Jewish Life April 1954

From Eternity To Here — Oscar Z. Fasman

Schools Without Politics Photo Exclusive: San Nicandro Proselytes In Galilee Marriage — The Jewish Way BOOKS RECORDS LETTERS

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• EDITORIALS S aul B ernstein , Editor M. M orton R urenstein D r. E ric Offenraciier R euben G ross R abbi S. J. S iiarfm an

Editorial Associates S eymour R osenberg

Assistant Editor Cover by

P a u l H ausdorff

Inside Illustrations by N orman N odel

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

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A BETTER TOP^ l* f i B f f l 3 A DISSERVICE TO ORTHODOX JEWRY ... 4 BY-PRODUCT OF COMMUNISM S i i B « 5

• ARTICLES STATE EDUCATION GETS UNDER WAY .. 7 Halevÿ-Levin THE IDEOLOGICAL GAP mÈKÊÊÊKÊIKÊ 15 Norbert Hofiner RAV ASHI AND -THE COMPIUNG OF THE TALMUD -------- 24 Meyer Waxman A JEWISH REACTION TO THE KINSEY REPORT^ p ^ y g a.„---------------- 32 Morris Max SABBATH IN JERUSALEM 38 Cecil Roth FROM ETERNITY TO HERE ....._____ ..... .. 43 Oscar Z. Fasman IS HERMAN STRUCK FORGOTTEN? 51 Alfred Werner THE COINS OF ISRAEL 4 I : ........... ,.,^...4.. 56 Harold U. Ribalow

• SHORT STORY Editorial and Publication Office: 805 Broadway New York 7, N . Y. BEckman 3 - 2220

Published by U nion of O rthodox J ewish C ongregations of A merica M ax J. E tra

President Rabbi H. S. Goldstein, Wil­ liam B. IIerlnnds, Samuel Nirenstcin, William Weiss, Honorary Presidents; Benja­ min Koenigsbcrg, Benjamin Mamlelker, M. Morton Rubenslefn.

Vice - Presidents; Josonh Sclilnnsr, Secretary; N. Kenneth Gross. Treasurer; Saul Bernstein, Adm inistrator

. THE SEDER I REMEMBER

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• BOOK REVIEWS UNDER THE HAMMER AND SICKLE » . 63 Samuel Rabinowitz A STRUGGLE FOR ORTHODOXY 67 Sidney Lebor

• ON THE JEWISH RECORD • FEATURES

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AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS g ^ g ^ g 2 TRIUMPH AMIDST DESPAIR W f e - ' 14

by S. B. Unsdorfer WHAT IS YOUR "BIBLE I. 42 A NEW FAITH, A NEW LAND Picture Feature33WIBBiiH&J!!?SAl!iS£??B47 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .B m m I B M . 78

• SERVICES U. O. J. C. A. PUBLICATIONS ...... :.......

83 © KASHRUTH DIRECTORY___________ 88

tfwnyOut CcHttibutctA RABBI MORRIS MAX ,is the spiritual leader of the Queens Jewish Center in Forest Hills, N. Y. He is the former Executive Vice-President pf the Rabbinical Council of America. Rabbi Max is the author of the popular booklet "The Jewish Concept of Marriage" and of articles that have appeared in JEWISH LIFE and other publications. *

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DR. MEYER WAXMAN, eminent author, scholar and educator, has made important contributions in the field of Jewish Scholarship, including "A History of Jewish Literature." He is Professor of Bible, Jewish History and Philosophy at the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago. *

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MAX ROBIN'S stories have appeared in various Anglo-Jewish periodicals. *

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NORBERT HOFFNER has been writing for a number of years on religious, legal and technical topics. *

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RABBI OSCAR Z. FASMAN is the President of Hebrew Theological College.

Born in Chicago, he received his PH.B degree from the University of Chicago in 1928, and was ordained in 1929 at Hebrew Theological College. Rabbi Fasman has contributed to the Jewish Library Series and has written articles on current topics appearing in the Anglo-Jewish press. *

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RABBI SIDNEY LEBOR, born and nurtured in England, is a musmoch of the

famed Mir Yeshivah. He is Rav of Congregation Sheveth Achim Bikur Cholim, in New Haven, Conn. *

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SAMUEL RABINOWITZ came to the United States from the Ukraine following the Russian Revolution. He has studied at Talmudical Academy of Yeshiva University, Brooklyn College and Columbia University, and is now engaged in mathematical research at a leading airplane plant.

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DR. ALFRED WERNER has written on a variety of subjects, particularly the

fine arts. He has edited a number of volumes, including the "Little Art Book" series and a portfolio on Utrillo. He is the author of a monograph, "Story of Jewish Art," and is a frequent contributor to Anglo-Jewish publications.

2

Jewish LIFE

A Better Trend

STRIKING and encouraging symptom of changed trends among Am­ A erican Jews is the ever-increasing observance, among all elements, of the Pesach festival. It is tragic, of course, that the level of American Jewish life could have deteriorated to the point where observance, rather than non-observance, of Pesach and other festivals constitutes a note­ worthy development. The fact must be recognized, however, that such a deterioration did occur. The gain in observance, therefore, spells no more than partial recovery of a vast loss of ground. The nature of the development should be weighed with great care.

A tangible index to increased Pesach observance is to be seen in the demand, leaping forward year by year, for authoritatively certified Kosher for Passover foods. The scope of this demand has been marked not only by firms producing food products for a primarily Jewish mar­ ket, but by the most diverse elements of the giant American food in­ dustry. Considering the proportion of Jews to the total American popu­ lace, the importance now attached by the food industry to the Passover market constitutes an astonishing phenomenon. This cannot be brushed aside as a mere manifestation of “stomach Judaism.” The distinction between Pesachdige and year-round foods is religious rather than cul­ inary. People purchase Passover foods only because they want to ob­ serve Pesach.

■pHE demand for Passover foods of course cannot be taken, of itself, as a decisive criterion of observance. Undoubtedly, among many American Jewish families the laws and customs of Passover, as well as March - April, 1954

3

of other features , of the Jewish religion, are still observed in frag­ mentary style. In numerous homes Passover pracA tice can hardly be dignified with the word observance.

New In a sad number of cases the families do not fulfill Appraisal the requirements simply because they do not know how —- the link^w^ith the Jewish heritage has been all but lost. But the “Kosher shel Pesach” label is not an isolated mani­ festation. Synagogues, Jewish schools, communal activity and the life of the home itself all, reflect the same tendency | | | a tendency towards a new appraisal o£ things Jewish, towards positive appreciation of the Jewish way of life and the Jewish gOal in life, towards affirmation of the Jewish future, towards worship of -. G-d and fulfillment of His mitzvoth.

The American Jew is still unformed. Let us not underestimate his deficiencies as a Jew or the massive obstacles to be overcome in shaping his Jewish character. But neither must we inadequately recognize his potentialities. With faith in the Divine force which has guided our peo­ ple through the ages, with understanding, with humility and with con­ secrated purpose, the American Jew can be guided towards an onward Jewish life.

A Disservice To Orthodox Jew ry Q P IN IO N among orthodox Jews as to the unhappy issue of women’s cdnscripfion in Israel is largely divided between those who consider it a necessary evil and those who deem it an unnecessary evil. There are other orthodox Jews who maintain that, under the circumstances, compulsory service for Israeli women requires no extenuation. Still others profess to feel that the measure must be combatted at all costs — and regardless of any consequence either to the safeguarding of religious rights of Israeli Jewry in other respects or to the position of Israel visa-vis anti-Israel forces. When this last element adopts such a tactic as 4

Jewish LIFE

the demonstration held in front of the Israel Consulate in New York City on February 8th, the, question arises as to whether those respon­ sible are not rather inspired by a sense of hostility towards the Jewish State than by religious principle.

Because the participants in this demonstration claimed to represent orthodox Jewry, it is necessary that their claim be repudiated in un­ mistakable terms. A statement issued by the Rabbinical Council of Am­ erica appropriately voices the reaction of orthodox Jewry to the demon­ stration: v “The Rabbinical Council of America, as an orthodox Rab­ binic body, completely dissassociates itself from the shameful, degrading and violent demonstration which took place in front of the Israeli Consulate on Monday, February 8th. We particu­ larly regret that the people demonstrated under an “Orthodox” banner. They do not represent orthodox Judaism and as ortho­ dox Rabbis, we condemn such action as contrary to our basic re­ ligious teachings and repugnant to the spirit of Torah.

We

consider the individuals who participated in this demonstra­ tion to be totally misguided and the sponsoring organization to be irresponsible and misled* “While we recognize the right of any individual or group to express views on any matter of interest, and though we have frequently expressed our displeasure with the conscription of women in Israel, we feel strongly that this method of expressing opposition completely exceeded the bounds of proper conduct.”

By-Product of Communism #

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JN THE light of current events, the motto “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” seems threatened with transposition. The pressing threat of Communist totalitarianism has created a climate which Sen­ ator McCarthy has dextrously exploited to his purpose. In the activiMarch - April, 1954

5

ties of Senator McCarthy multitudes of Americans see an attack upon American rights and legal processes which reflects, rather than combats^ the Communist technique.

Under the impetus of Senator McCarthy's sensational tactics, an in­ quisitorial spirit has been engendered. This has been communicated to a variety of self-appointed as well as official investigators. The range of targets has become wide indeed.

JT IS a curious sidelight upon American history that the Protestant clergy should find itself the subject of oblique attack in the course of the freewheeling investigations which have been going forward. If the Protestant community, large as it is, has cause for Threat apprehension under these circumstances, other relifo gious groups surely can have no less cause for conReligion cern as to the ultimate tendencies of these investi­ gations. The situation therefore, while intrinsically of equal concern to all Americans, affects Jews in a particular degree.

For Americans at large, a challenge to civil liberties threatens the way of life of which each American is a part. The Jew, on the basis of his historical experience, is bound to be especially conscious of this danger.

W ITH this in mind, Jews appraise cautiously the fact that Senator McCarthy has not, in pursuing his investigations, indulged in overt Antisemitism. Movements of an undemocratic character, whatever their original premise, cannot be reconciled with the ideals of Jewry. Thus, American Jews, regarding Senator McCarthy's activities as a by-pro­ duct of, rather than an antidote to, the Communist menace, feel that the struggle against Communism will be freed of a grave impediment when the techniques identified with Senator McCarthy are eliminated from the political scene.

6

Jewish: LIFE

From our Israel correspondent:

Q N August 12, 1953, the State ^ Education Act, providing for the nationalization of Israel’s schools, was passed by the Knesseth. The schools reopened after the summer vacation on October 4th — about one month later than is usually the case. In this brief period of less than eight weeks, shortened by the incidence of the Festivals, the Ministry of Educa­ tion and the school principals had to make their final preparations for what is no less than a revolu­ tion in the pattern of Israeli education.

The unseemly haste in which this radical reform was carried through, the disregard for the im­ mense objective difficulties it in­ volved, can only be explained against the background of party politics in this country. The State Education Act was born of a for­ tuitous union between the Israel Labor Party and the General Zion­ March - April, 1954

JERUSALEM ists, which few observers had thought probable and even fewer considered durable. The act was passed in the face of very strong op­ position. Its passage was to a very substantial extent due to the tre­ mendous prestige enjoyed by the former Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, especially within the ranks of his own party. The mu­ tual suspicions of the two domi­ nant parties in the Coalition, ap­ prehensions regarding the possi­ bility of unseen changes in the political situation — fully justified in view of the fluidity of party alignments in this country — bred an impatience to present the peo­ ple of Israel with a fait accompli.

ITIHE CONFUSION that marked the opening of the present school year was largely the out­ come of this haste, though other factors also operated.

Many of the difficulties experi7

enced in translating the Act into fact were inherent in its; revolu­ tionary nature, and the impossi­ bility of foreseeing all its effects and implications. In previous years school principals coiiM estimate with a reasonable degree of ac­ curacy, on the basis of past ex­ perience, the number of new pupils they might expect, and make pro­ vision accordingly. The establish­ ment of two categpries of schools, Religious and non-Religious,v cut across the five “groupings” hither­ to in existence: General Zionist, Agudah, Mizrachi, Labor (Histadruth) and Histadruth religious schools. This, plus an administra­ tive decision of the Ministry, re­ quiring parents to send their chil­ dren to the nearest state school chosen (in itself a very sensiblè arrangement), created an entirely new state of affairs. In the ab­ sence of reliable statistics for the various localities, a situation was created in which some schools Were crowdëd out, while others remained under their quota.

There was another difficulty, in­ herent in the hidebound unwilling­

ness of Israel's officialdom to pub­ lish relevant information or to con­ sult with the public. The result, in the implementation "of this act, was errors in planning and execu­ tion and friction with both parents and teachers, most of which might have been avoided by friendly dis­ cussion with the,interested parties.

Then there were the perennial and closely related problems of finances and personnel.

Some months" prior to the passage of the act, the Efficiency Commission, headed by Pinchas Labon, then Minister without Portfolio, made certain recommendations to achieve economies in the schools by merg­ ing parallel classes and the re­ trenchment of several hundred teachers (mainly uncertified teach­ ers, who nevertheless possess con­ siderable teaching experience) and inspectors. The Ministry of Edu­ cation, in addition, under pressure of its financial difficulties and in anticipation of more efficient oper­ ation of the schools upon the new basis, endeavored to effect a fur­ ther reduction of staff.

Innovations

n T THE close of the 5713 school year the education authorities found themselves saddled with a deficit of IL 2.4 million, deriving from the rise in the cost-of-living (and therefore of its payroll) and other contingencies. In view of thé teachers' refusal to agree to an extension of their working week from thirty to thirty-

two hours of teaching, instructions were issued to execute a cut of *3.5 per cent in all expenditures. The effect of this measure on a budget already strained to its limits was an average reduction of four hours of teaching per week, or from twelve to sixteen per cent of the curriculum, varying from grade to grade. The subjects mainly afJewish LIFE

A geography class in Bilu School of M izrachi.

(Courtesy Zionist Archives and Library)

fected were English,! physical training and handicrafts.

Another factor aggravating the situation, though not directly con­ nected with the promulgation of the Act, has been the overhaul of the school curriculum. The Sylla­ bus at present being taught in Israel’s elementary schools was formulated over thirty years ago, when the Yishuv numbered little more than one hundred thousand souls, and conditions were totally different from those obtaining in the State of Israel today. In this sphere, it is gratifying to note, the authorities have been proceeding with more circumspection. Here they are less pressed for time and the issue is less subject to political pressures. Adequate provision is being made for discussion of the changes recommended with both parents and teachers, while a trial March - April 1954

period in selected schools, for the testing of the new curriculum un­ der normal conditions of school­ ing, is being planned. lender these circumstances it would not be fair at the present juncture to pass judgment on the achievements and prospects of State education in Israel. By its nature such a reform is a long­ term project, and years must pass before the narrow partisan ap­ proach to schooling — which it is the main purpose of the Act to eradicate — gives way to a broad­ er national conception.

TT IS a very apt illustration of * the state of confusion, from which the country’s schools are only now painfully emerging, that so far no final and reliable statis­ tics for school attendance in the current year have been published.

9

Provisionally, however, it has been stated that the number of children in the elementary schools —- the Act covers only this category of education — is 197,000, of whom 50,000 attend State • religious schools. In addition the sixtyfour “recognized” Agudath Israel schools (receiving a Government subvention set at sixty per cent of their expenditures) are attended by 14,000 children.

Despite the wide prominence given recently to differences over educational questions in the for­ mation of the new Coalition Gov­ ernment, religious circles in this country are tacitly agreed that their previous apprehensions have — so far at least — proved un­ founded. Of course, it is con­ sidered impolitic in the highest

degree to admit the fact. It will be recalled that the religious par­ ties represented in the Government only consented to the Act when its passage was inevitable, and then with gravest misgivings. Agudath Israel, of course, remained intransigeant in its opposition and has withdrawn its schools from the social networjc. (It is interest­ ing to note in this context, that the sixty per cent Government sub­ vention to Agudah “recognized” schools was secured as a result of the united pressure of all religious parties.) It is noteworthy, how­ ever, that both the Poale Agudath Israel and the Chabad schools opted for State education and con­ stitute today an integral part of the State religious school system.

Gains For Religious Education

TN VIEW of the fears of the orthodox section of the com­ munity regarding the fate of the school system which it had built up over two generations, closer examination of how religious edu­ cation has fared under the new dispensation will prove instructive.

A number of gains are immediate­ ly apparent. As has already been indicated, the State religious school system is not identical with the former Mizrachi network, and therefore closer analysis of school attendance figures is necessary to establish the advance registered.

Iii 5713, the last year of the grouping system, 38,244 children attended the Mizrachi elementary 10

schools and 16,726 attended those sponsored by Agudath Israel (19.1 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respec­ tively, of the total number of children going to elementary schools). Figures for the current year are: State religious schools, 50,000 children; Agudah “recog­ nized” schools, 14,600 children; an aggregate of 64,600 children, or over thirty per cent of the total.

It must be recalled that the number of new pupils this year was 16,000, in all schools. The expansion of the religious schools, accordingly, is very substantial.

(It is necessary to emphasize that these figures do not reflect the true contribution of the orthoJewish LIFE

dox community in the sphere of education. In 5713 — the figures for the current year are not yet available — the Mizrachi school system covered a further 20,000 pupils attending a wide variety of institutions, ranging from kinder­ gartens to secondary schools, trade and agricultural schools, teachers' colleges and yeshivoth. There were also many thousands of children attending Talmidey Torah and ye­ shivoth sponsored by other bodies, besides the large number of wards of the Religious Youth Aliyah housed in scores of homes and set­ tlements.) ^N O T H E R advantage of this educational reform was mani­ fest at the beginning of the year.

For years past, with unfailing regularity, the registration of school children for the various groupings degenerated into a po­ litical campaign, of which intimi­ dation, victimization and entice­ ment were normal features. In such a campaign the religious groupings naturally labored under a severe handicap, for the jobs, the apartments and patronage gener­ ally were controlled by the His tadruth elements. Registration pro­ cedures, this year, presented a re­ markable contrast. Although it cannot be said that registration

was conducted everywhere with complete impartiality, or that offi­ cers of all grades gave unqualified assistance to both types of schools without any attempt at discrimina­ tion, most of the worst aspects of other years did not recur.

There were cases of indirect and even direct pressure — but these were not brought to bear upon in­ dividuals. In a Maabara near Givat Rfenner, and under the tutelage of that Mapam settlement, the large body of parents who had opted for a religious school were informed that the Kibbutz refused to construct a bungalow to house any but a non-religious school.

The children were, accordingly, compelled to go to the State re­ ligious school in Akir.

Difficulties have arisen particu­ larly where the number of parents asking for religious schooling, though large^ falls short of the quota set by the Act for the es­ tablishment of a separate school. In such a case the law requires the local Authority to provide trans­ port for the children to the nearest school of the desired category. The Local Council of Sakia — an immi­ grants' suburb near Tel Aviv — has refused to comply, in order to compel parents to send their chil­ dren to thé local non-religious school.

Emancipation From Politics

■J"HERE HAS been another gain which, however, the party leaders would not willingly Recognize — the partial extraction of the reMarch - April, 1954

ligious schools from the orbit of party politics. It is supremely signifieant in the cultural cold-war silently waged in Israel that the 11

religious school system should not Generally speaking, what remains be an appendage of any political t of the partisan attitude is hardly more than a vague antipathy for party.

