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Friday, November 30, 1945

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Peg. Twenty-One

'The Orthodox View --- Rabbi Wohlgelernter

6

t.

(Continued from page 1
•
The identification of Jews with
,d e n ce (Exodus xxx, 111, 14). other Jews of all lands and gen-
What constitutes an answer to erations is in itself of tremen-
th e fundamental problems of life dous religious and nationalistic
on this earth and the relation- importance. The "mitzvoth,"
d i tp between Man and God? thanks to the G-d idea, which
The answer is daily communion they inevitably suggest even
with the Creator through th e when they are carried out in a
-service of the heart" and the perfunctory manner, have serv-
,ymbolic representation of unity e d more than anything else to
the causality in nature as one build up the faith and moral
commentary interprets the mean- character of our people. They
ing of "Kesher Shel Tefillin." have rendered us, with all our
They prepare us for the per- failings and shortcomings, the
formance of our assigned task people with the keenest moral
and establish harmony between sense in the world. The prin-
the faculties of mind and body. ciple at work in this inner disci-
I quote from an essay by Dr. pline may be illustrated in the
H. Raphael Gold entitled "Juda- familiar tag:
ism — A Psychological Ap-
Sow an action, reap a habit
proach."
Sow a habit, reap a character
"This interpretation of intel-
Sow a character, reap a des-
lect, emotion and will in the
tiny.
psychology of Judaism is beauti-
As long as we cling fast co
fully illustrated in the symbol-
these, our divinely instituted ob-
ism of the . . . phylacteries
servances, we need have no fear
which contain the affirmation.;
about the destiny of Israel in the
of the unity and love of God in
world of morality and pure re-
the scriptural passages enclosed ligion."
in them. They are composed of
One need but reflect upon the
three cardinal elements, the phy-
lactery of the head, placed op- joy experienced by masses of
posite the organ of thinking, the observant Jews in the fulfillment
phylactery of the hand, placed of a command decreed by the
opposite the heart, the organ Eternal to realize the effect of
supposedly most sensitive to the such deeds in the development
of a wholesom e personality.
emotions and the "Retzuoth,"
Several months ago, a Euro-
the streamers which bind the
phylacteries to the body to sym- pean representative of Vaad
bolize the extension of the will Hatzalah described his visit with
several thousand liberated in-
to the organs of action.
mates of a German concentra-
It is significant that the phyl-
tion camp. He told of hundreds
actery of the hand is placed on
of men lined up and waiting
the left arm. We are thus re- their turn all day long to put on
minded that it is the weaker — for the first time in years —
arm which is to receive the great the only pair of "Tefillin" he
spiritual support and the strong had brought along with him.
binding power of the faith.
i should like to invite the
There are, unfortunately, the readers of this article to visit
ignorant who see in the "Tefil- the local Yeshivath Beth Ye-
lin" no more than boxes and huda any week day to watch
straps, They may be compared the morning services conducted
with those who, when looking by a group of intermediate boys,
at their country's flag, can see all wearing "Tallith" and "Te
only the cloth out of which it fillin."
is made. Even to these, however,
These examples are cited to
the value of putting on the Te- show the ecstatic feelings of
fillin is not lost. For there is it Jewish multitudes all through
unifying influence of such a history as they adhered both to
practice by all communities of the letter and the spirit of the
Israel throughout the ages that G-d given Law. That so many of
is not to be underestimated.
the provisions of the Torah are

now honored in the breach
among the great majority of our
youth and elders alike and that
so pitifully little of its spirit
has as yet been recaptured in
American Jewish life is a sad
commentary on Jewish religious
and educational effort during
the last-and-lost one or two gen-
erations that have been the vic-
tims of their parents' neglect
or laxity.
Of late, there has been a
marked tendency for a return
to traditional forms. Even Re-
form temples and radical Yid-
dish circles are groping for an
expression of uniquely Jewish
content with which to invest
their meetings and functions.
Through word and deed, they
are finding their way back to
some of the time hallowed cer-
emonies ordered by the Shul-
chan Aruch (Code) that governs
the life of the Orthodox. A
somewhat different process which
points in the same direction is
evident among the leftist "Cha-
lutzim" in Palestine whose lead-

ing intellects are beginning to not vague appeals to our emo-
see the need for a reaffirmation tions. In the scheme of Jewish
of the historical Jewish attitude I discipline they have always been
in the interpretation of Torah. known and prwiticed as "Hala-
chic" do's and don'ts with specific
At the root of all deflections regulations outlined in the "Toro
from the pattern of the 613 She-bal-pe" as to the manner
commandments advocated by the in v, hich these observances are
protagonists of religious schism to be carried out.
since the time of the Sadducees
has always been a misreading of
•
the very nature of the Written
Law. Authentic Jewish interpre- Sincerest Wishes for a
tation of Scripture as well as Happy Chanukah
the new non-Jewish scholarship
have long parted company with
the old Bible criticism, which
was influenced to a large ex-
tent by anti-Semitic motives,
13753 Woodward Ave.
and intensified to the antiquity
Highland Park
of the oral law embodied in
Talmudic literature.
TO. 8.8191
It is only in the light of this
tradition which had its begin-
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nai that we can reach a simple •
understanding of the sacred
books. Directives contained in
the Pentateuchal passages such
as those dealing with "Tefillin"
quoted from Deuteronomy are

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4

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Blessed be the memory of one whom we
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He was an inspiration in his lifetime and
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in life.

May his memory be a blessing for gen-
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1

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