Jewish Life July-Aug 1970

THE MASS MEDIA AND THE JEWISH SOUL ECOLOGY AND JEWISH THEOLOGY * ZEYDIE GOES TO ISRAEL HIRSCHIAN SEED, ISRAELI SOIL * THE RIDBAZ MY ENCOUNTER WITH ABRAHAM S DISCIPLE AV-ELLUL 5730 JULY-AUGUST 1970

Announcement

72nd

ANNIVERSARY

N ational Biennial Convention OF THE

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America w ill be h eld

mN

at the SHERATO N — PARK in W A S H IN G T O N , D.C. Wednesday, November 25 — Sunday, November 29,1 9 7 0 Cheshvan 26 — Kislev 1,5731

P LEA SE R E S E R V E T H E SE D A T ES

Thanksgiving Week.

in the Nation's Capital

lew isli

J life

Vol. X X X V II, No. 6/July-August 1970/Av-Ellul 5730

THE EDITOR'S VIEW MIDDLE EAST CALCULATION ........ .......................3 AND MISCALCULATION

Saul Bernstein, Editor

THE CAMPUS DILEMMA Paul H. Baris Libby Klaperman N athan 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

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ARTICLES THE MASS MEDIA AND THE JEWISH SOUL/ Yaakov Jacobs.........................

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HIRSCHIAN SEED, ISRAELI SOIL/ 0 . Feuchtwanger............................. ..>................ 15 ECOLOGY AND JEWISH THEOLOGY/ Ralph Pelcovitz......................

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THE RIDBAZ/ Aaron R othkoff...... ................................... ........33 ZEYDIE GOES TO ISRAEL/ David Avni......................

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Published by U nion of O rthodox J ewish C ongregations of A merica J oseph K arasick

MY ENCOUNTER WITH ABRAHAM’S DISCIPLE/ Sidney R. Lewitter.,.........................

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BOOK REVIEW

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 Presidents; Morris L. Green, Treasurer; Emanuel Neustadter, Secretary; Julius Berman, Financial Secretary. , Dr. Samson R. Weiss Executive Vice President

THE JEWS IN SOVIET RUSSIA SINCE 1917/ Bernard A. Poupko....... .....................................60

DEPARTMENTS FROM HERE AND THERE.................... .....65 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR............................. ........70 AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS................................2

Saul Bernstein, Administrator C o v e r a n d d r a w in g s b y N a a m a K ito v

Second Class Postage paid at New York, N. Y.

JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

© C o p y rig h t 1 9 6 9 by UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

When “Ecology” suddenly emerged from the jargon of advanced biology courses and was thrust upon the everyday vocabulary of the man in the street and the student on the campus, all found themselves touched by a hitherto obscure problem, Jews instinctively reacted with: “This ecology business — what is its Jewish application?” Hence, RABBI RALPH PELCOVITZ, noted for his studies of the modern scene in Torah-values terms, was moved to view the questions posed by Ecology through the prism of classical Jewish thought. A frequent contributor to JEW ISH L IF E , Rabbi Pelcovitz is spiritual leader of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Far Rockaway, New York, and Past President of the Rabbinical Alliance of America . . . . A s a writer and reader o f the printed word, a critical listener to the audible word, and a questioning viewer of the three-dimensional word, YAAKOV JACOBS found occasion for much concern in contemporary man’s involuntary immersion in a never-ending cascade of words, the subject of his present article. He is former editor of The Jewish Observer and free-lances in his “Word Sh op ” at his home in Staten Island, New York ... . The name DAVID AVNI is new to our pages but its bearer has appeared here before. A s David Stein, he told us in our issue of lyar 5729/April 1969 (“Have No Donkey, Will Travel”) about his experiences in getting experience in Aliyah. Having accomplished his Aliyah goal, he has taken up a new name to mark a new life . . . . O. FEUCHTWANGER of Letchworth, England writes: “I have already twice figured in your Contributors’ column, both times in Winter issues 5724 and 5727. M y connection with the B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement dates back nearly thirty years. Rabbi Neriyah has always been a personal friend of mine and I am Hon. Treasurer of the Movement in Great Britain. On one hand as a Belgium-born product of Western Torah im Derech Eretz and on the other hand as-a graduate of pre-War Telshe, Mir, and Kamenitz, I have all my adult life been prompted into comparing the two schools of thought and evaluating their respective merits. I have watched the Movement grow and shared in a number of its spiritual problems.”

W hen DR. AARON ROTHKOFF transplanted himself from a Maplewood, New Jersey pulpit and a Yeshiva University high school classroom to an editorial desk at the Encyclopedia Judaica in Jerusalem, he took with him his love for and knowledge of Talmudic greats of a generation past. Herein he adds to a glorious gallery . . . .

SIDNEY LEWITTER has long been active in Jewish affairs in Newark and Lakewood, New Jersey, including a term of service as President of Young Israel of Newark. Now engaged in an engineering occupation, an overriding long-term interest in education has led to studies for an M.A. degree in that subject at Rutgers University.

JEW ISH L IF E

th e EDITOR'S VIEW

MIDDLE EAST CALCULATION AND MISCALCULATION M P O S S IB L Y remote as a Middle East realignment may seem at the present moment, the circumstances prompting the Israel-Egypt confrontation of today may eventually bring about an altogether different relationship between the two. Egypt is serving as the instrument of Soviet Russia. The interests of the latter, however, are far from being the interests of the United Arab Republic or of the Arab states in general. A n y extension of Soviet power in the Middle East is at direct Arab cost. Ironically, a secure Israel is, in ultimate terms, the best hope of the Arab nations for freedom from Soviet rule. So long as the Jewish State stands squarely in the way, the Kremlin’s drang nach osten is at least impaired. For corresponding reasons, Israel has a parallel long-term stake in the security of Egypt and its other neighbors.

Thus there are basic interests in common between those now pitted against each other. The more their strength is wasted in struggle with each other, the more evident does it become that common interests outweigh the issues that divide them. We can but hope and pray that the inner logic of the situation will make

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itself felt before events are utterly irredeemable.

It would seem foolish to rest such a hope on the agreement now being forged for a ninety-day cease-fire. The history of Soviet imperialism suggests rather too Cease-fire insistently that the Kremlin rulers are governed Considerations by reasons of tactical advantage rather than moral consideration in directing their vassal to agree to the U.S.-initiated cease-fire^ They undoubtedly have appraised very carefully the,limits of America’s readiness for a Middle East showdown and must have gauged with equal precision American preference for an accommodation. And certainly they have not failed to judge the extent of Israel's dependence upon American support. There is ample room for agile Soviet maneuver between these considerations and they will surely make the most of it. Since manipulation of Egypt is the key to Kremlin policy, the captive will be held in firm grasp.

Empire building, however, is not an exact science. Where there is room for calculation there is room for miscalculation.

The cease-fire proposal is far from the direct face-to-face peace negotiations which Israel rightly has called for. Yet for all the questionable implications, it demonstrates that, for the moment at least, Soviet Russia has been brought short. The possibility of such a turn of events was clearly not envisaged by the Kremlin up to June, 1967. It may yet appear that other possibilities lie under the surface of present developments, discounted by the successors of Lenin and Stalin but to be revealed in due course as events take uncalculated course. I n the light of all that has transpired, let us not regard as unattainable the freeing of Egypt from Soviet rule and the eventual achievement of peace on the foundation of common interest between Israel and its neighbors. May we merit to see this dispensation of Divine Providence.

THE CAMPUS DILEMMA ITH so high a proportion of Jewish youths attending college, campus developments impinge sharply on American Jewish life. In addition to the conditions affecting students in general, most Jewish students are fatally unequipped, as Jews, for

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the college experience. Lacking in many cases even the rudiments of Jewish knowledge, there is an even more inclusive lack of Jewish orientation. The consequences are apparent on every campus with a Jewish contingent. Apparent too is the fact that the Jewish aspect of the campus problem rises directly from the makeup of American Jewish life itself. Very much more can and must be done than is now being done to reclaim Jewish students.

But the dire threat to American Jewry lies in the conditions that produced youths so catastrophically unprepared for a Jewish role.

It is in the Jewish home and the Jewish street, in the agencies and institutions of the Jewish community and in all that shapes the Jewish direction that the threat must be met.

Even, however, if the spiritual and ideological disadvantage of Jewish college youth were less acute, there could be no immunity to the problems rocking the universities and colleges.

R . .

There can be no further illusion that these will Continuing Ton disappear with the passing of immediate political issues. So long as the composition of the academic community presents a natural and open target to disruptive lorces, anu so lung ds lu n u iu u iib give use iu y o u u i diicm z.duoii,

the institutions of higher education and their student bodies must suffer continuing and mounting toll.

N the vain assumption that campus disorder is a surface fad that can be exploited at will, certain elements with impor­ tant influence in the mass media and public affairs have lent more than overt encouragement to disruptive groups and have sought to exploit the upheavals for political and policy ends. These have now uneasily discovered that they have grasped a bear by the tail.

Others with differing objectives have in turn viewed campus revolt as a passing phenomenon requiring only disciplinary action; having rested on this as their public stance, they now also find much more on their hands than they bargained for. Both, now backing away from their respective formulas, alike find them­ selves compelled to confront the real dimensions of the problem.

For this reason both, as well as the public at large, seem to have placed hopes in the study undertaken by the group of university personalities commissioned by President Nixon to investigate the causes of campus turmoil.

Unfortunately the conclusions of the study group, headed

by Dr. G. Alexander Heard, have been found disappointing on all

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5

sides. Those who hoped for an expose of Administration deficien­ cies in this area no less those who anticipated a pinpointing of campus troublemakers have found the report too superficial to give force to their contentions. In concept, content, and phrasing alike, Dr. Heard’s presentation is no more than a restatement of the college administrators’ self-serving press handouts which have become so familiar these days.

Much more than this is needed. A far more penetrating analysis of student and college problems is required, with critical urgency, to give basis for solution. The one favorHeard able possiblity of the Heard report is that its Report ¡rjadequacy may prompt action to institute the ' ‘Royal Commission” type of study which can get to the roots of the matter.

By now, all thinking Americans must realize that these roots lie deep in the makeup of society at large. The baffled cry: “What has happened to our sons and daughters?” leads inevitably to: “What has happened to u s?” The answer to the one question lies in the answer to the other. Unless we establish clearly what factors in social life produce their ominous effects on the campus scene, possibility of solution is foreclosed.

Determination of root causes, however, is not synonymous with determination of the right means to cure the ill. And, to go a step further, even if and when the right answers to the right questions may be found, there yet remains the ultimate question: Will the American community have the clarity of purpose and concerted will to undertake what may well be a total change in its pattern of life?

N the best of circumstances, it will be long before the country fully comes to grips with the issue. In the mean­ while, it is not beyond the bounds of collective wisdom to under-i take patently needed changes. It is clear enough that the educational needs of the technological era cannot be served by a university format that evolved out of Renaissance searchings. Yet for all the attempts to adapt to the revolutionized situation, makeshift improvisation rather than thought-through innovation has been the* order of things. And the order of values has been big, bigger, biggest. The mass production degree factory is satisfactory neither as an extension of traditional scholarship nor as a training school for modern living. Its pointless and indiscrim-

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inate program, dished out by a faculty inevitably stuffed with the immature, the incompetent, and the unqualified, and overseen by an administration of business and production managers, is incapable of moulding an army o f the educated. This would be so whatever the character of the student populace. It is the more so when the swollen masses of students are of a generation similarly processed through elementary school and high school, a genera­ tion whose desires are excited from childhood on by mass media lures, accustomed to having their wishes deferred to, and in half­ conscious search of meaningful life purpose. It takes but little to turn the restless masses of confused youths into uncontrollable mobs of overgrown naughty children. University administrations and faculties live in deathly fear of the mob potential, as student and non-student agitators with axes of their own to grind have been quick to learn.

Surely the remedy, whether on long-term or short-term basis, cannot lie in more of the sam e B more multiversities, more degree factories, more masses of turbulent youths. Common sense points to an opposite course: to compact schools of limited size, headed by educators qualified as character builders, staffed by faculties competent in mind-guidance, offering coherent educa8 tion in disciplines that enable each student to Cap ac<3u,re a sense of personal dignity together with and an understanding of the world about him and his Gown role in it, and equip him to fulfill that role. These must be schools free of the cap and gown absurdity, schools that have personal relation, not subject relation; that make demands, high demands, of spirit as well as mind; for those entering upon adulthood thirst for spiritual challenge. And perhaps, hopefully, these schools will provide opportunity not only for recreation but also for the physical labor which is so primary, but today so much neglected, an organic need of the maturing youth.

It is not too much to expect that the civilization which mastered space can master the problem of space-age education. If this civilization is to endure, it must do so with no less concentra­ tion on the education objective than on the moon goal.

—S.B.

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7

The

MASS

M E D IA

and The

J E W IS H

SOUL

by YAAKOV JACOBS

W

H E N Johann Gutenberg de­ veloped movable type in the middle of the 15th century, making p o ssib le mass production of the printed page, he unleashed a flow of words that grew from a trickle to a flood which in our time grows larger with every passing second. He also made possible the printing of Hebrew books which in just a few years be­ came a thriving industry throughout the European continent. But Guten­ b e r g ’s discovery also raised many H alachic questions concerning the revolutionary new way of producing books — questions which agitated Poskim, and divided them for cen­ turies, and which still figure in the Responsa literature of our own age.

Is printing Halachically the same 8

as writing, or is it more like engraving?

Could a Sefer Torah, or a mezzuzah, or the parshioth of Tefillin be printed?

What of the requirement that such writing had to have the intent of “lishmah" — could this be achieved on a printing press? What of the earliest Hebrew books produced mainly by non-Jewish printers? A fascinating body of responsa developed around such questions, which were often hotly contested. The development of the newspaper, made possible by Gutenberg, raised such questions as: could a newspaper notice of a man’s death free his wife to marry, in the absence of actual witnesses?

But yet another basic question troubled Rabbinic authorities: was the mass production of seforim really JEWISH L IF E

desirable? One of the early responsa on this issue makes^a case to the con? trary: “Printing has weakened Torah.

Many ignoramuses now haughtily take it upon themselves to publish their worksl” The Chatham Sofer was later to elaborate on this point of view: It used to be the practice in Israel that renowned Geonim would first write their words [by hand] and if the Chachomim of the generation accepted them, they would authorize reproducing them. Otherwise, they were sim ply discarded, for who would care to invest his money foolishly? Under those conditions, most of the published works were worthwhile. But since the introduc­ tion of printing, this practice has been abandoned, with the result that many Geonim restrain themselves from publishing . .. and their works are lost. On the other hand, many who are anxious to have their works widely disseminated, publish them whether they are worthy or not.

Other Poskim bemoaned the dissemin­ ation of books which were at best distracting, and at worst demoralizing.

UT the world has changed. When the conglomerate of print and electronic communications devices, which we lump together as the mass media, sprang almost full-grown on our society, there was no time to debate Halachically, or otherwise, the merits of this new technology. Perhaps few saw the inherent dangers. George Bernard Shaw was asked shortly be­ fore his death what he thought of tele­ vision which had just been introduced, and with keen insight he replied, “I

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don’t know — I ’m afraid to look!”

The Chofetz Chayyim used to say that while we need no support for Torah truths from science, the devel­ opment of radio makes it easier to understand that “what we say here can be heard elsewhere.” We can extend that concept to television: what w e do here can be seen elsewhere, and indeed can be recorded for eternity. (It is difficult to think of a more H ELLish experience than to be forced to watch and listen to a video tape-recording of how we spent some of our precious moments on this earth.) But there is more than that to the “theology” of the mass media.

It is instructive to observe how television, films, newspapers, and the mass-circulation magazines comple­ ment each other, both in their edito­ rial and advertising space. A s one medium becomes more permissive — films, for example, -^ newspapers and magazines pick it up by running photographs from the films. When there is a “breakthrough” in the printed word, it is quickly reflected in films, and soon afterwards on T V and the stage. T V commercials declare “A s Advertised in Life,1’ and magazine ads urge the reader, “You saw it on your T V — buy it!” — an absurd circular non-sequitor.

Whether we tremblingly wait for his newest pronouncement, or de­ nounce him as an opportunist, we can hardly react to the problems created by the mass media without thinking of Marshall McLuhan, described as the first prophet of the Electronic Media.

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He makes oracular statements, and then wards off any possible criticism by declaring they are only “probes” — attempts to gain insight into what the Media are doing to Media Man. What emerges from much of his work is the declaration: ‘T h e medium is the message,” that is, the impact of tele­ vision, for example, is very much the same, regardless of what is actually coming out of the tube at any given time. McLuhan has himself parodied his own message in a book called “The Medium is the Massage,” and some critics have torn him to shreds because of the jargon he insists on using to expound his thesis: Th e se new m edia are, in his [M cLuhan’s] view, making written language obsolete, or, in his (written) language, the Electronic age "now brings oral and tribal ear-culture to the literate West [whose] technology now begins to translate the visual or eye man back into the tribal and oral pattern with its seamless web of kinship and interdependence.*

MacDonald goes on to say that “if I have inadvertantly suggested that ‘Understanding Media* is pure non­ sense, let me correct that impression.

It is impure nonsense, nonsense adul­ terated by sense.” But even his sever­ est critics admit that McLuhan has performed a service by calling atten­ tion to the drastic changes wrought by the electronic tube. McLuhan recently defended himself by saying that he is * D w ig h t M a c D o n a ld , q u o tin g from M c L u h a n ’s “ Understanding Media,” in “ M c L u h a n : P ro and C on ” (Funk <& Wagnalls, New York, 1968) 10

like a man who reports a fire being charged with arson.* The word “fire” is apt: the electronic tube is consum­ ing modern man’s soul; it ¡¿devouring the neshomoth of our young people.

