Can't Even Our Bones Be Left in Peace?
As the Editor
Views the News .. .
Guest Columnist Notes
JWB, Center Highlights
MUNICH,— GERMANS OPEN A MASS
GRAVE TO USE THE SOIL FOR
'COMMERCIAL PURPOSES
'Sabbath of Sabbaths'
By BERNARD POSTAL
(Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
(Boris Smolar, who conducts the "Between You and Me"
column, has invited Bernard postal to submit a guest
column this week. Mr. Postal is a veteran journalist and
director of the Bureau of Public Information of the Na-
tional Jewish Welfare Board.
Mr. Smolar will resume his
column next week.)
The sanctity of Yom Kippur is interest-
ingly described in A. J. Sperling's "Ta.ame
ha-Minhagim" (Lwow 1928) from which S.
Y. Agnon quotes the following in his "Days
of Awe," published by Schocken:
•
When there was a cholera epidemic in
1848, Rabbi Israel Salanter posted announce-
ments in all the Houses of Prayer of Vilna on
the eve Of Yom Kippur, urging the people
riot to fast on that holy and awesome day, and
to cut short the recitation of the liturgical
poems of the day, and to go walking in the
fresh air. After the Morning Prayer on Yom
Kippur he took a roll in his hand and stood
on the pulpit and after making the blessing
ending "Who creates various kinds of foods,'
ate the roll before the eyes of the entire con-
gregation, that the people might see him and
follow his example; for much is permitted
where there is mortal danger, and the life of
a single person was dearer in his eyes than
all the wealth in the world.
It also is a matter of record that during
the cholera epidemic in the middle of the
eighteenth century, the pious Rabbi Shalom
of Belz announced that all who felt faint
ought to eat and drink as much as they
needed.
Such is the liberality of Jewish laws and
traditions, that even on Yom, Kippur—the
most sacred day on our calendar, on which
self-affliction has been the rule for centuries
—Jews have been given the right to deviate
from restrictions when it was necessary to
protect life.
But the very liberality of faith inspires
strict loyalties and observances. The Great
Fast finds Israel united in solemn tribute to
a great spiritual heritage. It finds us aspir-
ing for a better world, resolved to strive
for the supremacy of a God-inspired hu-
manitarianism, for the rule of justice and
the elimination of rancor and hatred. May
5710 mark the fulfillment of the noblest
hopes of mankind.
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. XVI—No. 23 Page 4 September 30, 1949
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the eighth day of Tishri, 5710,.
the following Scriptural selections will be read
in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Deut. 32.
Prophetical portion—Hos. 14:2-10; Joel 2.15-
17, 27. .
Yom Kippur Scriptural Selections, Monday
Pentateuchal portions: Morning, Lev. 16,
Num. 29:7-11; afternoon, Lev. 18.
Prophetical portions . Morning, .7s. 57:14-58:
14; afternoon, Jonah.
•
JWB is beginning to plan for the observance
of the centennial of the Jewish Community
Someone asked the pious Rabbi Zevi ha.
Kohen of Rymanov, of blessed memory:
Wherein lies the superiority of Yom Kippur,
that it is called "a Sabbath of Sabbaths"? Is
toot the Sabbath also written of as "a Sabbath
of Sabbaths unto the Lord" (Exod. 35:2)?
He replied to him who asked: I see that you
=do not read the portion of the week with care.
Indeed, of the Sabbath it is written, "A Sab-
bath of Sabbaths unto the Lord," but of Yom
Kipper it is Written, "A Sabbath of Sabbaths
unto you" (Lev. 23:32). For on Yom Kippur
we draw the- sanctity of the superior realm
down nearer to us.
This is what makes Yom Kippur superb:
that it IS the great testing day for man, that
its sanctity is made to rule over all, that its
challenges for a better world are felt every-
where.
