As the Editor
Vievivs the News
'30 Days of Grace
Last Friday, we ushered in the month of
Elul. preparatory to welcoming another year,
on I he eve of repentance and atonement
which all of us are expected to offer during
the lIoly Days.
S. V. Agnon's ''Days of Awe" describes
Elitl as "a time for atonement," quoting the
sacred books:
"The thirty days before nosh Hasha-
nah. the great Judgment Day when man is
permitted to turn in Teshuvah (repent-
:41We )-to what are they comparable? To
the thirty days of grace which a Court
grants a debtor in which to pay his debts
and be freed Of his creditors." •
It is a significant admonition which. is
especially applicable to our .American COM-
oinitie!, . This is the month during which
we comidete our own and our children's va-
cations and begin to plan anew our syna-
gogue activities, another school year, cul-
tural organizational programs, community
e•tsnts hich \\ ill claim our attention in the
months to come.
'Hie "thirty days of grace" before Rosh
Hashanah are days Of planning and prepara-
tion -and if we are to hilVe sound prograrn-
?mist take into account the experi-
we await the days
4•11(•• (0;
to transform Breit into a limited 10-
44 a w
4 lay N•i !o(1 relientan•e and atonement
w Iii( •l arc to he follovved v. it h routine months
of inoilferen•e, Or We sha11 take into ac-
count basi• needs which must be fulfilled to
the lest advantage of the entire community.
There is the synagogue to consider. At
best. it is a center for Holy Day assemblies,
for hacklish and bar - mitzvah c eremonies.
How much will it gain from thirty days of
_race'
More especially, we must concern our-
selves with the schools. To what degree w ill
planning he advanced dur-
our edin
ing the year to come? The vacation is nearly
over and,„the months of actual work will be-
gin in a matter of days.,They must be turned
into fruitful months. into a time for devotion
to the cultural treasures we have inherited.
It is not enough that we plan for the
Jewish education of our children—an ed-
ucation which has been reduced to mini-
mum standards. We must plan the adult
education program on a cooperative rather
than ultra competitive basis. While we
must recognize the aspirations of each in-
dividual synagogue and organization to
advance its own status, it would be well
for groups of them to pool their activities,
in order that attendance and interest
should be increase d, and overlapping
avoided.
We shall be faced with many more prob-
lems during the months to come—with the
i s sues involving fund-raising, for worthy
causes, which is becoming more difficult:
with the challenges that stem from Israel:
with the need to encourage the Jewish state's
-
industrialization through investments, and
especially through bond purchases.
More important than anything else is
the need for an understanding of our needs.
All are entitled to opinions, to differing
views in judging communal planninfi. But the
differences must be aired with dignity and
should not be turned into community brawls.
We are approaching 5713, and it would
be well to examine our problems rationally
and realistically (luring the "thirty days of
grace" in the month of Elul.• After all, we
do not have much time to lose while prepar-
ing fp• what we hope will he a fruitful year
in the endeavors of our Jewish community.
THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
commencing with issue of July 20. 1951
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 44 a year foreign $5.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 4, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit. Mich., under Act of March 3. 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
FRANK SIMONS, City Editor
Vol. XXI—No. 25
Page 4
August 29, 1952
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the ninth day of Elul, 5712, the
following Scriptural selections will be read in
our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Deut. 21:10-25:19.
Prophetical portion—Is. 51:1-10 or 54:1-55:5.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Aug 29, 6:25 p.m.
Their Common Bond ,
The History. of on Idea'
Buber' s
'
Israel
and Palestine'
Zion's lofty ideals. the development of the
Jewish national thoughts which have led to
vlFE 't NO Ck",;-
statehood, the yearning for the Holy Land and
st4Val.
the rise of Israel are presented on a high spirit-
/ 4)140
ual plane by Prof. Martin Buber, in his new
■ 4"
book, "Israel and Palestine: The History of An
Idea." published in London by the East and
West Library and re- •
leased in this country by
Farrar, Strauss and
Young (101 5th Ave..
NY3t.
The literature of the
Zionist movement is en-
riched by this splendid
book. the four sub-titles
of which reveal at once
the loftiness of the testi-
mony offered by the
eminent scholar. The
four parts of his book
deal with the Testimony
of the Bible. Interpreta-
Prof. Buber
tion and Transfigura-
tion, The Voice of the Exile and The Zionist idea.
Viewing the Promise and Redemption, in the
first portion, Dr. Buber describes the validity of
redemption for the whole world. - and it. is pre-
cisely this world-redemption that is centered in
Zion." He looks upon the people of Israel as
called upon to be the herald and pioneer of the
redeemed world, the land of Isreal to be its
center and the throne of its King."
The Holy Land's need for water is reflected
in his explanation of "The Gift of Rain." his
analysis of "God's association with the unity of
Israel and Canaan' as being "represented, in
natural terms, by the gift. of rain."
The third section of his scholarly work is a
For those who questioned xvliether the MCCarran Act resume of The Kuzari and the yearnings and
dreams of Jehu,da Halevi: "The speaker,
could actually cause the harm that was expected from it, poetic
the Rabbi- the speaker. the poet. is seized by
all doubts were dispelled when it became known that Jews an extreme desire . . . to fulfill his longing and
who apply for visas to the State Department are asked to already senses in his own footsteps the foot-
identify themselves by their religion.
steps of Israel: Also interpreted in this section
All established principles in American traditions which is The Book of Sohar. the High Rabbi Liva's con-
call for the elimination of religious tests in public affairs tributions to the beginning of the National Idea,
faith of Rabbi Nahman Brazlav, the Zaddik
thus are shattered by the damaging act's demands for the
who came to the Land.
