A merica (eittish Periodical Carter
Friday. March ig, 1946
CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110
Page Three
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
1 4a
HISTORY OF JEWS
IN MICHIGAN
r
Glamorous Purim Formula Calls for Extermination of
1 Anti-Semitic
Termites Through Self-Respect, Unity, `'
By IRVING I. KATZ
Faith, Courage and Sacrifice Just as in the Days of Ohl
By RABBI LEON SPITZ
HE PURIM festival offers a
formula to combat anti-Sem-
itism. And no wonder, since
it was during those Pullin dap,
just about twenty-five,, hundred
years ago that Jews lived for tho
first time in their history in Ga-
ARTICLE VII
luth. And it was then that Jews
Bnai Brith was founded October 13, 1813, by twelve men
met the anti-Semite face to face--
III New
York who under the leadership of Henry Jones, organized at Sin- and triumphed over him.
To the question, how did he do
sheimer's Cafe in Essex Street. The first mane chosen was Bundes
it? a rereading of the Book of
P tirwier which was later changed to In , ' . Order of Bnai Brith. Esther will afford the answer.
At the 13th quinquennial convention of the Order in Cincinnati in No, there was no miracle about
April, 1930, the name was shortened to Bnai Brith. The first Bnai it at all. Fact is, the Purim festi-
val is unique in this respect that
Faith lodge was established in New York November 12, 1843.
nothing supernatural is mentioned
The oldest Jewish organization in Michigan is Detroit's Pisgah in its connection. It is also unique
Lodge Bnai Brith No. 34, which is today the largest Bnai Brith lodge in that the name of God does not
in the world. It was founded on November 24, 1857, fourteen years occur in the entire story. It pre-
after the birth of Bnai Brith, by the men who seven years earlier had sents just this one problem, the
problem of anti-Semitism and af-
established Congregation Beth El. The founders and officers of one
fords a realistic solution, which
were the founders and officers of seems to have a substantial
the other. The need to augment amount of merit.
the congregation by charitable and
Holiday of Songs
social means became apparent and
Michigan's First
Bnai. Brith Lodge
,
ho ,
Vt
nber
Too
Zone
Am-
mew
one
11 a-
the
that
This
Vil-
le of
the
it, if
when an opportunity was present-
ed to organize a lodge of the Bnai
Brith, with its broader principles
and wider scope, Pisgah Lodge
had its inception.
In selecting a name for the
lodge the founder chose "Pisgah,"
which is the mountain Moses
climbed to view the promised land
as recorded in the Book of Deu-
teronomy, Chapter 34, Verse 1,
and Moses went up from the
plains of Moab unto Mount Nebo,
to the top of Pisgah, that is over
against Jericho. And the Lord
showed
him all the land, even
MARCUS COHEN
Gilead as far as Dan."
The pillars of Jewish religion and communal life in Detroit appear
the
the
ask-
sw er
null
I the
n on
be a
'idth
ens-
nuh
then
the
bout
with
all
told
By
cull
Col.
and
'as petitioners and charter members of Pisgah Lodge. This historic doc-
ument, which bears the date of November 24, 1857, lists the following:
Jacob Silberman, Marcus Cohen, Louis Benfy, Herman Freedman,
Samues Sykes, Simon Heavenrich, Emanuel Schloss, Seligman Schloss,
Louis Bresler, S. Schwab, A. Hart, Morris Hirschman, M. C. Fech-
heimer. The charter was signed by Rabbi Isaac M. %Vise, founder of
Reform Judaism in the United States, as head of District No. 2 of
final Brith and countersigned by Julius Bien, one of the greatest
names in Bnai Brith history, for the Constitution Grand Lodge. Jacob
Silberman, the first president of Congregation Beth El, was elected as
the first president of Pisgah Lodge.
