American lavish Periodical 0

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

Page 4

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

Passover in January

Published Weekly by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
WOodward 1-1040
900 Lawyers' Building, Detroit 26, Michigan
ON
$3.00 Per Year. Single Copies, 10c; Foreign, $5.00 Per Year
Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at
Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879

Friday, January 26, 1951

Another Book
on Israel War—
but a Good One

By HAROLD S. COHEN
LET MY RIGHT HAND
WITHER by Daniel Spicehand-
ler (Beechhurst Press, New
SEYMOUR TILCHIN
Publisher
York, 261 pp., $3.50).
GERHARDT NEUMANN
Nothing can be a greater bore
NORMAN KOLIN
Editor
Advertising Manager
to a non-military mind than the
Shebat 19, 5711
memoirs of an old soldier, filled
Friday, January 26, 1951
as it usually is with references to
obscure regiments, officers long
dead and abstruse tactical moves.
It is therefore quite refreshing
The problem of Jewish survival and the related question
when a young soldier takes pen
of how it can be assured is always timely.
in hand to produce a record of
Two recent developments again have brought the topic
his experiences in the recent
Israel war with all the skill of
into focus: Jacob Blaustein's pronunciamento that Arica is
not Galut and the resolutions of the National Conference on
a novelist.
Daniel Spicehandler is a New
Education.
Blaustein's argument has been taken up in an excellent
Yorker from an old Zionist fam-
article by Trude Weiss-Rosmarin in the January issue •of the
ily win '11 spoke Hebrew at home.
Jewish Spectator. If America is not Galut, she asks, "What
It was therefore natural for him
upon being discharged from the
need is there for the American Jewish Committee to spend
U. S. Air Force, to go to Israel
about two million dollars a year for research in the psychology,
To make certain that every Jewish GI has the opportunity to with his wife to study under the
the motivations and the expressions of anti-Semitism?"
Mrs. Rosmarin rightly states that being a minority does
participate in a Passover Seder, the National Jewish Welfare G. I. Bill.
He soon found himself involved
not necessarily cripple the creative faculties of a group. In
Board completed arrangements for shipping religious materials
fact, Jews are much too sensitive to the fact of belonging to
and kosher food to Korea, Japan, Alaska, Germany and Austria, in Haganah activities that finally
a minority group. The very idea seems to give them an in-
led to his joining the Israel
the Caribbean and all Pacific bases. Rabbi Aryeh Lev and Abe army when the state was pro-
feriority complex.
Feitelberg are shown supervising the packing and shipping claimed. After a long hitch in
"Despite the tragedy of the Galut, Jews have lived Jew-
the army he was transferred to
operation.
ishly creative lives in all countries of the dispersion," Mrs.
the fledgling Israel Air Force
Rosmarin writes. "And because the dispersion has been twice
and fought with that group until
as long as the period of Jewish statehood in the homeland,
the end of the war.
Jewish cultural creativeness in the Galut countries was more
• • •
variegated, vaster in scope and quantitatively larger than what
had been created by Jews on the soil of ancient Palestine."
With a fast paced style and a
flair for observation, he presents
Ahad Haam himself believed that "our national creative
a picture of a nation's birthpangs
power remains the same in all ages; and it has not ceased even
that is certainly the best thing
in the exile to work in its own specific fashion."
to date on the subject. All the
daism
and
shared
their
esteeem
Mrs. Rosmarin's point is that "complete assimilation cannot
By ALFRED SEGAL
with old Rabbi Lesser who was a powerful drama is there, told
go together with integrated Jewishness." "Jews must remain
THIS IS ABOUT a funeral and meek man like Moses was.
either from the point of view of
sensitive to the fact that they are in Galut—or go under. The
of what one thinks at a fu-
an eye witness or by a beautiful
An
old-timer
was
whispering:
very awareness of Galut makes for Jewish survival while its
neral. As one gats older, he finds
projection of the author into the
"You
might
say
this
funeral
trib-
absence inevitably results in Jewish extinction."
himself more and more often at
personalities of his friends.
ute
is
as
much
for
our
fathers
and
The basis of the author's beliefs is the feeling that although
Weil's which is the favorite fu-
As a writer, Spicehandler
mothers as for Sam Oscherwitz.
"we need not fear a Jewish catastrophe here in the foreseeable
neral place in
American
He and they were out of the same leans heavily upon American
future" we should not be too sure that the future of
our community;
cannot
good content of life that we models such as John Dos Passos
Jewry is secured for all times, In other words, we
