Friday, August 13, 1943

THE JEWISH NEWS

Pa ge Four

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Independent Jewish
Press Service, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate, Religious News
Service, Palcor News Agency, Bressler Cartoon Service, Wide
World Photo Service, Acme Newsphoto 'Service.
Published every Friday by Jewish News Publishing Co., 2114
Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, 26, Mich. Telephone, RAndolph 7956. Sub-
scription rate, $3 a year; foreign, $4 a year. Club subscription of one
issue a month, published every fourth Friday in the month, to all
subscribers to Allied Jewish Campaign of Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion of Detroit, at 50 cents a club subscription per year.
Entered as second-class matter August 6, 1942, at the Post Office
at Detroit, Michigan, under the Act of March 3, 1879.

BBOARD OF DIRECTORS
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
MAURICE ARONSSON
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
FRED M. BUTZEL
ABRAHAM
SRERE
THEODORE LEVIN
HENRY WINEMAN
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ

War Problem

Talmudic Tales

By DAVID MORANTZ

(Based upon the ancient legends and
philosophy found in the Talmud and
folklore of the Jewish people.)

THE SERPENT'S TAIL

One day the serpent's tail said
to the head:

MUST BE SOME
WAY OF OVER-
COMING THAT

`WIN-THE-WAR-
A NY-TIME
POISON

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor

VOL. 3—NO. 21

AUGUST 13, 1943

As the Editor
Views the News -

The Arab-Jewish Problem

Dr. Stephen S. Wise and the Emergency Committee for
Zionist Affairs are undoubtedly justified in their criticism
of the manner in which the New York Times handled the re-
ports of its correspondent in Cairo, C. L. Sulzberger, who gave
the impression that a clash between Jews and Arabs is im-
minent.
The Jews in Palestine are devoting their energies towards
winning the war. To place emphasis on a desire on the part
of Jews to prepare for post-war fighting with the Arabs is
grossJy unfair. It may serve to sow seeds of dissention and
eventually to harm the cause of Jewish national redemption
Sabbath Nahamu—the Sabbath of Consolation—to be ob-
in Palestine.
It is the responsibility of newspapers like the New York served tomorrow, comes as natural sequences to Tisha b'Ab.
This day of consolation is a symbol of the undying spirit
Times and its correspondents to help increase confidence
among all elements in territories under the control of the of Israel. It is a signal to Jews, who only a few days ago
mourned the destruction of the Temple, that all hope is not
United Nations.
gone and that redemption will come to our suffering people.
If, as Mr. Sulzberger reported in one of his cables, the
On the Sabbath of Consolation, the important fortieth
Arab's have stored large amounts of ammunition to be used chapter of Isaiah is recited as the Haftorah. It is appropriate
against the Jews, then the responsibility is with the manda- at this time, as we look forward to the end of persecutions
tory power to guarantee the safety of the Jewish population and tyranny in the world, to quote the following stanzas (1,
of Palestine. Previously, Jews were compelled to provide 2, 9, 22, 23, 29, 31) from the prophecies of Isaiah:
their own defense machinery. It is to be hoped that clashes
will be avoided and that Palestine will not be excluded from
Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people,
the lands where permanent peace will be 'assured after the
Saith your God.
war.
Bid Jerusalem take heart,
The Sulzberger cables revealed again that while the
And proclaim unto her,
Jews of Palestine have exerted themselves towards an all-
That her time of service is accomplished,
out effort to help Win the war, the Arabs have been slow in
That her guilt is paid off;
following suit, and they contributed very few volunteers to
That she bath received of the Lord's hand
the armed forces of the United Nations. Perhaps this will
Double for all her sins.
open the eyes of the British to the comparative loyalties
of Jews and Arabs.
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,
Get thee up into the high mountain;
It has always been clear that only a firm policy in Pales-
O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,
tine will prevent bloodshed. Complete adherence to the
Lift up thy voice with strength;
terms incorporated in the Mandate for Palestine, with the
Lift it up, be not afraid;
British facilitating the upbuilding of the Jewish National
Say unto the cities of Judah:
Hornr, is the only answer that can be given to hoodlums who
"Behold your God!"
may wish to continue to stir up riots in the Holy Land.

The Sabbath of Consolation

In the meanwhile, there is consternation in some Jewish
ranks over the revelations contained in Drew Pearson's
"Merry-Go-Round" column that the State Department's anti-
Zionist policy has taken the form of a recommendation to the
President to stop all discussion of Jewish aspirations in Pales-
tine until after the war.
The Jewish News last week published a complete report
on the proposed, negotiations. The facts are very disturbing,
but they should not catch veteran Zionists off-guard. The
anti-Zionist policies of the Near Eastern branch of the State
Department are well known, and Jews should be prepared to
combat any effort to stifle Jewish hopes.
This is a time to prepare for the fight to protect Jewish
rights in Palestine. The worst thing that can happen to' us is
that which has already happened to scores of our readers who
have called us since the publication of the Pearson item: the
emergence of a spirit of panic. What our leaders and the
Zionist rank and file must do is retain confidence, fight to a
finish and refuse to compromise on basic principles.
It is evident that it may become necessary to fight against
our enemies in the State Department. Therefore, the aid of
men :ike Drew Pearson and other columnists is important. As
long as they make the truth known, we have a strong weapon
agaiiist those who would undermine our position in Palestine.

Children's Home -and the War Effort

The announcement that the building of the Jewish Chil-
dren's Home is to be used by the Detroit Board of Education
for its child care program should be welcomed with satis-
faction by the entire community.
It is regrettable that this splendid building should have
remained unused for so many months. .
By making the home available for the care of war work-
ers' thildren, the officers of the Jewish Children's Home are
contributing
to the war effort. Their action in turning the
building - over to the Board of Education deserves to be com-
mended.

•

This Week's Scriptural Portions:

This Sabbath, the thirteenth day of Ab, the following Scrip-
rural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Penrateuchal portion: Deut. 3:23-7:11.
Prophetical portion: Is. 40:1-26.

It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth,
And the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;
That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell
That bringeth princes to nothing;
He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.

He giveth power to the faint;
And to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.
But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
They shall walk, and not faint.

These are the words of encouragement to all mankind
not to place their trust in princes but to have faith that right
will conquer over might and that there is a stronger power
than that of frail men which is certain to bring salvation to
the world.

Negro-Jewish Relations

L. D. Reddick's article "Are Negroes Anti-Semitic?" pub-

lished in the Crescent of New York and reproduced in Racial
Digest, published in Detroit, does not offer constructive pro-
posals in dealing with Negro-Jewish relations.
The impression to be gotten from this article is that Jews
have failed to contribute towards the solution of the racial
problem and that they have not enlisted their best efforts to
help eliminate Negro prejudice.
It is probably true that Jews have been among the
offenders in social and commercial dealings with the Negroes.
But it is grossly unfair to overlook the fact that Jews were
among the first to join in all efforts to eliininate racial hatred.
Mr. Reddick's article refers to the efforts of PM, ,but it
does not state that Jewish writers on the staff of PM have
been most outspoken in their condemnation of racial bigotry.
His article fails to mention the , great gifts to the Negro
race made by the late Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald
Estate and by liberal JeWish leaders who have been outspo-
ken in defense of the Negroes.
He does not mention the fact that the Spingarn Medal for
outstanding creative efforts is the annual award of a Jew.
Mr. Reddick has - not done the Jews a service with his
elfaiVs- of t1ieyexistehce of aliti.:Ne-groisiii among our peo-pie.

"Why should I not also lead
sometimes? I must always stay
in the background while you al-
ways appear foremost. Am I
not as capable of leading as
you?"
"You may have your wish,"
replied the head and he relin-
quished the lead to the tail.
The very first thing the tail
did then was to drag the body
into a muddy ditch. Next, it
floundered into a fiery furnace,
and escaping from that, it found
itself entangled in a patch of
thorns.

By this time it came to a
realization of its short-comings
and lack of ability to lead and
was willing " to delegate the
leading to the head and _resume
its place where it properly be-
longed.

Says the Talmud further:

"Be not over anxious to be at
the head of the table."

"It is not the place that honors
the man but the man that adorns
the place."

"One must not place the
crown merited by him upon his
own head, but should let others
do it, as it is written: (Prov.
XXII) Set another man praise
thee, and not 'thine own mouth;
a stranger, and not thine own
lips.' "
(Copyright by David Morantz)

For a • handsome 195 page, auto-
graphed gift volume containing 128
of these tales and 500 Pearls of Wis-
dom, send $1.50 to David Morantz,
care of The Jewish News, or phone
PLaza 1048.

Our

CHILDREN'S
CORNER

THE HOLY ARK

Originally, the main hall of
the synagogue contained no spe-
cial place for the storing of the
Holy . Ark and the Scrolls, which
were brought into each service
from an adjacent room. Only in
the later synagogues do there
appear special niches to hold the
Torah.

*

* *

THE MISHNA

Mishna is the name given to
the chief depositary of the Jew-
ish "oral law," which forms what
may be called the text of the
Talmud, as distinguished from
the Gemara, or commentary. The
earliest groupings of the oral law
were made by the school of Hil-
lel; but the Mishna, as now ex-
tant, was largely collected and
arranged by Rabbi J ehuda Ha-
Hasi (c. 220 A.D.)
* * *
CATECHETICAL SYSTEM
OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Throughout the 19th century
instruction by catechism (brief
hand-books usually written in
question and answer form) at-
tained widespread popularity
among Jews. Within recent years,
however, the trend in religious
instruction has been toward the
use of textbooks based on modern
teaching methods.

LETTER BOX

Editor, The Jewish News:
Just a note to let you know
how much I look forward to re-
ceiving my copy of The Jewish
News every week. We have many
Jewish boys. in our company
from all parts of the United
States and I always pass The
Jewish News on to them when I
have completed my reading.

PFC. MILTON GORDON
Co. D, AST-SU 4764
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyo.

