November 15, 1943

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE end the Legal Chronicle

12

to daily Jewish living. The pri- foundations of American toler-
mary purpose of adult Jewish ance and freedom. The highly
education today must, therefore, organized battalions of the total-
(Continued from Page One)
not only be the imparting of in- itarian powers are spreading the
of the land for supervised and formation which people did not poisons of hatred and discon-
get in childhood. Nor should the tent in an effort to weaken the
for purposeful Jewish study.
learning process for Jewish men faith of the American people in
The all-important emphasis in and women be conceived merely the American way of life. We
the program of the National in terms of extension education, Jews have everything at stake
Academy is expressed in its in the sense that it is an exten- in this Battle of America.
slogan: "Jewish Learning for sion of that which was learned Upon the outcome of this strug-
Jewish Living." Jewish education in youth. In themselves such gle depends the answer to the
even for children has never been goals are quite laudable. But question: Survival or Extintion
of a purely academic character. they do not go far enough. Jew- for the Jew? We Jews must see
Jewish knowledge was never ish traditions of the past require to it—both as Americans and as
meant to serve merely as a kind and the exigencies of the present Jews—that America shall be vic-
of intellectual adornment to demand that Jewish learning torious in this battle.
those who possessed it. Jewish should enable the Jew first to
It is at this very point that
studies were ever to us Jews— gain a point of view, a philos-
in the words of our daily prayers ophy, which will help him to live Adult Jewish Education — or
—"our life and the length of as a Jew in the modern world adult Jewish learning—can come
our days." Jewish learning has and second to acquire a Jewish to the aid both of America and
always been a very practical aid way of life which will make for of the Jew. Democracy in the
last analysis depends on the
intelligent helpful, and hopeful spirit and on the wisdom of the
Jewish living.
adult population. Woodrow Wil-
It is well now to inquire :
son once warned prophetically:
How can Jewish learning help "The whole problem of democ-
the modern Jew to live more racy is that we may hold coun-
effectively and more happily? sel with one another so as not
There are many significant an- to depend upon the understand-
swers to this important question. ing of one man, but to depend on
Fresh Pasteurized
the common counsel of all."
II
Adult Education supplies this
Homogenized-Vitamin D
wisdom and furnishes this com-
For one thing, there is the mon counsel. It is the supreme
supreme problem of safe-guard- mission of Jewish learning to
ing American democracy. There develop and to deepen among
Pure-Pak Container—qt. I I C
is a terrific struggle going on in adults those religious convictions
this country right now which which make democracy firm and
For quick energy fl better health
may well be called the Battle of impregnable. The doctrines that
America. The Axis are plotting are basic to the survival of de-
50 DEPOTS TO SERVE YOU to destroy the democratic tradi- mocracy are inspired by such
tion in our land. The well- religious principles as the sacred-
Call TRinity 1-3131
financed agents and minions of ness of the individual, the moral
the dictators are menacing the perfectibility of man, the right
of each human being to freedom,
the belief in the moral order of
the world and faith in God.
Many of the courses of study
offered by the National Academy
for Adult Jewish Studies are de-
signed to help American Jews to
live by strengthening the reli-
gious foundation of American
and of Jewish life. The titles of
some of these syllabi and texts
for these courses indicate their
contents. Here are some : "The
Beliefs and Practices of Juda-
ism" written by Dr. Louis Fin-
Features include many found in
kelstein; "What Is Conservative
highest priced Frigidaires! Includ-
Judaism?" compiled by Rabbi
ing Meter-Miser; Frozen Storage
Theodore Friedman ; "The Syna-
Compartment; 4 Big Ice Trays,
gogue in Jewish Life" written
all with Automatic Tray Release;
by Rabbi S. Joshua Kohn ; "What
Exclusive F-114 Refrigerant; Auto-
We Mean by Religion" written
matic Reset Defroster. See our
by Rabbi Ira Eisenstein. Courses
Midsummer Magic Demonstration.
. with—itexts written by
such men as Dr. Solomon Gold-
man, Dr. Mortimer J. Cohen and
8928 12th ST.
OPEN EVENINGS
TR. 2-3636 in
Dr. Leon J. Liebreich will fur-
ther aid in the defense of "the

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ramparts we watch" in this gi-
gantic Battle of America. Thus
the National Academy urges Jew-
ish men and women' to- devote
themselves to Jewish studies be-
cause it will help them to live
as free men and women in a free
land.

III

Then again, there is the ever-
present problem of making Jew-
ish people experience the worth-
whileness and the enduring satis-
factions of Jewish life. Because
of world conditions, our people
are scared, frightened, jittery.
Even more: they are confused
and despairing. There is no doubt
about it that it is very hard to
be a Jew today. One of the un-
dermining influences of anti-
Semitism is that many Jews tend
to adopt our enemies' estimates
of ourselves. It is no wonder that
Judaism gets to be a misfortune
to such Jews. Besides, many
Jews are getting weary of bat-
tling against a hostile world.
They are on the verge of spiri-
tual exhaustion. It is no wonder
that they are beset by baffling
doubts about the whole question
of the worth-whileness of trying
to ilve as Jews. The funnels of
falsehood are pouring streams of
calumny and shame on the Jews.
Where are we to find the truth
about ourselves? There is only
one place and that is in the Jew-
ish book! Where are we to find
the true estimates and evalua-
tions of Jewish life? There is
only one place and that is in
the Jewish book! Jewish learning
thus helps Jewish living by re-
storing to us our self-esteem and
giving us an abiding faith in our-
selves.
A knowledge of our Jewish
heritage not only revives within
us our self-esteem but it releases
to us the power for self-help.
Jewish learning enables us to be-
come active, intelligent, and re-
sponsible factors in the solution
of many Jewish problems. It was
the American poet, Walt Whit-
man who prayerfully sang: "0
To Be Self-Balanced For Contin-
gencies!" That might well be the
prayer of the modern Jew: "0
to be self-balanced for the ever-
recurring contingencies in Jew-
ish life!" The host of Jewish
problems of our time, whether
they be synagogal, communal,
educational, philanthropic, Pal-
estinian, European, international
— require information, discussion,
the creation of an intelligent
Jewish public opinion. Only
through Jewish learning will the
Jew be able to cope sanely and
soundly with the hard realities
of Jewish life.
Many of the courses of study
presented by the National Acad-
emy for Adult Jewish Studies
are designed to bring the much
needed self-esteem and t h e
greatly required inspiration for
self-help to the modern Jew. The
c our se s already enumerated
above will serve that purpose. In
addition, there are courses in
Jewish history, in Jewish litera-
ture, in the Prayer Book, in
Zionism, prepared by such emi-
nent leaders of Jewish thought
as Professor Hillel Bavli, Dr.
Solomon Grayzel, Dr. Simon
Greenberg, Rabbi Armond E.
Cohen, Rabbi Arthur H. Neu-
lander, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohen,
and Rabbi Leon S. Lang.

