Page Four
THE JEWISH NEWS
April 24, 1942
THE LUCKY TOUCH crz
(Editor's Note: By special arrangement with the
publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Jewish News is
privileged to publish the following short story by one of
the most eminent Jewish writers in the world—Sholem
Asch, author of The Nazarene," "Three Cities," "Salva-
tion," "The Mother," "Song of the Valley," and numerous
other outstanding novels and short stories.
"The Lucky Torch" is one of Shalom Asch's latest
short stories. It appears in his new book, "Children of
Abraham," a collection of short stories, published today
by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Maurice Samuel translated these
short stories from the Yiddish. A review of "Children
of Abraham" appears elsewhere in this issue of The
Jewish News.
A SHORT STORY
By SHOLEM ASCH
Brenner Branch of
J.N.W.A. Installs
Its New Officers
WAS a quiet, unobtrusive man; when he spoke you
H E hardly
heard him, and when he passed you hardly
noticed him, though he was tall and broad-built. His face
was lightskinned and covered with freckles; the big yel-
low beard ended up in two points, like a fish's tail. He
reminded you of a fish in other ways, too; the pallor of
his skin for instance, which suggested perpetual immer-
sion in water.
He was one of th.9 most good natured men that ever
lived, incapable of saying "No." You had only to ask a
favor of him, and, if it were possible, he granted it.
Such was Reb Nachman Weinberg, on whom God
Branch 552 of the Jewish Na-
tional Workers Alliance, known
as the Brenner Branch, had in-
stallation of officers Sunday
night, April 12, at Lacher's Hall,
8939 12th St.
M. Meyerovitz, representative
of the national office, officiated.
The guest speaker was Philip
Slomovitz, editor of The Jewish
News.
Dr. S. Zeltzer, representative
of the city committee, greeted
the branch in the name of the
Detroit branches.
I. Shrodeck acted as toast-
master.
I. Soref delivered an enlighten-
ing speech on why the branch
was named after Josef Chaim
Brenner, and related the noted
lecture's life and activities.
The newly elected officers are:
I Soref chair man;
. Sa nger,
financial secretary and treasurer;
I. Shrodeck, recording secretary;
S. Wasserman, social committee
chairman; J. Glaser, cultural
committee chairman.
Entertainment was furnished
by Miss M. Hoffman, vocalist, ac-
companied by Miss Thompson.
Brenner branch is now em-
barking on membership drive.
had conferred the lucky touch."
Here is how it all began.
- Icompanied the collector to War-
Year after year the people in saw.
the village played the state lot-
At the bank it was made clear
tery. Every one bought a ticket, to Reb Nachman and the collec-
elderly respectable Jews with tor
tor that the number in question
shops on the main street, women ' did not represent a "Seventy-
who kept stalls in the market- fiver' but an "Eighthv of a "Sev-
place, young men ready for mili- enty-fiver." Moreover, as Reb
tary service, girls preparing for Nachman suddenly recalled, he
marriage. If a young man or a had sold a half interest in his
girl could not buy a whole ticket, ."Eighth" to some visiting Jew;
two of them—sometimes three or and that just one day before the
four—clubbed together to buy drawing of the lottery. What re-
part of a ticket. The well-to-do mained with Reb Nachman was
gambled on the "Big Winner," therefore a sixteenth part of a
the 75,000 rouble stakes; others "Seventy-fiver" — enough, of
were content with "Eighths," or course, to make him the richest
fragments of eighths. As far as Jew in the village, but not some-
the village knew, only one per- thing to lie in a coma about for
son had ever won anything and three days and three nights.
David I. Berri,s, prominent De-
that a minor prize; but the play-
troit attorney who is active with
So
it
was
easy
enough
to
cal-
ing of the lottery went on earn-
culate exactly how much Reb Young Israel and Yeshiva Beth
estly and undiscourageably.
Nachman was bringing home Yehudah, will preside at the
And then, one night in the from Warsaw, even if the local sessions of the annual meeting
early summer, round Pentecost Jews had not been the brilliant of the Michigan Synagogue Con-
time, whgn everyone was fast mathematicians they were: one- ference which will be held in
asleep, there came a sound of half of one-eighth, which made Congregation Beth Tefilo Eman-
running feet and of a great pant- j one-sixteenth. They sat down uel, Taylor and Woodrow Wil-
ing. Boruch Shpiliter, the lottery with pencil and paper and had son, on Sunday, May 3.
dealer and collector, waving a the answer in two minutes. For
The guest speaker will be Rab-
telegram and trying to shout: all that, everyone had the feel- bi Isadore Goodman, assistant to
something, stopped at the door ing that Reb Nachman was the Chief Rabbi of the British
of net) Nachman Weinberg.
bringing home from Warsaw the Empire, who will review Jewish
"Reb Nachman! Reb Nach- wealth of the Indies and the life in England during the mem-
man!" he gasped, and with a last Czar's crown• to boot; nor was orable air-battle for Britain. The
supreme effort, he added: "It's the impression diminished when convention will be devoted to the
the Seventy-fiver!" And with it was learned that Lazar the discussion of war-time problems
that he fell in a dead faint.
smith was putting iron bars on of internal Jewish life.
Reports will be given at the
They brought him round in Reb Nachman's doors and win-
meeting by Rabbi M. J. Wohl-
a few minutes. But they had a dows.
gelernter, on the religious and
harder job with Reb Nachman
"Easy come, easy go." This an-
Weinberg, who lay in a coma cient piece of folk wisdom must educational activities of the Con-
ference; by Rabbi Jacob J. Na-
for three days and nights after
getting the good news. It was have been garnered through the than, on work done among col-
:
ges
from the lives and destinies lege youth at Wayne and the
touch and go with him.
of the Reb Nachmans. I do not University of Michigan; by Rabbi
The news spread the same know how other Reb Nachmans Leizer
Levin, on the suport of
night; and on the following got rid of their unexpected
Yeshivoth and charitable institu-
morning, after prayers, half of wealth; this one, I can relate, tions; by Morris Mohr, on bud-
the village collected in Reb was the center of a conspiracy getary problems; and by Wolf
Nachman Weinberg's house.
