Page Four
THE JEWISH NEWS
As the Editor
Views the News
"They That Dwell in MY House . .."
Another Stab in the Back
British Foreign Secretary Bevin's pledge
that Transjordania—historically a part of
Palestine and known as Ever Hayarden, the
other side of the Jordan—will be declared
an independent state, represents another stab
in Jewry's back.
It means another vote detrimental to
Jewish interests in the council of the United
Nations Organization,
It represents a mockery of the Jewish
position.
For years, Bedouins have been free to
come to Palestine from Transjordania, but
Jews have been barred admission to Pal-
estine and it has been dangerous for a Jew
—Herz in South African Zionist Record
to visit in Transjordania.
"They that dwell in my house . • . count me a stranger . . . I
Great Britain continues to be a party to 'ant an alien in their sight." Job, 19.15.
the breaking of pledges to our people and
to mocking us whenever issues affecting our
rights are involved.
Is this what the democratic world has
On Tuesday evening, the community leaders of Detroit
fought for?
heard stirring messages from a visiting delegation represent-
ing the three causes included in the United Jewish Appeal,
and were moved to action to inaugurate at once this city's
drive for $2,000,000, as part of the national UJA emergency
$100,000,000 campaign.
World Jewry mourns the passing of Dr.
It was not an ordinary meeting.
Joseph Herman Hertz, the Chief Rabbi of
The
gathering was occasion for the presentation of exist-
the British Empire.
ing facts with regard to Jewry's responsibility in the present
His great contributions to Israel's wel- crisis.
fare were not limited to the countries to
If the surviving 1,250,000 Jews in Europe are to be kept
which he ministered.
alive; if facilities are to be provided for those who desire
He was a fighter for justice and he had to settle in Palestine to go there as speedily as the doors
never conceded to the pressure that comes can be forced open through the pressure of public opinion;
from bigots and from bigotry.
if other colonization centers are to be made available, then
When he was called to head the Jewish we have a duty, ALL of us, to provide the necessary means
congregations in Johannesbur g, South for this rescue work.
Africa, towards the end of the last century,
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he became famous, during the Boer War of
How
is
such
an
unprecedented
task to be achieved?
1899, as an advocate of the removal of dis-
Will
American
Jewish
communities,
including Detroit,
abilities from Jews and Catholics. He was
expelled from South Africa for taking this measure up to this great responsibility?
firm stand and was recalled to his post when
We have proven in the past that we can raise large
the British gained control of the territory. sums of money, and it has been indicated that in an hour
As leader of the Anglo-Jewish communi- of need Jews know how to live up to their historic title
ties, in his position as Chief Rabbi, he was of being "rachamonim bnai rachamonim" the_ merciful sons
of a merciful people.
in the forefront of the fighters for justice.
If we mean well by ourselves and by the kinsmen whom
He never hesitated to excoriate the
British government for unjust acts in Pal- we strive to rescue and to rehabilitate, we must begin the
estine„-and the people of England, without great task with the assumption that we can not and dare
distinction as to creed, honored and respect- not fail.
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ed him for it.
If this task is to be truly successful, however, we must
Author of important volumes which con-
tinue to serve as guides for Jews every- recognize also certain basic responsibilities.
where, he was recognized for his great
We can not succeed unless all our appeals for unity
scholarship and for his devotion to tradition- cease to be idle talk.
al Jewish principles.
We must throw all our resources into a drive which
His memory will live as a blessing for should stand out as the one and only great Jewish effort
many generations to come.
in behalf of those who represent not only themselves—as
the survivors from Nazism—but also the six million martyrs
who challenge us not to forsake the living.
All conflicting efforts MUST be abandoned, if a truly
A committee under the chairmanship of unified community is to be counted upon as an army of
Morris H. Blumberg has undertaken to make defense and relief workers.
repairs at the old Beth Olam (Smith Street)
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Cemetery, and it is seeking a fund from
We are confident that this task CAN Nand WILL be
the survivors of the 3,500 dead buried there
achieved and that our people, in the main, understand the
for that purpose.
