As the Editor
Views the News

'Let Us Sign It Together'

Dialect—Wholesome and Bad

Kaber's Pleasing 'Bel la'4
Ornitz's Revolting Novel

4...

Peretz Anniversary

Jewish literary ranks are now observing
Arthur Kober is more than a master of Bronx
idiom. In addition, he also is a good story-teller.
the 100th anniversary of the birth of Isaac
He is not offensive and he is genuinely enter-
Loeb Peretz, the great Yiddish writer who,
taining.
together with Mendele Mocher Seforim
He makes friends for himself and for his
(Shalom Jacob Abramowitch) and Sholem
delightful characters in "Bella, Bella,-Kissed a
Aleichem (Solomon Rabinowitch), formed
Fellow" (Random House).
the great trio of Jewish story-tellers who
This reviewer began reading the story of
interpreted Jewish life in the tragic days of
Esther, Louis and Bella Gross, the latter's boy
Tsarist rule and helped, with their wit, their
friend Max Fine, her wooer Morton Pomerantz,
her girl friend Nettie Portnow, with suspicion.
human dignity, to ease the pains that re-
Dialect usually carries with it a certain amount
sult- from degradation and persecution. ,
of banality. But before very long, in "Bella,
Peretz was a great scholar and linguist, a
Bella . . .", you learn that there is something
humanist, a man whose revolutionary spiri t
wholesome about the entire story, and if you are
was -reflected in powerful poems and narra
realistic you must admit that the idioms and
tives.
the dialect are real—typically Bronxian.
He was not a Zionist, but he leaned to
As stated, it is not an offensive story. On
wards • a Jewish nationalism which sough t
the contrary, its wholesomeness is refreshing.
dignified emergence of a strong Jewish spiri t
Bella likes Max, but is angered by his failure to
write. She later learns—after she had spurned
in the midst of a world whose hostility h e
the wooing of the good spender Pomerantz—
hoped to mitigate through the union of th e
that he had kidney trouble and did not respond
forces of justice.
to her letters before he -had broken his writing
He was born in Zamosc, Poland, in 1851,
arm when two-by-fours fell on him while in the
and died in Warsaw in 1915 while the First
army. He was discharged without seeing much
World War was engulfing mankind. He could
action, spending most of the time in hospitals.
not possibly have dreamt, therefore, that
Ma Gross wanted Bella to take Pomerantz
Hebrew would, within a generation, become
seriously, but her Pa took a dislike to the 39-
the spoken tongue of a revived Jewish peo-
year-old wooer and it was a personal triumph
for him when Bella and Max finally took off to a
ple; that Zionism would become a reality.
"moon pickcheh show" to mark "the return of
Yet, his first works were in Hebrew. He
the native." "So tell me, ketzele, I got right,
was a master of the Holy Tongue. He was
Failure of the United Nations Conciliation Commission udder not?" asks Pa Gross.
editor of the famous Hebrew periodical Hat
Author Arthur Kober's foreword to "Bella,
zefirah in 1886. His first volume of. Hebrew - to arrive at positive results in _efforts to cement peace be- Bella
. ." is in itself a revealing tale about the
tween
Israel
and
Arab
states,
the
warning
issued
by
Soviet
poems was published in 1877. He wrote
51-year-old writer, who first tried to incorporate
Russia
to
Israel
and
the
Arabs
against
joining
the
proposed
equally as well in the Polish language.
his heroine in a play, who published his stories
He started out as a practi,cinr-lawyei Middle Eastern defense movement which is sponsored by the about Bella in the New Yorker, who still hopes
but in the 1880s he obtained the post of sec- United States and the quandary in which Israel has been to immortalize her on Broadway. Both author
retary of the Jewish community of Warsaw placed by the struggle that continues between East -and and heroine emerge well and interesting from
and remained in that rank until his death. West are only a few of the problems which are adding to the the new Kober novel.
In the meantime he wrote his poems, his burdens of the young Jewish state. There are internal issues' 'Bride of the Sabbath'—a Bit Revolting
are multiplying and which present serious _challenges
On the reverse side is "Bride of the Sabbath, "
moving stories of Jewish life, his special which
to the Jewries in the western-countries:
by Samuel Ornitz (Rinehart). It is a novel that
articles on science, the arts and literature.
Israel is hesitant to get off the fence she has been strad- deals with Jews at the turn of the last century
Peretz's "Bontze Schweig" is a classic
dling
in the East-West issue because there still are millions and the evolution of their status from immi-
which touched the very- heart of Jewish ex-
grants to an .Americanized group.
istence. A pious, humble Jew, greeted upon of Jews in Russia and in Soviet satellite countries. Aspiring
Old-timers will recall Ornitz's sensational
to
rescue
them
while,
at
the
same
time,
rehabilitating
Jews
his arrival in Heaven, was told he could
position in Jewish and literary - ranks as author
from
Moslem
countries,
it
is
difficult
for
Israel
to
take
a
have what his heart desires, and he re-
of "Haunch, Paunch and Jowl," in which he
quested the one thing he never had in his firm stand against Russia. Meanwhile Russia speaks out dealt with Jews and politicians and with corrup-
lifetime—the right to a fresh roll and butter! bluntly with warnings that the proposed Middle East de- tion. By his own admission, Ornitz went to ,
We doubt whether another tale in all the fense organizations "hostile" to her and that she will look Cheder until he was 13. But his education Jew-
literatures of the world so poignantly de- with disfavor upon countries siding against her. This repre- ishly speaking evidently ended at that age. His
of idioms, his attempt at transliterating He-
scribes the misery and • the poverty which sents a warning not only to Israel but also to the Jewries use
brew proves it. He heard Hebrew phrases and
helping
Israel.
There
will
be
reverberations
to
this
problem
our people endured under the Tsars while
in the UN General Assembly. There will be bargaining which uses them. Unfortunately, he misuses them.
clinging to faith and to learning.
He tackles an interesting plot, but there is too
muddy the waters of the Mediterranean which the
This approach is true of his other works. may
much banality in his approach. i There is too
Jewish state hopes to keep peaceful.
Similarly, Peretz's communal activities were
extremism from ultra-piety to total abuse
The Arab states similarly are involved in the . tragic much
of Jewish traditions by his characters. There is
marked by devotion to an ideal, by a desire
to see the formation of a well-informed, issue which threatens the peace of the vorld. All of us are excessively diabetiC emphasis on sex and he ap-
spiritually-strong Jewish youth. He gathered sitting on the edge of a volcano whiCh,:inay ekuPt - at. any pears to be exerting himself to describe perver-
arourTd him young men and guided them in moment. We place much hope in the United Nations and sive practices. He. pis not the only novelist who
solution to the problem. has attempted it and he has a perfect right to
their efforts. His home was open to all who pray that there should be .* an amicable
*
his own sentimentalities, but when he deals with
desired to build a better Jewish life. His
"Bride of the Sabbath" the reader—and the re-
While
struggling
with
these
issues,
with
the
inflationary
humility, his learning, his genius as a story-
viewer—have a right to expect a certain amount
tendencies,
with
economic
difficulties,
with
shortages
of
food,
teller, have giv'en him an' immortal place
of reverence. That is completely lacking, and
in Jewish history. We honor his memory on clothes and homes, Israel has other worries. Dana Adams the novel with its perversions is revolting.
Schmidt,
reporting
to
the
New
York
Times
from
Tel
Aviv,
the anniversary of his birth and we renew
His narration of abuse of Yom Kippur is
of the serious challenge which is directed not at Israel especially humiliating. While there may be some
an expression of admiration for his creative told
alone but also to world Jewry and especially to the Jews of truth to what he writes—granted that he knows
effort as we pay respect to his genius.
the United States. He described how 150 Indian Jews settled his characters—there is an attempt at general-
down in front of the Jewish Agency office in Israel's chief izing which is objectionable. Surely, only a small
city with a demand that they should be rehabilitated in In- number of Jews ever made it a point to abuse
dia. They charged that they were brought to the Beer-Sheba the Yom Kippur spirit by flagrant practices in
Meeting in Dusseldorf, representatives of region two years ago under false pretenses, that they were public. You don't get that idea from Ornitz.
Even if his novel is not autobiographical, as
Jews living in Germany recognized the pri- assigned to hard labor, that they are treated as "blacks"
he emphasizes in a letter printed on the jacket
ority of collective Jewish claims against the and are compelled to eat dark bread.
of the book, there is something about his appeal
new • German sttae, with emphasis on the
The Indian Jews' two-day strike ended pending an as- that similarly proves objectionable. He states
Claims of the state of Israel. The conferees, surance of an investigation of their complaints. In his in that
he desires to educate. Americans and to help
registering indignation • over the oft-repeated vestigation of earlier complaints by Jews from India, Dr. solve the Jewish problem for them. This re-
Nazi statements, and commending German Emanuel Olsvanger, chairman of. the inquiry commission, viewer rejects Ornitz--,,as 'a problem-solver. His
workers who protested the desecration of a charged that there is "tremendous exaggeration" and that approach is far from palatable. His sexualized
memorial to victims of Nazism, took a stand the chief causes of the sitdown strike are "psychological," novel is not to our taste. , If anything, he will
make enemies . rather than friends .. for Jews.
akin to that of the world Jewish spokesmen resulting from the country's difficult times.
on the issue involving reparations.
On the question.. Of Education, the...eminent
Such outbursts were to be expected. They may be re-
These decisions, coupled with the 'posi- ,peated. And Jewry must be prepared for then). They always philosopher,.Bertra.nd Russell (as qUoted in "The
tion taken by world Jewry, should exert in- will cause embarrassment, and, in the long course of events, Wit and Wisdom of _Bertrand RuSsell," a Beacon
fluence upon the government of Dr. Konrad even unbiased reporters like Mr. Schmidt of the New York Press publication already reviewed in our -col-
umns) stated: "Reverence. for human personality
Adenauer which has been granted equality Times will subject themselves to accusations of yielding to is
the beginning of wiselOn:i; in every social ques-
by the United States, Great Britain and "exaggerations" . due to the unsettled conditions in a land tion, but above all in edlication."
Ornitz displays
France. Unless just restitution is made% for that is struggling for survival.
a lack of reverence forthe true Jewish .personal-
wrongs committed against Jewry, the Aden-
The Jewish state, refusing to end immigration, went to ity and therefore is incapable of educating non-
auer government will be unable to take ,its extremes in its efforts to rescue hundreds of thousands of Jews about Jews.—P. S.. _ ... •
rightful place among civilized nations.
oppressed Jews from Morocco, Algeria and other Mosk in
lands: It is not easy to avoid the color line, but, in the main,
those who have studied the situation at first hand are con-
vinced that the color line is the creation of individuals and
not of the state. Premier Ben-Gurion and his associates have
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
gone
to great length to establish amity and equality among
commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Bloch Publishing Co. has reissued, in revised
all elements in, the population. But there are many among form;
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
Miss Dorothy F. Zeligs' splendid "Child's
papers, Michigan Press Association.
the
newcomers
who must be taught how to fit into a mod- History of the Hebrew
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
People." More attractive
Co '08-19 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., W0.5-1155. ern society like Israel's—and in a modern society people
than its earlier work, this revised edition is beau-
Subscription $4 a year; foreign $5.
must work to earn a livelihood.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
tifully illustrated. It is excellent. as textbook,
Detroit,. Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.
Ben-Gurion's government has solved many., problems. as supplementary reading for children attending
We are confident that a way will be found also out of the Jewish and other schools, as means of presenting
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
newest dilemma. In the meantime the challenge is a serious in easily-understandable fashion the story of the
FRANK SIMONS, City Editor
one. It is directed at us as uell as at the Israelis. If we can Hebrews through the days of their return to
Vol. XX—No. 12 Page 4 November 30, 1951 provide the means for large-scale settlement, there will
be Judea under Persian rule.
Prof. William A. McCall of Teachers College,
amity. If we-can strengthen the United Jewish Appeal—the
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the second clay of Kislev, 5712, major relief agency in behalf of Israel—and increase the Columbia. University, commends this volume in
the following Scriptural selections will be read supplementary creative work that can be provided through an introduction to the book and calls it "a de-
sirable volume for the secular as well as the
in our synagogues:
investments and increased sales of Israel bonds, the problem religious
school."
will be solved. If :,we fall down on the job of helping Israel,
Pentateuchal portion—Gen. 25:19-28:9.
In
make-up
and content, it is one
the finest
Prophetical portion—Mal. 1:1-2:7.
the situation will become worse. And if it gets worse, it will books of its kind and should increase of interest
in
Licht Benshen, Friday, Nov. 30, 4:41 p.m<
be bad for all of us.
the subject by our youngsters.

Challenges to Western Jewries

German Jews Act

Splendid Chiici s History
Of Jews by Miss Zeligs

THE JEWISH NEWS

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