DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
U
FARM
(Continued from Page 1)
unmarried man should ponder be-
fore he enters upon it. Farm
work plus household chores are
apt to become too burdensome.
Unless a feminine member of the
family, mother, aunt or sister—
joins him on the farm the single
man is too likely to throw up the
sponge. And even the married
man must make certain that farm
life will appeal to his wife. It
is maintained that the most im-
portant factor on the farm is
the farm wife. Many a promis-
ing farm venture has gone upon
the rocks just because of the
wife's dissatisfaction.
Partnership in farm enterprise
is not advisable. The farmstead
is not simply the workshop of
the family heads. It is also the
family home. Where there is
farm partnership the families live
together, usually under one roof.
Differing outlooks, varying tem-
peraments sooner or later give
rise to clashes, which end up in
separation and failure.
Moreover, because farming is
a way of life, the Jewish farm
buyer who does not want to cut
himself loose from Jewish con-
tacts and who wants to observe
religious practices, should locate
in an established Jewish farm
community or near a town or
village where his Jewish ties can
be maintained.
So much for the human and
social factors. In the economic
phase the core of the problem
facing the farm purchaser is to
buy the right farm at the right
price and upon the right terms.
What is the right farm? Ob-
viously the farm which will give
the farmer and his family a sat-
isfactory living, not necessarily
riches. Every potential farmer
has his specific problem requir-
ing solution to fit his specific
needs. What is the eminently
right farm for one man may be
the utterly wrong farm for the
other.
What is the right price? There
are certain criteria of values, not
too well defined. Experts have
been known to differ widely in
their appraisal of the same farm.
Just now farm real estate is ex-
hibiting an inflationary trend and
the farm buyer must be more
than ordinarily cautious. In a
way, more important than the
price is the matter of mortgage
terms. Few farms are bought
for cash. The man with modest
capital should content himself
with a modest farm. Heavy in-
terest charges and onerous mort-
gage terms not only retard prog-
ress, they may actually spell the
doom of the farm enterprise.
These are broad and sound
principles. Yet their violation
has not always spelt failure. Old
men have succeeded while young
men have failed; unmarried men
have made good; partnerships
have turned out favorably; men
who entered on a shoe string
have outstripped those who start-
ed with fat bank accounts. But
those are the exceptions. That
man will be well advised who
seeks competent and unbiased
counsel.
Farm settlement guidance has
always been a major item in the
Jewish Agricultural Society's pro-
gram, and the Society takes pride
in the fact that it placed em-
phasis on the quality, and the
number, of its settlements. As a
result thousands of Jewish fam-
ilies have been constructively es-
tablished on farms and flourish-
ing Jewish farm communities
have grown up. During the five
years, 1939 through 1943, the
Society settled '739 families. At
the end of 1943, 692 families-
93%—were still on their farms.
The first five years are the cru-
cial years and the fixity of the
family that has weathered this
span is well assured.
The value of directed settle-
ment was strikingly demonstrat-
ed in the Society's work with
refugees. With an exception here
and there, most refugees had
been business and professional
men—lawyer, physician, editor,
teacher, merchant, manufactur-
er, industrialist, tradesman. Few
were below 40. Most were in
their forties and fifties, some
even over 60; soft-handed men
without a vestige of farm ex-
perience and without manual
dexterity. Yet these novices, these
strangers, properly located and
intelligently guided, have thrust
their roots deeply into the soil,
and have evoked the admiration
of their native neighbors. Sure-
ly what has been accomplished
by refugees can also be accom-
plished by returning soldiers and
those dislocated in the transition
from a war to a peace economy.
