syria, once a centre of Jewish scholarship, was found to be faced with a complete breakdown of Jewish education. Now, thanks to the organization’s work, elementary and secondary schools have been made to flourish in the chief cities. The community of Iran, isolated tor centuries from J e w ish LIFE

the large Jewish centers, lay under young Com. for the Forgotten Mil­ the darkest shadows of all, with lions already; has to its credit. Less scarcely a vestige of Jewish learn­ tangible tout not less inspiring is ing surviving and with total im­ the psychological effect of its ef­ poverishment. Here twenty Talmud forts. Throughout the East, a new Torah schools, with a total of 3,300 hope and a new outlook is dawning. pupils, were opened in various parts Children — Jewish communities — of the country. In addition, ar­ Jewish life itself—are being saved; rangements were made and teach­ not just “are going to be saved,” ers appointed to provide religious but the actuality itself. The effect instruction to eight schools of the upon the Jews of these lands is Alliance Israelite Universelle, with immeasurable. an enrollment of nearly 6,000 chil­ The leaders of the Committee dren. The scope of operations in for the Forgotten Million, however, Iran proved beyond the organiza­ among whom is now included tion’s resources and after due ne­ Rabbi William Z. Novick, Exec­ gotiations a grant of $100,000.00 utive Director, have no illusion was secured from the Joint Distri­ as to the task at hand. Although bution Committee, with a somewhat the education of 20,000 children smaller amount to be raised by h a s b e e n provided for, what Ozar Hatorah itself and its local has toeen done is but a begin­ committees. ning. To really fulfill their great Significant work* was done in the program, to rescue this Forgotten Land of Israel itself, where the Million from the depths and make Oriental community is poorly in­ of them a proud bulwark of the tegrated into the social scheme. Jewish people, requires the full co­ Lacking modern education facili­ operation of the Jewish people, as ties and economic weapons of their a whole and particularly of the own, the impoverished Jews from American Jewish institutions which Oriental lands are a prey to ex­ alone can provide the necessary tremist and secularizing influences means and machinery. Ozar Ha * despite the Holy Land atmosphere.. torah and the great, suffering rem­ A m o n g various enterprises con­ nant of Israel for which they speak, ducted by the organization in Pal­ place their lives and their future estine was the erection of a model in the hands of American Jewry. school building in the Hatikvah The Committee is now under­ section of Tel Aviv, participation taking a $2,500,000.(50 campaign, in the erection of a teacher’s sem­ to continue the maintenance of inary for girls in Jerusalem and those now under their care, to ex­ in the building of a Yeshivah Ge- tend their guidance to many others, dolah at Petach Tikvah. to provide a building fund and for mxxTuati gfl general relief work. Without doubt; are a few out of many American Jewry will- rally whole: accomplishments. ; w h thev heartedly Qctobeiy 1948 38

How Intolerant We Are ! By C. FARR K T orthodox Jewish occasions in which reform Jewish men par­ ticipate—at the recent dedication of a Yeshivah Ketanah a reform rabbi was among the speakers and at the recent dedication of a tra­ ditional synagogue a reform rabbi delivered the principal address ! — the emphasis is generally thrown upon the theme that cooperation, harmony, common aims, etc. etc. are of much greater importance than the differences between groups in Judaism. Invariably the consci­ entious orthodox leader is driven to the defensive, he finds the audi­ ence smiling assent to a doctrine so pleasant, plausible, and persua­ sive that it must surely silence anyrash inclination to introduce the challenge of disagreement. Can orthodox Jews, indeed, never rise to this attractive philosophy .of tolerance? Why not, in truth, drop our habit of criticizing sharply the conduct of those who may be less faithful to certain “details” of the law, when they seek to join with us in the broad vision of spiritual and. cultural ideals? Are we not rendering a disservice to the aims of orthodox Judaism when we disturb the happy mood of brethren dwelling together in peace by reminding the listeners that dif­ ferences exist, that they are not of minor significance, that the To­ rah viewpoint forbids this type of 34

“open-mindedness,” and that we cannot sit idly by while, each man chooses for himself what is and what is not “meaningful” to him from the Vast code of Judaism? It is a sad business to discover that with us rests intolerance, and with them tolerance, whenever they turn to the congregation of Israel and proclaim that all the forces of Jewish life seeking the survival, physical and spiritual, of our eter­ nal people must unite. J^fAY the Maggid of Dubno for­ give a parable. A very wealthy man fell sick. The family realized that the situation was critical, and hastily summoned five of the great­ est medical authorities from all over the country. They all agreed that some strange malady had at­ tacked the right leg of the pa­ tient, but they disagreed strongly among themselves as to whether amputation would save his life or would prove fatal, as to whether a surgeon | should be summoned im­ mediately. or be excluded from con­ sideration. At the end of their conference they called the children, and the oldest of the physicians made a statement in behalf of them all, to the effect that they all agreed the patient was dangerously "sick, they all wanted to help him recover, their sympathy with the family was most sincere, they recognized J e w ish

LIFE -

it would be to the advantage of the properly answered. As long as we entire community for his life to agree that the youngsters should be spared, but it would not be be­ spend their entire school day in coming professionally to put be­ Jewish surroundings, need we en­ fore the members of the family ter into “petty” debates about the the nature of their arguments for curriculum? Again, orthodox Jews or against amputation, and it would cannot aVoid being stubborn in therefore remain with the family their “narrowness” ; cannot, let us to decide whether they wished to say, be tolerant of engaging teach­ have surgery or not. ers whose interest in the Sabbath The situation of Judaism is far is merely platonic. The issues ex­ too perilous in America to imagine tend too deeply into our destiny that a cure will result from pious to permit us to advise the indi­ phrases of hope for recovery, even vidual families to determine for if a thousand tongues of a thousand themselves t h e i r preference on preachers utter them in unison. what portions of our tradition may Not theory, but action will restore be removed from the educational our life to health, and action in­ frame of reference. volves positive procedure, depend­ Yes, we are intolerant of dif­ ent, in turn, upon willingness to ferences that spell doom; we are go along paths clearly defined. impatient with any universalism Whether the nebulous haze be that is spineless and spiritless. We Christian forms with a touch of are foolish enough to believe that Hebrew nomenclature, or spiritual one .does not war against the flood values draped in the newest gowns of assimilation by blasting away of Judeo-American (accent on the the dikes that contain it. Some­ ultimate) humanism, the rescue how we cannot get it into our thick f r o m groping blindly must be skulls that the way to glorify G-d sought in a course unmistakably il­ is to violate his commands, that luminated by the pure light of To­ the way to introduce Torah into rah, halachically interpreted. the affairs of the Jewish people g V E N , for example, mutual con­ is to riddle its contents with liberal sent to the creation of an all­ s h o t g u n s and reconstructionist day Jewish school may prove it­ mortars. We are atrocious acro­ self inadequate, because the ques­ bats, who have not learned how to tion of what practices are to be shake in companionship the hand encouraged in thé pupils must be that stabs us in the back. THE ACCEPTABLE PRAYER When thou prayest# remove all worldly considerations from thy heart. Set thy heart before G-d# cleanse thy thoughts# and m editate upon thy words before thou utterest them. By this course thy prayer will be clean and pure, innocent and devout, and acceptable.—Nahmanides, 1195-1266 October, 1948

35

• "Apart from Halachah, there is no Judaism/'

By JACOB COHN TXTITH all the din created ‘by vo- way to a secularized social ideal­ ciferous teachers of social and ism which finds the solution of all economic doctrines under the guise its problems in a recognition of of religion, and with the increas­ the exalted nature of Man, who ing tendency to see Judaism re­ needs but ethical re-direction to duced to a kind of ethical-culture, attain the modern equivalent of thinking Jews are finding it harder salvation. G-d ? “There is no need to recognize the religion of their for that hypothesis.” fathers in the revelations handed The passing of the belief in a down from modern pulpits. .The personal G-d, who is near, yes, a benevolent humanists, who have en­ friend and guide to every individ^ throned Man as the new god be­ ual, is to be deplored. Those who fore whom all must bow, have defi­ are bold enough to profess such a nitely broken with the chain of belief in modern circles are held Jewish tradition. One may admire to be a queer relic of a fast-vanish­ the high ethical calibre of modern ing age. The religion now pro­ liberalism, Jewish or otherwise; but fessed even by some synagogueno one who is neither a liar nor attending Jews is almost totally an ignoramus will contend that the devoid of what was formerly held religion of the modern intellectual to be the very essence of the Jew­ Jew has its roots more than very ish religion : namely, the belief in superficially in his people’s past. the nearness, the accessibility, of The ponsciousness of the presence G-d. Fervor is a quality that few of G-3, the religious fervor which members of congregations are will­ once pervaded every, act of a Jew, ing to admit possessing. Can any­ has practically disappeared among one imagine what a tremendous many of our people, and has given force even a fraction of the Jewish A graduate of the Hebrew Theological Col­ community believing vfth all the lege, Chicago, Jacob Cohn has joined the force of its being that G-D IS, ranks of religious chalutzim and lives at Affula in Eretz Israel. He is the author of “The Royal Table.” ■* . m could be ? Faith has moved moun3*6

J e w ish

LIFte

tains in the past. Today, it could ♦still remake modern Jewry. It is told that in past generations; some Jews were able to see the Name of G-d whenever they closed thbir eyes intently. “Shivithi HaShem lenegdi tamid” was a reality. So­ cial conditions have now so changed that only unusual people can truly say that a consciousness of G-d per­ vades all their lives, and governs all their acts. Yet that is the es­ sence of Judaism. BASIS OF JEWISH BELIEF

^■HE cause of this change in Jew* ish attitude toward religion is not hard to seek. One has only to determine what was the leit motif in the lives of our fathers, and what is the leit motif in our own lives, to find wherein we have failed. I posit that the real-failure of mod­ ern Judaism is its failure to make the Mitzvah concept alive to Jews. And without this fundamental, the warp and woof of traditional Ju­ daism is missing. From the point of view of the mechanics of Jew­ ish life, the concept of the mitzvah is as basic as the concept of G-d from which it derives. Judaism’s unique position among religion^ is that it is not a theology, but an elaborate system of rules of con­ duct, for which Divine authority is claimed. One need know very little about the f ormal doctrines of •Jew­ ish dogma, as indeed many great Rabbis knew little, and yet be not only a “good Jew”, but a tzaddik. Fundamentally, it is the negation of this firm faith in the efficacy of the mitzvah^ the abandonment of October. 1948

the belief in the priority of mitz­ vah to broad doctrines of religion, that is the hall-mark of the modern Western Jewish apostasy. Just what is a mitzvah? Au­ thority and specificity are its ear­ marks. The warp and woof of the moral fabric of the world is spun from certain ultimates and these ultimates are, in the very nature of G-d’s world, the Mitzvoth. The science of physics knows the atom ; biology, the cell; morality, ethics, religion, the world of spiritual values—the mitzvah. It is the di­ vine fiat from which there is no appeal. For purposes of physics, matter is “given”, and science can only describe itá properties; for p u r p o s e s of practical morality, mitzvoth are “given”. They may serve as the data for any theory of morality, but iheir own validity cannot be subject to any more ques­ tion than any other natural data. Does a scientist question the exist­ ence of matter? Neither does a Jew question the existence of mitz­ voth. They are guarantors of their own validity. 'pH IS view does not mean that Judaism is a mere authoritarian scheme, without common sense jus­ tification. It is precisely such a misconception that has alienated many of the finest minds of our day from historic Judaism. Quite the contrary is the truth. Though the mitzvah system by no means s e e k s the sanction of scientific methodology, it is surprisingly the most scientific approach to moral­ ity; it is inductive. Every mitzvah 37

applies to a definite objective situ­ religion and understood it, he bur­ ation, which it deals 'with speci­ ied this sentence in a long enumera­ fically and in extenso. A knowledge tion of the 613 commandments: of the total field of morality as “Positive commandment, number such can only be gained by gener­ 206: ‘Thou shalt love thy neigh­ alization of the universal elements bour as thyself !’ ” The major func­ implicit in the individual mitzvoth. tion of the mitzvah system is the It is the golden-rule ethics, with fixation of correct responses to its essentially deductive morality, moral situations with great exact­ which is contrary to the spirit of ness and specificity. All habit is science. And it is deductive moral­ limited to specific situations; and ity which is as detrimental to re­ in their practice, the most embrac­ ligious progress today, as deductive ing attitudes are necessarily limited science was in the days before mod­ to the small portion of human ex­ ern methods of epistemology and perience encountered at the mo­ logic gained the upper hand in the ment. The purpose of repeating pursuit of knowledge. For how can mitzvoth is to fixate the correct a rule for the whole be formu­ responses as a matter of habit. lated, unless the specific parts are Goodness can become second na­ known? And if the golden-rulers ture; but it must be cultivated as “feel” that somehow the rule is such. By so conditioning responses right, they are guilty of the hein­ that the correct one, the moral one, ous crime of professing an un­ is almost automatically called forth scientific religion! Imagine “feel­ by a stimulus which calls for an ing” that gravitation is right, un­ ethical response, the performance" less it could be made to become h e l p s the psychological process the apex of a system of Individ­ which underlies all learning. But ually observed facts, pyramided in­ like all natural phenomena, the en­ to a generalized theory! Logically tire situation must be specific and there is nothing essentially dif­ unique. No one ever meets gener­ ferent in the proper approach to alities, One is called upon to cope morality. It must be inductive, if with definite and describable facts. it is to be other than mere guess The golden rule assumes that one work. And only the mitzvah sys­ is able on the spur of the mo­ ment to go into the whole complex tem claims this merit. analysis of what is good for me, The actual world of things and men is not one of “things- in gen­ and ergo for my neighbor. Noth­ eral”. Individuals are specific, and ing is farther from the truth, as the situations they are called upon everyone’s own experience will at­ test, than the possibility of such to face equally so. Hence the dicta rapid-fire action. The mitzvah sys­ concerning human relations must tem, by presenting several thousand be specific. As a Jewish philoso­ possibilities from among which to pher, Maimonides sought for first choose—the whole range of known principles. As a Jew who lived his halachah—-makes chbice much eas88 J e w ish LIFE

ier, and action more swift and cer­ tain. To use a homely comparison, it is like the difference between looking up an unfamiliar woi^d in the dictionary, or attempting to arrive at its meaning from ety­ mological first principles. DEFEAT OF MODERN REVOLT

lation in the scheme of the universe envisaged by the mind of contem­ porary “modern ”man., Since the historicity of revelation can neither be proved or disproved by the con­ ventional methods of historical re­ search, the revolt against revealed religion is in reality a part of the total struggle of the spirit of man against authority. But there, has here been an unfortunate transfer of criticism from a valid to an il­ legitimate sphere. The revolt which once began as an intellectual es­ cape from the rigidity of Aristotleanism, spreading into the realm of politics to negate the “divine right of kings”, and culminating in the triumph of the democratic way of thinking, has been shifted to the sphere of spiritual endeavour. But from the thesis that man is fit to govern himself, to the claim that he is sole arbiter of his destiny, is an unbridged chasm. Yet the contemporary libertarian attitude has agilely jumped from the realm of politics to the realm of morals. All that democracy can legitimately claim is that for practical pur­ poses, thé decision of the majority must be taken as a norm of action, unless there is to be either auto­ cracy or anarchy. But to say that the decisions of the majority are ipso facto morally correct, as the libertarians imply, even if they do not say so outright, is logically an indefensible thesis.

