Too Few Teachers for Too Many 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 Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road. Detroit 35. Mich.. VE. 3-9364 Subscription $5 a year Foreign $6. Entered as second class matter' Aug. 6, 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich.. under Act of March 3, 1879 PHILIP SLOMOVITZ SIDNEY SHMARAK FRANK SIMONS Editor and Publisher Advertising Manager City Editor Sabbath Hol Hamoed Sukkot Scriptural Selections Pentateucha/ portions, Ex. 33:12-34:26, Num. 29:26-28. Prophetical portion, Ezek, 38:18-39:16. Hol Hamoed readings from Numbers 29 Scriptural Selections for Concluding Days of Sukkot Pentateuchal portions: Thursday, Shemini Atzeret, Deut. 14:22-16:17, Num. 29:35-30:1; Friday, Simhat Torah, Deut. 33:1 34:12, Gen. 1:1-2:3, Num. 29:35-30:1. Prophetical portions: Thursday, I Kings 8:56-66; Friday, Joshua 1:1-18. - VOL. XXX—No. 3 Page Four September 21, 1956 Sukkot: Our Festival of Thanksgiving "On the fifteenth of the seventh month, when .ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the Lard seven days: . . And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven. days , . . Ye shall dwell in booths seven days . . that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to, dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." (Leviticus XXIII, 19-44) In this Biblical quotation is incor- porated the injunction for the observance of Sukkot. For seven days, tradition pre- scribes dwelling in booths on a festival that is primarily agricultural, a holiday on which we express our thanks to the Al- mighty for the bounties we enjoy. In our own time, Sukkot also marks fulfillment of Prophecy and the removal of those sad elements in Jewish life which marred the hOlidays of the Jewish people. A high price was paid for - the attainment of the liberties which distinguish the Sukkot of 5717 from those that preceded 1948. Israel's freedom also marks the liberties that accompany the Sukkot of our time. The Sukkot of the Old World, of the ghetto that was destroyed in blood by the Nazi-Fascist hordes and by the anti-Semi- tic mobs who brought destruction to Eu- ropean Jewry, was thus described in his memoirs by the great Jewish leader, the late Dr. Shmarya Levin:. "Within the Sukkah I felt altogether won- derful. The light of the Festival Candle drew itself upward, toward the roof of the branches, which 'was not a roof but a portion of the sky let down over our heads. And among the branches of fir, the stars peeped out, crystal clear, as if they too had been purified and washed for the festival. Thus the candlelight streamed upward, and the starlight came down, and at the meeting- place of the two a warmth and tenderness was born which is known only to him who has dreamed the evenings away in the Tabernacle. "Here the Jew, symbol of man uprooted from his mother earth, alienated from the magic contact of nature, touched reality again. Condemned by the miseries of his history to a withered, colorless existence, he suddenly felt the richness of the old life which flows from the inexhaustible sail." Our generation is more blessed. We can celebrate the festival in freedom. Our kinsmen in Israel once again are observing it as a great week of thanksgiving. Once again, Sukkot marks adjustment to Jewish living, in contrast to the re- adjustments that were imposed upon our people in the past. It is, indeed, thrilling to be able to exchange Happy Sukkot greetings in joy and in security, in a spirit of adherence to faith and tradition. We pray that these new conditions should become even more effective through a lasting—through a permanent—peace for Israel and the world. Confusions Re! sting to Israel _ In a highly enlightening article, in the Saturday Evening Post, outlining his views on "Why Israel Will Survive," the distin- guished columnist, Joseph Alsop, paid tribute to the genius of the people of Israel and told of the devotion of the citi- zens of the new State and their deter- mination to survive against great odds. Regrettably, however, Mr. Alsop re- vealed the pessimism that is heard so often in the ranks of the uninformed, or from those who would harm Israel's status, that the Israelis are unconcerned over the fate of their Arab citizens, that they are indif- ferent to the position of the Arab refugees and are doing nothing about it. * * * The fact is that Israel's leaders have offered, on numerous occasions, to partici- pate in relieving the Arab refugee prob- lem. They have welcomed back many of the refugees—the Arab population in Is- rael has groWn from 70,000 when the State was established to 170,000 today— and have offered to compensate those who had left properties behind them when they fled from the country unwisely. Although less than 1 per cent of the Arab refugees have 'frozen funds in Israel, the Jewish State already has released to them $12,000,000. With proper coopera- tion from the Arab states, a great deal more could have been accomplished, in the refugees' behalf. * * * A typical example of existing confusion is the use of the term "Zionist" When those who are critical of Israel set out to rebuke the small State. For instance, the Chris- tian Science Monitor; a newspaper so well known for its editorial fairness, found it necessary, dealing editorially with "new unrest in Palestine," to ascribe a "pattern of sharp retaliation by the Israelis for in- juries inflicted by their Arab neighbors" to "Zionists" who, the editorial says, call such a pattern "their only effective de- fense under the circumstances." The fact is that such claims, when they are made, are advanced either by Israelis or by Jews in Israel. Arab propaganda has been aimed at confusing Jews with Zionists, Israelis with Zionists, and either naive or, unsus- pecting Americans have fallen prey to such an effort at finding a scapegoat. * * * In reality, the Arab propaganda scheme is so to confuse people by use of the term "Zionist," while aspiring indirectly to con- demn all Jews. But those who should know better ought to understand that Israelis are fighting for their very lives; that Jews everywhere hope that people with a sense of fair