.—

Chagoll, the Jewish Artist

Thorough Examination

As the. Editor
Views the News ...

Louis

•

His Life and Work Told
In Magnificent Volume

Lipsky: 75

Few men in public life have_ earned as
much respect as is due Louis Lipsky for his
great contributions to major Jewish causes.
Not only as Zionist leader, but also as
an author and lecturer, as, guide to many
whom he has drawn into active Jewish lead-
ership, Mr. Lipsky has earned the admira-
tion and respect of world Jewry.
He cast his lot with the Zionist cause in
the early years of American Zionism, when
Prof. Richard Rottheil was president of the
American Zionist Federation, when Theodor
Herzl was yet among the living. He ren-
dered service to the Jewish national cause
when it was not popular. He was president
of the Zionist Organization of America when
it struggled with weighty deficits and over-
whelming problems. But he helped conquer
difficulties.
Not only American_ and Israeli Jewries
but Jews everywhere owe him many debts
for his valiant leadership. All of us join in
greeting him heartily on his 75th birthday
and in endorsing the establishment of a Fel-
lowship in the Weizmann Institute in Israel
in honor of this milestone in his life.

0

Marc Chagall, one of the very great painters
of our time, is devotedly Jewish and a large
number of his works deal with Jewish subjects.
His current visit in Israel undoubtedly will ina
spire more works of special interest to us.
Chagall'S creativeness and his Jewish inter
ests are ably described by Isaac Kloomok in hits
"Marc Chagall: His Life and Work," published
by Philosophical Library (15 E. 40th, NY 16).
Kloomok asserts at the outset that "Chagall
takes nature as a Jew." Tracing the artist's hfe
from his birth in Witebsk, July 7, 1889, to date,
he interprets the fear in his "Witebsk Jews" and
the power that dominates his works. He states
that ,Chagall's "laughter at the simple folk and
folkways does not hide his love of them."
Chagall's parents were Zionists but he did net
belong to the movement which later drew him
,closer. He made a drawing of Herzl and gave
it a choice spot in his home.
At the Moscow State Jewish Theater Chagall
made some indelible gifts to Jewish art. His il-
lustrations of Jewish books have earned for hind
additional glory.
"If I were not a Jew (with the content that
I put into this word) I would never have been
an artist or an entirely different one," Kloomok
quotes Chagall.
Kloomok's book contains scores of reproduc-
In the process of observing Jewish Book Month, there is tions from Chagall's works. The text and pic-
Steward Alsop, analyst of world affairs, justification for repetitive evaluation of the basic needs which tures form a splendid work about a very great

Alsop's Tidings

Seeking Culture and Freedom

.

in the course of his observations in Tel
Aviv, made note of some of Israel's
troubles. He pointed out that Israel imported
five times the value of its exports, "which is
like a family spending its income several
times over." He warned: "If this yawning
gap were not. somehow made up, Israel's
standard of living would, in the words of one
high offiaal here, 'sink to, and probably be-
low, the general. Middle EaStern standard
of living.' In other words, Israel's population,
predominantly of European origin, would be
forced to live at the level, say, of Egypt's
miserable fellahin."
Mr. Alsop pointed out that Israel, the size
of Sicily, must support a large population
that is accustomed to a high standard of liv-
ing and that, "as things stand, it is little
short of miraculous that the economy of the
state of Israel, as artificial as a hydroponic
garden, continues to function at all." He
does not overlook a single factor in the try-
ing conditions under which the young state
is struggling for existence.

"Yet for the present," he asserts, "in such
circumstances, it is little wonder that the
Arabs talk hopefully of the coming collapse
of the state of Israel. Even so, one prediction
can be made with confidence. Israel will not
collapse, Israel is here to stay."

This is an encouraging word. He makes
his prediction "because of the drive, energy
and sturdy health of the Israelis themselves."
And he adds that "partly it is because the
Jewish community in the United States will
undoubtedly continue to make up a large
part of the economic slack to the tune of an
astonishing $70,000,000 a year. And partly
it is because the American government will
undoubtedly also continue to take up the rest
of the slack." .
Jewish leaders have been saying these
things since Israel's birth. Mr. Alsop adds
these important words to his observations:

"American policy in this area has been
influenced by twin illusions. One -is the il-
lusion that Arab hostility to Israel is wholly
irrational and without depth. The other is the
illusion that this tiny state precisely balances
in strategic importance "the whole vast vital
land mass of the Arab and Moslem . world. In
the inflamed and irrational Middle East, as
everywhere else, the precondition of a rational
policy is the getting rid of illusions."

