Jewish Life July-Aug 1952

SING SING ISRAEL WIN OMIQ BATTLES? -ZION’S ART TRAVELING KOSHER SPORTS IN ISRAEL ODD CORNERS OF THE NEAR EAST I AKIVA Meyer Waxman

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1c O L G AT E - P A L M O L I V E - P E E T C O M P A N Y

July - August, 1952 n"2 Vol. XIX. No. 6

Av, 5712

• EDITORIAL Saul B ernstein , Editor M. Morton R ubenstein Dr. E ric Ofpenbacher R abbi I srael Miller Editorial Associates P aul H ausdorff A rt Director N echama L evin Editorial Assistant

JEWISH LIFE is published bi-monthly. Subscription one year $1.75, two years $3.00, three years $4.00. AU rights reserved

Editorial and Publication Office : 305 Broadway New York 7. N . Y. BEekman 3-2220

WHAT'S IN A NAME

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• ARTICLES

THE ROAD TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY 5 * Halevy-Levin BEN-ZION, GRANDSON OF THE pr o ph e t s Jr...'ll Alfred Werner RELIGION AT SING SING 17 Irving Koslowe CAPHTOR AND OTHER PLACES 24 A. A. Davidson A MATHEMATICAL ANALOGY TO THE BOOK OF JOB 32 Reuben Gross RABBI -AKIVA Meyer Waxman • tra v elin g k o sh e r 58 Lillian S. Abramson ISRAELI SPORTS COMES OF A G E S ||J 55 Bill Wolf

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• FEATURES

AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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• SHORT STORY

A MIDRASH A. Leo Levin Published by U nion of Orthodox J ew ish Congregations of A merica Max J . E tra President Rabbi H. S. Goldstein, Wil­ liam B. Herlands, Samuel Nirenstein, William Weiss, Honorary P residen ts; Benja­ min Koenigsberg, Benjamin Mandelker, M. Morton Ru­ benstein, Vice - P residen ts; Joseph Schlang, Secretary; N. Kenneth Gross, Treasurer; Saul Bernstein, Adm inistrator

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• SERVICES

KASHRUTH DIRECTORY -,,.r...M

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COVER THEME : “ . . . that thou mayest gather in thy grain . 99 Devorim 11:14

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Among Our Contributors DR. ALFRED WERNER has written on a \ variety of subjects, particu­ larly in the fine arts. He has edited a number of volumes, including the Little Art Book Series and a portfolio on Utrillo, and is the author of a monograph Story of Jewish Art. *

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REUBEN GROSS attended Yeshivath Tifereth Yerushalayim, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, City College of New York, and Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Army and the Israel Air Force. For six months during 1947, until F.B.I. and E.C.C. clamped down, he maintained radio contact between U.S. and underground Haganah station. Mr. Gross, who now practices law in Staten Island, is a member of the UOJCA Executive Committee. *

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RABBI IRVING KOSLOWE, Sing Sing's Jewish Chaplain, is the spiritual leader of the Westchester Jewish Center. He is a graduate of Yeshiva Uni­ versity and was ordained by Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Though he did graduate work in chemistry and biology, he received his M.A. and has completed PhD. credits in education and sociology at New York University. *

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A. A. DAVIDSON'S articles and stories, which have delighted JEWISH LIFE readers for the past few years, have won him recognition as one of the most promising — and individual — young Jewish writers of the present day. Yonkers born and bred, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His travels have included two prolonged visits to Israel. *

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LILLIAN S. ABRAMSON, graduate of Brooklyn College, received her M.A. in mental testing from Columbia University. A graduate of the Hebrew Teachers Training School for Girls, she has taught in several Jewish Day Schools. *

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BILL WOLF. now Sports Editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, is a Rutgers University graduate who served as reporter for the Newark Star Ledger and the Associated Press. He did free-lance writing during a year's travels through Europe and has had articles appearing in numerous Anglo-Jewish periodicals. *

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PROF. A. LEO LEVIN. Associate Professor of Law at University of Pennsyl­ vania, received his B.A. from Yeshiva College, his L.L.B. from University of Penn­ sylvania. spent four years in the U.S. Army, did post-graduate work at Columbia and taught at the Law School of the State University of Iowa. Active in Hapoel Hamizrachi and other orthodox causes, he is Regional Vice President (Tri-State) of UOJCA. 2

Jewish LIFE

EDITORIAL W H A T 'S

IN

A

NAM E?

j^JANY MAY concur with the view expressed by Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein, at the recent Convention of the Rabbinical Council of America; that ‘'there is nothing Orthodox about the word Orthodox.” Pointing out that “this name and identification were given to us by 19th century Reform Jewish leaders,” he urged that “orthodox” be replaced by “traditional” as the term identifying Judaism proper. “Orthodox” is indeed an unpopular word these days, among Jews and non-Jews alike; There would seem to be sound reasons for divesting ourselves of a label, alien in origin, which is often used in a sense untrue to the character of our faith and community. In raising this point, Rabbi Lookstein doubtless had in mind the wide connotations which identifying labels bear, particularly in religious life. It is not merely a question of euphony, but of correct indication of religious belief and approach to life. More, one’s own evaluation of, and relation to, his creed is affected by its public identification. In an age of spiritual confusion, this matter becomes of high importance. ^KTEBSTER derives “orthodox” from Greek words signifying “true opinion.” It is in this sense, and as contrasted to “heterodox,” that believing Jews have accepted the appellation thrust Contrasting upon them, and have learned to regard it with pride. Meanings But opponents of Orthodoxy have fostered a very dif­ ferent interpretation of the word, one savoring of nar­ row, rigid formalism, a blind adherence to obsolescent concepts and empty rituals. Effectively propagated in this, latter sense, the word “orthodox” has acquired unwelcome associations in the mind of some Jews. Too, by employment of the word as a noun, rather than as an adjective, the im­ plication has been given that it signifies a “wing” of Judaism instead of constituting, as had otherwise been assumed, the faith and people of Israel per se. The designation has been used, by those to whom it is a silent reproach, to create the impression that one might legitimately choose between varying brands of Judaism. RE THERE not, however, decisive reasons for evaluating “orthodox” affirmatively? Let us not forget that despite the distortions which it has been made to bear, the word “orthodox” has also connoted the unyielding staunchness of the Jewish spirit. It has stood, it still stands, July-August, 1952

3

for the Jew who will not yield his faith to expediency, material gain or social advantage, for the Jew with the inspired determination to build a life shaped according to Jewish belief and principle. The word “orthodox” has become identified with the Jew who is completely Jewish. This completeness of Jewishness, this will to go forward with an uncompromised heritage, is the source of the paradoxical mixture of reluctant inward respect and outward derogation which For marks the attitude of non-believing Jews and many Complete non-Jews toward Orthodoxy. Any other identification Jewishness we may adopt will acquire the same connotations and evoke the same reactions — providing that those with which it is associated retain the same character. The environment in which we live presses hard upon the Jew's spiritual being. There are many who retreat and compromise under this pressure. A change from “ortho­ dox” to “traditional” may well be interpreted by others as acceptance of the inevitability of retreat. It may foster the psychology of retreat and compromise even among its adherents. The term “traditional” has in fact become identified to a consider­ able extent with the retreat from Judaism. To the orthodox Jew, “tradi­ tion” denotes that which Rabbi Lookstein undoubtedly had in mind — historic Jewish belief and practice, undiminished, undiluted and unde­ filed. But to advocates of Conservatism and nowadays even to some ele­ ments in Reform, that same term is employed to cloak the grafting of fragments of Jewish ritual onto a foreign body. In large measure, the term is used as a trap for the unwary and as a sop to conscience. Shall we share this designation with those who are spiritually poles apart from us? TT THEN becomes evident that while the identification “orthodox” fur* nishes many disadvantages, we must live with it nevertheless. That need not mean that we must suffer it to remain as an A impediment. Rather, let us see to it that it conveys Proud to the minds of others the character, status, and signiBanner ficance which it bears for its adhérents. By effective use of modern techniques of public education, we can invest the word “orthodox” with such meaning as will win for it the unqualified, affirmative response of all ranks of our people. Whatever its origins, our “orthodox” label is a banner for us to bear proudly, sustained by the conviction that it bespeaks, and will again be recog­ nized as, the sole true allegiance of the Jewish people. 4

Jewish LIFE

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Dispatch from Israel

THE ROAD“

«ECONOMIC RECOVERY

By I . HALEVY-LEVIN J erusalem

ISRAEL'S economics are ‘seem- peration. But it is a long-term po­ A ingly beyond despair. Foreign ob­ licy, and four months is too brief servers describe it in the gloomiest a period in which to assess its re­ terms. Even Israelis, closer to the sults. It has, however, already had scene, and aware that despite in­ one positive effect. It has roused flation and a glaring disproportion the country to a realization of its between imports and exports, peo­ own plight. Controls, however ne­ ple not only live but grow rich, ac­ cessary, always have this effect — cept the situation with the fatalism they act as a buffer between econo­ of the condemned. Yet though the mic illusion and reality. The de­ turning point is still far ahead, valuation of the Israeli pound — there are definite signs that the for that is the true meaning of the year facing us may be at least less new monetary policy—has shocked hopeless than any of the four that the citizens of Israel into a more approximate evaluation of their have passed. own currency. Only an approxima­ Of paramount importance in the final reckoning, of course, is the tion, however, for currency control extent to which these happy au­ remains in force, and the old rate guries may be respectively attribu­ of 2.8 dollars to the pound is still ted to internal effort and to for­ valid for wheat, sugar and oil im­ eign aid in its many and varied ports. In practice however, this rate forms. But for the immediate pres­ operates only for ten percent of our ent, in the grim struggle in which trade and its main purpose is to we are engaged, there is only one serve as a shock-absorber for some criterion—the contribution towards of the more drastic effects of the new policy. the consolidation of the State. It is the second rate of 1.4 dol­ ISRAEL'S New Economic Policy, lars to the pound that represents * though gathering momentum, has the level at which the Government so far exercised no great influence would like to stabilize the pound, in the direction of economic recu­ if and when conditions permit. It 5 July-August, 1952

applies to imports of a wider range of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, ag­ ricultural requisites, fuel, etc., as well as for the foreign currency income of such institutions as the Jewish Agency, the Hebrew Uni­ versity, Hadassah and the various partisan funds. Thus the third, pound per dollar,

rate must be regarded as a sort of premium (if such a term can right­ ly be used in this context, when the free market price is barely half this value), to induce foreign investors and tourists not to have recourse to non-official channels in transfer­ ring their funds.

Drastic Measures

^■HE EFFECT of this measure of price-fixing for manufactured has been to bring prices more goods by the competitive bid into accord with local production system. The Cost-plus method and world prices, and has caused was introduced into this country by a fifty percent rise in the Cost-of- the British during World War II, Living index since September last when money was no object, and pro­ year. duction the over-riding considera­ The latest, measure of the New tion. It is a simple system — cost Economic Policy has been the Com­ of materials plus processing cost pulsory Loan, conducted simultan­ plus profit, computed as a percent­ eously with the introduction, of a age of the first two. It simplifies the new issue of banknotes by the Bank industrialist’s tasjc to the organizat­ Leumi LTsrael, based upon a ten io n of his men and machines. Com­ percent contribution on all bank de­ petition is a thing of the past. In­ posits and notes exchanged over the efficiency is at a premium, for the counter. This loan, which is to pro­ higher the costs of production, the duce IL.25,000,000, is to be follow­ greater the profit. Labor relations ed by a property tax with a simi­ become idyllic. Why not give the lar purpose and designed to raise a men a raise in pay, when one can similar amount. It represents the simply stick the inflated pay-roll most determined and drastic defla­ on to the costs and increase one’s tionary measure the Government profit in the process ? Small wonder has yet ventured. It still remains to then that the industrialists, natural be seen to what extent it will cur­ crusaders for removal of controls tail purchasing power and relieve and a free market, should fight the inflationary pressure. There can bid system, which must expose hardly be any doubt, however, that them to the trials of tooth and nail competition. The bid system (ten­ its effect will be salutary. ders) means giving Government More restricted in scope, but orders to the lowest bidder, fixing witl^ the same object of restoring prices by the most efficient plant, economic realities, is the decision using competition as a lever to to replace the Cost-plus method raise quality. 6 Jewish LIFE

The Government is inexperienced in the bid system, and there are many snags preventing its success. The chief is the danger of col­ lusion, for the industrialists are well-organized, and it may not be too difficult to come to some in­ ternal arrangement and to fix a common price. But the new prin­ ciple represents progress in the right direction. JP^ MORE vulnerable section of the community — the casual la­ borers — may be hit by another pro­ posal, o n l y now gradually b e i n g implemented, a n d designed t o re­ strict non - produc­ tive work-creating projects, such as road construction a n d afforestation, to a minimum and to transfer t h e workers to pro­ ductive, m a i n l y a g ric u ltu ra l, em­ ployment. The im­ migrants who make up the bulk of this class are only slowly being accustomed to the routine of earning a living by man­ ual labor, and any major disloca­ tion can have grave results. It must be borne in mind that the politicians, always ready to capi­ talize on a grievance, real or ima­ gined, will have few scruples about fanning the resentment of the un­ employed into flame. There are objective difficulties, July-August, 1952

too. Where the immigrants work, they have some sort of housing — a tent, a hut, even a house. Where they are needed, there is none, and temporary housing is hardly fea­ sible when every effort is being made to empty tent camps, and even tin sharks. These, however, are negative measures in the fight for economic recovery and their effect is limited. There is only one really effective weapon in this struggle and that is increased production. In this agriculture has given the lead T H E GOVERN^ MENT has been the target for in­ numerable brick­ bats of criticism. It is only fair to mention its far­ sighted initiative in bringing half a million dunams in the Negev under the plough and in­ ducing f a r m e r s throughout t h e country t o share the risk. For ri^k it was. Dry-farming in the Negev is a gamble, but good organization and good fortune reaped a bountiful re­ ward. The farmers did their share. With their combined labor and ma­ chines they cultivated every dunam they could. Providence was an honest part­ ner. Rains were in their season, locusts passed us by, pests were strangely absent, harvest weather 7

was glorious. Last year witnessed the worst drought in human mem­ ory. This year has been its com­ pensation — it was one of the most bountiful. The wheat crop was 13,500 tons last year. This year it is 30,000 tons. 95,000 tons of barley have been reaped as com­ pared with 27,500 last year, 220, 900 tons of potatoes and other vege­ tables, a s, compared to 180,000 last year. For long, Israelis have not known such abundance of fruit and vegetables. Prospects for the sum­ mer crop are equally good. Israel

will have cereal feeding-stuffs for its cattle and poultry for the next ten months — a saving of thirty million dollars! After such a season, indeed, the prospect of achieving agricultural self-sufficiency within three or four years is a distinct possibility. Nor must the psychological as­ pect of this success, both in Israel and abroad, be ignored. It is more than food in the family basket. It is a consciousness of the inde­ pendence that lies ahead, to be achieved by our own effort.

Prospect For Industry

TTNFORTUNATELY neither ex­ ports nor industry can point to any commensurate degree of pro­ gress. One main export, citrus, has declined, and only now is the Government beginning to realize the part it can play in our balance of trade. Exports, generally, are expected to expand. Although it is still too early to assess the export volume with any degree of accuracy, its net foreign currency earnings, after substraction of payments in foreign currency for raw mate­ rials, have been placed at thirty million dollars. There is a feeling abroad that 1952 will still witness a degree of industrial expansion that will leave its dent upon our trade, mainly re­ placing imports. A number of ma­ jor projects are emerging from the incubation stage. These include two rubber tire factories, which supply all local requirements and will leave a surplus for export, the 8

two million pound Shimshon Ce­ ment Works approaching comple­ tion, and the phosphate mines in the Negev, which are advancing steadily. The Kishon Lighter Port will soon be ready and will greatly improve harbor facilities. Haifa will soon embark upon its under­ ground railway — the first in Is­ rael — while the Negev railway scheme, designed to lin,k up the phosphate, quartz-sand and kaolin diggings, and the Dead Sea Potash Works, with a Mediterranean port, are reported to be in an advanced stage of planning. But Israel's economy depends overwhelmingly upon external sour­ ces and if there is any prospect at all of better times ahead it must be sought in these. JP^ NEW factor on the road to

* recovery is the German repara­ tions. Negotiations regarding this are in the final stage, warranting Jewish LIFE

a degree of optimism as to the outcome. The Germans have offered to pay Israel a sum of three billion marks, or, at the present rate of exchange, 715 million dollars. Two install­ ments, each of 200 million marks (45 million dollars) will be paid before 31st March, 1954, and the balance in annual sums of 250 mil­ lion marks (60 million dollars). The general terms of the German offer are favorable and include payment in goods — re-export of which the Germans wish to prohibit — as well as in foreign currency. They also wish to use the agreement to thaw frozen German balances in various countries, an arrangement to which this country is not op­ posed. The category of essential goods is not confined to German produce or manufactures and in­ clude commodities from other coun­ tries too. Moreover the Germans

have undertaken to liquidate the debt in a shorter period, should they succeed in floating a foreign loan. Indeed, it is reported that negotiations regarding such a loan from America, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, part of which will be utilized to repay Is­ rael's debt, are now proceeding. f (Parenthetically, it may be men­ tioned that talks opened by Dr. Joseph, and continued by Mr. Sharett, are in progress in America, for the grant of a substantial long­ term loan. It is, however, too early to discuss such a possibility in the context of national recovery.) Other sources of foreign aid con­ tinue to operate, indicating — at least on the part of the non-Jewish factors, which are not motivated by sentiment — a confidence in Israel's future and a recognition of its role in the Middle East.

Foreign Aid

A SUMMARY of this foreign aid ■ shows that though by normal economic standards Israel is insol­ vent, in relation to previous years the future prospect is less grim. The Government is not yet in a position to depart from its present hand-to-mouth currency policy, but loriger-range. planning can be, and now is, being attempted. In the coming year, Israel can rely on a foreign currency income of at least 300 million dollars. The sources providing a basis for ac­ curate estimate are as follows: July-August, 1952

American Grant-in-Aid $ 73,000,000 United Jewish Appeal 50,000,000 Independence Bonds . l i t f 50,000,000 Exports ( N e t 30,000,000 Export-Im port Bank 25,000,000 Reparations 45,000,000 $273,000,000

In addition, there are various factors for which it is difficult to estimate ahead, such as private capital imports, the income of pub­ lic institutions and partisan funds, and especially the sums to be re­ ceived in compensation for pro­ perty held in Germany by* Israeli 9

citizens, under the agreement to be reached between the Jewish Or­ ganizations and the German Gov­ ernment in the next few weeks. ■ piE VOLUME of Israeli short­ term commitments have never been disclosed, though a reliable estimate has placed it at 150 mil­ lion dollars, of which at least 50 million dollars must be repaid in the coming year. The terms of the Export-Import Bank’s credits require the invest­ ment of the entire outstanding balance of these funds. A similar obligation covers the Independence Bonds, though probably half of the income from that source will be used to cover current needs. Thus 50 million dollars will be invested in this period. The Government’s import pro­

gram is now in the final stages of preparation. The sum required for food imports and raw materials for the local food industries is placed at 70 millions and for fuel — after a 20% economy in consumption which it is hoped to secure by reqently imposed restrictions — 32 millions, namely a total of 102 million dollars. Thus a sum ranging between 80 and^ 100 million will be available for other needs, including arma­ ments, seeds, fertilizers, etc. From the above it would ap­ pear that the chances of scraping through, albeit by the skin of our teeth, are fair, though of course, there is no provision for, say the Bond Drive or the Appeal not com­ ing up to expectations, or for un­ foreseen local or international con­ tingencies.

