Heading for a Safe Haven
THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English-Jewish NewspaPers, Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co , 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35, Mich., VE. 8-9364
Subscription $4 a year, Foreign $5.
Entered as srcond class matter Aug. 6, 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
Vol. XXVI, No. 12 .
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
November 26, 1954
Page Four
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the second day of Kislev, 5715., the following Scriptural selections will be read
in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Gen. 25:19,-28:9. Prophetical portion, Mal. 1:1-2:7.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Nov. 26, 4:43 p.m. and
National Editorial Assn..
Tercentenary Sabbath: Rededication to Faith
In synagogues throughout the land, to-
night and tomorrow rnorning,. our people
will join in offering - special prayers of
thanksgiving on the occasion of the Special
Sabbath proclaimed to mark the American
Jewish Tercentenary.
This is an especially important occasion
on Jewry's calendar. We are primarily a
religious community. The first Jews who
came here in quest of freedom made it their
objective to create a synagogue in New
York. Out of that handful of religious Jews
has developed the strong community of
American Jewry whose ideals are rooted in
the faith we inherited from our ancestors,
from our Prophets and Sages.
The religious aspect of the Tercentenary
was best expressed in the proclamation that
was issued upon the launching of the events
that marked the 300th anniversary of the
settlement of the first. organized Jewish
community in this country. It was signed
by the heads of all the congregational group-
ings -- Orthodox, Conservative and Reform,
and it stated:
"TO OUR JEWISH BRETHREN IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA: PEACE BE WITH YOU
AND YOUR NEIGHBORS.
"Be it known unto you that in Elul 5714
(September 1954) the Jewish community of the
United States will commemorate the 300th an-
niversary of Jewish settlement in this country.
By the grace of God and under the protec-
tion of the Constitution of the United States,
we have lived and prospered in this land. We
have been an integral part of American life. We
have worked with all other Americans in the
never-ending: search for the democratic way of
life and for the . light of faith. Our ancient
prophetic ideals acid the teachings of the sages
have been foundation stones of this nation. Our
work, our. .hopes,• and above all, our living re-
ligion, have been among our proudest offerings
to the American community. -
`'In some lands across the seas -our brethren
have felt the searing flame of prejudice, per-
secution and death. We in America have had the
„sad yet inspiring opportunity to save the lives.
of scores of thousands — to bring comfort to
the oppressed, to help in the making of a new
and honored nation on the ancient soil of Zs-
rael, and to acquire a new recognition of our
responsibility for human welfare in keeping with
the ancient teachings of our faith. In some lands
across the seas our brethren have been pressed
to give up their religious beliefs and practices
and to disappear in a well of namelessness.
"But within the home of America we have
succeeded in preserving the unique identity of
the Jewish religion, worshipping in keeping with.
our historic tradition; and we have preserved our
ancient teachings, our ethics, and our religious
ideals in the free climate of our nation. Our re-
ligion is strong, as our American loyalty is strong.
"Mindful of these blessings and with deep
gratitude in our hearts to the God of Israel, who,
in 1654, led our fathers to the shores of this
great new land,
We hereby proclaim the period from Elul
5714 (September 1954) to the end of Sivan 5715
(May 1955) as one of thanksgiving, prayer,
study and celebration of the American Jewish
Tercentenary.
"We call on all our brethren throughout the
nation to. participate in the observance of this
anniversary; to offer thanks . unto the Lord for
the blessings bestowed on us in America; to
pray for the continued peace and prosperity of
our country and all its inhabitants and to re-
dedicate ourselves to the ideals of our faith
within the freedom of American democracy."
Tercentenary Sabbath lends added im-
portance to this proclamation. It emphasizes
the reality of our democracy, the strength
of Our faith, the truth of the statement:
"Our religion is strong, as our American
loyalty is strong."
We join in calling upon all Detroit Jews
to attend services in their respective syna-
gogues on Tercentenary Sabbath and to re-
dedicate themselves "to the ideals of our
faith within the freedom of Am e r i c an
democracy." This is, indeed, a time' for
thanksgiving and for blessing our good for-
tune as free men who have been privileged
to use our own freedom to assist our less
fortunate kinsmen to acquire their liberties.
This is a great day, blessed by our good for-
tunes, inspired by the faith' that Israel,
America and all mankind shall ever be
granted the right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
Arabs' Refusal to Dicuss Peace With Israel
Reference was made in : these columns,
in a recent issue, to the unreasonable posi-
tion of the Jordanian Arabs whose spokes-
man, King Hussein, declared that his policy
remains one of "no peace, no negotiation with
the Jews." It was another of the shocking
declarations Nvhich militate against amity. It
inspired the following analysis of the situa-
tion as it affects Israel and the Arab states
in an editolial in the , Christian Science
Mobitor:
"The King of Jordan, Hussein I, made a
declaration in his speech from the throne
which can hardly aid his government outside
the limits of the Arab League.
"His government's policy on Palestine, he
said, remains the same as that of other Arab
countries—`no peace, no negotiation with the
Jews.' This attitude toward the six-year-old
Republic of Israel may he understandable on
the part of Arabs who have considered Pales-
tine to be theirs for several centuries; but it
is scarcely compatible with the fact that the
united Nations in 1948 approved the carving _
of a Zionist state out of the former British
Palestine mandate, and that since the armis-
tice of 1948 the UN has labored to convert the
truce into lasting peace between Arabs and
Jews.
"Certainly the peoples on both sides of the
border in that harried land need peace. It
Would not only enable the Jewish settler to
sleep in safety in his border village. It would
facilitate rehabilitation of the Arab refugee,
who has become a kind of pawn in the situa-
tion. And it could lead to development of one
of the Jordan River plans, which would bene-
fit farmers of Jordan and Lebanon as well
as Israel.