'

call for emphasis in a special period that has been set aside
for a cultural purpose. It is our contention that there are two
basic principles which we must strive to evaluate clearly to
the Jewish community, in order that our constituents may
be fortified with the weapons that are necessary for a group's
existence. First come our cultrual values, incorporating our
religious-spiritual ideals. Closely akin to them is the obliga-
tion to understand the- democratic ideals which sustain our
freedom, to pass these ideas on to our neighbors, to create a
desire to battle for their perpetuation.
Thoroughly convinced that these ideals are unattain-
able without a full understanding of their values, we link
them with Jewish Book Month in order to point out that a
period on our calendar selected for the advancement of cul-
ture must be utilized to stimulate study of Jewish values.
Such study can be derived from books and we take this oc-
casion to urge utilization of this Month for emphasis on the
search for freedom and culture.
*
*
It is not enough merely to speak of freedom on the,
Fourth of July or on Yom Ha-Atzmauth. We must appreciate
the sweat and blood that is required to attain liberty. During
Jewish Book Month it is not inordinate to incorporate a book
review into an editorial. We choose to speak briefly at this
point about a very important work, the posthumously
published, second volume of "The Jews in Russia" by Rabbi
Louis Greenberg, dealing with "The Struggle for Emanci-
pation, 1881-1917," published by Yale University Press. No
one can possibly fully comprehend the freedoms he enjoys
without knowing the agonies that went into the making of
liberty. The struggle for emancipation in Russia was ac-
ocmplished by action against pogroms, by the formation of
self-defense units, by intercessions with a cruel government.
Jews who suffered for their origin abandoned assimilation,
and returned to the Jewish fold. Some had been converted by '
their parents, but they rebelled against brutality by joining
the ranks of Jews who fought for freedom within Russia and
for the emancipation of the oppressed Jewish masses within a
redeemed Jewish homeland through emigration.
All that is vile and venomous in tyranny is exposed in
the late Rabbi Greenberg's highly scholarly work which we
commend to Jewish communities everywhere. It is impos-
sible fully to appreciate the liberties we embrace unless we
know what has transpired to make them possible. Similarly,
through the study of the elements involved in the struggle
for emancipation, it is difficult to realize the joys that go
with the right to acquiring an education unless we know
how Jews were kept locked within pales of settlements in
Russia, how our youth were restricted in their search for
learning, against what insurmountable odds even the wealthy
were able to gain entrance in universities.
We state these things in lieu of a review, in commenda-
tion of an important historical analysis of "The Struggle
for Emancipation.'.' If Jews can be gotten to purchase and
read this book, among other classics we are prepared to
recommend, Jewish Book Month will be a success.

.