Some remarks on the schools of the other type of school. There is Agudath Israel are necessary to also an unwillingness, mainly in complete the picture 6f religious Labor circles, to forego schooling education within the new pattern. on class principles, and devious at­ Official recognition of these schools, tempts are being made — by way making them eligible for a sixty of parent-teacher organizations and per cent Government subvention, other means — to retain at least was made conditional upon a vote some measure of party influence for secession from the state sys­ in the schools. Indeed, the demand tem by the parents of two-thirds for the appointment of a General of the children attending such Zionist Deputy Minister of Educa­ schools, and was granted only to tion, though ostensibly made to en­ schools with a pupil enrollment of sure the proper implementation of at least one hundred. In subse­ nationalization of the schools, was quent negotiations the authorities motivated by narrower partisan adopted a more liberal attitude and considerations. recognized ten schools with a smaller number of pupils.^ The TT IS a lack of sympathy for the State religious schools and a cost of maintaining a child at school in this country has been suspicion that in effect these estimated at IL 150 per year. The schools constitute a retention and sum required to finance the schools expansion of the former Mizrachi of the Agudah is in the vicinity of network, under a more convenient IL 2.25 millions (not including guise, that underlay the differences school buildings), of which about that recently came to light in the IL 1 million will not be covered by negotiations for the establishment Government grant. It remains to of a new Coalition Government. It be seen whether Agudah will suc­ is abundantly clear that the entire ceed in raising the funds neces­ question never has merited the sary for the proper running of its publicity accorded it. The matter schools. would not have been converted in­ In the depolitization of the to a major issue had it not been schools the State Education Act for the favorable situation created, has provided not more than an in­ by the prolonged Mapai-General strument, albeit a very effective Zionists talks, for Mizrachi-Hapoel instrument, in the right hands.

Not only parents, but teachers and Hamizrachi to press for further officials must submit to a long concessions to buttress religious period of reeducation before the schooling.

Under other political circum­ exclusion of party politics from the schools is an accomplished fact. stances it is doubtful whether the Jewish LIFE 12

matter would have involved, as it did, the resignation of the Direc­ tor of the Religious Schools Divi­ sion of the Ministry of Education.

Whatever the case, the religious Coalition parties played their cards well. The controversy hinged main­ ly upon thè authority of the Direc­ tor of the Religious Schools Divi­ sion, in his relations with the Di­ rector of the Ministry, and his competence in the administrative sphere affecting the full equality of status of the State religious schools.

The agreement reached, embody­ ing probably far more than Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi dared hope for, recognizes the Division of State Religious Schools as an autonomous unit of the Ministry, with supreme pedagogic authority

over these schools. The Director of this division, whose appoint­ ment, like that of the Director General of the Ministry, must be approved by the Cabinet, will be a member of the three-man Central Board of Education. The new agreement, which goes into much detail, seems to provide adequate safeguards for the proper execu­ tion of the clauses of the Act af­ fecting the religious schools. This position would be strengthened by the appointment of a religious Deputy Minister of Education as demanded by Mizrachi-Hapoel Ha­ mizrachi, but it is more likely that the General Zionists will prefer to withdraw their own claims in this respect rather than agree to the appointment of a second Deputy Minister.

Chinuch A tz m i School of Agudath Israel. Standing at left is Rabbi Moshe Porush, Vice-Mayor of Jerusalem.

(Courtesy Agudath Israel of America)

March - April, 1954

Triumph Amidst Despair

by S. B. Unsdorler In the spring of 1943, the shadow of death hung over the Jews of Bratislava# shut up in their ghetto which surrounded the old Beth Medrosh of the Chassam Sofer. Over eighty per cent of the Jewish community of Slovakia had already been deported to the extermina­ tion camps by the Nazis# and the rest# abandoned and alone# waited for the blow to fall.

One day# news came to the ghetto that the municipal authorities of the city were planning to have a tunnel dug from Bratislava to the Danube River# which was to pass through the old Jewish Ceme­ tery# closed for almost a century and the last earthly resting place of the Chassam Sofer.

Aroused by the threatened desecration, the Jewish community of Bratislava# in the midst of tkeir troubles# determined to take steps to prevent the threatened excavation. For many months# the Kehillah dedicated itself to this task. Finally# with the financial aid of the remnants of the Budapest Jewiih community, the Kehillah representa­ tives arranged for a section of the Beth Olom to remain untouched# and the grave of the Chassam Sofer was left undisturbed.

Soon after this incident# the Jews of Bratislava were deported to Auschwitz, together with the rest of Slovakia's Jewish population.

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After the end of the war# I returned to Bratislava and found that hundreds of Jews were again making their way to visit the grave of the Chassam Sofer. I felt that these pilgrimages were a tribute also to the Jews of Bratislava# who in the face of certain personal de­ struction# demonstrated again the strength and vitality of the Jewish spirit and its ability to wrest spiritual victory from the flames of physical destruction.

14

Jewish LIFE

By NORBERT HOFFNER

TT IS generally accepted that the A duty of a (senior) yeshivah is to impart such knowledge, reli­ gious indoctrination, ethics and moral purpose to the student as will enable him to continue his self-improvement after graduating, and to lead others in the desired direction. What, however, have the results been thus far ? It is a dis­ turbing fact that a considerable number of yeshivah graduates are not only failing to become leaders after leaving the yeshivah, but are partly or entirely lost to our way of life. It has been customary to attribute this failure to many ex­ ternal causes, as well as to short­ comings of the affected individuals themselves. However, a study of March - April, 1954

the problems involved would show’ that this failure seems to point rather to the inadequacy or mis­ conception of educational methods hitherto employed. Only a revision of methods can reverse this trend.

What are the dangers to re­ ligious education? All the trends which are so prevalent today — alien ideas of Reformism and secu­ larism, the subordination of the spiritual goals in life to material­ ist aims — tend to undermine our sacred beliefs. Questionable ethics and political demagoguery com­ plete the picture. All these tenden­ cies endanger those who are not firm in their belief and pervert the minds of the unprepared. They result in doubt, vacillation, cyni15

cism and despair. A yeshivah stu­ in this respect. For all practical dent is liable to be swayed to the purposes all students should be same extent as any other loyal considered undecided during their Jew. There is a significant differ­ yeshivah stay. This time, which is ence, however. In a yeshivah some­ most important for making future thing can be done to prevent ef­ decisions, presents the only good fectively or counteract such a ten­ opportunity to give them the ne­ cessary guidance. It cannot be em­ dency.

Nevertheless, this challenge has phasized enough that the student been either overlooked, evaded, ig­ is not only to be trained for his nored, belittled or inadequately op­ years at the yeshivah, but for his posed. The yeshivah student has adult life — which is more im­ not been and is not being adequate­ portant. Once this chance has been missed and he has left the yeshivah ly prepared.

— it is too late to make up for "PHERE are many reasons for past omissions or mistakes; for, this. First, because too much by then, he will have chosen his is taken for granted, the homes own way. Hakol biyedey shomayim of some yeshivah students are con­ chutz miyirath shomayim: we sidered a guarantee for a lifetime must help him choose the right Yirath Shomayim. In other cases way. it is felt that since special guid­ ance is not necessary for the ma­ TN THE past, some leaders in Jewish education have recog­ jority of the students, it there­ fore would constitute a waste of nized the need for such action. learning time and effort to insti­ Two methods have become famous. tute special courses. It can easily In the Lithuanian area, Rabbi Yisbe proved that this commonplace rael Salanter introduced the Mussar idea to influence students, be­ viewpoint is fallacious.

Yeshivah students are diverse yond their Gemora lessons, to seek individuals who are more or less self-perfection in the service of positively inclined towards Jewish­ G-d and thereby overcome any ness. It should not be overlooked negative trend which may develop. that even a very firm and positive Other yeshivoth tried to solve the attitude on the student's part is problem by the leadership princi­ no guarantee that his Yirath Sho­ ple. The Rebbe was venerated as mayim would not fall prey to the a towering example to be emulated current dangers f— unless he is in moral, spiritual and political equipped to meet them. Besides, it matters. Various methods current is difficult to determine how much guidance a student may require to today constituted, at their incep­ confirm him in his religious out­ tion, a vast improvement over pre­ look, for as a youth the student is vious conditions. They prevented either still undecided or unsettled the estrangement of some students, Jewish LIFE m

and they strengthened others in their faith.

However, it must be admitted in all fairness that the success of these methods has been rather limited. In the first place, they have been applied on a limited scale. Secondly, to be successful, these methods do require, on the part of the student, rare qualities which can be achieved only by self­ less struggle. For this reason many do not benefit from such oppor­ tunities. Thirdly, these methods, in general, do not take into ac­ count the fact that besides differ­ ences in ability, an allowance has to be made for differences in char­ acter, approach and aptitude. And, just as one child is different from another and needs different hand­ ling, so do older pupils. Only a method designed to satisfy a var­ ied student body can be adequate.

An education built exclusively on either Mussar, Chasidism or Torahim-derech-eretz methods will not suffice, as past failures have shown.

TN RARE cases serious considera1 tion has been given to intensive ideological education or prepara­ tion. But even then the results have not been satisfactory, for the following reasons: pertinent in­ structions were not made an im­ portant part of the curriculum.

Neither tests nor home-work were required. Use of the lecture meth­ od precluded full vital experience on the part of the student. The students were given to understand that the course was only of second­ ary importance. In other words, March - April, 1954

there was no incentive to learning or interest. These courses were, however, a considerable improve­ ment over previous ones, although they lacked psychological insight.

Many have held the view that a Gemora shiur should be sufficient to cover ideological preparation, too, since just about any and all situations in life are dealt with in the Talmud. Why, then are there so many failures? It must be recognized that even if a student shows a definite interest in Ge­ mora, he is, by virtue of that alone, not being permanently won for our way of life. He does not automatically get the Torah out­ look, because, in general, his emvr nab and daily problems are not evaluated or interpreted for him in an ordinary Gemora shiur.

After all, Talmud is not meant to be a propaganda weapon and cer­ tainly not when such a limited amount is covered.

17

Obviously, more emphasis must be put on ideological education apart from Talmud classes. How else can a student be expected to determine which non-Jewish ideas to accept, which to reject and why? He is liable to be confused in his Jewish outlook if no solid background is provided for him.

Instead of trying to adapt preva­ lent opinions to the teachings of the Torah, he may do the opposite.

Since present methods have so often failed, there must be some­ thing else besides Gemora shiurim or even moral exhortations and in­ dividual studies, ■pHE following method, as out^ lined, should prove more ade­ quate, An integral part of the yeshivah curriculum must hence­ forth be devoted to instilling in the student a Torah outlook which will remain with him permanently.

A daily period should be directed towards interesting and convincing the student and towards equipping him for subsequent trials and for his struggle with inner and ex­ ternal evil forces. This course must be organized systematically in order to be adequate and inter­ esting. To arouse students' inter­ est and avoid past mistakes it is imperative to (1) teach by com­ bination of discussion and regular class-work, (2) require home or preparatory work for compositions, discussions and addresses, (3) re­ quire the passing of obligatory tests, (4) time the course not at the end of regular classes, (5) have well-prepared teachers, (6)

m

adapt the topics to the students' age-level. The two sections of the course should provide the back­ ground and the actual discussions.

The general topics would be: meaning and background of se­ lected basic parts of our prayers, the foundations of Jewish belief, historical trends, contemporary Jewish and non-Jewish movements and general present-day problems.

The study material might in­ clude : selected parts of Parshiyoth with Rambam, Neviim, Gemora (especially Perek HaChelek of Sanhedrin); Rambam's Yad Chazokah; R. Sadia Gaon's Emunoth V'deoth. Emunah Ramah (Raved), Kuzari (Rabbi Yehudah Halevi) and others; contemporary litera­ ture should also be included, such as “Foundations of Jewish Belief" (Rabbi M. Schwartz), Rabbi Sam­ son Raphael Hirsch's “Nineteen Letters," “The Jewish Religion" (Rabbi M. Friedlander), Dr. Na­ than Birnbaum's writings and the Jewish Pocket Books, as well as biographies of our great person­ alities.

This is, of course, not intended to be a complete list; it merely suggests the kind of material which would be very beneficial.

Any other literature that would further our Torah outlook and is clearly and correctly written could likewise be used to advantage.

T H E COURSE must convey our philosophy of life as well as the historical continuity of our general viewpoint. Our students have to feel that only loyal Jews, Jewish LIFE

Yirey Shomayim, are the elite of their people, because they have been the only carriers of our her­ itage throughout the generations and because of their continued ef­ forts to reach higher levels. There should be no doubt in their minds that negatively inclined Jews such as Reformists^; Conservatives or other assimilants are not “mod­ ern,” but just the spiritual heirs of other “improvers” or destroyers that we have had ever since Korach. In other words, ideologi­ cal education should inspire the student with pride and conviction in Judaism and prevent any pos­ sible subsequent feelings of in­ feriority. It must prepare and equip them to comprehend fully and to handle general and personal problems.

According to a well-known view­ point it is preferable to leave cer­ tain problems undisturbed, lest ac­ quaintance with them should stir up doubts and ultimately prove harmful. Such an opinion, as ap­ plied to the problem we are con­ sidering, not only evades the issue, but erroneously implies a weakness in our outlook. Besides, the Torah does explicitly recommend the study of the meaning of our his­ tory. Remember the days of old.

Consider the years of many gen­ erations (Devorim 32:7). Actual experience too, shows the fallacy of this reasoning, for sooner or later everybody does think about these problems. Those students who may not have any qualms while at the yeshivah will have them later. Their attention might March - April, 1954

be directed to them by personal experience, current events or by other persons. As a result, either the wrong people may be consulted, or they will improvise and accept their own personal inadequate ans­ wers. It goes without saying that it is easier and better to explain or convince while the student is still at the yeshivah. The usual questions and problems can be ex­ pertly answered by ideological courses, as outlined above, which will anticipate them, elucidate them properly and obviate the de­ velopment of serious doubts.

ANOTHER matter of great importance is neglected in the majority of the yeshivoth. Al­ though laws with which the aver­ age student may be concerned only rarely are handled at length and in depth, the Dinim of everyday importance are neglected to the point of making it optional for the students to learn some in their spare time. This practice is wide­ spread. The ignorance concerning every-day laws among students who at the same time have pro­ gressed well in Talmud is the best proof of this inconsistency in edu­ cation. Here, too, Gemora, al­ though essential and basic, is no substitute for Dinim. Moreover, leaving the learning of Dinim to the sole initiative of the students only belittles the importance of this field of learning in their eyes, whereas the Mishnah proclaims that practice is of more basic im­ portance than theory. Thorough instruction in this field would also 19

(but by no means alone) (}o much admonished to learn by themselves, toward confirming youth in its be­ , a broad knowledge could be ex­ lief and lessen susceptibility to pected if a short period every day assimilationist tendencies. Expla­ were devoted to Dinim/ Periodic nation of the background and tests are also very important; stress on the importance of Dinim otherwise the necessary incentive would supply one more basis for for remembering Dinim would be strengthening the students’ Jewish lacking. viewpoint, When the practice of ignoring Ignorance is responsible for or belittling the post-yeshivah many transgressions in the stu­ dents’ own lives and those lives problem will stop, reluctance to which they will influence and introduce an additional obligatory guide. Thus, while not much can subject or two will also be over­ be expected when students are just come.

Thou hast acknowledged the Lord this day to be thy G-d, and the Lord hath acknowledged thee this day to be His treasure. (Devorim XXVI: 17) This unique bond which the redemption from Egypt cemented between G-d and Israel explains — according to the Radowsker Rebbe — why Pesach has two names. We call it the "Festival of Pesach/' but the Torah calls it the "Festival of Matzoth." We speak of Pesach in order to remind ourselves of G-d's mercy in passing over our houses when He smote the Egyptian first-bora; and G-d calls the festival the feast of Matzoth in order to commemorate our obedience in leaving Egypt without even storing up food for the way.

. . . and the children of Israel sighed from their bondage, and they cried; and their crying went up to G-d from their bondage. (Shemoth 11:23) Rabbi Levi Isaac of Berditshev used to interpret this verse thus: "Their crying to G-d about their spiritual inpoverishment and inability to serve G-d went beyond their crying about their bondage—their physical suffering and servitude."

20

Jewish LIFE

By MAX ROBIN ■pATHER was to have left home ^ immediately after Purim. He stayed, however, over Pesach, in order to spend the holiday with us. But a week before Lag B'Omer he was gone.

Now another Pesach had come.

We were not yet able to join fa­ ther in the new world, where he was living frugally and saving, penny by penny, to send for us.

While here we were, confronted with the necessity of spending our first Pesach alone.

There were three of us in the house — mother, sister, and my­ self, a boy just past his twelfth birthday. Who would arrange for the matzoth to be put away on top March - April, 1954

of the closet? Who would bring wine? Who would fit new poles into the oven-rakes, help bring the house to a kosher state, burn chometz and carry up the Pesach dishes from the cellar? Most im­ portant — who would perform the two Seder ceremonies for us?

There was grandmother, long a widow, who did nil these things herself. But she was accustomed to her lonely fate, while we were not. We missed father woefully, remembering him with longing as we turned to fulfill each separate task.

TXTELL, we decided to curtail * * and simplify the usual elabo21

rate preparations. We bought less matzoth and less wine that Pesach.

A neighbor came to assist us in bringing up the dishes, and we all took part in ridding the house of chometz. I burned the chometz in the traditional manner, using a feather-brush to sweep the crumbs of bread from the edges of tables and window-sills into a wooden spoon; then I tied up the chometz carefully, pronouncing the required prayer as I set fire to it.

You would have been curious to make the acquaintance of our Pes­ ach dishes. We kept them all in a strong box, leaving out the oaken vats for water; which, being too large, stood piled up on top of each other separately. The smell of that Pesach box, when we opened it, though moldy, was yet most agreeable. The familiar pots, the wooden spoons, the mysterious little bags containing our beautiful wine-glasses, decorated plates, salt and pepper-shakers, were all dear to us, for we had known them since our earliest childhood. And Pesach, with all its associations, is such a welcome holiday !

But most interesting was our old stamp, used for crushing mat­ zoth, which, long a family inherit­ ance, had come to be regarded as something highly treasurable and inseparable from us. The bottom of this heavy wooden stamp was half eaten away by time and rats, and it would not stand straight; but we were not going to discard it — never! It was our own, part of ourselves, a part of the past and of this undying Passover. We 22

therefore made sure to guard it -zealously.

T H E LAST day had come. Mother bought all that she could afford to buy. The whole house had been scrupulously cleaned, the floors scrubbed, the tables wellmatted. Sister and I took turns pounding matzoth in the stamp, which had to be held in place with both knees. We both liked this work, and we shared it eagerly every Passover.

In the meantime mother had been busy with the cooking at the stove, preparing, among other sav­ ory dishes, peppered fish and in­ imitable little pancakes fried in chicken-fat. Later, toward evening, I grated horseradish, till my eyes ran over with tears, and then went to “borrow” charoseth from our neighbor across the yard. After which, alone, in my new suit, I went to shoot.

All this time we had spoken little in the house. A sadness per­ vaded us all. We felt abandoned, a handful of a family, left to our own resources, without a husband and father. Father. How was he spending his first Pesach alone in that strange, far-away land, America ?

As yet we had not let a word fall about the Seder. We seemed not to expect that there was going to be one. How? Who would con­ duct it? And if we were to be deprived of our Seder, why speak?

T>UT THEN, I went to synagogue. ^ I saw other boys of my age Jewish LIFE

with their fathers. I had heard the regular holiday prayers. The chazzon, the prayers, the lights of the synagogue — they filled me with the intense consciousness of being a Jew. I was no more a child. A resolve was born in me to make this a real Pesach, not worse than father had done. I would act the role of father in the house and make mother and sister happy. Returning alone through the dark streets, this resolve was strengthened in me.

I arrived home in gay spirits, feeling the utmost confidence in myself and hoping to communicate this feeling to sister and mother.

