Special Designs Aid Centers At .Holiday Time
Jewish holiday celebrations are an integral part of
Jewish Community Center programming for the entire
community. This series of specially-created designs, which
features holiday symbols and methods of celebrating the
various festivals, was
created by the Bureau of
Public Information of
the Jewish Welfare
Board, sponsor of the na
tionwide Center program.
The designs are made
available for use in Cen-
ter and other Jewish
agency publications and
for holiday decoration
schemes.
hamishah asar; hishvat
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Rosh Hashanah Quiz /
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
(Copyright, 1950, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Why is the Ram's Horn' blown on Rosh
Hashanah called "Shofar?"
The term "Shofar," which refers to the "Ram's
Horn" blown during the Rosh Hashanah holiday,
is usually traced to the Hebrew-Chaldeec root
"Shofar" which signifies "brilliancy," _"beauty"
or • "brightness.'.' The verb denotes the action of
scraping or polishing. The ram's horn is called
"Shofar" because of its "bright" tone.
• What are the reasons for blowing the "Sho-
far" on Rosh Hashanah?
Numerous reasons are offered. Those who use
text for a basis stress the fact that the actual
name for "Rosh Hashanah" in the Bible is "a
day of blowing." Some claim that every major
Jewish event in history was heralded by the
blowing of the shofar. Since Rosh Hashanah is
approximately the birthday of the world, some
Claim that the shofar is sounded just as it was
5711 years ago.
Other writers claim that the shofar is blown
to remind God Of the sacrifice of Isaac.. Some say
the shofar is blown to bewilder and frighten
Satan who serves as the prosecutor at the Bar
of Judgment on the Rosh Hashanah.
In ancient times when the king was about
to enter, the couriers blew trumpets to an-
nounce his arrival. On Rosh Hashanah every
living person is before the "King of Kings," the
Lord in Heaven. Hence the shofar is blown to
make us aware of the presence of God amongst
us.
Why is it that the horn of a cow, ox or calf
may not be used as a "Shofar?
Generally, three reasons are offered. The prin-
ciple reason is that these animals are from the
family of the Golden Calf which brought such
disaster to the Israelites through sin and corrup-
tion.
The other two reasons are more technical.
One claims that the horn of the cow family is
generally referred to as "Keren" and not "Sho-
far" as the others are. The other claims that the
horn of the cow, showing itself to be of several
layers appears to be more than one horn and it
was required to have but one horn—indicating
the unity in life.
Why is it necessary for the ."Shofar" to be a
curved figure?
Originally, it seems there was a dispute
among Talmudic authorities whether the sho-
far should be a straight horn or a curved one.
The final decision among the authorities was
that it must be a curved instrument. The rea-
son given is that a curved instrument looks like
a "bent" one. This was to symbolize the fact that
Man should "bend" his pride and assume the
attitude of humility on the day of Judgment, as
well as on any other day during the year.
Why is the 47th Psalm recited seven times
before the "Shofar" is blown?
The text of the Psalm shows God to be the
"great King over all the Earth," who "reigneth
over the nations." The shofar which heralds the
presence of God is appropriately introduced by
proclaiming God, King over all the Earth. The
reason for reciting it seven times either has to
do with the seven circuits that were made around
the wall of Jerusalem before it fell, symbolizing
our hope of breaking the wall of Judgment with
God's mercy or it symbolizes our desire to have
our prayers cut through the "seven heavens"
that separate us from the Almighty's throne of
Glory in the physical sense.
Can The Arabs Stay In Israel?
Politics, Religion Are
Hindrances to Amity
By JON KIMCHE
(Copyright, 1950, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
As you enter the Arab-owfied hotel in Nazareth, you come
face to face - with a large portrait of Theodor Herzl, the founder
of Zionism. Shops, bars and the homes of Arab notables are sim-
ilarly decorated. There are probably more portraits and paint-
ings. of Herzl on view in Arab Nazereth than throughout Jewish
Israel. Yet increasingly insistently the more farsighted owners
of these portraits are asking—"Can we stay on in Israel?"
The problem is further complicated by religious differentia-
tions which overlap into active politics. The Arab population is
broadly divided into four main religious groupings: 17,000 follow
the Church of Rome; 20,000 follow the Eastern Orthodox Church;
110,000 are Moslems; and 16,000 are members of the Druze sect.
ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN made to counter these influences
with the encouragement of the Israeli authorities. First, a kind
of Arab branch of the Histadrut was opened in Nazareth under
the title of League of Palestine Workers. So far it has made little
inroads on Communist influence and has ordinarily no decisive
impact on the Arab workers generally.