to
flier
vas
'ohl-
and
In common with other Bnai Brith lodges of that period, Pisgah
Lodge devoted its revenues exclusively to concrete helpfulness. One-
half of the annual dues went to the sick and distressed after deduct-
ing the barest administrative expenses; the remaining half to a Wi-
dow and Orphan Fund. Initiation of members was conducted with
elaborate ceremonies and regalia, comprising of three degrees, and
was strictly oathbound to secrecy (today there is but one initiatory
degree which is given with open doors and all secrecies have been
roinoved). Endowment Insurance and sick benefits were included in
membership, a feature which has long been eliminated as have all
material benefits.
even
be-
t to
here
flier
t
Marcus Cohen succeeded Jacob Silberman in the presidency of
Pisgah Lodge in 1858, and during the following year Louis Benfy and
Herman Freedman held that ioffiee.
s
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the genuine Hitlerlan touch. Hit-
ler, resentful of certain individual
`Jews, determined to revenge him-
self upon the entire Jewish nation.
Likewise Haman, in his day, re-
sented Mordecai and sought to
massacre all the Jews.
But the solution?
The Purim formula demands
the following elements: Self-re-
spect, unity, faith, courage and
sacrifice.
Self-respect
The Megillah is
crystal clear on this point. Mor-
decai the Jew did not kneel nor
did he prostrate. No molter what
the price, his Jewish self-respect
permitted no compromises.
Esther's Counsel
Unity! Esther's counsel to Mor-
decai was "Go forth and assemble
all the Jews of Shushan." Ameri-
can Jewry must present a united
front in combatting its enemies.
This is a first essential prerequis-
ite before the ranks can be
closed. It is a Must technique
which every battle in human ex-
And yet it is this holiday about
perience prescribes. Jews of every
which poets have composed songs
religious denomination and of ev-
and ditties beginning with the
ery sort and manner of theoretical
51111 Shu Shu Shu" so popular in
Medieval Shoshanat Yakob to "Ha- grouping, the maximum and the
minimum Jews are dutybound to
man Was a Wicked Man" and "In
keep well in mind Ben Franklin's
our American Sunday schools. It
revolutionary bonmot, "If we don't
is this festival which has evoked
hang together we shall each hang
not a few of the great master-
separately." Jews must relearn to
pieces by the master-painters of
get along together and to embark
Christiandom which are exhibited
in the finest national museums on common action, CO" achieve
and galleries in many a European their goals and to protect their
rights.
capital. These Purim paintings
Faith! A people must have faith
are to be found even among the
both in its destiny and in its own
priceless objets d'art which
ring and his hoodlums have looted power to achieve that destiny.
and hidden away, now to be re- "Enlargement and deliverance will
discovered one by one by Ameri- arise unto the Jews from another
can art experts. Purim launched source," Mordecai challenged Es-
the Yiddish Theatre with Esther as ther when she hesitated to make
the charming heroine, Mordecai, the supreme sacrifice for her peo-
the popular hero, and Haman, the ple.
villain par excellence. In the sun-
Noblesse Oblige
ny climates of Italy and Southern
Sacrifice! Yes, there must be
France, Purim carnivals were In those who, more alive to the prob-
vogue while in German and Hoi-
lems of Jewry and placed strate-
landish Synagogues Haman was gically where they can held their
burnt in effigy and with • unre- people, must be willing to render
strained glee. To this very day in
the needful service even to the
a thousand synagogues his name point of personal sacrifice. No-
is hissed and mimicked on Megil- blesse oblige. They who are en-
lah night to the accompaniment
dowed with wealth, or prestige or
of haman klappers and every oth-
Influence or talent — with the
er variety of festive noisemaker.
ammunition that plays a determin-
Dealing as it does with the most
ing role in a democracy — must
serious problem of Jewish life,
be induced to make use of their
the perennial curse of anti-Semi-
ammunition in the protection of
tism, the festival has yet become
their fellow-Jews. For in the se-
the merriest and the gayest in the
curity of the entire Family of Is-
Jewish calendar. The Order of the
rael is assured the peace and the
Day includes wine drinking, the
security of every individual mem-
Purim Seuda or Banquet to top
ber of that family.
