T1L1E JEWIS1-1' NEWS

Page Four

'As the Editor
Views the News - - -

Would You Shelter Them?

The JDC appeal can not be separated
from the larger program of the United Jew-
ish Appeal for Refugees, Overseas Needs and
Palestine, -whose allotment committee for the
first time in the history of its war-time
activities has asked American Jewish com-
munities to provide an additional $4,000,000
or $5,000,000 for the work of the JDC anti the
United Palestine Appeal for the current
year.
An impressive total of $100,000,000 has
been provided for UJA work by American
Jews in the past six years, and whatever
rescue results have been attained is directly
ascribable to this great humanitarian effort.
But the responsibilities are increasing and
everything that can possibly be done must
be attempted by our people.
The UJA appeals represents a matter of
life and death for hundreds of thousands of
Jews. Our response must be commensurate
with the tragedy of European Jewry_

4

The Palestitie Resolution

It is too early to pass judgment on the
*pigeonholing" of the Palestine Resolution
which had the almost unanimous support of
Congress. Both political parties favored it
and the President had made an unequivocal
statement in support of Zionist claims. We
must look upon the latest occurrence as
merely a delay in action. The pledges to our
people MUST be adhered to.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member of. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Independent
Jewish Press Service, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate,
Religious News Service, Palcor News Agency, Bressler
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Newsphoto Service.
Member American Association of English - Jewish
Newspapers.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish-
ing Co.. 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich. Telephone
RAndolph 7956. Subscription rate, $3 a year; foreign,
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published every fourth Friday in the month, to all
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scription 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
ISIDC;RE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ
HENRY WINEMAN
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. BRASCIL Advertising Counsel

VOL. 6—NO. 13

DECEMBER 15, 1944

The Week's Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the thirtieth day of Kislev, 5705,
Sabbath Hanukah, the following Scriptural se-
lections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portions—Gen. 41:1-44:17; Num.
28:9-15 and 7:42:53.
Prophetical portion—Zech. 2:14-4:7.
On Sunday, Rosh Hodesh Tebet, the following
!elections will be read: Num. 28:1-15 and

7:48-53.
On Monday, eighth day of Hanukah, the
Scriptural selection to be read will be Num.
7:54-8:4.

Facts You Should Know

Answers to Readers
Questions About Jews

The Challenge of the JDC

For the millions of sufferers from persecu-
tion and the conditions created by the war,
in Europe and in Africa, and in parts of Asia,
one of the major weapons in the war against
misery and indecency is being fought by the
spirit of mercy. The unfortunate who have
been impoverished, who are pleading for
bread and for homes, whose spirits have been
broken by the beasts of Nazidom, look to the
free men and women in this country, in Eng-
land and elsewhere for sustenance.
A remarkable record for service has al-
ready been written by the humanitarian
agencies, at the head of which stands the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Commit-
tee. The reports heard at the annual meet-
ing last Sunday, in New York, are most re-
vealing. They indicate that the spokesmen
for America's great relief agency are to be
found on all fronts, that they are among the
first to arrive in liberated countries to dis-
pense relief.
This work must be increased ten-fold as
the armies of the United Nations are on the
march to victory. It must be extended in
proportion to the growing needs in the vari-
ous lands where Jews are awaiting the rep-
resentatives of American Jewry as their
rescuers.
American Jews are asked to raise a total
of $46,000,000 during 1945. It is a challenge
that comes from the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee to our people in an
hour of great need, and we have reason to
believe that the response will be liberal and
prompt. It is the very least that a free
people can do in its effort. to liberate its
sorely afflicted kinsmen.

Friday, December 15, 1944

Who was the first Jewish traveler to have gone
—A. G. S.
round the world?
Pedro Texeira, born in Lisbon in 1570, died in.
Amsterdam in 1650 was believed to be the first
Jew to go round' the world. He was a Lisbon Mar-
rano who, in 1587, took part in the Portuguese ex-
pedition from Goa to Mombasa, Muscat and Or-
muz. He then went to Persia and Malaca, returned
home by way of Borneo, the Philippines, Mexico,
Cuba, Florida, Bermuda and Spain, and settled in
Holland where he became again a conforming
Jew. In 1604 he published his "Narratives of My
Journey Overland From India to Italy."
*
*
*
Please explain the Uganda Project. —S. Y.,
The so-called Uganda Project is a misnomer for -
a proposal made to Dr. Theodor Herzl by Joseph
Chamberlain, in behalf of the British government,
in 1903, for the settlement of Jews not in Uganda
but in the neighboring territory of Kenya, in Brit-
ish East Africa. The proposal split the ZionfA.
Congress into two factions. Dr. Chaim Weizmann
and Menahem Ussishkin were among the leaders.
who opposed the proposal and insisted upon ad-
herence to Palestine as the Zionist objective. Dr.
Herzl favored the project as a temporary measurer
of relief Mr Jews, with Palestine to be retained as
the ultimate objective.

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.)

By DAVID MORANTZ

INDUSTRY

Good Will Admonitions

We are approaching the period of the year during which
people speak of good will.
An important admonition comes to us at this time from
Moscow, and we pass it on to our readers in order that a call
to action may be translated from words into deeds.
In a cable to the Independent Jewish Press Service,
Vladimir Komarov, president of the Academy of Sciences
of the U. S. S. R., warns that no country can claim anti-
Semitism to be an internal affair and that it is the respon-
sibility of all to eradicate the evil because. "racist ideas are
more dangerous than poison gas." Asserting that "demo-
cratic countries must not stop at anything" in this matter, he
warns against shelter for Hitlerites or their ideas anywhere
and adds:
"All complacency with regard to the seeds of evil
scattered by fascism, all reconciliation with racism and anti-
Semitism and all talk about leniency for the Germans of
Maidanek, pave the way for new fascist pogroms and to
keep silent about this is to deliver our children to death."

