Page Four
THE JEWISH NEWS
As the Editor
Views the News . •
Triumph Over Evil
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`Light at Eventide'
44:4 4.; • •
Yom Kippur, traditionally, is a solemn
day. It is the most sacred occasion for re-
dedication to the highest principles of human-
itarianism. Its solemnity, however, never
made it a sad day. Its greatness lies in its
holiness.
The Yom Kippur of 5708, however, truly
is a sad day. For many it will be a day of
mourning. For the thousands who have be-
come famous—through British infamy—as
"the Exodus Jews," it will be a tragic day.
HELP CREATE
A HOMELAND
FOR HOMELESS
ISRAEL
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Palestine Fate in the Balance
Rosh Hashanah became an international day of judgment
when the United Nations General Assembly received and
commenced discussion on the report of its Special Committee
on Palestine.
The chairman of the Special Committee, Judge Emil
(Proverbs 14:34).
Britain's present rulers are forsaking Sandstrom of Sweden, has stated quite clearly that the
righteousness, and their sins surely will bring UNSCOP report is a "typical compromise solution," and many
reproach upon them.
Jewish groups are disappointed over size of the territory
offered by the majority and some inequities in the recom-
Reproach, however, is not enough. There mendations.
is need for atonement and for reparation for
In the main, however, the majority report has the ap-
the injustices that have been imposed upon proval of the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people
Jews.
throughout the world, and there is unreserved willingness to
Atonement must not be limited to Jews— make concessions in order to effect .a speedy solution to the
the world's first and worst sufferers from Palestinian and the worldwide Jewish problem.
injustice. It must embrace the entire world.
Jews everywhere are praying that the majority report of
Sinning mankind must seek forgiveness. It UNSCOP should be adopted and that we should be spared the
must end its sinning. It must provide a home necessity of • being forced into another battle against the
for the dispossessed Jews.
unsatisfactory minority report.
Having achieved these objectives, we will
It is no wonder, therefore, that all eyes are directed as
have a chance to make real the prayer of
much at Washington as they are at Lake Success. Much more
Yom Kippur Day:
depends upon the action of the White House and the State
"At eventide there shall be light."1
Department than that of the United Nations Special As-
sembly. What the present administration of the United States
does to force an amicable solution of the problem will go a
longer way in forcing Britain's hands than all the UN debates.
Rabbi Baruch Korff, co-chairman of the
Unfortunately, we are compelled not to be too optimistic
Political Actions Committee for Palestine, is
and we must pray for the emergence of the highest humani-
responsible for a tragic comedy which • is
tarian ideals from elements which hitherto have not been
doing immeasurable harm to Jewry.
too friendly to us.
Having aligned himself with a group that
In addition, we are not too certain of the attitude of the
has been discredited by responsible Zionists
and repudiated by some of its non-Jewish Russian delegation. The alignment of Yugoslavia with the
associates,the 33-year-old New York rabbi minority is cause for fear that the Russian delegation to the
assumed to undertake a "bombing" attack on UN may not back up the majority opinion as readily as we
London which began with pamphleteering hope, with the result that prolonged debate will complicate
and later was charged with plans to use the issue.
explosives on the British capital.
Palestine's fate hangs in the balance. For the first time in
A spokesman for the American Zionist the history of our struggle for Jewish independence, there
Emergency Council was mild in describing was a ray of light in the UNSCOP majority report. We pray
Rabbi Korif as a man who attached himself for its adoption for the sake of peace in our ranks, in the
to the periphery of the Zionist movement in interests of amity among the nations of the world and for
a search for the limelight. His Don Quixotian the sake of justice and humanitarian ideals without which
gesture is much worse: from the viewpoint the entire UN idea will be doomed to bankruptcy.
of Jewish sufferings it is criminal and should
lead to complete repudiation of his efforts by
all who cling to his fantastic views.
.
