Dr. Zeitlin Upheld
Triumphant First Performance Here Dr. Isaac Rabinowitz
Hoenig Questions Of Binder's T4her, Queen of Persia' To Conclude Series
On Dead Sea Scrolls
of Dr. Abraham ance of the Binder musical
Dead Sea Scrolls W. Presentation
"The Significance of the Dead
Binder's "Esther, Queen narrative "Esther, Queen of
Prof. Sidney B. Hoenig, of
Yeshiva University, • in a con-
cluding article in his series on
the Dead Sea Scrolls,' in the
university's Rabbinic Alumni
Chavrusa, pays tribute to Prof.
Solomon Zeitlin's battle against
the accepted view- of the Scrolls
and declares that "his argu-
ments that 'history is being
falsified by the propaganda of
the Scrolls' cannot be dis-
counted."
Dr. Hoenig reviews Dr. Zeit-
lin's arguments, points to the
eminent scholar's contentions
that "the orthography in the
Isaiah Scrolls is similar to the
spelling of the Middle Ages,"
and to his view that "the man-
ner of erasures in the text indi-
cate a late procedure. During
the early period the dotting
above words always was 'done
to show a mistake."
He accepted , the following
other Zeitlinian arguments: . "In-
verted 'nuns' in the Torah. are
not a sign , of parenthesis but
may be a very late insertion, as
Rabbi Solomon Luria suggests
in his commentary on Shabbat
115A. The so-called Bar Kochba
letters are not styled in the
ancient mode of writing, when
the forniula of salutation was
simply 'X to Y.' No preposition
'from' was ever used in the
salutation of an ancient letter.
"Zeitlin moreover argues that
one cannot rely upon the Nash
Papyrus, which contains the
Decalogue, for proof of the early
date of the Scrolls. Indeed, the
Nash Papyrus, itself is of the
3rd or 4th Century and origi-
nated when the Babylonians
read the Decalogue as part of
their liturgy and wore it as
amulets upon their heads. It
was Professor Albright w h o
dated the Nash Papyrus in the
1st Century and, hence, based
the Dead Sea Scrolls on this
text by_ comparison. His quick
suggestion 'resulted in the
scholarly rage of the times.
"Furthermore, were _commen-
taries on Biblical bOoks written
during the • Second Common-
wealth period? Doctor Zeitlin
emphatically says No! Many of
the phrases in the Dead Sea
Scrolls can be traced to Targum
Jonathan or to the Midrash or
to early Karaitic literature."
Prof. • Hoenig analyzes Dr.
Zeitlin's refutations of the con-
tentions of Millar Burrows and
Edmund Wilson. He states that
"Dr. Zeitlin still awaits for refu-
tation of his arguments, based
on sources and not conjectures.
No scholar nor -government of-
ficial has refuted his claims. per-
taining to the looting by Arabs
in 1929 of the library founded
by Rabbi Judah Bibos, in which
many ancient manuscripts were
stored. Nor has an answer been
given to the present locatiOn of
the many Torah Scrolls of great
antiquity which had been'
brought from Spain in 1492, de-
posited in the Synagogues of
Hebron, and looted in 1929. Are
these 'finds' some of the manu-
scripts and Scrolls? A letter to
one of the scholars notes that
three Scrolls were in the Con-
vent of St. Marks for a period
. of twenty years. One may then
conscientiously ask in the name
of justice, truth and scholar-
ship that the Arabs and the
Jordan government reveal the
whereabouts of the S c r o 1 ls
taken from Old Jerusalem and-
Hebron. Perhaps Christian
scholars should seek an answer
if Israelis, at present, cannot
obtain it!"
The Yeshiva University pro-
fessor states: "Dr. Zeitlin him-
helf has exposed the Slavonic
Josephus hdax showing that the
Christ passage in Josephus was
inserted by Eusebius. He can
be relied upon for integrity.
His keen scholarship cannot 'be
ignored."
Detroit Jewish News
5
Friday, March 2, 1956
-
of Persia," by the Temple Beth
El Choir an d:::
the 52 - voice:
Wayne Univer-
sity Men's Glee
C 1 u b, during ,
the services at
Temple Beth \
El, last Friday;
evening, p r o-
vided genuine ;
thrills for
large congrega-
tion.
The service:
marked the
Festival of Prof. Binder
Purim, while celebrating An-
nual Jewish Music Month.
Jason H. Tickton directed the
Temple Beth El Choir, and the
Wyne Glee Club was directed
by Harry Langsdorf.
John H. Redfield, singing
the Mordecai parts; Marion
Stannard as the Narrator,
Margot Bormendy as Esther
and Cyril Wezemael as Aha-
suerus and Haman, performed
magnificently.
Dr. Richard C. Hertz, who
gave the address of welcome,
read the text and his powerful
voice-.lent dignity and strength
to the performance.
