Cotter
edam Agick Per
Purely Commentary
Abraham Srere Reaches 50
Dr. Brodetsky—And a Fable
An interesting story is recalled about the
leader of British Jewry and one of the most emi-
nent Zionists in the world today—Dr. • Selig
Brodetsky. We quote it because it has some bear-
ing on men and events in the United States. This
story is recounted in a recent issue of the London
Jewish Chronicle under the heading "A Dinner
Party—And a Fable" and quotes the well-known
Jewish historical authority, Paul H. Emden, as
follows:
8 RABBIS HERE FOR DRIVE OF
CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL UNIV.
Annual Brotherhood Week, perennially ob •
served during the week of Washington's birthday,
will again be occasion for the advancement of
good will among Christians and Jews, under the
direction of the National Conference of Christians
and Jews.
The endorsement of President Roosevelt stands
out as a landmark in approval of this important
national venture. "With gratitude to God for
the liberties we enjoy and with a full measure
of mutual respect for each other's faith, let us
gather together in our churches, synagogues,
schools, public halls and homes during this week
to celebrate our brotherhood under God," the
President wrote.
"Let us here resolve that in a time of world
division and pain this nation shall be rededicated
to the principles that all men are brothers; that
religious prejudice and group intolerance may not
here destroy that unity in freedom which is the
HEBREW THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE AND LIBRARY
BUILDING OF CHICAGO
strength of our national character."
But there are other expressions which deserve
to be widely quoted. For instance, Robert A. Ash-
The Michigan Synagogue Con- ica's outstanding seminaries. It
worth, secretary of theh Brotherhood Week, has ference and the Vaad Ilarabbonim has an enrollment of over 400
penned "Ten Good Will Resolutions" as follows: have reserved the next two weeks, students and a faculty of 23 in-
ternationally renowed scholars.
1. I will . repudiate the idea that those who beginning this Friday, for a mem-
Among its out-of-town student
bership
drive
for
the
Hebrew
disagree with me are not good Americans.
Theological College. Eight distin- enrollments are 17 boys from De-
2. I will not allow racial or religious differ- guished rabbis are here to occupy troit who are receiving a complete
erces to determine my vote.
various prominent pulpits in the traditional education through the
3. I will appreciate what others than my own city for services this Friday eve- College facilities.
group have done to make America great.
Of late the College has enrolled
ning and Saturday morning.
4. I will try to understand the background
many refugee students from strick-
The
Hebrew
Theological
Col-
of those of other religious loyalties.
lege of Chicago is one of Amer- en foreign countries who are com-
5. I will help to create mutual respect and
pletely dependent upon the in-
trust between members of different reli-
stitution for support. The college
gious and racial groups.
maintains a restaurant which has
6. I will cooperate heartily with those of other Bnai Brith Auxiliaries Unite served, during the past year, 110,-
faiths in work for the common good.
to Give Dance Feb. 11
000 free meals to needy students.
The campaign will be under the
7. I will always protest when those of other
faiths are defamed.
The Junior Bnai Brith Auxili- direction of Rabbi Samuel S. Sie-
8. I will not be misled by false doctrines of
aries of Detroit, Menorah, Re- gel, executive director of the col-
race nor claim superiority to others on the becca Gratz, Deborah, and Naomi lege, and his assistant director,
ground of race alone.
Chapters, announce their pre- Samuel H. Ross, with the co-opera-
9. I will apply the Golden Rule to those of
Valentine dance to be given at tion and the sanction of the Mich-
all races and religions and treat them as I the General Motors Ballroom on igan Synagogue Conference,
should like to be treated.
Feb. 11. Sam Jack Kaufman will
10. I will pray for those of other faiths than present Max Leib and the Fox
my own and prize their prayers for myself. Theater Orchestra. Dress is op-
Also, Mrs. Herbert II. Lehman, the wife of the tional. Proceeds of the affair arc
distinguished Governor of New York, has written to go to Bnai Brith projects.
"Ten Commandments of Democracy" to advance Co-chairmen of the affair are
the cause of brotherhood as follows:
Goldie Kersch and Sylvia Gold-
stein, presidents of their respec-
1. Tell the truth. This procedure is only pos-
sible i n a democracy where there is a free tive groups. Other committee
and unregimented press.
chairmen are Esther Jean Milner,
be tickets; Shirlee Kimmel, public-
2. Treat all men as you would wish to
treated. Observance of this principle would ity; Mary Simmer, printing; Ber-
mean a repudiation of all false ideas of race
nice Leib, arrangements; Bernice
superiority, or race and class hatred, and Fenster, ad-booklet; Clara Ya-
vitz, finances; Frances Sarko, per-
of group warfare.
