Jewish Life April 1973

ISRAEL’S 25th ANNIVERSARY JEWISH STUDENTS AND THE WAR AGAINST ‘JEWISH’ POVERTY THE PESACH OF BEDDCATH PRASA CO-EXISTENCE BETWEEN RELIGIOUS AND NON-RELIGIOUS IN ISRAEL TOWARDS A COHESIVE TORAH COMMUNITY THE SYNAGOGUE: STAGNATION OR GROWTH? THRUST OF THE TIME-SPIRIT * THE s in g u l a r it y o f c h e l m APRIL 1973 NISSAN 5733

THE DIAM O ND JUBILEE NATIO N A L DINNER of the UNION OF ORTHO DO X JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AM ERICA will take place nw,K on SUNDAY EVENING , M AY 2 7 ,1 9 7 3 - 25 IY A R , 5733 at the NEW Y O RK H ILTO N Guest of Honor and Recipient of the UOJCA KETHER SHEM TO V AW ARD MORRIS A . W EINER of Cleveland, Ohio $ 7 5 .0 0 per couvert F o r reservations and in form ationf w rite o r phone to :

DIAMOND JUBILEE DINNER COMMITTEE, UOJCA 84 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011 (212) 255-4100 JULIUS BERMAN, Chairman MARVIN HOCHBAUM Co-Chgirman

RABBI LOUIS BERNSTEIN Chairman, Rabbinic Committee HAROLD M. JACOBS President

The Diamond Jubilee Dinner Committee Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is pleased to announce that the UOJCA PRESIDENTS AW ARD will be conferred upon

RUBIN R.DOBIN Far Rockaway, New York

LEONARD QUINN Columbus, Ohio

¿ Y D N E Y H . GROSSMAN Denver, Colorado

DR. ERIC J. ROTHSÇHILD Monsey, New York

ZELL C. HURWITZ Baltimore, Maryland

JERRY RUBEN Newport News, Virginia

JOSEPH MARGOLIN Memphis, Tennessee

MORRIS A. SHAPIRO Brooklyn, New York

EUGENE MOSS Long Branch, New Jersey

MELVIN ZABLOTSKY Norwich, Connecticut

at the U O X A DIAM O ND JUBILEE N A TIO N A L DINNER

NEW Y O R K HILTO N S UNDA Y, M AY 2 7 ,1 9 7 3 - IY A R 2 5 ,5 7 3 3

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While serving as Director o f Jewish Programs fo r New York C ity ’s Manpower and Career Development Agency and as lecturer in the Department o f Judaic Studies at Brooklyn College, LEONARD WEINER is also preparing his doc­ toral dissertation for the Department o f Russian Studies and the Institute o f Contemporary Jewry o f the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He received a B.A. and M.S. at Yeshiva University, M.A. at C ity College o f New York, has held a General Motors Fellowship, attended Hebrew University under a Bauman Fellowship, and was awarded a doctoral fellowship by the Memorial Foundation fo r Jewish Culture . . . RABBI MARC D. ANGEL is a product o f Seattle’s Sephardi community which, keeping pace with the same c ity ’s Ashkenazi community, has won note fo r the fe rtility o f its orthodox Jewish life. A Musmaeh o f Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he is Assistant Minister o f Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue o f New York. His article “ Sephardic Culture in America’’ appeared in the Nissan 5731/April 1971 JEWISH LIFE. A major historical and sociological study o f Sephardim in America by Rabbi Angel is to be published in the 1973 issue o f the American Jewish Y earbook.. . .

Another link w ith the Sephardim o f Seattle is EUGENE NORMAN, in this case by marriage, he himself being an Ashkenazi. His prasa-flavored article is his first contribution to our pages but as a subscriber o f long standing he is well entrenched in the JEWISH LIFE fam ily. A Brooklynite originally, Eugene Norman graduated Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute then crossed the continent fo r post-graduate studies in nucleur engineering at the University o f Washington, earning there M.A. and Ph.D. degrees — and the hand o f the charming fellow student who became Mrs. Norman. They now live in Chicago, where both are much devoted to the affairs o f the Israelite Portuguese F ra te rn ity.. . .DR. j . VAINSTEIN is the President o f the Ramot Shapira World Youth Academy at Beth Meir in the Jerusalem Hills. A lead­ ing member o f the World Mizrachi Executive, he is Chairman o f the Israel Association o f Religious Olim from Western Lands, was the founder and c o n t’d on page 72

JEWISH LIFE

Vol. XL, No. 2 April 1973/Nissan 5733

THE EDITOR'S VIEW ISRAEL’S 25th A N N IV ER SA R Y ._______ . . . . . . . 4 HARVEST OF DISUNITY................................ .............. 6

ARTICLES

Saul Bernstein, Edito)

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JEWISH COLLEGE YOUTH AND THE WAR AGAINST “JEWISH POVERTY”/ Leonard W einer..................................................... 10 THE THRUST OF THE TIME-SPIRIT/ Marc D . A ngel..........................

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THE SINGULARITY OF CHELM/ Abraham Shuhnan.................

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THE PESACH OF BEDIKATH PR ASA / Eugene Norm and.................... .... — ...............

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THE SYNAGOGUE: STAGNATION OR GROWTH?/ J. David Bleich...................................................... 38 TOWARDS A COHESIVE TORAH COMMUNITY/ Bernard R osen sw eig........................................... 44 CO-EXISTENCE BETWEEN RELIGIOUS AND NON-RELIGIOUS IN ISRAEL/ J. V a in stein ............... ...................................... . 51 REALIZATION Joy Anne Gross........................................................58

POETRY YOU AND TOMORROW/ Bernard D ov M ilian s............................ — . . . 36

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O Copyright 1973 by Union of Orthodox Jewish Congre­ gations of America. Material from JEWISH LIFE, including illustrations, may not be reproduced except by written per­ mission following written request.

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th e EDITOR'S VIEW ISRAEL'S 25th A N N IV E R S A R Y WORLD which after thousands o f years has not absorbed the meaning o f Yetziath Mitzrayim and Mattan Torah cannot really be expected to grasp, after twenty-five years, the meaning o f the establishment o f Medinath Israel. There is general recognition that the coming into being o f the Jewish State was a development w ithout like in history, but the general tendency just the same is to apply to it the accustomed categories o f historical process. This is an inconsistency born o f the limitations o f modern thought. With his vision restricted to what can be identified by his five senses, modern man, confron­ ted by the cosmic, is at a loss.

The Jew as Jew is not “ modern man,“ any more today than when Western civilization was born, or when Hellenic culture flourished, or when the Pharaohs ruled. Our relation to the universe springs from cosmic verities rather than political eventualities. To the Jew, as Jew, the rise o f Medinath Israel and its endurance through twenty-five years o f overwhelming challenge are “ natural“ occurences because they are products not o f temporal event-sequence but o f that higher order o f con­ sequence bespeaking Divine Purpose.

This is not to say that all Jews so perceive the meaning o f the Jewish State, or o f Jewish life itself. Many Jews, in the State o f Israel and in the Golah alike, tend in fact to reduce their sense o f the universe and o f the Jewish being w ithin it to the categories o f meaning and value current in contemporary civilization. This circumstance may well be the core problem o f Timely Jewish life today. It is the source o f a con0 ,. tinuously erupting chain o f differences among Timeless?

Israelis and o f chronic divergencies among Jews in Diaspora communities. Bgt even among Jews in thrall to the contemporary, the sense o f some­ thing utterly wondrous in both Jewish existence and the State

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o f Israel persists. For all Jews, this sense is a compelling force, recognized or unrecognized as the case may be, affirmed or sup­ pressed or explained away, as each may be inclined.

What, most o f us are now asking, w ill the future bring?

Having achieved, after long centuries o f homeless dispersion, the reality o f a Jewish commonwealth in the sacred Jewish home­ land, after attaining a measure o f security and a twenty-five year phenomenon o f development and consoliCrucibie d a tio n , what fru it w ill Israel now bear?

Granted always that we can say “ Dayyenu” fo r that Israel by its very coming into being repelled the moral threat to Jewish existence; that it gave haven and life to th e Holocaust Shearith Hap’leytah; that it straightened Jewish backs and gave Jewry new assurance; that into its wide-open doors there flocked hundreds o f thousands from all corners o f the earth, very many o f whom were thus rescued from dire danger; that it brought new light and new hope where before, everywhere in the Jewish world, there had been darkness and despair. Surely in any o f this, if nothing else, the rise o f Israel has been a providential blessing. But all o f this must be the component o f further blessing if Israel is to fu lfill Blessing

its destined role.

N this world are many lands, many nations and peoples.

It was not simply to add another to the families o f man­ kind that the House o f Israel was called into being and per­ petuated through the ages. Nor, in light o f the singularity o f Jewish being, was the State o f Israwl summoned into existence to add just another to the roster o f national states. Neither the world nor the Jewish people needed just another state, stam state. What w<7s needed, what is needed, is an intrinsically and immutably Jewish state. To be home for the Jewish people, Israel must be home fo r the Jewish spirit, fo r the Jewish ideal, for the Jewish concept o f life, fo r the Jewish goal and mission — and fo r the Torah fo un t from which alone all that is validly, enduringly Jewish springs and from which alone all that is genuinely, fru itfu lly Jewish is nourished.

Many signs point to a further climax in human affairs.

The world today is far changed from the world o f a quartercentury ago and another quarter-century hence may bring shifts

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that w ill dwarf those o f the past. “ Modern man is obsolete,’” an acute editor declared some years ago, and today it might well be said that the “ modern man“ o f the era that culminated in World War II survives in vestigial form only. His successor is presently a question mark. May we dare to envision that it was to bring light and guidance to post-modern man that out o f Jewish suffering and striving there rose the Jewish State? In Judaism, the particular and the universal are always united. In achieving essential Jewishness, and only so, w ill the State o f Israel fu lfill its unique and indispensable role o f service to all mankind.

HARVEST OF D IS U N ITY HE impassioned dispute surrounding the election o f Israel's new Chief Rabbis and the subsequent Halachic ruling on a contested question o f personal status is now subsid­ ing. The reality o f the accomplished fact, however, rather than reconciliation o f views has brought about abatement o f the dis­ pute. The complex o f political, ideological, and religious entanglements which underlay the controversy continues to shadow the course o f Jewish life in Israel and across the Jewish world. Insofar as the sequence o f developments was marked by the blatant pressure o f Israel's secular power circles to compel religious sources to respond to their purposes, the situation warrants grave foreboding. The long-fermenting kulturkam pf has now moved to the point o f stark sabotage o f elemental religious freedom. N ot only is the Jewishness o f the Jewish State at stake but the civil foundations o f Israel as a democracy are equally endangered.

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Insofar, though, as what transpired was attended by a rancorous cleavage w ithin central circles o f orthodox Jewry, it can hardly be said that the interests o f either the Torah com­ m unity or o f Jewry at large were served as they should have been. This has been one o f the instances in which the Torah community has reaped the ashen harvest o f disunity.

Within the past generation orthodox Jewry has given

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striking demonstration o f its resurgent strength and growth. It has shown the capacity to respond to the challenges o f revolu­ tionary change in the Jewish situation amidst revolutionary Focus change in the organization o f contemporary on society, in the international scene, and in the Realities pattern o f human life itself. Unfortunately, though, orthodox Jewish forces have also shown, all too often and all too well, a capacity fo r ineptness in dealing w ith issues in Jewish affairs marked by clashing philosophies o f Jewish life.

And with this goes a veritable genius for self-defeat through internecine contest. Properly envisioned, the occasion o f an election o f Israel Chief Rabbis could well have served to farther the continuing rise o f the Torah fold. Instead, it was permitted to be turned to the disarray o f Orthodoxy.

It is not the purpose here to assay, or to presume to adjudge, the merits or demerits, o f the positions o f the contend­ ing sides. While partisan political interests obviously played a role it is beyond questioii that issues o f high principle were involved. Each group pressed its stand in earnest good faith.

But equally beyond question is the overriding necessity fo r solidarity o f Torah forces vis-a-vis external forces. General unity o f purpose, policy, and e ffo rt under the Torah banner may be but a utopian dream — to which some among us w ill nonethe­ less cling. But what can possibly justify permitting differences w ithin the Torah fold to serve the ends o f those aiming to subjugate that fold? Surely the minds equipped with mastery o f Torah learning and profound Halachic insight can bring to bear the wisdom to arrive at that modicum o f m utuality which would preclude suicidal strife at the instigation o f the common adversary.

IG N IFICANTLY, the bolts o f lightning and thunder ex­ changed on the leadership levels o f the contending parties have found few echoes among the rank and file o f Orthodoxy, o f whatever affiliation. Beyond limited circles, the reaction to the controversy has been one o f embarrassment and doubt.

There has been an evident inclination among the ranks on both sides to surmise that despite all that was said and proclaimed by their respective mentors, there must be some m erit to the opposing contentions. The weight o f this feeling is reflected in

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the resort by each o f the fountainheads o f controversy to cita­ tions from luminaries o f the past identified w ith the other.

Thus one side has cited to its present purpose words o f the Chazon Ish, zatzaL with whom it was never associated during his lifetime, while the other has similarly quoted expressions o f Chief Rabbi Kook, zatzal, who when alive was the object o f its denunciation.

It is much to be hoped that the unspoken yet unmistak­ able message o f the rank and file w ill further penetrate the leadership circles o f Torah forces in Israel and elsewhere. In any event, it is imperative that certain hard realities be kept to the fore in determining Torah community policies.

Among these is the psychological cleavage that is at the root o f Israel’s clashing ideologies. While so many came to Israel moved by the urge fo r the fullest Jewish life, freed o f Diaspora hindrances and influences, others Conflicting came, paradoxically, to escape from their Capacities Jewish selves. Unwilling to be Jews, yet fin d ­ ing themselves barred from Gentile society in the lands o f their origin, these latter have sought — in the Land o f Israel, o f all places — unencumbered opportunity fo r a nonJewish life. Having secured a pivotal role in Israel, this element strains to retain and buttress its position at all costs. The stronger religious forces grow, and the more Israel’s populace responds to the Torah call, the more are the de-Judaizers im­ pelled to wage war on the religious community. An^l, as skilled campaigners, the more deft become their strategies and tactics.

The adversaries o f the Torah community have not failed to learn how to manipulate public opinion, creating issue after issue as pits into which their targets consistently fall. They have not failed, too, to learn that their most potent weapon is — exploitation o f divisions w ithin the Torah fold.

These realities can only be met and outmatched by more powerful realities. For this, the potential abounds. Inherently, Eretz Yisroel o f itself fructifies the Torah spirit, the Jewish soul. In this habitat o f sanctity, authentic Jewishness springs from the very soil and envelops the Jew with a call that is ultimately irresistible. How the phenomenal flowering o f Israel’s religious bespeaks the force o f this reality! But practical policy must be attuned to the potential. Grasp o f the elements o f

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public relations, now so badly lacking, is a must. Conception o f broad approach in relating to the Israel to ta lity, and o f overall strategy in the field o f public life, now painfully wanting, are imperative. Key to all is a minimum at least o f cohesion among Torah forces and the absolutely indispensibie unity o f approach in relation to opposing forces on and beyond the Israel scene.

HE Torah community has vast resources o f brains as well as o f character. Stern necessity dictates that a greater measure o f this brainpower which has been so fru itfu lly applied to other areas o f Jewish need be now focussed on the common-sense elements o f policy. What has brought such high reward in these other areas w ill unfailingly, and to no less vital purpose, serve eternal goals in this field too.

— S.B.

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"JeiHà" Powty

by LEONARD WEINER BACKGROUND INCE the establishment o f the civil rights and social activist movements in America during the late 1 9 5 0 's and early 1960's, Jewish youths have been in the forefront o f the struggle fo r radical social change, especially as it relates to the poor and disadvantaged o f our nation. Inspired with a spirit o f idealism and a pro­ found belief in man's ability to correct injustice, many among the youth o f America, and the Jewish youth among them, have assumed the role o f vocif­ erous advocate fo r those segments o f society which, for a m ultitude o f reasons, have not been able to achieve social or economic m obility under the present legal and social conditions.

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As these deprived segments o f society began to develop self-organiza­ tion and to consolidate their new­ found political power, a process o f polarization ensued w ith an apparent p a tte rn ta k in g shape. From the amorphous element o f society labelled “ the poor and disadvantaged" o f the late 1950's, emerged, in the late 1960's, highly organized communities drawn on strict ethnic and racial lines.

With each ethnic group pursuing its own interests, clashing interests led to bitter conflict among them. The com­ munity-based groups o f ethnic poor concluded that their individual inter­ ests could be protected only by the formation o f their own m inority or­ ganizations. Thus a new stage was reached in the development o f social

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action programs among the poor and disadvantaged by splintering into groups on the basis o f ethnic rather than economic or communal interests.

T h is process o f polarization which had been initiated on the “ grass­ roots” level spread to the student activist groups as well; student organi­ zations began forming along strict ethnic lines, concentrating their efforts on behalf o f their oWn ethnic groups (e.g. the Puerto Rican students began leaving the general movement to form their own interest group separate from that o f the Black or even the Chicano.)

These m inority student groups began pressing fo r ethnic studies and related assistance programs fo r their own com­ munities, as the Black community was already doing. A general swing toward “ ethnocentricity” became the philo­ sophical underpinning o f the student activist movement.

PROBLEM HE Jewish segment o f this s tu d e n t movement, however, failed to respond to its own commu­ nity's needs. Rather than concentrate efforts in the Jewish community, as their fellow students had done w ithin their own communities, the Jewish students slowly became disenchanted w ith the new grouping; they simply could not respond to the call for ethnocentricity. The entire concept o f national or racial self-interest seemed alien to this group which, in large part, has been trying to lose and deny its

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ethnic character, naively considering itself simply as part o f “ universal mankin d .” Jewish ethnic and national concern is a concept which years o f assimilation obliviated among young Jewish activists in America (even in relation to their attitudes toward the State o f Israel) and it is fo r this reason that they now have found it so d iffi­ cult to relate to Jewish ethnic and national concerns.

Even among the religious and the national-oriented Jewish oriented youth, o f whom there are significant n u m b e rs, especially in the urban centers, there is an obvious lack o f response to the contemporary chal­ lenge o f concern fo r the poor and dis­ advantaged among their fellow Jews.

There is an apparent air o f apathy per­ vading among these students who, although nationally and religiously concerned about the Jewish commu­ nity in general, have failed to show any initiative or m otivation in becom­ ing personally involved in social activ ist programs to improve the conditions o f the poor o f their own group or even in bringing the plight o f these Jewish needy to the attention o f the general public and government officials.

