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Feast of Weeks
Shevuoth, the Feast of Weeks, which
marks the establishment of the covenant be-
tween Israel and God, dating back to the
days when Moses received the Ten Com-
mandments, has been linked with two other
events : the harvest festival and, in modern
times, with graduations, consecrations and
confirmations.
It is primarily a festival of faith, influ-
enced by the Law that was handed down
from Sinai. In Palestine it assumed signifi-
cance as a harvest holiday. In the Diaspora
it is significant in religious education for
the ceremonies which mark the concluSion of
courses of study.
Throughout the United States, thousands
of boys and girls will be graduated this
month from Jewish as well as secular
schools. Boys and girls will be confirmed
in many congregations, and many girls will.
be consecrated in Conservative synagogues.
Congratulations to the graduates, con-
firmands and consecrants must inevitably be
accompanied by the hope that this will not
mean the end of the Jewish education of our
young people; that, on the contrary, it will
encourage many of them to go on with
their studies and to seek deeper knowledge
about the culture they have inherited.
We face a new era in Jewish life. The
redemption of Israel may lead to a reduc-
tion of anti-Semitism, to an end to wander-
ing by our dispossessed kinsmen, to the be-
ginning of a period in our history which
will enable Jews to devote themselves to
learning much more than we have hitherto
dedicated ourselves to fund-raising. Because
a large group of our kinsmen will be free
citizens in a state of their own, our young
people should find an incentive for studying
the rich history which preceded the era of
freedom, and the language used by the
free people in Israel.
It is sincerely to be hoped that the young
people who are in the graduating and con-
secrated classes will be found for a long
time in Jewish classrooms, in ,Our syna-
gogues and cultural centers, and that they
will prepare themselves for leadership in
our ranks. This is one of our wishes for them
on the happy occasions with which they
greet the Shevuoth festival.
ZOA's New President
Daniel Frisch, having risen from the
ranks to the highest position of Zionist lead-
ership, faces a trying task as president of
the Zionist Organization of America, in an
era of reorganization.
The courage with which he traveled
throughout the land to campaign for this
great office indicates that Mr. Frisch will
not be frightened by grave duties. He has
earned the support of the large ZOA mem-
bership and it is sincerely to be hoped that
there now will be an end to internal strife.
The opposition has assumed a, share in the
movement's leadership. Now both factions
must work together to bring to fruition the
reorganization program that was developed
by Judge Simon Rifkind's committee.
Apparently the hot-headed outbursts at
the convention which were the aftermaths of
the recent UJA controversy were no more
than the usual examples of oratory that
are unavoidable in mass gatherings. But the
final decisions of the convention, lifting the
UJA to a position of priority in Jewry, give
Mr. Frisch a free hand to strive for the
success of the major fund-raising effort in
support of the great project for Israel's up-
building. In this role, too, he can make an
important place for himself in the entire
American Jewish community.
THE JEWISH NEWS
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers, Michigan Press Association.
Services: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Seven Arts Feature
Syndicate, King Features, Central Press Association, Palcor
News Agency.
Published every Friday by The Jewish . News Publishing
Co.. 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1155.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4. •
•Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
VOL. XV—No. 12
Page 4
June 3, 1949
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
Pentateuchal portions: Friday, first day of
Shevuoth, Ex. 19:1-20:23, Num. 28:26-31; Satur-•
clay, second clay of Shevuoth, Deut. 14:22-16:17,
Nunz. 28:26-31.
Prophetical portions: Friday, Ezek. 1:1-28;
3:12, Saturday, Hab. 3:1-19. The Book of Ruth
s read on the second day of Shevuoth.
Story of Emma Lazarus,
Author of 'New Colossus'
The 100th anniversary of the birth of Emma
Lazarus serves to revive interest in one of Am-
erica's greatest poets and in the first American
JewiSh woman who wrote verses expressing the
yearning of oppressed Jews to
return to their cradleland.
Emma Lazarus was immortal-
ized by her poem, "The New
Colossus," which has been used
for the plaque on the pedestal
of the Statue of Liberty. Her
inspiring and touching words,
. .. "Give me your tired, your
poor, Your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free, The
wretched refuse of your teem ,.
ing shore,"
Courtesy Institute for American Democracy, Inc.
Advances in Jewish Education
Marked progress in the field of Jewish education was
recorded at the tenth anniversary convention of the Ameri-
can Association for Jewish Education, at Atlantic City, dur-
ing the past week-end.
In the decade since the formation of the AAJE, _edu-
cators and lay leaders have shown a deep interest in the cul-
tural needs of the Jewish community. It is believed that the
over-all enrollment in Jewish schools has increased ten-fold
and there is every indication that there will be further ad-
vances in the coming years for the enlargement of Jewish
school systems throughout the land and for the training of
well-equipped teaching personnel.
The experiences in our own community, where marked
progress has been shown during the past year by the United
Hebrew Schools and its Midrasha—Hebrew teachers' col-
lege—add to the encouraging trends in the field of Jewish
education.
The American Association for Jewish Education is to
be commended for its efforts and should receive the sup-
port of all our communities in its efforts to advance the
cultural standards of American Jewry.
Investments. in Israel
Important private enterprises are appealing to the Jews
of America to make investments in Israeli projects in order
to encourage the economic development of the Jewish State.
Palestine Economic Corporation has placed on sale
600,000 shares of common stock. Israel Corporation has am-
bitious plans and AMPAL—American Palestine Trading Cor-
poration—is going forward with a significant program.
