Jewish Life July-Aug 1969

JEWS IN EDIRNE 1 THE KAMINETZER ROSH Y E S fflm H

R E V E R E N C E * L O S T INGREDIENT 'M ü R IT A N . CAVALIER, JEW

^K £L lS:S729 JULY-AUGUST 1969

Gefiltefish like mother

For the holidays, for any days, serve what Mother’s knows best. Gefilte Fish. (Traditional Old-Fashioned, Whitefish and Yellow Pike, or all Whitefish.) Only the freshest fish.

Just the right amount of spices.

Slow-simmered to bring out the delicate flavor.

Now in jars with easy-open, twist-offtwist on caps.

Or cans. And remember Mother's

Margarine. And Borscht. And Schav. And Matzo Balls.

For salt free diets:

Mother's new Unsalted Gefi/te Fish, Unsalted Borscht, and Unsalted Soft or Stick Margarine. All Pareve and Kosher.

Only if your mothermade greatgefiltefish.

a

m o n g

our

c 0 u

t r 1

b u

t *o

r

s

DR. JOSEF GOLDSCHMIDT’S contributions to our pages over the past several years have treated of various facets of the Israel scene. His “The Six-Day War and After” appeared in the Av-Ellul 5728/July-August 1968 issue. Born in Frankfurt-on-Main, where he attended the Samson Raphael Hirsch School, Dr. Goldschmidt has lived in Israel since 1935.

He is now Director of Religious Education in Israel’s Ministry of Educa­ tion and Culture.. . . MRS. IDA G. COWEN makes her bow to JEWISH LIFE readers with her article in this issue, gleaned from one of the many Jewish communities she has visited in far parts of the world.

A free-lance writer by profession, she has made it her vocation to search out off-the-beaten-path places where Jewish life once flourished, but is now in decline. Moved by the urge to spread and perpetuate knowledge of the past and present of these communities, Mrs. Cowen delves into their fading records, meets and speaks with the surviving families, and inscribes their history. When not traveling, Mrs. Cowen divides her time between homes in New York and Jerusalem. . . . A long-time favorite of our readers, REUBEN E. GROSS made his first contribution to this magazine with his “A Mathematical Analogy to the Book of Job” just seventeen years ago. His subsequent articles, usually characterized by iconoclastic views, have ranged over a variety of topics. Formerly a resident of the New York City borough of Staten Island, Mr. Gross is now a settled Oleh living in Jerusalem. . . . DR. AARON ROTHKOFF’S articles portraying great figures of the Torah world have done much to enrich knowledge of past decades of Jewish history as well as to bring wider appreciation of these luminaries themselves. Formerly a Rosh Yeshivah at Yeshiva Üniversiïy, Dr. Rothkoff recently moved to Israel, where he will serve on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia Judaica. . . . RABBI SAMUEL A. TURK, a Musmoch of Yeshivath Torah Vodaath, is Rabbi of Kingsbridge Center of Israel in The Bronx, New York. He is a founder of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. His article “Our Age of Irresponsibility” appeared in our SeptemberOctober 1968 issue. Among other publications to which Rabbi Turk has contributed is Hadawm, journal of Torah scholarship published by the Rabbjnical Council qf America___ RABBI CHAIM ROZWASKI received Semichah at thé Hebrew Theological College. He is a graduate of Roosevelt University and received a degree of M. Sc. in Education and Philosophy at Purdue, The Rabbi of the First Hebrew Congregation of Peekskill, N.Y., his articles have appeared in numerous Jewish maga­ zines in this country and abroad and he is well known too on the lecture platform.

JULY-AUGUST 1969

1

Vol. X X X V I, No. 6 /July-August 1969/Av-Ellul 5729

THE EDITOR'S VIEW THE MOON LANDING. ....................

Saul Bernstein, Editor

3

POLITICAL VISTAS IN ISRAEL . . . . . . . . ------4

ARTICLES Paul H. Baris Libby Klaperman Nathan Lew in R abbi S o lo m o n J. Sharfm an Editorial Associates Elkanah Schwartz Assistant Editor JEWISH LIFE is published bi-monthly. Subscription two years $5.00, three years $6.50, four years $8.00. Foreign: Add 40 cents per year.

Editorial and Publication Office: 84 Fifth Avenue New York 10011, N. Y. (212) ALgonquin 5-4100 Published by U nion of Orthodox Jewish C ongregations of A merica J oseph K arasick

President H arold M. J acobs

Chairman of the Board Benjamin Koenigsberg, Nathan K. Gross, David Politi, Dr. Bernard Lander, Harold H. Boxer, Lawrence A. Kobrin, Vice President's; Morris L. Green, Treasurer; Emanuel Neustadter, Secretary; Julius Berman, Financial Secretary.

Dr. Samson R. Weiss Executive Vice President Saul Bernstein, Administrator Second Class Postage paid at New York, N. Y.

2

EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN ISRAEL/ Josef Goldschmidt .............................

7

JEWISH LAW AND INTERMARRIAGE/ Chaim Rozwaski........................................ .18 JEWS ESI EDIRNE/ Ida G. Cowen .............................................. .24 REVERENCE - A LOST INGREDIENT/ Samuel Turk................................

31

PURITAN, CAVALIER, JEW/ Reuben E. Gross................

37

THE KAMINETZER ROSH YESHIVAH/ Aaron Rothkoff ......................

41

BOOK REVIEWS THE FOUNDER OF CHABAD/ Micheline Ratzersdorfer.............................. 47 THE SIDDUR IN HIRSCHIAN VISTA/ Ralph Pelcovitz ...........................

49

SIZING UP PSYCHOLOGY/ Samuel A. W eiss......................

.52

DEPARTMENTS FROM HERE AND THERE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 9 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . . . .........

69

AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS.......................... 1 Cover and drawings b y Naam a K itov ©Copyright 1969 by UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

JEWISH LIFE

the EDITOR'S VIEW

THE MOON LANDING HROUGH all generations, men have sought to pierce the mysteries of the heavens. It was given to this generation to reach through space to the heavenly bodies and to actually accomplish the landing of men on the moon. A wonder, a marvel, an achievement beyond compare among all the feats of man’s continuing mastery of the laws and forces of nature. To every mind comes the thought: the achievement distinguishes this gen­ eration from all generations that have gone before, from the be­ ginning of the human story. Less universal is the feeling that this generation is privileged in this development as was no generation before it. Though multitudes are enthralled with explanations of how the marvel was accomplished, the question why today’s man­ kind is so privileged gets little attention.

Of those who do concern themselves with this question, few are likely to see the answer in the moral superiority of pre­ sent society. By any standard, the contemporary scene will not sustain such an evaluation. Nor would the attribution of mental superiority be convincing. If the cosmic “why?” of the moon landing be thus ascribed, the current sorry state of human affairs can as well be attributed to the present generation’s mental inferiority, bearing in mind the vastly enhanced opportunities today for meeting human needs. And to cite as response the dazzling heights reached in today’s science and technology would be simply begging the question. The “how” may thus be ex­ plained but not the “why.”

Before long, the epochal conquest of space will be an every­ day fact of life. Presently, the amazement and exultation will fade; certainly for coming generations space flights, journeys to the moon, perhaps to other planets, possibly even to more distant heavenly bodies, will not bring the same stabbing sense of a change of the human dimension as has the first moon landing. All the more for this, it is of surpassing importance that the wonder

T

Why This Generation?

JULY-AUGUST 1969

3

of this moment be preserved, perpetuated, above all pondered.

For its meaning to fructify man’s heritage, we must find not merely new vistas of applied science and technological achieve­ ment, but above all that, a profounder perception of the universe and of man’s place and purpose in it.

HE supreme value of all that strikes man as wondrous, whether in a phenomenon of nature or of one of human achievement, is to awaken in him an awareness of the wondrous­ ness of all being. So awakened, he is moved to proclaim: “Melo kol ho’oretz Kevodo” — the whole world is full of His glory. In the wonder and glory of Creation he perceives the sovereign pre­ sence of its Creator and in such perception he discovers himself as created in the Divine Image, the bearer of Divine Purpose.

Perhaps, then, we can find in the unique privilege accorded to this generation a mark not of present-day man’s manifest worth but of his potential worth. It is not a reward for achieved merit but a vouchsafed inspiration for the earning of merit. There has been lavished on the present generation the ripened accumula­ tion of countless generations of human ingenuity — and of the strivings of the human spirit. We are told in what has transpired: harness the one to the other; you have the capacity, you have the means; search within yourself, as you search out into the skies; find, and do.

T

The Force Of Wonder

POLITICAL VISTAS IN ISRAEL T the age of 21, the State qf Israel is young enough to have freshness of imagination and old enough to identify its path of life. From an American vantage point, though, the electoral campaign now getting in motion gives no indication that either the one or the other has found expression in the political sphere.

What’s in store from this source, it seems, is simply a variation of the established party package. The political establishment, it must be recognized, *has proven serviceable. In light of what Israel has had to contend with from the moment of its stormy birth, and in comparison with other young nations, not to speak of the sur­ rounding countries, it has shown an amazing stability and demo­ cratic viability. But is this because of the conceptual mold of its political parties or in spite of it?

Plainly, the development of the state has progressed to the extent that party policies have conformed to the practical neces-

A

4

JEWISH LIFE

sities of unfolding events. Were there not the capacity for prag­ matic realism, Israel would early have strangled in a web of im­ ported ideologies.

Israel’s dominant political parties have their roots not in Medinath Israel, nor yet in the pre-State Yishuv, but in the Golah.

Their ideas and programs were formulated in response to Ideological Diaspora situations, and of a vanished past. Their ideologies re­ Transplants flect, in content and in vocabulary, the climate of the non-Jewish world in which they germinated. From the first, they were but attempted adaptations to the Jew in the Jewish land. Circum­ stances dictated that the forces wedded to these foreign-bred doctrines achieve a key strategic position and at a time of crucial need, find an expedient utility. The strategic position is still held fast, the need remains supreme, but the utility is increasingly tenuous. Mapai, Mapam, Achduth Ha-avodah and their various offshoots and sub-groups are anachronisms. Their rule, it appears, will persist yet but at increasing cost to Israel’s spiritual fruition.

Sooner, one hopes, rather than later, political instrumentalities springing from the Jew in the Jewish land will take shape and serve Israel as it needs to be served.

ECESSARILY, it is the Torah-nurtured Israeli to whom one

N must look as the medium for the conception and political application of truly Israeli ideas and ideals. In him, the Jewish spirit is undiluted, the Jewish mind undivided. His thinking is begotten of the Israel situation, in all its essence and complete­ ness. Inherent in him is the capacity to formulate, in authentic terms, a program for the State of Israel and its people.

Does this then point to the present religious parties as the architects of the Israel-to-be? Such could perhaps be the case — Dati were these parties to gear themselves to the role. Unfortunately, Party there appears no present likelihood of this. Though, in contrast to Confines the governing parties, the religious parties by definition come within the indigenously Jewish frame of reference, they have yet to offer Israel a comprehensive program. They have yet to address the full range of Israel’s questions in Torah terms. They have yet, for example, to envision for the Jewish state a social order and an economic structure built on Torah principles. This limitation hobbles their potential, even as their ability to present a unified electoral approach dissipates their appeal to the voting public.

Whether or not the present religious agencies can gear them­ selves to the role, it is the Torah Jew who must ultimately meet Israel’s political need. The charge that the entry of religious forces into the political arena is incompatible with the spiritual

JULY-AUGUST 1969

5

role of religion is, in the case of Israel, preposterous. Israel being Israel, the question could well be raised as to whether there is a valid place in it for non-religious — which is to say conceptually non-Jewish — parties. Not until it4s the accepted norm that polit­ In ical parties in Israel be rooted in Jewish foundations —just as, for Jewish instance, “it is the norm in the United States for its parties to be Foundations rooted in American tenets — will the State of Israel really find itself. The present electoral scene may belie such a prospect but the force of fundamental need must eventually beget response.

TTHE State of Israel came into being out of the crucible of | Jewish striving. As vessel of Jewish life, it must be the conductor of the Jewish spirit, translating into the fabric and form of a society the verities of Jewish belief and the imperatives of Jewish goals. We can look to the day when Israel’s political apparatus, freed of the stale, sterile outlook of a bygone day, will bespeak the voice of the Jew in the Jewish land.

—S.B.

6

JEWISH LIFE

EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN ISRAEL

by JOSEF GOLDSCHMIDT

E

DUCATION, in Israel as else­ where, is a complex social ser­ vice of many components. The length of time it is provided, the division of that time into stages of varying dura­ tion and intent, the philosophy that guides the work, the curriculum and the methods employed in teaching and other educational activities — all these go into the shaping of the education that is given in a society. Although intertwined in the actual work, they may be considered and evaluated separately. Also, educational reform may be proposed and applied to part of those components or to all of them, depending on what caused the thought or demand for reform.

Such a demand may arise where social change leads to a situation in which the existing system of education proves inadequate to perform what is traditionally expected of it. In other cases a new philosophy of life and edu-

JULY-AUGUST 1969

cation may set new aims, which can be attained only in a different, reformed system. More often than not the demand will build up in society under pressure from several factors.

The first question we propose to deal with here is: What are the roots of the demand for educational reform in Israel?

Let us look at a few statistics: The Jewish population of Israel on May 15, 1948 was 649,600 and by the end of 1966 it stood at 2,344,900.

During those years compulsory educa­ tion applied to children of ages 5 to 14, a nine-year period. The number of 5- to 14-year-olds was 118,000 in 1948 and 491,000 in 1967; and in 1948 that age group was 16.6% as against 20.6% of the whole population in 1967. The numbers for the 15- to 19-year-olds are 60,000 for 1948 and 257,000 for 1967.

The increase in the size of the

7

population must be seen also in the light of the following figures: In November 1948: 35.4% of the population were Israel-born, 9.8% were born in Asia or Africa, 5 4 .8% w ere b o rn in Europe or America.

In 1967: 42.8% were born in Israel, 27.5% were born in Asia or Africa.

2 9 .7% w ere b o rn in Europe or America.

The increase in the share of the Israel-born from 1948 to 1967 comes largely from first generation immi­ grants from Asian or African coun­ tries.

N these figures we observe a twofold change in the Israel population during the first nineteen years of the State: Its size has in­ creased approximately three and a half times; at the same time the propor­ tional weight of the European-American group in the total population declined to almost one half of its former weight, and that of the AsianAfrican group increased by over three times.

These changes evolved gradually with the successive waves of immigra­ tion, but the general trend of the imminent development was grasped clearly after the first few years of the State. This is not the same as to say that the enormous implications of those changes were at once seen in their full significance, and much less

!

8

that steps were taken to cope with them. In the early 1960’s, when the storm of the main immigrations into Israel had blown over and the contours of the new landscape had taken shape, the first measure of a far-reaching change, in the educational system was formulated. It provided for lengthen­ ing compulsory education by two years to the age of 16. Legislation for a six-year plan of gradual implementa­ tion of this program was passed by the sixth K’nesseth in the closing weeks of its term in June, 1969. Long before this, many more facts about the educa­ tion of Israel’s children had emerged and impressed themselves on educators from the kindergarten-teacher up to the very top of the system ¡¡¡the Min­ ister of Education and Culture. Let us look at some of those facts: In 1953 Ary eh Simon, the then District-Inspector of Education for the Southern District, published a paper on .¿‘The Structure of Elementary Education in the Immigrant Towns” CMegamoth, Tammuz 5713 — July 1953) in which he analyzed, among other things, the age grading of pupils in the elementary schools. Assuming that according to the Compulsory Education Law the average age in Grade I should be 6, in Grade II 7 and so on, he found that in the various grades there was an age-lag of two full years for no less than 42%. and up to 73% of the children. An age-lag of three to four years was found in from 9% to 21% of the children in various grades. Now, at that time promotion from one grade to the next higher one once a year was not automatic, but was conditional on a certain level of achievement. Hence, there would be a

JEWISH LIFE

negative correlation between age and achievement in a given grade. In other words H the enormous age-lag be-

trayed an under-achievement of disconcerting dimensions,

ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM HE causes for the state of affairs thus revealed are partly organiza­ tional and partly rooted in the condi­ tions of the pupils themselves, over which no organizing agency had any direct control. We take it for granted that the unprecedented rate of growth of the education system is sufficient explanation (and excuse, if such is needed) for organizational shortcom­ ings. Hence we shall turn to the second type of causes, those connected with the conditions of the pupils them­ selves. These, again, should be divided into two groups>— factors which can be determined and measured objec­ tively, like home circumstances etc., and that much debated factor in­ born ability or “general intelligence.”

Of the former we wish to give some figures on housing conditions and on parents’ literacy.

T

A) Housing Conditions: From 1948 to the mid-50’s only the most pressing need of “a roof over one’s head” could be met, and that by hous­ ing insufficient in quantity and qual­ ity. Those were the years of the “ma’abara,” rows on rows of tents, wooden huts, sheet aluminum shacks on a light wooden frame, set up some­ where on the outskirts of a town or smaller settlement. Of course many persons had to share one room, often several children one bed. We do not give here any figures on those very hard years, although they must have had a deep and adverse influence on the integration and acculturation of the immigrant children and on their progress at school. Let us look, in­ stead, at the situation stated in the Israel Yearbook of Statistics, 1968, as follows (p. 182):

Jewish Families By Number Of Persons Per Room

Number of persons per room

Total Less than one 1.00 to 1.99 2.00 to 2.99 3.00 to 3.99 4.00 and over

JULY-AUGUST 1969

Born In Asia-Africa Older-settled Immigrant families families-

Born In Euro pe-America Older-settled Immigrant families families

% 8.0 45.8 31.7 9.8 4.7

% 6.1 38.1 31.5 14.2 10.1

% 27.0 58.4 12.8 1.2 0.4

% 15.8 64.3 17.1 1.6 1.3

100%

100%

100%

100% 9

A 1961 Bank of Israel survey of the whole population states that over half the Israel population lived two or more persons per room, and of these 10.3% had 3.00 to 3.99 persons per room and 10.4% had four or more per­ sons per room. From the above table for 1968 it is fairly obvious that it was almost exclusively the Asian-African immigrant who made up the last two categories.

B) Literacy. Facts on this item were collected in the 1961 census of Continent of Birth

Males%

Females%

Israel Asia-Africa Europe-America

1.0 18.3 1.7

2.9 43.6 3.9

I T IS easy to see that the two I factors characterized above — housing conditions and illiteracy among the parents, especially the mothers ¡¡g^ must have had drastic effect on the scholastic achievements of the children who came to school from those homes. The education given in every school system is geared to a number of assumptions (whether expressly stated or taken for granted) about the community it serves and can only succeed if those assumptions are true to reality. Home training in the rudiments of the language arts is one of them; housing conditions that allow for keeping a few books, doing home­ work, and occasionally some quiet reading are another such assumption.

A pupil population in which these two basic assumptions are so

10

the Israel population. The following figures refer to persons^ over 14 years of age, and naturally the rate of liter­ acy declines with increasing age, bear­ ing in mind the high proportion of immigrants from countries without compulsory education, and with little or no regular schooling for girls. Thus we find in the Israel Statistical Year­ book for 1965 (p. 601) that in 1961 illiteracy was in percentage of the Jewish population:

imperfectly met is certainly at a great handicap regarding its chances of suc­ cess at school — and that is what be­ came painfully evident in the first de­ cade of the State. Children did not achieve and aquire the basic skills of reading and writing, sometimes not even when repeating the first or second grade. If they moved up with a low reading achievement they were un­ able to master the ordinary readers and texts in the next grades. If the class were composed of children from b o th immigrants and older-settled families the former fell behind the lat­ ter, felt frustrated and lost interest in school. If the whole class consisted of immigrant children, the teacher could adjust his pace (but not the text books), and the class would slowly de­ velop a gap as against the curriculum,

JEWISH LIFE

that must widen with the years. .

Here we must also mention that during the first decade only the old text books and syllabuses were avail­ able, teaching aids were few and not adjusted to the novel situation, and the teacher shortage meant that the average teacher of the immigrant child­ ren was much less prepared for his job than the great difficulties of the situa­ tion demanded.

In view of all these facts, we pro­ pose not to say anything about the “inborn ability” of the immigrant children. Not only verbal intelligence tests but also the so-called “ culturefree” tests could not measure up to the strong contrasts between the so­ ciety for which the tests had been pre­ pared and the new immigrants of Israel, who came largely from socially and culturally backward countries. We feel that even a reasonably good gen­ eral intelligence when impeded by so many adverse forces may not be able to prove itself. The issue may be taken up only after some more normal con­ ditions will have been established.

