Jewish Life August 1956

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Britain's Chief Rabbi (See Editorial, Pg. 5)

(Announcingi'"I3

THE NATIONAL BIENNIAL CONVENTION OF THE

UNION OF THE ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA The weekend of

OCTOBER 25-26-27-28, 1956

B r e a k e r s Hotel (O N THE BOARDWALK)

ATLANTIC CITY, N. | HEAR:

PARTICIPATE IN:

World-famed leaders Distinguished Authorities

Workshops on Synagogue and Community Problems

ENJOY: Inspiring Torah Fellowship Festive Sabbath Gatherings

FOUR UNFORGETTABLE DAYS OF TH RILLIN G EVENTS A N D H ISTO RY-SH APING A CTIV ITIES

NEW PREFABRICATED SYNAGOGUE

Share In Building The National Program Of Orthodoxy For Today And Tomorrow

RESERVE THIS DATE!

July-August, 1956 MB Vol. XXIII, No. 5

Av, 5716

E D IT O R IA L S ARAB A G G R ESSIO N A N D RESOLUTION 298 .....................

GATES CLOSE IN M O R O C C O .......

"PRE-FAB" ................

THE TASK OF E N G LISH -SP EA K IN G JEWRY .......................

S aul B ernstein , Editor M. M orton R ubenstein D r. E ric O ffenbacher R euben E. Gross R abbi S. J. S harfman L ibby K laperman

3 4 4 5

Editorial Associates

O Assistant Editor

Inside Illustrations by N orman N odel

JEW ISH LIFE is published bi-monthly. Subscription two years $3.00, three years $4.00, four years $5.00.

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

Published by U nion of Orthodox J ew ish Congregations of A merica M oses I. F euerstein

President Rabbi H. S. Goldstein, Wil­ liam Weiss, Samuel Nirenstein, William B. Herlands, Max J. Etra, Honorary Pres­ idents; B e n ja m in Koenigsberg, Nathan K. Gross, Ben­ jamin Mandelker, Samuel L. Brennglass, Vice Presidents; Edward A. Teplow, Treas­ urer; Reuben E, Çrpss, Sec­ retary.

Saul Bernstein, Administrator

A R T IC L E S MY VISIT TO M O S C O W . .... ..........

7 Gotfried Neuburger CH A ZO N ISH— THE SAINT OF BNEI BRAK .................

16 Zvi E. Kurzweil ISRAEL'S SUPREME COURT............... 21 E. David Goitein CO N FESSIO N S OF A JEWISH HITCH-HIKER ............................... 24 A. A. Davidson EXIT M OSHE SHARETT................ I 29 I. Halevy-Levin JEWISH COMMUNITY RESEARCH. . . . 36 Gershon Kranzler FESTIVE DAYS O N THE BORDER-----41 Cecil Roth TISHA B'AV TO D A Y ...................... 44 Norman Lamm THE BARON LENDS A H A N D ........... 52 Joseph Fried

M. J udah M etchik

•

FE A T U RE S A M O N G OUR CONTRIBUTORS........

2 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR........ .'------ 57 UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY........ 62

PHOTO CREDITS: Cover (Rabbi Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, who paid his first visit tó the U. S. last month), Pan Ameri­ can Photos; 11-13, Sovfoto; 31 (top), 43, Wide World; 31 (bottom), 33, Eisenstark,

/Im o tta Qun, Co4i^AiiutO‘^ GOTTFRIED NEUBURGER visited the Soviet Union last April on a business mission.

While in Moscow, he spent considerable time investigating Jewish conditions and talking to. leaders of the Jewish community there. A graduate of Columbia University, his articles have been published in several Anglo-Jewish magazines.

DR. ZVI E. KURZWEIL has contributed a number of articles ori education and literature to Jewish L ife. Educated at leading yeshivoth and universities in Europe, h© is now living in Haifa, Israel, where he is a teacher and lecturer.

RABBI NORMAN LAMM is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kodimoh in Springfield, Mass. He received his Semichah from Yeshiva University in 1951. A member of the Halachah Commission of the Rabbinical Council of America, his articles have been published in Hebrew and Anglo-Jewish periodicals.

A. A. DAVIDSON is well known to Jew ish L ife readers for his delightful articles and stories. .Yonkers born and bred, he has made a name for himself as one of America's most promising young Jewish writers. His work has been published in many leading periodicals.

GERSHON KRANZLER, principal of the Chofetz Chaim Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, Maryland, is the author of several. Jewish textbooks. His articles, short stories and poems have appeared in a number of Anglo-Jewish magazines. Dr. Kranzler is a frequent contributor to Jew ish L ife.

E. DAVID GOITEIN is a member of Israel's Supreme Court and former Israel Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. Bom in London, he settled in Israel in 1929, where he conducted many of the most important criminal and civil cases of the 1930's and 1940's.

CECIL ROTH is a frequent contributor to Jew ish L ife . One of the outstanding Anglo-Jewish historians of our time, his works include such outstanding studies as "The Jews of Venice," "A History of the Marranos" and "A Short* History of the Jewish People."

I. HALEVY-LEVIN is the Israel correspondent of Jew ish L ife . His informative articles have covered every aspect of the Israel scene. Prominent in religious circle's in that country, he is also editor of the "Modem Israel Library".

JOSEPH FRIED is a free lance writer who has served as foreign correspondent for several major news agencies. He has spent four years in Israel where he worked on various daily and weekly papers, at the same time collecting material for his articles and short stories.

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JEWISH LIFE

E D IT O RIA L S ARAB AGGRESSION A N D RESOLUTION 298 JF THERE WERE posed the riddle: when is a war not a war?, one might visualize the State Department as responding: when the Arab nations, backed by the Soviet empire, turn against the Western world, ring Israel with a wall of arms and planes, carry on unceasing forays against, and within, Israel’s borders, and wage an implacable economic siege that extends beyond the borders of Israel to any firm within their reach throughout the world that either has any dealings with Israel, is of Jewish ownership or employs Jewish personnel.

In the face of the alliance between Egypt and the Soviets, a certain belated measure of realism has in fact been imposed upon our State Department. It has been forced to concede that Nasser does not, after all, have an abiding affection for this country. Indicative of a changed attitude, American support for Egypt’s Aswan Dam project has been withdrawn. But the wistful clinging to the straw of appeasement persists. Secretary Dulles, according to many reports, A rm s ls not now merely willing but downright anxious for Israel to B alance rece*ve a counterbalancing supply of arms — from just about any­ body, anywhere, that is, except the United States. Understandably enough, no other country is willing to do what America is unwilling to do, although Canada and France have made clear that they are ready to par­ ticipate once this country does its obvious duty.

Consistent with the policy of appeasement at the expense of American principle, our Government has yielded without protest to the open boycott by the Arab states against American firms which deal with Israel or are owned by, or employ, Jews. It has even complied with the banning of American Jews from entry to, or transit through Arab countries-—a ban which, in the case of Saudi Arabia, even extends to American military installations. Such acquiescence in religious discrimination against Americans is without precedent in the proud history of our country; it is an abandonment of principles cherished and upheld at all costs ever since the United States was born.

Decision as to countering the Soviet arming of Egypt lies within the power of the Administration. All who favor the safeguarding of world peace look to our Government to protract that decision no longer. In the absence, however, of action by the Administration to repel Arab discrimination against American citizens, there devolves upon Congress the duty to impel our Government to take such action. A resolution for that purpose, Senate Resolution 298, has been introduced by twenty-four Senators of both major parties, and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In the name of all that this country represents to itself and to the world, the resolution must not fail of approval by the Committee and passage by the Senate.

July-August, 1956

3

GATES CLOSE IN MOROCCO g U T A FEW months ago, with Morocco on the eve of independence, wide­ spread apprehensions as to the future of Moroccan Jewry were decried by officials of the American Jewish Committee as being "alarmist.” That organiza­ tion, convinced of its superior analysis of the situation, voiced assurances as to the security of Moroccan Jews under the impending regime, with a view to slowing down the tempo of Moroccan Jewish emigration to Israel. Now, with this Arab nation under independent sovereignty, the gates have closed on Moroccan Jewry. The many thousands who had awaited departure for Israel are now without hope. Seven thousand of them are stranded in a transit camp built to hold 2,000. None may leave — and yet, how many can remain, and live, and for how long?

None of us may rest until Moroccos Jews are freed. W e may not, dare not, give up hope that determination and diplomacy will re-open the gates of a land which has become a dread prison to its Jewish populace. Perhaps, too, the "stability” once so fluently predicted may yet materialize, permitting a measure of security to return to Moroccan Jewry. These are objectives to which unceasing effort must be devoted, and every resource dedicated.

But, over and above this, Jews must never again — after lesson upon lesson has been written in Jewish blood ■ — fall prey to wishful delusion as to a hopedfor "tolerance.” Amidst peoples possessed of Jew-hatred, no Jew may freely dwell. Not again, in our timé, can "tolerance” provide a basis for Jewish existence. For the Jew security lies only where freedom is the equal right of all men — and where he himself builds it.

"P R E F A B " jgARELY HAS a communal project so effectively captured the interest and imagination of the American Jewish public as has the recently-announced "prefabricated synagogue” of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Officially designated the Orthodox Union Synagogue Center, the pre­ fabricated synagogue is equally distinguished by originality, ingenuity and utility.

The prefabricated Orthodox Union Synagogue Center constitutes a bold new approach to a major American Jewish need. During recent years, many thousands of Jewish families have migrated to newly developed suburbs and outlying neighborhoods of the leading cities. In contrast to the typical densely populated urban locality, the residents of suburbia live thinly scattered over wide areas. In many cases, families dwelling within a convenient Sabbath walking distance of a given point have found themselves too few in numbers and too limited in means to cope with the high costs of synagogue building. The "prefab” has been created to solve this problem.

Working in conjunction with United States Steel Homes, UOJCA.s Com­ munity Activities Division has devised a prefabricated brick and wood struc­ ture, which, at approximately the cost of a moderate-priced family residence, 4

JEWISH LIFE

provides the necessary facilities for congregational worship, classrooms and meeting hall for a small community. The structure, of which David Moed is the architect, is adaptable to varying local requirements and Adheres To ^en<^s itself, by the addition of further prefabricated units, Tradition 5° .^ater exPansi°n- Esthetically pleasing, the Orthodox Union Synagogue Center conforms faithfully to traditional religious standards. It provides a setting of dignity, good taste and comfort for the exercise of tefillah b’tzibbur, for religious education and for the communal gathering.

J^DDRESSING itself to the totality of the need, the Orthodox Union’s prott grain encompasses also prefabricated Day Schools and Mikvaoth. A complete package is made available in each case—^including construction and all necessary fixtures and installations, and even provision for bank financing and for a UOJCA-sponsored public service fund raising apparatus. And finally the Union offers every aid in community organization, programming and the securing of qualified religious personnel. Thus the suburban community can now meet all of its basic religious, educational and communal needs through a program which brings modern industrial technology and organizational technique to the service of age-old, yet timeless, spiritual traditions.

This far-seeing project is significant, not only as a unique contribution to present-day needs, but also as a further manifestation of the developing initiative of American Jewish Orthodoxy. The psychology of which it is born, the will and imagination to bypass the conventional approach and to employ modern tools to a high purpose, bode well for the future. ^ In response to the Orthodox Union Synagogue Center and its related projects, Jews the country over are saluting the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, its leaders and its Community Activities Division with an enthusiastic Yiyoshor Kochachem. The tribute is well deserved.

THE TASK OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING JEWRY ^ H E VISIT to America of Rabbi Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi of Britain and the British Commonwealth, has served to strengthen ties between English-speaking Jewry on both sides of the Atlantic and throughout the world. Under the sponsorship of the Rabbinical Council of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the British Chief Rabbi addressed, within a few crowded weeks, a record number of gatherings in communities in the United States and Canada. His mission, unlike those of other visiting dignitaries, was addressed solely to the spiritual welfare of Jewry.

Coming at a moment when the Jews of the English-speaking world have become conscious of their historic role, Chief Rabbi Brodie’s visit bears promise of fruitful consequences.

The fact cannot be too often reiterated that the destruction of European Jewry has concentrated pivotal responsibilities upon the Jewish communities of United States and the British Commonwealth. Aid to Israel and to our fellowJuly-August, 1956

5

Jews elsewhere, crucial though it is, will not of itself discharge the responsibility.

Here, in these free lands where the majority of Jews today D ual dwell, we must build a self-nurturing Jewish life. No longer, Responsibility as before, can we sustain our Jewishness through trans­ plantations and transfusions from historic European centers.

It has become apparent to thinking Jews that the situation demands a total re-orientation of communal effort. Failing this, there looms before us a total penalty.

J N FOCUSSING attention upon the task of English-speaking Jewry, the visit of the British Chief Rabbi reminds us also that the Jews of Britain and of America can bring complementary experiences and equipment to bear upon the common need. British Jewry, with its traditions of cohesive orderliness, with its fidelity to authentic Jewish belief, affords us invaluable lessons in community­ wide religious organization. The throngs who listened with rapt attention to Chief Rabbi Brodies inspiring message were profoundly impressed by his call for organic integration among the forces of American Jewish Orthodoxy, by the contrast which his visit disclosed between the unified pattern of British Jewish communal life and that of the American Jewish scene. Such a nationally authoritative ecclesiastical institution as the Beth Din of the British Chief ’Rabbinate, the Boards of Shechita in each major city, and the Board of Deputies with jurisdiction in broad areas of communal concern, set an example of basic, responsible and viable community organization by which American Jews must not fail to profit.

In turn, American Jewry offers to our transatlantic brethren the drive and vigor born of the vibrant American scene. British Jewry can glean much from the practical resources of our more numerous community, from the example of our great Yeshivoth and Mesivtoth and, not least of all, from our epoch-making Day School movement — a phenomenon to which Chief Rabbi Brodie paid glowing tribute. \ J T IS ACCORDINGLY to be hoped that Chief Rabbi Brodie’s mission to America will lead to an era of close collaboration between the two major communities of the present-day Diaspora. The relationship, however, must not be addressed to a superficial interchange of communal techniques U nity o f kut father to unity of purpose and effort in building a valid and Purpose enduring Jewish life. That such a life can spring only from Torah roots, from Jewish conviction and Jewish practice, is a proposition which few will any longer dare deny. Then must it once and for all be accepted that energies and resources muct be centered upon the strengthening and expansion of the forces which generate Jewish belief and observance. The Torah-true school, the Torah-true synagogue, the Torah-true home — it is these alone which perpetuate Jewish life. Equally, American and British Jewry must focus upon this premise and, in close alliance, apply it to their common task.

6

JEWISH LIFE

M y V isit to M oscow A Layman’s Report on Jewish Life in Soviet Russia Today.

By GOTTFRIED NEUBURGER TRIP to Russia was something new to me. Despite my busy schedule in Moscow, I was determined to find as much time as possible to see all facets of Jewish life and activities.

I wanted to find out which of the con­ flicting rumors were true. It was not idle curiosity that spurred me in my quest but rather a feeling of compas­ sion for those who had lost contact with the outside Jewish world for so long. I was going to observe not only with eyes and ears but, above all, with my heart.

Upon arrival in Moscow a big black limousine whisked me away to the Hotel National in the very center of the city. My suite faced the Kremlin and it was a very strange feeling to stand Shemone Esrey in that direction. ##*J“HERE IS no such thing in Mos­ cow as a Jewish cemetery,” said one of my Intourist girl interpreters in answer to my inquiry. "We do not make distinctions in regard to creed or nationality and all people are buried side by side.” On one of the following days I decided to explore the city with­ out an interpreter, and quite haphaz­ ardly I simply directed the driver of my car by hand signals. W e left behind us the bright yellow buildings within the dark red forbidding Kremlin walls and drove slowly in a row of buses, trolleys, trucks and checkerboard taxis towards one of the extremely wide boulevards leading to the outskirts. In July-August, 1956

the middle of every major intersection a traffic policeman performed, with his black and white stick, an intricate and precise ritual which amounts almost to an exercise according to a manual of arms. On the horizon loomed one of the gigantic 'wedding cake” style buildings of which there are seven or eight in various parts of the city, this particular one housing the six science faculties of Moscow University. (The other six, considered less important, are housed in an older building.) An enormous complex of oversize tall apartment blocks has sprung up next to the new university skyscraper. Di­ rectly across the road are the wooden, ground - hugging, sag g in g w ooden shambles where people still live as they did a hundred years ago.

Our car turned off the main Moscow-Kiev road. W e took the direction of the airport. The countryside was dotted with trenches which may well have been dug by the ill-fated German armies of fifteen years ago. Over the flat plain one could see the five pictur­ esque onion-shaped spires of an ancient church, one of them leaning crazily to the side as if ready to fall off at any moment. I wanted to see a typical vil­ lage and in a round-about way we finally managed to reach the place over a rutted, bumpy lane. I was wandering aimlessly through the graveyard and watched the children playing in the sunshine in front of the little school.

Suddenly my driver, who had been 7

talking to the youngsters, jumped into the car and motioned me excitedly to get in. W e had not gone very far when he turned and entered a broad gate in the middle of a long fence. When I alighted from the automobile, I froze.

It was as if I were in a dream and I could hardly believe my ears. In the clear still morning air there came to me the unmistakable sorrowful and moving sound, loudly sung by a welltrained voice, of Kel Moley Rachamim.

I realized that I was standing in a Jew­ ish cemetery. A chazon was f saying the prayer in remembrance of the dead at a grave. When he ended he asked the young couple next to him whether anything should be added, and when they nodded and gave him some money, he said "Sol der .Oibershte geyben dos nit nor di toiten sollen shlufen in freeden, nor di ganze velt un alle felker sollen leben in eintracht un freeden, omeyn.”

Synagogue Visit

J FOUND very often that the younger Services are held regularly every morn­ people were completely unaware of any religious activities and so often gave misleading information (such as the one about cemeteries) not on pur­ pose but by sheer ignorance. I was, however, never prevented from trying to find out things for myself, although in some instances there was a very noticeable lack of enthusiasm about such excursions.

The meeting with the Jewish dead had been impressive but it was nothing at all compared to my first encounter with living Jews. On one of the first evenings I walked to the large syna­ gogue which is situated on a steep, narrow street in the center of Moscow.

Ascending a flight of steps through a row of tall columns, I entered through a dark reception hall and found the beautifully decorated week-day syna­ gogue teeming with a large number of men and a few women who were ready to begin the service. The officially recognized ecclesiastical head of the community, Rabbi S. M. Shliffer, had been called to Leningrad for a few days but other officials immediately re­ ceived me and it took no time at all to establish close personal contact. W e spoke with each other in Yiddish.