Then Mohammed Nimri Hawwari, one-time founder of the
Arab nationalist "Nejada," appeared on the scene with an im-
pressively progressive program and goodwill from the Israel
Government, but with no following. He has been endeavoring to
organize a party in Nazareth which would counter both the Con-
servatives and the Communists but he has made little progress.
ALL PETTY CHARGES and counter-charges' fade before the
ominous simplicity of the basic problem!: Can Israel accept its
Arab citizens as equals in every way? At present Israel and the
Israeli Arabs are getting the worst of both worlds.
The economic betterment of the poor Arab and the avowals
of the Government enlarging on its liberal policy toward its
Arab minority act as a constant inducement to desperate Arab
refugees in the neighboring states to endeavor to return to their
homes in Israel, illegally if not legally, later if not now.
The only measure that would possibly be adequate to stop
this persistent infiltration of Arabs into Israel would be a bold
and reasoned declaration by the Israel Government that there is
no future for Arabs within Israel's borders. But such a policy
goes both against the grain of the present Government, and if
it did not, it could not make such a declaration unless the Arabs
resumed their war against Israel. Otherwise it would outrage
the tender feelings of the international community. The present
borders of Israel are therefore bound to remain in a scene of
unrest and illegal crossings for some time to come.
World Peace Efforts
Stand As Monument to
Diplomat Oscar Straus
By LEWIS L. STRAUSS
The memory Of Oscar Straus does not depend
upon any memorial raised by hands. Even now,
25 years after his death, the purposes to which
he devoted his life continue to shed their light
upon his name.
- Born at Ottenberg in the Bavarian Palatinate
a hundred years ago, Oscar Solomon Straus was
of distinguished lineage. His father, Lazarus
Straus, like many another German Jew, decided
that the political events of 1848 made the Ger-
man clithate intolerable. Accordingly, in 1852,
he set out for the new world.
Educated at Columbia College and Law
School, Oscar Straus' New York law practice
proved at once successful. But poor health
caused him to retire. After a holiday, he became
a member of the china and glassware firm
founded by his father and elder brothers.
*
*
*
LARGELY AT THE suggestion of well-known
persons attracted by Straus' scholarship, the
young man was brought to the attention of
........... President Grover
Cleveland w h o, in
1887, appointed
Straus, then only 37
years old, United
. .9States Minister to
Turkey. In 1898, Pres-
McKinley again
4.1 tendered that post to
Straus, the first time
that an individual
had received t h e
same appointive dip-
lomatic office under
both a Democratic
and Republican ad-
Oscar Straus
ministration.
When Theodore Roosevelt became president,
one of his first acts was to appoint Straus a
member of the permanent Court of Arbitration
at the Hague, an appointment later reconfirmed
by President Roosevelt and President Wilson.
*
IN 1906, President Roosevelt appointed Straus
Secretary of Commerce and Labor. When Presi-
dent Taft was inaugurated in 1909, Straus was
offered a third opportunity to serve in Turkey,
this time with the rank of Ambassador.
Of Straus' warm love for Jewish tradition,
Dr. Cyrus Adler has said: "No Jew in America
THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT wants at the same time to be ever had so full and rounded out a public life
generous and to be secure. But • in this kind of minority problem as Oscar Straus. But he was not of those who
there are no "ifs" and "buts."
thought at any time .that his public career de-
severance from his Jewish traditions.
That is the issue before Israel. The world standard by which manded
He was a loyal member of the synagogue to
her treatment of the Arab minority is measured is admittedly which
his people were attached; he was actively
high. But then the Jews have always set and asked for a higher engaged in the work of the administration of
standard where minorities are concerned.
one of the largest Jewish charities in New York,
the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
*
*
*
AND NOW THAT THEY are at"he giving instead of the re-
ceiving end, the standard should be maintained. Either policy
"HE WAS INTENSELY. interested in the
will be understood by the world and appreciated by the Arabs. American Jewish Historical Society, of which he
But not the present confusion of honest and generous intention was president froin its founding in 1892 to 1898.
coupled with uncertain and half-hearted execution. Which is it He was a trustee of the Jewish Publication So-
ciety of America, a member of the executive
to be?
committee of the American Jewish Committee
and a governor of Dropsie College. He resented
10 THE JEWISH NEWS
September 8, 1950
at all times attacks upon the Jewish people."
—