See. 512, P. L. & R.
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Permit No. 3761
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ and PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Publishers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Maurice Aronsson
Fred M. Butzel
Theodore Levin
Maurice H. Schwartz
Philip Slomovitz
Isidore Sobeloff
Abraham Srcre
Henry Wineman
The Weekly
Sermonette
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
Today, the first day of Shovuoth. the Feast of Weeks, the fol-
lowing selections from the Torah will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portions, Ex. 19:1-20:23; Num. 28:26-31; Prophetical
portion. Ezek. 1:1-28; 3:12. The Book of Ruth is also read on this
day. On the Sabbath, the second day of Shovuoth, the following
Num.
selections from the Torah are read: Deut. 14:22-16:17;
28:16-31; Prophetical portion, Hab. 3:1-19.
VOL. 1—NO. 9
MAY 22, 1942
The Shovuoth Festival
As we gather in our synagogues this week-end to
celebrate the great festival of Shovuoth, we must remem-
ber one fact:
The Supreme Law is unbreakable.
Throughout the world, the elements of destruction
and indecency, as represented by the Nazis and the Fas-
cists, seek to destroy the laws of mankind and to
substitute for them the rules of force and cruelty.
But those who stand for righteousness and for justice
must learn the lesson taught to mankind by Israel during
the past two thousand years. We have witnessed persecu-
tion. bigotry, oppression; but at no time have we yielded.
On the contrary, we have always held steadfastly to the
faith that the Law as handed down on Sinai, as personified
in the observance of Shovuoth, will dominate the world.
This faith must be reaffirmed by all mankind. We
must reaffirm it as Jews on Shovuoth. As long as man
lives. he must have faith ; and as long as man has faith,
he will live. This is the Jewish law which will prevail as a
lesson for all humanity when the present terrible world
conflict comes to an end.
The Coming USO Drive
John D. Rockefeller. Jr., has launched the national
$32.000,000 drive for the United Service Organizations
with an address he delivered in Chicago and with his an-
nouncement of a gift of $200,000, which is' -1 ..f..uble his
1941 contribution.
This was a signal to the 5.000 communities throughout
the land who will participate in this year's drive to get
ready for the united effort in behalf of the morale building
service organizations, including the Jewish Welfare Board.
Detroit's campaign has been deferred to the fall and
will be conducted as part of the Community Fund drive.
It will call for the active support of all Detroit citizens.
The fact that Detroit Jews are about to complete a record-
breaking Allied Jewish Campaign should in no sense
minimize the importance of the forthcoming USO drive,
and all of us should be prepared to do our best for it
when it is launched.
The Zionist Conference
It required the freedom of America and the courage
generated by the traditions of this country to defy the
obstacles created by the war and to reaffirm Jewish as-
pirations with regard to Palestine, -as enunciated in the
declaration of principles set forth by the Extraordinary
Zionist Conference, held in New York last week and de-
scribed by our special correspondent as "a miniature
World Zionist Congress."
Not since 1916, when a similar conference of all
parties in American Zionism was convened by Luis D.
Brandeis, has such a gathering taken place in this coun-
try. In the face of war emergencies, and because of the
necessity for united action in preparation for the coming
peace, this conference assumes historic proportions. Its
declaration covered the entire, field of Zionist thought
and action. It reaffirmed the basic principles inherent in
the Zionist ideology, rejected the restrictions contained in
the White paper of 1939, expressed readiness to cooperate
with the Arabs, declared faith in the ultimate victory of
humanity over lawlessness and pledged the aid required
for the victory of the democracies, on the military front
through the aid of a Jewish army and in whatever other
form may be necessary.
Adhering to the principles set forth in the Zionist
declaration, members of all parties in the movement have
an opportunity to make history in this war period by
striving for a unified front necessary for the achievement
of these basic ideals. The major problem of Jewish home-
lessness can be solved by the fulfillment of the hopes set
forth in this declaration. But in order to achieve them,
the proper political conditions are necessary. Dr. Chaim
Weizmann's plea, "Give us the political conditions and we
shall finish the job"—paraphrasing Prime Minister
Churchill himself—must be heeded by Great Britain and
the United Nations, for the sake of the fulfillment of the
principles involved in the present world conflict.
Z'Man Matan Torathenu
BY RABBI ISSAC STOLLMAN
the
"When the L-d gave
Torah, the fowls abated their
cackling, the birds stopped in
their flights, the oxen ceased
their braying, wheels turned no
longer, the Seraphim discon-
tinued their chanting of Kodosh,
the surface of the sea became
placid, people
stopped talking,
the entire world
was dead still,
and the sound of
`I am the L-d
etc. was -heard."