-AMPAL's annual stockholders' meeting, to be held here
next Tuesday evening, .at Hotel Statler, is awaited with
considerable interest by the hundreds of Detroiters who
possess this Trading Corporation's valuable stock. The sec-
retary of AMPAL—Abraham Dickenstein—is coming here
with a report on the accomplishments of the past year and
the corporation's plans for the future. The fact that Robert
St. John, well known author and radio commentator, will
share the platform with Mr. Dickenstein, adds interest to
Tuesday's program.
It is sincerely to be hoped that Detroit Jews, in addi-
tion to giving their full share towards the United Jewish
Appeal, through the Allied Jewish Campaign, will devote
themselves with equal loyalty to the causes for the advance-
ment of Israel's industries through investments in Israeli
enterprises.
U. of M. Hillel's Building Fund
Hillel Foundation of the University of Michigan has
found encouragement in its campaign for a much-needed
new building in the gift of $50,000 it has received fraan Ben
Paul Brasley, Pittsburgh attorney and University of -Michi-
gan graduate.
The Hillel activities were considerably hampered dur-
ing- the past few months because the Foundation was com-
pelled to move its headquarters a considerable distance from
the campus. The construction of a new building, which will
involve a cost of $350,000, is an absolute necessity and it
is sincerely to be hoped that the necessary sum will be
raised in order to assure continuation of services for Jewish
students during the coming school year.
Rabbi Herschel Lyman, director of the U. of M. Hillel
Foundation, and Irwin I. Cohn, chairman of the building
fund drive, report encouraging responses from alumni and
prominent citizens. The campaign is not limited to the De-
troit area, as indicated by the fact that the initial $50,000
gift came from a Pittsburgher. As soon as the Allied Jewish
Campaign is over, Detroiters should take a hand in the
Hillel effort and should strive, in the best interest of the
Jewish students, to help raise the necessary fund for the
new building in Ann Arbor.
continues to be the chief source
of inspiration for all wilt) aspire
to make America the place of
Statue of Liberty
refuge for the oppressed.
Her story is splendidly told in H. E. Jacob's
"The World of Emma Lazarus," a Schocken pub-
lication. In this biography we are introduced to
the entire Lazarus family, to the father whose
influence had a lasting effect on her life, to
her sisters and to her friends—to the Emma
Lazarus World.
She was under the infuence of Ralph Waldo
Emerson and one of her great disappointments
was his ommission of her name and poetry
from his poetic an-
thology. But the great
philosopher, and au-
thor continued to act (
as her guide and ad-
viser
At an early age,
she wrote fine verses,
and at 18 she was so
well thought of that
she ranked high harp
intelleCtual circle
Whitman spoke well
of her and her work
and other noted wri-
ters commended her. •
Robert Browning was / f
her friend and her
name is inseparable
from the era of great
authors of the last
Emma Lazarus
t uh reyo. nc
e n T
Czarist Russian pogroms had a. marked
ceffect
her lfe. She began to devote her
energies to charitable work in behalf of the
unfortunates and many of her poems were irt.
fluenced by the massacres and the influx of
Jews into this country.
While her sister Josephine shared her Jewish
loyalties with her, her youngest sister, Annie,
who held the copyright rights to her works,
stood in the way of the publication of her un-
published works. Josephine, influenced by the
Dreyfus case, wrote a famous little book on
Lucie Dreyfus under the title "Madame Drefus."
But sister Annie, who was an anti-Dreyfusard,
carried her disagreement far. She became an
ardent Catholic, intermarried and refused to
release her sister's manuscripts. Bernard G.
Richards, the noted New York Jewish leader
and publicist, made an attempt to get Emma
Lazarus' works in order to publish a complete
edition of them, but Annie's attitude forced him
to abandon this effort.
-- Thus, Jacob's "The World of Emma Lazarus"
not only is an excellent biography but is reveal-
ing from the point of view of the light it throws
on the Lazarus family. It is a good book and a
deserving tribute to the noted poet on the 100th
anniversary of her birth. .
s.e
Facts You Should Know .. .
Why is it customary to throw nuts on the
groom when he appears in the synagogue on
the Sabbath before his wedding; and to throw
rice, etc. at the pair at the wedding?
The Hebrew term for nut (ego) has the
numerical value eqUal to that of the word
"good." Throwing nuts is thus a symbol of the
fact that the populace wishes the couple to be
"showered with goodness." Rice, wheat kernels,
or other grains that are thrown are meant to
be a symbol of fertility, expressing the wishes
of the populace that the couple find their mar-
riage productive.
Why do some Jewish sects prohibit women
from accompanying the funeral procession to
the cemetery?
Sephardic communities do not 'allow women
to accompany the burial procession. This may
originate in the restriction which prohibits
women from visiting the cemetery during their
menstrual periods. This was ordained because
the cemetery is considered a holy place in Jew=-
ish lore. In the case of the burial procession, It
might be embarrassing to restrict certain women
and allow others to proceed. Consequently,
Sephardim prohibit all women from the funeral
procession.
Why is it customary to conduct morning
and evening services in the home of a mourner
during the seven-day morktrning period?
_ Some commentators feel this is done because
mourners are confined to their homes and are
unable to go to the Synagogue to pray during
this period. However, the Talmud clearly states
that even when there are no mourners it was
customary to assemble the required quorum (10
males) at home of the deceased, giving as a
reason the fact that the soul of the deceased is
gratified by the honor extended to its memory,
by conducting prayers at the hornet.