"The Israel government has takena help-
ful step by removing the, restrictions on
blocked bank accounts in Israel belonging to
Arab refugees. In this it accepted completely
the recommendation of the Palestine General
Refugee Congress. R has declared itself ready
to negotiate at any time on broader settle
ments.
"There are thorny questions to be settled.
There are the widespread objections to Jew-
ish designation of Jerusalem as the national
capital. There are border adjustments and
rights to use of the Suez Canal: But until the
Arab nations show a willingness at least to
sit down and discuss these questions with
their young neighbor they will be in a weak
position at the bar of world opinion."
This,- exactly, is the position we have ad-
hered to all along. While we can not agree
with the Monitor on the Jerusalem issue, in
view of the vital Jewish needs involved in
the protection of nearly 200,000 Jews who
live in the New City of Jerusalem, it is en-
couraging to note that . so important a public
organ recognizes the absolute necessity. of
Arabs and Jews sitting together for peace
talks. Such a conference, leading to a last-
ing peace, must come soon, in the best in-
terests of amity among all nations.
Tribute to Schaver
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'Man's Quest for God'
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Another Heschel Masterpiece
Few men, in our time, haVe risen to the heights of exaltation,
while in search for the spiritual and while embracing the Supreme
Ideals, as has Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel. His "Man Is Not
Alone," "The Earth Is the Lord's," "The Sabbath" and other works
have captured the imagination and have blended the readers'
thoughts with the loftiest ideas and hopes.
Now comes another fascinating work: Dr. Heschel's "Man's
Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and
t t:'••%f•ki<
Symbolism," which has just been pub-
lished by Charles Scribner's Sons (597
5th, N.Y. 17). It is one of the superb
creations of our time and it should, as
his previous works already have, raise to
new heights the hopes of men and help
people acquire new strength through
prayers.
Prof. Heschel guides his reader to
an acceptance of the truth that prayer
regains "a sense of the mystery tha4
animates all beings."
There is real beauty in his inter-
the inner. devo--
pretation of kavanah
tion and participation "indispensable to
Dr. Heschel
prayer." Prayer, as spiritual ecstasy, as-
sumes new meaning in this devoutly written book. He sets forth
this classical principle in regard to prayer: "Better is a little with.
kavanah than much without it."
The most powerful utterance in his entire book is the brief
chapter, "Lest We Burn the Bridge." We offer it here as of im-
mense value in our thinking as Jews and as human beings:
"In order to attain. an- adequate appreciation of the pre-
ciousness that the Jewish way of living is capable of bestowing
upon us, we should initiate a thorough cleaning of the minds.
make one major sacrifice:
Every one of us should be asked
to sacrifice his prejudice against our
our heritage. We should strive
to cultivate an atmosphere in which the values of Jewish faith
and piety 'could be cherished, an atmosphere in which the Jew-
ish form of living is the heartily approved or at least respected
pattern, in which sensitivity to kashruth (dietary laws) is not
regarded as treason agains't the American Constitution and
reverence for the Sabbath is not considered conspiracy against
progress. .
. "Without solidarity with our forebears, the solidarity with
our brothers will remain feeble. The vertical unity of Isr'ael is
essential to the horizontal unity of kelal Israel (the community
of Israel). Identification with what is undying in Israel, the ap-
. preciation of what was supremely significant throughout the
ages. the endeavor to integrate the abiding teachings and as-
pirations of the past into: our own thinking will enable us to
be creative; to expand, not to imitate or to repeat. Survival of
Israel means that we carry on our independent dialogue with
the past. Our way of life must remain such as would be, to some
degree, intelligible to Isaiah and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai,
to Maimonides and the Baal Sheen .
"A wide stream of human callousness separates us from
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the realm of holiness. Neither an individual man zior a single
generation can by its own power erect a bridge that would reach
that realm. For ages our fathers have labored in building a
sacred bridge. WE WHO HAVE NOT CROSSED' THE STREAM
MUST BEWARE LEST WE BURN THE BRIDGE." -
Thus, throughout the book, Dr. Heschel interprets the high
values, pleads for spiritual loyalties, admonishes us to join with
him in the prayer which emerges as a great Godly act in a highly
inspiring book. The name Heschel has, indeed, become synony-
mous with such sanctity.
—
UNESCO Brochures on. Race Issue
The testimonial dinner to Morris Schaver,
1, marks a deserving tribute to a
on - Dec.
Three pamphlets on "The 'Race Question and Modern
man who, for more than 25 years, has spear- Thought," published by the United NationS Educational, Scien-
headed activities in Detroit in behalf of tific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, are being
distributed in this country by Columbia University Press (2960
Eretz Israel.
Broadway, NY27).
Recognized as one of the outstanding La-
The injustice on persons of mixed-blood is described in Harry
bor Zionist leaders in this country, Mr.
Schaver has been generous in his giving and L. Shapiro's "Race Mixture."
In W. A. Visser 'T Hooft's "The Ecumenical Movement and
has devoted himself wholeheartedly to all
Racial Problem" there is a thorough review of church aL-
efforts in support of Zionism, often stepping. ; the
titudes on anti-Semitism during the rule of the Nazis in Europe.
outside the boundaries of his own party to It recalls the protests that were made against anti-Semi•ism by
assist in the movement for the redemption organized Christian movements.
of Israel.
Leon Roth, in "Jewish Thought as a Factor in Civilization,"
The tributes planned for him, on his 60th offers interesting analyses of Judaism's contributions to world
birthday, in. Israel, and by prominent Amer- civilization, refutes charges of "racism" leveled at Jews and-
ican Jewish leaders, attest to the recognition describes the debt that the world owes Judaism for its gifts to
humanity.
that is being given to his devoted services.