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THE JEWIS H NEWS

As the Editor
Views the News

Afraid of That Necktie Party!

Henrietta Szold

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Henrietta Szold became famous tas the
founder of Hadassah, the American women's
Zionist organization.
The deep-rooted idealism which had led
her to form this great creative movement
was motivated by personal experiences in
Palestine, where she saw the sufferings of
the native population 30 years ago.
it
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Miss Szold was able to organize the women
of America, and to inspire Jewish women
throughout the world, because she inherently
possessed the genius for doing good and for
moving in humanitarian directions.
She was not only an organizer and a leader
and an inspirer of faith in the future of her
,people: she was one of the most cultured
personalities of our time. As translator of
the "History of the Jews" by Heinrich Graetz
lirito English, as editor of American Jewish
Year Books, as writer and lecturer she was
one of the truly great figures of our time.
* • •
During her residence in Palestine, Miss
Szold succeeded in advancing the health
movement in behalf of which she had
organized Hadassah, and she stood out
primarily for two things:
For the mobilization of world forces for
the Youth Aliyah movement for the rescue
of Jewish children from the clutches of the
Nazis and for their settlement in Palestine;
and her activities in behalf of the school
system in Palestine through consistent
efforts not_only to provide an education for
the young but to keep /them within the
Jewish fold by providing for the economic
needs of impoverished children.
Miss Szold's name has already gone down
in Jewish history as that of one of the very
_ great of all time. It will live as a symbol
of true humanitarianism.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Independent
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Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish-
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RAndolph 7956. Subscription rate, $.3 a year; foreign,
$4 a year. Club subscription of one issue a' month,
published every fourth Friday in the month, to all
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Welfare Federation of Detroit, at 40 cents a club sub-
scription per year. •
Entered as second-class matter Atigtist 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
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. BRASCH, Advertising Counsel

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VOL. 6—NO. 23

FEBRUARY 23, 1945

The Week's Scriptural Selections

This Sabbath, the elevent day of Adar, 5705,
the following Scriptural selections will. be read

in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portions — Ex. 27:20-30:10;

Deut. 25:17-19.

Prophetical portion — I Sam. 15:2-34.
On Monday, the Fast of Esther, the following
Scriptural portions will be read:
Pentateuchal portion—Ex. 32:11-14; 34:1-10.
Prophetical portion—Is. 55:6-56:8.
On Purim, Tuesday, Ex. 17:8-16 will be read
during morning services.

Facts. You Should Know

Answers to Readers'
Questions About Jews

Another Great Purim

Purim, to be observed next Tuesday, is
much more than a jolly holiday for young
and old.
It is a festival symbolic of Jewish hopes
and Jewish courage.
It is the expression of our people's confi-
dence that intolerance, injustice and any
form of 'persecution will be thwarted by the
will of all peoples who strive for deceney
and justice.
The Hitlers and the Himmlers, who are
the modern Hamans, will soon see their
doom, just as their equivalents have been
doomed throughout the ages.
There were many minor Purims in Jewish
history.
The Purim to come will be a major festival
surpassing in significance even the Purim
of the days of Esther.
,, It will be an especially great Purim if we
succeed in rescue activities and if we manage
adequately to provide a national home for
homeless Israel.
We pray that we should not be found want-
ing in this tragic hour in our history.

Friday, February 23, 1945

When is the "great Hanel" sung or recited
at Jewish services?
—G. I.
The so-called "full Hallel" (Psalms 113-118)
is •recited on the first day of Passover, Succoth,
Hanukah and on Seder night.

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What was the Bay Psalm • Book?

—U. A.
The earliest version of the Psalms printed and
published in New England (Cambridge, 1640),
and the first book printed in the English colonies
in America. It was produced by Richard Math-
er, Thomas Welde, and John Eliot, and was,print-
ed by Stephen Daye.

Talmudic Tales

(Basco 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
PEARLS OF WISDOM
"In his presence," says the Talmud, "do not
lavish all you can about a man's good qualities;
but reserve that for his absence."
"Among other advice that R. Akiba gave his
son, R. Joshua were these: (1) For studying,
select a secluded place where you will not be
disturbed. (2) Do not select as your residence a
town whose authorities are men of learning; .for
such men may neglect the interests of the town
rather than their* study. (3) Do not enter any-
where, not even your own house, without first
giving some indication of your coming. (4) Do
not neglect your morning meal."
"If there be no law, there is no morality, and
if there be no morality, there is no law; if there
be no wisdom, there is no reverence, and if there
reverence, there is no wisdom; if there be
In the past 15 Years, since the threat of Hitlerism became be no
understanding, there is no knowledge, and if
a serious menace to the entire world, there have been hun- no
there be no knowledge, there is no understand-
dreds of incidents of non-Jews who became converted to ing; if there be no meal, there can be no study
Judaism as a protest against the barbarism of a section of of the law, and if there be no law, there will be
no meal."
the non-Jewish world.