HE foregoing will serve to intro­ duce a term that has become the scarecrow and even the nightmare of Israel educationalists the “gap” (hapa’ar), meaning the gap of retarda­ tion in achievement between the immi­ g ran t children from Asian-African (often called “Islamic”) countries and the children of settled families.

The most conclusive controlpoint for determining achievement in the school population is the national achievement test set early in the eighth grade (the last grade of compulsory education, so far).

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

This test was introduced about fifteen years ago as a means of objec­ tive screening of all who completed the last year of compulsory and free state-ru n elementary education in order to determine those amongst them who qualified for state aid in secondary school. It has undergone some changes in structure, and has been for some years now more of an ability test than an achievement test.

Naturally the information provided by the test has been used, after statistical analysis, to learn something about the achievements of the system under var­ ious aspects. One of these aspects is the success in the test of children who were born in Asian or African coun­ tries or whose parents were so bom, in comparison with second and higher generation of Israel-born children or those of European-American parent­ age.

From year to year the answer to this particular question was awaited with a great deal of tension: would the gap between the results of those two groups at last show a tendency to nar­ row down, as might be hoped in view of the many efforts that had been made to that end? But these hopes were disappointed again and again, and in the thirteenth year Dr. G. Ortar sta te d (Megamoth, August 1967): “Even after taking into account all the reservations mentioned, it appears that no clear tendency is discernible in the oscillations of the various differences that characterize the main cultural groups.” In other words — the ‘gap’ has not been erased.

These findings were corrobo­ rated at a further stage of the educa­ tion by a follow-up of the examinees

11

of 1957 to the end of secondary school, four years after taking the above-mentioned test. It was found that the proportion of Asian-African boys and girls among the secondary school entrants was much below their proportionate strength in the popula­ tion. Further, at the end of secondary school a much smaller percentage of those same pupils qualified for the m atriculation certificate (in 1961) than the pupils of European-American or long-standing Israeli parentage.

The findings of the last-men­ tioned study (of the Henrietta Szold Institute in Jerusalem) became known in 1963/1964. It would not be correct to pinpoint a single development like that as the cause of the reform. But it appears that the sum-total of attempts to remedy the situation and their dis­ appointing results led to the conclu­ sion that something more radical must be undertaken.* As was stated above, the leng­ thening of compulsory free education was then set as a target, on the as­ sumption that longer schooling for all would almost certainly lead to im­ proved results for the group that needed it most. The committee ap­ pointed by the Minister of Education to devise the means of putting that re­ commendation into effect and to sur­ vey the implications of such a step, came forward with the advice to couple the lengthening of compulsory education with a change in the struc­ ture of the educational system. Instead * Cf. this w riter’s paper: Healing The Wounds Of The E xile, Jewish Life, Sivan-Tamm uz, 572 3/M ay-June, 196 3 .

12

of the general 8 plus 4 structure (to which there were only three or four exceptions in the country) education should be given in three successive stages f l a n elementary school of six years, a first stage of secondary educa­ tion, embodying some features of a comprehensive school, lasting three years, and a variety of schools ¡8 aca­ demic, vocational, agricultural, and comprehensive ? for the next three years for those who so wished and proved their ability to profit from the continuation of their studies. As every­ body knew, it was the idea of Mr. Aranne (then Minister of Education) to tie up the extension of compulsory education with the change of struc­ ture, and it was, subsequently, Mr. Aranne who fought for the principle: Without reform of the structure of education, there must be no extension of compulsory education. After a struggle of some four years and com­ plex political maneuvering, the basic lines of Mr. Aranne’s plan were en­ dorsed by the K’nesseth, except that the K’nesseth gave high priority to the combination of the two stages of secondary education into one six-year c o m p r e h ensive (multi-lateral) post­ primary school. The first experiment in carrying out the reform was made with eight schools (four secular and four religious state schools) in the year 1968/1969, and to these it is expected (at the time of writing, July 1969) that some thirty more schools (twelve religious and eighteen secular) will be added. If th e movement gathers momentum, the whole system should be transformed within five to six years.

JEWISH LIFE

HE problem which the educa­ soon greatly outnumbered the oldtional reform in Israel sets out to timers. solv^ is not unique. Other countries, 3) In view of the first two too, have become aware of their fail­ points, it was keenly felt that the fate ure to live up to the ideals of equality of our new community in our newlyand to provide every child, through ed­ won homeland was at stake. J o over­ ucation, with the same chance for suc­ look the problem, to be slack in meet­ cess in life. The causes of such failure ing it, would almost surely mean moral are in some cases similar, superficially, bankruptcy and social disruption of to those we detected in Israel. What is our society and our State. unique about the Jsrael case is the Let us hear, then, what are the speed and the intensity of the reaction main features of the projected reform. to the diagnosis of the disease. Only a These can be brought under four few years after the symptoms were headings. In dealing with them we identified, the best resources in the ed­ shall point out how they affect reli­ ucational world were mobilized to find gious education, and what attitudes a way out. are found in the religious sector of Several reasons may be cited for Israel’s population. this swift response: The areas are: 1) The strong sense of the unity a) Organizing education for of the nation: the new immigrants twelve years in two main sec­ were no strangers from some far away tions, 6-12 and 12-18, the latter part of an empire, but our brothers, subdivided into two equal parts from whom we had been separated for b) New syllabuses for teaching centuries, and with whom we had c) Improvement of techniques longed, prayed, and hoped to be of instruction, and additional united again. services for schools in need of 2) The number of those whose special attention coming to Israel aroused the problem d) The introduction of counsel­ was very large in proportion to those ling and guidance who had been living there, indeed they

T

NEV^STRUCTURE FOR THE SCHOOLS many in Israel this was taken first and foremost to mean the reduction of the elementary school to six years instead of eight. The Israel Teachers Union, which is the only or­ g an iza tio n for elementary school teachers, but includes only a small part of the secondary school teachers, re­ sents the criticism of their members’

JULY-AUGUST 1969

work in Grades 7 and 8, expressed in the transfer of those grades to the secondary stage. Religious teachers, too, are reluctant to see the elemen­ tary school robbed of the BarMitzvah age, of the pupils’ minyon, and of the leadership which that age group pro­ vided for the younger ones. The minis­ try countered these claims by declar-

13

ing that the six grades (1-6) would in­ deed not act as a torso of the former eight-grade school, but would be set new aims and correspondent sylla­ buses. A six-grade school is not just a Grades 2-8 school, but must be taken as a new creation, in its own right. On the other hand, hope was expressed that the upgrading of the classes 7 and 8 by their attachment to the upper section would provide a stimulus to pupils and teachers alike. Also, teach­ ers for these grades would be required to have a university education instead of training at a teachers seminar.

But the new set-up had other aims, too: It should promote social and cultural integration by bringing to­ gether pupils of different communities (especially Ashkenazi-Occidental and Sephardi-Oriental, that so far had not much opportunity to mix. For al­ though Israel, too, has the neighborhood-school by law, it is well known that this often makes for a virtually homogenous, segregated population.

In the new school from Grade 7 up­ ward, pupils would be drawn from two or three of the former school areas, and with some good will the resulting school population would be heteroge­ neous in ethnic, cultural and social re­ spects.

While nobody dared take an open stand against this policy of the Ministry of Education, it was received with mixed feelings. Interestingly, the first reactions against it, clothed in concern for safeguarding the level of achievement, camé from parents of secu lar sch o o ls, since there the planned integration would be strongly felt. In secular schools, taken as a whole, there are probably no more

14

than 35-40% of non-Ashkenazi child­ ren, and the influx os such a minority would affect the school. In religious state education the proportion of non-Ashkenazis is about twice as high, and thus integration in many cases does not many any real change.

B

UT religious education is con­ fronted with a different worry: In many localities it comprises be­ tween 20 and 30% of the local school p o p u la tio n . N a tu ra lly , religious schools are more scattered than the secular schools, and the distance to school for the individual pupil is larger than in the secular school. When now new areas are constructed for the new secondary school (from grade 7) thensize will be very considerable, and the hardship and expense for the religious pupil to reach his school by public transport will be much greater than for the pupil of the secondary school. Will everybody be ready to make the sacri­ fice, or is religious education to lose many of its pupils? The ministry has promised, at the request of the reli­ gious public, to devise means to allevi­ ate the hardship anticipated.

Here we must also dwell on the problem of the secondary yeshivoth, which has aroused much attention, be­ cause there is reason to fear that under the new system much fewer boys will be enlisted with those institutions, which are rightly considered the out­ standing innovation in the Mizrachio rie n te d state religious education system. Until now principals of ele­ mentary schools have vied with each other as to the number of their boy graduates whom they succeeded in di­ recting to secondary or vocational

JEWISH LIFE

yeshivoth. The last ten years have seen a considerable increase in the number of yeshivoth, and several of them at­ tained the status of municipal schools (th e b o ard in g section excepted).

Under the new system, however, the main point of change is at the age of twelve, when few if any, parents would care to send their children away from home. Furthermore, the boy who has once entered the six year secondary school may easily be per­ suaded to complete it. Certainly the heads of secondary schools can not be

expected, as a rule, to influence their best pupils to leave and go to yeshivah.

If the yeshivoth were mainly local in­ stitutions, the way out would be to let them start at Grade 7. But several of the best yeshivoth are located far away from the towns and they have no “hinterland” from which to draw daypupils. They are dependent on stu­ dents from the urban centers. Will they come at least as before? Several answers to this question have been worked out, but one can not yet say that they will work satisfactorily.

NEW SYLLABUSES ^ P H E Israel education system has I on the whole seen few changes of syllabus. In the mid-50’s elementary schools were given a new syllabus to replace the previous one that had been in force for some thirty years. The new syllabus was certainly an improve­ ment on its predecessor, but it failed in some important aspects: It was uni­ form for all levels of ability and achievement, and thus certainly did not answer the needs and hopes of teachers who struggled in those years with the problems of teaching the masses of immigrants. It also had not taken into account any new methods of syllabus making. Now, in anticipa­ tion of the novel situation, a new unit for the preparation of syllabuses was set up, and it was staffed by a group of ten educators who had been trained for the job during a year’s study in the United States.

This is certainly a welcome de­ velopment, and much progress may be

JULY-AUGUST 1969

expected from it. But here, too, reli­ gious education is not quite satisfied with the way this is carried out.

The State Education Law of 1953 defines the religious character of the religious state school as being reli­ gious in its faculty, supervision, sylla­ bus, and organized school life. For a syllabus to guide a religious school it must be formulated throughout by re­ ligious educators who identify them­ selves with the particular aims of the school. It will never do to take the syllabus of a secular school and patch on to it here and there a topic from tradition. And this is true not only for Tanach and Talmud, but no less for history, literature, citizenship, and the sciences. So far, however, there has been a very limited readiness on the part of the Education Ministry to grant this spiritual independence in drafting the syllabuses of all or most subjects. Of course for the new Tanach syllabus a completely religious and in-

15

dependent committee has been appointed, and the same goes for a rather novel subject - || citizenship. On other

su b jects sought,

com prom ises are being

IMPROVEMENT OF TECHNIQUES: MEETING SPECIAL NEEDS HE stress lies on the second part of the headline For over ten years now, experimentation has been going on, mainly in the elementary school, first to identify, then how to help those who can not make suffi­ cient progress with the normal share of attention and the standard methods. A special “Center for Schools With Special Needs” was set up at the Edu­ cation Ministry. The main proposals that were adopted and carried out in those schools (which made up roughly one-third of the country’s elementary schools) were: Individual guidance of teachers in the lower grades, to make sure that reading skill is properly acquired; the production of new read­ ers and text books with attention to careful grading of progress and choice of vocabulary and structure; lengthen­ ing the school day into the afternoon, by providing time for supervised study and cultural enrichment; providing teaching aides and means to promote individual work of students; stimulat­ ing a rt appreciation, and several others.

All these efforts were so far re­ served for part of the school popula­ tion only. Now, in the intermediate school (Grades 7-9, roughly corre­ sponding to the junior high school in the United States) some of these means will become available to all, thus alleviating to some degree the pressures that may be created through mixing students of widely different

S

16

background, upbringing, and cultural stimulus.

ERE, again the religious state school should come in for special consideration. We have dwelt in the beginning of this paper on the problems connected with the educa­ tion of the immigrant children. We have not stressed the fact that, owing to their traditional way of life, a high proportion of the immigrants from oriental communities chose for their children the religious state school. It is generally assumed that in the secular schools children of oriental communi­ ties may be some 40% of the whole. In the religious state school, they will be about 80%. It is felt that the scope of help needed for the school system of the religious sector is not just twice as great as that in the first. Hence, assign­ ing the means of help mechanically in proportion of 1:2 does not appear to do justice to the gravity of the situa­ tion. Religious education claims a larger share of state help, by virtue of carrying a proportionally so much higher share of the national duty to integrate the incoming Ohm into the new Israeli society. This claim, too, is not always met satisfactorily.

As regards Counselling and Guid­ ance, this is an almost new feature in Israel education, but it is hardly neces­ sary to explain the merits of this ser­ vice to the American reader. Workers are being trained at the universities

H

JEWISH LIFE

(including Bar-Ilan), but for the time being there are not enough by far to satisfy the need.

E have tried to give a detached description of^ the educational reform and its roots, without hiding the criticism and the apprehensions with which the plan has met among the religious public. In fact, opinions were divided, and a considerable sec­ tion would have been happy to see the plan rejected by the K’nesseth. There was also an interesting difference be­ tween proponents of Chinnuch Mamlachti Dati, the religious state schools and of the Chinnuch Atzmoi, the Agudah-oriented independent religious

W

JULY-AUGUST 1969

schools system. When the plan came up for vote in the Parliamentary com­ mittee that had examined all its facets in well over one hundred sessions — the delegates of the National Religious party, together with a few of the leftwing parties, voted against, and so did the representative of Poaley Agudah.

But the representative of Agudath Israel voted in favor of the reform.

The first steps have just been taken. Time will tell whether condi­ tions in the country allow us to carry the whole project into reality, and whether religious education, too, will in the end give the new system its blessing.

17

JEWISH LAW AND INTERMARRIAGE

by CHAIM Z. ROZWASKI N counseling young couples on the verge of intermarriage,* I have been repeatedly startled by the discovery that most Jewish partners do not know why as a Jew they may not marry a non-Jew. Those who contem­ plate such a disastrous step are apt to voice the assumption that from the Jewish point of view, mixed marriage while regrettable is acceptable and Judaism is not as strict in dealing with it as are some religions. In other cases, in contrast, Judaism will be charged with “intolerance” as compared with the permissiveness on this issue of other religions. Listening to such state­ ments, uttered with apparent sincerity, one suddenly realizes that these Jews have neither any knowledge of the Jewish doctrinal position on intermar-

I

* While the term “ m ixed marriage” more correctly than “intermarriage” applies to marriages betw een persons o f different races or religions, the latter term has gained w ide currency in this con n ection . In this article, the tw o term s are used interchangeably.

18

riage nor anything more than a vague awareness of the innate Jewish abhor­ rence of marriage outside the Jewish fold. Somehow, they labor under the notion that the mixed marriage is only socially unacceptable to Jews and Judaism either does accommodate it­ self to it or should do so. Sooner or later the gist of such a discussion boils down to the Jewish partner asking, “What is the Jewish position on inter­ marriage?”

While this question may be simple, it is a fact that the questioner would like to know the answer to it. It is also a fact that while there has been much public discussion of intermar­ riage as a sociological phenomenon, very little has been said about the specific and simple doctrinal Jewish position on intermarriage. For ex­ ample, what is the status within Juda­ ism of the Jew who intermarries? It is vitally important to have an answer to this sort of question, not least of all because the Jew on the verge of inter-

JEWISH LIFE

marriage compares his position with that of his partner.

Jewish boys and girls in this situ­ ation, who are mostly from homes with little or no religious observance, show great concern about this ques­ tion. They are uncomfortable in the presence of their partner who has a definite answer for it. Perhaps they are ashamed of their ignorance of Juda­ ism. It may also be that these ques­ tions are prompted by an element of pride which urges the Jewish mate to find out whether he too has some rules that discipline him and require his obedience. I have the impression that many Jewish boys and girls would think twice, especially in the early stages of “falling in love,” if they were told precisely what Judaism teaches about intermarriage.

NFORTUNATELY, the bulk of present-day literature on mixed marriage — which emanates largely from non-orthodox sources — deals with either its negative impact on the future of the Jewish people or, in tacit or open condonation, the “best” ways of accommodating Judaism to the circumstance that “Jews intermarry anyway and Judaism had better accept it as a fact.” Apart from the basic in­ adequacy of the one approach and the menace of the other, these responses to the problem of intermarriage fail to take note of the innate pride and loyalty that lie deep in the soul of every Jewish boy and girl and which, unfortunately, are apt to come to the fore in these cases only at a time when it may be too late to make any differ­ ence. This compounds the tragedy.

Jewish youths are, at the very least,

y

JULY-AUGUST 1969

entitled to know what the Jewish doc­ trine concerning intermarriage is be­ fore they embark on such a course.

Jewish parents would do well to acquaint themselves with these teach­ ings for it is from them that their sons and daughters most expect to hear plain talk about the Jewish view on mixed marriage.

Halochah, Jewish Law, treats marriage between Jews and non-Jews in terms of the relationship between man and G-d, on the one hand, and the relationship between man and man on the other. Thus, the Halochah in­ forms us what the law is on intermar­ riage and also how the Jewish commu­ nity should treat a person who inter­ marries. In both cases, the law is ex­ plicit and simple. However, to better understand the Halachic views on mixed marriage, it is in order to view them in the context of the general nature of Halochah.

ALOCHAH governs the conduct of the Jew in the presence of G-d. The explication of Torah —Writ­ ten and Oral — is an expression of G-d’s will in the affairs of men.

Through imposing upon man a system of law, G-d enters into his life and gives man a chance to approach G-d.

In obeying and fulfilling the Divine will, man realizes his Divinely ordained mission. In rejecting them he neglects his spiritual qualities and degenerates into non-being. In either case, man’s relationship to G-d is that of servant to master. For above the specific dialec­ tical relationship between G-d and man, inherent in the fulfillment or re­ jection of G-d’s commands, is presup­ posed an overall Divine mastery of the

H

19

universe as a purposefully created entity which exists by the will of G-d.

Man is only a sojourner in the universe and as a created being, is subject to the laws of G-d, whether they be permis­ sive or restrictive in nature.

It follows, therefore, that man can do only that which he was permit­ ted by G-d, just as the servant can do only that which the master allowed him. Viewed from another perspective, the relationship between G-d and man may be compared to that of an owner of property and his tenant. G-d is the owner of the universe and man is the tenant. In this context, man can do no more in this universe than G-d agreed to let him, just as the tenant cannot exercise his authority over his place more than the owner allowed him to.

This relationship between G-d and man, as seen within the Jewish tra­ dition, becomes explicit in the Halochah. The Jew has the freedom of will either to abide by it or reject it. The degree to which he does either deter­ mines the extent to which he accepts or rejects G-d.

The Halochah seems to be made up of a system of checks and balances.

For every prohibition, as the Talmud puts it, there is also a permission. For example, some food is allowed to be eaten and others are not. But even the permissible items may be consumed only in a prescribed manner each item in its own way. For instance, meat from permissable animals may be eaten only if it has been prepared in accordance with the Laws of Shechitah and Kashruth. The common deno­ minator for all consumption, however, is the Berochah, the Blessing. No food or drink may be taken without a bene­

20

diction. This emphasizes the Divine ownership of all existence and that man may benefit from the elements only by G-d’s leave.

Marriage and sexual relations are regarded in the same way. Certain mar­ riages are prohibited. Certain are al­ lowed, but only in accordance with the Halachic regulations. The differen­ ces, however, between the consequen­ ces of breaking the dietary laws, for example, and the marriage laws are great. In the first case only the individ­ ual is involved and therefore it may be classified as a private matter. In the second case, not only married people but also their offspring are affected and therefore, it must be classified as a public matter. In either case, the com­ mon element is that adherence to the law expresses acceptance of G-d while breaking it exemplifies a rejection of G-d. From a theological point of view" every time a Jew fulfills a Mitzvah or adjusts his personal life to the dictates of Halochah he comes within the Divine Presence. Every time he rejects a Mitzvah and acts contrary to it, he removes himself from, and diminishes so to speak, the Divine Presence.

HE Halachic injunction against marriage with non-Jews is based on the Biblical verse “Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give unto his son, nor his daughter shall you take unto your son. For he will turn away your son from following Me, that they may serve other gods. . . ” (Devorim 7:3,4). There is a vigorous difference of opinion among the Rabbis in apply­ ing and interpreting this verse to the specific instances of intermarriage.