Orthodox Jewry, already smart­ ing under the blows of a hostile cul­ ture and society, and committed to the eternal values of Torah, has most to lose, and most to fear, from the “fire” of the tube — we use the word “fire” at the admitted risk of sounding fundamentalist and panic-stricken.

H E treachery of the Mass Media lies in a single aspect of its nature: it operates on the human psyche without its subject — victim? — being at ail aware that it is being acted upon. In 1957, a commercial firm introduced a method of crawling into peoples’ minds without their aware­ ness. It called for flashing a message on a movie or T V screen in a flash of 1/3000th of a second ^ too fast for the human eye to catch, but long enough for it to enter the mind. And the method had been experimentally proven to be effective. Such messages had been used for six weeks in a New Jersey theater to urge patrons to buy certain products, and during that

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*lt is interesting to note that McLuhan himself is a committed Catholic, and the growing numbers of Jewish “theologians” who are scurrying about searching for the theological dimensions of the Holocaust, the State of Israel, and other futile quests, have expended little energy H if at all — to examining the impact of the Media on the Jewish soul., JEW ISH LIF E

period, sales for a certain soft-drink plot by now; they couldn't get away went up 18 percent, and sales of pop­ with it. We can't really be sure, corn went up by 57 percent. A joke- though; no one could prove it isn't ster said at the time: -“I don't know happening. But this is no .time for why, but the other day I went out and logic: for the sake of our sanity, let's bought a tractor." Imagine what a agree we aren't all the victims of a candidate for public office could do subliminal plot to subvert our minds. with a subliminal advertising cam­ But, on a smaller scale, at a speed paign, when it has been shown that slower than 1/3000th of a second, and even an o v e rt campaign heavily with our eyes - and our mouths financed can win an election. Imagine w id e op e n . . . is n 't it re ally how a demagogue could use subliminal happening? messages to subvert an entire nation.

Think how "well-meaning" mission­ E L L - what is really happening? aries could get better value for their First,, let's look at some cold money than they ever dreamed pos­ statistics. It is estimated that 98 per sible. The loud voice of protest was cent of American homes have radios, heard in the land, and advertisers were and 86 per cent have television sets — forbidden to use subliminal advertis­ the latter figure is probably higher, the ing. And we all breathed easier — at percentage growing every day. It is least one catastrophe had been further^ estimated that radio, films, averted.

T V , and reading of newspapers and B u t .. . was it really? How could magazines account for about thirtywe know if some clever operator was five hours a week of the average sn e a k in g his "message" into our American's time, with T V getting an minds, without anyone realizing that increasing part of that time. With such the shift in public opinion revealed by coverage of our population, we can a Gallup poll was mechanically in­ only guess at the tremendous influence duced? How can we be sure that our o f the mass media. A n objective opinion's are really our own — not the ‘‘S u rv e y o f B ro a d c a st Jou rn al­ result of a flash of light that entered i s m / 1 9 6 8 - 1 9 6 9 , " prepared by our brains at a speed of 1/3000th of a C o lu m b ia U niversity's School of se c o n d ? T h a t new eight-button Journalism, opens with these words: double-breasted suit you just bought ¡§1 The most powerful social force in the was it really your idea? That new car world’s most powerful nation — this with all the extras, including power is what broadcasting, and television broadcasting in particular, has been ash-trays, whose eight-cylinder engine called with increasing frequency dur­ is driving you mad each month when ing the past two decades. Certainly the payments are d u e p -d id you need this vast enterprise is the largest it? Well, of course, it's not likely — single source of entertainment and someone would have uncovered the information for the United States.

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There is no moment from early morning till late at night when broad­ ca sters do not have the minds, imaginations, and emotions o f tens o f millions o f American citizens at their disposal, [emphasis added]

There are those who argue that this influence need not of necessity be bad. For example, each week T V channels give time for religious pro­ gramming as a public service. But in comparison to the normal television fare, most, of this programming is on a prim itive level, and appears early Sunday morning when most people are still asleep. The networks give away time which they couldn't likely sell — and they couldn't even give it away if there weren’t people willing to tape these programs and then wake up their families.on Sunday morning to sit around and watch them.

Psychologists and psychiatrists debate the effects of T V in shaping children's minds. Some insist that the violence that children are subjected to serves as a release, and does not ad­ versely affect them. Yet, when unusual crimes take place, and are reported in gruesome detail in the press and on television, they frequently re-occur within days as some impressionable mind is motivated to try the same thing.

The stark fact is that television spreads new ideas literally as fast as the speed of light: 186,282 miles per second! And most of the new ideas that germinate in American society today are just a rehash of old degen­ eracies. A critic writing in The New T2

Yorker put it this way: “ It's hard to forget that the first thing that boring old Gutenberg printed was the Bible and the first thing television gave us was Uncle Miltie and, on present evidence, there doesn’t seem to be any very pressing basis for tossing out the first because of the second.'' Society may prefer Uncle Miltie, or they may feel that if ideas spread - so be it.

Surely the spread of the drug culture would have been impossible without the m ass media. And surely the present student revolution, for better or for worse, is a product of the media -- it is a journalistic axiom that demonstrations are called off if the television crew fails to show up. But for the Jew it goes even deeper than that.

H E Y used to say in the yeshivoth in Europe, and now the like is said in the yeshivoth in America, that if a bochur in Warsaw cut down his learning time from eighteen hours a day to sixteen hours, then a Jew in Vienna might stop observing Kashruth, and a Jew in Paris might light up a cigar on Shabboth. There is a corollary proposition in our society today: w hen the outer limits of general morality are pushed farther out by the avant-garde, then the less. “daring" among us move a bit closer to the old limit. The head of an orthodox teach­ ers seminary told me a while ago that he now discusses with his girls subjects he would never have dreamed of bring­ ing up a few years ago. We are all being

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caught up in the “new morality” even those of us who are revolted by it.

of the type seen by “those of us who have visite d Mea Shearim in ./ .

Jerusalem . . . [which] is legalism at its The most sorry victims of the worst.” He quickly rejects relativism, lightning spread of the permissive the other extreme, and opts for some culture are our young people, not only middle point between the two. While those who submit to it, but those who our Prophets were the first to warn of resist it as weH, whose resistance takes m echanical legalism,-¿they just as something out of them, and drains clearly saw that upholding the Law them of spiritual resources they might was the only defense against relativ­ have been able to use in a more pro­ ism. So again, in spite of pious protes­ ductive direction. tations against relativism by Christian In essence, the orthodox Jew thinkers $ and some “Jewish theo­ today, — our youth particularly ¡g is logians,” there is still a rejection of the target of a massive propaganda morality as taught by Torah. Such effort which is destroying beliefs and a ambivalence can only lead to the next w ay o f life which have survived logical step in the march toward total pogroms, inquisitions, and even the permissiveness which may reveal itself Holocaust, only to submit to the high­ in a newspaper review that might read speed press and the T V tube. And as follows: there seems to be no way of evading “Five minutes before the curtain this attack which is of course not came down on the opening night per­ aimed directly at us, but is thereby not formance of ‘Darkness and Death,’ a the least bit deadly. A rabbi said a member of the cast was shot to death while ago that a Jew couldn't read past before a packed house. The shooting the front page of The New Y ork Times was not accidental^H it was in the without being exposed to immorality. script pi and will be repeated at each Several days later, The Times ran a performance. picture on its front page of a painting “A t a press conference held back that had been sold at a record price; it stage, John Guilden, peppery young was a nude. producer of the play, explained that A d is t in g u is h e d C h ris tia n the ‘killing’ was perfectly legal. The theologian recently published a Work revolver that fired the shot the audi­ called “Morality and the Mass Media” ence heard, he explained, contained (K y le Haselden, Broadman Press, blank cartridges, but the victim has an Nashville, 1968). He suggested, most apparatus strapped to his chest which properly, that to intelligently discuss sends a live bullet close to his heart the two subjects they must first be when he activates a switch in his clearly defined. In his search for a trouser pocket. He actually kills him­ definition of morality, he gingerly self, but this doesn’t diminish the dismisses an extreme, kind of legalism dramatic impact of the closing scene.

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The bullet is placed so that it takes five minutes before the man dies, precisely as the curtain slowly de­ scends.

“Asked if he wasn’t guilty of abetting suicide, Guilden said, I f we are dragged into court, our attorneys will argue that this is not suicide since the man could change his mind at the last moment.’ He refused to identify the dead actor, but made it clear that he had of course consented, and his wife and children will be paid for his services. ‘We have “consenting adults” lined up for what we hope will be a long run,’ Guilden said, ‘and there will be an a c t u a l death at every performance.’

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“Critics had mixed reactions to the play. Clifton Stern of this news­ paper noted that the play suffers from the traditional weak second act, but it is nevertheless a significant break­ through for the freedom of^the arts.

An official of the A SP C A , questioned after the performance, refused to comment other than to say, ‘We can’t be all over the ball park: our concern is primarily with animals.’ ” Where do we go from here? How can we escape the consequences o f this moral breakdown? * 3 we can see why Marshall McLuhan often has to take refuge in saying “this is only a probe; what do you think about it?”

JEW ISH L IF E

Thirty Years of B'nei Akivah Yeshivoth in Retrospect

by O. FEUCHTWANGER HE B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Move­ ment in Israel celebrated its 30th Anniversary on Marcheshvan 10th this year. The date is worth commemorat­ ing because a vigorous second genera­ tion of students (sons of the Move­ ment’s pioneers) is already markedly n o tice a b le in its nearly twenty yeshivoth for adults as well as adoles­ cents. The ability to attract future generations has always been a criterion of the strength and vitality of any movement.

The beginnings of this Move­ ment were as humble as those of many other great ones. Rav Moshe T z ’vi Neriyah, its founder and head ever since and now a foremost member of the K ’nesseth representation of the National Religious Party (incorporate ing the Mizrachi), was almost faced with expulsion when he and a band of

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young devotees took over, without asking too many questions, an empty building in K ’far Ha-Ro’eh, earmarked for an as yet non-existent agricultural yeshivah. They were backed by no resources whatsoever but without knowing had lit a spark which, being fed by incessant Torah studies, devel­ oped into a sacred, enduring flame.

Their ultimate object then was, and has ever since remained, the crea­ tion of a fully Torah-based yet modern society in Eretz Israel. The Yeshivoth T ic h o n iy o t h (o ffe rin g secondary education) affiliated to the Movement are now spread from Chaderah in the vicinity of Haifa in the north to Be’er Sheva in the south and last but not least include the Yeshivath ha-Kothel (Western Wall) in the Old City of Jerusalem, the first to be established there after the liberation. These 15

schools teach Torah two-thirds of the day while the remaining third, com­ prising late afternoon and evening, is given to general studies leading to university entrance level, with results in no way lagging behind those of purely secular schools.

This pattern, unique in allotting to Torah twice the time it does to all other subjects, gradually evolved with­ out conscious planning. Many of the early students devoted their evenings to secular studies in private and were su rp risin g ly successful in external examinations. Their individual enter­ prise was therefore adopted officially and has, if anything, since improved. It is true that high intellectual capacity is required to make the grade in Torah as well as in general studies but this very fact guarantees the Movement the best brains among the growing generation.

Its total roll of pupils is now approach­ ing the 1,000 mark and the Move­ ment’s top level yeshivoth such as Kerem be-Yavneh, teaching Talmud exclusively like all of their kind in Israel, have fed hundreds of students in to y e sh iv o th like Ponievesh, Chevron, Merkaz, Ha-Rav (Kook) and others of similar classic reputation.

Another institution, though not affiliated to the Movement yet pro­ claiming its concepts, ought to be mentioned here. This is the Midrashiyah in Pardes Channah, the Israeli equivalent of Eton and Groton. The proportion of Torah to other subjects is the same there as it is in the Move­ ment. It has also produced more than one generation of intellectual leaders 16

dedicated to every Torah value. Its graduates are among the most distin­ guished students at the Medical and S cie n ce Faculties o f the Hebrew University.

O student o f the institutions enumerated is dissuaded from volunteering for the special orthodox units of the Israel Defense Forces, in som e o f w h ic h parachutists are

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trained. The yeshivah students deter­ mine the atmosphere and spirit of these units. Not surprisingly, their military reputation is extremely high, owing to their Torah-inspired morale.

The Movement also comprises independently sited and administered girls’ colleges, each called Ulpana, in which authentic Torah thinking is imparted to the students along with an ambition to become mothers of a future generation of Torah pioneers.

Today, seats of higher learning in Israel, such as the Weizmann Insti­ tute, and some of Israel’s most vital industries such as aircraft production, are in their basic research divisions staffed by graduates of the B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement and kindred insti­ tutions in markedly higher proportion than the number of graduates from elsew here. Clearly the spiritually unworldly, but in no way world-deny­ ing outlook, o f the products of these y e sh iv o th makes unfailing impact everywhere they render service to Israel. It is almost inconceivable for any one of them even to consider emigrating, something unfortunately not so uncommon among non-religious JEW ISH L IF E

academics in Israel.

All contributions by B ’nei Akiva graduates and their like are made in an affirmative spirit with a view to apply­ ing eternal Torah standards and truths to solving even the minutest and most passing problem posed by life or social reality. Torah cannot conquer society without determined conquerors such as these graduates. Incidentally, in Israel’s universities nowadays, the field of science presents least contradictions to Tradition, largely thanks to their dynamic Torah knowledge pinpointing and illuminating the many blind spots of Science. Some may see here an entirely novel approach but this a misconception still rooted in our Diaspora past which we have not succeeded in fully shaking off yet. It may therefore in this connection be of value to probe into the historical ante­ cedents of the concepts now so pro­ nouncedly animating and guiding the B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement.

serious attempts at reconciling seem­ ingly conflicting views of Judaism on one hand and philosophy and science on the other. These were a main pre­ occupation of Spanish Jewry for perhaps five hundred years and have remained to this day among the most glorious pages in Jewish history. But, in principle, all these discussions were concerned more or less with epistof mo logy only, i.e.* the classification and stratification of accepted know­ ledge. Sources of certainty were estab­ lished and defined in the process, existing chains of reasoned conclusions and of apparent cause and effect were broken up, and new ones forged. Data had to be harmonized. Basically, even in the non-Jewish world, philosophy and science were only acceptable as a buttress to religion. Their value was thus strictly utilitarian. In short, the handmaids were put in their place, told to be neither too inquisitive nor too self-assertive.

The Renaissance tried to bring S LO N G as philosophy had been back the outlook of ancient Greece content to serve as a handmaid which considered all mental pursuits as to religion, science could not conceiv­ values in themselves. Now it did not ably, have claimed a higher status. This matter so much any more whether re­ was the position in Europe during the ligion and philosophy or science could Middle Ages. With the Renaissance, be reconciled. Even where and when attempts at reversing the positions they agreed, the question arose as to were initiated. Central Europe was which was to be the supreme arbiter, caught up in this movement only in the paramount value determining life the wake of the French Revolution. and conduct. The problem was no Secular culture therefore did not be­ longer upon which channels of com­ come a problem for European Jewry munications to rely or how to decode before that time. It is true that, even the language of metaphysics. Now a then, major Jewish thinkers had al­ decision had to be made: whether to ready for a thousand years made accept intellect and senses as man’s

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exclusive window to the world and to deny any possibility of contact with things beyond their reach, or to look upon the physical universe as a mere scenario background to our life, with man’s path to be guided and inspired by values emanating from the real yet non-physical world. It is interesting to note that four hundred years ago, the Maharal of Prague — one of our profoundest thinkers, whose ideas are still basic to authentic Judaism -psensed this dichotomy and tried to forestall it for Jewry by his never-ending empha­ sis on the unseen higher “separate” world, the only one which mattered.

But within his unequivocal scale of values, he still had a niche for secular learning as an aid towards a more ordered life. Before the Ghetto walls came finally down rather less than two hundred years ago, the paths of Jewry and European culture had hardly crossed. A few individuals even then managed to keep their balance when trying to combine absolute Jewish values with necessary secular skills such as medicine.

S it h ap p e n e d , Jews were admitted into European society in the beginning of the last century at a very critical stage. The forces of “ En Iigh te n m e n t” everywhere now claimed culture and civilization to be the highest achievement of the human spirit. Allegiance to older values was termed backward and obscurantist.

Thus it was no wonder that those Jews who, between 1750 and 1850, fell to the lure o f European culture emerged

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from the process as Europeans but no longer Jews i f some not even nomin­ ally. Supreme values are mutually exclusive by their very definition.

Either religion or secular culture pre­ vails.

The East European solution to this problem of mass apostasy was to try and perpetuate a Jewish atmos­ phere by minimizing contacts between Judaism and general culture. This attem pt certainly did not save a majority. In Germany, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch tried a different kind of remedy. He aimed at integrating Judaism and European culture within the system o f “Torah im Derech Eretz” (Torah with worldly culture).

He knew full well that European values, after at least a hundred years’ acceptance by German Jewry, could not be deflated by a sleight of hand.

He therefore proclaimed that intrinsi­ cally there was no contradiction be­ tween these and our values and they could be superimposed on each other with, if anything, gain for both sides.

We are not going to discuss here w hether Hirsch was right in this assumption for his time or whether subh an assumption can be made for our time. Suffice it to say that it was a legitimate, honest attempt on his part, although no doubt based on the Nine­ teenth Century view that it was hardly likely that any values accepted by then would ever succumb to newer and p o s s ib ly contradictory ones. Had Hirsch foreseen that the only perman­ ence in merely human values would prove to be their perpetual change, he JEWISH L IF E

might possibly have hesitated in trying to reconcile Judaism with something which might topple tormorrow and hence will entail a continuous redefini­ tion of Judaism in line with the next ephemeral intellectual fashion. Juda­ ism was too sacred for him even to have tried such a daunting and impos­ sible task, had he but fathomed that he was demanding just that. Yet we must never judge people outside their historical setting. Even within the latter, though, there was something fundamentally new and revolutionary in Hirsch’s thought.

them. The limited value of the bricks has been fully absorbed in the limitless overiding value of the structure.

