Jewish Life July-Aug 1971 by Jewish Action

a DR. BENJAMIN

GOOBNICK

writes from

Philadelphia:

“ I was

distressed by the numerous discussions reported in the press carried on by various shades o f Jewish opinion all o f whom seemed to be ‘missing the boat.’ They seemed oblivious o f the basic issue, namely, that w itho ut the next generation o f Jews, w itho ut Jewish continuity, all their words were empty rhetoric .11 A practising psychologist who is a

our

consultant to public and Jewish day schools, he is president o f his local chapter o f the Association o f Orthodox Jewish Scientists.. . .Dr. Ronald I. Rubin, whose name is familiar to readers o f JEWISH LIFE, recently wrote from Israel: “ My wife, a recent graduate o f Barnard College (where she was president o f the Yavneh chapter) and who studied at Hunter College towards an M.A. in English Literature, is interested in w riting an article which would deal w ith the day-to-day routine and experiences o f Israeli life as seen by a western visitor.” So, EVELYN

R U B IN

jo in s

th e

fa m ily

JEW ISH

LIFE

co ntribu to rs.. . .Life in Jewish communities around the world is often portrayed in the pages o f this publication, and journalist JACOB BELLER is often the one who does the portraying. He is the author o f “ Jews in

Latin

America” ___ MORRIS

SMITH

Los Angeles,

California, is an engineer by profession and a student o f social trends and Jewish affairs by avocation. His communal activities include service as Secretary and A d ult Education Committee Chairman o f Beth Jacob Congregation o f Beverly Hills. JEWISH LIFE readers w ill recall his previous contributions, “ The Current State o f Personal M orality” (January 1969) and “ The Jew and Liberalism” (November-December 1969).

Vol. X X X V III, No. 6/July-August 1971/Av-Elul 5731

THE EDITOR'S VIEW

FREEDOM OF AND FROM THE PRESS................2 Saul Bernstein, Editor Dr. Herbert Goldstein Libby Klaperman Dr. Jacob W. Landynski Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman Editorial Associates Elkanah Schwartz Assistant Editor JEWISH LIFE is published bi-monthly. Subscription two years $5.00, three years $6.50, fo u r years $8.00. Foreign: A d d 40 cents per year. Editorial and Publication Office: 84 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10011 (212) A L 5-4100 Published by U N IO N OF O R T H O D O X JEWISH C O N G R E G A T IO N S OF A M ER IC A

ARTICLES COMMUNITY POLICY AND D AY SCHOOL EQ U ITY............. ................................................. 6 THE NEW FASCISM/ Morris Sm ith.............. ....................................... 11 HOUSEWIFE IN H A IF A / Evelyn C. R ubin................................................25 FROM A YESH IVAH STUDENT/ Daniel Derovan..................................................34 IN A LAND OF THREE CULTURES/ Jacob Beller....................................................... 37 WHO W ILL BE A JEW/ Benjamin G oodnick..............

BOOK REVIEWS

Joseph Karasick President Harold M. Jacobs Chairman of the Board Samuel C. Feuerstein, Honor ary y^hairman o f the Board; Benjamin Koenigsberg,Senior V ic e President; Nathan K. Gross, Harold H. Boxer, David Politi, Dr. Bernard Lander, Lawrence A. Kobrin, Julius B erm an , V ic e Presidents; Eugene Hollander, Treasurer; Morris L. Green, Honorary Treasurer; Joel Balsam, Secre tary; Daniel Greer, Financial Secretary

THROUGH TALM U D IC PATHWAYS/ Aaron R o th ko ff.................................................51 FROM COMMUNITY ARCHIVES/ Philip Zimmerman............................................ 54 EXPERIMENT T H A T F A IL E D / Zalman A. D iskind........................................... 56

DEPARTMENTS FROM HERE AND THERE......................................61 LETTERS TO THE ED ITO R ....................................64

Dr. Samson R. Weiss Executive Vice President

AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS... inside back cover

the EDITOR'S VIEW

FREEDOM OF AND FROM THE PRESS MIDST the furor over the publication by the New York Times o f self-selected portions o f the top-secret Pentagon study o f the war in Viet Nam, one point o f pivotal importance has all but escaped public concern. While some have ap plauded and others have condemned the fact o f publication, the positions taken by either side have been w ith respect to the right to publish the material in light o f its character, but not on account o f the way it was obtained. The fact that the document was “ taken” — the term used editorially by the New York Times — from Government keeping has occasioned comment from differing viewpoints; but the fact that its publication constituted the open purveying o f a stolen article seems to have been re garded on all sides as inconsequential and in any event irrelevant to the central issues. Even in the argumentation at the Supreme Court hearing, there were but passing references to this point and it was apparently w itho ut weight in the decision that was handed down. In due course, the publication o f the documents becomes yesterday’s news, the controversy fades, attitudes towards actions o f past Administrations remain much as before, the question

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whether a service or a disservice was rendered by the disclosure is passed on to future historians. But there remains a persisting residue, interpenetrating the mores o f American society: the tacit conclusion that the marketing o f stolen articles is an acceptable procedure. The validity o f the foregoing w ill o f course be challenged on the grounds that in this case, everyone knows that unique circumstances applied and that the issue involved in the particular action overrode ordinary moral considerations. With every regard, however, fo r the importance o f the debated issues, the everyday course o f ordered society rests not on extraordinary combinations o f circumstances but on certain elemental tenets. These, if society is to function, must be held paramount at all times and under all conditions. In the present case, one such tenet has been brushed aside in a process involving not the forces o f underworld crime but most powerful organs o f public life. This, and not the sur rounding circumstances, is what sinks lastingly into the public consciousness. A t a time when moral life is profoundly shaken, when crime takes on terrifying proportions, the development in question is no small contribution to the spread o f anarchy. Priorities

OT least dismaying as regards this facet o f the Pentagon papers controversy is the silence o f the religious communi ties.^ With all faith communities confronting mountainous prob lems, it is understandable that they should shrink from involve ment with a new one. But surely the religious forces cannot afford to ignore the implications o f this matter. The agencies or spokesmen o f some denominations have in fact expressed them selves on the other questions entailed. There is thé less justifica tion fo r the failure o f these to speak out on the public purveying o f stolen material. Their silence on this issue in contrast to their expressions on the other issues, joined to the voicelessness o f the rest, w ill inevitably be registered in the public mind as tacit com pliance w ith what was done. It is urgent that this impression be erased. While religious forces the country over share this obligation, it falls most directly on those in the New York City area, since the newspaper initially involved, though having national distribu tion, is a New York paper. It can almost be said,Indeed, that the

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■

New York Times is the New York paper, fo r it is the only fu llsized general daily newspaper in the city. W ithout reflection on the worth o f the two popular tabloid dailies published in New York, and o f a third recently launched/ the Mind practical monopoly enjoyed by the New York Control? Times obviously leaves New Yorkers dependent solely on it fo r fu ll news fare. This, in a metropolis o f eight m illion; no major city in the Free World has a compar able situation. New Y o rk ’s Jewish community o f well over two m illion, much the largest in the world, is sharply affected by the dependency on a single full-size daily. As in other American com m unities, the great majority o f New York Jews are English-speaking and English-reading and New York not only does not have an English-language Jewish daily but does not have an English-language Jewish weekly o f scope. Hence a double dependency on the c ity ’s only fu ll coverage daily — fo r reports o f Jewish interest as well as news o f general interest. The depend ency must not be permitted to become captivity. Responsible Jewish voices must be heard in denunciation o f the public purvey ing o f stolen materials. HE commanding position o f the New York Times exempli fies the overall relationship between the communications and mass media and their collective audience. Developments in the worlds o f finance, industry, technology, labor, advertising, and journalism have combined to put ownership and management into fewer and fewer hands, to delim it the number The while increasing the scope o f media outlets, and Power thus to subject the flow o f news, views, informaThrust . . . . H . r tion, and ideas to a steadily narrowing range ot control. Were this power over the public mind to be joined, as in totalitarian countries, to the power o f govern ment, America as conceived by the Founding Fathers would cease to be. It presently seems to be the case that the power o f the communications and mass media giants is counterbalanced by other forces which have arisen out o f the same process o f finance-industry-technology-labor development, and which at the moment have the greater influence in governmental affairs. The lines o f demarkation between the tw o are subject to fluctuations

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and shifting alliances but tend to become fine-drawn w ith regard to policy vis-a-vis the Communist world. But whatever the situa tion as o f any given moment, one thing is always clear: the classic cause o f freedom o f the press is endangered more by the media as they have emerged than by governmental intrusion. And it becomes increasingly clear, too, that the “ third estate” is moving toward first place. The publication o f carefully selected passages from the Pentagon study must be seen w ithin this context. And the failure to seriously challenge the receiving and purveying o f the stolen materials — indistinguishable in principle and in fact from the receiving and selling o f any other articles stolen from any other source, and, if anything, a worse offence — must be seen as the consequence o f fear: 3 fear o f the crushing might o f the mass media. Alm ost as one, the media, dailies and weeklies, printed and electronic, stood in phalanx on the occasion; would-be recal citrants were soon brought into line. Such an array is not easily faced, but faced it must be if the law o f civilized society is not to be supplanted by the law o f the jungle.

-S.B.

JULY-AUGUST 1971

COMMUNITY POLICY AND DAY SCHOOL EQUITY: A DOCUMENT OF TODAY

Introductory Note: On June 28th the United States Supreme Court issued a momentous deci sion on two cases involving forms o f governmental aid to religious elementary and secondary schools, i t was ruled that the aid under dispute in the cases at hand is unconstitutional. The ruling w ill have undeniably adverse effect on the dire situation o f the Jewish day schools, as i t w ill on all other religion-related schools, i t is believed\ though, that means can be found w ithin the terms o f the Supreme Court's ruling to perm it the inclusion o f day school pupils in certain forms o f government aid extended to school children generally. Thus such child-benefit methods as tu ition grants or education vouchers, how being considered by the legislatures o f New York and other states, could be applicable to the secular parts o f their education fo r day school children eligible fo r the grants. In view o f the recognition o f the paramount importance o f the day schools to American Jewry, and o f the awareness o f their critical financial problems, it could be expected that all elements o f the comm unity would now support equitable measures o f this kind. Although there can be little doubt that such is in fact the sentiment among the ranks o f American Jews, some forces in the comm unity remain locked in opposition. Far from being content with the circumscribing effect o f the Supreme Court ruling, the American Jewish Congress and some kindred-minded agencies are moving all the more avidly to block remaining legislative possibilities o f day school aid. I t is a drastic example o f the unrelatedness o f such groups to the currents moving the comm unity whose interests they profess to serve.

JEWISH LIFE

The situation is m irrored in the processes o f the National Jewish Commu n ity Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC)<The comm unity relations coordinat ing agency o f the m ajor national Jewish organizations and local community relations councils, NJCRAC has large influence on the shaping o f policy in American Jewish affairs, its formulations, shaped through a process o f standing commissions and annual plenary assembly deliberations, are published each year in the Jo in t Program Plan. The Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congregations o f America, representing the orthodox Jewish community, has had a growing measure o f success in winning respect fo r the Torah viewpoint in NJCRAC channels. These, while functioning on a scrupulously democratic consensus basis, are otherwise dominated by the outlook o f the “defense” agencies. On various occasions o f differences o f view on given questions, UOJCA representatives have gained consensus acceptance o f the Orthodox U nion’s position, in other instan ces, UOJCA has dissented from the m ajority position, with a statement o f its dissent then being published, together with the m ajority position, in the J o in t Program Plan. The question o f governmental aid fo r the secular programs o f religious schools is one on which UOJCA has stood atone in the NJCRAC. Other groups have obediently follow ed the lead o f the pow erful defense agencies B with increasing reluctance in some cases. UOJCA representatives have grown accustomed to being taken aside by representatives o f other national organiza tions and local councils to receive expressions o f regret fo r having been obliged to vote fo r a stand with which they privately disagreed and o f fervent hope that We Orthodox Union position would eventually prevail. As in each o f the preceding years, the NJCRAC J o in t Program Plan fo r 1971-72 records again the long-familiar stand o f the m ajority o f its component units in opposition to public funds fo r the parochial schools and day schools or their pupils, and the solo dissent o f the Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congrega tions o f America. The m ajority statement follows well-worn lines, untouched by fresh insights and the changed vistas o f changed times. The UOJCA dissent to the contrary is a document o f today, distilled from the contemporary situation as i t has emerged from American and Jewish experience and applying thinking untrammelled by the slogans o f a past era. I t was w ritten by Joei Balsam, who holds the elective office o f Secretary o f the Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congre gations o f America and serves also as Chairman o f the U nion’s Communal Rela tions Commission. An attorney by profession, Mr. Balsam is one o f American orthodox Je w ry’s rising young leaders. The statement merits widest public attention and is accordingly published herewith. i i B E ditor

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UOJCA STATEMENT ON PUBLIC FUNDS FOR NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN Prepared by JOEL BALSAM HE Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congregations o f America submits the following dissent to the part o f the Church-State Relations section o f the NCRAC Joint Program Plan entitled “ Public Funds fo r Parochial Schools.” Our position on this subject prior to the recent Supreme Court decisions is well known. We believed that government aid to the secular programs o f religionsponsored schools was both constitutional and desirable, especially since govern ment mandates these secular programs. The majority o f our member agencies have opposed such aid. While the Supreme Court rulings are not as sweeping as most opponents o f government aid would have liked, they nevertheless represent a substantial victory fo r those forces. The result o f these decisions, which we believe were influenced in no small measure by the activities o f the Jewish organizations opposed to government aid, w ill be to curtail substantially the amount of government aid that w ill flow to the secular programs o f religion-sponsored schools. The majority o f our member agencies are overly modest in welcoming “ the historic decisions in the Lemon and DiCenso cases as a vindication o f their long-held position” on government aid, w itho ut mentioning their own role in bringing about these decisions. Although their intent was to preserve their inter pretation o f the principle o f church-state separation, the effect o f their activities represents a disaster to Jewish interests to the extent that Jewish day schools, which we believe to be the key to the perpetuation o f the American Jewish community, w ill suffer. A t best, Jewish federations and welfare funds throughout the nation w ill fill the void and rescue the Jewish day schools. If this occurs, then Jewish communal funds w ill be required to support secular programs that ought pro perly to have been the responsibility o f government. A t worst, the gap w ill not be filled by our federations and welfare funds and Jewish day schools w ill not solve their current financial crisis l l w i t h the result that staff w ill be discharged; children o f parents w ith o u t the necessary means w ill be turned away; and schools w ill close.

JEWISH LIFE

HE Jewish day school is a unique American institution. In other lands and in other times Jewish schools taught only religious, studies. The concept o f a Jewish school spending half o f its day on religious studies and the other half on secular studies, which is the way most day schools are structured, is the answer o f the American Jewish community to the requirements o f government and the demands o f modern society concerning secular education. As o f June 1971 there were 417 Jewish day schools in the United States, 291 on the elementary level and 126 on the high school level, w ith a total enrollment o f 80,000 pupils. I n the New York Metropolitan Area alone, one out o f every three children receiving any type o f Jewish education was enrolled in a Jewish day school. Our concern fo r the future o f the Jewish day school would be sufficient reason fo r our rejection o f the m ajority’s view. But even apart from this, we believe that when it comes to the government aid question, the m ajority o f our agencies, who are sufficiently pragmatic in so many other areas o f community relations, are living in a past that no longer exists. The public school system o f today, fo r which they advocate a virtual monopoly on any claim to government funds, is not the same system that opened the door o f opportunity to successive waves o f immigrants. The parochial schools o f today, with their increasing number o f lay teachers and the liberalization o f church attitudes toward other religious groups, are not the same as those o f the past, which nhay have caused apprehension in the Jewish community.