When Jeremiah returned to Jerusalem he fell asleep in weariness. In his dream he beheld a beautiful woman seated on a hill, dressed in mourning, with hair dishevelled and bitterly weeping. Jeremiah commenced to weep, and approaching her said: "Thy lot cannot be worse than the lot of our mother, Zion." And she said: "In truth, I am thy mother, Zion. How could I be comforted?" Jeremiah said: "Job was smitten and in the end was doubly repaid. So shall it be with thee, O Zion." Pesichta Rabbati, 27

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Jewish LIFE

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Intimate view of a Talm ud student turned artist

G RAN D SO N OF THE By ALFRED WERNER

JpiNE OLD trees grow on Morton Street, one of the few places in New York’s Greenwich Village where picturesque 19th century houses, with their delightful ante helium flavor, have not yet been re­ placed by the streamlined, function­ al giant structures of today. In one of these aged edifices lives BenZion, a sturdy, quiet man who speaks with a heavy Russian ac­ cent and carefully weighs each of his utterances. The studio is crowd­ ed with varied and peculiar objects collected by the artist over a period of years: strangely shaped stones reminiscent of archaic sculpture, driftwood joined together to resem­ ble death masks that could have been made by some African artisan, precious minerals, and unusual flowers and fruits. Placed in the middle of the room are a beautiful Polish 17th century Menorah and a Decalogue which once adorned an Algiers synagogue; pairs of lions flank both objects. Few immigrant artists have had as spectacular a career as Ben-Zion. Though he started painting as a July-August, 1952

mature man, and received no form­ al education, he has had one-man shows from coast to coast and is represented in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Chicago Art In­ stitute, the Duncan Philipps Mem­ orial Gallery in Washington, D.C., and many other places. Critics have compared him to Rouault, Beckmann, Barlach, Chagall, and other 20th century masters, and have always spoken of his work with great respect. ■PHE ARTIST was reluctant to tell me of his background, for he feels — and this feeling is shared by many artists — that the created work ought to be of much greater interest to the public than the creator himself. Critics, how­ ever, claim that an insight into a painter’s or sculptor’s life helps to shed light on his creations, which are inevitably shrouded in mystery. Be that as it may, Ben-Zion, as he calls himself, concealing his origin­ al name, has an interesting story to tell. He was born in the town of 11

Stare-Konstantin in the Ukraine in 1898. His father was a cantor whose frequent changes of resi­ dence caused young Ben-Zion to do a great deal of traveling with his family. In Galicia he studied the Talmud under the supervision of a rabbi, but even as a teen-ager he was strongly attracted to the fine arts. When his father saw him drawing, he angrily tore* up the boy's sketches, for he believed that it was beneath the dignity of a future rabbi to occupy himself with such tomfoolery. He did not say, however, that painting in itself was sacrilegious, Ben-Zion insists that those who object to the fine arts on account of the Second Command­ ment are guilty of a misinterpre­ tation: the , Law forbids neither painting nor sculpture, it merely

prohibits the worship of works of art in the pagan manner. When Ben-Zion was seventeen, he went to Vienna. There he vainly tried to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts. The snub did not cause him too much sorrow though, for he soon found out that the instruc­ tion there was fifty years behind the times and that the students had to waste most of their precious hours copying plaster casts. For the time being, his interests turned away from fine arts; after emigra­ ting to the United States in 1920, he decided to make a living by giv­ ing private instruction in Hebrew. For a dozen years or so, Ben-Zion lived a rather obscure life in New York; he wrote poems and plays in Hebrew, and had some of his works published in periodicals and anthol­ ogies.

Language of Lines and Colors

■DEN-ZION tried hard to explain how and why his interest in fine art came back to him in about 1981. He believes that external forces caused him to re-shape his life. In Central Europe, the shadow of the Swastika loomed dangerously over millions; in the United States, the depression was hitting the bulk of the population. Until that time, Ben-Zion had believed in the word as a conveyor of a message; now it became clear to him that the word had lost its meaning, that its sym­ bolic power had been abused ; what­ ever true words remained had to be screamed at the top of one's voice to be heard — and even then they were wasted. m

Almost beside himself in this feeling of speechlessness, Ben-Zion drifted back to fine art, hoping to create his own symbolic language through lines and colors, a language that would be neither thwarted nor misunderstood. He did not try to enroll in an Academy again. All an artist can learn, he thinks, are cer­ tain technical skills, such as the tricks required for etching or litho­ graphy; his talent, however, has to be developed entirely by himself . He recalled the fact that none of the outstanding writers ever learned his craft from the courses in novel and story writing that are conduc­ ted at most universities; why then, Jewish LIFE

should artists require a special training? He went assiduously to the muse-: urns for inspiration, learning a great deal fi*om the art of such an­ cient civilizations as the Egyptian, Aztec, Mayan, and Chinese. Among the old masters, he worshipped Rembrandt for his deeply hu­ man, profoundly religious insight; among the moderns he admires the wise and versatile Paul Klee. With reverence he looked at the frescoes of Giotto and Michelangelo, for there he encountered a strength that grew out of conviction. Thus, one must not call the self-taught Ben-Zion a Primitive. With his stupendous literary and artistic background, he is the very antithe­ sis of Henri Rousseau who, when Max Weber likened his works to those of Giotto, asked in astonish­ ment: “Who was Giotto?” "DEN-ZION'liad his first one-man show in 1936; ever since then, he has frequently exhibited his oils, water colors, gouaches, drawings, and etchings, usually at New York’s Bertha Schaefer and Buchholz Gal­ leries, and has been hailed by the critics as a serious master with an entirely personal style. He might be called an Expressionist, were it not for the fact that good art of all times and regions endeavors to “reject the imitation of the out­ er world of reality for the expres­

sion of an inner world of feeling and imagination.” He is often close to Abstract Art — but isn’t it the task of every good artist to reduce forms to their barest essen­ tials, and to give his creations as much, or as little, resemblance to natural objects as is aesthetically required? Ben-Zion’s art defies all classifi­ cations. It has, however, certain qualities that were already notice­ able almost two decades ago, and that were developed more and more strongly through the years. First, his work is the antithesis* of im­ pressionism and its offshoots in this century : instead of attempting to dissolve forms into a shimmer of light, Ben-Zion creates vigorous­ ly drawn, well-constructed figures firmly rooted in the ground. They are surrounded by heavy black lines reminiscent of the lead that sets apart each color in stained glass windows; Ben-Zion’s colors, fero­ ciously applied on canvas or wood, are carriers of highly-charged emo­ tional force. Secondly, there is “dis­ tortion” and “exaggeration” in his drawing for the purpose of empha­ sizing man’s spirit, tortured and twisted as it is by the hurricane of human experience. The simplic­ ity of design often paradoxically mirrors intensity of feeling. There is, finally5Ben-Zion’s|:exceptional gift of creating an idea of huge proportions, regardless of the act­ ual size of his canvas.

Biblical Inspiration

HPHE ARTIST is intrigued by all ■ kinds of subject matter —r flowJuly-August, 1952

er-pots, orchards, sail-boats, New England farms, roosters, dancers, 13

David Playing Before Saul

Photo : E rich H artm ann , N .Y .C >

and clowns — but it is no coinci­ dence that he has achieved fame as a creator of Biblical paintings. What he studied in his youth — Bible and Talmud — came back to him in his thirties and forties with doubled vigor. Most critics were quick to realize that Ben-Zion was giving the world something that it did not often see. His paintings dis­ play a healthy barbarism in inter­ pretation and execution. This bar­ baric quality is happily different from the sentimental and perfumed stage presentations frequently in­ dulged in by Jewish artists under the influence of the New Testa­ ment and Renaissance ideals of beauty. Confronted with Ben-Zion’s uncompromising lapidifications, one may recall the outcry made by the poet Heine on his mattress death­ bed: “I see now that the Greeks were only beautiful youths, but the 14

Jews were always men, mighty, un­ yielding men . . Ben-Zion’s new approach to an old theme was welcomed by men of all faiths. A New York Times critic put it this way: “Thi£ artist is one of the few moderns who seems able to venture into the quicksands of religious emotion without going under in a bath of bromides and spurious extravaganzas of feeling.” There is, indeed, a danger of mas­ querade and of make-believe when­ ever a man, reared in our Atomic Age, approaches the Holy Writ un­ prepared and unequipped, albeit with the best intentions. But BenZion did not have to avail himself of the rather inaccurate and some­ times misleading English translation in the King James version; Hebrew scholars have pointed out that, even if we did not know of the

a rtist’s

yeshivah

background,

Jewish LIFE

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close inspection of Ben-Zion’s pic­ tures reveals thorough familiarity with the Hebrew original. ^■HE BEN-ZION of Greenwich Village is no longer the strictly orthodox Talmud student of Tarnow; yet the passage of decades has not diminished the man’s in­ fatuation with the Bible, about which he has written very recently : “I know of no other book in which the apocalyptic and elementary con­ flicts as well as the psychological complications of our time come to a stronger symbolic expression than in the Bible. However, this alone was not my reason for painting Biblical themes. Certain symbols and realiza­ tions from early childhood gradually emerge in the work of an artist with­ out his being conscious of them. Thus I can say that it was not until I had painted the bulk of my Biblical paint­

ings that I realized I had painted the Bible.” Ben-Zion’s own words are open to misinterpretation by those who have never met him personally. Here we do not have the artist par excellence, the Eternal Bohemian, who at the height of his career re­ turns to the memoirs of his child­ hood as though he were paying a long-due visit to relatives. There is nothing of the Latin Quarter about the artist himself, though his stu­ dio might be foiind in London’s Bloomsbury section, in Montpar­ nasse, or in any other place where artists live without paying much attention to the rigid formulas of bourgeois life. While he is appre­ ciated by people of all religions and nationalities, Ben-Zion has not tried to uproot himself, to become an ar­ tistic luftmensch who produces art for art’s sake; he does not avoid

taking sides in humanity's struggle against the forces of evil. He knows where he stands, he knows where he belongs. A few weeks after the Second World War came to an end, BenZion showed in a New York gallery a group of gouaches and oils he had produced in memory of the six mil­ lion Jews murdered by the Nazis. In the catalogue, printed for the exhibition, Ben-Zion had this state­ ment to make: “ . . . As one who identifies himself with the massacred ones, and as an artist, I could not restrain a personal expression of grief. If the patriarchic type of Jew has dominated my con­ ceptions, it is because they were the backbone o f the nation and its cul­ tu ral source. It is their children and grandchildren, m igrating to Western Europe and America, who contributed so much to the culture and civiliza­ tion of their adopted countries. I chose them also because their humilia­ tion was the deepest, for they had the strength of character and rare courage to keep to their belief and mode of life inwardly as well as outw a r d ly ||S and because the mockery of the m urderers m ust have reached hell's hilarity in handling these m ar­ tyrs."

JT GOES without say mg that not all of his work is on the same high level. What starts as a highpitched emotion occasionally peters out into theatrical melodrama; what in his best work can be called vital and strong drawing, some­ 16

times degenerates into a mannerist style. But an artist should always be judged by his most accomplished products. Ben-Zion's best works can be found in all realms, regardless of subject matter. There are his prophets, who are not demigods but human beings driven by an unearth­ ly power; there are his social com­ ments, condemning warfare, and untangling and identifying the up­ set and broken signposts of our civilization; there are the sheaves of wheat, shown in their golden, al­ most metaphysical color. What­ ever subject the artist may touch, he seeks to reveal the essence of things. To some of those who view his work for the first time, and who do not examine it seriously, it may seem awkward and clumsy — even brutal. But it is wrong to confuse the elegant and slick with the gen­ uinely beautiful. “Inward man is often awkward and clumsy," said Ben-Zion, and he seems to be right. The great mystics of the Middle Ages were simple men, as were the seers of Safad, and the prophets of Israel. Ben-Zion, too, is a simple man; while our proud civilization is exploding, helter-skelter, our simple artist on Morton Street does not lose his balance, nor his sense of direction,, which is another way of stating that he has never lost his conviction. From it he obtains that Unobtrusive eloquence which linkst him with the fiery words of these noble men who emerged un­ scathed from the den of lions or went up on a whirlwind into hea­ ven. Jewish LIFE

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Experiences and conclusions of a prison chaplain

RELIGION AT SING SING By IRVING KOSLOWE JN AUGUST, 1950, sponsored by * the New York Board of Rabbis, the writer was appointed by Gov­ ernor-Thomas E. Dewey as Heb­ rew Chaplain at Sing Sing State Prison, one of the six maximum security institutions in New Yorjk. As successor to the venerable and hard-working Rabbi Jacob Katz of sainted memory, it became my task to provide spiritual guidance for the “Jewish Congregation” at Sing Sing Prison. In an effort to better lead this group I have endeavored to establish, in my own mind and in the thinking of the Jewish in­ mates, the place of religion in a state prison. Sing Sing is a reception center — while many inmates remain, a good many are received and sent to other institutions. Sing Sing also has the dubious distinction of housing the State Death House and Execu­ tion Chambers, so often described as a “prison within a prison.” There are six men and one woman of the Jewish faith in the death cells now awaiting their final appeal from the death sentence. Of the ap­ proximately 2,000 inmates now in July-August, 1952

the prison, 85 are Jews.* In Sing Sing there are full-time Catholic and Protestant Chaplains — whereas I visit regularly once a week and am on call for execu­ tions and emergencies. Most of the inmate population gravitate to the Chaplain of their faith for re­ ligious counsel and help. On nume­ rous occasions, however, I have been able to assist men of all faiths and creeds. JN considering the religious ques­ tion one must keep in mind that all penal problems involve both the inmate and his family. Also, the comprehension of the “criminal mind” and its motivation requires an approach very different from normal congregational leadership, though the end results desired may be similar. At Sing Sing, for exam­ ple, we have a number of sex of­ fenders, some of whom are be­ yond cure from a psychological * It might be interesting to note that amongst the 17,500 charges of the State, roughly 4 percent are Jews. This figure is relatively quite small since of the total New York State population, approximately 25 per­ cent are Jews.

17

point of view. Their constant re­ quest for help for eventual release requires a very subtle hand. One has only to consider the accounts of the recent wave of prison riots in different state institutions to be­ come cognizant of the multifaceted variety of disturbing questions such as rehabilitation, work, education, punishment, etc. that face both the authorities and the inmates. As I see it, the mission of re­ ligion in Sing Sing is generally the same as in all spheres of “normal” life, although the techniques and presentation differ. At our regu* lar services, which are very well attended, I attempt to carry the timeless and universal message of the existence of G-d and His con­ cern for His creatures wherever they may be. Very few of the men have had any previous religious training to speak of. They are, therefore, vitally interested in the forums that are conducted for them. Incidentally, a committee of five, selected by the inmates, acts as the executive group which ex­ pedites the planning of services and forums and helps iron out “con­ gregational difficulties”. At Sing Sing one must begin from scratch by teaching the value of realities which exist beyond the world of time and space, particular­ ly to inmates of the Death House. Over and over I must stress the unassailable worth and dignity of the individual human soul so that these men may move toward the spiritual maturity which they so particularly laqk. 18

■DECAUSE of the abnormal and unhappy situation in which the inmates find themselves, religion at Sing Sing has special tasks laid upon it. The chaplain must over­ come antagonism or indifference toward religion. I have been told by some of the men, for example, that religion only cares for the wealthy. I have been told that re­ ligion serves to separate and not to unify. I have been told that they never had any religious train­ ing before and couldn’t see what use it would be now! I have been told that they experienced complete indifference from co-religionists and religious institutions until now. I have been told that religion is a “fake”. A good many of these complaints are familiar enough, since they have been voiced by peo­ ple of every religious extraction in every avenue of life. But amidst the atmosphere of a prison, their impact is particularly painful. Through the aid of special holi­ day services on Rosh Hashonah, Yom Kippur, Succoth, Passover, Shovuoth, this feeling of hate or boredom is broken down. Parti­ cularly during the personal inter­ views and class instruction, the Chaplain tries to instill a sense of values which emphasize the quali­ ties iather than the quantities of life a feeling of belonging to and being wanted in a world that is part of a morally ordered universe. Towards this end our Passover pro­ gram at Sing Sing is indeed help­ ful. Jewish LIFE

Pesach In Prison

jpRIOR TO Pesach, each inmate in its planning and execution are receives, through the courtesy certainly notable. The executive of the New York Board of Rabbis, group of the congregation, assisted a special Passover package consist­ by a large committee under the di­ ing of fish, salami, macaroons, and rection of my inmate-secretary, other holiday delicacies.* Matzoth takes care of seating arrangements, are supplied by the State and the setting of the table, chairs, etc. smokes and candy by understanding The serving in the kitchen and firms. There is sufficient food in the warming of the Passover delica­ these packages to make it possible cies are taken care of by five nonfor an orthodox Jew to observe Jewish inmates anxious to help Pesach completely. This past year their companions in their tradition­ over twenty men kept a kosher al observance. All in all a wonder­ Passover. ful spirit prevails. The men are The climax of the Passover sea­ particularly appreciative of the fact son is reserved for the Seder sup­ that their own have not forgotten per, funds for which are made them — a connection very dear to available through the Jewish Board all hearts. of Guardians.** The Seder itself At the services held this past is complete. The men participate Passover, the inmate Cantor was in the traditional Haggadah narra­ a convicted murderer, second de­ tive; they enjoy music by an out­ gree; the Gabbai is serving the standing cantor and a traditional Passover supper with all the deli­ latter part of a ten-year sentence, cacies of the Holiday. In addition, the Shammosh a sex offender, and approximately fifteen guests — all the assisting Choral group was outstanding in the business and comprised of men serving twenty professional world — attended the years to life. The balance of the last Seder we had. Following the congregation are serving sentences meal cigars are distributed and in­ for crimes ranging from robbery formal “gab” sessions take place. to forgery. This group neverthe­ The benefits of the Seder and the less held a most heart-warming ser­ extent of the inmate participation vice. Activity Program

^*HE RELIGIOUS activity pro­ gram at Sing Sing, in addition to services which help the in­ mate overcome a feeling of be­ ing alone in an unfriendly world, * Incidentally, the New York Board of Rabbis in addition supplies us throughout the year with prayer books, skull caps, and other religious items, holiday pamphlets and other program material. An invaluable aid!

July-August, 1952

includes Hebrew classes in which we have about fifteen students reg** The Jewish Board of Guardians in addi­ tion sends a highly skilled social worker to Sing Sing once a month. He aids in fam­ ily and social welfare problems and employ­ ment difficulties. Because of this service, there isn’t a single Jewish inmate who on making parole is not assured of a job. Family welfare and social welfare also fall under his excellent supervisión;

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istered at this time. Most of the group have learned to read, write and translate Hebrew — quite a feat since they did not know an Aleph from a Beth when they began. The program further pro­ vides for Bible study, which in­ cludes a detailed reading of the different sections of the Bible and discussion thereon, films and special Jewish m u s i c sessions. Once again, the congregational ex­ ecutive committee assists in the preparation, selection and orderly rotation of these programs. In addition, the committee is in charge of special projects |uch as the United Jewish Appeal drive. The United Jewish Appeal cam­ paign last year was organized by our executive committee and it be­ gan with a talk by myself at the regular services. The men were then solicited during the recrea­ tional period and signed vouchers which were then turned over to the warden, who in turn referred the slips to Albany, where a check was finally issued by the Commis­ sioner. The men are most anxious to learn all about the problems that face their brethren in various countries. They were keenly in­ terested in a showing of techni­ color films depicting Israel in its growth and development which I had taken there two years ago. About $150.00 was collected last June for the UJA from 80 men who average 5c a day State Compensa­ tion.

office in the Chapel building, fre­ quented by men of all faiths. With the help of good reading we at­ tempt to give them insight into, and an understanding of, them­ selves and their problems, and im­ plant in them a strong desire to realize their manhood and self-re­ spect as members of the human family. Reading is also an ex­ cellent means of recreation, espe­ cially during the winter months when approximately fifteen hours daily are spent in the cell under lock and key with but little else to do. Over 350 books are now in cir­ culation from our library through­ out the institution, and the turn­ over is quite rapid. The titles range from non-fiction works to novels of general interest and “best sellers”.