Cohen, on admissions. Mrs. Josh-
(Continued on Page 13)
Men, women, and children came;
ua S. Sperka, chairman of the
relatives of Reb Nachman,
women's branch of the confer-
friends, acquaintances and even
ence, will report on the work of
enemies. Sponge cake and drinks
the section with respect to Sab-
were passed round, the benedic-
bath observance and other activ-
tion was made, toasts were
ities.
drunk, good wishes exchanged.
All copy for insertion in The
Reservations for the conven-
Only the lucky man himself lay
tion luncheon may be mad, at
Jewish
News must be in the
moaning; the village healer was
the office of the conference, 1550
sent for; he recommended cold
hands of the Editor before 5
Taylor, or by telephoning Trinity
compresses, smelling salts, rest
p. m. on Tuesdays.
1-2934.
and quiet.
Copy should be typewritten
On the fourth day Reb Nach-
man rose from his bed and ac-
and double-spaced.
-
By David Deutsch
I AM AN AMERICAN
The man responsible for "I Am
An American Day" is Council-
man A. L. Wolk of Pittsburgh,
who first suggested the idea in
his own town in 1939. They call
him father of Pittsburgh's "Citi-
zenship Day," which has been
expanded into President Roose-
velt's May 17 day to honor na-
turalized citizens and native-
born reaching 21. The Jewish
Councilman Modestly denies that
he is the originator of the scheme,
attributing the idea to a small
town in Wisconsin which first
held such a celebration.
COUGHLINISMS
_That sledge-hammer smash at
the anti-Semites in the recent
issue of Life was a swell X-Ray
of the hate mongers which made
many of them run to cover . . .
Wonder how many of the staff of
the Time-Life-Fortune combina-
tion remember back a few years
when Time regularly used to
publish nasty jibes at Jewish
subjects, to be flooded with pro-
tests from Jews—only to dismiss
them with smart-aleck cracks
. . . Maybe Pearl Harbor did
jostle some of the parlor po-
;gromchiks out of their wise-
' cracks-as-usual habits.
Keep an eye on Oklahoma,
where -Alfalfa Bill" Murray.
who ran for president in 1932
and who once was governor of
the state, has his hat in the ring
to displace Josh Lee in the Unit-
ed States Senate. The hate mon-
gers are rootin' for Murray,
whose pre-Pearl Harbor Cham-
ber of Commerce speeches were
not the kind that made Jewish
listeners love him (if this sounds
sort of circuitous—blame it on
the Supreme Court, which holds
you can't call an anti-Semite by
name without yourself being
haled to court).
JEWISH OPERATION
Sixty people are out of a job
because Eddie Cantor's operation
turned out to be not so minor,
so "Banjo Eyes" had to close.
The 49-year-old star is alleged
to have undergone a "Jewish"
operation, which seems to be
necessary whether you sit or
stand ... Best crack of the week ,
came from Edna Ferber, acting
as a hostess at the New York
Stage Door canteen for soldiers:
"I wish I were young again, and
I wish I were a man!"
Copyright, 1912, by INDEPENDENT
PRESS SERVICE, Inc.
Honor Dr. Goodman
At Luncheon May 4
Dr. Isadore Goodman, regional
minister of North London, and
assistant to Chief Rabbi Joseph
Hertz of the British Empire, will
be honored at a reception by the
Jewish Women's League for Sab-
bath Observance, Monday, May 4,
at 4 p. m., in the social hall of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Mrs. Abraham Caplan is in
charge of arrangements.
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Calendar of Events
April 25—Dessert luncheons of Ladies' Auxiliary of Maimonides
Medical Society.
April 30—Conference of Detroit organizations, at Shaarey Zedek,
to elect delegates to the War Emergency Session of the American
Jewish Congress.
May 1 — Mrs. Walter E. Heller of Chicago, guest speaker at lunch-
eon report meeting of Women's Division of Allied Jewish Campaign,
at Jewish Community Center.
May 3—Spring Convention of Michigan Synagogue Conference
at Beth Tefilo Emanuel Synagogue.
May 4—Luncheon in honor of Rabbi Isadore Goodman of Eng-
land, at Shaarey Zedek.
May 5—"An Evening of Music" sponsored by Zionist Organiza-
tion of Detroit, at Shaarey Zedek.
May 5—Lag b'Omer celebration at Jewish Community Center.
May 10—Official opening of Allied Jewish Campaign, at dinner
at Hotel Statler.
May 29-31--National Convention of Mu Sigma Pi Fraternity, in
Detroit.
June 10-4—Eighth annual convention of Pioneer Women's Organ-
ization of America, at the Book-Cadillac Hotel, Detroit.
Community Needs
Told at JWB Meet
NEW YORK (JTA)—The pro-
gram which Jewish centers
throughout the country are to fol-
low in their community work for
the duration of the war was out-
lined here this week by Frank L.
Weil, president of the National
Jewish Welfare Board, address-
ing the annual conference of the
JWB at the Hotel Commodore.
The conference, which marks
the 25th anniversary of the Jew-
ish Welfare Board, was addressed
also by Judge Irving Lehman,
honorary president of JWB, by
Joseph Rosenzweig, the JWB sec-
retary, by Rabbi Milton Stein-
berg, .Prof. William Yandel El-
liot and others. Delegates from
all parts of the country are at-
tending the conference.
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