8

ing and evening, followed or preceded

by Shiurim in Mishnah or Pirkey Ovoth. On Shabboth I was given the place of honor up front, next to the Oron Hakodesh, At my side stood a visiting Jew from South Africa, in front of him was the cultural attaché of the Israeli Embassy. The attendance was excellent, about 300, although, again, the number of women was small. The cantor had a warm, wellmodulated voice and the prayers dif­ fered in no way from those in London or Manhattan. An air of sincerity and dignity was maintained by everyone.

When, struck by the absence of young faces, I asked "are there no younger people attending?”, I was answered "Oh yes, indeed they are.” When I continued, "How young are they?”

I got the reply "Oh, about forty or fifty years old.” And that’s the way it was. Occasionally one would see a man of about thirty or so, but as a rule they were older. During the entire three weeks of my stay in Moscow, I did not see a single boy or girl in or near a synagogue. This, of course, is the heart of the problem of Soviet Jewry.

Rabbi Shliffer is a very distinJEWISH LIFE

July-August, 1956

guished looking figure who dresses with great care and walks stiffly erect, with a long snow-white beard and the bearing of a man aware of grave re­ sponsibilities. He received me with the utmost kindness and friendliness and we spent a good many hours to­ gether, debating the past, the present and especially the future.

It was.amazing to me to see how even the slightest suggestion was snapped up immediately and acted upon without delay. I had mentioned to the top management of Intourist, the service organization for guests from abroad, that for their basic charge of $30.00 per day they should at least make an attempt to enable those who needed it to obtain some Kosher food.

Only two days after I had discussed this same matter with Rabbi Shliffer, he told me that he had started the necessary proceedings and that he would make an appropriate announce­ ment shortly. I had pointed out that there were only two ways in which this task could be accomplished: either the opening of a Kosher restaurant under proper supervision or the importation of packaged and certified Kosher food items which would be made available for foreigners and from which on oc­ casion perhaps also local Jewish house­ holds could benefit. Later on I some­ what regretted having made these suggestions but it was already too late to put a stop to it.

An interesting illustration in a sim­ ilar field is the existing production of matzoth in the spring. Like everything else, this production lies entirely in the hands of the State and Rabbi Shliffer told me that in principle he would see no objection to their being baked also on Saturday because, after all; the personnel involved was non-Jewish.

This way of reasoning struck me as 10

very strange. In practice, however, it was possible to work out a schedule omitting Saturdays and the baking is done under the close scrutiny of an elderly Jew who makes a most trust­ worthy impression and who, incident­ ally, showed me some very nice Tzitzith which he produces for the needs of the community.

Kosher meat can be obtained spo­ radically, depending a great deal on the general meat supply situation. In the courtyard of the Great Synagogue there is a built-in place where a shochet kills chickens for the housewives who bring them to him. The shool also has a mikvah and two large succoth.

Twice I was given the privilege of reading the Haftorah. The third Shabboth saw spectacular renditions of the services by a professional cantor and choir. I was told that this takes place at every Blessing of the New Moon. On Friday evening, arriving prior to the service, I had noticed that someone had placed a microphone in front of the cantor’s place. Thereupon I notified Rabbi Shliffer that I would be unable to attend services under these circumstances and he immediately had the microphone removed. The Chazon and choir presented a regular concert and Mussaf, on the following day, did not end until well into the afternoon. It was a sight never to be forgotten to see Rabbi Shliffer carry the Sefer Torah slowly and in a most solemn manner through the whole length of the synagogue, followed by the dignitaries of the congregation with many hundreds of Jewish men crowding the aisles to kiss the holy scroll. It somehow gave you a great lift to realize that this was taking place in the heart of Moscow. It is as if the JEWISH LIFE

Rabbi S. M. Shliffer conferring in his study with members of a Canadian trade delegation during their visit to the Soviet Union in 1953.

present opened a window to give you a passing look at eternity.

J T IS to be understood that there were certain things on which Rabbi Shlif­ fer and I disagreed. He has been completely isolated from contact with the outside world for a great number of years and his close contact with the powers that be has inevitably influ­ enced him. In harmony with the official Soviet line, he has an almost fanatic obsession with the theme of peace. This is the reason why one of the brief special prayers, added by him, is not just patriotic but almost partisan in character. Rabbi Shliffer undoubtedly has a good Talmudic background and one of the many theses recently written by him deals with the July-August, 1956

premise that Sholom, peace, is not only one of the Divine attributes but one of G-d’s proper names, subject to the special laws applying to this category.

It is obviously impossible to judge today’s Jews in the Soviet Union by our standards, but in one point the Rabbi and I definitely could not see eye to eye. I felt it to be my duty to tell him clearly that as long as he per­ mitted the use of the telephone on the Sabbath I could not trust him implicitly in matters of Kashruth. Despite his persistent urging I did not take any more meals in his house after the first time.

Another subject of animated discus­ sion between us was the new Hebrew prayerbook, currently being printed by the Soviet government, this being the 11

first time since the establishment of the Soviet regime that such publication has been permitted. The planned open­ ing of a small Yeshivah in Moscow, later this summer, another historic departure, was likewise a topic of dis­ cussion. The students will be more than eighteen years old, since it is against the law to hold religious classes for children below that age. (A father is permitted, however, to in­ struct his child privately or to hire a tutor but only in rare individual cases is this attempted). All the Rabbonim in the Soviet Union are carry-overs from long ago and it is one of the spe­ cific purposes of the new establishment to train rabbis and shpchtim. Rabbi Shliffer assured me that the curriculum of the new Yeshivah would not go beyond the purely religious field. While this may be a natural and wholesome attitude, it does not begin to come to grips with the existing situation.

It is quite clear that it is impossible

to begin where one left off forty years ago and that any attempt to reconstitute the Jewish communities of two genera­ tions ago would be doomed to utter failure. W hat is needed desperately is a Rambam or a Samson Raphael Hirsch who can interpret the eternal values and unchanging statutes of Judaism in the light of our day and to a youth that has been cut off from all traditions of the past. But then the fateful question arises whether it is actually desirable to try to reconcile the Soviet way of life with a conception of the world and a practical approach to everyday life that may be tolerated by a Com­ munist regime but that is, in the last analysis, of its very nature basically incompatible with a materialistic W el­ tanschauung or the teachings of Marx and his followers. Rabbi Shliffer’s new experiment presents an enormous chal­ lenge and will be watched with anxiety as well as expectations.

Religious Practices Observed

Q N C E I was told by someone that instance, some Jews go to Shoo! prior some people came to the syna­ to their reporting for work and others gogue on the Sabbath from long dis­ take a few hours off for this purpose. tances by way of bus or trolley car. In this respect, too, there is a faint Upon my remark that it would be ray of hope: recently work hours on much better for them to pray at home, Saturdays have been considerably short­ I received the illuminating answer ened and a further trend in this direc­ "but they are afraid to do so because tion is expected. Bar Mitzvahs take place infrequently and consist merely of their children/’ One must know living conditions in in the calling up of the boy on Mon­ Moscow, with many families often day or Thursday. A Milah cannot be performed in a hospital but otherwise sharing one apartment, bath and kitch­ a B’rith is not forbidden. As a rule en, to even begin to understand the the B’rith does not take place on the immense difficulties faced by a truly eighth day but on some later date. To Jewish household. There is no official close this chapter with a brief return objection to the personal observance to the dead: I was assured that a of religious customs by older people, regular Taharah is performed whenever insofar as such observance is prac­ requested. By the way, it was inter­ tically feasible. On the Sabbath, for esting for me to note that most of 12

JEWISH LIFE

the tombstones carried a photograph of the deceased.

This is by necessity only a frag­ mentary report. There are things that had better remain unsaid. The situation in other distant parts of the Soviet Union, I was informed, is far different from that in Moscow. This is par­ ticularly true of the eastern regions

and, even more so, of the South. Rabbi Shliffer told me that in one town in Georgia there are 15,000 Shomrei Shabboth Jews.

In Moscow itself I visited two other synagogues, one built about thirty years ago, the other one in the closing stages of World W ar II. The Rabbi at the latter formerly dwelt in Irkutsk, Si-

Interior of Moscow Synagogue. Services are held regularly every morning and evening, but ban an organized religious education makes young faces conspicuous by their absence.

July-August, 1956

13

beria, and this Shod, reflecting his background, is constructed like a vast, two-story log cabin. It was not only financed but also physically built by the Jews worshipping there. There are also dozens of other regular Minyonim.

I was told that during the High Holy days all these synagogues are not only filled to capacity but that thou­ sands of Jews on these occasions pray

in the surrounding grounds in the open or even stand out in the street: As a matter of fact, on the Shabbath Mevorchim Hachodesh I saw not only every seat occupied in the main Synagogue but many Jews crowded the standing room way in the rear and it was only (and typically) in the women’s gallery that empty spaces could be spotted.

Prospects for Change

\7ISITORS from abroad are not fol- were completely unheard of only a v lowed and no one cares where you few years back. The big question mark go. Some buildings, however, such as of the Jewish future is the youth. The the Foreign Ministry and others, are present new generation has largely been under constant military guard and can lost. I . had occasion to visit several only be entered with special passes. educational institutions which, from a Permits are also necessary to go to purely technical point of view, are run other parts of the country* There is on a higher standard than American no, insofar as I could tell, manifest schools. Requirements are extraordi­ trace of Antisemitism anywhere at this narily high and discipline is strictly time and reports to the contrary come enforced. In the public and high usually from persons whose special schools the boys and girls wear uni­ group interests have run into dif­ forms, symbolic perhaps of the meth­ ficulties. Zionist activities, however, ods and teachings. In one Englishare not tolerated, although the Israeli speaking class of 17-year-old boys I Ambassador was just on a tour of the started a very long discussion by de­ Jewish communities in Central Asia manding a definition of the word "freedom” and the debate had some while I was in Russia* People generally are relaxed and not quite unforeseen consequences, in­ noticeably dissatisfied. They know the cluding the disappearance of my in­ outside world only through the eyes terpreter. There are few children who and voice of the one-party press and do not belong to the Pioneers and even radio and so their views are bound to fewer who do not go through the be comparatively uniform and, to a ranks of the Komsomols. It is ex­ certain extent, one-sided. Nevertheless, tremely hard, almost impossible, for a friendly respect is shown to foreigners. child to escape the anti-religious in­ American products are greatly admired fluence during the formative and most and I cannot forget the picture of an important years. There is no easy solu­ ordinary Ford car, standing in a driv­ tion on hand. ing rain in front of the Hotel National, surrounded by a large crowd of ap­ TWTANY Jewish communities exist 7s throughout the land, some com­ proving Muscovites.

One has a feeling of impending pletely informal, other better organ­ change. Things can be done now that ized. All of them are purely religious

14

JEWISH LIFE

in character and there are no other Jewish organizations or institutions.

Jews in other parts of the world should look at this situation with understand­ ing and a very great amount of pa­ tience. American Jews should know better than to demand permission for the establishment of Jewish organiza­ tions within the Soviet Union. Pressure in this direction could only bring about most unfortunate results and end in disaster for the Jews involved. I feel that, despite all differences of opinion about Rabbi Shliffer’s complete inde­ pendence he and his colleagues deserve the highest credit for keeping official and organized Jewish life in existence to the extent possible during the most difficult years.

It remains to be seen now whether the gap between the p ast. and the future can be bridged. There can hardly be any doubt that religious function­ aries of all faiths within the Soviet Union, Christian, Moslem or Jewish, will be used during the next few years as ambassadors of good will. In deal­ ing with them it will be essential to draw the line carefully and with ex­ treme caution between religion and politics.

The question of a return to religion has implications that transcend the

strictly Jewish sphere. The highest symbol over the Kremlin today is still not the Soviet star but the double cross of the Greek Orthodox Church. Young and old Jews have not forgotten the horrors of Kishinev or the massacres of the Kossacks in the villages. There is a latent, unspoken fear of a return to active and open Antisemitism.

V E T , regardless of all fears or hopes, * there can be no question that fun­ damental changes are about to occur.

If any part of the Jewish youth there is to return to the faith of their fathers, it will be a tortuous road and it will take a long time. Perhaps I can express my own thinking best in the words which I wrote into the Great Synagogue’s guest book. One finds many distinguished names there, with the U. S. Supreme Court, the Quakers and the National Council of Churches well represented. I don’t re­ member exactly what I wrote but it was something like this: "May future Jewish generations in the lands of the Soviet Union perpetuate the glorious and ancient religious traditions of their ancestors in those countries and may the common belief in the fatherhood of G-d help to bring about the brotherhood of man.”

PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST Six things bear interest in this world and the capital remaineth in the world to come: Hospital to strangers, visiting the sick, meditation in prayer, early attendance at the school of instruction, the training of sons to the study of the law, and judging charitably of one's neighbors.

Talmud, Sabbath 127a.

July-August, 1956

15

C hacon Isli— T k e S a in t of B n ei B rak

By Z V I E. KURZWE1L JH O U G H MORE THAN two years have passed since the death of Rabbi Abraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish, there has not as yet appeared a biography or any other fac­ tual description of his life and work from which authentic information could be drawn. A number of apparently well-informed articles about him have been published in a Hebrew periodical called "Diglenu,” issued at Bnei Brak at irregular intervals. These papers are, however, circulated only among a comparatively small number of dis­ ciples and former friends of Chazon Ish and are not easily available. The present writer has therefore found it advisable to confine himself to the writing of a review of two of Chazon Ish’s books which were published, after his death, by Rabbi Greinemann of Bnei Brak. One is a collection of frag­ mentary essays on topics of Jewish religious philosophy called "The Book of Chazon Ish on Faith and Trust in God, etc.,” the second is a collection of letters written by him.

It goes without saying that such an article cannot claim to offer more than impressions of Chazon Ish’s personality gained from the study of these books and supplemented by personal ac­ counts of, people who were well ac­ quainted with him, as well as a cursory delineation of his thought. His erudite commentary to no less than twenty-two tractates of the Talmud, which con­ stitutes his most massive contribution 16

to Jewish learning, must remain out­ side the scope of this article. Also his well-known treatise on the laws of the Sabbatical Year, as well as other as yet unpublished manuscripts, including a commentary to the Torah, are left out of account. | T IS TOLD of the Gaon of Vilna that he once invited the Maggid of Dubnow to address to him (the Gaon of Vilna) his famous admonitions and exhortations to laudible conduct.

The Maggid of Dubnow, feeling that he was unworthy of moralizing the Gaon of Vilna, broke into tears and refused) to comply with the Gaon’s re­ quest. The latter, however, insisted and so the Maggid, trying to hint at the Gaon’s extreme seclusion from people, put to him the following question: "Supposing you were forced to make a living as a ladies’ tailor in one of the main streets of the town, would you then also be able to lead the saintly life of the Gaon of Vilna?” Now the Gaon was moved to tears and he an­ swered that he would not like to con­ template being placed in such a position.

It may be asked if the Dubnow Maggid’s question does not apply with equal force to the life of the Gaon’s greatest successor, the Chazon Ish. His writings arouse in the reader a certain impression of seclusion and aloofness from the general stream of life and an unwillingness to face the present state JEWISH LIFE

of the Jewish people as a whole. It can be no mere accident that his writ­ ings are mainly directed to Yeshivah students and, in an oblique way, have also a message for those who provide for their upkeep. Is it the secular char­ acter of the State of Israel which drove the Chazon Ish into a kind of self-imposed spiritual ghetto, centering around the Yeshivoth and somewhat remindful of Meah Shearim? That there must have been an affinity be­ tween his outlook and that of Neturei Karta is borne out by the fact that he, too, refused to accept the Identity Card of the Israel authorities, thus rejecting citizenship of the secular State of Israel. He also paid a visit to Amram Blau, the leader of Neturei Karta, whilst the latter was in prison be­ cause of disturbances caused by Neturei Karta in consequence of the Israel Government’s proposed imposi­ tion of compulsory military service for girls. W hat exactly his attitude to the State of Israel was is not quite clear.

This problem must have been one of the main topics discussed by Chazon Ish with Mr. Ben Gurion, who had come to Bnei Brak to visit him. The content of this discussion has, however, been guarded as a secret and so nothing definite can be said on this point. It is, however, known that Ben Gurion, on leaving Bnei Brak, is reported to have said that he had had a conversation with a man whose feet are set on the earth, but whose head reached to heaven.

J T MUST be stated for the sake of objectivity that there are passages in his published letters showing a posi­ tive attitude, if not to the State of Israel, theh at least to the land and its people. In one of these letters he says July-August, 1956

expressly: ’T he position in the country (meaning, of course, the religious posi­ tion) is being exaggerated abroad.

G-d forbid that we say that it is worse here than in the Goluth outside Israel.

The mitzvah of living in the Land of Israel has been stated by Rambam, Ramban and other Poskim. It is also known how the Chofetz Chayim longed to settle in Israel.” When speaking elsewhere of the ideal of the Talmid Chochom, his remarks reveal a toler­ ant and even loving attitude towards the irreligious. The Talmid Chochom, he says, should always accuse himself for his own failings, but endeavor ab­ solutely to justify his brethren, even if their sins are "as thick as a cart rope.” Moreover, in his commentary to the Talmud Tractate Avoda Zora he rules that the concept of "mumar” (apostate) with its harsh Halochic implications be not applied to the modern irreligious person. There are in our times no visible miracles, argues 17

Chazon Ish, to cause those who have gone astray to return, this being a time when the Divine Shechinah is hiding her face. The irreligious should be attracted to traditional Judaism with cords of love.

Though, unlike Rabbi Kook, he is not known to have maintained per­ sonal friendships with irreligious Jews, he was easily accessible and never withheld his counsel from anyone who came to consult him. The saintliness of his life has become proverbial and has earned him high respect in wide Jewish circles.

0 H A Z O N ISH refused to hold an official Rabbinic position and to accept any stipend from anybody what­ ever, choosing to live on the meagre income of his books. When a wealthy admirer sent him a hundred pounds for one of his books, he promptly re-

turned ninety-nine, retaining only what was the official price of the book. He used to do most of his study and writ­ ing by night. During the day he kept himself free in order to be able to receive the many people who came to call on him.

His main concern was, of course, the Yeshivoth, and great was his share in the care for their upkeep, both physical and spiritual, and his work for their growth and development. The reader of his letters cannot help being moved by the tone of fatherly love in which he wrote to Yeshivah students and the exemplary concern for their welh-being. His successful intervention in the question of exemption of relig­ ious girls from military service is well known, as is his fight for the Shabbath, the observance of the laws of the Sabbatical year and the support of the Independent-Religious Schools system.