^*HE colossal failure of progres­ sive movements in piodern times, (and who, looking at the sorry state of the contemporary scene will be so rash as to say they have not failed?) is due in no small part to the failure to grasp this funda­ mental psychological fact. Goldenrule morality, by attempting to de­ velop an attitude to the whole of experience tout d?un coup, has pro­ duced high minded men, Who, how­ ever, have failed in coping with the complex problems of life which present themselves not as heroic moments which can be dealt with by heroic means, but as sordid situ­ ations which call for piecemeal so­ lution, as they present themselves in real life. Precisely because the element of personal piety, bred by what we here call the mitzvah con­ cept, was absent from their con­ sciousness, the ethical motivation was not fixated, and became dissi­ pated in the face of a surging sea of problems which called for more than mere rhetoric solution. What is the difficulty of the mitz­ vah concept for the modern mind? It is simply that modernity refuses THE CRITERION OF TRUTH to accept the mitzvah as an em­ pirically moral “given”, in the same JpROM the point of view of modsense that, say, physical data is * ‘ern terminology, then* Judaism given. There is no room for Reve- is unabashed at being called an October, 1948 39

authoritarian religion. Being a revelation, it does not seek sanc­ tion in thq “democratic” approval of its tenets by its devotees. But it is no more undemocratic than science, which also refuses to put its facts to the test of popular ap­ peal. When dealing with experi­ ence,, there is only one criterion, namely, truth! And ¡whether truth is grasped by a smaller or greater number affects it in no way. To a Jew, the facts of religion are the facts of experience. Not only his fathers were redeemed from Egypt,, but he himself has been so re-, deemed; not only his ancestors; stood at Sinai, but his own soul accepted the revelation. Because the modern mind has condemned “mysticism” as superstition, is no reason why those feeling spirits who do have the great experience of the nearness of G-d, should ac­ cept the verdict of the unfeeling. It behooves those who question re­ ligion, fervent, “mystic” religion if you please, to try it, to put it to the test of personal experience be­ fore condemning it. Pending that, we at least have a right to ask of them to refrain from unwar­ ranted attacks on the logical legi­ timacy of our position. Unsup­ ported by experience, they are as unscientific as we are. Supported by it, Awe stand on equally firm grounds. To sum up: Judaism is the sum total of its halachah, its dicta of revealed regulations covering every possible exigency which man may meet. The Divine fiat—-the Mitzvah—is the only basis of life known 40:;

to Judaism. If this is authoritari­ anism, we accept the appellation, and let it go at that. The facts of Jewish existence are inextricably bound up with the belief in a revela­ tion which can be personally exper­ ienced, as a matter of “tosefeth kedushah”, or the sacred feeling of edification that comes with the per­ formance of G-d’s commandments. Judaism cannot be accepted in prin­ ciple, and then rejected in its most vital characteristic, the perform­ ance of the Mitzvoth, for these are Judaism. All else is generalization from the premises given in these mitzvoth. Apart from halachah, there is no Judaism. T O DRAW ultimate conclusions * from this thesis: The problem. of making Judaism a vibrant, Jiv­ ing force in the lives of our gen­ eration calls for a re-enthronement of the concept of the mitzvah. Not the categorical imperative, but the Divine Will expressed in the mitz­ vah, the contents of which can only be gathered from a study of the Halachah, is the authoritative basis of Judaism. Jewish education must be so directed as to effect a maxi­ mum orientation with respect to mitzvoth. If it be argued that this is agreed, and is mere begging the question, we reply that education for mitzvoth has really hardly been tried. It must be tried even at the risk of criticism from some sources as to its “anti-democratic” (!) char­ acter. For it is high time that people who profess religion should drop their right of veto to the will of G-d. Only in such an approach J e w ish L IF E

to Jewish education, and only b y : traditional blessing preserved in our own self rededieation to this Sephardic usage: “Tizku Le’mitztask, can we merit deserving the voth!”

HIS IS THE LAND

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Ida Lublenski Ehrlich If you wish to know Whose is The Land/ go To The Land and press your ear close to her breast And you will hear her speak The word you seek.

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His is The Land Who dream ed one single dream And kept his eye from w aking; Who knew but one Hope, No other watchword taking.

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His is The Land Whose splintered fingers tore from rock One prisoned clod and held It tenderly and nursed it with his sweat; who welled His tears to sla&e the parched root Buried deep in the unconscious earth; Who spent the warmth of his young limbs, lying In frozen furrow, son on mother dying, Yielding up his heart-beat to stir in her a rebirth Of blossom, seed and fruit. His is The Land Who called with selfsame breath ! For victory o r dettth. ; '.V'U Whb asked one only grace from Grd ;-*—4 That the sod W hereon his bones fell • To rest, be ISRAEL | M ft ,

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A straight-from-the-shoulder m essage drawn from first-hand experience.

The Jewish Home versus Campus Temptations By PHILIP ISAACS one who kept Shabbos, and one of two who davened every morning. YOU still believe in that The situation is by no means stuff even though thoroughly unique at Bard. Out of 2000’ Jew­ cooked pork can't hurt you?” “I ate kosher here at college for ish students attending Syracuse the first few days, but it was too University, only a handful take advantage of the opportunity to difficult”. eat at nearby orthodox homes. At “I'm still ethically and morally Cornell with 1,000 Jewish students, Jewish without observing cumber­ it is difficult to get a minyan to­ some} rituals”. gether for Shabbos morning serv­ These questions and comments ices. The same conditions are are typical of hundreds directed at found in almost every residential me When students at Bard College college with Jewish youths among saw that I observed kashruth. its students. Most of those who made such re­ It is not that students lack con­ marks came from fairly observant sciousness of being Jewish—Zion­ homes; often a boy would sit in the college store eating bacon and ist movements have gained wide­ eggs while claiming that his mother spread support at colleges. Dis­ would never fail to light the Shab- cussions and lectures on topics of bos candles. * • Jewish interest are usually well at­ tended. Hillel Foundation groups At Bard there were about iOO flourish. However, Judaism is pri­ Jewish students out of a total en­ marily a~ religion, and if religious rollment of 300. About a quarter practices and beliefs are discarded, of these said they came from or­ all other aspects are sure to follow. thodox homes, but- I was the only one who consistently observed the THE DANGER Dietary Laws on campus, the only QOME will ask why we should Philip Isaacs is a graduate of Bard College and is now doing post-graduate »work in chem­ be alarmed—they say th at we istry at Veshiva University. THE SITUATION

42

J ewish LIFE

/

should allow young men and women to observe and believe in Judaism to stray from the narrow path for if he or she has not been brought a while, and that when they grow up in an environment both faithful older they will see the need for re­ to traditional Judaism and “mod­ ligion and be observant again. This ern” in outlook. The byword of assumption is not supported by ex­ the present generation is skepti­ perience. All of us have seen too cism; if a faith cannot be recon­ many cases of Judaism being cast ciled with the contemporary scien­ off during adolescence, whether due tific and industrial society, that to the influence* of college or not ; faith is apt to be discarded. Too iwljen the former observers finally few parents are equipped to dispel realized what they were missing; doubts that inevitably arise in their it was too difficult to start anew. children’s minds. Too many fam­ Continuity in practice must be pre­ ilies cling to observances for rea­ served, otherwise it loses much of sons of habit and fear alone. Con­ its significance. sequently when a boy discovers that At the average residential col­ lightning doesn’t strike him down lege, particularly, the student is when he neglects to daven, his main' free to develop his own individual basis for practicing the rituals may way of life, which is likely to last be removed. Parents, rabbis and many years. He is encouraged to teachers in Talmud Torahs rarely think for himself and to rely on give children adequate bases for his own opinions. When traditional Jewish observance. Yet obviously Judaism is forsaken under these under modern conditions it is nec­ conditions, it has been shown that essary for everyone to be equipped chances for “recovery” are very with both a firm belief in, and a slim. profound understanding of, Juda­ In short the college years are ism, with the ability to integrate probably the most trying for an religious practices with modern so­ orthodox young man or woman, A ciety. combination of social and intellec­ Let us investigate what happens tual forces tends to wean the stu­ when a boy or girl brought up in dent away from strict observance. an observant home is suddenly It is important, therefore, that we thrust on his own at college. Here understand and combat these in­ we shall see the immediate causes fluences. of the trouble, when the youth is handicapped by an inadequate home THE CAUSES background. The first; case is a ■pHERE are both fundamental and boy we shall call Seymour, who immediate causes of this deplor­ succumbs to the most common “sec­ able state of affairs. Unquestion­ ondary invader”—inconvenience. ably the most basic factor is lack of proper home background. It is QEYMOUR entered an upstate difficult for a young man or woman New York College last fall with October, 1948 43

high hopes of being both a good his non-observance philosophically student and a good Jew. The first and scientifically, using poorly-pre­ day, however, he discovered that sented course material as a basis. registration was on Shabbos, and Seymour had never learned the that he had two classes on Satur­ deeper meanings of Jewish prac­ day. With much effort and more tices, nor had he seen what beauty, trouble he managed to get trans­ and inspiration could come from ; ferred to another section of the properly carried out rituals in his classes, and to register late. But home or synagogue. When he the food problem was more trouble-; weighed the problems of inconven­ some. Most of the meals served in ience against the benefit he could the college dining room were terey- derive from orthodoxy, the latter fah, and the only kosher home was found wanting. was a mile away. For the first few weeks he did walk that mile 7J FRIEND of Seymour’s named for dinner, but after a while his . (Stanley threw away his Juda­ trips became more and more in ­ ism for quite different reasons, but frequent. The reason? His friends the cause of this trouble: was one had been persuading him how silly . and the same—poor preparation. this effort was, and had been try­ Stanley was a graduate of a Yeing to make him realize the fruit­ shivah school of the old type and lessness of observance. After a came from a strictly observant few more weeks he found himself home. Nevertheless, Stanley came in the strange predicament, which home after his first term of col­ his friends called “hypocrisy”, of lege and announced that he could eating kosher some'nights and ter- no longer believe in Judaism. He eyfah on others. Within a month maintained that religion in gen­ he. had abandoned all observances eral, and Judaism in particular, that inconvenienced him in any had no place in modern society. way and felt no great loss nor re­ “Hasn’t science proved the falsity morse. This is the crux of the of the creation story ?” “Isn’t re­ matter. Judaism had never meant ligion an obstacle to real progress?”. anything more to him than the “Isn’t J u d a i s m philosophically pointless practice of rituals under wrong?”—all these questions* rev parental pressure.. Seymour’s fam­ mained unanswered when he asked ily was shocked to hear of his do­ his father. Nor was his old Rebbe ings, but he saw no reason for at the Yeshivah any more help in such concern; religion was just an-, solving1these problems that threat­ other childhood burden shed by a ened to destroy the sigriificanee* of maturing young man during his all the years of training in T’nach period of enlightenment at collge. and Talmud. His parents pleaded and protested, Stanley’s views were broughf but this only strengthened, his op- about by courses in philosophy, bi­ position. He began to rationalize ology and psychology, hd ‘ stated.' 44

J e w ish tiF ISi

In addition, these ideals were re­ onstrated because of a Jewish stu­ inforced 'by “hull sessions” in the dent’s orthodoxy. dormitory with upper classmen who C e r t a i n l y the most effective seemed to know all the answers. means for combating the tendency No amount of scolding or plead­ to lose religion at college is pre­ ing on the part of his family could vention by strong home and com­ prevent Stanley from discarding munity backgrounds. P a r e n t s all observances. “It’s my right to should realize that they are in the believe what I he would say. most advantageous position to cre­ Students like Ellen need also be ate the proper attitudes in their considered. Ellen is a serious girl, children; early home environment, and veiy sincere in her convictions. as psychologists have finally learn­ “She had always been devout, but ed, has much more influence on a her college training, which put em­ child’s development than school or phasis on ideas and thought, con­ other associations. It is more im­ vinced her that one could still be portant to be aware that it is per­ a good Jew morally and ethically fectly normal for an adolescent, while not observing the rituals. Ac­ especially a college student, to start cording to her views, only children questioning his faith when con­ and those adults of low mentality fronted with inconveniences, social need to be reminded of their faith temptations, and anti-religious in­ by continually doing things. She fluences. Therefore, orthodox Jew­ could be aware of her Jewishness ish parents must prepare their without such mnemonic devices; children for the ordeal by living her Zionist activities were ample an exemplary Jewish life, explain­ evidence that ¡she was still a Jew. ing the significance of rituals for Unfortunately, no one ever' made both personal fulfillment and Jew­ her realize that her children in ish integrity, and finally by mak­ turn could hardly be expected to ing an effort to reconcile the re­ •be Jewish by religion if she did quirements of present day society not practice her faith, nor was she with traditional Judaism. A young­ made aware that religious prac­ ster should be made to feel not only tices are more than mere methods . proud of being a Jew, but also proud of his faith and what it of jarring the memory. stands for. Those students who have “stuck it out” during the cru­ J^OT much need be said about stu­ cial college years are usually those dents who fail to observe com­ for whom orthodox Judaism is more mandments because of fear of ridi­ than a habit; it is something to cule and anti-Semitism. Gentiles be cherished and valued. are much more apt to respect sin­ Unfortunately, adult education cerely religious /Jews than their ir­ will have to precede that of the religious brethren; , I know of no children in many cases. For this case where anti-Semitism was dem- task we will need abundant and October, 1948 45

easily available literature designed to foster a clear-cut and enlight­ ened practice of Judaism. A few such articles and books will be sug­ gested later. Talmud Torahs, Yeshivos Ketanos, and other Jewish educational institutions must also help, not only by preparing boys and girls with knowledge of He­ brew customs, but also by equip­ ping their charges with firm and enlightened faith secure against a t­ tacks.

aration for these vital jobs at ex­ isting institutions. Another neces­ sary step within the range of im­ mediate accomplishment is the es­ tablishment of kosher kitchens in colleges with large Jewish popula­ tions, as has been done at the Uni­ versity of Pennsylvania. But, one may well ask, what about the boys and girls who have not had the benefit of a firm ortho­ dox background and who cannot wait for more Jewish colleges? There is much, that can be done. Let us reconsider young Seymour. The first step is to show him that it can be done practically, because that is his main concern. He might be referred to a college student who has surmounted the obstacles —-example is the most potent argu­ ment. In addition, Seymour should made aware, through understand­ ing guidance, that the rituals and practices of Judaism have real sig­ nificance. It will be helpful for Seymour to read Dr. David de Sola Pool’s Rationale of Jewish Dietary Laws and other publications of the U.O.J.C.A,, as well as to study the Shulchan Aruch and the writings of such men as Maimonides. He should see Judaism as an integrated way of life.