Dr. Binder's work contained
the traditional motif in the
opening lines—
"You know the tale of Queen
Esther,
The Queen so well named the
star—"
and the closing words of the
musical narrative—
"And if ever you tire in the
struggle
And the right seems overcome
and afar=
Then remember the old Purim
Story, •
The story of Esther, the 'Stare."
This was the first perform 7.
•
Persia," in Detroit. It was so
well received at Temple Beth
El that there were immediate
requests for its repetition by
community groups.
Mr. Tickton's direction and.or-
gan accompaniment were in
great measure responsible for
the excellence of the presenta-
tion, and both choirs and the
soloists were flawless in their
singing parts.
Judge Weiss Heads
Pa. Catholic Home
Judge Samuel A. Weiss, of
Pittsburgh, Pa., a vice president
of Bnai Brith, has been chosen
president of the board of direc-
tors of a Roman Catholic found-
ling home, the
Roselia Found-
ling and Mater-
nity Hospital
conducted b y
the Sisters of
Charity as "a:
haven of
refuge for
children re-
gardless of
race, color or'--
creed." It is
n o w complet-
ing a new $1,-
5 0 0,0 0.0 hos-
Weiss
pital.
A former meinber of the
Pennsylvania. State Legislature
and the U. S. House of Repre-
sentatives, Judge Weiss has
been judge of the Court of
Common Pleas of Allegheny
County since 1946. In 1937, he
became the first person of the
Jewish faith to become a mem-
ber of the board of directors
of the Catholic institution. In
a letter to Bnai Brith, Sister
James Regis, administrator of
Roselia, pays warm tribute to
efforts on behalf of the institu-: .
tion:
Sea Scrolls for Our "Times" will
be discussed by Dr. Isaac Rab-
inowitz, L a M e d professor of
Jewish studies at Wayne Uni-
versity, when he delivers the
concluding lecture of the series
analyzing the ancient manu-
script finds at 8 p.m., March 12,
in the small lecture hall of the
Art Institute, Woodward and
Kirby.
Co-sponsored by Wayne Uni-
versity and the Jewish Com-
munity Council, the series of
lectures was arranged in re-
sponse to the wide interest in
and the importance of the
scrolls found by a Bedouin
shepherd in the Wilderness of
Judea, near the Dead Sea. •
Among the question s Dr.
Rabinowitz will discuss is the
identity of the group living in
and near Khirbet Qumran, now
shrouded in mystery, who,
scholars maintain, produced the
scrolls which have become .a
center of controversy in both
the Jewish and- the non-Jewish
academic worlds.
The group identity and the
dating of the scrolls are im-
portant factors in determining
their significance for the Chris-
tian and the Jewish communi-
ties. The entire community is
invited.
Israel Rabbi in Romania
To Purchase Kosher Meat
VIENNA, (JTA) — Rabbi
Israel Efrathi, director of the
kashruth department of the_
Chief Rabbinate of Israel, ar-
rived here en route to Romania
where he will investigate the
possibilities of purchasing kosh-
er meat for Israel. A recent poll
revealed that 93 percent of the
Israeli population would prefer
kosher meat, Rabbi Efrathi
said.
i
How Did We Get
to be America's
Largest Dealer?
—Simply by ambit oor
costomors tho most may
WE'RE •FFERWIC
- MI MK IN MAIM=
Selling
Don't Miss TV!
because of Illness
Rent a Set by Day, Week or Month
A TV set sent to a friend or relative
makes a MOST appreciated gift. We
will install a set in your home, hos-
pital or hotel room the day you call
us.
OPEN
SUNDAY
I
DAILY DELIVERIES INCLUD-
ING SUNDAYS TO HOMES,
HOSPITALS AND HOTELS.
Large Screens—Low Rates
DEXTER Sales & Service
11565 DEXTER .
TE 4-2858
Write Your Own Success Story
In The Pages Of This Book!
An active American Savings account is a posses-
sion with a wonderful future in it for you . . . for
every member of your family. For American
Savings pays 2'/2 per cent, a higher-than-average
rate .. helps you to a richer, more satisfying
mode of living in far less-time! Remember too, at
American Savings, funds received by the 10th,
earn from the 1st of the month.
Savings Insured to $10,000 by an Agency
of the' United States Government
AMERICAN
SAVINGS
Downtown
Uptown
West
Northwest
East Side
WOODWARD
DEXTER BLVD.
FORT STREET
LIVERNOIS
VAN DYKE
at Limed
Open 10 to 5
Fridays to 6 P.M.
at Cortland
Open .10 to 5
Tuesdays to 9 P.M.
at Military
Open 10 to 5
Fridays to 8 P.M.
at W. 7 Mile
Open 10 to 5
Thursday to 9 P.M.
at E. 7 Mile
Open 10 to 5
Fridays to 9 P.M.
Member Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation
Oak Park
W.9 MILE
near Coolidge Hwy.
Open 10 to 5
Thursdays to 9 P.M.