THE
Friday, March 30, 1945
The Stranger of Mt. Carmel
Refugee's Bequest to JAW
Reveals Remarkable Story
Solomon Wolff, Wealthy German Jew, Who Settled in
Haifa, Left $400,000 Fortune to the
Jewish National Fund
JERUSALEM (By Air Mail)—In the summer of 1933 a
Jew fled from Berlin. He was remote from everything Jew-
ish, but he had a sturdy sense of human self-respect and dig-
nity.
You hear it often—the story of the Jew who left Ger-
many while the going was good. But this story of Solomon
Wolff follows the usual pattern
only part of the way.
Mr. Wolff and his wife went
from Berlin to Vienna, Prague,
Carlsbad. They were rich, and
rich people could travel where
they wished at that time. They
had not yet decided where to
live: Austria, where Mr. Wolff
had large properties; Switzerland,
where Mrs. Wolff was born, of
the well-known family of Knopf;
or Czechoslovakia, whose appre-
hension of the importance of hu-
man dignity they admired. But in
Carlsbad one night they were
casually taken to a meeting ad-
dressed by "a man from Pales-
tine." "It was," said Mr. Wolff
later, "perhaps the second time
in my adult years that I had
heard the word `Palestine'."
Eager to Know More
The late Dr. Benzion Mossin-
sohn was the speaker. The con-
tagion of his enthusiasm aroused
Mr. Wolff's. Early next morning
he wag at Dr. Mossinsohn's hotel,
eager to know more.
"How does one get to Pales-
tine?" was his first question.
They settled on Mount Carmel
in Haifa. They had not all the
20,000,000 marks on which they
used to pay - income tax in the
Reich. But they had brought
away ample means. Besides what
he held in Palestine, Mr. Wolff
owned vast interests in Europe,
especially in the Austrian Tyrol
where an entire village, with its
forests, sawmills and lands, its
baronial castle and public utility
services, were his. Mr. Wolff, al-
though 61, was not ready to re-
tire. He pursued his profession
of engineer. •
Stops at Mt. Carmel
At that time the foundations
of important industrial and other
enterprises were laid in Palestine.
by immigrants who, like Wolff,
had come from Europe armed
with ability, experience and
means. But • he did not throw
his lot in with them. The eager,
restless spirit that drives men on
in Palestine to new horizons of
achievement passed him by.
Mr. Wolff, although living in
Palestine, somehow never enter-
Passover Greetings
UNITED .
DETROIT
THEATRES
ed the communion of Palestine:
That sudden flash Of inspiration
in Carlsbad carried him as far as
Mount Carmel, but no further.
The Zionist national institu-
tions, even public institutions in
Palestine, got no support from
him. On a sudden impulse • he
joined the Revisionists, but took
no - interest in them, nor gave
them any support. He kept aloof
from people and things, and
made few friends. His neighbors
called him "The Eccentric."
The Turning Point
Once he travelled to Switzer-
land. Except when his building
operations required it, that was
one of the rare occasions on
which he travelled beyond the
boundaries of Haifa. In. 1941• Dr.
Joseph Weiss, one time director
of the Jewish National Fund in
Germany, arranged to meet. this
strange, frigid man on Mount
Carmel. That meeting marked
the turning point in Mr. Wolff's
life. Something, very slight at
first, began to stir in him. It
led to his asking .questions about
Eretz Israel. He was taken
through the country, saw the
Jewish settlements that lay in the
valleys.
New perceptions broke into his
consciousness. For the first time
he understood that he was not
only ft human being for whom
the inviolability of the human
personality was a sacred endow-
ment, but that he was a member
of a people that also had a per-
sonality that was precious and,
given the chance, could be cre-
ative. From Galilee to Beersheba
he travelled and inquired. Then
he began to manifest his new-won
interest. He contributed - f10,000
as a "Living legacy" to the Jew-
ish National Fund, and, soon
after, another £12,000, earmarked
for the acquisition of land to set-
tle orphaned child refugees.