VSTHER faiths have long recog­ nized the dangers in religious conflicts that crop up during ado­ lescence. Consequently, over half the colleges in this country are sec­ tarian ; religious counselors are ac­ tive on all campuses. At present there is a definite trend toward more emphasis on chapel attend­ ance, required courses in religion, and sectarian practices on the cam­ pus. In the face of this it is all the more important for us Jews to see that our religious guidance is continued through the college years, even when home background has been adequate. However, there is only one orthodox institution of secular higher learning ; Yeshiva University. There are very few counselors who are really able to reinforce faith in Tórah for col­ W I T H STANLEY the problem lege youth. is a bit more complex, since Present conditions may long de­ a matter of basic belief is involved. lay solution of the critical need for Fortunately,, college youth are usu­ more colleges where orthodox back­ ally more amenable to reason and ground; and academic training are sound argument than older, more combined, but it should Surely be “mature” individuals. Stanley’s possible to remedy the lack of coun­ faith in Judaism should be rein­ selors by offering courses of prep- forced in the same way as it was J e w ish LIFE #6

originally shaken: by reading and nificance of rituals and their vital othei exposure to the ideas of role in Jewish life, she should be others. Those who declare Juda­ shown a Jewish home united by ism to be philosophically bankrupt the common practice of inspiring and scientifically false usually do ceremonials. Prayer, Sabbath ob­ not know more about it than a few servance, and kashruth can do much superficial ànd distorted facts. A to give a family a feeling of unity comprehensive knowledge of what —even when one member is away Judaism is may be a strong bul­ at college. It must be made clear wark against attack. Books such that ethical and moral precepts are as A Handbook of Judaism by quickly forgotten in an alien world Meyer Waxman, and the Jewish if'Jewish rituals are discarded. Library series will prove helpful. In addition, the specific attacks JT IS evident that the prerequi­ on religion that Stanley has heard sites for steadfast observance by in his classes should be debunked. a college boy or girl are best met His parents should supply copies by strong home background and by of Science and Judaism, a Jewish the efforts of aroused parents to Pocket Book, and articles in the insure a sound Jewish education in Jewish Library which demonstrate Talmud Torahs and Day schools. that there is no conflict between These qualifications may be sum­ science and Judaism, and the writ­ med up as follows: a thorough ings of the increasing number of knowledge and understanding of eminent scientists who are coming Jewish law and custom, a knowl­ to the realization that science and edge of Jewish history and the ele­ religion are two entirely separate ments of our vitality, the strength domains. of character to resist petty tempta­ -In dealing with cases such as tions, the ability to defend Judaism that of Stanley, one should try against attack, and above all, of not to scold threateningly-—“Don’t course, a strong faith in Judaism you dare think such awful things. itself. Jewish parents have always Just believe and ask no questions”. wanted their children to become By all means, meet the student on learned scholars ; no doubt this ac­ his own level, with understanding counts for the high proportion of Jewish youths who go to college. and intelligent discussion. But we must be on our guard that; Ellen can be helped in much the in this process of education, reli­ same way as Seymour and Stanley. gion, the very' influence which In addition to having her read ar­ placed such a high value on educa­ ticles emphasizing the living sig­ tion, is not lost.

October, 1948

47

PICTURE STO RY BASED UPON A HISTORIC FILM ’^ 'B I T T E N , directed and produced by Meyer Levin, the motion picture"‘‘The Illegals” documents the saga of the “ underground” road to the Land of Israel traversed by thousands upon thousands of the “ Remnant of the E xile” in the years following World War II. The nightmare of Nazidom had come to its grim close, yet the fragment of Israel who had heroically survived this horror re­ mained in the shadow of death—unwanted in the European lands which were their original homes, and which they abhorred as the site of the immolation of their kindred, and barred from Palestine, towards which their hearts strove, by the implacable opposition of a great empire and by the indifference of civilized mankind. But the call to this land of their fathers and of their abiding hope proved irrepressible. There reached out to these unconquerable spirits staunch hands from the Homeland; the Land of Israel claimed its children. Into the high­ ways and byways of shattered Europe there penetrated the emissaries of Haganah —the organized weapon of the Yishuv, today the Army of Israel. In the face of innumerable handicaps, secret channels, the “ Rreychah,” were carved out through which refugees from every corner of Europe made their way to coastal points and thence to brave the British blockade of Palestine. Many were brought safely to freedom; others—like Mika Wilner and his bride Sara, of whom “ The Illegals” tells— were captured at the very doors of their haven by the British and banished to the island of Cyprus, where they joined the many thousands who are still imprisoned there. " T H E ILLEGALS” is an actual documentary record of this remarkable migraA tion. Apart from “ Mika“ and “ Sara,” acted by Yankel Mikalowitch and Tereska Torres, themselves not actors but refugees, no, fictitious characters are used and the scenes were photographed as the actual events took place. This task of filming this true life episode presented unprecedented difficulties. Much of the locale of the film was in remote localities, where proper equipment could not be brought; a large part of the activity took place at nightime; the “ Iron Curtain” of Soviet rule, behind which many scenes had to be filmed, pre­ sented its own formidable handicaps; perhaps most difficult of all was the film­ ing of scenes in the hold of the incredibly crowded tub of a ship on the way to Palestine. Despite these handicaps and the technical shortcomings they produced, “ The Illegals” is a cinematic triumph. Without doubt future generations as well as ours will be moved by these scenes of human trials and will glory in its manifesta­ tions of the unconquerable Jewish will to live and to go up to the Land. “ The Illegals” was produced under the sponsorship of “ Americans for Ha­ ganah” and is distributed by Mayer-Burstyn Inc.

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J e w ish LIFE

1) This is the Polish village of Strykov, former home of Mi­ ka Wilner. Here Mi­ ka returns after the Hitler war, bringing his wife Sara, whom he had met in a D.P. camp. But they find that the village now has not a sin­ gle surviving Jewish inhabitant.

2)

life/'M ika find themselves in the haunted ruins of the great capital. Mika learns that his wife is pregnant.

3) They view the ghastly devastation, stretching out on every side, that w as once the W arsaw Ghetto. The very voices of the dead seem to confirm their own conviction that here no Jewish child can be brought to life.

October, 1948

4) Determined to go to Palestine, they seek out the office of the Jewish Agen­ cy. They are in­ formed how to make contact with the un­ derground route.

5) The first stage of the journey takes them to a collective training farm, near the Czech border. Here they learn farmwork and study Hebrew—and wait. Finally Word is giv­ en to cross the bor­ der and the group is guided through the forest.

6) Mika, acting as a rear guard, and the H aganah emis­ sary are caught and jailed by the Polish guards. Sarah must go on with her group. Proceeding through a reception center in Czechoslo­ vakia, they cross that country in truck convoys and f i n a l l y reach Vi­ enna.

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J e w ish

LIFE

7) Sara, hoping that Mika will arrive, re­ m ains behind in Vienna while her group goes on. Her constant inquiries as to his w here­ abouts rem ain un­ answ ered and the time comes when she must go on, lest her condition pre­ vent further journey­ ing. Enroute . Sara leaves her nam e at registration points so that her husband will know she has passed through.

8) Border after bor­ der and zone after zone are crossed, alw ays at night, part on foot through forests, part on box­ cars. Often circurftstances permit only a hastily-swallowed bowl of soup for sustenance.

9) Sometimes time an d food stocks are more liberal. S ara's g r o u p eventually r e a c h e s France. Their hope to sail from there proves futile and the group moves to Italy, crossing the Alps on foot.

October, 1948

51

10) Mika is released from prison, renews contact with the Haganah and w anders on seeking out his wife. Tracing her long route he fin­ ally learns that she had m ade her w ay to Italy. He joins a group undertaking the fearful all-night m a r c h over the Alps.

11) Orphan waifs are a m o n g the g r o u p attem pting the crossing.

12) H aganah guides m aintain watchful aid constantly as the pilgrims strug­ gle t h r o u g h the deep snows.

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J e w ish L IF E

13) Sudden danger looms as the ski t r a c k s of border guards are seen. A halt is called until the d a n g e r has passed.

14) The exhausted group reaches Italy. Huts provide rest and s h e l t e r until they are able to g;o on—this timeHto a port from whence a H aganah ship will take them to the Land of Israel.

15) Mika, desper­ ately hoping to find his wife, boards the Palestine - bound H aganah ship Una­ fraid. The little carg o steam e r is packed to the bul­ warks with the pil­ grims. A meeting is held on board at which they are briefed on the n e ­ cessity of rem ain­ ing below when Bri­ tish airplanes and naval vessels seek them out.

October, 1948

58

last,

after

ioui neart-breaking

months of se p ara­ tion and trial, cli­ m axed by a frantic search throughout the ship, Mika finds S ara a m o n g the % m a s s of refugees jammed into every inch of space with­ in the hold. Their joy transcends the hardships of. the voyage.

17) Days of suffer­ ing the fetid air of the tight - packed hold seem in vain when a British air­ plane spots the ship and brings a cruis­ er. W a r n e d that they wlil be board­ ed by force when reaching Palestine waters, they cease hiding and come to the deck. A num ber of refugees, staunch to t h e i r f a i t h through all trials, pay their devotions to their Maker.

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ij

18) Four British w ar­ ships surround the Unafraid just out­ side the port of Haifa. Because of the great num ber of pregnant w o m e n and of infants on board no resistance is offered. Standing under banners b ear­ ing slogans of Jew­ ish freedom, the pil­ grims sing Hatikvah as heavily ;;^ arm ed British troops board their vessel. J e w ish

LIFE

19) Mika and Sara and their eighthundred fellow refugees, cheated for the time of their freedom, are taken to Cyprus. Once again, after surmount­ ing incredible obstacles; the powers of the civilized world have imprisoned them behind locks and bars and cages. At this moment, as you read this, many

thousands of Mika-s and Sara-s still remain imprisoned in Cyprus—yet they are homeward bound, for their will to go up to the Land of Israel cannot be broken. May it be G-d's purpose that they soon be redeem ed from their bon­ dage, to live anew in freedom in the land of Israel's past and its future.

|M || WHO DESIRETH LIFE? I will return the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the w aste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land. And they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy G-d. —Amos, IX: 14-15.

October, 1948

65

Hebrew Teachers Training School By SAUL ADELSON 'J’HE work of Jewish education, York City, which* subsequently en­ the key to the Jewish future, larged, still houses the school. At offers no problem more basic than that time, even before the Day that of securing the necessary supr School had brought a' new perspec­ ply of qualified teachers. Always a tive to Jewish education, thé effort critical need, the rapid development to make the Jewish school both a of Yeshivah Day Schools -has mag­ potent and a harmonious factor in nified it sharply. Most acute of all the development of the Jewish child is the demand for competent women had highlighted the lack of able teachers, for in some phases of women teachers. In establishing present-day education the woman the school, the Women's Branch teacher is indispensable. In the sought to produce a type of edu­ field of orthodox education, this cator possessed of a sense of vo­ need might go unanswered, were cation, schooled in Jewish lore, ani­ lib not for the Hebrew Teachers mated by the spirit of traditional Training School for, 'Gijjls. This Jewish belief and equipped with a school is the only institution in the grasp of modern methods by which United States centering upon the the knowledge and spirit of Juda­ development of Orthodox women ism might be imparted to the rising teachers, properly qualified in mod­ generation. ern pedagogical science. The s u b s e q u e n t years have The Hebrew Teachers Training shown that many of the larger Tal­ School for Girls, “Beth Midrash mud Torahs and Hebrew Schools Lamoroth,'' was established in 1928, throughout the country owe their under the sponsorship of the Wom­ survival, in considerable part, to en's Branch of the Union of Or­ the teachers made available through thodox Jewish Congregations of Beth Midrash Lamoroth. But not America. Classes were first held only have these H. T. T. S. G. grad­ in September of that year, in an uates served thé Talmud Torah— adequate but by no means lavish they have proven indispensable to building on East Broadway, New the development of the Day Schools. S 56 J e w ish LIFE

Since many of the latter began their existence with kindergarten classes, it is significant that the very first Hebrew kindergarten teachers were products of the He­ brew Teachers Training School for Girls. The hundreds of H. T. T.S. G. graduates have played a key role in Jewish education. The 115 enrolled for the current term will play no less a role in the years to come.

Class at H.T.T.S.G.

cial work and other fields of Jewish e n d e a v o r . Indeed, the Hebrew Teachers Training School r never loses sight of the need for develop­ ing a calibre of Jewish womanhood qualified to uphold the tenets of * eludes, in addition to the sem­ orthodox Judaism in every aspect 11 |P P | inary proper, which admits gradu­ of life. ates of recognised Hebrew High While the tuition fees have al­ Schools or the equivalent, a pre­ ways been maintained at a modest paratory department (Mechina), level, the school’s policy of making enrolling graduates of Talmud To­ enrollment available to as many rahs, and a Graduate Department. students with the proper aptitude The Training School Department as possible, regardless of means, offers a four-year course leading has opened its doors to many girls to a Hebrew Teachers license. With unable to meet even these minimal a curriculum including Bible and amounts. Textbooks, moreover, are Commentaries, Talmud, Medieval p r o v i d e d without cost and the and modern Hebrew literature, He­ school’s large library of Hebraica, brew language, Jewish history, lit­ Judaica and. technical works is avail­ urgy, Jaws and customs, theory and able to all students for home-study practice of pedagogy, child psychol­ as well as for reference. ogy and kindergarten practice, all conducted intensively under the di­ OITUATED as it is in New York rection of leading specialists, a ■ York City, the Hebrew Teach­ course of study at this institution ers Training School has neverthe­ is not to be lightly undertaken. It less always maintained a nation­ is a further tribute to the char­ wide perspective rather than vis­ acter and qualifications of the stu­ ualizing itself as a local institution. dents that most of them simultane­ The requests which pour in daily ously pursue regular courses lead­ from every part of the country, for ing to degrees at recognized col­ girls to conduct kindergartens, be­ leges and universities. Although ginner classes, clubs and camps as the training of teachers is the dom­ well as regular classes, form a con­ inant aim, many of its graduates stant reminder of the nation-wide have chosen courses in Jewish so- scope of the school’s service. The 57 October, 1948

and teachers; new students are im­ mediately trained as camp counsel­ lors; and scholarships are offered tq students from other communities. The practical difficulty of estab­ lishing a young woman alone in a Community distant from her home is an unavoidable handicap to the first-rmentioned practice. On the other hand, the lack of dormitory facilities presents difficulties to the out-of-town student. Measures to overcome both handicaps are being devised and a projected dormitory building is close enough to the state of realization to promise a major Music Class at Training School solution. ? burdens and responsibili­ school's leaders, moreover, are by tiesGreat now rest upon the shoulders no means oblivious to the fact that of our Jewish schools. -After years in many larger as well as smaller of indifferent treatment and lack communities the shortage of per­ of public recognition, Jewish edu­ sonnel has compelled • communal leaders to adopt a minimal pro­ cation holds the spotlight of inter­ gram in their schools or to appoint est. Perhaps nowadays, all but mir­ acles are expected of our teachers. inadequate or even rion-observant The Teachers Training teachers. To meet this situation SchoolHebrew for Girls not produce the school follows a four-fold pro­ miracle workers, does but it does pro­ gram. It encourages graduates and duce, fortunately for the American senior students to work at least one year in an out-of-town school; Jewish community, soundly-equip­ and spiritually-dedicated Jew­ it makes its faculty available for ped ish teachers, The Jewish public, in conducting summer classes, in coop­ turn, should not fail to grant Beth eration with Jewish national agen­ Midrash Lamoroth the recognition cies, for advanced and “brush-up” and appreciation which it has training for out-of-town principals earned. THE BLESSING OF THE TORAH The question, 'Wherefore has the land been destroyed?' (Jerfemiah 9:11), w as posed before the wise men an d the prophets, but they could not explain it. Finally, the Holy , One. blessed be He, Himself, gave the answer: ‘Destruction came because they did not pronounce first the blessing of the Torah. —Talmud* Nedarim, 81a. J e w ish LIFE

Hollywood-inspired vogues and 20th century superstitions evoke peculiar shaaloth.