THROUGH contributions we have established a fine library in my 20

Jewish LIFE

Lectures by guest speakers, inter­ faith forums, Yizkor services, Purim and Chapukah programs are actively participated in by the in­ mate congregation. The group is urged and encouraged to take a direct interest as much as possible — to speak their piece, right or wrong. To correct a popular mis­ conception, a very high majority of the inmates admit their guilt readily and completely, and their request is for help and rehabilita­ tion. A good many friends have said, jokingly, that most of the men must claim innocence. This is not the case. They want help. They are deeply concerned about getting positions in the community

upon attaining freedom, about their families and their ties in the com­ munity, social and economic, about their treatment in the institution, education, classification, etc. They are gravely apprehensive lest they change mentally while in­ carcerated, a fear that was express­ ed to me by a writer and a former chemist, for example. Several phy­ sicians are among the inmates and are busily engaged in making plans to begin their lives all over again in a new profession, being wrapped up in the weighty problem. In­ mates of this type discuss their children and their hopes and pray­ ers that their lives be different from that of the erring parent.

Personal Guidance

■THE CHAPLAIN is officially a A member of the institutional staff, with a very wide measure of freedom and discretion. In inter­ viewing new inmates, whether in reception company, at the Chapel office, or in the death house, as part of institutional routine, one gets a general perspective of the man he is dealing with. The con­ cern for wife (or wives, as the case may be!) parents, children or girl friend are universal -— heart­ ache and heartbreak are every­ where. I recently helped an inmate re­ gister his two children in a Yeshivah day school in Brooklyn where they are supervised from nine to five. This allowed their mother (the “other woman” in this case) to earn a living to support them July-August, 1952

— she was too proud to accept welfare. His legal wife was suing for divorce and this prisoner was facing parole in six weeks and had to have a job program prepared for the Parole Board (without which even a successful interview does not mean parole release). With the inmate almost at the point of nervous exhaustion, we were for­ tunate in providing this man with the necessary aid and today he is again a happy citizen. Interviews at my office run the gamut of personal welfare and re­ ligious or spiritual help, family trouble, funds, stamps, cigarettes, parole help, jobs, etc. Here the vital function of personal interest and help takes hold. About a year ago, a former World War II hero was up in the hospital being treated 21

for amnesia. He told me (and this was later verified) that he had sufficient medals on the uniform hanging in his closet to cover both the front and back of his pilot’s garb. He had flown over sixtymissions of day-bombing over Ber­ lin. He was now facing the charge of “armed robbery”. It was while on duty as postman, his first civi­ lian job, that he was arrested for attempted robbery. He denied any knowledge of the criminal act. claiming complete blackout during that period, as a result of war wounds. With the complete cooper­ ation of the prison psychiatrist and a social worker, this young man has been reunited with his family and completely exonerated. It was quite a thrill having dinner at his home the other evening and meet­ ing his wife and family under ideal circumstances. TN THE death house, where each man is kept locked in individual cells, and where they are not per­ mitted to congregate freely with one another, a weekly service is conducted by myself in the hallway of their cells. The one Jewess is permitted to join with her matron and sit on the side in the hallway to participate in the services. The services consist of a brief hymn, prayers and a sermonette, which results in general discussion — fol­ lowed by personal interviews with each of the inmates. Contrary to the general assumption, death house! inmates attend the services religiously. They are greatly con­ 22

cerned with ritual; and in fact Jewish inmates have insisted upon lighting yortzeit candles on the out-. side. of their cells on the anniver­ sary of the death of their lost. Special services on the holidays are conducted there too. The Yizkor memorial service in the shadow of the electric chair is a soul-stirring experience. As might be expected, executions are cold and gruesome affairs. When an individual is sentenced to die in the electric chair at Sing Sing, his average stay in the death house cells is from nine months to a year. During this time appeals to State or Federal Supreme Courts are made. If the appeals are re­ jected, the execution date is set. Two days prior to execution I visit with the doomed man quite often. On the last day I am with him con­ stantly. Throughout the day we pray together and converse on such themes as guilt, sin, the world to come, etc. As the day proceeds and 11:00 P.M., the hour of execution, approaches, the suspense mounts and the silence in the entire death house becomes something you can almost feel. I personally escort the doomed man to the chair and at his side recite the “Shema” and ap­ propriate psalms. As chaplain, I make visits to in­ mates at Sing Sing Hospital, at­ tempting to raise the patients’ mor­ ale while preparing them for any outcome. I administer last rites when necessary as well. I also visit inmates in disciplinary segregation. This often results in an improve­ ment of the inmates’ attitude and Jewish LIFE

thus aids the administration in difficult disciplinary problems. By giving guidance to inmates in their numerous problems, the Chap­ lain performs a most important task, because inmates will go to him in confidence with problems they will not discuss with anyone else. ALTHOUGH, as indicated previ­ ously, a very high percentage of inmates have had very little, if any, religious life or participation in congregational activities b e f o r e they came to the Institution, I have discovered that they find that the tremendous feeling of loneliness which engulfs them when they en­ ter the reception gradually leaves them as they gravitate toward their own kind and enter a religious com­ munity. Some seek spiritual help through prayers for the first time in their lives. I have noticed this in inmates in the death house particu­ larly. I received two letters from two different men in their cells who offered their gratitude for being able to pray for the first time in their life and receive some consola­ tion as a result. Some come be­ cause the sermonette gives them knowledge of matters for which they have developed a new appre­ ciation. Others come due to a sense of religious pride, others for the indefinable and indescribable sense of belonging, kinship or bond. Participation in the discussion and prayers and the activities gives most inmates something which they never had before — companionship,

July-August, 1952

friendliness, a willingness on the part of the Chaplain to listen to them and let them be heard, and a knowledge that help will be given them if possible. I have been con­ tacted dozens of times by men who have been released from the insti­ tution who send contributions for the Passover fund at Sing Sing or let me know how well they are do­ ing in their new positions. Most of the men who are paroled go into relatively low-paying positions, un­ derstandably. When given a chance to do a job a high percentage of them succeed. Of course, there have been times when I have been dis­ appointed, “taken in” so to speak. T HAVE tried to point out that re-

A ligion plays a very significant part in the creative treatment of prison inmates. The Chaplain is a key figure in the general rehabili­ tative program, which has a long and difficult road to travel as evi­ denced by the recent prison breaks and riots. In 1846, it is related, Henry Dav­ id Thoreau was jailed in Concord, Mass, for refusing to pay his taxes as a political protest. Visiting Tho­ reau, Ralph Waldo Emerson peered through the cell bars and asked: “What are you doing in there?” Thoreau replied: “What are you do­ ing out there?” I feel confident that no one need inquire of the Chaplain in correc­ tional work “What are you doing out there?”

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A visit to some odd places in the Near East

& OTHER PU CES By A. A. DAVIDSON QBSTRUCTED by bureaucratic difficulties right up to the last minute. I finally hopped into a launch and was conveyed to the “Abbazzia,” an ancient and cozy Italian vessel. As I climbed down into third class, the steward asked me, “Kosher?” I nodded. He point­ ed heavenwards and said, “sta Masgee.” The Masgee, or mashgiach, the supervisor of kashruth, a trim little chap with a trim little beard, a beret, worn grey suit and sweater, not particularly mashgianic in appearance, assured me that he got his meat in Trieste from a sympathizer of the Naturei Karta. I recalled my only close contact with these stubborn saints, which resulted in my being kicked out of their Jerusalem chapel for appear­ ing in a straw hat and similar vest­ ments irp? savoring (to them) too much of the ways of the General Zionists and other Canaanites. However, supper was “milky.” I slept well and was up early the next day to disembark at the small Cyp­ rus port of Larnaca, whence I took a taxi to Nicosia, the capitol (5 shillings). 24

First impression of Cyprus : Im agine—or shall we say, now con­ jecture a vision of a time l | | when, by a twist of unoccurred history, the Arab conquerors had been early repulsed from Eretz Israel and the Jews had not returned. The Greeks had stayed on, the Turks had con­ quered and remained, and the Brit­ ish had come and stayed; This is Cyprus, the ”Caphtor,, of the Bible. J7VERYTHING is familiar, but with a difference. Lijke Israel, the palms and eucalyptus, the old mudbrick villages, the new houses of cement blocks, same red tiles, Spinney’s Stores and Barclay’s and Ottoman banks in the cities. In the country, between Larnaca and Ni­ cosia, a replica of the northern Negev — desert, erosion, scorched vineyards, sheep and goats graz­ ing, oxen and donkeys plowing, grain being apathetically sown by hand, wadis, distant mountains, etc. The driver was a greyhaired mu­ latto, I sat next to him. In back, the following: an elderly peasant, wearing baggy, saggy black breach­ es which descended only to the Jewish LIFE

knees, looked li,ke a dropsical stork; a middle-aged man with gold teeth and a badge reading Mukhtar (vil­ lage headman) ; and a young swar­ thy fellow. I took off my hat and put on a skull cap— Chorus from rear seat, on rising note: Aaaaahhhh. Driver: Toorkeeyah ? I : Falasteenah. Chorus, on descending note: Aaaahhh. Driver: Yahoodee ? Chorus, on long, drawn-out note : Aaaahhh. Driver: Oogle-boogle franis Ahrabee (chops with hand), Kaahlas! Chorus, with satisfaction: Aahh Driver : Yahoodee scannis ahrabee. (Laughs scornfully. Makes pushing, sweeping gestures with hand.) Chorus, scornfully: Aaaahhh. End conversation . . . 'haven’t the faintest idea what language we were all talking. Later met driver in town, got big smile and tiny cup of sweet black, coffee. I do not know if this is a gesture of AntiArab League solidarity or grati­ tude for the shilling tip. Put up at Hotel New Cleopatra and dined on bread and butter, raw salad, coffee. Commenced letter . . . Decided to take bath, explained decision to clerk, Mr. Cleanthos Karageorgides. He called out some­ thing in Greek, at which a midget came out of a telephone booth. I wish to emphasize that I am not making this up llil so help me, a midget came out of a telephone booth and beckoned to me. I fol­ lowed, feeling quite sure that even July-August, 1952

Walter Mitty never had to put up with anything like this. I followed up a flight of dark stairs lined with high wicker-wor,k tables, down a half-flight, along a dark narrow corridor where loose tiles clinked liked castinets under a long grass carpet, past an alcove hung with portraits of the royal Georges of .Britain and Greece, all culminating in a Room with Bath. Chirping like a cricket, my little guide ex­ plains to me how it all works: First ycii put in the plug, then you turn on the water. I shake my head in wonder at it all. He beams, we sha,k.e hands, he departs. I sit down in my first horizontal bath in nine months, soak sybaritically in hot water and read a Penguin novel. j^E X T DAY: All these people who . shout “Shalom” to me in -the street are not, it seems, Jews after all. One of them explained to me that they were mostly Armenians who had either been in the RAF in Palestine during the war, or had been in business there at one time or another. Tony (as he calls him­ self) doesn’t * >ok like the stereo­ type of an Armenian—-fair, blue­ eyed, short nose. Ah, he says, for the Good Old Days in Tel Aviv! Tony says that an Armenian poten­ tate called Dikran the Great car­ ried away “Jewish technicians” to build up Armenia. Cyprus, says Tony, is very dead. Next day: Heard Yiddish for the first time from a Turkish banana peddler who used to live in Jaffa: “Vie geht es yetzt in YoffaV’ Next day: Rain. All week: Rain . . . At 25

last the rain lets up. I decided to leave Nicosia at once; I said to Cleanthos, “Name some nice vil­ lages in some nice He began naming; I counted up to five and stopped' him at “Plattres,” this being the first one I could pro­ nounce. “Can I get a bus to Plat­ tres ?” “Oh, yes: I call up . . . Okay: one o'clock,, bus to Plat­ tres.” “But it’s one o'clock now.” Never mind. Only after some minutes. I send now with you one small boy.” Hastily grab­ bing my tefillin and typewrit­ er, I surrendered the latter to the small boy, and off we went to the bus depot. “Can I get a bus to Plat­ tres ?” “Oh, yes: that one there. Leave one o'clock.” It was then 1:15. “Have I time for a cup of coffee?” “No, not have time. But leave soon. One o'clock. Never mind: Drink coffee half-road.” Meanwhile the stevedores were loading on top of the bus various huge wicker baskets, small barrels of wine, sacks of produce, a tin trunk, a live pig in a crate, etc. The bus left at a quarter to two. The Cyprus bus is not very long and not very wide and has leatherpadded seats arranged in various directions, some across the width, some along the sides, and some as in other buses. There are three doors and one goes up by a kind of stirrup. The sides of the bus bulge out, the windows are either open to the winds or closed by canvas flaps with isinglass windows like the old “touringcars.” The driver's seat is on the right, over it is fastened a calander and an ikon. It all seemed 26

reminiscent of the Ipswich stage coach in the days of Mr. Picjcwick, or the Ostia diligence in which, a hundred years ago, Rollo went from Rome. The bus stopped at every village crossing and ox-forge to take on or dicharge passengers, to lash or un­ lash their gear, to enable the tra­ velers to buy peanuts or oranges or large, grey, eviscerated hares . . . J^OW I SAW the other side of Cyprus; beside the gloomy, eroded terrain, there is much wellcultivated land with a variety of crops and many orchards, ranging from oranges (the largest groves of which are owned by a Jewish plant­ er, a Mr. Slonim, near Limasol) to apples (baskets of which are often sent to Israel as gifts), depending on the height of the land. At Lefka, the “half-road,” I learned from the man next to me that the bus did not go to Plattres at all, but only to Prodromos, a tiny hamlet nine miles short. I received this with my usual quiet calm, but made a mental note to have the bus people beaten across the soles of their bare feet with the bastinade, if a single scrap of Otto­ man law remains on the Cyprus statutes. At one mountain village an old and toothless man climbed aboard, groaning and creaking, his head wrapped in a knitted helmet, all the passengers echoing his moans in sympathy. Subsiding finally, he looked at me and said something in Greek; I said I couldn't under­ stand. Jewish LIFE

He: English? Me: American. He : And where are you going ? Me: To Prodomos. He: Where? Where? The whole bus: Prodromon! Pro­ dromon! He: You are not from Cyprus? Me: No. He: You are not from Syria? You are not from Turkey? You are not from E.Jeeps? You are from America? You have come all the way from America, and you — are GB going B 8 to — Pródromos ? To PRODROMOS? Me: Yes. He: (crossing himself) Kyrio eleison! (Lord have mercy on us) Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison! Voice from behind: These old man is dentist. He like to make joke. (The idea of a toothless dentist may seem strange, but is probably good propaganda.) Voice: You know where is Las Vegas, Nevada? I have uncle there. All the American womens are com­ ing to divorce their husbands. Ancient dentist: Kyrie eleison! ---------------

pRODROMOS was shrouded in mist and darkness through which I stumbled along to a cold, stone-cold room, later—at my toothchattering request, supplied with a charcoal brazier. I dined on raw cabbage and coffee and said ma’ariv, shaking, I fear, far more from outward cold than inward heat. On the table I saw a curious July-August, 1952

object which was identical to that described by D. H. Lawrence as . . . the sacred patera (of the an­ cient Etruscans) . . . the round sau­ cer with the raised knob in the cen­ ter, which represents the round germ of heaven and earth. It stands for the plasm, also, of the living cell, with its nucleus . . . the germ central within the living plasma, the symbol of eternal malehess etc.” I thought it very clever of Mr. Law­ rence to know all this inasmuch as the Etruscan language has never been described; almost as clever as for the Etruscans to have invented the microscope, which they ob­ viously must have . . . I said to the old woman, she of the charcoal bra­ zier, “Is this the sacred patera of the Etruscans, ancient symbol of the germ-cell plasma and eternal maleness?” Aswered she, “Is very nice ashtray. You like?” . Up next morning to see the mists vanish and watch take shape a land­ scape such as that which Galilee or high Judea must have had before their glorious forests were cut down and the soil — the flesh of the land — washed away and left only the stones, the rocks, the gaunt bones .. “Hello” “Olio” “Speak English ?” “Sure. What you want?” “I want to go to Plattres. Where is the taxi-man’s house, please?” “ Vs no 'ouse. Go ‘boom’.” “The taxi-man's house has blown up ?” “No blow up. ‘e’s go mountains. Ber-um ber-um. Fall down. Finish.” “The taxi-man has been killed by “

27

a landslide in the mountains ?” "No landslide. Woods. Ker-ash. All dead.” "The taxi-man's been killed by a falling tree?” "No tree. No landslide. No blow up. Vs take gun, V s go moun­ tains, Vs go woods, Vs shoot par­ tridge. Today, no taxi.” Some days later: Finally located a real live Jew. In Roman times there were several hundred thou­ sand Jews in Cyprus, but they joined in the rebellion against the Imperial power and were finally ex­ pelled. In the last century the ICA settled a number of Jews here, and to the old-rich island of Bahrein in some more came during the '30s; the Persian gulf, had been given a but of all these only a few hundred ticket to fly back to England, remain. Mr. Alef (as I shall call •had "flogged” — sold — his ticket, him) painted a gloomy picture of and with the money and his wages Jewish life here: no Jewish educa­ had a sailor's good time throughout tion, no synagogue, no rabbi, in­ the Camel Belt countries. Now, termarriages and assimilation. He broke and thinly clad, but with no complained that British and Amer­ regrets, he was taking just about ican Jews took no interest, but ad­ the cheapest passage back to Lon­ mitted that Cyprus Jewry could af­ don: 20 pounds. I, for 23 pounds, ford to maintain the needed insti­ had a slightly less crowded cabin. tutions if it wanted them. Reason it is so cheap is that we are traveling as part of a party of TL WEEK later. At sea, S.S. Cam- emigrants from Cyprus to Britain. In Haifa a friend had given me “ pidoglio: After a two-days sail through the Greek archipelago, we the address of a cousin in Izmir, put into Izmir (Symrna) about and—naturally^-I'd lost it, but re­ 8:00 A.M. of a wet and chilly day, membered the name and district. I with snow showing on the moun­ approached "a passing Turk and said tains and distant housetops which "Yemnis Tcheshar?” (fig market)« ring the inlet whereon the city sits. He very kindly went blocks out of With few formalities we went his way to show me the district. ashore, muffled in our scarves, Once there, the second mate and I "We” being myself and an English­ reconnoitered and, over a shop with man with the rank of second offi­ an open front, saw "in red letters” cer (mate) in the Panamanian mer­ the good Turkish name of Avram chant service. He had taken a ship Kohn. Mr. Kohn was a young iron28