T

JEWISH LIFE

However, the gist of the Halachic dis­ and th u s becom es liable to be cussion boils down to this: The Torah punished for the violation of these prohibits marriage between a Jew and laws as prescribed by the Torah. Each a non-Jew and violation of this injunc­ one of these acts is prohibited by the tion is to be punished* Such a marriage Torah separately. is banned and is not legally binding or HE reason for the severe treat­ effective. Consequently, an intermar­ ment of the intermarrying Jew is ried Jew does not live in a state of marriage at all, but rather in that of found in Malachi 2:11-12: “Judah has promiscuity. Indeed, in the strict dealt treacherously and an abomina­ Halachic sense it is a mistake to speak tion is committed in Israel and Jeru­ of mixed marriage. Such a marriage salem. For Judah has profaned the simply does not exist from the Hala­ holiness of the Lord whom he loves chic point of view. A Jew living with a and has married the daughter of a non-Jewess lives in a state of harlotry strange god. May the Lord cut off the and is responsible for violating all the man that does this. . . ” Following the moral laws concerning such behavior. Talmud, Avoda Zora 36b, Maimonides These laws are many. (A person caught elaborates on the meaning of the verse. in the act of sexual intercourse with a “If he is an Israelite he shall have no non-Jew in the presence of ten witnes­ friend among the scholars and no place ses, may be killed, but only on the among the disciples and if he is a spot as an act of zealotry. This is the Kohen, he shall not have the right to only case when the Halochah allows officiate at the gift offerings of the what may perhaps be classified as a Lord of Hosts. You have thus learned that whoever marries (cohabits) with a crime of passion.*) In the absence of punishment at non-Jew is as if he married into idol the hands of the Beth Din, court, or worship for it is said, “ . . . and he the Kana’im(Zealots), the person who married a daughter of a strange god has entered upon a marital relationship and he is called a profaner of the Sanc­ with a non-Jew becomes liable of tity of G-d” (Maimonides, Hilchoth Koreth, the punishment of extinction Issurey Biah 12:6). The meaning of -- death - at the hands of G-d. Fur­ this passage is clear. To become the thermore, a person who is intermarried spouse of a non-Jew is analogous to commits zenuth (prostitution); trans­ giving oneself over to idol worship.

Maimonides is very mindful of gresses the injunctions against marry­ ing a shifchah (maid-servant); infringes this as are the other sages and he goes upon the prohibition of idol worship; to great length to emphasize the sever­ and according to one opinion even ity of the crime of intermarriage. Even transgresses against the rule not to live though the scriptural Torah does not with another man’s wife (adultery); explicitly say that it is a capital of­ fense, it becomes clear from the Halochah (as set forth in the authorita­ * This is n ot to be con fused w ith the laws o f tive codifications such as (Rama; Even “ R o d if” w here in order to save the life o f Ha’ezer 17; Choshen Mishpot 425; the pursued, the pursuer m ay be killed.

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

21

Yore Deah 158) that it is a similitude of it. Indeed, were a “zealot,” impas­ sioned upon finding, in the presence of ten witnesses, a Jew committing adultery, to put the adulterer to death on the spot, his action is not deemed a murder. This is derived from what the Torah states in the case of such an by Phineas (Bemidbor 25:6-9) and seems to be because the intermarryingcohabiting-Jew engages in an act which not merely approximates idol worship but which actually brings the Jew and his offspring to the worship of idols.

Says Maimonides again, “This sin, even though it does not have capital punish­ ment at the hands of the Beth Din, let it not be treated lightly in your eyes.

On the contrary, its punishment is special and is not found in all similar cases of adultery, for a son born out of an adulterous union (of a Jewish man and a Jewish woman) is regarded as his son in every sense and he (the Son) is regarded as part of Israel even though he is a bastard. Yet, the son of a nonJewess is not his (the Jewish father’s) son for it is said “for he shall lead astray your son from following me. He leads him astray from following G-d.

This causes him to cling to idol wor­ ship (or worshippers) from which (whom) the Holy One Blessed be He has separated us, and causes him to turn away from G-d and rebel against Him” (ibid 7,8). Thus, the intermar­ ried person is deprived of his own off­ spring and has no legal claim to the fatherhood of his children, on the one hand; and, on the other, he is respon­ sible for bringing them into the sphere of idol worship which is one of the the most abominable acts that any Jew can commit. Indeed, the Rama states,

22

“he (i. e. the conduct of the intermar­ ried Jew) falls under the general prin­ ciple of adultery and the law applies that he rather die than commit the transgression of intermarriage as in all cases o f adultery (Even Ha’ezer Hilchoth Ishuth 17).

The Halachic coup de grace of the intermarried Jew, however, comes with this: “The Jewish heretics who either worship idols or spitefully com­ mit sins. . . .and those who deny the Oral Torah and Prophecy are Apikorsim (blasphemers-heretics) and have no faith and they are destroyers of the w orld... .and the Israelites who per­ sist in their wickedness and repeat their sins over and over again. . . .also they are destroyers of the world and no help is extended to them to enable them to survive (Aruch Hashulchon 425:12).* Though the author does not speak about mixed marriage when he cites examples to illustrate these prin­ ciples, the intermarried Jew certainly falls into the same category because he persists to live in a state of continual sin and publicly flaunts the Law of the Torah. Indeed the Aruch Hashulchon is mindful of this.

Speaking of intermarriage (Even Ha’ezer 17:2) the Aruch Hashulchon says, “ . . .if she is in his house and he lives with her regularly as a husband and wife then he is guilty according to the Laws of the T orah.. .” The only defense that the contemporary unin­ formed Jew has is his claim of ignor­ ance of the laws of Judaism.

The harsh treatment of the inter* This section con clu d es, h ow ever, w ith the statem ent that Jews w h o com m it sins unin­ ten tion ally ought and sh ou ld be h elped and saved.

JEWISH LIFE

marrying Jew can be properly under­ stood only when it is realized that on principle, the Halochah makes every allowance and commands that, with only three exceptions, every law must be broken in order to save a life. Yet in this case it takes a diametrically opposed view. This can be explained by the fact that intermarriage is com­ pared to idolatry and adultery, which are W o of the three cases, the third being murder, when the Halochah commands to choose death rather than commit any of these sins. This makes intermarriage that much greater an in­ fraction of Halochah and a rejection of G-d and His Law. It therefore follows almost automatically, that a person who intermarries forefits the privilege of this and the after life in the same way that an idol worshipper does.* HE issue of intermarriage is not a new phenomenon in Jewish history. It has its origin in the very fabric of the genesis of the Jewish people. It formed a formidable chal­ lenge to the Patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their spouses reacted firmly against it. It might be illustrative of the intensity of their feelings against it to quote the follow­ ing: “And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; so Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister Nebaioth, to be his wife” (Bereshith: 28:8,9). Even Esau,

T

* One m ight also add that the com m andm ent to honor father and m other is equally broken. Though the H alochah does not speak o f it in con n ection w ith intermarriage, it Cannot be overlooked here because inter­ marriage is always related to respect for o n e ’s parents.

JULY-AUGUST 1969

the son who was scorned because he rejected his father’s ways, was mindful of his parents’ feelings on intermar­ riage and respected them. In later years special action against intermar­ riage was taken by Moses, King David, Ezra, the Hasmoneans, and by the followers of Shammai and Hillel.

Periods closer to our own times saw Rabbinic bodies in different countries take action to strengthen the Jewish marriage laws. From the days of the Patriarchs through the late Middle Ages every pronouncement against intermarriage added to and was built upon those that were promulgated in former generations.

The contemporary Jew is not confronted with any new restrictions of the Jewish code concerning mixed marriage. His problem is that he has no code and does not even know the minimal doctrinal position of histori­ cal Judaism on this subject. If Jewish boys and girls are to be dissuaded from intermarrying, the very least that can be done as a beginning, and no more than a beginning, is to teach them what Judaism says about intermarry­ ing. The social aspects of the problem of intermarriage can be garnered from other sources that abound. But unless parents and spiritual leaders tell our young people what Judaism has to say on the subject, no one else will; then there is no use blaming the young for coming to the wrong conclusions or harboring false notions about the Jew­ ish point of view on intermarriage.

Judaism, through the Halochah, speaks clearly and uncompromisingly about this. It leaves no room for intermar­ riage within the Jewish way of life and grants it no quarter within the Jewish faith.

23

by IDA G. COWEN ROM Istanbul, world mecca for tourists, I headed for Edirne — 140 miles to the northwest. This was definitely not a tourist route nor a tourist bus by which I was traveling.

Villages we passed along the way had unpaved roads, homes had thatched roofs, horses were still pulling the plows, shepherds with their flocks of sheep were frequently seen. The child­ ren were in black smocks and the women wore black skirts covering their pantalogns. With their long black stoles which enveloped their heads and then crossed in front, the women’s faces reminded me of nuns peering out from the black head covering.

At Corlu, we halted. There was a grand exit from the bus to buy sand­ wiches. These were of the “hero” type —half a loaf of bread cut in half lengthwise and filled with meat and slices of onion —all wrapped in news­ paper. With my fellow passengers thus

24

fortified, we continued on our way.

But I was traveling here not simply to see the Turkish landscape and the Turkish people, but rather to see a city where there had once been a large flourishing Jewish community, a city of scholars and scribes, a city where one yeshivah alone had boasted a hundred Siphrey Torah and a library of fifteen thousand books.

Edirne —better known by its former name Adrianople Hwas home to many famous men. L’Cho Dodi (“Gome, My Beloved”), the song with which Jews all over the world welcome the Sabbath bride, was composed by a 16th century son of Adrianople — S helom oh Alkabetz. An intimate friend of Alkabetz was Yoseph Karo, famous for his Shulchan Aruch, the paramount codification of Jewish law and practice. It was at Adrianople that Karo’s Beth Yoseph, on which he based his Shulchon Aruch, was pub-

JEWISH LIFE

lished.

And it was in Adrianople, too, that a century later the tragic denoue­ ment in the life of the pseudo-Messiah Shabbathai Tzevi took place. Impris­ oned for plotting to overthrow the Ottoman rule, Shabbatai Tzevi was brought before the Sultan in this city.

He was given a choice of becoming a M oslem or dying on the stake.

Shabbathai Tzevi, supposed redeemer and Messiah who, it was believed, would lead his people to the Holy Land, made his choice. He threw off his Jewish headgear and donned the white turban, symbol that he was em­ bracing Islam. £ O U R hours out of Istanbul we | approached Edirne and passed the Hotel Kerwan at which I was to stay. Not being able to speak Turkish I had not been able to communicate with any fellow traveler on the bus.

But my English jabbering and espe­ cially my collecting together of all my paraphernalia made the bus driver understand that the foreigner wanted to descend. Then back I walked to the small clean Hotel Kerwan where a bit of German helped me get settled.

Then out I went to find Yuda Romano, leader of the present-day Jewish community of Edirne. I had no street name, no house number to go bv. But the Turks were friendly and helpful, and the name Romano seemed to be well known. So on I went past the Selimeye Mosque with its lovely faience tiles and minarets as impressive as those of many a famed Istanbul mosque, then down a narrow cobble­ stone street lined with shops until I came to a “Goodyear” sign in front of

JULY-AUGUST 1969

one of the shops. Inside this shop with Goodyear tires and Mobiloil cans on its shelves, I found Yuda Romano - a silver-haired, fine looking gentleman.

Hebrew, which he had learned in his youth, was our means of communica­ tion, “Things are very different today from what they were in my youth,” said Mr. Romano. He had studied at an Alliance Israelite Universelle School, and in addition had attended a yeshivah three hours daily. In 1905, when the Talmud Torah was combined with the Alliance Schools, the Boys’ School had 1,236 students and the Girls’ School with 560 pupils had a reputa­ tion for being one of the most progres­ sive in the East, providing dressmaking and cooking courses for all its pupils.

The Jewish community, which then numbered 20,000, was known for its generous support of the educational institutions.

T O D A Y in Edirne there is no f Talmud Torah, no yeshivah, no Alliance School, no seminary for train­ ing rabbis and teachers. Today’s youth attends the government schools which are in session on Saturday, making it impossible for them to be at syna­ gogue services.

B’nai B’rith and Zionist groups which had formerly been active here have gone out of existence, for any connection with organizations based out of the country is forbidden by law. There is a Circle Israelite which meets on Sundays but that is only for social purposes.

“How do you account for such a decline in the size of the Jewish com­ munity here?,” I asked, “from 20,000

25

in 1905 to a mere 300 souls at present?”

The answer was a manifold one.

The nineteenth and twentieth centu­ ries were hard ones for all the people of Edirne. First of,all, there was a plague of cholera, and then the fires.

In September of 1905, half of this city of wooden homes was consumed by fire. All thirteen synagogues and the fifty yeshivoth of the Jewish com­ munity were burned down.

And then there were the wars.

D uring th e n in eteen th century’s Russo-Turkish Wars, Adrianople was occupied by the Russians. Adrianople’s position If a mere four miles from the Greek border and twelve miles from the Bulgarian frontier -m. resulted in bringing the fighting to the streets of the city during the Balkan and Greek wars in this century.

After a siege of five months in 1913, Adrianople fell to the Bulgars in the First Balkan War. Then it was re­ taken the same year by the Turks in the Second Balkan War. In 1920 the Greek army, commissioned to restore order in Thrace, entered the city, which had been ceded to Greece. A few years later, the Treaty of Laus­ anne restored Adrianople to Turkey.

With the tide of war swinging back and forth over the streets of Edirne, it was no wonder that many of th e in h a b ita n ts —including many Jews —left for more peaceful loca­ tions. And of course, after the State of Israel came into existence, over 8,000 Jews left Edirne to start life again in that Altneuland.

OME of the remaining members of today’s small Jewish com­ munity I located in Edirne’s Covered 26

Bazaar, a large, roofed-over shopping area, some blocks long and wide. Some had small shops selling yard goods.

One had a tiny stall selling notions such as thread, buttons, and tape; an­ other had a cigarette stand. In these shops, too, I saw on sale the .‘‘Evil Eye” charms, made of glass the size of an eye and colored blue and yellow.

They are to be worn under or over one’s clothing. The belief is that should anyone look at you with evil intentions, the “eye” will shatter and the wearer will thus be saved from the intended harm.

But don’t be fooled by these small, mean-looking shops. The owners may not be rich, but most are doing well. Only ten families, including those with a widowed mother, are in need of financial assistance, which the Jewish community provides through its char­ ity arm | | the “Mathan B’sether” — which distributed aid anonymously.

Most of the Jews I met in the Covered Bazaar wished to send a greet­ ing to a brother or sister or an uncle who had emigrated to the United States. The address given was either in Brooklyn or Queens, New York.

Many of the families bore the name of Mitrani, which seems to be as common in Edirne as the Smiths are elsewhere. They are descended from the prominent Spanish family di Trani that had left Castile during the Inquisi­ tion period and reached Edirne in 1502 by way of Italy. Through the generations, this family has produced numerous noted Talmudic scholars.

Among these was Aaron di Trani, founder of the Adrianople branch of the family, and Yoseph di Trani, known in the world of Talmudic scholarship as the “Maharimat,” whose JEWISH LIFE

She’eloth U’teshuvoth (Responsa on Halachic questions) earned wide re­ nown. In another generation there was a di Trani who wrote commentaries on both Maimonides and Saadiah Gaon.

And one Moses di Trani, was sent at the age of sixteen to complete his studies in Eretz Yisroel, afterwards serving for ten years as Rabbi of Safed.

What with the changes that time has wrought, I wasn’t at all surprised when one of the present day Mitranis (H ebraized version of the family name) told me that his son was a Roberts College graduate who had stu d ied on a scholarship for his Master’s Degree in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and was continuing for the doctorate.

N another part of the city — formerly the Jewish section —I saw the shingle of Dr. Sami Haras, located in a typical narrow wooden house, the second story of which ex­ tended out beyond the first story. Dr. Sami, as he is affectionately called, is beloved by his patients. One day the Haras family took me for a drive out of town past the railroad station, at which the famed Orient Express makes one of its stops, and on to the Greek border just four miles out of town.

There the guards greeted Dr. Haras with great warmth. “Don’t ever use a Turkish doctor,” said one and another quietly added, “ Dr. Sami saved my daughter’s life.’’ No wonder that I, as the guest of Dr. Sami, was given free­ dom to photograph as I pleased.

Sabbath in Edirne began with services at “The Great Synagogue,” the only synagogue now serving the com m unity, constructed after the

i

JULY-AUGUST 1969

great fire of 1905 had consumed all the then existing thirteen synagogues.

The Great Synagogue is a commanding edifice seating six hundred, with many impressive chandeliers and a velvet parocheth with medallions embroid­ ered in silver.

A plaque on the synagogue wall reminds one that: This structure was completed in the spring of the year 5669 after the creation of the world. and that: The great conflagration of Elul 5665 fire in one complete day ravaged the holy sites and halls all the precious abodes.”

To heat a building seating six hundred was too expensive for a com­ munity that now numbered only a hundred families, so services that Sabbath and all through the winter season were held in the near-by small Beth Ha-Midrosh. The Friday Mincah Service was preceded by the recital of Shir Ha-Shirim. Then came the singing of L’Cho Dodi. It was a moving experi­ ence to hear this song in the very town of which its author was a son in a bygone age. Through the Arvith ser­ vice which followed, and after, the sense of Shelomoh Alkabetz’s presence seemed to pervade the air.

Sabbath dinner I took with the family of Dr. Haras. Mrs. Haras, an oriental beauty with olive complexion, dark eyes and dark hair, is a university graduate, intelligent and capable. The menu was different from the well known western Sabbath meal. Here in

2?

Edirne the first course was not gefillte fis h . In ste a d o f th a t we 5had borekas —a hot pastry filled with var­ ious ingredients —served with a hard boiled egg. Then came artichokes sur­ rounded by potatoes and carrots. The main course was lamb with rice and peas. Fresh fruit and good Turkish coffee brought the delicious meal to a close.

Conversation was the same as might have been at home with friends of long standing, except for the discus­ sion of the Varlik, a 1942 tax on busi­ nessmen and property owners. As commerce was at the time in the hands of the minorities, the Varlik was di­ rected against the Greeks, Armenians, and, with extreme harshness, against the Jews. The amount levied, set by a local committee, was final and no ap­ peal could be made. Those who had not the cash to pay the amount levied had their belongings sold at public auc­ tion. And if the sum raised at such public auction was insufficient, they were sent to work at Forced Labor Camps. Uncles of the Haras family had had their rugs and furniture removed from their homes —and were then sent to a Labor Camp.

N Shabboth morning I was again at the Beth Ha-midrosh. The room was small and unadorned. But the Ark was curtained off in velvet em­ b ro id e re d with medallions and a Mogen Dovid in silver thread. The sex­ ton in his navy-blue suit with gold but­ tons looked like a naval officer. The Sefer Torah was prepared for the read­ ing with great ceremony. The Scroll’s velvet cover was removed and it was clothed especially for the procession

§

28

around the house of prayer.

Following the service I was in­ v ited for Kiddush by 82-year-old v in tn e r Isra el Raytan. I walked through his cool dark shop with its many wine casks and into the bright sunshine in the open garden space at the rear. Yuda Romano was there, too, for it is a weekly rite for these two men to meet and talk on Sabbath m orning. We sipped red wine, m unched on n u ts, and enjoyed oranges. ¿fWine gladdens the heart,” said my stooped host. His wine is sold chiefly to the Moslems, despite their religious restrictions. But it was clearly evident that the real in erest of Israel Raytan lay in his books and papers in Hebrew, Turkish, French, Spanish, and Arabic, all of which languages he spoke. The literary pieces were in drawers and odd places in the cellar.

As we talked he would scurry into the cellar and return with a book or pamphlet to verify or amplify a sub­ ject.

E talked of the long connection of Jews with Edirne. Jews were here during Greek days, for well into modern times there was a synagogue using the rites of the “Gregos,” or Greek-speaking Jews, and some of the family names show Greek origin.