Emphasis on Intellect

^ H E opening chapter of the previous­ ly mentioned "Book of Chazon Ish” shows the author’s attitude to the prin­ ciples of Jewish faith. He believes the existence of G-d to be deducible by way of inference from the nature of the Cosmos. In other words, he proves the existence of G-d from the teleology inherent in creation, which he illus­ trates in particular with reference to the wondrous functioning of the hu­ man body. Chazon Ish takes no cog­ nizance of the objections of a critical philosophy which confines the laws of reasoning to such phenomena as may become subjects of a possible experi­ ence. Nor does he try to deduce prin­ ciples of faith other than those refer­ ring to the G-dhead, but merely states them as articles of faith. The importance*pf this chapter lies not so much

ia

in what it actually purports to prove; it rather serves as an indication of the function of faith in the thought of Chazon Ish. Religious faith, whether deducible by the laws of reasoning or not, seems to form the basis of Juda­ ism as expounded by Chazon Ish. This fact deserves to be emphasized in view of a certain trend, which has originated with Mendelssohn and is still alive, aiming at the elimination of faith from the fabric of Judaism and the presenta­ tion of the Jewish religion as a system of codified laws detached from relig­ ious dogma and demanding our un­ questioned obedience.

He then deals with the religious concept of bitochon (trust in G-d) which is the much praised attribute of the Jewish moralist and the true chossid. The gist of Chazon Ish’s teaching JEWISH LIFE

on this point may be summarized as follows: To have bitochon does not mean to believe that events of the future will turn out in a way which appears favorable to us, for *as long as prophecy has not unfolded the course of the future, the future remains un­ determined for us, for who knoweth the judgments of the Lord and His acts of loving-kindness ?” To have bitochon rather means to believe that whatever happens is the result of Divine Provi­ dence and according to a preordained plan and that there is no accidental happening whatever.

P H A Z O N ISH’s conception of Jew­ ish ethics may be described as "intellectualist” inasmuch as he con­ siders ethical qualities to be rooted in the intellect, or, what he terms Choch­ mah. Thus ethics are a function of the intellect and not of the emotions.

"Lack of nobility of soul and ethical qualities are the result of a lack of acquisition of Chochmah.”

Chochmah is acquired by diligent and relentless study of the Torah which is the content of Divine Revelation.

In comparison with Torah everything else is "vanity and striving after wind;” If a man acquires knowledge of the Torah deep enough to attain the rank of Talmid Chochom "his intellect, as it were, merges with Chochmah; he walks amongst men and appears as a man, but in truth he is an angel dwell­ ing among mortals, living a life of nobility above all praise and blessing.”

Jewish ethics should not be regarded as an autonomous discipline. Ques­ tions of ethics are reducible to ques­ tions of Halochah. As an illustration Chazon Ish gives the following ex­ ample: According to the Din based on Baba Bathra 21 b, teachers may be dismissed at any time and new ones July-August, 1956

appointed. The argument of "you are interfering with my livelihood,” quoted by the Talmud against unfair competi­ tion, has no validity with regard to teachers of Torah, because "the jeal­ ousy of teachers increases wisdom.”

No, argues Chazon Ish, this being the ruling of Halochah, it is absolutely ethical to act in accordance with this principle and unethical to act contrarywise. There can be no ethical con­ sciousness contrary to or independent of the ruling of Halochah. p H A Z O N ISH’s extreme intellectual^ ism is also reflected in his belief that our submission to the laws of the Torah and love of Torah are acquired, as it were, automatically by the diligent study of it. Study of Halochah is the condition sine qua non of ethical con­ duct. "However well-meaning an in­ dividual may be, his deeds are bound to be bad if he has not toiled in Halochah and the ways of Halochah are hidden from him. Such a man lacks the main thing in the service of the Lord, who has commanded him to obey the rulings of the Torah and to love them. And if he lacks knowledge of the Torah, what does he possess?”

If the acquisition of moral attitudes and ethical conduct are almost auto­ matic results of the diligent study of Halochah, it is obvious that the study of Halochah is the only, legitimate pur­ suit of the Yeshivah student and that nothing else should be allowed to en­ croach upon it. Chazon Ish’s negative attitude to the study of Mussar at Yeshivoth stems naturally from this presupposition. The Yeshivah student s preoccupation with Mussar literature* and the holding of Mussar talks at Yeshivoth are regarded by him as, to say the least, unjustifiable distractions from the study of Halochah.

19

Even prayer is, according to Chazon mud. To this saying Chazon Ish adds Ish, of somewhat secondary importance the following characteristic remark: as compared with the paramount duty "Though pious deeds cannot be sold of study of Halochah. Chazon Ish or bartered, the saying of the sage quotes with full assent Rabbi Chayim shows us that all his striving was for of Volozin, who is reported to have the study of Halochah and clarification said that he would readily give all the, of Din, because these are the works prayers which he had ever said for one more beloved by Him, blessed be His Halochah newly derived from the Tal- name, than prayer.”

In Tradition of 'M ith nogd im "

JNTERESTING are Chazon Ish’s re­ marks on the question of progress and retrogression of civilization. He was, of course, quite aware of the enormous advances of science and technology in modern times, but en­ joins us not to underrate the high standard of the Sages of the Talmud in purely theoretical knowledge in the various sciences; of this accumulated knowledge he believes that much has been lost in the course of time and much has intentionally not been handed over to future generations because of possible abuse in its application. In any case, as far as philosophy, the con­ templation of theological truth and religions experience are concerned, there has in modern times been rather retrogression than progress.

to those standing on the periphery of Orthodoxy he offers cold comfort. The volumes under review do not attempt to furnish Judaism with a philosophi­ cal basis likely to attract sceptical minds. The strong intellectualist strain of his writings, reflected in his accentu­ ation of Halochah and devaluation of Mussar and even prayer, and the powerful fascination which he felt for the Talmud, may not even be shared by all Torah-true Jews. These attitudes are typical of the cultural make-up of for­ mer Eastern European "Mithnagdim” whose greatest representative he was after the death of the Gaon of Vilna.

In fact his writings explain by way of juxtaposition the attitude of Chassidism and make the Chassidic revolt appear understandable.

J T WOULD not be right to call Chazon | Ish a modern "Leader of the Perplexed.” Withdrawn to the spiritually well-guarded region of Bnei Brak, he does not seem to have met the sharp edges of the modern world.

Moreover, his writings do not show any intention of reaching out to Jews beyond the orthodox fold, but merely to strengthen the faith and religious loyalties of those well within it. Even

J^EEDLESS to say, the books under review do not reflect the fullness of Chazon Ish’s personality. That a man who did not absorb any extrane­ ous cultural influences, drawing only from the spiritual sources of Judaism, could in our modern times attain such feats of the spirit and such heights of integrity and saintliness is a strong vindication of the type of Judaism he represented.

20

JEWISH LIFE

Israel’s S uprem e C o u rt

By E. D AVID GOITEIN J N AN old building erected for Rus­ sian pilgrims to the Holy City sits the Supreme Court of Israel. Nine begowned and black-tied judges sit in chambers of three — following ancient Jewish tradition — to hear appeals in all matters civil and criminal. Their judgments, from which there is no appeal to any higher authority, may affect the lives and liberties, the rights and liabilities of any Israeli, from the humblest citizen to the most powerful minister in the land. It is a civil court.

Nevertheless, it has often to decide in accordance with Jewish religious law and after many centuries it is the one civil court in the world that bases itself on Jewish law or draws inspiration and ideas from the Mishnah and Tal­ mud, from mediaeval and modern de­ cisions of learned rabbis, from the Schulchon Oruch.

The current volume of Israel’s "Su­ preme Court Judgments” contains a number of fascinating decisions which set out at full length the precedents of Jewish law stretching over seventeen centuries. In some cases this law was relied upon because Israel civil law incorporates Jewish law as the law of the land. In other cases it was referred to because it was helpful to the judge in reaching his decision. To give you a clear insight into the way this oper­ ates in practice we will cite three re­ cent cases.

W IDOW ER married a second * time. During this second marriage he transferred all his property in Tel Aviv to his only son. Israel has M sys­ tem of land registration whereby the July-August, 1956

only person recognized as the owner of landed property is the one whose name is in the register. The man died and as his property had been registered in his sons name, the son owned every­ thing and there was nothing left for the widow, the son’s stepmother. The widow then went to the civil court and claimed a monthly payment for maintenance from her stepson— in lieu of her marriage settlement — so long as she lived. Jewish law applied. But what was the Jewish law in a case like this? The son argued that he had re­ ceived none of this father’s property on the latter’s death and therefore he had no funds from which to pay his stepmother. As for the property he had received during his father’s life — that was due to him, because he had supported him during his declining years. W hat is more, the mere registra­ tion in the Land Registry gave him full title, not subject to any payments to his stepmother.

In order to find a solution to this problem the Supreme Court based its decision on the Mishnah, on the Tal­ mud, on Rambam, on the response of the Rosh on "The Sea of Solomon” and on Bacharach’s "Chavoth Yoir.” The sources, set out at full length, enabled the Court to come to a humane de­ cision. It was this: When the husband transferred his property in his life­ time, the transfer was subject to the right of the wife to be maintained out of that property after his death. "By the civil law, the gift was complete.

By Jewish law the gift of his property was subject to the right of the widow to receive her maintenance and to live 21

in the home where she had lived with her husband until his death.”

Quite different was the case of the woman who gave a loan to another to build a house, and who took a bond on the house. It was agreed, because of the fluctuations in the value of the Israel pound, that she should get back her money in accordance with the value of the house at the time of repayment of the loan. When the borrower came to pay he refused to hand over to his creditor more Israel pounds than he had received. If he paid more, he ar­ gued, he would be paying interest above the legal rate.

This was not a matter of Jewish law at all. It depended on the meaning of an old Turkish act which is still in force in this country. Yet Mr. Justice Silberg, in delivering the judgment of the Supreme Court, found that the ancient Jewish authorities threw a searching light on the whole problem.

He showed a staggering knowledge of all the sources, and no summary can do justice to the marvelous richness of the sources revealed in his twenty-fivepage printed judgment. It may be added that the learned judge relied a1so upon American and English prec­ edents. But the bulk of the judgment is taken up with our own, Jewish, authorities. ’'The richest experience,” he writes, "in matters touching upon interest we find in the sources of Jewish law.

This is one of the most interesting and most developed subjects in the whole of Jewish jurisprudence. . . . The ab­ solute prohibition of anything savor­ ing of interest, the deep spiritual dis­ gust of the type and profession of the money-lender ("people who turn the Torah into a laughing stock and make Moses a fool” ) coupled with the stern demands of daily life . . . have forced 22

the men of law to plow deeply in this field. . . . Complicated problems have arisen, interesting theories and prin­ ciples have emerged so that although Jewish law does not bind our courts in this case it helps us to broaden our conceptions and throws the whole mat­ ter into proper perspective.”

U A V IN G traced the history of usury , n from Talmudic times for more than a thousand years the learned judge continues: "An excellent description of the position, both legal and human, we find in one of the decisions of Rabbi Yitzchok Bar Sheshet, who taught in Spain and Algiers at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th Century: "Reuben owed Levi 7,000 coins by way of a pledge on land, and there were two promissory notes whereby the money was repayable in the old currency. Then came King Don Enriquo, who? minted new coins which Were worth only one-quarter of the old coins. This he did in order to pay his soldiers, and he then made a law that this was legal tender throughout the country. , Some years passed and it was found, that the new currency was causing damage and great loss to the whole coun­ try. When prices rose to extraordinary heights, he withdrew the new coinage.”

"Then, the story continues, Reuben, who, was close to the King and heard that he was about to withdraw the valueless currency, went and deposited with a trustee of the court 7,000 coins of the debased -currency 'with instruc­ tions that it be handed over to Levi in return for the cancelled promissory notes/ The judges in Seville held that this was a valid payment of the debt.

Levi objected and the matter was brought for the decision of Rabbi Bar Sheshet. And this is his opinion: " 'Reply: The Holy Community of Seville ip - may G-d preserve them —- was right in its decision and heaven forfend JEWISH LIFE

that I should throw any doubt upon it. . . . The law of the land is the law that is binding. Seeing that the King ordered in plain terms that his new currency, al­ though debased, should be legal tender throughout the country and was there­ fore proper money for the payment of debts, according to its face value . . . and seeing that a King, by virtue of his position, may issue any currency he wishes and although in times of emergency he may mint coins (just as he may levy taxes in order to cover the housing and pay his arm y), which may become of little value, • no one can question his right to do

so. . . .*” W ith this case as a guide the Su­ preme Court upheld the rights of the woman who gave the loan and the borrower, who had tried to get out of his obligations and enjoy the unearned profit out of the use of her money, lost his case.

^ H E LAST case to which I would like to refer is one which, I am afraid, does not have a happy ending.

A family from Egypt, father, mother and daughter, came to live in Israel.

There were no other children. The father died. Under our law the widow should inherit one quarter of his prop­ erty and the daughter three quarters.

Distant relations, however, revealed the fact that this girl was not, in fact, the daughter but the adopted child of the parents. She had lived with them since she was two years old. She did not know that these were not her real parents. The parents had never hinted to anyone in Israel that the girl was an adopted daughter. In this case the question was to be decided in accord­ ance with Jewish law: Was she to be treated as a daughter for the purposes of inheritance?

Here, too, the sources of Jewish law were ransacked. Did not the Talmud say "The man who brings up an or­ phan in his home is treated as if he July-August, 1956

were his father?” Does not this sug­ gest that we Jews understood the sys­ tem of adoption? Mr. Justice Chesshin came to the conclusion that the whole conception of adoption was alien to Jewish law .and the adopted daughter could not inherit.

"Adoption in Jewish law,” writes the learned judge, "only exists in name.

The son is not uprooted from his home and planted afresh in the house of strangers. The relationship of parents and children is not created and the law of the forbidden degrees of marriage does not apply. The rights of inheri­ tance are not enjoyed either by the adopting parents or by the adopted children. . . . The present case proves once more how necessary it is . . . that suitable legislation should be enacted.

Here you have a young girl whom the deceased and his wife took into their homes when she was a baby, fed her, clothed her, treated her as their daugh­ ter, brought her to Israel with them, saw her married—-while she for her part is attached to them with the bonds of love. . . . ". . . Suddenly distant relatives ap­ pear . . . who showed no interest in the deceased when he was alive . . . and did not even attend his funeral . . . it is these persons who will take half of the estate which the deceased ac­ quired with the sweat of his brow and the labor of his hands . . . and this girl who always treated him as her father will leave the court, empty handed__ ” J N THIS case Jewish law could not help. Unlike the Romans, who had a complete system of adoption, our ancestors could not get used to the idea of a foreigner being foisted on to a natural family. In Israel a bill is now before the Knesseth to make adoption part of the law of the land.

23

• A Beard, a Lulav and a Thumb Pointing That-a-way.

C onfessions of a Jew isli iiitc li-li iker

By A. A. D AVIDSON 71 RECENT issue of a popular mag­ azine with a huge circulation (too popular and too huge, some would say) not long ago carried an article warning people against picking up hitch-hikers. The long list of incidents concerning hitch-hikers who. repaid the drivers* confidence and kindness by robbing, beating, kidnapping, and mur­ dering them was rather horrifying. It made me think, for the first time, some­ what more kindly of the thousands of drivers who had passed me by as I stood on the edge of many a highway with my thumb waving pitifully (and futilely) in the air. Fearful drivers who saw in me — the most harmless of living men — a potential bandit and killer, I must confess that I have hated you. More than once in the heat and cold and rain as you sped by me with the merest of glances did I think wist­ fully of hand-grenades and Molotov cocktails. Never mind. I forgive you.

A merciful son of merciful fathers, that’s me.

Once, indeed — but only once — in the northern reaches of Joe Friday’s home town, in the San Fernando Val­ ley to be exact, I was questioned by the police. I must say that they were polite. In reply to my question, "Was it unlawful to hitch-hike in Califor­ nia?” they said, "Not so long as I wasn’t on the highway proper.” It was a routine operation, they said, to ques24

tion all people hitching rides out of Los Angeles, and could they please see some identification. Now, the only identification which any American citi­ zen is required to have on his person is the draft card; but as it happened I was loaded with identification: draft card, passport, smallpox and yellow fever certificates, Navy discharge card, library card, and a slip of paper from a shool testifying to the receipt of $2.00 for shnodder-gelt. Not many hitch-hikers, I venture to say, were so well equipped with identification. The policemen nodded and nodded, but I could see that they were not completely satisfied.

I knew what they wanted.

I produced a letter from the editor of A Certain Publication (its initials were J.L.). "We are going to publish,” the letter said, "your story about the fellows who grew beards during Sephira. . .

■ "Oh, you’re a writer!” exclaimed pseudo-Friday.

"That’s hoccome you wear a beard, huh?” observed pseudo-Smith.

They nodded at one another, bade me good-bye, and drove off to hunt for bigger game. I am confident that they still thought I was a nut, but at least they were reassured I was a legitimate nut. The American Public will tolerate the wearing of beards by college professors, scholars, scientists, JEWISH LIFE

writers, and the clergy of exotic re­ ligions — all others indulge the natural proclivities of their chins at their peril.

As a rule the fact that I had a beard did me no good in my hitch-hiking ventures. The number of whiskery Bolsheviks is at present very small, but cartoonists go right on depicting them bearded to the eyeballs. The average motorist, therefore, not only was ready to suspect me of being a kidnapper, he was half convinced I was something much worse — a Communist. All credit is thus due to the hardy few souls who risked giving me a lift. The older the car, incidentally, the better my chances.

Maybe they figured they had less to lose. ^YNCE I was hitching along the Pacific Coast Highway and I saw approaching me a long black limousine driven by a distinguished-looking man in a long black beard. Atj last! I thought.

A kindred soul. He will surely give me a lift. He gave me a dirty look and drove right on. Months later I saw his picture in the paper. "Visna Vohu, Well-Known Cult Leader,” it said, had been summoned to court for not pay­ ing maintenance to his ex-wife and July-August, 1956

five children. Visna Vohu’s real name, it said, was Casper Sickafoos.. . . I sup­ pose he saw in me a potential rival.

The ex-Madame Vohu, I am glad to say, soaked him plenty.

Another time a middle-aged woman screeched to a halt beside me, but didn’t open the door as I came up.

"Do you belong to an Order?” she asked. I said, No, Ma’am.

"You’re not a Rosicrucian?” she hinted, in a You-can-tell-we tone.

"No, ma’am,” I said. *T’m a Rosicrucian,” she revealed, throwing secrecy to the winds.

I said, "Oh.” "And if you’re a Rosicrucian,” she offered, "I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

"That’s very kind of you,” I said.

She smiled. "But I’m not a Rosi­ crucian.” She frowned.

"Oh, all right,” she snapped — and drove away. That’s how it is with them Rosicrucians. They always stick to­ gether. Let one of ’em in, first thing you know, brings in his whole family.

Some’s all right, though.