Responsibility for retaining respect for great obligations of the present hour.
What is needed is that confusion,: which usually is in-
the memory of the dead Detroit Jewish
pioneers makes this undertaking the duty jected through conflicting drives, is avoided; that the leaders
of the various segments of our population explain the em-
of the entire community.
Many of the graves on this cemetery are ergency properly to our people; that we begin to think in
in disordered condition, the markers are de- terms of ONE PEOPLE rescuing the remnants of this ONE
faced, the general condition of the Beth PEOPLE in Europe and wherever else the survivors from
Olam is a disgrace to Detroit Jewry, and a the Nazi terror exist today.
serious effort should be made to rectify
The great drive HAS BEGUN. Let us carry on in the
this neglect.
name of a great humanitarian cause, and in the interests
of our own dignity and self-respect.
—
The Rescue Campaign Has Begun!
The Late Dr. J. H. Hertz
—
Respecting Memory. of Dead
THE JEWISH NEWS
2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich.
Member oir, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Independent
Jewish Press Service," Seven Arts Feature Syndicate,
Religious News Service, Palcor News Agency, Wide World
Photo Se/ vice, Acme Newsphoto Service, Icing Features
Syndicate, Central Press Service.
Member American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers and Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish-
ing Co., 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich. Telephone
RAndolph 7956. Subscription rate S3 a year; foreign
;4 a year. Club subscription of one issue a month,
published every fourth Friday of the month, to all
subscribers to Allied Jewish Campaign of the Jewish
Welfare Federation of Detroit at 40 cents a club sub-
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
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ HENRY WINEMAN
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. BRASCH, Advertising Counsel
VOL. 8—NO. 19
JANUARY 25, 1946
The Week's Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the twenty-fourth day of She-
vat, 5706, the following Scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentatecuchal portion—Ex. 18:1-20:21,
Prophetical portion—Is. 6:1-7:6;9:5.6.
Candle-lighting time this Friday is at 5:05 p. tn.
Terrorism Must Be Uprooted
Terrorists in Palestine are rendering a great disservice to
the Jewish people.
There is justification for resisting when British police
attempt to arrest Jews who had entered Palestine without
visas, because we accept it as a basic principle that no one
has a just right to keep Jews out of Palestine.
But it is another matter when Jews resort to terrorism
and destruction.
Since OUR fight can be won only on the basis of the
highest principles of morality, we must strive to eradicate
all semblances of terrorism in Palestine.
The murders and destruction from which Jewry has
suffered in the past few weeks have already been repudiated
by the Jewish Agency and by responsible Zionist leaders
everywhere.
They have been the work of the irresponsible Irgun Zvai
Leumi and the Sternists.
At no time were they condoned by the Haganah, the
official Jewish defense organizatian in Palestine.
These facts must become known and they should serve
as- the basis for established principles for Jewish action in
Palestine.
Friday, January 25, 1946
Facts You Should Know
Answers to Readers'
Questions About Jews
Why are the prayers still recited mainly
in Hebrew?