R ecalling chapters from the community’s long history, my hosts told of persecutions during the rule of the Byzantines. At one time the Jews could not openly celebrate Pesach be­ fore the Christian Easter of any parti­ cular year. Reading from the Sefer Torah was banned, recital of the week­ ly portions being permitted only in Greek or Latin translation. A blood

JEWISH LIFE

libel incident occurred. According to Apulia, Sicily, and Buda Synagogues. the story, the sexton of a church was said to have substituted blood for the T A L K turned to famous sons of wine in th e Havdolah cup left I Edirne who had lived closer to overnight in the synagogue and all was our own time. There was Joseph set for bringing the accusation of ritual Halevy, born in the early nineteenth murder. That same night, the legend century. He taught in his native town continues, the entire scheme was un­ before moving on to Bucharest and folded to the synagogue shammosh in Paris. A keen student, he was sent by a dream. It was the shammosh who the Alliance Israelite Universelle to then emptied the cup and refilled it make a study of the Falashas in with wine, thus saving the Jewish com­ Ethiopia. Later, Halevy was sent by munity. the French Institute to Yemen to When the Ottoman Turks came study the Sabean Inscriptions there. to power and Edirne was made the He became professor of Ethiopic at capital of the empire and residence of the Ecole des Haut Etudes in Paris and the sultans, conditions improved for taught at the Sorbonne. the Jews. The sultans often chose Jew­ Israel Raytan and Yuda Romano ish physicians f o i their own use. A rab­ talked with especial pride of Abraham binical college was established attract­ Danon. Born here in the middle of the ing students not only from Turkey, nineteenth century, Danon headed the but also from Russia, Poland, and Theological Seminary in Edirne. He Hungary. was a prolific writer, translating Virgil When the Jews of Hungary and and Victor Hugo into Hebrew, and France were expelled as a result of the published a collection of fifty-five Black Death ravaging Europe in the Judeo-Spanish ballads sung in Turkey, fourteenth century, a number of them each with its French translation. The found refuge here. Freedom of Jewish Alliance Israelite Universelle invited life in Turkey also attracted German him to direct its seminaries in Istanbul Jews. Later came the Italian Jews. And and then in Paris. Abraham Danon’s in the sixteenth century, Spanish and influence was wide, for he also acted Portuguese Jews not only found a as a Consulting Editor for the Jewish haven here, but were strong enough to Encyclopedia. impose their language and customs In spite of Raytan’s love for his upon the native Jews. collection, I was able to persuade him It seemed the natural thing for to part with some material about the newcomers from a particular city Abraham Danon. Now it is available to continue their association in one for- researchers on the shelves of the synagogue in the new home in Turkey Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem. so that aifiong the thirteen synagogues that had existed in Edirne until the UT what of today’s youth in 1905 fire, there were congregations Edirne? Until recent days there know n as the Aragon, Catalonia, were no schools, no classes where a Majorca, Toledo, Portugal, Italian, Jewish youngster could be given a

JULY-AUGUST 1969

29

measure of Jewish knowledge, be in­ structed in the Hebrew language or learn of his background. For the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, the appropriate blessings were written in Turkish let­ ters and the boy learned them by rote.

And because of Government school hours, they are not free to attend Sabbath morning services.

Just two weeks before my visit to Edirne, David Azuz had: come here from Istanbul. He is a product of the Machazikei HaTorah (Upholders of the Torah) Movement, dedicated to bring­ ing youth closer to Jewish knowledge and observance. Slight, dark-haired David Azuz has begun work with the fervor of a missionary. Already he had

30

organized three Shabboth afternoon classes, which immediately attracted fifty young people.^ I watched him with a group of seventeen and eighteen year old boys and girls, who were not even familiar with the Hebrew alphabet. But David Azuz succeeded in involving the group in song, and they were lustily singing “Hevenu Shalom.” The next morning his plan was to give them the words of the song transliterated into Turkish.

What of the future? Who can foretell? I left Edirne - accompanied to the bus by Yuda Rom anoff with mixed emotions. But one thing was certain: the Jewish will to live was strong.

JEWISH LIFE

R E V E R E N C E : a lo s t in g r e d ie n t

by SAMUEL TURK N Judaism, one of the ways of and proximity vanishes with it. This is worshipping the Almight is ex­ why the Rabbis have likened the des­ pressed through the sanctification of ecration of Sabbaths and Holidays to time and of place. This is clearly pro­ the worship of idolatry. nounced in the Torah (Vayikra 26:2) In a similar vein, the neglect of “ Ye shall keep My Sabbaths and rever­ behavior restriction which should be ence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.” observed in a holy place leads to the The Torah compares the reverence for complete disappearance of the spirit of san ctu aries to the observance of G-d from the sanctuary. The desecra­ Shabboth. Just as on Sabbaths and tion of a sanctuary is a profanation of Holy Days one can sense the holiness G-d H im self, as the Torah says and the imminence of the Shechinah, (Vayikra 2:23) “Only he shall not go the Divine Presence, so should one feel into the vail, nor come nigh unto thé and sense the Shechinah in a sanctu­ altar because he has a blemish; that he ary. The sanctity of Sabbaths and the profane not My sanctuaries: for I the holidays demands certain restraints Lord do sanctify them.” upon our actions and behavior. Sim­ The destruction of the Beth ilarly does the sanctity of the holy Hamikdosh in Jerusalem is considered places impose restraints upon our con­ as the greatest Jewish catastrophe, for duct. When the Shabboth and Yom which constant mourning was or­ Tov restrictions are not punctilliously dained. Its existence bespoke the pres­ upheld, we find that Sabbath observ­ ence of the Shechinah in the midst of ance disappears entirely. When this the Jewish people as the Torah states occurs, the feeling of G-d’s presence (Shemoth 25:8) “And let them make

JULY-AUGUST 1969

31

Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” With the destruction of the Holy Temple a great spiritual void was created and a wide chasm between G-d and the Jewish people developed.

One of the causes for the Temple’s de­ struction was the lack of reverence, awe, and regard for its holiness. Every Yom K ip p u r the Kohayn Godol atoned for the defilement of the Sanc­ tuary, as we read (Vayikra 16:16): “And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the unclean­ ness of the Children of Israel; and be­ cause of their transgressions in all their sins.” The Yom Kippur service in part atoned for those who entered the por­ tals of the Sanctuary with physical de­ filement. One was not permitted to contaminate the holiness of the Sanc­ tuary by entering it with any kind of impurity The proximity of the Divine Presence requires purity of body as well as of mind.

HE purpose for the three yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the Temple was, in the words of the Torah, (Devorim 14:23):,: “That you may learn to fear the Lord your G-d always.” When we are in a sanctuary we should be seized with an awe, a reverence, a fear of G-d. If such a feel­ ing is not experienced, then indeed the sanctuary is not fulfilling its most sac­ red task.

What in Jewish life since the de­ struction of the Sanctuary in Jeru­ salem has been G-d’s dwelling place amidst the Children of Israel? Where are we expected to feel G-d’s presence most keenly and experience the great­ est reverence and awe for him? Even the most uninformed will recognize

32

and acknowledge that it is the House of Worship. The Synagogue is meant to be a miniature of the Beth Hamikdosh which existed in Jerusalem. The P ro p h et Yechezkiel says (Ezekiel 11:16): “Therefore say, Thus says the Lord G-d; although I have cast them far off among the nations, and al­ though I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.” The Prophet declares that with the dispersion of the Jews G-d will dwell in the “little sanc­ tuaries” devoted to His worship and to the study of His Divine Command­ ments and knowledge. Indeed, accord­ ing to some authorities, the same Bibli­ cal restrictions which applied to the great Sanctuary in Jerusalem are bind­ ing in great measure upon every shool.

(Yerayim, 324). True, the laws of physical defilement do not apply to­ day, but the other restrictions pertain­ ing to the sanctity of the Synagogue are indeed obligatory. If we do not up­ hold them, we secularize the Syna­ gogue.

The secularization of the syna­ gogue diminishes its holiness and the proxim ity of G-d’s presence. The Talmud says (Shabboth 32a) that the ignorant are stricken with death be­ cause they refer to the Holy Ark as a chest and to the House of Worship as the people’s house. The place of wor­ ship must be exclusively recognized as G-d’s house and must be devoted solely to the service of the Almighty.

Any activity of a secular nature should be performed in other precincts. Frat­ ernization and outward expression of love is not in order in a house of prayer. It is improper to kiss small

JEWISH LIFE

children in shool for one should not manifest any other love there except the love of G-d (Chayey Odom 17:15).

The value of public prayer is that one’s concentration upon G-d is increased and greater love and enthusiasm for G-d is engendered when people pray together. When these people distract our attention to other things, then in­ deed their presence is a hindrance.

UCH has been said and heard concerning the importance of the separation of the sexes in the syna­ gogue. Such separation is indeed essen­ tial to maintain the sanctity and prop­ er spiritual atmosphere of the sanctu­ ary. Much more, however, is needed to create the proper spirit of awe, rever­ ence, and fear of G-d in our shools. It is in this area that some traditional synagogues are most derelict. Who can possibly calculate the great toll of those who turn away from Jewish life as a result of the irreverence and lax behavior practiced in our sanctuaries, even during the very hours of worship?

A cco rding to the Shulchon Oruch one may not enter the syna­ gogue except for purposes of prayer or the study of Torah. Even if one has to call someone out of shool he should recite a sentence of the Torah or a psalm after entering the sanctuary. It is forbidden to engage in any laxity such as laughter, sporting, jesting, or mere conversation in the sanctuary even when public prayer is not being re c ite d . According to the Mogen Avorohom (151:1), the Divine punish­ ment meted out for such dereliction is that such synagogues are ultimately sold or converted to pagan or other alien places of worship.

JULY-AUGUST 1969

Even mental arithmetical calcu­ lations are not to be made in a syna­ gogue unless they pertain to charity or other sacred matters. One may not enter the synagogue for protection against rain or the heat of the day. The great Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchok Luria would not even sermonize in the syna­ gogue lest he be drawn into secular conversation. Rabbi Avrohom Danzig in his code (Chayey Odom 17:5) says: “Though it is a great Mitzvah to pray in a synagogue, if, however, one will be tempted to indulge in conversation, sporting, and the like, or if he will not be able to properly hear the reading of the Torah or follow the prayers, it is better that he gather ten men at home and conduct services there.” The authorities maintain that he who be­ haves irreverently in the house of prayer shows himself to be as one who has no share in the G-d of Israel. The Zohar compares him to one who does not believe in G-d.

Yet so many people fail to per­ ceive the gravity of lax behavior in the synagogue. They look upon the House of Worship as a place to cultivate friendship and to fraternize. When entering the shool they greet their neighbors and inquire about their wel­ fare during services and even during the reading of the Torah. When a Bar Mitzvah celebration takes place on a Shabboth morning the synagogue al­ most assumes the character of a social hall. Relatives kiss and greet each other. Even the very congratulations and announcements from the pulpit are geared to create a more social and fraternal atmosphere. This may induce certain salutary fraternal effects but it surely does not hallow the House of

33

Worship nor focus the attention of the congregants upon their devotions to G-d.

T IS true that the problem of synagogue decorum is an old one. Maimonides instituted that the congregation recite the Amidah to­ gether with the cantor, because the ac­ cepted practice induced people to con­ verse during the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrey. There can be little doubt that the lack of respect and reverence during synagogue services has historically encouraged deviationist movements in Jewish life. Irrever­ ence in the Synagogue ultimately leads to alienation from Judaism and from G-d Himself.

Many orthodox Jews seek to minimize the problem of undignified conduct in the synagogue. Some even assert that it is quite traditional to talk, laugh and joke in the Synagogue and for one to endeavor to undo it is to seek to reform a hallowed Jewish tradition. This reminds me of the time I approached a man to put on Tephillin during the morning services, which he refused to do, claiming that his grandfather and father did not put them on and he did not wish to break the family tradition. One can hardly argue with those who would character­ ize desecration as holiness. It is true that in the shtibel or in the Beth Hamidrosh people indulged in eating, sleeping, and smoking, but this is be­ cause the Beth Hamidrosh was not only a place of worship but also an academy of learning and served as the home of the disciples of Torah. Such activity, however, is definitely prohib­ ited in a sanctuary used primarily as a

34

place allocated and devoted to prayer.

Many people have also misconstrued fervor, movement, and zeal in Chassidic shools as irreverence and lack of respect. I have worshipped in Ghassidic synagogues where no conversation whatsoever took place during services or the reading Torah.

Great pains must be taken by the community to correct this chronic defect which exists in many of our synagogues. A program of enlighten­ ment concerning the sanctity of places of worship should be embarked upon. The importance of not prolong­ ing the services unnecessarily with can­ torial gymnastics, the making of “Mi Shebeyrachs,” and the giving of addi­ tional aliyoth must be stressed. Small children whose behavior cannot be properly controlled should not be brought to services until they can real­ ize the reverence required in the syna­ gogue (Mogen Avrohom 124:11). Rev­ erent conduct must be demanded of congregants by rabbis, officers, and trustees. Services should be inter­ rupted from time to time if proper at­ tention is not given; Means of improv­ ing synagogue behavior and respect should be an important item on the agenda of synagogue conventions. We must realize the difficulty and the magnitude of the problem for the im­ pression made by Torah Judaism de­ pends upon it.

2C|UBLIC worship of G-d is meant ^■¡Ito fulfill the commandment to hallow and sanctify the Almighty. It is interesting to note how the Torah phrases th is com m andm ent. In Vayikra 22:32 we read: “Neither shall you profane My Holy Name; and I

JEWISH LIFE

shall be hallowed among the Children the rabbi and Torah scholars in gen­ of Israel. I am the Lord who hallows eral. It is well known that Rabbi Akiva you.” Should not the Torah first have interpreted the Biblical Command­ commanded G-d’s hallowing and sanc­ ment, “You shall fear the Lord your tification by the Jewish people and G-d” as implying that such fear should then commanded them against his pro­ also be expressed towards scholars of fanation? The Torah seems to imply, Torah. If such irreverence is mani­ how ever, that the Jewish people fested in the House of G-d, can we ex­ should not at the time of hallowing pect better as regards the attitude to­ G-d profane his name by irreverence wards a Torah scholar? and disrespect.

Another aspect of this same Many people excuse the relaxed problem is in regard to parenthood. behavior in the synagogue as an ex­ Here again the Torah demands “Every pression of a love of G-d rather than a man shall fear his mother and his fear of Him. They look upon the Al­ father.” Love of parents is often inter­ mighty as a “pal” rather than as the preted to be a license for disrespect.

Lord of the Universe. In the words of The trend today is for children to look the Proverbs: “But love covers all to parents as friends and contempora­ transgressions.” It would indeed be the ries. To address parents in any manner, height of folly to condone vulgarity including rudeness and vulgarity, is the and disrespect in the House of G-d as a order of the day. Parental authority is fulfillment of our love for Him. On the considered anachronistic. All concepts contrary, “You shall love your G-d of reverence for and fear of parents are with all your heart, and with all your considered outmoded and inimical to soul, and with all your might” (Devo- progress. Rebelliousness and recalci­ rim 6:5) is a call to lay down even trance are very much in the fashion. one’s very life for the Almighty. Ac­ Such irreverence is showing up in the cording to Nachmanides it is a call to tremendous problems of modern so­ the Jew to serve G-d not for fear of ciety and in the Jewish community. punishment or expectation of reward We must restore the concept of but out of sheer love and devotion. reverence and awe for G-d and for the Far from being a license for laxity or Synagogue, parents, and spiritual men­ promiscuity, it is a call to greatest sac­ tors. Judaism cannot progress other­ rifice and devotion. According to wise.

Maimonides (Guide to the Preplexed The Torah linked together the 111:52) the love of G-d is achieved as a fear of G-d, reverence for parents, and result of greater knowledge and under­ the respect for sanctuaries, implying standing of Him. This is induced by that they affect each other. In Vayikra greater study of Torah and a truer 19:3 we read: “Every man shall fear knowledge of G-d’s existence. his mother and his father and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your G-d.” In HIS same problem of disrespect Vayikra 20:2 we read: “You shall and irreverence manifested to­ keep My Sabbaths and reverence My wards the synagogue is carried over to sanctuary: I am the Lord.” Reverence

JULY-AUGUST 1969

35

for G-d as is manifested by Sabbath observance and respect for G-d’s House makes a deep impression upon the young and helps him to act rever­ ently towards their, parents and teach­ ers. Respect for G-d’s authority leads to a respect for parental authority.

The Rabbis have indeed said that the Torah compares the commandment to honor one’s parents to that command­

36

ing veneration of G-d Himself. The lack of respect for the Almighty as it is unfortunately .expressed all too often in the sanctuary inevitably leads to contempt for parents. We must im­ plant more sanctity and greater rever­ ence in our synagogues. In doing this we will be effecting a great Kiddush Hashem, the highest task Jews are called upon to fulfill.

JEWISH LIFE

PURITAN, CAVALIER, JEW

by REUBEN E, GROSS WIDELY , accepted rule of thumb among Jews is that politi­ cal liberals tend to be philo-semitic and that conservatives have a tendency toward anti-semitic attitudes. It is, therefore, interesting to examine the views as to Jews of the two leading founding fathers of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the one an arch-conservative and the other the very oracle of liberalism.

The careers and characters of these two very remarkable men were so parallel and their views so antitheti­ cal that their story reads like an artifi­ cially constructed drama similar to the ancient morality plays. Both were learned scholars and profound thinkers in law, philosophy, politics, and his­ tory. Jefferson also had considerable scientific knowledge. In the drafting of the Declaration of Independence they were the leading intellects. Washington alone surpassed them in national es-

A

JULY-AUGUST 1969

teem, although he was hardly their peer in scholarship.

After serving as first Vice Presi­ dent of the United States, Adams as the conservative Federalist candidate defeated Jefferson in 1796 to become the second President of the United States. In 1800 Jefferson, his Vice President, turned the tables on Adams in another close contest and became the third President of the United States.

Adams was a true son of Puritan Massachusetts and Jefferson was equal­ ly representative of Cavalier Virginia.

Adams was a pious, rigid Congrega­ tionalism Jefferson derided organized religion and spoke favorably only of Unitarianism. Despite their great diver­ gence of views on almost every sub­ ject, domestic or foreign, they were both men of exemplary character and patriotism. It is one of the most re­ markable facts of history that they

37

b o th died on the same day, July 4th , 1826, th e jubilee anniversary o f the great docum ent th ey authored.

S befits radical thinkers, they had definite views on a wide ra n g e o f subjects, including Jews.

Jefferson’s views are contained in a m em orandum w ritten in A pril 1803 to Dr. Benjam in Rush after several years of discussion on religion. A lthough it was k ep t secret un til Jefferson’s death, it is n o tew o rth y th a t A dam s was one of th e three or four persons perm itted to read it.

Therein Jefferson w rote:

A

Jews. 1. Their system was Deism; that is, the belief in one only G-d. But their ideas of him and of his attributes were degrading and injurious.

2. Their Ethics were not only imper­ fect, but often irreconcilable with the sound dictates of reason and morality, as they respect intercourse with those around us; and repulsive and anti­ social, as respecting other nations.

They heeded reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree.

In a le tte r to A dam s dated O cto­ ber 13, 1813 Jefferson w rote: To compare the morals of the Old, with those of the New Testament, would require an attentive study of the former, a search through all its books for its precepts, and through all its history for its practises, and the principles they prove. As commen­ taries, too, on these the philosophy of the Hebrews must be inquired into, their Mishna, their Gemara, Cabbala,

38

Je zirah , Sohar, Cosri, and their Talmud must be examined and under­ stood, in order to do them full justice.

Brucker, it would seem, has gone deeply into these repositories of their ethics, and Enfield his epitomizer, concludes in these words: ‘Ethics were so little understood among the Jews, that in their whole compilation called the Talmud, there is only one treatise on moral subjects. Their book of mor­ als chiefly consisted in a minute enu­ meration of duties. From the law of Moses were deduced six hundred and thirteen precepts, which were divided into two classes, affirmative and nega­ tive, two hundred and forty eight in the former, and three hundred and sixty five in the latter. It may serve to give the reader some idea of the low state of moral philosophy among the Jews in the middle age, to add that of the two hundred and forty-eight af­ firmative precepts, only three were considered as obligatory upon women, and that in order to obtain salvation, it was adjudged sufficient to fulfill any one single law in the hour of death; the observance of the rest being deemed necessary, only to increase the felicity of the future life. What a wretched depravity of sentiment and manners must have prevailed, before such sentiments could have obtained credit! It is impossible to collect from these writings consistent series of mor­ al doctrines.’ Enfield, B. 4c Chap. 3.

Adams, how ever, w rote: In spite of Bolingbroke and Voltaire, I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist and be-

JEWISH LIFE

lieved in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instru­ ment for civilizing the nations. If I were an atheist of the other sect, who believe or pretend to believe that all is ordered by chance, I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propogate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty sovereign of the uni­ verse, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of all civilization.

