THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Four

As the Editor
Views the News —

Watch 'Eni, They're Not Out—Yet!

By DAVID MORANTZ

A Ready Retort

At no time in our history was the refrain
of the Book of Lamentations, to be read in
our synagogues this Saturday night and Sun-
day morning, during Tisha b'Ab services,
as applicable to us as it is in this sad year
5704.
When we recite that—

An Athenian once went into an eating house
in Jerusalem and ordered the boy who offered
to serve him, to bring some eggs and cheese.
After the boy had done so, the stranger said:
"I shall give you this coin if you will tell me
which of these cheeses is from the milk of
white goats and which from black goats."
"That I shall be glad to do, sir," replied the
witty lad, "if you will tell me which of these
eggs came from a black hen and which from a
white one."

"Our inheritance is turned unto strang-
ers, our houses unto aliens.
"We are orphans and fatherless; our
mothers are as widows,"

Two French Martyrs

Two eminent French Jews were report-
ed in recent weeks to have died as martyrs
for the cause of justice, at the hands of the
Nazis.
Georges Mandel was said to have been
killed while being transferred from an in-
ternment camp.
Aime Palliere, former Catholic who was
converted to Judaism and became the spirit-
ual leader of the Paris liberal Jewish con-
gregation, died in a concentration camp.
M. Mandel, in the opinion of the London
Times, was a "true patriot whose farsighted-
ness in peace and courage in adversity will
stand as a shining example to generations."
He could have fled to England, but he stuck
to his post and refused to leave his native
land in the face of danger to the country he
had served in many capacities for many
years.
M. Palliere was a deeply religious man.
Detroiters who will recall his appearance at
Temple Beth El about 20 years ago will re-
member him as a very kind man and as a
great philosopher whose life's work was
motivated by a desire to advance the needs
of all humanity.
When the Nazis are called upon to ac-
count for their crimes, those who will sit
in judgment will surely see to it that the
criminals responsible for the death of these
two great French Jews should pay the high-
est penalty.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAURICE ABRONSSON
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
FRED M. EUTZEL
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ
HENRY WINEMAN

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. 11. BRASCH, Advertising Counsel

VOL. 5—NO. 19

JULY 28, 1944

The Week's Scriptural Selections

This Saturday, Sabbath Hazzon, the ninth
day of Ab, 5704, the following Scriptural se-
lections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Deut. 1:1-3:22.
Prophetical portion—Is. 1:1-27.
On Tisha b'Ab, Sunday, (deferred from Sat-
urday), the following Scriptural portions will
be read:
Pentateuchal portions — Morning, Deut.
4:25-40; afternoon, EX. 32:11-14; 34:1-10.
Prophetical portions — Morning. Jer. 8:13-
9:23; afternoon, Is. 55:6-56:8.

Talmudic Tales

(Based upon the ancient legends and philosophy found in
the Talmud and folklore of the Jewish people dating back
as far as 3,000 years.)

The Tisha b'Ab Refrain

this lament no longer will be applicable
.merely to Jerusalem of old. It is now the
tragic cry of a thousand cities.
More than 4,000,000 Jewish martyrs now
attest to the tragedy of Israel in the 20th
century whose years are bathed in blood.
But even in this tragic year of 5704, the
reading of Lamentations again concludes
with the plea: "Renew our days as of old!"
The hope of Israel lives, even if it is
a cry of faith uttered by a surviving rem-
nant.
Our people have survived many trag-
edies. We shall survive this one as well.
Tried by many fires, it is the duty of those
who have been spared the sufferings of the
victims of Nazism to make the lives of the
victims - of tyranny. more pleasant In the
years to come.
Israel must emerge stronger from this
period of sorrow. Israel must cease to be
homeless. It is the only consolation that
can possibly be offered those whose tortures
transcend all the miseries recorded in the
history of martyrology.