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Dr. Zolli's Conversion

During the same period there undoubtedly were many
hundreds of Jews in countries like Germany, Romania and,
Hungary who sought refuge in the Christian church as a
means of escaping persecution.
But there is only one instance on record of a prominent
rabbi havina left the faith. The conversion to Catholicism
of Dr. Israel b Anton Zolli, for the past seven years Chief Rabbi
of Rome, came as a shock to many people because it is so
unexpected to see a general leave the field of battle in time
of stress.
The most amazing thing about Dr. Zolli's conversion is
that the reason given for his act is his recognition of the
humanitarian efforts of the Vatican. If we were to accept
such reasoning as valid, then every time there is an expres-
sion of sympathy to Jews by Christians there ought to be a
trek towards the church.
Fortunately, however, true inter-faith cooperation is not
based on proselytization, and instead calls for mutual respect
of all faiths.
The action of Dr. Zolli is not as serious, however, as the
warning which was made several weeks ago in London by
Dr. Cecil Roth, noted historian, who warned that British
Jewry was "facina disaster" due to conversions and inter-
marriages. Dr. Roth
pointed out that among the refugee
b
residents at Oxford, there were 50 conversions to the An-
glican church and that inter-marriages are reaching a new
high in Anglo-Jewish circles.
It is clear that such a condition calls for internal vigilance
lest there be disintegration within our own ranks. The
conversions and inter-marriages present a challenge to our
schools and our synagogues to be on guard in providing
proper defense for the Jewish position within the Christian
community. If we fail to be internally vigilant, then Dr.
Zolli's convesrion will not be an isolated case.

Eternal Vigilance - .

In contrast with the 200 anti-Semitic groups which had
a membership of 500,000 in 1939, Victor Riesel, New York
Post columnist, now maintains that only 35 anti-Semitic
organizations are operating in this country with a member-
ship of 15,000. -
Mr. Riesel therefore agrees with Elmo Roper, of the
New York Herald Tribune, that anti-Semitism here is on
the wane.
At the same time, Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein, executive
director of the Jewish Welfare Board's Committee on Army
and Navy Religious Activities, who has returned ,from a
35,000-mile tour of Pacific war fronts, reports that "prejudice
i _ s unthinkable" among American servicemen.
Both opinions are most heartening. But the question
to be asked, in view of the opinions of leaders of national
organizations that anti-Semitism is on the increase, is
whether anti-Semites are not working under cover and
whether "boot-leg anti-Semitism" may not prove more dam-
aging than the type we knew heretofore.
The opinion of Mr. Riesel will be questioned in many
quarters, a new one among them being the Jewish com-
munity of Cleveland where manifestations of anti-Semitism
have taken on an aspect of medievalism. When Jewish
boys and girls are beaten into pulp, Mr. Riesel has to go
some to prove that there is a decline in bigotry.
One thing is certain: that we must remain on guard
against manifestations of bigotry and that we must be pre-
pared to fight anti-Semitism wherever and whenever it
becomes evident, since eternal vigilance remains the price
of liberty.

Children's Corner i

Dear Boys and Girls:
The reading of the Megillah—the Book of Esther
—on Monday night, will usher in the observance
- of Purim.
It is a fascinating festival which gives us courage
to carry on as a people and not to be afraid of
enemies who seek to destroy. us.
For centuries, we have had enemies like Haman
in the story of Esther, who sought to destroy the
Jews. All have failed for the simple reason that
injustice can not triumph and that righteousness
must rule the world.
There will be an end to Hitler and to our other
enemies and we shall certainly have another Purim
before long.
I am including. some facts about Purim in to-
day's column.
I wish you all a pleasant Sabbath and a happy
Purim. UNCLE DANIEL.
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INTERESTING PURIM LAWS
The day before Purim is "Taanis Esther"—a fast
day to commemorate the fast which Esther and
all the Jews observed in their appeal to the
Almighty for salvation.
The Megillah may not be read until after the
appearance of three stars. Although the Megillah
may be read at home, and even without a Minyan,
it is preferable that it be heard in the synagogue,
where there is a multitude of people—because in
the book of Proverbs we read that "The King's
glory is in the multitude of people." The blessings
before reading the Megillah may be said if there
is no Minyan, but the benediction following it may
not be pronounced, unless the Name of "Shem
Yisborach" is omitted.
The Megillah is spread out and folded like a
letter by the one reading it. It is not read from
a rolled, scroll form. The reader must also bear
in mind the fact that everyone in the congregation
must hear each and every world clearly, as other-
wise the fulfillment of the Mitzvah is not com-
plete.
A mourner must hear the Megillah even during
the week of Shiv'ah.
On. the morning of Purim, early services are
preferable. Three men are called up to The Torah
—the portion being from the seventeenth chapter
of Sh'mos—verses eight to sixteen at the conclu-
sion of the Sedrah of B'shallach. After the Sefer
Torah has been returned to the Ark, the Megillah
is read. Tefillin are not removed until after the
conclusion of the reading of Megillah.
It is obligatory upon all men, women; and chil-
dren to hear the Megillah read on the night of
Purim and also in. the morning.
Gifts—known as "Sh'loach Monas" (sending of
gifts) must be given by everybody. Each person
must send at least two presents to one person.
These "presents" are really "portions" of food—
and usually consist of prepared foods or delicacies.
In addition, each person is obliged to give at least
two gifts to two poor people—that is, a present to
each. One who excels in sending portions to his
friends is considered praiseworthy. Yet it is even
better to excel in taking gifts to the needy than
to make a lavish feast on Purim and to send
portions to friends.
The Purim feast is held before sundown on the
14th of Adar. The meal should be started while it
is still daytime—but may be continued until as
late as desired. It is commendable to eat, drink,
and rejoice on Purim—but intoxication or drunk-
enness which may lead to vulgarity, lack of re-
spect, or possibility of forgetting or mis-reading a
benediction or prayer, is naturally forbidden.
The 15th of Adar is called "Shushan Purim,"
and it is also a "half-holiday." "Al HaNissim" is
not said ; however, and marriages are permitted—
but they are not permitted on Purim itself, because
we do not mix one "Simchah" with another,