T hese sentim ents were not simply written at the moment for po­ lemic purposes. They represented a philosophic position of Adams worked out years earlier. For after wading through six volumes of Voltaire in 1808, he wrote to a friend, one F. A. Van der Kemp: I have read this last fall half a dozen volumes of this last wonderful Gen­ ius’s Ribaldry against the Bible. How is it possible this old fellow should re­ present the Hebrews in such contemp­ tible light. They are the most glorious Nation that ever inhabited this Earth.

The Romans and their Empire were but a bauble in comparison of the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the Globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily than any other Nation, ancient or modern.

IT WOULD be a grave error to I regard these views of Adams and Jefferson as idle philosophic senti­ ments tossed off by two have-been ex­

JULY-AUGUST 1969

ecutives of a small republic in the North American forests. The founding fa t h ers foresaw with unmistakable clarity the greatness and destiny of the nation they were creating. Moreover, they undertook their tasks with a Utopian zeal. They were thoroughly acquainted with the writings of the an­ cients on political theory as well as the ferment stirred by Locke, Montes­ quieu, Hobbes, et al. in the centuries immediately preceding them. They re­ garded their own handiwork as the dis­ tillation of all this prior wisdom and a fit example for all Mankind to follow.

Their views may be best under­ stood in the light of the general intel­ lectual climate prevailing in the French Revolution era. The reaction against Catholicism which began with the Re­ formation three centuries earlier had not spent its force. The religious wars between Catholic and Protestant monarchs in the 17 th century brought credit to neither and paved the way for what may be regarded as a new re lig io n o r religious substitute -Jr Humanism. The founding of this new faith may be well attributed to an­ other heretical Jew who was banned by his co-religionists from their Am­ sterdam community. In Spinoza’s writ­ ings one finds the beginnings of a “scientific” attempt to debunk the Bible and to establish morality on quasi-Euclidean reasoning from selfevident propositions. As Voltaire pop­ ularized atheistic sentiment in Europe, Jefferson played well the role of Apostle to the Americas. If Adams be­ lieved in monotheism as the “great es­ sential principal of all morality,” Jef­ ferson believed in the existence of a

39

moral instinct. In this he followed what he described in another connec­ tion as the ‘law of nature’ as preached

by Paul: “The Gentiles have the law w ritten in their hearts” (Romans 2,13). Adams’ position, however, re­ sembles the Jewish position of regard­ ing Torah as the sovereign antidote to the yetzer hara.

In positing the existence of a moral instinct Jefferson confused the familiar and the natural. The estab­ lished religions he so despised because of th e ir clerical corruption had,^ through Biblical nomocracy, made cer­ tain moral rules so familiar, that Jef­ ferson regarded these rules as self-evi­ dent and natural. He, therefore, be­ lieved that these rules could be severed from their source and made to rest on an instinctive foundation. The original draft of the Declaration of Independ­ ence began, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable . . .. ” The substitution of “self-evident” for “ sac­ red and undeniable” in Jefferson’s handwriting is a pointed commentary

40

on his mental operations.

While the attitudes as to Jews of these two remarkable figures may be the exceptions that prove the rule, the fact that Adams^ marked as the con­ servative, was apparently the philosemite whereas Jefferson, the great lib­ eral, proves to have been at the same time intellectually hostile to the Jew­ ish vision of G-d and man may be an indication that our “rule of thumb” could bear some scrutiny.

"T"ODAY as secular Humanism | rides rampant in law and educa­ tion, and in setting the standards of public morality, we see that ancient moral restraints may hold one unbe­ lieving generation in check but that those restraints are mere nostalgic scruples which cannot be transferred to a succeeding generation of question­ ing unbelievers.

Assuredly Adams’ conception of the Jewish mission “to influence the affairs of Mankind . . . happily” is yet far from completed.

JEWISH LIFE

by AARON ROTHKOFF HE city of Kaminetz, Poland be­ accompanied his father to the home of came a by-word in the Torah Rabbi Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik, then world during the interbellum period the rabbi of Slutsk, where he heard the due to its Yeshivah which was headed community’s elders discuss Talmudic

by Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz. A problems. At the age of fourteen, m ost dedicated disciple of Rabbi Boruch Ber delivered a public dis­ Chayim Soloveitchik, Rav Boruch Ber, course on the topic of “One bailee as he was affectionately called, occu­ handing over his charge to another pied a pre-eminent position among the bailee.” The scholars acclaimed his lec­ ture, and it was agreed that the young­ Roshey Yeshivah of that era.

Born in the Russian city of ster was destined for greatness.

At the age of fifteen, Boruch Ber Slutsk in 1866, the youngster soon im­ mersed himself in the profound and Leibowitz entered the famed Yeshivah v ib ra n t Torah environment which of Volozhin. His initial impression of enveloped the distinguished Jewish the vast study hall of the Yeshivah, com m unity of his birthplace. His where some three hundred students grandfather, Nachum Fudlifsher, was a were diligently involved in Talmudic wealthy lay leader of this community. study, was to remain a constant inspir­ His father, Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Leibo­ ation for him. When introduced to Rav witz, was a recognized Talmudic schol­ Chayim Soloveitchik, then a Rodi ar. Together, his father and grand­ Yeshivah in Volozhin, Boruch Ber told father implanted a love for Torah Rav Chayim about many of his origi­ within the young student. He became nal Talmudic analyses and shared with a diligent mathmid and he constantly him his notebooks filled with his

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

41

T alm udic commentaries. Although teacher when Rav Chayim became the Rabbi Soloveitchik was impressed with Rabbi of this community. In his own the young scholar’s erudition, he did lectures, Rav Boruch Ber would never not approve of his style in resolving present his own conclusions when Rav Talmudic problems. Rav Chayim was Chayim’s were available on the same then developing his own unique ap­ subject. Many times, he greatly elab­ proach to Talmudic thought, and it orated on a single sentence of Rav took a while until Boruch Ber caught Chayim which he interpreted and ex­ on to his mentor’s method of analysis. plained from every conceivable angle.

Once he mastered what later became “My Rebbe told me the following” of­ famous as the “Brisker Approach,” ten served as the introduction for his Boruch Ber began to guide his own own lecture. After quoting a simple, thoughts and writing in the spirit of pithy statement from Rav Chayim, his master. A close and warm relation­ Boruch spent the next two hours ana­ ship developed between teacher and lyzing and validating his Rebbe’s view­ disciple, and Boruch Ber spent every point. He was considered the expopossible moment with Rav Chayim. He nent, par excellence, of Rav Chayim’s acco m p an ied him on his strolls singular method in the post-Volozhin through the streets of Volozhin and Yeshivah world. eagerly listened to Rav Chayim’s conRav Boruch Ber married the verstaions which invariably evolved daughter of Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok around Torah. Boruch Ber also joined Zimmerman of Halusk, White Russia. the select group of students who pre­ When his father-in-law became the viewed Ravs Chayim’s lectures before Rabbi of Kremenchug, Rav Boruch he delivered them to the entire student Ber succeeded him as the Rabbi of body. At first, the older students felt Halusk. Soon, pupils gathered around that Boruch Ber was too young to join Rabbi Leibowitz and they insisted that their privileged group. They did not al­ he lecture for them and relate Rav low him into the room and kept the Chayim’s viewpoints to them. Gradual­ door locked when he attempted to en­ ly, a yeshivah spontaneously devel­ ter. This didn’t deter Boruch Ber and oped in Halusk. Rabbi Leibowitz spent he soon entered the room by climbing the entire day in the community’s through the window. study-hall with his students. Rabbi LTIMATELY, Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz became recognized as Rav Chayim’s most devoted student.

Not only did he fashion his own stud­ ies, lectures, and writings in accord­ ance with Rav Chayim’s method of study, but he also resembled his teacher in his personality and deport­ ment. He constantly travelled to Brisk to visit and consult with his revered

U

42

Yitzchok Isaac Sher, later to achieve fame as the Slobodka Rosh Yeshivah studied in Halusk during this period.

He described Rav Boruch Ber as simultaneously being the “master, friend, and disciple” of his students in Halusk.

FTER the turn of the century, in 1902, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon of Telshe wished to appoint Rabbi

A

JEWISH LIFE

Leibowitz as a Telshe Rosh Yeshivah to succeed Rabbi Shimon Shkop, who had just left Telshe to become the Rabbi of Maltsh. However, Rabbi Leibowitz declared that he could not accept the appointment until he con­ sulted with Rav Chayim. While he remai led undecided, Rabbi Chayim Rabinowitz was instead appointed to th is p re stig io u s position. Rabbi Leibowitz’s father was greatly grieved by his son’s losing the Telshe post.

However, in 1904, Rav Boruch Ber ac­ cepted an appointment as Rosh Yeshi­ vah of the K’nesseth Beth Yitzchok Yeshivah in Slobodka. This yeshivah had been organized in 1897 as a memorial to Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spektor of Kovno. Slobodka was a suburb of Kovno, and here Rabbi Spektor’s son, Rabbi Tz’vi Hirsch Rabinowitz, decided to perpetuate his la te father’s memory through the establishment of a yeshivah. He was joined in the organization of the school by Rabbi Mosheh Danischefsky of Slobodka. In the presence of these two scholars Rav Boruch Ber delivered his initial lecture in the nascent school.

Under his tutelage, Yeshivath K’nesseth Beth Yitzchok began to make rapid strides. Many advanced students transferred to Slobodka to hear Rav Boruch Ber’s lectures. There also existed ariother school in Slobod­ ka, the Yeshivath K’nesseth Yisroel, which was founded in memory of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter and stressed the teachings of Mussar. This school was headed by Rabbis Nothon Tz’vi Finkel and Mosheh Mordechai Epstein. The best students from this yeshivah also made a practice of sitting in on Rabbi Leibowitz’s lectures. Among his listen­

JULY-AUGUST 1969

ers during this period who were not officially in his yeshivah was the late Rabbi Aaron Kotier. About thirty years later, Rabbi Kotier was to send his own son, now his successor, to study with Rabbi Boruch Ber in Kaminetz. In 1910, the rabbinate of Slobodka became vacant. This position was offered to Rav Boruch Ber, but in his modesty he thought that the Rosh Yeshivah of the neighboring school, Rabbi Mosheh Mordechai Epstein, his colleague from Volozhin, was worth­ ier. The position thus went to Rabbi Epstein.

HIS period of growth and ac­ complishment in Slobodka was terminated by the advent of World War I. At the start of the war, a cruel decree was issued by the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, which required the Jews to leave the Kovno area. The K’nesseth Beth Yitzchok Yeshivah was transferred to Minsk in White Russia.

Despite the difficulties of the period, Rav Boruch Ber found solace in the fact that Rav Chayim Soloveitchik had also relocated in Minsk. Great was Rabbi Leibowitz’s joy that he once again was able to be in contact with his Rebbe on a daily basis. However, when the actual area of warfare drew closer to Minsk, the Yeshivah once again had to move. In 1917 it relo­ cated in Kremenchug, popularly called thè “Jerusalem of Ukraine.” Rabbi Leibowitz also was selected to be the Rabbi of this city*a post that was pre­ viously held by his late father-in-law.

Rav Boruch Ber continued to guide the school and scores of advanced yeshivah students gathered around him in Kremenchug. Even when actual

T

43

warfare, starvation, and privation were chose the hamlet of Kaminetz, near the daily lot of the Kremenchug refu­ Brisk, for the new home of his school. gees, Rav Boruch Ber continued to In 1926, the Yeshivah moved to expound new Talmudic principles. It Kaminetz and here it was to achieve its was related that for three straight days ultimate in influence, prestige, and he had to seek refuge in a cellar, and in achievement. Students from Poland, its darkness and dampness he con- Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, America, tin u e d his studies. The Jews of Germ any, England* *Belgium, Den­ Kremenchug valiantly sought to sup­ mark, Switzerland, and Palestine ar­ port the Yeshivah and to supply sus­ rived in Kaminetz to study under the tenance for its students during the tutelage of Rav Boruch Ber. By the war. In addition to Rabbi Leibowitz’s 1930’s, their number increased to school, there were also three other close to four hundred. By day and advanced yeshivoth which had sought night, the voice of Torah did not cease refuge in Kremenchug. All these in Kaminetz, and many townspeople schools were sustained by the brave joined the students for the evening Kremenchug Jewish community for study sessions. the duration of the war.

With the triumph of the Bol­ AV BORUCH BER now was sheviks in 1917, an intense campaign regarded throughout the Torah began against religious Jews residing in world as being in the forefront of its the territory under their control. After leadership. He was not only acclaimed much effort, Rabbi Leibowitz finally for his erudition, but he was equally succeeded in escaping with most of his revered for the saintliness of his per­ students to Vilna, which was then sonality. Although his Yeshivah was under Polish control. Under the pat­ not cast in the Mussar tradition and he ronage of Vilna’s revered spiritual lead­ was not a follower of this trend, never­ ers, Rabbi Chayim Ozer Grodzenski, theless, his sterling character repre­ the Yeshivah began to thrive once sented a classic embodiment of the again. For five years it remained at its strivings of the Mussar Movement. new location, and many new students Once, he was late for his lecture. Some joined the group that eagerly attended students came to his home to see why Rav Boruch Ber’s lectures. However, he was detained. They discovered that the tumult and constant bustle which the Rosh Yeshivah only had stockings characterized the large city of Vilna on his feet. He had just given his shoes did not provide the most ideal setting away to a poor man whose own pair for a yeshivah. The Vilna surroundings was tattered and torn. lacked the rustic peace that generally The honor he displayed for his was sought for the location of a father was legendary, and a colleague Talmudic school. Many smaller com- once remarked, “When does Rav m u n i t i e s p lead ed w ith R abbi Boruch Ber find time to study Torah if Leibowitz to move to their surround­ he spends the entire day thinking ings. Finally, at the advice of the about ways to honor his father?”

Chofetz Chayim, Rav Boruch Ber A fte r his father’s demise, Rabbi

R

44

JEWISH LIFE

Leibowitz was beset with fears the he had not provided adequate help for him in his final illness. It was only thé encouragement and solace given to Rav Boruch Ber by the Chofetz Chayim that revived his flagging spir­ its.

With the increase in the school’s student body, its budget also spiralled.

The general dismal economic condi­ tions prevalent at that time in Europe did not make it any easier for Rav Boruch Ber to raise funds locally.

Finally, in 1928, Rabbi Leibowitz emulated the example of many of his colleagues, and left to raise funds in the United States. Before his depar­ ture, he wrote to Rabbi Bernard Revel, the Rosh Ha-Yeshivah of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of New York, and requested his aid.

The April 13, 1928 letter read: I wish to inform you that I hope to shortly see you face to face. It is my intention to travel to America in a few weeks. I will telegraph you when I learn the exact day that I will depart from Poland. I trust that you, my dear friend and the friend of Torah, will be of aid to me. Until now, you have assisted me from afar. I am confident that you will certainly now work with me when we will be together. c c o m p a n ie d by his son-inlaw, Rabbi Reuben Grozowsky, Rabbi Leibowitz arrived in the United States and was officially welcomed by Mayor James Walker at New York’s City Hall. The rabbis toured the coun­ try and made appeals for their Yeshivah in numerous orthodox synagogues.

During the following months they suc­

A

JULY-AUGUST 1969

ceeded in raising a substantial sum through these visits to widely scattered American Jewish communities. Wher­ ever they came, the local communities received them with respect and diffi­ dence. Rav Boruch Ber’s saintly ap­ pearance and deportment inspired many orthodox Jews to intensify their dedications to Torah and the support of Yeshivoth.

Rav Boruch Ber also played an historic role in the development of the American Yeshivah movement. Short­ ly after his arrival, Rabbi Shelomoh Polachek, the “Meitscheter Illui” and senior Rosh Yeshivah at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, died on July 8, 1928. The American Torah community was cast into deep mourning for this scholar who had been the first outstanding Rosh Yeshi­ vah to emigrate solely to teach in an Am erican yeshivah. It was Rabbi Leibowitz who advised Dr. Revel to contact Rabbi Mosheh Soloveitchik, the son of Rav Chayim. Rav Mosheh was then the head of the Talmud De­ partment of the Tachkemoni Rabbini­ cal Seminary in Warsaw. Rav Mosheh accepted Dr. Revel’s invitation and he arrived in America in late 1929 to assume his duties as the senior Rosh Yeshivah of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Rabbi Soloveit­ chik and his sons were later to be among the leaders of American Ortho­ doxy.

On December 26, 1929, Rabbis Leibowitz and Grozowsky returned to their grateful students in Kaminetz.

The Yeshivah was how in its most glor­ ious period, and Rabbi Leibowitz de­ voted all his energies to his disciples.

He also continued to raise funds for

45

the annual budget and for a new build­ ing. With the ever increasing student body a new edifice became a necessity.

Finally, in 1937, the new structure was dedicated. Sensing that old age was rapidly catching up with him, Rabbi Leibowitz began to edit his w ritin g s and lectures during this period. In 1939, the first volume of his m onum ental Birchath S h ’muel ap­ peared. Named after his father, this in­ itial volume consisted of his lectures on the Talmud tractates Yevomoth, Kiddushin, and Bova Kamma. This was the only volume to appear during his lifetime. Posthumously, three addi­ tional volumes were to b& published by his family on Bova Metzia, Gittin, Nedorim, Bova Bathra, and Kethuboth.

FTER the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939, Poland was quickly conquered by Germany. Refugees fled to Kaminetz from all over Poland. On Rosh Hashanah the Nazi troops arrived, but they did not pillage the community, since it was already agreed that Russia was to be ceded this portion of Po­ land. On Yom Kippur, the Communist troops arrived in Kaminetz. In Octo­ ber, the Soviets announced that Vilna would be given to Lithuania. Hundreds of Roshey Yeshivah and their students then fled to Vilna in the hopes of es­ caping from the Nazis and the Com­ munists. Rabbi Leibowitz also joined

A

46

the Vilna emigrees. For the final time he sadly bid farewell to the Yeshivah building which now served as a dancehall for the Communists. In Vilna, he continued to deliver his lectures for his many students who had also success­ fully arrived there. Ten days before his death, he delivered his final sheur.

Suddenly, he took ill and on the fifth day of Kislev 5700/November 17, 1939, he returned his noble soul to his Creator. At a massive funeral, attended by all those who had fled to the great­ er Vilna area, he was buried next to his father.

Boruch Ber’s own children mir­ aculously escaped the Holocaust. His son, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Leibowitz, later became a Rosh Yeshivah in the Kaminetz Yeshivah which was found­ ed in Jerusalem. His son-in-law, Rabbi Yitzchok Turetz, was to serve as the Rabbi of the Bath-Galim section of Haifa. Rabbi Grozowsky became the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah Torah Vodaath in New York and the head of its Kollel in Spring Valley. Another son-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Bernstein, or­ ganized the Kaminetz Yeshivah in Jerusalem in 1942 and served as its Rosh Yeshivah. Through their efforts and those of his many students, the spirit of Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz continues to inspire new generations of Torah students to commit them­ selves to the endless chain of Torah creativity that began on the Mountain of Sinai.

JEWISH LIFE

Booh Reviews

THE FOUNDER OF CHABAD

by MICHELINE RATZERSDORFER RABBI SCHNEUR ZALMAN OF LIADI,

by Nissan Mindel; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Chabad Research Center, 1969, vol. 1, 268 pps. plus notes, $5.95.

HASSIDIC JUDAISM, in its various manifestations, is enjoying an unpre­ cedented and rather astounding develop­ m ent in A m erica. Lubavitch Chabad Chassidism is foremost among these success­ ful transplants which have assumed a truly organic part in the Jewish life of the coun­ try.

The Chabad movement from its incep­ tion has occupied a singular position within Chassidism. Its founder, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, strove to creat a philosophy of rational Chassidism. Chabad is the acronym of Chochmah (wisdom), £inah (understand­ ing), and Daath (knowledge). This insistence on Talmudic excellence and intellectual awareness projects Rabbi Schneur Zalman as

C

Born in Vienna, educated in Paris and N ew York, Mrs. Ratzersdorfer is a graduate o f N ew Y ork University.

JULY-AUGUST 1969

a solitary figure within the Chassidic move­ ment. Gershon Scholem (in his classic “Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism”) de­ scribes Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s philosophy as “a lone effort at religious orientation, (the) interesting attempt to arrive at some­ thing like a synthesis of Isaac Luria and the Maggid of Meseritz.”

The uniqueness of Rabbi Schneur Zalman and his school has come down to our days while other Chassidic schools have also come to place great emphasis on learn­ ing. The main focus of Chabad has remained education coupled to a warm proselytizing zeal within the Jewish community. Pervad­ ing the movement is this reaching out to, concern for, and acceptance of all Jews, which in this age of distressingly increasing polarization among Jews is like a breath of fresh air.