Had Hirsch propounded such a view of the relationship of worldly culture to Torah, he would have lost all appeal for a generation literally soaked in European values. We must admit that his new approach by which T orah and European culture how became complementary rather than supplementary saved many who would have o th e rw ise been spiritually doomed from a Jewish point of view.

Hirsch tried not to be an iconoclast in either the field of Torah or that of P to Hirsch’s time authentic culture. To this very day it is a moot Judaism had never acknowl­ point whether he consciously tried to edged any values but its own. Secular redefine the relationship of Jewish and culture was acceptable to the extent secular values by putting them on by which it could serve and even almost one level in his own mind or occasionally enhance these values. whether he adopted his attitude as a Maimonides practised medicine in ful­ necessary evif and on a temporary fillment of a Torah injunction and basis only in order to be able to appeal used philosophy as a means of fortify­ to those whom he was trying to save ing Jewish convictions. Though being spiritually. But it is hard to envisage one of the top scholars of his age, his that Hirsch could have propagated general learning was strictly supple­ with such fervor so revolutionary a mentary to the undiluted Torah out­ change in Jewish thinking without look he presented. A t best, it gave it a really believing in its absolute validity. gloss but certainly did not add to its This appears to be the current consen­ content. When, six hundred years sus of opinion of contemporary Hirsch later, the Gaon of Vilna, no mean students. Hirsch may have been selec­ mathematician, said that lack of secu­ tive in regard to what he acknowl­ lar knowledge may result in a tenfold edged as culture but whatever part of lack of Torah learning, he similarly it he did approve became to him a c o n sid e re d experimentally proven necessary ingredient for the perfect facts as necessary bricks in building up flowering of a Torah personality. the structure of Judaism. A structure, Yet on this basis, we must ob­ however, is not just a collection of viously grant that there is another side bricks but transcends and overshadows to the coin. The traditional outlook as

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represented by Maimonides and the Gaon of Vilna had neither been dis­ owned nor disproved. It was carried on in Eastern Europe until the very end.

The point at issue between the classi­ cal and the Hirschian approaches was never a quantitative one. A 50-50 division of a school curriculum be­ tween Torah and secular subjects does not necessarily imply that its author had adopted Hirsch’s scale of parallel values. On the other hand, a few late evening hours of secular study in an otherwise full-time yeshivah may still have an emphatic bias towards Hirsch.

B u t generally speaking, we would consider a curriculum of which 50 percent is devoted to secular studies as Hirsch-inspired, whereas one allocating most of its time to Torah as of preHirsch leanings. Pressburg in Hungary and Kelm in Lithuania, yeshivoth second to none, allowed students to pursue secular studies outside the ob­ ligatory timetable, but governmental interference was bitterly resented even when only an insignificant period of time was asked to be earmarked for voluntary students of secular subjects.

Volozhin, the veteran yeshivah of Russia, preferred its own closure to Government dictation of its curricu­ lum. Once accepted, it would have been impossible to foretell where such dictation might end. On the other hand, Lida and Vilna gave their stu­ dents a choice within limits. But leav­ ing these mere tactical attitudes aside, the very fact that secular subjects were utilised as a means to an end ^ and more often than not, a profession g 20

but not valued as an end in themselves could not but scale down their impor­ tance. Thus the secular subjects ob­ viously attracted only such students as felt a natural inclination towards the ends they hoped to reach with their help. Some of these students were of great distinction but there were not enough in total to bring about any significant change in the East Euro­ pean system of Yeshivah education.

Absolute values were not easily sacri­ ficed for pure utilitarianism.

As for West Europeans, the de­ generation of German culture into Hitlerism clearly marked the point beyond which the attempts at harmo­ nising contradictory values had be­ come an absurdity.

H IS was the position of secular stu d ie s in authentic Jewish education after the Second World War and at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. The latter, of course, had to work out its own educa­ tional system. There had been at­ tempts even before World War I and between the wars to establish various types of Jewish day schools largely in im ita tio n o f existing patterns in Europe. With Europe in shambles, physically as well as spiritually, new prototypes for a Torah education, not hostile in principle to a few secular ingredients, had to be devised. The old images were irretrievably shattered.

Israel’s approach to everything is more pragmatic than doctrinaire. Far-sighted leaders of orthodox Jewry there clear­ ly saw the necessity of creating a

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Torah intelligentsia. Was there any other way of Torah Jewry gaining a firm foothold in public life, the Civil Service, and the intellectual leadership o f the nation? The people who thought along these lines knew that, just as the other-worldliness of the Old Yishuv would never make an impact on the State, the existing networks of orthodox secondary education like the Mizrachi’s had no clear sense of direc­ tion and, after the European debacle, no scale of values to recommend itself an y more. Leading educationalists were therefore glad to encounter the wholly indigenous B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement which had arisen in Eretz Yisroel at the beginning of World War 11 and had no European roots whatsoever. It was thus under no obligation to live up to examples set by entirely non-secular institutions destroyed in the Holocaust. It was free to experiment. It did so in a strictly pragmatic way.

The B ’nei Akiva yeshivoth had already fed into universities students who had privately qualified without prejudice to their yeshivah studies.

These aspirations could thus be fitted into a full-time yeshivah curriculum.

Before doing so, the movement rather extended than reduced the scope of its Torah studies. They were to cover the initial two-thirds of each day. The latter third in the evenings was set aside for secular study leading up to university level, with the proviso that any B ’nei Akiva university entrant was expected to already be a Talmud scholar in his own right. Thisjdeal was JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

well attainable after four to five years’ intensive yeshivah study. When devis­ ing its program, the movement was no longer concerned with the long-stand­ ing controversy on how to value secu­ lar studies, although even today the discussion on this point has not ceased to exercise American Orthodoxy. The B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement is only concerned with the program’s feasibility. On the one hand, the Move­ ment certainly proclaims the paramountcy of all Torah values. On the other, it takes fully for granted the secular studies it provides as a fact of life.

S o far,* this pragmatism has worked not unsuccessfully over the last thirty years ever since the Move­ ment was inaugurated. The present anniversary year may be the time for a little reflection and assessment of results.

H E R E already exists a second g e n e ra tio n o f B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah graduates proudly following the path of their fathers. Former stu­ dents are very prominent in the new strategic border settlements and thus evince the true Jewish spirit of selfsacrificing pioneerdom. Some have made a mark in rocket research and various other scientific fields. The influence of products of the move­ ment on civic life is definitely rising.

Yet, we must not delude ourselves with the notion that there are no problems.

B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah teachers, more often than not, have to be

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recruited from yeshivoth of a different orientation and therefore have no uni­ form attitude towards secular studies even on a purely pragmatic level. All the more, parents cannot be expected to react uniformly. The result is that students are very much left to make up their own minds on how to view and value secular studies. This may lead some to accept them as an unwel­ come necessity only, whereas others may be led to over-estimate them above their Torah studies and the values these present by which their lives ought to be fully governed. Just as this latter group will never become leading Torah scholars, the former can­ not be expected to become believing high-grade secular experts as are re­ quired by present-day Israel. (Had the m ovem e n t produced a sufficient number of keen lawyers of Supreme Court calibre, the majority of the Court deciding “Who is a Jew” might have given a different verdict.) This ambivalence has, so far, not responded to any remedy.

Although, imitation being the finest form of flattery, many nonB ’nei Akiva Yeshivah institutions have adopted the B ’nei Akiva program and the very name created for their yeshi­ voth, “Yeshivah Tichonith” (Secular Education Yeshivah), the basic prob­ lem is still there for all of them.

Israel’s pragmatism and social need have kept the movement going so far by pressure from outside but in the

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long run it will require an inner source of emotive power for its dynamism.

This does not necessarily mean that the old Hirsch-centered controversy must be revived and resolved one way or the other. A totally new approach may be possible by way of a redemp­ tive and messianic onslaught on life and society at large but the B ’nei Akiva Yeshivah Movement and kind­ red institutions cannot hope to expand if what they stand for — the conquest of Israel society by Torah — does not become a fully satisfying and cher­ ished aim activating all their students.

All available means and tools towards its achievement must be willingly and fully exploited.

This challenging end can very well be the supreme Torah-dictated value while the road towards it, run­ ning partly through secular territory, need not exercise a spell of its own.

Yet an emotional attachment to the ultimate overriding goal and all pos­ sible approaches to it will have to be generated. A n y more ambivalence is dangerous. The final shape of an ideal and ever-expanding B ’nei Akiva Yeshi­ vah Movement may not have been thought out yet and hence no one today is in a position to predict such an outcome, yet it is inconceivable that the Movement is going to stop half way. May there be someone in ten years’ time on the occasion of another round anniversary, able to record the Movement’s decisive leap into Jewish History!

JEW ISH LIFE

ECOLOGY AND JEWISH THEOLOGY

by RALPH PELCOVITZ N E W decade has the tendency of closing the chapter on old, tired, talked-out issues while riveting man’s attention to other compelling concerns. This does not mean that the old problems are solved, but the passions and prejudices aroused by them are defused, releasing energies and enthusiasm to consider other issues. A s we move from the sixties to the seventies (or from the twenties to the thirties in the Jewish calendar) we find that the Vietnam War, though still in progress, is fading as the central issue of national debate, while a new one is now projected to center stage — that of environmental pollution. The quality of our environment, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat is no longer the exclusive

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concern of conservationists or small activist groups, but it merited major attention in President N ixon ’s first State of the Union address. Ecology — the branch of science concerned with the inter-relationship of organisms and their environments, is “in” and very much a part of our vocabulary.

The link between religion and ecology has been discussed by perceptive observers who correctly understand that since it is man, with his technological progress and power, who has polluted the waters and fouled the air, then the role and position of man must be carefully studied. His values, his power of dominion granted by the Almighty, must be re-examined. The mastery of man over “the fish of the sea and over 23

the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth” has obvious limitations that are imposed by his sense of responsibility to himself, society, and the future. The crisis of environmental quality, which is the quality of life itself, cannot be considered only as a political and scientific one but is essentially a religious one, for the ultimate solution lies with man’s ability to discipline himself — to control his appetite for more and bigger (which alas is not always better) and to impose limits upon his expansion and productivity.

This is not only a moral and ethical problem in the religious context but above all one o f learning how to define man’s role here on earth and how to view the world.

Many have written and spoken of this religious element in ecology, stressing invariably the Biblical story of Creation while touching upon many other important areas such as: “this” versus “other” worldliness; individual­ ism and the social order; G-d’s involvement and concern for this world; and finally, the population explosion as an integral part of the pollution problem. How does Torah view this entire ecological problem?

The equation by many of the Jewish and Christian religious interpre­ tations of these questions is erroneous and needs to be corrected. It is important to explain the Torah per­ spective of man, G-d, “this,” and “other” world Iiness as well as the relationship and responsibility of the 24

individual to the community. Careful examination will reveal that the Jewish view is fundamentally different from that of Christianity and “should prove to be of unique interest to those who are sincerely concerned for the quality of the environment* It is also impor­ tant that we, ourselves, as Torah Jews, become involved and interested in this problem since the environment must concern us not only in the traditional sense o f Jews in exile but also in its purest physical sense as well. We must ask ourselves, as ^ responsible indi­ viduals, what is the Torah’s attitude regarding man’s relationship to his physical environment? What can we do to educate ourselves, and those whom we can influence, to correct the injustices perpetrated against society and nature by man who may well have been motivated by a misdirected application of the role granted to him

by G-d as recorded in our Torah.

ET u s first examine the role given to Adam by the Almighty when he was created and placed upon earth to “work and keep” the Garden of Eden. Our Sages see the position of man as that of a partner in Creation (Tractate Shabboth 119 and 10; Sanhedrin 7), a creation that is never ending. A s such, man has not only the great privilege of partnership with G-d in creativity but an even greater responsibility in his exercise of this creative power. He can be neither neutral or exploitive, rather he must be productive and protective in his

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positive use of the power granted to him, for the purpose and end result must be “good” as the creation of G-d is good.

The Torah uses two phrases regarding Adam 's mastery over Crea­ tion. One is vTcivshuhu, to conquer and subdue, while the other is redu, to have dominion and mastery over the fish, the fowl, and the animal king­ dom. It is interesting to note that after the flood/* Noah and his sons are blessed by G-d and assured that their fear and dread will be upon “every animal of the earth, upon every bird of the heavens,” but no mention is made of subduing or having dominion. The commandment to be fruitful and multiply is, however, repeated to Noah. What is the meaning of these two key words, v ’kivshuhu and redu ?

What is basicaHy the difference be­ tween them? It is important that we understand the significance of these terms for they go to the very heart of the issue that has been raised by many writers when they discuss the religious implications of environmental pollu­ tion, namely that of man's creation in the image of G-d and his right to dominion. This, of course, is inter­ preted by them to justify man’s unlimited power to produce, exploit, and even pollute. Samson Raphael HirSch, in his commentary on the Torah, interprets the phrase redu to mean the bringing down of something from its own free height into the power of another. It was ordained that all living creatures and the earth as

JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

well be brought under the sway of man.

In this sense the word “dominion” is correct,^ but only partially so, for as our great com­ mentator Rash i points out, the expres­ sion veyirdu has a twofold and two edged meaning. One is to have mastery, but the other connotation is to descend. Although he makes this observation in a homiletic sense, it underlines a fundamental point of view as to man’s role as master and the limitations of his dominion. A s Hirsch stresses, man has not been given the right or the power to have all subservient to him. “The earth and its creatures may have other relationships of which we are ignorant, in which they serve their own purpose.’’

(Bereshith 1,26) In other words, beyond the control of man over nature there is a higher control, a Divine one, whereby G-d’s purpose and objective is served and with which man has no right to interfere.

HE name Adam is derived from adomah, the earth whence he was formed and to which he returns.

His dependency as well as his origin is established in his name, even as he is granted mastery. In the Torah view, man must learn to limit his dominion to that of cultivating and developing the earth and its riches in a manner that is consonant with the, dual meaning of veyirdu, sensitive to the implication that there must be harmony with nature, tempering his drive for mastery. Man must learn to

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master and control himself, his greed and appetites, even as he controls the world, avoiding the exploitation that is both sejfish and senseless. Otherwise he will bring himself down, eventually destroying his environment, and descending to a level that is unlivable, thereby negating the very fruits of his mastery.

The “bringing dow n” of other creatures from their level of free will under the will and mastery of man, as Hirsch puts it, is meaningful only if man himself is considered to be a being of free will. The Jewish view of man is that he is a free agent and that the meaning of man created in “the image of G-d” is his ability and power to choose, just as G-d has the ultimate power of free choice. One of the names that the Torah applies to the Almighty is Shaddai, which is a contraction of the phrase “that I have said to my world — sufficient”B | she’o marti le’olam dai. (Chagigah 12; Midrash Rabbah, Bereshith, 10) The cessation of creation, the calling of a halt to the expansion of matter, is a manifestation of G-d’s omnipotence.

When G-d created the world, our Sages tell us, there was a threat of physical matter getting out of hand. When the Almighty called a halt to the unlimited expansion of matter, He set limits upon the very proliferation of nature and at the same time implanted within man this same capacity. Man has the power, if he has the will, to emulate the ways of G-d; he does so when, upon seeing that his expansion and

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material growth threatens to over­ whelm nature’s reserves and the quality of his environment, he calls a halt, voluntarily, to his own creativity and productivity. The stewardship role of man is clearly coupled with the responsibility of man to himself and the world in the Torah perspective for he must be subservient to G-d and His plan, not to society’s demands and wants.

The pattern established in the creation of man is not that of a master who can exploit nature’s resources but of a partner who will utilize and refine the world’s treasures. The meaning of the word vTcivshuhu now becomes clearer. Although it does mean to conquer and subdue, it is dependent upon the ability of man to simul­ taneously suppress and subdue his own selfish desires and greed. The mighty man, the conquerer, has been defined in the Mishnah as one who subdues and conquers his own evil inclination.

(Ovoth 4,1) Hence, the commandment to conquer and subdue the world and all its creatures has its own inherent inhibition and limitationj^fcthe sup­ pressing of man’s rapacious spirit and his acceptance of responsible re­ straints. Only man’s power of selfdiscipline can bring these restraints to bear. The fact that the Mitzvah of “be fruitful and multiply” precedes vTcivshuhu indicates that only if the purpose and ultimate goal of mastery is for the social order, the needs of the family, the development of the home

JEW ISH LIFE

and society, is it granted to man to subdue and conquer nature. The promise that G-d gives to Noah, that the fear of man will be upon the animals and fowl, as well as the granting of the privilege to use and consume them, is also prefaced with the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. This is for the san/ie reason mentioned above, namely!#: that the power granted to man over the animal kingdom as well as over nature is limited to the positive productive needs of society. Since mankind had, before the Flood, failed to subdue its own evil inclinations and gone beyond its legitimate limits of dominion, the post-Flood generation is no longer granted the power of kibush — to conquer, or of redu— dominion.

RO M all that we have presented in the interpretation of the Torah perspective of man and his relationship to the world, we see that mankind was never given the unlimited right to use and abuse the natural resources of the world as its unques­ tioned and unchallenged master, just as when G-d created the world He looked upon Creation and proclaimed it to be good, so must man in his role as G-d’s partner in the ongoing process o f Creation utilize his intelligence, his skills, and his powers to create that which is good. Whatever corrupts and disrupts the harmony of nature is but a manifestation of the words of Kohelleth: “Behold G-d has made man straightforward but they have sought

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out many accountings.” When man ceases to exercise his self-control, in failing to call a cessation to his own creativity, then he also fails to choose that which G-d has commanded him to choose, namely, life itself. - “Choose life” (Devorim 30,19) means to choose the ways of life that secure and replenish it, for man must realize that his role is that of sustainer and not that of survivor. Judaism is concerned very much with this world and its quality, the soil, air, and water, and not that of the “other world,” which is purely spiritual. Judaism, in other words, does not teach or support the idea of man’s limitless dominion and mastery of Creation.