Yom Kippur is the day of the Great
White Fast on which people search their
souls and hearts to prepare for a better life
without rancor. In order to attain the heights
of pure living, the Rabbis have urged that
even children should be trained for fasting,
that a child of 10 be trained to fast for a
couple of hours, that a boy of 13 and a girl
of 12 should be considered old enough to
fast. But, nowhere are Jewish rules fast
and unbending. In Hillel Noah Maggid Stein-
schneider's "Ir Vilna" (1900) appears the
following:
•
Here and There:
Center movement in 1954 . . Philadelphia's
YMHA, second oldest existing Center, will mark
its 75th anniversary this Year . . . Louisville's
YMHA is preparing for its 60th anniversary . . .
Sam Eig, Washington builder, is the donor of
sites for a Jewish Community Center, Catholic
Church and Methodist Church in Silver Springs,
Md., where ground has just been broken for the
New Center .. ..Top honors and a pair of lesser
prizes in a nationwide design competition spon-
sored by the Chicago Tribune were won by Nor-
bert Troller, architectural draftsman of the staff
of JWB's Building Bureau . . . Troller, a former
Czech architect, is a survivor of the Auschwitz
concentration v camp.
Overseas Report:
OE Wq.,
The first issue of "Jewish Youth," a quarterly
magazine, has been published by the Association
for Jewish Youth, British counterpart of JWB
Jewish youth groups on the Atlantic and Pacific.
sides of the Panama .Canal Zone have been or-
ganized into a youth council by Rabbi Nathan
Witkin, JWB field representative in Panama . . A
youth choir which broadcasts regularly over the
Dutch Radio is one of the projects of the Jewish
Youth Council of Holland . . . Plans for a $200,-
000 Jewish Community Center building and
synagogue in Bogota. Colombia, have been pre-
pared by JWB's Building Bureau at the request
of the Association Israelita Monte fibre de Bogota
for the government of Israel, who recently re,.
turned home after an eight month stay in this
country, reported plans for the building of a
mothers' camp and youth hostel in Israel, adding
that most of the material for the project was
furnished by JWB's Camping Department.
At.rokv
Pressure Groups Bar to Peace
Gene Currivan, distinguished New York Times corres-
pondent in Israel, points out in one of his latest evaluations
of conditions in the Middle East that—
"What is needed here, in the opinion of many ob-
servers, is a hands-off policy, less international interven-
tion and a minimum of pressure. The peoples of the Middle
East may all get together some day if pressure groups
outside leave them alone."
This viewpoint is substantiated by facts. We know that
while Israel has dealt successfully with individual states, it
has been difficult and at times impossible to deal with the
Arabs as a unit. Currivan makes it clear that "there is noth-
ing strange about this since the Arab states cannot agree
among themselves on basic principles."
Thus, the situation is analyzed in a realistic and practi-
cal way by the American correspondent:
School Days
Compulsory Education
For Adults Advocated
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright, 1949. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
School days, the golden rule days, are here
again. On the subject of schools and learning,
Jewish texts are prolific. One of these, which the
good Jew reads in Pirke Avoth every Saturday
afternoon, has the teacher saying, "I have grown
wise from my pupils." Apparently the teacher
also learns in school.
I think the Jews always recognized that edu-
cation is not a thing just for children.
The old-time Jew sat and learned all of his
life. Most people think they are done-. as far as
education is concerned at the age of 40. Their
inning to grey and they conclude
hair is beg
they won't learn anything new any more. They
don't really need their brains any more.
Akiba was not like that..Up to the age of 40,
he had no education. At 40 he began to study
and became the father of rabbinic Judaism.
-I was speaking recently to a young man who
gave a course this summer at one of the univer-
sities. This young man is an instructor in chem-
istry. He said he was surprised at the quality
of the work done by the middle-aged in his
class. They did better, he said, than the younger
people.
One heartening thing about life is that the
brain does not age in the same way as does the
body. I have seen people of 80 whose minds
function better than the most vigorous young
people. The mind is the last thing to go.
In fact, I am inclined to think the mind gets
better with age. It may not always do so, but
there is no reason why it should not do so. The
older person's approach to study is generally
more seasoned and serious and therefore more
effective. And the approach is all important in
learning.
Modern education emphasizes this thought.
We must not only learn, but first of all, we
have to learn how to learn.
