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, National Editorial Asso-
ciation .
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 second class matter Aug. 6, 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879
FRANK SIMONS
SIDNEY SHMARAK
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
City Editor
Advertising Manager
Editor and Publisher
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the eighth day of Tishri, 5716, the following Scriptural selections will be read
in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Deut. 32. Prophetical portio - 1, Hos. 14:2-10; Joel . 2:15-27.
Lict Benshen Friday, Sept. 23, 5:38 p.m.
Yom Kippur Scriptural Selections
Pentateuchal portions: Morning, Lev. 16, Numbers, 29:7-11; Afternoon, Lev. 18.
Prophetical portions: Morning, Is. 57:14-58:1,4, Afternoon, Jonah.
September 23, 1955
Page Four
VOL. XXVIII. No. 3
Yom Kippur... The Fast i Have Chosen'
"Open Thou the gate, 0 Lord,
Yea, even as it swingeth 'closed,
For lo, the day declineth fast.
As the day doth wane, 0 Lord,
Yea, even as the sun doth set,
0 let us enter in Thy gate."
From the Yom Kippur Neilah Service
fir
ry? •
(T:IN`nnn
"Pitd ;3 nr3
ri51:
Hrbri -ono)
The following lesson of Isaiah (58:3-8)
remains the best editorial comment on the
instructions of the great .Fast Day • of Yom
Kippur:
"Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest
not?
Wherefore have we afflicted our soul; and
Thou takest no knowledge?—
Behold, in the day of your fast ye pursue
your business, -
And exact all your labors.
Behold, ye fast for strife and contention,
And to smite with the fist of wikedness;
Ye fast not this day
So as to make your voice to be heard on
high.
Is such the fast that I have chosen?
The day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,
And to spread sackcloth and ashes under
him?
Wilt thou call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
To loose the fetters of wi:Redness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
And that thou bring the poor that are cast
out to thy house?
When thou seest the naked, that thou
cover him,
And that thou hide not thyself from thine
own flesh?"
Such is the importance of the great Day of
Atonement that it admonishes us never to
forget the obligation to house the homeless,
to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked.
Yom Kippur, therefore, is not only a day
on which to atone for sins: it is a day also
on which to reaffirm our duties to the less
fortunate in our midst, to all who are in dire
need and must come to us for help. It is not
an ordinary sort of philanthropy: it is the
highest ideal in humanitarianism, heralded
only by man's innermost feelings and by
mankind's desire to eliminate suffering and
to establish justice for all on this earth.
The best evidence of the spirit of the
Jewish holydays will be found in the pas-
. sage from the Day of Atonement service,
"We pray for all men. Grant that wherever
a heart sighs in anguish under the burden
of guilt, wherever a soul yearns to return
to Thee, it may feel the effect of Thy par-
doning love and mercy. Let superstition,
falsehood and malice vanish everywhere."
This Day of Atonement also teaches us
the equality of all men. The Book of Jonah
that is read at the close of the day's prayers
stresses such equality. It emphasizes the
democratic principles and true brotherhood.
Thus, all of us are measured in the same
status, according to the concept that "the
Righteous of every nation have a portion in
the world to come." At the same time, we
are elevated on this day by a feeling of holi-
ness, made even more sacred by the fasting
and prayers, and the high purposes which
make life worth living.
Immigration Law: 131-Partisan Bad Record
•
There is no end to discussion of the de-
merits of our existing immigration law.
There is continual talk about the injustice
of the unsatisfactory legislation adopted in
1953, and President Eisenhower himself re-
fers to the law, time and again. This is in
itself a good omen. It offers hope that there
will be a revision of the law in the years to
come and that amends will be made for the
injustices perpetrated by it.
The New York Times found it necessary
last month to refer to the existing act as
"A Bad Immigration Law," in the following
editorial:
Twice this month President Eisenhower has
publicly reiterated his desire for reforms in the
present unsatisfactory Refugee Relief Act of
1953.