A biography of the founder of the movement, the first one in English, is there­ fore most welcome, especially since it is written by Nissan Mindel, who can be de­ scribed as the official spokesman and chron­ icler of the Chabad movement. The book is

47

lucid, informative, and very well organized.

It strenuously attempts to stick to the facts and to be objective, and it avoids all pane­ gyric of its subject, which could well mar such a work written by a lesser author. But it basically is only an expanded, informa­ tion-packed, meticulous chronicle of the in­ cidents in the life of Rabbi Schneur Zalman.

And with its alternation of detailed recitals of events and elaborate traditional material, it makes for dull reading indeed, despite the fascinating life of its subject.

ND yet it was such a dramatic life.

Born in the small Polish town of Liozna, in 1745, Rabbi Schneur Zalman eventually became a disciple of the Maggid of Meseritz, the successor of the Ba’al Shem Tov. Chassidism, then in the early years of its development, was the target of virulent attacks by the established rabbinic authori­ ties who feared in this movement a renewal of the apostasies of the followers of Shabtai Tzevi and of the Frankists. Rabbi Schneur Zalman became the head of the Chassidic movement upon the death of his teacher and the departure of Rabbi Menachem Mendel to Israel. As such, although he had made numerous attempts at conciliation and always “preached to his followers forbear­ ance towards their opponents, he bore the brunt of the attack against Chassiduth.” He was twice imprisoned by the Czarist authori­ ties upon accusations of hostile Mithnagdim, but was vindicated and released. His life ended during his flight before the Napoleon­ ic forces invading Russia in 1812.

This biography is an interesting his­ tory of the Chassidic movement in its form­ ative years, from the time Rabbi Schneur Zalman attached himself to it until his death, a span of almost fifty years. The book is laudable in its avoidance of polemics and bitterness, as it recounts the early strife and the excommunications hurled against the Chassidim. But as a biography of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, it is a distinct disappoint­ ment. This fascinating figure whose mind and outlook shine through the ages is scarce­

A

48

ly brought to life. Be it noted, though, that the present volume is but the first part of a two-volume work, the second one to deal with the works of the “Alter Rebbe,” as he is sometimes called. But perhaps the life and the works of this great mind could not be effectively separated.

As it is, the only glimpses we get of the subject is through letters written by his Chassidim, notably one Pinchas Reizes, and through his own letters and encyclicals. In these, we sometimes feel the spirit of this inspired figure, the “pacific Schneur Zalman” as Ernst Muller calls him, who throughout his life strove for harmony among Jews. My favorite is an excerpt from a letter to his followers, referring to meat slaughtered by the old method and not with the honed knife which the Chassidim advo­ cated:

. . . However, if you sometime participate in a Seudath-Mitzvah (relig­ ious repast) with other Jews in your community, Heaven forfend that you should separate yourselves from themi ; T to regard them as if they were ehting from a (non-kosher) carcass, G-d forbid and forfend. I have never myself taken exception to the cooking utensils (in which such meat was cooked) . . . .

We are afforded throughout the book mother such glimpses, but really not enough to form a picture of the man.

HIS reviewer is also somewhat puzzled as to what group of readers this book is directed to. In his book, Mr. Mindel indi­ cates that he is writing this book “not only (for) the student of Jewish history, but also the contemporary lay reader.” He then pro­ ceeds, in keeping with his intentions, to ex­ plain elementary Jewish terms such as Tzom Gedaliah and to give some Roman calendar date equivalents for Jewish ones. And yet, many terms are used, relating to Chassidic and Kabbalistic concepts, which are left un­ explained even when summarily translated.

T

JEWISH LIFE

The section related to negunah (chanting), for example, can remain a complete enigma to the uninitiated reader. It is not only a matter of terms. Mr. Mindel introduces into the factual narrative some traditional Chassidic elements which, though clearly labeled as such and acceptable to the convinced Chossid, may very well repel the afore-men­ tioned “contemporary lay reader.” Yet is it not the “outsider” who needs such a book most?

Let me mention, on a positive note, the excellent supplement which, in addition to generally informative notes, contains a useful chronology and list of the works of Rabbi Schneur Zalman.

Read this volume as a valuable history of an important period in the development of Chassidism; and let us hope that we will learn more about Rabbi Schneur Zalman in the next volume, the one devoted to his works.

THE SIDDUR IN HIRSCHIAN VISTA

THE HIRSCH SIDDUR; Translation and Commentary by S. R. Hirsch; Feldheim Publishers; 1969; 752 pps.

N recent years the English-speaking and reading public has been most for­ tunate in that the prolific, profound writ­ ings and commentaries of Samson Raphael Hirsch have been made available and access­ ible to them. Thanks to the labors of Dayan Grunfeld, Isaac Levy (a grandson of the great author) and Gertrude Hirschler, the treasure house of the Horeb and the Com­ mentaries to the Chumash and the Psalms have become a rich source of insight and interpretation of the Torah and Mitzvoth to S ail of us who could not avail ourselves of Hirsch’s wisdom and erudition in the orig­ inal German. We now have, thanks to the staff of the SRH Publications Society and Philip Feldheim publishers, the famous Hirsch Siddur proficiently rendered into readable English. The volume will be a wel­ come addition to one’s Hirschian collection and a cherished companion to the countless commentaries of the most beloved of all

I

Rabbi Pelcovitz is Rav o f Congregation Knesseth Israel in Far R ockaw ay, and past president o f th e Rabbinical A lliance o f Am erica.

JULY-AUGUST 1969

by RALPH PELCOVITZ Jewish books —the prayer book.

As Dr. Breuer points out in his intro­ duction, Rabbi Hirsch concentrated in his Commentary upon the Blessings, Kedushah, and Kaddish, among other primary parts of the Siddur, as distinguished from the selec­ tions from the Psalms and Torah where he contented himself with brief, concise com­ mentaries, since the reader can find the proper elaboration in Hirsch’s Commentar­ ies in their original form. Where this is the case, it is interesting to note how the author selects from his own Commentary and how he adapts it to the Siddur. An example is his discussion of the significance of the expres­ sion “with all your soul” on the first parsha of the Shema. If one compares this to his “pirush” on the Torah, the beginning and end — explaining the meaning of our Sages’ interpretation “even if G-d takes your soul” ^ are identical — but he chooses to elimi­ nate the middle section of the Chumosh commentary where the entire story of Rabbi Akiva and his martyrdom is quoted in full. Nonetheless, for those who have found it difficult to persevere with Hirsch’s

49

lengthy commentary on the Torah, parts of the Siddur present an excellent opportunity to savor Hirsch’s unique approach to Bible commentary, without the usual danger of losing one’s attention span.

As for the selections from Psalms in the Siddur, although Hirsch draws from his masterful commentary on Psalms, he skill­ fully applies and explains the reason for the choice and placing of psalms by the editors of the Siddur. This is especially true in his beautiful explanation and interpretation of Psalm 20 which is recited daily before “U’va Le’Zion,” and the verses of “Tzidkothcha” recited at the Shabboth Minchah service.

The understanding of these verses, especial­ ly, becomes heightened when you read them in a new context - as the Shabboth ebbs rather than in their original place in Tehillim. Thus Hirsch’s brilliant interpretation of “ your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgements are like the great deep.” The Almighty’s righteousness grants man elevation, stature, and a founda­ tion for his moral growth while the suffering of man (i. e., the judgement) may bring man to the depths. But, without this discipline and testing man would become corrupt; and so it is for man’s salvation that he often suffers 4 ‘‘man and beast you will preserve O G-d” - for beast alone G-d could afford pure chesed — not so for man who is a free agent and needs mishpot as well as chesed and tzedek. All this has profound meaning for us as we leave Shabboth and begin to think of a new week S with its strife, struggle and challenge.

HE newest and most exciting and stimulating sections of the Hirsch Siddur are of course those areas which even the Hirsch chosid will not find elsewhere.

Among these are the Amidah, the B’rochoth, Pirkey Ovoth, and other sections which are uniquely part of the Siddur and not adapted from other sources. We will make mention of but two, which we found intriguing and illuminating - the Amidah and the Blessings over the Haftorah.

T

50

Hirsch points out that he had already written in “Jeschurun” of the symbolism of Avodah —the sacrificial service —expressed in the order of the Shemoneh Esrey. It is a threefold one. The first three blessings of the Amidah^- Ovoth (Fathers), Gevuroth (Omnipotence), and Kedushah (Sanctifica­ tion) - are symbolic of the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar, for in both cases the purpose is to bring our soul closer to G-d and fulfill our mission by doing His will.

The middle blessings are comparable to the burning of the sacrifice, for they are pleas for Divine favor (bakoshoth H requests) with the intent to submit all our G-d-given gifts, intellectual, moral, and physical to the “fire” of the Law of G-d (Esh Dath) - and to use all these physical powers accordingly.

The concluding part of the Amidah is akin to the tribute of flour, oil, and wine (<min­ chah and nesochim) for both are reflective of our thanksgiving to G-d for his neverceasing acts of kindness. Hence the Amidah, which is the core and center of Tefillah, of prayer, which in turn is called “service of the heart,” parallels the Avodah —the origi­ nal service of the sacrifices, when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem.

In his brief but beautiful remarks re­ garding the Haftorah and its blessings, Hirsch stresses the law that he who reads the Haftorah must first read from the Torah.

This, he correctly points out, is to empha­ size that all Prophecy is rooted in Torah, for we reject completely the spurious idea that there are two separate forms of Judaism, the “Mosaic” on the one hand and the “Pro­ phets” on the other. The Berochah recited before the chanting of the Haftorah is a most meaningful one. The phrase “who chose good prophets” indicates that the true prophet must be genuinely “good” - “in the service of ‘tov’ of the Kingdom of the absolute good, whose messenger he is meant to be.” G-d “takes pleasure in their words which were spoken in truth.” Only such are qualified to express the thoughts and ideals of the Almighty on earth.

JEWISH LIFE

O the serious student of Jewish prayer and omnipotence are difficult ideas for man this Siddur will be one wherein he will to grasp and appreciate but he must con­ find insight and information, serving asstantly a express his belief in these Divine constant source of wisdom and knowledge. attributes in the hope that it will become as Now, the question may well be asked — simple and sure as the innocent faith of a what value is there is a scholarly, reasoned, child and as sublime and soaring as the piety and thought-provoking Siddur commentary of a wise old man who lives with the Al­ when what we really need today is to stir mighty in a spirit of familiarity yet awe, of the heart and awaken the soul, more so than reverance and yet intimacy. irritating the mind and providing nourish­ Knowledge and understanding may ment to the intellect? In candor, we must not breed warmth and zeal, but in a world recognize that prayer today is in crisis. The that is cold and detached, hithlahavuth and crisis of prayer affects most of us. We pray fervor come infrequently, if at all. Let there constantly but the heart is so inconstant, then, at least, be understanding and appre­ and without the heart’s kavonah the prayer ciation of the Tefiloth in the hope that this is like a body without a neshomahl Is it will eventually create Kavonah and toward because we are unversed, ignorant of the that end the Hirsch Siddur is a welcome aid.

Rabbi Israel Salanter, founder of the deeper significance and meaning of the Tefilloth — hence the advantage of one Mussar movement, once said: “The distance more masterful Pirush? Yet, how many gen­ between the mouth and the heart is as far as erations of pious men and women, who of­ that of heaven to earth - still when rain ten know little of the literal meaning of the falls from heaven it causes the seed in the text let alone the deeper significance and earth to grow.” The mouth must keep recit­ symbolism, prayed with fervor and fire, pas­ ing its prayers and eventually the heart will sion and purpose gfe while we, their sophisti­ be moved. To hasten that moment it is im­ cated, literate, and articulate descendants, portant that the mind have a profound grasp are so inept and unsure, so detached and and appreciation of the words the mouth is disturbed, so objective and obtuse in our about to utter. Before we begin the Amidah davening! The crisis of prayer is such that all we say “O G-d open my lips.” Hirsch’s too often it is offered without real meaning, Siddur helps one to open them intelligently it is static and sterile, it bears no fruit and and knowingly. The rest must come from does not move the ‘mithpalleP! the heart and that is entirely in the domain All the more because of these short­ of each person; that is why prayer is called comings, one must pray in a uniform way avodah she ’balev H service of the heart. and with regularity. For there is need for Hopefully, the increased appreciation of the man to keep alive through reiteration the mind will have its effect upon the Jewish idea of G-d, the Creator, Provider, and praying heart. £|udge of the world and man. Omniscience

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

51

SIZING UP PSYCHOLOGY JUDAISM AND PSYCHOLOGY, by Abraham Amsel; Philipp Feldheim, 1969, 211 pps., $5.95.

by SAMUEL A. WEISS

views regarding normal and psychopathologHE author conceived the plan for this ical functioning and behavior. The author book about three or four years ago appears to be sincerely concerned with the when it became apparent to him that com­ problems of reconciling Jewish and psycho­ munication between rabbis and orthodox logical thought. Sincerity alone is, however, therapists was muffled, at best, and that the not sufficient. Were it possible to dismiss establishment of a dialogue between repre­ this work as merely unsuccessful, no review sentatives of both disciplines was necessary. would have been necessary. The book would The author was also disturbed by his obser­ then have disappeared mutely into the lim­ vation of the effects of therapy on some bo of undisturbed library files. Unfortunate­ observant Jews who lost their religiousity ly, the author’s attempted solution is worse after being in therapy or analysis with non­ than the problem. The book poses a danger religious or atheistic professionals in the to the well-being of many people, as well as healing disciplines. After devoting thought to the understanding of both Judaism and and research to this problem the author ar­ psychology and, as such, necessitates this re­ rived a t the conviction that his own view. approach, based on his understanding of The first intimation of the book’s lim­ Judaism and psychology, offered an innova: itations are evident in the total of ten tive solution to the problem. The aim of the psychological references in the bibliography. author was indeed laudable. Unfortunately These are elementary texts on psychoanal­ it is not realized in this book. ysis, psychology, and psychiatry: one chap­ The pages of this book are permeated ter from a book by Sigmund Freud; a book with the author’s sincerity in his attempt to on the recently resuscitated conditioning deal with the problems of Judaism and therapies; a work denying the concept of psychology. The numerous Talmudic and mental illness; a book on an idiosyncratic Rabbinic sources attest to the author’s form of existentialism; two works dealing familiarity and concern with some Jewish with religion and therapy; and, an article Dr. Samuel A. Weiss obtained his Sem ichah from the Reader’s Digest, 1960. Not one from Yeshiva University and earned his scholarly journal article is noted. A pur­ Ph.D at N ew York University. He is a D iplo­ m a te in Clinical P sych ology, Am erican portedly serious and innovative edifice on Board o f Professional P sychology and a Fel­ psychology resting on these ten bricks is lo w o f the Am erican Psychological A ssocia­ tio n . He is currently on leave from N .Y .U . akin to, lehavdil, Halachic discussion based Medical Center, is consultant at Stern Col­ solely on Ghumosh and Rashi, ignoring lege for W omen and is; in private practice o f Talmud and its commentaries. While conpsychotherapy and psychoanalysis.

T

52

JEWISH LIFE

temporary journals are embattled discussing modifications of therapy, designing experi­ ments to test theories and mixing cauldrons of numbers in esoteric statistical broths, this book avoids the strain of scholarly investiga­ tion and attempts to build a skyscraper on a few psychological matzoth. It is, then, not surprising that some fundamental concepts and practices of psychoanalysts, psychia­ trists, and psychologists are completely or partly misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Release of Repressions HE book posits that analysts and foster indiscriminate release of repres­ sions and encourage acting out of one’s impulses. “Religion attempts to imbue man with lofty principles and aspirations, and psychoanalysis reawakens the beast in him.

Religion calls for the control of instinctual drives, for unselfishness. Psychoanalysis calls for freedom from inhibition, for sexualaggressive release, for selfgratification” (p.

204).

This distorts the work of competent and serious practitioners who understand the complexity of personality, of its folds, crevices, and wrinkles, and the difficulty in effecting durable change in their patients.

These therapists would reject the notion that their sole task is the modification of a harsh conscience or superego in order to re­ lease sensual desires that are poised like a caged jack-in-the-box. This would also ignore both the delicate tact and the muscular patience required of the therapist ¡¡¡¡to help the client effect a balance among desires, restrictions, and reality-oriented be­ havior. True, “the release from repressions” concept has been a perennial distortion on the part of the layman, and some “wild analysts,” as Freud noted,* but this is not what the experienced and competent thera­ pist does. Freud understood the necessity

T

* Freud, S., “ Observations on ‘W ild’ PsychoA n alysis,” C ollected Papers, Vol II, London: Hogurte Press, 1 957, pp.

2 9 7 -3 0 4

JULY-AUGUST 1969

for sublimation rather than the indiscrimin­ ate expression of the instincts, if civilization is to be maintained.* The author of this book does not confine his attack to the practice of some therapists, notably those antagonistic to religion, but attacks the basic process of all forms of psychotherapy and therein does he err.

The Unconscious HE book’s approach to the problem of the unconscious or unconscious motivation appears to be contradictory, or at best, ambiguous. The impression is given that by changing the word “unconscious” to “habit” a more kosher specimen emerges (p.

39). “Psychology’s ‘unconscious’ is to Juda­ ism an accumulation of habits, the symp­ toms of which are overt, but not necessarily

T

produced with the full awareness of the in­ dividual or in a full agreement with his con­ scious will” (p. 78, reviewer’s italics). What substantial difference is there between un­ conscious behavior and that behavior “not necessarily produced with the full awareness of the individual”? The book also vacillates between denial of the “unconscious” and the denial of the “Freudian definition of the unconscious” : The surface im pression is that som e kind o f m ysterious force is at w ork, a force w h ich is- subsequently dignified as the “u n con sciou s,” although it is actually habit, th e m ost pow erful driv­ ing force in fftfc form ation o f human behavior;» w hich is at the root o f the m atter. Judaisih feels, how ever, that the hum an being has the free ch oice n ot to perm it these habits to form .

A d m itted ly, after the individual steps in to them , he loses a certain am ount o f control and he begins to lose even an awareness Of the existen ce o f these habits as suchl However, Judaism feels that th e in tellect m ay still operate to * Freud, S., “ Civilization and Its D iscon­ ten ts,” Jonathan Cape & Harrison Sm ith, N .Y ., 1930

53

ing from pole to pole” principle might be effective for some, for others it has a para­ doxical effect. It leads to the emergence of the defense mechanism reaction formation. a)A client may sincerely assert that he loves his father and describe the warm feelings he actually experiences when thinking of his parent. As therapy progresses, and without any brainwashing from the therapist, it be­ comes apparent to the client that underlying these feelings of love, genuinely and con­ sciously experienced, are feelings of hate (justified or unjustified) which were too threatening to the patient and which he managed to hide by developing consciously felt feelings of love. Or, conversely, a client may enter therapy storming at a parent whom he genuinely seems to hate. Later he discovers that his hate hides a love for his parent which he could not admit because this love is too threatening, either sexually or because he feels he can never live up to his parent’s expectations. He therefore em­ ploys (usually unsuccessfully) a facade of hate as a means of extricating himself from a painful conflict. b)The files of the reli­ gious therapist contain records of sincere in­ dividuals, especially idealistic, adolescent youngsters, who seek his help “to become perfect” because they are not realizing their religious aspirations. Characteristically these youngsters do not seek “to become better” but to “become perfect.” Experience sur­ prisingly reveals the latter aspiration to be a reaction formation to fantasies of the very opposite order. Thus,‘;a youngster who dwells constantly on the aspiration “to be perfect” later reveals a preoccupation with extremely aggressive or sexual fantasies with which he has wrestled interminably and un­ successfully. In daily practice some of these youngsters actually perform meritorious deeds for their friends at their own expense.

While these good deeds cannot be gainsaid, they are desperate attempts to compensate for the mentioned fantasies which, in turn, are symptoms of rebellion against an overharsh upbringing, or other complex prob­ lems.

56

The “bending of the pole” principle cannot, then, be applied reflexly to every situation. The naivete of the book in posit­ ing this principle as a major cure-all reveals limited experience. There are a number of possible outcomes of the “bending of the pole” principle: 1) Some individuals can sublimate their negative feelings by actually transform­ ing them into their very opposite. The nega­ tive feelings thus become fuel for a positive outcome (see Tifereth Yisroel, Kiddushin 4,77). These individuals never reach the con­ sulting room. They are the well-adjusted or, possibly, the genuine saints.

2) Other individuals “act out” their negative impulses. They are the libertines and sociopaths who also seldom seek the therapeutic couch unless stricken with genu­ ine repentance.