The late Shmaryahu Levine once spoke of
a certain rich Jew as having become Bar Mitz-
vah at 60. Dr. Levine was, of course, jesting, but
there may be an idea here. Maybe that would be
a good time to become Bar Mitzvah.
I think there should be compulsory education
for older people. I would like to see the truant
officers arresting those people above 40 who
can think only of playing cards in their spare
time, instead of taking time to study.
"Egypt threw Britain out of the country and is now in a
.precarious state, wondering whether to lean toward the United
States or Russia. Jordan, already subsidized by Britain but fear-
ing the enmity of Egypt and uncertainty of Syria, does not
know which way to turn at the moment but would like to con-
elude a treaty with Israel if it could keep the other Arab states
_ off its neck.
"If King Abdullah of Jordan could permit American pipelines'
to pass through his country, provide the water and labor for the
Palestine potash works at the lower end of the Dead Sea and
acquire for himself all of Arab Palestine, including the Old City
of Jerusalem, he would be sitting pretty. But he must take the
other Arab countries into consideration and forget his im-
mediate needs and desires. Syria, with its new government, is
too unsettled to decide on anything beyond its own internal
needs and has yet to discover where its friends are. Lebanon
is relatively friendly to Israel but at the same time is close to
Syria and must conform to some extent.
"Probably the best example of Arab disunity is the Arab
League which was designed to settle all outstanding problems
among the Arab states. Periodically all Arab leaders meetT gen-
erally in Cairo, and their multiple and contradictory problems
are presented for solution.
"The Arab states now have two common interests. One is
the return of the refugees to Israel and the other is territorial
concessions. Israel maintains that it has no responsibility for
those who fled the country during the war as they were stam-
peded by their own leaders. At the same time, Israel has offered
to readmit 100,000 refugees for humanitarian reasons, although
at this writing no Arab country has offered permanent sanctu-
ary to any of them.
"The Arabs also want the Lower Negeb below the thirtieth
parallel and part of Galilee, but the Israelis cannot see why
they should give up any part of the country to invaders who
were driven out. The Arabs, • on the other hand, feel that the
Jews are trespassers and should never have come to Palestine in ,
the first place except as a minority religious group."
Of particular significance is Mr. Currivan's following
observation:
"Before the actual invasion, the Arabs tried an economic
boycott but that proved ineffectual. They now see that a com-
bination of boycott and war did not succeed, and they are grad-
ually realizing that they- have in their midst a new sovereign
state, which must receive serious consideration if the complex
structure of the Middle East is to hang together. One fact to
remember is that Arabs and Jews have always got along to-
gether except at times when ambitious Arab leaders stirred up
trouble for their own personal gains. The riots of 1938 and 1939
are cases in point. Arabs and Jews have negotiated armistice
agreementS when there was no third party except the United
Nations present. There are armistice treaties now in Egypt,
Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and indirectly with Iraq which went
along with Syria. If there can be armistice agreements there
can also be peace pacts."
These conclusions are as applicable to Jerusalem as
they are to the entire Palestine issue. If outside influences
could have been eliminated, the problem would have been
solved without difficulty. Unfortunately, pressure groups
are at large. They remain a bar to peace. They force Israel
to be prepared for war, at a time when the entire Middle
East needs peace. Perhaps the realistic elements in the UN
will find a way of putting an end to red tape and to unneces-
sary interventions, during the General Assembly sessions, to
bring about the craved-for peace for Israel and all the Arabic
countries. • •
Facts You Should Know
"What is a "Badchan," and what is the de-
rivation of the word?
S
It used to be a custom amongst Jews to hire
a special person to liven up the wedding party
with songs and jokes. This person was called
a "Badchan." The term "Badchan" comes from
a Hebrew-Aramaic root meaning- "to make
merry." Originally, it may have come from the
Hebrew root meaning "to push aside" or "drive
away." The association would imply that a
"Badchan" or merrymaker drives away the sad-
ness and gloom as he makes the happy couple
rejoice. The Talmud states that one who has
enjoyed the feast of a bridegroom and hasn't
contributed to his enjoyment is guilty of many
failures. For this reason, a special man was hired
to represent the company and to make merry
for the happy pair.