HE myths o f the past — that a public school child grows up to be more tolerant o f and more at ease w ith people o f different backgrounds and hence better equipped to take his place in a pluralistic American society; or that a public school education makes a person more liberal, whereas parochial school education makes one more conservative -§ftoday stand discredited among social scientists who have studied the subject. On the contrary, a child grows into a more secure and tolerant adult when he is permitted to “ find himself” in a school that is free from the inter-group tensions that are the hallmark o f the public schools in our large cities. If monopoly is unhealthy in other areas o f our society, Then it is no different in education. In an age o f soaring costs, unless private education receives government aid, it cannot survive except fo r the very rich. If the concept o f cultural pluralism is to have any meaning at all, educa tional facilities must exist for the ethnic and religious groups in American society to transmit their cultures to future generations. Contrary to the assertions of the m ajority (of NCRAC component agencies) there is no question that parochial schools, by educating some six m illion pupils constituting about thirteen per cent o f all school-age children, save

}

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our Federal and state governments billions o f dollars. It is obvious that it is cheaper fo r government to give parochial schools limited funds to stave o ff tlreir closing than to find places fo r their pupils in the already overcrowded public school system. In attempting to defend an outmoded concept o f church-state separation, the m ajority o f our agencies advocate positions that may win points fo r logical structure and doctrinal consistency but whose effect is to promote human suffering. Thus, while the m ajority would permit free lunches and medical and dental services to be given to parochial school children on school premises, they would not permit speech therapy to be given at public expense except o ff the parochial school grounds. The fact that this burdensome requirement would undoubtedly reduce the number o f candidates fo r speech therapy does not sway the m ajority. Better to have a few more stammerers than to compromise one’s principles. Or take the child who lives in the inner city, where the public school system has already broken down. His parents’ poverty and, perhaps, race pre vents them from moving to an area where the public school system is still healthy. Nor can they afford to send their child to a private school. What hope does the m ajority offer to such a child other than the dismal prospect o f atten ding a school where his physical and moral health is in jeopardy and where little learning takes place? Concepts such as the education voucher plan are advocated not only by those who desire to save religion-sponsored schools, but also by those who want to provide opportunity to the inner-city child. Such a plan would also give inner-city parents the dignity that comes w ith the ability to pay fo r educational services, and thus to choose an alternative to an unacceptable public school system, even i f the alternative may be only a privately-run store fro n t academy. We find it highly significant that the recent White House Conference on Youth came out in favor o f the educational voucher plan. HE Orthodox Union urges those individuals and organizations w ithin the Jewish Community who oppose government aid to reconsider their posi tion on the subject. To the extent that methods, such as tuition grants or educational vouchers, may be found w ithin the recent Supreme Court rulings to permit government aid for secular education in religion-sponsored schools, we should welcome them.

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THE NEW FASCISM

THE NEW LEFT AND THE RADICAL RIGHT

by MORRIS SMITH HE current lull in the campus and extremist frenzies provides a p e rio d o f quiescence wherein to analyze our present state — to inter pret the causes o f the disturbances in the recent past, to consider the nature o f our present status, and to estimate the likely features o f the coming future. A study o f the extremes — the Radical Right and the New Left M furnishes an approach fo r outlining the extent o f our problems, both actual and potential. The past decade has witnessed the publication o f a flood o f literature concerning the nature o f these extremist phenomena, books and articles written from various view-

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points — sociological, anthropological, psychological, political, conservative, liberal, radical. However, interpreta tions prepared from the religious point o f view, to explicate the religious aspects o f these historical develop ments, are rarely presented or even mentioned. This approach has been too long neglected in lay writings; a little concentration at this time would be beneficial. To paraphrase a New Left expert, Noam Chomsky: “ There is a great deal o f intellectual debris to be cleared away. Ideological pressures so overpowering that even their exist ence is denied must be examined and understood.. . The deep-seated bias o f

liberal historians (and social scientists in general), the failure o f objectivity, is a matter much less normally taken fo r granted.” This paper is concerned primarily w ith the scene in the United States. However, its thesis is applicable in general to Western civilization, and has c o n n o t a t i o n s fo r events throughout the world.

growth o f humanism. These notions gave way in turn to the wave o f humanitarianism which evolved during the n in e te e n th century, first as nationalism and subsequently as the ideologies which emerged after the growth o f socialistic thought in the middle o f the century. In the emergence o f ideologies we witness the attempt to replace religious understanding and involve HE recent resurgence o f both the Left and the Right is a ment w ith “ rational" doctrines. The climactic phase in the development o f decline o f religious faith has left a void Western philosophies which have been which plagues man; there is an inner need to fill that void. He therefore permeating society fo r almost five centuries. The history o f modern turns to movements via ideologies in thought begins with the reemergence the e ffo rt to transform the world o f liberalism in Europe, roughly in the through politics, as opposed to reli fifteenth century. Prior to that time, gious transformation o f self. These movements attract and arouse people history was interpreted, in both the Christian and thè Moslem worlds, as by presenting simplified ideas o f the the working out o f the Creator's w ill. nature o f man's problems, by declaring Early Christian philosophers had for their validity as repositaries o f truth, their aim the exposition, systematiza and by providing a semblance o f tio n , and dem onstration o f the meaningfulness through the demand Christian dogmas, and the construc for commitment to action. By includ tion o f a theory o f the world and o f ing utopian aspects, the ideology life on a Christian basis. Scholasticism exhibits a para-religious quality which attempted to establish rational insight su bstitutes faith for reason, even into religion; the resultant education where faith is in the claims o f reason. developed thinking processes which The ideologue disposes o f traditional eventually undermined not only the re lig io n th ro u g h sociological or church but also much o f religious, psychological theories which exclude, thought. By the eighteenth century, by not considering it, the possibility b elief in G-d was waning in the that religion rests ultim ately on G-d’s Christian world, to be eclipsed fo r the relation to man. Our concern in this intellectuals by the concepts o f the paper is w ith the growth, status, and Enlightenment* ; which involved the potential o f modern religion-supersed development o f faith in human reason, ing ideologies as they are reflected in the rise o f political liberalism, and the modern extremist movements.

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IDEOLOGICAL CURRENTS N this country the origins o f the American religious and political framework are traceable in the North to Puritan beliefs and practices as established in New England during the 17th century. To the Jew the true Puritan tenets bear a startling re semblance to his own — the incontest able existence o f the Creator; the purposefulness o f man's being; that man must adhere to G-d's w ill; that spiritual and secular matters are not completely divisible, etc. The effect o f the 18th century Enlightenment was to hasten the retirement o f traditional theology from its intellectual dom in ance over America's leaders and to prepare the way gradually fo r secular interests. The succeeding years w it nessed the gradual decline o f religious s e n tim e n t through the effects o f materialism and the Enlightenment. T he general concentration on the physical and cultural expansion o f the nation and the gradualness o f social change minimized any inclination to spur the search fo r religion-supplanting ideologies. The downgrading o f reli g ious ideas was accomplished in historiography through two schools during the past 150 years. First we had the nationalistic school, exemplified by George Bancroft, which predomina ted until the second decade o f this century. Since then the field has been preempted by the debunking school M either the respectable economic wing o f Charles Beard or the subsequent

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m u c k ra k in g school which added pseudo-Freudian color. In all cases the second school has aimed to destroy the influence o f religion. Activities on both the Right and the Left were ideologically weak and splintered until well into the 20th century. Parties o f the Right were not effective either widely or for any extensive period o f time, until the advent o f the Coughlinites during the '30's. Thereafter, and especially after McCarthy ism foundered in the '50's, they waned. Isolationist and xeno phobic, the 20th century amalgam o f Rightist groups shared the aim o f governing this nation’s value patterns and overcoming Liberal influence. Ideologies o f the Left were similarly slow in developing here and in obtain ing significant adherence prior to 1914. The '20's and the '30's saw much more noise but still little mass enthusiasm or participation. A fter World War II, which was followed by a customary post-war period o f religious and moral decline, interest in ideology also subsided (for Liberal interpreta tions, see Daniel Bell, “ The End o f Ideology," and S.M. Lipsett, “ Political M an"). Even that staunch radical, Flerbert Marcuse, agreed as late as 1 964 that political and economic conditions had stabilized and that America faced a long period during which ideologies would languish. The upsurge o f activities on both the Right and the Left which had its 13

origin about 1960 could therefore be said to have confounded the experts. A t this point it is in order to define the nature o f the Radical Right, to explicate what distinguishes it from other rightist and center groups. We are not considering bigots, who are essentially neurotics and possess no recognizeable ideological basis. Nor are we referring to the Conservatives, the moderate and rightist elements who believe in constitutional practices, in civil liberties, in due process, etc. On the true extremist right we actually have two categories, the Reactionary Right and the Radical Right, the differences between whom are usually m is in te rp re te d o r ignored. Thus Forster and Epstein (“ Danger on the Right” ) lump together ten prominent Right extremist groups. O f these, as the discussion in the te xt makes evi dent, four are o f the Reactionary category. These are funded largely by very wealthy individuals. They are o f the traditional right, who do not avoid violence, but use it prim arily to estab lish order and security fo r their own benefit. The remaining six organiza tions are o f the true Radical Right, m a s s -b ased, m ass-fu n d e d , and fa n a tic a lly anti-com munist. Their adherents are enemies o f the present structure o f society and its programs, and are committed to the thesis that their objectives can be achieved only through some degree o f violence. They are composed o f chiefly small business men, professionals, and lower middle class artisans who feel threatened by

the actions o f big business, big labor, and big government. In these times o f stress and rapid social change, they sense the deterioration o f their social positions. They are bewildered by their inability to control political and cultural conditions, and are frustrated by the incomprehensibility o f world events. They have little, if any, ideo logical basis fo r their goals and pro grams; therefore the Radical Right is c h a ra c te riz e d mostly through its practices and ideas: 1. The Radical Right believes that it can win only through violence, which becomes an essential element in its policy. 2. Ends are less significant than action itself. Goals are not defined initially. 3. It seeks to destroy the old order, the structure o f society which has gone bad. 4. It distrusts reason, is fanatical rather th a n re fle c tiv e , distrusts abstract theories and general principles. Its ethos is emotional and sentimental. 5. It avoids or minimizes personal regards and individual interest.

6 . Its primary appeal is to youth, which has much to gain and little to lose. 7. It seeks government by an elite, is bitterly opposed to Liberalism and democracy. Its views are dogmatic; it has no place fo r openmindedness, and is ready to jettison constitutional processes and to suspend liberties.

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8 . It has very strong moral convictions, but; as noted above, few principles. 9. It has little room fo r social or class consciousness.

anti-racial, antisemitic policies, and at times are embarrassed by manifestions o f such attitudes w ithin their ranks. Too, all American Rightist groups profess commitment to religion, the religious inclinations indicated ranging all the way from the fundamentalist to the intellectual categories.

P ro g ra m a tic a lly the Radical Right seeks to determine the future value patterns o f society, which it sees as being threatened by the Liberals and the Left. It rejects what the ITH respect to the opposite end L ib e ra ls term progress, the trend o f the political spectrum, we towards modernity. In its eyes, the find in the New Left a loose-jointed m od ern social changes appear to e cu m e n ic a l m ovem ent o f young endanger the social, economic, and radicals which includes elements o f material foundations o f our society. anarchism, socialism, pacifism^ ex On the basis o f these character istentialism, humanism, bohemianism, istics and activities, the Radical Right mysticism, black nationalism -7 and is obviously fascist in nature, in the sense applicable to the Italian Fascists more. With such a broad, spectrum o f o f the ’20’s. As Lipset points out creeds and fancies being poured into (“ Political Man” ), fascism is extrem the m ix, it results that the adherents ism o f the Center; what we label as the have widely varying views. A compila Radical Right is actually a phenomen tion o f characteristics and practices as given below can not cover all details on o f the Center. Few sociologists' consider that but notes basic features which have the Radical Right is (or w ill be, in the surfaced during the past five years. near future) capable o f causing a In itially the New Left was constituted largely o f educated middle-class youth Fascist takeover o f the American government. However, there is concern coming from liberal or radical intellec about its threat to our democratic tu a l m iddle-class parents. It has institutions and processes, and its enjoyed significant covert financial a b ility to confuse and divide the and other support from corporate nation. Insofar as we agree w ith the sources which have sought to use the Liberal regard fo r American institu New Left phenomenon to their own tions, we may agree w ith these fears. It ends. Like the Radical Right, the Leftists feel that the w orld’s ills result is to be noted that while most o f the from non-feasance and malfeasance by Right extremist parties do not disavow its leaders in deliberate conspiracy. aid from and cooperation w ith the bigot and reactionary groups, they are They are disenchanted w ith the claims not overtly racist. They deny any basic and accomplishments both o f derhoc-

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racy as they see it here. Some o f them profess to be disenchanted also by Marxism as exemplified by Soviet practices; as Americans their principal hatred is reserved fo r the faults o f this nation. The New Left followers feel “ alienated” from society (i.e., they resent its practices, especially since it w ill not accept their guidance). They can see no meaning or purpose in their futures as presently indicated, and believe that the cause o f this de ficiency lies in American society and its structure. Their disorientation, typical o f the adolescent, is com pounded by the confusion, normlessness, and anomie o f our social condi tion. A summary o f New Left charac teristics would be as follows: 1. Violence is permissible, even w orth while, in attacking the structure o f society. 2. Action is warranted even though it may be impossible to predict the fu ll consequences o f the action. The young activists reject ideology and politics, tradition and authority; they ignore the lessons o f experience and history. 3. New Leftists have a deep-seated hatred fo r American society which they seek to destroy through efforts which call fo r self-sacrifice. 4. The New Left is anti-ideological -9 not because it has studied and then rejected ideology but because it is suspicious o f reasoning. 5. It emphasizes idealism, community rather than the individual. Extremely 16

clannish w ithin the group, its members have an extreme intolerance fo r o ut siders.

6. The Movement consists mainly o f young people. 7. It abjures faith in the democratic procedure (which it explains may apply later but not now), and stresses dependence on elitism (following the reasoning o f two o f its intellectuals, Marcuse and C. Wright M ills),* with leadership assigned to its young intel lectuals. Its most searing contempt is reserved fo r its spiritual progenitors, the m od ern lib e ra ls , “ corporate Liberalism,” whom it holds responsible for all “ barbaric aspects” o f American society (Jacobs and Landau, “ The New Radicals” ).

8 . It holds a self-righteous moral posi tion, w ith a m orality which is yet to be clearly defined. 9. It ostensibly, but w ith no great heat, rejects Marxism, and has little regard fo r the class theory. Two basic personal character istics are conspicuous in the programs and p ra c tic e s o f the individual members f l first, an overwhelming egoism defining itself both as indivi dualism and individuality (and un aware o f the distinction between these tw o terms), and secondly an utterly negative view which rejects history and the past, rather than offering a goal fo r the future. To quote the somewhat superficial report o f the President's Commission on Campus Unrest: “ The JEWISH LIFE

(Movement) subculture took its bear ings from the notion o f the autono-l mous, self-determining ind ivid ua l. . . Each man should be free to lead his own life in his own way.”

establishment o f sotind political and so cia l p o lic ie s , and inhibits this nation's ability to solve its complex p ro b le m s vis-a-vis the Communist activities, especially in the Middle East.

HE current lull in the activism o f the New Left has numerous causes — apathy, cynicism, despair, disenchantment, decline o f interest, a turn to new “ life styles” to replace unproductive terrorism p-1 and some rethinking. Withal, the Movement's deep resentments persist, and because o f them its potential fo r spreading dis ruption is little abated. Like the Radi cal Right the Movement does not o f itself constitute a direct danger to American society at this time. It lacks a broad mass base and an ideology which would attract the masses. Its effectiveness in making force appear to be an acceptable method o f social change is its most ominous aspect. In this respect the potential o f the New Left is o f greater concern than that o f its counterpart on the Right. It in cludes a more articulate, more intellec tual base capable o f producing far more mischief. And, unlike the Radi cal Right, it can work in tandem with fo rc e s in command o f powerful nations abroad. In both domestic and international affairs, the cacophony o f the Leftists renders most d iffic u lt the

Religiously, the New Left repre sents a significant milestone in the d e v e lo p m e n t o f secular thinking. During the past several hundred years this type o f reasoning has led to the continued a ttritio n o f the influence o f traditional religion in the non-jewish world, and a comparable impact on the Jew when he was permitted to participate in the world polity. One o f the primary goals o f Liberalism, the contemporary form o f secular philoso phy, is to establish a faith to replace traditional religion and belief in G-d, to substitute the apotheosis o f man and his reasoning powers for trust in the Alm ighty. It is one o f the latest attempts in a long chain o f efforts the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, positivism, scientism, etc. — to develop extra-Biblical standards. The New Left has developed from man's realization that the solutions fostered by Liberal ideology make matters worse. The process by which this occurs is not evident; as troubles increase, efforts are intensified in the directions that are actually worsening the problem.

