Friday, September 15, 1944

Page 13

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

: : THE DIGNITY OF PERSO\ALITY

-

By RABBI LEON SPITZ

Our liturgy puts it quaintly
but also significantly that tradi-
tional usage has enjoined upon
w orshippers to spend Atone-
the
ment Day in prayer and fasting,
don white clothes and con-
to
verse in Hebrew, the loshen hak-
kodesh that we may exemplify
both physically a and spiritually
the Ministering Angels of Heav-
en. We may put it in more mod-
ern language that on Yom Kippur
the Dignity of Human Personal-
ity should be exhibited at its
best.
True, there are unhappy coun-
tries today in which to an even
greater extent than ever before
in the world's history personality
has been relegated to a wretched-
ly insignificant role. The state is
everything, the human being is
only a slave to the state. More-
over, there are the Quisslings
and Fifth Columnists who have
degraded the human type to a
status that disgusts and naus-
eates. We, in the Democracies,
who are battling against the first
phenomenon with armament and
defense production, must also be
alert to the pernicious evil which
is being fostered in our own
midst by bigots and saboteurs.
We realize more and more that
one and only one thing can save
the world from both physical and
moral destruction not a material
but a spiritual thing. This is the
universal recognition of the dig-
nity and the sanctity of the hu-
man personality!
That the lives of even the
most debased and ruthless of
human beings are precious in the
sight of God.
And it is in this spirit that
Americans are thinking and
speaking and planning for the
postwar period not so much in
terms of punishment, but of the
preservation of human dignity.
Still, we cannot permit ourselves

to think loosely. We must strive
to resurrect a world in which
enslavement and treachery will
nevermore be tolerated. The war-
lesson we have learned is that
we must first break down tyranny
before we can build for freedom;
that we must crush evil before
we can establish good; that we
must destroy the kingdom of Sat-
an before we can plant firmly the
Kingdom of God on earth.
A preacher once posed the
question: Why Was man created
the very last of earthly creatures
—after the sun and the moon
and the stars had been created--
after the reptiles and the beasts
of the earth had been called into
being, but nevertheless still in
advance of the ministering ang-
els?
The older Rabbis give the wise
answer: "When a man boasts
of his power and his glory, say
unto him, 'The Creator thought
so little of you that he made
even the little fly, even the little
insect ahead of you.' But if a
man is humble and lowly, say
unto him, 'Why so humble? The
Creator thought so highly of you
that he made you even ahead of
the ministering angels of heav-
en'."
The truly dignified man is not
a mollycoddle, he knows his own
worth, and holds his self-respect
in a proper regard. He will not
ruthlessly trample over his fel-
lows. He will not trumpet his
achievements from the housetops
nor will he set up for himself a,
golden calf and worship it. He
will not demand of his fellow-
man, Art thou for or against me?
But he will concede to every man
the right to hold to his own opin-
ion.
In time of war we need more
than ever men of courage and of
truth who love their country and
who are willing to battle for it

1.

TO MY SON .. .

Who is a Prisoner of War

Birthdays come as years go,
Every birthday—a milestone,
Today is mine, yet I know
That gloomy feeling . . . I am
alone.

From my dear sonny boy,
Did not arrive that birthday
card,
No pipe, cigars, or "book of
fun"—
Heavy is my lonely heart.

Alone I sit now in a park,
With sad eyes I gaze upon the
moon,
Submerged in thoughts depress-
ing . . . dark . . .
With him I wish to commune.

"Perhaps, he too, looks up above,
Perhaps, he too, now thinks of
me?
Perhaps, lo he senses my paternal
love,
Far away in captivity?"

Lonely are my days of late,
Sadness comes with every
night,
For since that tragic, fateful
date,
Sonny cannot daily write

As he did in days gone by,
When he was among the free,
Troubled is my yearning heart,
My Son is: In captivity .. .
By J. C. Goldman.

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

Sherman Insulating
Company

14591 MEYERS

HO. 8600

Bring Our Boys Home Sooner
— Buy More Bonds —

SEASON'S
GREETINGS

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

SINGER'S

We join our fellow-Jews in their

9630 JOS. CAMPAU

9831 DEXTER BLVD.

ardent prayers for a speedy

MA. 8892

TY. 6-5984

victory and lasting peace

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•

•

r

Joe Singer — Phil Swarin

Happy, Prosperous New Year

Wishes for Victory and Peace

glory and honour.
Thou hast made him to have
dominion over the works of
Thy hands;
Thou hast put all the things
under his feet;
Sheep and oxen, all of them;
Yea, the beasts of the field,
The fowl of the air and the
fish of the sea.
Before God it matters not what
race a man is born into and on
what soil he has been nurtured.
In the words of a Talmudic Heb-
rew scholar:
"I call heaven and earth to
witness that whether it be Jew
or Gentile, man or woman,
free or bondman only accord-
ing to their acts does the Div-
ine spirit rest upon them!"
Let us take heed of the words
of the Talmud and let each of
us say to himself, "I am the
creature of God and so is my
fellow man, both created in His
Image."