JEW ISH DRIVERS — insofar as I ^ could venture to identify them as 25

such — generally divided into two groups. Group A threw me indignant looks, as if to accuse me of sabotaging the work of the Anti-Defamation League. Group B invited me in and at once proceeded to tell me about the grandfather who was a big Rabbi in The Old Country.

"Beard way down to Here/’ they would gesture. As a general rule, the bigger goy the grandson, the longer he indicated the grandfather’s beard.

Compensation, the psychiatrists call it.

But the Anti-Defamation League might be surprised to learn how often non-Jews informed me that their grandfathers and sometimes fathers also had beards — right here in the good old U.S.A. Have you been get­ ting the correct statistics, A.D.L.?

It was a pleasant day in early Fall that I stood a-hitching and a-hiking with the arba minim in my other hand.

After about a half-hour of curious stares but no nibbles a car turned around and came back. A woman and a little girl.

"That thing you have,” she indicated

26

the lulav — the palm branch, the sym­ bolic spine of man — "Doesn’t that have something to do with Simchas Torah?”

I preached a short, telling sermon on the spot. Got my lift, too. Met her husband, too. He bentched the lulav, too. One of the more satisfactory episodes in my hitch-hiking career.

Not without interest was a brief ride given me by an ex-minister of Armenian extraction, who had gone into selling television sets. He had a most refreshingly novel historical theory.

"In my opinion,” he said, "the Jews are the Lost Tribes of Armenia!” *J"HE FOLLOWING incident I tell just as it happened. I have two wit­ nesses to it who keep the Sabbath and never race pigeons, and I trust that no one will accuse me of disrespect or exaggerating or of anything else.

One summer day a friend and I were hitching in the Catskills trying to get to New York. Plenty of cars went by, none stopped. W e were there

JEWISH LIFE

at least two hours, and had begun to despair. Suddenly a boy known to both of us appeared: we hadn’t been aware that he was in the vicinity at all. His father is a Chassidic Rebbe—which one I will not say, but those familiar in Ghassidishe circles will recognize him when I say that tales are told of him in connection with hitch-hiking.

It is said that he sometimes travels by this means of transport, and that his success in obtaining rides verges on the miraculous. Now, I had heard these tales, but as a hard-headed Ashkenazi, had put no stock in them at all.

"So what are you doing here?” asked the boy—Mendel, I’ll call him.

"Hitching a ride to New York—or trying to.”

"You want to hitch a ride? I’ll tell my father.” he said. My friend and I exchanged smiles. Mendel went off.

A few moments passed. The cars zipped on by. Then, so help me, two things happened simultaneously.

(1 ) The Rebbe’s figure suddenly appeared about a block away.

(2) An automobile came to a sud­ den halt just alongside us.

The driver opened the door, we piled iri. The Rebbe drew abreast of July-August, 1956

the car, bent over, looked in the win­ dow, looked silently at the driver, who said not a word. The Rebbe withdrew, the car took off.

"Where do you want to go?” the driver asked.

"New York,” we told him.

"I’ll take you all the way,” he said.

And so he did.

Loma rogshu mithnagdim? jP^ND IT came to pass, in the reign of Goodwin E. Knight, Governor of California, that the bus-drivers in L. A. went on strike. Well, some of them went on strike. And some didn’t.

My route required me, accordingly, to hitch part way. I was industriously gesticulating one night when a bus pulled up where no bus—strike-bound or not—was supposed to be. It was a bright yellow school bus.

"C’mon up” a young fellow at the wheel called to me. He was in formal evening clothes. Laughing and singing were a number of young people, all of them looking well past school bus age. "Where y’ going?” the driver asked. Wonderingly, I told him. The bus shot off like a rocket. I fell back into a seat. "See, this bus,” the driver 27

explained, as we buzzed through Holly­ wood, I was driving it for a summercamp. Camp was over Friday. School doesn't get the bus back till Monday.

So tonight I'm just having a little fun with a few friends.” ffWheeeee!!!” went the few friends.

The bus came to an intersection. At the intersection was a sign. The driver and his friends read it aloud in unison.

Their glibness led me to believe they had read it often in the course of the evening’s fun: " ’Left turn forbidden except to busses’.” Is this a bus? "Yes!” W e turned left. Eventually they de­ posited me on my very door-step. W e exchanged farewells and the bus shot off again.

Say, mister . . . ” one puzzled lounger asked; 'w hat school was that?”

"Reform school,” I answered with dignity, and I went up-stairs.

THE SAME boulevard one night after the busses had begun to run again I was standing not even attempt­ ing to hitch. I had a transfer in my pocket, It could be my hand auto­ matically signalled as a car approached, or perhaps I was just attempting to scratch my nose, but anyway a car stopped and the door opened. I didn’t move. The driver blew the horn. I approached. I knew him not.

"Kimt arein!” he said, enticingly. I smiled, showed my transfer. "Nayn, nayn, obber kim t arein! I told him where I was bound, he repeated his

28

invitation, I entered. "A Yeed mit ah bohrd,” he said, "darft m’n ehm hilfen.”

The precise nature of his help was this: he dropped me exactly half-way between transfer points and I had to pay another fare, but the knowledge that I had given him (a fellow-crea­ ture) the warm satisfaction of thinking he had done me a good turn was al­ most worth it. *J^HE LAST incident in these, my confessions, took place in the same large city. Strictly speaking (and why not speak strictly?) I was again wait­ ing for a bus, but a young man in a car either thought I was hitching or decided to do me a favor, and spoke the Magic Words: Hop In. My host was a well-assimilated young American Jew, had no recol­ lections of a bearded zadie, but had been making up for this cultural gap by attending cultural sessions at one of the Brandeis Camps. He had been learning all about Sholom Aleichem and Martin Buber and the Spanish In­ quisition, he said. Immensely inter­ esting. Then he turned to me and asked a question typical in its enthused confusion of the whole atmosphere of Brandeis-Camps-Judaism.

"Tell me, sir,” he asked with great politeness and considerable interest— "Tell me, sir”: Are you a tzaddik?”

See what you miss by driving your own cars?

JEWISH LIFE

• Is There a New Trend in Israel's Foreign Policy?

E x it M oshe S h a re tt

By L HALEVY-LEVIN Jerusalem T ° A considerable extent, certainly, the element of consternation which the resignation of Moshe Sharett from the Israeli Foreign Ministry has been received both in this country and abroad can be traced to the peculiar structure of political life in Israel.

For twenty-five years no coalitionexecutive of the Jewish Agency, or coalition-government of the State of Israel, which did not center about Mapai, the Israel Labor Party, has been conceivable. Mapai, like other Israeli parties, is constructed on rigid hier­ archic lines, the exact order of prece­ dence of its leaders being reflected in the list of candidates submitted by the party at the general elections. In that list the name of Moshe Sharett imme­ diately followed that of David Ben Gurion. In any Israeli government it was pre-ordained that Moshe Sharett should be Foreign Minister just as it was that David Ben Gurion should be Premier — as long as he chose to serve in that capacity.

It is only in such a political context that the constitutional right of the Israeli Premier to change the composi­ tion of his Cabinet, and to call for the resignation of his Foreign Minister, needs be stressed at all. It should be recalled that the immediate reason for Mr. Ben Gurion’s return to active po­ litical life, after his temporary retire­ ment to Sdeh Boker, was the resigna­ tion of Pinchas Lavon from the Min­ istry of Defence — at the insistence of July-August, 1956

Moshe Sharett, then Israel’s Prime Minister. It is not without interest also to note that of'the four Foreign Ministers with whom Mr. Sharett conferred at Geneva last year, only one, John Foster Dulles, still holds that office. Pinay, McMillan and Molotov have all been replaced, and it was only the removal of the last from office that caused any sensation* Of course the dropping of Moshe Sharett underlines the critical situation of Israel. His last fortnight at the Kiryah coincided with three events of major international significance, high­ lighting the growing vulnerability of Israel’s position.

J N THE first week of June the Secur­ ity Council passed a British resolu­ tion on Secretary General Dag Ham-’ marskjold’s report on his Middle Eastern talks. As a result of Arab opposition, led by Ahmed Shukeiry, the Syrian delegate, the fourth paragraph of that resolution, recognizing "the need to create conditions in which a peaceable settlement on a mutually acceptable basis between the parties can be made” was deleted. The Arabs were strongly supported by the Russian delegate de­ spite the fact that the offending clause had been bodily lifted out of the joint Anglo-Russian statement issued upon the conclusion of the visit of Bulganin and Kruschev to Great Britain. The amendment of the resolution — "in the interests of unanimity,” to quote Sir 29

Pierson Dixon, the British delegate — sions of the British departure from the was only of minor significance in itself. Canal. The ceremony which Mr. Shep­ Indeed it may even have served a use­ ilov attended might have been only of ful purpose in underlining once again symbolical significance, but it marked Arab aggressive intentions. W hat is the removal of the last stabilizing in­ important is that the Arab states were fluence in the Middle East. able to force their will on the Council.

It indicated their growing strength in TT IS idle to argue, as so many advo­ international affairs. cates of the foreign policy repre­ The visit of Dimitri Shepilov, Molo­ sented by Mr. Sharett do, that no other tovs successor in the Russian Foreign foreign policy was possible, and that Ministry, to Cairo, Damascus and the blind alley in which Israel at pres­ Beirut, emphasized Israel’s isolation in ent finds itself is the outcome of cir­ the international arena. Mr. Shepilov cumstances beyond its control. did not accept an invitation, extended The first part of this argument, even

by Dr. Walter Eytan, Director General insofar as it refers to Israel’s relations of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, during with the Arab countries, is only of his recent visit to Moscow, to visit very qualified validity. It is almost uni­ Israel. Foreign newspapers have stated versally accepted in this country that that Mr. Shepilov’s talks were barren Israel must strive for a peaceable settle­ of results. Perhaps they were. But for ment with her neighbors. But what if Israel what is important is what pre­ those neighbors refuse to talk peace ceded the visit — an immense increase and openly prepare for war? This was in Egypt’s land, sea and air forces, the question which implicitly underlay growing prestige for Abdul Nasser and Mr. Ben Gurion’s reiteration, in his the more imminent danger of war on Knesseth speech last week, of a state­ Israel — all the result of Russian mili­ ment made previously to Dag Ham­ tary aid. Even the reported non-accept­ marskjöld, that Israel was committed to ance of a Soviet offer to finance — in observe the Armistice Agreements only large part, at least — the 1,100 million in the degree in which the other parties dollar Aswan Dam, and the rumors did the same. that the Egyptian dictator has resolved Moreover a policy consists not only to shelve the scheme for the time of basic principles but of day to day being, may indicate that Abdul Nasser decisions in the light of those prin­ is more interested in concentrating ciples. It is common knowledge that entirely on the planning of war. a series of suggestions put forward Shepilov’s tour coincided with the over a period of months by Ben Gurion evacuation of the last contingent of were overruled in the Cabinet by an British troops from the Suez Canal and opposition organized, according to Mr. the transfer of the vast military base T. Kollek, Director General of the to the control of the Egyptian Army. Prime Minister’s Office, by Mr. Sharett.

It is reported that the occasion induced (The fact that that opposition consisted sombre second thoughts in the Amer­ of the two Ministers of Mapam, two of ican State Department, which had per­ Hapoel Hamizrachi, the single Progres­ suaded the British to come to terms sive Minister, and only a minority of with the Egyptians. Israel has long Mr. Ben Gurion’s and Mr. Sharett’s been conscious of the wider repercus- own Mapai, did much to exacerbate 30

JEWISH LIFE

and accelerate the impending conflict. ) Mr. Sharett’s (and the Govern­ ment s ) critics have also asked why the policy of non-identification in the East-West controversy was jettisoned.

Richard Grossman, the English jour­ nalist and member of Parliament, in a public address in Jerusalem some months ago posed the same question, and dilated on the benefits and advan­ tages which the neutralism of other countries has brought. Events have proved that by binding itself comp­ letely to the West Israel has gained nothing, not even the security of her frontiers.

JSRAEL’s foreign policy has been based upon an assumption that sub­ sequent. developments have proved mistaken gjf- that time is on her side.

This assessment of the time-factor was not exclusively Mr. Sharett’s. It was held by most members of the Govern­ ment. Mr. Sharett summed up this

Moshe Sharett

thesis at the Twenty-fourth Zionist Congress in the following terms: The transformation wrought in the political and ethnological pattern in the Middle East by the revolutionary emer­ gence of modern Israel, with its spectacu­ lar rise to independence and the high tide of Messianic immigration which swept into it, is so far-reaching and epoch-making that a psychological adjustment to it of the world immediately around it must perforce take time.

We have waited two millenia for our return to this land and the restoration of our statehood in it. Our endurance and determination should be -matched to such a period of waiting for the advent of peace as may be decreed by the course of history!

Gold a Meir (Meyer son) July-August, 1956

Eight years is too brief a period in which to assess the validity of this hypothesis, but we have no other standard. Far from becoming recon­ ciled to Israels presence in Asia, the hostility of the Arabs is becoming pro­ gressively more intense as they become aware of the strength of the position they occupy. Moreover, the departure 31

of the British is leaving Israel as the only outlet for the congenial Arab xenophobia.

In his reply to the Knesseth debate on the Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Ben Gurion also dealt with the time-factor — from another aspect — when he re­ minded his ministers that despite the Divine promise to Joshua, Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the River Eu­ phrates, all thè land of the Hittites, nnd unto the great sea towards the .goin<r down of the sun shall he mom border — in Joshuas old age large oarts of the country still remained to be conquered (Joshua 13: 2-6), and that Jerusalem was captured only three

hundred years after the Israelites en­ tered the country.

The decision to call for Mr. Sharett’s resignation was taken in the inner councils of Mapai — Committees of four, of nine and of sixteen were all mentioned in the press reports. That Mapai chose to regard so important a change in the composition of the Cab­ inet as a private affair has caused much resentment among its Coalition part­ ners who found themselves confronted with a fait-accompli. The docility with which they nevertheless accepted it is eloquent of Mr. Ben Gurion’s unchal­ lenged prestige as a national leader.

The unnecessary speculation and con­ troversy which this secrecy inevitably generated are more to be regretted, especially in view of certain personal attacks made upon Mr. Sharett.

Distinguished Career

jyjO S H E SHARETT has behind him a career of public service of which any statesman can be proud. Born in Kherson in 1894, the son of Jacob Tchertok (the family name was after­ wards changed to Shertok) one of the original Bilu pioneers who had returned to Russia and then resettled in Pal­ estine in 1906, he began at an early age to prepare himself for a life in the service of the Jewish national cause.

After graduating from the newlyfounded Herzlia College in Tel Aviv — he was a member of the first class to graduate — he left for Constan­ tinople to study law at the University in that City. Turkey’s entry into the war, however, interrupted his studies and he enlisted in the Turkish Army as an officer, serving in Macedonia, Alleppo, Hedjaz and Transjordan.

W ith single-minded purpose, young Sharett, soon after the conclusion of 32

hostilities, left for England to study at the London School of Economics. Upon his return to Palestine he helped the late Berl Katzenelson launch and edit "Davar,” the organ of the General Federation of Labor (the Histadruth).

In 1931 he was appointed Secretary of the Jewish Agency’s Political Depart­ ment, then headed by Chaim Arlosoroff, whom he succeeded when the latter was murdered under mysterious circumstances on Tel Aviv beach.

Sharett’s legal and economic training, his knowledge of Arabic and the Arab mentality, gained during his family’s sojourn in the Arab village of Ein Sima, his mastery of languages, all marked him out for a brilliant career.

A highlight of that career came dur­ ing World W ar II when the Yishuv sought to make a distinctive contribu­ tion in the fight against Hitlerism.

Ben Gurion insisted on the creation of JEWISH LIFE

Former Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, Premier David Ben Gurion and U. N. Secretary General Dag Hammarsjkold during Mr. Hammarsjkold's peace mission in the Middle East.

a Jewish fighting unit from the bottom up. Sharett threw himself heart and soul into the project, opened Jewish Agency recruiting stations, addressed recruiting meetings up and down the country.

J H E VOLUNTARY enlistment of thirty thousand young men and women in all-Jewish units of the Brit­ ish Army, culminating in the creation of the Jewish Brigade Group with its Jewish insignia, was largely a personal success of Moshe Sharett. The Brigade was to serve as an instrument of vital importance in furthering the Zionist cause and in bringing hope and succor to the Jewish survivors of the European holocaust. The Jewish servicemen, and particularly the members of the com­ missioned ranks, gained an inside knowledge of army organization that July-August, 1956

was to prove invaluable later in the W ar of Liberation and in the creation of the Israel Defence Army. They helped organize the Haapalah, the il­ legal immigration into Palestine in the critical post-war years. They facili­ tated the acquisition of arms for the Haganah. Their devoted work in the D.P. Camps produced the unanimous demand of the inmates, for the right to go to Palestine, which so impressed the members of the Anglo-American Commission of Enquiry on Palestine and influenced their subsequent Report and Recommendations.

It was in the concluding stages of the Zionist struggle for statehood that Moshe Sharett’s diplomatic gifts proved most fruitful. There can be no doubt that the securing of both American and Russian support for the historic resolution passed by the UN Assembly 33

on November 29th, 1947, and the mustering of the requisite two-thirds majority in favor of that resolution must in no small degree be credited to the unremitting efforts of Moshe Sharett. Incidentally there is no truth in the charge that he was willing to

accept the advice of General George Marshall, American Secretary of State, not to proclaim the State on May 14th, but was overruled by Ben Gurion. On this, as on innumerable other occasions in their long partnership, Ben Gurion was loyally supported by Sharett.

Against Preventive W ar

N° MAJOR changes in Israels future at the present critical juncture it is policy need be expected, but for­ eign observers, both in the East and the West predict that it will be stiffer than in the past. Israels reasonableness in the past has not paid dividends. It has secured no arms from the West, except for France, which has its own axe to grind. Israel a priori is shut out from any regional defence organization in which an Arab state may be in­ cluded. Even the Three Power Dec­ laration of 1951, never an effective instrument, but nevertheless the only existing international guarantee of sta­ bility in the Middle East, has been ex­ plained away into futility. The only improvement in the situation, the com­ parative quiet along Israels borders, ascribed sometimes, in deference to the United Nations, to Mr. Hammarsjkold’s influence, is probably more due to Ben Gurion’s policy of active de­ fence.

Mr. Ben Gurion, it is forecast, will be his own Foreign Minister. That is not an abnormal situation when a strong man is at the helm. Golda Meyerson, the new incumbent at the Kiryah, has for many years been one of his most loyal aides and a supporter of his policies. In his speech in the Knesseth Mr. Ben Gurion stressed that

34

vital that "full harmony be secured between the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs.” I Of course the rumors that Sharett’s resignation from the Foreign Ministry presages war is so much nonsense. No less than Moshe Sharett, Ben Gurion is opposed to all thought of preventive, war, which he has denounced in the Knesseth as lunacy. There are, how­ ever, limits to what Israel is prepared to do in the pursuit of peace! She is not prepared to shelve the Jordan Water Project indefinitely. Of course work on the project has never been interrupted. Only the section within the Demilitarized Zone on the Syrian border was affected by General Bennicke’s (former Head of the Truce Supervision Organization) ruling. But Ben Gurion has declared that work on this section will be recommenced dur­ ing the current year. The Syrian Gov­ ernment has declared that it will regard any such action as a cause for war.