.

IV

The National Academy is issu-
ing a call to American Jews and
to American Jewish synagogues
to put Jewish learning in the
very center of their lives and of
their programs. At present, all
we ask of men and women to
join the synagogue is to pay their
dues and also to attend religious
services. We must demand more.
Every Jew should be asked to
join in the pursuit of Jewish
learning through the adult edu-
cational programs provided by
the congregation. We must re-
establish and revitalize the old
Jewish practice of "Ko-veah ittim
le-torah"—setting aside a definite
time for Jewish studies. It is
true that people are busy but
they must make time for this
purpose. It is said of Queen
Elizabeth's great Minister, Lord
Burleigh, that at the end of a
day's work, he would fling his
robe of office on the floor and
say: "Lie there, my Lord Treas-
urer, till I call for you in the
morning." In some such way our
people must learn to set aside
the cares and burdens of busi-
ness in order to be refreshed
and stimulated when they take
them up again, The rewards of

ADULT SCHOOL

(Continued from Page One)

classic. J e w i s h commentators,
requisite to familiarity with the
Hebrew text. The course will
be given in English.
Bible II, Appreciation and
Understanding of the Bible in
English Translation—This course
will seek to give the students a
sounder knowledge of the con-
tents of the Bible. The English
translation issued by the Jewish
Publication Society will be used
as a text.
Jewish Concepts — A course
dealing with the fundamental
concepts embodied in the the-
ology and philosophy of Judaism.
Jewish Movements — This
course will stress the important
movements and problems in mod-
ern Jewish life, such as Chassid-
ism, Zionism, Assimilation, Strug-
gle for Civil Rights, and Anti-
Semitism.
Jewish History I—This cours e
will deal with Jewish post-bib-
lilcal history and after a brief
introduction will deal at greater
length with the Talmudic period
in Palestine and Babylonia.
Jewish History II—This course
will be a continuation of the
course in Jewish history given
last year and will be entitled
"History of the Jew in Europe."
It will open with a discussion of
the history of the Jews in Spain.
Jewish Practices and Observ-
ances—This course will deal
with the origins, development
and present-day significance of
outstanding Jewish religious
practices and laws.
C u r r en t Problems — This
course is offered on Sunday
mornings at 10.30 a. m. with
Philip Slomovitz as leader. It
seeks to give a weekly digest
of timely news in the Jewish
world witih emphasis upon pro-
grams of Jewish reconstruction.
The course is open to all Jews
in the community.

Affiliated with National Institute
of Theological Seminary
The Faculty

The Academy of Adult Jewish
Studies of Shaarey Zedek is
affiliated with the National In-
stitute of the Jewish Theological
Seminary and credit for the
courses will be registered with
the national organization. A reg-
istration fee of $1 for the year
will be charged. Students may
elect one or two courses for
this fee.
Judge Harry B. Keidan, gen-
eral chairman of the education
committe of Shaarey Zedek, and
Maurice II. Zackheim, chairman
of the adult education commit-
tee, announce that the faculty
will be headed by Rabbis A. M.
Hershman and Morris Adler and
will include Miss Zelda Rosen-
thal, Philip Slomovitz and Max
Chomsky.

Erika Mann to Address
Fisher Town Hall

E r i k a Mann, author of the
widely read indictment of Nazi
education, "School for Barbari-
ans", and co-author with her
brother Klaus of "Escape to
Life", will be the Detroit Town
Hall speaker in
the Fisher Thea-
t e r Wednesday.
Nov. 20, at 11 a.
fn. She has just
returned from
London where she
f 1 e w by clipper
this fall to find
out the truth
about political
Erika Mann
conditions. S
brings the drama-
tic inside story in her talk,
"Searchlight Through the Black-
out."
With her famous father.
Thomas Mann, and other intel -
lectuals who rebelled against
Hitler's suppression of cultural
freedom, she became a voluntary
exile from Germany seven years
ago. She has spent the years
since studying political conditions
in many European countries and
crusading for democracy. The
United States is now her chosen
country and she has acquired
her first citizenship papers.
A talented actress, Miss Mann
was a pupil of Max Reinhardt.
playing when she was very your"
in Berlin, Munich and Hambur .
Her own satirical revue, "Pe:
I-
permill", in which she was
thor, director and actress,
performed more than a thousto .1
times in six countries.

such efforts will be incalculably
great since through such Jewish
learning our people will be help-
ed to happier Jewish living.

(Copyright, S A F S , 1940)

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