Dies 16 Days After Wife
In November, 1944, two and a
half years after he discovered
Eretz Israel, Solomon Wolff died,
at the age of 71. His wife had
.predeceased him by 16 days. Two
Volume Devoted to
Saadia's Philosophy
The major points in the life
and philosophy of Saadia Gaon
are incorporated in the volume
published by the Jewish Theo-
logical Seminary of America un-
der the title "Rat Saadia Gaon:
Studies in His Honor."
Essays incorporated in this
book represent the texts of ad-
dresses delivered at the Semin-
ary in New York, at the convo-
cation at the university of Chic-
ago and at an assembly of the
Chicago Friends of the Semin-
ary.
The significance of these es-
says may be gathered from the
titles and the authors. Dr. Louis
Finkelstein deals with the philo-
sopher as an architect of peace.
Dr. Alexander Marx and Prof.
Richard P. McKeon deal with
the influence of the great philo-
sopher upon Judaism and Chris-
tianity.
Dr. Arthur H. Compton's em-
phasis is on "freedom." Prof. A.
S. Halkin deals with "Saadia's
Exegesis and Polemics." Dr. Ben
Zion Bokser discusses "Saadia as
a Philosopher of Judaism." Dr.
Robert Gordis' topic is "Saadia
in the Light of Today." There
is a bibliography on Saadia by
Boaz Cohen.
days before his death, as though
anxious to make up for time lost,
he contributed the valuable
jewels of his late wife to the
Jewish National Fund for voca-
tional training of orphans from
Europe after the war. He died
suddenly, alone.
When his 'will was opened, it
was found that all he possessed,
in Palestine and in Europe --
$400,000—was bequeathed t6 the
Jewish National Fund, the trus-
tee of the Jewish people, for the
redemption of land in Eretz
Israel. So he who of his own
choosing had been a stranger for
so long to his people and its
Homeland, was in the end wed-
ded to the ideal of a free life
for his people in Eretz Israel.
Page Forty-Seven
Culinary
Suggestions
By Mildred Grosberg Benin
Here, friends, is a recipe that
can serve many a purpose. It is
an excellent dessert, but also
sufficiently nourishing to serve
as a snack, especially for the
youngsters in the interval be-
tween their return from school
and the serving of dinner. Inci-
dentally, why not write, care of
the Independent Jewish Press
Service, 207 Fourth. Avenue,
New York City, on the success
you have been having with these
recipes and suggestions for fu-
ture recipes?
CARROT PUDDING
ESTATE
Beaubien
TE. 1-0759
REAL
4864
NEW YORK (JPS)—A guar-
antee of non-discrimination to-
MORRIS
BRODY
,
(From Mrs. Bellin's standard vol-
ume, The. Jewish Cook Book, Bloch
Publishing Company. $2.50, by special
arrangement between the publishers
and the Independent Jewish Press
Service. )
Free
Estimates 11
'VOW "VOW Nook Naga, NOW 11601., Now.
for 'Victory
After the war is won—you will be able
to convert your Bonds into many things
you've long wanted. But so long as
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want—hold on to every Bond you own
and buy more from now on.
Carlton W.
GAINES
Urges Equal Rights
Guarantee From
Family of Nations
ward its inhabitants as a prereq-
uisite for any nation's admission
to an international security or-
ganization was promulgated by
Senor Pedro C. Beltran, Peruvian
ambassador, at a luncheon at-
tended by representatives of the
Peruvian, British and American
Sections" of the World Jewish
Congress and officials of the
Peruvian Embassy and New
York Consulate.
"No nation should be •admitted
to any kind of world security
organization unless it is ready to
guarantee to its inhabitants ab-
solute equality before the law
and equal opportunity to all with-
Peel • and grate 11/2 cups of out any sort of discrimination,"
raw carrots. Beat 11/2 cups of Ambassador Beltran said.
powdered sugar and the yolks of
i
••••• ► , Novak
■ 40%. NOOK Nairn. vam
8 eggs until light and thick.
TRinity
Add the carrots, 1 cup of grated,
2-5264
blanched almonds, the finely-
chopped rind of 1/2 lemon and 1
tablespoon of wine. Blend well
and fold in the stiffly beaten
whites of the eggs. Grease a
•
pudding dish well and sprinkle
Painting
it with flour. Pour in the batter
Paperhanging
and bake 1 hour at 325 degrees
Decoratin
F., until well browned and firm.
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