Jewish LIFE

monger and spoke French. The sec­ ond mate knew some Spanish, and —| the Jews of western Turkey be­ ing of Spanish stock — with his bad Spanish and my poor French, we made our wants known. Mr. Kohn made a few telephone calls and brought us Turkish coffee while we waited. Presently the cou­ sin came along, also a young man. He took us through the labyrinthine ways of old Izmir (more of them later) to his place of business (olive oil and dried fruit export), which was. not . like an American office. Picture a tiled floor, the inevitable picture of Kemal Pasha, a rectan­ gular stove, and two huge roll-top desks ; behind each one of which was sitting a tall, grey-suited, grey­ haired gentleman, each with spec­ tacles and a large paunch. These were the uncles. There was also a small office-boy (referred to as *le petit' — the little one), who period­ ically threw chips of wood into the stove and then went out for coffee. Ah, the coffee of the East! No re­ semblance to the wretched stuff of the same name which one has to put up with elsewhere. Here it comes in tiny cups with little brass covers. I explained my needs : The ship has no kosher kitchen, and I'm very, very tired of sardines. ‘Le pe­ tit' is given directions, we muffle up again (neither of us is dressed for winter) and go out into the streets, which are greasy with mudslick. We trudge through streets and alleys, through the Bazaar of the Horse Jewelers — for here the horses wear their own sort of jewelJuly-August, 1952

r y ; brass tags, studded bridles, blue bead necklaces, plumes — tassels, pompoms of red, yellow, green, and indigo — underneath old and brok­ en greengrown archways, past beautiful old mosques and their at­ tendant water stands (like huge tiled pomegranates spouting fauc­ ets; the Moslems always wash be­ fore prayer), brushing past whole skinned sheep sitting calmly—all passion spent—on butchers' stalls, dodging carts and don(keys piled one story high with baskets and sud­ denly turned up next to a pen of turkeys — this . was the kosher poultry market. There were two young shochtim there, thoughtfully preparing their knives, and heypresto, I'd bought a chicken for less than a dollar and one of the two had gotten a woman to cook it. "TVIOW," saith he, “I will show ** you the synagogue.” It was. large* cold and empty. I expressed admiration and murmured some­ thing about food. We then went to the only kosher eatery in Izmir — I cannot call it a restaurant ; it was too tiny — let us call it a cook-shop. In this tiny room were a large man and a small boy (cook-owner and son-waiter), a window, sideboard, and two up-against-the-wall tables. The stocjc was in the window and the stoves (charcoal) on the side­ board. There was also a “mizrach” picture of Moses and Aaron, and a picture of Kemal Pasha. We dined at once on stew-andstringbeans, beans-and-rice, crusty bread, and mutton and sausage grilled on skewers. For some 29

moments there was only a soft, slushy sound heard. Presently, three muffled-up characters, rath­ er greasy about the mouth (for we had fed ‘le petit’ as well) followed the shochet' out into the streets. To the accompaniment of friendly cries of “shalom” and “baruch habah” we passed through the Bazaar of the Goldsmiths to an­ other place where we had cognac and coffee. Guess what was oh the wall ? A picture of you guessed it. “Now,” saith the shochet, “I will take you to another synagogue.” This one was small, bare and cold; and it was 1:00 P.M.—time for the Minchah-Gedolah. With no papse in the psalm-chanting, the congre­ gants provided the second mate with a chair and a charcoal brazier in an adjoining room, “lest” (as they put it, with infinite delicacy) “he should feel cold while the Jews are standing in prayer.” After Minchah we chatted a while, in Heb­ rew, French, and Spanish, and I re­ membered that Izmir had given birth to one of the more outstand­ ing False Messiahs in Jewish his­ tory. I had the temerity to ask about him. The tremors of an an­ cient excitement stirred the old men faintly and they cast swift, sly glances out the corners of their rheumy old eyes. “Yes,” they said. Yes, Shabettai . . . who in all the world (they asked) had not heard of him? . . . even the place of his dwelling was still remembered ; the owner had sold it to a non-Jew and had gone to Israel.;. . ;rNo, there were no followers of that man in 30

Izmir now; in Salonika, in Stambul, yes: but they were grown just like the Turks . . . The old men grew confidentially boastful and muttered that the family of Attatur^k, (Kemal Pasha) was said to be in part re­ lated to those Jews who had fol­ lowed the False One into Islam. But it was too cold in the syn­ agogue, and all that had happened too long ago, and the old men sighed and tottered home. Q N E CHAP, hearing of my diet­ ary difficulties on the ship, of­ fered me, in French, advice based on his own experience: “I say to the steward, T suffer from the stomach. Give me, therefore, not of the meat, but of the milk and vegetables.’” He seemed to think this quite clever. I should have thought it cleverer to tell the truth, but then, I had not grown up in a country which mas­ sacred Greeks and Armenians. The Turks never did that to the Jews, but one might pardon the Jews for feeling some desire not to be con­ spicuous. Only a few years ago the government (later defeated in free elections) levied impossible taxes on the leading businessmen of the kehillah and put them in pris­ on camps when they failed to pay; whence they were released at the time the late American President visited the Near East: “ahy ce grand Monsieur Roosevelt!” “And now,” quoth the shochet, “I will take you to another syn­ agogue.” The poor second mate was perishing with the cold, but he was game, and muttered something about being the only authority on 1' Jewish LIFE

Oriental Turkey is largely gone since the drastic reforms of Kemal Pasha, but we saw few young wom­ en in the streets. We are told that the Moslem women are still not ac­ customed to move around freely in public. The Turks have no particu­ lar national characteristics which one can mention and say, The Turks look thus-and-so . . . and the Jews here look just like the other Turks. It is estimated that more than half the local Jewish population has gone either to Israel or the Americas, North and South. Jewish life here is certainly not what it was under the Sultanate, when the Chacham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) was a govern­ ment official with police powers, and the Turkish army commissioned shochtim so that Jewish soldiers could have kosher meat (a much more sensible idea than commis­ sioning “chaplains” who often as not eat non-kosher food themselves, as we do in the United States). In particular, religious education is in a rather bad way, even in the school supported by the community. The synagogue classes seem very ill-attended, and in the old Yeshivah I saw, only two students came regu­ larly, young men in their twentys, Q N E CURIOUS thing about and they only part time. Still, I Izmir is that the houses, seem do not think we can say that the so near the water. We saw no fen­ Turkish Jews face assimilation as ces, and the streets run practically we usually think of it. I do not into the bay; automobiles drive un­ think they fully understand the der the noses of ships tied up at concept, .and I hope they never .he waterfront. The old, romantic will.

Izmirian synagogues in the Pana­ manian merchant-marine. Present-, ly, the guide ran out of synagogues or had to go shecbt or something, so we rejoined the cousin, who said he would show us the town. This was done in two parts. Part one: we took a bus up the mountain, then we took the same bus down the same mountain. Part 'two: we got into a taxicab which dashed madly down the street, now on the right side, now on the left, and now in the middle; while the cousin pointed out passing blurs as follows : “This is the house of my cousin Menasheh. Regard the Great Synagogue (the second mate flinched). In that residence dwells my grandmother . . . here is the military hospital . . . this is the palace of the Governor of the City . . . ” The taxi spilled us out and we immediately hopped on a two-part trolley car and proceeded to cover the route we had just tajcen, only more slowly. Comment from the cousin: “This is the pal­ ace of the Governor of the City . . , here is the military hospital . . . in that residence dwells my grand­ mother . . . Regard the Great Syn­ agogue . . this is the house of my cousin Menasheh.,,

July-August, 1952

31

a mathematical analogy to the Book of JOB By REUBEN GROSS ■PHE GREAT problem posed by problem, Albo in his Ikkorim reach­ the Book of Job, why do the es a solution equally suitable to this wicked prosper-and the righteous problem. Albo is troubled by the suffer, is a very logical and clearly apparent contradiction between comprehensible question. The so­ G-d’s “omniscience” and His “free lution, however, appears to be a will.” To, deny either of these qua­ mystical one. It rests heavily on lities is to deny His perfection. Yet, faith. Indeed, a rigorous rationalist they are not reconcilable to our way might argue that in fact it is no of understanding. Albo therefore answer at all, but a blind accept­ says: “The solution of the great dif­ ance of the wholly unproven possi­ ficulty which results from the bility of a higher order which we assumption that G-d’s activity is do not understand. The rationalist voluntary is as follows: If the might, with considerable justifica­ will and choice which G-d exer­ tion, point out that because he was cises in His activity were of the not present “when G-d laid the same Jdnd as the will and the foundations of the earth” nor does choice of man, the difficulty above he have “understanding thereof,” it mentioned would be real, i.e. they does not necessarily follow that would produce change in the Job’s suffering did have any rhyme agent. But as G-d’s will is not or reason. the same as ours, no absur­ However, there is much more to dity results, for G-d’s will fol­ Job than appears at first glance. lows His wisdom and power, and “Knowest thou the ordinances of as His wisdom and His power heaven?” is not a purely rhetorical are infinite and not of the same question. It suggests that there are kind as our wisdom and power laws beyond our comprehension, not so His will is not of the same governed by the laws of our finite kind as our will world, following some transcenden­ In support of his position Albo tal logic and order. • Starting with a totally different cites an illuminating passage from Jewish LIFE 32 ,

.”

Isaiah “For My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways My ways saith the L-rd. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55 :8-9) TVTOW OUR rigorous rationalist may view all these arguments with strong scepticism. He may urge that the existence of “higher thoughts” and “heavenly ordinan­ ces” are wholly unproven hypothes­ es. However, a very striking ana­ logy to such hypotheses can be found in the very field lying closest to the heart of a rationalist, to wit, in the realm of mathematics. Mathematics is essentially a statement of the laws of different operations with quantities. These laws are the rules for addition, sub­ traction, multiplication, division, integration, differentiation, and so forth. They are absolute laws ad­ mitting of no variation or change out of respect for the size of the quantities on which they operate. However, mathematics sometimes deals with values greater than any preassigned number, no matter how large. These are known as infinite values. Operations with these in­ finite values lead to some strange and paradoxical results. Many of the laws for operating with finite values break down completely, are not at all applicable to the infinite values. We cite one simple example: x plus any number a is always great­ er than the original number x, and July-August, 1952

x plus a divided by x is always greater than 1 if both x and a are positive numbers. This is prac­ tically axiomatic since addition is a process of adding, making larger. However, this is true only if the number a? is a finite quan­ tity. When x becomes infinite, these relations fail to hold true. Then if .any number a is added to the infinity x, x becomes no greater. If x becomes infinite, x plus a divided by x is equal to 1, regardless of whether the num­ ber being represented by a is 1, or 1,000,000 or 1,000,000,000. Assuredly this a strange paradox to one accustomed to thinking in finite terms. X is enlarged by 1 or 1,000,000 or any large finite number but it becomes no greater than the infinity X! Many similar interesting para­ doxes could be cited from opera­ tions with infinite values. However, they but serve to illustrate that in the realm of the infinite, there are rules which are merely paradoxes and contradictions in the realm of the finite. Obviously, if a grasp of the ‘‘ordinances of heaven” are be­ yond our ken in so elementary a matter as arithmetic, and if we are led into apparent contradictions and paradoxes when contemplating so simple an aspect of the boundless as its bare quantitative nature, can we form judgments concerning hea­ venly justice or wisdom? Is it not perfectly reasonable then to con­ clude that what is foolish and un­ just by our finite standards, may be exquisitely just and wise in the eyes of the Omniscient Judge? 33

By A. LEO LEVIN ‘Look now to Heaven and count the stars And He said unto him ‘So shall thy seed be! (Bereyshith XV: 5) .

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T H E FLUSH of joy, the flush of fear, and now Abram was re­ gaining a semblance of composure with which to cloak his excitement. Seed from his own loins had been promised him. What greater joy could a man of his years ask? But for half a moment when the L-rd G-d proferred a view of his own to­ morrow, a glance at his progeny through the ages, childless Father Abram shuddered. Had he asked too much? Was his greed for seed to be answered with corrupt and evil progeny? No, the All-Merciful had assured stars. Some at least would be bright and heavenly; rea­ son enough for Abram to be happy as he awaited angelic escort with whom to travel through time. The centuries spun long before the fifty-eighth appeared. The world was strange, the dialogue jarred, the cacaphony in the wings was as fearful as the orchestral ac­ 84

companiment was weird. Would the scene ever focus? It did, and Ab­ ram searched out his children. Off the mainstream of history he wan­ dered, as though to avoid the beaten path of tourists. His guide had found a luxurious summer resort. “Weekend crowd here includes the cream of New York’s religious crop,” the ethereal escort explained, fearful that a man who was to offer lunch to angels needed to be assured that no ulterior motives prompted the choice. The thought never en­ tered Abram’s mind; he only mar­ velled at his guide’s mastery of the vernacular. JT DID NOT take long to pick out * the Big Men on Location. From the way they walked into the dining room you could tell how well they tipped the head waiter. Abram would have ignored the breed, but his angel was insistent. The table conversation was dull enough, ful­ some praise of some employee Big Man had been astute enough to se­ lect — L? oh, it was the rabbi of Mr. Big’s congregation. A measure of compensation, the Patriarch was Jewish' LIFE

I

thinking, but hardly worth this un­ comfortable hovering: Suddenly the young man at the table interrupted his father. A tenseness in his man­ ner made Abram take notice. A storm was brewing and all .involved knew it. “Look, Governor,” the son began in measured syllables. Abram thought back to the time he and his little hatchet had made a mess of papa Terach's business. “Look, I wasn't the only one who walked out on his Memorial Day sermon. The unmitigated gall! For a healthy bachelor who refused to serve as a chaplain he can dish out one heavy dose of hypocrisy « and you might as well recognize that hypocrisy is not particularly good sermon ma­ terial.” “Now, now,” Mama Big inter­ jected, dispensing soothing oils in a very practised manner. “Is it right to talk that way against such a re­ ligious man ? And what good will it do ? You'll send some more members to the Temple. That's what.” Mama looked very pleased with mama. If there was one thing her son disliked more thaii the rabbi, it was the reformed Temple, and it would certainly help the Big fa­ mily's digestion to shift the target for today. Hers was a fleeting plea­ sure. The diversionary tactjc failed. “We can't gain strength by hid­ ing our faults,” young Big mounted his offense. “You're afraid of the shock of truth, but I'm not. Or­ thodoxy is strong enough for truth, but that weak-kneed excuse for a spiritual leader wouldn't know how to be orthodox with ten-inch payes July-August, 1952

and Babbeinu Tam’s tefilin. What­ ever makes you think he's reli­ gious ?” ■J"HE ENSUING babble was too much even for Abram. He could no more follow the conversation than he could follow half a hundred raindrops descended in a wind­ swept sea. Some currents were discernable — mostly as young Big pressed his point. Certainly the rabbi observed the ritual, tithed for charity and could expound some Talmud. But if he cared for orthodoxy would he ab­ andon the generation in khaki to the strange gods whose prophets did serve as chaplains? Then there was fulsome praise for some who took Kiddush ha-Shem out of ser­ mons and into life, for Werfel and Tepper, of blessed memory; for scores of other orthodox chaplains who didn't die but served and lived and . . . The angel was tugging at Ab­ ram's sleeve and the Patriarch nod­ ded an unseen farewell to one of his stars. “Isaiah with Amotz his father?” queried Abram, thorough­ ly confusing his centuries. “Jack Goldberg,” corrected the guardian angel, checking the dos­ sier from the portable file. “Silver star for bravery in action, doing well in business/ helped organize a, Yeshivah Ketanah . . . ” But Abram was not listening arny longer. He was thinking of his own exploits at the front. * * * * f lT THE corner table towards "* th e rear of the bar,” his guide 35

directed, “the pretty brunette.” What all the dilletantish chit-chit about smugglers had to do with him and his mission was beyond Abram. It was all as puzzling as ice in drinks or the feminine coiffures. For thirty seconds, no more he was certain, Abram indulged himself in the pleasures of a reverie on these strange, exciting subjects when the tone in Miriam's voice brought him back to earth with a start. “If a cardinal added a prayer shawl to his skull cap would he be­ come an orthodox Jew?”, she de­ manded. “If a bearded Jew smug­ gles diamonds do you think he's re­ ligious because he won't smoke on Shabbos? % don't have much doubt that the Recorder of Deeds upstairs knows the score. This smuggler is not religious and unless he's hope­ lessly naive he's not orthodox.” The babble began. It didn't last long, but for ten hectic minutes they quoted Rabbi Brodt and “Kedoshim tih'yoo”, and what was meant by being holy. They cited Herzog's appendix on ethics in Jewish commercial practices and they mentioned the famous swankyshool sermon by a naive rabbinical student who talked practical social justice to employers instead of to workers. For a young crowd they certainly put a lot of footnotes into casual conversatipn, Abram thought, and *he liked them the more for it. From diamond smug­ gling to diamond mining to swal­ lowed gems to stomach pumps. Mir­ iam was pontificating on medical students and their shop talk when 36

the angel began tugging and Abram agreed to go. *

*

*

*

p O R A MAN who had come whiz­ zing through the centuries, a breezy ride along the countryside could hardly be considered breath­ taking. It wasn't. Quite the con­ trary, the ride was relaxing. For one thing his angel had been quite satisfied to seat Abram in the back seat of the convertible while he stayed behind rocking quietly on the hotel porch. Then, too, Abram thought Jack Goldberg and Miriam made a fine twosome. He was rath­ er pleased that they paired off when the dancing was over, and he chuck­ led to himself as he thought how Eleazer would view this boy-meetgirl business, but then Eleazer was so terribly dated in his thinking. The conversation flitted, alight­ ing on events of the day. There was Jack's table-talk, and Miriam re­ lated what she called barroom bal­ lad. Two inquiring minds rum­ maged for implications. What im­ pact in fact — not just in theory — did religion have on business ethics, on one's sense of social res­ ponsibility, on attitudes toward civil rights, on . . . And now Jack was talking, telling a simple story of a butter and egg man, a whole­ saler. It was Shabbos at the dinner table. An insistent telephone was finally answered, its jangling ring become the symbol of emergency. The bank was calling. Matter of a carload of eggs with a sight draft. Was it all right to honor the draft? A word would do. Jewish LIFE

“Was the contract in writing?” “No. What’s the difference?” “Difference, dad. All the differ­ ence! He can’t sue you and so you won’t lose after all.” Something of scorn, something of pity, something of the amused indulgence with which a parent views a too-too-young offspring were all combined in the father’s facial expression as he answered with silence and sat down to write a letter of apology with a check to cover any possible loss. “My word is worth more than that,” he said simply. “And do I obey one com­ mandment only to violate another ?” BRAM had heard enough. A “Today is Shabbos and I don’t smile on his face, he pretended do business,” the pater familias to doze in the back seat until his announced from his table. A nod angel should come. Snatches of con­ of the head would be enough. A versation still reached him. But single gesture. Nothing more was Abram wasn’t really listening; he required. Should the bank pay or was happy thinking to himself. G-d should they not. Heavy losses might had told him to look at stars, and result. stars he had seen. Certainly some “Today is Shabbos and I . . . ” could be brighter, some more heav­ Religious convictions were not for enly. But how terribly long it takes just to teach people. And yet there sale. Miriam thought the story admir­ were some lofty lights to lead the able, but without much point. Jack way, some who understood what squelched her with a glance. She the goals should be. There was hadn’t heard the story yet. Havda- Jack, and Miriam, and the Werfels lah over, Ben, the egg man’s son, . . . Yes, Abram could recognize began to question his father. Had that they were stars. He was grate­ he wanted the draft to be honored ? ful to his G-d, hoping, too, that Yes, certainly. The shipment was on G-d would be pleased with him. a contract. The eggs would be re­ And He was. “And he believed in the Lord; turned (probably already en route and He considered it an act of back) with spoilage almost certain. righteousness” Then Ben, the exuberant law stud­ ent, began to cross-examine. (Bereyshith XV:6) July-August, 1952

87

RABBI AKIVA By M EYER W AXM AN

THE medal which they struck in commemoration of their victory over the Jews, the Romans inscribed JUDEA CAPTA (Judea is Captured) not JUDEA PERDITA, (Judea is Lost). Verily, Judea was not lost with the loss of her political independence, nor even with the destruction of the Sanctuary. Even before the fall of Jerusalem, the far-sighted Yochanon ben Zakkai, disiciple of Hillel, founded at Yavneh a spiritual center which enabled Israel not only to outlive its conquerors by millennia but to become timeless. The upbuilding of the center was carried forward by Yochanon's disciples, who made it a tower of strength to a people scattered to the four winds oi the world. Great and difficult was the task, for the times were turbulent and the obstacles insurmountable. For a short time, the very conquerors of Judea, Vespasian and his son Titusi, re­ spected the heroism of the vanquished and tolerated their spiritual rebirth. But their successor, Domitian, instinctively feared the might of the conquered and initiated persecution againslt the rising spirit of Judaism. When his successor in turn, Trajan, sought to spread the rule of Rome beyond the Euphrates, a spirit of rebellion seized the Jewish settlements throughout Asia and Africa and they made a desper­ ate effort to break the bonds of the conqueror. The rebellion was drowned in blood, but the spirit smouldered and broke forth once more in Palestine itself in the time of Hadrian. This rebellion, under the lead­ ership of Bar Kochba, shook the very foundations of the Roman Empire. Such were the vicissitudes which the builders of the new spirit had to face. Great and distinguished were the | builders of the edifice at Yavneh and other places of teaming during the crucial first half cen­ tury after the downfall of the State. Each one, in his way, contributed to the solidity of that edifice. But there was one man among them whose personality and activity was a moving force in the multifarious life of the people. It was he who welded the links of the edifice and made it stand through the ages, and thus left his impress upon generations. That man was Akiva ben Yoseph.