It is true that the degree o f Jewish poverty that exists has only recently come to light and that even Jewish communal organizations such as the Jewish welfare fund federations, American Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee, etc. did not, until recently, even consider the plight o f the poor Jews as a legitimate concern.

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That, nevertheless, should have been an added incentive fo r these young activists to become the spokesmen fo r these heretofore unnoticed people and to present the cause o f this deprived segment o f the Jewish community to th e social welfare agencies, both private and public. Student activism, on the whole, has been a positive force in organizing communities and crystalizing their concerns. Apathy among Jewish students to the plight o f their own communal poor, therefore, is even more regrettable beqause it could be a decisive factor in helping these people break the vicious cycle o f economic deprivation in which they now find themselves.

WHO ARE THE JEWISH POOR? H ER E are no authoritative demographic data available at present on the exact number o f Jewish poor in America, although estimates, such as that o f Anne W olf o f the American Jewish Committee, indicate that the number o f Jewish poor who live at or near the poverty level is close to a m illion. According to Mrs. Wolf, 15.3 percent o f Jewish households in the U.S. have an annual income o f less than $ 3 , 0 0 0 which means between 700,000 and 750,000 people. When this figure is combined w ith the more than 150,000 Jews living with an annual income o f $4,500, one can see how the estimate o f one m illion is arrived at. A more recent study pub­ lished in January 1973, made by a

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research team from the New School for Social Research, has established that 15.1 percent (272,000) o f the Jews in New York C ity are among the poor or “ near poor“ (the definition o f poor or near poor being a fam ily o f four with a total annual income o f less than $6,000).

These Jewish poor are mainly the elderly (approximately two-thirds o f the Jewish poor are over 60 years o f age). The remaining third is made up o f young and middle aged, single indi­ viduals, families w ith large numbers o f children, and families w ith only one parent. In New York C ity fo r example, the Chassidic community numbering approximately 250,000 is comprised mainly o f young and middle aged indi­ v id u a ls o f w h ic h approxim ately 100,000 are living on or near the poverty line. Because o f their particu­ lar mode o f dress and strict religious observance, among other socio-reli­ gious and economic factors, these Jews are subject to job discrimination and low economic m obility, lacking the necessary training and skills to com­ pete in an open job market. Some o f them are deficient in knowledge o f the English language (especially conversa­ tional English) and mathematics, the two most basic educational tools fo r job m obility. Many o f those who are w orking are underemployed, being employed in jobs which are not com­ mensurate w ith their abilities or eco­ nomic needs, and are working 50 or 60 hours a week, including Sundays, in order to earn enough to make ends

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meet fo r their large families (the aver­ age fam ily size among the Chassidic community being approximately seven children per fam ily).

New York C ity also has a large group o f Jewish elderly poor who are in dire need o f a host o f public assis­ tance programs, including housing, m ed ica l care, financial assistance, social and recreational activities, and fo r many, skills training fo r part-time and volunteer employment. The need o f the Jewish aged, as that o f the elderly in America in general, has gone unnoticed, resulting in years o f grow­ ing deprivation, sickness, and despair among this major segment o f the Jewish poor.

There is, therefore, much to be done fo r the Jewish poor in America, especially in urban centers such as New Y ork C ity, and much that can be done by Jewish student groups dedi­ cated to improving the conditions o f their own com m unity’s poor.

STUDENT INVOLVEM ENT MERICAN Jewish youth is col­ lectively marked by a high level o f education and technological train­ ing. They could serve as the decisive factor in breaking the vicious cycle o f poverty and frustration which has gripped a large segment o f the Jewish community. They have the ability necessary to make a significant impact on this problem, and even more impor­ tant, the idealism and activist orienta­ tion to force a positive response from

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government and private welfare organi­ zations.

What can be done? — There are num erous ways in which student organizations can make significant contributions to helping the poor: 1. Tutoring ^ there is a tremen­ dous need fo r tutors who are sensitive to the needs and traditions o f these Jewish poor to dedicate a few hours a week to teach English, both spoken and w ritten, elementary and inter­ mediate math, or even to explain how to fill out and submit job or housing applications.

2. Legal Aides — there is a need fo r free legal counselling which could be provided by Jewish law students or young lawyers to assist these poor people both young and old in such cases as housing disputes, consumer frauds, automobile or other insurance Claims, etc. There are many elderly people who are unable to manage their personal and property affairs and are too poor to pay fo r a lawyer’s services.

3. Social Services — the Jewish community needs social workers and community workers who are familiar w ith its particular traditions and activi­ ties and who have the desire and the skill to be o f service. Some students could aid these Jewish elderly by help­ ing them acquire the government assistance they are entitled to — many o f the elderly are unfamiliar w ith fil­ ling o ut applications or even about what the government provides. They could be o f enormoys assistance in helping their impoverished fellow-Jews

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acquire health and housing benefits and advising them where to go and to whom to turn.

Many o f the Jewish aged find themselves completely alone, with no family or friends and no one to turn to fo r help. Most are too poor to move out o f the deteriorating neighborhoods in which they have lived all their lives, and in which they now fear to walk in the streets even during the daytime.

For those who are confined to old age homes or nursing homes, life is just as lonely and just as frightening.

Here is an opportunity for groups o f young Jewish students to do some­ th ing on a person-to-person basis, directly relating w ith and helping these poor Jews make their lives a little kinder and more enjoyable! These young people, w ith little or no profes­ sional skills, could be o f invaluable assistance to the Jewish elderly simply by being themselves, developing per­ sonal re la tio n s h ip s w ith specific elderly Jewish individuals in nursing homes or in poverty areas, creating bridges o f communication between the two age groups — an experience which promises to be rewarding fo r both parties involved. This latter suggestion has been dubbed the “ Adopted Grand­ parent Program” by a group o f young college students in South Dakota who have had success with their program and who can serve as an excellent model fo r Jewish college students.

4. A program o f Consumer Education is also one which is needed by both young and old and which

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could be carried out by a team o f college students w itho ut needing pro­ fessional experience.

5. Advocates -r finally, and per­ haps most important, Jewish college youths have, as no other single group can have, the a bility to organize them­ selves on a national scale to crystalize and formulate the problems and needs o f the Jewish poor in America, bring­ ing their cause to the attention o f the general public and working fo r an active solution to the problems by fo rcin g the established authorities, both governmental and private, to assume a much greater role in dealing with the situation HERE is certainly much tp be done fo r the Jewish poor o f America. There is certainly much that can be done by concerned Jewish students fo r these poor. It is tim e the Jewish youth o f America recognize their obligations as part o f ^ distinct, ethnic m inority and concentrate their effort on solving their own commu­ n ity ^ problems, as their fellow stu­ dents o f other ethnic minorities have already discovered. This is not a Jewish problem in a distant country or far removed from American reality; this is a problem right now, right here in this country, and i t is a challenge to every single Jewish youth in America.

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" I f I am n o t fo r myself, who w ill be fo r rr\e? 99

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The Thrust 01 The Time-Spirll

by MARC D. ANGEL MONG mankind at large, the concept o f G-d has evolved through the ages. As it has changed so has man. While the concept o f G-d as revealed to our people at Sinai is immutable, the characteristics o f the varying civilizations among which Jews have lived have been conditioned by this change. Hence the idea-pattern prevailing in society at Ijarge has always affected the Jewish situation. A p t fo r us today in weighing the influence o f idea-change is the f<Zeitgeist” theory as popularized by Mathew Arnold, among others. This nineteenth century English scholar and poet whose th in k­ ing has continuing influence was fond o f invoking the Zeitgeist, signifying the spirit o f the era, as an explanation fo r the process o f change in religious

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beliefs. As thus seen, the time-spirit is a silent and omnipresent influence that pervades every thinking mind. It subtly inculcates the particular ideas and attitudes o f the times into the porous souls o f humanity. As the ideas penetrate man, they change him. As man changes, new ideas and a new Zeitgeist are born. Human history thus was seen as a dynamic relationship between man and his ideas. Man both creates ideas and is moulded by them.

The extent o f the influence o f the time — spirit on the religious outlook o f society is an interesting subject for speculation. While precise definition o f when man acts at the behest o f the Zeitgeist would be d iffi­ cult, it is possible to draw general re­ lationships between man's actions and

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the time-spirit. In this essay I shall suggest areas where the impact on Jews o f time-spirit changes in sur­ rounding society has resulted in drastic changes in modern Jewish history.

T one time the western world was theocentric. Man focused his visions on G-d. He had faith. I f he suffered, despaired, or feared, he knew that he always had a G-d upon whom he could rely. He could cite the words o f King David; “ I lift m y eyes unto the mountains; whence comes my help?

My help is from the Lord, Creator o f heaven and earth.” Man could depend on something eternal and infinite. He could be secure and stable — even when his life was miserable and his s o c ie ty intolerable. A theocentric world could believe in a future para­ dise and hell after death when G-d’s poetic justice would offset the in­ justices o f this world. People were content with the hope o f im m ortality after death.

B u t the G-d-centered world gradually evolved into a man-centered one. The Zeitgeist began to question the foundations upon which theo* centrism stood. Many factors con­ tributed to the evolution: the rise o f science and the scientific method; thé grow th o f rational, skeptical, and positivist philosophies; the develop­ ment o f Biblical criticism and com­ parative religion; and other perhaps less profound influences. By the mid­ nineteenth century, it appeared that theocentrism was dead or at least

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dying. Mankind was experiencing a tremendous transition. The theocentrists were on the defensive, and even their own minds were being influenced 3- albeit subconsciously — by the new Zeitgeist. Arnold thought that his society was Wandering between tw o worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born.

And yet, the new world had indeed already been born. It was an anthro­ pocentric world.

Man, not G-d, was now the measure o f truth. Man was no longer satisfied w ith the rewards o f post­ poned im m ortality, but was anxious to reap the rewards o f this world. His sense o f dependence on G-d dim i­ nished. In advising American scholars, Ralph Waldo Emerson expressed the new approach: “ The world is nothing, the man is all; in yourself is the law o f all nature, and you know not yet how a globule o f sap ascends; in yourself slumbers the whole o f Reason; it is fo r you to know all; it is fo r you to dare all.” Man’s idea o f G-d had radically changed, and consequently so had man’s idea o f map. Certainly there had been anthropocentric thinking earlier in history; but now anthropocentrism became the core o f the Zeitgeist.

EFORE discussing some o f the philosophical and social prob­ lems inherent in a man-centered uni­ verse, I would like to delineate areas where the changed world view cru­ cially affected modern Jewish history.

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I am not suggesting that all Jews acted under the influence o f the Zeitgeist or that all who did knew that they were doing so. They may have known noth­ ing o f science or philosophy or anthro­ pology. Yet the power o f an idea is such that it enters the human mind and does its work.

One o f the most profound move­ ments which stirred Jewry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the rise o f political Zion­ ism. Jews began to speak in terms o f establishing a Jewish state. Zionist spokesman called fo r emigration to Palestine so that Jews might build a state with their own hands. In ‘T he Jewish State ” Theodor Herzl recog­ nized a problem: “ No human being is wealthy or powerful enough to trans­ plant a nation from one habitation to another. An idea alone can compass that; and this idea o f a State may have the requisite powers to do s o . . . .

‘Next year in Jerusalem* is our old phrase. It is now a question o f showing that the dream can be converted into a living reality.”

To most modern Jews HerzPs words do not seem revolutionary. But the spirit o f his words represent a radical departure from the traditional outlook. That man is endowed w ith free w ill is a basic tenet o f Judaism, and likewise it is fundamental Jewish belief that man is bidden to exercise dominion over his earthly environ­ ment. Yet there are bounds to man’s powers and prerogatives; in certain respects man has no right to take

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things into his own hands. Within the compass o f theocentrism there is room fo r differing concepts as to the range and limits o f these bounds. While there were such as Rabbi Yehudah Alkali and Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalischer who, long before the emergence o f political Zionism, called fo r resettlement in the land o f Israel, the view which had long prevailed was that it would be only when the Alm ighty unmistakably so decreed that the Holy Land would be returned to the Jews. Even such a thinker as Don Isaac Abravnel could not envision political Zionism. He be­ lieved that the dream could not be converted into a living reality until the days o f the Messiah. In his messianic work, Mashm i'a Yeshufa h} Abravnel describes the return to Zion as a miraculous event which w ill take place due to the efforts o f G-d’s anointed.

Abravanel’s view was common among traditional theocentrists who saw in Zionism a violation o f their under­ standing o f G-d’s role in human affairs.

When they resisted Zionism, it was not Zionism per se they were attacking: they were fighting a new idea o f G-d.

Even today there are small groups o f pious Jews who oppose the man-ini­ tiated state o f Israel, while most other orthodox Jews see in the establish­ ment o f the state o f Israel the w ork­ ings o f Divine Purpose. But to those Jews who have become largely anthro­ pocentric in outlook, the theological arguments about G-d’s complete role in the return o f Jews to Zion are almost meaningless. The idea o f Zioh-

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ism was born and nurtured in an an­ thropocentric universe.

NOTH E R extraord i nary factor in modern Jewish history was the vast migration o f Jews beginning in the mid-1800’s. Within countries Jews moved from villages into cities. More­ over, hundreds o f thousands left their countries to come to the United States. How do we account fo r such a mass migration which significantly altered the demography o f world Jewry? Why did this migration move­ ment take place only in the nineteenth century and not earlier? Naturally pogroms, persecutions, and wars were major factors which led Jews to leave Europe and the Levant. But these factors represent only part o f the answer. Why did Jews not emigrate in such large numbers when there were persecutions and pogroms in earlier periods o f history? Why did they not come to North America en masse during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Surely life in the New World was better than life in the Old. Moreover, we must remember that Jews had begun to come to the United States in increasing numbers' prior to the unleashing o f violence in their countries. A significant number o f Jews would have migrated even had there lj>een no persecution. The fact that Jews were moving into cities in Europe also indicates that something more than fear o f violence was affec­ ting them. As strange as it may seem, an jmpdrtant factor in migration was

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anthropocentrism.

As Jews became more suscep­ tible to the influences o f the Zeitgeist, they consciously or subconsciously became more this-worldly. They were concerned with the here and now, with their physical and social welfare, in a different way from before. They no longer considered their life situa­ tions as in the hands o f Divine Provi­ dence alone but rather as subject to their own resolution. The goal o f material advancement took precedence over spiritual pursuits. They moved to cities. They tried to rise economically and socially. More and more Jews began to send their children to secular schools, even when not required to by law. Thus the promise o f America had to attract many Jews who were look­ ing fo r new opportunities. To quote Professor Nathan Goldberg, “ mental m ig ra tio n often preceded physical m ig ra tio n .” Traditionalists opposed the migration movement even as they opposed Zionism and fo r the same underlying reason: Jews were behaving a n t h r o p o c e n t r ic a lly n o t th eo centrically.

HERE are other areas o f Jewish life which have been strongly affected by the changed world view.

To draw only one more example, let us consider the Jewish birth rate.

Formerly it was quite usual to find J ewish families w ith six or more children. Families were large by intent, not by mere happenstance. Since it is a Mitzvah to have children, the more the

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better. I f one were poor, he would still have many children and rely on G-d to help support them. Children were gifts from G-d and would be aided by Him. When anthropocentrism began to prevail in the Jewish world, size$ o f families dropped dramatically. People were reluctant to have children when they could not properly afford to raise them w ith their own means. They did. not completely entrust their families' welfare to G-d’s mercy. They asked questions before having children: how many can we afford to raise and educate properly? Will our housing in, the city be comfortable w ith too many children? Will we have enough per­ sonal freedom if we have a large family?

This is not to say that anthro­ pocentrism was the only influence m ilitating fo r smaller familes, but it Certainly was a factor. While the birth, rate dropped throughout the western world, it dropped even more sharply among Jews. Many Jewish parents, it seems, were ( and still are) more con­ cerned w ith their financial ability to raise children and their emotional ability to love ahd care fo r them. They also reflect concern fo r their own per­ sonal comforts.

In comm unities where theocentrism is still a predominant force, parents have more children. The d iffe r­ ence in this regard between the more and the less traditionally observant is marked. Chassidim in particular tend to have traditionally large families: There are those who would argue that

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the reasons underlying large families are purely economic: the rich and middle classes have few children while the p oo r have many. Thus, they w ill try to explain that the reason for higher birth rates among Chassidim (many o f whom are poor) is an eco­ nomic phenomenon. But the economic theory is1 not the whole explanation.

Indeed, the economic correlation may itself be based on other than economic factors. Why should the rich have fewer children than the poor? It can­ not be merely a matter o f dollars, but must be a matter o f attitude. Further­ more, why w ill wealthy Chassidim have larger families than other wealthy Jews? Why w ill poor Chassidim have more children than other poor Jews?

We should not under-estimate the power o f ideas. The Zeitgeist is a force at work. Anthropocentrism has been a key factor in revolutionizing world Jew ish demography over the last century.

HUS, Whether we like it or not, we are living in a man-centered world. There is scarcely an area o f life which is still fu lly theocentric. But we know that mah is not really f it to re­ place G-d. Man is impermanent and imperfect. I f the world is entirely in man’s hands, how can we justify to ourselves widespread suffering and injustice? A theodicy is possible be­ cause we can resort to a superior Power who has things under control though we may not understand how and why He does things as He does.

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But an anthro-odicy? I f life is bad, where is our consolation? I f society is intolerable, where is our protection? I f we are righteous and yet miserable where is our hope fo r the reward o f immortality? To justify the ways of man to man is impossible.

A n anthropocentric world is necessarily plagued by insecurity and fears o f impermanence. Where there is no grand vision o f G-d, there seldom is a grand vision o f man’s meaningful­ ness. Man becomes either hedonistic or self-pitying. In the final analysis, he finds himself perpetually searching for this-worldly reward. If he is not satis­ fie d w ith present conditions, he changes to something he imagines w ill be more pleasant. He does not remain fa ith fu l to something or someone when he finds an enticing alternative.

UR man-centered society has been witnessing a phenomenal rise in divorce rates. A t one time marriage was viewed as a life-long venture fo r good times and bad. But as th e Z e itg e is t d eveloped a new standard, husbands and wives could no longer view their marriages as being secure and permanent. They had to struggle to keep themselves young and attractive fo r fear that their spouses would run o ff w ith other lovers. There even seems to be a rise in the divorce rates o f couples married for two decades or longer. Even after so many years o f marriage, the partners rriust be insecure. Anthropocentrism in the social sphere suggests that man seize

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the here and now; he need not be faithful and dedicated to his fellow man. He need not take the time and e ffo rt to develop a deeply meaningful and permanent relationship.

