BO—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 1 Friday, September 16, 1955 Laurels Appoints Cantor To Lead in Holiday Services Cantor Benjamin Zevin has been engaged by Laurels Coun- try Club to officiate at High Holy Day services conducted at the Sackett Lake , N. Y. resort, it was announced by Joe Novack, Laurels owner. Laurels will hold Rosh Hash- anah services, beginning today, and Yom Kippur services, begin- ning Sept. 25, Novack said. Guests will enjoy Laurels exten- sive outdoor program, including a championship golf course, dur- ing their stay. Historic Shekel Still Dominates As Symbol of Jewish Identification NEW YORK, N.Y.—For 35 cen- turies, the Shekel has been the link which held_ the thread of Jewish history unbroken and firm. First used by the ancient Israel- ites as a standard of weight and value, down through the centur- ies it far out-stripped its intrinsic value as the central coin of one of the earliest recorded monetary systems, It became instead the very symbol of Jewish survival, Jewish identification, t h e instrument through which the Jew assumes his share of responsibility for the 1.1 ■ 11.4111/1.f1.11M.0 41•11.(1 ■ 0141 ■ 01M1141•M•11.4.011111! Holiday Greetings SUGO'S Sincerest Best Wishes Barnett Plumbing CI Heating Co. GRAND RIVER CO. STOP!! Foi Better Brake Service On All Makes Specialists on Nash Cars Large Selection of Used 13300 GRAND RIVER VE 8-7440 24 Hour Service Downtown — Uptown ...weawroaimmtem-o■Krawiro■o■ww•I r■r ea.o.■,,J Best Wishes for A Happy New Year Highland Parker Printers, Inc. TO. 8-5072 ECON'S 248 W.'6 MILE at Woodward - STEAKS - CHOPS - SEA FOODS Serving Luncheon, Dinner and Supper J o 13 m or a . Best Wishes for a Happy New Year to Our Jewish Friends and Patrons 13 a Brennan-Fitzgerald and Sinks 13 WO. 1-9178 Corner Park and Adams Life, thou art but an Illusion In the dank miasma of Exist- ence! A shadowy harlequin Upon the stage of puppetry, A mere naught, gigantic, deary. Art thou here by design, Or is thy being fortuitious? Ah, for the solution of this riddle— An enigma never ending, An enigma nowheres tending: Life thou art but an illusion! Too proud winners often lose in the end.—Aesop. Best Wishes for A Happy New Year Holiday Best Wishes Mr. &Mrs. Samuel Brown LINSDALE DRUG LEE PLAZA HOTEL WE. 3-1416 Prescriptions 10550 JOY RD. Sincere Best Wishes For A Happy New Year Isenberg, Newman and Company Were it not for this self-imposed tax, the Mishnah might never have been written, and the people itself perhaps ultimately assimil- ated. Such was the obligation a people placed upon itself to pre- serve its national spirt and ident- ity. In the modern times, the First World Zionist Congress in Basle adopted the Shekel as the symbol of identification with the great goal of Zionism. Today the Shekel of the First War of the Jews, showing the cup patterned after the vessel used in the Holy Temple of Solomon, is reproduced on one of the first issues of postage stamps of the new Israel. The token of affiliation with the World Zionist Organization, the Shekel buys membership in the Zionist Movement. But more, the Shekel, acquired through the organization of his choice, gives the individul Jew a voice in the future of Israel. The Best in Fine Foods 1 5 (Ecclesiastes) By N. E. ARONSTAM Adopted by First Congress TO. 8-6520 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Further evidence of its in- delible imprint on Jewish life is in the six laws governing its use recorded in the Fourth Tractate of Moed, in the Second Division of the Mishnah and the Talmud. They strongly re- semble the complicated instruc- tions found today on our own Bureau of Internal Revenue tax forms! And not only was it a tax, but a census device as well. These Shekolim were used to count the individual contributor in the na- tional census, the first historical attempt to determine the popula- tion of a country with any degree of accuracy. Its first Diaspora use is re- counted in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah when the Jews, exiled in Babylonia, continued to assess themselves to help build the Second Temple. Later the annual half-Shekel assessment was con- tinued at home and in exile, to. support the sanctuary of the na- tion and the cultural and relig- ious institutions of the Yishuv. Its extraordinary persistence in the minds and hearts of the peo- ple is people is revealed after Judea succumbed to the Roman legions. When the conquerors decreed the Shekel proceeds were to go into the Imperial Treasury as "Fiscus Judaicus," the Jews taxed themselves an equivalent amount so as not to deprive the Yishuv's academies and students of the means to preserve the cul- ture of the Jewish nation. WO. 3-6288 74 Sibley Night Calls LI. 4-3883 30 BARTLET future of his people. Moses himself introduced a half-Shekel levy on every Jew over 20 to defray the expense of building the tabernacle. This "Shekel of the Sanctuary" was the embodiment of the traditional Jewish spirit of equality, before the Lord. "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half-Shekel when they make the offering of the Lord," the law admonishes in Exodust: 30:12. 'Havel Havalim, Hakol Havel' 13 24th Congress Meeting Next year in Jerusalem, the 24th World Zionist Congress will .1i2e. Ki KCKIIKCiaileiEKOZEK4WOK4EKIKON:g.4.:aiatIKIKO›=.1Kig..4e2.WMiZ 4WiZOri meet to deal with issues. To this 1 end a nationwide campaign is 5716 now in progress, under the auspi- 1955 ces of the U.S. Central Shekel 1, 4 and Election Board, which repre- sents t h e following national bodies with a combined enroll- ment of close to three quarters of a million Jews: or ra ► to or 9 a o 13 . A Happy and Prosperous NEW YEAR to all our many friends Robinson furniture company Downtown — Washington Boulevard near Grand River WO. 5-6500 Northland — Greenfield Road Entrance "E" EL. 6-2300 Achdut-Avodah-Poale Zion, Hadassah, Hapoel Hamizrachi„ Hashomer Hatzair, Mizrachi Or- ganization of America, Peale Zion, United Zionists Revision- ists, Zionist Organization of America, Bnai Zion, Farband- Labor Zionist Order, Hapoel Hamizrachi Women, Mizrachi Women, Pioneer Women. The Board, with headquarters at 342 Madison Avenue, New York, is headed by Charles Ress, of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., chairman. Other officers include: Jullien Benjamin, Jacob Katzman, Rabbi Henry H. Rubins, David Epstein and Claire J. Okonowitz. All who acquire the symbolic Shekel are entitled to participate in the election of delegates to the Congress, and at the same time demonstrate the organized strength of Zionism as a force for Israel and Jewish life in this country. Saves back-breaking work . . . ends weather worries . . . runs for 2 cents an hour, about one-fifth the cost of operating other automatic dryers! Gas Dryers purchased from appli-' ance dealers or the Gas Company are installed at no extra charge. Serving 785,000 customers in Michigan