THE JEWISH NEWS

gage Four

eis the Editor
Views the News -

Facts You Should Know

MS

,
Answers to Readers
Questions About Jews

In

The Fate of Eretz Israel

History-making developments in the
secret deliberations of the world's powers
soon are certain to reveal decisions which
will affect the entire future of the Jewish
National Home in Palestine.
At a time when boats are being intercept-
ed to prevent the entrance of Jews into the
Land of Israel, we learn that the Anglo-
American Inquiry Committee is split on the
subject of the immediate admission of Jews;
that the American members favor the ad-
mission of large numbers of survivors, but
that the British members are adamant in
their opposition.

In the meantime, however, the decision
reached by the Inter-governmental Commit-
tee on Refagees to allot $25,000,000 for the
rehabilitation in Palestine of displaced Jews
in Europe augurs well for future plans for
Eretz Israel.

Dr. Bernard Joseph, legal advisor to the
Jewish Agency for Palestine, reports that
the $25,000,000 allocation represents only a
small fraction of the reparations due the
Jewish people for property looted from Jews
in Europe.
*
* *
Thus, the assignment of 1,000 visas for the
settlement in Palestine of Jewish children
from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and
France; the entrance of thousands of visa-
less Jewish settlers; the recent entrance into
Palestine of 115 Jewish orphans who were
liberated from Bergen-Belsen; the impending
opening of Palestine's doors to large-scale
Jewish immigration—all these are indica-
tions of the existence of a great responsibil-
ity which must be met by the free Jewish
communities of the world, especially those
in the United States, in the Latin Americas,
in England and in South Africa.
*
* *
When the time arrives—and that day may
come real soon—that we shall be enabled
to settle Jews by the hundreds of thousands,
it will be necessary to raise hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars for the permanent solution
of the problem of the survivors.
The assertion made a few days ago by
Lt.-Gen. Sir Frederick E. Morgan, UNRRA
director in Germany, in his statement to
the Anglo-American Inquiry Committee on
Palestine, that 100,000 displaced European
Jews could be transported to Palestine with-
in one month, is proof, coming from a British
authority, of the immensity of possibilities.
And the warnings of Judge Simon H.
Rifkind, that at least 350,000 Jews in Europe
not 1 00,000 must
be rescued at once if
mass suicide and a horrible tragedy is to be
averted, lend emphasis to the challenge we
are facing in the rescue efforts.
These facts offer proof that the national -
$100,000,000 United Jewish Appeal goal and
the Detroit $2,000,000 Allied Jewish Cam-
paign quota are only beginnings in the chal-
lenging responsibilities of our time.
Briefly: BE PREPARED FOR ACTION!

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THE JEWISH NEWS

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Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish-
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ub
lished every fourth Friday of the month, to all
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Entered as second-class matter August 6, 1942
at the
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of
March 3. 1879.

p

•

BOARD OF DI REOR S
MAURICE ARONSSON
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
FRED M. BUTZEL
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H.

SCHWARTZ HENRY WINEMAN

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. BRASCII, Advertising Counsel

VOL. 9—No. 5

Friday, April' 19', 1944 .,

APRIL 19, 1946

This Week's Scriptural Selections

This Sabbath, Hol Hamoed Passover, the fol-
lowing Scriptural selections will be read during
synagogue services:
Pentateuchal portions—Ex. 32:12-34:26; Num.
28:19-25,
Prophetical portion—Ezek. 36:37-37:14.
On Sunday, Hol Hamoed Passover, Num. 9:1-14
and 28:19-25 will be read.
On Monday morning, seventh day of Passover,
the following Scriptural selections will be read:
Pentateuchal portions—Ex. 13 :17-15:26; Num.
28:19-25.
Prophetical portion—II Samuel 22.
On Tuesday morning, concluding day of Pass-
over, the following selections will be read:
Pentateuchal portions—Deut. 15:19-16-17; Num.
28:19-25.
Prophetical portion—Is. 10:32-12:6.