The Society has a well defined,
well rounded program. It guides
the farm buyer, it makes farm
loans, it conducts agricultural
classes, maintains a broad edu-
cational service, it places young
men on farm jobs, it fosters
farm cooperatives, it promotes
community effort, in short, its
activities touch every aspect of
farm life. This service The Jew-
ish Agricultural Society stands
ready to employ for the benefit
of those who can make use of it.
sor of Hebrew at the Teachers'
Seminary. One of his colleagues
there was David Yellin who later
became a professor at the Heb-
rew University. In the three
years he stayed in Palestine,
Schapiro perfected his knowledge
of Arabic, Syriac, and other
Semitic languages. He was not
yet 30 when he embarked for
the United States, one of the
many Jewish immigrants destined
to contribute immensely to the
civilization of America and Amer-
ican Israel. At first he was asso-
ciated with the Bureau of Edu-
cation of the New York Kehil-
LEARNED
lah, founded by Dr. Judah Mag-
nes, and, together with Rubein
(Continued from Page 1)
Brainin, he edited the Hebrew
weekly, Hadvar.
Jews, the Near East and related
"The decisive change in my
subjects throughout the 31 years life took place in 1912. In that
he headed the Library's Semitic year the great philanthropist,
Division.
H. Schiff, presented to the
The retiring director, who can 'Jacob
Library of Congress a collection
boast of the friendship of men of 10,000 volumes of Hebraica
like Bialik, Sokolow, Eliezer ben which he bought from Ephraim
Jehudah, Benzion Mossinson and Deinard, the Hebrew author and
Shemarya Levin, is a colorful bibliophile who died in New York
personality. He combines a thor- in 1930. The Washington Eve-
ough Jewish background with a ning Star called this acquisition
profound secular knowledge. the 'most notable event of the
Born 61 years ago as the son year at the library of Congress.'
of a Hebrew writer in a little Additional 4,000 volumes from
town in the Russian province of the Deinard collection were pre-
Suwalki, he attended Russian sented by Mr. Schiff to the li-
schools as well as the famous brary two years later. This price-
Yeshivah of Telshi. The 18- less acquisition led Congress to
year-old "bachur" proceeded to enact the legislation which cre-
Berlin, then the Mecca of all ated the Semitic Division in the
ambitious East ern European Library of Congress. In present-
youngsters, and plunged himself ing his gift to the Library, Mr.
into deep philosophical, philolog- Schiff stipulated that the Li-
ical and historical studies. At brarian of Congress should ap-
the University of Berlin he point a specially qualified person,
heard the noted Assyriologist not a mere cataloguer but a real
Friedrich Delitzsch who, in his Hebrew scholar and bibliograph-
last years, became a rabid anti- er, who would in his person as
Semite, though he was the son well as through the collection
of an ardent defender of the worthily represent Jewish schol-
Jews. At Strasburg Schaprio was arship on the staff of the Library
a pupil of the eminent Orient- of Congress. Dr. Putnam be-
ialist, Theodor Noeldeke, an lieved me to be the right one
adept in Biblical and Talmudic for that task."
literature who was a close friend
Dr. Schapiro showed me the
of Abraham Geiger and died in well-organized stacks of his divi-
1930 at the age of 96.
sion, now filled with more than
• "Noeldeke
was
particularly 40,000 volumes of Hebraica, in-
fond of Jewish students, saying c l u d i n g many incunabula—a
that, having been acquaint- third of all incunabula known to
ed with the Hebrew language be existent—and rare editions of
from infancy, they were better the 16th and 17th centuries. One
fitted for the study of the Sem- can find there "Halachoth" (the
itic languages than their Chris- legal parts of the post-Biblical
tian colleagues. I was the last literature) and Responsa as well
student to be examined by old as works pertaining to homiletics
Noeldeke who afterwards re- or to liturgics. Among the treas-
tired from academic life."
ures are a complete edition of
Having obtained a Ph.D. de- the Talmud, issued by the Flem-
gree for his dissertation on the ish printer Bomberg at Venice
haggadic elements in the Koran, around 1520, and several hun-
the holy book of the Moslems,
Schapiro was sent in 1907 by dred editions of the Passover
the Hilfsverein der deutschen Haggadah. The Yiddish collec-
Juden to Jerusalem as a profes- tion contains about 10,000 items.