3. Respect the sincere religious beliefs of sonal contact; and Mary Simmer
every man, even when you do not happen
and Adeline Teitel, individual
For UPHOLSTERING
to share them. This is basic for all those bids.
In 1908, the Maccabeans gave a dinner in
honor of a 20-year-old Jewish student who
had just been bracketed Senior Wrangler at
Cambridge. Arthur Cohen, the great English
lawyer, was in the Chair, and in propos-
ing the health of the promising young scholar
he commenced by telling a story:
A Russian subject of the Jewish faith, no
longer able to bear the venomous restrictions
and cruel persecutions, resolved in 1892 to
leave his country and to emigrate to England.
He was possessed of no means whatever, and
if the Alien Restriction Act of 1905 had
been then in force he would undoubtedly not
have been allowed to land, and perhaps have
been sent back to his own country.
But as things were, the Russian immigrant
was able to remain in England; by extraor-
dinary ability and perseverance he had within
a year earned enough to send for his wife
and children. Amongst these was a little boy,
five years old, who then could scarcely lisp
an English syllable. Now, however, 15 years
later, he had, "mirabile dictu", been brack-
eted Senior Wrangler in the Cambridge Math-
ematical Tripos.
If he were to attempt, Arthur Cohen con-
tinued, to recite and explain all the various
honors and prizes and scholarships which the
young student h a d gained during those fif-
teen years, he would feel very much like the
distressed schoolboy who, when examined in
history, exclaimed that it was very hard that
Napoleon had gained so many victories be-
cause it was impossible to remember them all.
Since that memorable evening, 30 odd
years passed by and the young student of
yore is a well-established Professor of Applied
Mathematics at the University of Leeds, an
M. A., B.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.A.S.. And, as on
December 17 he was elected President of the
Board of Deputies, it is unnecessary to dis-
close the name of the hero in Arthur Cohen's
well-pointed story, which, consequently, ceases
to be a story and becomes a fable—"a narra-
tion intended to enforce some useful truth
or precept."
Aside from the deserved tribute to the ability
Prof. Brodetsky this "fable" offers a lesson
for all democratic countries, the United States
included. Had the present severe alien laws ex-
isted40 years ago, the United States, Great
Britain, Canada, Africa would have been deprived
of many geniuses who either settled in these
countries themselves, as seekers of refuge from
persecutions, or, as in the case of Dr. Brodetsky,
were brought to lands of freedom by their parents.
There is a moral lesson in this story for all
alien-bolters who aspire to isolate their countries
and to prevent good people from setting foot
upon their soil.
of
By PHILIP SLOMOV1TZ
The Annual Brotherhood Week
To the Mass Meeting on Sunday
There is a leak in the private news of an im-
portant Detroit Jewish family, and your Commen-
tator is prepared to make good use of it. Abraham
Srere was 50 years old on Thursday. There was
no fanfare and very few people knew about it, ex-
cept the immediate family and his closest friends.
But a man in his position loses his privacy and
the community has a right to celebrate such an
event with him. He is not only the president of the
Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit ; he is also
a good Zionist, a conscious traditional Jew, and
a charming person. As far back as 1923 he was
the chairman of the Keren Hayesod campaign in
Detroit. He is a former president of the local Zion-
ist Organization. He has served Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in an official capacity. What is
equally as important, since it enhances his value as
a community leader, is that he is democratic in
spirit and in action and a very social being. Our
best wishes to him and to his communally- and
Zionistically-minded family on this occasion. May
he always stay as young as he looks and acts.
•
5
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
February 2, 1940
All roads this Sunday afternoon should lead
to the public meeting arranged by the American
Jewish Congress and the Jewish Community
Council for the purpose of enlightening this com-
munity on what is happening in Poland under
the rule of the Nazis.
After three months of virtual silence, the public
()pillion of the world is finally being aroused to the
tragedies of more than 2,000,000 Jews in Poland,
and to the horrible degradation of 20,000,000
Christian Poles. The Vatican has registered an
emphatic protest against the atrocities. The press
of the country is
i condemning the horrors under
which millions are being condemned to death by
starvation. Protests are being heard in the United
States Congress.