If It Were YOUR Child?

The picture reproduced here is of an orphan who was
a slave of Hitler in Germany. She is one of the 150,000 Jew-
ish children who are free this Passover and for whom observ-
ance of the festival was made
possible by the Joint Distribu-
tion Committee, with funds
raised by the United Jewish
Appeal. But these children
yet are to be made happy.
They will not be content un-
til they find a home in Pales-
tine, through the United
Palestine Appeal. They will
not be totally liberated until
their lives are reconstructed
completely in permanent
homes, away from the dis-
placed persons centers where
they continue to be dependent- for, their sustenance upon
public funds.
These children are are remnants of the large Jewish
child population of 1,500,000 in pre-Hitler Europe. They
carry with them the memory of slain families. Only a hand-
ful of them have a father or a mother. Nearly all of the rest
are orphans. An arm of practically every one of them carries
the tattooed number of an inmate in a concentration camp.
*
*
*
•
Suppose this were YOUR child? What would you do
for the unfortunate youngster? Would you give a dime from
every dollar you possess for the child's repatriation? Would
you dare to retain 90 per cent of each dollar you possess
for further investments, or for luxuries, or for vacations?
These questions MUST be raised, for the sake of our self-
respect and our conscience.
They are questions that MUST be answered by every
Jewish person who is privileged to live in this great land
of freedom and to participate in the relief and rehabilitation
of the unfortunate Jewish survivors.
These questions must be answered NOW—because we
are in the process of raising funds for the emergency $2,000,-
000 Allied Jewish Campaign, which is part of the national
$100,000,000 United Jewish Appeal for Refugees, Overseas
Needs and Palestine.
*
*
If the Editor had his way in the matter, he would bring
to this country several hundred of these youngsters, whose
tragic plight is symptomatic of the position of the 1,250,000
Jewish survivors in Europe, and would take them on a
tour of every Jewish community in the United States.
The Editor, if he could introduce his method of cam-
paigning, would eliminate all speeches and would merely
have these children display the tattoos on their arms and
ask of all of us: Suppose we were YOUR children?
No one could have the heart, under such circumstances,
to ignore the cry for help that comes to us from overseas.
No one would dare to put a lock on his purse or to count
his contribution niggardly.
* * *
Are such tactics necessary?
Perhaps the Editor is wrong. Perhaps our hearts and
pocketbooks ARE open and our people will be most gener-
ous in the present drive.
But we advance our suggestion because we are convinced
that the $2,000,000 we have set as our goal is not enough.
The $100,000,000 national goal and the $2,000,000 Detroit quota
are only beginnings in the great effort to put an end to
Jewish misery and homelessness.
We were wrong when we placed emphasis on the need
for the immediate settlement of 100,000 Jews in Palestine.
It has now been established, as a result of the revelations
made by Judge Simon H. Rifkind, that 350,000 displaced
Jews must be settled in the Jewish homeland at once.
Clearly, this means that we must prepare for a task
far greater than that we have undertaken at this time and
that we shall need many times the sum asked in the present
campaign.
It means that even the 1946 precedents will have to be
broken, and that if we are to rise to new heights in our
liberality we shall have to learn to pour every available
dollar into the great mercy work • which challenges Jewry.

The job is exceedingly great, but we dare not fail.