PRAYERS FOR VICTORY ON TISHA B'AB
July 28, 1944
Referring to this collection, and agreed already to grant
rights of
praising Schapiro's role in devel- passport if not of citizenship
to
oping it, the Washington Herald
osn e aoJnv
wrote, a decade ago:
who Jewsat I.:toile:lle:el a nin Hungary
cestry
back
"The story of an indomitable
race and the scholarly lore it ac- to Spain. Sweden of centuries
has agreed to
cumulated through the ages is extend p rotective citizenship
t
told in the Semitic Division of 800 unfortunates trapped in; c
the Library of Congress with a Hungary.
'thoroughness unsurpassed any-
This protective citizenship, ac
where in the world."
cording to an authority on .
Washington's "Semitic Divi- ternational law, can be given by
sion" differs from the "Jewish Britain and the United States to.
Division" of the New York Pub- morrow wit h o u t complicating
lic Library in many respects. In their immigration problem one
the first place, the department bit.
that was headed by Dr. Schapiro
Sonic 750 Jews in Hungary
contains—as indicated by its who were doomed to deportaticm
name—not only Hebrew and and death were saved by the
Yiddish writings, but also works Zionist organization in Budapest,
written in other languages, such which put up a king's ransom
as Arabic. Books on Jewish and for them. They are now either
Semitic topics written in Eng- on their way to Palestine or ac-
lish and other modern languages tually there.
are kept in the general collection
of the Library. Finally, the
Semitic Division has no Reading
FUGITIV E
Room of its own—its books have
(Continued from Page 1)
to be perused in the Library's
general reading room.
"Not only is the Semitic Divi- tenced to long prison terms,
In the meantime, Hungarian
sion the pride of American
Jews," Dr. Schapiro said to me, civil authorities are reported tak-
closely pressing a volume to his ing new and more drastic anti.
heart, "but it is the rich source Jewish measures. A decree re-
of essential facts and thought cently issued by the National
preserved through the ages by Commissioner of Public Health
Jewish scholars for the use of ordered the seizure of all equip.
modern students of theology, meats and medical supplies to
philosophy, medicine, history, jur- be found in the offices of Jewish
isprudence, natural sciences, doctors. The decree also ordered
closing of several hundred
mathematics, archaeology, a n d the
Jewish medical aid societies and
other subjects . . ."
hospitals and
Our conversation was inter- Jewish-supported
sanitariums.
rupted by a phone call: A Sen-
to Kidnap Horthy
ator asked the chief librarian to Attempt
A
report
reaching here from
send him a comprehensive book
on the population problems in reliable sources in London reveals
Palestine. Several persons drop- that an attempt has recently
made to kidnap Nicholas
ped in to talk with the wizard, been
Hungarian Regent, and
among them a woman journalist Horthy,
overthrow the puppet Sztojay
who wished to have the names of to
Government. According to the
the Zionist periodicals in this report,
the
was made by
country, and a Christian student members of attempt
he pro-Nazi cabinet
who desired literature on a theo- who had
become alarmed at the
logical subject. Patiently and
dislocation resulting
politely Dr. Schapiro tried to economic
from the ouster of Jews from
help all the callers.
economic life of Hungary.
When I conversed with Dr. the conflicting
report, also from
Schapiro, he would or would not A
London, said the attempt was
divulge the name of the man to made by a group of Hungarians
succeed him. "Whoever takes who resented Horthy's promise
over when I stop ought to be to
"suspend" the deportation of
not older than I was when I Jews.
began—about 30. Being head of
Simultaneously it was disclosed
the Semitic Division of the larg- here
a committee of Hun-
est bibliographic establishment on garian that
ministers at the Vatican,
earth is a life job. It will re- Madrid, Lisbon and Stockholm
quite the full capacity, strength had issued a statement express-
and devotion of my successor
"horror and disgust with the
just as it has required mine. The ing
crimes of Hungarian quislings
Near East is important now; it against
Jews and others."
will be still more so after the
war. Demands upon the Semitic
Division are certain to be heavy
MINISTERS
and compelling. I am most deep-
ly anxious to see the position
(Continued from Page 1)
filled while I am yet available to
advise and to help the incum- already signed the pledge to fight
bent, whoever he may be."
anti-Semitism.