There can be no serious question that the
law has badly needed reform ever since it was
passed, for its authors knowingly crammed it
full of virtually every restriction and limitation
that they could think of. No matter how justi-
fiable was the criticism last winter of its ad-
ministration, the very terms of the law would
have made it difficult to administer with effec-
tiveness under the best of circumstances. The
record now speaks for itself. By mid-July only
30,090 immigrants had come in through this
law; even under the stepped-up program now
allegedly operating in "high gear," Senator Wat-
kins reports that about 1,400 persons are being
admitted weekly. Simple arithmetic shows that
at this rate less than three-fourths of the law's
stated goal of over 200,000 refugees will have
been admitted by the time the statute expires
at the end of 1956, unless it is materially liber-
alized early in the next session.
But while the PreSident is talking • about
revision of the Refugee Relief Act, we hope the
will not forget his repeated promises during the
campaign of 1952 for revision of the basic Im-
migration (McCarran-Walter) Act of that year,
which—in its bad features—is the parent of the
emergency relief measure. The crux of the im-
migration problem is to be found in the funda-
mental law on the subject, and it is this law
that needs "rewriting"—to use the President's
1952 expression—even more, if possible, than
the other. It is therefore most disturbing that
the director of the State Deparment's Visa Of-
fice should have been recently reported as say-
ing that the McCarren.-Walter Act is "the best
act we've ever had." The Administration's pres-
ent position on this important matter should
be clarified.
The record of both parties—Democratic as
well as Republican—is not good on immigration
legislation; but if the Administration and its
Republican supporters should join with liberal
Democrats to give a push to legislative reform
of the immigration laws, the time might prove
ripe for effective action.
The point made here is well taken. The
fault lies not with one party, but with both.
Reactionaries in both parties are aligned
against liberals among Democrats and Re-
publicans in keeping this law in force. The
proponents of illiberal immigration have de-
fied the President himself in their stand
against revision of the act. All we can hope,
judging by past failures to induce Congress
to make amends for the "bad immigration
law," is that time will teach the legislators
the necessity for changes.
Religious Growth
Statistics compiled by the National Coun-
cil of Churches show that "the mid-century
tide of interest in religion—sweeping Amer-
ica ever since World War II—appears to
have reached new flood highs."
According to these statistics, 60.3 per cent
Of our population, "as against 49 per cent
in 1940 and a mere . 18 per cent 100 years
ago," is on the rolls of houses of worship.
This is a most interesting development.
It points to an upsurge of concern in man-
kind's spiritual values. .
The statistics, .published in the Yearbook
of American Churches for 1954, indicate the
grOwth of the Jewish population in this
country from 5,000 to 5,500,000.
The expansion of religious school systems,
the progress that has been made in school
enrollments in Jewish schools and the keen
interest that is being shown by young people
in congregational activities—through young
marrieds and similar groups—combine to
substantiate the statistics.
Such a religious upsurge has not helped
in the eradication of crime, or in the reduc-
tion of juvenile :delinquency: But at least it
offers some hOpe for a better future.
Council Judoists Exposed
Anti-Zionist Theories Demolished
In Chaim Lieberman's New Book
.
Chaim Lieberman, one of America's best known Yiddish writ-
ers, member of the editorial staff of the Jewish Daily Forward, and
a defender of traditional orthodox Judaism, has written a scathing
denunciation of the anti-Zionist-anti-Israel Jews of America. His
"Stranger to Glory: An Appraisal of the American Council for
Judaism," just published by Rainbow Press (475 5th, N.Y.17), dis-
sects the enemies of Zionism and presents them as the "un-Ameri-
can Council for non-Judaism."
The very first chapter's title, "The Serpent in Our Midst," gives
the reader an idea of the author's opinion of this group. He quotes
from Isaiah (62:1), "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and
for. Jerusalem's sake I will not rest," as he proceeds to expose the
anti-Zionists, point by point.