An area of serious consideration, in any discussion of religious thought and ecology, must be that of G-d’s transcendance or His involvement and concern with this world. We have already indicated that Judaism views G-d not only as the Creator but also as Master of tye universe, hence, His very direct involvement and concern with this world and mankind. Unlike Christian religious thought which often removed the Creator from His creation, once the world was brought into being, Judaism has always stressed the imminence and involvement of G-d not only in this world and in nature but also in history. When the Torah uses the phrase “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower” or “I will go down” in connection with Sodom, we are being taught in a most emphatic and graphic manner of G-d’s

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ongoing concern for and with the events 6f man here on earth. The ten plagues visited upon Egypt are a dramatic lesson taught for all time of G-d’s mastery over the elements, all living creatures and man, as well as his involvement in the history of a people and the events surrounding its destiny.

All this, of course, comes t to a crescendo at the Revelation at Sinai when the ultimate va’y ayred occurs: “And the Lord descended upon Mt. Sinai.” (Shemoth 19,20) The building of the Mishkon, the Sanctuary, brought this thought even closer to Israel with the realization that G-d actually was dwelling in their midst. How could such a G-d be detached and remote and removed from their society and this world? The impact made upon the Jewish mind through the Revelation of Torah in a direct manner and the dwelling of G-d in the Sanctuary was then carried beyond the desert into their perman­ ent dwelling place, the Land of Israel.

The centrality of the Land of Israel inJ Jewish theology is extremely important to an understanding of G-d’s relationship to the physical world and the relationship of the Jewish people to nature as well. The statement made recently by a percep­ tive observer of religion that “it might have been better for the natural order if Baal and other nature gods had triumphed over [Ha-Shem] when the Israelites moved into Canaan” (N. Y, Times, Jan. 4,1970) is indicative of an unfortunate misconception of the

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relationship and attitude of the A l­ mighty to the Land of Israel. The Torah tells us that the eyes of G-d are turned to the land of Israel “from the beginning of the year ‘to the end thereof.“ The three Festivals are agricultural as well as spiritual, in their very nature and essence. The prayers of the Jews for rain and dew have ever been an integral part of their religion.

The attitude of the people to the soil was saturated with a sense of sanctity and they attributed magical qualities even to the air when they said “the air of the land of Israel makes one wise.“ (Bova Bathra 158) It certainly follows that such an attitude of sanctity and reverence would militate against the abuse of natural resources and the pollution of air and water, for it would be not only wasteful but a desecration.

O L U T H , the exile, certainly has deprived the Jewish people of this sensitivity to land and environ­ ment in the physical sense. Dispersed as they were among the nations, Jews have been concerned far more with their social and political environment than with ecology. The return, in recent years, to the Land of Israel has indicated a revival of the traditional Jewish respect for environmental quality as witness the passionate pursuit of draining the swamps, restoring the forest lands, and reclaim­ ing the desert. We see, from a number of ordinances instituted by the Sages in the time of the Mishnah, a profound concern for the quality of the

JEWISH LIFE

environment and the protection of the quality of living conditions in the land of Israel. “One must keep his tree at a distance of twenty-five cubits away from the town," (Mishnah Bova Bathra 2,7) in order not to interfere with the beauty and amenities of the town. ’“A permanent threshing floor must be kept at a distance of fifty cubits from a town,” (ibid. 2,8) because excessive chaff may cause harm to sowers and cause their seed to dry. “Carcasses, graves, and tanneries must be kept at fifty cubits from a town” [ibid. 2,9)' on account of the obnoxious odors. It is interesting to note that others concur only if the prevailing winds are strong enough to carry the odor to the town.

There are many other Mishnayoth in the same chapter with similar restrictions. Zoning regulations were strictly enforced not only for social reasons and in keeping with good city planning but because they were motivated by a desire to guarantee the quality and sanctity of the land. Our Sages went so far as to prohibit the raising of small cattle in the Land of Israel for they were concerned lest these animals would interfere with the productivity of the land. (Mishnah Bova Kama 7,7) Even the needs of the Holy Temple were not deemed impor­ tant enough to override the greater need of protecting the natural re­ sources of the land. “All trees are acceptable for the fire on the altar save that of olive trees and vines.” (Tomid 2,3) The reason, obviously, was to JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

protect these bearing trees!

all-important

fruit­

R O M all the examples cited, we realize that ecology was certain­ ly the concern of the Sages and Jewish authorities when Israel dwelt in Israel's land. This concern was motivated by a fundamental reverence for the world at large, which is the handiwork of G-d; the special character of the Land of Israel, which is sacred; and the responsibility of society to insure the safety and comfort of man who is created in the image of G-d.

From the examples cited we can also see that the rights of the individual were subordinated to that of the community. Since in Jewish religious thought the social laws of the Torah and the Talmud are part of a religious code, no less than those that are ritual and ceremonial, we realize that the concept of individualism which characterized much of postReformation Christian theology is alien to our theology. To believe, as they did, that salvation is simply a matter between the individual and G-d, and has no connection to his relationship to other persons or the world he lives in, is diametrically opposed to the fundamentals of Judaism. To us, the individual and the community, the yochid and the tzibbur, are inexorably interwoven and linked. We stress the personal impor­ tance of the individual but his position in and with society is even more vital.

“And you shall be unto Me a kingdom

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of priests and a holy nation” is the prelude to the giving of the Ten Commandments. It js not to the individual that Torah was given but to the entire people of Israel. A “king­ dom ” and a “nation” is the ultimate goal while the individual Jew is but a part of this whole, although retaining his identity and importance.

The individual was given to realize that even his own identity as a Jew, and certainly his fulfillment of the responsibilities placed upon him

by G-d when Israel was chosen, can only be retained and strengthened through the K ’lal, the community.

Many Mitzvoth can be fulfilled only in public. Prayer, the most intimate relationship entered into between man and G-d, requires a minyon, a quorum, for some of its most important and sacred sections in the order of prayer, such as the reading from the Torah and the reciting of the Kaddish. The merit of the Tzibbur, the congregation, is far greater than that of even the most pious and learned individual. (Ovoth 5, 18) G-d is accessible to the community of Israel at all times, whereas to the individual this is true only during the period from Rosh Hashonah to Yom Kippur. (Rosh Hashonah 18) When the individual is judged by G-d, he must possess many zechuyoth, merits, and will be deemed guilty in the eyes of Heaven if his transgressions so warrant.

The community, on the other hand, although guilty of many transgres­ sions, will be forgiven if unity reigns in

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their midst and there is a close-knit sense of community responsibility prevailing.* The mourning laws of the individual are suspended, when they coincide with a Y om Tov for he must subordinate his personal emotions and grief to the rejoicing of his people.

(Moed Koton 19, Yoreh Deyah 399) Considering these religious laws and regulations of the individual vis-a-vis the community, we can readily see how Judaism militates against a concept of the individual isolating himself from the community so as to gain his personal salvation.

True, he was taught to say of himself “for me the world was created,” (Sanhedrin 37) but he also learned that he was vulnerable and desperately needed the “merit of the many.” In this sense, the needs of the many were paramount, while the individual’s relationship to the community was one of profound responsibility and serious concern. The reason this was so was because the Jew is a member not only of a religious group, but of a *Bereshith Rabbah 38, on Hoshea 4, 17; " 'Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. 1 Rebbe says: Great is peace that even if worshipping idols and peace is among them, so to speak He cannot dominate over them." Also Ovoth 2,4: "Separate not yourself from the congregation," and the Zohar's interpretation of the answer of the Shunamith to the question: "Would you be spoken for to the king? ... .1 dwell among my own people" (II Kings 4, 13) that it refers to Rosh Hashonah, the "k in g " meaning "King of the Universe" and her preference to be part of the community when she is judged.

JEW ISH L IF E

nation. He was part of the people of Israel and shared in the inheritance of the Holy Land, therefore, he felt keenly and deeply that the welfare of the people and the land was his. He believed in the dictum ‘‘all Israel are responsible one for another.’!

(Shevuoth 39) The spirit of national community was formed by the teach­ ings of Torah, which motivated his life and fashioned his attitude toward the quality of his total environment. This included the society in which he lived and the land in which he had been planted by the Almighty, and as such he accepted the disciplines necessary to insure the health and wellbeing of his fellow man as well as of the natural resources which were a blessing

granted to him by the Almighty. The Jew was a partner of the Almighty in creation, as mentioned above, and a partner together with all Israel in developing the land and preserving the quality of the total environment This sense of responsibility is still with the religious Jew even in Diaspora where he must transfer his concern to a broader community and to his host land. How erroneous it is, therefore, to equate the Jewish theo­ logical approach to ecology with that of the post-Reformation Christian theology which divorces the individual from the community and grants him a kind of religious license to ignore the quality of man’s physical environment.

SU M M ARY

E H A V E attempted to de­ environment in so many ways. We can monstrate that Judaism does not help improve-the quality of life if we accept the concept of man’s unlimited will but appreciate the quality of a mastery or dominion granted by the Torah way of life which can bring a Almighty. Judaism does view man as a blessing to all. partner of the Alm ighty in the process There are no boundaries in the of creation, responsible to G-d and fight on pollution since there is no society in his role as preserver and way for any community or country to protecter o f nature’s blessings. seal itself off from its neighbors.

It would be well for us tradi­ “Universal M an” and “One World” are tional Jews to remember our mission concepts which became a reality in the to be a light unto the nations and the realm of ecology. The ultimate solu­ bearers of G-d’s testimony, if we can tion to this vital problem lies with but penetrate the haze and smog and man, as the original problem was be seen through the smoke generated created by man. “We have met the by a society that is permeated with a enemy and he is us” is a pithy materialistic spirit that pollutes our statement made by a leading American

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humorist; which indicates incisively The world and its atmosphere will be both the cause of our trouble as well made safe for man, and all that G-d as the way toward* leading us out of has created, when men, women, and our polluted environment. If it is true, young people refuse to be bribed and as has once been said, that man can be are convinced that pollution control is convinced, woman persuaded, and imperative to their well-being. This children distracted, it is also true that will come to pass when they are we can all be bribed into apathy persuaded that they are partners of the through avarice or brought tainsensi-' Alm ighty in the ongoing process of tivity through selfishness and greed. Creation.

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JEWISH LIF E

R id b a z

by AARON ROTHKOFF N Safed, the city of his final rabbinate, the memory of “Rav Yankel Dovid” is still affectionately recalled and honored. Also known as the Ridbaz (Rabbi Y a ’akov Dovid ben Ze’ev), he was a most colorful rabbinic personality, and his generation’s lead­ ing expert on the Jerusalem Talmud.

He was the only rabbi of his period to serve on three different continents.

Born on February 7, 1845 in K o b rin , R u ssia , Y a ’a k o v Dovid Willowski achieved early recognition for possessing a photographic memory.

At the age of eleven, he began study­ ing Talmud on his own. His method of study was disorganized during this period, and at times he studied differ­ ent Talm udic tractates each day, without achieving any definite goals or following a delineated schedule. Never­ theless, the young Y a ’akov Dovid still

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mastered the Noshim and Nezikim divisions of the Talmud due to his extraordinary abilities. A t the age of sixteen, he married the daughter of a prominent citizen of Kobrin who supported him for the next seven years. During this period he organized his studies, becoming completely con­ versant with the entire Babylonian Talmud, its commentaries, and the Shulchon Oruch Choshen Mishpot.

In his early twenties, Y a ’akov Dovid Willowski visited with Rabbi T z ’vi Orenstein, the head of the eccle­ sia stica l c o u rt o f Brest-Litovsk, Lithuania. Impressed with his visitor’s erudition, the A v Beth Din ordained Y a ’akov Dovid and publicized his accomplishments among neighbouring rabbis and scholars. Due to Rabbi Orenstein’s aid, Rabbi Willowski was elected to the rabbinate of the small 33

community of Izbailin in 1868. Here he continued to immerse himself in study, particularly concentrating on the long neglected Talmud Yerushalmi. To enable himself to study late into the night, the Ridbaz constantly rubbed snow over his face to keep himself awake. In 1874, he published his first volume, M/'gdal Dovid, consist­ ing of Talmudic novellae on both the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmud.

The appearance of this erudite publica­ tion enhanced the Ridbaz’s reputation throughout the Torah world, and in 1876 he became the rabbi of the larger community of Bobruisk. The same year he published Chonoh Dovid\ consisting of novellae on the Talmudic treatise of C hall ah.

IT H the appearance of his first volume of responsa, Teshuvoth Ha-Ridbaz, in 1881, Y a ’akov Dovid Willowski was acknowledged as one of the Torah luminaries of his generation.

That same year he was elected to the preeminent position of Dayyon and Maggid (judge and preacher) of Vilna.

After the death of his Vilna predeces­ sor, Rabbi Yitzchok Elya Landau, the community debated the exact duties that would be required of the next rabbi. The more learned were only concerned that he be a recognized scholar while the masses wanted an inspiring orator. The entire community was pleased that the Ridbaz was selec­ ted, since it was also stipulated that he was to preach regularly in Vilna’s main synagogues and to deliver the eulogies at funerals. However, Rabbi Willowski

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only remained in Vilna for a year and a half since the demands on his time greatly lessened the efforts he could devote to his studies. He longed for the solitude of a smaller community where he could continue to immerse himself in scholarship. Despite the warm friendship that developed be­ tween him and R a b b i M athias Strashun, a leading scholar and resi­ dent of Vilna, the Ridbaz accepted the rabbinate of the smaller community of Polotsk in 1883. In 1887, he became rabbi of the more prestigious commu­ nity of Vilkomir, Poland. However, due to a newly promulgated regulation which required Polish rabbis to pass a test in the language of the land, he could not remain there. In 1890, he returned to Russia to serve as the spiritual leader of the well known community of Slutsk, and he there­ after became know as the “Slutsker Rav.” In this community which had long been a center of Torah study, the R id b a z o rg a n iz e d regular study sessions in its synagogues. Desiring to open a local yeshivah, Rabbi Willowski requested the aid of Rabbi Nothon T zV i Finkel, the Mashgiach Ruchni of the Slobodka Yeshivah. In 1896, Rabbi Finkel sent fourteen of his brightest disciples to serve as the nucleus of the new school. Popularly called the Yad Chazokah (“Y a d ” having the numerical equivalent o f fourteen), this group was headed by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. It also included such future rabbinic lumi­ naries as Reuven Katz, the Chief Rabbi JEW ISH LIF E

of Petach Tikvah; Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, the Mirrer Rosh Yeshivah; Y it z c h o k Rubenstein, the govern­ m e n t-re c o gn ize d rabbi of Vilna; Joseph Konvitz, the rabbi of Newark and president of the Agudath HaR a b b o n im ; M o sh e h Y o m T o v Wachtfogel, the rabbi of Montreal; and Pesach Pruskin, the rabbi of Kobrin.

Gradually, the. Slutsk Yeshivah attracted a wider circle of students and R a b b i Willowski appointed Rabbi Meltzer to serve as its Rosh Yeshivah.

The Ridbaz aided the material welfare of the new school by raising funds and enhanced its spiritual status by con­ stantly engaging in his own studies in its beth-medrosh. In 1903, Rabbi Meltzer succeeded the Ridbaz as the rabbi of Slutsk, where he remained until 1923. With the Communist take­ over in Russia, Rabbi Meltzer fled to Poland where the Yeshivah was re­ opened in K le tsk . Upon Rabbi Meltzer's departure for Eretz Yisroel in 1925, his son-in-law, Rabbi Aaron Kotler, became the head of the school.

It continued to function in Kletsk dur­ ing the interbellum period as one of the leading European yeshivoth. Dur­ ing the darkest period of the Hitler inferno, Rabbi Kotler reopened the Kletsk Yeshivah in Lakewood, New Jersey, where it-continues to function today as the Beth Medrash Gevoha of America under the direction of his son, Rabbi Shnayer Kotler.

T was after thirty years of study and writing that the Ridbaz had begun the publication in Piotrkow in

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1899 of his principal works on the Jerusalem Talfnud. Entitled Chiddushey Ridbaz and Tosafoth Ha-Rid, the former is a simple commentary on passages not satisfactorily explained by other commentaries. The latter is devoted to deeper, more critical ex­ planations, and it is written in the style of Tosafoth on the Babylonian Talmud. In the preparation of his writings, he also utilized a copy of Sed e r Z e r o ’im of the Jerusalem Talmud which the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shelomoh, had annotated.

Not possessing the necessary funds to print his entire work, the Ridbaz first published a few tractates of the Talmud Yerushalmi with his additions.

Once these appeared and were en­ thusiastically accepted by the Torah w o rld , tw o w ealthy businessmen entered into partnership with him to publish the remainder of the Shas. The result was a large new edition of this Talmud, incorporating the previous commentaries along with those of the Ridbaz who now became additionally known as the “Tanna De’yerushalmi.”

Despite the financial partner­ ship, the Ridbaz was still in debt after the publication was completed. He decided to travel abroad to sell addi­ tional sets of his new edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. Initially, he visited Germany and Galicia where he was graciously received by the local Jewish communities. In Cracow, in his honor, the week's Torah portion was read from the scroll actually written by the Ramah (Rabbi Mosheh Isserles). In 1900, he arrived in the United States 35

where he was greeted by rabbinical and lay leaders of the immigrant community. An apartment was rented for the “Slutsker Rav” at 219 Henry Street on New Y o rk ’s East Side where he resided for the duration of his A m e r i c a n v is it . Ju d ah D a v id Eisenstein, later to edit the ten-volume Hebrew encyclopedia Otzar Yisroel, urged the Jewish community to sup­ port Rabbi Willowski’s publication venture. He thus described the Ridbaz in a December 14, 1900 letter which appeared in the Hebrew Standard: His wonderful memory enabled him to serve as a walking index to his inquirers. One can hardly believe the fact that the rabbi can point without hesitation to any subject mentioned in the Talmud, composing nearly 600 folio pages, without the use of an encyclopedia or an index.

stowed upon them, they were still to realize that they were only sojourners in their new home. Their true destina­ tion was Eretz Israel and every effort should be exerted towards A liy ah. He explained that when the Midrash relates that Jacob did not sleep during the fourteen years he spent in the Beth Medrosh of Shem and Ever, it means that he could not truly experience repose outside the Holy Land.