After the destruction of the
Kenneth Leslie, editor of "The
great Jewish libraries of Berlin, Protestant," in a panel discus-
Frankfort on Main, Vienna, Vilna sion on Anti-Semitism, the
and Warsaw by the Nazi hordes, Bridgehead to Fascism, at the
the importance of the rich Church of Our Father, called
Semitic Division of Washington, upon the Christian Church to
D.C. is greater than ever before, "clean its own house" by eradi-
It may be regrettable that Dr. cating the notion that the Jews
Schapiro, after the loss of his killed Christ. He declared that
beloved wife, chose to retire from this teaching is the nerve center
his post, but it can be expected of anti-Semitism, that the rancor
that he will be of assistance to left by this accusation has in-
Mr. Archibald MacLeish, Librar- fected even unbelievers.
ian of Congress, in any emer- Jew is Unpopular
gency. In Palestine, the land of
Leslie also declared that the
his dreams, he will have ample Jew has been unpopular because
time to devote himself to scien- he refused to be a slave even
tific studies and to add a few in the ancient times. "There is
more books to the imposing list some characteristic in the Jew
of publications that he has to that makes him stand straight up
his credit by now.
and look men straight in the eye.
BLACKMAIL
(Continued from Page 1)
Jewish soldiers seem ing in the United Nations armies assemble at the
Wailing Wall on Tisha Web to pray for victory, as Jews throughout the world
commemorate the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. In the
United States Tisha ll'ab will he observed not merely as a memorial for the
dead, but as the occasion for the quickening of the organized effort to rescue
the living through the instrumentality of the United Jewish Appeal for
Refugees, Overseas Needs and Palestine. By its generous response to the
$32,000,000 U. J. A. drive, American Jewry is niaking it possible for the Joint
Distribution Committee, the United Palestine Appeal, and the National
Refugee Service to expand their relief rehabilitation, and reconstruction pro.
grams in Europe, in Palestine, and among the refugees in the United States.
that the matter deserved consul-
tation with Jewish leaders. It
was this incident that has recent-
ly prompted the American and
British Governments to repeat-
edly warn Hungary against the
mass-extermination of its Jews.
The deportation and execution
of Hungarian Jews by Nazis is
leading to an increasing demand
that the British Government take
a stronger stand than it has
adopted yet against these atroci-
ties.
The demand has been voiced
that the British Government
make its position unequivocal by
ordering the bombing of gas ex-
ecution chambers at Oswiecim
and Birkenau and the intensifi-
cation of the radio and leaflet
campaign to convince German
terrorists that they will have to
pay for their crimes.
There has been a proposal that
the United States and Britain
grant protective citizenship to
Jews still left in Hungary.
This is not such an academic
question as it seems. Spain has
That made him unpopular with
the top men. The God of the
Jews is the God of justice. A
lot of men are trying to follow
strange Gods. You can kill every
Jew but you can't kill the God
of the Jews. Thus humans of
this world are doomed as the
Haman of old was doomed. Be
on the lookout for those who
speak about Jews but mean the
devil."
Albert Kahn, author of Sabot-
age, was one of the speakers,a
the People's Congress of App lied t
Religion.
"Not all Fascists speak Ger-
r. Japanese," he declared.
Many of them are right here in
Detroit."
The theme of the P
Applied Religion n has
of pplie
been economic, political and , rac-
ial justice for all people. .11' hit,' d . .
and Negro ministers part i cip a te
A loving heart is the great
re-
ppress.
quirement! . . . not to o
. . . not to exalt
not
in
ding down others.
oneself by treading
but to comfort and befriend thw
i
—Fo-rho- hing-stan-king.
BUY WAR BONDS