DUAL REACTION N political terms, the growth o f the extremist groups has resulted from increasing acceptance o f violence and intolerance as the primary means

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fo r attaining goals which do not appear to be achievable by democratic methods, because o f the slowness w ith which goals are approached, or be17

c a u s e r a p id ly ch a n g in g so cia l co nd itio ns appear to be directing society into objectionable courses. Especially does the elite, the architects o f the new idolatry, find its proposed social codes and mores restrained and inhibited. The young feel baffled and menaced by their inability to foresee a satisfactory future, whereas those who are conservatively inclined find the social changes frightening. These reac tions nourish the burgeoning Radical Right and the New Left. Comparison item by item o f the characteristics and activities noted above for the two groups indicates major similarities in basic attitudes and practices, with differences consisting prim arily in techniques arising from different back grounds and training rather than from different views. These similarities lead to the obvious conclusion that the New Left is also fascist in nature. Thus the past decade has the unique distinc tion o f seeing the development o f two opposing fascist groupings. In tw o respects they do d iffer — their regard fo r and attitudes towards religion and Israel. Hatred and con tempt fo r traditional faith, w ith all o f its significance, is a cardinal character istic o f the New Left, whereas the Radical Right in this country has views varying from the fundamentalist to the

rational in religion, w ith none o f the trappings o f the modern esoteric and personal cults. The views o f the Liberal, the Old Left, and the New Left vary from the “ scholarly” and “ objective” to the overtly antagonistic toward religion. As fo r the Jew and his faith, they welcome him to the extent that he w ill deny his uniqueness and his Rock. Like the Hellenic intellec tuals o f old, they are most adept in convincing not only non-Jews but also large numbers o f Jews, especially our intellectuals, that Jewish particularism, the faith in the Jewish heritage, is som ehow rea ction ary, unmodern, stigmatized. Concerning Israel, the New L eft has identified it w ith the American establishment, and is b itter ly provoked that Israel has dared to accept aid from the United States. On the other hand, the Radical Right, when it can overcome its isolationist bias and its discomfort w ith the Jewish difference, tends to support Israel as a co m m o n a lly against Russia and communism. F the two movements the New Left is far more likely to be harmful both to society in general and to the Jew. Men who wish to and can lead, the intellectuals who can either elevate or destroy society, are more

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readily attracted to its ranks, which are being constantly augmented by the country’s educational system, through which its effectiveness is maintained and extended. Through its influence in the fields o f historiography and the social sciences, the New Left is able to establish its half-truths and distortions as truths and relevant values, faulting other values which are inimical to its beliefs. Its ability to be passionately articulate and its ready access to the communications media undermine the public mind and w ill in matters moral and religious; political and legal suc cess are therefore not actually essential for the promotion o f its programs. For the Jew and his faith, the New Left and the campus have been most detri mental, with indications o f far worse to come. The fascination fe lt by 'the Jew first fo r the Enlightenment and now fo r Liberalism has been noted (see Liebman in “ The Religious Situa tion: 1969” ), together with difficulties eventually experienced in accepting totalitarian creeds. As the inadequacies and ideology o f Liberalism become obvious, the young Jew, to the extent that he is estranged from his heritage, is easily seduced by the New Left. With many o f our young drifting toward the new paganism, we face the loss o f potential intellectual leaders o f the future and find them becoming allied to our deadly enemies. The current lull in extremist activities is o f a temporary nature only; the basic religious needs o f man and the recognized inadequacies o f the

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parent Liberal faith and practices w ill undoubtedly lead to renewed aggres sions by the New Left, unless the reli gious come forward with meaningful programs. The base for the second New Left still remains, an acquiescent Liberalism in our educational system, with more than a sprinkling o f New Left in the faculties, and the disper sion o f ex-New Left students through out the society willing and able to continue the confrontation politics acquired on the campus. As fo r the Radical Right, it is essentially an affliction to both Jewish and A m e ric a n societies, requiring constant watchfulness. It is not a deadly cancerous growth as is the New Left. Its lack o f competent intellectual leadership stultifies its expansion. Although it is guilty o f the same paganism*- individualism, the primary sin o f man — its ideology has never been so well articulated as to consti tute a mortal threat to traditional religion. In concentrating its attack on the Right, the Jewish Establishment, w hich is overwhelmingly estranged from Jewish fundamentals and prone to be Liberal, is leading us into the wrong war. In religious terms, which are o f course the primary significant factors, our status can be defined by reference to the extent o f belief in and com m it ment to the Alm ighty. Here in the non-Jewish world the combination o f industrial society, urban living, Liberal id e o lo g y , and individualism have eroded the faiths which were im-

planted 300 years ago, leaving, a and the less socially active groups. A shallow emotional remnant. Marty's slight trend to return to prior moral essay (in “ The Religious Situation: values has also been noted recently. 1 969") illustrates the concomitant However, it is too soon to draw any trends in the religious and political v a lid conclusions concerning their spheres — political stability concurrent nature or prospects. Unhappily we with religious revival in the early '60's, find all too many o f the’Jewish young political rumblings with religious and involved in these searches fo r an u lti exotic stirrings in. the mid W s , and mate solution, continuing and exceed the current political extremism with ing the Liberal estrangements which the development o f pagan esoteric enveloped their parents. As Liebman cults o f numerous types during the has noted, there appears to be a past half decade, cults which appear constant drive by the Jew to free him oddly like prim itive pagan cultures o f self from the condition which the 2,000 years ago and more. As Roszak, Creator apparently thrusts upon him: a New left sympathiser, has noted “ The impetus fo r intellectual and reli (The Nation, April 1, 1968): “ What gious reform among Jews, the adop began w ith Zen has now rapidly, per tion o f new ideologies and life styles, haps too rapidly, proliferated into a but above all else the changing self phantasmagoria o f exotic religiosity." perception by the Jew o f himself and There are some signs o f renewal o f his condition is a desire fo r emancipa conventional faiths, mainly o f the tion from the very essence o f the sentimental types o p |in California, Jewish condition." generally among the fundamentalists

CAUSES OF THE CURRENT CRISIS N addition to the urge to be free from the Creator's demands, the c u rre n t crisis stems from several causes, o f which the follow ing are primary: The decline in meaningful religion, especially the lack o f faith in G-d. T h e consequences o f th e s p iritu a l vacancy which man thus experiences are manifest. The hard practical effects, the specific individual

weaknesses and maladies which it causes, are not so well appreciated, even though they are now amply docu mented and misinterpreted by most o f our secularly oriented scientists. The frantic efforts o f extremists to unearth substitutes for this basic need o f man are but one example. The widespread propagation o f Liberal ideology. Having displaced the Creator

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from His central place in the universe, first the philosophers, then the En lightened, and now the Liberals and their progeny have sought to replace Him w ith man-made concepts. Liberal ism is proving to be the greatest impediment to man’s understanding o f his position on this earth vis-a-vis his Creator. It serves to obscure the truth concerning human nature by teaching, inter alia, that evil is to be found not in man but in social and political insti tutions prim arily; m odify or destroy the structure and the evil w ill dis appear. The sense o f optimism in Liberals which this belief has engen dered has been significantly weakened during the past few decades, to be replaced by a large measure o f skepticism concerning man’s capability o f progress. The d iffic u lty in unearth ing alternative solutions to man’s pre dicament arises from the lack o f genuine objectivity on the .part o f the Liberal mentality, a characteristic o f the Liberal intellectual in his attitude toward movements which aré rooted in the deeply fe lt religious needs o f man. The accession to power o f the intellectual. The dissemination o f Liberal ideology has been effected by means o f the spread throughout Western society o f the influence o f intellec tu a ls , th e co m m itte d individuals involved ip political and social con cerns. Originally; intellectual work arose from religious preoccupations. Concern with what are taken to be the JULY-AUGUST 1971

vital facts o f existence tends to lead to self-regard and an attitude o f deroga tion toward those who serve in more mundane capacities. In time ideology has come to serve to conceal the element o f self-interest. Intellectuals, in interpreting history and in form ulat ing policy, have tended to emphasize the significance o f their contributions and theories, and the necessity fo r accepting supervision by the elite who possess knowledge and understanding o f the societal mechanism. In any society the task o f the leadership is to foster the unity which is required to b in d to g e th e r the heterogeneous, potentially antagonistic interests, to a rtic u la te and defend the values through which we function, and to emphasize those objectives required to meet forseeable future needs. Instead the elitist intellectual has been most perspica ceo us in d e c la rin g the in a d e q u a c y o f o u r values and practices, in mocking our commonali ties, and in cohcentrating on the dis tant future, the utopia. Their teachings serve to undermine the foundations o f society w itho ut providing fo r replace ments, leaving a quagmire on which man can not build. The subversion o f the educational system. For the Jew, education is the tool wherewith we have b uilt and maintained our m orality, our religion, and our relationship to G-d. American education had a similar beginning through the New England Puritans and served that function well into the 19th

^Frrprrt^ vf

(Eougtegttliei*

century. The religious foundation was gradually and unrem ittingly weakened by the growth o f the industrial system, as promoted by secular Liberal human itarian ism. American education has become an expression o f Liberal indi vidualism, and is now one o f the chief instruments wherewith it is main tained. In our schools the talents and energies o f Liberals are applied to the remaking o f society through indoctri nation o f the students, who in turn become the faculty o f the future and the learned forces o f society. The radicalization o f the young occurs because o f the increasing numbers both o f Liberals and radicals in the faculties, and of students at the uni versities. In the past, youth has been a period w ithin which to acquire values handed down from the past, and to begin the development o f wisdom. The effect o f mass education is to remove large numbers of young people from institutional ties to the rest o f society, from their families and from local and community affiliations, at a period in their lives when they are by nature attracted to perspectives highly critical o f their elders. Insofar as these are a c q u ire d th ro u g h education, the school can not be neutral; it never has been. As the ideas o f traditional religion are exiled from the school, the void has been filled by Liberal th in k ing with devastating impact on both Jewish and Christian concepts. The extent o f this penetration can be gauged by the uncritical acceptance by

even orthodox Jewish minds o f such Liberal constructs as “ the hallowed tr a d itio n o f academic freedom,” “ youth culture,” and “ the basic good ness o f yo uth .” The increasing pervasiveness o f the communications media. Communication serves to distri bute ideas, both good and bad, true and false; improved communications expedite the process.: Modern high speed mass communication (including the educational system), now dom inated increasingly by liberal intellec tuals, further compound our problems by the selective dissemination o f ideas and values. The rise o f the modern industrial and post-industrial systems. Industrialization as now con stituted is maintained and expanded by appealing to the Yetzer Horah, man’s self-centered ambitions and indi vidualism. In so doing it demoralizes the cooperative community spirit. Jointly with urbanization it damages traditional values, w itho ut providing satisfactory substitutes. The issues which divide man become more com plex, less intelligible, and more intract able w hen approached with the modern Liberal rather than the reli gious mind. The d e b ilita tio n o f th e fam ily influence. The individual and society both suffer by the impairment o f familial ties to the point where they become almost meaningless at the stage o f personal life in which they are most JEWISH LIFE

important. The fam ily has served fo r ages as a source o f education, to pro vide security and stability before the individual matures, and tó ease the transition to manhood. Both industrial society and Liberal ideology demand that the child be freed from family influence long before a person is psychologically prepared to be inde p e n d e n t, and before he has an adequate grasp o f his relationship to his Maker and to the universe. The nature o f youth. T he delinquencies o f youth which are the bases fo r extremism are fostered by ideologies and a world condition which conflict w ith natural proclivities. The natural endowments which are wondrously and Divinely designed fo r a cooperative existence are largely unsuited fo r a materialistic, secular, self-centered life. As Jean Piaget’s studies have indicated and as our Jewish scholars have understood (vid e Chovoth .HaTvovoth), young children regard the rules o f life which are taught to them as absolutes, a part *

T is clear that the extremist phenomena are a token, a re minder, that the world faces a religious crisis which can have far more dire consequences than the ecological abuses, the population explosion, or the nuclear bomb, a crisis deriving from man’s pride, lack o f h um ility, and egoism masquerading as human ism. Basically, as we have seen, our

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o f reality. They also acquire a belief in the ability o f the average person to act to rectify difficulties. These attitudes are the basis fo r the security and stability required fo r growth; w itho ut them lives may be physically and mentally stunted. In the secondary school and to some extent and in creasingly in the colleges, the young are advised constantly, deliberately and by implication, o f the evils pre valent throughout this world and o f methods readily available wherewith to supposedly correct our unhappy stateB* plus the corollaries that their elders are incapable or unwilling to cure our ills. The resultant feeling o f frustration and fear o f the future and its obvious insecurity is especially oppressive to a generation which has not been raised w ith a faith in G-d. The primary deficiency o f youth is an acute sense o f human failure and mismanagement, a new and especially disheartening awareness o f the in adequacy o f man.

p lig h t arises from the cumulative effects o f centuries o f secular philos ophy which, in aggrandizing itself and its adherents, perforce has found it necessary to subjugate traditional reli gion, Jewish and non-Jewish. Both Jew and Christian have a commonality o f interest, to provide a sociological atmosphere which is favor able to their basic feligious founda-

tions. The religious communities must o f Intellectuals to combat anti-Israel jo in tly recommend programs to be sentiment among New Left Jewish developed and seize the initiative lest students. Such a council could serve to they be overwhelmed by paganism develop a reorientation o f the public which is their common enemy, with school system to correct the errors to the Jew bearing in mind at all times which it has been subjected, especially that our jo in t engagement in this kind in the social sciences and history. o f enterprise must not dull our sense The falsely interpreted issue o f o f identity as a unique faith. That such separation o f religion and state re cooperation is feasible is evidenced by quires clarification, to reflect our reali the coordinated activity o f “ Roman zation that there never has been and Catholics, the Salvation Arm y, the never can be a “ neutral” education Mormons, Greek Orthodoxy, ortho system, and that our present pedagogy dox Jewry, hard-shelled fundamental is designed to inculcate the creeds o f ists and a hard-nosed m inority o f Liberalism and its offshoots. As reli liberal Protestant ethicists” (Time, gious individuals we should conduct a March 29, 1971) in opposing on a continuing uncompromising criticism local basis the Liberal-sponsored move o f the established culture and its insti m ent fo r abortion-on-demand. A n tutions from the standpoint o f reli other encouraging sign is the advocacy gious principles, offering corrective by the Religious Zionists o f America definitions o f reality. o f the form ation o f a Jewish Council

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OHtexvt

by EVELYN C. RUBIN AVIN G been to Israel on several occasions as tourists, the pros pect o f spending a year in Haifa was understandably enticing to my hus band and myself. For the academic year 1970-1971, my husband took an unpaid leave o f absence from his col lege teaching post to become a visiting senior lecturer in political science at Haifa University. While we found that the year in Israel fu lfille d many o f our expectations, we were amazed about how much we learned about life there that is lost to the vacationer or even to the concerned follow er o f Israel and Middle East news. H a if a ( p o p u la t io n a b o u t 250,000), Israel’s hilliest city and lead ing port, is laid out on three levels. The lowest and oldest is the port a^ea, a bustling center o f activity. The mid-

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die section, Hadar, is also a business center distinguishable from the port by more modern, consumer-oriented shops. The uppermost section, Carmel, affords a breathtaking view o f the Mediterranean below. The Carmel has some o f the loveliest residential areas to be found in all o f Israel. The com bination o f hills and view o f the sea has caused many writers to compare Haifa w ith San Francisco. Haifa University rented fo r us a furnished apartment on M ount Carmel in the Romema section, an upperm id d le class neighborhood having many young couples. A ll the trappings o f prosperity were apparent to the casual observer there B T V antennas dotted the rooftops, and finding a parking space at night was a real problem.