I was too embarrassed to say the customary “Gut yom-tov!” But to make up, I fixed my cap on my head, closed the shutters, fastened the door, and coming up to mother, I asked r 5 “Have you a towel 7” She looked at me in astonish­ ment.

“What do you want a towel for?” she asked, half suspecting, half doubting my intentions.

“To wrap the matzoth,” I ans­ wered. “I am going to conduct the Seder.”

The seriousness of my voice must have impressed her. Her face brightened perceptibly. Sister ran for the towel. Mother brought the matzoth. I fetched the wine and started to fill the glasses, father’s too, by which we were made to feel his presence near.

■THE HOUSE, half dark before, ^ had become animated. A pillow was placed on the chair which I was to occupy. I stood up, and blushing crimson, wine-glass in hand, in an embarrassed tone started to recite Kiddush.

My voice improved as I pro­ ceeded. My courage mounted as the ceremony advanced. Uncon­ sciously I had fallen into the sweet melodious airs employed by father for the Seder night, airs which he had learned from his father, and he in turn from his.

At one moment lifting my head, I beheld sister and mother, their faces averted from one another, sitting and wiping their tearstained eyes. I continued more energetically, affecting not to have noticed them.

The noblest form of charity is providing one's fellow with some means of livelihood so that he need not seek alms.

Maimonides, 1135-1204.

March ^ April, 1954

23

B y M EYER W AXM AN T H E CATEGORIES of quantity and quality apply not only to material objects but also to time. It is not only the extent of time, but also its quality, which influences history. Only 105 years had passed from the death of “Rav” (247 C.E.) to the birth of Ashi, but in those years the scholars of Babylonian Jewry actually laid the strata of a great spiritual and intel­ lectual structure, the Talmud, which has remained through millenia as the fortress and stay of Judaism and Jewry.

Four or five generations of scholars known as Amor aim (commentators or interpreters) whose activities were concentrated in the two great acade­ mies, Sura, founded by Rav, and Pumpeditha, established by his disciple, Rav Yehudah, twenty-five years later, carried on the work of the master, or rather the masters. These scholars interpreted the Mishnah, analyzed and expanded Jewish law in all its phases, and simultaneously elaborated a Jewish view of life in ail aspects — religious, ethical, social and practical.

The distinguished leaders of the generation were the following scholars: Mar Shmuel, colleague of Rav,* a master of Jewish law and of astronomy and medicine; Yehudah, son of Yechezkel, disciple of both Rav and Shmuel; Rabba, son of Nahamani, successor of Yehudah at the academy; and the scholars Abaye and Raba, whose discussions are widespread in the Talmud.

Each of these, together with their numerous disciples, contributed a layer of comments, interpretations, discussions and opinions to the great work then in the process of development. * See the article “Rav — The Master,” by the same author, in the Av, 5713 issue of J ew ish L ife .

Jewish LIFE

It is possible that there were separate collections of statements con­ tributed by each scholar which were kept in the academies, probably in students' notebooks, but these were more or less of a fragmentary nature.

The large mass of learning and discussion, as a whole, was transmitted orally from generation to generation. The time came when the burden of carrying this wealth of accumulated knowledge became too great for human memory. A mastermind was needed to join the different parts into one great production, to group the various opinions into a unified system, to construct the numerous layers into a solid structure which would be able to withstand the battering of time and change. mastermind was found. He was Rav Ashi (352-427 C.E.). We do T HAT not know the details of his early life ¿ even the name of his father is not definitely established. Many scholars think that his name was Shimi, son of Ashi. But regardless of his ancestry, the learning of Ashi was allembracive, and he was considered the outstanding man of his generation.

In addition, he possessed great energy and wealth, and he enjoyed the friendship of the Persian royal family. All of these were factors in his undertaking the great work of editing the Talmud. Using his great wealth on behalf of learning, Ashi rebuilt the halls of the Academy of Sura, and this material renovation brought about a spiritual revival of the Academy which had fallen from its earlier state. Rav Ashi soon attracted a large number of scholars and students, and Sura again became the leading academy.

So great was the prestige of Rav Ashi that the Prince of the Exile (Resh Galutha), official head of Babylonian Jewry, paid him homage. It was customary for the Resh Galutha to hold a special assembly of leading scholars and. prominent men at his residence in Naardea on the third Sab­ bath after the Feast of Sukkoth. Thither went also the heads of the academies. The place of assembly, however, was changed to Sura, and the Resh Galutha, as well as the head of the academy at Pumpeditha, came to Ashi's residence, thus recognizing his leadership (Epistle of Sherira ed.

Levin, p. 91). How important that leadership was can be inferred from the following statement in the Talmud: From the time of Moses to Rabbi (Yehudah the Prince) we have not had Torah and leadership concentrated in one person. Rabbi Achah, son of Raba, says that we can add that from the time of Rabbi to Rav Ashi we have not found Torah and great leadership in one person. (Tr. Gittin, p. 59a) IS no explicit statement in the Talmud about Ashi’s great work T HERE of editing the Talmud, but the very words of the statement here quoted, which place Ashi in the same line with Moses and Rabbi, clearly point to

March - April, 1954

25

the role of Ashi in the organization of the Oral Law. In addition, we have a statement (Tr. Baba Metzia, 86) saying, “Rav Ashi and Rabina consti­ tuted the last of the period of Horahab” (decision). This means that they were the last of the Amoraim who, through their discussion and interpre­ tation, elicited the decisive view of the Mishnaic statement and the laws which should govern the life of Jewry. It was thus that the Gaon Sherira, who undoubtedly spoke in the name of the tradition of the academies, and all the scholars who followed him, understood these statements.

Manner of Redaction Q*INCE the Talmud, in its present order, contains commentaries, analyses ^ and discussions of thirty-six of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah, covering more than 2,500 folio pages of the most variegated content, one wonders at the very possibility of redaction, especially since the whole work was arranged not in writing but orally. This feat appears all the more re­ markable since numerous Talmudic and Gaonic sources indicate that the original arrangement covered the entire sixty-three tractates. How was it possible to retain in memory such a mass of material through the genera­ tions so that ultimately it could be unified into an organic whole?

This question cannot be answered with absolute certainty. However, we propose the following hypothesis. As was previously indicated, the arrange­ ment of certain layers of this great structure was begun by earlier scholars.

Though we have no means to determine the extent or character of these arrangements, it is certain that they were steps in the process of editing which probably began immediately after the first generation of Amoraim.

As generations passed and the strata increased, the need arose for the last steps of the redaction. Ashi and his group undertook the work of joining all the strata into one great structure, as well as of supplying whatever additional material had hot been 3previously included. The material was then fitted into the categories of the discussed subjects.

WORK of arrangement was done by Rav Ashi and a group of THIS scholars working under his direction. Since the Gaon Sherira says that each edition of the Talmud took thirty years to prepare, two tractates a year haying been arranged, one each at the semi-annual month long con­ ference (during the months of Adar and Elul, called Kallah months), it means that either a committee of scholars or the group as a whole worked in the redaction of a tractate in each of these months, under the presi­ dency of Ashi.

In fact, we know that there were certain Amoraim who devoted them­ selves more to the arrangement of layers of Halochic and Agodic state­ ments than to analysis. One of these was Nachman, son of Isaac, who said of himself: “I am not a great scholar nor an analyst, but one who collects statements of the scholars and arranges them in logical and connected order”

Jewish LIFE

(Tr. Pesakim 105). We also know that this scholar devoted much time and energy to the invention of mnemonic devices. When a section deals with a number of topics. which have a common feature but which are diversified in many others, he prefaces it with a mnemonic sign consisting of several words designed to help retain the content of the section in memory.* These devices facilitated the intrqduction of additional statements into a section in order to make it more complete. We must not forget that, while the Talmud was most likely written down immediately after the editing was fully completed, the work during the process of redaction was done orally.

These devices were therefore extremely useful.

Although Ashi did not accomplish the great work of redaction alone, he had the power of final decision. It is for this reason *that we find at the end of numerous discussions his statements which bear the character either of a summary or of* a final decision.

HEAT as was the work of Rav Ashi and though he worked on the redaction ^ for sixty years and prepared two editions, as the Gaon Sherira tells us, the structure was too massive to be actually completed in one genera­ tion. After the death of the master his successors were occupied with the task of filling gaps, strengthening some weak spots, and in bringing the entire edifice to a more perfect state. Almost three generations of scholars were engaged in this work, wh\ch also included the occasional addition of new material.

The leading builders of the Talmud after the death of Ashi were Tabume, the son of Rav Ashi (or he is known, Mar bar Rav Ashi) and Mermar. After the death of these two, Rebina, the son of Chuna, put the final touches to this great work. At his death in 499, the Talmud was practically complete. It needed only an authoritative declaration to that effect, and this was given by Rab Jose in the year 500.

The Talmud, as it lies before us, comprises the entire Mishnah (sixtythree or sixty-one tractates) and the Gemora only to thirty-six of these tractates. However, Sherira tells us that each of the two editions took thirty years and that two tractates were edited each year, which would give us a total of sixty tractates, containing both Mishnah and Gemora.

In other words, almost the entire Mishnah — the older enumeration of the tractates gives the sum of the tractates as sixty one B w a s analyzed, commentated and discussed by generations of Amoraim, and the1 results embodied in the Gemora of all the tractates.** *T"HE QUESTION arises, what happened to the twenty-five or twenty-seven tractates which are missing? No positive answer can be offered. In view * See Tr. Kethuboth 6a; Hulin, 106. ** The difference in number of two tractates arises from the fact that three tractates in the order of Nezikin, namely Baba Kama, Baba Metzia and Baba Bathra were counted, at one time, as one.

March - April, 1954

27

of the fact that almost all the missing tractates deal with laws which had ceased to operate after the destruction pf the Temple, two explanations can be offered for the omission. It is possible th at the Saboraim, the scholars who succeeded the Amoraim, in order to make the Talmud a household book in every Jewish home, attempted to lessen its bulk and omitted the Gemora to such tractates as deal with laws not practiced after the destruction of the Temple. On the other hand, it is also possible that there was no official and purposive'omission, but that the copyists concentrated pri­ marily on transcribing the text of the Gemora to such tractates as deal with laws and regulations practiced and observed in all times and generations. The Gemora text to the other tractates gradually became more and more rare, until it disappeared entirely.

However, the Gemora to the entire order Kedoshim which contains eleven tractates, all of which, with the exception of one (Hulin), deal with laws relating to the cult of the Temple, is still fully preserved. The reason for the retention of the order of Kedoshim is most likely the fact that the hope was alive in the hearts of the Jews that the redemption accompanied by the restoration of the Temple might come at any moment, by the will of G-d. The discussion of all laws relating to Temple worship became of prime importance.

1

j

Influence of the Talmud m H E BIBLE is the very foundation of Judaism and the source from which its extensive and ramified literature stems, and the Talmud is, in essence, only an extensive commentary upon the Holy Scriptures. Yet, for thou­ sands of years, the influence of the Talmud upon Jewish life equalled that of the Bible, and during certain periods and among certain Jewries even exceeded it. What is the source of this immeasurable influence?

There are several factors which make the Talmud a work sui generis, distinguishing it from all other literary works. The first of these is the completeness of the world of the Talmud. It is not mere literature, reflecting only a part of human life; it forms a world in itself where the diverse currents of the life of a people flow,, crossing and mingling and moving side by side. The unity of the Talmud with life is unique; there is no rift between the two. The Talmud flowed from life as waters from a bubbling well, and hence the diversity of its subjects.

The Talmud deals to a great extent with law, but it is not the hardened law of the lawyer and the court. It is the law of the everyday life of the Jew, in all its phases and aspects. It embraces the law of social relation, the law of the family, the law of the individual in his home, in the field, in the market place and in the synagogue; in school and in assembly place; it contains law which describes the details of exercise and ceremony hav­ ing to do with the birth of a Jew, his growth to maturity, his marriage and marital life, and ultimately his death and burial.

28

Jewish LIFE

I

|

»pHE TALMUD deals with the complete conduct of man in all its ramified * relationships and phases. But complete conduct is really complete life, and life cannot be regulated, Life is ruled by spontaneous outbursts of feeling, be they the pangs of pain or the emotions of hope and despair or the processes of thought and reflection. Hence, the Talmud deals not only with law, but with many other subjects which stem from life and affect life. Thus it deals with medicine, as fa r as it affects conduct; it deals with astronomy and meteorology in their relations to human life; it deals with the rules and methods of agriculture and with a host of other matters which are linked together directly and indirectly. Similarly, the Talmud includes the wisdom of the everyday man culled from hard experience and expressed, for the sake of brevity, in the form of adages, proverbs, saws and epigrams. Finally, the Talmud bewails the suffering of the people in the present and encourages them in their hopes for a better, brighter future, by glowing accounts of the days of redemption.

The* discussion of all these phases of life, usually described by the general term Agodah, occupies one-third of the Babylonian Talmud, while two-thirds is devoted to Halochah, or the practical aspects of everyday life.

Taken together,, these two parts reveal to us the wide extent and the com­ pleteness. of the world of the Talmud.

QJEVERAL caused contributed to this completeness and wholeness. First was the favorable political and economic conditions of the Jews in Babylonia. They had completely autonomous government in inner affairs: their own courts, their own Chiefs of the Exile; whole districts were occu­ pied by Jews where they were engaged in agriculture, artisanry and com-

March - April, 1954

29

merce, and Jewish life was as prevalent in the market place as in the home and in the synagogue.

Nor was there struggle with foreign cultures. The Babylonian and Persian cultures were on a lower level than that of the Jews, and no foreign influence was entertained. In the areas inhabited by Jews, no Persian was spoken, and Aramaic was the language of Jew and Gentile alike. Under such ideal conditions,: it is not surprising that Jewish life was complete and Jewish culture was whole, without rifts and? crevices occasioned by encroachments of foreign cultures.

The second factor accounting for the influence of the Talmud was the conception of the Torah which made it the very center of Jewish life.

This conception has many phases, but, in general, they may be subsumed under two aspects: the Torah as the sum total of all good and wisdom; and as a teaching of a way-of-life for the group and the individual. Under the first aspect, it is almost unequalled in the history of human thought.

The Torah becomes the very purpose of the existence of the world and of man. Under the second aspect, it comprises everything which is conducive tó complete human conduct: law!, ethics, and teachings of* life, The study of Torah, then, becomes not a means but an end, fand there is no set limited period for its completion. There is continual advancement, evergrowing progression. f^ R E A T as is the importance of the Torah for the individual Jew, it is ^ still greater for the nation as a whole. To Israel, thè people of the Torah, it is the very essence of its collective life, thè raison d’etre of its existence, and the second fatherland. Did not the Rabbis say, “G-d, the Torah and Israel are one”?

All this brought about a unique state of adult education which thus fa r has been unequalled anywhere else. As a resultpstudy did not stop with growth into manhood, but continued. Scholarship was no profession; the academies of Sura and Pumpeditha were not universities where degrees were granted at the: end of a stated period; and the students were not confined within walls. They were men of trade and work, taking to the study of Torah as to a labor of love. And when the desire moved them, or at the stated months of assembly, they came to the academy, some from the fields, some from behind the counter, and even from the breweries and wine-presses, to exchange opinions and decide intellectual and spiritual questions. Thither they brought their experiences of trade, agriculture, practical medicine and meteorological observation. They utilized this ac­ cumulated store of knowledge in various ways in the discussion, whether of Halochah or Agodah.

Furthermore, these scholars were, though not professionally, teachers of the people and preached to the congregations in the synagogue. Some taught Halochah and others Agodah in its various phases, such as the

30

Jewish LIFE

principles of faith, ethics, rules of life. Advice was given in m atters of business and trade. These popular lectures were illustrated with stories and adages taken from everyday life. It is due to the closeness of folk life that some Agodic portions of the Talmud are steeped in the simplicity of the folk spirit and are tinged with the exaggerated naivete of the folk mind. factor distinguishing the Talmud was that the study was THEoral,THIRD arid as such, knew no bounds and had no limits. The discussion swelled according to the mood of the participants. Whoever could display his mental keenness, his brilliance of argumentation and sharpness of analysis was welcomed to this arena of the intellect. There was but one purpose animating them all: to increase the study of the Torah and to strengthen it (Lehagdil torah valehadirah) . In oral discussion, all means were permissible; the bounds between Halochah and Agodah were obliterated, and all faculties of the mind were brought into play. This quality of oral study might have jeopardized the logical order, the finished polish of a written work, but it added the flavor of vividness, the freshness of repartee, the scintillating wit and humor of a face-to-face discussion. In compilation, even when the Talmud was transcribed, no attempt was made to give to it the stiff character of carefully composed treatises; rather, its original character was retained. factors, and many others, gave to the Talmud its uniqueness, its THESE encyclopaedic and all-embracing aspect. It verily deserves the name «Sea of the Talmud,” for it does resemble a sea, with its swells and storms, its depth and expanse, its hues and colors, its exotic plant. The intellectual Leviathans of the Talmud still raise the dialectic spray. Rightly did Bialik sing in wonderment of the magic the Talmud possessed for assiduous stu­ dents, through the ages, in his famous poem “Hamathmid” : Who filled these pages with undying magic?

Whence comes the power that makes his mildewed words Light flames of passion in a heart outlived, Strike living sparks in the eyes that are extinguished?

Reb Levi Yitzchak would always say Dayenu in a ques­ tioning tone# signifying: If G-d had redeemed us from Egypt and not given us the Holy Torah would that have been enough?

March - April, 1954

31

jeW tSM K6A<2T10^

<xo we

By MORRIS MAX ■PHE WIDE publicity, carefully his three associates presented is planned in advance of the pub­ valuable, especially to parents and lication date of Kinsey’s second youth directors who must be aware volume on Sexual Behavior, has of any new trend if they are to made the American people more guide the youth of today away from conscious than ever before of the the pitfalls of sexual promiscuity “second sex.” Every newspaper, and other sexual aberrations. We weekly and monthly magazine has must not forget that our Talmudic reacted to this .“epoch-making” sages said of normal sex life “Torah book. We Jews, who have never hi v’lilmod ani tzorich — it is part censored any discussion of sex as of the Torah of G-d which I must indecent, should also have some­ study.” This book must therefore thing to say about this objective also be studied in order to recog­ treatment of human behavior in nize a trend in American family life. It can not, however, in my sexual matters.

To dismiss it as “pornographic opinion, become the new standard literature” as one rabbinic leader for American youth, because it has done, is as irresponsible as pro­ overlooks certain moral foundations claiming it the “new Bible” for which have made of the American American youth, as a liberal journ­ people a stable society. alist has written. I can not sub­ scribe to either one of these ex­ TT IS well known by now that the treme views. It can not be denied ^ scientific data of the book “Sex­ that the data which Dr. Kinsey and ual Behavior in the Human FeJewish LIFE 32

male” is derived from personal in­ terviews with 5,940 women and from the qase-histories of another 2,000 women throughout the United States. At the outset I must point out that orthodox Jewish women should not be misled by the per­ centages of infidelity in married women and of pre-marital pro­ miscuous relationships in American women. The statistics most widely publicized are that twenty-six per cent of the married females had had extra-marital coitus by the age of forty, and that nearly fifty per cent of the females of the sample had engaged in coitus before they were married. Orthodox Jewish women might therefore conclude that the barriers that have here­ tofore preserved our ideals of fam­ ily purity have been shattered. Let me therefore dispel this misconcep­ tion. Dr. Kinsey states in his re­ cent book that they “had only 108 histories of devout Jewish females and that has not been a sufficient sample to allow us to generalize concerning that group.” In other words, the figures that have been quoted so widely do not necessarily apply to orthodox Jewish women.

This does not mean, however, that the book is not a challenge to the orthodox way of Jewish family life. Our history in the past century has unfortunately shown that “wie es kristelt sich, so yudelt sich,” and it is very pos­ sible that if we are not on the alert, the non-Jewish environment may ultimately make serious in­ roads into the sacred sanctuaries of our own homes.

March April, 1954

pROM my reading of the numer* ous reviews of the book, it ap­ pears to me that the American pub­ lic is not ready to admit that the findings of Kinsey, derived from the interviews of 6,000 women, are a representative picture of the 70 million women in the United States.

There can be no doubt, however, that there is a danger that this book may break down the control of those young men and women who have heretofore been trained to re­ sist the temptation to engage in promiscuous sexual relations. They may be influenced to say, as the hero of a current Broadway play says to a prospective “pick-up” : “Kinsey says it’s O.K.” Is it possible for Jews to resist this trend? The answer is defin­ itely “yes,” provided we can dis­ seminate among our youth the Jewish concept of sex and marriage.

The Jews who are loyal to the tra­ ditions of our faith have at their disposal the means of fortifying their families against any proposed or implied deviation from our moral standards. We have been given an attitude and approach to sexual behavior which is definitely dif­ ferent from the commonly accepted Christian approach. When, there­ fore, Kinsey spea,k.s of the “JudeoChristian sex codes” he shows an unawareness of the fundamental difference between the traditionally Jewish and the traditional Christ­ ian concept of sex life. The two can not be combined and spoken of as similar codes. They are dia­ metrically opposed to each other.

The Torah has given us an ap33

proach and attitude to sex life which can help bring more happi­ ness to both husband and wife, and which eliminates the need of experimenting with sex life as sug­ gested by Kinsey. That approach also negates the necessity of his proposed or implied deviations from our moral standards.

TN HIS discussion of sexual behavior, Kinsey regards man as an animal, a mammal of the species “homo sapiens.” In every chapter dealing with the different phases of sexual behavior he presents scientific data about the behavior of animals. Sexual behavior is dealt with as a normal desirable gratification of animal instinct.

We Jews, however, have been given by our Divine Torah a super­ ior approach which does not negate or suppress this normal function of human beings, but which en­ nobles and enriches it. It is a con­ cept which makes of sex life not merely a gratification of animal in­ stinct, but a means of integrating two personalities so that one en­ riches the other. It becomes the basis of a companionship, in which one complements the other and which brings satisfaction to both.

The Torah tells us the simple fundamental fact of life — that G-d created man. That means that all his instincts, potentialities and capacities are of Divine origin.

The Creator endowed man with the godly characteristics of intelligence and spiritual yearnings, or as the Torah expresses it (Bereyshith II, 7) And He breathed into his nos34

trils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The Targum interprets the last phrase, “a liv­ ing soul,” as “ruach m'malela” — “a speaking spirit,” that is, a per­ sonality endowed with the faculty of thinking and expressing his thoughts in speech.

The power of thinking and speaking implies the power of con­ trol of one's instincts and desires.

Hence G-d gave Adam the admoni­ tion to eat of all the fruits of the Garden of Eden but to refrain from eating the fruit which He had prohibited. This command was given by the Creator because He understood that man had the ca­ pacity to control his desires. An animal is not endowed with the power to think far ahead — it, therefore, follows instinct blindly.

Man, however, can learn to control his desires for a higher, godly pur­ pose; he can acquire the power to control his own aggressive and possessive instincts because he re­ spects the needs, wishes and rights of others. pROM this fundamental concept of man's higher goal in life, the Torah proceeds to lay down the foundation of our Jewish concept of sexual behavior. And the Lord G-d said: I t is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a help meet for him (Bereyshith II, 18) and He therefore built a woman (not women) out of the rib of Adam, as a companion for him. Then He said to them Be fruitful and multiply.

It is interesting to note that Jewish LIFE

although man and woman were created with the sex instinct, which they would automatically seek to gratify, they were commanded by G-d to be fruitful and multiply. In other words, the Torah teaches us that G-d created man and woman in such a way that they would find perfect love in each other and develop a companionship that will be fruitful. This attraction that they have for each other is an en­ dowment of G-d and should be utilized for a permanent relation­ ship that shall create something new in their own lives and that shall elicit from them those poten­ tialities that will be transmitted to their offspring and make for better social living. They were taught to use that sex instinct for a higher purpose — to carry out the will of G-d.

Our Talmudic sages gave expres­ sion to this higher concept of mar­ riage by stating that “Man and wife, when they are worthy, have the Divine presence between them; but when they are unworthy, they are consumed by the fire of their passion/’ (Soteh, 17a) They de­ rived this thought not only from the fact that the “yod” of “ish” and the “heh” of “ishah” spell out the name of G-d, but primarily from the concept which the Torah conveyed that the Divine element in marriage is an essential and in­ tegral part of the marriage re­ lationship.

T H E TORAH summarizes this * chapter succinctly by stating: Therefore shall a man leave his March - April, 1954

father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife. These words, says Rashi, were uttered by the “Ruach Hakodesh,” by the holy spirit of G-d, and not by Adam.

Thus the marriage relationship, which is elevated to the higher godly plane of love, and thereby creates a companionship which serves to integrate two personali­ ties, has not only the sanction but also the blessings of G-d.

Contrast this concept with the Christian concept found in First Corinthians (chap. 7), “For I would that all men were even as I myself . . . I say therefore to the unmarried . . . it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain let them mar­ ry; for it is better to marry than to burn/' Here the idea is promul­ gated that marriage is only a con­ cession to the animal instincts within us. The higher godly per­ son is the one who remains celibate.

One can readily see that the basis for the Jewish code of sexual behavior as outlined above is at once a loftier and a more natural one than that of the Christian code.

When Kinsey, therefore, directs his criticism against Christian tabus on sexual behavior, he may be justified, but when he speaks of “Judeo-Christian” tabus, he fails to take cognizance of the more healthful and natural approach to sex life which is inherent in the laws of Judaism.

It is significant that in expound­ ing the Jewish concept of marriage, the Torah states, as quoted above, that man shall cleave to his wife, 35

not to his wives. By a few simple laws, the Torah shows how it is possible for a husband to cleave to his wife from youth until old age, how love can become the foun­ dation of every sexual relationship, and how husband and wife can keep that love fresh and beautiful throughout the long years of mar­ ried life.

TUfARRIAGE, according to the ^ Torah, is not simply a part­ nership between two people. Mar­ riage is called “Kiddushin” or Sanctification. When the Jewish bride prepares herself for the marriage ceremony by immersing herself in the Mikvah, she recites a blessing thanking G-d for “sanc­ tifying us with His commandments and giving us the commandment of the immersion.” Thus she gives expression to the concept that she wishes to elevate the intimate re­ lationship of husband and wife on the higher godly plane of love, rather than to use it for the mere gratification of animal instinct.

The bridegroom, realizing that his bride, through the Mikvah purifi­ cation, has brought in this higher concept of marriage, says to his bride under the canopy in the pres­ ence of G-d, as he puts the ring on her finger: “Thou art sanctified unto me with this ring according to the law of Moses and of Israel.”

The religious wedding ceremony, when properly observed, thus makes Divine love the basis of the marriage relationship. The young husband then is impelled to make the perfect expression of love, 36

which is the intimate relationship of husband and wife, a mutually gratifying experience. He learns to exert self-control in every sex­ ual relationship in order to gauge her feelings as well as his own, so that she as well as he can reach the climax of the relationship.

Thus, with the concept of Kid­ dushin, we Jews more than 2,000 years ago found the solution to the problem of enabling women to ex­ perience the climax, to which Kin­ sey devotes so many chapters in his book.

It is this same concept which obviates another trend discussed by Kinsey, In his chapter, “ExtraMarital Coitus,” he states the vari­ ous reasons given by the females for engaging in extra-marital re­ lationships. Through many of the reasons there runs the central thought of seeking new and more satisfying sexual experiences. It becomes evident that those women had reached a stage of monotony and boredom in their own marriage relationships.

TJOW effectively our Divine Law A* prevented husbands and wives from becoming bored with each other in their sexual behavior ! The Torah reveals a knowledge of the fact which Kinsey “discovered” from his figures — namely, that the female does not require as fre­ quent sexual outlets as the male.

She experiences the monthly cycle of menstruation when she is physi­ ologically and emotionally in need of complete relaxation. Hence the Torah decreed that during menJèwish LIFE

struation and for a period of seven days after the complete cessation of the flow, husband and wife should refrain from sexual em­ brace. The Jewish husband who is taught, through the Kiddushin con­ cept of marriage, to consider his wife's feelings at all times, exerts self-control. When, after this peri­ od of relaxation, the wife again goes to the Mikvah, she reminds the husband once more of his pledge under the canopy to elevate their intimate relationship on a higher godly plane of mutual love.

Thus, as husband and wife em­ brace again after this twelve-day period of rest, that experience be­ comes as beautiful, as fresh and romantic as that which followed the wedding ceremony.

It is this system of laws of family purity, known as Taharath Hamishpochah, which has given Jewish family living its unique characteristic, and has preserved happiness in marriage for decades after the wedding ceremony. Love

does not vanish, romance does not wither, extra-marital adventures will not be necessary, wherever mutual consideration, Divinely im­ posed, serves as the means of pre­ serving the balance of sexual liv­ ing on a mutually satisfactory plane. This ideal of a permanent and perfect happiness that Jewish young men and women can attain through our concept of marriage will influence the young people to exert control until they find the one with whom they really want to share love and life.

TZINSEY'S reports are valuable if we wish to understand the trend of the times. But, if we Jews wish to continue a trend that has preserved happiness in mar­ riage throughout the centuries of our history, let us disseminate more widely our time-honored prin­ ciples of family purity among our youth, and they will find no need for promiscuous experimentation in their own sex lives.

Our Rabbis said that when Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was tending the flock of Jethro in the wilder­ ness, a litlle kid escaped from him. He ran after it until it reached a shady place. When it reached the shady place, there appeared to view a pool of water and the kid stopped to drink. When Moses approached it, he said: "I did not know that you ran away because of thirst: you must be weary." So he placed the kid on his shoulder and walked away. Thereupon G-d said: "Because thou hast mercy in leading the flock of a mortal, thou wilt assuredly tend my flock, Israel."

—Shemoth Rabbah 2. 2.

March - April, 1954

37

• The city of the Prophets Is true to its traditions

By CECIL ROTH

OOME zealots complain of the de^ gree of unobservance in Israel, and they may be right. But I want to speak of something diametrically different — of the degree of ob­ servance, especially in the capital city. For a Sabbath in Jerusalem is a spiritual experience, such as is not to be known anywhere else in the world.

On Friday afternoon, the streets begin to empty^the shops put up their shutters, and well before nightfall the last buses stop. From now on, for the next twenty-four hours, the Princess Sabbath takes possession* As yo.u go through the streets, you may see the Sabbath candles in almost every window; and later, on every side you can 38

hear the chanting of the Kiddush and the pinging of Zemiroth: no chance of forgetting for a single moment that you are in a Jewish city.

But in Jerusalem, it is the day rather than the eve of the Sabbath that to my mind conveys the Sab­ batical spirit most intimately. Syn­ agogue services are early — many of them are over by nine o'clock, the latest not long after ten — so you must get up betimes if you want to savour the flavor of the Holy City at its best.

T DON'T advise you to go to the

“modern" suburbs — Rehavia or Talbieh — but to visit the older parts of the city without the walls Jewish LIFE

— Machaneh Yehudah and Meah Shearim — where the spirit of tra­ dition is to be found at its most characteristic.

No need to ask where there is a synagogue — peo­ ple are hurrying to them on every side, with prayer-books and Tallithbags under their arms, and it is enough to follow. But indeed even this is unnecessary, for you can be guided by your ears; there is a synagogue here in every lane and alley — I have been told that there are over four hundred all told in Jerusalem, most of them, of course, only converted rooms. What a treasure for the ethnographer, the folklorist, the student of popular music — not to mention the ordin­ ary inquisitive Jew like myself who is interested in all aspects of Jew­ ish life!

There are synagogues for the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim and the Kurds and the Persians and the Bokharans and the Yemenites and the Moroccans and the Iraqis and almost every other tribe of the Dia­ spora, all with their specific tradi­ tions and customs. Of late, they have even transported to Jerusa­ lem an exquisitely lovely little synagogue from a deserted com­ munity just outside Venice, where the congregation follows the an­ cient Italian rite.* So you may please your fancy. You can be occidental or oriental, just as you please. You may go to the superb Yeshurun Synagogue and imagine that you are in England, or you may go to a Yemenite conventicle, *See previous issue of JtewiSH Life

March - April, 1954

and take off your shoes, sit on the ground, and imagine that you are in Arabia.

T H E LATTER, rather, is my ^ fancy. It is not only because of the attraction of the exotic, but also for another reason: because I find the physical types of these Oriental and Eastern European communities to be so fascinating.

You will see them all parading through the streets after the service, or on the Sabbath after­ noon when the sun has lost its fierceness. Once upon a time — and not long since—a stroll through the Bokharan quarter on some fes­ tive occasion gave you the impres­ sion that a page of the Arabian Nights had come to life. Stately old men with glorious grey beards paced slowly up and down, dressed in long robes of all the colors of the rainbow. Their demure wimpled wives, walking a little behind them, could hardly vie with all this glory, though sometimes they wore little fortunes in ancient jewelry round their necks ,and in their ears. Now, alas, European costume has made distressing headway even among this conservative element — the first thing that newly-arrived im­ migrants from any Eastern Com­ munity try to do is to buy them­ selves a cloth cap and a pair of boots. Nevertheless, on High Days and Holydays, you will still some­ times see the Bokharan quarter aglow with color. And as you stand in the street the whole pageant will pass you by—an occasional Iraqi in his turban, Sephardi rabbis from 39

Turkey with their characteristic black tarbushes, Yemenites with olive s,kins and melancholy eyes, followed by their trousered wives, perhaps even some of the newlyfound Jews of the Hadramut, in the Arabian Peninsula, with their long hair and exquisite features.

But in Meah Shearim the scene is dominated by the Chassidim, with their earlocks and fur-edged hats, known as shtreimels, and long kaftans and their court shoes, and sometimes knee-breeches with white stockings. Experts can, I believe, distinguish one category of Chas­ sidim from another by their cos­ tume, though I have not arrived at such a standard of erudition.

But how lovely they are, sometimes® the glorious old men with their long white beards, and the young ones with flashing eyes, and the adolescents with their cheeks just beginning to be covered with a soft 40

down, and the little children dressed just like their fathers — but child­ ren none the less for all that. They are glorious to look at; and from the way I have sometimes seen some of the young men curl their earlocks about their fingers, I have the impression that they are some­ times well aware of the fact.

The groupings are often extra­ ordinarily effective. One Shabbath morning on my way to syna­ gogue, I met a Chassid all in black, except for a little grey in his beard and pink in his cheeks and brown in the fur of his shtreimel. Walking a foot or so before him, almost like a trained dog, was a snow-white goat. It looked like a picture by Chagall which had stepped out of the frame.

A FT ER the Sabbath is over, on moonlight nights early in the month, you may see a group of Jewish LIFE

Chassidim in some open space, per­ forming the ceremony of the Sanc­ tification of the New Moon. It is a fantastic scene in the silver light: and no words of mine can describe how impressive, in such a setting, is the music of their wordless songs.

I have spoken of the Sabbath only. But I do not wish to end without alluding briefly to the Day of Atonement as I experienced it here. On my way to synagogue, early in the morning, I went out of my way to pass through the same quarters that I have just described. It was tremendously im­ pressive. Not a car in the streets,

March - April, 1954

not a shop open, not a soul about except for those hurrying to syna­ gogue, perhaps already unconcern­ edly wearing the Tallith. From every side, and in every possible variety of Hebrew accent and in­ tonation, there came the words of the time-honored prayers. It was not that services were being held in the city, but that the whole city was praying. Such a thing I had never seen before: such a thing can assuredly not take place anywhere else in the world today — and I do not speak of the Jewish world only. Jerusalem, the city of the prophets, is, after all, true to its tradition.

41

What Is Your “Bible I.Q.”?

by Ze'ev Ben Mordecai 1. The mother of Moses was:

Sarah/ Yocheved# Ruth« Rebecca

2. Aviv is the synonym for what Jewish month?

3. The diplomatic woman whom David married after the death of her apoplectic husband was: Deborah/ Tamar, Judith, Abigail 4 . The prince whose unusually long hair led to his untimely death was: . Adonijah, Abner, Joab, Absalom, 5. ' The first Jewish king was: David, Hezekiah, Saul, Solomon.

6. The customs associated with our reading of the Torah at religious services were first introduced by: Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezra.

7. The prophet who defeated a queen's idolatrous cult was: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elij ah, H o s e a * , H 8. Who removed teraphim (good luck charms) from her father's home and hid them under her saddle? |K|£»S..;....l...L.rl ----~~~~ 9. Where in the Chumosh is a sword first mentioned?

10. The first Kohen Godol (High Priest) was: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Aaron. ... .......................

11. The source of the only direct mention of mortgages in the Bible is 12. What Biblical precedent is there for the familiar college prank of stealing gates 13. Complete the missing words of this famous passage: Vanity of is ....— 14. The Jews first had a navy in the time of: Abraham, Moses, Solomon, David. ......i.,..;._________ 15. The expression "clay feet" originates from the vision of an idol having feet and toes made of iron and clay mentioned in the Book of: Shemoth, Chronicles, Jeremiah, Daniel, ----------16. Whose lips are mentioned as having been touched with a live co al? ______ 17. The name of which officer in Solomon's household became the title oi a best seller and later of a successful silent picture? ,----...—...------18. We read the Book of Ruth on: Purim, Shovuoth, Simchath Torah, Pesach. ___ ............._______ 19. The successful play and movie, "The Little Foxes" obtained its title from a verse in the Book of: Psalms, Proverbs, Haggai, Song of Songs. .... __________ ____ 20. Where are physicians first mentioned in the Bible? ......_____ ..:_______ (Answers on Page 55)

42

Jewish LIFE

• Can man live in a world of “relative

FROM ETERNITY TO HERE

By OSCAR Z. FASMAN lyrOST PEOPLE think that the * * only purpose of religion is to prepare in the here for the here­ after, and there can be no doubt that in the classical creeds of the modern Western world this aspect is fundamental in thought and theology. A phrase that sums up this attitude has been widely popu­ larized of late in the title of a novel, and currently of a movie, From Here to Eternity. Centuries ago a Jewish sage described the same idea when he referred to this world as the ante-chamber preced­ ing the beautiful palace that is the world to come. He continued in a sweeping generalization: One hour of spiritual tranquility in the world to come, he said, outweighs all the pleasures of an entire life­ time in this world.

It is, however, the other half of his statement that contains an ele­ ment of religious philosophy not so commonly recognized which I should like to discuss. In this less generally understood formulation he declared: One hour of repent­ ance and good deeds in this world

March - April, 1954

outweighs all the bliss of the world to come. Notice, please, this com­ plete reversal of direction. Our topic now may well read, From Eternity to Here. Religion thus teaches man to dip his pen into the hereafter that he may write in noble script the chapter of the here. In one supreme moment of heroic human service, observed the Rabbis, a man may win for himself eternal life. For the chal­ lenge to man and the opportunity to conquer temptation are given only in the here and the now. Yet it is the vision of everlasting val­ ues, of immortal and unshakeable truth, that furnishes man with the implements for self-conquest.

TJERE I should like to point out what I fear has become a major fallacy of our time. By way of illustration, we note that a chemist in the laboratory must use test-tubes and vessels into which he pours the materials of his ex­ periment and which do not them­ selves become dissolved during the operation. In fact, one of the diffi43

culties he sometimes encounters is just this: that the normal utensils of his science cannot withstand the heat, or pressure, or corrosion of the substances he is working with, so that he must first perfect some new type of receptacle or container within which to perform his ex­ periment.

Well, life poses a similar prob­ lem. Here are the countless ele­ ments of human experience, the forces of nature without and the storms of emotion within, the skirmishes for existence that add up to the terrific battle for sur­ vival, the constant demand of the mind's intelligence for discovering meaning amidst the stress and strain of the process — and how, pray tell, is one to distill some essential wisdom, some end-product of unity, beauty, dignity and strength out of this overwhelming mixture that may make madness the only sane outcome? Is it not abundantly apparent that man needs, and desperately needs, some kind of reliable vessel into which all the ingredients of experience may be poured, while it holds true to its form and does not bend, crack or burst asunder? There is the role of faith. A man's religious belief should be the constant in which the innumerable variables of his life are measured and blended, analyzed and evaluated.

T H E FALLACY I referred to before results from the trend in philosophy to abolish the con­ cept of the absolute. In the wake of Einstein's theory it became the 44

mode to reduce everything to rela­ tivity. In an older era man searched for truth, and he was certain that the object of his search was real, permanent, unchanging. He did not blur his goals by doubletalk about truth being a lesser degree of falsehood and falsehood a lesser degree of truth. G-d was absolute sovereign of the iiniverse and the everlasting source of eternal truth.

There was right and there was wrong, the green and the red lights in the traffic system of human con­ duct. It was understood, of course, that every set of circumstances was characterized by the peculiar aspects of the given situation, and what was a moral procedure in one case might be immoral in another; for example, to tell the truth about a tragedy to a person afflicted with a heart ailment. But nobody doubted the scale of values, and nobody dreamed that truth itself would ever be painted as a some­ what murky, clouded area on the canvas of thought.

Today society is paying a heavy penalty for destroying the abso­ lutes of its aims and the certain­ ties of its aspirations. Conceivably, philosophers felt they were adding to the stature of man when they reduced G-d, as it were, to merely relative greatness; and when they reconstructed the former codes of ethical law, the codes about right and wrong, to fit into their newest theories, they may have admired the uninhibited lines of their pro­ duction; but in the concrete mani­ festations of day-to-day events there is in contemporary life an Jewish LIFE

increase, rather than a decrease, of lying; there is a horrible realiza­ tion among plain men and women everywhere that the utterances of even the highest officials cannot be always trusted; there is the black acknowledgment that the brutality of primitive men has been more than matched by the unfathomable tortures of twentieth century Naziism and Communism — and the recent stories from Korea have not improved our estimate. Juvenile delinquency, kidnapping, crime, sex violence, exploitation, gangster methods w- what else can be awaited of a civilization that has plucked the hereafter out of our reasoning? that has scorned eter­ nity as a myth? that has ridiculed the idea of absolute goodness, ab­ solute virtue ?

P H IL IP GUEDALLA once wrote that any stigma will do to beat a dogma. By branding simple faith in the absolute qualities of honor and truth as old-fashioned innocence, we hâve lost the one unsinkable base of moral logistics. Where in ages past man steadied himself among the shifting sands of earth by clinging to heaven, we have chosen to blast heaven itself off its columns, and then we rush about wildly to seek security and serenity we know not where.

Only by weaving the strong, un­ breakable, reliable thread of the hereafter into the fabric of the here can man develop a durable cloth with a logical pattern and an attractive design. We toil here, for nowhere else can we toil, but the March - April, 1954

consciousness of eternity plays a symphony all around us. A great teacher once remarked, “Harvard University pays me to do what I would pay Harvard to let me do.”

Such a dedication springs from a passionate acceptance of a high purpose in living. And for the aver­ age person tXtt? I must permit to genius its own strange path and shall not undertake to chart its course^S this type of a commit­ ment to duty presupposes an abso­ lute standard of idealism. A de­ voted physician may try out a series of drugs in a difficult case, but he will not call into question his obligation to alleviate suffer­ ing; for, if he should begin to doubt and wonder about his respon­ sibility on that Issue, he will cease to be effective in bringing a cure to his patient. I repeat, th e re fo r my thesis that we must be sure of goals in life; that without some appreciation of eternity, we shall serve the present inadequately and poorly.

TJKTE SPEAK of creating a better society, a better community and a better nation. But how is it to be better? Who is to determine what is good? We all know, for example, that in Soviet Russia there are courts, there are judges, and there is, presumably, justice.

Yet the world has been stunned by the confessions at Russian trials, and Americans refuse to believe that the Soviet courts dispense jus­ tice. And Malenkov boasts about the freedom in his country, but we know it includes no freedom 45

of the press, no freedom of speech, and no freedom of conscience.

What has happened there? The Communists have simply abolished all the independent eternal forms of justice, liberty, truth and sub­ stituted for them man-made, statecontrolled definitions of justice, liberty, truth. The virtues of man­ kind are no longer the fixed con­ tainers of changing human cir­ cumstances, but are mere factory items to be dealt with side by side with tractors, automobiles, women’s blouses and Mig motors in the total strategy of a Five Year Plan.

There is a Jewish tradition, on the other hand, that the Jerusalem on earth was destroyed and laid to waste by the legions of Titus, but the Jerusalem on high cannot be torn from its position of holi­ ness by any assault of mere mor­ tals. The keys to the gates of the Temple, the story tells us, never fell into Roman clutches but were thrown skyward by the priests and taken by a hand from heaven into the upper regions. The picture has vivid significance. In his vicious moments man can burn walls and cut down beams, but the keys to the Temple, the ideals and the principles, are preserved in the realm of eternal truth, in the form of the Higher Jerusalem.

It is not intended thereby that we fly to the ethereal citadel and sever our bonds with the sordid episodes of our physical career.

Not at all. We are appointed to grapple with reality, to introduce 46

sweetness into our common daily activities, to soften the blow fall­ ing upon our neighbor’s head and to * lessen the burden upon his shoulders. We are destined to openness of mind and of heart, to live in the enthusiasm of democ­ racy, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, unshackle the slave. We are summoned to shape the better society in the light of goodness as G-d teaches goodness. But if some Politburo with a materialistic credo rams home its attack on what it calls our bourgeois child­ ishness, we must renew our strength for the bitter war by steady contact with this higher source. From eternity we must draw our lifeline into this all-con­ suming conflict. The glory of the hereafter must be reflected here.

The one hour of good deeds in this world — how beautifully it shines in the ageless records of the Eternal!

Q N E OF the most charming ^ dreams in the memory of civi­ lization is described in the 28th chapter of Bereyshith: Jacob’s ladder with the angels of G-d as­ cending and descending on it. As­ cending, from here to eternity; descending, from eternity to here.

Do you recall the last sentence in that chapter? Does it not make clear how this vertical exchange brings clarity into the world? For these are the words Jacob ad­ dresses to G-d: And of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee!

Jewish LIFE

PICTURE FEATURE: (Photos by E isen sta rk )

A MEW FAITH, A NEW LAND In the Spring of 1950, amidst the clamor and bustle of the port of Haifa, a group of oiim descended the gangplank of the S.S. Galila, a scene typical of Haifa port since the establishment of Israel — but with a difference. These were the men, women and children of San Nicandro, in the South of Italy, who, originally devout Roman Catholics like all their neighbors, had found their way to the Jewish religion in a small village, remote from contact with the outside world.

The arrival of the 'Jews of San Nicandro" in Israel was the climax of a story which began when Donato Manduzio, a crippled veteran of the first World War, received the gift of a Bible, a Tanach in Italian, from Pepino, the innkeeper of San Nicandro. The leather-covered, battered old book had been left at the inn by a wandering Protestant evangelist. After reading and study­ ing the Bible, without knowing that there was such a group as the Jewish peo­ ple, Donato became imbued with the conviction that it contained the whole of the true religion of G-d. Gradually, Donato accumulated a small flock of followers, who looked upon him as their prophet. Before and during the second World War "the Jews of San Nicandro" suffered many vicissitudes for their faith.

In 1944, the small community was discovered by Phinn Lapide, an officer in the Jewish Brigade, who told them about the return of the Jews to Eretz Israel and who later encouraged their de­ sire to immigrate there. Lapide arranged for the conversion to Judaism of all the mem­ bers of the community At the call of five of their youths who had come to Eretz Israel in 1948, to take part in its struggle for existence, the Jews of San Nicandro, without Donato who had since died, left their homes in Italy to settle in the Galilee village of Ras el Ahmar. Now, phy­ sically as well as religiously transplanted, they are well integrated, religiously observ­ ant citizens of Israel, doing their share in the upbuilding of the Jewish State.

March - April, 1954

47

A San Nicandro patriarch recites the Kiddush

A new member joins Ras el Ahmar, as his father proudly looks on.

Phinn Lapide presents gift from President of Israel to parents of the newly circumcised child.

Yochanan (formerly Matteo) Leone entertains relatives and friends; site of an ancient synagogue in background.

The San Nicandro ConvertSettlers of Ras el Ahmar

By ALFRED WERNER TJALF a century ago, the art critic, Max Osborn (who died in New York several years ago as a refugee from Nazism), wrote in a Berlin paper about a then little known young artist as follows: “The chief characteristic of Her­ mann Struck is quite plain. He is a Jew. And not a casual Jew, a Jew by mere chance of birth, but a Jew by reason of a deep religious consciousness, by reason of a deep inner need and an understanding of the singular character and quali­ ties of the people from whose midst he comes/* In the decades that followed, Hermann Struck produced a large number of fine works. Towards the end of his life, however, his fame was overshadowed by that of more daring and perhaps more secular artists. Thus, when he died as a very old man on January 11, 1944, in what was then still called Palestine, his passing made no March - April, 1954

headlines in the press. In all likeli­ hood, this noble, reserved, though warm-hearted man did not wish to leave our world demonstratively, and with the accompaniment of drums — but does he deserve to be forgotten? These lines, written on the tenth anniversary of his death, are aimed at drawing the attention of Jewish art lovers to this memor­ able man who had few equals as far as sincerity and conscientious­ ness are concerned.

OTRUCK was born in Berlin in ^ 1876, the son of wealthy ortho­ dox Jews who intended him for the Rabbinate. As a child, however, he showed a strong artistic talent and was sent by his understanding par­ ents to the Imperial Academy of Art where he studied for five years.

It should be mentioned that this study did not prevent him from remaining a strictly orthodox Jew who observed even the minutest de51

tails of the ritual. Realizing that, in a sense, he had violated the second Commandment (Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images), he endeavored to assuage his conscience by convincing him­ self, through his interpretation of the Talmud, that the order against the images could be interpreted merely as a command against idolatry. Sigmund Freud once sage­ ly remarked to him: “You are strictly religious because you feel in your subconscious that your work is forbidden!”

However true this may have been, Struck’s works do not seem to be those of an unfree conscience.

Orthodoxy did not make him nar­ row-minded. He was influenced not only by his co-religionists, Max Liebermann and Joseph Israels, but also by such great artists of the past as Rembrandt, Goya, Menzel and Whistler. He travelled in west­ ern and southern Europe, and he twice visited the United States, where he was greeted enthusiasti­ cally by American art lovers.

Struck’s turning-point came dur­ ing the first World War when, as a German citizen, he had to ex­ change his artist's smock for the uniform of field-grey. Soon pro­ moted to the rank of officer, he served at the Eastern Front, and was employed in the German Army as an expert on Jewish affairs. It was in Poland that he first met completely unassimilated Jews in overcrowded ghettos. He always had his sketch-book at hand, and he drew a cross-section of the Jew­ ish people — saints and sinners,

sages and beggars, profiteers and fools.

ILJE WAS a widely-travelled, thor­ oughly educated Grosstadtjude, and there was a tremendous gap between him and the man of the shtaedtel, which he filled out com­ pletely with love. Struck's charac­ ter could have been spoiled easily; his parents were rich, and he never had to worry about money. He was in his early twenties when, during a stay at the sea resort of Zandwoort, Holland, he learned that the Berlin Museum of Art had purchased three of his etchings (in­ cluding the magnificent plate of a fur-clad Polish rabbi with a flow­ ing white beard). In 1904, at the age of twenty-eight, he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Painters and Etchers in London, an honor denied to many more ex­ perienced artists.

Some of the most outstanding personalities of his era posed for Struck, but this fact never made him snobbish or caused him to lose his naturalness and humanity.

Without aggressiveness — ' for chauvinism was contrary to his na­ ture — he signed many of his etchings with his Hebrew names, Chaim Aron ben David, and his initials H.S. framed in the shield of David, as if to link his subject fondly with the ancient tribe from which he was descended. His fa­ mous etching of Gerhart Haupt­ mann also carries this signature.

One wonders whether the outstand­ ing German poet who swore fealty to Hitler in 1933 ever felt pangs of conscience when his eyes fell upon Jewish LIFE

reproduce on a copper plate, by means of a fine diamond point, a steel needle, or a razor blade, all the wonderfully significant lines which only a trained eye notices in a human face or landscape. He belonged to the school of artists who think that every detail is im­ portant, and not the slightest wrinkle seems to have escaped his observant eye. Struck, who was a sincere friend of the masses, liked to etch for a very special reason: large numbers of prints can be made from a single etched plate, so that many people who cannot afford to purchase an expensive original painting, may acquire a print which is less expensive and yet a “first-hand record of the artist’s work.”

A n old mendicant this signature in his last sad and unheroic years.

Struck did many oil paintings and water colors, but he knew that his real tool was the needle rather than the brush. Some of mankind’s greatest artists, the German Duerer, the Dutchman Rembrandt, and the Spaniard Goya, were fond of the engraver’s technique. Two great American artists, Whistler and Pennell, were famous for their etchings. Struck loved this way of expressing himself because he could March - April, 1954

JJERMANN STRUCK’S fame 4 rests on three pillars: his por­ trayal of famous contemporaries, his sketches of Jewish types and his landscapes. He perpetuated the features, not only of Herzl and the aforementioned Gerhart Haupt­ mann, but also of Richard BeerHofmann, Henrik Ibsen, Oscar Wilde, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fridt­ jof Nansen, Albert Einstein, Sig­ mund Freud, Felix Warburg, Jacob H. Schiff, and many other person­ ages, with an ardent love for the simple, clean line. To find una­ dulterated Jewish types, he tra­ velled not only to the ghettos of eastern Europe and the Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam with its ped­ dlers and second-hand clothes deal­ ers, but also to the strange Orien­ tal world of North Africa.

His landscapes are tender and 53

sensitive: vistas of such big cities as Berlin and London, the towers of Nptre Dame in Paris, English hunting lodges, and the canals, bridges, palaces and churches of Venice. He was the first, modern artist to go to Palestine (this was in 1903; incidentally, the same year he sketched Theodore Herzl) and the first to discover the aes­ thetic possibilities of the Holy Land.

W H E N HE settled in Eretz Is­ rael for good in 1922, the country had only a small number of pioneer artists who had been un­ selfish and courageous enough to leave the fleshpots of Europe for what was then still a poor, sparse­ ly-populated land. After all, it was mainly the victory of Hitlerism in Germany that caused artists like Ardon-Bronstein, Budko, Trude Chaim, Paul Konrad Hoenich and others to turn their eyes eastward to the Land of their Fathers.

After 1933 Struck's home on Mount Carmel was always crowded with refugees from Germany: “Why didn't you heed my warning earlier?" the host mildly rebuked them, reminding them of his early pessimistic views concerning the stability and durability of the Wei­ mar Republic: “Why did you come so late?" Still, he bade nobody farewell without giving him some good advice and kind words of comfort.

In 1944 a memorial exhibition was held at the Museum of Tel Aviv, where some two hundred oil paintings, water colors, drawings, etchings, engravings and litho54

A n Eastern European Type graphs were displayed. They re­ vealed that the late Professor Struck had drawn much inspiration from the ancient monuments and the magic landscape of the Holy Land. There were the stern hills around Jerusalem, the silvery sheen of olive trees on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the ruins of the Crusaders' fortifications, the tombs of the patriarchs at Hebron, the Wailing Wall and many other sights. These were done not in the superficial manner of picture post­ cards, but with an intensity of feel­ ing that embraced every tree and every stone. Interviewed in the United States during his second and last visit in 1928, he was asked to explain why, of all places, he had made his home in Palestine. He thereupon answered, with his usual candor and sincerity: Jewish LIFE

Palestine is the true home of the Jewish artist. There is the source of Jewish culture, and the Jew who returns to the source must feel an awakening of spirit and soul which has been dormant within him for thousands of years. Association with landmarks and symbols of Jewish tradition and lore will inspire him . . .

We must receive our law from the soil of our country.”

■PO THE younger generation of artists, Hermann Struck may seem old-fashioned in his natural­ istic treatment of subjects. But they should not underestimate his surpassing craftsmanship, from which they can still learn so much.

After all, he was such a pastmaster of the graphic arts that men like Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth and Lesser Ury turned to him for advice. Few people could handle as he did the countless variations and graduations of light

and shade in black and white.

Above all, he was a conscientious and hard-working laborer of the Lord who filled out his half-century of travail until death took him away from us.

Today he is chiefly remembered by a few older people who know him largely for two works. One is his etching of Theodore Herzl’s majestic head. The other is called Outgoing of the Sabbath. It shows a bearded Jew pronouncing his Havdolah prayer at Saturday sun­ down and looking at the lights and shadows cast by the candle upon his fingernails. Reproductions of these works can be found in the humble homes of Lower East Side Jews, as well as in fashionable up­ town apartments. They are exam­ ples of popular art at its best; they appeal strongly to the un­ sophisticated, yet even severe crit­ ics have hailed them as master­ pieces for their superb observation and execution.

Answers To “Bible L Q.” 1. Yocheved (Shemoth 6:20, Bemidbor 26:59) 2. Nissan (Shemoth 13:4) 3. Abigail (I Samuel 25) 4. Absalom (II Samuel 18) 5. Saul (I Sam­ uel 11:15) 6. Ezra (Nechemiah ch. 8) 7. Elijah (I Kings 18:21-46) 8. Rachel (Bereyshith 31:19-34) 9. "Flaming Sword" guarding the tree of life (Bereyshith 3:24) 10. Aaron (Bemidbor Ch. 3) 11. Nechemiah 5:3. 12. Samson (Judges 16:1-3) 13. Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (Koheleth 1:2) 14.

Solomon (I Kings 9:26) 15. Daniel 2:31-33 16. Isaiah (6:6-7) 17. Ben Hur (I Kings 4:7-8) 18. Shovuoth 19. Song of Songs 2:15. 20. Bereyshith 50:2.

Each correct answer counts two points. If your score is from: 30-40, it is excellent; from 20-28, good; from 10-18, satisfactory; from 0-8, poor.

March - April, 1954

55

By HAROLD U. RIB ALOW DECENTLY, the growing inter­ est in Israel’s stamps was recognized in these pages, and col­ lectors all over the country as well as various philately magazines commented on the article, as though to prove that the general awareness of Israel’s stamps is deep and becoming even more in­ tense. When this writer asked, as a matter of course, “What about Israel’s coins? Is there a story in them?” stamp collectors, in the main, shrugged and said that there was more romance in the tiny, colored bits of paper than in Is­ rael’s coins because, “the coins are only replicas of ancient Hebrew 56

coins and everybody knows their story.”

I did not know the history of these coins and, as I was able to see, neither did many of the col­ lectors. It was true that the coins of the new state attempted to dup­ licate the designs and motifs of the ancient coins struck during the era of the Hasmoneans and the two revolts of the Jews against the Roman Empire. But what was the story of the coins? Did it equal in historic interest and in popular appeal the story of Israel’s postage stamps ?