Unfortunately, Mr. Alsop made some
daniaging comments on the status of Arab
refugees. On that score, he was less observ-
ant and paid less attention to facts. It would
have been well if he had looked - into the
One more brief book review within the limits of this
record before vitiating constructive observa-
tions with the worst piece of Arab propa- editorial: to recommend to our readers Rabbi Ben Zion Bok-
ganda that is being used as a weapon against ser's "The Wisdom of the Talmud," published by the Phil-
osophical Library. We have deliberately chosen this volume
Israel.
for recommendation on the occasion of Jewish Book Month
because Rabbi Bokser accomplishes two things: he evaluates
•
most ably the splendid treasures of the Talmud and at the
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
same time he exposes the lies which have been hurled at the
commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Talmud,
the manner in which anti-Semites and Jewish rene-
Member: American Association of English4ewish News-
papers, Michigan Press Association.
gades have misrepresented it. •
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publisnmg
Rabbi Bokser's introductory essay exposes the libels. His
Co. 'iO8-10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., W0.5-1155.
Subscription $4 a year; foreign $5.
opening scholarly essay alone makes his volume worth its
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit, Mich.; under Act of March 3. 1879.
price. But his book in its entirety is not a mere polemic
against enemies. It is a positive explanation of the contents of
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
the Talmud, its sub-divisions, its wit and its just approaches'
FRANK SIMONS, City Editor
to human problems, its ethical teachings, Israel's trials and
Vol. XX—No 13
Page 4
December 7, 1951 triumphs. It is impossible for any Jew to call himself well-
informed about his people unless he is acquainted with the
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the ninth day of Kislev, 5718, vast amount of information about the Talmud incorporated
the following. Scriptural selections will be read in this book.
*
*
in our synagogues:
We
reiterate
the
point
we
set
out to make: that the
PentateuchOl portion—Gen. 28:10-32:3.
Prophetical portion—Ros.
g : 13 - 14 : 10 or search for cluture and freedom is the paramdunt obligation
in a people's life:and; that its attainment can be furthered by
11:7-12:12 or 11:7-14:10.
directing the aims
Lovht Bensbent Friciay, Dec. 7,, 400
„ . of Jewish Book Month to that end.

THE JEWISH NEWS

artist.

FDR's Own Story—In His
Private and Public Words

Donald Day, an editor of Readers' Digest, has
compiled Franklin D, Roosevelt's important dee-
larations, uttered in private and in public, and
the result is a tremendously fine work, "Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt's Own Story" (Little, Brown
Co., 34 Beacon St., 'Boston 6).
Dr. Day tells at the outset that he opposed
FDR, 'voted against him, was in the ranks of his
political adversaries. Then he began to read hie
statements, his public declarations, and with it
came an about-face. The reader
of his compilation will under
stand the change in attitude
'while reading this fine work. In
it are incorporated the most
significant statements of the
late President, reflecting his
viewpoints on humanitarian is..
sues, his opposition to bigotry,
his appeals to the country's sense
of justice.
F.D.R.
In this work is mirrored the
history of our country during the past three
decades, the part that FDR played in the struggle
for freedom, his fight against Nazism and Fas-
cism, his opposition to religious intolerance.
The statement he made in condemnation of
the attack that was launched upon the late
Governor Frank Murphy of Michigan is included
among the many hundreds of quotations front
the great President's utterances. There are ref-
erences to Justices Brandeis and Cardozo in re-
lation to the Supreme Court battle, to Bernard
Baruch and his work during the war, and
numerous other significant assertions.
Dr. Day concludes his compilation with these
striking words: "Above all FDR wanted to be
commander-in-chief of the peace at the end of
the war . . . He wanted to be Dr. Win-the-Peace
instead of Dr. New Deal." It is an apt conclusion
to a most enlightening book.

ao

►

Children's Bookshelf Enriched
By New Ill6stratect Dec ionary

Two Michigan men=StUart• - A, CurtiS, pro-
fessor emeritUS., of education at -the University
of Michigan, and:. Garnette WatterS,- a Ham-
tramck teacher—h&ve joined in 'Producing; the
artistic and impressive "Illustrated Golden ..Dic-
tionary for Young Readers'," which has just been
made available in a 544-page . volume by Simon
and Schuster.
Eyes will pop. and mouths will water - at the
very sight of this splendid dictionary which con-
tains 7,554 carefully selected works and 10,000
variants, as well as 2,120 pictures, many maps
and diagrams. The artists are Beth and Joe
Krush.
The entire book is illustrated in many colors.
Planned in every detail to make the words un-
derstandable to children, this dictionary is
unique in that the words are explained in come
plete sentences.
Tested in schools through sample pages, in
advance of the book's publication, this diction-
ary has withstood• the test of criticism and is
on the road to capturing America's youth.
The explanation of the alphabet is supple-
mented by an illustration which includes the
Hebrew letters. Regrettably, Scroll does not offer
the full explanation tor. the Torah Scroll with
which the word as well as the inside covers are
illustrated. The Hebrew letters in the cover
illustration are upside down. But aside from this
there are few blunders and, in the main, this
work is a magnificent addition to children
books. The young reader will be encouraged bl
it to extend his or her reading and to acquire
wider knowledge.

...

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