OM EM A was about seven years old. We lived in a four-story shikun (development) located atop a winding fro n t lawn o f grass and trees. A series o f steps from the street led up to our building, as is the case w ith the entrances o f other homes on the Carmel. The buildings in this develop ment were w itho ut elevators, which are required in Israel fo r houses having more than four stories. Rather than carry our child’s stroller up tw o flights o f stairs to our apartment, I would leave it overnight at the fo o t o f the stairs. Given my New York rearing, I was at first apprehensive lest the strol ler diasppear by morning, but I quick ly adjusted to the more trusting Israeli practices. During the daytime hours, locked apartment doors seemed to be the exception in our building. O u r tw o-bedroom apartment was typical o f many in Israel. It had stone tiles, a blessing in summer but frosty in winter. The fro n t terrace overlooked Oren (Pine) Street below, and the rear terrace served as a com bination storage and clothesline area. M ost Is ra e li apartments are owned by their tenants, rented apart ments usually being leased from a p ri vate owner rather than from a land lord. One o f the characteristics o f this type o f ownership is that Israeli apart ments are to a certain extent con structed to the buyer’s specifications. Room dimensions, apartment layout, even where to install an electric outlet must be decided in advance by the prospective tenant. While this system

permits individualized settings, it is also time-consuming and involves close contact between buyer and contractor. Our apartment (owned by a young couple; the husband a recent Ph.D. from the Technion who received a post-doctoral fellowship fo r study in the United States) had by Israeli stan dards a nicely-equipped kitchen. It included cabinets which the owners had installed themselves (apartments in Israel come w ith o u t cabinets, shelves or closets, these items being installed at extra expense by apart ment purchasers)^a stove (but no oven); and a large Israel-manufactured Amcor refrigerator. Electrical appli ances are very expensive fo r Israelis to purchase, due to the high taxes. Y most immediate problem was to establish some sort o f house keeping routine, and thus to find the most suitable place to shop. Essentials I purchased at the local grocery {“ M akolet” ) whose proprietor was a native South African. Eighty percent o f the food shopping done in Israel is at these local groceries. Compared with Americans, Israelis go shopping more frequently in the week. Israeli husbands also seemed to be much more fam iliar with how much a kilo o f apples cost, fo r instance, than their American counterparts. One o f the bonuses in my Israeli shopping list was the chance to experi ment w ith a wide variety o f hard and soft cheeses. In America, there is a far smaller choice o f kosher cheeses and

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what is available is often considerably more expensive than the non-kosher variety. N ot only at the grocery, but at other retail stores, Israelis buy regu larly on credit. My grocery followed the standard practice in taking orders by phone. Delivery boys I came into contact with in Haifa seemed almost always to be Arabs and they impressed me as having a comfortable relation ship with both store owners and cus tomers. Stores are open from eight o’clock in the morning to one and from four to seven in the evening, the hours in between being devoted to siesta. In the summer, many shops are also closed Tuesday afternoon. T he large st supermarket in Haifa, I soon learned, was “ Supersol,” where the variety o f goods was impres sive and the prices slightly cheaper than at the local groceries. Unlike the local groceries, Supersol does not ac cept phone orders, but it does H fo r a 75 aguroth (20 cents) fee — make home deliveries. Towards the end o f the academic year, the Faculty Coun cil at Haifa University launched a pro gram entitling members to a five per cent discount at Supersol. During the year I spent in Haifa, quite a few other retail stores also sponsored discount program s fo r large m em be rsh ip organizations. I was pleased to find that a mashgiach was on the premises o f Supersol, supervising particularly the m eat departm ent. Most new and experimental types o f foods are first

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introduced into Supersol rather than the local groceries. Supersol’s clientele is more Western in outlook and there fore probably more responsive to such innovations. For example, I noted fro z e n vegetables from the new Sunfrost Company available very early at Supersol. In this case, the newly introduced products d idn’t seem to sell too well, but in my opinion this was likely due to their prohibitively high cost, rather than to Israeli resis tance to the frozen food concept. A small chain o f supermarkets is the Tzarchen stores, which look like mini-Supersols. Shekem, the army PX, so to speak, offered" the cheapest prices in Haifa on food (and even toys, household goods, and clothing). Only those may shop at Shekem who have the discount tickets distributed to families o f m ilitary and defense per sonnel. As one would imagine in a country as embattled as Israel, many people are entitled to obtain such tic k e ts and Shekem is usually crowded. Bargain-minded Haifaites buy fruits and vegetables at the Shuk, a market in the Hadar section. Flower stalls are located throughout Haifa, and flowers appear to be much less o f a luxury purchase than they do in America. discovered that Israeli aguroth (100 aguroth equal one lira; one lira equals 29 cents) are easily lost until one learns many o f the ropes about food purchases. Although I

fa ith fu lly returned all m ilk bottles and received back the deposit (which was by no means negligible, being onethird o f the price), it took me many months to learn that egg boxes and oil bottles also should be returned and deposit reclaimed. (In spring, 1971, disposable plastic sacs began to replace m ilk bottles in certain groceries.) Signi ficantly, the purchase o f larger-size units o f most products did not affect price savings over the smaller size units. Regarding food, I did not make much o f an e ffo rt at comparison shop ping as prices did not seem to vary much in the area I lived in. However, on trips to the port area we found cer tain consumer items cheaper than in my residential neighborhood. Since we had a one-year-old daughter and I was pregnant, we had a fair amount o f contact w ith Israeli medicine. Through my husband's job we joined one o f the national health plans, paying a m onthly fee o f about 33 liroth (nearly $10). The health plan covered doctors' visits as well as pre scription medicines. Most Israelis seem to belong to a health plan. Dentistry, which is on the basis o f private prac tice, is reputed to be one o f the few lucrative professions ¡¡||m u c h more remunerative than the medical profes sion. One cavity filled at a dentist cost me 30 liroth (nearly $9) compared to a visit to a pediatrician costing about 10 liroth. Because medicine is either free or available at a nominal cost through the health plans, Israelis seem to take a 28

tremendous number o f medicines. My husband once paid a visit to a doctor because o f a cold, and came away with no less than five prescriptions. Appar ently, overuse o f drugs is not uncom mon. In the course o f our stay, our health plan raised the cost o f drugs from nothing to 50aguroth (14 cents) as a result o f such overuse. A news paper reported that over-consumption o f medicine is one o f the leading causes o f hospitalization in Israel. M onthly checkups for infants and children were performed by nurses a t th e “ tip o th cholov" (literally “ drops o f m ilk ") well-baby clinics rather than at the office o f a pediatri cian. Taking a baby to a pediatrician only takes place if the child is ill. Per haps this explains why a children's doctor in Israel is not called a “ pediatric ia n '^ b u t a “ doctor o f children's diseases." NE o f the most interesting as pects o f living in Israel was the heightened feeling o f participation in Jewish life — religiously and culturally. Although “ Red H aifa" once had a re p u ta tio n o f being anti-religious (probably because the buses run on Shabboth and holidays, follow ing the procedure existing under the British Mandate), this no longer seemed true. On Succoth many o f our non-religious neighbors b uilt succoth and all our professedly non-religious Israeli friends lit Shabboth candles. I found it amu sing to hear a neighbor who considers herself non-religious complain about

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how hard she works on Friday in order to cook all the Shabboth meals before sundown. Sim ilarly, another acquaint ance emphasized, “ Naturally, I d on't clean my house free o f chometz, but on Pesach I bake only w ith kemach matzah" (matzah meal). The realization came as a sur prise that although one is in Israel, the need to seek out a religious area still applies. Perhaps we fe lt this need strongly because we lived in a neigh borhood not particularly religious. Coming to Israel from a “ modern o rth od o x" New York synagogue, I was disappointed to find relatively few women attending Sabbath services at our small neighborhood synagogue. This conclusion, it must be stressed, does not necessarily apply to larger synagogues in Haifa, or to many in Jerusalem. But the absence o f younger women from synagogues on the Sab bath seemed a loss, all the more so be cause the Eruv surrounding Haifa per mits one to carry, and hence to take babies and carriages to shook Perhaps shool also attracts few women because services end at a relatively early hour H 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning fo r the latest services — an hour when women in thé United States often only arrive in shool after carrying out fam i ly chores at home. By and large, it became impos sible fo r me to differentiate religious from cultural life. Chanukah gained an air o f added festivity from the sale o f soufgannioth (jelly doughnuts), a food consumed more widely in Israel than

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la tk e s . Yom Ha’atzmauth, Israel's Independence Day, began on sun down, much like religious holidays. On Yom Hazikoron (the day preceding Independence Day), Israeli families light yohrtzeit candles. The merriment o f Purim was sharpened w ith children marching in the streets in elaborate, im a g in a tiv e costumes. Instead o f throwing together household odds and ends fo r such costumes, some mothers even rent Purim attire. LTHOUGH the year we lived here was unrepresentative be cause o f the formal and informal ceasefire in effect since August, 1970, this did not seem to dampen the bed rock nationalism. Nearly every w in dow on our street seemed to fly a flag on Yom Ha'atzmauth, as did many passing cars. The day before, I was in the street during one o f the twominute air raid sirens memorializing fallen troops, and people stood mute. Earlier in the year, I witnessed the same in response to a siren on behalf o f the trial o f Leningrad Jews. The Israeli housewife runs her home quite differently from that o f her American Jewish sister. Generally, the Israeli mother works, and leaves her young children to the care o f a “ metapeleth." These guardians vary in age from grandmothers to teenagers. A t age two, the child is already eligible for the “ gan." I was quite taken aback after our arrival by the frequent ques tion, “ What work do you do?" This is n o t w h a t th e American Jewish

mother expects to hear, Women’s Lib notwithstanding. Household help, the “ ozereth,” is regarded as less o f a luxu ry than in America, and constituted one o f the main bargains in Israel. Sur prisingly, I knew working women who after having paid the metapeleth and ozereth had hardly anything left over from their job earnings. Presumably, the acceptance o f working women stems from the equality between the sexes in Israel. On this score, religious mothers I knew were proportionately no m ore home-bound than non religious ones. HE hardest thing fo r me to get accustomed to was the Israeli budget. Despite speeches and readings on the subject while in America, one realized the tremendous financial hard ships Israelis bear only after living there. The Israeli lira purchases much less than the American dollar and Israelis themselves do not weigh a lira’s w o r th . Our fam ily food bill ran 400-500 liroth a month. This figure falls into perspective when realizing that the average Israeli salary is about 700 liroth a month before taxes. Second jobs, third jobs, and the w ork ing mother help to make ends meet, but Israelis themselves joke at how they meet their bills. While Americans by and large try to convey an air o f com fort and security as regards finances, Israelis by contrast boast about how they manage on so little. A t parties people would regularly ask one another how much

th e y earn, the assumption being: “ We’re all in the same straits.” Who in America on first acquaintance would exchange such information? Even those items considered cheap and plentiful here, such as fru it and vegetables, rate high on an Am eri can scale. (To be sure, nearly every fru it and vegetable is grown in Israel, allowing the homemaker to experi ment w ith food otherwise considered exotic or very expensive in America.) Bread and m ilk are subsidized by the government and their price was truly lo w . Diaper service, laundry (few Israelis own washing machines), hot w a te r, e le c tric ity , and telephone (phone bills arrived every two months, with minimum service charge over 40 liroth), are high items on the budget. Clothing, especially fo r children, is very high. S parents, we enjoyed the great fuss Israelis make over children. Even children o f seven or eight would regularly run to greet our daughter e x c la im in g , “ motek, chamuda/ah” (sweetie). Everywhere we went we came to expect that children would be the center o f attention. Sociologically, we fe lt comfortable living among Jews, where one may freely call upon a neighbor fo r a favor, where old people never need to stand on buses. Socially, we made some wonderful friends. We enjoyed the frequent casual visiting typical o f Israel. We found among American olim people o f idealism who deserve great respect.

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Our only major complaint was straits, the Israeli is not obsessed by financial. We still marvel at how the money fo r money’s sake. I never fe lt Israeli manages not only to make ends that we were judged by my husband’s meet, but even to afford middle class paycheck. Indeed, the ideal o f equality products. The hard economic situation seems natural in this country where proves no bar, however, to aspirations being Jewish is itself natural, and for a high standard o f living. Some where the objective o f a life o f dignity what paradoxically, we saw good in is not confused with or subordinated this too. Despite this tight financial to the pursuit o f material gain.

JULY-AUGUST 1971

To share in a historic experience

SECOND WORLD CONFERENCE OF NATIONAL SYNAGOGUE ORGANIZATIONS AND RELIGIOUS COUNCILS

Jerusalem January 9-12, 1972

Teveth 22-25, 5732

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Under the auspices o f National Synagogue Bodies and Kehilloth o f countries across the globe including Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congregations o f America

Participation in the World Conference is reserved to members o f the o fficia l delegations o f the convening bodies.

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SECOND WORLD CONFERENCE OF NATIONAL SYNAGOGUE ORGANIZATIONS AND RELIGIOUS COUNCILS

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January 5 ^January ,26 $780

Pilgrimage Tour 2: 15 days

January 3 H January 17 $675

Pilgrimage Tour 3: 15 days

January 5 — January 19 $675

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January 8 — January 18 $585

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y«Alvak Student We express appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Derovan o f Los Angeles, California fo r enabling our readers to share, through this letter sent by their son Daniel while a student at Yeshivath Kerem BYavneh in Israel, his perception o f Jewish meanings. E ditor P

EAR Family,

Here it is the day before Shovuoth, and it struck me that lately I have been writing just short letters o f news items. So, I thought that now when I am coming to the end o f tw o years o f study at the Yeshivah, and since the Yeshivah does not issue report cards or even progress reports, I thought that at least you should have my impressions o f what it means to have learned Torah here and why I want to continue the learning o f Torah fo r the rest o f my life. Since what I have acquired at the Yeshivah cannot be measured by re corded marks o f A, B, or C on a report card, nor w ill I receive a diploma with a degree as tangible evidence o f achievement here, you may ask what use is there in sitting in a large room all day w ith tw o hundred other fellows, each yelling at the top o f his lungs, learning a Gemorah which was written down many centuries ago, trying to figure out how much an ox that breaks something in a public place is liable fo r damages, etc. Therefore, I think it is fittin g that on the day before the day we celebrate the hour o f our having received the Torah on Mount Sinai that I discuss this matter w ith you. It is w ritten, odom I ’o m o ly u io d , man was created fo r labor. The Gemorah tells us that om oi here means omot peh, the labor o f the mouth, or, in other words, learning Torah, which is essentially the labor o f speech which expresses

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thoughts. It is obvious that man was created to create. The question then, is, to create what? Man has many desires and ambitions. What should he do with them? It is a well-established fact that man let loose w ithout order or direction given to his powers can destroy worlds. Where is man to find the answer to his metaphysical yearnings and his physical desires to live in peace? When G-d saw that the world would destroy itself, He realized that the Torah, which had been revealed only to a few individuals, would have to be given to a group o f people in order to bring the course o f the world to its correct purpose. So, G-d pre sented the Torah to the Jewish people. T is written in the Midrash that G-d looked into the Torah and then created the world. It is also written in a Gemorah in Massechta Nedorim that one o f the seven things which was created before the world was the Torah. So we see that the Torah preceded the world. Therefore, the world was created in order to materialize the Torah. We also learn from Bereshith, yom ha-shishi (-the sixth day). Why the ha? Why not just yom shishP. Because G-d made a condition with the world: If the Jews would accept the Torah on the sixth o f Sivan, then the world would exist. So we see that the world exists only fo r the sake o f the Torah. Therefore, the Jews must observe the Torah. Otherwise, the world w ill return to thohu vavohu. The Jewish people, as the chosen nation, are the watchmen o f the Truth until this Truth, which knows no substitute, will cover the world. Why is it that the Torah is the purpose o f the Creation? According to the Maharal o f Prague: There are six dimensions to the material w o rld B front, back, right side, left side, top, and bottom . The seventh dimension is the center, which has no relationship to any o f the other dimensions. A t the center is the Torah. The Torah thus exists w ithin Creation, but also above Creation. Because it is not a material entity, the Torah cannot be measured by any o f the six dimensions, which denote ends or limits. Nor is the Torah bound by time or space, as it is the emanence o f the G-dly intellect. So, by learning Torah I cleave to the G-dly intellect, and as the Torah is the center and all revolves around, all should be subject to it. And so you see that Judaism’s idea o f the sh’vil ha-zahav, the golden or middle path, means that you live with a constant direction. The two sides o f man, the material and the spiritual, are seemingly at tw o opposite ends, but by grasping the middle point you harmonize the tw o opposites, the matter becomes the spirit. One should not attempt to build his life first and then add Torah, but rather one should build his life around Torah. Just as the Tabernacle, which contained the A rk o f the Covenant, was in the center o f the Israelite camp, so, too, the Torah must be the center point o f balance. As the Mitzvoth

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are the materialization o f the Torah, w itho ut them the Torah would have no place in our materialistic world. We say that the Mitzvoth are compared to a candle, and the Torah to a light w itho ut end. By keeping the Mitzvoth we have a portion in G-d’s Divine Will and the purpose o f Creation. O f course, the highest level is the study ®f Torah, to partake in the G-dly intellect, pure and unadulterated. A N ’S purpose in life should be to place himself on the middle road and take care that he does not fall to either side. Man should realize that his true nature is contained in the Halochah and the true path as set forth in the Halochah. The new thing that the Torah teaches the world is that the material is holy, and that the every-day is meaningful. The Torah wishes to free man from his physical boundaries and place him between the two fences on the sides o f the road so that he w ill be free o f his lim itations and weaknesses. And so, whatever I intend to do in my life after I leave the Yeshivah w ill be guided by these principles. Anyone who learns Torah is a tru ly free man and cleaves to the Truth that is the foundation o f the world.