The rise in alcoholism and drug abuse, the so-called “ new m orality,”^ the burgeoning o f pornography are all phenomena which have roots in man’s changed idea o f G-d. Man has lost his eternal visions and hopes. He has only himself, but he is frail and imperman­ ent. Jews have always had lower rates o f divorce and alcoholism than the general population and still have, but the difference is now markedly less th a n b e fo re . W ith religious ties weakened, with the view o f G-d echoing that o f the surrounding world, Jews begin to behave and react like the rest o f the anthropocentric people who make up our society.

Consciously or subconsciously, we realize that man’s current worldview is not satisfying. As Irving Kristol has pointed out in a recent lecture, we are living in a culture which is selfcritical to an extraordinary degree.

Our literature, drama, and art mock us. Few voices utter the positive values o f our culture and when they do they are hardly taken seriously by intelli­ gent people. Anthropocentrism has confronted man w ith serious prob­ lems, the main one being: does our existence have anything more than ephemeral meaning? Does human life have real significance in the eternity o f space and time?

We all absorb the influences o f

JEWISH LIFE

the time-spirit. We can not think or feel in the same ways that our theocentric ancestors did. But we are searching fo r a new world-view, a new Zeitgeist. We are looking fo r a new tru th . We are pioneers in a new frontier in the history o f religion.

The evolution o f the concept o f G-d that affects us has its positive values, o f course. Anthropocentrism has served as a necessary corrective to an overly theocentric world. I t has made man bolder and braver, it has allowed him more initiative and in­ dependence, it has turned his mind to the practical potential o f society. It is a vital part in the development o f the human spirit. But we cannot live by anthropocentrism alone. Man needs G-d desperately, and it is the task o f religion today to bring G-d back into the Zeitgeist.

standing in a living relationship w ith G-d. The Torah spirit not only sees history as a manifestation o f Divine Providence, but tells man that even his smallest and seemingly most triflin g actions have cosmic spiritual ramifica­ tions. Man is neither abandoned nor alone. We must reawaken among the ranks o f our own people, and m ust( bring to our fellow men, the realiza­ tion that man has freedom and has G-d.

Just as the idea o f G-d among the ranks o f mankind has evolved over the ages so w ill it continue to evolve.

But the conception which the new Zeitgeist w ill bring is in the domain o f those today who can express meaning­ fu l ideas about man and G-d. The Zeitgeist can achieve a harmonious balance if we w ill it so.

EWISH teachers must draw on the dominant Biblical, Midrashic, and Halachic vision o f man as

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by ABRAHAM SHULM AN T th e reception following a sincerity. Soon, savory Jewish dishes traditional Jewish wedding that were placed before us, and these bore I attended in The Bronx, New York steaming witness to this words. several weeks ago, I was seated next The temptation to quote names to a man who was a history professor soon became unbearable and the at a non-orthodox theological semin­ guests a ro un d the table quickly ary. He was actively engaged in a engaged themselves in the exhilarating c o n v e rs a tio n into which he had game o f calling out the names o f popu­ drawn the rest o f the company. The lar Jewish personalities who had added subject under discussion was as ancient to the wisdom o f the world. The game and familiar as the dishes being served. was both pleasant and a little bit The professor maintained that the frighteningR- in such a big world w ith world had arrived at its present state so many Goyim, to have such a treo f intellectual development mainly m e n d o u s n u m b e r o f Je w ish through the Jews who had contributed contributions! the most relevant ideas. No other Even the ladies, who, at this group, he said, have added so much point, had quietly left the flo or to and to so many people throughout the their husbands, began to throw in their world. He spoke w ithout affectation share o f world-famous Jewish women. or swagger, and his words rang with Soon, the vast accumulation o f

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names made it clear that the universe could never have moved at all w ithout the offerings o f Jewish minds. The professor now suggested that the group settle upon a list o f Big Five w ithout whom our planet would have forever remained another non-living and barren piece o f rock like Mercury or Venus. The Big Five finally decided upon were: Moses, Spinoza, Freud, Marx, and Einstein. “ A n d Reb Yosel Loksh o f C helm .. . ” This last name came from me, who until this moment had been the only soundless companion at the table.

The rest o f the gathering* having suspected that I was devoid o f speech, turned their surprised faces to me. I repeated what I had said, in a voice th a t made i t clear that I was thoroughly serious. The members o f the group gazed at each other. Was I pulling their leg? Who was I, anyway?

Did I belong to the fam ily o f the groom or the bride?

I was the only stranger at the table, a remote relative o f the bride. I was originally supposed to have been seated at a table across the hall, which gathered the other wings o f the fam ily.

However, as these tables were occu­ pied by couples, and as I was an odd number, I was added to the only empty seat at this table. A fter I had been briefly introduced as a man who w rite s in Y id d is h , th e “ ebbing language/4 I was soon forgotten and the company around the table quickly closed up and left me outside the con­

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versation. I was further distinguished from the group by the fact that they were all fourth or fifth generation American Jews, while I was a relatively recent immigrant from the shores o f Eastern Europe.

The solemnity on my face was puzzling, and the professor, with a mixture o f politeness and curiosity, asked fo r a repetition o f the name. I obliged. The confusion o f the group did not subside, so I added: “ N ot only does he deserve to be added to your list, but he has a quality that makes him the most Jewish o f them all. Moses was reared in the Egyptian royal court; one o f your Big Five himself offered the preposterous hypothesis that he may have been an Egyptian. Spinoza was excommuni­ cated by a rabbinic court and buried in a Christian church. Marx was a Protes­ tant. Freud was an atheist and Einstein an agnostic. The only one who can cla im thorough and unadulterated Jewishness is Reb Yosel.”

A n abrupt verdict like this, undermining the very foundations o f the Big Five, could get me no sympa­ thy, and a ripple o f annoyance swept across the table. The company stopped looking at me and people began staring at each other. Only an external event could put an end to the growing dis­ comfort. It arrived w ith the unexpec­ ted onslaught o f luscious fragrance.

This was followed by a waiter carrying the “ gateau du Chef,” a feast o f archi­ tecture and painting, a concoction o f F rench delicacies containing the

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ingredients o f a healthy and richly made Jewish apple shtrudel. The un­ welcome spirit o f Reb Yosel drifted away into oblivion.

The appearance o f this last dish on the table was also a sign for the orchestra. Most susceptible to the scent o f the “ gateau” was the trumpet, which let out a languid cry and was immediately joined by the remaining in s tru m e n ts . And so, Reb Yosel Loksh, who a second ago seemed to have risen from obscurity, was cast in­ to forgetfulness and neglect.

Which is a p it y . .. * * *

O those who are familiar with the Yiddish tongue, the very sound o f his name is amusing. Yosel is the irreverent form o f Yoseph, while Loksh is a scoffing nickname meaning “ noodle.” And Chelm? It is a tin y and abstruse town somewhere in Poland.

However, I was by no means being prankish when I added to the list o f the five towering figures this totally unknown figure. He was a legendary character conceived in the womb o f folklore, important to his immediate milieu, but also carrying a message that was relevant to the world. U nfor­ tunately, he was not given to mount­ ing the top o f a sacred mountain or to delivering his words to accompanying thunders. And so his message hovers perilously close to the brink o f ob­ livion. Which is, as I said, a p ity, fo r who knows? Our world which went

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through so many miscarried salvations is perhaps in need o f a new one, which may become, if not the direct deliver­ ance, at least a point o f direction. And direction, more than deliverance itself, may be what is necessary fo r man, that crazy ape, to avoid the pitfall o f ex­ tinction.

The fu ll designation o f the figure I had mentioned at the table was Reb Yosel Loksh o f Chelm. The name itself reveals that he was a Jewish man living in a place called Chelm and that he was regarded with fam iliarity and affection by those who transformed th e m ore solem n “ Joseph” into “ Yosel.” The “ Reb” in the name does not usually stand fo r an official title, as it was the custom to bestow it on every Jewish man who merited some degree o f respect. In this case, how­ ever, th e “ Reb” does stand fo r “ Rabbi.” Reb Yosel Loksh was indeed the Rabbi o f Chelm. The name Loksh, meaning “ noodle,” was an indication that like a loksh, he was tall and thin.

Reb Yosel was the imaginary community leader o f the Chelm o f Jewish legend.

HERE was a real Chelm too, an authentic point on the map, and one o f the oldest Slavic communities in that part o f the world. It was among the towns and villages razed to the ground by the Tartars as early as 1241.

The real Chelm had a chronological history that made it little more than a d rifting piece o f bark on the waves o f time. It originally belonged to Russia,

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fragment and rotated around an event, was passed over to Poland, switched over to Austria and by the Treaty o f which always took the form o f an indi­ Brest Litovsk, to the Ukrainian Re­ vidual or collective vexation solved by the ingenuity o f the people under the p u b lic . Presently, this little town which boasts o f its own cathedral now guidance o f Reb Yosel Loksh. Each o f belongs to the People’s Democracy o f the stories o f Chelm is a relived Bibli­ Poland; but if the past is any indica­ cal episode o f deliverance, but w itho ut tion o f the future, the future is being the aid o f Divine help. And even if it is true that the events in Chelm are less b u ilt on shaky foundations.

N o t so w ith the legendary spectacular than the incidents in the Chelm. While the small and unimpor­ Chumosh, they are impressive in their tant real town vegetates as an obscure human probability. Yosel Loksh had to perform all his miracles himself by railway station with a provincial farm tools and liquor industry, the legen­ digging into the resources o f his own system o f logic. dary Chelm plays a prominent part in Jew ish and in universal human NE o f the firs t Chelmer stories mythology. that I remember having heard To the Jews o f Eastern Europe, the fictitious Chelm contained the from my father was the te xt o f a letter object o f human longings, the key to w ritten by Reb Yosel Loksh to his all worries. For this is what the saga o f wife on the occasion o f an unprece­ Chelm is all about. It is a fabulous dented departure to a neighboring community b uilt on the premise that little town. His original plan was to there is no such thing as w orry un­ stay there only a few hours, but cir­ heeded, a problem unsolved, or a want cumstances forced him to stay over­ night. Being obliged to sleep outside unfulfilled. Being a reflection o f the existing world (but only a reflection), his home, he sent his wife a messenger Chelm had all the ingredients o f any with a note in which he asked fo r his living Jewish community. It had a slippers. A trivial matter, you say.

Listen to the way it was handled by shool, a cemetery, a mikveh, and the usual variety o f people — tailors, cob­ Reb Yosel. He wrote: “ My dear Golda, I am compelled to spend here the b le rs , b utch ers, bakers, peddlers, night and am in need o f my slippers. watch makers, and little merchants.

There was the spiritual elite as well — So please, my dear Golda, send me, the teacher, the mohel, the shochet, through the messenger, your slippers. I the chazon, and the rabbi. The legen­ write, as you see,your slippers and not dary Chelm had, instead o f a chrono­ m y slippers, because when you read logical history, a colorful garland o f “ your slippers” you w ill understand right away that you should o f course, stories: the Stories o f Chelm.

Each story was an independent send me m y slippers and not y o u r

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slippers. Because, had I wanted y o u r slippers, I would have said m y slippers, and then you, by reading “ my slip­ pers'* would naturally think that I mean y o u r slippers and you would send me y o u r slippers instead o f m y slippers. But what need would I have o f y ^ ’"* slippers being in need o f mine?

It is w ith this in mind that I write “ your slippers" to make it quite clear that I mean m y slippers and not y o u r s lip p e rs . Y o u r devoted husband, Yosel."

To someone who has never be­ fore entered the universe o f Chelm, this note w ill sound deliriously mad.

Reb Yosel would appear as either a lunatic, a practical joker, or a man flirtin g with his wife in a most out­ rageous manner. A ll these assumptions would be false. This brief letter was a m anifestation o f Reb Yosel's un­ usually logical mind.

It is immediately obvious from the note that Golda, the wife o f Reb Yosel, was the possessor o f her own pair o f slippers; otherwise, the whole argument about mine and thine would have been superfluous, Secondly, Reb Yosel appears in this brief note as a man w ith a most sensitive relation to words. It must be remembered that there is no such thing as simple mor­ phological value. The words “ m ine" and “ th ine " serve here to show that the meaning o f a word is totally dependent on the person o f the speaker. “ M ine," on the lips o f Napoleon, stands fo r the person o f the French Emperor, while the same word

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in the mouth o f a Sans-culotte refers to little more than a plebeian who has been deprived o f his underwear. This example o f the pronoun can be easily extended to apply to every part o f speech.

For Reb Yosel, who was no trained linguist or sociologist, the m a tte r rested with slippers, but, actually, all the stories o f Chelm are told in this cryptic language.

Incidentally, by w riting this sort o f note to his wife, Reb Yosel must have assumed that she, too, in no lesser degree than himself, was alert to th is sort o f philological dialectic.

Assuming that women in this part o f the world and in these times must have belonged to the least significant strata o f society, the whole community was obviously endowed with a careful approach to words.

Reb Yosel's brief note serves as an opening through which we can have a glimpse into the functioning o f this e xtra o rd in a ry universe. While this letter demonstrates the pertinence o f w o rd s , the preponderance o f the Chelmer stories deal with relevant action.

NE o f the most often-quoted instances o f Chelmer behavior is the story o f the shamosh, Reb Mendel.

Although an independent com­ m unity operating under the dictate o f its own logical laws, Chelm was bound by ritual and social custom to the rest o f the Jewish world. One custom de­ manded that at the approach o f the

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m ost Holy o f the Holydays, the shamosh o f the shool was supposed to awaken the head o f the household in the middle o f each night to attend the midnight services. He did this by walk­ ing from house to house and knocking w ith his stick on the shutters.

The High Holy Days, falling each year at the end o f autumn, came at the Chelm o f legend when the weather could be particularly cold. And so it once happened that there was a heavy and premature snowfall which covered the town with a blanket o f snow.

Chelm under snow was a dazzling and enchanting sight. The inhabitants, however, thought apprehensively o f their shamosh, Reb Mendel, traipsing along in his heavy boots through the immaculate whiteness.

Several o f the most troubled Chelmites brought their concern to their leader. The problem was not an easy one. There was no question o f stopping the shamosh from fu lfillin g his duty. It was also unavoidable that by walking from house to house he would disturb the glittering surface o f the snow. It was Reb Yosel who finally discovered where a solution lay.

(The problem was “ where” and not “ is there;” fo r the Chelmites there could be no doubt that each problem had its solution just as each child has its mother. This was. one o f the basic tenets o f the philosophy o f Chelm.

The problem was not to invent a solu­ tion but to find it, which was not a matter o f ingenuity but o f looking in the right direction.)

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And this is what Reb Yosel did.

The story tells us that Reb Yosel pulled at his beard, pondered for a while, until he finally spoke. “ Raboysay,” he said, “ the ques­ tion is, indeed, not a simple one. The shamosh must perform his duty. He must walk from house to house, knock at the shutters and wake the Jews to the midnight prayers. And this, as you have so rightly pointed out, creates the danger that he w ill, w ith his boots, tram ple the snow.” The delegates looked at him w ith apprehension but also w ith hope. They knew that this initial statement was only a stimulus to further thinking which could result in only one thing — a solution. And the pause between the statement and the solution would be short. “ Consid­ ering,” Reb Yosel said, “ that Reb Mendel must perform his duty and knock at the shutters, and also consid­ ering the danger o f his boots squashing the snow, the answer is simple; he w ill not walk. He w ill stand on a table and be carried around by four men.” “ Elementary,” Sherlock Holmes would say, and this is indeed what it was. The simplicity o f the solution is staggering in its straightforwardness. It co n ta in s all the elements o f the premise: Reb Mendel fu lfillin g his obli­ gation w ithout the risk o f the snow being stamped on by his boots. The solution is amazing in its purity. As in the letter to his wife concerning the slippers, Reb Yosel has again demon­ strated his loyalty to words.

Let us, fo r a moment, visualize

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his words in terms o f action. We can imagine Chelm under snow in the middle o f a cool night, the round face o f the moon looking down from the sky, the little houses engulfed in the im m obility o f sleep. Against the back­ ground o f all this is the silent proces­ sion: four men, in their black tradi­ tional coats, w ith beards and sidelocks around the ears, each holding the leg o f a table, upon which the shamosh Reb Mendel stands erect, his fist tightly closed over a large cane, ready to knock at the wooden shutters o f the cottages. A ll this is breathtaking in its artistic grandiosity, but it should be remembered that the central detail on this Rembrandtlike canvas is not the hum an figures, but Reb Mendel's boots, which are o f an impeccable cleanliness. For this is what the talk is all about. In the course o f the next hour or so, Reb Mendel w ill fa ithfully discharge his duty, but his boots w ill remain spotless, unsullied by so much as a molecule o f snow.

O f course, some o f us may be tempted to look beyond the proces­ sion to lower their eyes to the ground and notice the adulterated snow under the boots o f the fo ur carriers’ but this would be confusing the issue. The question originally posed was the rela­ tion between the snow and the boots o f Reb Mendel. It was a logical chain consisting solely o f three links: Reb Mendel's assignment, his boots, and the danger presented to the snow. Reb Yosel Loksh's solution took all o f these links into consideration and dis­

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posed o f them in a manner that left no doubts. The four pairs o f boots o f the four table carriers came later and have no immediate relevance to the matter.

They could, o f course, constitute the subject o f a separate investigation, but that is not the purpose here. The posed problem however, was solved Quod est demonstrandum.

Q E B YOSEL LOKSH is the prini■ c¡p a l character in the m ajority o f the Chelmer stories, but that doesn't mean that there is a gap between him ^as the leader o f the community, and the rest o f his fellow citizens. N ot at all. The fact that Reb Yosel almost always finds the solution to the prob­ lems by no means diminishes the importance o f the others. It is always the others who formulate the prob­ lems, and posing the question often requires no less ingenuity than solving it. And even i f Reb Yosel is the one who resolves the inquiries by himself, it is the rest who accept them, proving their immediate comprehension, and making them equal partners to his in­ telligence. It can generally be assumed that even in the instances when Reb Y osel has been made the chief dramatis persona, it was obviously done w ith a view to simplifying the plot. Actually, it is the whole com­ m u n ity that shares coequally the responsibilities and the merits o f the actions. Reb Yosel could not possibly have been the leader o f any other collective than the Chelmer; neither could the town o f Chelm have pro-

JEWISH LIFE

duced another leader w ith the intellec­ tual equipment o f Reb Yosel. The Chelmer stories are the stories o f a congregation, and would lose their significance were it otherwise.

The stories, in addition to their logical content, are also quite pictorial.