38

Jewish LIFE

rp H E L IF E of Akiva is surrounded not only by a halo of glory but also J b by a halo of heroism tinged with the romantic. Tradition counts him among the three ¡¡J- the other two were Hillel and Yochanon ben Zakkai — whose life span was like th a t of Moses, one hundred and tw enty years, indi­ cating the high degree of th eir worth. That span was divided into periods of activity each different in character. Unlike his predecessors, Akiva wa3 not born of a prominent family. It is even said th a t he was a descendant of proselytes. Receiving no education as a youth, the first third of his life was spent in a state of ignorance, even saturated with hatred towards the learned, as he himself tells us. “When I was an A m ha-aretz, I used to say, were I to meet a scholar I would have attacked him severely.” He thus typifies the man of the masses who by sheer power of will snapped the shackles of ignor­ ance and habit and with great effort rose to the heights of learning. This period in Akiva’s life is depicted in the Talmud in several versions which differ in particulars but ‘agree generally in tone and character. In one version (Kethuboth, 63) we are merely told th a t Akiva was a shepherd em­ ployed by one of the richest men of Jerusalem, Kalba Sebua, whose daughter Rachel fell in love with him and m arried him oh condition th a t he devote himself to learning. The second version (Ovoth di R. N athan, Ch. VI) tells us th a t a t the age of forty Akiva was still a complete A m ha-aretz . How­ ever, once while contemplating a brook flowing in its rocky channel, he' re­ flected upon the w ater cutting its path in solid rock and expressed his won­ der a t the phenomenon. Someone quoted to him the verse in Job 14:19, “W aters w ear aw ay stones.” He then said to himself, “If soft w ater can by continuous action w ear away hard rock, the hard words of the Torah will cer­ tainly be engraved in my h eart by assiduous study.” From th a t moment his spiritual ascension began, and according to this source it began with the study of the Aleph Beth. But even in this source -credit is given to his wife, daughter of Kalba Sebua. 2JL L SOURCES, including a third one (Nedarim, 50), agree th a t Rabbi ^ Akiva’s devotion to study was accompanied by great suffering for him and his wife. The rich father-in-law drove his daughter out of the house, and Rachel and Akiva were left without any means of sustenance. The length of time Rachel suffered abject poverty as well as separation from her husband is given as twenty-four years. In fact, Akiva returned at the end of twelve years, famous and surrounded by thousands of students. However, after being pitied by some neighbor because of her suffering, Rachel ex­ pressed a wish th a t her husband stay away another twelve years, and Akiva, th irsty for learning, followed her advice. Of Akiva’s suffering a story is told similar to the one told about Hillel. Daily, he used to bring a bundle of wood to the m arket-place; half he sold for sustenance, using the other half in his home. When his neighbors asked him why he used wood for lighting in­ stead of oil, he answered, “Wood supplies all my needs; it gives me warm th, light, and serves as bedding.”

July-August, 1952

39

Tradition, however, held that this noble couple eventually acquired great riches, particularly from Kalba Sebua, who, seeing the greatness of his son-in-law, gave him the greater portion of his wealth. It is difficult to deter­ mine the exact historicity of the many stories about Akiva and his wife, but their number proves the great impress which Akiva made on his own and the following generations! Whether Rachel was Akiva’s only wife during his lifetime or whether he had been married before cannot be ascertained definitely. One source (0.d.R.N.) tells us that Akiva began to study together. with his son — which means that he already had a son when he met Rachel. All other sources, however, do not mention $the fact. An Agadic source, not mentioned explicitly in the Talmud but quoted by Rashi, asserts that the wife of the Roman Pro-Consul in Judea, Tinnius Rufus, or as he is known in the Tal­ mud, Tyrannus Rufus, became a proselyte and married Akiva. If it did occur, it must have taken !place after the death of Rachel. Two of his chil­ dren are mentioned in the Talmud, Yehoshuah and a daughter who was sup­ posed to have been betrothed to the famous scholar, Ben Azai. 'THE REMARKABLE ability which Akiva displayed in his scholastic career, primarily his power of analysis, revealed itself at the very beginning of his devotion to study. It is said that as soon as he had learned to read and understand the Bible, and had acquired the standard interpretation of legal passages from his teachers, Rabbi* Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshuah, he began to analyze the text by himself in the following manner: “Why is the Beth added to the word?” meaning, does it impart additional meaning to the passage? And similarly with other letters. Thus he went on to probe the very depths of the Halochah, deriving through this method either additional legal data or Biblical support for Halochoth which were accepted in the schools but for which scholars could not find a ^Biblical source. He also developed a new method of interpretation. This type of activity deepened the study of the Torah and supplied it with wider application. Akiva also studied under Nachum, called Gamzu (see further), who deepened his power of analysis of the Torah so that he did not pass a single particle in the Torah without deriving from it a legal or ethical teaching. Among Akiva’s students, who carried forward his teachings, were Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Simon the son of Yochai, Rabbi Yehudah ben Iloi, and Rabbi Yose, all four of whom are the leading masters of the Mishnah and other Halochic collections. Character

TT IS obvious that love of Torah constituted the leading trait of Akiva’s character. The Torah represented to him the sum of all good, and no event in life, no matter how important or grievous, could interfere with his 40

Jewish LIFE

devotion to study. We are told that when his son was ill, he did not dis­ continue his teaching but had messengers report the progress of the disease. He did not interrupt his lectures even when told that his son was on the verge of death. Only when the last messenger arrived and reported the death of his son did hejstop the lectures, take off his tephillin and rend his clothes. Small wonder thin that Akiva interrupted his studies only two days in the year: the day preceding Pesach in order to afford the children some hours of sleep during the day so that they should be awake during the Seder, and the day preceding Yom Kippur in order to prepare food for the children be­ fore, the fast day. And when at a certain conference of scholars the ques­ tion arose as to which is more important in life, study or observance of Mitzvoth, Akiva cast his vote for study — for, said he, it is knowledge which brings about piety and observance (Kiddushjn, 40b). AkivaV character manifested other noble traits. There is to be noted his unlimited trust in G-d which afforded him an optimistic view of life. Not in vain was he for more than two decades the disciple of Nachum Ish Gamzu. Gamzu is not a name but a title. It is the anagram of two Hebrew words, Gam Zuy to which a third one Letova, is added, signifying that whatever vicis­ situdes may befall a man, ultimately it is for good. Likewise Akiva .used to say, “Whatever G-d causes to happen to me, it is for a good purpose.” His own experience served as illustration. Once while on a journey, he was pro­ vided with a donkey to ride upon, a rooster to wake him in the morning* and a candle by which to study. But a lion ate the donkey, a cat ate the rooster, and the wind blew out the candle. Akiva though was not dis­ mayed. It turned out that an armed band of robbers attacked the towrp at night and many people were taken captive, but Akiva was not molested as he was not noticed. Had the don­ key brayed, the rooster crowed, or the candle shone, he might have shared the fate of the others (Berocftoth, 60). ^■REAT also was Akiva’s sense of ^ social responsibility. It is said of him that when he was asked to be­ come the leader of the community, he said that he must consult his family. They overheard him murmuring to himself, “When I accept I must be July-August, 1952

41

ready to suffer insults, and bear all kinds of inconveniences, for it is meet for a leader to bear all such things in discharge of duty.” (Yerushalmi, Peah Ch..V.) In spite of his g reat reputation, Akiva was ready to suffer the bitterest reproaches in public, and bore no grudge against the one who made them, but on the contrary, bore him love if such treatm ent were justified. Testified Rabbi Yochanon, son of N uri; “Many times Akiva suffered through me when I complained about him to the Patriarch, Rabban Gamliel, yet he never resented it but he loved me the more.” When Rabbi Akiva grew to his. full intellectual stature his fame outshone even th a t of his great teachers, and his contemporaries compared him to one who removes a mountain by break­ ing off piece a fte r piece until he carries it away. Similarly, Akiva by assiduity and patience carried away the learning of his teachers and made it his own. Yet Akiva himself says, “ So g reat was the learning of my teach­ ers th at the amount I carried away from them is as little as the fine smell of the ethrog compared to hhe ethrog itself.” Whenever the occasion arose he minimized his own value. Delivering the oration a t the funeral of his son' and watching the exceptionally large crowd which gathered in his honor, he announced, “You have gathered here not because I am a scholar, for there are greater scholars than I; not because I am a wealthy man, there are fa r wealthier than I. You came to perform a Mitzvah and therefore will your rew ard be great.” So little did he think of his vast knowledge th at when he was once asked to read the Torah on a Sabbath in public, he refused. His astounded disciples asked him for his reason, and he answered “Because I did not prepare myself, and no man should read or explain the Torah publicly unless he has reviewed the section two or three times.”

Contribution to Learning J T WAS said of Akiva th a t his immense learning was like a well-ordered warehouse. I t was he who laid the foundation of the great Halochic works, the Tannaitie Midrashim, representing motivated Halochah, i.e. supplying the source for each derivation through the Biblical verse and its interpretation, and the Mishnah, the great summary of the entire Oral Torah. He is said to be the .one who made the Oral Law like a chain of rings, by which we are to understand th a t he grouped the g reat mass of Halochoth into definite divisions and subdivisions. Also ascribed to him is a compilation ^called Mishnayoth Gedoloth, Large Mishnayoth. A statem ent by a leading Palestinian Amora, Rabbi Yochanon, reads, “All anonymous statem ents in the Mishnah are taken from Rabbi M eir’s compilation; such statem ents in the Sifra are derived from Rabbi Jud ah ’s work, in the Sifre from Rabbi Simon ben Yochai, in the

42

Jewish LIFE

Tosefta from Rabbi Nehemiah, but all followed Akiva." We infer from this statem ent th a t all great standard works which are the very bases of Judaism, both in theoretical and practical aspects, go back to Akiva as the organizer and systematizer. There was not a phase of Jewish knowledge which he did not m aster. He was the only one of the four scholars who entered the garden of mysticism who emerged from this difficult study, pregnant with the dangers of aberration, safe in body and mind. . He only enriched his knowledge. Small wonder th a t his colleagues and later tradition praised his work in the most glowing terms. Rabbi Tarphon said to him, “Akiva, he who does not follow your teaching removes himself from real intellectual and spiritual life." A dram atic description of the evaluation of Akiva both by colleagues and tradition is given in a Midrashic statem ent. Once Akiva <came late to the Academy and not granting to disturb the course of study, sat in the lobby. When a scholar sought an answer to a difficult question, he was told th a t the Halochah was outside. When another was asked, the answer again was th at the Torah was outside, and finally when a third question was asked, he was explicitly told th a t Akiva was outside -—t “Let him enter ; make place for him." WTOTWITHSTANDING the fact th a t Akiva’s generation abounded in great men, his leadership was uncontested. There was hardly a phase of public representation and hardly a cause in which he did not take a leading part. He it was who defended Judaism skillfully against learned Romans who a t­ tacked its views and customs. Vindicating the lofty spiritual and cultural value, of Israel's faith, Akiva ’a roused in the hearts of his brethren a feeling of pride in their great inheritance which enabled them to bear with fortitude the yoke of the conqueror. Among the Roman disputants was the Pro-Con­ sul of Judea, Tinnius Rufus, whose rule was so severe th at his name was changed by the Jews to Tyrannus Rufus (The T y ran t). As is well known, two leading precepts of Judaism, circumcision and the observance of the Sabbath, were incomprehensible to the Gentiles, and many were the jests and satirical rem arks against these practices in Roman literature. Rufus was no exception. Once, on meeting Rabbi Akiva, he asked, “Why is one day different from the other days?" meaning, w hat distinction is there to the Sabbath? Said Akiva, “Why is one man different from other men?" meaning, why are you Proconsul? Rufus answered, “The Impera tor wanted to honor me." “The King of Kings wanted the Jews to honor the Sab­ bath," said Akiva in turn. “ Then," said Rufus, “why does G-d Himself work on the Sabbath, causing the winds to blow, the clouds to move, and fru it to grow?" “Ah," said Rabbi Akiva, “you are versed in the Torah. Do you not know th a t in a private yard or compound (R ish u th ha-yochid) Jews may

July-August, 1952

4B

carry and move things. The world is G-d’s private compound, and all be­ longs to Him. The movements He causes are *permitted, even according to Jewish Law.” At another time Rufus asked, “Which are more perfect, the works of G-d or of man?” Akiva said, “Man’s works are more perfect.” Rufus said, “Can man create heaven and earth?” Said Akiva, “We are not talking of things which are beyond human life.” Rufus revealed the implication of his question, namely, why circumcise ’children? Is it not an attempt to improve on the work of G-d?” Said Akiva, “I understood the intent of the question and therefore I told you that human work may be, within limits, more per­ fect./ See for yourself, are not loaves of bread more perfect than ears of wheat?” Rufus, thwarted, asked, “If G-d wanted circumcision, why is the child not born this way?” Said Akiva, “Understand that Mitzvoth were given to Israel in order to strengthen their will, elevate their character by discipline, and by their action aim to carry out the will of G-d.” (Tanchumah, Ki Thisa, 33; Ibid., Thazria, 5.) In this-statement there is also expressed Akiva’s view of the purpose of Mitzvoth as a means of spiritual and moral discipline. Emissary of Israel

If KIVA’S interest in his people embraced not only the Jews of Eretz Israel but of the world as a whole, as his numerous travels testify. There was hardly an important Jewish settlement in the wide-flung Diaspora which he did not visit. He went with other leaders to Rome, most likely to plead before the tyrant Domitian to repeal his decrees against the Jews. He even visited far Media and Nehardea in Babylonia where he spent some time. There he regulated the calendar, namely intercalated the year by adding a month, a process known as Ibbur. This regulation of the calendar was the function of the Sanhedrin in Palestine, one of the chief means by which Eretz Israel maintained its influence over the Diaspora. The exercise of this func­ tion outside of Judea was permitted only to Akiva who, as the Talmud says, left no equal to him in Palestine. He further visited Nisibis in Mesopotamia, Galatea in Cilicia, Asia Minor, Cappodocia in the same province, Africa, pos­ sibly Cyrene (Cyrenaica), and even parts of Arabia, (Berochoth 61, 3; 8, 63). IXTHAT WAS the purpose of his numerous travels? It is not stated definiteT ly, but from stray remarks in many places which quote fragments of his discourses in various centers of the Diapora, we may safely assume that this aged scholar undertook the travails of a journey on the sea and through the desert in order to instruct the scattered members of Israel in love of G-d, Torah, and Israel, and to strengthen their bond with their mother coun44

Jewish LIFE

try which even after the destruction was still a central source of spiritual in|i spiration. Akiva's belief in the speedy revival of the state and the rebuilding of the Temple was' strong, and he manifested it frequently. He arranged the benediction which we recite at the end of the first part of the Haggadah wherein we ask for the speedy rebuilding of the Temple. During a visit to Rome by Akiva and other Jgwish leaders, the hum of the great metropolis reached them miles away before they entered it. The other leaders began to weep, for the glory of Rome reminded them of the desolation of Jerusalem. Akiva, however, laughed. When asked for the cause of his mirth, he re­ plied that if G-d can bestow so much good upon idolaters, so much more will he offer to his people. When the hand of the conqueror bore heavily upon Judea and the voice of rebellion under the leadership of Bar Kochba was heard in the land, Akiva threw the full force of his authority on the side of the leader, calling him “Star of Jacob,” Akiva remained with him, in spite of the opposition of many scholars, to the bitter end (Yerushalmi, Taanith, 68a, Midrash E-chah, Ch. IV, 2). He decided that no one was free from participation in this holy war, not even priests or Levites. Teachings

n s WITH Hillel, the value and worth of man was a leading principle in ■^■the teaching of Akiva, for he also said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself is the most important principle in the Torah. He supplied the basis for this view of the value and worth of man by emphasizing that man forms the highest type of creation and is beloved by G-d, for man alone was created in His image. He therefore taught that under all circumstances one should not hurt his fellow man or insult him and said “Do not say since I am humiliated, may my fellow man be humiliated along with me, or if one cursed me, may I curse him. Remember that man is made in the likeness of G-d.” Even when a man falls low, and strays from the path of righteousness and commits grievous crimes, the punishment for which is death, he still does not divest himself entirely from the divine image. Therefore, said Akiva, basing himself on an interpretation of the verse Ye shall not eat with the blood (Vayikra 19:26), Judges of the high court which passed a death sentence upon a criminal must fast that day, for though he deserved the sentence, his loss is to be mourned. Though Judaism teaches complete Divine Providence, Akiva repeatedly emf phasized human freedom in choice of action, from which follows man's re­ sponsibility for his actions: Man will of course be called to account. This Tuly-August, 1952

45

freedom he considers a divine gift which raises man to the heights of dignity. The verse Behold, man is to become as one of us (Bereyshith 3:22), he in­ terprets as referring to the g ift of freedom which is characteristic of the divine. To the famous criterion of right human conduct “He in whom th spirit of his fellow man takes delight, the spirit of the All Present takes delight, and vice versa,” (which is ascribed to Chaninah ben Dosa in Pirkey Ovoth but is quoted in the name of Akiva in another source), he added the additional test “It is well with one who is satisfied with his own conduct and vicè versa.” This statem ent implies a belief in the inherent goodness of man, whose inclination will take him to task for his aberrations and will bring about pangs of remorse (Tosefta Berochoth, Ch. I ll, 3). K KIVA’S love for his people is expressed in numerous statem ents which emphasize their relation to G-d as children. “Beloved is Israel for they are called the children of G-d.” This appelation involves a double relation between the two, namely the display of G-d’s goodness to Israel and IsraePs loyalty to G-d under a i r circumstances. Hencè Akiva said, “Happy a rt thou, Israel, for G-d Himself cleanses thee from all sins,” Similarly, he taught th at G-d is the protector of His people in all the tribulations of exile, for He is always with them. The loyalty of Israel is equally extolled by Akiva in a fine dialogue between them and thé nations of the world. “ Say the nations, What is Thy beloved more than another beloved that Thou didst so adjure us (Shir Hashirim 5:9 ), th a t you are ready to die for Him and so ready to let yourselves be killed for His sake? Says Israel; Do you know Him? let us tell some of his praises !” (Mechiltah, Ed. Lauterbach II, p. 26.) Can anyone estimate the influence of such sayings upon the conduct of the select spirits of the generations who embraced martyrdom? From this there followed several other principles which served as fac­ tors in Jewish survival through the ages. The first is the emphasis on sancti­ fication of both the name of G-d and of the Jewish people. The question was asked why of all the tribes Yehudah was chosen as the one from whom the permanent Davidic dynasty was established. Various answers were given, but Akiva rejected them all and said because Nachshon, prince of the tribe, standing at the Red Sea, was the first one to jump into the sea, and thus sanctified both the name of G-d and of Israel, showing the complete tru st of the Jews in Him. It teaches th a t Jewish leadership involves devotion to G-d and Israel even unto readiness to die for their sake (Tosefta Ber. Ch. IV, 18). AS Akiva was eager to guard the honor of G-d and of Judaism, he JUST was likewise zealous to guard the honor of the Jew, not only of the Jewish people but of every single individual Jew no m atter how low his social status

46

Jewish LIFE

might be. Time and again, he repeated his favorite maxim: “All children of Israel are of princely descent, for the P atriarchs were their ancestors^? And he applied this maxim as a principle of law in numerous cases. When cer­ tain scholars wanted to make a distinction in the imposition of fines for in­ sulting a fellow Jew according to his station in life, Akiva protested and said th a t all Jews are of the same descent. When a legal authority decided in the case of a debtor who could not pay his debt but a t the same time was dressed in costly garm ents, th a t he be given less costly garm ents and sell the costlier garm ents for payment of the debt, Akiva again protested and said th a t all Jews were entitled to wear such garments. But noblesse oblige, since every Jew is entitled to great honor, each one is also obliged to guard the honor of their group. For, said he, “A ll'Jew s are responsible for each other.” They m ust act so th a t their actions should not in any way shame other Jews or the name of the group as a whole.