While involved in these under­ takings, the Ridbaz keenly observed the American scene. A t a meeting sponsored by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, he rebuked the assemblage for having emigrated to this “trefa land where even the stones are impure/’ In the autobiographical introductions to his next published volumes, Nimukey Ridbaz al ha-Torah and She'eloth U-Teshuvoth Beth Ridbazy he re­ counted his impressions of the break­ down o f religious life within the East European immigrant community. He

A B B I W IL L O W S K I soon began to s u c c e s sfu lly raise funds through private meetings and public appeals. He was also invited to address numerous public functions of the particularly detailed the Sabbath and im m ig ra n t com m u nity where he Kashruth transgressions and the low stressed the necessity of establishing level of the prevalent Cheder system of effective educational facilities for their education.* Sabbath observance was children. A t this time, the nascent made even more difficult since Satur­ Zionist movement was beginning to day was also payday. The struggling organize itself on the American scene. immigrant therefore faced the addi­ The Ridbaz was sympathetic to this tional hardship of having to delay the cause since he had long nurtured the collection of his salary until Monday. vision of settling in the Holy Land. In a memorable address to such a group *F o r a detailed study of this topic see the in the Beth Medrosh Ha-Godol on a u t h o r ’s “ T he American Sojourns of Ridbaz: Religious Problems within the N o r f o lk Street, he cautioned the Immigrant Com munity” in American Jewish audience that despite the freedom and Historical Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 4 (June, equality that American society be- 1968) pp. 557-572.

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Proper Kashruth was neglected by the responsibility, and he returned to average housewife who was mainly Slutsk at the conclusion of a fiveinterested in obtaining her meat as month stay. While in Europe, he rech e a p ly as possible. Sarcastically, m ained in contact with his new Rabbi Willowski cited the current American acquaintances. Disheartened adage, “A z men ruft ihm Mendel, meg by the increasing inroads being made men essen fun zein fendel” [“If one among European Orthodoxy by the calls him ‘Mendel/ it is" permitted to Haskalah and the socialist revolution­ eat from his pot.”] The Cheder curri­ ary movement, he began to think of culum consisted of the circumscribed implementing his thoughts of settling usage of Hebrew in daily prayers, Bar- in the Holy Land. However, he wished Mitzvah preparation, and Kaddish. to be financially independent there These limited goals guaranteed the re­ and not to be contingent upon the ligious illiteracy of even the few inter­ distribution of charity funds collected ested students. The gravest problem on for scholarly residents of the Land of the immigrant scene was in the area of Israel. To accomplish this he would personal status. Unqualified “rever­ have to return to America to sell the ends” officiated at the marriages of remaining sets of his edition of the Kohanim with divorcees. Men were Yerushalmi. After three months of remarried although they had not indecision, Rabbi Willowski decided to granted Gittin to their wives who were depart for America and to settle still in Europe. The Ridbaz even temporarily in Chicago. In 1903, he recorded one instance where a man arrived in America for the second was allowed to marry his sister-in-law time. T h e o r t h o d o x im m igrant although she already had children with community was overjoyed with the his late brother. Not only was this a Ridbaz’s decision to settle in Chicago. transgression of Torah law, but the Upon his arrival he was greeted by a ensuing children were also to be con­ large delegation which had assembled sidered mamzerim . in the railroad terminal. Most of the local rabbis and delegations from H IL E still in America, a group of many synagogues were present, and E a st S id e orthodox leaders the Ridbaz was invited to preach in a p p ro ac h e d Rabbi Willowski and various shools. He constantly stressed requested that he become their Chief the need for establishing competent Rabbi. They acted with the consent of Jewish schools which would guarantee Rabbi Jacob Joseph (1848-1902) who that Jewish children would be the was nominally the Chief Rabbi, but “sons of Z ion ” and not the “sons of was then an invalid, confined to his Yankees.” bed because of paralysis. However, the Ridbaz felt his age was too advanced HE recently organized Union of for his accepting such a sizable new Orthodox Rabbis of the United

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States and Canada, at their second annual convention in Philadelphia, elected the Ridbaz as the Zekan HaRabbonim of America. A number of Chicago’s East European congregations banded together and invited him to become their official Chief Rabbi at an annual salary of the then significant sum of $2,500. T o overcome his hesi­ tancy, the congregations even pro­ mised him a pension so that he could retire to the Holy Land in his old age.

Since he was already in Chicago, the Ridbaz acquiesced to their request, stipulating that he would accept his salary only if his efforts would be successful. On September 8, 1903, he was publicly installed in his new posi­ tion. A t the convocation, a letter from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis was read. It congratulated the Chicago community for having selected the Ridbaz as its Chief Rabbi and pleaded with the population to spare him from strife and vexation. The letter con­ cluded by informing Chicago Jewry: That the Union of Orthodox Rabbis will not recognize any hechsher from Chicago unless the Ridbaz approves the certification.

Rabbi Willowski started to func­ tion in his new position. In an open letter of appreciation to his commu­ nity for the honor accorded him, he stated his three main goals. These were: to achieve unity in the commu­ nity; to supervise the religious educa­ tion of the youth; and to oversee the production of kosher food. Regarding education, he wrote: 38

We shall also carefully scrutinize the education offered by our Hebrew Schools and Yeshivoth. In all the lands of our dispersion, it has always been the responsibility of the rab­ binate to supervise the educational facilities. This is especially necessary in this land where the laymen are totally involved in business, and they ^ do n o t concern themselves with imparting Torah to the next genera­ tion.

His fondest desire was to invite some of his former European students to Chicago in the hopes of establishing a yeshivah which would improve the American religious environment. How ­ ever, before he could bring his stu­ dents, the Ridbaz knew that he had to organize proper local Kashruth facili­ ties. Accordingly, his direct involve­ ment with communal Kashruth was his first undertaking. This entanglement was to soon undermine his rabbinate just as it had completely cancelled the nob le endeavors of Rabbi Jacob Joseph in New Y ork City some fifteen years earlier. Those who previously had vested interests in Chicago’s K a s h ru th supervision resented his attempts to centralize surveillance.

Controversy soon broke out among C h ic a g o ’s rabbis, shochetim, and butchers. A rabbi who had supervised four large abattoirs since 1898 was later to write, “Suddenly the Ridbaz came to Chicago to rob my rights, to trespass upon my property, and to cut off my meager sustenance.”

A s the dispute intensified, the Ridbaz began to despair of accomJEW ISH LIF E

plishing his goals in the United States.

Recalling the tragic final years of Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the Ridbaz re­ fused to accept his wages and instead continued to support himself through the sale of sets of the Jerusalem Talmud.

U R IN G the summer of 1904, R abbi Willowski resigned his p o sitio n . Afterwards, he travelled extensively through the United States, lecturing, preaching, and continuing to dispose of remaining sets of his Shass.

By 1905, he returned to New York.

Later that year, the Ridbaz achieved his fondest wish as he departed for Eretz Israel. He settled in Safed where he was elected rabbi of its Ashkenazic community. He was soon joined by his son-in-law, Rabbi Joseph Konvitz, who emigrated from Europe to serve as a dayyon on the Ridbaz’s Beth-Din. Rabbi Konvitz also acted as a rosh yeshivah in the Yeshivath Torath Emeth Israel, which was organized by the Ridbaz in Safed.

With the approach of the Sab­ batical Year of 1909-1910, the Ridbaz became a focal figure in the continu­ ally reccurring controversy regarding the permissibility of the sale of the Holy Land to Moslems for the dura­ tion of the Sabbatical Year agricultural prohibitions. Before the start of the sanctified year, in 1908, the Ridbaz published Kuntres Ha-Shemittah in which he opposed the lenient ruling of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook of Jaffa which permitted the sale of the land.

The Ridbaz wrote that he was publish­

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ing his research on this topic so that the Jewish world would not com­ pletely accept the lenient practice and totally abrogate the Sabbatical Year laws. He was not content to simply preach on this topic, and also under­ took a strenuous journey to Paris and London to raise funds for those colo­ nists who promised to properly ob­ serve the Sabbatical Year. When Rabbi N a ch u m W idenfeld of Dumbrov, Galicia, visited with the Ridbaz in Safed, he was deeply moved by the Ridbaz’s tears regarding the wide­ spread desecration of the Sabbatical Year. Rabbi Widenfeld intensified his efforts upon his return to Europe in raising funds for the Sabbatical observ­ ers.

After the conclusion of the year, Rabbi Willowski published Kuntres Halochah Le-Ma’aseh in which he included his responsa to Jerusalem sages regarding the prohibition of util­ izing the produce grown on land sold to Moslems. In his introduction, he m ovingly defended himself against those who charged that he turned the Sabbatical Year into a “schnorrer gescheft” by raising funds for the observant colonists. His sole purpose and motivation was to guarantee that the S a b b a tic a l Year prohibitions would not be totally neglected in the Holy Land.

In 1912, the Ridbaz purchased a parcel of land in Ein Zeythim, near Safed, where he spent much time in seclusion. During the summer of 1913, he became seriously ill. His doctors felt it was the result of the constant 39

emotional strain he experienced when Hashonah, October 1, 1913, pro­ he observed the constantly decreasing foundly mourned by those committed level of Torah observance. He passed to the id e als o f the Bavli and away on the first night of Rosh Yerushalmi.

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by DAVID AVNI ^ Q H L O I M A L E H ” is the name by 0 which my father has been affec­ tionately known during his sixteen years in Galicia and sixty-six years on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His ten children, as well as his dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren refer to him lovingly as “zeydie.” I don’t think I exaggerate when I claim that nobody anywhere is more observ­ ant of Jewish law than my father. His decision to leave his adoring family in favor of settling in Israel, like every­ thing else he does, is based on the Law. M y brother Moish and I accom­ panied him.

Zeydie’s devotion to Torah is best exemplified by his determination to take with him the Holy Scroll which he inherited from his father. A t the airport he would not let it out of sight for a moment. He was ready even JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

to pay for an extra seat on the plane rather than subject the Sefer Torah to any indignity. It wasn’t necessary.

Zeydie’s saintly appearance, enhanced by his Torah, was enough to get him any privilege he might have requested.

O ne o f the passengers remarked: “How can anything go wrong with them on board?”

Something did go wrong. The weather. They said that never before was the fog at Kennedy Airport so thick. We had hoped to get tickets for Flight 200, which flies non-stop to Israel, but were told that no more seats were available. We had to accept Flight 226 which would stop twice en route with the inconvenience of carry­ ing all hand-baggage and the Sefer Torah in and out of airports. But the fog was so thick that not even the previous Flight 200 had yet arrived.

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After hours of waiting and all hope for land at 2:00 A.M. and would take off departing that night had vanished, the at 3. The delight of the other passen­ passengers were offered hotel accom­ gers was dampened by their sympathy modations. Zeydie refused to go. He for us, who would still have to wait a preferred to spend the night on the long time for our plane to come in. hard chairs of the waiting room. A But soon came another announce­ dignified gentleman, waiting for Flight ment: “Passenger Stein wanted at 200, called Moish aside, showed him Information Desk!” M y brother ran what looked like a golden key, and and returned with the report that offered to accompany Zeydie to the there were three cancellations on “ V IP room ” where he would be Flight 200 and that we can board that comfortable. plane immediately! Applause broke In my father’s case, nothing out in the V IP room and one of the could have been further from the golden key holders remarked: “ I never truth. The room is a cocktail lounge believed in miracles before! Now I ’ve reserved for first class passengers, with seen one!” He insisted upon carrying a bar, lounge, soft lights, and a T V set. Zeydie’s extra hand luggage to his seat Zeydie, however, clutching the Sefer on the plane, allowing Zeydie to Torah, walked into that room as if he clutch only the Torah. had known it was waiting for him. He No luggage was permitted on the placed the Torah in upright position overhead racks. But Zeydie’s Torah is on a table, took out his miniature not ordinary baggage. The respectful Mishnayoth, and began reading its tiny El Al crew swiftly cleared a space letters in the subdued light. The only above Zeydie’s seat and he tenderly change he requested was that a hard placed the Scroll securely above all chair be brought in from the public else. Again he opened his Mishnayoth waiting room he never sits on a and became totally oblivious to the couch -¿lit brings on laziness. excitement of the 150 other passen­ gers.

HE few elite Flight 200 passen­ When the pilot announced in gers began interrogating us as to Ivrith and in English that the non-stop why we hadn’t gone to the hotel. They flight to Tel Aviv would take no more looked with amazement at the relaxed than nine-and-a-half hours Zeydie gave concentration with which our father all the credit for the “kefitzath hawas immersed in his studies. The loud- derech” to the presence of his Sefer speaker announced further and further Torah. He calculated that at that rate delays. It seemed to us more than we would land exactly at the time we likely that we’d also have to spend a had originally expected to arrive, good part of the following day waiting thanks to his refusal, to shlep the for Flight 226. Then another an­ T orah unnecessarily. Torah always nouncement: Flight 200 was about to protects .

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JEW ISH LIFE

Food, also, was no longer a problem. Although we had ordered special kosher vegetable meals, which were now not available because of the sudden switch, Zeydie had not expec­ ted to eat even that. Instead he had brought with him a bag of the eier kichels which he had baked himself and some of his own home-made gefilte fish for which he may some day sell the recipe. For years all his local grandchildren had been coming to him for after-shool Kiddush to enjoy his delicious fish and eier-kichel sandwich.

El Al, please note!

O D E S T though he is, Zeydie was lo o k in g forward to a grand welcome at the airport. M y wife, three children, and many other relatives and friends had expected to be there at the scheduled time, but upon learning of the delay of Flight 226, expected to welcome him the following day.

The Israeli customs officials, see­ ing Zeydie with his Torah, made him sign a declaration for it, then with a hearty “ Kol Hakavod!” waved us on without checking any part of our baggage. No one was at the Lud air­ port to greet us. We took a taxi to our sister Lee in Ramath Chen. The driver looked like an Arab, but, upon seeing the Torah, slapped a kipah upon his head. He turned on the cab radio w h ich reported on the Knesseth debate on “Who Is A Jew.” In Ivrith the driver bemoaned the fact that at a time when all Jews should be united there should be such controversy.

Zeydie hugged his Torah and said:

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“Hiney mah toiv umah noim sheves achim gam yochad!” Zeydie directed us to pay the driver above his asking price, in Mitzvah gelt.

I had alerted my own family in B ’nei B ’rak by phone of our unexpec­ ted arrival and they joined the small but so very warm welcoming group at Ramath Chen. We told of our miracle, displayed our gifts, and were ready to go our different ways when we noticed that all was not well between Zeydie and Lee. Never before have I seen my father with so disappointed an expres­ sion as now, after he had been shown his room. Lee had gone to great pains in clearing her deceased husband’s library and rearranging the room as closely as possible to Zeydie’s room in New York, but he was not happy.

“This is not my room !” he said emphatically. “Y ou can’t put a Sefer Torah together with outside books!”

He did not go to bed before he found a suitable resting place on the front p orch fo r h is Torah. That was Tuesday.

N D there was evening and there was Wednesday morning. M y wife and I visited my father that day and took him for a short walk in his new surroundings, first to the nearby synagogue, then to the adjoining old age home to get an idea of what life in such an institution is like. Zeydie re­ fused to be shown around by the director, arguing that when one is not yet ready to “buy” it is wrong to give the impression that you are buying. He also declined my offer to take him to a

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similar but more orthodox home in B ’nei B ’rak, for the same reason. He is not moving y e t ...

He used the same: reasoning w hen he balked at entering the Ramath Chen supermarket to which I led him. Inside he made a point of tel­ ling each approaching clerk that he did not come to buy: just to visit. But it was more than just a visit. Zeydie never stops learning. He picked up many cans of fruits and vegetables, studied the Hebrew lettering, and determined whether modern Hebraists consulted the Mishnah before giving names to products. He looked shocked upon seeing a sign over the meat counter reading “blot Kosher.” “Voos iz doos?!” he said in dismay. The kindly butcher answered cheerfully, in my father’s “Yeedish,” “Doos meint nuch nisht gezaltzen” — not soaked and salted. “Treifa iz nisht doo!”

Back in the garden of my sister’s home, the tangerine tree was heavily laden with sun-ripened fruit. I jokingly asked my father to reassume the role of host and to offer me a freshly picked fruit. I got more than I re­ quested. M y learned father delivered a d iscourse on the laws of tithing (Ma’aser) and issued a ruling that he’d rather have me pluck the fruit myself. “ A g a n n e f doesn’t have to give M a’aser!” To make sure that every Talmudic opinion would be satisfied, Zeydie plucked ten tangerines tender­ ly, buried one, and uttered the proper blessing plus a meaningful “Shehecheyonu,” O nly then did he yield to the temptation of enjoying the delicious 44

fruit of the land of milk and honey and tangerines, I set up a folding chair and table in the bright sunlight and my father brought out a sefer. A smile of great happiness appeared on his counten­ ance as he sat down to resume his studies. A s my wife and I departed from him that day, we could not help but wonder whether the Garden of Eden had much more to o ffe r.. .

LT H O U G H it rained the next morning, Zeydie refused to post­ pone the trip to Jerusalem. No, it was not the Wall alone that pulled him. He felt impelled to first dispose of the Mitzvah money which was burning a hole in his conscience.

For many years, Zeydie has been sending large sums to a yeshivah in Meah Shearim. Prior to our leaving, all his friends and relations had given Z e y d ie various sums o f “Mitzvah money” to give to his favorite charity.