It is almost impossible to view any tale w itho ut being reminded o f the exquis­ ite human and natural landscape o f Brueghel the Elder. The characters, seemingly small and almost insignifi­ cant, are always depicted in move­ ment, almost floating under the dic­ tates o f a collective aim which holds them together and manipulates their gestures. None o f the Chelmites por­ trayed has the deformed lines o f a Hieronymous Bosch, nor were they ever intended to play grotesque parts or parodies. And although they are often no more than paper-thin sil­ houettes, they have a depth that is humanly warm. There is a constant temptation to see them in relation to the surrealistic characters o f Chagall.

The similarity would, however, be superficial. Unlike the subjects of Chagall, the men and women o f Chelm have to deal primarily w ith reality, not dreams.

The stories o f Chelm were con­ ceived under the pressure o f specific circumstances — the circumstances o f the Yiddish shtetl. It doesn’t at all matter if some o f them may remind us o f stories o f other “ cities” o f “ simple­ tons,” like Abdera in ancient Greece, Gotham in England, or Schilda in Germany. The Chelemer stories may APRIL 1973

contain genes inherited from others and Reb Yosel may in some way be related to the Schultheisz o f Schilda, but the relationship is purely techni­ cal. Similarly was Spinoza related to Descartes, Marx to Hegel, Freud to Jean Charcot, and Einstein to Michael Faraday. A ll that does not remove a single leaf from their private laurels.

HE Chelm stories which date back to the 18th century were the product o f the shtetl and were no doubt created w ith the view o f pro­ viding the Jewish mind with the de­ light o f exercises in logic. But this was no art fo r the sake o f art. Each o f the stories had also a moral and the moral was quite openly pointed to the ab­ surdity o f the whole world. One o f the stories contains this explicit statement.

I t ’s the story o f one o f the Chelmites who, prompted by curiosity, began walking to Warsaw to find out how people lived in other cities. A fter walk­ ing fo r several hours he decided to lie down and take a nap. But how w ill he know, after he wakes up, in which direction to continue? Here he came up w ith a bright idea. He took o ff a shoe and put it on the ground with the point toward the capital. While he was asleep, however, a strong wind turned the shoe around a full 180 degrees.

The result was that instead o f walking to Warsaw he came back to Chelm, where he looked around and ex­ claimed in amazement: “ Now I see.. .

The whole world is C helm ...

And indeed — each o f the little

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gems in the anthologies o f Chelm, after a simple shifting o f the back­ g ro u n d and personalities, become political or social news-items in the daily papers o f any date and related to any kind o f event, such as the war in Vietnam , armament, ABM, racism, campus-unrests, or Spiro Agnew.

Some o f the stories are even much bolder in their contention sug­ gesting that at times the world is even less rational than the irrational inhabi­ tants o f Chelm. One o f the most charming o f them refers to the very origin o f the shtetl when it came to the problem o f providing the inhabi­ tants w ith a cemetery. The question was — what should be its size? The solution was found by Reb Yosel him ­ self: ‘T h e cemetery should be o f such size that after a hundred and twenty years, there would be enough room fo r everybody. To make sure o f t h i s ^ every man, woman, and child must go outside the town and lie down on the ground. Then the shamosh w ill go around with a piece o f chalk and draw a line | | this w ill be the size o f the cemetery.”

This is the story. Its moral is simple: One man — one grave. How much more rational than the world in w hich we live, where we possess enough atomic bombs and other means o f destruction to slay a hundred billion human beings while the whole population has not even achieved four. * * *

30

I RECALL that after the wedI ding-reception was over and the guests began to disperse, I went out into the street and stood at a bus sta­ tion. A car suddenly came to a, halt right before me and a voice called out my name. It was the professor o f the theological seminary, the one who headed the conversation at the table.

A t his side sat his wife, a woman o f exquisite charm, whose saucy little face was now adorned w ith a forest o f o f metallic bells. As a woman aware o f her Jewishness and sex, she had in fil­ trated the name o f — Elizabeth Taylor.

The professor courteously offered me a lift and, making sure that this would not be too much out o f his way, I accepted the offer. Once in the car, we returned to the subject which had been interrupted by the arrival o f the apple-shtrudel and the orchestra.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that not only had the professor retained the name o f Reb Yosel Loksh but that he pronounced it in a most correct way, including the “ L ” in “ Loksh,” which is one o f the hardest consonants fo r the speech-mechanism o f an Anglo-Saxon to pronounce. It was evident that his curiosity was honestly aroused and I was ready to tell him a few o f the Chelmer stories, but he was a fast driver and I w ouldn’t risk starting a story w ith o u t being able to arrive at the punchline. I therefore advised him to get hold o f an antho­ logy, the only source o f reference available. “ Read i t , ” I said, “ It w ill JEWISH LIFE

become apparent from the stories that Reb Yosel occupies a singular place in relation to your list o f the Big Five.

Moses has established the relationship between man and G-d; lehavdUy as to your other four, each sought to define other relationships — Spinoza, be­

tween man and divinity; Marx between man and society; Einstein between man and the physical universe; Freud, between man and his inner self. Reb Yosel Loksh, however, is the only one who has established the relationship between man and man.”

Write: NCSY—UOJCA Israel Summer Seminars 84 Fifth Avenue, New York, N?Y~ 100IJ

APRIL 1973

31

by EUGENE NO RM A ND EEK, or prasa, as it is known in Ladino and many o f the Balkan languages, is a vegetable highly esteemed by Mediterranean peoples.

This vegetable, which in appearance and aroma closely resembles an en­ larged green onion, is used by Greeks, Armenians, Italians, and others in their salads and soups. But to the eastern Sephardim, the descendants o f the Spanish Jews who centuries ago were absorbed into the Turkish Em pire it has one major use — kiftohs or patties o f various sorts.

Kiftohs do prasa are always popular w ith Sephardim but they are particu­ larly associated w ith tw o Jewish holi­ days — Rosh Hashonah and Pesach.

T h e f i n a l p r o d u c ts : (a) prasafuchi — the unadulterated leek

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patty, (b) kifteh de prasa — patty o f leek and hamburger, and (c) novya de prasa — white portion o f leek stuffed with hamburger — all are delicious.

From the bunches o f leek in the marketplace to the final products on the table requires several hours o f effort as I, an Ashkenazi married to a S e p h a rd iy a h , can a tte s t, having witnessed the process. The leek must be cut and trimmed, washed, cooked slowly, squeezed o f its excess liquid, ground, mixed w ith the other ingredi­ ents, and then fried.

S eph a rd im began using leek because it was a common vegetable in the countries they lived in. In the Turkish Empire there was never a p ro b le m o b ta in in g prasa; it was always available. Indicative p f this is

JEWISH LIFE

the existence o f a Turkish saying used in describing a commonplace item — “ It was as common as prasa” (como la prasa).

HAT leek should be such a co m m o n com m odity in the Middle Eastern area is not at all sur­ prising — it's been that way for at least 3,500 years, and proof o f this comes from the Torah itself. In Bemidbor 11:4-7 we read o f thé com­ plaints voiced by the Children o f Israel over their single-ingredient diet o f manna:

T

And

th e

m ix e d

m u ltitu d e

fe ll

a-lusting,

th a t

was

and

th e

am ong

th e m

C h ild re n

o f Israel also w e p t again and

said: W h o shall give us flesh to eat? We re m e m b e r th e fish w h ich w e did ea t in E g y p t fo r n o th in g , th e cu cum bers, and th e

m e lo n s

and

th e

leeks

arid

th e

on io n s, and th e ga rlic. B u t n o w o u r soul is d rie d

a w a y , th e re

is n o th in g a t all,

besides th is m a n n a b e fo re o u r eyes.

T h a t th e B’ney Yisroel, re­ deemed from a life o f slavery by the Alm ighty only a year earlier, could depict that life in Egypt in such favorable terms is indeed perplexing.

It is no wonder that many com­ mentators have offered explanations o f these lines.

The crux o f the matter lies in explaining the intent o f the Hebrew w o rd chinom, which is ordinarily tra n s la te d as “ free“ or “ gratis.“ Leaving the homiletical arguments

APRIL 1973

aside, one solution offered by the “ p a s h to n im ” (literalisms) is that chinom is used in an exaggerated, metaphoric sense. It simply means cheap. T he Ita lia n commentator S h ’ m uel D o vid Luzzato (ShDaL) takes another tack, basing his explan­ ation on’ historical proofs: The

w o rd

chinom im plie s n o th in g less

th a n fre e o f charge, since th e E gyp tia ns s u p p o rted th e Israelites, p ro v id in g th em w ith

cheap ite m s o f fo o d such as fish

and cu cum be rs , w h ic h w ere p le n tifu l in E g y p t.. .

We

fin d

th a t

H e ro d o tu s

in ­

fo rm s us th a t on o n e o f th e E g y p tia n p y ra m id s was an in s c rip tio n read ing th a t th e k in g w h o erected it e x pen ded 1 ,6 0 0 m easures o f garlic and on ion s on fo o d fo r th e w o r k m e n .. .

Thus the leek, as well as its cousin-vegetables the onion and the garlic, were plentiful enough ih Egypt fo r the Egyptians to provide it to their Israelite slaves either freely or at a very minimal charge. The taste o f these subsidized foods remained with our forefathers despite the momen­ to u s events occurring all around them. They witnessed the hand o f G-d in action, and heard His pro­ nouncements, yet the savor o f the leek, the onion, etc. lingered on. The manna, as the Midrosh states, was capable o f taking on the taste o f all foods save the five vegetables that the Egyptians made available to them.

A nd th is lingering, sensual desire would not abate, but rather erupted into the dissension discussed earlier.

33

to the severe w intry weather. One OW fittin g to complement the vegetable man advised going to the Seder meal w ith leek (or Greek neighborhood.

An hour and a onions, melon, cucumber, or garlic). h a l f l a t e r t h e y returned While the Moror symbolically reminds empty-handed.

I then tried calling us o f the bitter life our forefathers some o f the Greek and Italian fru it led and the Charoseth o f the mortar they were forced to construct w ith, and vegetable markets. Four gave a flat “ no” while the fifth replied that leek physically represents the actual foods that sustained them at the if it was at all available he’d have it the next day, time.

We waited and hoped Tuesday I t is n o t c e rta in that the Sephardim make prasa part o f their would bring better luck. Complicating Pesach meal for the reason I have matters was the fact that we weren’t outlined, but they w ill all attest that th e o n ly ones looking fo r leek.

Greeks and Armenians use it in a the flavor does indeed linger on from soup tr a d itio n a lly served around Pesach to Pesach. It was fortunate t h a t w h e n th e S e p h a rd im o f Easter time. But they don’t need very Tekirdag, Istanbul, Rhodes, etc. emi­ much o f it fo r their soup while we grated to Seattle they found that were looking fo r six or eight bunches (a bunch contains three or four, they could still find prasa easily. It used to be grown locally in the depending on the size o f leek). Never­ Rainier Valley, but as farms in this theless, tw o stores had promised to area disappeared* leek was brought have it this day; they didn’t live up to their words. We were faced w ith from California. Thus the Sephardim an unthinkable situation Pesach in Seattle have always been able to w itho ut prasa!

So in an eleventh hour obtain prasa. e ffo r t, my wife and father-in-law But what o f Seattleites who have moved away? We cannot speak were o ff again, scouring the local fo r o th e rs lo ca te d a ro u n d the vegetable stores. They d idn’t return country, but can only relate the d iffi­ empty-handed this time. My wife culties involved in getting prasa in the held the fo ur prized leeks a lo ft as she Chicago area fo r the Pesach o f 5732, entered the pre-Pesach kitchen. They our first in Chicago. In a word, there were scrawny, not much bigger than large scallions, and they cost 30 cents was none to be had. With the first a piece, but they were parsa! With Seder set for Wednesday night, we possibly the only leek in Chicago, my began looking fo r the leek Monday m o th e r-in -la w was able to make morning. My wife, and her parents enough prasafuchis fo r us to enjoy w ho w ere visiting with us from for both Seder nights; savored all the Seattle, tried three local stores. None more by careful rationing. had seen prasa fo r weeks, partly due

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JEWISH LIFE

ONE o f the Chicago Sephardim we spoke to on the first day o f Pesach had made any prasa this year — most had not even bothered to look for it. We did learn where the big vegetable market is located, and even stopped o ff there on Sunday while showing my in-laws the city.

Only a few merchants were at their stalls, but in Greek they told my father-in-law to return the next day and we’d be sure to find prasa. Early Monday morning I set out tc rtry the market before going to my office. My cautious optimism began to ebb as I encountered three no’s at the first three stalls I tried. Neither did the fourth one have any prasa, but he had something nearly as good — knowledge o f a merchant who did

N

have it. He was right; I found as much prasa as I could ever want. This Greek dealer hadn’t been able to get any fo r a week, but now he had a large s h ip m e n t fro m San Jose, California. It was beautiful prasa and some o f its distinctive aroma was left b e h in d to stimulate an otherwise prosaic engineering office that day.

With that beautiful prasa we had both prasafuchis and kiftehs de prasa on the Segundos (last days o f Pesach). For future years we’N know where to buy our prasa since we, like our forefathers, find that the taste does linger on. This year, however, w ill be known in our family as the Pesach o f Bedichath (Searching for) Prasa!

by BERNARD DO V M IL IA N S What is tom orrow?

What the dreams we shape O ut o f the shadows th a t w ould fain escape In to the void o f tim e, to flare and fa ll A t sunlight's call?

What is tom orrow?

Is i t the hope we pray — Fashioned o f glim m er, form ed o f words th a t stray Aimless from hearts th a t do n o t speak the soul, Aimless from lips th a t lib e l th e ir parole?

When Is tom orrow?

Is i t when the dream Is shattered, crushed beyond redeem, A nd we survey o ur fallen house o f cards Or piece b y piece take up o u r scattered shards?

Where is tom orrow?

Is i t somehwere far, As distant as the moon dust o r a star?

O r is i t near, w ith in us, here a t hand, Wrapped in the tw ilig hts where we stand?

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JEWISH LIFE

Why is tom orrow?

Is i t somewhere far, As distant as the moon dust o r a star?

O r is i t near, w ithin us, here a t hand, Wrapped in the tw ilights where we stand?

Why is tom orrow ?

Js i t because today Quivers w ith fears our hearts can n o t allay?

Laughs a t o ur pangs, scoffs a t our pain Bursts w ith uncaring, crushes w ith disdain?

H ow is tom orrow? is i t rank w ith sin?

A glowering Satan? Or a harlequin Clowning his antics, tum bling in the aisle, S o rrily bidding fo rth a weakly smile?

Who is tom orrow?

Who th e spark To brighten the dism al dark?

The torch th a t warms and lights the way O ut o f the chaos o f today?

Who is tom orrow?

You, m y son: The hope from which our Dream is spun, The dream on which our Truth Unpeered Is reared!

You are tom orrow You whose fires to learn, To hold, to cherish, to observe s till burn — Who speak w ith G-d, and hear Him speak w ith yo u You are tom orrow .. .you, as hitherto, You are tom orrow, Jew.

APRIL 1973

37

by J. D A V ID BLEICH N an age when all manifestations o f th e “ Establishment” are under attack, the synagogue as an in­ stitution has become the subject o f an increasingly severe barrage o f criticism.

This spectacle, though bleak, is not devoid o f a redeeming feature. The very fact that the synagogue has come under attack is a sign o f its continuing potency. Even those who feel promp­ ted to describe the synagogue as out­ moded and unresponsive are con­ s tra in e d to reco gn ize th a t the synagogue is still with us and w ill continue to be a reality. The syna­ gogue remains the principal medium o f Jewish identification. Our task is to find ways and means o f revitalizing this basic institution and o f restructur­ ing it so that it w ill become a more

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vibrant and creative force playing a commanding role in American Jewish life.

It is the failure o f synagogues to keep pace with changing modes o f social behavior in so many areas which has contributed to feelings o f apathy and disillusion which express them ­ selves in rejection o f all institutional forms o f religious life, particularly on the part o f the young. The hackneyed story o f the congregation which re­ quests its rabbi to remain silent w ith regard to S a bbath observance, Kashruth, Taharath Ha-mishpochah, and the like but rather confine his remarks to discussions o f Judaism in the abstract is atypical when applied to the contemporary situation. There was a time when, to our misfortune, a

JEWISH LIFE

largely untutored immigrant commu­ nity, somewhat self-conscious o f its ethnic identity, was prim arily con­ cerned with successfully blending into the general scene. Beset with feelings o f inferiority and an incessant urge for acceptance, it groped blindly for the external tokens o f Americanism and in doing so failed to maintain a firm grip upon the traditions o f Judaism.

Now the pendulum has swung back. Cultural pluralism is very much in vogue. Nascent feelings o f Jewish consciousness have begun to make themselves fe lt in many who had al­ ready reached the brink o f assimila­ tion. Literate, informed* and discern­ ing, youth o f today is quite capable o f distinguishing between the real and the sham. Young people clamor fo r an authentic presentation o f Torah views n o t o n ly in areas o f Mitzvoth Ma’asiyoth but also with regard to the myriad moral and social problemscon­ fronting our society. They are far too intelligent and discriminating to be dis­ missed with platitudes and sermonics.

Their search and quest is a serious one.

T h e y are entitled to honest and thoughtful responses; they are entitled to clear, explicit, and knowledgable answers; they are entitled to our time, our patience, and our concern. When these needs are not fulfilled by the synagogue and its functionaries, satis­ faction is sought in other pastures.

HERE are, to be sure, some Con­ gregations whose leadership has had the foresight to dispense with

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APRIL 1973

some o f the more ostentatious and pretentious trappings o f American Jewish organizational life and which offer a rich variety o f meaningful educational and social programs. These synagogues have succeeded in attract­ ing younger elements to their member­ ship and in eliciting an enthusiastic response from their congregants* o f every age. But to allow the successstories to dull our perception o f the general mood o f disenchantment and disaffection would be to blind our­ selves to reality.

We must admit that much o f our organizational and congregational life centers around unedifying activities devoid o f religious meaning. Too many o f o u r co m m u n a l activities are designed to flatter the egos o f syna­ gogue benefactors. A veritable kovod syndrome has developed in which the exchanges o f honors and mutual adula­ tion have become ends in themselves.

Whatever other strong points or fa il­ ings young people today may possess, one thing may be asserted with cer­ tainty: they are sincere. They become estranged and deeply disillusioned when they find hypocrisy enthroned in the synagogue. For them the syna­ gogue must be the focal point fo r the teaching o f Jewish values or it has no raison d'etre.

UITE apart from the problems which beset the total commu­ nity, disappointment with institutional religion manifests itself in a peculiar form in the orthodox Jewish milieu.