Views of Life and Practical Ethics T T GOES w ithout saying th a t Akiva believed not only in the value and **■dignity of human life but th a t its worth is to be measured by progress in attaining a high degree of m orality and spirituality. He advocated striving towards such attainm ent even a t the cost of suffering, and very often preached th a t suffering ennobles man and th a t one should accept it with equanimity. When contemplating the oppression of his brethren which brought about the impoverishment of a g reat number of Jews, he was not dismayed and said “ Poverty adds grace to the Jews ju st as red ribbon enhances the beauty of a white horse,^ S meaning th a t their moral conduct shines forth under such circumstances in greater glory. Akiya’s extreme insistence on high moral conduct is shown by the follow­ ing legal view: A Jew robbed a proselyte arid swore falsely, and on repenting was bringing, according to law, a guilt offering — the sum robbed plus a fifth of the sum — to Jerusalem . On the way he met the proselyte to whom he returned the money, but the latter gave it back to the robber as a loan and soon thereafter died. The question then arose th a t since a proselyte has no heirs (since his Gentile children are like strangers to him, as he is con­ sidered a new being a fte r conversion), is the debtor obliged to return the money or not? Yose of Galilee held th a t since the money is now ownerless, it belongs to. the debtor. Akiva, to the contrary, m aintained th at the money which originally came into his hands by violence m ust be returned, and it therefore should be given to charity.

He was exceptionally strict about any tain t of usury and said th a t even a greeting by the debtor to the creditor may constitute a form of usury, if he

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were not accustomed to greet him before the loan. He emphasized the value of the observance of Mitzvoth, especially in relation to fellow-man, and said that abstaining from visiting the sick is as grave an offence as shedding a fellow-man's blood, for the visit would have cheered him and might have brought about an improvement in his condition. The performance of even one Mitzvah, he asserted, may save one from untimely death. jgNOWING the influence of social association upon a man's character, Akiva * warned against associating with evil doers and urged the company of good men, saying that one who associates with the evil doer though he does not act like him will be punished, while if h<* associates with the good he will be rewarded even if he is not distinguished by his good actions. Tradition has preserved numerous moral apothegms of Akiva which dis­ play a practical turn of mind. He warned against a light-minded attitude towards life and against excessive laughter, for such traits may bring about a loose life. He advised his son not to dwell in the “select” part of the city, implying that he must not consider himself more important than the majority; not to enter even his own home suddenly, and certainly not the home of a friend, not to pronounce vows, not to act as a guarantor for loans, and even not to act as a bailee. If a man be poor he should eat a simple meal even on Sabbath so that he may not need the support of others. For the same rea­ son Akiva asserted that it is the sacred duty of the father to teach his son a trade in order to preserve his independence. He also admonished his son to beware of one who offers counsel when not asked, for such counsel may have an impure motive. The Death of Rabbi Akiva

TKTHEN THE great rebellion of the Jews under Bar Kochba was drowned ¥ in blood after a three year struggle, the conqueror Hadrian felt intui­ tively that physical conquest must be followed by eradication of Judaism. Severe decrees were issued prohibiting the study of the Torah, observance of the Sabbath, and of circumcision, the practice of which were punishable by death. Tradition calls the aim of these decrees Sh*m,ad, i.e. complete destruc­ tion of Judaism. Akiva, true to his principles, defied the Romans and taught the Torah publicly. In vain did his disciples plead with him not to endanger his life. Akiva answered by quoting the famous Aesopian fable about the fish who rejected the sly counsel of the fox to get out on dry land and live with him by arguing that if they were in danger in the water, their very source of life, how much greater would the danger be on dry land. Similarly, con­ cluded Akiva, will the danger to the Jews be greater without the Torah, the source of Jewish life. 48

Jewish LIFE

On the fifth of Tishri Akiva was arrested and placed in jail at Caeserea. He was there only a few days, during which time his students risked their lives by coming to him "even there to ask for legal decisions. They did not leave him until the very end. On the tenth of Tishri, iom Kippur, he was brought before his old adversary the Proconsul Tinius Rufus, foi* judgment. The tyrant ordered his death by torture, his flesh to be literally torn with iron combs. While suffering these tortures Akiva calmly recited the Shema, and even smiled. The tyrant, astounded said, “Saba, Saba, aged man, are you insensible to torture or merely defying it?” Said Akiva, “All my life I had hoped to fulfill the precept And thou shalt love thy G-d with all thy heart and with all thy soul. This is the moment for which I hoped all my life.” EGEND surrounded Akiva’s burial with “ a halo. According to one source, Elijah came to Akiva’s disciple Joshua ha-Garsi who attended him in prison on the day be­ fore the Day of Atonement — this source fixes his death a day earlier — and said “Peace be with thee, I am Elijah; I came to tell you that Akiva died. Come with me.” They came to the prison and found it open, the warden and guards asleep. They took Akiva and carried him a long distance to a cave, the doors of which opened by themselves at their approach. They saw within it a bed, a chair, a bench, and a table on which a light was burning. They laid him down on the bed and left while the doors of the cave slowly closed. (Mid­ rash Mishle XL, 2) Sufficient to say that the burial of Akiva possesses several fea­ tures attributed to that of Moses him­ self. Akiva’s love of Torah, of his people, and the sanctification of the name of G-d and Israel, his three leading teachings, found the highest expression in the manner of his death which has served as an example and source of inspira­ tion to thousands of martyrs through the ages.

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•

Coast-to-Coast journey of an observant family

TRAVELING

KOSHER

By LILLIAN S. ABRAMSON

"W

H A T ! Motor across the dom of Hollywood. Our turn-about United States with two point proved to be our original des­ small children and eat Kosher, too? tination, the Pacific Ocean, where It just can't be done !” we joyfully sampled the swimming Comments of this nature were at Santa Monica Beach just as we heaped upon us by well meaning had at Lake Erie, Lake Okiboji, friends and anxiety-ridden relatives the Great Salt Lake and the nu­ early last summer. Yet, early one merous natatory nooks all across July morning we stowed our lug­ the map. We reappeared on the gage and ourselves — mother, fa­ home scene healthy, well-fed, and ther, five-year-old daughter and replete with indelible memories. seven-year-old son — into our car. The very friends who had origin­ Even though our itinerary was ally been so discouraging were now most minutely planned all the way developing a cheyshek to emulate to and from California, we didn't us. They bombarded us with ques­ really expect to cover the entire tions calling for practical advice on trip. We started out with the most how and where to feed a complete tentative of attitudes: as soon as family away from home while still any of our quartet had had adhering to the laws of Kashruth. “enough” we were going to reverse If you, too, find yourself yearning *our tracks. to see the wide open spaces, indus­ Six weeks later we had completed trial wonders and spectacular beau­ a 12,000 mile journey cross-coun­ ties of this, the world's largest and try. During that brief span of time freest country — don't hesitate be­ we had actually seen a long proces­ cause of a firm determination to eat sion of hitherto story book places only Kosher food and the resultant including the vast prairies of the fear that you will be half-starved Midwest, the natural wonders of for lack of proper nourishment. Yellowstone Park, the fabulous city True, facilities for eating Kosher of Las Vegas, Nevada, the colorful are pitifully inadequate; in our ex­ Painted Desert and the movie king- perience, we found nothing that 50 Jewish LIFE

met our standards west of Chicago. Determine to eat few, if any, meals in restaurants. Put yourself in the proper mind-set for simple menus,

limited in variety, yet well-bal­ anced. Provide suitable equipment which will enable you to prepare your own food.

Equipment

JJESS THAN twenty dollars-wòrth of equipment was our key to Traveling Kosher; equipment was compact yet quite complete. The original outlay was more than fully refunded by subsequently reduced food costs. To those who may be dreaming of a similar trip we would recommend the following as sine qua non: (1) An electric hotplate which can be plugged in anywhere you find electricity. And what commercial enterprise for over­ night stay, even miles from a city* isn't that modern? (2) A good portable ice refrigera­ tor that is well-installed. When we purchased ours, we won­ dered where we would buy ice. However, we soon discovered that every fair-sized town had an ice house where, for approximately fifteen cents, we could buy a supply for the ensuing twenty-four hours. It is particularly wise to select a model that contains a se­ parate container for the ice, rather than a built-in in­ tegral unit. The separate ice container permits easy re­ moval, filling and replacement without any stranger touching the food contents. Our refrig­ erator easily he}d four quarts of milk, a pound of butter and several packages of cheese in July-August, 1952

addition to a minimum supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. (3) Two small pieces of luggage: one for milchige and one for fleischige, each filled with plas­ tic dishes, stainless steel uten­ sils, two saucepans; a plastic tablecloth and dishtowels. With this arrangement we would take out of the car only the one needed for a particular meal. (4) A supply of paper cups. We found these very useful for drinks enroute. Since our re­ frigerator was kept inside the car and not in the trunk, we could easily satisfy our thirst. (5) A thermos bottle or jug. This we filled with cold drinking wa­ ter each morning after break­ fast, thus assuring a good wa­ ter supply if we found an en­ ticing lunch spot chosen solely for its beauty. F o r o p tio n al equipm ent one might include: (6) Outdoor grill for broiling fresh meat. (7) Extra wire rack for broiling fish—amateur-caught or storebought. Shopping for food could be done easily, making it unnecessary to utilize precious space for a heavy inventory. Supermarkets w e r e found in almost every town and pro­ vided pasteurized milk, dairy pro­ ducts, canned goods, fruits and 51

vegetables. When we made stops in cities with Jewish shopping areas we would purchase a heavy supply of bread, in addition to sweet but­ ter, sour cream and other “Jew­ ish Specialties” including jarred pickled herring and Kosher salami. The meat problem was solved largely by stocking up on Kosher

canned meats in New York City before we left. The present-day var­ iety of reliably Kosher and excel­ lently canned meats provided the backbone of fleischige meals; they proved nutritious and highly satis­ fying. Only twice did we purchase fresh meat which we broiled on the outdoor grill.

Menu

J 10 DEMONSTRATE that one can eat palatably and satisfactorily while traveling, here are sample meals of a typical day: Breakfast consisted of frozen or canned fruit juice, cold cereal with milk and fruit, eggs, bread and but­ ter. The kiddies topped this off with milk while one pan of boiled water plus the added instant coffee for Dad and a tea bag for mother provided us adults with our usual morning pepper-upper. At breakfast time (if we were traveling onward) we would par-

52

tially prepare for lunch by hardboiling eggs., making sandwiches and washing some fruits and veget­ ables. Lunch was served in the best out­ door cafe available, which was fre­ quently a quiet village green or a state camping area along the high­ way. Approved drinking water could always be found in these loc­ ations. With the food partially pre­ pared at breakfast time, we had most pleasurable al fresco lunches. The play spaces close at hand were enthusiastically used by the kiddies and we always paused long enough to afford them their daily dose of swings, seesaws and jungle gyms or, in the absence of this equipment, a good long chance to stretch their limbs. One of the loveliest outdoor spots we found was in the state of Iowa. Adjoining the picnic, area was a sheep-herding ranch with many soft wooly lambs nuzzling the fence and brushing against it so that we could reach over and stroke their soft, curly wool. The evening meal was eaten af­ ter we had selected our cabin; this was the time for the meat meals. We usually stopped in motels Jewish LIFE

and cabins rather than in hotels. More accessible and affording greater privacy, some motels af­ forded almost all the conveniences of home. Here we could utilize elec­ tricity for heating the food and hot water for cleaning dishes. Our menu would consist of items such as iced cantaloupe, canned steak with onions, a salad of fresh raw vegetables, boiled mashed potatoes

and fresh fruit. In between snacks were frequent or, from mother's point of view, constant. Sitting in the back of the car, she shepped nachas as she cream-cheesed c r i s p y crackers while glimpsing, between dobs of jelly, such world-reknowned sights as South Dakota's Badlands or Col­ orado's precipitous mountain pass­ es.

Shabboth

^NUR “LIQUOR" cpnsisted of one bottle of sweet grape wine. This we cherished together with our pretty plastic candlesticks and spe­ cial white tablecloth from one Shab­ both to the next. On Friday we would call a halt earlier than on the other days, so that we would have ample time to lay in a good supply of ice and food, boil water and perform any culinary prepara­ tions necessary. Also, we would pay in advance for two nights' lodging, assuring us of an uninterrupted veekend. We always planned exactly where we would be for Shabboth. Yet, on one occasion our schedule didn't work out, happily resulting in one of our loveliest Sabbaths. We were

heading East that Friday, expect­ ing to reach Denver. As the day progressed we realized that it would be a “tight squeeze" for time. Hast­ ily checking the map, we decided on Steamboat Springs as our stopping point. There we spent a charmed Shabboth afternoon strolling to the outskirts of the town and listening to the gurgling of the unique springs which gave the town its name. The Sabbath lights were kindled and the Kiddush chanted in some rather odd but beautiful spots. Even though the locale varied with each Friday evening, the traditional rit­ uals and the happy singing of the Z'miroth lent a note of permanence and continuity.

The Children

T3KTERE THE children restless and * ^ bored on this long, long trail? No»! On the very first morning each walked into the car with — yes — a brief case. Each had been permit­ ted to pack as much as the case would hold of favorite books, puz­ zles, paper, crayons and pencils. July-August, 1952

In addition, our son was assigned definite responsibilities. Watching for route signs and proudly bear­ ing the title of “Assistant Naviga* tor," he carefully arranged our in­ creasingly large library of maps, making the proper map easily ac­ cessible. 58

Completely alert and keenly in­ terested, our son enriched his store of geographic background and im­ proved beyond measure in reading ability. His jigsaw puzzle of the United States took on new meaning each day as he saw the capital buildings of various states. As for the “little one,” we tried to keep her day as normal as pos­ sible. One very definite beneficial concomitant of her traveling was her daily afternoon siesta. Follow­ ing her playful romping and out­ door lunch, she would get very drowsy, stretch out on the rear seat and sleep for an hour or two, some­ thing unheard of at home. In gen­ eral, she had a very relaxing and easy-going summer.

Both children found the change of locale, from day to day and the change of bed every evening to be smooth transitions. They felt that all the new places were parts of the same big world. For did they not recite the same K’riyath Shf/ma as evening prayer every night, and did they not express their thanks every morning upon awakening with their Modeh Ani? Yes, this world of theirs, whether down in the valley or high in the moun­ tains was presided over by the same G-d who watches over them in their very own room at home. What more could give them that feeling of se­ curity deemed so necessary by mod­ ern-day psychologists ?