What is the Gemara? Why is the Talmud
caller "shas"? What is the difference between
the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmud?
Rabbi Samuel J. Fox, writing for the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, offers the following eX- .
planations:
.
•
1. "Gemara" is an Aramaic expression used..to..
designate the Babylonian Talthud. It comes frorn •
a Hebrew root meaning "to learn" or "to enC)..2.'..
If taken in the first sense the relationship is
obvious, since the Talmud is a body of learning:
If taken in the latter sense, it is implied that the•
Talmud was a redaction, "the last word" in law.
2. The ward "Shas" is the result of an abbrevia.
tion of two Hebrew words, "Shishoh" meaning
six and "Sedarim" or "Sidrei" meaning voluMes
or arrangements. Since the Mishnah, actual basis
of the Talmud, was compiled as a work of six
different parts, the Talmud itself can be considered
the learning and discussion of these six different
departments of law. It became a popular custom
to refer to the Talmud as "shas" implying its six-
fold contents and arrangements. For a similar
rea3on. the Pentateuch is referred to as the
"Chumash," from the Hebrew word meaning five
and therefore an appropriate name for the work
which constitutes the Five Books of Moses.
"Pentateuch" comes from the Greek word mean-
ing "five."
3. The Mishnaic code was accepted in both •
centers of Jewish life (e. i. Babylonian and Pal.;.'
estine) as the authoritative collection of laWs.
Immediately thereafter both the academies of
Babylonia and Palestine regarded the study of
this code (the Mishnah) and its interpretation and
application as their main task. The development
at the Talmud was begun at SepphoriS, where
the Mishnah is said to have been redacted and
at the same time in the Babylonian cities of Neher-
dash and Surah where Rab and Samuel undertook
this gigantic work. Each of the two countries..
differed in their treatment, although there was an:
interchange of ideas. The Babylonian Talmud:
emerged as the more extensive work, .covering
much wider. range. After the final redaction of
the two, the Babylonian Talmud became by far
the more popular and more widely studied.

* * *

What does the word Targum mean?
Targum is the Hebrew term for translation and
usually refers to specific translations of the Old
Testament. The most important of these was the •
Greek translation known as the Septuagint,* or-. the
Targum of the Seventy, so-called because. it was
executed by a commission of 70 scholars.

Talmudic Tales

By DAVID MORANTZ

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

THE THREE FRIENDS
The king once sent for a certain man to appeat ■
before him. Very much alarmed at the surnmons,
he thought perhaps someone had sent an evil
report to the king, who was probably calling him
for punishment.

Accordingly he asked the friend, whom: he
garded most highly, to accompany him, but the -
friend refused.

He then asked a second friend, who offered to
come, but only as far as the gates of the palace.'
Finally he appealed to a third friend, one to
whom he had not paid much attention and whom
he had almost forgotten.

"I shall be glad to go with you," the third friend
replied, "and stay with you as long as you need
me and help you in every way I can."
This first friend, according to the ancient sages,
was his wealth, which he loved above all else,
but in time of actual need, it failed him.. ..
The second friend was represented by his rela-fr
fives, who go with him as far as the grave, but.
leave him there, when he is buried.
The third friend was typified by the good deeds
he had done during his lifetime. A charitable
man will forget his good deeds immediately after
their performance, but the memory of them will
remain long after he has gone and during his
lifetime will never desert him in times of need.

FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

SOME EXCELLENT CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Viking Press, 18 E. 48th St., New York 17, N. Y.,
has published a number of very excellent books
in recent weeks. Among those I wish especially
to recommend are:
BIG MUSIC or TWENTY MERRY TALES TO
TELL. Chosen by Mary Noel Bleecker. Illustrated
by Louis S. Glanzman. The author has done a
most magnificent job selecting from the works of
Carl Sandburg, Mary Gould Davis, Joseph Jacobs,
Hans Andersen, and from American, Mexican,
Polish and other folktales. The stories are -brief
and all are entertaining.
HARRIET. By Charles McKinley. Illustrated
by William Pene DuBois. A grand story in which'
a horse is the hero. Well told, this story will. thri11-
the young reader of 7 or 8.
TREASURE FOR THE TAKING: A Book List
for Boys and Girls. By Anne Thaxter Eaton. .As
a guide for young people who wish to be advised
on book selections, this is the best work of its.kind .
we have seen. Young readers are advised on
selections of picture books, folk tales; books deal-
ing with myths, legend, history, the middle ages,
ancient civilizations and issues affecting our own
times; works on science, art and literature, etc.
In fact; practically everything is covered in• thii
splendid guide.