"ethnic" information, requiring that each alien must state
In "The Voice of the Exile" tee hear anew
"his race and ethnic origin."
Dr. Buber's admonition: "The world can be
If this act is permitted to remain on our statutes, it
redeemed only by the redemption of Israel
may be only the beginning of a new trend to destroy every-
and Israel can be redeemed only by reunion
with its land."
thing that has been held holy in this great land.
In "The Zionist Idea' section. which brings Prof.
But the liberal forces are alert to the situation. The
Buber's analyses up to date, we are treated to
fact that the McCarran religious test _regulation is being ex- remarkable evaluations of the works-and aspira-
posed to the light is an indication that the battle has begun tions of Moses Hess. Theodor Herzl, Leon Pinskcr,
anew to remove from our law books clauses that are worthy Ahad Ha'arn, Ray Kook and A. D. Gordon. There
of Communist or Czarist Russia, of Fascist Spain, of Nazi is no partisanship here, the Labor Zionist Gor-
Germany, of medievalism.
don's return as a worker on the soil being delin-
The Congressional Record Appendix of Aug. 12 carries eated as better able than anyone else in the
modern
Jewish national movement to renew the
a statement inserted by Senator Herbert H. Lehman, in-
insight into the unique relationship between the
corporat ing Prof. Oscar Hancilin's recent article in Com- people and the la.r§41. of Israel.'
mentary entitled "The Immigration Fight Has only Begun."
Ahron David Gordon is, to Prof. Buber,
In this article Prof. llandlin expresses the view that "the
of all those who came to the land in the
recent passage of the McCa'rran-Walter bill need be no more i period of new settlement . • . the most re-
than a temporary set-back" and qualifies it as follows:
markable."
The other great creators emerge in interest-
"In retrospect, it now appears that the campaign for re-
ing
light. The approach is that of a great phil-
vision of oirr immigration legislation has been overly solicitous
osopher, of the spiritual leader who views Zion
of the prejudices of those who wish to maintain the status quo.
from a high plane. In its entirety, - Israel and
Not a few Congressmen would have weighed their votes more
Palestine" is a remarkable book. about a re-
carefully had their constituents been awakened to their own
markable idea, viewing the works of remarkable
personal stake in the outcome. As it was, many groups failed to
-
.11 ,4 ,1■4 ,ti.f.Armte
Tragedy
of an Unjust Act
see the relevance of the McCarran-Walter bill to their own
position; while the responsible leadership was generally alive to
its significance, their following was not. Some American Jews,
for instance, reckoned that there was no longer any large body
of their European coreligionists seeking emigration, and that
those who were, would most likely move in the direction of
Israel; American policy seemed therefore not to affect them.
Although the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People objected to the McCarran bill, the mass of
Negroes bad no interest in the matter, some under the delusive
belief that more liberal immigration would overstock the market
with cheap unskilled labor."
Perhaps the elements mentioned will be awakened to
the danger and will commence a new battle against the in-
justice inherent in the measure that recently became law
over President Truman's veto. But it will require the concern
of all Americans to repeal an act that carries with it so
many dangers to American freedoms. There will be need for
an outburst of resentment against bigotry and fear. There
will be need for a change in,the composition of Congressional
committees before we may hope for a reversal of thinking
that has led to the adoption of the McCarran Act and to
the abandonment of the sacred American ideas which have
consistently operated along non-sectarian lines.
Unfortunately, the movement towards fear and preju-
dice. as exemplified by the McCarran Act. embraces both po-
litical parties. Republicans as well as Democrats are re-
sponsible for the adoption of a measure that leans in the
direction of anti-Americanism. It will be necessary, there-
fore to mould public opinion for a battle against the im-
plementation of the law and for its speedy., alteration in the
interest of justice and fair play.
Senator Lehman and his associates have a difficult task
to face at the forthcciming session of Congress. They will
have to battle against serious odds in an effort to overcome
the damage already _created by the McCarran Act. But if
they are supported by a strongly-mobilized public opinion,
there. is hope that the vicious bill will be amended and the
dangerous clauses eliminated. This battle begins now, with
the realization of the menace created by the introduction
of "ethnic" qualifications that would compel aliens to specify
their religious affiliaticns and may lead to the wearing of
crucifixes and Stars of David as 'identification 6f faith by
Christians and Jews.
men.
Impressions
Looking at the Tower of David)
By DR. NOAH E. ARONSTAM
(Dr. Aronstam is currently in Israel where he
attended the World Congress of Physicians in
Jerusalem. The following poem was written in
his room at the King David Hotel, which over-
looks the Old City of Jerusalem).
Jerusalem, City of Peace!
I gaze beyond the Wall
That harbors the Tower of David,
Rising lofty and tall
•
Against the setting sun.
Walls can never prison us:
Jerusalem the New
Shall rise again above the thrall.
And in spite of Jordan's rule,
The Temple of Science shall be built,
Th", Temple of Peace shall be established,
More glorious than human mind
Hath ever conceived.
For thus it is written:
"How goodly are thy tents, oh Jacob,
Thy tabernacles, oh Israel?"
Facts You Should Know:
Why is the "Shema" said by a dying person?
It is claimed by the _Talmud (Tractate Pesh-
chum, Talmud Babli, 56) that our father Jacob
pronounced it upon his death bed to test the
loyalty of his children to God. He became con-
cerned when he could not tell his children of
the future and suspected that some of them did
not believe as they should. He used the "Shema"
as a test of their loyalty. Thus it is, lest his
faith be questioned, a person desires to leave the
world with the profession of his faith on his lips.