to say goodbye
honor. He was born in that time." and Hemingway, as who hasn't?
to contempo-
forego preparedness.
(You see, Sam was 69.)
He falls far short of the for-
It is well known that influential groups in Israel take the
raries.
mer
in attempting to merge past,
It
was
good,
all
right,
then,
position that American Jews will be swallowed up in the pro-
So one Sunday
though everybody was poor. Still present and future in a single
cess of assimilation, while other schools of thought hold that
recently I was
he
somewhat remembered in our stream of consciousness, but
Jews can survive, as Jews in the Diaspora, "provided they
there for the fu-
almost
equals
the
latter
in
his
town are the newcomers toiling
develop the right techniques and instruments for Jewish
neral of one
up the hill on Central avenue battle scenes. The mere fact that
whom the rabbi
survival."
Mrs. Rosmarin carries this thought to its logical conclusion,
from the railroad depot. Their he invites comparison with these
described com-
featherbeds on their backs, their two giants, shows the high qual-
namely, that such techniques "proceed from the basic fact that
passionately as a
Segal
little children tugging at the ity of his work.
all countries, outside of Israel, are—Galut, requiring special
lonely man. Ile
Spicehandler is an utterly
measures and safeguards for Jews desiring to remain Jews."
was a man who had no talent at mothers' skirt. That was their
honest writer. Whether dealing
The very denial of Galut is the way to self-destruction.
all for making friends and with a beginning in our town.
"The pronouncement 'America is not Galut' is bound to
considerable talent to repel those
It was a day of dazzling triumph with his own reactions under
add new difficulties to the psychological burden of the
who wanted to be friendly.
for everybody in the orthodox fire, or the confusion, ignorance
and even stupidity which he en-
American Jew," the author says, "for it is dangerous and
The few at his funeral were community when, back in the 90s, countered in Israel, he pulls no
harmful to live by an illusion of which one will be inevitably
there because they didn't like the Raphael Miller, son of Moshe
disabused sooner or later. The 'America is not Galut' chimera
idea of leaving him altogether Miller, was graduated as a physi- punches.
• • •
is, as all dangerous and treacherous illusions, the result of
alone even at his last moment on cian. He was the first son of East
His
powerful
sympathy for the
day-dreaming and the ignoring of facts. It may do irremediable
the earth. They tried to make a European immigrants to enter
Holy Land and his people does
harm by, American Jews from accepting the reality of
one
of
the
professions.
A
few
bit of a crowd for him at his
years later along came Max Levy not blind him to their faults.
funeral. They were about 10.
their situation."
However it is for the British
There is nothing we can add to these remarks. We have
The next Sunday I was back at as a lawyer. The sons were start- and the Christian world in gen-
taken this position consistently and repeatedly pointed out
ing
to
fulfill
themselves
in
ac-
Weil's for the funeral of one I had
eral that he reserves his scorn
that American Jewry is really living in a dream world, un-
gone to school with. The place cordance with the ancient devo-
and hatred.
prepared to face the facts and unwilling to accept its responsi-
was packed with people who had tion to learning. • •
•
The spectacle of Jerusalem
bilities, which it thinks are fully discharged when it con-
come to show their esteem for
WELL, THIS WAS the rich being pounded to pieces by the
tributes money to the large and small campaigns for all
Sam Oscherwitz.
The rabbi was intoning ihe background that had come out of Arab Legion, while no non- a
possible causes.
Obviously, the way to a reorientation is through a thorough
orthodox service for the dead but poverty for the congregation that Jewish voice was raised, had
old-timers were letting their had assembled at Weil's that Sun- telling influence upon him.
reform of our Jewish school system. The recent conference on
Ilis cry, "If I forget thee, 0
minds stray from the solemn day afternoon for Sam Oscher-
education has put its finger on the sore spot when it demanded
Jerusalem,"
echoes the whole of
witz's
funeral.
In
the
possession
words
to
look
around
among
the
that all Jewish organizations support a comnon program of
crowd. This was like a pageant of things they were all far richer Jewish history.
improving and expanding Jewish educational activities.
Of particular interest to Am-
of the fine history of the East than their ancestors who had
A four-point program adopted by the conference calls for
European Jews of our town; these toiled up the hill from the rail- ericans, is the author's report
the creation of a permanent advisory council; the adoption of
mourners were the children, the road station, featherbeds on their of meetings with Sabras, native-