While the talmudic sages, in general, were of
the opinion that any language was permissable
for prayer, there was a minority who insisted
that only Hebrew be the langauge (see Tractate
Sotah 32, 33). The technical decision of law was
given to the majority who claimed permission
to pray in any language. Still, it remains a fact
that custom which many a time overrides law
in Jewish religion, insisted that the prayers be
mainly in Hebrew. This was practically univers-
ally accepted until the middle of the 19th
century when the reform movement swept Ger-
many and a Jewish prayer-book completely in
German was published under the leadership of
Geiger. This aroused the antagonism of the
Orthodox leaders and Rabbis and the result was
a long debate over the subject which entered into
a philosophical rift between the two sects of
Judaism. Today the Orthodox and Conservative
synagogues still conduct the prayers mainly in
Hebrew. There seems to be at least two good
reasons for this continuity. The leaders of Jewry
always felt that the highest expression could be
given to the Jewish soul when it articulates it-
self in its own language—Hebrew. We have only
to imagine our cherished synagogue melodies
sung in English to realize that it would be as
incomplete as singing an Italian operatic solo
in English. Secondly, the uniformity of language
in prayer has the ingenious power of linking
the scattered fragments of Israel throughout the
world. The Hebrew language serves an un-
deniable purpose in the unification of the ranks
of Israel. Without it our bonds would certainly
have been much weaker. It is one of the common
denominators of the Jewish people. It would
be plausible to understand, then, that the orig-
inal reform movement which denied the Jews
the name of a people should strike out the He-
brew language from the prayer book. It must
be noted, however, that even the most Orthodox
of prayer books contain Aramaic prayers which
were the result of the influence of the vernacular
tongues on our people. Today, modern Orthodox
prayer books are usually accompanied by direct
English translations and modern Orthdox Rabbis
occasionally inject some English prayers into
the service. The precaution is always taken,
however, not to substitute the vernacular tongue
for the Hebraic. With the steadily increasing
popularity of the Hebrew language, it seems safe
to assume that Hebrew will always remain the
basic tongue of prayer for the Jewish people.
What
•
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does the word "rabbi" mean?
Rabbi means "master." It is Palestinian in
origin and designated those learned in the law.
It was originally a courtesy and not an official
title.
Children's Corner
Dear Boys and Girls:
Dr. Maeanna Cheserton-Mangle, who writes for
us frequently under the title "Religion at Work,"
relates this fascinating "The White Paper" story:
Irving Hoffman quotes this true story writ-
ten by Sylvia Vaughn: "One summer evening
my father caught me tearing down the street
after another child, screaming: `Wop! Dirty
Wop !' He took me_ into the house, sat me
down at a desk and gave me a sheet of paper.
`Now, I want you to write down every way
in which you are different or better than that
little Italian girl.'
"Dinnertime rolled around, and my paper
was still blank. I took it slowly to my father.
He smiled. 'That's a good paper. Now, until
you can create a wonderful human soul, as
God can, don't presume to critize anyone
because God chose to have him born a mem-
ber of any one of His nations or races. Re-
member this paper.' And I always have!"
This is such a great lesson in human relations
that I hope all peoples of all faiths will take heed
and will apply it to their every day lives.
I also like her "Friends in the Storm" story.
Dr. Cheserton-Mangle tells about a great Negro,
Booker T. Washington, and the late President
Theodore Roosevelt :
It was sleeting overhead and slushy under-
foot. People hurried along Forty SeCond Street
with their coat collars up about their ears,
hardly glancing at passersby. A young Negro,
carrying a heavy valise in one hand and a
huge suitcase in the other, hurried toward
the Grand Central Station, slipping and skid-
ding as he went. Suddenly a hand reached
out and took the valise while a pleasant voice
said: "Let me take one, brother! Bad weather
to have to carry things.". The Negro was re-
luctant, but the young white man insisted:
"I'm going your way." All the way to the
station they chatted like two old buddies.
Years later, Booker T. Washington 'said:
"That was my introduction to Theodore
Roosevelt."
If everyone were to follow the examples taught
by these two stories, we would have no fear of
bigotry ever raising its repulsiVe head in this
country ,or anywhere else.
I am using these two stories at this time, as
communities throUglidut 'the country are prepar-
ing to observe Brotherhood Week. Let us have
TRUE brotherhood, for the good of mankind.
I wish all of you a very pleasant Sabbath.
UNCLE DANIEL.
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THE BIBLE„ BOOK OF THE AGES
By Sir Walter Scott
Within this awful volume lies
The mystery of Mysteries:
Happiest he Of human race
To whom God has given grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the' latch, and learn the way:
And better had he ne'er been born
Who reads to doubt, or reads to scorn.