And Mr. Eric Johnston, President Eisenhower’s Water Ambassador — who after four years of effort has failed not only to get the Arabs to budge from their dog-in-the-manger attitude but to agree to some regional irriga­ tion project—r-is still marking time.

JEWISH LIFE

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35

• Jewish Education Offers a Ready Index For a New Area in Social Science

Jew ish C o m m u n ity R esearch

By GERSHON KRAN ZLER ^ H E CRUCIAL problem of the so­ cial scientist is his need for objec­ tive criteria, beyond and above the straitjacket of horizontal statistics.

Jewish community research, now com­ ing into its own as a central area of Jewish social studies, is fortunate in possessing such a ready source of ob­ jective criteria in the field of Jewish education.

In sweeping manner one may be tempted to propose: Tell me what kind of educational system a com­ munity has, and I shall tell you what kind of a community it is, its ideolo­ gical directions, its kind of leadership, its relations to the general community, its chances of survival, and its degree and pace of disintegration.

This is generally valid for any kind of community. It is all the more true of the Jewish community because edu­ cation has played a key role in its historical structure as a religious com­ munity in exile. The synagogue is the House of prayer and the hub of social and welfare activities. The Beth Hamidrash, Cheder, or Talmud Torah, under whatever name, is the cradle and crucible of the Jewish personality as an individual and member of his group. Education is therefore an au­ thentic gauge of the "Jewishness” of a community, of its particular pattern of national, religious, cultural or assimilatory trends.

36

The initial, obvious information yielded by the analysis of a commun­ ity’s educational system is its religious position. Superficially it is simple to find out whether a congregation fol­ lows orthodox Jewish tenets or those of Reform or Conservatism. However, no single phase of the congregational life will indicate as clearly a com­ munity’s position within these very wide categories of religious philosophy as does its educational system. The gamut of religious instruction runs from weekly Sunday school teaching of the type that differs little from the Sunday school of the neighboring church, to the other extreme of the yeshivah where boys, and now girls too, spend all their school years in the total atmosphere of intensive study of Torah, the Hebrew language, Jewish lore, law and literature. The position of a school within this wide and dif­ ferentiated range denotes its basis di­ rection, and is as sensitive a gauge to even the slightest change in the out­ look of its sponsoring community, as any other method or research tool of the social scientist.

•

APPRECIATE the degree to * which the Jewish educational sys­ tem of a community may serve as a refined indicator of variation, one has only to inspect the last-mentioned in­ tensive type of religious instruction, the JEWISH LIFE

Yeshivah, or Day School. There are the European Cheder that is character­ Yeshivoth in which all subject matter ized by insistence on peyoth, shorn is taught in the Hebrew language; hair, and beard for the young adults, others conduct their classes and trans­ and black hat and kapotte even for late texts in English; others again use the first-year tots, or long sleeves and Yiddish as their language of instruc­ long, black stockings for girls. tion and conversation, thus introducing All of these variations at the one their students to an additional source extreme of the range of Jewish educa­ of culture and perspective. In some tion are valid criteria of the positions Yeshivoth the curriculum consists of taken by the respective communities an integrated program of religious which sponsor these Yeshivoth. W hat and secular studies; others divide their is true of the Yeshivah type, is equally school day into more or less equal, true for the various other kinds and somewhat correlated blocks of Hebrew systems of Jewish religious instruction. and general subject matter; the most The types of textbooks used, the extreme types devote most of the day language of instruction, hours of in­ and even part of the evening to the struction, type of curricular and ex­ study of Torah, and give only a bare tracurricular activities, the relative role minimum of time to the required or alloted to secular studies, size of economically necessary secular instruc­ classes, type of teachers, number of tion. In physical appearance, type of days and even of vacation, are only plant, equipment, methods and means of instruction some Yeshivoth com­ a few of the objective criteria which pare favorably with the finest and the Jewish educational system offers to most progressive schools of the non- Jewish community research for the Jewish world, while others intention­ definitiQn of the exact religious posi­ ally maintain the total atmosphere of tion of Jewsville.

National Index

EWISH EDUCATION provides also a rather reliable series of indices' as to the national position of a Jewish community. Here, too, the shades and variations are numerous. They may run from communities whose members refuse to have any relationship to the Jewish people as a people and who repudiate any association but that of a common faith. To them Judaism is solely a matter of belonging to a re­ ligious institution, which may essentialy not even serve a spiritual need, but be part of the social pattern of their class or residential community.

It, is part of their being proper Middletowners, Park Heighters or WestJuly-August, 1956

chesterites, and has no essential bear­ ing oh their inner life pattern. Ob­ viously their religious instruction, if there be such, serves primarily the perpetuation of the social pattern of their youth, out of sheer moral obliga­ tion and paternal concern over juve­ nile delinquency. Its program concen­ trates on scout m e e tin g s, parties, dances, sports and games, in lieu of the tainted religious instruction, and it results in ex p e n siv e ly equipped "Jewish centers.” At another extreme the educational system of a Jewish community may be closely linked to the reality of Medinath Israel, of its life and learning, and to actual Aliyah 37

to the Jewish State as the eventual goal of the physically able and spirit­ ually or materially productive ele­ ments. And again there are very de­ vout communities whose educational systems take little notice of Israel as a political reality, who disavow any but the religion-national essence of Israel as a people, and who look to Moshiach as the only authentic re­ storer of a political-national reality.

Their educational institutions will use different textbooks, celebrate different heroes, have other wall displays, and dedicate their hours of instruction to different topics and learning matter, from those of the communities that are Israel-directed, if not outright Zionist. ^ H IS ASPECT is in turn related to another important phase of com­ munity research that may look to the Jewish educational system for clues and valid criteria, the community leadership. For the schools are a sensi­ tive gauge of the type and distribution of power wielded in the direction and control of a social group’s activities.

In a Jewish community in which Torah is the supreme authority, the accent of education will be on the faithful transmission of the total body of tradi­ tional beliefs, mastery of the sacred literature, and fulfillment of the whole range of the Divine commands, as ex­ emplified in the total atmosphere of the Yeshivah. The higher the degree to which the control has been taken from the religious authorities to the lay leaders chosen for their wealth and social or professional status, the better the chances of the secularization of the community’s educational institution.

If the leadership is Zionist, the schools will be wholeheartedly Israel-directed, both in content and form of instruc­ 38

tion. If they are assimilationists, to use the popular, but inaccurate term for those who have no interest in Judaism beyond the socio-spiritual function .as a holiday church, their community’s institution will be confined to this nar­ row function, in the content of in­ struction.

Again it is the number of hours and days, the type of textbooks or teachers, the length and intensity of instruction of a community’s educational system that stands in a direct ratio to the religiosity, nationalist or assimilationist tendencies of its leaders. One of the most astonishing phenomena on the American Jewish scene in the past de­ cade, the growth of the Day School movement in cities outside of New York, can directly be traced to a change in communal leadership. Where pre­ viously there held sway the type of successful business or professional man who wanted to escape cultural ties to immigrant parents and their hated Old Worldishness, now we find leader­ ship passing into the hands of the Isons of the lost sons,” sincere young American-born elements who look to religion and religious instruction as a source of inner strength, of combatting social evils, and of regaining the safe anchor of morality, culture and tradi­ tion which their parents had rejected because they associated them with poverty, foreignism, and lack of per­ sonal freedom. Though representing as yet only a minority of the Jewish communities in this country, the close to ninety cities that established Day Schools in the last ten years áre a strong indication of the change in the leadership of the American Jewish community, with even greater prospect of ranks swelled by the products of these institutions of a total Jewish education. On the other extreme there JEWISH LIFE

is the considerably larger number of Talmud Torahs that have closed up,

or changed to one hour a week Sunday school instruction.

Future Trends

^ H IS LAST aspect points clearly to the role of Jewish education as a gauge of the chances of perpetuation of the Jewish community. For like any other social or ethnic group, Jewry depends on the perpetuation of its in­ trinsic value system as its basis for existence. The chances of endurance, or the degree and pace of disintegra­ tion of the American Jewish commun­ ity, can be predicted with almost mathematical certainty as a result of the increase or decrease of the various types of Jewish educational institu­ tions, the size of the student body, and the length of time dedicated to religiocultural instruction. The ratio of inter­ marriage and complete disassociation from anything Jewish has been in direct proportion to the extent and type of Jewish education. And the closing of synagogues as the bitter sign of the death of the Last Minyan marks the general decline of any kind of Jewish communal life.

Nazi oppression, concentration and extermination camps and horrors of war, the Zionist renaissance and the establishment of Israel as a State caused a temporary revival of interest and reassociation of large segments of the Jewish population. But with the end of the emergency causes interest flag­ ged and vanished—unless it resulted in the establishment of new educa­ tional institutions, such as Day schools for the young and Jewish Adult Edu­ cation institutes for grownups. In this case the Jewish community has an in­ creasingly good chance of survival and growth. There are youngsters to attend services and to take the place of the July-August, 1956

dying members of the Old Synagogue Guard. Jewish belief and its manifesta­ tion in Mitzvoth, customs and rites are no longer a matter of the "Zaide” or "Bubba.” They have assumed a live reality full of beauty and meaning to an enlightened and admiring youth who know how to practice and to pray, beyond the vestige of the Kaddish and Yizkor transcriptions. And the Festivals and Holy Days offer a different meaning, and serve a different function, to a generation reared in these modern institutions of Jewish education, from that of the generation which has perspective of Sabbath or Passover.

J N TURN this degree of vitality or of disintegration of the Jewish com­ munity, as gauged by the state and type of Jewish education, is a direct reflection of its relationship to the wider community. The price of per­ petuation is a certain degree of other­ ness, of preservation of the things and values and marks of distinction which set any ethnic or religious group off from the next.

Parents who want their children to be exactly like Alice and Jerry next door will not burden Esther and David with traditions, nay names, or thi knowledge and practice of beliefs, cus­ toms, rituals and perspectives which will make their world a different one.

On the other hand parents who are proud of the unique worth of their group or community will not be ashamed of the perpetuation of this heritage through Jewish education. If the community is satisfied with the dis39

play of their tradition on the Inter­ faith program level, the content of Jewish education will be adjusted ac­ cordingly. A Jewish community that values its heritage as a total life pat­ tern of universal value and applica­ bility, will be characterized by total education, at the sacrifice of social standing, money, and of much leisure time for the young. Between the desire for complete anonymity and absorption into the environment, which is indi­ cated by the lack of any type of Jewish education, and the total perpetuation

of the Jewish community as a func­ tioning body within a host community, are numerous degrees and varieties of external and internal interrelationship, which can be identified by their types of education for the young.

These are some of the essential features of the Jewish community pat­ tern in which the social scientist is interested, and in which he may be guided and in which he may largely depend on the Jewish educational sys­ tem for objective criteria and indices.

THE KEY He who has acquired Torah but is without the "fear of the Lord" is compared unto a treasurer who w as given, the inner keys of the treasury without the outer ones. How shall he enter? — Talmud

HONOR TO ALL A wise man said that he found reason for honoring almost every one he knew. Of the famed he said to himself, they surely have done more good and borne more burdens than I; of the rich, they have given more charity than I; of the young, there is more of the innocence of childhood in them than in me; of the learned« I must pay him the respect due to teacher from pupil. He was rewarded for his consideration with the love and confidence of his fellowmen; he was enabled to achieve much good in his life­ time, and he finally passed away at peace with all men. — From the Testament of Rabbi Yehudah Ben Asher

J

RESURRECTION IN THE TORAH Rabbi Meir said: Where do w e find proof of the resurrection of the dead in the Torah? The Bible uses the future tense in the song of Moses and says: 'Then Moses and the children of Israel will sing this song unto G-d.' The Bible does no say: 'Then Moses . . . sang , • .' Here is one proof of resurrection in the Torah.

Sanhedrin 91b 40

JEWISH LIFE

• Old and New Folkways Merge in Israel’s Frontier Villages.

Festive Days o n th e B order

By CECIL ROTH jy jY WIFE collects weddings: so laid out under the vines, and dozens of when we learned that there was bottles, and hundreds of dishes, and to be a Kurdish celebration at Kastel, a jovial Kurdish band, and open house in the Jerusalem Corridor, we chartered for everyone in the village and for a car and went there. W e were ex­ some miles round. pecting something very colorful, for the Kurds have their own way of TX7E LEFT fairly early, before they had got down to the serious busi­ doing these things, I believe; mounted processions to meet the happy couple, ness of the evening, but we were as­ wild careering on horseback, occasional sured that it would go on until dawn, spurts of rifle-fire as an expression of when the religious side of the celebra­ tion could be tackled. joy.

One reason for our early departure W e motored out there towards eve­ ning as the hills were becoming tinted was that there was another exotic wed­ with violet, and at the outset were ding that night: a Moroccan one, in disappointed. The celebration wasn’t a village on a hilltop not far out from a wedding at all, we learned, but one Jerusalem: and in the intervals of the of Tephillin, or as we would call it first party we doubled back there. They Bar-Mitzvah: that is to say, on the fol­ were very excited to see us, and in­ lowing morning, a Thursday, the son sisted on our joining them for the wed­ of the household was to don the. phyl­ ding breakfast. At the beginning they acteries formally for the first time and wanted us to occupy seats of honor to be called up to the reading of the inside one of the houses, but we pre­ Torah in the Synagogue—a ceremony ferred to sit down in the village square not associated as it is among occiden­ with the lads and lasses and help them tal Jews with the Sabbath. Why the to listen to the phonograph; though we celebration should be held on the pre­ would far have preferred some oriental vious night, and not the next one, singing. The dancing hadn’t begun seemed a trifle puzzling to us at the when we left, but we were told that beginning, but it was not long before it would be "modern,” as they called we found out the reason. For the morn­ it: none of. the picturesque perform­ ing service is early; and if you have a ances which they had known in their really good party the night before former homes, and which we had hoped to see. there is no need to go to bed.

W e couldn’t complain however at And what a party it was! Long tables July-August, 1956

41

out next excursion, a few days later, J^P A R T from the picturesqueness of when we were invited to a wedding the ceremonies, what impressed celebration in a village of recent im- me on all these occasions was the re­ migrants from Cochin ( in South In- newal in Israel of a normal, happy, dia) in a settlement on the way to rural life. W e hear so much about the Tel-Aviv. The costumes were wonder- remarkable social developments in the ful and sometimes dazzling: the rite kibbutzim that we tend to overlook of prayers was quite new to me: the this other facet of Israel existence, the pronunciation was a delight to the stu- reemergence of the Jewish village with dent; the tunes were amazing, though all its normal bucolic manifestations—not to my ear very melodious;; the the open-air little village cafe at Castel bride was escorted into the synagogue where, people sit after their work lisand placed under a sort of circular tening. to oriental music: the Barlamp-shade, covering her head and Mitzvah party and dancing under the shoulders, until the essential part of vines to the accompaniment of a local the service was over, when she was orchestra: the escorting of the bride delicately fed to break the fast she had with music and song through the v ik been observing since dawn. And when läge street. It was reminiscent someit was all over they were escorted out how of the occasional genre paintings through the village street to the nuptial r of some of the Italian and Flemish home, by lantern-light, to song and artists of the 16th century, differing, dance—at first Indian, but merging I think, from the impression one rebefore long into familiar Israel meas- ceives of an English or American vilures. It was interesting to see how the läge in a greater degree of vitality and Cochinese folk-ways were becoming enjoyment of life. . merged into folk-ways of the country.

And it differ^ too from the English 42

JEWISH LIFE

and American village life in one tragic respect. The settlements of which I have spoken are all on or near the border; and while most of the village was feasting, an armed guard was patrolling the outskirts, ready for any emergency. It is not

long since one of these wedding cele­ brations, near the Gaza strip, was bloodily interrupted with Egyptian hand-grenades. However, we had no thought of this as we followed the bride to her new home under the crescent moon.

Life in. Israel's border villages proceeds within gunsight of Arab soldiers on the Gaza strip.

Children often know the w ay to the shelter before they learn the way to the playground.

July-August, 1956

43

• How Do Recent Historical Developments Affect:

T ish a B' av

By N O R M A N LAMM JljVER SINCE the founding of the State of Israel in May of 1948, there has been considerable discussion in Jewish circles of the necessity and desirability of continuing the observ­ ance of the four national fast days (Tisha B’av, Tsom Gedaliyah, the sev­ enteenth of Tamuz and the Tenth of Teveth). This is especially true with respect to Tisha Bav, a fast which com­ memorates the destruction of the Temple and the loss of national in­ dependence. Why, it has been asked, do we continue to observe this fast day at a time when Israel has again risen as an independent State?

Shortly after the establishment of the State, its Chief Rabbinate, faced with the problem, refused to abrogate any of the fast days. That ruling, how­ ever, did not end the debate. If any­ thing, it gave it added impetus. The atmosphere then was charged with a feeling of apocalyptic fulfillment and of the imminence of the Messianic age, and this found expression in the dis­ cussion of the further relevance of the fast days mourning lost independence.

In the summer of 1955, with a good deal of the excitement dissipated, the Israeli weekly Panim el Panim, a splen­ did journal which has since unfortu­ nately ceased to exist, published a symposium on the problem. The consensus was unanimously against the abrogation of Tisha B’av, but there was one well documented opinion arguing for the discontinuance of the other three fasts on Halochic grounds.

44

At times the situation became wryly amusing. People who never even dreamt of observing the day, let alone actually fast, turned into passionate polemicists arguing either for or against continued observance.

Nevertheless, the problem remains a real one, for it may reflect the deeper and more basic questions of the effect of the creation of the State of Israel on Jewish religious consciousness in general. Yet there are Halochic grounds for dealing with the issue from which we can derive a genuine Jewish point of view. The starting point for any valid delineation of an Halochic ap­ proach to the problem is the Talmudic discourse in Tractate Rosh Hashonah, 18b: Rabbi Hanah ben Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Simeon the Saint: What is the meaning of the verse. Tbus saith the Lord of Hosts : the fast of the fourth month and

the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness} (Zechariah, 8:19.) The prophet calls these days both days of fasting and days of joy, signifying that when there is peace they shall be for joy and gladness, but if there is not peace, they shall be fast days.