These are important statements, and they should be
taken to heart, especially by Americans who ought to become
aware of the dangerous poison that has frequently been in
evidence in recent times in this country. Mr. Komarov's
warnings are especially important since they are predicated
upon the following declaration:
"In my youth Russian intellectuals of my circle looked
upon chauvinism and particularly anti-Semitism as some-
thing utterly shameful, obtuse and vicious. Today we know
that it is also something fraught with the gravest danger for
mankind. The fascists began with stupid, anti-Semitic jokes
in Munich beerhalls and ended with Maidaneks and millions
of dead bodies of Jews, Frenchmen, Poles, Norwegians and
Danes. That is why our attitude toward racial hatred today
is different from our' attitude in the days of our youth. In
those days we merely felt like turning our backs on the in-
famous, vile spectacle. Today we'll not turn our backs on
it until we have stamped it out, pulled it up by the roots
and have taken all measures against its recurrence."
As Christians prepare to usher in the period of good
they should be asked to study these views of an eminent
Russian leader and to translate them in terms of our needs.
*
All hatred must be fought on all fronts, and anti-Semit-
ism and racial and religious discrimination should be out-
lawed. We should fight this menace in the spirit in which
the Synagogue Council of America last week called' for the
removal of all barriers against full participation of Negroes
in all fields of endeavor in this country.
"We, whose ancestors were slaves in Egypt and were
frequently victimized by discriminations and humiliations
similar to those of the Negro, understand well his spiritual
pain and suffering," the Synagogue Council declared. "In
the name of the God of all mankind, who taught that all men
are brethren, we appeal to all of our fellow citizens to obey
the will of the Almighty and to cooperate to the end that
the tragic plight of millions of decent men, women, and
children, American Negroes, will be speedily alleviated."
The consideration of a program of good will must include
the downtrodden" peoples of the world. Under no circum-
stances must it be said that they fought in vain and that their
hopes are now being shattered by betrayals.
At home and abroad, we must institute programs of ac-
tion to destroy the seeds of bigotry and injustice. .
Let there be an end to all discrimination! This should
be the theme for a program of action by all men of good
will—not only during sacred religious periods of the year
but during ALL the days of our life.

"He that rises first," says the Talmud, "is the
first dressed."
"Past labor is present delight."
"A diligent man can always find leisure, a
lazy one never."
"No pains, no profit."
"Absolute idleness leads to insanity."
"Be industrious and seek to increase the value
of your possessions. Neither be proud of possessing
them, nor envious of those who possess them."
"He who rises late, never does a good day's
work."
"He that would thrive must rise at five."
"The hand of the diligent maketh rich,"

(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, are of The Jewish News, or
phone "'Laza 1048.

Children's Corner

Dear Buys and Girls:
The Hanukah festival is a long one, and
young and old rejoice that we are able to celebrate
it for eight days.
It is one of the bright spots on our calendar.
In days of sadness, caused by a terrible war and
persecutions, it is good to be able to derive comfort
and encouragement from the story which teaches
us to be heroic.
We need festivals like Hanukah to teach us
courage, and we should make the best of the event
to strengthen our morale and to teach us to .be
brave in the face of serious challenges that are
made to us to be helpful in rescuing hundreds of
thousands of people.
I hope you are all enjoying Hanukah.
UNCLE DANIEL
*

THE FEAST OF LIGHTS

By EMMA LAZARUS
Kindle the taper like the steadfast star?
Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
Clash, Israel, the symbals, touch the lyre,
Blow the brass trumpet and the harsh-tongued
horn;
Chant psalms of victory till the heart takes fire,
The Maccabean spirit leaps new-born.
*
*
*

EXPLAINING THE MEZZUZAH

Maimonides has some beautiful words on the
purpose of the "mezzuzah:" "By the command-
ment of the `mezzuzah'," he says, "man is remind-
ed, when coming or going, of the unity of God,
and is aroused to the love of Him. He is awak-
ened from his slumber and his vain worldly
thoughts to the knowledge that nothing endures
in eternity like the knowledge of the Rock of the
World. This reflection brings him back to him-
self and leads him on the right path." Maimonides
denounced those who surrounded the "mezzuzah"
with superstitious ideas and associated it with
worldly ends.
"There is no harm in writing Shaddai on the
outside," he says, "but those who write on the
inside, the names of angels, or holy names, or
verses or other formulae, are of those who will
have no share in the world to come. For these
foolish folk not only defeat in this manner the
fulfillment of a great commandment which has for
its aim the bringing to mind of the unity of God,
and the love and worship of Him, but turn it into a
charm for their selfish ends, believing in their
foolish, hearts that it can help in the preservation
of fleeting worldly goods."
The text on the little scroll is usually written
in twenty-two lines corresponding with the num-
ber of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The "mez-
zuzah" is obligatory for every building used as a
residence. A Synagogue not, being so used does
not have a "mezzuzah." Moreover, the sacred
character of the House of Worship renders any
additional reminder of religious obligations un-
necessary.
Pious Jews are in the habit of touching and
kissing the "mezzuzah" as they pass through the
doorway, reciting the verse "may God guard my
going out and my coming in from now on and for
evermore." The use of the "mezzuzah" goes back
to earliest times. Josephus, who lived nearly two
thousand years ago, mentions its use 'as an old
and well-established custom.