Expenses

" g U T WASN’T it a terribly ex­ pensive vacation?” our friends wanted to ,know. Of course, a, if not the, most important con­ sideration in planning a vacation is the expense encountered. We kept a record of all monies spent; the main items were lodging, food sup­ plies, gas and other car expenses. Wishing to travel unimpeded by mounds of luggage, we kept our clothing to a minimum, dressing in comfort. To our delight we discov­ ered that informality was the key­ note among all our fellow travelers. We visited launderettes in towns and cities along the way about once a week, enabling a basic wardrobe to go a long way. The complete summing up of the expenditures was compared with the bill handed to us the previous summer after 54

we spent a vacation of the same duration in a hotel with daddy com­ ing out mainly for weekends. Un­ believable but true! The more tra­ ditional “hotel summer” had been much more expensive in dollars and cents. To this day the mere mention of our trip immediately evokes a whole train of memories. Yes, we viewed what formerly had been only envi­ sioned and observed at first hand the folkways of the nation while continuing to live and grow as Jews. After six weeks of “hitting, the road” we were all in the best of health and already anticipating the next vacation with the fervent hope that Leshonah Habboah Birvr sholayim -IS next year may it be in Jerusalem. Jewish LIFE

JT IS SAID that a strong people must be strong in body as well as in spirit. Therefore, it is be­ fitting that the people of Israel have accompanied their struggle for freedom and their determined drive to build their country with an expanding athletic program that touches a broad section of the popu­ lation. While on the political scene Israel has been torn with disunity, in sports the various rival fac­ tions have been able to work out a mature pattern of cooperation. The culmination of this broad sports program was the scheduled partici­ pation of Israel in the Internation­ al Olympic Games at Helsinki only four years after the founding of the Jewish State. The building of an Olympic team was a political as well as an athle­ tic achievement. In Israel the com­ peting sports organizations are ori­ ented toward the various political groupings. The largest sports or­ ganizations are Hapoel, Elitzur, and Maccabi. While not affiliated di­ rectly, Hapoel corresponds to the Mapai Party, Elitzur is oriented toJuly- August, 1952

ward Hapoel Hamizrachi, and Mac­ cabi is the sports group of the General Zionists. Since the State of Israel was born, these organi­ zations, and other smaller ones have all been striving to expand their programs. Elitzur, for exam­ ple, is intensifying its activity both among the youth and among the adults. With so many various sports clubs difficulties were bound to arise in any attempt at unifica­ tion. Yet such an attempt was necessary for Israel to gain ad­ mittance to the Olympics. ^^N E SPORTS fan remarked that if this unity had to be achieved on the floor of the Knesseth, not an athlete would have been able to go to Helsinki. In the beginning the situation was not much better among the leadership of the sports organizations. There was such dis­ unity that for a while the Olympic participation of Israel appeared in danger. However, the growing love of the Israeli people for sports and their determination to see that they 55

were represented among the na­ of the disunity, he could get almost tions of the world compelled the no cooperation and he finally threat­ rival sports groups to come to ened to quit. terms and create a united Olympic Excited over the opportunity "to committee. enter the Olympics, the Israeli Last year when the International people did not want to miss the Olympic Committee met to consider chance because sports leaders could applications for participation in the not put their heads together. Pub­ Helsinki games, Israel came up for lic protests and pressure mounted. discussion. Olympic officials were In the United States, thé Commit­ confronted with a perplexing situ­ tee for Sports in Israel made pub­ ation. There were two Olympic lic a letter of criticism voiced by committees from the Jewish State. Mondschein. The letter was also Maccabi insisted on being the sole published in the Israeli press. Ca­ representative and Hapoel acted in bles were sent to the Israeli govern­ the same way. Both sent com­ ment urging attempts to mediate mittees. The Olympic committee the dispute. Finally, after much bickering and would not hear of such a situa­ tion. Other countries were repre­ negotiating, a victory was won. An sented by a single committee and agreement was signed, the frame­ there was no inclination to majse work of which was to serve as a an exception in the case of Israel. basis for any future participation The Israeli spokesmen were told on an international level. The unity bluntly to go back home and form achieved was regarded as signifi­ a united committee representing all cant and as an indication of what factions by January 1, 1952, or could be done on other matters if forego recognition. If the instruc­ the welfare of the Israel people tions were followed, it was under­ were the guiding factor. stood that Israel was to be admitted pOLLOWING the setting up of a to the Olympics. But a mere word from the Olym­ joint committee, Israel set oiit pic committee did not seem suffi­ toward the task of building a strong cient. The situation appeared hope­ Olympic team. The results of these less. Irv Mondschein, formerly de­ efforts could only be judged by cathlon champ for New York Uni­ what transpired at Helsinki. How­ versity, was sent to Israel as an ever, sportsmen pointed out that it Olympic coach under the sponsor­ was not important how well Is­ ship of the United States Commit­ rael's athletes were able to do in tee for Sports in Israel. Mond­ competition with athletes from schein, a guest of the Ministry of other nations. While good showings Education, had the combined task were desired, -the mere fact that of instructing prospective coaches Israel was able to take part at all and getting a team together. But such a short time after the country he ran into a stone wall. Because was established was considered a 56 Jewish LIFE

major victory. Actually, advance predictions did not promise any world-shaking triumphs for Israel at Helsinki. The newcomers trained to face the world’s toughest com­ petition, including stars from the United States and the Soviet Union. The make-up of the team chosen to go to Helsinki reflects the path of development sports has taken in Israel. It is significant that a basketball team was chosen before a soccer team. A court squad had already been picked while delibera­ tions were under way as to whether or not to send a soccer team along, though, until a few years ago, soc­ cer had always been the most popu­ lar sport in the country. Israel de­ veloped crack soccer teams that competed on an international level against some of the best teams from leading countriesA m erican sports fans doubtlessly remember the visits here of Israeli soccer players. QOMEWHERE along the line an interesting transition began to take place. Basketball started catch­ ing on like wildfire. The position of basketball in Israel was greatly enhanced when a group of Ameri­ can sportsmen sent a talented bas­ ketball aggregation to Israel. Lead­ ing the group was Nat Holman, known throughout the sports world as “Mr. Basketball,” for the pio­ neering role he played in developing the sport in the United States. Hol­ man, who coaches at City College of New York, has a reputation as a player, coach and authority on the game. With his team that July-August, 1952

toured Israel, Holman was success­ ful in promoting methods used in playing the game in the United States. Subsequently, basketball gained such popularity in Israel that it has now passed soccer in terms of participation. That is to say, more people watch soccer games than basketball contests, but more actu­ ally take part in playing basketball. There is a very definite reason for this. Soccer fields takes up a lot of space, something that is scarce in the small nation. A network of soccer stadiums would take away valuable space needed for other pur* poses. A basketball court, however, can be built just about anywhere.

Interestingly enough, the reason for the spreading of basketball in Israel has its correlation in Amerr ica among the Jewish population. Here too the small space required for a baskteball court is one of the reasons why the sport has been 57

marked by the participation of women should be found in sports many Jewish youth. The Jewish in increasing numbers. There are population in the United States is not only numerous women athletes, essentially centered in the cities, but there are many women as phy^ where there isn’t the room for base­ ball diamonds and football fields sical education instructors through­ such as are found in more open out the school system. Other categories scheduled for parts of the country. A basketball court is housed in a gym. In fact, representation in the Olympics kids can nail up a .basket against were rifle shooting and swimming. a. an(* have makeshift fa­ A rifle team of four was selected cilities for playing. and one diver was chosen. Un­ doubtedly there would have been Q N E OF the main groups trained mor athletes named to the Olympic for the Olympics was the Is­ team had it not been for financial raeli track squad, with seven mem­ reasons. Israel ran into a difficult bers finally chosen to make the trip. problem. While it was able to care Israel has already produced some for its athletes within the borders, leading track stars, such as David raising money for the trip to Hel­ Tabak, who excels in the 100-meter sinki proved complicated due to the run. Irv Mondschein, an expert in shortage of dollars. For this rea­ track and field events, contributed son the U. S. Committee for Sports much toward developing Israel’s in Israel Undertook to provide this track potential. There was one money. event in which Israel was given a possible chance to win — the discus JT IS against this exciting back^ throw in the women’s division. Olga ground of expanding sports acti­ Wittenberg has proved herself one vity that plans are already being of the leading athletes, not only in made for the next Maccabiah the discus, but in track and field games, to be held in September, generally. It is significant that of 1953. The Third Maccabiah was the seven traqk, stars designated to held in the fall of 1950 and was take part in the Olympics, three highlighted by the participation of were women. 19 teams from many countries, in­ The prominent role women play cluding a large American delega­ in sports is a logical outgrowth of tion. The U.S. group consisted of the growing participation of women 10 traqk, and field men, 5 wrestlers, in the country as a whole. While 3 swimmers, 2 fencers, 1 weightstill limited in what they may do, lifter, 9 basketball players, and 9 women are remembered for the volleyball players. The Maccabiah active part they played during the drew attention from sports fans all war. Women also have pioneered over the world. Representatives alongside of the men in the kib­ from Elitzur then played a leading butzim. Thus it is natural that role and Elitzur is already starting 58

Jewish LIFE

intention to branch out in the United States with an eye toward having Maccabi groups spark the sending of an American delegation to the Maccabiah. The Zionist Or­ ganization of America went on re­ cord as planning to make a drive to­ ward setting up Maccabi units from Zionist youth organizations. How­ ever, this has not been achieved and won’t be in time to begin pre­ parations for the Maccabiah, as planning and fund-raising must be done far in advance. It appears as though the U. S. Committee and JWB will once again be in charge of sending the American team.

its training for the forthcoming games. The question of who will take charge of the U.S. delegation to the Maccabiah appears to have been resolved. In the last Maccabiah, preparations in this country were handled by a group of sportsmen who now comprise the U.S. Com­ mittee for Sports in Israel, with the cooperation of the National Jewish Welfare Board. Earlier this year Maccabi leaders expressed an

^■HUS ISRAEL is becoming inx creasingly important as a sports center. The Helsinki Olympics serv­ ed as the occasion for an important milestone in the development of the country. There have been Jew­ ish athletes who participated be­ fore in Olympic games. However, this was the first time that a Jew­ ish team was entered as such. The development that went into creating such a team and the unity that was achieved in making an Israeli entry possible stands out as an example of the strides that the Is­ raeli people can make.

A father fashioned some choice pearls into a beautiful necklace, and presented it to his daughter. Later when she disobeyed her father, he took the necklace and tied her hands with it. Likewise G-d had twenty-two holy letters, fashioned from them the Torah, and gave it to Israel. When Israel grew disobedient, G-d took the twenty-two letters and prompted leremiah to fashion a lamen­ tation out of them. Pesichta Rabbati, 30, 5.

July-August, 1952

59

£e¿tm

the

WELFARE FUNDS: GIVE THEN TAKE

Hartford, Conn. In your March-April issue of J e w ­ is h L i f e , there appeared an inter­ esting article by Rabbi Gersion Ap­ pel on “Orthodox Jewry and the Wel­ fare Funds” which I read very care­ fully. He made several statements with which I must take issue. I can't speak for all the communities throughout the country, but I can speak for Hart­ ford and other cities in Connecticut. Hartford has been pointed out by the writer as one of the fine cities in America in its relationship with To­ rah institutions. May I humbly state that what I say comes from a great many years of experience in the com­ munal life of our city. I am one of the founders and incorporators of the local Federation, serving at the pre­ sent time as its treasurer. I am, and have been, a member of the Board of Directors of the executive com­ mittee and all standing committees, and I feel that I should be fully quali­ fied to give an opinion on this con­ troversial matter. Rabbi Appel states, “Traditional Jews constitute the overwhelming ma­ jority of contributors and workers in the funds ” He also states, “In reality, 60

control lies in the hands of financially influential elements and that small group of self-styled community lead­ ers who float about in all the organ­ ized life of the community.” I have taken the trouble to check the membership lists of orthodox syna­ gogues and I find that more than half of their members contributed nothing or less than $25.00 in our 1951 cam­ paign. I also found that when the organizations and the synagogues of the community were asked to furnish teams, none of the synagogues except the Young Israel responded. I feel that perhaps the worthy rabbi had blamed the wrong people for his con­ clusions. It seems to me that ortho­ dox Jews have themselves to blame for their poor standing in the Federa­ tions. Members on the board of Fed­ erations are picked from those prom­ inent men who make large contribu­ tions and from those whose contribu­ tions may be small, but whose work throughout the year in behalf of Fed­ eration and its committees is very consistent and outstanding. On our present board there are many who call themselves orthodox, and when­ ever there is a vote taken you will find them voting along these lines. Some of our orthodox rabbis are also members of the board. Jewish LIFE

When the Committee on Tradition­ al Institutions was formed not many years ago, I told the leaders at that time that when this committee would function, the orthodox Jews would make larger contributions than they were doing. As chairman of this committee since its'formation, I am asked annually, where is the increase on the part of the orthodox Jews that I told them would be forthcoming. Without continuing this discussion, I would like to suggest, Mr. Editor, that since you have branches of the Union throughout the country, that a survey be made of the larger com­ munities to see exactly what part or­ thodox Jewry plays in campaigns and how their giving matches with other groups in those communities. From close observation there seems to have taken place a change of attitude on the part of many of our people to­ wards giving adequately to Federa­ tion funds or any other campaigns conducted in the communities. Per­ haps it might be a good idea if the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congrega­ tions would start an educational cam­ paign throughout the country to re­ value what the Torah has to say about Tzedakah. In J e w i s h L i f e of December, 1948, there was an editorial called “De­ mocracy in National Agencies” in which you practically stated the same arguments that are contained in the article by Rabbi Appel. I have discussed this matter with friends of mine throughout the state and they expressed themselves as I do on this vital matter. At a confer­ ence of the Union of Orthodox Jew­ ish Congregations held recently in July-August, 1952

Connecticut, the outstanding Jewish leader of our state, Judge Samuel Mellitz of the Superior Court, who presided, spoke very seriously about this matter and called upon the Jews of Connecticut to take a more active part in the raising of funds and to make larger contributions than they have been doing in the past. Unless we do so, he said, we cannot come to the Federations and ask them for more money for traditional institu­ tions. Dr. Herzl, founder of political Zion­ ism, advised the Zionists to take over the communities. I would suggest that such a slogan should be adopted by orthodox Jews. Unfortunately, the or­ thodox synagogues are units by them­ selves, exerting very little influence in the life of the community. They are centered in their own activities and take little part in what goes on in the community. I would like to sug­ gest that in every city where there are three or more orthodox syna­ gogues, a vaad (union) of orthodox synagogues be formed which could exert a united influence on the life of the community. If Orthodoxy is los­ ing out in America, it may be be­ cause not enough planning has been done on the part of national organi­ zations. If Torah institutions on na­ tional or international levels are to be supported, there will have to be more cooperation in every community on the part of orthodox groups in the raising of funds. If orthodox Jews ex­ pect to be recognized and listened to in the community, they will have to make larger donations to the Federa­ tions than they are now doing. I trust that you will pardon me for 61

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Jewish LIFE

having taken so much space, but to me this is one of the most vital m at­ ters confronting orthodox Jew ry in America today. I would like to see others express themselves on this sub­ ject and perhaps, by an exchange of opinions, we m ight be helping the cause in which we are so vitally in­ terested. Before closing, may I say th a t I could direct a great deal of criticism towards the Conservative element and the Reform element in our community, but for this discussion I have con­ fined myself to orthodox Jewry. Samuel Hoffenberg P.S. F or the record, let me state th a t I am an active member of the Young Israel and chairm an of the board of of directors of the Yeshivah of H a rt­ ford.

w hat we already know, namely th at the Federated Funds and UJA cam­ paigns in many cities do not reach a large portion of our Jews of all categories. The proportion reached usually drops with the rise in Jewish population in a given community. The problem is for the organization itself to devise more effective coverage in its campaigns. It can hardly be argued th a t a Jew, by virtue of his p articular religious convictions, whe­ th er they be orthodox, Reform or Con­ servative, is any the less responsive to an appeal to help his less fortunate brethren or to m aintain vital institu­ tions in Jewish life. 2. W ithout knowing the situation in H artford a t first hand, I would venture to say the following in refer­ ence to the presumed lack of response on the p a rt of the synagogues. Or­ thodox Jews, by and large, are as AUTHOR'S REPLY community minded as their co-reliSeattle, W ashington I welcome the opportunity to com­ gionists, if not more so. Active in ment upon the points raised about the host of Jewish organizations my article in Mr. Hoffenberg’s letter. th a t function in the community, If H artford is to be included among they are imposed upon to assume the cities where, as I stated in my community responsibilities through* article, a “growing awareness of the these organizations r a t h e r t h a n vital function of institutions of Torah through the synagogue. I dare say is slowly m anifesting itself,” it is th a t many orthodox Jews in H art­ probably due to the efforts of men ford worked for the Federation de­ such as Mr. Hoffenberg who continue votedly but failed to do so in a man­ ner as would result in their work be­ to cherish our basic traditions. 1. Mr. Hoffenberg states th a t he ing credited to their synagogues. Un­ checked the membership lists of the fortunately, and this is as true of the orthodox synagogues in regard to con­ Conservative and the Reform as of the orthodox, the synagogue is today not tributions to the local Federation. Had he taken the trouble to check the lists the center of Jewish life in the com­ of the Conservative and Reform con­ m unity as it should be. In my article gregations as well, he probably would I specifically pointed to the unwhole­ have found a sim ilar or worse situa­ some tendency to side-track religious leadership and to the process of secution. This proves nothing more than

July-August, 1952

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64

Je w ish LIFE

larization fostered in many cities which is not only lowering community standards but is robbing community endeavors of th a t sp iritu a l vitality which in the past always character­ ized Jewish life. T hat the synagogues do not exert their proper influence in the community is directly attrib u t­ able to this state of affairs and also to the fact th at, often, the organized life of the community is a *'‘closed corporation.”

causes sponsored by pressure groups, and the disrespectful and, a t times, un Jewish attitude of the leadership to the sacred traditions of Judaism. These are manifestations which the leaders of the Funds would do well do consider if they really mean the Funds to be expressive and repre­ sentative of the entire Jewish com­ m unity.

4. As conclusion to my article, I stated clearly th a t “the problem pre­ 3. When it comes to a tru e ap­ sented by the Jewish Federation and preciation of the sacred tradition of the W elfare Funds . . . is essentially Tzedakah, orthodox Jews have nothing the problem of orthodox leadership to learn from others. Orthodox Jews on the local as well as the national are solicited more often and for more scene.” I called attention, on the local causes, and give more in proportion level, to the deplorable fact th at Or­ to their means, and give in a tru e r thodoxy is often disorganized and its spirit of devoted and consecrated giv­ influence ineffective. On the national ing. P a rt of the deliberate vilification level, I said th a t Orthodoxy has not of Orthodoxy generally has been this taken full cognizance of a situation unproven a n d unfounded charge. developing whereby the W elfare When some orthodox Jews begin to Funds and the Community Councils, believe this monstrous lie themselves, by virtue of their control of funds then it is sad indeed. and the extension of their activities I Would add th a t often the organ­ beyond the collection and disburse­ ized Funds are not a conclusive indi­ m ent of funds to the planning and cation of a m an’s assumption of his execution of community services and responsibilities to Tzedakah. I know activities of im portant areas of Jew­ of some men who give generously to ish life, are in a position to exért ef­ many charities and institutions of fective influence over national as well learning and who work tirelessly for as local organizations and institutions. Torah and Tzedakah but who do not I therefore drew the same conclusion contribute through the organized as does Mr. Hoffenberg th a t the prob­ Funds and are not active in their be­ lem, in its final analysis, is one for half. I may disagree with their views, Orthodoxy itself to consider seriously, but I can understand the genuine and to find the proper« means of coping deep feelings th a t prompt them; with the encroachment of the Funds namely, the dissatisfaction with the in these areas if we are to conserve prejudiced and unequal treatm ent ac­ the strength of traditional Judaism corded traditional institutions and and fu rth er the Torah way of life. c a u s e s , the disproportionate and Rabbi Gersion Appel wasteful sums allocated to favored

July-August, 1952

65

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66

Jewish LIFE

POINTING TO HISTADRUTH Highland P ark, N. J. I have read Mr. Israel Kaminsky’s report about religious freedom in Is­ rael’s Ma’abaroth or transition camps. From personal observations made during a trip to Israel I cannot but confirm his impressions. However, I would like to make some comments. Mr. Kaminsky states th a t only in transition camps the situation makes a forceful seduction of children pos­ sible, while in the “cities and towns of Israel, democratic procedure works out peacefully enough.” I regret to say th a t even this is not quite so. In Petach-Tikva (founded original­ ly by religious Jew s), a city with a population of over 20,000 people, the following happened a fte r the school registration two years ago: All p a r­ ents whose children had been regis­ tered with either Mizrachi or Agudah schools were informed by their local employment office th a t no more jobs would be provided for them unless they re-register th eir children with H istadruth schools which educate them for socialist-atheistic ideals. Since there are no private employ­ ment agencies or (for most jobs) help wanted columns in the newspa­ pers, stark economic pressure is used by powerful H istadruth circles to force parents to de-Judaize th eir chil­ dren. I understand th a t this was no isolated case, even in a city. The report of Mr. Kaminsky tells mainly how parents are being pre­ vented from registering their children for religious education in the tran si­ tion camps. He rightly stresses th a t only with the greatest sacrifices is it possible to register children for edu-