A fter Eyn K ’Elokeynu, in our morning services, we recite the verse “ Chachomim increase peace in the w orld.” We »earn in Pirkey Ovoth that jealousy, desire, and the seeking o f honor remove man from the world. They are the cause o f all our wars, all our troubles. TheTalm id Chochom conquers all o f these and, therefore, only he who knows the truth because he stands at the source (center) o f everything can bring peace to the world. So, you see that my learning here at the Yeshivah is more than some sort o f unrelated mental gymnastics dealing w ith ancient texts. I feel that I stand at the source. The Daniel who entered Yeshivath Kerem B’Yavneh is not at all the same Daniel who w ill be leaving here. Superficially speaking, it may seem that I am more restricted from things that I used to do before. However, in order to create, man needs tools and a framework. Halochah is my framework and its boundaries are not restrictions, but rather a selection. Just as when you buy apples you select the best ones, so, too, w ith life you select the best and most wholesome actions. Man is not capable o f creating such an approach to life by himself, so G-d gave us the Torah. On the verse, “ The Heavens are the Lord’s, to man has He given th$-Earth,” the Kotzker Rebbe said that G-d gave the Earth to man so that he could make a heaven o f the earth. 0 , I want you to appreciate that which I have accomplished here at the Yeshivah and when, with G-d’s help, I stand the tests o f the outside world, you w ill know that I have truly' found the “ golden mean” in life.

With all my love, your son Daniel 36

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LAND

THREE CULTURES by JACOB BELLER S a neutral country Switzerland has played a role on the inter national arena in and between both World Wars. I t was the headquarters o f many international organizations like the International Red Cross, the old League o f Nations, and numerous o th e rs , including sections o f the U n ite d Nations. Swiss Jewry has played the same role o f an interna tio n a l intermediary w ithin Jewry. Thanks to Swiss neutrality, when the N azis u n d e rto o k their diabolical scheme o f the mass murder o f Jews, the first report o f this plan reached the Jewish world through Switzerland. A t the time o f World War II, in te rn a tio n a l Jewish organizations, such as the Joint Distribution Com mittee and the World Jewish Congress, tra n s fe rre d their headquarters to

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Switzerland, from that point carried out assistance and relief activities, and through various means got through to th e Jews in the Ghettoes. Some th o u sa n d s w ere saved from the crematoria. These and other world Jewish agencies, including the ORT and the OSE, have maintained their offices to this day in Switzerland. Even before the great Jewish tragedy, the Swiss Jewish community occupied a position on the map o f world Jewry. Switzerland was the locale fo r the first Zionist Congress held in the Basel C asino in 1897 w here political Z io n is m was proclaimed, leading eventually to the establishment o f the State o f Israel. O f the twenty-five World Zionist Congresses, five were held in Switzerland.

S in other countries, the Jews o f Switzerland went through a long series o f persecutions, slaughters, expulsions, and slanders that began in the 12th century and continued with increasing harshness through the 13th and 14th centuries. Only in two places, in Lengnau and Endingen, were Jews permitted to live at tjia t time, and this because the canton in which these tw o towns were located was not yet part o f the Swiss Federation. In these places they enjoyed freedom o f religion but they were forbidden to own property and practice a profes sion. They were only allowed to sell goods, traveling around to markets and fairs. The wealthier ones could be money-lenders. Lengnau at a later time w as th e b ir th p la c e o f M eyer G uggenheim , the founder o f the famous fam ily o f mining magnates. Endingen was the birthplace o f Wolf Dreyfus, the founder o f the Dreyfus fa m ily well-known in international tra d e , who for a while was the financial advisor o f the Swiss govern ment o f the day. For 150 years the Jews were confined to these two towns until 1868, when they received their civil emancipation. T he Jew ish c o m m u n ity o f Switzerland recently celebrated the hundredth anniversary o f Jewish civil emancipation in that country. The Union o f Swiss Jewish Communities, the ro o f organization o f Swiss Jewry w h ich unites twenty-six Kehilloth,

m arked th e h istoric date in an imposing manner at the Boersensaal in Zurich. The event was attended by representatives o f church and state and the important contribution o f Jews to the g ro w th and development o f Switzerland found expression. Rudolph Gnagi, then president o f the Swiss Federal Republic, and now president o f the Swiss Bundesrat, had high praise in his message o f greet ing at that occasion fo r the im portant contribution made by Switzerland’s Jews. He stated that the Swiss Jews had integrated into the cultural and political pattern o f Switzerland, keep ing apart only in religion. He stressed that the close interest shown by Swiss Jews in Israel was no problem. Their support o f Israel and her existence was based on the concept that it was a religious center. The Jews o f Switzer land, he went on to say, enjoy all civil and religious rights. He did not ignore the Shechitah problem, explaining that the ban on Shechitah, still in effect, was in a sense a reflection o f the democracy that prevails in Switzer land. The constitution permits any group o f citizens who have succeeded in assembling 50,000 signatures fo r legislation to submit their proposal to a national referendum. It was not an antisemitic act, he asserted, that in 1893 on the cry that Shechitah was “ barbaric” the ban was approved by a small m ajority.

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HE Jews o f Switzerland have had to defend themselves to this very day against the pestilence o f anti semitism whose germ was disseminated fro m n e a r b y G e r m a n y . T he German-speaking sector o f Switzerland is the larger and more industrialized area. Because o f the language it shares w ith G e rm a n y , the influence o f Herrenvolk culture has been more tangible than in other West European countries. Jews in Switzerland were directly exposed to Nazi propaganda in the time o f the H itler regime. Not only did they live in fear o f a Nazi invasion o f Switzerland but they also had much to endure from their home grown Swiss Nazis. The situation in that period was cited bluntly in the speech o f the president o f the Jewish community association,: Georges Brunschwig, at the aforementioned hundredth anni versary o f the emancipation o f Swiss Jews. Even in the upper levels, he pointed out, in the government circles, there were those who had openly showed their sympathy w ith the Nazis. He stressed that at the tim e o f the trial o f David Frankfurter, who shot the Nazi ambassador Gutzlow, it was made clear that the ambassador had worked hand in glove with the Swiss Nazis. Despite this evidence, the district court in Bern insisted that he did this as a private individual and committed no offense against the State. In the case o f the distribution o f the Pro tocols o f the Elders o f Zion it was G eorges Brunschwig himself who

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pleaded as an attorney in the case and dem onstrated that the documents were forgeries. He is the author o f a book on this trial, Vemichtung einer Faelschung (Destruction o f a Forgery.) In this case, too, the federal govern ment o f Switzerland did not react as it should have. In certain high level circles it was. then whispered that “ what the Jews were given in 1868 should be rescinded in 1936,“ though this would be in violation o f a law o f the federal government which forbids the public incitement against groups because o f their race or religion. Despite the constant and frequent intercession o f the official Jewish community, serious action was still n o t undertaken against antisemitic propaganda. It is a fact that after the Nazi defeat the American intelligence ser vice uncovered a plan in the Nazi Foreign Ministry which had been nego tiated w ith Switzerland to im print the passports o f all Swiss Jews with a “ J“ in Nazi fashion. N ot long ago a Swiss jo u r n a lis t produced a sensational expose in which he revealed that the former president o f the Swiss Con federation (whose term lasts one year according to the Swiss constitution) and the Justice Minister o f the Re public, Rudolph Ludwig Moss, had been open sympathizers with the Nazis at the time o f their hegemony and had publicly stated that “ the Jews had grabbed the best jobs and livelihoods in Switzerland, forcing the Swiss to emigrate.“ 39

However, one cannot generalize about the attitude o f Switzerland and the Swiss. A t the time o f the Hitlerite mass murders Switzerland admitted about 125,000 refugees, among them more than 20,000 Jews, ignoring the loud protests o f her own antisémites, even those in high places. The Swiss ambassador to Hungary, Mr. Lutz, himself rescued 8,000 Jews whom he provided w ith Swiss documents. W IT Z E R L A N D , so rich in p ic tu re s q u e panoram as o f mountains and lakes, does not possess its own natural resources o f industrial raw materials and is totally land locked. Compelled to im port her raw materials from other lands, these are processed in Switzerland and then exported to the world market. Yet, next to England, Switzerland is the most highly industrialized country o f E u ro p e and enjoys a high living standard. The Jews o f Switzerland with their links in international trade occupy a respectable position in the Swiss economy. Jews are represented in the manufacture o f watches fo r which Switzerland is so famous. The embroidery industry o f the country is factually in Jewish hands and creates a wide export abroad. Jews are also found in Switzerland’s banking and financial institutions so im portant in th e w o r ld ’s money market. Jews participate in the Swiss hotel business, in d e p a rtm e n t stores, metallurgy, medication and pharmaceuticals,, and the im port-export trade. There is a

considerable number o f Jewish profes sionals, some o f them in government service, and there are Jewish professors in the Swiss universities. S w itz e rla n d is composed o f three cultures. As in the case in other countries o f plural cultures, its Jews aspire to their own cultural goals and values. The 20,000 Jews o f the country are organized in a model structure which is involved in religious needs, culture and education, relief and welfare, and other activities. The I s ra e I i t i s c h e S c h w e iz e r ische Gemeindebund, to which are affiliated twenty-six communities, is the roof organization o f Switzerland’s Jews. A ll shades o f thought are included from Reform to Agudist and Chassidic. Each section o f Switzerland has its own Jewish style and way o f living. The Francophone part o f the country is naturally influenced by France. In German Switzerland the influence o f the former Frankfurt Jewish tradition is noticeable. On one o f my earlier trips to Basel, elections fo r a com munal rabbi were taking place and two candidates were running. One group distributed leaflets"announcing that if their candidate were not elected they would declare a “ kaddish strike.” The Jewry o f Italian-speaking Switzerland also has its own character istic nusach. The Jewish community o f Lugano is reminiscent o f a kehillah in Eastern Europe o f half a century ago, so firm ly traditional is its Jewishness. Visiting its synagogue on the Sabbath yo u have th e feeling o f having

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suddenly fallen into a Chassidic shtibel in the Galicia that was, so warmly in to n e d are the prayers and so ardently sung is the L ’chah dodi. Lugano itself is one o f the most attrac tive spots for tourists with its luxury hotels lining the surrounding mountain ranges. In the town center where the finest shops and bazaars are located and where the tourists buy their souvenirs I found one proprietor wear ing a fine silk yarmulka. In general it can be said that today Zurich is the only city in Western Europe other than Antwerp where there is a highly visible ortho dox Jewish presence. There are three o rth o d o x congregations in Zurich, including that o f a Chassidic rebbe who conducts his “ tish” there. When you come to Erika Street where one o f these congregations is located, the Jewishness is so tangible you can almost feel it w ith your hands. For the first time I saw tw o Swiss banks — Kuschland and Heffner, and a second bank R closed on Shabboth. Zurich is a sort o f Mecca fo r agents raising funds fo r yeshivoth. Switzerland itself has two distinguished yeshivoth, one in Kriens near Lucerne and a second in Montreux (Rabbi Bachko, the founder o f the Montreux Yeshivah, died on board a ship en route to America). In the summer months when the tourist season is on, figures o f Jewish religious communities from various lands join in a seminar conducted by the Jewish A g e n c y ’s Committee fo r Religious C u ltu re and E d u c a tio n for the Diaspora. JULY-AUGUST 1971

EWISH parties and functions o f all shades and nuances abound in Switzerland, all the way from the Agudath Israel and Mizrachi to the Mapai and Mapam. To get a picture o f this varied pattern o f Swiss Jewry we can study a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Institute for the Study o f Jewish Life in the Diaspora which produced the following data: three percent o f those polled indicated they were members o f B#’nai B’rith, which carries on an intensive program in Switzerland, with a Hillel House on 14 Spyristrasse in Zurich; fifteen percent responded that they were members o f W IZO (the Women’s International Zionist Organization); eighteen per ce n t were associated with various Zionist groupings. On the question o f Aliyah, eight percent stated that their families were planning to emigrate to Israel; thirty-five percent said their families were w illing to go but lacked the means; and eighteen percent re sponded negatively, i.e., that they did not intend to move to Israel. T h e Union o f Swiss Jewish Communities is alert in the defense and protection o f Jewish values and interests. Like other West European countries, Switzerland has not escaped the plague o f mixed marriages. To co m b at estrangement from Jewish values and the threat o f assimilation, the Gemeindebund, as the Union o f Communities is called, has developed an intensive program among Jewish youth. A number o f Jewish youth organizations and groups exist in S w itz e rla n d , fro m the orthodox

Yavneh and Agudah to other shades o f ideology such as B’rith Hatzofirn and Kadimah and the radical Hashomer Hatzair. Symposia and Bible contests are held fo r the young, sum m er camps have been organized, trips to Israel arranged. There are annual conferences o f young people between the ages o f 13 and 18 fo r the purpose o f bringing them closer to Jewish interests. The youth organizations include skiing activities and other sports in their programs. The training o f the younger generation is also provided for. The institute mentioned earlier conducted an enquiry on the state o f Jewish education. The replies show that 38 percent receive a Jewish education in a fte rn o o n schools, 36 percent in Sunday schools, three percent in all day schools, and six percent in private lessons. O f those attending Jewish schools, 62 percent replied “yes” to the question: “ do you belong to any Zionist group?” The Gemeindebund conducts an in te n s iv e c o u n te r cam paign o f information and enlightenment aimed at antisemitic propaganda. Switzerland is flooded with anti-Jewish publica tions mainly from Germany where Hitlerites have survived. The Swiss Jews have their own excellent press in the Israelitische Wochenblatt, a welledited weekly journal in both French and German which has appeared fo r sixty years, the Jüdische Rundschau, and Maccabee and a periodical pub lishe d in Geneva in Francophone 42

Switzerland. Recently there appeared a richly illustrated m onthly periodical Das Neue Israel which has exposed the slanders and malicious hate propa ganda o f the antisémites. The Council o f Christian-Jewish Brotherhood has played a role on the model o f similar good w ill and inter-religious com m it tees in North America. A special bureau, called the Juna Pressestelle, exists fo r a similar purpose providing news on Jewish questions and provid ing the Jewish point o f view for the Swiss press, in particular information interpreting the events o f Israel and the Middle East. Radio and television are also used fo r this purpose. HE Jews o f Switzerland dis tin g u is h e d themselves when thousands o f Jewish refugees fled to that land and were permitted to stay temporarily. The Gemeindebund and the Joint undertook a fund campaign for aid to the refugees, out o f the proceeds o f which $1,000,000 was put aside fo r their future repatriation. Refugee and relief work has continued to this day in Switzerland. Refugees are still coming — in recent years from Egypt — and campaigns are carried on for Jews in various lands. A ll this, o f course, is quite aside from what is raised and done fo r Israel. A ctivity for local institutions is c e n t r a l i z e d in th e V e rb a n d Schweizerischer Juedischer Fursorge which looks after the needs o f a number o f philanthropic causes such as children’s homes, hospitals, care o f

