Hanukah-Towards New Freedoms
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Hanukah-5711

Dr. Danby's Scholarly Work

Translates Maimonides"
'The Book of Offerings'

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Hanukah, to be observed this year Dec.
3 to 11, has special significance for Jews
everywhere.

Once again, the candles to be lit for eight
nights—starting with one and graduating
to eight—will symbolize an ancient miracle.
But they also will testify to the modern mir-
acles which have brought independence to
oppressed Jews and which have defied all
obstacles in the emphasis placed in Jewish
- tradition upon religious freedom.

In the days of the Hasmoneans, the bat-
tle was for the right of human beings to
- worship as they saw fit; to follow their daily
pursuits without hindrance from invaders.
- The Maccabaean warriors triumphed in that
struggle.

In our own time, we are privileged to be
witnesses to a recurrence of miracles and
- to the triumph of the modern fighters for
freedom in their determined battle to win
the right to be masters of their own destiny.
This is exactly what has happened in Israel.
It is part of the struggle throughout the
world which must eventually end in favor of
the oppressed who refuse to be humilitated
and who insist on being treated humanely,
and on living their own lives as they see fit.

The Hanukah of 5711, while still beset
with many problems facing Jews every-
where, is a happy period on our calendar be-
cause it marks victory for the basic idea of
man's just rights on earth. The other aspir-
ations will be obtained in the course of time,
so long as men insist on acquiring their
freedom.

The major
justify the joy
with which we
we greet Jewry with heartfelt
wishes for a Happy Hanukah.

'Weary Be at Rest'

A poem by Jacob C. Soloway under the
title, "The Jew," published in the current
issue of American Unity, the organ of the
Council Against. Intolerance in America,
carries a timely message. With the approach
of Christmas, Mr. Soloway's plea for corn-
- Art has particular significance.
Basing his poetic expression On the selec-
tion from Job, "There the wicked cease from
troubling, and there the weary be at rest,"
his poem reads:

Kicked down the stairs of history, he lay
'Sick in his beard and rags and bitter pride,
His prayer shawl and phylacteries at his side,
His prostrate body beaten into clay.
Biblical in his heart, different by laws
Set by progenitors, he dwelt alone,
Knowing the curse, the spittle, and the stone,
The ghettoed walls, the raider's bloody jaws.

Not by six million dead in frantic herds,
Nor by their forebears goaded to the grave,
Nor ancient agonies they have endured,
Will comfort come. Comfort will be assured
When they who sing their hymns to Christ
grow brave,
And read his spirit as they read his words.

All appeals for justice are based on re-
quests that the spirit as well as the words
of the ideas and personalities that are re-
'vered should be adhered to and respected.
This poem says exactly this to Christians—
that they should read the spirit as well as
: the words of their faith. Once this is achiev-
ed, there will be less need for movements to
propagate tolerance.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers. Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg.. Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1155.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4.
Entered as second class matter Aug.
1942 at Post Office,
Detroit. Web.. under Act of March 8, 6,
1879.

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager

Vol. XVIII—No. 12 Page 4 December 1, 1950

Sabbath Scriptural Selections

This Sabbath, the twenty-third day of Kis-
lev, 5711, the following Scriptural Selections will
•Pe read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Gen. 37:1-40:23.
Prophetical portion—Amos 2:6-3:8.

Hanukah Scriptural Selections

During Hanukah, the following Scriptural
selections wf7l be read: Monday, Num. 7:1-17;
Tuesday, Num. 7:18-29; Wednesday, Num. 7:24-
'35; Thurscltiy, Num. 7.30-41; Friday, Num. 7:36-
47.

Histadrut's $300,000 Drive

Histadrut, opening its annual drive tonight, has a De-
troit goal of $300,000 for the coming year. It is a quota that
should be considered easily obtainable from this great and
traditionally liberal community because of the impressive
attainments of the Israel Labor Federation and because of
the great responsibilities that will face the workers in the
Jewish state in the years to come.
Pursuing cooperative methods of building the agencies
which make up its total efforts, Histadrut sponsors housing
projects, aids colonization, conducts . vocational training
centers for immigrants, encourages cultural activities and
maintains the transportation system in Israel.
In the field of public relations, Histadrut is especially
effective. The labor movement has been more successful than
any other element in Jewish ranks in creating friendly spirit
between Jews and Arabs. Since the attitude of people is in-
fluenced primarily by economic conditions, Histadrut has
been successful in breaking down Arab resistance to Jewish
rights in Israel by improving the status of the Arabs, by
elevating their standards, by offering them the same living
wage which is accorded the Jewish workers.
By the same token, Histadrut has been influential in
winning support for Israel in non-Jewish ranks throughout
the world. Its humanitarian efforts are so widely recognized
that outstanding leaders in governments throughout the
world have endorsed Israel because they were able first to
acclaim the work - of.HiStadrut.
In her spiendid .bOok . lsrael Without Tears," which has
just come. Off the press Dr. Ruth Gruber has some interest-
ing thing ¢ta say about Histadrut. She states:

"Private capital alone could not have financed some of the
industries that a large federation of labor could finance. Private
capital, of necessity, shied away from what looked like hopeless
ventures. The Histadrut, by risking _capital and labor, was as
much a pioneering force in Israel as the boys and girls in the
Galilee.
"Certainly without the Histadrut this tiny country could
afford almost no large-scale industrialization. And it has the
confidence of the workers .
The Histadrut, in the absence of national legislation, has
p ut through a social-security program of its own, to include
health benefits, unemployment relief, elimination of child
labor, housing for some 25,000 people, consumer cooperatives
and protective regulations for women in industry."

This is only part of the story. In our own land, Hista-
drut has been an important factor in winning support for
Israel, in mobilizing Government officials and leaders in both
labor movements — AFL and CIO — in defense of Jewish
rights.
It is no wonder, therefore, that Histadrut, while it is a
minor cause compared with the United Jewish Appeal, has
been given the endorsement of a large segment of America:n
Jewry. This support must continue--in Israel's best interests
and for the sake of retaining
o- good will in the ranks of Ameri-
can labor in behalf of Israel labor.
We urge unqualified support for the Detroit Israel
Histadrut Campaign for $300,000.

Richatds Free_ Speech' Defense

G. A. Richards' attorneys, in their defense of the owner
of three radio stations, including WJR-Detroit, now contend
that the FCC hearing on his license renewal application in-
volved a "battle for freedom of speech."
But the charge against Mr. Richards is that he had
used his stations as sounding boards to amplify his private
religious and racial antipathies. Therefore it is the duty
of the Government agency to probe into his record and to
establish whether a man in a responsible position can assume
the right to shout "fire" in a crowded theater.
Mr. Richards has won support from the National As-
sociation of Broadcasters. But the National Community Re-
lations Advisory Council, which speaks for all the national
Jewish organizations in America and for all the community
councils, in its repudiation of the NAB position, states that
"public confidence in the radio industry can be restored only
if it is made clear that broadcasters and their associations
stand
to have their actions reviewed by appropriate
b
statutory authority
and that they subscribe to and endorse
the replacement of any licensee who after a fair hearing is
found to be unworthy." We believe this to be a fair state-
ment and we endorse the rejection of the contentions of Mr.
Richards' lawyers and the National Association of Broad-
casters.

Yale Judaica Series is enriched by Dr. Here*
bert Danby's translation of "The Book of Offer..
ings"—Book Nine of The Code of Maimonides--.
which has been published by Yale University
Press as Volume IV in the Yale Judaica Series.
Dr. Danby, who is Religious Professor of Hebrew
and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, England
lived in Palestine for a number of years. His
translation of the Mishna into English is one of
the very scholarly works of the past decade. The
present translation adds to his excellent record
as a Hebrew scholar and provides new weight for
the Yale Maimonides Series.
The preceding work in the series was Book
Fourteen of Maimonides, "The Book of Judges,"
which was translated by Dr. A. M. Hershman.
of Detroit. Book Thirteen—"The Book of Civil
Laws"—was translated by Jacob Rabinowitz.
Distinguished scholars . are working on the
translation of the entire series of 14 volume.s,
under the editorship of Prof. Julian Obermann.
Dr. Danby's is the first translation ever made
of Book Nine--"The Book of Offerings." It deals
with offerings concerning Passover, Festal, First-
lings, Transgressions Cothmitted Through Error,
Those Whose Atonement Is Not Complete.
The remarkable aspect of this as well as tht
preceding translations is that they are valuable
not only for rabbis and men of research but also
for the lay reader. The korbanot (offerings) of
the Temple, the ceremonies, the private offer-
ings are offered in such excellent style that
Maimonides' works are popularized by the emi-
nent scholar who has added the new work to
the series.
► I
The 16 Passover commandments of Maimo-
nides are accompanied by notes and are followed
in detail by the translation of the complete
tracts. The same routine is applied to the other
portions of the 12th century manuscripts.
Dr. Danby's work is richly annotated. It con-
tains a valuable glossary, a list of Scriptural ref-
erences and an impressive index. His "Book of
Offerings" helps to popularize Maimonides. It
elevates the translator's own position as a Chris-
tian Hebraic scholar.

Many Fine Stories in
'Pulpit Humor Treasury'

Rabbi Israel H. Weisfeld of Dallas, Telt,
whose earlier books have been reviewed in these
columns, offers loads of entertainment in his
new book, "The Pulpit Treasury of Wit and Hu-
mor," published by Prentice-Hall, Inc., 70 .5tit
Ave., N. Y. 11.
Pulpit preachers will find it invaluable. 'They
will be reminded about many noted preachers
whOse favorite and famous stories are included
in this book. They also will be able to apply
some of the stories for their own use.
"The Pulpit Treasury" has value, however,
for the lay reader as - well as for the pulpit
preacher. Dr. Weisfeld's collection is wholesome
and in spots very informative. Excellent judg-
ment was used by the compiler of these stories
in their selection and in grouping them under
appropriate chapter headings.
Although not new, this story about "Clergy,
Rates" helps illustrate the book's contents:
•
"Oscar Levant tells about the minister in
New York who phoned a minister in California:
"'Is this a station-to-station call? queried
the operator.
" `No,' replied the reverend. 'It's 13arson-
to-parson..' "
Then there is this "hot reply" which credits
Archbishop Ryan with having been accosted 113. •
Baltimore by a man who asked: "Now, where in
hell have I seen you?" The Archbishop repliedZ
"From where in Hell do you come sir?"
The section "Giving—Though It Hurts" con-
tains this story on "The Poor and the Rich":
"When I look at this cOngregation," said
the preacher, "I ask myself, `Where are the
poor?' But. then, when I look at the collection,
I say to myself, 'Where are the rich?'"
But the best book can be spoiled with indis-
cretion—and in this.instance a rabbi committed
a blunder. One of his stories ("Unfair"—page 1p3)
is about a collection in a synagogue "on a cer-
tain Sabbath" and the division of- the money
afterwards by the preacher between the cantor
and the maggid. ,The latter wanted more than
an equal share because the cantor did not face
the congregation while he had to face the people
and witness the humiliation of seeing them leave.
The story itself is not so good, but the blunder
consists in a rabbi speaking of a collection on
the Sabbath. Many years ago we heard about
a collection - on the Sabbath in a Reform con-
gregation, but even then it was an isolated ex-
perience. The rule is that collections are not
made on the Sabbath, and when a rabbi speaks
of it he mocks unnecessarily.

• • •

Facts You Should Knotv

What is the derivation of the term "phylac-

tery?"
The term is said to stem from a Greek word
"phylasso" meaning to "defend," to "guard'? or
to "watch." This term must have been applied
by the Hellenists who believed that the tefillin
worn by the Jews were some sort of "amulets"
which would "guard" against evil. This term
is not of Jewish origin and is not used in a
Jewish context at all, since this is by no means
the purpose' of the tefillin.