That charity was now a controversial subject. W hy? W e ll... A n ad had appeared in the New York Times in the name of an “organization” with which the yeshivah was supposedly connected in which the government of Israel was bitterly attacked. Upon being shown the ad Zeydie announced that Moish and I would make sure that not one cent of our money would go towards paying for such ads or sup­ porting “Soney Yisroel.” The antiZionist clipping pained him not so much because of its contents but because it violated a din -h the law that requires Jews to settle their differences

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amongst themselves and not to run to others with their controversies. He was determined to investigate whether any part of his money was being spent for hate-mongering advertising.

We began our investigation in the sherut taxi early that morning.

Fortunately, the four other passengers were also orthodox, They voiced legiti­ mate grievances against violations by the government of religious traditions such as T V on the Sabbath, autopsies, and the current challenge to Jewish identity raging in the K ’nesseth. They mentioned that one of the leaders of th e y e sh iv a h in q u e stio n had threatened to leave the country in protest against the anti-religious legis­ lations. We thought the driver did not understand our Yiddish. But at this point he interrupted in a pure Litvak dialect and with a touch of profanity: “ I would drive every one of them free of charge to the Arab borders and leave them there! If they don't want a Jewish government, let them go where the pepper grows!" To me the only merit on the side of the extremists was the fact that they never left Jerusalem regardless of the dangers and difficul­ ties. Now not even that?

E Y D IE had already been to Israel eleven years ago. A t that time he stayed a few months at the home o f a distant relative, Naftoli Lando. Naftoli now offered to drive us to Yeshivath Ha-Kothel before taking us to the controversial school.

Moish had hoped that the sight of yeshivah students who also serve in

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the Israeli army would sway our patriotic father; but, because we came during the three-hour lunch intermis­ sion, there was no one at Yeshivath Ha-Kothel to direct us so that we might be properly impressed. Since we were so close to the Western Wall, Naftoli Lando offered to guide us to the newly uncovered sections.

Zeydie was in a dilemma. He did not want to impose further upon Naftoli. Yet, how can you be so close to the Kothel Ha-Ma'arovi and not go to it after so many ages of waiting.

How typical of Zeydie! Y ou 'd imagine that seeing the Kothel would have been uppermost in his mind and heart.

Who else but Zeydie would have hesi­ tated? We did go, but with impatience.

Zeydie was not yet ready for what sh o u ld have been a heart-shaking experience. He did kiss the Wall and deposit the names of those who so requested in a crack in the wall after saying a paragraph of Tehillim. But he was too anxious to fulfill his mission at his yeshivah to properly yield him­ self to the holy place.

Zeydie's original intent to get angry and his embitterment were, therefore, considerably reduced when he, Moish, and I were driven by N aftoli to the entrance of Meah Shearim, locale of the controversial yeshivah.

Reb Aaron, dean of the yeshi­ vah, was ecstatic in his greeting, but Zeydie could not reciprocate as much as he would have liked to upon seeing his old friend. After all, he came with suspicions and how can you pretend 45

warm friendship to a suspect? Not Zeydie! Without wasting a moment, he produced the Times ad and told part of his story. He asked Reb Aaron to summon his sons, because he, too, had brought his sons to help him reach a decision. Reb Aaron complied immed­ iately, bringing in three saintly-looking men, including his son-in-law.

Zeydie began with a description of the violent hatred that was then being generated in New York because of the anti-Israel propaganda published in the name of the religious extremists of Jerusalem. He informed them that his conscience would notallow him to betray many of the contributors by giving their money to a yeshivah that teaches the hatred of fellow-Jews. To illustrate, he asked me to translate the ad.

Our four antagonists were ob­ viously shaken as they heard the dec­ larations to perpetuate the diaspora. It was apparent that they had not known of the ad and did not agrée entirely with its contents. “Ahz es toot vey, shreit men!” Reb Aaron cried out dramatically.

So m e individual zealots, he continued, feel the hurt so badly that they cry out louder than others, some­ times to the extent of committing foolhardy acts that do them more harm than good. But they act only as individuals. The yeshivah, he declared, is interested only in teaching Torah and the fear of Heaven. It is not affilia­ ted with any party or movement. In fact, none of the so-called extremists belongs to any kind of organization.

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There are no leaders or members or meetings. Nobody speaks in their name. The ad in question was put in by an individual without his consulting a n y o n e in Jerusalem. Reb Aaron assured us that he and his sons will never leave Jerusalem, come what may.

Moish was not completely satis­ fied with the explanations. He asked Reb Aaron if he would be willing to lend his name to an ad disclaiming responsibility for the ad in question.

Reb Aaron replied: For every meshugener that puts an ad in the Times, you want us to spend more money on more ads? We don't even ad vertise in the Sabbath-violating papers for our own yeshivah. We don't take any subsidies from the govern­ ment. We don't have paid collectors.

We don't even give interviews to the goyim who want to pay us for articles they want to write. O f course the Yeshivah suffers because of this. But we do not sell our principles for money.

Z e y d ie 's hearing difficulties made it necessary for me to repeat the gist of what was being said. In doing so I found that I was being converted from a prosecutor to a defendant. Reb Aaron said: “I see that deep in your heart you are really one of us.”

Z e y d ie , however, refused to come to a hasty decision. He promised to review what had been said and to accept the decision of his sons. We were taken for a tour of the building and saw how badly repairs were needed and we saw children studying JEWISH L IF E

without the presence of a supervisor. I sensed then and there that Zeydie had made a decision. I knew it for sure when he agreed to accept a gift from Reb Aaron. Zeydie has always made his own wine, never drinking a bought product. Reb Aaron's sons knew this and now presented Zeydie with a bottle of their own wine. Zeydie would never have accepted anything else, nor would he have accepted even this precious, gift, had there been any doubt left in his mind of the integrity of these people.

N D there w as evening and Friday m orning.. . We had not yet decided where Zeydie would spend his first Sabbath in Israel, it was a difficult decision to make.

Very rarely, in all of the sixtysix years he spent in the United States, did he venture away from his home. In his synagogue and house of learning, the Shinaver Shtibel, he was usually the first one there every morning and the last to leave in the evening. He has been the Torah reader, the teacher of Mishnah and of the Daf Y o m iB - the page-a-day custom of learning Talmud.

Never have I seen our father sit idle, certainly never in the park or wherever a ray of sunshine could sneak under his wide-brimmed black hat to paint a little color on his pallid face. Never does he go visiting without a greater purpose than only to visit. His time is too precious. Wasting time is to him a criminal act.

T h e town of Ramath Chen,

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where his eldest daughter, Lee, lives in a private home, surrounded by a garden, is so vastly different from the Lower East Side of Manhattan that it was difficult to imagine how anyone, especially an older person, could re­ adjust to so new a way of living. The synagogue, naturally, was our chief concern. The one Lee was familiar with is much too different from the shtibel to which Zeydie is so accus­ tomed. The melodies and prayers there are Ashkenazi but the pronunciation is Sefardi. Lee knew only that the shool closer to her home is the reverse — th e y daven S ’fard and pronounce Ashkenazi. But she knew no one there.

The thought of thrusting our father amongst strangers was not a pleasant one. We were almost certain that he would immediately reject staying with L e e a n d th o u g h t o f p o ssib le alternatives.

T h e predominantly orthodox city of B'nei B'rak, we thought, would be more to his liking. But would he go? To our surprise, he accepted our invitation to spend his first Sabbath in Israel at our home. Other relatives in Israel also accepted. There was Yuss's Shmulie and M endy’s Dena, and Moish and Lee as well as the five of us — ten in all ® in an apartment crowded with half that many.

E Y D IE had insisted upon arriv­ ing early “so that the taxi driver should also have time to prepare for Shabbos.” Early enough for me to

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take him on a tour of the apartment, pointing out the two kitchen sinks for meat and dairy dishes and the built-in Shabboth clock which controls the lights in all rooms. He was especially fascinated by the sliding roof over one of our porches which turns into a kosher Succah at the pull of a string.

A major contributor towards my father's decision to consider settling in Israel is his former neighbor, Reb Pinchas Neihaus. Reb Pinchasl lives near my B ’nei B ’rak apartment and when I had brought regards from him my' father showed great interest in how someone close to his own age has adjusted to Aliyah. Little Reb Pjnchasl had told me: “ Der tahteh vult du oifgelaibt!” And Zeydie, indeed, began anticipating a new lease on life. Now, as we stood on our front balcony, just as the first pre-Sabbath siren was sounded, there, in the street below, we beheld the majestic little figure of Reb Pinchasl, attired in his regal kapota and crowned with his tall fur spudik, already strolling to shook We called to him and he waved up a surprised greet­ ing upon seeing Zeydie with us. Moish had his movie camera ready and zoomed in on this dramatic moment.

Reb Pinchasl waited for us as we, too, went to greet the Sabbath queen and the little monarch.

N B ’nei B ’rak shools are no problem at all. No matter what brand of European Judaism one pro­ fesses, there is a shool for him not too far away. Across the street from my apartment at the top o f a steep

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mountain is the Biyaler Yeshivah, where I thought Zeydie and Moish would find the davening to their lik­ ing. Zeydie, Moish, and I climbed the steps to the hilltop towards sunset to greet the oncoming Sabbath. We were early and spent some time viewing the breathtaking sight. I pointed out the P o n ie ve ze r/ Slabodker, and Gerer Yeshivoth — imposing structures all on top of high hills, providing a maximum of air and light to their hundreds of students.

Being so high above street level in the very clear, cool air at sunset created the feeling that we were very close to Heaven. Adding to that feeling was the unearthly appearance of the twenty odd teenage yeshivah students who constituted the minyan. Their Chassidic attire, long payoth, and wispy beards gave the impression that these were heavenly beings, so far removed from the teenagers of today.

There was no leader present, yet the young men conducted themselves and the prayers with total concentration and fervor. Their singing was spirited and uninhibited. Moish, for whom this was a novel experience, wondered whether the shaking, hand-clapping, and unexpected outcries were genuine e x p re ssio n s o f religious ecstasy.

Z e y d ie , h ow ever, was obviously thrilled with the experience. Although he never approved of extremism of any sort, he did say: “Halevai my grandsons shouldn’t be worse than these!”

A t the Friday night meal, Zeydie made the first compromise with JEW ISH LIFE

conscience. He made Kiddush over wine bought in a store! He apparently had not yet completely exonerated Reb Aaron and declined to use the wine he had given him. We assured him that the brand we bought was the one used by the most observant. He still refused, however, to touch the barbe­ cued chicken we had bought, ready­ made, in the B ’nei B ’rak supermarket, bearing the seal of approval of Rabbi Lando, chief rabbi of B ’nei B ’rak. Lee had anticipated this and prepared two forms of fish in respect to the tradi­ tion of fleish and fish for the Shabbos tish. But the thought of doing this on a p e rm an e n t basis bothered her.

Zeydie explained his reluctance. They sell so many chickens in the super­ market, how could they possibly examine each one as thoroughly as he does? Yes, he would very much like to speak with Rabbi Lando and ask him.

The ten members of his family crowding around the small table in our dining nook made our father feel much more at home than he had antic­ ipated. He sang the Zemiroth louder and lustier than a week earlier in New York.

F T E R the meal, Moish and I set out to look for Rabbi Lando’s synagogue. First we walked along B ’nei B ’rak’s main thoroughfare, Akiva Street. For me this was already commonplace. For Moish it was a dream. “Look at all those young people!“ he enthused. “M y daughter would consider this paradise!”

Not only were young people

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strolling. Their parents and grand­ parents and complete families, wheel­ ing baby carriages and chewing pollyseeds, marched leisurely along Akiva Street and Yerushalayim Street, Rashi Street, and Chazon Ish Street. I led Moish to the Ponievezer Yeshivah, to hear the sound of learning, to see the magnificent golden Oron Kodesh, to view the entire city from the rooftop, so close to the starlit heavens. We heard singing in the vicinity and tried to locate it, but it was coming from all directions.

We found Rabbi Lando’s shool to be only two blocks away from our apartment. The rabbi was learning with a large group at tables bearing familiar Friday night refreshments. We promised to return the next morning at 8:30 with our father.

The faces in shoot Shabboth morning seemed so familiar, I might have known them all my life. I had the feeling that they were all members of the Shinaver Shtibel during my early childhood and they are now living in the better world into which they had departed. Our visit the night before made it unnecessary to introduce our­ selves. The word spread quickly that we were Americans who had brought our father for permanent settlement in Israel and every courtesy they could think of was offered to us. Zeydie was given his preferred spot, right next to the chazzon, so as not to miss a single word of his utterings. The nusach, too, was exactly as I remembered it from so many years ago. Here, Moish and I agreed, is where Zeydie belongs, rather 49

than with the cold Mithnag’dim of the modern Ramath Chen shook Our father was given Shishi, and he recipro­ cated with a handsome donation.

T h ro u g h o u t the davening, I noticed my father looking in the direc­ tion of the rabbi as if to check his qualifications. On the way home, when I introduced Zeydie to the Chief Rabbi of B ’nei B ’rak, I added that my father would like to know as to the Kashruth of the barbecued chickens of the supermarket. Zeydie took over from there and asked more questions.

Rabbi Lando replied that while he cannot vouch for the Kashruth of any items not under his supervision, all fish; meat, and poultry in the B ’nei B ’rak supermarket bear his hechsher and accordingly are kosher beyond doubt.

Later, at our Sabbath meal, Zeydie made an announcement: “ If you ask a rabbi a sha’ala you have to accept his decision. I ’ll have a shtikala pulka!” And for the first time ever, our father tasted meat that was not koshered in a private home. It was the first concession he made to modern living and Lee breathed a sigh of relief.

But only temporarily. Zeydie added that the hechsher he got applied only to B ’nei B ’rak. Lee cried out: “You mean I ’ll have to come all the way out here every time I want a piece of fleish? Forget it!” “Noo, so forget it!”

Zeydie responded.

N E of the innumerable tradi­ tions Zeydie would never give up is the Sabbath nap. This time it was

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the fastest nap he ever took. It took very little persuasion to get him to put down his Chumosh and to come with Moish and me for a stroll along Akiva Street. The entire family had been invited for Melaveh Malkah by my wife’s sister, w ho’s villa is near the other end of Akiva Street. The plan was to stop at shool midway for M in ch a h , proceed to another for M a’ariv, and finish with Havdolah at my in-laws. It didn’t work out exactly that way. The first shool we passed was Nusach Ari, Lubavitcher. We heard the sound o f young voices and entered to see the source. The syna­ gogue was filled with youngsters about eight to ten years old and a few of their teachers. One of the adults, in an extremely melodious voice, chanted a posuk of Tehillim and all the children, in perfect unison, responded. Then one of the children took over the leadership and again the unanimous spirited responses. Zeydie was afraid he’d distract them and refused to stay longer. But his eyes were moist. He rem arked: “ N o o j| aren’t Doovid Hameylech’s songs just as nice as the fancy new ones?”

Although he cannot be classified as a Chossid, Zeydie does feel a greater closeness to Belzer Chassidim than to the others. After all, his children are Belzer einiklech. We therefore thought he’d appreciate visiting the large Belzer synagogue on Belzer Rebbe Street. He did. The moment we walked in, he decided he’d stay there till after M a’ariv. He was practically the only one there without a shtreimel. The JEW ISH L IF E

sound of learning came from every table all around the large room. Zeydie immediately got himself a volume of his current mesichtah of Talmud, immersed himself in it, and blended with the rest of the learners as if he'd been there all his life.

Our father asked us to join him, but IVloish claimed he was on vacation and I was his guide. I guided IVloish to the Slabodker Yeshivah, atop another m ou n tain . Here again,- as at the Ponievezer, the lavish architecture is so striking as to seem extravagant. We New Yorkers can’t understand why so much area should be sacrificed for no other purpose than to beautify.

We proceeded to explore thè sights and sounds of the city. On Yehudah Halevi Street we saw long lines of youngsters, all wearing some sort of blue and white clothing, com­ ing from all directions, streaming into one of the buildings. We learned that they were B ’nei Akiva members who had just returned from their open-air Oneg Shabboth sessions and were now coming en masse for the Minchah services.

While standing and admiring the great numbers of our personal brand of orthodox boys and girls, IVloish and I heard our names being called from a balcony directly overhead. The call came from Lee and my wife, who were visiting the Sam Horowitzes of New York, who had that same week moved into an apartment in the bililding adjoining B ’nei Akiva headquarters.

Sam came down to join us as we all w ent to join the youngsters for JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

Minchah. We were the only adults present. Young leaders, with little effort, directed the boys and girls to their separated sections in the large synagogue room. The boys performed all the functions of the davening with a relaxed discipline, so typical of the middle-of-the-road philosophy of Bnei Akiva and Mizrachi.

After Seudah She’lishith snacks, served by the Horowitzes, Moish and I went to check on Zeydie at the Belzer.

We found him at a rear table, the only one at which there were others with­ out shtreimels, still absorbed in learn­ ing. He had washed and taken a bite of bread and herring, but did not get into the conversation bubbling all around him. The American appearance of his two sons, however, quickly changed the subject. The unshtreimeled ones began a friendly cross-examination and soon learned most of our life history.

The semi-darkness, the smell of herring and snuff tobacco, the sound of z’miroth mingled with conversation, brought on nostalgic remniscences of the Shinaver Shtibel of years past.

Zeydie recalled that seventy-five years ago, his father once took him on a long trip to a rebbe where the atmos­ phere was very similar to this. Sud­ denly the lights flashed on and soon M a’ariv obliterated the Sabbath. Out­ side, Saturday night was already bus­ tling with buses and business and we continued on our walk to Ben Zoma Street for Havdolah, Melaveh Malkah, and the end of a very significant day . . .

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E Y D IE 'S original plart was to try out living in Israel for three m o n th s before deciding definitely, whether or not to remain. He has, apparently, changed that plan. M y brother thinks he knows why: Because of his poor hearing, Zeydie finds it difficult to participate in learning sessions led by others.

When he does the leading he is much more alert, hears one or two words of comment or question from his listen­ ers, and usually guesses correctly their complete thoughts. It is essential for his well-being that he have a group to teach.

Moish, who stayed at Lee's dur­ ing most of his two-week vacation, was subjected to the same kind of rigid discipline which our father has im­ posed on each of his ten offspring from the moment they were born.

Moish was awakened every morning before dawn and served with “neygel vasser” with which to wash his fingers and eyes and hustled to shool to wait for the minyon to congregate. (The shool Zedie chose was, understand­ ably, the one which prayed, sang, and spoke in his language r- “neesach S'fard, havuras Gelitzia.”) Most of the minyonaires are workers who hurry to their jobs and hurry their davening faster than Zeydie's. He stays later to catch up and to don his second pair of Tefillin g|||Rabeynu Tam's* Moish reports that on the last day with our father in the Ramath Chen shool Zeydie was not alone at the conclusion of the davening. O ne of the older congregants remained until Zeydie was

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about to leave. Then the man said: “Reb Shlima, efsher lernen ah bisel?"

Our father’s great eyes lit up. He looked as if he wanted to hug his new friend. O f course, he sat down to learn with him. And immediately thereafter, Moish was ordered not to wait three months, but to fill the small Ororr Kodesh with the seforim as soon as he gets home and to ship them at once.

Yes, he's pleased with the shool!

What's more, he just heard that a very modern mikveh in Ramath Chen is almost completed! What could be better?

O IS H spent the next weekend in Bayith Vegan, Jerusalem, while my family and I were invited to be with Zeydie at Lee's in Ramath Chen.

I, too, found the shool to be very well suited to all of my father's require­ ments. The nusach is identical to the Shinaver's, the people are friendly, and talk Zeydie's Yiddish. They have learn­ ing sessions and daily minyonim in which he can participate. The Rabbi, the only other bearded person, met with the full-hearted approval of our very discriminating father. He gave his endorsement to the Kashruth of the meat bought in the Ramath Chen supermarket and Zeydie promised he'd accept that ruling, too!

G o i n g h o m e fro m sh o o l Shabboth morning, Zeydie remarked that the passing cars at least have the decency of not sounding their horns.

A dog passed us and he said: “Y ou see, even the dogs have derech eretz!”

Then he turned to the dog and said:

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JEW ISH LIFE

adjust to a town not noted for its orthodoxy. I am pleased, however, to be able to inform the family that the shool we have found is practically identical to the Shtibel which our father has attended in New Y ork for sixty-six years. The nusach is the same, H A T S h a b b o th , at Seudah the melodies identical, the people Shelishith, after the singing of warm and friendly. I am convinced typically Shinaver melodies, the Rabbi that we are leaving our father in good spoke on the Sidrah of the week and hands!”

And Zeydie’s new friend, with stressed the importance of learning Torah constantly. When he concluded, whom he now learns, responded with: I asked for the privilege of introducing ‘‘Tell your family that they, too, are my father, since this was the first all welcome to come and remain here.

Shabboth in Ramath Chen, where he They w on’t be sorry!”

I was given the honor to make has come to remain. I told them: ‘I f you are looking for a person who Havdolah and I felt so deeply that I would personify the ideal Jew de­ was among friends that I did it with a scribed a moment ago by the Rabbi, flourish. In my father’s eyes was that you have found him in my father, who same look of pride which he gave me studies no less than eighteen hours way back at my Bar-Mitzvah. Before I every day and practices all that he tasted the cup of wine he gave my learns. Our family was, frankly, con­ hand a slight nudge, as if to say: “M y cerned as to how our father would cup, too, brimmeth over!”

“Zei gezint, Yeedisher hint!”

After lunch Zeydie went out to his table in the warm sunshine and did his learning in a much more relaxed condition than ever before. It was a day of complete rest and tranquility.

T

JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

53

MV ENCOUNTER WITH ABRAHAM’S DISCIPLE

by SIDNEY R. LEWITTER A n d Abraham hastened in to the te n t unto Sarah and said: Make ready q uickly three measures o f fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. A n d Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a ca /f tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hastened to dress it. A n d he took curd, and m i/k, and the ca /f which he had dressed, and set it before them ; and he stood by under the tree and they d id eat. jg||-Bereshith 1 8 : 6 -8 M A IN T A IN that my wife and I have been privileged to meet one o f A b ra h a m ’s true disciples. The hospitality shown to us went back, in a straight line, through thousands of years to the above action of the Patriarch Abraham. For many people, through the ages, the acts of kindliness and hospitality attributed to him served as an ideal toward which to strive and to emulate. To me, this was, until recently, an abstract truth, real but not necessarily pertinent.

I

54

A rather standard definition of hospitality is: the reception and enter­ tainment of guests or strangers with liberality and kindness. From the definition we can get to at least one way in which the hospitality here noted differs from that in dominant use throughout our society. Kindliness can be envisioned both to guests or strangers. While ours is an entertaining culture, for it is rather difficult to deny that Americans are lacking in the comfortable art of party-going, we JEWISH LIF E

don't as a rule go out of our way to be kind to strangers. Indeed, at this stage, we are, perhaps for good reasons, afraid of strangers. I believe that “true" hospitality is that freely given without the hope of reward. If we were to add that to our criteria for hospitality, much of the entertaining we do would not qualify to be con­ sidered in the category.

Plato long ago conceived of the idea that the heavens were crowded with “ideals” of every kind. Every­ thing on earth was an imitation of the heavenly ideal. Thus, in heavens, there was “the” chair and “the” lamp and all earthly chairs and lamps strove to approximate in perfection the heaven­ ly ideal. Similarly, I imagine that the Jewish ideal of kindliness and hospital­ ity w o u ld be that displayed by Abraham, particularly in the above quotation.

I met Abraham's disciple in Israel, possibly not far from one of the places in Canaan where Abraham had lived. In 1966, my wife and I were in the following situation: though in our forties, each of us had survived lifedeath operations within the same cale n d ar year. Clearly the times seemed to call for unusual actions before we could again settle down to mere day-to-day living. We decided that we ought to make our trip of a lifetime now.

Looking back, I don't believe that we decided to go to Israel for exclusively religious reasons. We knew that we wanted a grand tour and Israel was, from the very beginning, our JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

unquestioned destination. Once there, we began to look at our trip as a pil­ grimage, possible because no amount of rationalization could justify our spending so much of a limited income on a mere vacation.

Our tourist agent wisely sug­ gested that we rent a chauffeur-driven air-conditioned car for our sightseeing in Israel. We were fortunate to obtain the services of an excellent chauffeurguide who loved Israel and truly enjoyed showing and explaining to us the land, its people, its past and pre­ sent. Our professional relationship became quite friendly and we had many exciting experiences touring the country. He even guessed at its future, and we quickly learned to appreciate both his knowledge and his insights about Israel. All of us, my wife, our guide, and myself, soon became caught up in the excitement of our projected attendance at a reception given by President Shazar of Israel in honor of the opening of the new K'nesseth building in Jerusalem.

H A T were we doing at a Presi­ dent's reception? Many years of synagogue work, combined with the empathy that some leaders felt toward us for what we had just been through in our private lives, enabled us to receive this highly coveted invitation.

We were amazed and delighted to receive the tickets at our hotel in Tel Aviv and we immediately left for Jerusalem and the big event.

What does it feel like to attend your first Presidential reception? It

f

55

makes you feel great, inspired, happy, and content. I felt myself to be a part of an idea as old as time and as new and up-to-date as today. The Rose Gardens in Jerusalem, on hills over­ looking the city, looked beautiful.

President Shazar and his wife were at the end of a long receiving line that contained dignitaries from all over the world and I stood in the line and was greeted by the President while my wife was using our motion picture camera.

The food at the reception was simply delicious, cooked, prepared, and served in absolute perfection.

While a military band in the back­ ground played the fantastically inap­ propriate song, “Just a Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down,“ we ate and drank in wonder at the many unusual sights.

In retrospect, I could never have guessed that the best was yet to come.

I did not feel at all contemplative or thoughtful or philosophical, I was simply enjoying a beautiful day under the best possible circumstances. There were high officials from many lands, som e w earing elaborate robes of office. Churchmen mingled with rabbis and with the political representatives from many nations of the world.

I say the best was yet to come because Rabbi X brought all of this abstract splendor and comfort to a story-book climax. We had come in our own car, driven by our guide, and because of this we did not have to park at the foot of the hill but were able to drive up to the entrance gate.

After the party, we met our guide at 56

the gate and proceeded to our car.

Many of the guests were walking down the hill to scarce taxis and much con­ fusion.

A t this point I saw two men walking from the reception toward the taxis and had the impulse to offer them a ride into the city. Our guide hastened to ask them if they would care to join us and, rather eagerly, they accepted. One was Rabbi X, an i m p o r t a n t r el i gi ous leader in Jerusalem, and the other man was an official of the Israeli government.

When they were in our car and realized that we didn’t know them but were simply sharing our car with them, both men turned the tables on us.

They were no longer guests in our car but we became the guests in their nation. O f course, they would not allow us to simply take them to their homes. Rabbi X insisted that we visit h im i m m e d i a t e l y w h i l e the government official invited us to his home on the following evening.

O ST of us do not often have the opportunity to be entertained by such figures as President Nixon, Queen Elizabeth II, or Rabbi X. I was amazed at the manner in which he set us at ease as he ran to fetch cake and fruit with which to entertain us. The Rabbi was a little disturbed that his wife was not at home to meet us. I had the feeling that he thought it too bad that we would have to be content with his serving us by himself. I am sure that in his extreme modesty he didn’t at all perceive that we could be

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JEWISH LIF E

embarrassed by being served by a man such as he. O f course, this could have happened, but the Rabbi's obvious pleasure with us made it impossible.

We spent two hours together that I will never forget. Those two hours became the high point of our entire trip.

I speak English, of course, and Yiddish fairly well. The Rabbi spoke neither. We conversed in Hebrew and I had every chance to use all the little bits of the language I had ever learned.

It was rather difficult. After a while, the Rabbi asked me if I spoke French.

I replied in the affirmative and tried to recall my study of French in high school and college. That proved also to be rather difficult A t one point, the Rabbi in his extremely soft manner but not without a trace of humor as well, remarked that “Y ou speak Hebrew like you speak French and French like you speak Hebrew."

What does one talk about to President Nixon or Queen Elizabeth II? I don't know, but the Rabbi and I discussed the books in his library. He had no way of knowing what knowl­ edge I brought to the situation, but it did not seem to be really important.

M y appreciation or lack of it did not matter at the moment. The Rabbi's life is wrapped up in his books and he is especially proud of his library which he was enlarging at the time. He was natural, comfortable, unhurried, and relaxed, and easily drifted into his favorite subject.

JU LY-AU G U ST 1970

Curiously, I was reminded of a meeting I had several years ago with a retired “shop" teacher who showed me several hundred screwdrivers, care­ fully arranged in his basement, and spoke o f his love for screwdrivers.

Similarly, I suppose both men, the Rabbi and the shop teacher, were simply displaying their own interests and enthusiasm, and in neither case did it matter that I know anything about books or screwdrivers. Their excitement was contagious.

Inter-personal relationships in our society are fairly awkward when we step beyond our own immediate circle of relatives, friends, neighbors, and associates. A medical doctor may discuss his work with a non-profes­ sional but it would almost certainly be in a condescending manner.

What made my visit with Rabbi X so striking was that I did not feel uncomfortable or inadequate. This, I believe, was true because the Rabbi didn't attempt to talk with me about things “I could understand" but rather continued to be himself in a com­ pletely natural manner.

The unforgettable features of my visit with Rabbi X were his hos­ pitality, his humility, and his obvious pleasure at being with us. For me and for my wife, we could see the attri­ butes of the Patriarch Abraham in the background stretching to us through thousands of years of human history.

How thrilling that it can happen in our times.

57

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59

B o o k R e v ie w SOURCE BOOK ON SOVIET JEWRY

by BERNARD A. POUPKO T H E JEWS IN S O V IE T R U S S IA S IN C E 1917, edited by Lionel Kochan; Published for the Institute of Jewish Affairs, London; New York: Oxford University Press, 1970, 356 pps., $7.95.

O W E V E R extensive and variegated the ever-growing body of literature on Soviet Jewry may be, it does not match the enormity of this agonizing problem. But more than that, the recent outpouring of articles, brochures, and books about the second largest Jewish community in the world, however impressive qualitatively and quantitatively, does not measure up to the “rich harvest” of the Kremlin's inflam­ matory propaganda against Israel, Zionism, Judaism, and world Jewry. This frightening and escalated avalanche of hatred continues unabated and with ever expanding tempo.

Accordingly, it becomes ever more urgent that the suffering and martyrdom of the three and a-half million Jews of the Soviet Union be made known to the world.

Thus, a meritorious new volume on

H

RABBI B E R N A R D A. POUPKO, National P r e sid e n t o f the Religious Zionists o f Am erica is author o f “In The Shadow O f T h e K rem lin ,” “Mission To Moscow^” “ Soviet Russia R evisited ” and o f m any other articles on the Jews o f the Soviet U nion. He is Rabbi o f P ittsburgh’s Shaare Torah Congregation since 19 4 2 and Chair­ man o f th e Rabbinical Board o f Greater Pittsburgh.

60

the subject of Soviet Jewry is undoubtedly a w elcom e contribution. Unlike previous publications on this theme which have been overburdened with emotionalism and senti­ mentalism, “The Jews In Soviet Russia Since 1917,” edited by Lionel Kochen of the University of Warwick, is a balanced compilation o f erudite and highly informa­ tive e ssays by various authors whose academic credentials and familiarity with the subject is rather impressive. The fifteen chapters of the book deal with the Russian Jewish community at the outbreak of the 1917 Revolution; problems encountered under the Soviet regime; Biro-Bidzhan; the U.S.S.R., Zionism, and Israel; Jewish re­ ligion and culture in the U.S.S.R., and Anti­ semitism and the Six-Day War. Admittedly, many of the facts offered in this volume have already been presented in previous volumes, yet to the credit of the editor and the authors it must be said that their accuracy, emphasis, and fresh insights are of great help to us in our quest to achieve a better understanding of the subject.

It is one thing to be reminded of the truly remarkable participation and perform­ ance of Soviet Jews in the defense of their country against the Nazi hordes who wiped out more than a third of their number, but it is still another thing to realize that out o f

the 650,000 o f Jewish men o f working age half a million served in the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II! Especially dur­ ing these critical days when Soviet pilots

JEWISH LIFE

and Soviet S A M 3 missiles are challenging the integrity and the security of the State of Israel it is important for someone to remind the Kremlin that “the contribution of Soviet Jews to their country’s victory was particularly weighty because of the high proportion of officers among serving Jews.

This was mostly due to the fact that the percentage of people with a secondary or u n ive rsity education was much higher a m o n g Jews than among other Soviet nationalities. No official data are available on the number of Jewish officers, but it is known that there were several hundred Jewish colonels and lieutenant-colonels. The number of Jewish generals amounted to well over fifty.”

It is no less impressive that 121 Jewish men and women were awarded the highest Soviet Military decoration, the title of “ Hero O f The Soviet Union” and that Jews ra n k e d fo u rth after the R u ssia n s, 'Ukrainians, Byelorussians and Tatars as regards other military orders and medals “With 160,772 orders and medals or 5,369 per every 100,000 Jewish men, women and children, the Jews came fourth after the Russians. Ukrainians and Byelorussians, and ahead of the Tatars.”

V A L U A B L E contribution to this volume is made by J. Rothenberg whose chapter “ Jewish Religion In The Soviet Union” offers significant information regarding the ruthless blow which Com ­ munism has dealt to Judaism within its borders. Jewish history records the fortunes of our people under various social and political systems. The time is much overdue for a study in depth about Jewish life in a Communist society. What happens with Jewish religious commitment, Jewish cul­ ture, and Jewish creativity in the various areas of human life In a country which is ruled by “socialism?” (This is not meant to imply that the U.S.S.R. is an authentic representative of genuine and classical socialism).

JU LY -A U G U ST 1970

A

In Rothenberg’s chapter one becomes aware both of the Communist regime’s failure and success in seeking to extinguish re ligio n am ongst its Jewish citizenry.

Granted the Kremlin has succeeded in liq u id a tin g and abolishing the Jewish com m unal structure, the thousands of synagogues, Chedorim, and Yeshivoth, and has even reduced the thousands of rabbis and other Jewish religious functionaries of Czarist days to some twenty-five or thirtyfive elderly and ailing rabbis. Yet, much to their painful disappointment, religion has not, as yet, been totally banished from the life of the Soviet Jew. In fact when I came across some very dedicated and deeply committed Jews in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, and other cities during my visits to the U.S.S.R. I pointed out to a high ranking Jewish Commisar whom I met on a Jewish cemetery: “ Look, two men were contem­ poraries some hundred and fifty years ago in th is c o u n try . T hese were Napoleon Bonaparte, the brilliant but ruthless invader of Imperial Russia and the saintly sage and scholar, the Taania, founder of Chabad Chassidism. Napoleon and his armies swept through continents and found their way even to Moscow. The Taania, an ailing refugee with a few disciples, was seeking refuge from the Napoleonic armies. The Emperor was the symbol of might and con­ quest while the Rav was a helpless victim amongst millions of other refugees whose very life was threatened by this armed conquest. If someone would have asked dbring the Napoleonic war as to who would survive and whose impact would be felt most in Russia 150 years later, the answer would certainly be the mighty Napoleon.

Yet, as I walked and rode through the streets of your capital and other Russian cities I hardly noticed any vestiges, of the legions of Napoleon. Quite true there is the Marshal Kutuzov monument, T s c h a ik o v s k y ’s “ 1812 Overture,” and Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” but none of the followers of Napoleon can be found here.