3) Other individuals cannot convert or sublimate their negative feelings into posi­ tive goals but disguise, cover, or encapsulate them in the manner discussed* in reaction formation. These individuals cannot trans­ form or sublimate their destructive or over­ developed passions into totally different drives; they can only disguise them, by don­ ning a sheepskin over their vulpine tenden­ cies to deceive themselves and others. (It is of note that the word “sublimation” is sel­ dom, if ever, mentioned in the book).

When the author of the book was con­ fronted (at the occasion previously referred to) with these observations, he admitted to not having as yet applied the “pole bend­ ing” principle in his own therapeutic prac­ tice.

The Concept of Guilt; Insanity and Sin HE book astonishingly asserts that guilt plays at most a secondary role in mental illness because people always find excuses for their wrongdoing (p. 173). The naivete of this statement is overwhelming.

Any therapist of any persuasion who has scratched beneath the surface of the inter­ view knows how clients plague themselves

T

JEWISH LIFE

for decades with feelings of guilt based on world, without his being guilty o f any sin, in real or imagined deeds and responsibilities. order to increase his reward in the future While some situations, where guilt is world more than he has merited.” The very extreme, such as real or imagined re­ Tosofoth say: “. . . because the Tzadikim sponsibility for someone’s death, may com­ (righteous) themselves are sometimes af­ pel a rationalization or an obliteration from flic ted w ith pain. .. There are many the mind of guilt feelings, other occurrences Tzadikim who suffer physically and finan­ are well-remembered and live as hot coals in cially.” (Rav Yochanan, mentioned above, is dted by the Talmud as one of the prime the memory.

The most dangerous doctrine in this examples of Yeshurin shel Ahavah.) As per­ book is the repeated categorical assertion plexing as this concept appears to be to the that “insanity is a result of sin,” the sin of modern mind, the phenomenon of “pains of not developing the proper styles of ethical love” implies that one cannot automatically conduct or “Middoth.” That this does not apply the label of “sinner” when we see a apply to children raised by neurotic or cripple, sick person, or anyone subject to psychotic parents is evident to any reader. suffering. To state categorically that all in­ Yet the author asserts that the child, on sanity is due to sin is to stigmatize many reaching maturity, has the free will to righteous individuals and to cause a catastro­ change the indoctrination of his parents. phic reaction in the mentally ill.* Here we must invoke the Talmudic principle In the 18th century Pinel liberated the “Veha Kochazinon” (“But we see other­ insane from their chains. The attempt by wise”). That is, in our daily practice, we see the author to make Siamese twins of “insan­ constantly individuals who have been genu­ ity” and “sin” negates all the labor since the inely struggling with their neurotic problems 18th century. to little avail. Since the author includes the functional psychoses such as schizophrenia Omission; Errors in Fact in his generalization, we can imagine the havoc this assertion will cause in the minds HE book refers to Maimonides regard­ ing the medical and psychological of religious laymen who may be drawn to this book. Imagine the parents of children aspects of sex. Unfortunately, Nachmanides’ afflicted with schizophrenia (which may yet views as enunciated in the Iggereth Hakoturn out to have a chemical basis) wonder­ desh are not mentioned.

There are factual errors in this book ing who sinned, their children or they. What would the author say of Rabbi Yochanan’s too numerous to mention, such as the dementia following the death of his student author’s erroneous impression that Freud and colleague Raish Lakish (Talmud, Bova viewed all human nature as good, the identi­ Metzia 84a)? What about the concept of fication of Alfred Adler’s concept of social Yesurin shel Ahavah (“pains of love” U interest as the drive for status (p. 178), the Talmud Berochoth 5a)?, as difficult as this assumption that all psychologists regard is to understand. How can we then speak of psychoses as on the same continuum as neuroses, the oversimplification of the pur­ insanity as always the result of sin?

The question of “the pains of love” is pose of electroshock treatment (p. 193), not discussed in this book. “Ravah, some etc. The book emerges as a naive, incom­ say Rav Chisdah, said: ‘If a person sees him­ plete, and dangerous indigestion of Jewish self suffering he should examine his deeds, concepts, behavioristic therapy, and O.H. etc. If he did not find (the reason for his Mowrer’s views. We are given, however, a suffering in his deeds etc.), the suffering * Green, Hannah, .“I Never Promised Y ou A must be pains of love!,” Rashi states, “The Rose Garden,*!; The N ew American Library, ch. 11 Holy One, Blessed be He, pains him in this

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

57

reawaken man to free h im self from the bonds o f habit (or from the “un­ c o n scio u s” if y ou w ill) (p. 3 9 )

Later the statement is made: It is this kind o f u nconsciousness w h ich Judaism cannot accept. The un ­ c o n sc io u s n e ss o f deeply ingrained habitual behavior, o f self-delusion, o f in com plete awareness, yes; but n ot the un con sciou s w h ich absolves on e o f murder (p. 1 5 6 ).

In the earlier quotation the author appears either to deny the unconscious in toto, or re-naming it as “habit.” In the latter excerpt unconscious habit is accepted but its com­ plete hold on the individual is denied. In a later chapter the statement is made: The hum an being cannot be dealt w ith separately on the con scious, the precon scious, and u n con sciou s levels. The therapist should be prepared to deal w ith him as a totality or should n ot undertake to deal w ith him at all (p.

1 7 7 ).

irrational compulsions. While there are dif­ ferent ways of treating them, whether by exploration of the unconscious or by be­ havior modification techniques, their origin cannot be explained as ordinary habits. As regards the phenomenon of post-hypnotic suggestion a subject is given a suggestion, while under hypnosis, to perform a specific act. Later, on the presentation of a signal, the individual is then aroused from the hypnotic trance and appears to behave nor­ mally until the designated signal is presented by the hypnotist, whereupon the subject has an irresistible urge to obey the hypnotic sug­ gestion. The complexities of the issues in­ volved in this phenomenon are beyond the scope of this review but the existence of this phenomenon has been amply demonstrated, as some readers undoubtedly know from personal experience. When the author of this book was confronted* by the reviewer with the existence of this phenomenon, he admitted that the phenomenon of hypnosis did indeed perplex him.

Admittedly this phenomenon is a special case but it is precisely the special cases that furnish the clinical situations which are the province of the psychothera­ pist. The individuals who appear in the con­ sulting room are not those whose will is completely free. The severe symptoms af­ flicting them represent at least a partial breakdown of the freedom of will. In vain did the patient attempt to conquer his symptoms, whether morally neutral or re­ pugnant, and only after a prolonged, help­ less struggle to maintain his “self-reliance” does the patient permit himself to seek help.

The author’s statement that free will allows an individual to change his habits may apply to the average, “normal,” indi­ vidual but not to the symptom-crushed per­ son. In the average client or patient, the symptoms are “sitting-in” where free will formerly was. The book overplays the role of free will in the client. His Talmudic refer-

In this statement, the “unconscious” and the “pre-conscious” appear to be as respect­ able as the “conscious” as long as the thera­ pist is prepared to deal with the individual as a totality. Is this contradiction or ambi­ guity?

As regards the author’s affirmation “but not the unconscious which is an encap­ sulated being within my being, subjecting me to its will” (p. 156), there is no mention of the phenomena of compulsions and post­ hypnotic suggestions. As regards the former, it is not uncommon to hear of the onset of uncontrollable urges to indulge in continual hand-washing rituals; stepping on cracks in the sidewalk or avoiding them; need to blink or swallow, etc. There is usually no evidence that these irrational acts developed from ordinary habits or, necessarily, from one tra u m a tic experience. These symptoms often represent unconscious needs, guilt *At a m eeting where the author o f the b ook feelings etc. which are symbolized in these presented his views.

54

JEWISH LIFE

ences to free will appear to be one-sided.

Tliere is no mention of the concept of ‘‘M esorath A votheyhem Biy’deyhem” (“They are maintaining the tradition of their ancestors”) which makes kosher the Shechitah of Saduccees despite their denial of basic tenets of belief. Nor is the concept of “Tinok Shenishbah Beyn Ha’akum” (“A child held captive by the heathen”) ever mentioned. If education in different cultural practices is regarded as an extenuation for improper behavior, why not the para-education of children in neurotic habits and traits by parents? For every adult choosing freely to be ensnared there are numerous others who have been indoctrined in childhood with neurotic, maladaptive traits when they were limited in their freedom of choice. No mention is made of the concept of “Techilathah B’oness Vesophah Berotzon” (“Origi­ nally by force, but finally willingly” Talmud Yerushalmi, Sotah 4:4) which the Chazal understood as being a prime limita­ tion in the freedom to extricate oneself from immersion in a passionate sexual ex­ perience (Tosefoth Sanhedrin 9b). How can an innovative book, claiming to deal with basic concepts, omit discussion of these sources?

Symptoms of Deeper Problems

not seen as the disease itself but “spring from a network of feelings.” Later the author reverts to “Judaism sees the causes and the symptoms as one and the same. The feelings themselves, which have become the habitual characteristics of the individual, are the causes of the illness” (p. 125). Here there is a fluidity of thinking, with the symptoms and causes juggled to and fro from non-existence to existence.

And much later: “Judaism' does not and cannot accept removal of the symptoms as the totality of therapy. Therapy must in­ clude the restoring of the individual’s dis­ turbed habits of thought and action, the re­ storing of his views regarding faith and trust, the reshaping, in essence, of his entire value system. Judaic psychology strongly main­ tains that deep anxieties cannot be removed until this reshaping has taken place” (p.

182, reviewer’s italics). Here, deep anxieties are suddenly brought into play whereas for­ merly only overt symptoms were empha­ sized. One can almost feel the author in­ volved in a dialectical discussion with him­ self, with only a vague resolution of his own doubts.

Treatment

REAT stress is placed on the elimina­ tion of fear by cultivation and training HE book’s discussion of psychological in its antithesis, the habit of trust, Maimonisymptoms also appears to be contra­ des’ principle of “bending from pole to is invoked as the rationale for this dictory, or again, at best, ambiguous. In pole” an early chapter the author categorically states: therapeutic technique (p. 81). Yet most “To Judaism, then, the symptoms are the patients who reach the consulting room H illness; to psychology, they are only the have attempted to develop trust and free­ signs of an underlying disease for whose ex­ dom from fear as a counter-reaction to their istence there is no conclusive evidence” (p. anxieties and fears. They have been given 78). Yet later it is stated: “It is immaterial this advice by parents, friends, teachers, and whether or not the symptoms are equated clergymen. Those who profit permanently with the disease. What is significant is that from such advice do not require psycho­ they are not self-generated, but spring from therapeutic intervention. Those who seek a network o f feelings (reviewer’s italics) that psychotherapeutic help are precisely those have become the personality of the individ­ individuals for whom this advice has not ual and are not unconscious, but observable been effective. The book, therefore, places phenomena” (p. 122). Here symptoms are the cart before the horse. While the “bend-

T

JULY-AUGUST 1969

G

55

conglomeration of random concepts, both major and minor, theological and secular, that have been hurriedly stapled together with the fringes flapping loosely and formlessly in the wind.

It is regrettable that the author did not spend more time reviewing the Jewish and psychological literature, especially the primary sources, more thoroughly. He might have derived profit from carefully contemp­ lating the sources bearing on the relation­ ship between Judaism and psychology, digesting the implications, allowing the pas­ sage of time and the filter of experience to purge rash conclusions and impulsive judg­ ments. Above all it would have been edify­ ing to us as well as enlightening to him if Rabbi Amsel had given himself more time to subject his therapeutic strategy to the fiery furnace of daily experience. He could then have come with some statistical results or, at least, some well-documented case histories to illustrate the effects of his therapeutic strategy.

The Sages were considerably more

58

vocal than this book intimates about passion and temptation, blame and responsibility, guilt and innocence and reward and punish­ ment. There are numerous tales of Chazal and Biblical heroes who were placed in sensitive situations, didactically arranged by Heaven, where they were able to empathize with the sinner, with the extent of his free will - and their own ~ and as consequence, to modify their originally severe judgments.

(See for example Sukkah 52a, Kiddushin 81a, and Sanhedrin 102b.)

Finally, the most important question must be posed to the author: Can he empa­ thize with the audience of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers and predict their reaction to his work? Here, we believe, the advice, “Be deliberate in judgment” (Ovoth 1:1 and “Sages, be cautious of your words” (Ovoth 1:11) is most pertinent. It is saddening that the laudable idea of examin­ ing the relationship between Judaism and psychology could not have been nurtured more carefully.

JEWISH LIFE

FOR LARGER FAMILIES ___ I must articulate the call of Jewish destiny and posterity. In an age of family planning, we must plan - nay, pray - for large Jewish families. We must invite G-d’s blessings on our household and do our share in the perpetuation of Jewry. Bluntly asked: were we spared in the terrible holocaust which consumed six million lives in order to willingly terminate our influence on history? Were we spared in order to commit demographic suicide? Those who are older must encourage their children to realize the singular responsibility which is ours in repaying our debt to centuries of martyrdom, in building a magnificent Jewry of the future. We must promote the Jewish family and not be swayed by material drives and fears of “the population explosion.” Judaism and Jewry have too much to offer mankind, to surrender it all for another mess of pottage, or another car, or a newer home.

— from a letter t o parents, Ju ly, 1 9 6 9 , b y R abbi Hersh M. G alinsky, Charleston H ebrew In stitu te and Brith S h olom Beth Israel Congregation, C harleston, S. C.

m N O N -G R A D U A TIO N - WITH H ONOR This is the story o f nearly 1 00 high school seniors in H ouston, Texas, who deliberately dropped o u t o f their ow n com m encem ent excercises because they were taking p lace on a Friday night . . . .

The students, a large portion o f th e 1969 graduation class o f Bellaire High School, to o k the drastic action o f n o t attending graduation after school officials had refused to change the date. They m ade their decision after careful thought and after all o th er efforts had f a ile d .. . .

In a letter headed “D ear F ellow S tu d e n t,” the youngsters spelled o u t [th e ir] position :

JULY-AUGUST 1969

59

GHORSERADISH o ld 's

1

p U fjM d . « s « 1aw

1INTERIORS!

i s â a l1

SYNAGOGUES ALBERT WOOD & FIVE SONS.*

!PORT WASHINGTON L-I- NEW YORK Cleaned, Fresh-Eviscerated Soaked & Salted READY-TO-COOK Fresh and Fresh-Frozen

®

Supervised and endorsed by The UnionHjOrthodox of Or Jewish Congre* __ gâtions of i Inspected for gâtions of America. wholesomeness by the U.S. Dept.

Agriculture.

SOLD COAST-TO-COAST

TheMost Trusted Name in Kosher Poultry

- There are Jewish seniors w ho have strong com m itm en t to their Jewish heritage and the Sabbath which w ou ld have to be violated in order to a tten d graduation; - There are Jewish seniors whose com m itm en t is n o t as strong b u t who never­ theless believe th at as long as one person wishes to keep the Sabbath he should be supported , n o t fo rced to com prom ise his convictions; - The apathy and lack o f consideration given the m atter b y school officials is appalling, “A ll o f us have w orked hard to reach this d a y t h e letter said, “Gradua­ tion is and should be an im portant p a rt o f our lives, Hoever, the situation is a clear cu t m atter o f principle which m ust be weighed carefully b y y o u as a m em ber o f the Jewish faith and o f the Jewish com m unity. To take a stand on this issue is an opportu n ity to champion the dignity and convictions o f the Jewish com m unity and o f our h e r i t a g e I t is up to y o u .99 N early 100 Betlaire High School seniors d id n o t a tten d their graduation exercises. Their names were n o t m entioned during the proceedings — n o t even those o f the honor graduates am ong them.

They are n o t likely to fo rg et the experience.

r* A n ti D efam ation League o f B ’nai B ’rith, press release, July, 1 9 6 9

AT JEWISH WORKERS’ EXPENSE The success of the anti-Semites and their relative immunity raises the question whether the so-called WASP class is not ready and willing to buy social peace, at least on a temporary basis, at the expense of the Jews. This is possible, except for the inadequacy of the term “WASP.” Such establishment forces include also respectable Catholics and wealthy Jews. Can it be that the establish­ ments are cooperating with the black extremist separationist aims and tactics because both want to settle the Negro-white conflict by separation leading to apartheid? It would appear that in their struggle to retain their means of liveli­ hood and defend the educational opportunities for their children, the Jewish lower middle class, proletariat, and white collar groupings have been facing a coalition of Wall Street, Sutton Place, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Gracie Mansion, the academicians, radicals, liberals, and leftists.

■—from “ If I A m N o t For M yself . . . ” b y Abraham G. Duker, Jew ish H orizon, May-June 1969/Sivan-T am m uz 5 7 2 9

JULY-AUGUST 1969

61

THE ONLY PREFABRICATED

P A C K A G E D SUKKAH T h e L ife tim e

Ecrsy-To-A s s e m b le

P o r t a b le S u k k a h

D e s ig n e d B y S p e r o F o u n d a t io n

D E C O R A T IO N S: Eshpizon - Kiddush (Prayers) are silk screened on upper four walls as pei photographs. Will not fade.

LIGHT: We furnish you with 30 ft. water­ proof wire—socket— plug and plastic re­ flector, wired and mounted on a wooden strip 2" x 2" which you place across the top of Sukkah.

PROTECTION : Against wind and storm. We furnish you with two heavy cords 12 ft. each, slides and Hy pegs to fasten Sukkah to ground or wall.

SIZE: Seven and one quarter feet long by Five and one half feet wide by Seven and one quarter feet high. Will accom­ modate up to 10 persons FRAME and FITTINGS: Made of an alloy of alu­ minum and magnesium, three-quarter inch diam­ eter pipe which will not rust or corrode. No tools necessary with our pat­ ented fittings to assemble or dismantle, other than one small wrench which we furnish.

WALLS: Made of yel­ low DURA-HUE DUCK. Weight 10 oz. per square yard. Mildew Resistant and Water Repellent.

PACKING: We pack and ship entire Sukkah in heavy corru­ gated carton which is 7 and a half .feet long by 8 inches square and this carton is used for stor­ ing your Sukkah.

ONLY

$102 F.O.B. Factory Check With Order

ASSEMBLING: With each pur­ chase we furnish you with a very detailed assembly instruction sheet, which makes it very simple to put the Sukkah together in about 30 minutes.

COMMUNITY SIZE SUKKAH . . . accommodating up to 24 persons, 14% ft. long — 10 ft. wide — 7% ft. high.......... $212.00 F.O.B., Factory

S’CHACH We will also supply you with 80 bamboo sticks 1 inch in diameter by 6 feet long to cover entire Sukkah.

ADDITIO NAL.. . . $18.00

COMMUNITY SIZE ALL OTHER FEATURES AS ABOVE. ADDITIONAL FOR S’CHACH, $36.00.

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 84 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10011 Gentlemen: [ j Please ship me one Packaged Sukkah designed by the Spero Foundation. Check for the amount of $102 1« enclosed. □ I also want 80 bamboo sticks, which will cover entire Sukkah, and I am enclosing an additional $18.00.

Name........................................................................................................

Address.............................. .......................... ...... .......... ..................

City and State........ ................................................................ ...............

F E D ERATIO N A N D EDU CATIO N The continuing drive b y Federations across the country to upgrade the planning and programs o f their Jewish Education Bureaus, reported on exten­ sively a t the CJF June Board and N ational C om m ittee meetings in N ew York, was highlighted b y these significant observations: Over a 25 yea r span, all Feder­ ations show a dram atic increase o f their to ta l annual allocation from $800,000 to $6,500,000. Although this eight-fold leap still makes up less than 10 p er cent o f gross annual expenditures fo r Jewish education, the signs o f new communal appreciation and action are m a r k e d . . . . In the larger com m unities p i outside o f N ew York C ity - Jewish education is n ow receiving one-fourth o f Federation funds available fo r local purposes (excluding C om m unity Chest funds). Leading this fie ld is one com m unity which allocates 5 6 p er cen t o f its local funds fo r Jewish education; fo llo w e d b y several others which budget as much as onethird . . . . In th e interm ediate cities, 13 o u t o f 15 Federations are now making allocations fo r Jewish education. On an average, th ey exceed (excluding Com­ m unity Chest funds again) 31 p e r cen t o f local funds, w ith som e running as high as 5 0 p er cen t or m ore and one com m unity a t the 8 6 p er cen t mark!

