A merkait ,fewish Periodical Carter
April 3, 1942
CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO
9
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle
HERZL AND PINSKER
EDITOR'S NOTE: Many Jews who had not given much thought
to the Jewish problem have been forced to study it earnestly since
the a dvent of Nazism and the tragedy of World War 11. Inevitably,
they must turn to the solution which is being offered by Zionism
and the Jewish National Home which it is engaged in building and
sa feguarding. In this article—penned by him shortly before his
death on Oct. 2, 1941, in Jerusalem—Menahe m Ussishkin described
and evaluated the two thinkers and leaders, Leon Pinsker and
Theodor Herzl, who were his contemporaries and Ow, although un-
known to each other, evolved the same answer to the problem.
I see them both as though they
were still alive. One was of me-
dium height, solidly built, heavy
in his tread, with a large round
head set upright and firm on
broad shoulders. His hair was
thick, smooth, grey, his beard
somewhat trimmed, he had a
broad striking forehead. He
seemed faded and slightly yellow-
ish. His eyes were grey, cold and
always half-closed. His eyebrows
were thick, and the line of his
lips was hard. Only rarely would
he lift his eyebrows; and even
then his gaze was turned not to
you but within, to his own soul.
The whole expression of his face
showed stern, hidden thoughts
and constant depth of feeling.
The second was tall, well built,
with a light walk, pleasant to
look at, with an exceptionally
handsome face; a long nose;
thick black hair; a longish black
beard; eyes that flamed, search-
ing the heart, gleaming in all
the colors of the rainbow, always
gazing wide open and straight at
the person to whom he was talk-
ing. A faint smile would always
be resting on his lips. Every line
on his face and the whole shape
of his body showed energy,
strength and a tremendous will-
power as strong as iron.
About Pinsker
Take the former in his spacious
study. Hands clasped behind him
he would pace heavily hither and
thither. His words would not be
addressed to you sitting on the
chair. No! He would be thinking
aloud. There would possibly be
nothing more than isolated sen-
tences broken off in the middle,
exclamations, sighs and, gesticu-
lations. You snatch at every word
with esteem and a sense of some-
thing like awe. Those words
penertate your brain and your
very soul. Try to answer, to ex-
press your opinion, and you will
at once feel that it is useless,
that he scarcely hears what you
are saying. For only the body of
this man is with you; but his
spirit, his thoughts and his feel-
ings are far away; far away from
the present, hovering in dis-
tances that have vanished thou-
sands of years ago, or which
will not arrive for many a long
century.
It is no use seeking him among
crewels, at meetings or gather-
ings. He keeps away from those
and when he has to be present
and conduct them, he feels as
though he were being tortured.
All these things are after all
purely momentary considerations,
these entanglements and conflicts
and clashes of classes, of aims,
of personalities, of isolated indi-
viduals. They are all foreign to
him, and unpleasant.
Herzl—Public Idol
But the other! There he stands
in all his majestic beauty in the
midst of the public. The eyes of
thousands, old and young, are
turned to him with devotion and
love. And he gazes like an eagle,
and in a single instant sees all
of them together and each one
separately. He speaks. His left
hand is outstretched like a scep-
tre. In his right hand he holds
the chairman's hammer, the ma-
gic rod, a wave of which serves
to subdue all and sundry. Every
word is weighed. Every sentence
is an order, a command. Some-
times many thoughts struggle to-
gether within you; you do not
agree with the opinion expressed,
but you are bound by magical
bonds; and you submit.
The former wrote a little pam-
phlet. It reached only a few in-
dividuals, not many. But any-
body who read it found that this
tiny pamphlet would not let him
rest. He could not longer sit
quiet. He became the messenger
of the teacher, knowing it his
mission to bring the news of
self-liberation and new life to the
Palace of the rich and the hovel
of the poor. Little by little the
tidings sank down into the
depth s of the people. He never
gave his name to his teachings.
\% hat was said was important, not
the person who said it. And his
participation in spite of himself
in the realization of his teach-
ings scarcely bore any fruit.
The other also wrote a small
pamphlet.
This, however, was
scarcely more than a repetition
of the tunes of the former to a
fresh rhythm; and the old mes-
sengers and apm , tles did not re-
spond to them. Then he came
himself and cried his summons
and performed a miracle. From
every side there gathered round
him grizzled old warriors and
fiery young recruits; and they
drew up in mustered ranks be-
fore him. He controlled them as
though they were one man, and
ruled over them all. His power
and strength increased at a speed
so astonishing as to make you
giddy. But his strength increased
only as long as he followed the
lines laid down by the teacher.
And when he proposed to leave
the direct path for a moment
for another route, the old, griz-
zled warriors with their exper-
ience of the stuggle stood up
and said with one voice, "We
cannot follow." And the leader
recognized his error and gave
way.
For one historic moment they
both dwelt at close quarters with
their disciples and comrades. Only
eight years in all. One came to
us when he was 62 years old
and departed in his 70th year.