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the aged, and sanitaria fo r the tubercu lar which include among their patients Jewish consumptives from abroad. There is also a Jewish women’s organi zation, the Israelitische Frauen Verein> which has been carrying on welfare programs fo r more than eighty years. T h e high cultural and intel lectual level and devotion to Jewish values o f Swiss Jewry is o f long stand ing. As far back as 1602, Dos Ma’asseh Buch was published in the city o f Basel. This book, w ritten in an anti quated dialect o f Yiddish, is a basic document o f historic Yiddish litera ture. It consists o f 157 different stories culled from Talmudic and midrashic writings along w ith tales and legends current among the masses as well as folk-tales o f other peoples that were Judaized. The Jewish literary scholar Dr. Jacob Meitlis has recast much o f this into modern Yiddish with an analysis o f the origin o f tales. We read in the archives that in 1897 there was a call to organize a cultural association among Jews in Switzerland. In the early years o f the twentieth century the classic writers o f Yiddish and Hebrew literature lived part o f their life and created part o f th e ir w r itin g s in Switzerland. A historic photograph shows a group o f these to g e th e r: Mendele, Chaim

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N achm an B ia lik , Ben Am i, and Sholom Aleichem. Jews in Switzerland have ex celled notably in their creativity in the arts, literature, music, and science. To cite just a few examples: Felix Bloch received the Nobel Prize for his atomic research; Alexander Schoichet was awarded a prize from the city o f Zurich fo r one o f his compositions; Josue Jehouda, historian and philoso pher from Geneva, wrote a book “ Guglelmo Ferrero” which received warm acclaim. It is remarkable that such a tin y Jewish community o f 20,000 should producë such a consid erable number o f writers who write on Jewish themes. The Swiss Jewish Gemeindebund distributes awards for books on Jewish subjects. One o f these w as A lie s in E in em by K u r t Guggenheim. Margaret Sussman re ceived the Gemeindebund’s award for her novelten. Other writings that deserve mention are W. Raphard’s Memories o f Chaim Weizmann, and Clark Selig’s “ Einstein in Switzer land.” W illi Guggenheim’s doctoral dissertation on ‘T he Sociology o f Immigration to Israel” was published by th e Jew ish Buchgemeinde o f Zurich, which has also published other books o f Jewish content.

by BENJAMIN GOODNICK HE story is told o f the university professor who always gave his students the same questions on their fin a l examinations. However, even though they knew what they would be asked, this knowledge did not help them improve their marks since the professor changed the answers each year. Similarly, we can all appreciate that w ith the increase in research e ffo r ts and experimentation, such changes in expected responses would be a normal development. Actually, if it were not so, science and technology, fo r example, could not grow, evolve, and progress. A t the same time, it is also true that, in many instances, the question gives direction to the answer. A good

question w ill indicate the way a problem is to be resolved. Indeed, it is widely recognized by research w ork e rs , e d u c a to rs , s c ie n tis ts , and philosophers that when it comes to m a tte rs o f vital importance, the primary task should be not in the struggle to find the proper answers but rather to seek diligently the significant questions. This fundamental concept seems to have been overlooked during all the discussions over the past several years on the theme o f “ What is a Jew?” and “ Who is a jew ?” . O f course, there are always varieties o f Jews and o f Jewish outlooks at any one time in history, including today. Jews are thinkers and searchers and i f given a platform w ill express themselves. Thus, there are

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bound to be numerous reactions to the above queries and reams o f paper avail able to publish them. HE basic fault with these wellpublicized discussions, whether on paper or in open forum , lies in the time-sense o f the original question, in its lack o f a direction or goal. The seemingly clear wording o f the state ment “ Who is a Jew?” focuses on the immediate situation in the existing community, on a moment in time and space. It omits and neglects totally the very uniqueness o f the Jew: that he is not fixed by a particular period and specific location. And,, if there is any thing that we Jews ourselves should be conscious of, it is our sense o f history and continuity. Thus, in order to appreciate the nature o f the Jew, it. is by no means sufficient to see him as he is now; rather, there must be a comparative view o f his existence over the millenia o f what he has been and what he has become, and then projecting ahead as to what he should be or w ill be. A t any instant in time, research on Jews can gather many current facts and identify various existing relation ships; it is an achievement o f a sort. This information can be analyzed, organized, computerized, and treated statistically. The results can be and have been printed in many volumes and read w ith dismay, satisfaction, or rid ic u le depending on one’s view toward Jewish life. But this method only cuts up Jewish history, as if each

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period were distinct and unrelated to the next. This separation o f the epochs o f Jewish history robs it o f the flow o f its life-blood, its tradition and trans mission of practices and ideals, its awareness o f direction and o f goals. ET US turn to the early con tin u ity o f Jewish existence and use an unusual example, a Biblical period. Suppose that at the time o f A b ra h a m th e question had been raised: Who is a Jew? (Actually, it w o u ld have been “ Who is a Hebrew?” .) Ishmael could then claim his own Jewish philosophy and Isaac his. The obvious resolution o f these differing views lay not in their words but in The line o f preservation o f Jewish practices., Ishmael eventually left the mainstream o f Jewish life and kinship, as Esau went his way in the next generation. This early separation o f paths is the prototype o f the variant strands arising repeatedly in Jewish history throughout the ages. A t other epochs, the same parallels and relationships would hold fast B whether during the later Patriarchal periods, the conquest o f the Land, the time o f the First Temple and Prophetic period, the age o f Ezra and the rebuilding o f the Second Temple, the Hellenistic and Hasmonean eras, the Middle Ages, or the time o f the “ Enlightenment.” Those groups which adhered closely to Jewish belief and practice remained and were recognized as Jews; the others removed themselves or were

sloughed o ff. Yet the divergent Jewish outlooks and approaches seem so real and acceptable at each instant o f time H « is they do to many today. Bui, on taking a survey o f a later generation, we find that the earlier philosophies and th e ir p ro p o n e n ts are gone, evaporated, non-existent. The Jews and Jewish philosophy which proved to have enduring viability were those steadfast in unequivocal Jewish belief, observance, and study. E V IA N T Jewish philosophies, then, appear to take on the characteristics o f a mule: physiologi cally (i.e., logically) well integrated, physically (i.e., rhetorically) powerful, blending the strengths of differing organisms (i.e., cultures) and, yet, unable to reproduce (i.e., endure). This has remained the case up to the present day. In sum, no matter what the founders o f these variant Jewish philosophies achieved and no matter how high their personal esteem, their followers presently were no longer Jews! They were no longer part o f the Jewish people, no longer a link in the chain o f Jewish life, continuity, and history. As an illustration, the struggle between and the contrasting views o f Hellenists and Pharisees w ithin the latter period o f the Second Temple were very real at that time. However, the Hellenists disappeared, at least as Jews. Today, we are all descended from Pharisees and have absorbed their goals. It was their concept o f Torah-

rooted distinctness for the Jew That offered the strength and vita lity to prevail to our own time. On the other hand, both the Chassidim and the Mithnag’dim are part-and-parcel o f Jewish existence today despite the original animosity and violent disagreements between them: this is simply because both groups were alike totally Jewish$.|n b e lie f and alike maximized their common daily Jewish life pattern. Similarly, one o f the major reasons fo r the expulsion o f the Jews from Spain was just that the authorities felt, and correctlypthe presence o f practicing Jews would stir the Marranos to repentance and recantation. It would appear, then, that the on-going flourishing o f Judaism, in the present and the future, can only be sustained as long as Jews retain deep, penetrating roots reaching down into the past to obtain their nourishment from the substructure o f the soil. Only thereby w ill it continue to grow and give a strength to Jewry, through enhancing its distinctive practices and unique culture. HIS is not to say there was no development in Jewish life. The peculiar viability o f the Jew is a direct reflection o f the ability to adapt him self w ithin his local environment and still be himself. Else, how could he so long endure? For example, in his wanderings and need to survive physically, the Jew had perforce to m odify and adapt

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h im se lf to the economic patterns a b o u t h im . When permitted, he entered the same range o f vocations available to the general population, creating opportunities in such areas as the professional fields, banking, mer cantile pursuits, and all types o f crafts manship. When restricted, he had to be satisfied w ith eking out a living as dealer in old clothes, pawn broker, m oney lender, peddlar, and even share-cropper — against his desire. Likewise, when granted permis sion, Jews lived amicably among nonJews, and created a comm unity life on a religious basis. When confined in ghettos, they still were able to main tain themselves and build their own culture, notwithstanding congested, sordid conditions. It is a unique commentary that some o f the best musical conservatories in, Italy, attract ing numerous outside students, existed in some o f these ghettos. Similarly, in many lands, the Jew ish comm unity, through sheer necessity ¡and external influence, did absorb from the surrounding culture its language, manners, science, and general knowledge, and make them an integral part o f its own religio-cultural pattern. Note, fo r example, that such languages as Aramaic, Arabic, JudeoS p an ish, and Yiddish have been spoken by Jews and used as written media fo r many hundreds o f years, with the last mentioned still being intim ately associated with Jewish life and study. Notably, these languages were

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either Semitic and related to Hebrew or added and incorporated Hebrew words and idioms; in any event, they were w ritten in Hebrew characters. Observe, thus, that Aramaic, the lingua franca o f the times, became the written language o f the authoritative Babylonian Talmud; also it is a tradi tion that the weekly portion o f the Torah is to be read twice in the Hebrew original and once in the Aram aic Targum. Maimonides, the outstanding physician and Talmudist o f his time, utilized Arabic in Hebrew letters. To this day, Judeo-Spanish ( s o m e t i m e s ca lle d L a d in o or Spaniolish) is used in some parts o f the world among descendants o f Spanish Jewry. Yiddish became so intimately bound up w ithlfthe Jewish life and culture o f those vast numbers who migrated first from Central Europe to Eastern Europe and subsequently to western countries that even today in lands English-speaking and Hebrew speaking (Israel), many yeshivoth in sist on using Yiddish as the channel for communication and study. In a like vein, Jews accepted the manners and patterns o f dress o f their compatriots and were indistinguishable from them outwardly, until forced to do so by the imposition o f drab garb, pointed hats, or yellow badges. It is interesting that the typical Polish dress o f early years became so ingrained as traditional Jewish clothing that various groups o f observant Jews cling to them to this day.

N E V IT A B LY , some Jews were overly affected by their .sur roundings and could not resist the attractions and lure o f fame and fortune o f the wider world. Many others were forced away by threats and pressures, others were snatched away from their Jewish homes and heritage. However, the continuing exist ence o f a vibrant, intact, central core in Jewish community life has ever given power, meaning, vitality, and cohesiveness to the whole spectrum o f Jewish associations. Jewish life can, in these circumstances, tolerate the un ravelling and losses at the fringes o f those w ith weak attachments and strong distractions. For, there w ill always be the core to return to that gravitational center that can even a ttr a c t th o se who have strayed, drawing them to retrace their steps as baaley teshuvah. The classical example here is the existence o f the intact Jewish commu nity in Catholic Spain during the period o f forced conversions. The converts (called “ Marranos” by the non-Jewish population) were always suspect as to the sincerity o f their adherence to C h r is tia n ity :; and justifiably so as long as there was that Jewish community to which they could turn as models o f strength and resistance, o f faith and practice. It was prim arily fo r that very reason that the expulsion o f the Jews took place in Spain, thus leaving the Marranos cut o ff w itho ut thatP- admittedly limited

and narrow — means o f communica tion and kinship w ith a vibrant Jewish life. The annals o f the Inquisition give sure testimony to the numerous Jews who did return and repent; others were spurred, fortunately, to escape to nearby countries that welcomed them. Why does this emotional impact come on so strong? Because this Jewish core provides that essential continuity in the midst o f change; it behaves as a powerful force fo r those Jews wandering aimlessly in space; and, it remains as a source o f admira tion and emulation by example o f personal discipline and o f faith. It offers a sense o f identity, beyond the family yet including the fam ily, so lacking in many o f our “ liberated” Jewish youth. It portrays sincerity and modesty, a picture o f mutual concern and o f humaneness toward humanity. T IS essential, then, that we perceive the present splintering and proliferation o f Jewish groups and Jewish viewpoints, w ith variant and discordant claims, jockeying fo r posi tion and trying to win the race for status and acceptance, only from one a ngle: th e perspective o f Jewish history. Today's Jews — no matter w h a t th e ir personal lives contain Jewishly and no matter what theic practices or beliefs happen to be0%? have been nurtured and are now living on the residue o f the past, on the sensitivity toward human beings and the fervor for-Learning that have, been, instilled in the marrow o f their bones,

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over the centuries, by that vibrant Jewish core and not by vanished Jewish philosophies. Even our negative,,,rebellious Jews, who, through tortuous and t o r t u r e d thinking, profess Jewish cultural and group abnegation and rejection and w illingly venture even the risk o f their own lives in their zeal, are thereby still echoes o f Jewish tradi tion w ith its faith in mankind. (As Albert Einstein once put it: “ . . . . an almost fanatical love o f justice” is “ one feature o f Jewish heritage.” ) But, again, they are temporary phenomena which the richness and fruitfulness o f Jewish life can sustain as long as the trunk remains sturdy and supportive and its roots deep and well nourished. ODAY, both professional and lay students o f social problems are aware o f the significance and importance o f identity, o f kinship, o f being part o f an identifiable group, o f the necessity o f such a group fo r self enhancement. Such an identity means in v o lve m e n t in and fostering the activities o f the group. It means par ticipation and doing; the more one does, the more one is involved. In these circumstances, it is apparent that those in the fringe o f Jewish living, with their own flim sy attachments, cannot hope to stir the imagination and affect the life pattern o f lost Jewish youth!

It is, however, unfortunate that those on the fringe frequently have the community controls and the means to

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affect or even destroy the efforts o f individuals or groups o f Jews who struggle with meager resources and limited recognition to preserve the continuity o f Jewish existence. Nor are those who stand in the way vicious people at all: they, too, consider that they speak in the name o f moral prin ciple. Yet, the end result is the same. Their legislative and communal plan ning and actions bring about a con striction o f funds and freedom o f maximal Jews seeking an intensive Jewish education and observance. Many rationalizations are found to justify hindering this core force o f Jews who cling to the roots o f Juda ism, the excuse usually given being that “ modern times” demand changes, often extreme changes. Those foster ing this approach seem to forget that every age, when it exists, is modern and the complaints the same. It is, rather, because o f the traditional Jew’s awareness o f the impact o f the environment and o f everyday experiences on the individual that he is concerned in developing viable, intact communities. Only in such communities can Jewish youth and m aturity meet, in proxim ity and with ease, and share Jewish activities, thoughts, and concepts in an atmos phere o f on-going belief, learning, and practice. Synagogues with absentee landlords or non-attending congrega tions cannot long endure. Thus the rapid expansion o f suburban Jewish living, w ith its scattering o f individual

families, can vitiate and has already weakened the strength and reality o f Jewish communal existence. Note how during our American history Jewish individuals and families became swallowed up as they scattered t h r o u g h o u t the vastness o f thé American continent w ith the advance o f the United States frontier. Indeed, how q u i c k l y the early American Jewish families, the Gratz, Levy, and Salomon families, whom we extol as fine examples o f loyalty to their country's cause, were lost to Jewry. ERE Judaism merely to become, as a Liberal Jewish spiritual leader put it, only one o f many competing leisure-time activities, then

we would be foredoomed. Let us rather paraphrase the final words o f E c c l e s i a s t e s : A f t e r all Jewish philosophies have been heard, we must maintain and enhance Jewish tradi tional practices and comm unity life and support intensive Jewish educa tion, for only through these means can the Jew and Judaism be preserved. Since the essence o f wisdom lies in foreseeing clearly the outcome o f our present actions, we must affirm our faith in the fo u n t o f Jewish values and offer those who claim to be Jews today a program o f positive Jewish life so that there w ill also be Jews at some future tom orrow. ffW /70 w ill be a Jew? ^ T h is is our basic question. The right answer to it is our basic goal.