Motivated in writing his book by "the confusion the Council has
created in the Minds of many," Mr. Lieberman calls the Council's
program "a perversion of true Judaism." He charges it with "the
will to destroy," and in refuting its claim that Jews are only a
religion he proceeds to prove that "the word 'Jew' . denotes three
things: religion, family, people." He shows that the Jew is "a verita-
ble mosaic of ages, countries and climes" and shows, in proof, that
on one page of the Talmud one finds: "Mishna, representing the
Jew of old Palestine; Gemara—the Jew of Babylonia; Rashi—the
Jew of France; Rambam—the Jew of Spain; Tosaphoth—the Jew
of Germany; Mahrsha—the Jew of Poland; the Gaon of Wilna—the
Jew of Lithuania; and a number of others."
The "mental calisthenics" of the Council, Mr. Lieberman
charges "have not been thought out for their own sake, because
the faithful of the Council suddenly 'got religion.' They have been
concocted only to serve as a substructure to a 'hostile opposition
toward the Jewish State of Israel." He quotes the very prophets
to whom the Council leaders make reference to prove the fallacy
of their arguments. He quotes the sages who said that "Israel is
called Zion" and Isaiah (51:15, 16) who said 'say unto Zion: 'Thou
art My people.' "
"The Jews of the Council are opposed to everything that comes
under the classification of Jewish life," Mr. Lieberman asserts. He
calls the Council's secretary, - Rabbi Elmer Berger, "a little man"
and a "blasphemer," and he also answers some arguments that were
advanced by Pontiac's Norman Buckner.
The Council's strategy, he charges, "is to isolate the Jewish
State: to isolate it from Washington, from its sympathizers in non-
Jewish American society, and from American Jews; to isolate it
politically, psychologically and religiously; to leave it standing alone
and abandoned to its fate, a lonely lamb among seven Arab wolves."
But he declares that "American Jews refuse to be frightened. They
trust America, and America, they know, trusts them."
Pointing out that of the Council's thoughts "hinge on a single
emotion—hatred of Zion," Mr. Lieberman accuses the Council of
"a gross misreading of the American spirit. Disproving the Coun-
cil's claim to religion he writes that "a lack of sense for Zion, in
either Jew or Christian, points up a lack of religion."
"Had the Council lived in ancient Egypt," Mr. Lieberman
writes, "and had its views prevailed, there would never have been
an Exodus and a Sinai . . . There always have been elements who
hark back to the 'pots of flesh.' They are of the 'dry bones' of the
Prophet's vale." He concludes with a reaffirmation of faith: "Let
the Council Judaists of every variety remain in the valley to wallow
in their selfish, smug contentedness, while we—all those who heed
the divine call and follow the new light shining forth from Zion
—shall make the world resound with the Song of Songs!"
• Rabbi Zevi Tabory, in a foreword, calls Mr. Lieberman's study
"the book of the hour." He declares that it "reveals . . . glaringly the
spiritual abyss into which the Council and its followers have fallen."
Mr. Lieberman (he is the brother of Samuel Lieberman of
Detroit) has written a very challenging book. It forces the Judaists
of the Council into a tight corner.
Bar Mitzvah Ceremony: Coming of Age
•
By DR. THEODOR H. CASTER
(From his new book. "The Holy and
the Profane," published by Sloane)
At the age of 13, in accordance with the precept of the Mishnah,
every male Jew is regarded as Bar Mitzvah. The term means
literally "son of the Commandment" and denotes a legally
responsible member of the Jewish community. That status is not
automatically acquired by mere physical transition from boyhood
to manhood, nor—like Christian grace and salvation by the
performance of a ritual act. It is, in essence, an academic degree,
and a Jew can only become Bar Mitzvah if he satisfies the proper
rabbinical authorities concerning his mental and intellectual
competence and his intention to ,acc,..ept.in deed, and not merely in
work, the full responsibility of the Jewish faith.
—