They Do Consult The Rabbi By SOLOMON L MOSESON does my mother walk young Rabbi arms himself with a ^ on the right or left of me small edition of the Yoreh Deah, a “Kitzur Shulchan Arueh”, and a when walking down the aisle?” “Rabbi, how do you translate “Chaye Odom”, our authoritative Chaim to a girl’s name,—can it be law books, and is prepared to lick the world—at least his congrega­ Lana?” tion, with hair-splitting answers These are questions typical of to any and all religious problems those asked the Rabbis of our far- that may arise among his flock. He flung congregations throughout the is prepared to advise on “Kashercountry, and in the larger cities as ing” pots and spoons which were well. The above queries are upper­ inadvertently mixed; pull a house­ most in the respective minds of the wife out of a serious dilemma when prospective bride; the happy moth­ the gall could not be found, and she er who gave birth to a daughter is expecting company for dinner; but desires to perpetuate her late and even practices drawing a father’s name; and the devoted son slaughtering knife across his nail who would not miss a memorial to discover a nick in it, without observance for the world. slicing off part of his finger. The Rabbi ponders, especially in After several years, his immedi­ the early years in the field of his ate reference library is somewhat honorably chosen profession, seek- altered, to a handbook of names; ink a hint from his arduous train­ a guide on customs, superstitions, ing to guide him to a logical, yet and present-day etiquette; a cal­ Jewishly correct verdict or “psak- endar with dates of the last twen­ din”. Upon his ordination, the ty-five years; a memorization of the Synagogue calendar with nota­ The author is the spiritual leader of Con­ tions when certain prayers are said gregation Ohav Sholom, Albany, N. Y. 59 October, 1948

or omitted; and the telephone num­ the handkerchief and offer a “Gebers of his closest Rabbinical col­ zundheit.” Others in our ministry leagues to discuss with them the are not so fortunate. People who “new one” which just stumped him. usually boast of their impending The handy reference library is at operations, who Often exaggerate first left hidden in a lower drawer their illnesses, or are seemingly the of his desk,—then tucked safely recipients of every germ, disease, among his other books,—and final­ pain, and virus x that medical sci­ ly ends up on top of the desk be­ ence can discover,-—these very peo­ ple have a particular ingenuity in tween two artistic book-ends. withholding this information from Far be it from the writer’s mind to ridicule this effort Of asking the the Rabbi. They linger at home, Rabbi a Shaalah. On the contrary! surreptitiously are admitted to a The motivation is most commend­ hospital—and DARE the Rabbi not able. It has become second nature to find out about it. In defense, the to consult the Rabbi on all prob­ spiritual leader usually has an es­ lems concerning the congregants’ tablished and widespread grapevine families and the practical needs of system or personal gestapo which their every-day lives. Nor should loyally informs him of maternity there be the implication that the schedules, varied fractures, sprains, Rabbi is never called upon in and colds, sundry allergies, and all weighty matters where his knowl­ other major and minor catastro- edge, experience, and inherent wis­ phes among his flock of ailing dom and capabilities are utilized to sheep. Should this intricate com­ munications system fail, the ashes the utmost. of calumny fall around the Rabbi’s The bulk of American problems, head and no excuse or apology is however, carve themselves into the valid or acceptable. If traditionally niches of the vague custom, the a visitor to the sick removes one meaningless superstition, and the sixty-fourth of a patient’s illness, over-emphasized importance of the then the Rabbi is a walking con­ mitzvah of Bikkur Cholim, the vis­ glomeration of a diagnostician’s lab­ itation of the sick. oratory. A certain Rabbi’s reputation was The major concerns of our people aggrandized in that he never failed still range from the sublime to the to visit a sick member, in hospital ridiculous, the latter being the more or home. He was so efficient, it was numerous. jested, that when a congregant raised his head in an anticipatory “JHIE movies are the progenitors gesture, the Rabbi, through Kfitof many a devotee’s subsequent zas Haderech or other means of question to the Rabbi. Should a primitive jet propulsion, was at the major film be produced with a wed­ home rbf his ward by the time the ding scene in it, every nuptial event sneeze was consummated, to hold in the offing is transformed to 60 J e w ish LIFE

simulate the Hollywòòd version òf a wedding. Questions then pour in as to thè length of the bride’s veil; proper attire for the male attendants ; whether the Jewish form of “unterfuhrers” can be al­ tered to permit the giving away of the bride by the father alone, with the mothers relegated to the f i^st seat in the first aisle; the choice of songs by the singer ; the impor­ tance of “something old, something new, something borrowed, some­ thing blue;’’ the number of ushers and bridesmaids and the order of procession ; and whether a candle­ light ceremony is permitted under Jewish law. A declaration that can­ dlelight is a traditional Jewish wed­ ding custom sometimes puts doubt into the modern maiden’s mind whether she should really revert to an “archaic custom.” But that* re­ mains. The movie had candle-light. So Priscilla Gwendolyn Goldberg will have it too! The doting parents seldom con­ sider the fact whether G-d has en­ dowed their daughter with the per­ sonal grace and charm of the movie heroine. But they are determined to have a wedding just like the one they witnessed on the screen; 0 yes! The dinner following the elaborate ceremony performed ac­ cording to the ritual of the screen, as sanctioned by the Rabbi with a watchful .eye towards J rnyish ob­ servance;—the dinner to bV served is NOT kosher. The hotel^particularly in the smaller cities, has more “class” than the Synagogue vestry room or catering hall, and for the gastronomical portion of Jhe^jypdr October, 1948

ding ther Rabbi was not consulted. The white yarmulke has been a time-honored headpiece for observ­ ant worshipper on the eve of Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur day. The white yarmulke has now been re­ surrected for more important usage. The hat for the wedding attendants has presented many a problem. In formal evening ceremonies, top-hats may be in order. But what to do with afternoon ceremonies, or semiformal occasions, especially during June? An assortment of gray and brown fedoras is un-uniform. Black yarmulkes are too depressing. Lo and Behold ! Yom Kippur to the rescue! Donned in afternoon cuta­ ways, tuxedo, or white formal jac­ kets, six militaristic;ushers march decorously down the aisle w ith small white.yarmulkas resting .an­ gelically on their heads, weaving, up and down like a lulav on Succps, to the strains of “Pomp and Cir­ cumstance” or Mendelsohn’s “Wed­ ding March,” Certainly, the Rabbi was consulted, —’ and “b’al korcho ono amen”—he np§dod a mild as61

sent. Shades of Yom Kippur on the heads of High Priests I From events surrounding the blessed events of community life, through the vicissitudes of daily toil, to the forlorness ’midst the tragedies of death in a family, the Rabbi is always consulted. No mo­ ment of joy or sorrow is without its Shaalah, and the Rabbi is the acknowledged expert. ND so, the Rabbi's world runs in concentric circles surround­ ing the pinpoint of the needs of his people. He sits in his book-lined study hungrily viewing the massive tomes of the Talmud, and his as­ sorted treasure of Israel’s lore. He fondly recalls the intricate pilpulistic discussion with his fellow stu­ dents with an uneraseable nostal­ gia. Suddenly, he is aroused from his reveries by the harsh jangling of his phone, or the raised eye­ brows of his secretary—a doting congregant is calling. The hullo usually brings one of these requests for knowledge or help. “Rabbi, I live on the second floor of a house, and I now have an op­ portunity to move downstairs—Can I?” “Rabbi, we’re having a shower for one of our friends who’s getting married next week. Please write me a speech,—but do make it humor­ ous.” “Rabbi, the florist asked for a

62

white Bible to decorate with my wedding corsage. Must it be a Bible, or can I use the white Siddur my brother received from the Congre­ gation when he was Bar Mitzvah?” * “Rabbi, must the singer at my wedding be Jewish or can I ask my non-Jewish girl friend. She sings like Dinah Shore.” v “Must we cover the bedroom mir­ rors in the same manner as the living room mirror in the house where we are sitting “Shiva” ?” “Rabbi, can we use an electric candelabra for blessing the Sabbath lights? We’re afraid to leave can­ dles burning when we go out for the evening.” (The ‘going out for the evening’ does not generally in­ clude Synagogue attendance as part of the itinerary). “Rabbi, when can I come to Shul to name my grandson? You know, my daughter-in-law is not Jewish, and they’re not having a Mohel. But I want to name the baby after my husband. So when can I come?” The Rabbi’s gaze skips by his honored volumes; his arm reaches forth for one of his trusted hand­ books; or he racks his brain for some reasonable answer; or he tells his inquirer,” I shall call you back soon”-—and phones his most confi­ dential Rabbinical colleague. How Goodly Are Thy People, 0 Lord ! For They Do Consult Their Rabbi!

MOUNT MORIAH Mount Moriah w as so called, because from that Mount w ent forth HORO-OH, the teaching, the study of G-d's Law, to IsraeL -—Talmud, Taanith, 16a J e w ish

LIFE

DAY SCHOOL By J. J. YOSHOR ■FHE sprawling City of Mexico, built on the soft ground of lake beds, can’t dig subways and has to haul its close to two million popu­ lace on an infinite variety of muni­ cipal buses and trolleys. The capi­ tal’s many private schools add to the jumble of conveyances by running their own buses to pick up their dispersed students. Standing on big Avenida Insuigentes and watching the school buses lumber past, you note the legends on their flanks: “Hispano - American”, “Cristobal Colon”; Then, pleasantly surprised, you pick out a large, sleek yellow bus, its name spelled in sedate gothic, “Escuela Isrealita Yavne.” That’s how you—an American Jew­ ish tourist—might discover the ex­ istence of the Mexican republic’s flourishing Mizrachi-oriented day school; unless, that is, its growing reputation had reached your ears. If you were to play detective and follow the bus you’d turn off into a dirt road and stop before a two-story school plant of modern­ istic design, fronted by stately pop­ lars. You enter thè marble-floored lob­ by and wander through the neat classrooms and efficient-looking laJ. J. Yoshor a ttests Yeshiva University and is on the editorial staff of that institu­ tion’s student paper, ‘‘The Commentator."

October, 1048

boratories. It is recess and the rear playground you walk into is crowd­ ed. You see knots of happy children playing the noisy games played by children all over the world. Curious­ ly you perk up your ears. You’re charmed as Yavne’s nearly 500 boys and girls chatter away in Spanish. But when you hear their fluent Yiddish, you are taken aback. You haven’t forgotten that Yavne’s sons and daughters are almost all na­ tive-born. Remembering that Mexi­ co City has only twenty thousand Jews, you appreciate what fivehundred means in terms of pro­ portion. Told that the present Yav­ ne came about in five years, that it started with sixty-three students in a windowless firetrap—well you gasp! Yavne today consists, apart from its parallel Jewish studies, of a kindergarten, a “primary” and a “secondary” school amounting in Mexico to nine years of education. It is an “incorporated” school, meaning that it is fully recognized by the government’s educational aurthorities and indeed highly respect­ ed by them. Non-Jewish Mexicans teach the Spanish language sub­ jects, since as yet the small Jewish community has not produced any of its own teachers, Yavne is sponsor63

ed and subsidized by Congregation enida Amsterdam with 120 stu­ Nidjei Israel, the city’s largest syn­ dents and wealthy support, Tarbut agogue, the Rabbi of which, Samuel —in contrast to Yavne’s phenom­ Raphalin, first proposed its found­ enal rise from poverty—has yet to ing. approach the two hundred mark in The day school has a name preg­ • registration. nant with Jewish hope. For Yavne The betterment of Yavne’s forwas the Palestinian town where I tunes coincides with the arrival Israel’s scholars were allowed by from Cuba of Belgian educator Sethe Romans to study the Law of lik Shipmanoviteh. Taking over as Moses after the destruction of the principal, he shocked the members Temple and thus keep alive the of his school committee by saying, Shattered people of the Book. “I think we’ll start teaching the Rashi commentary in our Bible ' ^NPENING as a day school in classes.” February 1942, Yavne found “You can’t,” a typical parent rethe field of Jewish education ex­ pied. “That’s too much. You don’t tremely bleak. It was entering the understand. This is Mexico. I’ll be lists against the eighteen-year-old happy if my son learns to write “Colegio Isrealita” (also a “pri­ a Yiddish letter.” mary” and “secondary”) where the To Shipmanoviteh this was a Hebrew Bible was taught with the foreshadowing of his toughest task proud condescension of a museum —that of raising parental expecta­ curator exhibiting Aztec pottery. tions, that of showing that Jewish Even Zionism was not highly re­ studies could flourish in far off but garded there. Yavne wanted to teach that the Torah is fully applic­ hospitable Mexico. He had to wage able in the modern world, and that a psychological fight against an un­ Zionism, contrary to the opinions reasoning attitude. In 1943 Yavne moved from its expressed by some in the communi­ ty, is not “utopian.” The Jewish unsavory slum surroundings to res­ community, to whom the dowager idential Avenida Yucatan. Soon it “Colegio” with its swimming pool, acquired its first school bus. The and diluted Judaism was sacred, enrollment jumped. The doubters collectively frowned at the frisking sat up and took grudging notice. infant rival. The city’s Yiddish press made bitter and sometimes campaign was begun to con­ vulgar jokes at Yavne’s expense. struct a home for the booming, Meanwhile, the General Zionists school and two years later Yavne swung into action, founding “Tar- moved to its present handsome but,” a school where Hebrew was to quarters. Very shortly Yavne plans be the language of instruction and to open a dormitory and admit eag­ Zionism the whole philosophical bill er students from other cities like of fare> Starting life on swank Av- Guadalajara >and Monterey. 64* J ewish LIFE*

Shipmanovitch feels that he has won his fight. Speaking in a mea­ sured Spanish, he told the writer with a playful half smile that the study of Rashi no longer evoked skepticism. (He is a squarely built* dignified man who recently created a stir, when the four century old Univer­ sity of Mexico appointed him its first Professor of Hebrew.) Proudly he pointed to the intro­ duction of Talmud into the upper grades. It was being taken up with enthusiasm. Even the rival “Colegio” had changed its ideas about what couldn't be taught and was broadening its Hebrew curriculum. The principal summed up Yavne’s triumph very simply. “Five years ago where would you find a Mexi­ can Jewish child who understood his Hebrew heritage ?” ; An- important adjunct of Yavne if its Bnei Akiva youth movement. Parties and hikes and Sabbath gettogethers make it great fun for the

young people. Capably led, it gives them a Jewish sense of direction. Yavne’s students feel a strong love for Mexico. You could see that at a recent assembly commemorat­ ing the centennial of Mexican re­ sistance to the invasion of the United States. Lustily they sing the national hymn. Then one of the boys of the fourth year reads a composition he has written. “. . . We hail the resisters to ag­ gression wherever they be. Wheth­ er they be Hebrews who battle against British or Mexicans who hurl back an invading army. They fight the same battle. . . ” As you leave, the concluding Hatikvah rings in your ears. You pause at a bulletin board and read a telegram dated some months back. “Thank you for your congratula­ tions. . . I salute you. . . ” The telegram comes from the Presidential Palace, for it is signed “Miguel Aleman.”