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B o o h B e v ie w s

THROUGH TALMUDIC PATHWAYS

by AARON ROTHKOFF initial volume of the Encyclopedia appeared in 1947 and it immediately was acclaimed as a m o n u m e n ta l c o n trib u tio n toward facilitating and advancing Talmudic study. Subsequently, twelve^ more volumes have been published, the last one covering up to part of the eighth letter of the Hebrew HE Rabbis long ago declared: “ If the alphabet. These volumes do not serve as a earlier scholars were sons of angels, we code of Jewish law, but rather exhaustively are sons of men; and if the earlier scholars present in alphabetic arrangement all the were sons of men, we are like asses” (Shab. Halachic subjects dealt with in rabbinic 112b). Some hundred years ago, sensing literature. The method of the Encyclopedia that his contemporaries were no longer is to define tlie Halachic term, and to capable of mastering the entire Shas, Rabbi present the sources, reasonings,^and varia Israel S a la n te r proposed that Torah tions of opinion relevant to each subject. knowledge be divided into delineated areas The entire gamut of rabbinic literature from and that recognized rabbinic scholars be the Mishnah, until the writings of contem assigned to master each division (D. Katz, porary Acharonim is covered in each entry, Tenuath ha-Mussar 1:200). In our genera vividly displaying the constant dynamic tion, a herculean task has been undertaken creativity within the rabbinic tradition. to methodize, systematize, and organize the During the last fifty years, with the Talmudic-Halachic tradition. ever-increasing demand for a knowledge of The Encyclopedia Talmudica repre Jewish sources among Jewry in the Englishsents the first comprehensive attempt to speaking world, there have been translations present this literature in its totality. The of many of the classical volumes of the Jewish heritage. In response to this trend it was decided to translate the Encyclopedia DR . R O T H K O F F of Jerusalem is on the Talmudica into English. Recently the first Editorial Staff o f Encyclopedia Judaica. ENC YC LO P ED IA T A L M U D IC A : English translation, edited by Isidore Epstein and H a rry Freedm an; Jerusalem: Talmudic Encyclopedia Institute, Vol. I, 768 columns (384 pp.) & X L V III pp., $12.

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volume of this translation appeared. Essen tially, this volume retains all the features of the Hebrew original, except that it is also planned for lay people and those uninitiated into the intricacies of rabbinic literature. It was therefore wisely decided to completely cite only the major sources such as the B ible, Talmud, and Maim on ides. Other sources have been indicated by “ G ” for G e o n im , “ E” for early authorities or Rishonim,. and “ L ” for late authorities or Acharonim. Those interested in locating the exact source are referred to the original Hebrew edition of the Encyclopedia. A further consequence of this policy has been the slight condensation of some articles and the omission of various paragraphs to facili tate the understanding of the text for the English reader. In these instances the editor should have indicated that there was addi tional material in the original Hebrew text. There are also explanatory notes following many articles which the original Hebrew text lacks since it was meant for readers well versed in Talmudic literature. HE English translation also has the unique problem of following the order of the Hebrew alphabet. This would been the case even if the entire Hebrew edition would have already been completed, since it still would have been absurd to issue the English edition alphabetized according to the English translations. A classic example of this ambiguity would be listing the Arba Kosoth of Pesach as “ Four Cups.” This dilemma was overcome by an excellent system of three different tables of contents. The main table is according to the Hebrew alphabet, while another consists of an alpha betical listing of English titles. A third table arranges all the articles in accordance with their contents. Thus all the material is divided into three major divisions: 1) G-d and Israel, Man and World; 2) Command ments, Regulations, and Ritual; and 3) Judgement and Application of Law. There are numerous sub-divisions under these main

headings, and even the novice will readily find the desired article under such a system. The main problem in the Encyclo pedia as with any translation is that of accuracy and style in reproducing the original text. In this area the Encyclopedia benefited from the efforts of two men who previously edited and contributed to the S o n c in o Press English edition of the Talmud, the late Professor Isidore Epstein of England and Rabbi Harry Freedman of Australia. A t times the translation is excel lent and the most difficult of Halachic analysis is presented in a highly comprehen sible fashion. Such an instance is the ex planation of why the interdict of “ half the minimum” (chatzi s h i’u r) is not applicable to the Sabbath prohibition of Weaving. It reads: Later authorities maintain that the minimum prescribed for weaving has a differing meaning from the minima of other labors. For in the case of other labors the minimum does not define the labor but the culpability (i.e. only when you do the minimum are you culpable), whereas the m in im u m prescribed for weaving have d e fin e s the labor itself. This is d educed from the fact that in enumerating the Thirty-Nine Labors the Mishnah mentions ‘weaving two th re a d s ’ (n o t simply ‘weaving’), which implies that weaving less than this is not weaving at all. Therefore by Biblical law there is not even the interdict o f ‘half the minimum’ if less than two threads are woven. (Column 473) However, in many instances, due to the translators’ desire to conform to the Hebrew text, the translation is not that smooth in English. An example of this is the statement in the article on Baking on the Sabbath which reads: It only counts as a complete act of baking, which makes one culpable for violating the Sabbath, when the heat has formed a crust on both sides of

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the loaf, the side sticking to the oven, and the side facing the cavity, (column 465) The first part of this sentence could have effectively been styled to read: In order to be considered a complete act of baking for which one is culp able for violating the Sabbath, the heat must form a crust on both sides of the lo a f.. . . Another example is in the sentence which discusses rice in relation to the law of Chodosh (“ new produce”). It reads: Rice is not subject to the law of Hadash even in respect of flour made from it and the (unmilled) grains, where the prohibition o f Hadash does not fall in the category of bread but in the categories of ‘parched corn and green ears.’ (Column 480) The meaning of this concept could have been more easily projected had the sentence read: Rice is not subject to the law of Hadash even when it is made into flour or it is still (unmilled) grains, where the prohibition of Hadash does not operate with the category of ‘bread’ but rather with the categories of ‘parched corn and green ears.’ These difficulties in style are a result of the translators’ preoccupation with the Hebrew text which often results in indi stinct and awkward English renditions. The writer of these lines has daily observed this problem at the Israeli publishing house he has been associated with these past two years. There a fairly successful attempt has been made to overcome this difficulty by having the translations styled by another scholar who is not totally bound by the original text. It would be well for th’e Encyclopedia Talmudica to consider such an arrangem ent which would undoubtedly result in a smoother and clearer English edition of the Encyclopedia.

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V E R A L L , the first volume of the English translation compares favor ably with the first Hebrew volume of the Talmudic Encyclopedia. It represents an earnest attempt to accurately present the material covered in the original edition, within the limitations delineated above. With more attention to English style, there is.no doubt that future volumes will reflect this and other improvements just as the Hebrew volumes reflect constant improve ment in style, content, and format. How ever, rather than stress the few shadows that %are found in this initial volume, acknowl edgement should be made of the great 'exactness which is reflected in this English rendition just as it characterizes the Hebrew original. To this reviewer’s knowledge there is no other Encyclopedia being produced today which so accurately and objectively cites the viewpoints of others as carefully as the Encyclopedia Talmudica does. There are currently three other massive encyclopedias being published in Israel. All present their material in numerous articles which reflect the viewpoints and outlooks of the indi vidual authors. The articles are signed and each is slanted towards the subjective o p in io n o f the writer. However, the Encyclopedia Talmudica’s great value is enhanced by its faithful reproduction of the opinions and interpretations of the rabbis, and no subjectiveness is permitted to mar this presentation. The individual articles are not signed, and the entire encyclopedia reads as if it is the work of one collective hand. There is no doubt that the English rendition will become a basic tool for rabbinic research for English-speaking Jewry who will now have access to the Encyclo pedia Talmudica, perhaps our generation’s most important contribution to Jewish knowledge and rabbinic scholarship.

FROM COMMUNITY ARCHIVES by PHILIP ZIMMERMAN numerous individuals in the picture seldom come to life. His work shows that the effort to place Jewish immigrants in a rural setting may not have proven fully successful, al though it certainly was a worthwhile at FROM A M IN Y A N TO A C O M M U N IT Y , tempt to overcome the early problems of by B.G. Rudolph; Syracuse: Syracuse Uni the large centers of Jewish population. The versity, 1970, 314 p., $7.50 author has given a generally fair and exten sive treatment of the religious life of the I M M I G R A T I O N , S E T T L E M E N T AND area, which was considerable. Mr. Brandes R E T U R N : JEWS O F T H E L O W E R covers fully his limited subject, and admits MISSISSIPPI V A L L E Y , 1865-1880, by that the entire Vineland ‘ project was a Chaim B. Seiger; Memphis, Tennj^|1970 “small offshoot” of the Jewish agrarian movement.1 He should have more clearly TH E T IM E T H A T WAS T H E N , by Harry indicated that this movement found its true Roskolenko; New York: The Dial Press, fruition in Eretz Yisroel, which he lists 1 9 7 1 ,2 1 8 p., $8.95 somewhat unfeelingly between Utah and the Argentine pampas as one of the “ corners of HE study of American Jewish history the globe” where Jews were settled, (p. 339) is now entering a flourishing period. The present review considers four books in HE author of the history of the Jews this field, each written in a different style of Syracuse, B.G. Rundolph, is not a and covering a different geographical area trained historian, but a jeweler by profes and historical period. These works reveal sion. He made a study of the methods by certain basic trends of American Jewish life, which other writers covered the Jewish life which have persisted from its embryonic of various communities and followed their stage until the present day. patterns. Mr. Rudolph, has labored with In “ Immigrants To Freedom,” Joseph great enthusiasm to place the history o f his Brandes, a trained historian, studies the community on the map of American Jewish rural Jewish communities of Southern New life in “ From a Minyan to a Comm unity.” Jersey (Vineland) which were initiated in Rudolph has a true love for his People and the 1880’s. Brandes has written a work of his people. Many valuable sources have been scholarship which approaches the “study of preserved by the efforts of this loyal son of the total community.” Much of his material, the Syracuse Jewish community — but per treated in less talented hands, would seem haps equally important many figures of this c o m m o n p la c e , but Brandes unfailingly area come to life in his pages. Here we read manages to infuse his somewhat limited of Reverend Moses J. Braude, who for the canvass with local color and interest. Tjie first half of the present century was the result is an excellent scenic view of these central figure in the traditional life of the rural Jewish communities, although the community, organizing many noble en R A B B I ZIM M ER M AN , a former chaplain in deavors in the city. We also learn of the life the U.S. Army, .is a chemist in New York of Louis Marshall, a son of religious Jews, City. IM M IG R A N TS TO FREEDO M , by Joseph Brandes; Philadelphia: University of Penn sylvania Press, 1 9 7 1 ,4 2 4 p., $12.50

JEWISH LIFE

who, of course, was not orthodox, but was a loyal spokesman for his people in times of trouble. There are instances',Ithowever, in which Mr. Rudolph’s enthusiasm has carried him too far, and revealed his major weak ness which is in the area of evaluation and interpretation (some of his material reads like the “ press releases” of the organizations being described). For example, to inform us of a local professor, who was a meshumad, that he would “ frequently go down to a Jewish grocery store to purchase some favorite edibles, such as marinated herring, corned beef and rye bread,” seems in poor taste, at best. On a more serious level, to attribute prophetic qualities to Dr. Stephen Wise, who frequently spoke at interfaith meetings in the city, shows Mr. Rudolph’s weakness in the sphere of religious interpre tation. For in the very proof cited, Dr. Wise cries out that he wouldg|rather see every Jew in Germany dead, every Jew on earth dead, than to make peace” with Hitler, (p. 258) The true prophet spoke of having his own name stricken from the B ook% and never that of his people. But these points aside, Mr. Rudolph’s work stands as a loyal and loving tribute of a son of Israel for his community.

such practices reopens his synagogue “on Monday and Thursday morning for Minyan w orship in order to recite the Long Tachnun, to bring .comfort to families suffering with illness and death,” o*f a yellow fever epidemic (p. 25). But such touches are too few, and Rabbi Seiger indi cates that the major trend of the Jews in the area was a drift from orthodox practices to Reform, often “ to appear publicly more like their general community.” A i in other Jewish settlements of%j§arly America, we have as the major religious activity, the rites of “ death and burial” (p. 29), which poorly* represents a religion whose ideal isa Torath Chayyim. One of his few positive examples of Jewish life concerns Pvt. Isaac Gleitzman of the Confederate Army who received high military commendation for bravery in the field. His own medals of honor were his two,, mess kits which he had kept kosher during his four years of service to the lost cause. These were preserved as treasured momen--

toes by his fam ily.,/ “The Time That Was Then,” by Harry Roskolenko, is more in the nature of a per sonal reminiscence than a work of history. For an author who ran off to sea at the age of thirteen, Mr. Roskolenko’s powers of recollection are superb. He has painted an HE widest canvass of the works under intimate picture of his life as-a young Jevyish consideration is that of Rabbi Dr. boy on the lower East Side £>.f New York at Chaim B. Seiger, in his “ Immigration,, Settle the tu-rn of the century. While seemingly no ment and Return: Jews of the Lower l o n g e r a tta c h e d to T o ra h v a lu e s / M ississippi Valley, 1865-1880.” Rabbi Roskolenko manifests a warm feeling for his traditional home and the Jewish life of the Seiger centers his attention mainly on the East Side from which he came. He has Jewish communities ip Memphis, Tennessee; recorded much material aboujtj the early L it t le Rock, Arkansas; and Galveston, organizations of Jewish life which today are Texas. He shows how successive epidemics o f major importance on the American of yellow fever devastated the communities Jewish scene. O f particular interest is the in question. Rabbi Seiger’s ventures ipto the author’s observation concerning the “ sw^eat area of interpretation are good, but too few. shops” : they “ made religious Jews turn to •Occasionally his book rises to heights and Socialism, anarchism and unionism.. . ” (p. Jewish history reaches its apogee it 19). The question that comes to mind is becomes a book of Mussar (moral instruc why the leaders of religious Jewry were not tion). Such a touch is found when a nonable to supply an answer to the needs of the traditional clergyman who had abolished

JULY-AUGUST 1971

Jewish working-men of that period. Were these leaders out of touch with the physical and social reality of their times, or was the new country and its language too strange for them to offer an effective protest against the oppression which was taking place?

* * * If every prophet has his own style, so too every Jewish community expresses itself in its own particular fashion. The works under consideration will help us understand some essential features, positive and nega tive of the American Jewish experience. On the positive side of the scale we have the

roots of wide-spread charity; support for Eretz Yisroel; the Jewish sense of belonging and identification. But we must also con sider such negative aspects as the growing rate of assimilation and intermarriage; the lack of central rabbinical authority; the scarcity of authentic home-grown Gedolim; and the watering-down of tradition. Which of these sides of the scale will emerge with the final verdict on the American Jewish experience remains to be seen. Let us never forget: we are all of us “ making” Jewish history, and a part of it. May our share be with those who have contributed to the permanent aspects of our Tradition.

EXPERIMENT THAT FAILED by ZALMAN A. DISKIND NEW Y O R K JEWS AND TH E QUEST FOR C O M M U N IT Y : The Kehillah Experiment, 1908-1922, by Arthur A. Goren; New York: Columbia University Press, 1970, 361 pp.> $ 10 . N September 1, 1908, every Yiddish daily newspaper featured the claim of New Y o rk ’s Police Commissioner, Theodore A. Bingham, that fifty percent of the crimi-nal classes in New York City were Jews. He wrote in the North American Review:

It is not astonishing that with a mil lion Hebrews, mostly Russians, in the city (one quarter of the population) perhaps half of the criminals should be of that race when we consider that

R A B B I D IS K IN D , secretary of a Commu nity School Board in Brooklyn, is a R e search Assistant for the Bureau o f Curricu lum Development o f the N ew Y ork City Board o f Education.

ignorance of the language, more par ticularly among men not physically fit for hard labor, is conducive to crime . . . They are burglars, firebugs, pickpockets and highway robbers — when they have the courage; but although all crime is their province^ pocket-picking is the one to which they take most naturally . . . Among the most expert of all the street thieves are Hebrew boys under six teen who are brought up to lives of crime . . . The Juvenile Hebrew emu lates the adult in the matter of crime percentage.