I learned slowly, but gradually realized that the history of Hebrew Jewish LIFE

coins, steeped in antiquity and in great events, more than equalled, in drama and in value, the hobby of philately.

Of course, it should be made clear at the outset that there will not, nor can there, be as many numismatists as philatelists, for stamps are comparatively easy to obtain, while ancient coins, never again to be struck, are always rare.

A child can begin to save stamps simply by finding them on current letter envelopes. An ancient coin may be obtained only from a deal­ er or another collector. Coins, too, are expensive. For example, many stamp shops sell an entire set of every Israeli stamp issued for a total of $110. A single coin often costs a collector more than that sum. Obviously, then, coin collect­ ing cannot hope to have the same popular appeal as stamp collecting.

BUTTHE literature pertaining to

coins — and the history at­ tached to them — is frequently far more fascinating than philate­ ly, and the knowledge that one is holding in one's hand an actual object created in the days of the Maccabees, or of Bar Kochba, somehow excites the numismatist so violently that he cannot under­ stand how anyone can become ex­ cited over a stamp issued only ten or twenty years ago.

For instance, Charles M. Ross, a leading Jewish collector of ancient coins, said to me, in explaining why he prefers coins to stamps — although he is cognizant of the appeal of postage stamps to many March - April, 1954

people — “Coins are a link with antiquity. Persons connect them­ selves with history in many ways: some read, others write; some col­ lect stamps, some understand his­ tory through a sense of touch. I am one of them. When I hold a coin struck in the precise year when the Jews were driven into Babylonian captivity, I am aware of Jewish history more keenly than at any time." He added: “Time unlocks its doors and the centuries vanish when you handle and under­ stand the coin in your possession."

As he spoke, I understood more sharply the appeal of ancient coins, particularly the Hebrew coins, steeped not only in antiquity but in Jewish religiosity and tradition.

Dr. Abraham Reifenberg, one of Jewry's greatest experts on coins and the author of many authorita­ tive volumes on the subject of He­ brew coins, pointed out in “Israel's History in Coins" that the Jewish coins were far less attractive ar­ tistically than the Greek and Ro­ man specimens, but that they were so involved with the Messianic idea that interest in Jewish tokens has always remained alive and is particularly lively today, now that the State has been reestablished.

Israel's first stamp series repro­ duced the ancient coins, and the initial coin issue of the new State is a duplicate of the original an­ cient coins of the Hasmonean and Roman eras.

T H E HISTORY of Hebrew coins is not, as one may assume it to 57

be, frozen in time. As archaeolo­ the Jews’ of Flavius Josephus, nor gists continue to uncover new Greek and Roman historians.” But treasures, as scholars peer into then Dr. Meyshan called attention ancient manuscripts, as experts to a paragraph from Baba Kamma analyze and reanalyze coins, new which read: “How did he have conclusions are reached and his­ ‘Kossiba’ coins of Jerusalem or and re­ tory is further clarified. For ex­ from the first kings . . ample, it was once believed that minded his listeners that Rashi, Simon the Hasmonean, who had the famous and great Bible com­ been proclaimed High Priest, mentator, took this statement to Leader and Commander of the mean that coins were minted in Jews, struck the first Jewish coins. Jerusalem.

The bronzes attributed to him have latterly been assigned to the first ^\T H E R Jewish kings, following Hyrcanus, struck their own Roman era. John Hyrcanus, there­ fore, now stands as the pioneer coins and all of them adhered of the Jewish coin. His name, to­ strictly to the Second Command­ gether with the authority of the ment. Antigonus Mattathias, who Jewish senate, was stamped on ruled from 40-37 B.C.E. is known these specimens. Because it is to history by his Hebrew name against Jewish law to sculpt or only through the use of that He­ draw graven images, Hyrcanus brew name on his coins. On a few chose symbols which were scrupu­ of the coins of his time, we see lously traditional. The designs in­ for the first time the sevencluded flowers, an anchor, cornu- branched menorah which later be­ copiae, etc. Hyrcanus found no came the most popular symbol of tradition of coins which he could Judaism and which was repre­ follow, nor had he skilled die-cut- sented on the Arch of Titus.

All of the Hasmonean kings is­ ters. Dr. Joseph Meyshan of Tel Aviv, a coin expert who lectured sued their coins with Hebrew in­ before the Numismatic Society of scriptions, but King Herod, who Israel, said that these coins were has come down in Jewish history minted in the period from 110 as a cruel and wicked ruler, used B.C.E. to 37 B.C.E., an epoch which Greek writing on his coins. Never­ he called “the pioneer period of theless, he, too, did not depict hu^ Jerusalem minting and of Jewish man figures but chose to design his coins with shields, helmets, numismatics.”

Dr. Meyshan also stressed that fruits, etc. When Roman procura­ “we do not find any mention of a tors were given the right to strike mint in Jerusalem in our ancient coins in Judea, these men respected religious sources like the Mishnah, the feelings of their Jewish sub­ the Midroshim or the Talmud, nor jects and refrained from using hu­ in historical records like the ‘Jew­ man or animal likenesses.

In 66 C.E., the Jews revolted ish Antiquities’ and the ‘War of Jewish LIFE 58

for the first time against Roman Later, some of these themes, par­ rule, and the Jews struck their ticularly the religious ones, reap­ first silver coins. These became peared on the coins struck by Bar the most famous of all Jewish Kochba. coins, known then, as now, as the “shekel.” They were meant to be 13KTHEN the Romans conquered ” the Jews, they,too. commemo­ used to pay Temple dues, and the chalice on the obverse side was the rated their victory through special cup used for wine libation, the coins. Vespasian, Titus and Domicup in which manna was kept in tian issued coins with the inscrip­ the Holy Ark. On the reverse die, tion “Judea Capta” or “Judea Dethere was a stem with three flow­ victa.” On one coin there was ers (representing the budding of drawn a Jewish man and woman Aaron’s rod). The inscriptions under a palm tree, both obviously read “Shekel Israel” and “Jeru­ captives. There were similar coins salem the Holy.” Bronze coins which, among other things, illus­ were also struck, bearing the in­ trated how important the defeat scription “Deliverance of Zion” of the Jews was to powerful, proud (Cheruth Tzion). Here, too, there Rome. appeared: the chalice and, for the From 132-135 C.E., the period first time, a lulov and ethrog, the during which Bar Kochba led his symbols of the >Fe&st ,of Sukkoth. revolt against Rome, some of the The baskets shown full of fruit most important coins in Jewish beneath a palm tree probably al­ history were struck. As Dr. Reifluded to the offering of first fruits. enberg pointed out: “We must try to imagine what we should know about the Bar Kochba revolt if we did not have these coins; we should have only some brief notes by Dio Cassius and a few other Roman writers, and several scattered references in the Talmud; we should not know Bar Kochba’s real name, Simon, which appears only on the coins; owing to the vague­ ness of the historical reports, we The first coin minted by the modern should not even know with cer­ State of Israel. "25 mils" and the year tainty the date when the upris­ "5708" appear in Hebrew and the word ing began. Only the fact that "mils" in Arabic. On the obverse: "Is­ most of Bar Kochba’s*medals are struck over Roman coins and the rael" in both Hebrew and Arabic. traces of the Roman inscriptions are often discernible, makes it 59 March - April, 1954

possible to fix the dates with certainty.”

The value of these coins is even greater than is indicated above.

Without them, it would have been difficult to determine whether Bar Kochba succeeded in capturing Jerusalem. However, the fact that some of the coins carry the name of Jerusalem proves that the city was taken by the Jews. The Tem­ ple, which Bar Kochba began to rebuild, is also depicted on one of his coins. And one coin shows the Temple with the Ark in full view with two scrolls of the Law rest­ ing inside of it. The lulov and ethrog design is repeated by Bar Kochba, as were many other tradi­ tional and Messianic themes.

IKTHEN Bar Kochba defaced the ” Roman coins and struck, in­ stead, Hebrew inscriptions and de­ signs, he did this deliberately. As some coin experts have pointed out, the Jews were aware that the coins of the Roman Empire were seen all over the known world and, conse­ quently, carried great publicity value. By defacing them and su­ perimposing Jewish designs, the Jews wanted the world to see the victory of Judaism over Rome.

Afterwards, of course, the Romans again defeated the Jews, and only one more coin was struck for the occasion. The new Roman city which was to replace Jerusalem, and to be called Aelia Capitolina, was honored with a coin. Aelia Capitolina was Jerusalem, but that name vanished, while Jerusalem’s name still stands supreme.

60

But with the overwhelming de­ feat of Bar Kochba’s forces, no Jewish coins were struck until nearly 1,900 years later, when Is­ rael was established. And the Jews, quite naturally, and with careful deliberation, decided to is­ sue coins which were identical in design with the ancient Hebrew coins which contained so much Jewish history, triumphant and memorable.

Curiously, the ancient coins were better made than the more recent ones, because the current coins contain copper and nickel, and not silver. Alfred Mond, founder of the Imperial Chemical Industries in Great Britain, was given the assignment to produce the first new Israel coins, and he did so in 1949. It was, in a way, a fitting gesture, for Mond, the first Lord Melchett, was a devoted Zionist who won an honored place in Zion­ ist history.

1UTEANWHILE, the ancient coins are still hard to obtain. Col­ lectors in the United States may purchase them from dealers abroad, in England, France, Holland and other countries. They study the various classic books on coinage by scholars like Barclay Head, whose Historia Numorum not only lists all Greek coins, but many which dealt with Palestine and Jewish history. They read the works of men like Reifenberg, who came to an untimely death recently in Is­ rael, and they realize, as they hold their precious coins, that they hold Jewish LIFE

history in their hands, brought back into focus by the reemergence of Israel. Antiquity, by definition, is “the quality of being ancient/' These coins have that quality; but they have something more. They are contemporaneous while pos­ sessing the quality of being an­

cient, which, somehow, is also the gift of the Jewish people as a whole. It is no wonder, then, that those who know and collect an­ cient Hebrew coins are close to and deeply appreciate Judaism and the entire history of the people who adhere to it's faith.

If the peoples had fallen on thee to force thee to apos­ tatize from thy faith, thou wouldst surely, as did so many, have given thy life in its defense. Well, then, fight now the fight laid on thee in the better day — the fight with evil desires; fight and conquer and make the study of the Torah thy constant ally.

Eliezer ben Yehuda (XIII Century).

When Moses heard of the Divine decree that he would not be buried in Eretz Israel he complained bitterly. Pointing to the bones of Joseph he exclaimed: "these bones shall enter Israel and I shall not enter?" Whereupon G-d answered him: "When Joseph was asked in Egypt who he was he answered, "I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews."

Whereas when you heard the daughter of Jethro saying to their father "An Egyptian man saved us," you were silent and did not correct them. He who openly associates him­ self with the land of his origin may enter that land, but he who even tacitly agrees to be dissociated from the land of his fathers shall not be privileged to enter it, nor even to be buried there.

—Midrosh

March - April, 1954

61

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62

Jewish LIFE

Under the Hammer and Sickle

By SAMUEL RABINOWITZ THE JEWS IN THE SOVIET UNION by Solomon M. Schwarz, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1951, pp. 380, $5.00.

THE JEWS IN THE SOVIET SATELLITES by Bernard D. Weinryb, Eugene Duschinsky, Nicolas Sylvain, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1953, pp. 637, $6.50.

T H E S E two companion volumes, i sponsored by the Library of Jew­ ish Information of the American Jew­ ish Committee, present an authorita­ tive account of the fate of the Jew­ ish communities behind the Iron Cur­ tain. This factual account is based primarily on Soviet and Satellite sources. Thus, the Communist world stands self-convicted of outrageous moral and even physical genocide, deliberately planned and executed.

March r- April, 1954

The volume written by Mr. Schwarz, a former Minister in the Provisional Government of Russia in 1917 and an eminent authority on the Soviet Union, is divided into two parts. The first part, entitled “Soviet Minority Policy and the Jews,” treats in considerable detail the ideological attitude of the Bolsheviks towards nationalism in general and the Jew­ ish people in particular. It is the author’s well-based contention that the systematic destruction of Russian Jewry as a distinct religious and cul­ tural minority is a direct consequence of the “internationalist” bias of the early revolutionary leaders, who re­ garded Judaism as an anachronism.

Particularly significant is their utter contempt for the “Bund,” the Jewish Workers’ Alliance, whose demand for

63

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64

Jewish LIFE

extra-territorial rights for the Jew­ ish community was regarded by them as gross “petty bourgeois” heresy.

The systematic destruction of the cultural life of Russian Jewry under the direction of the notorious Jewish Sections (Yevsektsia) of the Com­ munist Party is described in consid­ erable statistical detail.

The tre­ mendous vitality and energy released by the democratic revolution in Feb­ ruary, 1917 was nipped in the bud by this handful of renegades, who were completely without influence in Jewish life.

The apologists for Soviet policies will find little comfort in the detailed expose of the Birobidzhan fiasco and the half-hearted attempts to establish Yiddish schools and administrative organs. These tactical maneuvers are shown to be temporary stages in the great design: the rapid assimila­ tion of Russian Jewry.

life, evidenced a creeping antisemitism in official Government circles. Events subsequent to the publication of this volume: the purge of Jewish doctors in Russia and the simultaneous purges of Jews in all the Satellite states continued the trend.

While it is true that Soviet anti­ semitism is not of the racist variety, it should be remembered that the present day Soviet leaders, raised in the stifling atmosphere of a ruth­ less dictatorship, are not overburden­ ed with the intellectualism of the early leaders. Their leit-motif is ex­ pediency, not ideological purity and consistency. The Tito defection, the need for victims who could be blamed for the disastrous economic situation in the satellite countries as a con­ sequence of Soviet plunder and ex­ ploitation, as well as dictates of Sov­ iet policy in the Near East, are ample reasons for the rabid antisemitic manifestations since 1949.

■nHE SECOND part of the book deals * with antisemitism in the U.S.S.R. ■TTHE second volume, written by experts on Eastern and Central The author traces the ebb and flow of antisemitic feeling in the Soviet Europe, contains much valuable back­ Union. Antisemitism was rampant in© ground material, particularly con­ the mid-1920’s when Jews were ac­ cerning the period of Nazi occupa­ cused of seeking and receiving pre­ tion.

The problems faced by the des­ ferential treatment by the State, ebbed in the early 1930's as a result titute Jewish remnant, namely the of the immense drive for industrial­ actual need for restitution of pro­ ization, and emerged again in the perty and the psychological need for late 1930's as a direct result of the acceptance on the part of the native great purge. Antisemitism reached population, were essentially the same new heights during the Nazi occupa­ in all the satellite countries. Similarly, tion and continued unabated after the manner in which the new govern­ the war. The campaign against “cos­ ments dealt with these problems, the mopolitans without ancestry'' which unfulfilled promises and the resurgence began in 1949, and the progressive of antisemitism were almost identical elimination of Jews from political in all of the “Peoples' Democracies.''

March - April, 1954

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Jewish LIFE

The familiar story of the emergence of the police state through the infil­ tration of political parties under the watchful eye of the Red Army of Oc­ cupation is retold a number of times with only slight variations in local color.

By 1948 all the satellite countries were firmly in the grip of Moscow.

From that time on, there is little var­ iation in economic conditions and in the attitude towards the Jews. The problem of restitution is automatic­ ally liquidated through nationalization of all economic activity. The econo­ mic situation of the Jews deteriorates steadily, and their cultural life is re­ gimented to the point of extinction.

Emigration to Israel becomes the only alternative.

The emigration policy varies in accordance with the Soviet attitude towards Israel, except that in some instances emigration contin­ ues even after the Soviet about-face, as a result of the desire to get rid of the troublesome Jewish problem.

Thus, all but 35,000-40,000 of Polish Jewry, all but 10,000-14,000 of Czech Jewry and all but 6,000-7,000 of Bul­ garian Jewry succeed in escaping their tormentors. The relatively larger communities of Hungary and Ruman­ ia are not that lucky. Tens of thou­ sands of the latter are deported to Soviet and local slave-labor camps.

rPHE ROLE of the Jewish Com­ munists in the destruction of the newly rebuilt Jewish communities and their cultural institutions is portrayed in great detail, particularly in the case of Hungary. The author, Eugene Duschinsky, a rabbi who played an active part in Hungarian Jewish life during the crucial years of 1945-1948 and is thoroughly familiar with the detailed machinations involved in the subversion of Jewish institutions, paints a gruesome picture of intrigue and ruthlessness on the part of the counterpart of the YeVseksia. It is no comfort to note that ultimately these traitors shared the fate of their Russian predecessors — extermina­ tion as “Zionist-Titoist,, scum.

All that is left of the great Eastern and Central European Jewish com­ munities, the backbone of prewar Jewry, is a dispersed, partly assim­ ilated and thoroughly demoralized group of close to two million Jews in Russia, without the slightest hope of ever achieving any form of group life, and a pitifully small remnant in the satellite countries who share a similar fate. This constitutes ample proof, if proof is needed, that the Jew cannot survive in a modern total­ itarian state.

A Struggle For Orthodoxy

By SIDNEY LEBOR A FORTRESS IN ANGLO-JEWRY

by Dr. Bernard Homa, Shapiro, Valentine & Co., London, 1953, pp.

160 plus XLVIII, Appendix and pp. glossary and index, 30 shil­ lings.

March - April, 1954

11 S FORTRESS in Anglo-Jewry” is a biography of a synagogue, the story of a community with its birth pangs and its growth. The com­ munity and its synagogue, known as Machzike Hadath, came into exist-

67

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Jewish LIFE

^11 fo o d fo r the pnce o

ence in the East End of London dur­ ing the latter p art of the nineteeth century.

The author of this book, Dr. Ber­ nard Homa, is a well known figure in Anglo-Jewry. At present he is presi­ dent of the Machzike Hadath, be­ sides holding other communal offices.

His father was the president of the Machzike Hadath for thirty-seven years, and his grandfather was its first Rav. It can be well understood that these two figures hold central positions in the story that is unfolded in the book.

The story of this community with­ in a community, with its own syna­ gogue and its own Shechitah, cap­ tures the imagination, and one reads, with the greatest respect and ad­ miration, of Jews who labored un­ tiringly against great odds for the improvement of religious standards in London in the late nineteenth cen­ tury. The American Jew has little conception of the Kehillah idea, and is unacquainted with an organized Jewish community, with authority vested in a Chief Rabbi and a central Beth Din (ecclesiastical court). It will therefore not be easy for him to appreciate to the full what was in­ volved in the establishment of the Machzike Hadath, as a separate com­ munal organization. However, the author clearly spells out the struggle of the founders of the Machzike Ha­ dath for the strengthening of Kashruth, Jewish Education and other fundamental facets of Jewish life. coming from the Continent to JEWS England at the turn of the century found the Jewish community well or-

March - April, 1954

ganized but sadly lacking in religious observance. The neglected Kosher meat situation attracted the atten­ tion of several unflinching adherents of orthodox Judaism, and the Mach­ zike Hadath society was formed to improve this unsatisfactory condi­ tion. We read of a fight against the organized community, a fight that in­ volved the greatest rabbinic leaders of that time.

One of the chief protagonists of this epic struggle was the first Rav of the new community, Rabbi Avraham Aba Werner, who was bora in Tels, and later became a Dayan of that famed Lithuanian town. We see in “Reb Abtchick,,, as he was affec­ tionately known by his friends, a man of stature, charitable in spirit, loved by his followers and respected by his adversaries. His love for his fellow man resulted in unusual al­ truism and generosity. It is related that on being accosted by a man in dire circumstances, he was so touched that he gave him all the three golden sovereigns he had just received as his weekly salary. “The man’s need was greater than ours,” was the explanation he gave his wife.