July-August, 1952

cation in a religious school. Even then, such a school will only be pro­ vided if a minimum number of 50 children are so registered. In one of the camps in the vicinity of H aifa, despite all the threats and handicaps, the required minimum number of children was registered for a religious school which was opened to the dismay of the H istadruth. How­ ever, it soon became apparent th a t the fight was not over as yet. The religious teacher, being denied local accommo­ dation, was prevented from using the main road and had to use an unsafe road to get to the camp. B ut this did not stop him. Since loss of their jobs could not move the parents to take their children out, ration cards were suddenly withdrawn from those fam i­ lies. This did it. Little by little the parents with their hungry chil­ dren were forced to withdraw their children from the newly founded school. Since only very few (about four diehards) stayed, the school col­ lapsed and the H istadruth was able to add th a t many more children to their network. This outrageous case was then brought to the personal attention of the Prim e Minister, who is the titu lar head and leader of the Mapai and the H istadruth. His answer was th a t he did not believe it. Finally he was (seemingly) impressed and promised to send a special emissary at once to th a t particular camp. W hether he m eant it or did not mean it is open to question. In any case, a year la­ te r no emissary had arrived nor had conditions improved. The sim ilarity of past and present pressure tactics across the entire

67

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country shows th at these are not iso­ lated cases but th a t they reflect a set pattern. I am not surprised th a t Mr. Kaminsky did not get any encour­ agement from the official in the Minis­ try of Education. A fter all, the Min­ ister of Education is a Mapai party leader himself. The main reason be­ hind this religious persecution is th at the Mapai and the H istadruth w ant to perpetuate themselves in power. Wherever they can possibly help it, they do not w ant to take the chance of letting children be educated in schools whose ideals will lead them to vote for different parties. They feel th a t they have to eradicate any ideal­ istic competition wherever they can. They consider religious traditional education as reactionary to th e ir ; purely m aterialistic viewpoint. T hat is why they concentrate on the youth with the avowed aim to reduce the amount and the percentage of reli­ gious Jews in Israel. If they do not get any results in this generation, they w ant a t least to make sure th a t the future generation will be brought up the H istadruth way. This has been going on ever since the Polish or­ phans, brought over from Teheran in 1943 (the famous Teheran children scandal) were successfully induced to give up all the Mitzvoth they had been practicing. The conditions are worse in camps because, in the first place, they have the camp population under control. Secondly, in unfortunate conditions it is so much easier to coerce parents with economic and other threats to surrender their children to anti-reli­ gious schools. These poor families, mostly of oriental origin are an easy

July-August, 1952

prey, because they are unfam iliar with these pressure tactics and pro­ paganda lies. It is not surprising th at so many Yemenite Jews point to the fact th a t with all the anti-Jewishness of the Arabs among whom they had lived, they were at full liberty to give their children a completely religious education. They had to come to Is­ rael to experience intolerance in this respect. The H istadruth h a s * an excellent and powerful propaganda machine., Even in this country they successful­ ly deceive people. They pose as an in­ nocent non-political (American type) tra d a union. Actually they are a so­ cialist union and have their own edu­ cational school network. They are definitely political. During the last election the H istadruth was listed on the ballot with the Mapai on the same ticket. Thus, by intentionally mis­ representing facts, th e . H istadruth, through its American branch the Na­ tional Committee for Labor Israel, is able to collect several millions of dol­ lars every year. The money is main­ ly used for propaganda, organization­ al and election expenditures and to m aintain their huge p arty staffs. It works this w ay : Wherever they do not make their own fund raising campaign, they get considerable allo­ cations from the various local United Jewish Appeals across the nation. This way the m ajority of the contri­ butors to worthy causes never realize th a t they have a share (and a re­ sponsibility) in helping the H istad­ ru th in winning this election or com­ m itting such outrages. There is no justification for any U JA committee to a 11 o c a t e 69

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70

Jewish LIFE

any funds to the H istadruth. In the first place, there is no rea­ son why ju st one p arty or group, which is leftist, should be supported, whereas other parties more deserving are not getting any help. Secondly, the U JA funds are in most cases sole­ ly raised for hum anitarian (immigra­ tion, relief etc.) purposes and not to fill any p arty coffers. Thirdly, a di­ version of funds to the H istadruth only means th a t there is less money available for urgent causes. And final­ ly, it is criminal to accept money from religious Jews and support an or­ ganization which combats religious education by a detestable scheme of coercion. I sincerely hope th a t Mr. Kamin­ sky’s excellent report will successfully open the eyes of many people and stop the diversion of millions of dol­ lars from w orthy causes. N. Hoffner DEVELOPMENT OF HALOCHAH Chicago, 111. In the last number of the J e w i s h L i f e , Mr. Mines expressed great con­ cern regarding a passage in my article on Hillel in an earlier issue of J e w ­ is h L if e . The reason for his concerii is because the passage may be in­ terpreted to imply th a t there was a time when the Jews observed the W ritten Law w ithout the Oral. There is nothing in the passage which w ar­ ran ts such implication. All th a t was said was “th a t there was bound to arise, in time, a seeming gap between law as stated in the Bible and the needs of life.” This only means th a t the law in the form it is stated in the Bible is too brief, while life is wider,

July-August, 1952

and in order to observe a w ritten law properly, according to its very inten­ tion, it needs explanation. I stated explicitely th a t this gap — which might have begun immediately after the receiving of the Torah — was bridged by the Torah she-B'al Peh, the Oral Tradition, tracing its origin through Moses on Mt. Sinai. T hat tr a ­ dition was practiced immediately by those who observed the Torah after its reception. T hat there were many during the period of the Bayith Rishon who did not observe the Law, the Prophetic Books bear ample evi­ dence. But while I am on this subject, let me point out th a t life and its needs did have some influence on the ex­ pansion and development of the Halochah. Not everything to the last iota was given on Sinai, for otherwise we would not have so many Mitzvoth, both affirmative and prohibitive which are called d’Rabonon. Mr. Mines’ ref­ erence to Maimonides’ introduction to the Perush on the Mishnah stopped too short. W hat he quoted from there about details of Mitzvoth refers to those Halochoth which are called Halochah le-Moshe mi-Sinai, -which the Rambam includes in the second di­ vision, and says th a t there are no Bib­ lical proofs for them, nor even a Remez, i.e., a slight reference in the verse. But, he says, there are other di­ visions. The first one is explanations of Mitzvoth given by Moses for which there is a Remez in the Torah; and these Halochoth are often supported in the Talmud by interpretation, whether direct or through the Midoth. The third part, according to the Rambam comprises Dinim which were deduced

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by interpretation according to ration­ al explanation of the verse. In these there may be division of opinion for rationality is not equal with all. The decision is according to the view of the m ajority. The Rambam says though th a t the principles o f interpretation w e r e handed down by Moses, but the deduc­ tion of particulars (Anofim) was left to rational understanding and in th a t there may be a difference of opinion. The term Oral Law includes both dir­ ect Halochah mi-Sinai and those de­ duced by interpretation or Midrash. Only the principles (Ikkorim), ac­ cording to the Rambam, were handed down by Moses, but the extended de­ duction in which Sevorah enters was left to the Chachomim. The term Midrash is not limited to moral and ethical concepts, as Mr. Mines says, but to Halochah as well. The expres­ sion Midrash Halochah is found nu­

merous times in the Talmud. In the B eraitha of Rabbi Ishmael recited every morning, he speaks of the thirteen Midoth she-bohem ha~Torah

Nidresheth. Finally I w ant to point out th at HillePs ordinance of the Prosbul was a result of changed conditions of life, as it is stated (Gittin, 36b), in order not to close the doors to borrowers. Hillel interpreted the verse in a way to show th a t the words themselves prove th a t when the condition he laid down is conformed to, the law of Shemitah Kesophim does not apply. His ordinance is not an annulment but an explanation of when the law does apply and when it does not, but the need of life serves as a motive. A study of the second principle, Shoresh, in the Sefer ha-Mitzvoth would help in obtaining a clear conception of the subject. Dr. Meyer Waxman

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Please note that the © seal of Kashruth supervision and endorsement is exclusively the symbol of; Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 305 Broadway, New York 7, N.Y. BEekman 3-2220

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U O JC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the © seal. Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJC A Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • are Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

Golden Cracknel Egg Biscuits (Golden Cracknel & Spec. Co. Detroit) Ry-Krisp (Ralston-Purina, St. Louis, Mo.)

Baby Foods Heinz — with. (0) label only (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) Strained Food Orange Juice Junior Food Cereal Chopped Mixed Vegetables Puddings (Butterscotch, Chocolate, Vanilla) Beech-Nut — with © label only (Beebh-Nut Packing Co., N.Y.C.) Strained Food Cereal Junior Food

Baked Beans Heinz Oven Baked Beans with mo­ lasses sauce Heinz Oven Baked Beans in tomato sauce (H. J. Heinz Co.) Van Camp’s with © label only (Stokely Van-Camp)

Cake Mixes ♦Blair’s Ezy Angel Mix (contains milk) (Blair Milling Co., Atchison, Kan.) ♦Dromedary (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.) Date Muffin Mix Devil’s Food Mix Fudge Frosting Mix (above contain milk) Corn Bread Mix Corn Muffin Mix Cup Cake Mix Fruit Cake Mix Gingerbread Mix White Cake Mix

Camps Ifor childrenI Camp Mohaph (Glen Spey, N.Y. — N.Y. office 4320 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Butter Ocoma (Ocoma Foods Co., N.Y.C. and Omaha, Neb.)

Candies Barricini (Barricini Inc., Long Island City, N.Y.)

Cereals Cakes, Cookies and Crackers ♦Dromedary (The Hills Brothers Co., N .YH .) Chocolate Nut Roll Date Nut Roll Orange Nut Roll

July-August, 1952

♦Skinner’s (Skinner Mfg. Co, Omaha, Neb.) Raisin-Bran Raisin-Wheat

Cheese (for bakers 1 Bakers Cottage Cheese (Pickrodt Cheese Co., B’klyn, N.Y )

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the (y) seal. Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJC A Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • are* Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

Condiments ♦Dromedary Cranberry Sauce (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.)

® P Gold’s Horseradish (Gold Pure Poods, B ’klyn, N .Y.)

Heinz

(H. J . Heinz Co.)

Horse Badish 57 Sauce Chili Sauce Hot Dog Relish Worcestershire-Sauce Ketchup Pride of the Farm Catsup (H unt Food Prod., Bridgeton, N .J.)

Convalescent Homes Dayton Nursing Home (1884 Marmion Ave. Bronx. N .Y.)

Dishwashing Machine Detergents Spic & Span (Procter & Gamble)

Fish Products Boyal Snack (S. A . Haram Co., N.Y.C.)

Cream Herring Matjes Fillets Spiced Herring Lunch Herring Herring Cocktail Tidbits Salmon (in wine sauce) Mother’s Old Fashioned (Mother’s Food Prod., Newark , N.J.) © P Gefilte Fish Sweet & Sour Fisb ♦Breast O’Chicken White Meat Tuna (Westgate—Sun Harbor Co., San Diego, Cal.)

Flavorings Westag Lemon Westag Vanilla (Table Prod. Co.; Safeway)

Food Packages Care (20 Broad St., N.Y.C.)

Dressings Cascade Salad Dressing Duchess Salad Dressing Nu Made Mayonnaise Piedmont Mayonnaise (Table Prod. Co., San Francisco Cal.; distributed through Safeway Stores)

Garber’s Misrochi Salad Dressing (Garber's Eagle Oil Corp., B ’klyn.)

♦Heinz

(H. J. Heinz Co.)

Egg Preparations Stan-Egg (contains milk) (Standard Milling Co., Chicago, III.)

Eggs (Frozen — Bulk only I ♦Pink of Perfection Egg Products (M u sser & Co., W ells, M inn.)

76

Frozen Foods Rapoport’s Blintzes (Family Frozen Food Prod., B ’klyn, N .Y.)

Cheese Potato Veg. Steak with Protose Milady Food Products (B ’klyn, N .Y.)

Blintzes (blueberry, cherry, cheese, potato) *Waffles

Fruit — (Dried— bulk only I @P California Packing Corp. (San Francisco. Cal.)

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UOJC KASH RUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the © seal. Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing thfa or other UOJGA Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • are Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

Fruits — l Packaged) »Dromedary

Sprite (Sinclair Mfg., Toledo, Ohio)

( The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.)

Swerl

Dates Cranberry Sauce Fruits and Peels Moist Coconut Shredded Coconut

(Allied Chem. & Dye Corp., N.Y.C.)

Honey © P Garber’s Misrochi * (Garber Eagle Oil Corp.)

Ice Cream Costa’s French Ice Cream (Costa's Ice Cream Woodbridge N .J.)

Jelly Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Household Cleansers (See also Scouring Powders)

© P Brillo Products (Brillo Mfg. Co., B ’klyn, N .Y .)

Cameo Copper Cleaner (Cameo Corp., Chicago, III.)

Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Detergents (Jersey City, N .J.)

• • • •

Arctic Syntex M. beads (bulk only) Fab Kirkman Detergent Vel ♦Felso (Fels & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.) Glim (B. T. Babbit Inc., New York, N .Y .)

Golden Fleece Pot Cleaner (Metal Textile Corp., Roselle, N .J.)

My Pal (Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N.Y:)

Procter and Gamble Detergents (Cincinnati, Ohio)

• Cheer • Dreft Joy Spic & Span Tide

July-August, 1952

Meat — Canned ♦GG Brand

(Kosher Meat Packing Co., Winni­ peg, Man., Canada; Benjamin Win­ kler, Brooklyn, N. Y., Distributors

Beef in Gravy Beef Luncheon Meat Beef in Natural Juices Corned Beef Loaf Salami Veal in Natural Juices

Meat — Pickled and Smoked ♦Oxford

(Oxford Provisions, Inc., B ’klyn, N .Y.)

Corned Beef Tongue Pastrami

Mustard Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Noodles fir Macaroni Products ♦Skinner’s (Skinner M fg. Co., Omaha, Neb.)

Egg Noodles Macaroni Spaghetti Vermicelli

77

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the © seal. Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJC A Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • are Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

Oil — Peanut © P Garber’s Misrochi ( Garber Eagle Oil Corp.)

Prepared Poods Kosher-Pak Sandwiches (488 Albany Ave., B ’klyn , N .Y.)

Oven Cleaner *Easy - Off ( The Wolcott Co., H artford, Conn.)

Relishes, Pickles, etc . Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Peanut Butter Beech-Nut ( Beech-Nut Packing Co.) Beverly ( Table Prod. Co.; Safeway)

Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.)

* Planters (Planters N u t & Chocolate Co., Wilkes Barre, Pa.)

Beal Boast (Table Prod. Co.; Safeway)

H. W. Madison Co. (Medina, Ohio)

^Mother’s (Mother’s Food Prod.)

Sweet Peppers Pickled Tomatoes Hungarian Deluxe Cucumber Salad Kosher New Pickles Kosher New Gherkins Spears Mount Olive Pickle Co. (Mt. Olive, N.C.)

Potato Chips Blue Bibbon (A. A . Walter Co., Albany, N .Y .)

Carolina Beauty Pick of Carolina Way Pack Mopico Little Rebel Play Mates

:

Poultry — Frozen *Mahtov Brand *Mahnayim Brand (Mahtov Products, Inc., B ’klyn, N .Y .)

Menorah Farms (Menorah Poultry Co., Boston,Mass.)

78

Resorts Perry House (Bethlehem, N.H .)

© P Pine View Hotel (Fallsburg, N .Y .)

© P Washington Hotel (Rockaway Park, N .Y .)

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UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

(y)

All items listed below bear the © seal. Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJC A Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • are Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

Salt • Mögen David Kosher Salt

Pal Products Co. Products ( Brooklyn, N .Y .) • Lustro Polishing Powder My Pal • Palco Polish Powder Pal-Lo

(Carey Salt Co., Hutchinson, Kansas)

Morton Salt Co. Products ( Chicago, III.) • Morton Coarse Kosher Salt • Morton Fine Table Salt • Morton Iodized Salt International Salt Co. Products (Scranton, Pa.)

• Bed Cross Fine Table Salt • Sterling Fine Table Salt • Sterling Kosher Coarse Salt

Sandwich Spread Lunch Box (Table Prod. Co.; Safeway)

Shortening Durkee Vegetable Shortening (bulk only) (Durkee Famous Foods, N .Y.)

©P Garber’s Misrochi Pareve Fat (Garber Eagle Oil Co.)

Humko (The Humko Co., Memphis, Tenn.)

©P Nut-Ola Vegetable Shortening (Nut-Ola F at Prod., N .Y.)

; \±4&? ^g¡ Scouring Powder (See also Household Cleansers)

B. T. Babbit Co. Products Bab-o Babbitt 's Cleanser Cameo Cleanser (Cameo Corp.)

Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Co. Products • Ajax Ben Hur (bulk only) • Kirkman Cleanser • New Octagon Cleanser ©P Garber’s Misrochi Cleanser (Garber Eagle Oil Co., New Y ork)

Kitchen Klenzer (Fitzpatrick Bros., Chicago, III.)

• Old Dutch Cleanser (Cudahy Packing Co., Omaha Neb.)

July-August, 1952

Soups ©P Gold’s (Gold Pure Food Prod., B ’klyn, N .Y.)

©P Borscht Bussel - Schav Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Cream of Mushroom Condensed Cream of Mushroom Condensed Cream of Green Pea Condensed Gumbo Creole Condensed Cream of Tomato Condensed Vegetarian Vegetable Tomato Creamed Green Vegetable

(Coni, next page) 79

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the © seal. Items listed (u)P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJCA Passover Hechsher on label. Items listed • áre Kosher for Passover without Passover ^Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement. ^

Soups ieont'd.l Mothers (Mother’s Food Prod,) @P Borscht Cream Style Borscht Cream Style Schav Mushroom and Barley Queen Esther Ready-To-Serve Kosher Soup (Linda Foods, Inc,, Newark, N.J.)

Spaghetti Sauce ♦Skinner’s (Skinner Mfg. Co,, Omaha, Neb.) ÍSp k .é>|

Gl|*&

Tzitzith IVOOLEN M. Wolozin & Co. 11A YON, FOR RA YON T A LE Y T il IM Leon Vogel (66 Allen St., N.Y.C.) M. Wolozin & Co. (30* Eldridge St., N.Y.C.) Zion Tallis Co. (48 Eldridge St, N.Y.C.)

Spices ©P Garber’s Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Co.) *©P Gentry Paprika (Gentry, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.)

Vegetables ♦Dromedary Pimientos (The Hills Brothers Co*,¿N.Y.C.) Serto Brand Selected Garlic (Scaramelli & Co., N.Y.C.)

Sugar ©P Flo-Sweet Liquid Sugar ©P Hudson Valley Refined Granulated Sugar Refined Syrups & Sugars, Inc. (Yonkers, N.Y.)

Vegetables — Dehydrated l bulk only I @P Basic Vegetable Prod. (San Francisco, Cal.) ©P Gentry, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Vinegar

Syrup Sleepy Hollow

(Table Prod. Co.; Safeway)

Tomato Juice Heinz (H . J. Heinz Co.)

80

©P Garber’s Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Co.) Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.) Cider Malt Tarragon White Rex Amber Old Mill (Table Prod. Co.)

Jewish LIFE

8 Tctmmuz, 5712 July 1, 1952

Notice

The public is hereby informed that the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America no longer supervises and endorses Sunshine

Soda Crackers and

Sunshine Krispy

Crackers (unsalted top), m ade by Sunshine Biscuits, Inc.Long Island City, N.Y., a n d is henceforth no longer responsible in any w ay for the Kdshruth (Jewish Dietary Laws conformity) of any products of Sunshine Biscuits, Inc., and has withdrawn from the said com pany the right to use the © seal, or any other form of endorsement, of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, with respect to any product m anu­ factured henceforth.

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