A REWARD FOR COMPASSION A m an traveling on a hot day grew w eary and sat down to rest on a rock. A snake crawled toward him. but a sudden gust of w ind blew down a branch from a nearby tree and killed the snake. W hen the m an awoke and stepped off the rock; it sw ung loose and fell into an abyss. Rabbi A bba chanced to pass by at this very moment, and Said to the man: "You have been saved from death twice. Tell me: whcit are your good deeds?" The m an answered: "I never fail to make peace with an y ­ one who harms me. I become his friend and repay good for evil. And before I lay myself down to sleep, I forgive all who require forgiveness." "Thou are greater than Joseph," said Rabbi Abba. "He forgave his brethren, but thou forgivest strangers as well." —Zohar, 1:200-201

October, 1948

65

c d fzín z

a n d í¡2E ^J.s.<mís.(i <Æjii iit By ISRAEL GERSTEIN

JUDAIC^LORE IN H E IN E , by Israel Tabak, Ph.D.; Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1948, 388 pp. T H I S is a scholarly book for schol­ ars— one is therefore amazed to discover the rich harvest in terms of d elight/edification, and even exalta­ tion that many of its pages yield to the lay reader. Dr. Tàbak is primarily concerned with the defense of his thesis, which is that Jewish culture and his'ory were a most important ingredient in Heine’s make-up and consequently, the immortal creations of the peerless German lyric singer sprang from the Jewish spirit which pervaded his en­ tire being. The author’s qualifications for task are a thorough fam iliarity with everything that came from Heine’s pen combined with an erudite grasp of the primary sources of Jew ­ ish inspiration and culture. The evidence is assembled in six chapters entiled: “Heine’s Jewish Background,” in which the poet’s home environment and early training are traced; “Heine’s Knowledge of Judaism,” “Figures of Speech,” “Folk­ lore and Folkways,”. “Judaism and Romanticism,” and “Heine’s Attitude Toward Judaism.” The evidence is in­ controvertible that Heine was steeped in Jewish history and literature, and

66

that Heine constitutes another of Is­ rael’s monumental contributions to the cultural temple of the German people, a debt which it has *acknowledged with wholesale deportations and cre­ matoria . .f * T H E Heine specialist and the Heine lover will find in these pages new light on obscure passages, keys where­ with to unlock hitherto sealed and obscure passages, because Dr. Tabak makes ample use of his Biblical and Talmudic knowledge to explain the numerous allusions and figures o f speech that stem from those sources. We feel, however, that even the reader who is being introduced to Heine for the first time will treasure this volume, keeping it in an accessible place on his book shelf, for as Dr. Tabak well points out, Heine, whose 150th birthday this vojume celebrates, was a modern poet. The acute conflict of loyalties which he experienced, making his soul the battlefield be­ tween his inherited Jewish outlook and the acquirëd European ideologies current at the time, and the manner in which he resolved that conflict, pro­ vided him with the credentials to guide many a perplexed soul in our own day. And Heine w as the master of the written .phrase. Even in transla­ tion, his lines retain the same heat of J e w ish L IF E

passion and light of reason as when the poet first gave birth to them. In one of his numberless tributes to the Bi­ ble* which he adored with a fervor that borders on bibliolatry, he exclaims: “Great and wide as the world, rooted in the depth of creation and tower­ ing aloft into the blue mysteries of heaven-—sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfillment, birth and death, the whole drama of mankind, all is in this book— ”. And here is another: “Justly do they call it the Holy Scrip­ tures; whoever has lost his G-d can find Him again in this Book, and he who never knew Him will sense here the breath of the Divine Word”. F R A G M E N T S from Heine were al* ways in vogue; they were used to spice speech, and give a fresh turn to an old idea. In Dr. Tabak’s book one is gratified to find a rich se1ection in prose and verse, both in original as well as translation of those Heine w ritings which have a relevance to Jew s and Judaism. The author does go to doubtful ex­ tremes sometimes in upholding his thesis, as for example when he quotes Hebrew words and phrases found in Heine’s w ritings to prove the poet a Hebrew scholar. But the use of such words as “schabbes”, “meschugge” and “Meschummodim” on the part of one reared in a traditional Jewish home does not argue Hebrew scholar­

ship just as the use of the words ,“chuppe” and “ribbes” on the part of Herman Qoering (see “Commentary,” Aug. 1948, p. 160) does not prove that this latest edition of Haman was a lamdan in Hebrew. Dr. Tabak stamps as false Heine’s statement that “every Jew can make a Jewish girl his law fully wedded w ife if he should succeed in placing a ring on her finger and at the same time speaking the words etc.” Dr. Tabak must surely have heard of the numer­ ous tragedies in the past that resulted from just such action, because the Dm (Jewish law ) holds it sufficiently valid to require a G e t (divorce). In a footnote on p. 182, the author identifies the Zohar as the “Book of D elight.” “Book of Splendor” would be more accurate. On p. 195, the author speaks of the Jew’s religious contribution as d e is m I The term more correctly refers to the rationalistic movement which prevailed in England during the 17th and 18th centuries, which* denied rev* elation, attacked the Bible and main­ tained that reason was man’s only re­ liance. These inaccuracies, however, do not detract from the book as a solid piece of scholarship, which w ill provide many hours of delight and stimulation to the thoughtful reader.

JUDGMENT The fate of everything in nature is under judgment on Rosh H ashonah, and is sealed on various days: The fate of grain on Passover; the fate of fruit on Shovuoth; the fate of w ater on Succoth; m an's fate, however, is sealed on Yom Kippur. —Talmud, Rosh Hashonah, 16a.

October, 1948

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INTRODUCTION TO RABBI SAM­ SON RAPH AEL HIRSCH’S COM­ M ENTARY ON THE TORAH by Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer, Vol. I. ’ From the Creation to the Death of Avrbhom. Philipp Feldheim, Pub­ lisher. New York, 1948. 95 pp. This is a popularized adaptation of the Commentary on the Torah by the immortal leader of orthodox Judaism in Germany. The principal explana­ tions to the individual chapters and verses are included. This commen­ tary provides an insight into the method of the man who le ft an in­ eradicable impress upon the thought and, attitudes of German Jewry, par­ ticularly o f that portion which was staunchly loyal to traditional precepts. Jacob Breuer, who is responsible for the translation, provides a fairly read­ able and smoothly flowing English text. The book abounds in novel inter­ pretations and is richly suggestive homiletically. Speaking of the Cave of Machpelah, Hirsch remarks: “The Jewish people’s first piece of Prom­ ised Land consisted of graves, the graves of their fathers and mothers— for this reason alone the land was dear to them”. Tracing the name Sar­ ah to a root which means to measure (m ’surah), he declares that “Sarah is the one who keeps the standard,

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she is the authority for all that is moral, pure, just, and therefore beau­ tifu l and good”, v f —

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THE STORY OF THE CHASAM SOFER, by Shubert Spero, Pub­ lished by the Spero Foundation and Torah Umesorah, 1946. 76 pp. A simple and reverent presentation of the life of Rabbi Moshe Sofer for young people. In summarizing the author says of his subject: “To the Jews of his day he w as the foremost teacher of Torah, a tireless champion of G-d and His Ideals. To us and all Israel he le ft the fru its of his scholar­ ship in his many published works. A giant in intellect; a saint in charac­ ter., A man as practical as he was wise; as humble as he was great.” Young people should find this ac­ count interesting and enjoyable. TALES OF YORE From the L ife of Rabbi Joselman of Rosheim, by Rabbi Markus Lehmann; Jewish Pocket Books, N ew York, 1947. 68 pp. A fascinating m ixture of fact and fancy from which there emerges the picture of a plain Jew making his w ay around the world. Good reading for young people. I srael Gerstein

J e w ish L IF E

SHOULD PUBLISH MONTHLY Dear Editor : Enclosed find check for an annual subscription to J ewish L ife . I have read the December 1947 issue of this magazine and w as highly impressed with the literary and spiritual quali­ ties of the publication. However, I feel that a magazine such as this which brings the idealism of tradi­ tional Judaism to forefront should be published monthly. I w ish you every success. Samuel Zasloff Pittsburgh, Pa. RADIANT PASSAGES Dear Editor: Your type of m agazine is the kind that I really love. Please continue to quote the radiant passages of the Sacred W ritings. They vitalize and animate one’s soul. Dr. W illiam Gordon Philadelphia, Pa. CONSTITUTION IS ANSWER Dear Editor: In the February issue, I think Barnet Hirsch wasted 5 V2 pages wonder­ ing w hat to tell teacher, The answer is th at the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees the “free exercise” of re­ ligion. i , —

October, 1948

Mr. Hirsch perhaps prefers to pro­ selytize the heathen. It isn’t worth the effort! Melvin Lewis W ashington, D. C. PRO AND CON Dear Editor: The many articles and stories, which are so beautifully and clearly told in J ewish L ife , convey to the reader the living characteristics o f Judaism which is found in Orthodoxy of the love (in a literal sense, not just a word without meaning) of G-d and Torah, and of our constant duty to obey their every word and com­ mand. There is no magazine (of which I am aware) which is doing so great a job in returning our people to itself, as yours is. Now, may I make a suggestion. In the latter part of your magazine is a special section devoted to children. The stories in this section are adult reading material. Many adult readers do not look at the youth section and thus miss these stories, which in my opinion, are at least one of the most important ways of conveying orthodox Torah Judaism to the public in J ew­ i s h 'L ife . The .vocabulary lis t is just as im-

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portant for many of your adult read­ ers as for the youth. May I suggest : 1) that you eliminate the youth section. 2) that you place all stories sent to you for that section in their place in the magazine. 3) that you consider a special young children’s magazine to compete w ith the unreligious publication of the J e w i s h Education Committee, W orld Over. Otto Newman Bronx, N. Y. — I—

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CONSERVATIVE READER PROTESTS Dear Editor: Today I received a letter asking the renewal of my subscription to J ewish L ife . I think you should know that I discontinued my subscription out of protest. I was very happy to see orthodox Judaism advancing Torah Judaism and the Orthodox viewpoint through so fine a medium as J ewish L ife and I felt I would be m issing a great deal if I did not receive a copy. However, in every issue there was an attack on the Jewish Theological Seminary or Conservative Judaism. This negative approach so vexed me that I felt I had to discontinue my subscription. If you feel that this policy of the publication has changed, please let me know. I really expected more than innuendoes and back-handed slaps from J ewish L ife . Let’s have more unity in Israel! David J. Jacobs N ew York, N. Y?

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EDITOR’S NOTE: We appreciate that critical refer­ ences to Conservative Judaism or to the Jewish Theological Seminary must displease the above correspondent, whose address would indicate that he is associated with these bodies. Never­ theless, we cannot concede the opin­ ion that such occasional references constitute “a negative approach” upon the part of J ew ish L ife . It is the policy of J ew ish L ife to maintain and promote a forward-looking, cre­ ative point of view. Since, however, the tenets and the very life of or­ thodox Jewry are constantly under attack from dissident Jewish sects, occasions must arise when it becomes our duty to inform our people a s.to the nature of this opposition. It is unfortunate that these groups strain to replenish their forces a t the Ex­ pense of Orthodoxy, often resorting to dubious means and endeavoring by meretricious tactics to undermine ba­ sic Jewish concepts in the endeavor to ju stify their own teachings and practices. It would be serving the cause of “unity in Israel” very poorly indeed for us to ignore this problem. J ewish L ife w ill at all times en­ deavor to maintain a broad and bal­ anced perspective. The essential needs of the Jewish spirit will ever be our key note. When it becomes necessary to make corrections of teachings and tactics which we believe are harmful to Israel, we shall do so with restraint, with an awareness of their historic context, yet w ith such forthrightness as is necessary. J e w is h , LIFE

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Edited by Chayah Bath-Ami

GEMS TO REMEMBER ;|||j§? nrnt?

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"We hereby .proclaim 'the establishm ent of a Jewish State in Palestine to be called Israel." From the Israeli Declaration of Independence, May 14, 1948. House of Jacob» come, let us 90.

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r»:* HEBREW IN the NEWS victory or death..... mg yn nnvj State d a y ...... ..... .... n£HD0 sv mJDtn’ nanon defence army—.,............. nJJQ N3Y The provisional state wni? nggn nn?n The state of Israel . rung Iaraei’s declaration of Independence

The First Aliyah, 1882. The BILU NARRATOR: Throughout the centuries individual Jews left the Galuth and returned to the land of their fathers. Mass movements» began, oddly enough, after the age of liberalism which, swept the world. Shining words blazed like fireworks,—Equality! Fraternity! Emancipation! Rights of man! Age of reason! Ghetto walls came tumbling down! Jews thought that for them, also, an age of freedom had set in. In Russia a poet sang . . . JUDAH L. GORDON: Awake, my people! The night is gone! NARRATOR: But soon ominous muttering and rumblings were heard from all sides . . . . TREITSCHKE: The Jews are our misfortune! LUEGER: Budapest has become Judapest! POBIEDONOSTZEV: I have a solution to the Jewish problem. Onethird should be converted. One-third should be expelled. One-third should starve. NARRATOR: Disillusionment and despair seized those who had been so hopeful, so trusting. The same poet wept . . . JUDAH L. GORDON: I come to the earth, the mother. Only me she will not take to her breast. NARRATOR: Then the unbelievable happened. Pogroms broke out in the southern province& of Russia . . .planned . . . simultaneously in hundred and sixty villages and cities. The police did nothing to stop the brutal massacres. The report of . . . THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR: Disgraceful disorders directed against the Jewish residents resulting in loss of life and destruction of property . . . Jews in large numbers have fled from their homes . . railroad officials have refused to run the trains by which the Jews were seeking to escape . . . NARRATOR: The civilized world protested in horror only to hear? the lies and threats, of the Minister, of the Interior ; . . IGNATIEV: The jews are to blame! They' are against, the goverji-; ment! They rob and exploit the peasants! The Jewish innkeepers ruin 72

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our peasants! • . , e, . NARRATOR: Immigration Commissions from the United states reported. . . _ ■ COMMISSIONER : Homes destroyed 11 . women and children mu­ tilated . . . families separated . . . business ruined . . . Jews willing and anxious to work . . . anxious to begin life anew anywhere . . . Jews in these provinces are not innkeepers . . . no banks nor taverns in these agricultural districts. NARRATOR: Ignatiev replied with the May Laws, s^o-cmed because they were decreed May 3, 1882. A cry of anguish rose up from the Jews in the l a n d . . . . 1st JEW: How will I live if you take my land away? 2nd JEW: My business is real estate. If I can’t keep my leasehold then what remains? i , ; . 3rd JEW : I'm driven out of one village and the next won t take me 4th JEW: Where shall we live? In the air? NARRATOR: /Abov&^tfa-despair-.-rose, voices of faith and determmation and genius . . . RABBI ISAAC JACOB REINES: The time has come for us to awaken and know that not false enlightenment but the Holy Torah is the life and the soul of the Jew, his vitality and bloodstream . . . to-day we are exiled among the nations that insist they have no home for us; that are seeking pretexts to drive us out. Our great trouble is homelessjness. Our redemption must therefore be in kind,—that is, we must find a land, a home. 5. A DISSENTING VOICE: We must wait for the Messiah. He will redeem. , RABBI ZVI KALISCHER : The redemption of Israel for which we hope will comei but it will come slowly and gradually. The beginning of redemption will be an awakening of the spirit of the noble and thé will of governments to admit some of the poor and scattered of Israel into the Holy Land. RABBI SAMUEL MOHILEVER : All ye lovers of Zion, let us buy land, build houses, plant orchards and sow fields,—that is one of the most important commands of our Torah. LOVERS OF ZION: And where will the money come from? BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD: The return of the Jews to Palestine is necessary and I will finance it. MOSHE LOEB LILLIENBLUM : Yes—yes—we must go back to the land of our fathers. / DR. LEO PINSKER: We will emancipate ourselves. Auto-emancipa­ tion. Anywhere. A land that belongs to the Jews. If not beyond the Jordan let it be beyond the Mississippi. 73 October, 1948

NARRATOR: In the city of Kharkov a group of university students decided to go to Eretz Israel. They adopted the name BILTJ. They were greeted witfi amazement, doubts, fears . . . 1st STUDENT: You will break up your studies? 1st BILU: The pogroms will break them up anyway. 2nd STUDENT: But your career.? 2nd BILU : The pogromists will make an end of me and my career. 3rd STUDENT: What will you do there? Sit at the Wailing Wall and wait for a charity handout till you die? 3rd BILU: I’m going to work bn the land. Fm young. Fm going there to live. 4th STUDENT: You’re studying to be a doctor. How can you work the land? The place is a desert. 4th BILU: We’ll turn it into a garden. Fm sick of living ¿mong strangers. 5th STUDENT: The Turkish police and the Arabs are strangers too. They’ll make trouble a-plenty. 5th BILU: Nothing you say will alter our decision. We want to go home! 6th BILU: Beth Ya’acov Lechu Ve-Neylchah! 7th BILU: Yes. House of Jacob, come, let us go! NARRATOR: Several hundred enrolled among the BILUIM. Actually only about forty ever reached Palestine. Half of them were settled in the old colony Mikveh Israel and the rest were sent to work on a new set­ tlement, Rishon Xe-Zion. The difficulties were greater than they could bear, —the unyielding mil, trachoma, malaria, back-breaking toil, loneliness, in­ experience, lack of planning, mismanagement. Only one thing was accom­ plished. THEY WENT TJP.

Armed with his affable reply to my request for an interview, I pre­ sented myself before Solomon-theLittle, as he was often called. He greeted me with pen in hand. “Excuse me, just for a moment. 74

I must make an entry in my col­ lection of ethical maxims.” He did not seem to be the haughty man I had expected to find. Was he really so proud and overbearihg a rumor said of him? J e w ish

LIFE

The critics had acclaimed his gen­ ius, but he had won many personal enemies and lost the few friends he made. Why was he so unpopu­ lar? Was it true that he had broken with his friend and patron, Samuel Nagdela, the Nagid of Granada? I was afraid to ask these questions. “Would you like to see my Choice of Pearls?” he asked. “I have been interested in ethics from my very youth. Have you read -‘The Improvement of Moral Qualities”? “I can't read Arabic.” “This book is. in Arabic too. I've gathered them from every pos­ sible source -— Greek *— Arabic — and added my ovTu.” “What have you added just now?” “ ‘The guest of a mean man need not be afraid of indigestion, nqr will he need mediciné!’ ” “I laughed. “Who is the mean man you write of?” “Moses the Miser. He invited me to dine with him and he did not serve wine. But I paid him back. All during the meal I enter­ tained him and his guests with songs about wine.” He paused for a moment. “And here is another couplet with which I honor him. ‘May the man, his son or daughter, Be forever doomed to water!’ ” We both laughed heartily. “This is probably the first sec­ ular verse to be written *in He­ brew. The critics can give me credit for that.” October, 1945

“The critics praise you gladly,” I said. “Yes,” he said. “They appreci­ ate my work. But the people—” His face clouded over. “Their en­ vy keeps them blind.” His temper mounted. “1 live among ostriches —tiny ants —| haughty fools par­ ading as wise ones. Because I am young and poor and alone I must do as they advise and at­ tend to practical matters, to mat­ ters pertaining to youth. But I am wiser than they. When I was sixteen years old I had the wis­ dom of a man of eighty. When I was seventeen I wrote a Hebrew Grammar—and in rhyme.” “Grammar in rhyme?” I ex­ claimed. “Why not? We use rhyme for everything. Besides, rhyme helps the memory. There are four hun­ dred and five verses and every verse is divided into ten parts— all full of rules.” “The people must have been de­ lighted with it.” “Not a bit of it ! It is disgrace­ ful how Hebrew is neglected here in Sargossa. One half of the Jew­ ish community speaks Spanish and the other half Arabic. I showed my bitterness and contempt for them by declaring, — ‘The Lord will call you to account, 0 rem­ nant of Jacob for forsaking the most chosen of languages!” ^ « Now I understand the reason for his unpopularity. He broke sharply into my thoughts. “Do you know Hebrew?” I was glad to be able to say that I studied it and loved it. 75

“That is well,” he said. “It is studied arid I wrote. He also a beautiful language. It is the taught me to see the world outside language in which daily the an­ of myself . Oh, he was so good to gels sing in praise of their Crea­ me and for me. His death was a tor; \ in which the Lord revealed terrible blow.” ♦“Didn’t the Nagid of Granada the Torah at Sinai; in which the . ^ P r o p h e t s prophesied and the befriend you?” psalmists sing. All over the world “Samuel Ibn Nagdela—yes—for Jews must learn to use again the a while. I have many enemies. language of the Bible. I know they They make my life miserable here. don’t like to heat such things. But I would like to leave Sargossa^I am wiser and i tell them so.” r—to leave Spain altogether. I’d I murmured something about go to Egypt — Babylonia — Pal­ tact. estine. Such wonderful things hap­ “Don’t talk to ' me of tact,” he pened in Palestine in ancient days. cried impatiently. “I am not like Happy the eye that saw them.” those whose hearts are full of hate “People are pretty much the even when their lips speak honey­ same all over,” I suggested. ed words of love. My heart and my “I Admit that I do not get along lips are one.” with people. My temper will get the “I only mean that they are in­ better :of me in Babylonia as well fluential people. They can make as in Sargossa. It enrages me when things mighty unpleasant for they tell me not to occupy myself you.” with questions which they, the wise “That they do* constantly. I am ones, cannot answer. I cannot be poor and alone. I’ve always been satisfied, as they are, without wis­ alone. When my father brought dom. me here to Sargossa—I was born ” ‘How shall I forsake wisdom? in Malaga, you know, about 1027 I have made a covenant with —when I came here I was a mere her. child. My mother had already She is my mother and I am the died. My father followed soon af­ child of her old age’. ter. I had no one—no sister, no I must have answers to my ques­ brother, friendless and poor. My tions.” ::: loneliness was hard to bear.” “And what are your questions?” I interposed. “That mournful I ventured. * strain is often heard in your po­ “Matters of;>human understand­ ems.” * > *■ ^ ing. What is the highest aim of ■; “Then I found a friend. Yeku- man? What is the. nature of the thiel ibn Hassan was a favorite soul ? What is its origin ? When7it of King Yachya ibn Mondhir. My leaves the body ¡where does it go? patron was a good man, kind and How shall We conceive of our Cre­ loving learning and literature. He ator? How is it that He, the perfect let me do exactly las I wished. I One, has brought into the world so 76 J e w ish LIFE)

many imperfect and evil things?” “These are noble questions.” “You see, my friend that I have great faith and also a critical mind. I am writing a book of pure phil­ osophy.” •“The name, please.” “ ‘The Source of Life’.” “In Hebrew?” “No. In Arabic. I speak only of G-d whose grandeur we cannot im­ agine but to whom anyone can rise through a contrite heart. I want all people to find their way to the Source of life. For that reason I don't mention any particular peo­ ple, nor any religion. If all people rose to the One G-d then it would be as Isaiah said, the earth would be full of the glory of the Lord a& the waters cover the sea. “You mean that you don't men­ tion Judaism?” “Our Rabbis themselves taught that the righteous of, all nations have a share in the world to come and áre heirs of immortality along with the righteous of Israel/' A later Midrash also says, T call heav­ en and earth to witness that wheth­ er it be Jew or heathen . . . only according to their acts does the Di­ vine Spirit rest upon them.' I be­ lieve that all beings are the ser­ vants of the. Lord, and even those who serve Him through their idols do not take away from His Glory for ‘“ They all aim to come to Thee.' ” “That is a beautiful expression of tolerance,” I exclaimed with enthu­ siasm, “remarkable for the age in which you live.” . , “I have great faith in the G-d of October, 1948

Israel, blessed be He. He has given me great gifts and the ability to use them. The critics say that I sur­ pass all others. Why ¡should I deny it ? I admit that I am not over-mod­ est. People don't like me for it. Am I right?” “It might be said you are a bit— boastful.” “I don't like the word boastful. I prefer triumphant. Grant to this poor and lonely and suffering be­ ing—my health is not very g o o d grant me at least, my triumphs. Af­ ter all I have written The Royal Crown” “You have a right to be proud.” “I am proud only before men. Before G-d I am a worm in the dust.” I marvelled at the change in the man from arrogance to complete humility. His eyes shone with mys­ tic fervor as he spoke. “At dawn I seek Thee, Rock and Refuge, there I set before the morning and eve­ ning prayer.” ! • “Your religious poems are in­ spired/^ - mi “They are the best of me because of the love I have for the G-d of Israel - r my faith in Him is the greatest blessing to me.” “To à génération which lacks faith you have a message.” “There are three witnesses that G-d exists,— ‘The heavens, the earth and the thoughts of man.' I always seek Him. It isn't enough for me to pray. I must bring out my own prayers, from (Continued on Page 81) 77

It is night, in the Temple of the Lord, in Shilo. Eli, the High Priest, is asleep in his place. He is a very old man. Beside his cot stands Samuel, a small boy. He wears a little robe and a linen girdle. Samuel: Here I am, Eli. Eli: (roused from sleep) What are you doing here again, Samuel? Did I not tell you to go back to sleep? Samuel: I came running because you called me again. Eli: I did not call you. Go back to sleep. Samuel: Three times I heard you calling me. Eli: (After a pause) I did not call you, Samuel. Samuel: Who else would call me ? Eli: The Lord is calling you, child. Samuel: (Wondering) Why should the Lord call me? Eli: You are His and He is calling you. Your mother, Hannah, gave you unto the Lord. Samuel: Tell me about my mother. Eli: One day I was sitting at the doorpost of the Temple. A woman stood there. Her lips moved but no word came from her lips. I thought that she was drunken. I scolded, her and said, “How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.” Samuel: Who was this woman? Eli: But she was not drunken. She was a very unhappy woman. She was sore grieved because she had no child. She poured out her heart in prayer for a child. She made a vow that if a son were born to her she would give him to the Lord. Samuel: She was my mother? Eli: Yes. Her prayer was answered. She bore a son. Samuel: I am the son she promised to the Lord? Eli: Yes. After she had weaned you she brought you here to live in the house of the Lord. And you have ministered unto the Lord before me and you grew before the Lord. Samuel: And it was she who made for me this little robe? And the Ephod? 78

J e w ish J J F E

Eli: Yes. And now go and lie down. It is not yet time to open the doors of the Temple. Samuel: Yes, it is too early. E li: If the Lord calls you again . , . Samuel: I don't know what to say. Eli: If the Lord calls, you say, “Speak, 0 Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” Samuel: I shall be afraid if the Lord calls me. Eli: Do not be afraid, Samuel. Listen carefully and come and tell it to me. Don't hide from me anything that the Lord says to you. Samuel: I shall not hide anything from you, Eli. (He stands wonder­ ing.) I am the* servant of the Lord, and I shall say to Him “Speak, 0 Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

TNAN looked up from his prayerbook, and spoke softly to Asher. ■ ^“Usually I enjoy this poem of Ibn Gabirol's. Somehow, this Yom Kippur I cannot get into his nostalgic mood. I can't feel sad. Cheerful­ ness is always breaking in on my thoughts. “I feel the same way,” eaid Benjy. We’re living in a glad time of Jewish historyr—the first time in how many years?” “I've forgotten the date of the destruction of the Temple. I'll have to look it up. But there's one date I’ll never forget.” “I'll wager it's the same date as my special one—the signing of the Jewish Declaration of Independence ” said Asher. “That's right. May 14th, 1948 is a date to remember. History in our time. If Ibn Gabirol were living today he would pour out his joy in poetry. I wish I were a poet.” “You can be a poet too* Dan. Times like these make poets of us all.” Benjy grinned happily. “Just to describe what's happening, what you hear October, 1948

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and see—why, it's for dreaming, vision, legend, poetry.” “That’s right,” said Dan. “One day I was- str olling along Park Avenue. It was the same Park Avenue as usual, the same Waldorf Astoria, the same shops downstairs. I looked up and exclaimed, ‘Where am I?’ I felt an elbow pushed into my side. I heard a voice, ‘Move on, will you? Look at the hick staring at the tall building.’ I pushed my way out on to the curb. I was still looking upward—but not at the tall building. The Mögen Dovid was floating from a window of the WaldorfAstoria. It had been hoisted up alongside the American Flag. Both flags were floating in the breeze. *Then I remembered. Dr. Chaim Weizmann was stopping there during his American visit. It was courtesy to the President of Israel. Two sister flags of two sister nations. It was a thrilling sight. ‘Happy the eye that saw it!’ ” “Just to hear of it makes my soul glad,” said Benjy. “And other things, too. I saw a picture of the Israeli delegate at the UN and before him on the table was a block with the name of Israel.” “Happy the eye that saw that. Verily to hear of it makes my soul glad.” said Benjy. “And the pictures of the Palmach in the New York Times! And what a write-up! There’s no brass in the Israeli army. There’s no looting in that army.” Benjy had ceased his chorus. He was counting the Ashrey’s in the Machzor. “There are ten of them,” he announced. “How many have we?” whispered Dan. “Five,” said Asher. “My mother received a letter from Tel Aviv. It had a Hebrew stamp and the return address was written in Hebrew, too.” “That makes six,” said Benjy. “I read an an article on the necessity of peace in Palestine as an insurance for world peace,” said Dan. “That’s practically Jeremiah’s' warning in reverse. He told the exiles to pray for the peace of the land they were in, for only in the peace of the land would they find their own.” “That’s really a double-header,” said Benjy. “Ashrey Ayin—No. 7-8.” “I can’t think of any more” said Asher “There will be more. The new Israeli flag will take its place with the flags of the other United Nations. A Jewish voice will be heard at the conference table, a voice for justice, for ethical conduct among the nations, for peace.”; , ‘I have another one right now.” whispered Benjy excitedly. “We don’t have to look back any more with longing and* sorrow. We can 80 '

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LIFE

look forward with joy and with hope. That’s a fair-enough nine. A cloud suddenly darkened Asher’s faee. He pointed to the lines which followed the last Ashley Ayin in thé Màchzor. Silently they read.” “But through the iniquities of our fathers the Temple is in ruins. . “It mustn’t happen again. Never again.” * “Our iniquities, too,” said Dan soberly. “We mustn’t fail.” Gloomily Asher continued to read— “We have no guide as in the days of old, no High Priest to offer sacrifices . . . .” “We’ll be the high priests—priests at any rate,” said Benjy. “A nation of priests. Mamlecheth Cohanim.” “You ought to see your face,” said Dan. “It’s shining.” “So is yours. All our faces shining. Ashrey ayin. . . . .”