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Whether by considered policy or due to the general feeling which emanates from the walls o f the house o f study, many o f our yeshivoth both in Israel and in the United States generate a negative feeling toward the profes­ sional rabbinate. In our country the feeling is in large measure based upon the realization that in many congrega­ tions the rabbi is expected to be a jack-of-all trades: fund-raiser, social w o rk e r, p u b lic relations expert, amateur psychologist, book reviewer, deliverer o f invocations, and so on ad in fin itu m , and perhaps on occasion even a teacher and scholar. Many o f our more serious and more dedicated students quickly come to feel that their yeshivah training has provided them w ith a completely different set o f skills, interests, and even ideals.

There is also apprehensiveness in the heart o f many a yeshivah student — a gnawing feeling that as a rabbi, instead o f being the arbiter o f Jewish law in his community, he may one day find himself w itho ut a source o f sustenance because he has refused to compromise his religious scruples by bowing to the wishes o f misguided and Jewishly illinformed laymen. He fears that he w ill not be given the opportunity he yearns fo r to inspire his congregants and, as their teacher, to impart to them his knowledge and vision o f Judaism. In I srae I , awareness that professional a dva nce m e nt is dependent upon p ro te k tz ia and a distaste for the partisan politics which pervades all aspects o f religious communal life

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there áre major deterrents.

Critical as the problem o f enlist­ ing rabbinic personnel o f the highest calibre may be, it is parallelled by an even more acute problem. We are not producing the type o f lay leadership we so desperately need.

RTHODOXY in America is faced w ith a curious paradox. A g e n e ra tio n o f Day S ch oo l and Yeshivah graduates has reached adult­ hood and gone out into the wide world. One would have anticipated that in the normal course o f events these individuals would by now have matured into positions o f leadership in synagogues and communal organiza­ tions. Yet their influence is hardly commensurate with their numbers.

Why? Experience has shown that large numbers o f yeshivah graduates shun the cathedral-like atmosphere o f estab­ lished synagogues. ‘ Turned o ff” by the formalism o f the synagogue and by the superficial and even inane activities it sometimes sponsors, they aré attrac­ ted by the warmth, inform ality, and simplicity o f the shtibbel. The o rth o ­ dox comm unity suffers in tw o ways: concentration o f a select element away from the synagogue renders this group virtually impotent in terms o f its in flu ­ ence upon the comm unity at large and — an even more grave development — causes feelings o f communal responsi­ b ility on the part o f these fine young people to atrophy. To be bemoaned is not only the unfortunate loss to the

O

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community o f this potential talent but also the effect o f such insularity on the personal lives o f these young men and women. Although they are often blissfully unaware o f their own depri­ vation, the religious personalities o f these individuals are frequently lacking in that added dimension which is born only o f interaction w ith, and concern fo r, others o f differing viewpoints.

Smugness and shallow one-sidedness are often sorry by-products o f this policy o f isolationism and disengage­ ment.

HE issues are far too complex to admit o f facile solutions. But we cannot afford to sit by w ith folded hands. I f we fail to address ourselves to the problems in an imaginative manner we w ill continue to dissipate our most valuable rabbinic and lay re­ sources. A lthough the answer is definitely only a partial one there is at least one approach by which the situa­ tion may be somewhat ameliorated.

Some way must be found to encourage yeshivah graduates and B’ney Torah to forge their own communities w ithin specific geographic enclaves. This is not to say that these groups should be self-contained. On the contrary, maxi­ mal contact w ith all members o f the larger Jewish community must be actively sought. But to satisfy their o w n interests and to achieve the desired influence upon the greater community, these committed indivi­ duals must establish synagogues o f which they form th^ nucleus, designed

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to meet their own needs and which they may look upon as theirs.

The size o f any given synagogue should be limited. Small groups are most effective in guaranteeing that individual needs not be submerged and that there is ample room fo r warm, personal friendship and a strong rabbiteacher relationship. An ideal situation would be one in which a number o f small synagogues, housed in modest chapel-like structures and scattered throughout an area, are organized as a single congregation, grouped around a central unit (which may well be an existent “ conventional” synagogue) serving as the focal point o f the com­ m unity. The central synagogue would have facilities fo r educational, cultural, and social functions to be conducted on behalf o f the entire community.

Under optimum circumstances, the synagogue would be organized accord­ ing to the pattern o f a traditional Kehillah w ith responsible Kashruth supervision, Mikveh, and educational facilities. One or more rabbis, not burdened with duties beyond the scope o f their chosen calling, would be called upon to serve the Kehillah as a whole. Other services would be dele­ gated to a youth leader, executive director, etc. who would also serve the entire complex.

It is to be anticipated that B’ney Torah organized in such communities w ill recognize and appreciate the need for rabbinic leadership and guidance in its historic form . Recast in this mold, the ro(e o f the rabbi w ill be immeasur-

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ably more appealing to the promising yeshivah s tu d e n t. C o m m u n itie s fashioned according to this pattern cannot fail to exert influence far be­ yond their own boundaries.

This outlines but one proposal designed to satisfy the interests and aspirations o f a specific sector o f the community. Other modes o f accom­ modation must be developed w ithin existent urban and suburban congrega­ tional groups.

OWEVER, solutions geared to the needs and conditions o f metropolitan centers are o f no avail in so lvin g the problems o f far-flung Jewish communities. In such commu­ nities we are confronted by a radically d if fe r e n t set o f difficulties. Un­ doubtedly, one o f our greatest areas o f concern is the recruitment o f rabbis and educators to serve synagogues and schools in remote communities located at a distance from the major centers o f Jewish population.

The role o f rabbinic leaders and teachers in smaller communities is often o f even greater significance than that o f their counterparts in metro­ politan positions. In the latter, the Jewishly conscious layman comes into contact w ith a vast array o f Jewish p e rs o n a litie s and kn ow led ga ble communal leaders. In the small town the rabbi or teacher may at times be the only Jewishly-literate member o f the comm unity. As such he is the sole and all-im portant link to the chain o f Jewish identity. Yet there are count­

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less such communities in which the rabbinic position goes begging. It is particularly painful to witness the plight o f day schools b u ilt through the perseverance, dedication, and selfless­ ness o f their founders whose con­ tinued existence is now threatened because o f their inability to secure an adequate staff.

A t the same time, it is not d iffi­ cult to sympathize w ith the sentiments o f the rabbinic candidate who declines to undertake such posts. It is under­ standable that a young man who has spent his formative years in an envi­ ronment vibrant w ith Jewish life w ill hesitate to accept a position in the cultural hinterlands. Reluctance based upon considerations o f educational opportunities fo r his own children plays no small part in determining the young rabbi’s geographic preferences.

Perhaps a solution to this par­ ticular problem lies in the fashioning o f a aTorah Corps” — somewhat akin to the Peace Corps — designed to pro­ vide a reservoir o f sorely-needed per­ sonnel fo r Jewishly underdeveloped areas. There is no question that but fo r the fear o f forfeiting career opportuni­ ties by being removed from the main­ stream o f Jewish life many promising yeshivah graduates could be induced to make their services available where these talents are most needed. Many o f our B’ney Ha-yeshivah are highly dedi­ cated and committed young men who would w illingly serve in such posts fo r idealistic reasons. Furthermore, such service constitutes an ideal means o f

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acquiring valuable in-service training and experience in preparation for assuming positions o f greater respon­ sibility. However, in order to attract q ua lifie d applicants the volunteers would have to be assured o f an oppor­ tu n ity fo r a change o f professional venue after a stipulated period o f service. Prior service in “ hardship posts“ should assure favorable consid­ eration for more sought-after posi­ tions, with the communtiy assuming responsibility fo r suitable placement o f those young rabbis who have rendered selfless service on its behalf.

Realistically this can be made feasible only through the cooperation o f all major rabbinic and synagogue groups functioning through a central agency responsible fo r rabbinic placement.

HE p he no m e na l success o f movements and institutions such as NCSY, Yavneh, Lubavitch houses on college campuses, and the James Striar School o f Yeshiva University shows that Torah Judaism authenti­ cally presented does possess a mag­ netic quality. Our problem has been, and continues to be, one o f communi­ cation, o f finding personnel and the medium through which to present our message to th e greatest possible numbers.

Proposals fo r planned Kehilloth and a Torah Corps may appear to be

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far-fetched and utopian but they are not at all impossible. They can be implemented. We must determine our priorities, husband our resources and channel them into these areas in which the greatest potential can be realized.

Moreover, the Roshey Yeshivah must be made active partners in implemen­ tation o f such programs. Innovative suggestions w ill gain acceptance in the Torah community only if supported by the authorities to whom it looks for guidance.

We find ourselves at a most propitious juncture in Jewish history.

Now, as never before, are so many educated and committed young men and women o f the orthodox Jewish community assuming positions o f in­ fluence and standing in all walks o f life. The orthodox community has achieved m aturity and prominence. It certainly is sufficiently affluent to be able to fund the programs necessary for its spiritual growth. To be faced with a leadership crisis and communal stagnation at this point is ironic.

Rather than permitting the educa­ tional and religious fabric o f our communities to become hopelessly unravelled, we would do well to heed th e proverbial stitch in time and exercise imagination and foresight in communal planning on a national scale.

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by BERNARD ROSENSWEIG HE T o ra h -c o m m itte d com­ m unity stands on the threshold o f a historic breakthrough on the American Jewish scene. Never before has the opportunity and the need o f O rthodoxy to assume a decisive role in the leadership o f the total Jewish community been as real and as realiz­ able as it is today. The problems which confront us in terms o f essence and future no longer come from w ithout, from the Conservatives, the Reform, the Secularists, and the Assimilationists. They continue to exist, to be sure, and they are irritants. But they cannot harm us; our continuity is assured. The challenge to the continuing ascend­ ancy o f Torah forces comes from w ith ­ in, from the tendency w ithin our own ranks to fragmentize the organized

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orthodox community and to deflect it from its purpose through internecine struggle and quarrel.

Let me clarify my p oint by alluding to an incident in the Book o f Bereshith.The Torah tells us that when Ya’akov was preparing fo r his con­ frontation w ith Esov, he encountered an angel w ith whom he wrestled through the night. Who was this angelic adversary o f our Patriarch Jacob? He was none other than the guiding angel o f Esau on high, we are told by the Rabbis, who do not agree as to whether he appeared to Jacob in the form o f an idolator or that o f a scholar.

The truth thus portrayed to us is that Esov is Edom — he represents those forces which are inimicable to

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Jewish destiny and dangerous to its existence. There are times in Jewish h is to r y w hen the attack against Ya’akov, who personifies authentic Ju d a ism , comes from those who appear in the form o f idolators, o f alien, deviationist forces who would cripple the vitality o f Jewish life with their heresies. But there are also times, unfortunately, when Ya’akov is forced to do battle fo r his very existence with an Esov who appears in the guise o f a Talmid Chochom, w ith someone who is not alien to our way o f life, but in fact represents the ideals to which we are committed.

HERE was a time in the recent past when the orthodox Jewish community was under attack from an Esau who was an idolater, w ith his alien approaches and his deviationist philosophy. These were the groups who predicted that Orthodoxy could not reproduce itself, that we could not raise a young generation in our image.

Read the literature o f the 20's and 30% and you are exposed to eulogies over the impending demise o f Torah Judaism. We were assigned to the limbo o f obsolescence and we were assured that a Torah-true Jewish life could not strike roots in the pragmatic soil o f America.

However, it is not we who have produced the “ vanishing American Jew,” and the national disaster which he implies. On the contrary, we have seen a new generation o f American Jews step forward to become the heirs

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o f our sacred tradition and to accept a commitment which is unparalleled in the history o f our people. We have w it­ nessed the emergence o f hundreds o f Day Schools and Yeshivoth, as weli as tens o f Kollelim, w ith a student body which today numbers close to one hundred thousand young souls. Where are the prophets o f doom, and what has happened to their predictions?

It is not we who have lost our youth. The Conservative movement, which gleefully anticipated our dis­ appearance from the Jewish scene, has been discomfited to find that not only was its diagnosis o f Orthodoxy wrong — and that Orthodoxy has refused to play the role o f the doomed — but that it is they, not we, who face the crisis o f survival. Marshall Sklare, the sympathetic sociologist o f the Con­ servative movement, indicated in a recent article that the movement’s strategy o f liberalization, innovation, and beautification has proven to be a failure, and its youth is turned o ff by the lack o f genuineness and authen­ tic ity that pervades this ideology. The president o f the Jewish Theological Seminary publicly bemoaned the fact that the youth o f Conservativism is anemic in comparison to the vibrancy o f the orthodox youth. What did he expect when theirs is a movement which has sanctified compromise and made a cult o f expediency?

In a d d itio n , we have been witness to another thrilling develop­ ment on the American Jewish scene.

In the last decade or so, the organized

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Torah community has struck a power­ ful note in general Jewish affairs and our influence in public life is being in­ creasingly felt. For the first time in the history o f American Jewry, Torah-true Jews fearlessly articulate a Torah posi­ tion in the councils o f national deci­ sion-making bodies — and their voice is heard with respect and care. Areas which hitherto have been closed to us, have now been opened wide. In the past, key positions o f national leader­ ship and policy-making have been almost exclusively in the hands o f the non-traditionalist element in the Jew­ ish community, and Orthodoxy's role in shaping the image and the course o f American Judaism has been minimal.

All o f this has changed — but not sufficiently.

UT w ith all o f our advances, orthodox Jewry in America still exerts far less influence in Jewish affairs than its numbers, resources, and vita lity warrant. When the orthodox community loses in its confrontation with the non-orthodox, it is not be­ cause o f any inherent weakness on our part, but rather because o f a lack o f organization, a lack o f structural co­ hesiveness in the Torah community, an inability to marshal all o f its forces fo r united action — and fo r this we are paying a heavy price.

Key issues and positions are fo r­ feited because the Torah community does not speak w ith united, articulate voice. Can one imagine what would happen if the Torah forces o f the so-

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ca lle d right would abandon their h a b itu a l isolation and go-it-alone philosophy, and if those o f the socalled left would free themselves o f psychological subservience to non­ orthodox forces? Can one visualize what would transpire if these factions would lend themselves to the consoli­ d a tio n o f Orthodoxy's voice and course, joining w ith the main current o f the organized Torah community in c o m b a tin g th e aberrations which plague Jewish life today? What indel­ ible impact could be made on the entire community on any issue which the entire Torah comm unity would confront together! Where all have worked together, as in the Federal Education Act, or in the crisis on the deferments fo r yeshivah students, the results have been compelling.

But instead o f this kind o f over­ riding unity in areas to which we are mutually committed, we are beset with a disturbing fragmentation and a destructive polarization which goes beyond our separate institutional in­ terests, and which in the long run threatens the very essence o f our exist­ ence. Who can be happy or satisfied w ith this kind o f manifestation?

Even the Union o f O rthodox Jew ish Congregations o f America, generally thought o f as being above the ideological battles o f the various trends in Orthodoxy, is no longer immune. On the contrary, the divisive elements in the community o f the committed today challenge its leader­ ship and question its right to be the

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spokesman fo r the orthodox com­ munity as a whole. Witness the unholy reactions o f some to the Unionsponsored W o rld Conferences o f orthodox Synagogues! It is a tragedy o f major proportions that other forces in Jewry can work together fo r the greater good o f their respective com­ mitments, and the orthodox have to be characterized and identified by their splintering. Nine Zionist group­ ings can form the American Zionist Council to speak with one voice fo r th e Z io n is t movement while the various factions which make up the o rth o d o x community cannot even evolve a minimal form o f cooperation.

ITHIN the spectrum o f ortho­ dox Jewry, there can be identi­ fied several segments which are par­ ticularly prone to pursue their own respective directions w ithout regard to the collective interest.Each presents a particular problem with respect to achieving broad cohesion. It is not the purpose the present article to treat all o f them. Rather, the objective here is to bring into focus the facet o f the orthodox community which today is o f prime concern in this connection -f| namely the Yeshivah sphere. Such focus is in order precisely because the yeshivoth offer unique potential fo r coherent Torah community develop­ ment. And yet, although their own ultimate viability as well as the good o f all rests upon sound community development, they remain largely a force apart.

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I n looking, with every good reason, to the Yeshivah world fo r the salvation o f the Torah community, it was thought that the major yeshivoth would not only train the rabbis, but would also inspire the learned yeshivaeducated laymen to enter the organ­ ized Kehillah, transform its character, and provide its dynamic leadership.

But that, unfortunately, is not what is happening to anything like the ex­ pected degree.

E A L L have a tremendous stake in the Yeshivoth and the Day School movement. They represent our greatest hope fo r Jewish perpetuity and they deserve our highest priority.

I, for one, reject out o f hand the proposition that the Yeshivah is the private property or preserve o f any group in the orthodox spectrum. The fact is that there is hardly a day school or a yeshivah in the United States and Canada in whose formation and main­ tenance the rabbis o f community syna­ gogues — notably members o f the Rabbinical Council o f America®- to ­ gether w ith their Baaley Batim, are not involved, body and soul. I find that it is no coincidence that those who are the most active in synagogue life are precisely the ones who take positions o f leadership in the day school or yeshivah, because they understand (and their congregational Rabbi has taught) that there is a m utuality o f interest between the “ Shool” and the School.

Yet, the sad truth is that the

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world o f the Synagogue and the world o f the Yeshivah barely touch; the lines o f communication between these two essential pillars o f a dynamic orthodox community are extremely tenuous.

How do the yeshivoth prepare their students to assume their role in the life o f the organized Torah com­ munity? What are the attitudes which are being implanted in our young minds in regard to community re­ sponsibly? While this may not be true at all times and in all places, the fact o f the matter is that there are a number o f yeshivoth — too many — which inculcate a sense o f “ b itu l” , a sense o f condescension in their students towards the organized forms o f synagogue life and its spiritual leadership. I am reminded o f a Rosh Yeshivah in my area who publicly disparaged a local Young Israel, in effect urged his students to shun the synagogue — and then showed up at a meeting o f the Va’ad Harabonim to denounce the synagogue rabbis fo r not supporting his school sufficiently.

N o r is th e Rabbi and the Rabbinate spared from this derision.

The Rabbi is often ridiculed in these circles as a religious technician who has sold “ pure O rthodoxy” down the river and who compromises Torah Judaism for the sake o f building the membership rolls o f his congregation.

The result o f this approach is that the yeshivah student is taught, in effect, not to respect the Rav — which is an unforgivable lack o f Derech Eretz — and, what is even more damaging to

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the future o f our Kehilloth, some o f the best candidates fo r the Rabbinate, and the leadership which it implies, are “ turned o ff” and lost to the Jewish community. This is a tragedy when you consider that it is the orthodox Rabbi ~ particularly outside the New York area — who sanctifies G-d’s name every day, who struggles to keep Torah communities together and vital, who converts Jews to Judaism, who draws the youngsters to our wonderful NCSY, and who tirelessly recruits the students fo r the day schools and yeshivoth o f America.