Friday, July 28, 1944

(Copyright by David Morantz)
For a handsome 195 page, autographed gift volume con-
taining 128 of these tales and 500 Pearls of Wisdom, send
$1.50 to David Morantz, care of The Jewish News, or
phone PLaza 1018.

Children's Corner

Arwer.. ,...ararAnrAPArArAur,NumarArararAn or

•

•

The Dangerous Peace-Feelers

Dear Boys and Girls:
Many legends are told about Tisha b'Ab, the
sad day which commemorates the anniversary
of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
One of the legends is that Jerusalem could
not be captured as long as the daily offerings
were brought by the Jews and that the enemy
was able to enter Jerusalem only after the
services had stopped because of the lack of
sacrifices. The gate of the Temple shut itself
when the enemy came near it and the iron axes
brought on 360 camels could - not batter down
the door. But the invaders brought a swine and
sprinkled its blood upon the Temple. It was
then that the defiled gate opened and the Temple
was demolished into ruins.
The Jews of old were heroic defenders of their
homeland and their Temple, but they could not
overcome the great odds of the enemy.
The great Prophet who lived in the time of
the Temple's destruction was Jeremiah, the
author of Lamentations, the Biblical Book read
on Tisha b'Ab. The great Prophet lamented:

It is daily becoming evident that the war is nearing
its end and that the enemies of democracy have met their
doom. The crushing defeats of the Axis armies, the resigna-
tions of the Nazi-Fascist war lords and the determination
of the United Nations' armed forces are elements pointing
to a speedy victory over the barbarians.
In view of the numerous peace rumors that come from
"How doth the city sit solitary,
that was full of people!
many quarters, the democratic peoples must be warned to
She is become as a widow,
be on more careful guard now than ever before. A bad
that was great among the nations!"
peace will most certainly enable the Huns to prepare for
One of the most interesting references to
another destructive war. It is the kind of a peace that the Tisha b'Ab will be found in "Rome and Jerusa-
lem," a great book on the necessity of rebuilding
barbaric war lords are aiming at.
Many people are easily mislead. We believe that part Palestine as the national home of the Jewish
Written by Moses Hess in 1862, 35 years
of the German strategy is to continue to mislead innocent people,
before Dr. Theodor Herzl organized the World
people into believing that only a handful of the Nazi leaders Zionist Organization. I am quoting this in to-
are guilty and that the German people as a whole is innocent. day's column.
Let us all hope that Tisha b'Ab will soon be-
Those who have had contacts with the German prisoners come
a day of joy and that it will mark the joy
of war know that this is contrary to facts. A typical example of the rebuilding of Eretz Israel instead of - the
of German strategy is indicated in a letter recently published sorrow of destruction.
UNCLE DANIEL.
by Time Magazine. This letter, written by a serviceman
*
*
*
whose name and address were withheld by the Time
REMINISCENCES OF T1SHA' B'AB
editors, states:
(From "Rome and .Jerusalem")

.

The cheering effect of the invasion news at this East Coast
Army Camp was dispelled for me by the news later in the day
that we are losing the first battle of what has already material-
ized in the German mind as the next war.
We received a number of German prisoners of war during
the day, the first group at this post. I heard the first reaction to
them from a chaplain.... "Really," he said, "I don't believe they
have been too deeply affected by Nazism; I found most of them
to he deeply religious."
Then I spoke with an M. P. who had escorted them into
camp. "They're a nice gang of fellows," he said. ". . . Seeing
them face-to-face like this, they seem like any of us."
Finally a non-corn had a look at them and came away with
his heart brimming over with good will. "They were telling
us," he said, "that you must learn to distinguish between Na-
tional Socialism and Hitlerism. They say that National Social-
ism is a good thing, especially for Germany, but that to their
regret as well. as to anyone's, Hitlerism has perverted it."
Can it be that Germany has delivered over a crew of ad-
vance agents to us?

