the Christian charges: absorp- period (despite the claim for
tion in self, legalism, narrow- him of being a "profound stu-
ness, lack of prophetic insight. dent") or he was carried away
tales, based on authentic Jewish Asch simply either did not un- by the aims he had set out to
experience. Another example is derstand the Judaism of that achieve.
his penetrating description of
the old, East-European Jewish
life in the novel "Salvation,"
which provided readers in the
1920s,with an extraordinary
view of Jewish piety. How could
a man of this sort, at a mature
age, suddenly have denied his
past, abandoned his heritage
and deliberately embarked on
a course which laid him open to
the accusation of betrayal?
Perhaps it was not betrayal
at all, but rather another exam-
ple/ of the quest, characteristic
of our age, for a formula by
which one might end the trag-
edy which has dogged Chris-
tian-Jewish relations for centu-
A Happy, Healthy and
ries and which reached its cli-
max in our day. For the Jew
Prosperous
of the modern era has been
aware of nothing so much in
his Jewishness as of the refusal
of his Christian neighbors to
accept him. They had inter-
preted hatred of Judaism as the
compliment which falsehood
To the Jewish Community
pays to truth. Their faith in God
and in the Jewish people had
never wavered. Evil was tem-
•
porary, therefore tolerable.
Rationalism caused the ghetto
walls to fall, but it also toppled
the inner defenses. First the
western, then the eastern Jews
emerged into a world of politi-
cal and economic freedom, eager
to take and to give equality in
every sense. But to their sur-
prise, they continued to encoun-
ter hostility, rejection. Thus it
came about that an increasingly
important aspect of Jewish his-
tory since the French Revolu-
tion is a record of emphasis laid
on self-defense, which occasion-
ally reached the point of self-
abasement, if not self-efface-
ment.
But worst of all was the ef-
fect of rationalism on the faith
of the modern Jew in both his
own viewpoint and in his own
future. Having given up, as his
part in the recognition of
human equality, his conviction
that God had chosen him to be
His special witness, he deprived
himself of his greatest inner
source of strength. All he had
left was pride in the Jewish ,
past—which is mere vanity un-
less accompanied by unshakable
confidence in a triumphant fu-
ture. One cannot blame the
modern Jew, especially the con-
scientious Jewish writer, for
continuing the search for a solu-
tion to the problem of hostility
to the Jewish people—especially
The Year 5718 marks the 10th anniversary of Israel's
in an era which witnessed the
tragedy brought upon the Jews
Independence. The World Orthodox Rabbinate pro-
by Nazism and communism—
claimed
this year as: ISRAEL JUBILEE YEAR!
but ones, can blame the Jewish
writer Mho should know better
THE 65th JUBILEE OF THE
for not realizing that no such
solution is possible if it weakens
rather than strengthens the
faith of the Jew in God and the
Jewish people.
Herein lies the failure of
Sholom. Asch. Deeply stirred
by Jewish fate as he watched
hostility mount into Nazi fury
and affect the whole western
world, he appears to have
thought that he could help
Is another important milestone. in addition to uphold-
matters by dramatizing what
ing and safeguarding the religious heritage of Kash-
has come to be known as the
Judeo - Christian tradition.
ruth, we have kept abreast of the modern trend in
Perhaps fearful that he might
presenting the Wilno Kosher Products with glamor
be accused of "Judaizing," in
and style.
the medieval sense of the
term, Asch did not attempt to
Our new packages of sliced corned beef, pastrami,
rationalize the miracles in the
salami and bologna are acclaimed for their quality,
tales of Christian origins. All
flavor and freshness.
he was apparently eager to
achieve was acceptance of the
Two prominent Orthodox Rabbis, Rabbi Boruch Rabin-
idea that Christianity had
owitz and Rabbi Ben Zion Rosenthal and two steady
grown out of a thoroughly
Mashgichim are in charge of the KASHRUTH depart-
Jewish environment.
ment.
There was nothing new in

Sholom Asch: Defeatist?

By SOLOMON GRAYZEI

Editor, Jewish Publication Society

The death of Sholom Asch has
removed from our midst one of
the best story-tellers of our
generation. Yet this simple and
sorrowful fact, implying one of
the highest compliments that
can be paid to a literary crafts-
man, has been lost sight of in
the controversy about Asch as
a Jew. For almost two decades
now, some have argued that at
least in spirit he was no longer
in the Jewish fold; . there were
even rumors that he had actu-
ally undergone baptism. Asch,
of course, vehemently denied
both rumors and charges.' He
was deeply grieved, he said, that
his own people thus maligned
him because he had dealt kind-
ly with the central figures in
Christianity.
Both views were exaggera-

dons. Asch exaggerated his
innocence, for he had done
more than merely deal kindly
with Jesus, Paul and Mary.
His harsh critics exaggerated
his guilt, for he had done no
more than carry to its logical
conclusion an attitude preva-
lent in wide circles of con-
temporary Jewish life.
One needs but read some of
Asch's earlier stories which
have been translated into Eng-
lish to sense the depth of his
understanding of and sympathy
with the Jewish ; people, their
values and their problems. Two
such stories were translated
many years ago, and published
by the Jewish Publication So-
ciety: "Kiddush Ha-Shem" in
1926, and "Sabbatai Zevi" in
1930, both stirring historical

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Kosher Sausage
Company

presenting a sympathetic _ view
of Jesus of Nazareth; it had
been done often enough before
by both Jewish scholars and
Jewish novelists. The excite-
ment in Jewish circles was due
to a number of other consider-
ations. Asch's eagerness to por-
tray Mary, Paul and Jesus in
Christian terms inevitably be-
came extended beyond personal-
ity into attitude and viewpoint.
As a result Judaism came out
second best. The Jews of that
day are dealt with fairly enough,
but countenance is given to all

May the Twin Jubilees usher in a

HAPPY, HEALTHFUL, PROSPEROUS AND
PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!

Wilno Kosher Sausage Co.

CHICAGO, ILL.
Local Distributor:
JULIUS POLLAK, 7522 Fenkell, UN 2-5822