The other came to us in the
flower of his maturity, when he
was at his best, aged only 38,
and was taken from us when he
was 44. They both went to the
World of Truth broken-hearted,
grief-stricken and despairing. The
age was not worthy of them, they
were far in advance of it. And
both were not justified in their
attitude to their own generation,
entirely forgetting the prophet's
cry, "Shall a nation ever be
born?"
We appreciated their value far
better and more correctly than
they themselves did. They per-
formed a miracle. They turned
the wheel of Jewish history. Un-
til they appeared the scattered
and disunited Jewish people
looked hopefully towards the
west and was hastening towards
national disintegration. After
them a united and well-ordered
Jewry turned regretfully,' yet
hopefully, to the East, where it
advances towards its national and
political revival.
Sometimes a questioner asks
which of the two was greater. It
is a pointless question. They were
great in different ways. Is it pos-
sible to judge whether Isaiah or
Judas Maccabaeus were greater
than one another, or Shakespeare
or Cromwell? One might well
ask which of them was closer,
and that is a question to which
there is no objective answer.
Everyone will reply according to
his temperament, feelings and
state of mind. Had the teacher
not found those with faith in
him, not a single person would
have followed the leader; if the
leader had not appeared, the en-
tire doctrine of the teacher would
have borne no fruit.
There are but few alive of
those who had the great historic
happiness of being close to them
both. A new generation has aris-
en for whom both the teacher
and the leader are equally a leg-
end of revival and a holy tradi-
tion.
If that generation should ask:
What are we to do and how are
we to do it? there can only be
one answer. Follow the way that
Pinsker showed, under the flag
which Herzl raised.
J. W. B. Service at War Games
Jewish Welfare Board worker, Morris Kronenfeld, on "active duty" with the soldiers In the Louisiana
war games, stands by at mess call to distribute mail, JWB kits and cigarettes to the weary warriors par.
ticipating in the mock struggle which recently swept the state. Kronenfeld is the director of the USO club.
house in Anniston, Alabama, which is operated by the Jewish Welfare Board.
Jacob Manischewitz
Dies at Age of 56
NEW YORK (WNS) — Jacob
U. Manischewitz, president of
the Manischewitz Company, one
of the largest bakers of matzoth
and matzoth products in the
world, died here last week. He
was 56 years old. The death
occurred at the home of his
mother-in-law, where he had
been residing while ill.
Mr. Manischewitz was born
in Memel, formerly a part of
Lithuania, and was brought to
this country when eight years
old. The firm was founded in
1888, in Cincinnati, by his
father, Rabbi De Ber Manis-
chewitz, who introduced modern
methods of baking matzoths,
which until then had been pre-
pared by Jewish housewives for
individual communities. Upon
his death in 1915, he was suc-
ceeded by his son Jacob, who
operated the company together
with his four brothers. In 1930
they opened a large plant in
Jersey City and until the out-
break of the war they exported
matzoth all over the world.
Together with his brothers,
Mr. Manischewitz maintained the
Manischewitz Yeshiva in Pales-
tine, a seminary for higher
learning and the Manischewitz
Foundation which conducts phil-
anthropic works and promotes
cultivation of the rine arts.
He leaves his wife, Ila; two
sons, Howard and Bernard; a
daughter, Marcia; three sisters,
Mrs. Mae Finkelstein, Mrs. Saul
Roggin and Mrs. Bernard Pren-
sky; and his brothers, Rabbi
Manischewitz and Joseph, Max
and Meyer Manischewitz.
A Joyous Pesach to All!
Everett Bennett
PLUMBING and HEATING
CONTRACTOR
1125 Southfield St., Lincoln
9150 TWELFTH STREET
at Atkinson
PHONE TRINITY 2.0629
EXPERT FURRIER
LATEST STYLES in
JACKETS
COATS
REMODELING — COLD STORAGE
Colonial Hotel & Mineral Baths
Will Re-Open May 1st
for the 1942 Summer Season
When We Will Be Happy to Welcome
All Our Old Guests and Friends
PIONEER WOMEN'S
ORGANIZATION
An international Women's Day
sponsored by the Pioneer Wo-
men's Organization in conjunction
with their reading circles will
take place Saturday afternoon,
April 4th, at 3:00 o'clock, at
the Workmen's Circle, 11529
Linwood Ave. The topic under
discussion will be "Women in
Defense of Democracy."
The Goldie-Myerson Group of
the Pioneer Women's Organiza-
tion are presenting their first
annual luncheon at MiLady's
House, Broadway Market Bldg.,
on Wednesday, April 15th, at 1
p. m. A unique full course meal
will be served. Admission 50c
plus tax.
Proceeds are for the Working
Women's Council in Palestine.
Park
ATlantic 1202
Colonial Hotel and
Mineral Baths
MAX ELKIN,
Managing Director
MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN
"VISIT OUR POINCIANA HOTEL. MIAMI BEACH. FLORIDA -