Naturally, the Jewish community of New York C ity, more particularly that of the lower East Side, took deep offense at this libelous allegation of the Police Com m is s io n e r. In th e end, Commissioner Bingham was forced to retract his statement but as a direct result of this incident, the

JEWISH LIFE

Jews of New York City embarked upon an ambitious Kehillah experiment. Under the leadership of Judah L. Magnes, the associate s p iritu a l le a d e r o f uptow n’s Temple Emanuel and Secretary of the Federation of American Zionists, there was attempted in New York City a system of Jewish commu nal self-government. Before the final demise of the experiment in 1922, there were formed in succession a number o f bureaus, including the Bureau of Jewish 'Education, the Board of Orthodox Rabbis, the Bureau of Social Work, Bureau of Industry, Bureau of Philanthropic Research, and the School of Jewish Communal Work. The Bureau of Jewish Education was the only Bureau or Kehillah function to enjoy a measure of suc cess for more than a short period of time. In truth, it may be argued that the Kehillah experiment was an attempt by the uptown patrician, assimilated German Jews to prevent further embarrassment at the hands of the newly arrived Russian-Jewish immigrants who were streaming into down town’s lower East Side. The Uptown Jews felt threatened by the Downtown Jews, whose ways and customs were radically dif ferent from their own highly assimilated style of living. As the author of this welldocumented volume under review, Arthur A. Goren, states: “The Americanized Jews observed this downtown world and were apalled at the jangle of provincial loyalties, re lig io u s ‘ m edievalism *1!! and student radicalism.’’ (p. 21) Under the leadership of such uptown philanthropists as Jacob Schiff and Louis Marshall, and young Jewish professionals as Israel FriedlanderpMordecai Kaplan, and Samson Benderly, an attempt was made to control the social and cultural development o f d o w n to w n ’s burgeoning immigrant Jewish community. An insight into the rationale behind the Kehillah’s creation may be had by Louis Marshall’s statement in the American Flebrew, on September 25, 1908: What has the great East Side, with all

JULY-AUGUST 1971

its protests, done to obviate and cure the existing evils and to eradicate the causes which have led to juvenile delinquency . . . We have cried be cause a corn has been trodden on, and we are entirely indifferent to the cancer which is gnawing at our vitals. NE of the principal means through which the Kehillah attempted to con trol the growth of the burgeoning Jewish community of New York City was the Bureau of Jewish Education, which was under the leadership of Samson Benderly, and which was the forerunner of today’s Board of Jewish Education (formerly the Jewish Education Committee). “ Kehillah leaders . . . presented religious education as necessary for the successful integration of the immigrant masses into American soci ety. In this respect, they shared the convic tion of progressive educators that the school must play a decisive role in social better ment and particularly in saving the young of the city’s ghettos.’!’ (page 87) Flowever, the Kehillah leaders and the Bureau leaders did not consider the Jewish all-day school as the

answer to the religious education needs of the Jewish child. (A prototype of this school was already in existence, the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School.) Benderly expressed what was probably the prevailing sentiment of the Kehillah leadership on this subject, in his statement, quoted in this volume, that: “ . . . As the great public school system is the rock bottom upon which this country is rearing its institutions, so we Jews must evolve a system of Jewish education that shall be complementary to and harmonious with the public school system.” (page 98) Benderly and his young associates pro ceeded to channel their considerable ener gies into the systematization and strengthen ing of the afternoon Talmud Torah system in New York City. Just as the Kehillah leadership saw as one of their major tasks- the Americaniza tio n o f the immigrant Russian-Jewish

masses, so did the Bureau leadership see as their educational task the harmonization of the cultural and religious background of the immigrants with their new American envi ronment. Their traditional modes of Jewish educational activity would not suffice in the new clime. “ For the Kehillah’s leadership, the reconstruction of Jewish education was its major undertaking and it transcended, in their view, denominational loyalties.” (page 85) Accordingly, the Bureau’s leaders, most of whom were students of John Dewey at Teachers College at Columbia University during the early part of the century, adopted Dewey’s Progressive philosophy of education as the guiding framework for their own Jewish educational endeavors. “ In John Dewey, the Bureau group found not only justification for educational change, but sanction for ethnic survival in democra tic America . . . In one sense, the young pro fessionals of the Bureau replaced scriptural authority with Dewey’s educational philo s o p h y .’ ’,; (page 119) Needless to say, Dewey’s philosophy alone could not suffice as a rationale for Jewish education. Some philosophical underpinning for their Jewish educational philosophy, from a Jewish sou rce, was needed. “ Dewey was not enough. The young Jewish educators , . . complemented his teaching with those of A had H a ’am . . . Hebrew culture and Hebrew language . . .. were . . . part of the Jewish people . . . which tied the genera tions . . . ” (page 124) The practical out come of this philosophy of education is stated by Alexander M. Dushkin, one of Benderly’s disciples and one of the Teachers College g roup,1who subsequently became the Director of New Y o rk ’s Bureau of Jewish Education: . “ Instead of teaching Hebrew or Bible or Talmud, the Jewish schools should teach Jewish children, and for this purpose the selections from the religious-national treasure house of the Jewish people should be such as will best prepare these children for their life as American Jews.’’ (“ Jewish Education in

Kew York City/¡jy 1918, by Alexander Dushkin, doctoral dissertation at Teachers College o f Columbia University) AD this original group of young American-Jewish educators, under Benderly’s tutelage and influence, pounded different alternatives for Jewish education, we might conceivably have had today a generation of American Jews with a totally different Jewish outlook. Specifi cally, had Benderly and the Kehillah leaders, in c lu d in g M agnes, Friedlander, Szold, Kaplan, Schiff, and Marshall, accepted the p ro p o s itio n of Yeshivah education in America, then it is possible that the prob lems of self-hate and the crisis of identity which plague many of our American Jewish youth today, would not exist today in its present virulent form. “ Benderly . . . elimi nated the need of the parochial school as guarantor of ethnic continuity. As an idealogue of survivalism, Benderly should have favored the more comprehensive system once he determined that the supple mentary school was failing to raise a genera tio n loyal to Judaism. The Orthodox Yeshiva, with its daylong program and emphasis on Hebrew studies, did offer an example of the maximilist curriculum in operation. Catholic parochial schools, fur thermore, provided massive proof that a considerable body o f Americans had the courage to choose the way of separate education . . . Benderly not only rejected the parochial school as unnecessary b.ut as objectionable as well. He embraced the tenet o f the Public school as the sine qua non for a Jewish educational system . . (page 97) The Goren volume presents, in welld o c u m e n te d fashion, the reasons and circumstances surrounding the failure of the Kehillah experiment. Among other topics, the book treats in detail such subjects as criminality among Jews, the Jewish labor movement, and the effect of World War I on the developing Jewish community of New

JEWISH LIFE

pro

Opposition to the Kehillah move ment and to Magnes personally, however, came from varied elements of the Jewish community, including the radical Jewish labor movement. The aristocratic American Jewish Committee, which supplied most of the wealthy uptown leadership for the Kehillah, including Jacob Schiff and Louis Marshall, was accused by Jewish radicals as being “ the class enemy,’* and these radical groups belittled the Kehillah as “an Uptown plot to dominate the Jewish quarter.’’ The Kehillah was referred to as “The unholy alli ance between Hester Street and Wall Street.” (page 250) The Kehillah structure HE o rth o d o x Jewish press, the ultimately collapsed, due to the combined Morgen Jo urnal and the Tageb/at, pressure of various factors including mis were consistent critics of the Kehillah trust, recriminations, lack of financial sup leadership, for their activities in these areas. port, and finally as a result of Magnes’ alli Magnes, the Kehillah director, did indeed ance with the peace movement during World establish a working relationship with a War I. Magnes himself attributed the demise group of the more affluent orthodox leaders of the Kehillah to the fact that “The who had moved uptown, including Bernard European notion of a uniform . . . all con Semel, Israel Unterberg, William Fischman, trolling Kehillah cannot strike root in and Harry Fischel. But the attitude of the American soil . . . because it is not in con orthodox Yiddish press toward the Kehillah sonance with the free and voluntary char is typified in an editorial, cited by the au acter of American religious, social, educa thor, which appeared in the Morgen Jo urnal tional, and philanthropic enterprises . . . ” on December 1 8 ,1 9 1 2 : (Magnes in an address to the Kehillah Con vention in January 1918) The author of the I f the Board of Rabbis stands by its volume under review attributes the failure determined decision to elevate the of the Kehillah to the fact that: “ Most Jews Kehillah and be elevated by it, if remained interested in the minimum of those (K eh illah ) rabbis wish to separation from the larger society necessary remain close kin to the Reformed . . . for maintaining their Jewish identity|Jjg* let them remember one thing . . . Though they are the majority . . . (In H IS vo lu m e by Goren on the matters of) principle, majority plays Kehillah movement is a valuable no role . . . Rabbis of the Kehillah! documentary account of an important form . . . Because we respect you, we can ative period of the history o f the Je\vs of not see you desecrate your honor and New York City. This fine work was origi the honor of the Torah by your nally the doctoral dissertation submitted by crowning a youngster with shaven the author to the faculty of Coftimbia whiskers, a graduate of the most freeUniversity. The presentation by the author thinking seminary (The reference was seems fair and even-handed. Sources are to Magnes), as your chief rabbi, for consistently given for statements, so that for that is what your recent acts have in the scholar so inclined, a check may be effect done, (pages 81-82, trans made on the veracity of statements and lation the author’s)

York City. O f interest is the description of the Kehillah’s attempts to organize certain elements of the orthodox community and to help regulate such communal functions as Shechitah, Kashruth, Milah, and education. As an example of these activities, we read: “ By the Spring of 1913, 250 stores were under the supervision of the Board of Rabbis. Twenty-two rabbis were serving as rabbinical judges and six local kashruth boards, each with a staff and secretary, were in operation. Six months later the kashruth supervision had collapsed. The experiment had lasted about a year.” (page 83)

JULY-AUGUST 1971

facts. The book is valuable for one who wishes to understand the thinking of those who molded the structure of the institutions

and agencies which today control much of organized Jewish communal life in New York City and the nation.

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RESPONSIBILITY OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS FOR JEWISH EDUCATION The NJCRAC Commission on Church-State and Interreligious Relation ships has considered at some length how the community relations field might best contribute to a vitalization o f Jewish education. Our Commission has con cluded that, taking into account the specialized nature and the complexity of Jewish education, our field can best help to meet the needs of Jewish education by stimulating and encouraging the involvement o f large numbers of concerned Jews in the local communities (particularly those in our own member agencies) in discussion o f the needs and the problems o f Jewish education, and of the processes involved in obtaining community support of Jewish education.We are convinced that only through such broad and intensive involvement will the larger Jewish community come to recognize its stake in the vigor and vitality of Jewish education and accord it the level o f financial support to give it the status and importance it deserves in American Jewish life. Discussion o f these processes and the dialogue concerning the needs and problems of Jewish education should necessarily take place in the appropriate forum within the organized Jewish community. — from a Memorandum to Member Agencies from the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council

In June 1970, D r. Portnoy was among the eight intellectuals who asked the Soviet government to withdraw their Russian citizenship, because they are kept as hostages fo r the Soviet p olitical manoeuvres in the Near East. A fte r the letter o f the eight intellectuals, came the Jewish demonstration at the Rumbaiia cemetery next to Riga, where eighty thousand Jewish Nazi victims were buried, as every year an official memorial ceremony took place there, in which 200 Jews p art o f them from Odessa, Vilna, Moscow and Leningrad participated.

JULY-AUGUST 1971

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The memorial was arranged as usual by the police. A Russian police com mander went up to the platform , decorated w ith red flags and made a memorial speech, being surrounded by 150 policemen and vehicles fu ll o f detectives. When the o fficia l ceremony was finished, a young Jew called Eliyahu Woik, went up on th.e platform and said Kaddish. This obviously opposed the official programme. When Woik had finished', Dr. Portnoy got up on the platform to make a memorial speech. “ I ju s t started to speak) -fsaid Dr. Portnoy, (twhen the police commander approached me. ” He to ld me that the memorial had finished and m y speech was illegal. “ I demahd yo u remove yourself from the platform , ” he said. / answered him “ You have arranged a memorial according to y o u r customs and we Jews have got our own customs. This place is holy fo r us. Parents and brothers are buried here and yo u have got no right to disturb us in arranging a memorial according to our tradition. ” The dialogue with the policeman was tense. He grabbed hold o f me and took me to one side. As we were quarrelling with each other, the memorial was continued by a young chap Natan Lozofsky. A fte r Lozofsky, fifteen more people spoke on the stage. The commander related him self to this Jewish demonstration as to a dangerous precedent. He contacted the authorities to find out what means he could employ against this. I t was made quite dear, however, that according to the law the behaviour o f the Jews was no breach o f rules and the authorities were forced to remain still. ■ B from Poale Agudat Israel Views, London

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Letters to the Editor ‘PORNOGRAPHY* RABBI HECHT REPLIES: I believe Mr. Nelkin (letter, May-June issue) missed the point of my article. Much as one might want it, the boy with the yarmulke cannot be separated from the world surrounding him. No matter how hard he may try ™ and we may try — if there is pollution around o f any kind, he risks being contaminated by it. As I tried to explain in my article, pollution of the mind is no different from pollution of the air; there simply is no escape from it. If the air is polluted, where can one flee to avoid impairment of health? Similarly, if there are peepshows in every city, obscene magazines on every newsstand, and X-rated movies on television, how can one avoid them? Is it realistic to lock up young Jewish boys or girls in their rooms the rest of their lives to prevent them from being reached by moral contamination? There is no question that a reliance on the Torah is one positive protection against the destructive elements in our society. We of the National Committee For Furtherance of Jewish Education believe this perhaps even more strongly than Mr. Nelkin. The NCFJE sponsors more than a h alf-d o z e n educational projects in the United States alone, including Released Time programs in New York, California, and Massachusetts; Jewish day schools for girls in Boston and in Brooklyn, N.Y.; the Fladar Hatorah Yeshiva for young college men; the Torah Educational Center offering part-time courses for college students; and the Yeshiva Advisory Bureau, which'serves as a referral service for Jewish parents seeking the proper yeshivah for their children. But, as important as Jewish educa tion is in giving youth the means to combat the negative influences in society, it is only one-half the answer. A t the same time M since it is impossible for youth to avoid or ignore what is happening all around them —

efforts must be made to reduce and/or eli minate the destructive forces in our midst such as pornography. This is our responsibility, too, along with Jewish education. We must make it as easy as possible for our youth. Can we afford to let a cancer grow that they might not be able to conquer? No, if possible, we must neutralize a dangerous situation. For this reason, I took up the fight against pornography several years ago. Be cause o f my involvement in this battle, I was asked by the editorship of JEWISH LIFE to report on the situation and give my personal views on it. This is the reason the article concentrated so heavily on pornography; it was an attempt to stick to the subject. But the subject I did write about could not have been more timely or appro priate, in my opinion, because the sooner we are alerted to our dangers, the quicker and more effective we can eliminate them. And such exposure in print in no way leads to an “erosion of Judaism.” If anything, by mobilizing opposition to this insidious trend of pornography and by providing warning when there is still yet time-, it will result in a strengthened Judaism.

MORE ON ‘JUDAISM ’ Bronx, New York May a simple Jew make a brief com ment with regard to the remarks of Rabbi Emanuel Rackman in the May-June JEWISH LIF E on a review by Rabbi Isaac L. Swift of R abb i R a c k m a n ’s book, “One Man’s Judaism.” I wonder why someone who says he accepts the Five Books of Moses as written with Divine Inspiration, apparently finds it difficult to accept that Divine Inspiration could give Moses the responses of Abraham to G-d or for tha.t matter anything which the A lm ig h ty with limitless capability wished to give. Irving Pollack

JEWISH LIFE

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(y) The seal of approval of THE UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA.