THE JEWISH NEWS
Page Rim
The Balkans — Then and Now
'As the Editor
Views the News
Talmudic Tales
By DAVID MORANTZ
(Based upon the ancient legends and
philosophy found in the Talmud and
folklore of the Jewish people.),
Bnai Brith's War Services
HONESTY
When the Bnai Brith national centennial war service
convention opens in New York this week-end, this great
organization will have an opportunity to evaluate the im-
portant contributions made by its members throughout the
land towards winning the war.
Here are some of the salient facts regarding Bnai Brith's
war services:
The organization equipped 817 recreation facilities for
the armed forces and is serving 465 fighting ships.
Blood has been donated to the Red Cross by 52,000
members.
More than $765,000 has been contributed to the Red
Cross and other United Nations war relief agencies, and 51
mobile equipments have been given to the Red Cross.
Bnai Brith members have sold $244,000,000 in War Bonds.
Of the 14,500 Bnai Brith members in the armed - forces,
more than 7,000 are Hillel and A.Z.A. alumni.
This is only part of the imposing record of Bnai Brith
that will be recounted at the convention this week-end.
Bnai Brith has earned the commendations of all Ameri-
cans for the services rendered in helping win the war, as
well as for its efforts to counteract bigotry and guarantee the
perpetuation of the highest principles of Americanism.
National Family Week
The Synagogue Council of America is one of the par-
ticipating groups that are sponsoring National Family Week,
which will be observed May 7 to 14.
In a statement outlining the Jewish program for this
week's observance, the Synagogue Council points out that
the 'Jewish family has a special function and that:
."The Jewish people owe their survival in large part to
three institutions: the school, the synagogue, the family. Of
the .three the family is the most important. At the present time
in Europe the schools are being disbanded, the synagogues are
being destroyed, but through some miracle the family con-
tinues to persist in spite of all destruction and devastation.
The Jewish family becomes through the cultivation of its own
genius a sacred circle in which the members are bound together
in a spirit of common understanding, mutual sympathy, and
unremitting sacrifice."
These are principles that have been and must continue
to be placed in the forefront of Jewish responsibilities.
There were times when these cardinal principles were
so deeply rooted in Jewish life that observance of a family
week would have been considered a freak proposal.
But new situations have arisen. The new world influ-
ences call for reaffirmations of old principles. The setting
aside of a Family Week should react for the good of the
entire community, and it will not hurt for all of us to
re-evaluate the Jewish ideals at this time.
Reader's Digest Makes a Report
The editors . of Reader's Digest had overstepped the
limits of journalistic propriety in the so-called "report on
Palestine" published in the current issue.
Replete with misrepresentations, this article misrepre-
sents not only the Jewish position, but the Arab as well. It
does an injustice to the cause of truth.
Dr. Carl Hermann Voss, executive secretary of the
Christian Council on Palestine, in his inspiring address on
Tuesday evening at the Central M. E. Church here, properly
evaluated this "report" as a grave injustice, and the editors
of Reader's Digest should be advised to correct their blunders
and to refrain from publishing misleading statements of this
sort.
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 the Jewish Welfare
Federation of Detroit, at 40 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.
•
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAURICE ARONSSON
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
FRED M. BUTZEL
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ
HENRY WINEMAN
rnimp SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. -BRASC11, Advertising Counsel
VOL. 5—NO. 7
Friday, May 5, 1944
MAY 5, 1944
This Week's Scriptural Selections:
This Sabbath, the thirteenth day of Iyar, the following
Scriptural Selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion: Lev. 16:1-20:27.
Prophetical portion: Amos 9:7-15 or Jizek. 22:1-19 (or
16).
GUEST EDITORIAL
A Call to Action for Palestine
On the Occasion of Zionist Loyalty Day,
Set for This Sunday, May 7
By LAWRENCE W. CROHN
Member, National Administrative Committee of
the .Zionist Organization of America
It is our fate to witness this age of catastrophe which ex-
ceeds in horror all the past tragedies of our history. We
thought in our youth that we were blessed to know about the
Torquemadas only through the history books, and that the
final Golden Age for the Jew was at hand. When we learned
about the Syrian depredations, the glories of the Maccabean
revolt stood out in high splendor.
The tales of Roman cruelties were relieved by the hero-
ism of Bar Kochba and his intrepid followers. We prefer to
look back upon these heroes, rather than the sordid people of
those periods, who; like our own pleasure-loving contempo-
raries, accepted the yoke of Greece, of Rome, anything in
order to go on unmolested in their selfish course.
What shall be our legacy to future generations? Not, we
hope, the record of Florida-bound argossies in a war-torn
world. For we already have written into the record the epic
of the Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto, the 30,000 Jewish soldiers
from Palestine and the achievements of modern Zionism. De-
spite opposition from without and minus full support from
the Jewish world, what has been wrought in Palestine? Let
the tale be told, as it has by non-Jews like Dr. Walter C.
Lowdermilk and Pierre Van Paassen, of agricultural revival,
industrial rehabilitation, cultural renaissance and social inno-
vation. Surely, all men of good will must see and believe.
The old world of the Jews has toppled down amidst the
ruins of Europe. Along with the expiring men, women and
children have gone the synagogues, the academies, the books,
the learning. Only 500,000 have gone forth, on time, to the
Land of Israel, and have prospered and built up the ancient
Homeland. To what purpose, it may be asked? Merely for
their personal survival? Such is not the thought in Palestine.
There, the settlers feel that they hold the land in trust, for
those millions who must come later.
Even now, the relative contributions of Palestine to the
Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund far surpass the
contributions of American Jewry. Jews without feeling and
conscience we have aplenty. But to our brethren in whose
hearts still pulsates the Jewish spirit, the examples and the
accomplishments of Palestine are deep solace and inspiration
in this time of bitterness in Jewish life.
Here, in Detroit, next Sunday, May 7, has been desig-
nated Palestine Loyalty Day. Zionists will undertake to visit
the homes of Jews to ask for memberships in the Zionist
organization. Few Jews actually oppose Zionism:— It is the
luxury of disinterestedness, of neutrality, in such a time, that
will be marked by future historians as the crime of this age.
Modern Palestine stands out as the hope and promise of
Jewish revival. It is our hope that the canvassers on Pal-
estine Loyalty Day will succeed in moving their prospects to
sign their names to membership blanks and thus add theirs to
the mounting list of Jews who participate, as it were, in the
upbuilding of the Yishuv. We hope that this may be only
their first step toward the attainment of that joy which is
given to all those who have labored for Zion in this and in
past ages.
Rab Safra, who dealt in preci-
ous stones, was a very piou's man
and known for . his honesty and!
fairness in the conduct of hisci
business.
In his stock was a jewel on
which he placed a price of 101
gold denarim. One day a cus-1
tomer called upon him, and, de-4
siring to purchase that particular
stone, offered seven denarim for'
it.
Rab Safra refused to sell at
that figure and the customer
went on his way.
After carefully considering thei
matter, however, Rab Safra de-
cided that should the customer
return, he would accept seven-,
denarim for the jewel.
The next day the customer did
call again but found Rab Safra.1
engaged in his morning prayers.;
"I have come to increase my
offer," he said. "Will you sell
the jewel to me for eight
denarim?"
Rab Safra, earnestly engrossed
in his prayers, did not answer
him.
"All right, then, I will pay you
nine denarim for it."
But Rab Safra still replied not.'
Taking his silence for refusal
of his offer, he said: "Have it
your way then, I agree to your
terms. I will pay you 10 gold-
denarim for the jewel."
Rab Safra, finishing his pray- -
ers in time to hear the last re- ;
mark, replied: "My dear sir, V
beg your pardon if I seemed
rude in not answering you soon-I
er. However, as I was intent i
upon my pfayers, I did not hear
you. After you left me yester-I
day, I decided to sell this jewel
to you for the seven goldi
denarim, which you offered me
then. If you will pay me that'
sum, the jewel will be yourg.'!1'
(Copyright by David Morantz)
For a handsome 195 page, auto-j
graphed gift volume containing 1281
of these tales and 500 Pearls of Wis..;
dom. send S1.50 to David I'dorantz,1
care of The Jewish News, or phono'
PLaza 1048.
In Lighter Vein
The Week's Best Stories
Comedy. Off-Stage
We are indebted to London
Calling of the BBC for the fol-
lowing charming story:
A small anti-aircraft site some-
where in the wilds of Northern
England put in a request for en-
tertainment—so a category -13'
unit was detailed to go to them.
The officers and men tricked up
their Nissen but with a stage,
fairy lights, and laid' down the
red carpet for this momentous
occasion.
The great day arrived. The lit-
tle ENSA van with its four-
handed party, complete with pia-
no and squeeze box, drew up at
the front of the 'theater.' The en-
tertainments officer was there
to greet them as the comedian-
drive got out of the van.
"Jolly good of you to come,"
said the officer. "Is Leslie Hen-
son with you?"
"Not with this coompany," re-
plied the comedian-driver, with
a rich Sandy Powell accent.
"But he's with ENSA, isn't
he?"
"Yes, but not with this coom-
pany." There was a slight pause.
"Well, is Frances Day with
you?"
"Not with this coompany."
"But she's with ENSA, isn't
she?"
"Yes, but not with this coom
pany!"
"Well, is Sydney Howard with
you?"
"Not with this coompany." •
A very long pause—then, in a
disgruntled voice: "Oh, well, I
suppose you'd better come in and
give us a show."
"Just a minute, sir", said the
comedian-driver. "Is General
Montgomery here?"
"Good gracious, no", replied the
Entertainment Officer, "not with
this unit."
"Well, he's in the Army, isn't
he?"
Curtain.