Dr. 4. 11. Hershman—DistingtrIshed Hornilist
New Book of S ermons Adds to His Notable
Record as One of Leading U.S. Preachers
•
An Exclusive American
An entire generation of rabbis
has considered Dr. Abraham M.
Hershman, Rabbi Emeritus of
Detroit's Congregation Shazirey
Zedek, as one of the most dis-
tinguished preachers in this
country. Since 1910, Rabbi
Hershman's sermons have been
listened to with keen interest.
In the field of homiletics in our
seminaries, his preaching has
been referred to as an outstand-
ing example of scholarship root-
ed in research and in profound
study of Jewish and world his-
tory and Hebraic values.
His latest book, "Religion of
the Age and of the Ages,"
just issued by Bloch Pub-
lishing Co., is proof of his un-
questioned position as one of
the country's great homilists.
This is the second of his vol-
tones. of sermons. His first, "Is-
rael's Fate and. Faith," is no
longer available. It was com-
pletely sold shortly after its
appearance and through an un-
fortunate disposal - of the plates
it has become impossible, due to
the high cost of . printing, to
reissue it in a second edition.
To this day, rabbis and non-
Jewish religious leaders are
clamoring for the book and are
compelled to use library copies.
The new volume contains
sermons hitherto unpublished.
Rabbi Hershman compiled them
from notes—only two of the 34
essays having been written out
hi. full. These two are "Mixed
Marriages," an essay that was
syndicated nationally by Ameri-
can Jewish Press, and appeared
in The Detroit Jewish News and
periodicals throughout the count-
Jewish Press Feature
try, and "The Synagogue — An
American Institution."
The latter two articles appear
in a special section, "Miscellan-
eous Addresses." The other two
sections deal with festival and
Sabbath sermons. There are six
festival sermons and 26 Sab-
bath addresses.
Nearly every important issue
affecting Jewry and man-
kind in the past two decades
is covered in these sermons.
Replete with stories and an-
ecdotes, ,which in themselves
would easily form an anthol-
ogy of tales with deep morals,
Dr. Hershman strives hi his
sermons to elevate his people
to high standards and to
strive for the perpetuation of
the basic ideals in their herit-
age as Jews.
In the initial essay, "Religion
Of the Age and the Ages," the
Passover 1952 sermom he preach-
ed at Shaarey Zedek at the in-
vitation of Rabbi Morris Adler,
Dr. Hershman describes the Se-
der as the most impressive and
most picturesque Jewish cere-
monial. He asserts that "the
religion we profess is . largely
inherited, transmitted ' from
father to son," and adds:
"Religion handed down must
eventually become religion
achieved, religion .made one's
own."
His R.osh Hashanah 1915
sermon, delivered in the midst
of a world war, sounds prophet-
ic even in our time.
Throughout, he p re aches
faith and confidence. He urges
"Patience," the title of a 1945
sermon in which he pleads
against despair in Jewish ranks.
In "Keeping Promises," a 1933
sermon to the Junior Congrega-
tion, he admonishes youth not
to be slackers or shirkers, to
"say little and do much" in fol-
lowing Israel's ennobling ex-
amples.
A 1920 sermon on "The Re-
vival of Hebrew" could well be
repeated today. In it he stated
"Hebrew is the 'temple' which
enshrines the very soul of the
Sew. We must strain every ef-
fort. to revive it and make it
the language of the Jew."
Equally important -for our
time, as we review history and
compile records of Israel's friends
is his 1928 sermons on "The
Jethro-Type . of Non-Jews." In
this interesting sermon, Rabbi
Hershman spoke of the works of
great philo - Semites, naming
among them the Cadi of Algiers,
King Ferdinand 1 of Naples, Jo-
hannes von Reuchlin, Prof.
George Foot Moore, Emile Zola,
Picquart. It is well that these
names should be remembered in
an age in which we have learned
to appreciate the help of Bal-
four, Lloyd. George, Truman and
others—also Jethro-Type Non-
Jews.
• Nearly' every sermon in this
book lends itself to comment and
review. Suffice it to say that in
• its totality this is a very fine
piece of work. The Detroit men
and women who have made pos-
sible its publication deserve com-
mendation for their vision.
Dr. Hershman's new book can
be purchased from Miss Janet
Olender, librarian of the Shaar-
ey Zedek, in the Shaarey Zedek
Library.
WiCongres Reports
On Jews in 64 Nations
Dr. 111.11faxinan
Dental College Fellow
Dr. Harold Maxman last week
Facts about Jewish communi-
ties in 64 countries are presented was accorded the distinct hon-
in a newly-published guidebook or of being elected a Fellow of
prepared by the World Jewish the American College of Den-,
tistry.
Con gress.
Written by Dr. Isaac I.