play, everywhere, will assist the Israelis in the fight for an hon- orable existence, and Zionists are people with an ideal whoa, prior to the establish- ment of Israel, spearheaded political ef- forts for Israel's independence and are now, through their organization, assisting in efforts to inspire a just interest in the reality of Israel's place as a sovereign State. * * * In the main, all Jews today are contin- uing the Zionist program, and any attempt to distort this fact by seeking to create the impression that there are "different" kinds of Jews are rendering a disservice to the cause of truth. Mr. Alsop and others who may have been misled into believing that Jews are rendering an injustice to the Arabs will benefit from the statement that was made last week by Fares Hamdan, one of the seven Arab members of the Israel Knesset. Hamdan, greeting Israel's President Itzhak Ben-Zvi, on the latter's visit to several Arab villages in the Nazareth area, said: "If we still suffer a little from military rule, it must be said that this situation has resulted from the stubborn attitude of the Arab states which refuse to sign a treaty of peace with Israel." In these few words, Israel's Arab • par- liamentarian summed up the existing sit- uation. Would that his kinsmen outside Israel and people everywhere would rec- ognize this incontrovertible fact: that all peoples in the Middle East would benefit from peace, but that only the effendi-con- trolled Arab countries stand in the way of such amity. . .. ,., -,:e., - ,,,z..,--.- --;,,.F.:.i- , , '-',. .`,. .; 4 ' . 4 : - . ,t_74. .W;:-,3,- 4 ,-,\ V•ki- - :',Z):4-s't - ---4-'' .., -L- --- ....4, _:-.,,;e,. .. .._ ,,,.- " , 41-N, ,,,,,_,,,-,44, -,,,,, ,F.^,-. - -....,,,,,i-el Leo Lania's 'Foreign Minister Leo Lania, author and lecturer who covered the era of the Hitler mania on the ground floor, having had a 10-day sojourn with Hitler under an assumed name; who escaped from a con- centration camp, who has been in this country for 15 years and has campaigned for the United Jewisli Appeal and in support of causes for the relief of escapees from Nazism—is well known to Detroiters. He has spoken here in UJA's be- half. His books have been read and reviewed in this community. His newest work is certain to at- tract wide interest. His new novel,. under the title "The Foreign Minister," deals with the horrors of dictatorships. This novel, published by Houghton Mifflin Co. (2 Park St., Boston), is not about any specific person. It may be applied to Czechoslovakia and to the Masaryks, or to any other land. Its importance lies in the revelations of the sadistic and tyrannical methods Leo Lania of the tyrants who have gained a foot- hold in Europe. Fascists and Communists alike share guilt. Both are exposed in all their ugliness. "The Foreign Minister" is the story of a man who fought for the democratic idea, who faced both enemies, who suffered the fate of democrats in Europe: -murder. Ably translated by James Stern, this well-told story is timely even a decade after Hitlerism; for it is told in the midst of a rising neo-Nazism and a remaining threat from communism. It is a warning to the democracies not to abandon faith, to be lovers of liberty, steadfast in their quest for freedom. Regrettable Omission of Israel From Shepherd Historical Atlas The eighth (1956) edition of "Historical Atlas," prepared and annotated by William R. Shepherd, late professor of history at Columbia University, "contains all maps of the seventh revised and enlarged edition and a special supplement of historical maps for the period since 1929 prepared by C. S. Hammond & ,Co." Published by the Colonial Offset Co., Pikesville, Md., the atlas' sole distributors are Barnes & Noble (105 5th; N.Y. 3). The Shepherd Historical Atlas remains a classic and will be in constant demand because of its completeness. A preface to the new edition points out: "Since the plates, originally made in Germany, were destroyed, this edition was printed by offset lithography." Preparation of the special supplementary section of historical maps by this country's outstanding authorities on the subject, the C. S. Hammond Co., gives the new edition its status. However, the new volume still has its shortcomings, in that it does not list Israel, the new State. It has the reference map of Palestine, a Plan of Jerusalem map and Biblical maps. Also, the supplement makes reference to the Jews as a people, in the map on the Near East, in the area of Jerusalem. But still there is no mention of the State of Israel —. now a reality for more than eight years. Shepherd's Historical Atlas is a most valuable book, but the omission of Israel needs correcting. To make it fool-proof, it is urgent that the publishers should correct the ommission as soon as possible. . 'Wisdom of Living Religions' Joseph Gaer has written several books on religions. His latest work, "The Wisdom of the Living Religions," published by Dodd, Mead & Co. (432 4th, N.Y.), includes the wise sayings, maxims and parables of 10 religious faiths. In his preface, Mr. Gaer states, with reference to the portion on Judaism: "The Jews, from biblical times to the present, have exhibited a gift for expressing every variety of experience in a proverb; and there are a larger number of Jewish proverbs less than a century old than there are to be found in the Book of Proverbs." The section on Judaism opens with explanatory statement in which the compiler defines Torah, Mishnah, Talmud. Included in this section are: The Ten Commandments, the Sayings of the Old Testament, Maxims from the Sayings of the Fathers, Talmudic Sayings, Sayings from Ecclesiasticus. Each of these is preceded by ex- planatory prefatory notes. , • Other religions included in this book are: Buddhism, Chris- tianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Jainism, Mohammedanism, Shintoism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism. The sources of the sayings of the Talniud are listed, and appended to this fine volume are a selected bibliography, a topical index and a general index. This is undoubtedly one of Mr. Gaer's best compilations. It is a book of considerable merit.