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NEWS
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Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper—Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
VOLUME XXXV—No. 6 loV; nnioii i x-i .st?.op 17100 W. 7 Mile Rd.—VE 8-9364—Detroit 35, April 10, 1959
Max Eastman's
'Great
Compan ions'
'The Election
Winners'
Commentary
Page 2
$5 Per Year; Single Copy 15c
N. Y. Suburban Survey Shows
Marked Upsurge in Religion
Sltaarey Zetleh Plans Memorial for
Dr. lifershman;Detroit'sEminent
Religions Leader Dies at Age of 79
Dr. Abraham M. Hershman, one of the most distinguished religious leaders in
America, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shaarey Zedek to whose pulpit he was
called 52 years agO, died Monday morning in New York where he had made his
home with his daughters, Ruth and Eiga, for the
,......
past two years.
His body was brought here for burial in
Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Funeral service's were
held on Wednesday afternoon in Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. Rabbi Morris Adler, who succeeded
to the- pulpit of Shaarey Zedek when Rabbi Hersh-
man was named rabbi emeritus; Rabbi Max Weine,
of Camden, N. J. a former Detroiter, and Cantor
Jacob H. Sonenklar officiated.
Besides his daughters, Rabbi Hershman is sur-
vived by a son, David, and four grandchildren.
Mrs. Hershman, who was a leader in women's
ranks here and one of the first presidents of Detroit
Chapter of Hadassah, died June 10, 1955.
Rabbi Adler announced on Monday that Con-
gregation Shaarey Zedek will pay tribute to Rabbi
Hershman at a memorial assembly after Shloshim
• Late Dr. A. M. Hershman ---the traditional 30- days of mourning.
Born in Neustadt, Poland, in May 1880, Dr. Hershman studied in yeshivot in
Poland. He came to the U.S. at the age of 16 and continued his studies at the
College of the City of New York and Columbia University. He was ordained
Rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1906 and the Seminary conferred
upon him the degrees of D.D. and D.H.L. in 1930 and 1934.
Corning to Detroit, as Shaarey Zedek's rabbi, in 1907, Dr. Hershman was
elected rabbi for life in 1933. He was elected rabbi emeritus for life in 1946.
For more than 40 years one of Detroit Jewry's most distinguished leaders,
Rabbi Hershman was a member of the board of governors of the Jewish Welfare
Federation and was one of the organizers of the Jewish Community Council. He
served on the board of the Jewish Community Center and was active in many
other local movements.
His pioneering efforts in behalf of the Zionist movement especially elevated
him to a position of national leadership. The first president of the Zionist Organiza-
tion of Detroit, he served on the nation a 1 executive committee of the Zionist
Organization of America. He was a co-worker of the late Supreme Court Justice
Louis D. Brandeis in the ZOA.
He was chairman of Keren Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund) campaigns
before the formation of the Allied Jewish Campaign into which were incorpor-
ated appeals for Palestine's reconstruction.
One of the original active leaders in the American Jewish Congress, he was
an organizer of the first Jewish Congress movement here and was elected a
delegate to the first Congress convention in Philadelphia in 1918.
Rabbi Hershman's first published book, "Rabbi Isaac Perfet and His Time,"
which came out in 1943, was hailed as a highly scholarly work. To complete it, Rabbi
Hershman did a great deal of research work in libraries in Spain.
His other published works included a noteworthy work on Maimonides, which
he was commissioned to write for the Judaica Series of Yale University Press,
and two volumes of his sermons. -
When he completed 35 years of service as Shaarey Zedek's rabbi, he was
honored by all Detroit rabbis as well as by his congregation. He was honored on
numerous other occasions by Mizrachi, the Israel Bond Organization, the Zionist
Organization and other movements.
Hapoel Hamizrachi established a library in Israel in his honor and he had
been honored by the Jewish National Fund.
Dr, Hershman became deeply interested in Bar-Ilan University in Israel and
in the Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi. He was the honorary president of the League
for Religious Labor in Israel, a director of Mizrachi and a member of the National
Committee for Bar-Ilan University.
Continued on Page 5
NEW YORK, (JTA)—The results of a survey con-
ducted by the New York Times on the rise of Judaism
in the suburbs of New York City were published by the
paper Monday, indicating that the shift of the Jewish
population from the city to the suburbs has increased
the number of synagogues in the area.
The report showed that: Since 1947, a total of 68
new Conservative synagogues have been opened for
worship in the suburban area; since 1946, the Reform
movement has opened 57 temples in the - area; and, since
1949, the Orthodox synagogues have been increasing,
about 35 of these having b been established, most of
them recently.
The report points out that the Reform organization,
the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, provides
grants and loans, as well as a portable Ark and the
Torah used in services, to get the new temples under
way. The Conservatives, through the United Synagogue
of America, prOvide staff aid but no subsidies. All
three denominations—Reform,: Conservative and Ortho-
dox—supply rabbis for the initial services and help the
new group to engage a rabbi of its own.
Reform relies heavily on student rabbis from He-
brew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Con-
servative supplies some student rabbis from the Jewish
Theological Seminary, but urges the new congregation
to get a full-time spiritual leader, if possible. Orthodox
requires ordained rabbis, and in the suburbs most of
these come . from Yeshiva University theological school.
Yeshiva University, according to the survey, maintains
a full-time "organizer," whose job it is to help develop
Orthodox synagogues.
The survey established that there is an "interde-
nominational warmth" today between Protestants and
Jews in suburbia, and that Judaism has brought new
customs to the suburbs. "Jewish congregations," the
New York Times report says, "have sprung up in fire-
houses, banks and even Protestant churches. Building
drives have led to the construction of some of the most
modern looking temples in the country."
The Bible, Hebrew language and religious ritual
are the subjects to which major attention is given in
most Jewish schools in the New York area, with varia-
tions among different types of schools, a second survey
conducted by the Jewish Education Committee of New
York, reveals.
The survey covered 40 percent of the 700 schools
served by the Jewish Education Committee. The results
were based on questionnaires returned by the Jewish
Continued on Page 6
Romanian/Em i gra ti on
Will Be Resumed Soon
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—The reunion of Romanian
Jews with members of their families in Israel, which
was interrupted last month, will be resumed soon, it
was reported here by Maariv, Israel's evening news-
paper which enjoys the largest circulation. The paper
said the news emanates from diplomatic sources.
The report said that, despite the "bad impression"
created by some "irresponsible" statements with regard
to Jewish emigration from Romania, the Romanian
government still intends to abide by the humanitarian
principle of reunification of families which she pro-
claimed. Jews in Romania who have relatives in Israel
will, therefore, continue to benefit from the right to
join their families, as do thousands of Hungarians and
Germans. living in Romania, the report stated: •
Three Campaign Divisions Mark G-Day on Sunday
The traditional G-Day — the Great Day for Giving — of the
Allied Jewish Campaign will be marked Sunday by three divisions,
women's, junior and metropolitan. Reports on home visits, to solicit
pledges for the current campaign, will be submitted at G-Day head-
quarters, at the Beth Abraham Synagogue, 8100 W. Seven Mile Rd.
Key Allied Jewish Campaign leaders and workers will meet at
noon today at the Fred M. Butzel Memorial Building to hear an ad-
dress by Dr. Nahum Goldmann over a telephone hook-up from New
York. Reports will be submitted on the campaign's progress since the
announcement last week that the campaign total had re a c h e d
$4,000,000.
Detailed Stories on
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