This letter is typical of many similar warnings that have
been issued from many quarters. The Germans had plant-
ed their agents everywhere after the last war. They will
undoubtedly attempt to flood the entire democratic world
with fifth-columnists after this war.
The statesmen of the world must beware lest a great
hoax is played on humanity by the "advance agents" of
Germany. They must avoid being misled into believing
that only a handful of Nazi leaders are responsible for the
great tragedy that has been forced upon the entire world.
An entire generation of Germans must be cleansed of the
bloodstains which are to be found on the hands of every
Nazi—and the vast majority of the German people has made
possible Nazism.
Unless this cleansing process is thoroughly and sternly
pursued by a world determined to avoid the repetition of the
mass murders indulged in by the Germans, we may well
start feeling sorry for our children now, even in the hour
of victory.

Astronomic Murder Figures

The news reports of the last few days are more terrify-
ing than any that have reached us since the beginning of the
Nazi terror.
Reports of wholesale massacres of Jews, incorporated in
astronomical figures, do not represent anything new, since
they had been coming to us periodically from Jewish quarters.
But their corroboration by the United Nations adds to
the tragedy of our people.
The new dangers that face the remaining Jews in Hun-
gary are frightening, and the proposed visit by the Chief
Rabbis of Palestine to the Vatican are an indication of a
revived fear that the survivors of the Nazi holocaust are
facing imminent death.
Wbuld that the democratic powers had listened to the
cries for mercy when they were first uttered by our people.
Now fully awakened to . the menace of the terror in-
spired by Hitlerism, we pray that a way may be found to

rescue the remnant that has survived the horrors of Nazi rule.

By MOSES HESS

I always recall, with deep emotion, the scenes
that I lived through when a child, at the - house
of my grandfather at Bonn, on the fast-day
commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem.
On the first day of the month of Av, which is
the first of the nine days preceding the eventful
day, the sorrow which has been manifest since
the beginning of the "three weeks" assumed a
more perceptible form. Even the Sabbath Day
lost its festive character during these days of
national mourning, and was named "the black
Sabbath." My pious grandfather was one of
those revered scholars who, though not using
the Torah as a means of subsistence, yet pos-
sessed the title and knowledge of a rabbi. Every
evening, at the - close of his business day, he
spent several hours in studying the Talmud and
its commentaries. But • in the "nine days" this
study was interrupted, and instead he read with
his grandchildren the stories and legends con-
cerning the exile of the Jews from Jerusalem.
The tears fell upon the snow-white beard of the
stern old man as he read those stories and we
children, too, would cry and sob. I remember,
especially, one particular passage which im-
pressed us both deeply. It runs as follows:
"When the children of Israel were led into
captivity by the soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar,
their road lay past the grace of our Mother
Rachel. As they approached the grave, a bitter
wailing was heard. It was the voice of Rachel,
weeping at the fate of her unhappy children."
(Jeremiah xxxi,14.)

Facts You Should Know

Answers to Readers
Questions About Jews

What is the Jewish population of the world?
How many Jews are there in the United States?
—G. K. W.

Prewar figures compiled by Dr. H. S. Linfield,
director of the Jewish Statistical Bureau, showed
that there were 15,660,596 Jews in the world.
Some estimates claimed that there were close to
17,000,000 Jews before the advent of Hitlerism.
With more than 4,000,000 Jews reported murdered
by the Nazis, the tragic fact is that there are
today not more than 11,500,000 Jews left in the
world.
The 1937 figure shows that there were at that
time 4,770,000 Jews in the United States. As a
result of natural increase, this figure may now be
close to the 5,000,000 mark.
* C

How many characters are there in the Hebrew
alphabet?
—L. B.

The Hebrew alphabet, the oldest phonetic-
character system, has 22 letters. Among Jews of
the Baylonian exile the old Hebrew alphabetical
symbols were substituted for by Aramaic scripts.
But in the follow-up period of struggle for na-
tional survival the old script was again used on
coinage of Simon Maccabeus and the Hasmonean
rulers. It was also retained by the Samaritans.