(Continued from Page 77) . my own heart,- from my own soul, from my own love for the Creator who has blessed.me with the vision of perfection and the will to strive, October, 1948

for perfection. Without a living and existing G-d I could not have writ­ ten The Royal Crown. I have hum­ bly tried to give Him due praise. What else could I do, seeing that for this I was born.” 81

INTER-YESHIVAH ESSAY CONTEST — PRIZE WINNING ESSAY E ditor’s N ote: Each school term, the Inter-Yeshivah Student Council holds an essay contest among the 8th Grade students of the Yeshivah Day Schools of Greater New York. Printed below is the first prize-wihning essay of the Summer 1948 school term. The Inter-Yeshiva Student Council, located at 3 W. 16th St., New York City, is composed of senior students and graduates of the Talmudical sem­ inaries of New York. Since its inception this body of earnest volunteers in the Jewish cause, has been active in many ways in promoting Yeshivah educa­ tion (both elementary and High School) among Jewish youth and parents. J ewish L ife , which shares the conviction of the sponsors of the contest that “the boys and girls of the Yeshivah schools of out* country are the joy and hope of all those whose faith is in tfye, traditional Jewish way of life," feels privileged to print the following essay, which was selected out of many of high merit. i Why I Prefer A Yeshivah Education by LEAH ROTHBERG Eight years ago my parents decided upon a Yeshivah education, as the ideal education for me to receive. Perhaps, eight years ago, X could not appreciate the value of my education, hut now that I am concluding my final term at the Yeshivah, I fully realize how wise a choice my parents made. Studying in a Yeshivah, under the guidance of able men and women, who are themselves secure in their belief, has given me a sense of security. Delving into the magnificent past history o f the Jewish people is a matchless experience. I have shared in all the sorrows and joys of the past history of my people, and I have profited by the mistakes of the generations before me. Learning of our Jewish heritage has given me a sense of pride and joy. It has made me proud of the glory of my ancient religion and glad of the fact that I am part of it. I have learned of the significance and origins of the Jewish holidays and festivals, which exceed everything, in their deep festive beauty. I have received a thorough English education of a very high standard. My teachers have aided me in developing certain character traits which will be advantageous to me in later life. I have learned about the American government and people; of their past history, and of their goal for the future. In short, I have learned to be a good Jew and a good American. Yes, the Yeshivah has provided me with everything necessary to be a well rounded citizen and Jew. I feel greatly indebted to the Yeshivah for the marvelous educational foundation it has laid for me. Realizing the advantage of my Yeshiva education, has made me happy to be able to say, “ I am a Yeshivah student.” *Crown Heights Yeshiva, Grade 8B 82

J e w ish L IF E

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT • The firms whose products and services are advertised on the following pages are helping us carry on our good work. Please patronize them.

THE YOUNG ISRAEL INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH STUDIES , Sponsored by the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL • announces lectures and classes for the fall and spring terms of 1948-49 45 COURSES for beginners, intermediates, and advanced students in the following depts.: Bible,- Hebrew* - Jewish History* - Jewish Ethics and Philosophy* - Jewish Laws and Customs* - Contemporary Judaism* - Mishnah and Talmud - Social Studies* ♦Approved for Teachers’ Alertness Credits by the State of New York. FALL TERM: November 1 to February 10—15 weeks. SESSIONS : Mondays to Thursdays—7 :00-8 :30 P.M.—8 :35-10 :00 P.M. FEES: $5.00 per course—Maximum fee: $15.00 per tepn for 3 or more courses. You may attend the courses of the first w eek without enrolling. REGISTRATION: Till November 12. Daily from 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. November 1 to 12— 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. Fridays and Sundays from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. Phone or w rite for Bulletin L.

THE YOUNG ISRAEL INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH STUDIES 3 WEST 16th STREET

WAtkins 9-1525

NEW YORK 11, N. Y.

Dr. S amson R. W eiss , Director R abbi E phraim H. SiuRM, Registrar

October, 1948

83

TORAH AND ERETZ ISRAEL Spiritual life cannot flourish if it is divorced from reality. A people cannot be creative unless it has roots in the soil. Dn Isaac Herzog Chief Rabbi of Israel. ^

to the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America . . . and good I wishes to the readers of I this fine publication* I;

Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can. —Carlyle

I

I THE MAKERS OF | I I Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum | 1g!

•annn roita rw? To All Our Jew ish Friends

McCRORY STORES CORPORATION

m

AC-10

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84

J e w ish L IF E

J U S T P U B L IS H E D !

A G reat Historical Work on Jewish Liturgy

lUfjjlf

tontfe n ttd THE AUTHORIZED • DAILY PRAYER BOOK

First American revised completé onevolume edition. Hebrew text, English translation. W ith c o m m e n ta ry , n o te s a n d in ­ tr o d u c tio n in E n g lish —

By the late Chief Rabbi JOSEPH H. HERTZ Indispensable to Congregation, Library, Rabbi, Student , and Layman. A “MUST” book for every Jewish home. An appropriate g ift for all occasions. Printed on fine paper in large, clear type. 1145 Pages, cloth-bound, $5.00 Postpaid.

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Milady Food Products, Inc. B'klyn, N.Y. HUMAN FREEDOM It is impossible to m entally or soci-^ ally enslave a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of hum an freedom. —Horace G reeley

■l{—;— «—__

I Shall Try to Correct Errors Where Shown to Be Errors; and I Shall Adopt New Views as Fast as They Shall A ppear to Be True Views. —Abraham Lincoln

Beech-N ut A C om plete Line of Beech-Nut Strained and Junior Foods—Vege­ table Soups, Vegetables, Fruits and Desserts.

“ACCEPTED” B e ech -N u t h igh sta n d a r d s o f baby f o o d p ro d u ctio n a n d a ll B e ech -N u t b aby fo o d a d v e rtisin g have been ac­ cep ted b y the C o u n cil on F oods a n d N u tr itio n o f the A m e r ic a n M e d ic a l A sso c ia tio n .

86

J e w ish LIFE

Rosh H ash an ah 5709 1948-1949 CORDIAL NEW YEAR GREETINGS

to our numerous Jewish friends. May 5709 be a year of Peace and Prosperity, Good Health and Happi­ ness for the Jewish people everywhere.

MIRACLE WHIP SALAD DRESSING

MUSTARD PRODUCTS

MIRACLE SANDWICH SPREAD -

Horseradish

KRAFT MAYONNAISE

Salad

KRAFT FRENCH DRESSING

Dusseldorf

MIRACLE FRENCH DRESSING

PARKAY MARGARINE FRIZZ

These products bear the

<s> the official seal of approval of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

KRAFT FO O D S COM PANY CHICAGO. ILLINOIS

October, 1948

87

We wish our friends and patrons

ALL IS VANITY This world m ay be likened to one who drinks salt w ater; he seems to quench his thirst, but he actually grows thirstier from the draught. No m an dies with half his desires attained, an d w hat profit has he of all his toil? Rabbi Elijah, Gaon of Wilna, 1720-1797

■|

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

------- —

•

— .—

To marry a woman for her beauty is like buying a house for its paint. —Anon

May this Year bring Justice and Security to all, DAITCH DAIRY STORES •.

A. GOODMAN & SONS

The home of Country prepared dairy Yoods of quality, produced iin D a i t c h p l a n t s u p s t a t e a n d s o l d

M a n u fa c tu r e r s o f

NOODLES and MATZOH PRODUCTS

o n ly i n D a i t c h S t o r e s i n M a n h a t ­ t a n a n d th e B r o n x .

Long Island City, N. Y.

TEMPTING RENNET DESSERTS FOR ALL THE FAMILY made with

"JUNKET"

BRAND

RENNET

POWDER an d TABLETS are KOSHER. Try th ese fam ily fa v ­ orites.

"JUNKET" BRAND FOODS "JUNKET'' is the trademark of Chr. Hansen's Laboratory, Inc., Little Falls, N. Y. for its rennet and other food products and is registered in the U. S. and Canada.

88"

JEWISH L Î Î 'E f

KOSHER and PARVE

DREFT Now in Stores The suds discovery that washes dishes cleaner than soap is now approved by the Union of- Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America ... . for meat or dairy dishes.

© D reft m akes dishes shine - - even without wiping! (R ) A Hymosol Product

PROCTER & GAMBLE’S PATENTED SUDS DISCOVERY

October, 1948

89

BE THE RIGHT PERSON Instead of spending our time worry­ ing about w hether or not w e married the right person, why not spend that time being the right person? • • —John Newton Baker

R O K E A C H PURE FOOD PRODUCTS

•

Hod C A R M E L

II

SOAPS AND CLEANSERS

F a m o u s f o r Q u a lity a n d K a s h r u th f o r O v e r H a lf a C e n tu r y

KOSHER MEAT PRODUCTS D e lic i o u s — P u r e — A p p e t i z i n g Hod C A R M E L KOSHER MEAT PRODUCTS are pro. duced under the guidance of Rabbi Jacob W. Redelheim, President of Hod Carmel Provi­ sion Co., and with the punctual strict supervision of prominent rabbis. W A T C H F O R T H E uH O D CARM EL” LABEL T en d er G o v e r n m e n t I n s p e c t i o n

No,

522

Kosher and “P arve” All Sunshine Kosher crackers and cookies are b a ked u n d er the supervision o f a Rabbi

Sf| Baked in the Kosher Division of S u n sh in e B iscuits I nc .

90

J e w ish L IF E

Now, lighter more delicious cakes

Spry with Cake-Improver Try

t

Banana Cream Cake 2 cups sifted cake flour 1 % cups sugar teaspoons baking powder (tartrate powder, 4 teaspoons) 1 teaspoon salt

cup Spry 1 cup less 2 tablespoons milk teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs, unbeaten 3 or 4 bananas

%

ix S p r y ’s ea sij O n e - B o p l w a y : Sift flour, sugar,baking pow­ der, salt into mixing bowl. Drop in Spry (no creaming needed). Add % of milk, then vanilla; beat 200 strokes (2 minutes by hand or on mixer at low sp eed).,Scrape bowl or beater. Add eggs and remaining milk; beat 200 strokes (2 min. on mixer). Did you ever mix a cake so> fast? That's because of Cake-Im­ prover Spry's special secret. Bake in two deep •8 -inch Sprycoated layer pans in moderately hot oven (375°F.) 25-35 minutes. Cool. Put layers together with 1 cup heavy cream (whipped and sweet­ ened with cup sugar) and sliced bananas (sprinkled w ith lemon juice). Top with cream and ba­ nanas. Serve to a chorus of praise %from your admiring family. -

M

KOSHER&PARVE

( A ll S p r y is K o sh er a n d F aroe. S p r y is m ade o n ly fr o m pu re, vegetable oils in fu ll con form ity w ith J e w ish d ie t­ a r y la w s. I t con tain s no a n im a l fa t.)

Another fine Lever Product

October, 1948

91

Dairymen's League Cooperative Association, Inc.

wishes you . . .

W hat others say of me m atters little, w hat I myself say an d do m atters much. — Elbert H ubbard Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some few to be chewed and digested. —Frances Bacon

A HAPPY, PROSPEROUS and HEALTHY NEW YEAR all these gifts, health is the greatest, for with good health happiness and prosperity can be obtained. No food contributes more to good health than milk. It has everything

innsn mita n w s?

-^-protein, energy values, minerals

HENRY PAPE, Inc.

and vitamins—for balanced diet. It is your best and cheapest food and for the best in milk use

•,

DAIRYLEA MILK Inspected — Protected Ask for Dairylea^ Milk at Your Local Store or call MOtt Haven 9-3775 Circle 7-6931

TRiangle 5-1800

*Reg. U.S. Patent Office

Main Office 41-39-38th STREET Long Island City STILLWELL 4-6343 315 East 3rd Street MOUNT VERNON, N. Y. FAirbanks 4-6644 199 Main Street FARMINGDALE, L. % Farm ingdale 368 Flanders Road Riverhead, L. I., N. Y. HELLMAN’S “REAL” MAYONNAISE “NUTRITIOUS” NUCOA CONTAINS VITAMIN A HELLMAN’S FRENCH DRESSING BEST FOODS BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES BEST FOOD MUSTARD WITH HORSE RADISH BORDEN’S FINE CHEESES HENRY PAPE’S PREPARED HORSERADISH NESTLE’S EVERREADY COCOA

Blue Ribbon Potato Chips

„92

J e w ish

LIFE

STERLING Kosher Coarse Salt CERTIFIED Kosher Coarse Salt Both are approved by The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America for cooking and seasoning foods.

Produced by International S a lt C o., Inc. Scranton* Pa. an d New York* N. Y.