understand that they are, in the
words of the poet, "heroes in
the strife."
And yet at times man is so
child-like. Some 850 years ago
there lived in Spain a Rabbi
who prayed with such modest and
refreshing charm: "0 God, I
stand before Thee, knowing all
my deficiencies and overwhelmed
by Thy Greatness and Majesty.
But Thou host commanded me
to pray, and host suffered me to
offer homage to Thine exalted
name according to the measure
of my knowledge, and to lay my
supplication before Thee. Thou
knowest best what is for my
good. 0 Lord, my heart is not
haughty, nor are my eyes lofty.
Surely I have stilled and quieted
may soul, like a child with his
mother."
What a simple, lowly, shall I
say, child-like prayer? But then
we are reminded that the high-
est praise which the Bible has
bestowed upon the illustrious
Moses was "And the man Moses
was very lowly."
And yet, it is religion that
pays man the finest tribute. I
quote the familiar words from
the eighth Psalm:
When I behold Thy heavens,
the work of Thy fingers,
The moon and the stars, which
Thou hast established;
What is man, that Thou art
mindful of him?
And the son of man, that Thou
thinkest of him?
Yet Thou hast made him but
little lower than the angels
And hast crowned him with

NEW YORK
LINOLEUM Z.1
CARPET CO.

We Extend Hearty Greetings

and Best Wishes for a Very

A HAPPY NEW YEAR and

—who are loyal to our American
and Jewish ideals and who are
prepared to make sacrifices that
these ideals may endure.
It is in time of war that we
are compelled to attain an un-
derstanding of what America
stands for, of what civilization
stands for, of what religion
stands for. Our battling men in
the armed forces must not be
dumb driven cattle but men who

•

Kosher Meat and Poultry
Market

•

Le Shono Tovo Tikosevu

Season's Greetings to
All Our Friends

S. C. HADLEY, INc.

Buy More War Bonds

HIGH GRADE
LAUNDRY

General

Complete Real Estate Service

EIDELMAN BROS.

PROGRESSIVE

Smoked Fish Co.

600 GRISWOLD

Metal Mouldings

CLEANERS DYERS

1337 WINDER

and Branches

2663 WABASH AVE.

8731 JOS. CAMPAU

We live up to our name
DeLuxe Finished Family
Service

TR. 2-2744

3731 Wabash Ave.

HELP BACK THE ATTACK
BUY MORE WAR BONDS

TE. 1-1020

9

7

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

•

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

Best Wishes for a
Happy Holiday Season

Harry R. Brethen

MALDEN
PAPER CO.

MANUFACTURERS'
REPRESENTATIVE

1734 W. JEFFERSON

11 34 1 Woodward Ave.
TOwnsend 8-2577

Bring Our Boys Home Sooner—
Buy More War Bonds

LEDERMAN
ELEVATOR CO.

Night and Day Phone

320 Beaubien Sr.

•

Best Wishes to All
For a Happy, Victorious
New Year!

LA. 0830

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

•

Lichtenstein and
Ellman

REEBER

Hide Dealers

CO.

FURNITURE

Ra. 1387

526 ALFRED ST.
CA. 6848

3353 Michigan Ave.

I

Happy New Year to All!

SEASON'S
GREETINGS

Best Wishes For A
Happy New Year

SCHECTER BROS.

SEWARD
BEDDING CO.

MICHIGAN
LUMBER CO.

Kosher Meat and Poultry
Market

Furniture Outfitters
Juvenile Furniture

6450 E. 7-MILE RD.

12020 DEXTER BLVD.
TO. 8-5020

8051 12th St.
TY. 4-1090

• Help Back the Attack!

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TW. 1.4120

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Rosh Hashonah Greetings

MILGRIM
Incorporated

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I

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

STORK

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

BABY

LINWOOD - GRAND

MARKET

SERVICE

Mr. and Mrs. David Weiss

Everything for the Baby
Come in and see us

Groceries — Dairy Products
Delicatessen
Beer and Wine

HO. 0900

13700 Linwood Ave.

Buy More Bonds
Help Shorten the War

TO. 6-9489

1

WILLIAM ELSON
NATIONAL
BAKING CO.

GREETINGS OF THE SEASON

WM. ELSON, Prop.

OSCAR KLAUSNER

12312 Dexter Blvd.

INTERIOR DECORATING STUDIO
Draperies, Slip Covers, Re-Upholstering, Good Furniture
Estimates Freely Given ,
Good Taste Need Not Be Expensive
RANDOLPH 4244-4245
1414 FARMER STREET

7706 W. McNichols

—I N T H E—
FISHER BLDG.

HELP BACK THE ATTACK

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10425 Northlawn

.■■ 11M=10

SINCERE GOOD WISHES
for a
HAPPY NEW YEAR

•

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TO. 7.9317

UN. 2 - 9656

4'