This book will be read with inter­ est by every student of the Jewish community. It brings inspiration to anyone concerned with the perpetua­ tion of orthodox Jüdaism. The story of the Machzike Hadath proves be­ yond doubt that right is might. A few stalwart individuals were able to overcome all odds in the fight for their principles, notwithstanding that they had to stand up against more wealth, more influence and more pow­ er than they possessed.

69

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Jewish LIFE

■THE AUTHOR does not touch on * Our contemporary period but from what can be perceived across three thousand miles of ocean,; it would seem that London’s United Syna­ gogue and the British Chief Rab­ binate today could not be subject to the same criticism and opposition as were their antecedents of five decades ago.

The book contains an English ap­ pendix and a Hebrew appendix that include copies of letters from world famous rabbinical authorities such as Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector of Kovno and the Chofetz Chaim of Radun. In the appendices are also important documents such as the by­ laws for the Schochtim of the Machzike Hadath and interesting responsa

on the question of “Semichah and Sanhedrin.” There is also a valuable collection of photostats of documents, an index and an adequate glossary.

It would have been helpful to the reader if some of the letters and documents referred to in the text would have been placed where the reference occurs, so that one would not have to turn to them constantly at hte end of the book. Twelve il­ lustrations adorn the book and add to its value. ? The Hebrew preface was written by Rabbi Hirsh Ferber of London.

All in all, this is a valuable study of a community that is worthy of the attention of all those who are inter­ ested in the history and the future of the Jewish communal structure.

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Jewish LIFE

by ERIC OFFENBACHER From the Land of Kush

T70R those who have wondered how * the Falashas celebrate Pesach and the other Jewish festivals and Holy days, a dramatic vista has been re­ vealed, thanks to the Folkways Rec­ ords Corporation of New York. Their Ethnic Folkways Library now in­ cludes “Music of the Falashas,” cap­ tured most strikingly and recorded on location by Dr. Wolf Leslau. The often misleading term “living pres­ ence” claimed as a listening experi­ ence by today's manufacturers of high-fidelity discs, really applies here.

Who are these Falashas and how does their music come to be com­ mented upon in our “Jewish” Records column? By way of explanation, a few of the extensive scholarly reMarch - April, 1954

marks from Dr. Leslau’s instructive notes (profusely illustrated with original photographs), may serve.

The Falashas are Ethiopians of the Jewish faith. Their historic origin has not been definitely established. They may be descended from Jewish immi­ grants or from a segment of the na­ tive population converted to Judaism.

The Falashas observe the prescrip­ tions of the Bible with great strict­ ness. Throughout the Sabbath no Work of any kind is permitted. The Talmud and all other post* Biblical literary works, however, are un­ known. The language of the prayers is Geez (ancient Ethiopic). On all special holidays, excepting only the^ 78

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Jewish LIFE

Day of Atonement, the priests play the drum and the iron gong during prayers. * * * MUSIC OF THE FALASHAS (Jews of Ethiopia).

Responsive Reading in Geez; Prayers for Passover, New Year, Saturday Weekdays, and Absolution. Chorus with drum and gong. Recorded in Ethiopia by Wolf Leslau. One 12” LP Record. Ethnic Folk­ ways Library, P-201. List Price $5.95.

THE prayers that are heard, with their ringing gong and drum accom­ paniments, sound weird to our occi­ dental ears, monotonous and repeti­ tious, though not void of a regular rhythmic pattern. To be sure, this is no disc for home entertainment. The tunes (if such they may be called) reflect the mood of African tribal ceremonies. But the student of reli­ gious folk-music of primitive charac­ ter will find in the various selections a wealth of comparative scientific material. It is only natural, and has been pointed out many times, that Jewish liturgy is constantly influ­ enced by and closely related to native musical experiences.

A special study in etymology is provided on the last band of the sec­ ond side of this unique record. In

“Responsive Reading,” the first voice speaks in Geez, and the second voice translates for the congregation in Amharic (Modern Ethiopie). In the enclosed folder, the second text is printed in English under a verse-byverse transliteration of the ancient Geez. (One wonders, by the way, if in Ethiopian synagogues too, trans­ lations into the vernacular are neces­ sary because the present generation is unable to follow the original lan­ guage of prayer.) A word like yetbarrack (blessed) sounds akin to our yitborach; laekullu (of all) like our le-chol; anae (I ) is almost verbally am, etc.

If this recording will perhaps fail to make us feel related to our fellow Jews in Ethiopia, no matter. It of­ fers, nevertheless, an opportunity to hear their voices in prayer, whereas heretofore literary descriptions had to suffice. We are indebted to Dr. Leslau who gathered the material in cooperation with the Archive of Primitive Music of Columbia Uni­ versity. He also appended a reading list on the subject to his excellent commentary.

C hild ren 's R e co rd s F o r Purim GRUMPY GREGGERY, a Purim fantasy, written and told by Heidy. Music by- Lee Colker; directed by Albert A rkus; produced

by Reena Record Corp. One ten-inch 78 RPM record No. S10003. Price $1.08.

THIS is a sugar-coated Purim nar­ rative for kindergarten age, built around the adventures of a gregger.

In the eight-minute story Heidy (who­ ever she is) impersonates half a dozen people very effectively. But a common error should be corrected. Esther was March

April, 1954

PesaeA

Mordecai’s cousin not his niece (see Bible Quiz in our Shevat issue). * * * SONGS FOR PURIM, sung and played by Maurice Goldman. Written by Irwin Soref; narrated by Than Wyenn ; recorded by Dr. Alexander Arkatov. Issued by Bureau of Jewish Education of the Los Angeles Jewish Community Council. Two ten-inch 78 RPM records in album. Price $2.75.

LIKE the Tu Bishvat album pre­ viously reviewed, these selections are prepared with an eye on school use or 75

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In A ll Frozen Food Cabinets Jewish LIFE

as an educational aid in other group instruction. One would wish to hear more Hebrew songs (some of the best known are omitted), while more than half of the album is either in Yiddish or English. The discs are in auto­ matic sequence. * * * PESACH HOLIDAY SONGS, performed by Seymour Silbermintz and ensemble. Produced

by Ben David. Issued by Torah Umesorah for the National Association of Hebrew Day School PTA’s. Two ten-inch 78 RPM records in album. Price $2.95.

DY FAR the best of Pesach song collections, in an attractive album, adorned with one of the beautiful drawings of the late Arthur Szyk. All highlights of the Seder night are pre­ sented in chronological order. An ex­ cellent printed commentary fills in the gaps in the Haggadah story. Highly recommended* *

*

*

ADVENTURES OF AN AFIKOMEN writ­ ten and told by Heidy. Music arranged by Ivan Lane ; directed by Albert H. Arkus. Pro­ duced by Reena Record Corp. One ten-inch 78 RPM record No. S10001. Price $1.08.

T IKE the Purim fantasy above, this is another of Reena’s holiday stories

designed to animate historical mate­ rial for the exciting world of a six or seven year-old. There is little music on either record; some faint holiday tunes are perceptible from a distant piano. * * * PESACH MELODIES, Children of Israel— S in g ! Series, sung by Samuel Kligfeld ; pro­ duced by Reena Record Corp. Two seven-inch 78 RPM records, Nos. A114 and 115. Price 44c each.

rpHESE little discs are not satisfactory: for one thing, the generally adopted Sephardic pronunciation. Al­ though children in Israel indubitably will, we doubt that many American youngsters may hear their fathers recite the Kiddush on Seder night in Sephardit. Furthermore, if the little tots knew that Reena can do today twice as well by them, they would revolt against being served a meager iy 2 minutes of music time per record side. Finally, the tune used for Hodu does not strike us as a Pesach melody at all. To European Jews it is known as the “shuettel” nigun which forms part of the Hallel recitation on Sukkoth.

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77

RE; "TO KNOW OR TO REASON"

The Bronx, New York A “few words” about Rabbi Henry Siegman’s stimulating article. I can appreciate the work and thought re­ quired in an article of this kind be­ cause it required weeks to analyze it.

If as he says; “it is reason that makes possible the realization of the existence of man’s soul” — then it is also reason that “proves” the existence of the Almighty.

I feel it would have been more ac­ curate to say: Since G-d is infinite, He cannot be completely proven by mind and reason — but reason can supply proofs.

In a recent discussion with two friends, my view was that the Crea­ tor could be “proved”; but they con­ tended — only to a person of faith* Up to a few years ago I thought that the Jew depended only on faith and that “logic” was a word used by Greek culture. But now I am con­ vinced that logic and faith go to­ gether.

As I understand Rabbi Siegman’s main points, they are: 78

1. Reason alone cannot prove the ex­ istence of G-d ; however, import­ ance of reason must not be under­ estimated.

2. Soul is principal or chief prover reason is supplementary and sub­ ordinate.

3. Mind is finite; therefore cannot prove the infinité.

4. Soul is infinite; therefore can prove the infinite.

5. Mind plus soul equals finite plus infinite; combined therefore they can prove the infinite.

But I would say, it will still be the soul of the combination which will perceive the infinite, while the mind Would still remain finite. The soul will not help the mind toward in­ finiteness; but Torah will.

What is required for proof (in the order of importance) is Torah plus reason plus soul.

In (2) Rabbi Siegman has put the emphasis on the wrong factor; when it comes to proving, the soul supple­ ments reason and not vice versa. The soul feels; reason proves.

In the generations until the time Jewish LIFE

of Abram, there were souls, but it remained for Abraham with his rea­ son and tremendous intellect to prove monotheism which is today accepted to a great extent — in theory if not in practice.

As Rabbi Siegman says, the mind is finite; but to the extent of its finiteness (within its limits) it can prove the existence of the Creator.

Just as the eye and ear are effec­ tive to a certain distance, so the mind is effective within definite limits. The mind functions up to its range of vision. Beyond that point is meta­ physical.

We are unable to see microbes un­ less we get added power with a mi­ croscope. For distant objects we need a telescope or binoculars. For infinite things we need the Torah ■ — scope.

The Torah increases the scope of the mind to near-infinity* The mind of Moses was as near in­ finity as it is possible for the human mind to be; and through the Torah, if we learn by study, we can in­ crease the range of our minds.

No mother in her right mind would deny her son the use scope; but a college-educated, intel­ lectual “Jewish” mother will deny het, son the use of the Tdrah — scoped If Rabbi Siegman meant that the soul of the Jew is Torah, which to­ gether with reason can “prove” com­ pletely — then we are in harmony.

The soul gives us the awareness of being alive, but the awareness of the Creator is proved by reason. The comrif&ndment is teach thy children (Devorim 6:7) because the soul alone cannot prove. Soul and reason go to­ gether with visual proof, as is writMarch - April, 1954

ten: “May our eyes see and our heart (mind) sing and our soul rejoice.”

While reason is important, the ac­ curacy of the mind should not be overrated. Man can’t tell time without a clock; he can’t tell the tempera­ ture without a thermometer; and he can’t tell what justice is without the Torah. Because his reason is un­ reliable he can’t be a humanitarian without the Torah — scope.

The chief ingredient of knowledge or wisdom is Fear of the Lord. With­ out it the mind cannot reason prop­ erly. Without it the mind has a de­ ficiency. The deficiency of Vitamin C is the cause of scurvy in the body.

The deficiency of Fear of the Lord is the cause of scurvy in the mind.

Do I then mean to imply that Aristotle, for example, was mentally defective? That is precisely what I am saying. For all his massive in­ tellect he had a mental deficiency be­ cause he did not have: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying (Shemoth 30:17), etc.

The problem is not how to prove the Creator, but how to prove your belief in the Creator.

Isaac Cohen * * * THE LAMP ALOFT

Nykerk, Holland We should like to receive your magazine. We live in a little place in Holland and desire to receive a little Jewish spirit and Jewish thought.

We try to keep the Jewish tradition here with five families. There is no minyon, but nevertheless we spend our Sabbaths together.

Eli Nenco 79

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Jewish LIFE

LOGIC AND FAITH

NOSTALGIA

New York, New York Miami, Florida I am writing to tell you how much I am a subscriber to Orthodox I enjoyed reading the second article J ewish L ife and I want to compli­ in the series on Rabbi Samson Ra­ ment you on a magnificent publication phael Hirsch (Shevat issue). It re­ that combines a vigorous traditional called vivid memories of my youth, presentation with an intelligent, mod­ before the turn of the century, when ern American approach that is clean- Dr. Mendel Hirsch was my teacher cut, forthright and interesting. at Frankfort. I am also reminded of You have succeeded in doing a very a little anecdote told of another son difficult thing — reconciling and in­ of the famous rabbi, the physician tegrating logic and reason with an Dr. Marcus Hirsch, which I think abiding and solid traditional Faith. may amuse your readers.

In this age when cold science, reason Sanitaetsrat Hirsch used to call on and logic have been placed on too his patients in a horse-drawn car­ high a pedestal among human values, riage upon which his initials “M.H.” your accomplishment is one that will were imprinted. When a friend inject new life (no pun) into our way pointed out that these initials could of life, and outfit our youth in parti­ be interpreted to mean malach hamcular with the clothing of dignity, ovesf Dr. Hirsch was quick to reply: self-respect and strength, by an en­ “Oh no, they stand for mechayeh lightened, informed Jewish Faith. hameysim/” Lenna Offenbacher George Goldberg * * * A HAPPY, KOSHER AN APPROPRIATE GIFT

New York, New York I have chosen to buy gift subscrip­ tions to JEWISH LIFE for seven teacher acquaintances of mine be­ cause of its high standing as a mag­ azine.

Ahda Stein * * ♦ FROM ABROAD

Gateshead-on-Tyne, England I have just finished reading your magazine, Orthodox J ewish L ife , and I thought that I would write to tell you how impressed I was by it.

Samuel Roberts March - April, 1954

PASSOVER P R E F E R R E D For Quality and Flavor During holidays and the year around Sheffield -Sealtest Kosher fo r P a ssover D a iry Products

Certified by Rabbi S. B. Friedman, New York City

81

WAKE UP! SIGN UP! LOOK UP!

Certified by the noted Rabbis, Rabbi M . M . Hochstein and Rabbi Isaac Siegel

MANISCHEWiTZ The Traditional

KOSHER WINE MANISCHEWITZ WINECO. • NEWYORK

Keep your Eye on the Sky in the

GROUND OBSERVER CORPS C a ll o r w rite C iv il D e fe n s e

G o ld ’s 100% - pure

HORSERADISH

HD

Famous for Quality and Kashruth

nDEtf 1BO Jewish LIFE

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NEW YORK 7, NY.

(Use Order Form on Back Page)

BEekman 3-2220

MARCH, 1953

Periodicals JEWISH LIFE

Our famed national magazine. Published bi-monthly.

Subscription..________ one year $1.75 three years 4.00

JEWISH LIFE IN BOUND VOLUMES Contains full year's complete issues P'RAKIM

..... 3.50

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Pamphlets and Materials Number

Price

1

BAR MITZVAH CERTIFICATES. Beautifully illustrated, impressive scrolls for permanent keeping. Simulated parchment. five for 1.00

2

BAR MITZVAH FOR BOYHOOD, YOUTH AND MAN­ HOOD. B. H. Pereira Mendes. A recognized classic.

Gives not only a complete summary of practical infor­ mation but profuse and fascinating background material.

89 pages, cloth binding, gold stamped.

«50 BINDERS. Suitable for permanent file of JEWISH LIFE magazine issues and UOJC pamphlets. 5J/l x 9"- Dur­ able imitation leather space for 25 booklets or ten copies of JEWISH LIFE. .50 BRITH OR SURGERY. Circumcision explained from the orthodox viewpoint. .10 Bulk Orders For © membercong. .07 BUILDING FUND MANUAL. Booklet outlining tech­ niques and practices in modern building fund cam­ paigns. 24 pages, mimeographed. .25 ESSENTIALS OF JUDAISM. By Rabbi Leo Jung. A lucid synopsis of basic Jewish beliefs and concepts addressed to the understanding of the present-day American Jew.

each .25

3

4

5 6

28 pages, paper cover.

Bulk Orders for © member,cong.

March - April, 1954

«20

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$

$ $ $ $ i $ $ è I

a$ si $ i i $ $ $ $

Best wishes for a

Hotel Diplomat Kosher Kitchen

^ ||o y o u $

Passover Loft C a n d y shops are alw ays ready

is under the supervision of Rabbi Abraham Reichlin Hotel Diplomat can accommodate from 50 to 1,000 people.

J. Edward Saltzman, owner and caterer

to serve you with C a n d y gifts

108 West 43rd S t, New York Telephone: BRyant 9-2487 - 8 - 9

o f g o o d taste.

LOFT CHOCOLATES*AS FINE AS YOU CAN GIVE

The Lake House Hotel

“ The House o f the J ew ish Book”

Woodridge, N. Y.

P. FELDHEIM

Publisher and Bookseller 381 Grand Street New York 2, N.Y. We have the largest selection of all kinds of Israeli and illustrated Passover Haggadahs. Also in fancy bindings. We are the publisher of the famous illumin­ ated KAFRA Haggadah.

Catalogues sent on request.

KOSHER FOR PASSOVER G O O D M A N ' S Delicious Matzos and Matzo Products

Baked under Supervision of Rabbi Mendel Chodrow

Phone 132 K ash rus & Shabbos S tr ic tly O bserved

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Katz and Family are pleased to announce that their Lake House Hotel will be open for Passover * A P R IL 16-25: e All Rooms Heated • Music & Entertainment during Choi Hamoed ® Excellent Meals • Congenial Orthodox Atmosphere.

• Governess for Children R eserve

now

fo r choice accom m odations.

Write or Call N. Y. LO 8-6747 Between 7 -10 P.M.

Weekdays

84

Jewish LIFE

— UOJC PUBLICATIONS — Number Price 7 FAMILY RECORD FORMS. Provides for all necessary inlormation on synagogue members and their families.

A necessity for the properly equipped congregation. .021/2 $2.00 per 100 8

FESTIVALS A

B C D E F

CHANUKAH 15 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

THE HIGH HOLY DAYS 16 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

PASSOVER 7 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

PURIM 7 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

SUCCOT 16 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

SHAVUOT 12 pages, illustrated cover © member cong.

.10 .07 .10 .07 .10 .07 .10 .07 .10 .07 .10 .07

These booklets present the story and significance of the holidays in colorful, informative manner.

9

THE JEWISH ALL-DAY SCHOOL An open letter to Jewish parents. 10 pages, paper cover, illustrated. .15 © member cong. .10

10

JUDAISM IN JEWISH HISTORY. A succinct interpretation of the story of our people.

20 pages, paper cover. .10 © member cong. .07

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KASHRUTH. A comprehensive guidebook on the Jewish Dietary Laws. 32 page booklet.

-40 bulk non-member cong. .35 member .25

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KASHRUTH DIRECTORY. Listing of Kosher commodities and establishments under the official © supervision and endorsement of UOJCA. Free

March - April, 1954

85

YOUR FRIENDLY A. & P. SUPER MARKETS and FOOD STORES Extend Best W ishes of the Se a so n

WOULD

YOU

LIKE

TO

EAT

TREFA?

Certainly not, but to wear Shatnes i.e. a mixture of wool and linen, is the same transgression of the Torah.

The following firms have pledged that they will assure that garments are Non-Shatnes only if the Shatnes Laboratory has removed, FREE, all linen found and attached this label.