Rabbi Papa explained: when there is peace, they shall be for joy and gladness; if there is persecution (lit. “decrees of the gov­ ernment” ) they shall be fast days; if there is no persecution but not yet peace, then those who désire may fast and those who desire need not fast. If that is the case, is Tisha B’av also optional? Rabbi Papa replied: Tisha B’av is in a different cate­ gory, because several misfortunes hapJEWISH LIFE

pened on it, as a Master has said: on Tisha B’av the Temple was destroyed both the first and second time, and Bethar was captured (in the war of Bar Cochba), and the city of Jerusalem was ploughed.

I

In line with the later authorities, we accept the interpretation of Rabbi Papa who leaves us a third alternative: that of no peace and no persecution when the fast is optional.

The crucial words in the text are the words 'when there is peace/’ Just what determines whether a state of peace exists or not? Rashi defines it as a condition of national independence —when Israel is not under the domina­ tion of non-Jews. Accordingly, contem­ porary circumstances would call for converting the four fast days into national holidays!

However, most of the authoritative commentators maintain a more re­ strictive definition of the concept of "when there is peace.” Rabbi Chananel, Nachmanides, Rabbi Zadok Ha’kohen, even Rashi himself by implication, and others define "peace” exclusively in terms of the existence of the Temple in- Jerusalem. Thus, if there is a Temple, these days are holidays. If there is no Temple, and there are persecutions, they are mandatory fasts; if there are no persecutions, they are optional (except for Tisha B’av). This opinion would bind us, in the context of present day conditions, to continue the observance of the fast days in toto.

A

■pHE TALMUD itself seems to con­ firm this opinion. After the passage quoted above, the Talmud records the statement of two sages that "the AllMerciful made (the four fasts men­ tioned by Zechariah) dependent on the existence of the Temple.” As an added point, Nachmanides and Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (Tur Or. Chayyim July-August, 1956

550) define "if there is no persecution” to refer to every place, not only to the Land of Israel. Considering present conditions of world Jewry, this defini­ tion does not permit abrogation of any of the fasts.

There is, in addition, a third opinion which synthesizes the two mentioned above. Maimonides maintains that dur­ ing the Second Commonwealth the fasts other than Tisha B’av were optional. Historically, the Second Com­ monwealth saw the existence of the Second Temple, but national independ­ ence, which is Rashi’s definition of "peace,” was not achieved. Seemingly, Maimonides requires both national and religious conditions (Temple and in­ dependence) for discontinuance of the fasts and their transformation into "days of joy and gladness.”

Concerning contemporary observ­ ance of three of the four fasts, there­ fore, the weight of authority is against abrogation, with a difference of opin­ ion as to whether they are to remain optional or mandatory. But we face a different situation with regard to Tisha B’av. The Talmudic dictum quoted above, that Tisha B’av is in a different category because of the multiplicity of national misfortunes associated with that day, takes the issue out of Halochic debate. Nothing less than the most radical change in the world-wide Jew­ ish situation, both political and reli­ gious, can transform the character of that day from one of grief to joy, from fast to feast. Until that millenium arrives, the Tisha B’av observance cannot be altered.

TECHNICAL Halochic considerations **aside, what is .the relevance of Tisha B’av to the contemporary Jew, who lives in the days of the "Third Com­ monwealth?” Is this fast only the an45

niversary of an ancient calamity which is no longer real to the twentieth century Jew? Let us dispose at once of the word "only” in that last sentence.

W e do not need a Martin Buber to tell us that "in Israel, all religion is history,” or an Abraham Heschel to remind us that "Judaism is a religion of time.” It is a manifest truth, demon­ strated in the ordinary, daily life of the observant Jew. G-d encounters Man in time, and therefore the recapturing and the reliving of the historical moment is a religious imperative and a religious experience. The Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto observing Pesach, relived the historic liberation in the very shadow of death. The re-experiencing of "churbon,” of destruction, should be no less meaningful to American Jews. It is perhaps just as important a function of the religio-historical observance to startle m a n ' into the realization that his "security” frequently rests on the gossamer threads of his imagination, as it is to hold out for him the eternal promise of hope and redemption.

National fast days are affected by contemporary circumstances more than are other history-oriented rituals or observances. That is precisely what the Talmud meant when it qualified the neces­ sity for continuing the fasts with the conditions "when there is peace” or "if there is persecution.”

Obviously then, the fasts are to be more than recollections of specific events in history. They are, rather, to treat the particular national catastrophe being commemorated not as an isolated incident per se, but as the initiation of an entire historic process.

Thus, if currently the national condition is unfavorable ("when there is no peace”), then the contemporary situation is under­ stood as a continuation of the not yet complete tragic process initiated by the particular traumatic event. Hence the fasting is the expression of grief for an extended, cumulative national misfortune which is still observable at the present. Whereas if the Mi

contemporary situation is favorable, "peaceful,” then the process initiated by one of the four specific historical tragedies is regarded as having been completed, and hence there is no call for grief. On the contrary, there is cause for rejoicing, for the process begun by those events is now, hope­ fully ended forever.

Understood in this light, the three differing interpretations, previously

mentioned, of "when there is peace” are basically three. world views on Jewish history in general and three different appreciations of our contem­ porary status, depending on the relative evaluation of the two great tragedies of our exile: the loss of national in­ dependence and the loss of religious centrality and piety. A number of cur­ rent ideological trends in Jewish life can trace their germinal thoughts to this Halochic controversy.

"C hurb on Europa"

pRAGTICALLY, the continued ob­ historical events connected with Tisha servance of Tisha B’av must con­ B’av. First, it should be recalled, as cern itself with the two great historical Rabbi Mordechai Cohen pointed out events of modern times as well as with in the July 27, 1955 issue of Panim past history. These two are: "Churbon el Panim, that the important dates of Europa” (the holocaust of European a great number of .modern disasters did Jewry) and the founding of Medinath indeed begin on the ninth of Av. We Israel. How are these to be dealt with need only mention the outbreak of in the present observance of this fast World War I in 1914 and Hitler’s first extermination order against Polish day?

In view of what has been noted Jewry on July 27, 1942, both of which above, it is only to be expected that fell on the ninth day of the Hebrew the liturgy of those days and the mean- month of Av. Second, and even more ingfulndss of the fast itself will refer , important, the Talmud itself main­ to subsequent misfortunes in the chain tains that it is not necessary to insist of national woe as well as to the on the exact calendar day for the in­ precipitating catastrophe itself. Indeed, clusion of an event to be mourned such is the case. In the Talmudic pas­ on a previously fixed national fast day, sage we cited at the beginning of this and that even the disasters related in essay, a number of separate tragedies the Talmudic passage mentioned above are mentioned as being"associated with ocurred on or about the ninth of Av. Tisha B’av. In the liturgy of Tisha The principle is laid down by the B’av, the "kinoth,” a larger number Rabbis that happy events are cele­ of such disasters is mentioned, includ­ brated oh days already reserved for ing the burning of the Talmud, the festivity, and sad events are mourned expulsion from Spain, the Crusades on days previously fixed for mourning. and, of course, the celebrated martyrO O W SHOULD "Churbon Europa” ology "Arzey Ha-levanon.” be commemorated on Tisha B’av?

There is no reason, therefore, not to include "Churbon Europa,” which far There have been many suggestions. dwarfs all its predecessors in magnitude Some recommend reciting appropriate and sheer horror, in this woeful list of selections from modern Hebrew poets July-August, 1956

47

as part of the liturgy. Others reject this idea on grounds of impropriety: it is wrong to use the literary creations of men of questionable piety for liturgical purposes — and the traditional fast days, national in character though they are, cannot be divested of their es­ sential religious nature and expression.

Most people deplore the generation that has witnessed such unprecedented havoc and has not produced one "kinah,” one elegy to commemorate it; or, if it is not "the generation,” then it is "the Rabbis” who are blamed for this literary sterility. I believe, however, that both responses fail to take into consideration the very basic fact that no poet or liturgical genius could conceivably do justice to the unimagineable horror to which we have been witness. Certainly our gen­ eration is too close, to it to assimilate and then express the enormity of the destruction. The Prophet exerted all his eloquence to lament the destruc­ tion of the Temple and the ploughing of the Eternal City. The medieval

liturgist did the same for the havoc wreaked on Jewish communities in France and Germany. The greatest modern Hebrew poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik, stirred to the core of his soul by the horrors of a "modern” pogrom, produced his angry elegy, "B’ir Hahareygah.”

But can we expect any human being to express in words the torture and murder of over six million Jews? Can even the greatest conceivable poetic genius do justice to the residue of misery left with the survivors? To suggest that would be to overrate the human capacity for expression and to underrate the inhuman suffering of "Churbon Europa.” Any attempt to designate a particular poem or selec­ tion of them as authoritative "kinoth” for "Churbon Europa” would be, I submit, not only a fantastic under­ statement, but a desecration of the memory of the martyrs. The horror simply surpasses the limits of human comprehension or communication.

Precedence for Silence

y E T THERE is sufficient historical precedent in Judaism for silence as an expression of grief. The two sons of Aaron, High Priest of Israel were killed. A nd Aaron held his peace.

Ezekiel was told that his wife would die and he was commanded, Sigh in silence. Job was sorely stricken, and his three friends came to commiserate with him and console him. So they sat down with him upon the.ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that his grief was very great. The Talmud, in keeping with this tradition, forbids the mourner to greet a visitor, even 48

vo study Torah. This is not the place to confirm the psychological soundness of this ancient Jewish custom, but it should be mentioned that there are excellent psychological grounds for such an attitude, especially where it relates to mourning for a national cataclysm.

W hat I am suggesting is not a day of absolute silence. I mean, rather, that in place of creating new forms of lamentations to bemoan "Churbon Europa,” which are bound to prove embarassingly inadequate, we refrain from explicit mention of the European holocaust for tlje reasons given above JEWISH LIFE

and find an outlet, instead, in our subjective reading of the words of the Book of Lamentations traditionally recited on Tisha B’av. Can not almost any verse from Jeremiah’s superb elegy serve better than anything we could compose to bewail "Churbon Europa” as well as "Churbon Habayith”? Are not the words of Lam­ entation true of European Jewry even as they were of Jewry in ancient Eretz Israel: They that are slain by the sword are better Than they that are slain w ith hunger

Are not the following words appro­ priate for the victims of Nazi perse­ cution: Seey O Lord , and consider To whom thou hast done thus! . . .

Thou hast slain them in the day of Thine anger; Thou hast slaughtered them unsparingly.

Can not we who have survived cry out in the anguish that comes from personal knowledge and experience: I am the man that hath seen affliction By the rod of His wrath.

He hath led me and caused me to walk In darkness and not in light . . .

He hath filled me with bitterness He hath sated me with wormwood . . .

Terror and the pit are come upon usy Desolation and destruction.

Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water, For the breach of the daughters of m y people.

I am not merely recommending a new exegesis, submitting a novel meth­ od of interpretation. I am convinced that every pious Jew who has recited these verses from his tear-drenched prayerbook, since the first news of the contemporary holocaust came to our attention, has had these very subjective thoughts in mind. He has poured out his grief for the extermination of European Jewry in the very same words in which Jeremiah lamented that of Jewry of another day. This is not a plan that must be imposed from with­ out; it is something which is already practiced, for it comes naturally from within. And what is to prevent our Day Schools and Talmud Torahs from teaching Lamentations in just such a manner; teaching meanwhile, that the wisdom of Israel is eternal and not restricted to local events and places?

Has it not been a time-honored custom of Jewish thinkers to find, in the an­ cient texts, hints of great events of national importance that occured sub­ sequent to the writings of these texts?

Is there any reason why our generation cannot continue this creative homiletic process in the framework of the grand Midrashic tradition?

M edinath Israel

T ET US now turn to the matter of the effect of the creation of Medi­ nath Israel on the observance of Tisha B’av. Having established that the crea­ tion of an independent state cannot result in the abrogation of Tisha B’av at the present time, it does not neces­ sarily follow that it deserves no recJuly-August, 1956

ognition whatever in our religious observance of the day. While we shall not endeavor to propose any specific plan or program, let us at least dem­ onstrate the possibility of according some kind of due recognition to this "beginning of the redemption.”

The Halochah deals with the in49

troduction of a festive element in this mournful day on two levels. The first involves a completely extraneous occasion of joyousness which ordinarily would be observed on this day. This is the matter of the circumcision of a child on Tisha B’av. If the eighth day falls on Tisha B’av proper, then the father, who is the chief celebrant, may not break the fast, but is relieved of certain of the minor requirements imposed by Tisha B’av "because a cir­ cumcision should be performed in joyousness.” If, however, the eighth day falls on a Sunday which is the tenth day of the month of Av, but which is being observed as Tisha B’av (because fasting is forbidden on thé Sabbath and hence must be postponed

one day), then the father may break the fast after the ceremony, "because this is his holiday.”

Thus, while an independent occasion of festivity may modify some of the minor laws of Tisha B’av, it cannot eliminate the major expressions char­ acteristic of the observance. Neverthe­ less, we have here some indication of how the modern independence of Israel can be recognized in the observ­ ance of Tisha B’av. And although the case of the festivity of circumcision is different because its timing requires it to be observed only on this day, still, as we shall see shortly, the cele­ bration of Medinath Israel may also be regarded as peculiar to Tisha B’av.

Festive Aspects

^ H E SECOND level on which the Halochah deals with simchah on Tisha B’av concerns not external ele­ ments but a festive note which is in­ herent in the character of the day itself. An ancient tradition maintains that on the day the Temple was de­ stroyed, the Messiah was born. This fusion of the elements of hope and mourning (never despair) was read into a verse in Lamentations itself: He hath called a solemn assembly against me. The word which is here translated as "solemn assembly” is, in the He­ brew, "mo’ed”; which usually denotes a holiday. Hence, it was homiletically established that Tisha B’av itself has a festive aspect. The Halochah, too, recognized this discordant element of cheer which tradition-liperhaps the innate national hope and will to live —had imposed on Tisha B’av. Thus, it declared that the daily penitential and other such solemn prayers which are 50

not recited on festive occasions are to be omitted from the Tisha B’av liturgy, because the day has the character of "mo’ed.”

An interesting application of this principle is recorded by the Sephardic Rabbi Chaim David Azuiai who writes (Birchey Yoseyf) that he read of a decision concerning Italian Jewish women who were evidently lax in their observance of some of the minor laws of Tisha B’av. The author advised the rabbis not to interfere with the practice of these women of "weak faith” since Tisha B’av includes the festive nature of hope for redemption, and it is better to "strengthen their hands that they may retain that faith in the redemption, that they shall not —heaven forbid—despair.”

This antithetic character of a fast which is partly festival and a mourn­ ing for exile which contains the prom­ ise of redemption, is echoed in the JEWISH LIFE

liturgy of the day as well. The Lam­ entations themselves are elegies inter­ spersed, here and there, with unsupressed outbursts of hope. The rays of redemption pierce the gloom every now and then. Even Isaiah’s dire prophecies, read as the Haftorah on the Sabbath preceding Tisha B’av, re­ veal this dual, paradoxical nature, and they are followed by the "prophecies of consolation” on the seven Sabbaths following.

Hence, the recognition of Medinath Israel as at least "the beginning of redemption” is quite appropriate to Tisha B’av itself. This recognition need not be expressed by subtracting from the main Tisha B’av observance. In­ stead, some method might be found for introducing a special service of thanksgiving in the afternoon of the day, or perhaps, as has been suggested, the night after Tisha B’av. The exact nature of this service, or whatever

character the commemoration will take, is something which will have to be determined by authoritative Rab­ binic bodies, preferably the Chief Rab­ binate of the State of Israel.

Thus, a valid orthodox view on the question of continued observance of the national fast days, based on Halochic grounds, sees no need of discard­ ing them because of contemporary de­ velopments. It sees, rather, in the great historic events of the last two decades, an opportunity for deepening our ex­ perience of these days, an occasion for discovering new avenues of expression of the entire gamut of our national experiences within rather than without the framework of the hallowed tradi­ tions of Israel. By blending these his­ toric events into the grand stream of Jewish religious life, we will find an opportunity for giving new dimensions to our near-emasculated religious con­ sciousness.

JEREMIAH'S DREAM When Jeremiah returned to Jerusalem he fell asleep in weari­ ness. In his dream he beheld a beautiful woman seated on a hill, dressed in mourning, with hair dishevelled and bitterly weeping.

Jeremiah commenced to weep, and approaching her said: “Thy lot cannot be worse than the lot of our mother, Zion."

And she said: “In truth, I am thy mother, Zion. How could I be comforted?"

Jeremiah said: “Job was smitten and in the end was doubly repaid. So shall it be with thee, O Zion."

Pesichta Rabbati, 27

July-August, 1956

51

• A Fateful Meeting with Edmond de Rothschild.

T h e B a ro n L ends a H a n d

By JOSEPH FRIED BECAUSE a weary Jew defied a freezing wintry dawn in Paris one Saturday in 1882 in search of a shod, an industry which today holds promise of helping tiny Israel up the steep hill to economic self-sufficiency was re­ born in the Holy Land.

Only a handful know the story of Joseph Fineberg, a bronzed stranger who showed up in France one crisp January morning 74 years ago. His deeply sun-tanned face was unusual enough to make bundled Parisians look twice as they hurried along the icecoated boulevards.

A month earlier he had sat around a makeshift table with a handful of worried pioneers in a tent which served as "city hall” of a newly founded colony in Palestine. W ith a group of other Jewish settlers, Fineberg had helped establish a small colony on the road to Jerusalem before striking out with his comrades for the new loca­ tion.

Trouble had summoned the men to the round table. To the early pioneers of modern Eretz Israel, like their present-day successors, water presented a foremost problem. W ithout it, land could not be cultivated. One of the first tasks Fineberg and his fellow settlers had undertaken at the new colony was the drilling of a well.

Funds dried up before water came and the concerned and penniless pioneers had gathered to decide on a course of action.

52

Eastern Europe in the 1880s was the focus of Jewish life Jewry. W hat more natural approach, the pioneers agreed, than to send an emissary these in search of financial assistance? Fine­ berg drew the assignment.

N ° w in Europe, Fineberg was off * course. Snow storms blocking roads to his destination points in Poland stranded him unexpectedly in the French capital on the eve of the Sabbath. Rejecting the offer of a berth offered him on a Saturday departure, he chose to remain in Paris until the following Monday morning when strain on transport might be lessened.

Three hours of broken French, sign motions and walking and Fineberg had found a shool. At the close of the service, the bearded pioneer turned to shake the rabbi’s hand before leav­ ing. A brief "Guten Shabbos” turned into an hour’s discussion during which Fineberg explained his mission and the colony’s dilemma.

The rabbi showed concern. "Perhaps I can arrange an interview with Baron de Rothschild,” he suggested thought­ fully.

Fineberg, whose travels had pre­ viously been limited to Eastern Eu­ rope’s Jewish communities, showed surprise. "Rothschild,” he asked, "who might he be?”