Schwarzbart, director of the
WJCongress' organization de-
partment, the reference work
contains a map and up-to-date
"It would be very desirable
information on the histor y,
that this book receive the
structure and character of Jew-
consideration it merits in the
ish communities in such far.-
widest Jewish circles . . ."
flung areas as Indonesia, Ethio-
pia, Kenya, Finland, Bolivia and
A Challenge to Jewry
the Belgian Congo.
A Diiscithssion an Basic Jewish
Dr. Schwarzbart's study is
Prabgents by Joseph L. Tepper
based on questionnaires gather-
This provocative book, just published,
ed earlier this year. The survey
discusses the three problems upper-
most in the minds of American Jews.
reveals that. 75 percent of the
(1) Gives an objective analysis of an-
world's 11,500,000 Jews live in
ti-Semitism, and indicates its direc-
tion. 42) Covers the relationship of
three c o u n t r i e s: the United
American Jews with Israel. (3) Warns
States, Soviet Russia and Israel.
against efforts now being made to
grIct-to-ile Jewish life in America. Will
The WJCongress study also
help you formulate your own conclu-
sions on these vital issues. Send for
points out that another 2,100,000
your copy today. MONEY BACK It4
Jews, or about 19 percent of the
S DAYS IF NOT SATISFIED. Only
53.50.
Jewish people, live in nine coun-
tries. The remaining six percent
Order from:
of Jews are scattered in nations
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12 — DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 35, 1953
gle Education of the Jewish Child;
New Book by Dr. Richard C. Hertz
Fy Dr. Abraham N. Franzblau
In "The Education of the Jew-
ish Child" (UAHC Commission
on Jewish Education, New York,
1953) Dr. Richard C. Hertz (of
Temple Beth El, Detroit), has
clone a remarka.ble job of popu-
larization with what is usually.
for adults, scarcely a fascinat -
ing subject—a survey of Jewish
education.
To the bargain, it presents the
results of a scientific research,
which was the basis of his doc-
toral dissertation, (a survey of
200 Reform Jewish religious
schools) with such simple direct-
ness and clarity, that interest is
constantly maintained. There is
never a lapse into the dry-as-
dust, statistics for pedantic dis
play .which are so commonly
found in such works.
This is a book which should
be read by every Jewish adult
who has a child in a religious
school, whether it be Orthodox,
Conservative, or Reform. • It is
clear, inspirational in its tone,
factual in its documentation of
its point of view, and sound,
Jewishly and pedagogically. It
'will give parents a raison d'etre,
not only for sending their
children to religious school, but
also for living Jewishly them-
selves and maintaining the Jew-
ishness of their homes and corn-
raunity relations.
The author gives in Part I, a
survey of the history of Reform
Jewish Education and a quick
glimpse of the nature and pur-
pose, the curriculum and meth-
odology of the present day Re-
form religious school. He em-
phasizes the primacy of the par-
ents in any scheme of Jewish
education and indicates what
parental education should be
like.
In a striking concluding chap-
ter, "A New Look at an Old
Problem," he pleads eloquently
for finding a satisfying God-
concept, Jewish self-acceptance
and self-respect, happy iden•i-
hcation with the Jewish people
and a significant-world-concept
as the goals of Jewish •educa-
ton.
In Part II, he details his sur-
vey in six chapters, covering
"Physical. Facilities and Organ-
•
.
-
igi•
-411,
giWt•
ization," "The Present Curricu-
lum," "Youth Problems and Ad-
ult Education," "Teacher-Train-
ing Problems," "Financial Prob ,
lems" and "Other School Prob-
lems." Part III presents the au-
thor's evaluation of the survey
and his recommendations and
conclusions. Many advances
have evidently been scored up
since the last survey was made
25 years ago.
Dr. Hertz brings to his task
excellent training, both in his
undergraduate rabbinical work
in education at the Hebrew Un-
ion College, and his doctoral
work at Northwestern Univer-
sity. In addition, his rabbinical
experience and his practical
work as head of a large congre-
gational religious school for
many years constitute genuine
"multi-discipline" equipment for
the task, such as no other in-
vestigator in the field has ever
equalled.
The book reflects all the skills
of the author, including his great
competence as a p r e a c h e r,
which makes it such an easy
reading "must."
Dr. Hertz deserves the grati-
tude of all Jewish educators for
giving us this important mile-
stone. It is a truly significant
contribution.
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Ford Country Sedan
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New York Linoleum
Opens 7 Mile Store
A store-wide sale is the fea-
ture of the opening by New
York Linoleum and Carpet Co.,
I of its new store at 7324 W. Seven
Mile. The new branch, under
the managership of Joe Fetter,
will bring to the Northwest sec-
tion a firm which .already has
been serving the community's
need for over 25 years,
Several hundred rolls of car-
pet and samples of floor cover-
ings from America's leading
mills will be displayed in the
s t or e, which contains 4,000
square feet of space.
Chenille and - cotton carpets.
custom-dyed to suit the indi-
vidual needs of home-makers,
will be a new service available
to the public.
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