Korff's Tragic Comedy
Expansion of Education Month
THE JEWISH NEWS
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1879.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Maurice Aronsson
Philip Slomovitz
Fred M. Butzel
• Isidore Sobeloff
Judge Theodore Levin. Abraham Srere
Maurice H. Schwartz Henry Wineman
SLOMOVITZ. Editor
VOL. XII—NO. 1
SEPTEMBER 19, 1947
Sabbath, Yom Kippur Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the sixth day of Tishri, 5708,
known as Sabbath Shuva, the Sabbath of Return
or Repentance, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Deut. 32.
Prophetical portion—Hos. 14:3-10; Joel 2:15-27.
On Yom Kippur (Wednesday) the following
scriptural selections will be read:
Pentateuchal portion—Morning, Lev. 16; Num.
29:7-11. Afternoon, Lev. 18.
Prophetical portion:—Morning, Is. 57:14-58:14.
Afternoon: Jonah.
Spirit of Yom Kippur
Is as Eternal as Israel
By GERHARDT NEUMANN
Known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, Yom
Kippur is intended for prayer and meditation.
This year we shall be meditating with deep
pain in our hearts over the indignities that
have been imposed on Israel.
A great empire is waging war on homeless
and dispossessed Jews, and the tragedy is
especially magnified by the fact that Britain,
not so long ago one of the most vociferous
protestants against Nazi policy, is completely
oblivious to condemnations of her policy by
libertarians throughout the world.
For nearly three centuries, we have been
taking pride in the knowledge that Britons
are lovers of the Bible and base their tradi-
tions on the ethics taught in Holy Scriptures.
Now, as we prepare for the observance of
Yom Kippur, we are compelled to express
sorrow that the British are forgetting this
sacred principles:
"Righteousness exalteth a nation;
But sin is a reproach to any people."
Friday, September 19,1947
The spirit of Yom Kippur is eternal, because
it touches upon problems which Israel has been
facing ever since the Galut made it a singular
phenomenon among the nations. A review of the
rich talmudic literature on Yom Kippur shows that
this day, through the ages, has lost nothing of its
meaning. The following examples are selected to
show how the explanations and sayings of the
ancient scholars fit into the pattern of the life of
every generation.
According to the Talmud, Yom Kippur had its
origin on Mount Sinai. After the ten command-
ments were given to Israel on Shabuot, Moses
ascended Mount Sinai again and he descended on
the 17th of Tamuz, but broke the tablets because
the people worshiped the golden calf. For 40 days
Moses set up his tent beyond the camp of Israel.
On the 1st of Elul he ascended again to receive
the second tablets. During this period the Hebrews
fasted from sunset to sunset. On the 40th day,
the 10th of Tishri, they wept when they went to
meet Moses, and Moses wept when he beheld their
repentance. Then God said: "Your repentance is
accepted, and this day will remain the Day of
Atonement throughout all generations."
* * *
In Wayikra Rabba it is said that on Yom Kippur
the High Priest offered the following prayer in the
Holy of Holies:
"May it be Thy will, 0 Lord, that the coming
year shall have sufficient dew, rain and shade; may
it be a year of good will, of blessing, of abundance,
of a rich harvest, of good exchange of goods. May
no one in Israel find it necessary to accept favors
from another Israelite; may no one in Israel show
mastery over another Israelite. Mayest Thou not
incline Thine ear when travelers pray for dry
weather. Mayest Thou have compassion on those
who dwell in the low country, that neither sand-
dunes nor cloudbursts make their homes their
graves."
The Pesikta Buber states that Psalm 27 may
be said to apply to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
"The Lord is my light" means Rosh Hashana; "And
my salvation" means Yom Kippur. "On these
days," this ancient sermon continues, "I am un-
afraid of my enemies, namely my evil inclinations
and passions. For I have been privileged to come
into the holy place, and that gives me the assur-
ance that I shall triumph in the war they make
against me."