Baron de Rothschild, a member of the famous Jewish banking family, showed keen interest in the difficulties facing the Palestinian pioneers. W hat JEWISH LIFE

were their future plans for the colony, Rothschild asked with typical banking thoroughness. Fineberg was honest —and vague. His group, he told the Baron, planned an agricultural settle­ ment where many crops would be grown and animals raised.

"And what of wine?" inquired the Baron, himself a gentleman - farmer cultivator of France’s famed grapes.

Before Fineberg could answer, Roth­ schild reached for a Tanach on the shelf and pointed to leafed out pass­ ages in the Holy Scriptures which told of wine.

Rothschild knew his history as well as his Bible, Fineberg soon learned.

Even in Israel’s infancy, the local wine industry had attained widespread fame and following in the lands of the an­ cient Middle East, the banker main­ tained.

Only with the dispersion of the Jews from their Homeland, he con­ tinued, had the grapes withered. The Romans had neglected the fields and the successive Moslem regimes which ruled Palestine banned widespread grape cultivation because their re­ ligious concepts strictly forbade the consumption of alcoholic products.

Consequently, Baron de Rothschild concluded, grapes grown in presentday Palestine were limited to food consumption.

Fineberg concealed his surprise and nodded in agreement. ^ H E N HE LEFT Paris several days later, Fineberg carried in addition to his scanty baggage a full-sized pledge from Rothschild to help the distressed Palestinian colony destined to blossom into Rishon Le-zion, flower of the Jewish settlement movement.

The Baron, as Rothschild affection­ ately became known throughout Eretz July-August, 1956

Yisroel in succeeding years, made good his promise-—and many more that were to come. Maintaining commu­ nication through the years, the Baron and Fineberg charted the growth of Rishon Le-zion.

The discovery of water heightened Rothschild’s belief that Rishon Le-zion should be the first settlement to un­ dertake large-scale cultivation of vines.

He dispatched a team of European agronomists to the colony with in­ structions to prepare a professional report on the feasibility of wine pro­ duction.

Anxiously e y e i n g t h e i r r e p o r t months later, Rothschild was jubilant.

Their findings confirmed the Biblical accounts and substantiated his belief that the industry could be re-born.

W hat contributed heavily to the agron­ omists’ enthusiasm was Palestine’s steady seasonal benefits. Whereas wine growers in Europe were forced to con­ tend with unpredictable weather which affected the quality of grape harvests from year to year, perpetually rainless summers assured the Holy Land steady and rich grape crops.

Palestinian wineries, the experts re­ ported, would find no necessity to list, as European producers did, the quality of that particular year’s harvest on bottle labels. Its quality would be steadily wholesome and unchanged throughout the years.

Encouraged by these reports, the Baron assigned an entire team of Rishon Le-zion and appropriated 60 million gold francs to the construction of the wineries and upbuilding of the town. The building operations at the wineries began in 1886 and four years later the first Holy Land wines to reach the market in many long centuries were enthusiastically received by the world connoisseurs.

53

^ y iT H THE re-emergence of the wine industry in Palestine, Roths­ child and Fineberg pledged farmers and distillers to a strict two-fold program: quality and adherence to Jewish law.

Both hdve been pursued with vigor to the fullest extent. The excellent quality and taste of Palestinian wines produced in Rishon Le-zion and Zichron Yaacov have won international awards during the years. Then as now, a Rabbinical staff closely supervises the processing of Israeli-made wine, overseeing every phase of the industry from planting to final delivery.

The effect of the new wine industry on Jewish Palestine’s wobbily economy was immediate and positive. Under a system inaugurated by Rothschild, farmers grouped in an association of their own were paid on the merits of grapes delivered to the wineries. In the spring of 1906 the Baron an­ nounced to Rishon and Zichron farm­ ers his decision to turn over the vast

54

and expensive wineries to them. Jewish Palestine’s tiny young wine industry was on its own. Rothschild turned to pouring millions more into other phases of Jewish colonization effort in Palestine.

During the difficult years immedi­ ately preceding World W ar I, wine constituted the largest single enter­ prise undertaken by Jewish Palestine.

Servicing eager markets of loyal con­ sumers in Jewish communities spread throughout Europe, the Palestinian cel­ lars grew during the 1930s. New elec­ trical machinery was installed and con­ ditions for workers improved. Thoughout the cellars in their formative years passed many of Israel’s present-day leaders. Unionization curtailed long days, boosted wages and created re­ tirement privileges.

DIFFICULT as they were, the early years of wine making in Palestine hold nostalgic memories for workers who became associated with the cellars more than half a century ago and are still on the job. They recall that in the beginning the cel­ lars had no electricity and torches were used to light the dim passageways where the wine was distilled. Leftover grape skins served as fuel to generate the steam required for processing wines and barrels, not bottles, served as containers.

The early winery workers were a colorful lot. Pioneers from Europe and the Orient worked together in a com­ mon up-building of the land. Each day, Sabbath excluded, wide-trousered Moroccan Jews, the tassels of their red fezzes dancing in the breeze, har­ vested grapes alongside Yemenites who hummed Oriental chants. Distinguish­ ing the Yemenites from their Moroc­ can co-workers was the absence of a JEWISH LIFE

tassel from the bright red fezzes which they too wore.

Horse-drawn carriages carted the harvest to the cellars where processing awaited.

At the entrance to the mammoth cellars a white-bearded settler wearing a skullcap waited to pay the farmers for crops after agricultural experts had graded the quality of the grapes.

From the start the wineries em­ ployed Jews in all phases of opera­ tions. It was at Rishon Le-zion and Zichron Yaacov that living meaning was first given to the Zionist philoso­ phy that Jews were capable of all kinds of manual labor as well as desk work.

Augmenting the Jewish staff were a small number of Arab workmen.

Since Jewish law bars non-Jews from actual contact with the preparation of Kosher wines, the Arabs were not per­ mitted to enter the cellars. This ban gave rise to many imaginative tales in the minds of the Arabs, who, as time went on, would not, even on pay­ ment of a large sum, enter the winer­ ies, if they could, for fear that some strange and miraculous undertaking was being planned by the Jews below the earth’s surface.

In a sense, the Arabs were quite correct. Through the precarious years leading to Jewish Statehood and today with that goal achieved, the industry created as the result of a chance meet­ ing in Paris remains a key economic factor in the country’s development.

Israel’s planners are, convinced today that wine can hasten the young re­ public’s financial pulse-beat.

J H E FULL impact of an expanded wine industry, Israeli agronomists maintain, would be more far-reaching than even providing additional sources July-August, 1956

of revenue and employment. Deter­ mined to utilize still-neglected areas for agricultural purposes, experts are convinced that only vineyards would be suitable for hilly tracts where rugged terrain bars more demanding types of crops.

To a country whose major concerns outside of death-dealing infiltrators are solving a chronic unemployment prob­ lem among newcomers and obtaining financial means of carrying forth de­ velopment, the prospect of an expanded wine industry is laden with promise.

Few know that they owe it in large measure to the late Joseph Fineberg, an observant Jewish pioneer who de­ cided that keeping the Sabbath was more important than keeping his travel schedule.

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JEWISH LIFE

RELIGION IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Staten Island, N. Y. In the Adar issue of J ewish Life, Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman wrote very cogently in support of excluding re­ ligious practices from the public schools. This viewpoint has been adopted by most Jewish organizations who have seen fit to express them­ selves on the matter, including ortho­ dox groups.

That the introduction of such prac­ tices may create difficult problems and embarrassment to Jewish students is undoubtedly true. It does not neces­ sarily follow, however, that these problems are insoluble. The difficulties anticipated by Rabbi Klaperman are reminiscent of the arguments that were posed against granting Jews civil rights in the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first part of the nineteenth century: How could Jews be admitted as legal equals into a predominantly Christian society without creating all sorts of prob­ lems? Yet Jews have been admitted, and although we cannot say that all problems have been completely ironed out, discrimination is being reduced by meeting each individual problem on its merits and working it out step by step.

The school problem is partially be­ set with the difficulty that we Jews may be taking a rather inconsistent attitude in defense of our rights as a minority. On the one hand we insist upon our rights to be identified as July-August, 1956

Jews. We openly worship as Jews; we openly support Israel without fear of being condemned for dual allegiance, and we hold the right to send our chil­ dren to Yeshivoth, if we wish. On the other hand, we demand the right to retain anonymity, and to refrain from being identified as Jews where such identification may hurt. This last de­ mand is at the basis of our fears as to the introduction of Christian prac­ tices in the public schools. If Jewish parents were willing that their chil­ dren straightforwardly acknowledge their Jewishness, their right to abstain from Christian rites would readily be recognized.

We must lay to rest the bugaboo of “segregation” once and for all. But no one is compelled to be identified as a Jew. Identification is a voluntary act importing no sense of degradation.

However, it carries with it certain priviliges and concomitant duties. Our privilege is to practice our Jewishness openly. However, when we try to withhold from the majority the right to instil their religious practices in their children because of our chil­ dren’s embarrassment, regardless of whether such claim is made under the principle of separation of church and state, minority rights, or some other generality, we may be stepping out­ side bounds.

Now, it is undoubtedly true that anonymity is a valuable thing. Until the last vestige of Antisemitism is wiped out there will be Jews who will justifiably want to preserve that 57

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JEWISH LIFE

“right.” However, to preserve our rights by a flight to anonymity is a defeatist attitude, inconsistent with the spirit of directness, frankness and openness that we think of as Ameri­ can.

The solution of the public school problem is part of the greater prob­ lem of public relations of a Jewish minority in a democratic society. I suggest that the solution is along the lines of Jews openly standing up and being counted as Jews, taking a posi­ tive attitude toward their Jewishness, rather than in the preservation of a dubious right to anoymity.

Reuben E. Gross * * * AUTHOR'S COMMENT

New York, N. Y. Thanks so much for the Nisan issue of J ewish Life, containing Rabbi Feldman’s interesting piece about “Marjorie Morningstar.”

I think J ewish Life gets better with each issue, and here’s wishing you continued success.

Sincerely, Herman Wouk * * * LIFE EXPLAINS

New York, N. Y. We read with interest the thoughtprovoking article (Yarmulka Vs. Crew-Cut, April ’56) concerning reac­ tions to pictures about Judaism and Jews which appeared in Life and Look.

Life’s staff members worked long and hard on the June 13 photographic essay on Judaism, Part V of our recently-concluded series on “The World’s Great Religions.” They con­ sulted recognized authorities and lead­ ing figures in the Reform, Conserva­ tive and Orthodox movements. Our essay was a definitive interpretation of the long and notable heritage of Judaism — it was not a report on U. S. Jews. Since official figures show that the majority of Jews throughout the world adhere to orthodox prac­ tices, we concentrated on this aspect July-August, 1956

of the religion. The editors realized, of course, that we couldn’t possibly please everyone but are glad that many readers found the essay of value and significance.

Nancy R. Smith For the Editors of Life ❖

❖

H «

LIKES ART WORK

Bronx, N. Y. I have never been able to appreciate art, but the twin portraits by Norman Nodel in the Nisan issue were a rare treat.

Thanks to Mr. Nodel and also to Rabbi Leonard B. Gewertz for “Yar­ mulka Vs. Crew-Cut”.

Isaac Cohen

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“Dr. B irnbaum h a s done a su p erb job in rendering' th e te x t of th e M ahzor ip th e k in d o f E n g lish w hich every one u n d e rstan d s” (Dr. Joshua B loch ).

“T he M ahzor H a-Sholem is indeed a 're m a rk a b le c o n trib u tio n to o u r litu rg i­ cal lite ra tu re ” (Dr. L ouis F in k elstein ).

“I t is re fresh in g to read th e very recen t tra n s la tio n of th e M ahzor by Dr. P h ilip B irn b a u m ” (Saul K leim an). “ We h a v e fo u n d no p ra y e r book as good as y o u rs ” (Rabbi Jacob H. E p ­ ste in ).

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JEWISH LIFE

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UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AM ERICA

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

KASHRUTH

DIRECTORY

Issued A v , 5716 — August, 1956

LOOKFORTHE © SEAL-AND BESURE! The © seal is your guarantee of communallyresponsibly Kashruth supervision and endorsement, conducted as a public service by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of America, UOJCA. 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 62

JEWISH LIFE

APPLE BUTTER MUSSELMAN'S (C. H. Musselman Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

APPLE SAUCE MUSSELMAN'S (C. H. Musselm an Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

Junior Banana Dessert Junior Puddings * Junior Plums with Tapioca * Junior Fruit Dessert * Junior Chocolate Pudding (Beech-Nut Packing Co., N . Y. C.)

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BEANS HEINZ BEANS with molasses sauce HEINZ BEANS in tomato sauce

HEINZ—with © label only Strained Cream of Tuna Strained Bananas Strained Creamed Spinach * Strained Creamed Garden Vegetables Strained Vegetables Strained Fruits Chopped Mixed Vegetables Strained Puddings Strained Orange Juice Strained Tomato Soup Strained Vegetable Soup * Strained Mixed Fruit Dessert Pre-Cooked Cereals (Barley, Oatmeal, Rice) Junior Creamed Carrots Junior Vegetables * Junior Mixed Fruit Dessert * Junior Creamed Garden Vegetables Junior Fruits Junior Vegetable Soups Junior Puddings (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

BEECH-NUT—with © 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

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

FRESHPAK VEGETARIAN BEANS in tomato sauce (G ra n d Union Food Markets, East Paterson, N . J.)

BLEACHES * PUREX BEADS O'BLEACH (Purex C orp ., Ltd., South Gate, Calif.)

Z ^ W l C A K E S , COOKIES CRACKERS ©P BARTON'S BONBONNIERE (Barton's C a nd y Corp., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

*@P CONTINENTAL FAVOURITES ( A B C Baking Co., B'klyn, N. Y.)

DROMEDARY Chocolate Nut Roll Date Nut Roll Orange Nut Roll (above contain milk) (The Drom edary Co., N. Y. C.) .

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July-August, 1956

63

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY Cakes (Cont'd) * FAM ILY * GRANDMA'S * TREASURE ISLAND * OLD MISSION (Mother's C a ke & Cookie Co., O akland, Cal.)

GOLDEN CRACKNEL EGG BISCUITS (G o lden Cracknel & Spec. Co., Detroit, Mich.)

RY-KRISP (Ralston-Purina Co., St. Louis, M o.) * OLD LONDON M ELBA TOAST * OLD LONDON MELBA ROUNDS * LADY MELBA * WOODBOURNE BAKE MASTERS (W oodbourne, N . Y.) (King Kone Corp., N . Y., N . Y.)

CAKE FLOUR * Swans Down Regular * Swans Down Self Rising (G en eral Foods Corp., W hite Plains, N . Y.)

DROMEDARY Date Muffin Mix Fudge Frosting Mix Corn Bread Mix Corn Muffin Mix Cup Cake Mix Devil's Food Mix Fruit Cake Mix Gingerbread Mix White Cake Mix * Honey &Spice Mix * Angel Food Mix * Yellow Cake Mix * Pound Cake Mix

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CA M PS (for children) * CAMP KE-YU-MA (Grass Lake, Mich., Office: 4779 G lenda le Awe., Detroit, Mich.)

64

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CATERERS * WECHSLER CATERERS (Hotel Olcott, N . Y.)

CEREALS SKINNER'S Raisin-Bran Raisin Wheat (Skinner M fg. Co., O m aha , N eb.)

RALSTON Instant Ralston Regular Ralston (Ralston-Purina Co., St. Louis, Mo.)

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HEINZ. Horseradish 57 Sauce Chilli Sauce Hot Dog Relish Barbecue Relish Worcestershire Sauce Tomato Ketchup (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) LAWRY'S SEASONED SALT {Lawry's Products, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.)

©P MOTHER'S HORSERADISH (Mother's Food Products, N ew ark, N . J.)

PRIDE OF THE FARM CATSUP (Hunt Foods Inc., Fullerton, Cal.)

CORN PRODUCTS— Bulk OK PEARL CORN STARCH OK POWD. CORN STARCH OK WAXY MAIZE STARCH OK CORN SYRUP UNMIXED OK DRI-SWEET CORN SYRUP SOLIDS (The H u binge r Co., Keokuk, Iow a)

CORN STARCH— Packaged POP'S TIGER (The H u binge r Co., Keokuk, Iow a)

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UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

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CRANBERRY SAUCE ©P EATMOR (Morris A p ril Brothers, Bridgeton, N . J.)

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(Garber's Eagle O il Corp., B'klyn, N . Y.)

(Mother's Food Products, N ew ark, N . J.) *•

DETERGENTS (See also Dishwashing Detergents) • ALL (Monsanto Chem ical Co., St. Louis, M o.)

GLIM (B. T. Babbit Inc., N e w York, N . Y.)

• AD • FAB • KIRKMAN * • KIRKMAN BLUE • SUPER SUDS BLUE • LIQUID VEL • VEL (Colgate-Palmolive Co., Jersey City, N . J.) • AMERICAN FAMILY I CHEER * ® DASH ® DREFT JOY • OXYDOL • TIDE *• BLUE DUZ • BIZ BLUE LIQUID (The Procter & G am ble Co., Cincinnati O h io ) •

HEINZ FRENCH DRESSING

SUGARINE LIQUID SWEETENER (The Sugarine Co., M t. Vernon, III.)

UNCO LIQUID DETERGENT (Lineo Prod. Corp., C hicago, III.)

• TREND • LIQUID TREND (Purex C orp . Ltd., South Gate, Calif.)

July-August, 1956

FINISH (Economic Laboratory, Inc., St. Paul, M inn.)

(Morris A pril Brothers, Bridgeton, N . J.)

DESSERT TOPPING

©

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

MOTHER'S Salad Dressing ©P Mayonnaise (Mother's Food Products, New ark, N . J.) *

WISH-BONE ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING (K. C. W ishbone Salad Dressing Co., Kansas City, M o.)

* DEMING'S SALMON (D em ing & G o u ld Co., Bellingham , W ash.)

* EATWELL TUNA (Sfar-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.)

MOTHER'S OLD FASHIONED ©P Gefilte Fish (Mother's Food Products, New ark, N . J.)

ROYAL SNACK Cream Herring Mat|es Fillets Spiced Herring Lunch Herring Herring Cocktail Tidbits Salmon {in wine sauce) (S. A. Haram Co., N . Y. C.)

65

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY Fish Products (Cont'd)

©P 1000 SPRINGS RAl'NBOW TROUT (Snake River Trout Co., Buhl, Id aho )

STAR:KIST * Tuna * Egg Noodles & Tuna Dinner (Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.)

VITA—with © label only * Bismarck Herring * Lunch Herring * Cream Fillets * Party Snacks '* Cocktail Herring Fillets * Herring in wine sauce * Spiced Anchovies * Pickled Salmon * Whitefish Roe Caviar * Salmon Roe Caviar * Anchovy Paste (Vita Food Products, Inc., N . Y. C.)