a basic statement on community responsibility for Jewish
grandchildren and the great- backs. But all of the Torah was born Israelis. He finds them as
education; a survey of Jewish schools in America, and adop-
grandchildren of these early ones. in their hearts.
"normal" as any American Gen-
tion of a "charter of the rights of the Jewish child."
The children and grandchildren tile youth and almost as filled
Sam Oscherwitz's father was
All this is very well. But a crucial point is missing: how
our first kosher butcher back at had come to Sam's funeral in with prejudice against Jews of
can the cooperation of the home be obtained? It goes without
Cadillacs or Buicks, anyway. The the diaspora.
the beginning of the 80s.
saying that no school system can function without the ideologi-
old-timer was whispering: "But
• • •
• • •
cal backing of the parents. The fact that Jewish parents—at
.
Many of them evidently con-
least, in their majority—do not believe in the necessity of a
THE OLD-TIMERS were re- are the children really richer
ceive of Galut Jews as Shylocks,
membering all that. Their fathers than their father's were?"
Jewish education going beyond the smokescreen of the Sunday
That's all in the way you look weakened morally by persecu-
school is largely to blame for the pitiful Jewish school systems
and mothers, selig, surely had
come down to join themselves at it, I replied. Sure enough, the tion to the point where they are
in most cities of this country.
The schools, of course, are doing their best to turn out
with this congregation; just to sit Torah isn't as big in their hearts money mad goldbricks. The Sab-
around and notice how it had all as it was in the hearts of their ras have as much conception of
good Jews equipped with a knowledge of Hebrew, Jewish
fathers. Between you and me American Jewish life as have the
history and thought and imbued with the desire to raise
come out well.
Jewish life above the level of fund-raising and social clubs.
They had been peddlers and they aren't all keeping kosher; Australian bushmen, he finds.
But the indifference of the parents does not further their
tailors who in time opened their they like shrimp salad to start a
The role of the British in the
own small shops and stores; or good dinner with, or oyster cock- whole Middle East mess comes
efforts.
taey were Hebrew scholars who tail.
A look around any Jewish community shows how much
But they are good people who through as dirty as previous
studied Talmud and were ped-
incompetence predominates. "The fact that so large a propor-
try
to bring up their children to authors have found it. Their
dlers on the side for the purpose
tion of American Jews have had at best only a moderate
the
ethical values of the Torah blatant anti-Jewish and pro-
by
of holding the soul to the body;
interest in Jewish affairs helps to explain why it has been
which
their fathers could recite Arab policy is only exceeded
they hurried along with the tin-
the
individual
acts
of
members
relatively easy for many mediocre leaders to maintain them-
ware on their backs in order to be by chapter and verse. Few of of the British army and adminis-
selves in power," says Prof. Elf Ginsberg in his new book,
on time for the studies in the the children know Torah that tration.
"Agenda for American Jews."
way but they try hard to live by
afternoon.
No reader who wants to under-
What do we expect of Jewish organizational life if so
To make a house for God was it, and isn't that enough? They stand the recent war, or who
many Jews, old and young, are indifferent to, and detached
do
for
Jewish
life
in
accordance
the first thing after they had
wishes to enlarge his knowledge
from, the Jewish idea? How can we hope to develop the
rented a couple of rooms for with their ample means.
of Israel and the Israeli, can
Jewish community if Jewish ideas and ideals no longee
The
rabbi
had
concluded
the
themselves. They made a Hebrew
afford to ignore this book.
appeal to our youth?
school for the children in a tene- service and Sam Oscherwitz was
As a war book alone, it stands
The apathy in Jewish life is Galut at its worst. There is re-
being carried out. He was a good
ment house, downstairs.
comparison with Irwin Shaw's
man.
The
pageant
of
our
local
signation and disbelief, where enthusiasm and fighting spirit
They were thankful to old Mr.
The Young Lions and Norman
should prevail. If the facts of life cannot convince American
Oscherwitz when he established history dispersed over Weil's Mailer's The Naked and the
lawn, out into the street to Cadil-
Jews that they have to put more efforts into the business
his kosher meat shop. He looked
Dead.
lacs and Buicks.
of survival, we do not know what else can change their minds.
like a prophet of traditional Ju-
It is high time for a reappraisal of our state of affairs.

This Business of Survival

A Funeral Shows Link
Between 3 Generations