— from Jew ish C om m unity N ew sletter, May-June 1 9 6 9 (published b y C ouncil o f Jew ish F ederations and Welfare Funds)

SDS TERROR Asher Ben Natan has now been Israeli ambassador to West Germany for four years. In these four years, he has become acquainted with Germany. On seventeen occasions, he has given lectures even to Arab students without inci­ dents o f the kind stirred up now at the universities by leftwing orientated, Communist-inclined students. The SDS which is developing more and more into a terror organization has for some time taken over Communist formulations in its vocabulary. In a Working Paper to a Special Committee, the 22nd General Conference o f Delegates drafted a Middle East document in September 1967, in which the following can be found: “The SDS condemns Israeli aggression against anti-imperialist forces in the Middle East. The SDS supports all those elem ents in the Middle East who are prepared to defend the achievements hitherto o f the anti-imperialist struggle, which have manifested themselves m ost markedly in the nationalization of the Suez Canal, o f foreign capital in Egypt and Syria and in the struggle o f the Aden workers and Republican Yem en.”

These words could literally stem from Communist proclamations.

— from D eutschland-B eviehte, July 1 9 6 9

JULY-AUGUST 1969

63

Order

now

fo r yourself

- —

your friends

-—

your congregation THE UOJCA POCKET CALENDAR-DIARY FOR 1969-70/5730 Combines a wealth of Jewish information of every day usefulness. Con­ tains the Jewish and secular calendars, a full daily diary section, explana­ tions of the holidays, candle-lighting times, weekly Torah and Haftorah readings, Yahrtzeit date record, Tefillath Haderech, Sefirath HaOmer, Daf Yomi, Mishnah Yomith, Torah Studies, information on the program of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

HANDSOMELY BOUND IN BROWN LEATHERETTE UOJCA/84 Fifth Avenue/New York, N.Y. 10011 Please enter my order(s) fo r ____ UOJCA Pocket Calendar-Diaries for 1969-70/5730 as follows: ......... individual name gold-stamped (one line only) at $1.25 each ..........individual Uninscribed copy at $1.00 each ..........inscribed congregational bulk order at $.85 each plus &4.00 per order, (Minimum order, 25 copies.)

IMPRINT TO READ AS FOLLOWS: Send to: N ame ............................... .................... ..................................................... ............. .

A ddress................................................................................................................................ .................

City _______ .................................................. State....'..42S!XI........ Z ip Code.........j ;; A ll orders must be prepaid.

DIMENSIONS O F CHANGE N o w , let us look a t som e sociological dim ensions . Three kinds o f social revolutions are taking place in this society.

First, within the p a st th irty years, cresting in the present period, this has becom e a national society.

This has always been a nation; it has never been a national society, in which som ething taking place in one p a rt o f the society has im m ediate repercussive im pact on every oth er part o f the society. I t is a national society in terms o f national econom y, transportation, m edia o f com m unication; the whole society gets pu lled together.

The forces th at have made us a national society have created a national co ck p it fo r all kinds o f problem s th at before had been dispersed and insulated.

This is a very radical change. M ore problem s g e t pushed to a federal level.

N o w , the political consequence is th at to a considerable ex ten t this is becom ing (I apologize fo r the heavy-handed term ) a plebiscitarían society, in which everything is subject to mass pressure, mass m obilization, mass plebiscites, and m oving away from purely representational government.

Second, besides having becom e a national society, w e have becom e in a curious w ay a communal society.

There are tw o dim ensions to this change. First, it involves the rise o f non-market public decision-making; th at is, basic decisions a bou t the lives o f people are no longer m ade in the m arket, b u t are m ade largely through overt political mechanisms.

Sim ply b y way o f analysis, . . . . . le t m e p o in t o u t that a m arket society . . . . disperses responsibility. Consider, as a perhaps rather outlandish illustra­ tion, the decline o f the textile industry in th e 1950% which was a consequence o f the decline o f the marriage age from abou t 2 4 to 19 fo r girls and from about 26 to 2 2 fo r boys. What has this to do w ith the textile industry? Very obvious, a t least to a sociologist. A m on g married people there's less dressing up, less going out, there is a sh ift in purchasing fro m clothing to cars and houses.. . . The po in t is th at here is a profou n d econom ic change resulting w holly from m arket trends fo r which n obody in particular is responsible.

On the other hand, take som e o f the m ajor social problem s o f our day, which are n o t subject to m arket influences. N o b o d y can bu y his share o f clean air, o f clean water, o f education (ex cep t a t a co st that becom es increasingly unbearable). In these areas, there is public decision making, or political decision making. E verybody know s where decisions are made, it is clear whose ox is being gored, and dem and and p ro te st alike focu s on c ity hall.

The kinds o f public decisions that m ust be m ade through political mechan-

JULY-AUGUST 1969

65

REPRINTS NOW AVAILABLE of the following articles from previous issues of JEWISH LIFE: CAN WE NEGLECT THE TALMUD TORAH?: Zalman Diskind COLLEGE AND THE ORTHODOX STUDENT: Menachem Greenberg BLACK AND JEW: RE-APPRAISING THE EMERGING RELATIONSHIP: Jerry Hochbaum JUDAISM AND ART: Michael Kaufman VISIT TO RUSSIA: Michael Kaufman THE VOICE OF TORAH IN THE BATTLE OF IDEAS: Norman Lamm THE CAMPUS PROBLEM AND JEWISH EDUCATION: Shnayer Z. Leiman MIXED PEWS: Morris Max NATURE - CREATION OR EVOLUTION?: Robert R. Perlman JUDAISM AND FREE ENQUIRY: Nachum L. Rabinovitch THE DIVORCE PROBLEM: Melech Schachter THE PROBLEM OF CONVERSION TODAY: Melech Schachter JEW AND JEW, JEW AND NON-JEW: Aaron Soloveichik YOUTH’S POSITIVE REVOLT: Pinchas Stolper THE JEWISH ATTITUDE TOWARD FAMILY PLANNING: Moses Tendler JEWS AND THE WAR ON POVERTY: Bernard Weinberger “TO DWELL IN THE SUKKAH” : Bernard Weinberger

These reprints may be used to much advantage by study and discussion groups, as well as for distribution for public information purposes to people in your local areas.

All reprints are 15 cents per copy; 10 cents per copy when 25 or more are ordered.

PREPAID ORDERS ONLY, PLEASE

JEWISH LIFE, 84 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011 Please send. . . . . . copies o f ...................................................... send. . . . . . copies o f ............... ....................... / .

NAME:

.......................... .......... . . .............. .................. ....

ADDRESS: . . . . . . . . ................. .......... ....................................

CITY/STATE/ZIP

.Check enclosed: $

isms w ill m ultiply in our society, and the p o ten tia l fo r com m unity conflict w ill increase correspondingly . We shall have to learn to live with such conflict, sim ply because m ore and m ore decisions are m ade in visible, open places - in c ity hall, in Washington, rather than through the m a rk et — from “ S om e Basic Trends in the Structure and F un ction o f A m erican S o c ie ty “ b y Dr. D aniel Bell in Background Papers o f Plenary Session o f N ational Jewish C om m unity R elation s A dvisory Council, June 1 9 6 9

A TREASURY OF TRADITION Edited by N orm an Lamm & W alter S. W urzburger This anthology of major essays by exponents of Orthodox Jewish thought is culled from Sie volumes of Tradition, the quarterly journal of the Rabbinical Council of America. The essays are grouped under the following headings: Religious Experience and the Halakha; Judaism Confronts the World, Theo­ logical Perspectives; Halakah and Contemporary Society; Biblical Studies; Criticism.

462 pages — $4.95

A t all Jewish book stores or order directly from HEBREW PUBLISHING COMPANY 79 Delancey Street, New York, New York 10002

JULY-AUGUST 1969

67

An ideal tex t, educational resource or study guide . . . fo r youth groups, adult education or high school classes . . .

ISRAEL ERETZ ISRAEL LAND OF PROMISE

by Michael Rosenak

The only book for young people that deals with Israel in depth from the Torah view point The emphasis is on history, ideology and current issues.

A sampling of topic headings: The Uniqueness of Jewish Nationalism / Exile and Return / Why Israel / Eretz Israel — A Conditional G ift / The Messianic Ideal / The Modern Movement o f Return / Religious Jewry Divided / N ot M arx But Moses / A Jewish Solution to the Jewish Prob­ lem / Being a Religious Jew in Israel / Paradoxes in Israeli Judaism / Movements and Political Parties / The Meaning of Israel fo r Us / A liya — Return to Israel / A fter the Six Day War / The Challenge o f Israel's New Boundaries / Jewish Law and the Tem ple M ount.

SP E C IA L F E A T U R E S : 1. Seven Chapters of: Projects, Discussions, Topics, Plans fo r A ction on the follow ing Topics: a] The Jew in Exile; b] Should We Go on A liyah — The Torah V ie w ­ point; c] Should Americans Go on A liyah; d] The "C ulture C onflict" in Israel; e] Problems of Israeli Religious Life; f] Political and Moral Problems of the State of Israel; ,g] The Jews — A Unique People. / 2. A Y ou th Symposium: Our Challenges A fter the Six Day War. / 3. A Dram atic Presentation: Jewishness in Israel.

112 pages / A ttractively printed / S oft Cover — $1.50 plus .20 for postage and handling / 20% discount fo r ten or more [no postage charge] / 30% discount fo r 2 0 or more [no postage charge].

U OJCA Publications — 8 4 F ifth Avenue — New Y o rk C ity 10011

K indly send m e ................. copies o f "Israel — Land of Promise", by Michael Rosenak.

Enclosed is $ ..............................and . y . * ................... fo r postage:

Name .

Address C it y . . .

Zip

Letters to the Editor ‘YOUTH’S POSITIVE REVOLT’ Los Angeles, California The recent issues of JEWISH LIFE have included several articles for which you aye to be congratulated, articles which offer concrete ideas and proposals for modern Jews to consider and to act on. In this category I include Menachem Greenberg’s paper “College and the Orthodox Student,” Arnold Blumberg’s “Insolence vs. Coward­ ice,” and Bernard Merling’s “The Ben-Torah Businessman.” The pitfalls which await each college student are indicated by Greenberg and are well worth studying by each parent and young man; in addition, his several sug­ gestions for broadening Yavneh’s scope war­ rant further consideration. Like him, Merling points out the ambivalent position of the learned businessman —which really poses the problem of how to reconcile one’s religious studies and work with secular activ­ ities and goals. Professor Blumberg’s article presents a specific proposal for action by the capable layman which I hope some group f^Yavneh? *- will seek to implement.

On the other hand, the article in your February-March issue by Pinchas Stolper (“Youth’s Positive Revolt”) provides evi­ dence that even religious leaders are not ex­ empted from conditioning by the secular liberal thought which tends to distort and mislead modern Jewish thinking. The article appears to accept several aspects of Enlight­ ened liberal ideology and is freely sprinkled with their catch phrases. The reader is pre­ sented with the concept that adult thinking per se is inadequate. Rabbi Stolper refers only to adults who are irreligious or only

JULY-AUGUST 1969

outwardly religious, leaving us with the final “to act as the aged - to leave things as they are, to be satisfied with what we have done.” This is good modern liberal ide­ ology —the world will only progress when the traditional concepts of those over 30 are no longer its foundations. Despite the fail­ ings of many Jewish parents and leaders, it cannot be overemphasized that Torah ad­ vancement requires the wisdom of the learn­ ed mature adult Jew— that true understand­ ing comes only with the years. One of the main goals of the modern liberal is to under­ cut the devoted parent, the learned religious individual, for these are the ones who main­ tain, develop and transmit our traditional re­ ligion and morality through the generations.

Rabbi Stolper also presents an uncrit­ ical adulation of youth, similar in too many respects to the popular libertarian misinter­ pretation of the reasons behind the rebel­ liousness and insecurity manifested by the adolescent. I grant that adults and adoles­ cents think in different terms, a differentia­ tion which may be viewed as Creator-or­ dained to aid in the growth from childhood to maturity. This is a natural phenomenon which has been meticulously defined by sec­ ular sociologists in terms which are meaning­ ful to both secularists and the religious. The strength of Judaism has been not in “bridg­ ing the gap” (I’m quite certain what is meant by the phrase, and can think of sever­ al definitions), but in understanding its sig­ nificance and purpose, and for developing procedures for working with it. I can recall no instances when our people in the past felt that “ (the gap) was (to be) bridged by entrusting to youth themselves the task of

69

FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS A PRECIOUS G IFT two years for only $5.00 (twelve issues)

JEWISH LIFE, 84 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011 Send gift subscription, with gift card, to: Name........... ................. h..................................................................

Address........................... ....................... ........... ............................

City, State, Zip Code............ ......... ;.............................................

Name................. .................... ..........................................................

Address....................... .................................... ..Ki..................

City, State, Zip Code............. ....... ........ ............................... .

My Name.... ......... .......... ................... ......... .....................

Address......................................L ................ ......... .................. .

City, State, Zip Code.................... ................................. ....... ....... j

. . . i . .. □ include my own subscription

□ n

New Renewa|

Check enclosed $ .............. .........

com m unicating values and traditions.”

Youth lacks the understanding and the ma­ turity, the wisdom and the inner strength to provide the necessary responsibility and leadership. Only the Enlightened who has lost faith and patience in man is desirous of letting the youth take control. In so honor­ ing the revolt of youth, the liberal ignores his knowledge that much of the agitation results from the adolescent reluctance to grow up.

In some measure, I concur with Rabbi Stolper. Our rapidly expanding technol­ ogical society has weakened the family structure, our community, and our former means of transmitting our faith. The youth groups are an outgrowth of the modern in­ dustrial world which attract the allegiance of our children; it is a universal phenomen­ on which replaces and could subvert the family influence. We should utilize it to pro­ mote our goals and to help the adolescent move on to the adult world. But let it's not be misled into thinking that youth qua youth “is possessed of penetrating intuition, has an ability to perceive hypocrisy and falsehood, is a searcher after truth, is pos­ sessed of inquiring minds, will choose integ­ rity and honesty above bogus substitutes, possesses a sixth sense which detects com­ promise or dishonesty, etc., etc.” One is not born with these desirable qualities; they are developed through one’s family, one’s com­ munity, one’s learned elders, either directly and/or through one’s peers who serve as a pipeline, not as an original source. We can (we must) have faith in our youth, that, given the right leadership, we can derive nachas from their accomplishment; but let us not be misled by the libertarian day­ dreams that youth, on its own, freed from the shackles imposed by their elders, will remake the world and Judaism as it should be. I know that Rabbi Stolper does not seek either, wholesale denigration of adult think­ ing or indiscriminate acceptance of adoles­ cent leadership; however, his article, in using much of the language of those who foster such proposals, can be so interpreted.

Morris Smith JULY-AUGUST 1969

RABBI STOLPER REPLIES: I have attempted to understand why my article, which describes a nationwide program that has succeeded in inspiring many hundreds to leave a Jewishly aliented background to live the Torah life, should have been so totally misunderstood by Mr. Smith. I wonder whether it is for the same reason that causes like-minded people to ignore the great reservoir of young people who thirst for Torah - but who are given up as lost by most of us.

Mr. Smith would do well to re-read the article, since he seems to have read into it many things that are just not there. The article is nowhere “conditioned by secular liberal thought,” nor does it accept any aspect of “enlightened liberal ideology.” In fact, its topic is not ideology at all. The present writer went to great pains to de­ scribe the total loyalty of NCS Y in ideology and conduct to Torah and Mitzvoth. But Mr. Smith does not seem to comprehend that the topic of the article is not ideology but communication —or the failure to com­ municate.

In fact, it is this very confusion of methods of communication with goals that has contributed to the loss of generations of young people. Too many of us refuse to speak the “language” of youth - and like it or not, we must speak their “language” in order to communicate our values and thoughts. A generation or so ago there were those who made a fetish of communicating in Yiddish despite the fact that many of their listeners couldn’t, understand a word they were syaing. A sense of inverted logic and values caused them to treasure the bath­ water over the baby. In the end both “went down the drain” Jewishly.

I know of too many communities where there exists the most gaping “genera­ tion gap” imaginable. There are a few Shomrey Shabboth 65 and older — and a handfull between the ages of 14 and 18 and no one in between. Nor was it the 65-year-olds who influenced the teenagers.

Unfortunately the 65-year-olds ceased influ71

encing anyone almost 40 years ago! They didn’t succeed (they didn’t even try) with their children and grandchildren. It was a force from out-of-town whose moving spirit is other teenagers who influenced the teen­ agers of Smalltown U.S.A. I know of one community where not too long ago there were over 200 Shomrey Shabboth. Today there is not one Shomer Shabboth in town! In fact, when stranded there a few years agp, I couldn’t find a Kitzur Shulchon Oruch or a Mishnah B’rurah anywhere in town! Unfortunately, the Shomrey Shabboth neglected to build a day school or to help create an NCSY. Nor is this an isolated case.

Why does NCSY succeed? If you don’t like the language of the sociolo­ gists . . .

It is because young people are inspired by a living social organism through which youth loyal to Torah and deeply committed to its way of life succeed in communicating this loyalty to their peers. Call it what you may, the magic of youth talking youth’s language, of finding Torah through a friend who is an observant Jew, or the teen “subsociety,’^ it amounts to the same thing.

Young people can communicate to each other those values that adults have in so many instances despaired of communicat­ ing.

Certainly NCSY events abound with faculty, rabbis, advisers, staff, rules, stand­ ards, and all the rest. The point of my article, however, is that it is not adults’ lec­ tures that inspire young people as much as the ability of teenagers to inspire each other under the aegis of an organization in which so much of the task of communication (communication isn’t only shiurim —much of it is non-verbal, e.g. smiles, joy, approval, anger, etc.) is left to them.

If phrases like “communications gap” or “generation gap” are “secular liberal” in­ ventions, they describe a very real crisis that we had better come to grips with if we wish to insure the continuity of the “community of the committed.” The sad fact is that in too many situations we are not yet com­ municating.

72

Are we to reject valid pedagogic approaches because they arè described scientifically by secular sociologists? Rather, American orthodox Jewry has learned to re­ ject obscurantist attitudes that spell selfdestruction (again I am speaking of com­ munication, not ideology).

“FUTURE JEWISH LIFE READERS” Bronx, New York May I through a letter to the editor bring to the attention of your readership a sim ple procedure that my synagogue (Concourse Center of Israel) has adopted that will help insure future readers of JEWISH LIFE. It merely consists of giving a free three year gift subscription to Jewish Youth Monthly for all those having a Bar Mitzvah in our synagogue. Parents and young people both seem pleased by this simple but useful procedure.

As in many synagogues, some of the young people involved attend yeshivahs and will find Jewish Youth Monthly a valuable supplement to their yeshivah education; however, in other instances almost all con­ tact with synagogues and our religion ceases after the Bar Mitzvah - and in such cases a free gift subscription to Jewish Youth Monthly becomes in a sense a yeshivah “correspondence school.” It gives young people discussions, that they may otherwise have never received, about Judaism, the Jewish people and Israel from an organiza­ tion that accepts the Jewish commitment.

I do not present this program as a “cure all” for all of our problems but as a simple way we can help our young people to remember their heritage. And, of course, what I said about young men would equally apply t o gift subscriptions for our daughters.

What I am suggesting then is a few dollars investment by our synagogues in our young people. And it is our young people, we all know, who are our greatest hope.

Irving Pollack JEWISH LIFE

PICTORIAL ODDITIES

I found the story about the water clock quite interesting - Albert Einstein A first class delight and testifies to the depth of your scholarly research —Pierre Van Paasen

The book will serve to impart a deeper appreciation for Hebrew lore — Sam Levenson FROM HEBRAIC LITERATURE Many of these episodes have for cen­ turies served as a source of inspiration — Joshua Bloch, Former Chief Jewish Division, N. Y. Public Library I have read and re-read your Pictorial Oddities - Harry Hershfield Exciting, enlightening, brilliant. All this jewelry. It should enrich every book shelf in the land - Barry Farber, WOR Price: $2.00 plus 25 cents for postage.

Send money order or check (no cash) to: ODDITIES P.O. Box 94 Kensington Station Bklyn., N.Y. 11218

Special discount for organizations. Write for personal appearances by the author to enhance your organization's under­ takings.

Zke Hook of Psalms WITH TABLE FOR GEMATRIC INTERPRETATIONS

By SOLOMON LENCHITZ

Price: $5.00 Send money order or check (no cash) to: GEMATRIC P.O. Box 94 Kensington Station Bklyn., N.Y. 11218 Haskamah by Rabbi D.Z. Silberstein Chief Rabbinate, Tel-Aviv, Israel

May theblessing of peace come to the troubled world during this new year.

“L’shonah Tovah Tikotevu”

1

H. J. H einz Com pany Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

m akers of m any foods th at proudly hear on th eir labels the ® seal of approval of the Union of Orthodox Jew ish Congregations of A m erica .