•
In the Yom Kippur folklore, the accuser, Sa-
tan, naturally plays a big role. He is the
great
protagonist who ridicules, accuses and condemns
Israel, only to make it possible for the Lord to
emerge as the victor in this gigantic struggle be-
tween good and evil.
When the fate of Israel is about to be sealed
on Yom Kippur, the Pesikta Rabbati reports, Satan
says: "Are there not enough criminals and wicked
men among Israel? Why should they of all nations
deserve atonement on this day?" God replies:
"Their sins and their Mizvot are of equal weight,
but the blood of the martyrs inclines their fate
toward mercy."
However, according to the section Yoma in the
Talmud, Satan accuses the Jews every day of the
year, except on Yom Kippur.
The Midrash Tehilim finally has the following
story:
When Satan is ready to take his departure from
the Lord on Yom Kippur, God' tells him: "It will
-not avail you to tempt and inform against Israel
on this day. But if you wish to see what they are
doing, you may visit them."
When Satan returns, he reports: "The Israel-
ites are all fasting and are dressed in white like
the ministering angels."
God then locks Satan up and proclaims: "I
have forgiven."
Answers to Readers
Questions ...
Why is it customary in, many places to
serve doughnuts and cookies on the day be-
fore Yom Kippur?
In some places the 10 days of repentance were
marked by Jews treating each other with delica-
cies. In some places pancakes are served. Some
sources claim that this custom stems from the
feat that the Lord might subject one to live at the
mercy of his fellow man. It was therefore cus-
tomary to pass out these free delicacies with the
thought that if it had been decreed that one should
have to receive charity from others it would be
consummated in the act of receiving the baked
morsel from one's neighbor. Similar cases of "sym-
bolic" punishment may be seen in -the custom of
striking each other before the Day of Atonement
Why do observing Jews refrain from
wearing shoes on the Day of Atonement?
The Talmud claims this to be one of the five
restraints imposed on the Day of Atonement, has- •
ing them on the five times which the Bible states
that one must "afflict his soul." The priest in the
sanctuary had to remove his shoes upon entry in
the Holy place. It is on the Day of Atonement
that every synagogue assumes the proportions of
a Holy of Holies—and every man becomes a priest,
Just as the priest removed his shoes in respect to
the holiness of the occasion so do we remove ours.
The most interesting reason offered is that which
ties up this custom with the custom that makes
mourners remove their shoes during the seven-
day mourning period. It is to be noted that both
the mourner in his seven-day mourning period and
the worshiper on the Day of Atonement are con-
cerned with the implications of death. It would
thus seem ironical for either of them to be con-
cerned with human death while seeking comfort
from the carcass of an animal which adorns their
feet. Since shoes are made from the skins of ani-
mals one refrains from praying for life while
standing on the dead remains of one of God's crea-
Detroit's United Hebrew Schools pioneered 20 years ago
in establishing the tradition of observing a special Hebrew
Education Month as an annual project to educate the com-
munity to the needs of enrolling Jewish children as pupils
in the Hebrew schools and of supporting cultural activities.
Since that time, the observance of Education Month be-
came a national policy, under sponsorship of the Jewish
Education Association.
This practice now is being expanded in our own com-
munity by the introduction, under sponsorship of the cultural
committee of the Jewish Community Council, of a community-
wide Education Month. The new project is intended to en-
courage parents to send their children to one of our existing
schools, choosing the educational ideology of their prefer-
ence.
The new project should go a long way in solving a serious
problem. Only about 25 per cent of our children now are
benefitting from any sort of a Jewish education, and this num-
ber includes the 2,500 or more youngsters who attend the
congregational Sunday schools. If a community-wide Educa-
tion Month will help to draw in several hundred more children
for regular attendance in the Hebrew or Yiddish schools, the
project will be one of the most important undertaken by
Detroit Jewry.
Naturally, the new project will not end individual efforts
of our schools to attract pupils, on the basis of ideological
competition. But even such efforts should go far in advancing
the educational Jewish activities of our community.
tures.