61

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62

JEWISH

On the other hand, the resolute disciples o f f Chabad are moving around and are making their presence felt in quite a few areas of the U.S.S.R. and other parts of the world,“ The Commisar smiled and remarked: “ Napoleon might have been brilliant but when it comes to thorough ruthlessness in their determina­ tion to wipe us out the Kremlin takes second place to none.“ However, it is a well known fact that even fifty-two years of a massive assault upon religion in general and upon Judaism in particular did not succeed in banishing religious loyalty and commitment from an impressive part of Soviet Jewry.

Although the chapter on “ Religion In The U.S.S.R.” is very informative and scientifically documented it does not tell the reader the full story. No record of Judaism in the U.S.S.R. can be complete without an accurate account of the martyr­ dom and the heroism of many of our brethren and their rabbis in their effort to preserve their ancestral heritage — to observe Shabboth, circumcision, and to bake Matzah -Meven while risking years of forced labor in some of the dreadful labor cam ps in Siberia. Statistics alone and sophisticated sociological and psychological insights will never reveal the complete story of Jewish heroism behind the Iron Curtain.

In this respect one finds this otherwise very w elcom e and useful volume somewhat deficient.

H E chapters entitled “The U.S.S.R., Zionism, and Israel“ and “After The Six-Day War“ are of extraordinary interest and value especially during this period of ever increasing Soviet presence in the Middle East. Schechtman and Katz, by virtue of erudition and involvement, are eminently qualified to cover this theme. It is most impressive to learn that in 1917 there were som e 3 00 ,0 00 dues-paying Zionists in Czarist Russia affiliated with some 2,200 regional organizations. All this in a land where Zionism was officially banned. This

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JU LY-A U G U ST 1970

figure assumes special mensions when one th in k s o f the num^jr of dues-paying Zionists amongst the six million Jews of the U.S.A. three years after the Six-Day War! Although most of us are familiar with the obscene Kremlin vituperations and inflam­ matory propaganda comparing the Israeli statesman and soldier to the accursed Nazi, it is very helpful to achieve a broader under­ standing of this frightening confrontation between Jerusalem and Moscow. This chapter offers the necessary facts and in­ sights for our better and fuller understand­ ing of this confrontation.

R e a d in g about the national and religious re-awakening of Soviet Jewish youth and about their open and heroic defiance of the regime in their efforts to leave the U.S.S.R. to Join their brethren in the State of Israel, one wonders as to the fundamental and immediate causes for this astounding resurgence of national pride and identification What is it that motivates a Jew of the third generation, raised in the shadow of the Kremlin and without benefit o f religious education, a synagogue, a Hebrew School or a Yeshivah, a rabbi or a Zionist leader, to suddenly stand up in a Moscow or Kiev courtroom and declare “ I am a Jew and a Zionist. You may have my Russian passport. I am no longer a citizen of the U.S.S.R. I am a citizen of the State of Israel. Arrest me. Exile me to Siberia.

Deprive me of all my rights — but I insist and I am determined on my right to live as a Jew in a Jewish state.“ One of our answers comes from Soviet Russia’s outstanding author Alexander Solzhenitzyn. The pro­ tagonist of his novel “The First Circle,“ Nerzhin, after having spent years in the dreadful Marvino jail turns to his K.G.B. guard and says to him: “You know, I am no longer afraid of you. When you rob a man o f eve ryth in g which he possesses, he becomes free. You have taken away every­ thing from me and therefore I am no longer afraid of you. I am free.“ Similarly the Jew of Russia, who has entered upon a new 63

p eriod o f Jewish pride, dignity, and heroism, declares to his Kremlin persecutor that “ I am no longer afraid of you. You took away everything from me — my synagogue, my Cheder, my rabbi, my

Hebrew teacher, my communal life, and even my national roots. Now that you have robbed me of everything I am no longer afraid of you. I am free and I will speak up and act as a free man.”

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64

JEW ISH L IF E

EVOLUTION TO JEWISH IDENTITY There was nothing Jewish in my home l i n o tradition, no religion, no Jewish history, no Hebrew, almost no Yiddish (my father knew very little). My home was like any other Russian home in Moscow.

I was three years old when I first heard from my friends in the street that I was a Jew. By their tone I gathered that it wasn’t a good thing to be a Jew. But I also grasped then that I wasn’t the only one — if I was a Tew, there had to be Jews somewhere. I asked my father: “Am I a Jew?” He answered that there were good Jews and bad Jews, and that the boy who had called me a Jew was just a little fool. Maybe he was, but as the time went on I found that there were lots of fools like him - all the Russians, in fact. During the doctors’ trials I was six years old, and all around me I heard what a Jew w a sfi that a Jew was a Zhid, that the Jews were traitors.

It can’t be, I said, that the Jews are all bad and I’m good. I was ashamed of myself. I didn’t feel complete as a person. I lacked something. I was different.

When I got a little older the feeling o f shame and difference turned into curios­ ity. No, not pride — not yet, I no longer cared that they called me Zhid, but instead o f accepting this I wanted to come to grips with it. I wanted to find a cornerstone, some basis to justify this whole thing of my being different, of my Jewishness. I started looking for arguments, for sources. I went from library to library, from book to book, looking for some mention of Judaism or Palestine. I went through geography books, history books, encyclopedias. I read fiction, and drank in every word that was even slightly connected with Judaism. I drank them in even if they were anti-Jewish, which they were.

When my reading showed me that there had been practically no major world event not somehow connected with the Jewish people, or with Jewish J U L Y -A U G U S T 1970

65

MAHZOR

HASHALEM

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names, while at the same time the Jews were always presented in a negative light, I asked myself — why? If this people is so guilty, I thought, then it’s also so important. Why the Jewish people was important I still didn’t know, but I could see it had a unique dynamism and vitality. Paradoxically, the Soviet propaganda had not only made me aware of Jews — it had taught me what a Jew was, and then my uncomfortable sense of differentness took on a new, personal, signifi­ cance: I was different because I belong to som ething special, som ething great , and w ith the pride that fille d m e then I sensed that this som ething was also good . And I wanted to live in Israel.

— from an interview w ith a you n g Russian Jew w h o reached Israel

What is the difference betw een.. . Nazi persecution and Russian re­ pression? It is the difference between fire and ice, between burning and. freezing.

The Nazis burned Jews. Six million Jews were consumed in the flames of hatred, in crematoria, in concentration camps. They and their families, their homes and their synagogues and communal institutions, went up in the greatest conflagra­ tion of hate in history, in paroxysms of anguish, searing the Jewish body and soul for generations to come.

But the Soviets do not burn Jews. There is no genocide. But they have determined to freeze us to death! They have decided to put Jewish identity and Judaism itself on ice, not to preserve them but to snuff out the last spark of Jewish love and warmth and loyalty. They do not allow Jews their own language, their own literature, their own religious education, their own training of rabbis, their own prayerbooks, their own religious contacts with other Jews throughout the world. That is why the rest of the world is not as concerned with the plight of Russian Jewry as, however belatedly, they came to realize the enormity of the Nazi crimes. They may have been afraid of catching fire; they are not afraid o f catching c o l d . . .

What the Soviet authorities failed to anticipate is the unquenchable spark of Jewishness, that “divine spark,” that seed of Jewish warmth and zeal and enthusiasm that miraculously came to life after half a century of Communist indoctrination in the dogma o f the non-existence of the Jewish people. In Jewish youth that has for three generations been alienated from all sources of Jewish learning and tradition and history, this miracle has come to pass; and the re­ awakening has begun to melt a fifty year old layer of ice, as young Jews and Jewesses in Soviet Russia rediscover their Jewish identity and defiantly express it on this festival, as it culminates in Simchat Torah, in song and in dance, in fraternity and in comradeship, in and around synagogues in Russia s major cities.

-— from an address at the Sim chat Torah celeb ration for S oviet Jewry b y R abbi Norm an Lamm

J U L Y -A U G U S T 1970

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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE NEW DECADE The late Sixties saw the revolt of the children of affluence, a revolt spawned not in dismal slums but in comfortable suburban homes and fashion­ able apartment dwellings. It exploded on our college campuses with all the violence o f a mini-revolution — the kind that used to take place in South America, the kind that couldn’t happen here. But these were our children beneath those beards — not oppressed peasants seeking a better life. And this was our country -¡¡¡free America — not some remote Latin dictatorship. And where were they staging their take-overs and revolts but at the great universities to which we had sent them to absorb some of the collective learning and wisdom of our civilization. Watching newsfilms of the campus disruptions, many of us were struck by an obvious historical parallel. We recalled grimly similar events on German campuses in the early Thirties in which Jewish and anti-Nazi professors were physically attacked by student mobs which thundered through universities shouting Nazi slogans and leaving a swath of destruction in their wake. Today the slogans might have altered somewhat (not as much as one might think), but the intolerance and violence are quite the same.

What went wrong? Why did they do it? We still are not sure. Do they see the universities which they seek to destroy as merely surrogates for parents who raised them without faith or commitment or a defined value-system beyond th£ purely materialistic? Are these young people, in their simplistic mouthing of Maoist orthodoxy, reaching for a religion which was denied them in their homes? Are they the poisoned fruits of “progressive” education, which delights in mocking and belittling those traditional values and standards which it should be passing on to the new generation? Is their incessant and arrogant moralizing an overreaction to the moral vacuum created by liberal parents and teachers for whom no issue is ever black or white, but always nearly indistinguishable shades of gray? Are they, in their frenzy to express themselves, reacting to a social system which urges them into college (where they may not belong at all) and then into graduate school, thus greatly extending the period of adolescence without career or family responsibilities on which to anchor their lives? Or are they simply the jaded sons and daughters of the affluent life, a life without challenge, without struggle, without threat, a life which can only be given zest By burning down or occupying a campus building in total rejection of the way “nice boys and girls” are supposed to act?

— from an article b y Sam uel L. B lum enfeld and Jack R o ss in “ Ideas”

68

JEW ISH L IF E

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69

L e tte rs to the E d ito r pursued the Kellerman line. Despite his “ Divrey Torah” approach, the children of his constituents abandoned the orthodox Louisville, Kentucky synagogue and chose the Reform or Con­ The obvious dearth of young people servative temple. If Kellerman took time to in the orthodox synagogue poses a monu­ study the student enrollment-of the Con­ mental challenge to the future of Judaism in servative and Reform seminaries, he would our time. Like countless others, I have readily discover that a vast majority of their searched far and wide for an answer to this “Seminary Bachurim” were either children stricturing nemesis which continues to gnaw or grandchildren of these Yiddish-speaking away at the very vitals of our commitment. Rabbonim who made the “ D ’var Torah” the Noting Jonathan Kellerman’s highly alpha and the omega of their public praised offering in the March-April issue of offerings.

Surely Jonathan Kellerman is fully JEW ISH L i f e which treats the problem from the vantage point of dedicated ortho­ conversant with the orthodox synagogue in dox youth, I was naturally excited. Like a the province. Exactly how much of an im­ dry sponge placed in a pan of water, I pact could a contemporary orthodox Rav literally proceeded to sop up every word make on those young people if he reli­ giously slighted the “Torah im Derech with alacrity and diligence.

After reading a few paragraphs, my Eretz” approach? Excepting those young sense of excitement began to diminish and people who have received yeshivah training, needless to state, the burden of his remarks who else would comprehend the “ D ’var soon drubbed my being of its vitality. Not T o ra h ” which Kellerman offers as the only are his strictures the exception which panacea for the orthodox synagogue.

We salute Mr. Kellerman for his con­ prove the rule, but he is at loggerheads with the Hirschian approach of “Torah Im cern, however his solution is disconcerting.

Harry Simon Derech Eretz.” As a student of the Yeshivah Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Kellerman should know that his mentor refused to MR KELLERMAN REPLIES: \?acognize the unbridgeable gap between Unfortunately, Mr. Simon has mis­ religion and science, between faith and know ledge. One seriously doubts that understood and misinterpreted my article to Hirsch would have chided the American an amazing degree. He accuses me of advis­ rabbi to play ostrich and remain oblivious to ing the American rabbi to “ play ostrich and remain oblivious to the cogent issues of our the cogent issues of our time.

T h e European Rav of yesteryear time.”

‘RELEVANCE’

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JEW ISH L IF E

Nobody is denying the importance of person would comprehend the D ’var Torah relevance in the synagogue, and in the approach, Mr. Simon asks. Either he holds community. The problem is defining just the D ’var Torah in very low regard or quite what is relevant. Too many individuals bend possibly, he has never heard a good D ’var over backwards to reconcile Torah with Torah. A visitor to Los Angeles can readily modern society, etc. This is patently absurd. observe what incredible work the represen­ Torah Judaism, as is any orthodox religion, tatives of Chabad (Lubavitch) have done is a system of absolutes and permanent utilizing Torah ideals and examples in edu­ ideals — a very definite and stable set of cating and guiding young people with rights and wrongs. O f course, as an ortho­ minimal or no Jewish background.

Torah is relevant, Mr. Simon — that is dox Jew, I believe that the Torah is allencompassing enough to cover just about the point. The D ’var Torah needn’t be a any problem or issue that may arise, if not sterile, pedantic, esoteric legal treatise, or an in a direct Halachic sense Qf psak, then in an obscure pla/ on words. A D ’var Torah can mean a reservoir of rich and relevant infor­ indirect, suggestive manner.

It is arrogant to speak of “reconcil­ mation. Furthermore, nowhere did I restrict in g ” Torah with today’s quicksilverish myself to the D ’var Torah as a panacea for society. On the contrary, the ever-changing orthodox Judaism. Rather, specifically in currents of contemporary issues leave little the synagogue itself, I felt it was appropriate to moor on to. They should be reconciled for rabbis, rather than to introduce their with the stability and durable wisdom of own hang-ups, political or otherwise (a mechanism that psychoanalysis calls projec­ Judaism.

I am not advising the cloistered tion) into the synagogue service, to teach approach of the “European Rav of yester­ Torah lessons to their congregants. A casual year/’ Although, I might add, despite what survey of the weekly sidrah will show a Mr. Simon says, the European Rav’s pari­ virtual gold mine of fascinating information shioners had a much lower intermarriage and relevant lessons.

Mr. Simon, I don’t know your back­ and assimilation rate than today’s products of “relevant religion.’’ I am advocating rele­ ground, but I am twenty-one, a college stu­ vance emanating from Judaism itself with­ dent, a psychology major and research out reaching far afield. Mr. Simon grinds the assistant, and one of the editors of the old saw: Because I object to constant poli­ U C L A daily newspaper. I come into contact ticization of the shool, I am escaping, stick­ with college students every day. I profess ing my head in the sand, and closing myself some familiarity with those in my own agepeer group. I am not cloistered. I have been off — a ghetto Jew, by implication.

What sense does it make to introduce out in the “real” world for quite some time politics into the religious service? Reli­ now. I am glad that I had the chance to go giously, it is true, we are all bound by to shool and daven, rather than be subjected common ideals. Politically, however, each to Friday night coffee houses or campfires man is free to make his own choice. It is as my form of worship. I am glad I have arrogant, I feel, for an individual to utilize been given something to hold on to — some­ religion, and/or the podium to further thing strong, solid, and with a reassuring personal opinions. Excepting extreme ends sense of permanence about it.

College students are reaching out and of the political spectrum, an individual is n ot bound Halachically to follow any groping for something to hold on to. particular persuasion. I can be frum and be Fly-by-night religious faddism will not give dove, hawk, socialist, Civil libertarian, or it to them. What of the young man who hates his Judaism because all it represents to economic conservative. him is gefilte fish and bagels and he hates Who else but a yeshivah-educated JU LY-A U G U ST 1970

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gefilte fish and bagels? Do you think, Mr. Simon, that by exposing him to political harangues in the synagogue, you will bring him closer? That is not where Judaism is at.

Lastly, Mr. Simon, you begin by citing the “obvious dearth” of young people in the orthodox synagogue. I have not noticed this in Los Angeles. Orthodox progeny have a general tendency, deviation notwithstand­ ing, to follow the faith of their parents. It is the Conservative and Reform temples which are experiencing a youth famine in their midst* They try one experimental program after another, one innovation after the next.

And the more they innovate, the more they will lose, because they are pot offering any­ thing substantial to their youth. We must stre n gth e n the o rth o d o x community through the use of our greatest resource I t Torah Judaism — Torah im Derech Eretz, true. Not Torah in political bastardization.

‘CHOSEN’ Far Rockaway, New York

You are to be congratulated on the fine quality of your magazine. In general, y o u r editorials and articles have been timely, fprcefuI, and well chosen.

Several days ago I saw the latest issue of JEW ISH L IF E (Sivan-Tammuz) and while { found the issue interesting as usual, I must write to tell you that the thing that im­ pressed me and moved me more than any­ thing I ’ve read in recent years, was the poem “Why Have You Chosen M e ?” This poem had such feeling, such depth, and such beauty, I found myself reading and re-read­ ing it — each time being stirred more and more emotionally. The author expresses the deepest feeling of “feeling Jews” every­ where.

Again congratulations for having been selective enough to have chosen “ Why Have TO THE EDITOR You Chosen M e ?” and of course congratula­ tions to its deeply sensitive author Bernard Elizabeth, New Jersey Dov Milians.

I look forward to reading more of his Y our fast Editor’s View of May-June verse.

1970 was excellent. Y ou are a powerful Lisa Wiener writer, using words as bullets — to the point.

A comment f- your strong searchlight of logic and yardstick for Torah does not jive with “ the fulfillment of a great dream, the establishment of the State. It is a fulfill­ ment of a dream — ’’ but not the answer really. It did not solve the “ Jewish prob­ lem” of the Herzelian age to eliminate anti­ semitism. So really and honestly, the fulfill­ Send us your new address ment of the great dream is yet to come. The solution will not be man-made.Bjwe will be and your old address nothing at that point. We will watch and clipped from Hashem will fight with Amalek, since we your Jewish. Life envelope. will have suffered enough.

Like in Mitzrayim, even greater they tell us, the miracles will be beyond human experience. We all wait for the real thing.

Joseph H.Schwab

HAVE YOU MOVED?

72

JEW ISH L IF E

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