Christians are uniting with Jews in arranging
this Sunday's meeting. United States Senator
Prentiss M. Brown will be the principal speaker
and representatives of labor, Protestants and
Catholics will share the platform with him. This
meeting should have a record attendance and
out of it should come an emphatic protest and
preparation for efforts for the amelioration of
Polish Jewry's position.
This Sunday afternoon must be reserved by
Detroit Jews and their Christian friends for the
mass meeting at Cass High School. All roads should
lead to this meeting as an expression of America's
protest against savagery.
•
=MI ARNO* - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
who hold to the idea on which America is
founded.
Help those who suffer and who are perse-
cuted because of their beliefs or their ra-
cial heritage.
Try to preserve the democratic heritage
of equal opportunity for all men to learn
and to earn.
Remember that freedom of opinion lies at
the very basis of democracy and human
liberty.
Distrust all those who sow hatred of other
men.
Respect the law, for it is the guarantee of
your own freedom.
Remember that America is not merely a
country—it is an ideal for the whole world.
Remember that the hope of the world lies
in peace and justice to mankind.
REPAIRING, SLIP COVERS
Cali
In "A Homeland in the Mak-
ing" you see the tremendous
strides forward made in Jeru-
salem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and in
the other populous centers of
Eretz Israel. See the talking film
Tuesday evening at Philadelphia-
Byron Hall.
Here are sentiments to be widely acclaimed and
distributed in an effort to cement friendship among
all creeds and nationality groups in this country.
Bortherhood Week should be observed by all. It
should serve as a signal for reaffirmation of faith
in American ideals and in human decency.
•
Henry Monaky's Rise as Leader
Henry Monsky, president of Bnai Brith, has
made phenomenal strides as a Jewish leader. He
has raised the organization he heads to a position
of great importance. During the year of his
leadership the movement has grown to a member-
ship exceeding 100,000. Bnai Brith under his
direction is a power in Jewish life.
But Henry Monsky does not limit himself to
efforts in behalf of and through Bnai Brith. He
is everywhere when called upon to render service
to his people. He is in the front ranks on the
defense battleground. He is to be found on the
Zion platform. He is one of the people as well as
one of the leadership.
At the recent National Conference for Pales-
tine it was Monsky who spoke bluntly on the
question of fund-raising and pledged Bnai Brith's
unstinted support in efforts for Palestine's re-
building. It was sort of a bombshell in an atmo-
sphere that was made tense by delays to create
unity in relief and reconstruction efforts through
the United Jewish Appeal.
Keep an eye on Henry Monsky. He has risen
to high places as a leader. But he is still going
places.
(These lines were written before this Commen-
tator knew that Mr. Monsky was to reach the age
of 50 this Sunday. There is, therefore, added rea-
son for encomia. Mr. Monsky made a good case
for a weak cause when he spoke to the assembly of
the Council of Federations and Welfare Funds in
Detroit last Sunday. He gave evidence of being
not only a good Jewish leader but also an excel-
lent trial lawyer, and although we disagree with
his conclusions we admire his ability. He is an
optimist, he is not a shush-shush Jew, he is a power-
ful factor for good in the Jewish community. More
power to him, and heartiest congratulations on his
birthday.).
STATE
Upholstering Co.
Exclusive but Not Expensive
In Business Since 1910
For Estimates call TO. 8-3696
11311 IVOODIVARD AVE.
Near CollIngwood
LIFE
Insurance Policies
with Disability
You Now have an Opportunity to Get Insurance
With Total Disability Income
-
Most companies do not write insurance with disability provision.
Our company now writes fora selected class of risks and who
are in
good health and of good reputation, DISABILITY
BENEFIT INSURANCE.
The only property that most people possess today is the income
from total disability benefits.
BEST'S REPORTS RATES THIS CO. EXCELLENT
COUPON
cut out this coupon and !tend It to
Box 657—Detroit Jewish Chronicle, 525 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich.
without any obligation, send to the undersigned the Information concern-
ing Insurance and particular!) concerning Disability Insurance.
Name
Address
Age
City
When Home?
KADIMAH HEBREW SCHOOLS
ONE OF THE MOST MODERN IN THE STATE
NEW PUPILS NOW BEING ENROLLED
at 11812 Linwood Ave., corner Tuxedo, upstairs
SIMON RICHARDSON, Principal
Private Lessons Can Be Arranged
Transportation furnished for children who live at a
distance from the school.
For information call HOgartb 1889