BLUE RIBBON ®

POTATO CHIPS

"The American people expect more of a corporation than that it be productive and efficient. They look to large enterprises of the country for examples of good citizenship. They expect industry and business to solve their human problems and to make progress toward steady employment. Fi­ nally, they expect them to make a profit. "It is my opinion that the Amer­ ican people have now fully ac­ cepted the idea that a corpora­ tion is in a sense a person. But with infinite wisdom, they have added the notion that a p ersoncorporate or otherwise—should have not only rights, but respon­ sibilities, not only privileges but duties, not only a head, but a heart." F rom an a d d ress by F ra n k W . A b r a m s y C h a ir m a n o f th e B o a r d , S t a n d a r d O il C o m p a n y ( N . J .)

STANDARD OIL CO. (NEW JERSEY) Lways Fresh, Crisp, 0elicious because They’re Triple-Sealed Preferred Since 1900

October, 1948

AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES

93

PRAYER Prayer is the soul's sincere desire Uttered or unexpressed The motion of a hidden fire That trem bles in the breast. "-—James Montgomery

MAKES THE MEAL ...A S A MAIN COURSE OR APPETIZER

STANDARD KOSHER POULTRY, Inc. 807 W ashington St. CHelsea 2-4690 New York City 14

FROZEN KOSHER-MADE We supply the foremost restaurants, caterërs, hotels, camps, hospitals, institu­ tions and butchers.

U. S. Government inspection Rabbinical inspection

I «

BEST WISHES

.Clear broth comes to a delicious jell after a few hours in the refrigerator. And BIG 16-oz. glass jars keep six portions at the peak of flavor! So inexpensive! Certainly it’s Kosher and Pareve. At your grocer’s now. MOTHERS FOOD PRODUCTS, IN C ., 5? OGDEN S T ., NEWARK 4 , N . I .

Since 1892

Baby Gouda and Mello-Gold Cheese (Holland Type)

for the

AMERICAN, MUENSTER and BRICK CHEESE

N ew Year

M a n u f a c t u r e d u n d e r th e p e r s o n a l s u p e r v is io n o f

Rabbi S. A. Pardes, Chicago, 111.

D. MILLER of ¡¡llfjbandy. making

New York City R e ta il:

13 Essex St.

GRamercy 5-3337

W h o le s a le :

18 Harrison St.

94

J e w ish LIFE

DIAMOND CRYSTAL KOSHER SALT

U S E T H IS

BETTE|BUTTER

KOSHER ©

is certified by Rabbi Hersch Kohn of New York

OCOM A UNSALTED BUTTER Pure - Fresh - Rich in Nourishment

Prepared under the supervision of The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

THE BELLEVUE CREAMERY AND PRODUCTS CO. 96 Gansevoort Street New York 14, N. Y.

Nol Too Coarse, Not Too Fine.

TRY THESE D ELICIO US CAN DIES A TASTY BLEND O F PURE C O FFEE FRESH CREAM AN D SU G AR

LB. TIN *1.50

>/2 LB. TIN 75* P a c k a g e 10*

AVAILABLE AT BETTER STORES EVERY WHERE. ASK YOUR DEALER OR . . .

ANN RASKAS CANDY CO. 4 9 6 7 SU B U R B A N W AY A

N O M .I N A L P A R C E T P O S T

'October, 1948

C HA R G B

DEPT. J.

ST. LO U IS 8, MO. IS

AD DED

TO A L L

MAILORDERS

95

ASK FOR—

iB p iw w GOLD'S HORSE RADISH CO. 4127—18th Ave. Brooklyn, N. Y.

BREAKSTONES

SP A R E-W A Y

producers of

FOOD PRODUCTS Brooklyn, N. Y.

FINE DAIRY FOODS

Manufacturers of

and

GOLD CREST

Breakstone's Coffee

M AYONNAISE

• Wish You and All Israel

PICKLED PRODUCTS

A HAPPY AND

<0> Supervised and endorsed by. Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

96

(Te WIS K . I Ä

When the shepherd is angry at his flock, he m akes their leader blind (thus causing all those who follow to stumble and to die). —Baba Kama, 52a. More than Israel h ad preserved the Sabbath, the Sabbath has preserved Israel. —Ahad Haam, 1856-1927

The Finest, Purest Kosher Products Made! Pareve Fat : Oil : Honey Kosher Soap : Kosher Cleanser

Garber’s Misrochi Products are certified and approved by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. GARBER'S MISROCHI Kosher Products Garber Eagle Oil Corp. 345 Hewes Street B'klyn, N.Y.

NEW

READY THIS MONTH!

M

m m

HA-SIDDUR HA-SHALEM Newly translated, annotated and provided w ith an introduction by

PHILIP BIRNBAUM, Ph. D. The Hebrew Publishing Company is pleased to announce the forthcoming edi­ tion of the complete Prayerbook, Minhag Ashkenaz, with an entirely new, modern English translation. The major influences which have come to the Prayerbook from ail branches of Hebrew literature are faith­ fully recorded in Dr. Birnbaum’s footnotes. Hr. Birnbaum’s modern translation of pur prayers is intended for worshipers of put time, who no longer speak the Eng­ lish of King James day. Each of the serv­ ices is arranged» as a completely integrated unit, so that the worshiper is not called upon to search from page to page. All the directions here are explicit, brief and tp the point. •

HEBREW PUBLISHING COMPANY 77-7^ D elancey Street

N ew Y ork 2

Y E A R ’S G R E E T I N G S

to our m any good Jew ish F riends and Patrons

A & P Super Markets — A & P Food Stores

October, 1948

97

RESTAURANTS, CATERERS and HOTELS

J. E dw ard Saltzm an TIIEW E L L - K N O W N

KOSHER CATERER Announces that the Kosher Catering at the

HOTEL D I P L O M A T 108 WEST 43rd STREET, NEW YORK is under the supervision of The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Excellent accommodations for , Banquets — Weddings —r Bar Mitzvah Parties for groups of 50 to 1,000> people Kashruth is supervised by a representative of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations who is present in person at each function.

I Telephone: BRyant 9-2487 - 8 - 9 98

J ewish LIFE

RESTAURANTS, CATERERS and HOTELS Smart ^Settings for the Perfect Social Function — Banquets, Weddings, Confir­ mations, Dances, Conventions, Theatricals

HOTEL RIVERSIDE PLAZA 253 WEST 73rd STREET New York City

SUsequehanna 7-3000

Great in Vienna—Greater in N. Y.

Tel. BEUe Harbor 5 — 5771-1934-1834

WASHINGTON HOTEL Catering for All Occasions

'• O pen All Year •

Dietary Laws Strictly Observed Under' Orthodox Rabbinical Supervision Grossman & Levine M anagem ent RESTAURANT-CATERING

STRICTLY KOSHER RESTAURANT - CATERING , BANQUET FACILITIES Open Daily . . . . . ...................... .. M •5-9 P.M. Sundays ............ / . . ......... .12 noon to 9 P.M. 242 WEST 76th STREET (W est of Broadway), N. Y. TR 4 2399 Make reservations now for the High Holidays and Succoth. (Succah on ¡ prem ises) .

124-05 Boulevard Rockav/ay Park, N. Y.

LOU G. SIEGEL, Inc. America’s Largest Kosher Restaurant

209 WEST 38tii STREET

New York, N. Y, Wisconsin 7-1262

Under the personal Rabbinic Supervision of RABBI H. H. ORENSTEIN

October, 1948

99

MORALITY The living organism is not infinitely elastic; if you stretch it too much/ it will snap; and it justifiably cries out against you somewhat before the limit is reached. —S antayana Introduction to Rabbi Samson .Ra­ phael's Hrisch's Commentary on the Torah.

By Rabbi Dr. Joseph Brewer Vol. 1 Price $1.50 Vol. 2 will be off the press shortly. PHILIPP FELDHEIM Publisher & Bookseller 45 Essex St., New York 2, N. Y. Tel. GRamercy 3-5093 Largest sélection in Judaica and Hebraica. All religions» articles.

BOUND VOUMES

for the year 5708 (1947-48) A vailable Shortly Price $3:50 each

Postage Paid A f e w b o u n d V o lu m e s o f y e a r 5707 (1946-47) a l s o a v a i l a b l e a t s a m e price. Please send orders with Check or money-orders to: Bound Volumes Jewish Life 305 Broadway, New York City 7 , N.Y.

W ould you EAT TREFA?

lip * « ; r

Certainly not, but to w ear Shatnes, i.e. wool and linen, equally transgresses a law of the Torah. The garm ent which you buy from the following firms will be tested by the Shatnes Laboratory . . . if you will dem and it from the sales­ man. The linen which is often found will be removed FREE OF CHARGE. LOOK FOR THIS SEAL OF APPROVAL attached by the Shatnes Laboratory.

**

B. GORDON 11 Allen St., N.Y.C. P. & S. CLOTHES Shomer Shabboth 166 W. 23rd St., N.Y.C. WARTELS & RUGOFF 85 Canal St., N.Y.C. J. M. KLEIN 118 Stanton St., N.Y.C.

MARGOLIS CLOTHING CO. Shomer Shabboth 97—5th Ave. & 17th St.

J. WÜRZBURGER 165 „Stanton St., N.Y.C. At l a n t ic c l o t h in g Shomer Shabboth 1 Allen St., N.Y.C.

co.

CRAWFORD CLOTHING, Inc. Addresses in the telephone book. MAXIS CLOTHES 3 day service at 98 Delancey 385 Broadway, Brooklyn St„ N.Y.C. & 268 Broadway, Brooklyn. THREE “B” CLOTHES 80 .Delancey St.

SHATNES LABORATORY of the ORTHODOX JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS 110 LEE AVENUE, BROOKLYN 11, N. Y. Tel. EVergreen 7-8520 Phonfe after 9 P.M. or leave m essage during the day. 24 hour service. Immediate testing M onday and Thursday from 7 to 9 P.M.

100

J ewish LIFE

THE RIGHTEOUS Scripture says# 'O pen ye the gates# that the righteous people that keepeth faithfulness m ay enter in.' The verse does not say that priests. Levites. or Israelites m ay enter# but that the righteous# whoever they m ay be# m ay enter. —Sifra (on Vayikrah# 18:5.)

“ IB te

® Use P A L C O K O S H E R S O A P POWDER 100 lb. DRUMS

PAL PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING CORP. 4606-2nd AVENUE

October, 1948

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

101

KASHRUTH DIRECTORY ---------- ---------------- --------------- ------------------------ ---------------------------WATCH FOR THIS SEAL: © . It is your guarantee that the product has been thoroughly investigated and every ingredient found to conform in every w ay wilh the Jewish Dietary Laws. This Directory appears in each issue of JEWISH LIFE. Listings are parsed upon by the Rabbinicdl Council of America, Rabbinic body of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Only such items are included as are directly endorsed by UOJCA', which are m arked by (0). Consumers are cautioned to ascertain that the Hechsher or © Seal of Kashruth approval is affixed to the labels of food and other products. D R E S S IN G S

B A B Y FOODS

© H. J. Heinz Co. © Beech-Nut Co. B E A N S IN

TOM ATO SAU C E

© Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.) . © Van" Camp’s (Stokely-Van Camp, Inc.) C A K E S , C O O K IE S & C R A C K E R S

© Golden Cracknel (Golden Crack­ nel & Spec. Co., Detroit) © Ky-Krisp (Ralston-Purina) © Sunshine Kosher ( Sunshine Bis­ cuit Co., N. Y. C.) C A N D IE S

AND

DESSERTS

© Ann Raskas Candy (Ann Ras­ kas Candy Co., St. Louis) © Frizz (K raft D esserts) © Loft, Inc. CATERERS

© Hotel Riverside Plaza 253 W. 73 St., N.Y. C. © H. J. Heinz Co. GUM

© W rigley’s (except Pepsin) C O N D IM E N T S

© H. J. Heinz Co. D A IR Y P R O D U C T S

© Ocoma Butter (Bellevue Cream­ ery, Omaha, Neb.)

102

F IS H P R O D U C T S

© Mother’s Old Fashioned Gefilte Fish (Mother’s Food Products, Newark, N. j . ) FROZEN

FOODS

© Milady" Cheese Blintzes,. Milady Potato Pancakes, (Milady Food Products, Brooklyn, N. Y.) j © Sanborn’s Kosher-Pakt Brand: Cheese Blintzes; Gefuelte Fish; Potato Pancakes; Pot Roast; Stuffed Cabbage. (Sanborn Foods, Cedarhurst, N.Y.)

1© Streit’S Frozen Strawberries, A. Streit Inc,, N.Y. C.) HONEY

© Garber Eagle Oil Co.

CEREALS C H E W IN G

© Cascade; Duchess (Table Prod­ ucts Co., San Francisco) © .K r a ft French © Miracle French (K raft) " © Miracle Whip (K raft)

F L A V O R IN G S

© W estag Vanilla, W estag Lemon (Table Products Co.) H OU SEH O LD SO A PS A N D S C O U R IN G P O W D E R S

© Ajax (Colgate-Palmolive-Peet) j © Bab-O, Babbitt’s Cleanser, Glim (B.T. Babbitt, N. Y. C.) J ew ish LIFE

© Delta Pine 'Oil, Disinfectant, Delta. Pine Jelly Soap, Scent O’Pine Disinfectant & Cleaner (Delta Chemical Lab., New Or­ leans.) © D reft (Procter & Gamble.) © D if (D if Co., Garwood, N .J.) © Garber Eagle Oil Co., Brook­ lyn, N.Y. © Mel’o (H ygienic Products Co., Canton, Ohio) © My Pal, (Pal Products, Brook­ lyn, N .Y .) © Oakite (Oakite Inc., N.Y.C.) © Palco (Pal Products, Brooklyn, N.Y.) © Puro (Puro Co., Chicago) © Scoop (F . R. Corp., N.Y.C.) f © S w ift’s Cleanser (S w ift & Co., Chicago)

MAYONNAISE © Gold Crest (Spareway Foods, Brooklyn, N .Y .) © Heinz (H . J. Heinz G o.,' P itts­ burgh) © K raft (K raft Foods Co., Chicago) © Nu M ade;' Piedm ont ) (Table Products Co., San Francisco)

MUSTARD © H. J. Heinz Co. © K raft Foods Co. radish)

C H IP S

© Blue Ribbon (A. A. W alter Co., Albany, N .Y .) © Saratoga W inner> (Harold E. Smith Food Co., Cohoes, N. Y .) P R E P A R E D P A S T R Y M IX

© Holiday Macaroon Mix (Allied Food Industries, Perth Amboy, N.J.) R E L I S H E S , P I C K L E S , etc.

© H. J. Heinz Co. © Spare-Way (Spare-W ay Foods) Brooklyn, N. Y. SALAD

O IL

©, Garber’s Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.) (C o a r s e ) @ Certified Kosher Coarse Salt

SALT

Sterling Kosher Coarse Salt (International Salt Co.) SA N D W IC H SP R E A D

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PEANUT BUTTER © Beech-Nut (Beech-Nut Packing Co., N.Y.C.) © H. J. Heinz Co. © Beverly, Real Roast, (Table

October, 1948

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103

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