S IT surprising, under these cir­ cumstances, that so many o f the products o f the Yeshivah movement move into the intimate b u t insular atmosphere o f the Shtibel? Therei warmed by the companionship o f his peers, the yeshivah graduate finds him ­ self sheltered from the demands o f community responsibility as well as from the punctiliousness o f commu­ n ity synagogue worship and the m u lti­ level diversity o f shool congregants, and instant kovod and honors are available at a cheap price. There, o bli­ gations are minimal, and the arrogance o f pseudo-superiority can be practiced w ith im punity. From the rarefied heights o f the Shtibel, the erstwhile Student o f the Yeshivah can disdain­ fu lly criticize the lacks — imagined or real — o f the local orthodox synagogue.

It is all too understandable that in the eyes o f the more responsible elements o f the Torah com m unity, the

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shtibel is seen, in the context o f to ­ day's challenges, as a religious “ cop o u t" even as it betrays an insensitivity to the principles o f an organized Torah community.

This does not mean that there is no mediocrity in synagogue life or that there is no room fo r imprpvement in its religious commitment. On the con­ trary, there can be no disputing that the orthodox Synagogue must pro­ perly take into account — as it has not yet done — the revolution in Jewish life which the Yeshivah has initiated, and must accommodate to this new reality in the most positive terms.

However, this does not exonerate the Yeshivah or its products from taking their positions in the organized Torah comm unity, and utilizing their talents and training — so largely acquired because o f the support o f the commu­ nity — fo r the greater good o f the community o f the committed.

HESE philosophies o f progres­ sive separation are ill-omened fo r the Torah community. This situation cannot be condoned nor can it be permitted to fester. Left unchecked, it could leap to a tragic schism in Torah ranks fo r which all o f us w ill have to give an accounting one day. May I suggest that the time has come (in fact, it is long overdue) to make a serious attempt to bring about some fo rm o f understanding w ithin the Torah com im inity, which w ill unite all committed Jews w itho ut necessarily compromising the individuality and

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autonomy o f its component parts. It seems to me that a series o f basic principles and steps should be form u­ lated and taken w ithin the near future.

1. T he Union o f Orthodox Jewish Congregations o f America must become the instrument to bring a means o f coordinated endeavor to all Torah-true Jews. The Union, which like the Synagogue is the central focus o f communal life, has w ithin its struc­ ture the potential to coordinate and channel the efforts and the direction o f the total orthodox community. The Union, then can become the bridge which can bring together the diverse elements and the divergence o f orien­ tations which make up Orthodoxy today. Obviously, this places upon the Union an unprecedented challenge and moral responsibility fo r the welfare and the future o f our commitment, which it dare not fail.

2. However, the Union must, as a prerequisite, put its own house in order by defining itself in terms o f essence and purpose. The day is long past when the Union can strive to be all things to all people. The Union must be true unto itself and to its con­ stituency. Our overriding mission o f a U n ite d O r th o d o x y w ill not be compromised by a definition o f posi­ tio n . That definition must be an h o n e st one, a rtic u la te d w ithout apology, or w itho ut fear o f the reac­ tion o f more extreme groups. It should be understood that more stringent is not necessarily more “ frum ” , or more religiously correct. Thè two are not

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synonymous. And it should likewise be understood that more self-defined is not necessarily less Jewishly encom­ passing and outgoing ^ these also are not synonymous.

3. The Union must address itself to bringing together all Jews who are co m m itte d unconditionally to the principles o f Torah min Hashomayim, Divine Revelation, and the binding character o f the Halochah. In this pro­ cess, we must be able to declare that the concept o f “ the seventy faces o f the Torah” is not only a principle o f exegesis but is a basic proposition which embraces the community o f the committed. Historically, this has al­ ways been the case.

4. The hand o f the Synagogue world must be stretched out particu­ larly to the world o f the Yeshivah and to the Roshey Hayeshivoth who guide and influence them. Each is an indi­ spensable element in the future o f the other. The yeshivoth must be en­ couraged to become integrally con­ cerned w ith the organized Torah com­ m unity, and not only with what they can take out o f that community.

There must be impressed upon them the need fo r closer contact and greater involvement on both sides. In turn, the Union must undertake to educate its constituency towards a greater com­ m itment and concern for the welfare and well-being o f the yeshivoth. It

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must be prepared, as one o f its major activities, to plan coordinated fund­ raising programs which w ill insure the financial stability o f the Yeshivah m o v e m e n t w h ic h c o n tin u o u s ly struggles fo r its monetary existence.

5.

As a necessary step towards th e o b je c tiv e , the Union should sponsor a series o f conferences o f the various groupings in the orthodox spectrum. A series, because reality dictates that only by a planned succes­ sion o f exchanges, each w ith a lim ited, realizable agenda, can there be forged common approaches to the external problems o f the Jewish community.

These problems, obviously, w ill be approached w ithin a Torah reference.

A p ilo t project, either in the area o f education or youth, should be in i­ tiated by this new medium to test its ability to w ork in cohesive fashion.

The result would be, hopefully, that in these areas at least, the much-divided orthodox Jewish world would be able to apply coordinated thinking, and would speak and act with unified voice.

REAT challenges and hopes con fro n t the Torah comm unity. We must dispel the Esaus, in whatever guise they appear, and in the process wrest the blessing which is the legiti­ mate' legacy o f the committed Congre­ gation o f Jacob.

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by J. VA IN STEIN EFORE we can satisfactorily dis­

Haiachic d e fin itio n o f Jew in id e n tity B cuss the ways and means o f co­ card — 58% in favor, 31% against, 11% existence between the religious and non-religious sections in Israel and how to bring them closer to each other, i t is important that we first o f all examine whether the majority o f the non-religious are indeed as irreli­ gious as the impression about them is often created.

A poll conducted in Israel some months back at the request o f the American weekly magazine Time re­ sulted in some interesting findings about religious attitudes among its population. Here they are: c iv il mar­ riages - 54% against, 39% in favor, 7% not certain; Kashruth in the arm y and government establishments - 72% in favor, 15% against, 11% uncertain;

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uncertain; separation o f religion and state like in the U nited States I 46% in favor, 47% against, 8% not certain.

In a very recent poll conducted by the Gallup Institute, 61% held that Giyury conversions, should be accord­ ing to Halochah, *28% were against, 11% did not care.

HESE statistics no doubt con­ firm fu lly the view o f those o f us who maintain that the majority o f Israelis have a positive attitude to Jewish tradition and its solid Haiachic foundations, but that, unfortunately, the press, radio, and television which are controlled, in the main, by people who belong to the small group o f

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vociferous and irreligious nihilists, succeed in conveying the wrong im­ pression about what most people be­ lieve in. For if, as the various polls have repeatedly proved — the m ajority accept the Halachic orthodox defini­ tions and requirements fo r marriage, who is a Jew, Giyur, and want govern­ mental agencies to observe Kashruth and Shabboth in its public life, then surely we have here a wide basis upon which to build the bridges o f under­ standing, instruction, enlightenment, and cooperation between the widest sections o f the Israeli community. In fact, I doubt whether at any time in our history, in Eretz Israel or in Goluth lands, we have had a higher proportion o f our populace accepting these basic Halachic principles as the standards fo r its public Jewish life.

However it would be very mis­ leading if we were to sim plify too much this serious and often stormy subject, fo r how does the Yiddish expression go — “ if it is so good, why does it look so bad?. The fact is, that when the participants in this poll were asked to define more précisely their re lig io u s convictions and commit­ m en ts, 13% declared themselves “ D ati,” i.e , religious, meaning fu lly observant, 47% “ Messorati,” i.e., tra­ ditionalist, and 40% non-religious. The rea din g o f these fig u re s needs analyzing and to be understood.

Whereas the religious person follows unquestioningly the injunc­ tions o f the Torah as interpreted and elaborated in the Shulchon Oruch, the

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tra d itio n a list is usually one who has selected for his private life, in varying degrees, only certain observances o f Judaism. Thus, whereas all perform B’rith Milah (including the non-reli­ gious), Bar Mitzvah in the Synagogue, the religious marriage ceremony, reli­ gious burial, occasional attendances at synagogues, especially during Festivals, not all traditionalists observe fu lly the Shabboth, or pray daily, or accept w illingly all the Halachic requirements for marriage between a Jewish man and woman (e.g. Kohen and divorcee.)

PERSONAL CONFLICT T W ILL therefore be understood that when such a traditionalist finds himself in personal co nflict w ith certain Halachic prescriptions, whether in matters o f marriage restrictions or limitations o f public transport or in­ fringements o f Shabboth laws, he w ill frequently join the protesting non-reli­ gious against what they call “ rabbinic stringencies“ by the religious establish­ m ent, believing, as he does, that Halqchah is a type o f clay which the rabbinical authorities can mold as they please. It is particularly in this sphere that a very great enlightenment e ffo rt has to be made by religious Jewry and the rabbinical authorities in order to remove misunderstandings and spread the knowledge o f the teachings and purposes o f our Halochah among the masses, but more about this later.

Looking at the dry figure o f the 40% who defined themselves as non-

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religious, one would really think that th e y are all sworn religion-hating secularists. This is very far from being true, not only because many o f them observe some o f the religious Mitzvoth on our Festivals, Sabbaths, and various family celebrations, such as B’rith Milah, Bar Mitzvah, wedding, burial, etc., but especially because most o f them are beginning to think deep in their hearts that it is, after ally only our religion which can ensure the con­ tin u ity o f our people and give meaning to our existence and to Jewish distinc­ tiveness o f the State o f Israel. They are beginning to seek more knowledge about Judaism and to come closer to its sources.

This is not just wishful thinking.

One finds these expressions o f search in k ib b u tz p ub lica tio n s, literary journals, and occasional articles in the Israeli press. The widely-read after­ noon paper Maariv printed last Yom Kippur eve an interview with some tw e n ty Israeli politicians, writers, educators, and artists on the subject “ Should we the generation o f parents, béat A i Chet, fo r the estrangement o f our children from Jewish tradition?”

The answers are most enlightening.

Among those who were born in the G olah, some remained incalcitrant w h ile others are quite repentant.

Almost all who were born in Israel agree that something serious must be done about helping their children to come closer to Judaism. Let me just cite one o f them, who provides addi­ tional strength to the beliefs which

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some o f us have held for some time. u z z i n a r k i s , the liberator o f Jerusalem in 1967 and present Director o f the A liy ah Department o f the Jewish Agency, analyzes his situation very frankly by explaining that his parents, belonging to the Third A liy ah, educated him ex­ clusively on the values o f Eretz Israel.

Their do’s and don’ts concentrated exclusively on the Mitzvah o f conquer­ ing the land, fighting swamps, Arabs, and English, and on the conquest o f the Hebrew language. They were totally absorbed in these objectives.

T h is was the expression o f their Judaism and Jewishness, the belief in the preservation o f the Jew and his people. Uzzi was already born in Eretz Israel. His generation, too, was infused w ith this purpose. Although there was no longer need fo r them to dry swamps, their struggle was against degrees o f White Papers, prohibitions to settle in certain parts o f the land, etc. They saw their exclusive Mitzvah in liberating the land, leaving no room or tim e fo r religious observances.

For the third generation, how­ ever, his and his friends’ sons, the war for the establishment o f the State, if not yet fu lly completed, had neverthe­ less ended. Their efforts are directed to ensuring its existence and security.

Keeping the existing cannot provide the same fullness and preoccupation as have the challenges to his generation and that o f his father. His son once said to him “ you have established the

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State and have left nothing fo r us to erect.” A void has been created, he believes, which w ill lead his son and the children o f his generation to the practical Mitz\/oth o f our Jewish tradi­ tions, pushed aside in the former tw o generations, so that they can be filled with them and their fragrance. Bt had no Bar Mitzvah celebration, my son had it at the Kothel. The generation o f my son w ill have to face the challenge o f the stabilization o f the character and image o f the Jewish State. When they have to answer the question ‘What distinguished Medinath Israel from other States?I they w ill, inevi­ tably, come closer to the traditions o f Judaism and the Jewish heritage.”

Colonel Mordechai Bar On, who was the army's chief education officer and is now the head o f the Youth Depart­ ment o f the Jewish Agency Executive, replied in similar terms, as did others.

What does all this mean? I be­ lieve that the loud calls for the re­ moval o f the yoke o f Heaven and the observance o f Mitzvoth, which come from certain quarters, are no more than the outward rearguard action o f those whose antipathy is so deeply in­ grained that they fear the prospect that w ith the rise o f Jewish statehood there must follow the revival o f true Emunah among its people, and that the crown o f Torah and its glory w ill eventually become the jewels o f the crown o f the State o f Israel. This fear, to my mind, is at the base o f the unbridled and senseless exhilarations o f the applauders o f the lowering o f

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moral standards and race, after vain in­ dulgencies, o f demands to recognize o ffic ia lly “ the known among the p u b lic ” even if she is a married woman, the registration o f non-Jew as Jew, to uproot the Shabbóth, and so forth.

SEARCHING HERITAGE ■ I E who listens attentively to the ■ ■inner searching o f the younger generation who are fed up w ith their spiritual emptiness, who want to know who they are and what is their Jewish d istin ctive n e s s and heritage, who desire to understand the place o f our State and its contribution to the world o f the spirit and m orality — whoever observes all this can perceive that here, in the State o f Israel, there is a clear desire among a large section ó f the “ secular” youth to find theif way back to the G-d o f Israel, to our sources and their teachers. One hears them often accuse their parents and elders fo r having failed to give them an insight in and an understanding o f the teachings and values o f Judaism ánd its great and original literary World, There may still be a gap between Dati and non-Dati but the pointers are that it w ill not last forever. I f in leftwing Ein Harod and Dagania there could rise synagogues, thpn the ice has certainly been broken.

The existing situation could well be illustrated by the follow ing Chas­ sid ic s to ry , t h e W erke Rebbe R'Vitzchok once asked the Kotzker Rebbe R'M end el: Why is it that after

JEWISH LIFE

the story o f the worship o f the Golden Calf the Israelites were privileged to have the “ Sholosh Esrey M¡doth,” the Thirteen Attributed o f G-d, revealed to them and the Alm ighty forgave them this grave transgression, whereas the sin committed by the spies, which was merely that o f rejecting the land, brought with its suffering suffering and woe fo r generations and caused fo rty years o f wandering in the wilder­ ness and the destruction o f two Temples with their resultant long years o f Goluth? Replied the Rebbe o f Kotzk: the difference is as follows: In the case o f the Calf, the Israelites, in fact, sought G-d but erred thinking that the calf was G-d, fo r when one tru ly seeks G-d, one finds Him finally, because the one and only answer is Faith, But in the case o f the spies, all they were seeking were the fieshpots o f Egypt — when all that one seeks is gluttonness, that is a plague for generations.

HERE can be no doubt fo r any­ one who has eyes to see that the young generation in Israel is seeking and is perplexed; it seeks the true G-d, it seeks the guides who w ill know how to reveal to them that Mosheh is true and his Torah is true and the word o f G-d w ill last forever.

How can one reach this goal? I believe that tw o urgent activities are needed today! a) an out and out e ffo rt by the Rabbis and religious teachers and thinkers to go out to the knowledge-

T

APRIL 1973

thirsty masses and spread the teachings o f our Torah and its great messages for our day. b) to hold a cultural dialogue with that major section o f the less observant regarding those basic teach­ ings in our life, which must form the minimum common denominator to ensure Jewish perpetuity and respect­ ful co-existence.

Our Talmudic Sages maintain (Menochoth 28) that whefeas all the articles which Mosheh made fo r the Sanctuary were good fo r all time, the trumpets were only meant for his own generation. Here is a remarkable lesson contained in this simple statement. In the days o f Moses, when he wanted to gather all the people they would blow the trumpets; then, it was the correct medium. In our times it is unthinkable that the silver trum pet could serve this purpose. In our days o f mass media, we must use the silver tongue o f love and all the modern methods, when taking the Torah message to the indi­ vidual and ¿roups and go from home to home and place to place as did the Prophet Samuel in his day. My experi­ ence has taught me that most people in Israel, young and old, especially since the changes that have come about in their religious attitudes after the Six Days' War, are anxious to learn more about Judaism and the Mitzvoth o f our Faith.

55

SPREADING KNOWLEDGE OF J UDAISM

that in order to apply these concepts to our daily life, these principles can­ not remain abstract ideas but must be expressed in practical terms.

The rockbottom fo r this unity and indissolubility o f the national and religious elements o f our people must be the recognition that the preserva­ tion o f the Jew himself can only be assured by the Halachic laws defining who is a Jew, the ways o f admission to the Jewish national fold (Giyor), and its marriage and divorce regulations and procedures. To this should be added the issues o f Kashruth and Shabboth, for which, apart from the required enlightenment drive, there is a great deal o f understanding, as the polls, quoted at the beginning o f this article, go to prove.

HE spiritual leaders must go down to the people, teach them the whys and wherefores o f Jewish laws and observances, the uniqueness o f our spiritual heritage, and make them sense those eternal values and practices which form the cement o f our national existence and unity. One must go with this message to the youth clubs, cultural centers, workers' platforms, in addition to the essential efforts o f pulling the people to the traditional shiurim in the synagogues and study circles. The hundreds o f rabbis and Kollel students can help bring about the desired change in the religious thinking and behavior o f the population if they dedicate themselves to this sacred task.

O my mind, all available general There must be a total eradica­ indications, such as those ex­ tion o f the attitude still prevailing in amined above, point to a desire such as certain Diaspora religious circles, the never existed before, o f coming closer don 't-care-what-“ they” -th i n k-abou t-us to religious observances and values. m e n ta lity . We are our brothers' This must be fu lly understood and keepers. This is the Order o f the Day. galvanized by the rabbinate and the Parallel to this organized popular religious lay leadership, who should teaching campaign and the diffusion o f not be deterred by the demonstrations the knowledge o f Judaism, an inten­ and violent expressions o f a handful o f sive dialogue must be held with that irresponsible religious extremists, who large section o f the populace and its vie w ith similar actions o f small groups leaders who agree that it is not in the in other camps o f Israeli life. interests o f the unity o f our people Before the dawn, it always gets and the Jewish character o f Medinath darker; we must now see the dawn Israel that there be a separation o f out beyond the darkness. A ll must rise to religion from the state. This common the challenge d f the day and not miss base offers the solid starting point o f the tremendous opportunities o f good­ hammering out a clear understanding w ill that are abundantly manifest. This

T

T

56

JEWISH LIF E

needs great and selfless dedication but the issue is decisive as the wise and those that are not beset by bigotrous clouds must surely be aware. Such js the pattern fo r co-existence. May we all be w orthy that the causeless hatred

which often beclouds our life may turn into causeless and selfless love o f our people, o f all our brothers and sisters. This is the secret o f purposeful co-existence in this epoch o f the Athchalta di Geulah.

CAUTIO N Many manufacturers are now producing great quantities of garment fabrics in which L IN E N -A N D -W O O L A R E C O M B IN E D IN T H E M A T E R IA L IT S E L F .

This is SHATNES — which is prohibited by the Torah to be worn, just as strongly as it is prohibited to eat T'refa.

Be sure to read the paper ticket stating the contents, when buying garments.

For information and list of firms which give Shatnes Service, call or write: S H A T N E ^ L A B O R A T O R Y , 203 Lee Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11211; EV 7-8520..

APRIL 1973

57

by JOY ANN E GROSS SAT in the hard-backed chair, my head slightly bent over the open book on the fla t desk. White nylon curtains rustled as the wind danced in from the slightly opened window and paressed my cheek. My friend was reading from theChumosh; she read it, read the cbmmentaries on it, and seemed satisfied with the ex­ planation. Glancing towards me, she smiled, and told me that it was my turn to read. / ‘Apd G-d saw that light was good. It was evening, it was morning, it w as the first day.” I scanned the timeless commentaries, read them, explained them, and went on. “ And G-d put grass and greenery all over the land, and trees that bore f r u it / ' M y eyes looked (Jown and squinted at the

I

98

small print. I began to read the com­ mentary. “ J o y .. . ” My friend’s face was serious, she was intent, and it was if her eyes stared completely through me to something she could not fathom . I waited fo r her to continue and I was glad to realize that the wind was be­ ginning to feel cool on my flushed face. I looked through the screened window and saw bright green leaves tenaciously holding on while their b ranches swayed in free modern dance. The grass glistened in the early sunlight. <fJ o y .. . do you understand this sentence?” I was about to reply — yes,' I understood tfie translation o f all the Hebrew words, I could even tell you what the commentator found hard

JEWISH LIFE

w ith the sentence and how he resolved his question. But I said, “ N o.” I ’m not sure why but I think it had to do w ith the way the breeze^ smelling o f lilacs, h it me. Or, maybe it was the lone blue­ bird singing his bittersweet tone. It w asn ’ t th e random form ation o f clouds, fo r I hadn’t noticed it at the time. “ No, I don’t . ” “ I know, I was just thinking, how can I even trick myself intp th in k­ ing I, me, can understand Creation.

G-d’s Creation. G-d’s wonderful Crea­ tion. I just take it fo r granted.” And then I realized, it wasn’t the bluebird, nor the dewy grass. And it wasn’t the clouds, nor the swaying trees. No, it was not one p f them; it was all o f them.

U E S D A Y ’S biology lab then came to mind. The teacher pinned the frog and I remember a sadness that a poor creature had to suffer fo r science. A fter pinnihg the slimy wriggly creature to a board, I slit the skin, and cut through the cartilage.

No amount o f pictures could have prepared me f ° r seeing the labyrinths

T

w ithin the frog. Miles and miles o f nerves, and capillaries — imagine what it must be to look into a human. My lab partner’s eyes stayed focused on the frog. ( kept mumbling incessantly. “ Isn’t it cool? Imagine .. Isn’t it cool?” He kept singing a tune under his breath and mumbled some words.

It was the Hebrew song to “ How Great Are Your Works O Lord.” I figured he had had a heavy Talmud class before and was still under its influence. But he had known.

And now I knew. He was the scientific type, so he realized it seeing the reality o f those endless lists o f physiological terms. And I was the romantic and knew it from the cloud formations and the blue o f the blue­ bird’s breast. “ But no, I do understand, I understand that I can’t understand, but I have to marvel.” I fe lt humble as if Understanding and Responsibility were put in a knapsack on my back. “ Your tu rn ,” I said and she continued. “ And G-d saw that it was very good.”

12 YEARS (1961-1973)

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RASHI'S TO R A H C O M M EN TA R Y T R A N S L A T E D IN TO ENGLISH

By Rosenbaum and Silberman

The entire Rashi commentary, vocalized and translated into English, designed fo r students and teachers.

Five volumes $22.50 Padded, Leather, G ilt Edge $45.00 A t yo ur bookdealer o r Hebrew Publishing Company 79 Delancey St. New York, N.Y.

by MOSHE D .T E N D L E R F A IT H

AND

D O U B T , by N o rm a n L a m m ;

N e w Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 , 3 0 9 p p ., $ 1 0 .0 0 .

L a m m ’s b o o k

fu lfills

ad equ ate praise. A n y

a need

is in

its e lf

negative c ritic is m o f

som e o f its de tails is d w a rfe d b y th e ov er-all

F

A IT H

AND

D O U B T ” is a w e lc o m e

im p a c t. H ere is a p o in t o f v ie w , expressed b y

b o o k . I t breaks th e s to n y silence o f

one whose c o m m ittm e n t to th e o rd e re d p ro ­

in a rtic u la te o r th o d o x lea dersh ip, i f b u t fo r

to c o l o f T o ra h life is p ro u d ly p ro c la im e d .

th e m o m e n t. T h e d e c im a tio n o f o u r y o u th

T h is personal c o m m itm e n t fin d s sacrificia l

by

th e

persistent

co n fu s io n , and im m e n s e

o n sla ugh t

ignorance

h is to r ic

d o u b t,

expression in his decision to m a k e his l if e ’s

is a trag edy o f

of

w o rk , th e m in is te rin g to th e religious and

The

in te lle c tu a l needs o f his b re th re n . H o w e v e r,

accusative fin g e r o f Jewish D e s tin y directs

p r o p o r tio n s .

th e a u th o r deserves a c a re fu l analysis o f his

m uch o f th e b la m e to th e d o o rste p o f T o ra h

o fferin g s.

leadership. We d o n ’t speak to o u r y o u th . We

areas o f d o u b t and divergence o f o p in io n

Such

analysis

in v a ria b ly

reveals

have so m uch to say, k n o w so w ell h o w to

th a t should be n o te d , w it h o u t im p u g n in g

say it, b u t in a su icid al depression lapse in to

o u r fa ith and c o n fid e n c e in th e s in c e rity and

silence. B u t oth ers d o speak. T h e m inds o f

in te lle c tu a l in te g rity o f th e a u th o r.

o u r y o u th s in th e citadels o f W estern c u ltu re

T h is is an uneven t e x t — uneven in

are im pin ged u p o n b y alien ph ilosop hies and

q u a lity , s ig n ifican ce, o r u t ilit y

ideologies. S o m e are seduced to a c cep t alien

m a tte r. I t represents a c o lle c tio n o f essays

value system s, m a n y are estranged fro m o u r

on fa r-ran g in g subjects, p rev io u sly pu blished

ow n

in various jo u rn a ls . T h e

value system and lost to T o ra h -tru e

Judaism . ______ T h e

m o s t e ru d ite

of

R ab b i L a m m ’s essays is th e lead essay th a t is reco g n itio n th a t R a b b i N o rm a n

R A B B I T E N D L E R is Rosh Y esh ivah in th e S e m ic h a h Program o f th e R ab b i Isaac E lch ana n T h e o lo g ic a l S e m in a ry , Professor o f B io lo g y a t Y e sh iva C o lle g e , and Rav o f th e C o m m u n ity Synagogue in M o n s e y , N e w Y o rk .

62

o f s u b je ct

also

th e

title

of

th e

book.

“ F a ith

and

D o u b t” is a ra m b lin g , co nfu sin g essay, in w h ich th e w o rd “ d o u b t ” is presented in all its c o n flic tin g c o n n o ta tio n s . T h e re a d e r w ill fin d it m o s t d if f ic u lt to discern a d o u b t-fre e , lu cid T o ra h v ie w ( D a ’ath T o ra h ) o f ac cep t-

JEWISH LIFE

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APRIL 1973

63

ahle d o u b t. T h e re is no need to d e fen d th e

tru e , and w h a t is tru e is n o t n e w .

rig h t o f th e Jew to use d o u b t as a learn ing to o l. T h e v e ry d e p e n d e n c y o f Jewish co n­ tin u it y

on

T o ra h

s tu d y

presum es

the

D

R. LA M M draw s

is m o s t e ffe c tiv e w h e n he

on his rich Chassidic fa m ilia l

m e th o d o lo g y o f d o u b t. W h a t is n o t e m p h a ­

and in te lle c tu a l b a c k g ro u n d . “ M o n is m

sized in this essay is th e a u th o rita tiv e T o ra h

M o d e rn s “

o p in io n

th a t

K ’e lo k e y n u ”

th e

(w h o

vouchsafed o n ly doubt

in

r ig h t

to

ask

lik e

our

G -d ?)

is

“Mi is

to those w h o are fre e o f

th e ir assertion

Eyn

K 'e lo k e y n u

(th e re is no ne lik e u n to o u r G -d !). O f p a r­ tic u la r

concern

is

such

m isleading state­

m ents as on e fo u n d on page 5 , “ A c c o rd in g

is

an

essay

rich

in

fo r

C hassidic

th o u g h t and lo re . I t brings to th e read er a glim pse

of

C hassidic

th e

m ajes ty

insights

o b s e rv a n c e s .

in

H is

and

S ab b ath “ Tw o

b e a u ty

of

p ra y e r and V e rs io n s

of

S yn th es is,“ (a c tu a lly o n e synthesis and on e s y m b iosis), in S .R .

w h ic h

th e analyses o f Rav

zatzal and o f R av A .Y .

K o o k zatzal are c o n tra s te d , is a

H ir s c h

to m a n y R ish o n im i t is a m itzv a h to believe

H aK ohen

fu lly and to ta lly in G -d .” W h a t d e stru c tive

p a rtic u la rly va luab le cam pus o ffe rin g . T h e

d o u b t th is sentence arouses! A re th e re any

s im ila rity o f th e ir analyses is fa r m o re s trik ­

w h o disagree? Is th is M itz v a h o f M itz v o th

ing th a n th e e s sen tially s e m an tic d iffe re n c e s .

be clouded

b y co ntrov ersy? C e rta in ly

W hen m an appeared on th is e a rth he fo u n d

To

so is to

believe

n o t!

d o u b t and d e n y the

th e Presence o f H a s h e m -E lo k im 2 :4

fu n d a m e n ta l p rin c ip le o f Jewish fa ith .

T h e a u th o r derid es a n y ju x ta p o s itio n

....th e

da y

(B eres h ith

H a s h e m -E lo k im

m ade

heaven and e a rth ). G -d reveals h im s e lf to

o f F a ith and W orks (D e e d s ), c o rre c tly p o in t­

m an as H a s h e m , th e a u th o r o f th e e th ic a l

ing o u t th a t to us p e rfo rm a n c e o f M itz v o th

T o ra h

is th e m a n ife s ta tio n o f fa ith . R e g re tta b ly ,

th e w h o le

D r. L a m m fa ils to d ra w th e necessary lesson

G -d as E lo k im , th e D iv in e Judge w h o rules

fo r

this w o rld b y n a tu ra l law s. M a n e x p erien ces

c o n te m p o ra ry

om ission astute

not

to

Judaism be

c o m m e n ta to r

J e w is h

religious

C onservativism

— us ually

ex p e c te d on

th e

experien ces.

and

its

an

law th a t serves as th e b lu e p rin t f o r U niverse. M a n also ex p erien ces

fro m

this

H a s h e m -E lo k im th ro u g h his s tu d y o f T o ra h

varieties

of

and u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e law s th a t govern

R ig h t-w in g

m an and beast, w in d , o c e a n , and so il.

Essays

Israeli c o u n te rp a rt

the M essorati as d is tin c t fr o m th e D a ti have

discussing

th e

p h ilo s o p h ic a l

and e th ica l im p lic a tio n s o f space e x p lo ra ­

W orks w h en

tio n , ecological co ncerns, th e d e fin itio n o f a

th e y rejec ted th e D iv in e o rig in o f o u r T o ra h

w o rk e th ic , th e c o n c e p t o f le isu re, an d th e

indeed

divorced

F a ith

fr o m

w h ile c la im in g on an on g o in g c o m m ittm e n t

im p a c t o f th e new m o r a lity , ro u n d o u t th is

to m a n y o f th e practices o f Judaism .

w ell w r itte n , th o u g h tfu l v o lu m e o f essays.

I t is also re g re tta b le th a t he has m ade

E very read er w ill fin d m uch o f value in th is

peace w ith w h a t he a d m its is an “ u n a h p p y

te x t. R a b b i L a m m is to be c o n g ra tu la te d f o r

sem antic h y b r id .“ T h e te rm “ m o d e rn o r th o ­

his courageous and

c o u rte o u s c o n s e n t to

dox

share

and

J u d a is m “

speaks

of

newness

and

change. T o paraphrase — w h a t is new is n o t

64

his

th o u g h ts

be liefs

w ith

his

colleagues and b re th re n .

JEWISH LIFE

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APRIL 1973

65

L e tte rs to th e E d ito r I fir m ly believe th a t B ernard M a la m u d

RE: AMERICAN JEWISH LITERATURE

and

discuss A m e ric a n

Jewish

lite ra tu re w it h o u t discussing S aul B ello w “ th e greatest s ty lis t w ritin g in A m e ric a to ­ d a y 0 — is a k in to w r itin g a b o u t English lite r ­ S e c o n d ly , M r . S c h w a rtz has n o t d iffe r ­ be tw e e n w rite rs such as N o rm a n

M a ile r and P h ilip R o th w h o are o f Jewish d e s c e n t,

p e rio d ,

and

im m ense

w rite rs

who

th e ir

w ritin g s

m addened

th e y

do

p u b lic

p a n d er to

th e

m a jo r ity

a

sex-

of

th e ir

w r itin g shows a co ncern f o r m a n ’s struggle in a d iffic u lt e n v iro n m e n t. T h is is a s u b je c t w o rth ie r

of

respect

c h aracte r

in

“ M o n te

th an

A rth u r

M ille r ’s

S a n t A n g e lo ”

who

brings h o m e a lo a f o f bread on F rid a y s ju s t

a tu re w it h o u t m e n tio n in g S hakespeare. e n tia te d

an

it is u n fo rtu n a te ly tr u e th a t in so m e parts o f

In his a rtic le “ A m e ric a n Jewish L ite ra ­ to

have d o n e

loosen th e shackles o f Jewish

s e lf-h atred and C h ris tia n a n tis e m itis m . W h ile

tu re : W in d o w o r M ir r o r ,” E lk a n a h S c h w a rtz F irs t,

B e llo w

a m o u n t to

S haron, M assachusetts

erre d .

Saul

are

“ Jew ish” in fe e lin g and s e n s ib ility — to th e la tte r gro u p belong B ernard M a la m u d and

because his ancestors have been d o in g i f fo r ce n tu rie s

and

A w o rk o f lite ra tu re is n o t a so cio logi­ cal treatise and o n ly i f y o u read i t as on e are

goes

to

c h urch

on

M a la m u d and B e llo w are n o t S h o lo m A le ic h e m , P e re tz , R o th , o r M ille r — th e ir road is d iffe r e n t b u t w h o is to say th a t th e ir message w ill

Saul B e llo w .

th en

Sunday.

n o t reach th e neshom ahs o f

m a n y o f K la l Israel w h o w o u ld o th e rw is e have been lo st to us.

Mrs. Roxane Florence

yo u concerned w h e th e r L e o F in k e l (“ T h e M agic B a rre l” ) w o u ld advertise |n T h e F o r ­ w ard o r T h e M o rn in g J o u rn a l. T h is s to ry brings a very Jewish message H o f an all-

RABBI SCHWARTZ REPLIES:

to o -h u m a n m an w h o seeks love and love to him m eans h e lp in g a n o th e r h u m a n be c o m e b e tte r.

Is n ’t

th a t w h a t

“ B eyn O d o m

Le-

c h a v e ro ” and “ B en ey O d a m L e m o k o m ” are

I

m uch

ap p re c ia te

M rs.

F lo re n c e ’s

th o u g h ts , an d es pecially t h a t she b o th e re d to w r ite th e m ,

all about? Jewish lite ra tu re does n o t need to

I

p o rtra y Jews as s a in tly . I t is good enough i f

B e llo w

it p o rtra y s th e m as hum ans realizin g th e ir

sp ecific aspect o f A m e ric a n Jewish lite ra tu r e

fa u lts an d seeking to be b e tte r.

w h ic h m a y be a d e q u a te ly tre a te d w it h o u t

66

do

not

believe

prevents

me

th a t fr o m

leaving

out

discussing

a

JEWISH LIFE

R A R E JU D A IC A A N T IQ U E JEW IS H A R T Z ■"

¡S 3

10 ^ 'n9 ^ avic* St J e ru s a le m

Collector (02)234511 this sum m er m ake Israel J |B your cam pus ! ■ Bar-Ilan U niversity Three special programs 1 . Ulpan. 2 . English language courses. 3 . Hebrew courses.

All inclusive fee $995.

July 10-August 23 / earn up to six credits / coed / live on mod­ ern- campus near Tel Aviv / in­ cludes touring throughout Israel cultural events / recreation.

For full information write: Office of Admissions Bar-Ilan University / 641 Lexington Ave. New York, N. Y. / 212-751-6366,

Bar-Ilan University is a liberal arts and sciences institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.

APRIL 1973

67

h im . f m ade n o e f f o r t to discuss th e to ta lity

M a la m u d

o f th e lite ra tu re .

neshom ahs o f m a n y

S e c o n d ly , m y co nce rn d id n o t lie w ith

and

B e llo w of

to K ela l

“ reach

th e

Israel w h o

w o u ld o th e rw is e have been lo s t t o u s .” M y

d iffe re n tia tin g b e tw e e n w rite rs “ w h o are o f

concern

Jewish d escent, p e rio d , and w rite rs w h o are

M a la m u d and B e llo w .

is

to

reach

th e

nesh o m o th

of

‘ Je w ish’ in fe e lin g and s e n s ib ility .” M y c o n ­ cern la y w ith d iffe r e n tia tin g b e tw e e n w rite rs w h o r e fle c t po sitive fe e lin g and s e n s ib ility , and those w h o r e fle c t negative ones. Th os e

RE: ZERO POPULATION GROWTH AND THE TORAH

“ o f Jewish de sce nt, p e rio d ” are n o t p a rt o f A m e ric a n Jewish lite ra tu re . o f lite ra tu re is n o t a

T r u e , a w o rk

B ro o k ly n , N e w Y o r k

sociological tre a tis e , b u t n e ith e r is it u n re ­ lated to th e same r e a lity w h ich sociology

The

a rtic le

observes.

w ith

th e

My

c o n ce rn

as

to

w h e re

Leo

b y A lfr e d C o h e n ta k in g issue

Z e ro

P o p u la tio n

G r o w th

m ove­

F in k le o f “ T h e M a gic B a rre l” w o u ld ad ver­

m e n t (C h e s h v a n /O c to b e r issue) assumes th a t

tise is n o t in re la tio n

to th e th e m e as so

som e d a y , no d o u b t, m an w ill disco ver a

n ic e ly d e fin e d , b u t to th e fa c t th a t a soul

w a y to m a k e fo o d w it h o u t th e in te rv e n tio n

exists n o t b y its e lf b u t w ith in a b o d y : if

o f plants o r an im als. In such an e c o n o m y ,

th e re w e re re a lly no d iffe re n c e as to w h ich

th e re w o u ld be no lim it on h u m a n p o p u la ­

paper, w h y n o t in v e n t one? I f , h o w e v e r, it is

tio n o th e r th a n a geographic o n e . W e c o u ld

to sm ack o f r e a lity , th e n , in d e e d , le t it. A n d

have as m a n y pe op le as w e have space to p u t

th e “ v e ry

Jewish message” w o u ld be com e

th e m . T h e qu estion rem a ins , is th is th e aim o f h u m a n ity ? T o re p lic a te ourselves to so m e

o n ly th e m o re Jewish f o r it.

O f co urse, “ Jewish lite ra tu re does n o t

in fin ite level o f p o p u la tio n de nsity? T ill w e

need to p o rtra y Jews as s a in tly .” I am c o n ­

are packed solid? I th in k n o t. S ince som e

cerned w ith th e o u tlo o k o f th e a u th o r, n o t

d a y , p o p u la tio n g ro w th m u s t be lim ite d , th e

th e

qu estio n m u s t be asked, w h y n o w , an d w h y

c h aracte r.

characters.

Anyone

T r e a tin g

can

tre a t

u n s a in tly

sa intly

ones, h o w ­

in th e U .S .A .?

ever, de m a nds a s a in tly to u c h . I am in agree­

Y o u have n o fu r t h e r to lo o k th a n o u t

m e n t th a t “ i t is good enough i f i t p o rtra y s

th e w in d o w to observe e n v iro n m e n ta l p o llu ­

as h u m a ns re a lizin g th e ir fa u lt and

tio n . I have read th a t each A m e ric a n causes

seeking to be b e tte r .” I t is ju s t th a t I e x p e c t

seven to ten tim e s as m uch e n v iro n m e n ta l

th em

p o llu tio n as each in h a b ita n t o f In d ia . T h e

th e same in th e a u th o r. helped

advance o f te c h n o lo g y th ro u g h th e ages has

“ loosen th e shackles o f Jewish se lf-h atred

drive n m a n y an im als and plan ts co nsidered

If

M a la m u d

and

B e llo w

and C h ris tia n a n tis e m itis m ,” m y applause to

n o t essential to m an to e x tin c tio n o r th e

th e m . P ersonally

b r in k o f e x tin c tio n .

I d id n o t ex p e rie n c e th e

You

fo rm e r n o r b e co m e in tim a te w ith th e la tte r to

know .

struggle

S h o w in g

in

“ co ncern

fo r

m a n ’s

a d iffic u lt e n v ir o n m e n t”

is a

fin d

m ig h t say, “ S cience w ill su re ly

a w ay

to

c o rre c t th is .” H o w

naive!

S cience exists f o r ec o n o m ic reasons. M o n e y

lau da ble th e m e . A s to w h e th e r i t is w o rth ie r

to

o f respect th a n A r th u r M ille r ’s ch ara c te r in

groups th a t e x p e c t to m a k e m o n e y fro m

“ M o n te

of

science. A lm o s t d a ily , som e new b a ttle is

o p in io n . T o m e , M ille r ’s c h a ra c te r is in th e

re p o rte d b e tw e e n co n se rv atio n grou ps and

Sant

A n g e lo ”

is

a

m a tte r

fin a n c e

s c ie n tific research com es fr o m

same b o a t, try in g to re ta in tr a d itio n in alien

peop le w h o w a n t to m a k e m o n e y b y d e ­

surroundings.

s tro y in g th e e n v iro n m e n t.

L ik e w is e ,

68

I

a d m ire

th e

a b ility

of

W h ic h brings m e to th e p o in t. I d o n ’t

JEWISH LIFE

ULPAN FOR O R TH O D O X Y O U N G PEOPLE IN KIB BU TZ S H A 'A L V IM , ISRAEL

S tarting August 20, 1973 t ill M ay 1974 (9 m onths) DAILY PROGRAMME: 3 -4 hours in tensive s tu d y o f th e H e b re w language 5 ho urs w o r k o n th e k ib b u tz .

S tu d ie s o f Judaism and Israel in th e evenings. F re e guided to u rs o f th e c o u n try .

E lig ib ility : O r th o d o x Y o u n g p e o p le — fr o m 1 8 o n , also f o r fa m ilie s w it h ch ildren .

F o r fu rth er in form atio n please contact:

RABBI ZVI KASSPI Poale A g u d a th Israel o f A m e ric a 1 4 7 W est 4 2 n d S tr e e t, N e w Y o r k , N . Y . 1 0 0 3 6 Tel 2 7 9 -0 8 1 6

or w rite to :

Y. Hildesheimer, Kibbutz Sha'alvim D .N . A y a lo n , Israel

Orthodox Couples ADOPT

A Jewish C hild w ith Special Needs!

C ALL O HEL C H ILD R E N 'S HOME Adoption Service (212) 851-6300

The o n ly O rthodox child-caring agency in New York

LEBOWITZ PINE VIEW HOTEL Fallsburg, N .Y . 12733

Catering to O rthodox Jewry fo r 57 Years Open from Pesach through Succos.

© Endorsed

APRIL 1973

(212) 279—3854 (914) 4 3 4 -6 1 0 0

th in k th a t m o st A m e ric a n s w o u ld care to

RABBI COHEN REPLIES:

give up o u r liv in g standard and live in caves ju s t to p ro te c t th e e n v iro n m e n t. O b v io u s ly

M r . S h e rm a n raises a n u m b e r o f in te r ­

i f th ere w ere fe w e r peop le in this c o u n try ,

esting p o in ts w h ic h , h o w e v e r d o n o t a c tu a l­

th e re w o u ld be less e n v iro n m e n ta l dam age

ly re la te to m y thesis, w h ic h was th a t Z e ro

caused a t an y given level o f te c h n o lo g y .

P o p u la tio n G ro w th is p ro m p te d b y n e g ative,

It

m ig h t

be

argued

th a t:

“ S ince

e n v iro n m e n ta lis m is a g ro w in g fo rc e in this

pessim istic a ttitu d e s . H o w e v e r I should lik e to respond to som e o f his p o in ts .

I am dism a yed w h e n I h e ar o f Jews

c o u n try , th e re m ig h t som e d a y be a p o in t w h en th e y w o u ld c o n s titu te a w id e m a jo r ity

a d v o c a tin g

o f th e p o p u la tio n . In such a s itu a tio n all th e

p o p u la tio n g ro w th . A f t e r th e m illio n s th a t

th e

v o lu n ta ry

lim ita tio n

of

resources o f science co uld be harnessed to

w e lo st to all th e H am an s o f h is to ry , to th e

save th e e n iv ro n m e n t and Z e ro P o p u la tio n

Spanish In q u is itio n , and to th e gas ovens, I

G ro w th c o uld be p u t o f f f o r a w h ile in to th e

th in k th a t it is suicidal f o lly f o r Jews to

f u t u r e .“ T o answ er th a t I w o u ld say,

consciously e m b a rk on a prog ra m to lim it

1 . W e d o n ’t have those s c ie n tific re­

th e ir re p ro d u c tiv e ra te .

M r . S h erm an raises th e q u e s tio n o f a

sources n o w , b u t w e can have a reduced b irth ra te n o w .

p o p u la tio n so dense in all in h a b ita b le areas

2 . E v e ry advance in te c h n o lo g y and

th a t th e re w o u ld n o t be enough fo o d , d e ­

science has had som e e n v iro n m e n ta l reac­

c e n t s h e lte r, e tc . T h is

tio n , large o r s m all.

H a la c h ic re a c tio n to it , was m e n tio n e d in

I

c a n ’t

assume th a t

e x ig e n c y , an d

th e

m oves m ade b y science to save th e e n v iro n ­

my

m e n t w o n ’t

result

wish

to

th a t causes m o re ha rm th a n go o d . T h is in

reach

th a t s ta te , and M r . S h e rm a n agrees

fa c t has been th e h is to ry o f m a n .

w ith

th em

T h e re

have som e unfo reseen

is

no

p o in t

in

asking

“ C an

a rtic le . T h e Z P G

advocates, h o w e v e r,

lim it o u r g ro w th th a t it

rate b e fo re w e

is fo o lis h

to

re ly

on

science. I ask — w h y ? A lth o u g h i t is d o u b t­

hu m a n p o p u la tio n and te c h n o lo g y p r o life r ­

less tr u e

ate w it h o u t d e s tro y in g life fo rm s deem ed

search are o ile d b y th e p r o f it m o tiv e , w h a t

th a t th e w heels o f s c ie n tific

re­

‘ n o t necessary to h u m a n s ’?** W e have de­

o f it? Science has nonetheless m a d e g re a t

stro yed in th e past, d e spite th e e ffo rts o f

strides in

en v iro n m e n ta lis ts w e d e s tro y n o w , and th e

and in m a n y o th e r areas. N o o n e he sita tes to

bu rd en o f p r o o f rests sq uarely on those w h o

c o n s u lt a d o c to r w h o charges m o n e y f o r his

ec olo gica l studies, in m e d ic in e ,

w o u ld cla im th a t w e w ill n o t d e s tro y in th e

services. A s a m a tte r o f fa c t, th e G e m o ra

fu tu r e .

says th a t a d o c to r w h o w o rk s f o r n o th in g is

The

o n ly

q u estio n

th a t rem a ins is,

w o rth n o th in g .

“ D o an im als and p la n ts , n o t v ita l to h u m a n

M r.

S h erm an

reasons th a t fe rtiliz e r s

ex istence deserve to live i f th e ir c o n tin u e d

have

existence m eans th a t w e m u s t redu ce o u r

s c ie n tific

p o p u la tio n and high standard o f liv in g ? ’’ I

u p o n . W h ile i t is tru e in th is case, I d o u b t

p o llu te d

our

w a te rs ,

in v e n tio n s are

and

th e r e fo re

n o t to

be relied

believe th e y d o . T h e c o m m a n d m e n t to sub­

th a t M r . S h erm an w o u ld w a n t us to d ivest

due th e e a rth does n o t m ean to d e s tro y it.

ourselves o f all th e o th e r m o d e rn advantages

S am uel A . T u r k has w r itte n a v e ry in te re s t­

w h ich

ing a rtic le on th a t s u b je c t in th e same issue

S o m e are g o o d , and o th e rs , ha vin g p rov en

o f J E W IS H

L if e

in w h ich A lfr e d C o h e n ’s

W h a t d o y o u believe M r . C ohen?

D an iel S. Sherman

has m ad e a v ailab le

to

us.

h a rm fu l, w ill be discarded. I t is o b v io u s ly fa lla c io u s

a rtic le ap pea re d.

70

science

w o rld

to

re je c t

because

of

th e th e

w h o le

s c ie n tific

d e ficien c ies

of

a

n u m b e r o f its in n o v a tio n s . S h o u ld w e th ro w

JEWISH LlFEr

out

th e

p o lio vaccine

to g e th e r w ith

th e

DDT?

S tud ies , E nglish, C hu m a sh, and P rophets, are n o t th e y s im ila rly v ital in studies o f the hom e

fa m ily life , th e kitch e n ac tivities in ­

vo lvin g th e Jewish h o m e and th e establish­

Perhaps w ith th e p ro p er lessons, and

U n iv e rs ity

o f M a ry la n d

w ith

a

thesis o n H o m e E con om ics E d u c a tio n in th e H e b re w D a y S c h o o l, I have seen no m ark ed gain in th e te ach ing o f h o m e econo m ics in th e H e b re w 1 D ays Schools. I feel it is tim e th a t Jewish ed uca tors ta k e stock o f w h a t th e y wish to achieve in e d u c a tin g o u r yo u n g pe op le.

H ig h -S ch o o l

prin cipals

are being used to d a y . N o d o u b t to o , each his

stu d e n ts ’

e d u c a tio n a l

needs n o w and in th e fu tu r e . Each a tte m p ts to p ro d u c e stude nts w h o are w ell read , able to

u n d e rstan d

th e

w o rld , and p a rtic ip a te

a c tiv e ly in ch oo sing a ca ree r f o r w h ic h th e y w ill be w e ll p re p a re d . A n d each trusts th a t his graduates w ill p a rtic ip a te in th e Jewish c o m m u n ity and be w ell versed in Judaism and c o m m itte d to its prin cip le s.

B u t w h a t i f th e s tu d e n t is a girl? Is she being ed u ca ted fu lly to be ab le to p e rfo rm as a w o m a n , w e ll ed u ca ted in h e r duties? Is she being ed u ca ted to be a w ife , a m o th e r, and a c o m m u n ity w o rk e r? I f d r illw o r k , dis­ cussion and read ing are im p o rta n t in Social

APRIJL 1973

re tu rn to d e m o n s tra tin g th e values o f the w o m a n in th e h o m e . Perhaps, th e tru e lib e r­ a tio n o f th e w o m a n w ill be accom plished by prep aring

th e

stu d e n t

fo r

her role

w om an

a

Jewish

hom e.

You

c a nno t

every

fie ld ,

w h ile

in

em phasize

studies

in

as a

neglecting th e study o f th e h o m e and th en expect yo u r

no

all th e new m e th o d s and te ach ing aids th a t e v a lu a te d

w ith th e p ro p e r teaching a ttitu d e s , w e can

da ug hte r to be satisfied and

understand he r role as a w ife and m o th e r.

d o u b t are m a k in g availab le to th e ir students

has

A re

stin ctively?

A s th e years passed since I grad uated

Y esh ivah

e th ic a lly ?

as s o m e thin g th a t w ill sudd enly appear in­

F a r R ockaw ay^ N .Y .

th e

both these

and

skills to be achieved S? through osmosis, o r

The Right to a Complete Education

fro m

m e n t o f a h a p p y and fu lfille d h o m e g a s tro n o m ica lly

W hy

do

we

as

tra d itio n a l

Jews

a tte m p t to ap e th e ed u ca tio n al values o f th e secular w o rld ? I t is tim e to seek a b e tte r e d u c a tio n fo r all th e students o f o u r day schools b y u tiliz in g Jewish tra d itio n a l roles and

m e th o d s

of

e d u ca tio n .

How

about

p u ttin g em phasis on a w ell rounded Jewish e d u c a tio n in w h ich o u r daughters develop a reverence fo r th e fu lfillin g w o rk necessary to u p h o ld o u r trad itio ns?

W h y give o n ly a lopsided education?

W h ile

teaching

D in im

and

em phasizing

K ash ru th and T o ra h values, w h y n o t c o m ­ p le te th e ir Jewish u p b ring ing , by teaching Jewish

hom e

life

and

ho m e

econom ics

ta u g h t by tra in e d and q u a lifie d teachers as p a rt o f th e c u rric u lu m in o u r schools?

Doris B ryk

71

a m

c o n t’d from page 2

o

n g

our c 0 n

t r 1

b u

t o

first Director o f the Torah Education Department o f the Jewish Agency and has served as President o f the Religious Council o f Jerusalem. Rabbi Vainstein is the author o f “ Cycle o f the Jewish Year“ and o f numerous published articles in the field o f Judaica.. . . JOY ANNE GROSS came from Pittsburgh fo study at Rika Breuer Teachers Academy and C ity College in New York, at both o f which she is now a first year student.

Since her early school days this young lady has given w ritten expression to her Torah-inspired thoughts, in both poetry and prose. Here we present the first o f her work to be published in a public jo u rn a l. . . . The articles

by RABBI BERNARD ROSENSWEIG and RABBI J. D AV ID BLEICH com­ plement each other. Though each was w ritten w itho ut awareness o f the other, the two contributions treat largely o f the same problems, from some­ what different standpoints. Rabbi Rosensweig is the Rav o f the Kew Gar­ dens Synagogue Adath Yeshurun in Kew Gardens, N.Y. and teaches a course in the Judaic Studies Department o f Queens College. He is a Vice President o f the Rabbinical Council o f America. Rabbi Bleich, Rav o f the Yorkville Synagogue in Manhattan, is a Rosh Yeshivah at Yeshiva Univer­ sity’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Assistant Professor o f Philosophy at Stern College fo r W om en.. . . ABRAHAM SHULMAN is a staff member o f the Jewish Daily Forward. (He was born in Poland and before coming to the United States twelve years ago lived fo r some years in France and Australia. His published works include three volumes o f essays and he is the author o f several plays, one o f them being a musical, “ The Wise Men o f Chelm,” which was produced in Montreal------The poems

by BERNARD D. M ILIAN S which have appeared in previous issues o f JEWISH LIFE have reached appreciative audiences beyond our subscriber fam ily, via platform readings at numerous functions. A like public welcome is to be expected o f his latest contribution..M r. Milians recently joined the staff o f Torah Umesorah, where he serves as Executive Coordinator o f the National Association o f Hebrew Day School Administrators.

r s

72

JEWISH LIFE

Come to M other’s for th e H olidays.

When it comes to the tradi­ tio n a l fo o d s, M other's knows best. Mother's makes delicious Old-Fashioned Gefilte Fish, Whitefish and Yellow Pike, All-Whitefish, Unsalted, Old-World (it's a little sweeter like mother used to make). Some in jars, some in cans.

Also regular borscht and schav, unsalted borscht and low calorie borscht.

Also, Mother's has the only soft mar­ garine for Passover plus stick margarine, both of them regular or unsalted, too.

And they are all-vegetable products so you can eat them on milk-free or meat-free or salt-free diets.

All Mother's products (matzo balls, too!) are Pareve and Kosher for Passover and endorsed by the @ .

Is it any wonder everyone goes to Mother's for the holidays?

m others Division, Vita Food Products, Inc., Newark, N.J. 07105 © 1972, Vita Food Products, Inc.

ROKEACH

FINEST GEFILTE FISH EVER MADE!

ALL ROKEACH PRODUCTS ARE ©ENDORSED I. ROKEACH & SONS INC. 551 GRAND ST. NEW YORK__________ J