FLAVORS *©P MERORY FLAVORS, INC.

(Snake River Trout Co., Buhl, Id aho)

SUNKIST LEMON CONCENTRATE * EXCHANGE LEMON CONCENTRATE * CAL-GROVE LEMON CONCENTRATE * CALEMON LEMON CONCENTRATE *

(Exchange Lemon Prod. C o C o r o n a , Cal.)

* SUNKIST FROZEN CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE (Exchange O ra n g e Prod., Ontario, Cal.)

FRUIT (Dried)— bulk only ©P CALIFORNIA PACKING CORP. (San Francisco, Cal.)

FRUITS— Packaged DROMEDARY Fruits and Peels Moist Coconut Shredded Coconut (The Drom edary Co., N . Y. C .)

MUSSELMAN'S Cherries Sliced Apples (C. H. Musselm an Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

(Clifton, N . J.)

FLAVOR IMPROVER

*

©P 1000 SPRINGS RAINBOW TROUT

GLYCERIDES

ACCENT

EMCOL MSVK—with © label only

(International M inerals and Chem ical Co., C hicago, IIIJ

(The Emulsol Corp., C hicago, III.)

GREAT WESTERN MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG) (The Great Western Su ga r Co., Denver, Colo.)

FOOD PACKAGES

* DISTILLED MONOGLYCERIDE EMULSIFIER—with © label only (Distillation Products Industries, Division Eastman K odak Co., Rochester, N . Y.)

GLYCERINE— Synthetic

®P CARE

SHELL SYNTHETIC GLYCERINE

(N e w York, N . Y.)

(Shell Chem ical C o rp., N . Y. C.)

FOOD FREEZER PLAN YITZCHOK GOLDBERG & SONS (N e w York, N. Y.)

HONEY ©P GARBER'S MISROCHI (G a rb er Eagle O il C o rp., B'klyn, N . Y.)

FROZEN FOODS MILADY'S Blintzes (blueberry, cherry, cheese, potato—all are milchig) Waffles

(See also Scouring Powders, Detergents a n d Dishw ashing Detergents)

(M ilady Food Prod., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

(A & P Food Stores, N . Y.)

ASSOCIATED WAFFLES (Associated Food Stores Coop., N . Y. C.)

66

BRIGHT SAIJL ©P BRILLO PRODUCTS (Brillo M fg. Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

JEWISH LIFE

UOJCA KASH RUTH DIRECTORY Household Cleansers (Cont'd)

IN D U STRIAL CLEANSERS

CAMEO COPPER CLEANER

ARCTIC SYNTEX M BEADS * LOW FOAM DETERGENT

(Cam eo Corp., Chicago, III.)

(Colgate-Palmolive Co., Jersey City, N . J.)

DURA SOAP FILLED PADS

INSTITUTION X ORVUS EXTRA GRANULES ORVUS HY-TEMP GRANULES ORVUS NEUTRAL GRANULES CREAM SUDS

(Durawool, Inc., Q ueens Village, N . Y.)

* • COMET • SPIC & SPAN (The Procter & G am ble Co., Cincinnati, O h io )

* • GEORGE (Bu-tay Prod., Ltd., Los A ngeles, Cal.)

LIQUID TREND OLD DUTCH CLEANSER • TREND •

(The Procter & Gam ble Co., Cincinnati, O h io)

JAM S A N D JELLIES HEINZ JELLIES (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) ©P BARTON'S BONBONNIERE (Barton's C a nd y Corp., Brooklyn,

(Purex Corp., Ltd., South Gate, Cal.)

MY PAL (Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

JUICES HEINZ TOMATO JUICE

SOILAX

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

(Economics Laboratory, Inc., St. Paul, M inn.)

MUSSELMAN'S Apple Juice Tomato Juice

• SPRITE (Sinclair M fg. Co., Toledo, O h io)

N. Y.)

(C. H. Mussulman Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

SUNKIST LEMON JUICE * EXCHANGE LEMON JUICE * CAL-GROVE LEMON JUICE *

(Exchange Lemon Prod. Co., Corona, Cal.)

* SUNKIST FROZEN CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE (Exchange O ra n g e Prod., Ontario, Cal.)

©P BARTON'S BONBONNIERE (Barton's C a nd y Corp., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

COSTA'S FRENCH ICE CREAM (Costa's ice Cream Co., W oodbridge, N . J.)

MET TEE-VEE (Marchiony Ice Cream Co., N . Y. C., distributed by Metropolitan Food Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

MARGARINE CRYSTAL BRAND (milchig) (I. Daitch &Co., N . Y. C.) DILBRO (milchig) (Dilbert Brothers, Inc., Glendale, N . Y.)

All items listed in this Directory bear the © seal.

Items listed ©P are kosher for Passover when bearing this or any other UOJCA Passover hechsher on the label.

Items listed • are kosher for Passover without Passover hechsher on the label. * indicates new @ endorsement.

July-August, 1956

67

W

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

W

Margarine (Cont'd)

MAR-PAV (pareve) MIOLO (milchig—bulk only) NU-MAID (milchig) TABLE-KING (milchig) (M iam i M argarine C o ., Cincinnati, O h io)

MOTHERS PAREVE

M EAT TENDERIZER ADOLPH'S (A dolph's Food Products, Burbank, Cal.) MELBA TOAST * OLD LONDON MELBA TOAST * OLD LONDON MELBA ROUNDS * LAY MELBA

(Mother's Food Products, N ew ark, N . J.)

NATIONAL MARGARINE SHORTENING (N ational Yeast Corp., Belleville, N. J.) NEW YORKER (milchig) (Roslyn Distributors, Inc., M iddle Village, N . Y.)

M A R M A LA D E * KING KELLY ORANGE MARMALADE (King Cal.)

(King Kone Corp., N . Y., N . Y.)

M O N O SO D IU M GLUTAMATE (MSG) ACCENT

. *

M U STARD HEINZ Brown Mustard Yellow Mustard

MARSHMALLOW FLUFF

(Durkee-M ow er, Inc., East Lynn, Mass.)

* PENNANT MARSHMAL-O (Union Starch & Refining Co., Colum bus, Ind.)

M A Y O N N A IS E

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

NOODLES & M A C A R O N I PRODUCTS * BUITONI MACARONI PRODUCTS

*©P MOTHER'S

(Buitoni Foods Corp., So. Hackensack, N . J.)

(Mother's Food Products, N ew ark, N . J.)

jie X

s tiS fc Ê

GREAT WESTERN MSG (Great Western S u g a r Co., Denver, Colo.)

Kelly M arm alade Co., Bellflower,

M A R SH M A LLO W TOPPING

(International M inerals & Chem ical Co., C hicago, III.)

GREENFIELD EGG NOODLES [Golden Cracknel &Specialty Co.,

AND PROVISIONS

m eats

Detroit, M ich.)

HEINZ MACARONI CREOLE (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH EGG NOODLES YITZCHOK GOLDBERG'S ©P Meats ©P Corned Beef ©P Tongue ©P Frozen Meats @P Salami ©P Frankfurters ©P Pastrami (I. G o ld b e rg & Sons, 220 Delancey St., N. Y. C.)

HADAR ©P Bologna ©P Corned Beef ©P Frankfurters ©P Pastrami ©P Salami ©P Tongue (O xford Provisions, Inc., 549 E. 12th St., N e w York City)

68

(M e gs M acaroni Prod., Harrisburg, Pa.)

SKINNER'S (Skinner M fg. Co., O m aha , N eb .) *

SOPHIE TUCKER [Sophie Tucker Foods, Inc., Baltimore, M d .)

*

STAR-KIST EGG NOODLES & TUNA DINNER (Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.)

©P GARBER'S MISROCHI (G a rb er Eagle O il Corp., B'klyn, N . Y.)

JEWISH LIFE

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY Oil (Cant'd)

MAZOLA (Corn Products Refining Corp., N . ©P

©

• MENORAH *• NER Y. C.)

(M enorah Products, Inc., Boston, Mass.)

NUTOLA (N ufola Products C o ., B'klyn, N . Y.)

OVEN CLEANERS *• HEP SAFE-T-SPRAY *• BESTWAY (Bostwick Labs, Bridgeport, Conn.)

PEANUT BUTTER BEECH-NUT (Beech-Nut Packing Co., N . Y. Ci)

PIE FILLINGS MUSSELMAN'S (C. H. Musse/man Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

POPCORN TV TIME POPCORN (TV Time Foods, Inc., C hicago, III.)

PREPARED SALADS MOTHERS Cucumber Salad Potato Salad (Mother's Food Products, New ark, N . J.)

ROYAL SNACK Beet Salad Cole Slaw Cucumber Salad Garden Salad Potato Salad (S. A. Haram Co., N . Y. C.) VITA—with @ label only * Tuna Salad * Spring Garden Salad * Herring Salad (Vita Food Prod., Inc., N . Y. C.)

RELISHES PICKLES, ETC. GORDON'S Potato Chips Tater Sticks Potato Sticks (G o rdo n Foods, Inc., Atlanta, G a.)

KOBEY'S Potato Chips Shoestring Potatoes (Tasty Foods Jnc., Denver, Col.)

MONARCH SHOESTRING POTATOES (M onarch Finer Foods, Division of C o n ­ solidated Foods Corp., C hicago, III.)

SUNGLO Potato Chips Shoestring Potatoes (Tasty Foods, Inc., Denver, Col.)

*©P WARNER'S POTATO CHIPS

(East Coast Food Corp., Riverhead , N. Y;

POULTRY— Frozen • YITZCHOK GOLDBERG &SONS (N ew York, N . Y.)i

July-August, 1956

HEINZ Pickles Dill Gherkins Dili Sandwich Chips India Relish Hot Dog Relish Pickled Onions Sweet Relish Sweet Cucumber Disks Sweet Cucumber Sticks * Sweet Dill Strips * Barbecue Relish Hamburger Relish (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

DOLLY MADISON (H . W. M adison Co., Cleveland, O hio) MOTHER'S ©P Pickles ©P Gherkins ©P Sweet Red Peppers 69

(W

UOJCA KASH RUTH DIRECTORY SALAD OIL

Relishes, Pickles (Cont'd)

* PURITAN OIL

©P Pimentoes ©P Pickled Tomatoes ©P Pickled Country Cabbage Hot Cherry Peppers * Pickled Country Deluxe * Spears

(The Procter & G am ble O h io )

Co., Cincinnati,

SALT • MÖGEN DAVID KOSHER SALT (Carey Salt Co., Hutchinson, Kansas)

(Mother's Food Products, N ew ark, N . J.)

CAROLINA BEAUTY LITTLE SISTER WAY PACK PLAYMATES LITTLE REBEL MOUNT OLIVE PICK OF CAROLINA MOPICO

• MORTON COARSE KOSHER SALT • MORTON FINE TABLE SALT • MORTON IODIZED SALT (Morton Salt Co., Chicago, III.)

• RED CROSS FINE TABLE SALT • RED CROSS IODIZED SALT • STERLING FINE TABLE SALT • STERLING KOSHER COARSE SALT • STERLING IODIZED SALT (International Salt Co., Scranton-, Pa.)

(M ount Olive Pickle Co., Mt. Olive, N . C.)

SAUCES

SILVER LANE Pickles Sauerkraut

HEINZ SAVORY SAUCE (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

(Silver Lane Pickle Co., East Hartford, Conn.)

VITA * Pickles * Relish * Gherkins * Peppers * Pimentoes * Onions * Kosher Chips * Cauliflower * Sweet Watermelon Rind (Vita Food Products, Inc., N .

SCOURING POWDER (See also Household Cleaners, Detergents a n d D ishw ashing Detergents)

BAB-O (with Bleach) • BABBIT'S CLEANSER (B. T. Babbit Co., N . Y. C.)

Y. C.)

CAMEO CLEANSER

RESORTS ©P PINE VIEW HOTEL (Fallsburg, N . Y.)

©P WASHINGTON HOTEL (Rockaway Park, N . Y.)

®P MONSEY PARK HOTEL (Monsey, N . Y.)

©P LAUREL PARK HOTEL So. Fallsburg, N . Y.

RICE HEINZ SPANISH RICE (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

70

(Cam eo C orp„ Chicago, III.)

AJAX BEN HUR (bulk only) • KIRKMAN CLEANSER • NEW OCTAGON CLEANSER (Colgate-Palm olive Co., Jersey City, N . J.) • GARBER'S MISROCHI CLEANSER •

(G a rb er Eagle O il Co., N e w York)

KITCHEN KLENZER (Fitzpatrick Bros., C hicago, III.)

• OLD DUTCH CLEANSER (Purex Corp., Ltd., South Gate, Cal.)

• LUSTRO POLISHING POWDER MY PAL JEWISH LIFE

(0 )

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

Scouring Powder (Coni'd)

• PALCO POLISH POWDER PAL-LO (Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N . Y. * SAIL (A & P Food Stores, N . Y.)

(ü )

* FLAVABEST * ADMIRATION * NATCO * SUPERCAKE (Suprem e O il Co., N . Y. C.)

SOAP ©P NUTOLA KOSHER SOAP (Nutola Fat Products Co., B'klyn, N . Y.)

©P BRILLO KOSHER SOAP (Brillo M anufacturing Co., B'klyn, N . Y.)

SHORTENING SOUPS * CRISCO—with © label only (The Procter & G am ble Co.)

©P GARBER'S MISROCHI PAREVE FAT (G arber Eagle O il Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

©P NUT-OLA VEGETABLE SHORTENING (Nut-O la Fat Prod., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

GOLD'S ©P Borscht Schav Russel (G o ld Pure Food Prod., B'klyn, N . Y.)

SHORTENING— Bulk * FLAKEWHITE—with © label only * PRIMEX—with © label only * SWEETEX—with © label only * PRIMEX B. & C.—with © label only * GLORO—with © label only * PURITAN—with © label only * MARIGOLD—with © label only (The Procter & G am ble C o £ Cincinnati.

O h io)

NATIONAL MARGARINE SHORTENING (N atio nal Yeast Corp., Belleville, N . J.)

DELMAR MARGARINE SHORTENING (Delm ar Prod. Corp., Cincinnati, O h io)

* BEATREME CS—with © label only

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

MOTHER'S ©P Borscht Cream Style Borscht Cream Style Schav (Mother's Food Products, New ark, N . J.)

SOUP M IX

HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE SHORT­ ENING—with © label only

NUTOLA Chicken Noodle Soup Mix NUTOLA Noodle Soup Mix

(The H um ko Co., M emphis, Tenn.)

(Nutola Fat Products Co., B'klyn, N . Y.)

(W right & W a g n e r Dairy Co., Beloit, Wise.) *

HEINZ Condensed Cream of Mushroom (Dairy) Condensed Cream of Green Pea (Dairy) Condensed Cream of Celery (Dairy) Condensed Gumbo Creole (Dairy) Condensed Creamof Tomato (Dairy) Condensed Vegetarian Vegetable

All Items listed In this Directory bear the © seal.

Items listed ©P are kosher for Passover when bearing this or any other UOJCA Passover hechsher on the label.

Items listed • are kosher for Passover without Passover hechsher ©n the label. * Indicates new © endorsement.

July-August 1956

71

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY SOUR CREAM I pELWOOD * MIDDLETOWN * MORRISANIA (Middletown M ilk & Cream C o ., Yonkers, N. Y.)

* CAVERN MUSHROOM PRODUCTS (K-B Products Co., H udson > N . Y.)

VEGETABLES (Dehydrated) ©P BASIC VEGETABLE PROD.—with © label only (San Francisco, Cal.) V@ P

GENTRY, Inc.—with © label only (Los Angeles, Cal.)

VIN EG AR ©P GARBER'S MISROCHI (G a rb er Eagle O il Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

©P GARBER'S MISROCHI

(G a rb er Eagle O il Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

©P GENTRY PAPRIKA—with © label only (Gentry, Inc., Los A ngeles, Cal.}

LAWRY'S SEASONED SALT (Lawry's Products Inc., Los A ngeles, Cal.)

SUGAR ©P FLO-SWEET LIQUID SUGAR ©P FLO-SWEET GRANULATED SUGAR (Refined Syrups & Sugars, Inc., Yonkers, N .Y .)

*• SUGARINE LIQUID SWEETENER (The Sugarine Co., Mt. Vernon, III./

SYRUP ©P BARTON'S BONBONNIERE (Barton's C a nd y Corp., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

T Z IT Z IT H LEON VOGEL (66 A llen St., N . Y. C.)

M. WOLOZIN & CO. (36 Eldridge St., N . Y. C.)

ZION TALIS MFG. CO., INC. (48 Eldridge St., N . Y. Ç.)

VEGETABLES DROMEDARY PIMIENTOS (The Drom edary Co., N . Y. C.)

72

HEINZ Cider Malt Salad Vinegar Tarragon White Rex Amber (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

MUSSELMAN'S Cider Vinegar (C. H. Musselm an Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

V IT A M IN S (Bulk) COLLETT-WEEK CO. (Ossining, N . Y.)

V IT A M IN TABLETS KOBEE KOVITE VITALETS (Freeda A g a r Prod., N . Y. C.)

W ATER SOFTENER & BLUING * RAIN DROPS (Bu-tay Prod., Ltd., Los A ngeles, Cal.)

W IN E & LIQUEURS ©P HERSH'S KOSHER WINES (H un garian G ra p e Products, Inc., N . Y.)

*®P CARMEL’—bearing hechsher of Chief Rabbinate of Israel (Carm el W in e Co., Inc., N . Y.)

JEWISH LIFE

TRY THESE FAMOUS KOSHER AND PARVE W O R Ä W lS T IM E SAVERS! VEL makes dishes shine without washing or wiping! mm

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 99 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!

New formula FAB gives you more active dirt remover!

Milder to hands, new FAB gets the dirt out of EVERYTHING you wash.

Wonderful for dishes, too!

HEINZ KOSHER VEGETARIAN BEANS F o r a “ m ilc h ig ” m eal th a t ’s d iffe rent!

T his nourishing m ain dish is quick, easy and delicious!

H ere’s all it tak es:— 2 cups of sliced m ushroom s 2 tablespoons of m inced onions 3 tablespoons of b u tte r 1 can (16 oz.) Heinz KosherVegetarianBeans Chopped parsley (This recipe should m ake 3-4 servings.)

1 . S a u t e s Mushrooms and onion in butter until lightly browned.

2 A d d s Heinz Kosher Vegetarian Beans.

Heat thoroughly.

3 . G a r n i s h s with chopped parsley. Serve piping hot» Start accepting compliments.

.

Look for the © seal of THE UNION OF ORTHODOX J EW IS H CONGREGATIONS OF AM E R IC A .