off\ the holiday which has been
And lastly, Courage.
launthed on Megillah night by the
public reading of the Story of Es-
The kind of courage that Mor-
ther. It by no means neglects the decai and the Jews of Shushan
giving of charity to the poor and displayed was to meet the enemy
it stresses the practice of Shalach in physical combat. It was the
Atones or the Exchange of Pres- kind of courage which the Allied
ents among relatives and friends. soldier displayed when he met
Every earmark of festivity lends Nazi and Jap in battle. It was the
its bit of gaiety to make this the kind of courage the flower of the
most glamorous of Jewish holi- Jewish Youth of Palestine exhibits
days. And so it goes.
in its battle for free entry to
But why all this?
Palestine. For too many thousands
of years The Voice has been The
Purim Calls for Fight
For the very simple reason that Voice of Jacob and the Hand was
the Purim festival spelled to every the Hand of Esau forever raised
Jew of every generation the call
to fight the good fight with a
pretty definite assurance that vic-
tory and triumph were just right
around the corner. The Purim sto-
ry mirrored the precariousness
and the uniqueness of Jewish life
in exile. Withfil it reemphasizes
the story-book formula that all's
well that ends well, and every Jew
lived happily ever after.
In every way Jewish life as lived
in the Purim story mirrors Jew-
ish life outside of Palestine in
every age and epoch of Jewish
history. Mordecai and Esther had
Persian names, they spoke the
language of their adoption, they
participated in the life about
them, they attained posts of hon-
or and of prestige. And simul-
taneously they had their own or-
ganized Jewish life and they ad-
hered to their faith And to their
traditions. And then anti-Semitism
struck .
causes Perennial
The causes were the perennial
causes: jealousy, race hatred, the
Jews were aliens, they were —
that g.eatest of unforgiveable
crimes—they were DIFFERENT.
In the words of the Megillat Es-
ther, "Their laws are diverse from
those of every people; neither
keep they the king's laws." Haman
too alludes to the loot which
would be poured into the Royal
Treasury by confiscating Jewish
property, "I will pay ten thousand
talents of sliver to bring it into
the king's treasuries." There is too
against his brother. Perhaps the
time has come when roles should
be changed. Let Esau whine and
wail and protest to the civilized
world, and let Jacob raise his
hand to fight the good fight.
No Morality, No (7onscieuce
For the anti-Semite has no mo-
rality, and he has no conscience.
He understands but one language,
and he must be dealt with on his
own level. The Purim Jews stood
up for their lives. American Jews
too must come to grips with our
contemporary anti-Semites. We
must fill our jails with anti-Sem-
itic gangsters, we must fill our in-
sane asylums with anti-Semitic
lunatics, we must combat every
alien Jew-hater, we must harass
and prosecute Jew-baiters to the
extreme limits of the laws, we
must humble and shame our anti-
Semitic hoodlums to such an ex-
tent that none will wish to dare
to become "fellow-travelers."
Purim's call to every Jew — Ex*
terminate the anti-Semitic ter-
mites.
Temple Israel
Bazaar Plans
Near Completion
Preparations for the Temple Is-
rael Sisterhood Bazaar, scheduled
for Sunday, March 24, at the Lee
Plaza Hotel, are near completion.
Mrs. Roy Samson and Mrs. Dan-
iel Krouse head the arrangement
committee.
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Closing Campaign Festival and
Celebration of 25th Anniversary
of Histadrut
Sunday Evening, March 17th, 8:00 p.m.
CASS
HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
Guest Artist
RICHARD TUCKER, Jewish Tenor
Metropolitan Opera Co.
First Detroit Appearance
Guest Speaker
Professor ALEXANDER H. PEKELIS
New School fo•• Social Research
Tickets of admission being issued to
contributors and organization delegate%
HISTADRUT
PALESTINE
COMMITTEE
9142 LINWOOD
TY. 7-8225