(Rabbo. Ch.
XXIX).
The quest for
self- aggrandize- Rabbi Stollman
ment at the expense of others.
aptly termed by the poet as
"man's inhumanity to man," is
and has been displayed all too
much in the history of our
planet and. unfortunately, there
appears, even at this late hour,
no diminution in or abatement
Poland Fights," the organ of the American Friends of the evil. If anything. it is on
the increase.
Poland Hell on Earth
of Polish Democracy, publishes an extensive report of
the present Jewish position in Poland. It received its in-
formation from a person who visited several times in the
Warsaw Ghetto last winter and who is now in a neutral
country, and his impressions are recorded under the
heading "Hell on Earth."
The appalling misery occasioned by lack of food and
living space, the inability of the sick to obtain medical
treatment, form part of the material for a story that makes
the reader's hair stand on end. "Only the graveyards are
growing," this observer's report states.
Such reports indicate clearly the responsibilities that
are ours. It is not enough for us to give lip service, to
express sympathies and to make nominal voluntary con-
tributions. The tragedy of our people requires effort ex-
ceeding by far any relief campaign that has been spon-
sored in the past. Today we can help the 700,000 Polish
refugees in Russia, tomorrow we will be able to assist the
thousands stranded in South American countries, and
before long it will be *possible to come to the aid of the
millions who are now incarcerated in ghettos created by
the Nazis.
We must be prepared for all emergencies, and at the
moment we can provide the minimum needs through the
Allied Jewish Campaign, which is an exceedingly import-
ant instrument for good not only for overseas relief but
also in providing the necessary support for local agencies
as well as the nationally recognized institutions. Included,
of course, in this great community effort is the cause of
Palestine which is the major cause for satisfaction over
Jewish achievements in the present crisis.
Only hearts that have turned to stone, and only the
very poor, can possibly refuse to subscribe to this great
humanitarian effort.
At War Against Bigotry
America is at war on all fronts—not merely in Aus-
tralia, in the Pacific and Atlantic zones and on a dozen
battlefields - against the Axis, but also on the home front.
Last week, Governors Lehman and Edison signed
bills prohibiting racial and religious discrimination in em-
ployment in New York and New Jersey.
A few days later, Governor Lehman signed two
more bills, designed to bar discrimination against Jews
and Negroes who desire to participate in golf and tennis
tournaments.
Thus, this is indeed a total war—against terrorism
and banditry throughout the world and against intoler-
ance at home.
Only total victory on both fronts will make the re-
sults worthy of the sacrifices that are being made by
humanity today in the fight for freedom.
THE EFFECTUAL REMEDY
Our tragedy, however, is not
the fact that we seem long to
have had these tendencies inimi-
cal to right "that every
imagination and thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually"
(Gen. VI-5), but the failure of
mankind to grasp at ' and apply
the only effectual remedy offer-
ing a solution to the world's
woes—the Torah.
Those solutions of the problem
which proceeded from human
origin, usually bring in their
train abuses just as detrimental
to the welfare of Man as th
abuses which were intended t•
be rectified thereby. To cite in
stances is superfluous. All
have to do is to look about our
selves, view the world as it i -
today, with the rich seeking t.
benefit at the expense of th:-
poor, and then, when the table-
are turned, as recent history ha
demonstrated, the opposite sit
uation obtains.
JUSTICE FOR ALL
Only the Torah offers justic-
for all. It is for that reason tha
as the excerpt quoted at the to
of this column indicates, whe.
the L-d gave the Ten Corn
mandrnents all had become dea•
quiet. For, at that moment the -
was a pervading sense, reachin:-
every element of life, of the ad
vent of a new power, a new dis
pensation of functions and pre
rogatives, which would deal ou
to all absolute and even-hande•
justice. •
This is the essence of o
faith. In accordance with th:
teachings of our rabbis (Mesich
to Abot VI-1), Judaism is, alo
with four other prime facto
in life, an especial creation o
G-d, calculated to offer to -
those, who seek to avail them
selves of its doctrine, the perf
medium for allaying discord an.
disaffection in the world.
Our Torah, with its well-reg
ulated and balanced system o
governing the relations betw - -
man and man, between natio.
and nation, between rich an
poor, between human being an
beast, all based upon a profoun.
recognition of our nature, and i
frailties, is a perfect orchestra
tion of a symphony of justice an
righteousness, such as only th
Al-ty lan devise.