• Atlantic Clothing Co. — 1 Allen St., N.Y.C. B. Gordon — 11 Allen St., N.Y.C. • Chatham Clothes — 52 E. B'way, N.Y.C. Three "B" Clothes

Crawford Clothes — See Tel. Book • Goldsuit 145 Stanton St., N. Y. C. J. M. Klein — 118 Stanton St., N.Y.C. Litt Chinitz, Inc. — 85 5th Ave., N.Y.C. Maxi's Clothes — 385 B'way, B'klyn.

80 Delancey St., N.Y.C.

SHATNES LABORATORY OF TORAH UMIZVOTH 110 LEE AVENUE, BROOKLYN — EVERGREEN 7-8520 Immediate Testing Monday 8 P.M. to 10 P.M. or phone for an appointment.

Sunday from Ten to Ten 86

Jewish LIFE

— UOJC PUBLICATIONS Number Price 13 MARRIAGE AND THE HOME. A Jewish guide for marital happiness. 66 pages, paper cover. .50 14

THE MEN'S CLUB. An outline cm club organization and activity. 8 pages, paper cover. .10 © member cong. .07

15

ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAMMING FOR A MEN'S CLUB .35

16

MIXED PEWS. A forthright, authoritative and compelling elucidation of a much-misunderstood question.

12 pages, paper cover.

J^IO @ member cong. .07

17

THE TORAH'S METHOD OF PRAYER. A practical and in­ spiring guide; explains the significance of Talith and Tephillin. 16 pages, paper cover. .10 © member cong. .07

18

YES, I KEEP KOSHER. Attractive, one-page leaflet on the woman's view of Kashruth. .01

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

305 Broadway New York 7, N.Y. I would like you to send me the checked publications. □ Bill Me I have Enclosed $. ...........i

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March - April, 1954

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UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

n"n

Kosher commodities and establishments under official © supervision and en dorsement.

KASH RUTH DIRECTORY Issued Nisan, 5714 ■ — April, 1954 LOOK FOR THE <Q) SEAL - AND BE SURE!

The ® seal is your guarantee of communallyresponsible Kashruth supervision and endorsement, conducted as a public service by the Union Of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America—UOJC. All items in this Directory are ©, receive the con­ stant inspection of and are passed upon by the Rabbinical Council of America, Rabbinic body of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations.

CONSUMERS ARE CAUTIONED TO: • Make sure that the © seal is on the label of every food product.

• Make sure that the seal shown on the label is the © — beware of imitations!

• Read carefully the list of ingredients of each © product to ascertain whether it is a meat or dairy product. The © does not necessarily mean that the product is Pareve.

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 88

Jewish LIFE

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the (y) seal.

Items listed (y)P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJC A Passover Hechsher on label.

Itettis listed © are Kosher for Passover without Passover ^Hechsher on label. * Indicates new (y) endorsement. ^

C a k e s f C o o k ie s and C r a c k e rs

Baby Foods

Heinz — with @ label only Strained Vegetables & Salmon Strained Cream of Tuna Strained Vegetables Strained Fruits Chopped Mixed Vegetables Strained Puddings Strained Orange Juice Strained Tomato Soup Strained Vegetable Soup PrerCooked Cereals (Barley, Oat­ meal, Bice) Junior Vegetables Junior Fruits Junior Vegetable Soups Junior Puddings

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Beech-Nut -S w ith (0) label only Strained Vegetables Strained Fruits Strained Vegetable Soup Strained Tomato Soup Strained Puddings Strained Fruit Dessert ^Strained Plums with Tapioca Cereals Junior Vegetables Junior Fruits Junior Vegetable Soup Junior Banana Dessert Junior Puddings *Junior Plums with Tapioca *Junior Fruit Dessert ^Junior Chocolate Pudding

(Beech-Nut Packing Co., N.Y.C.) Baked Beans

Heinz Oven Baked Beans with mo­ lasses sauce Heinz Oven Baked Beans in tomato sauce (H. J. Heinz Co.)

March - April, 1954

Barton’s Bonbonniere (Barton, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.) Dromedary Chocolate Nut Eoll Date Nut Boll Orange Nut Boll (above contain milk) (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.) Golden Cracknel Egg Biscuits (Golden Cracknel & Spec. Co., Detroit) Ry-Krisp (Ralston-Purina, St. Louis, Mo.) FFV — with (0) label only Macaroon Krisps (foil package) Lemon Thins (foil package) Orange Thins (foil package) Vanilla Thins (foil package) Chocolate Pecan Cookies (foil package) Tea Bings (foil package) Short Bread (foil package) (Southern Biscuit Co.,i Richmond, Va.; distributed by Mutual Biscuit Co., N.Y.C.)

C a k e M ixes

B lairs Ezy Angel Mix (contains milk) (Blair Milling Co., Atchison, Kan.) Dromedary 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 (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.)

89

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 O are Kosher for Passover without Passover Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement. ^

C a k e M ixes le o n i'd .l

DromedaryGingerbread Mix White Cake Mix (The Rills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.) Golden Mix Pancake Flour Mix Waffle Flour Mix (Golden Mix Inc., Chicago, III.) Cam ps

(fo r ch ild re n )

Camp Mohapli (Glen Spey, N.Y. — N.Y. office 4320 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Candy

©P Barton’s Bonbonniere (Barton, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.) C e re a ls

Skinner’s Raisin-Bran Raisin Wheat (Skinner Mfg, Col, Omaha, Neb.) Ralston *Instant Ralston *Regular Ralston (Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, Mo.)

Lawry’s *Seasoned Salt (Lawry’s Products Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.) Pride of the Farm Catsup (Hunt Food Prod., Bridgeton, N.J.) C o n v a le sce n t H o m e s

Dayton Nursing Home (1884 Marmion Ave., Bronx, N.Y.) D ietetic Foods

© P Mother’s Low Calorie Borscht (Mother’s Food Products) D ishw a shing M a ch in e D etergen ts

® All (Monsanto Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) • Spic & Span (Procter & Gamble)

D re ssings

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

Heinz French Dressing (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Fish P ro d ucts C o n d im e n ts , Se a so n in gs

Dromedary Cranberry Sauce (The Rills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.) ©P Gold’s Horseradish (Gold Pure Foods, B’klyn, N.Y.) Heinz Horse Radish 57 Sauce Chili Sauce Hot Dog Relish Worcestershire-Sauce Tomato Ketchup (H. J. Heinz Co.)

90

Royal Snack Cream Herring Matjes Fillets Spiced Herring Lunch Herring Herring Cocktail Tidbits Salmon (in wine sauce) (S. A. Haram Co., N.Y.C.) Mother’s Old Fashioned ©P Gefilte Fish Sweet & Sour Fish (Mother’s Food Prod., Newark, N.J.) Breast O’Chicken Tuna (Westgate-California Tuna Packing Co., San Diego, Cal.)

Jewish LIFE

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 LHechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement. ^

G ly ce rid e s

Fla vo r Im p ro v e r

Ac*cent (Mfd. by International Minerals and Chemical Co.)

Emcol MSVK (The Emulsol Corp., Chicago, III.) Honey

Food P a ck a g e s

®P Garber's Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Corp.)

©P Care (New York, N.Y.) Food Freezer Plan

Yitzchok Goldberg & Sons (New York, N.Y.) H o u seh o ld C le a n se rs

(See also Scouring Powders)

Frozen Foods

Milady's Blintzes (blueberry, cherry, cheese, potato—all are milchig) Waffles (Milady Food Prod., Bfklyn, N.Y.) Associated *Waffles (Associated Food Stores Coop., N.Y.C.) Fruit —

(D rie d — bulk o nly)

©P California Packing Corp.

(San Francisco, Cal.)

Fruits —

t Packaged i

Dromedary Dates Cranberry Sauce Fruits and Peels Moist Coconut Shredded Coconut (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.)

G ela tin D esserts — Vegetable

Berish’s Beal Kosher Gel Desserts (flavored) Unflavored Vegetable Gelatin (Orthodox Kosher Products, Brooklyn, N.Y.)

March r April, 1954

©P Brillo Products (Brillo Mfg. Co., B’klyn, N.Y.) Cameo Copper Cleaner (Cameo Corp., Chicago, III.) Colgate-Palmolive Detergents (Jersey City, N.J.) • Arctic Syntex M. beads (bulk only) • Fab © Kirkman Detergents

• Vel

Fels & Co. Detergents (Philadelphia, Pa.) Felso Rol Glim (B. T. Babbit Inc., New York, N.Y.) My Pal (Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.) Procter and Gamble Detergents ( Cincinnati, Ohio) © Cheer Joy • Droft • Spie & Span • Oxydol • Tide Soilax (Economics Laboratory, Inc., St. Paul, Minn.)

H

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY All items listed below bear the (y) ( seal.

Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJCA Passover Hechsher on label.

Items listed • are Kosher for Passover without Passover ^Hechsher on label. * Indicates new (Q) endorsement. ^

H o useh o ld C le a n se rs fC o n t 'd l

•

Sprite (Sinclair Mfg., Toledo, Ohio) • Swerl (Allied Cliem. & Dye Corp., N.Y.C.) • *Trend (Purest; Corp. Ltd., South Gate, Cal.)

Mar-Parv (pareve) Miolo (milchig—bulk only) Nu-Maid (milchig) Table-King (milchig) (Miami Margarine Co., Cincinnati, Ohio) Mother’s (milchig) Mother’s Pareve (Mother’s Food Products) M a rsh m a llo w Topping

lee C re a m

Barton’s Bonbonniere (Barton, Inc.) Costa’s French Ice Cream (Costa’s Ice Cream Co., Woodbridge, N.J.) ♦Met Brand (Marchiony Ice Cream Co., N.Y.C., distributed by Metropolitan Food Co., Brooklyn,, N.Y.) Ind ustria l C le a n se rs

Institution X Orvus Extra Granules Orvus Hy-temp Granules (Procter & Gamble)

Jam s and Jellies

Berish’s Beal Kosher Pure Fruit Jams Marmalade Marmalade Butter (Orthodox Kosher Products) Heinz Jellies (H, J. Heinz Co.) Juices

Heinz Tomato Juice (JET. J. Heinz Co.) M a rg a rin e

Berish’s Beal Kosher (milchig) (Orthodox Kosher Products) Crystal Brand (milchig) (L. Dailch & Co., N.Y.C.; manufac­ tured by Miami Margarine Co.)

92

♦Marshmallow Fluff (Durkee-Mower, Inc., East Lynn, Mass.)

M e a ts a nd Provisions

Yitzchok Goldberg’s • Meats ©P Corned Beef ©P Tongue • Frozen Meats ©P Salami @P Frankfurters Pastrami (I. Goldberg & Sons, 220 Delaney St., N.Y.C:) Oxford Corned Beef Pastrami Tongue (Oxford Provisions, Brooklyn, N.Y.) M e a t Tenderlzer

Adolph’s (Adolph’s Food Products, Burbank, Cal.) M u sta rd

Heinz Brown Mustard Yellow Mustard (27. J. Heinz Co.)

Jewish LIFE

UOJC KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

©

All items listed below bear the © seal.

Items listed © P are Kosher for Passover when bearing this or other UOJCA Passover Hechsher on label.

Items listed © are Kosher for Passover without Passover ^Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement. ^

N oo d le s & M a c a ro n i P ro d ucts

Heinz Macaroni Creole (H. J. Heinz Co.) Skinner's Egg Noodles Macaroni Spaghetti Vermicelli {Skinner Mfg. Co., Omaha, Neb.)

P ud d ing

Berish's Real Kosher Chocolate Pudding (Orthodox Kosher Products) R ice

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

O il

• Yitzchok Goldberg & Sons (New York, N.Y.) o Menorah Farms (Menorah Products, Inc., Boston, Mass.)

Heinz Pickles India Relish Hot Dog Relish Pickled Onions Sweet Relish Cocktail Sauce Southern Stylo Relish Hamburger Relish (H. J . Heinz Co.) Dolly Madison Pickles (U. W. Madison Co., Cleveland, O.) Mother's ©P Pickles ©P Gherkins @P Sweet Red Peppers ©P Pimcntoes ©P Pickled Tomatoes ©P Sauerkraut Deluxe © P Pickled Country Cabbage (Mother's Food Products) Carolina Beauty Pickles (Mount Olive Pickle Co., Mt. Olive, N.C.) Silver Lane Pickles Sauerkraut (Silver Lane Pickle Co., East Hartford, Conn.)

P re p a red Sa la d s

Resorts

@P Garber's Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Corp.) *Mazola (Corn Products Refining Corp.,,N.Y.C.) ©P Nutola (Nutola Fat Products Co.) Pea nut Butter

Beech-Nut (Beech-Nut Packinq Co.) Heinz (H. J. Heinz Co.) Planters (Planters Nut & Chocolate Co. Wilkes Barre, Pa.) Potato C h ip s

Blue Ribbon (Red Dot Foods, Madison, Wis.) Gordon's *Potato Chips *Tater Chips ^Potato Sticks (Gordon Foods, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.)

Po ultry —

Frozen

Royal Snack Beet Salad, Cole Slaw, Cucumber Salad, Garden Salad, Potato Salad (S. A. Haram Co., N.Y.C.)

March - April, 1954

©P Pine View Hotel (Fall»burg, N.Y.) ©P Washington Hotel (Rockaway Park, N.Y.)

93

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 O are Kosher for Passover without Passover ^Hechsher on label. * Indicates new © endorsement. ^

Sa lt

• Mögen David Kosher Salt (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.) • Red Cross Fine Table Salt • Sterling Fine Table Salt • Sterling Kosher Coarse Salt

S c o u rin g P o w d e r

(See also Household Cleansers) •

B. T. Babbit Co. Products

• •

Bab-o Babbit ’& Cleanser Cameo Cleanser

(Cameo Corp.)

Sh o rte n in g

National Margarine Shortening (National Yeast Corp., Belleville, N.J.—Bulk only) Delmar Margarine Shortening (Delmar Products Corp., Cinn., O. —Bulk only) ©P Garber’s Misrochi Pareve Fat (Oarber Eagle Oil Co:) ©P Nut-Ola Vegetable Shortening (Nut-Ola Fat Prod., Brooklyn, N.Y.) S ilv e r C le a n e r

Instant Liquid Dip Silver Cleaner (Lewal Industries, N.Y.C.) Soap

<u)P Nutola Kosher Soap (Nutola Fat Products)

Colgate-Palmolive Co. Products

• Ajax Ben Hur (bulk only) • Kirkman Cleanser • New Octagon Cleanser •

Garber’s Misrochi Cleanser

(Oarber Eagle Oil Co., New York) Kitchen Klenzer

(Fitzpatrick Bros., Chicago, III.)

•

Old Dutch Cleanser

(Cudahy Packing Co., Omaha Neb.)

Pal Products Co. Products

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

94

So u p s

Gold’s © P Borscht Schav Russel (Gold Pure Food Prod., B'klyn, N.Y.) Heinz Cream of Mushroom Celery Croam of Green Vegetable Cream of Tomato Condensed Cream of Mushroom Condensed Cream of Green Pea Condensed Gumbo Creole Condensed Cream of Tomato Condensed Vegetarian Vegetable (H. J. Heinz Co.)

Jewish LIFE

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 (0) endorsement. ^

So u p s

(Cont'dl

Mothers ©P Borscht Cream Style Borscht Cream Style Schav Mushroom and Barley (Mother’s Food Products) So u p Mix

Joyce Egg Noodle Soup Mix {Joyce Food Products, Paterson, N.J.) Nutola Chicken Noodle Soup Mix Nutola Noodle Soup Mix (Nutola Fat Products Co.)

Sp a gh e tti S a u c e

Skinner’s (Skinner Mfg. Co., Omaha, Neb.)

©

Tzitzith

WOOLEN M. Wolozin & Co. RAYON, FOR RAYON TALEYTHIM Leon Vogel (66 Allen St., N.Y.C.) M. Wolozin & Co. (36 Eldridge St., N.Y.C.) Zion Tallis Co. (48 Eldridge St., N.Y.C.)

V egetables

Dromedary Pimientos (The Hills Brothers Co., N.Y.C.) V egetables — l b ulk only I

D ehy d ra ted

© P Basic Vegetable Prod.

(San Francisco, Cal.) ©P Gentry, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.)

V inegar

Sp ice s

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

Sugar

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

S y ru p

Berish’s Real Kosher Chocolate Syrup True Fruit Syrups Imitation Fruit Syrups (Orthodox Kosher Products)

Tom ato J u ic e

Heinz (II. J. Heinz Co.)

March - April, 1954

©P Garber’s Misrochi (Garber Eagle Oil Co.) Heinz Cider Malt Salad Vinegar Tarragon White Box Amber (H. J. Heinz Co.) Vitamins — Bulk

Collett-Week-Nibecker Co. (Ossining, N.Y.) Vitamin Tablets

*Kobee *Kovite *Vitalets (Freeda Agar Prod., N.Y.C.) W ine

©P Hersh’s Kosher Wines (Hungarian Grape Products, Inc., N.Y.)

95

REFRESHING,

FLAVORFUL

. ..DELICIOUS!

Prepared under Rabbinical Su­ pervision, in America's most modern Ice Cream Plant

©

Sstas

ICE CREAM FOR FINEST QUALITY

Tel. BElle Harbor 5-5771 - 1934 - 1834

FOR KASHRUTH and QUALITY

W ASHIN GTO N HOTEL

Yitzchok Goldberg & Sons

Catering for AU Occasions

© Open All Year Reserve Now for Passover S u p ervised and E ndorsed

by

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations

Levine Management

We Deliver Fresh Meats and Poultry in all Five Boroughs

—e —

EVERY WEEK Under Supervision of ©

124-05 ROCKAWAY BLVD.

220 DELANCEY STREET New York 2, New York Gramercy 5-6915-6

ROCKAWAY PARK, N. Y.

96

Products

KOSHER FOR PASSOVER Tongue — Pastrami — Salami Corned Beef — Smoked Turkeys » Frankfurters FOR YOUR FREEZER, WE SELL WHOLE SIDES OF PRIME BEEF AT DISCOUNT PRICES. KOSHER MADE, FREEZER WRAPPED AND LABELED

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Street City Z o n e............State __ □ Send Rill Check or M-O. enclosed for $ Additional postage« C anada and foreign 15c

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FIRST CLASS Permit No. 26898 Sec. 34.9 P. L & K New York, NY.

BUSINESS

REPLY

CARD

No Postage Stam p N ecessary If Mailed in the United States.

2c POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY —

305 Broadway, New York 7, N.Y.

makes dishes shine without washing or wiping!

Vel soaks dishes clean. Don’t wash, just soak; don’t wipe, just rinse. And the hand test proves there’s no “Detergent Burn” to hands with VEL. It’s marVELous!

AJAX Cleanser with “Foaming Foams as it cleans all types of tile, porcelain surfaces, pots and pans... up to twice as easy, twice as fast! Floats dirt and grease right down the drain!

FAB washes clothes whiter without a bleach Whiter than any other product with a bleach in the wash water. Saves work, saves hands. Washable colors look brighter, too. Also wonderful for dishes.

WONDERFUL FOR DISHES, TOO!

ALL OF THESE FINE PRODUCTS BEAR THE SEAL OF APPROVAL OF THE UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO M PAN Y

HEINZ

(O)FO O D S

ARE j\TO l K O SH ER FO R PA SSO V E R Our advertising in Jewish publications all year has stressed the © seal of approval of THE UNIONOF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA* which is on the labels of more than 40 Heinz Varieties.

Those Heinz © Varieties are Kosher... but only for fifty-one weeks a year.

Therefore, to remove any misunderstanding that may exist, we make our annual statement: . . . Heinz © Foods are Kosher.. but NOT KOSHER FOR PASSOVER.

H . J. H E IN Z C O M P A N Y PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

M A K E R S OF THE ^ V A R I E T I E S