Editorial Passover Bids Us: Remember Past History Passover has many les- sons for every generation. It calls upon us and our children to apply the les- sons of the past t6 the pres- ent and to the future; to strive for liberty today and to work for better days to come. The primary admonition of the great festival, there- fore, is that no one dare for- get the past events. We learn from the past as means of avoiding its errors in the future. We look back at the dark ages in order that we may keep in mind the sad periods in history whose repetitions are to be prevented. * * * Many dark ages are be- hind us. One very recent one should be engraved in our memories and passed on to our children, because the battle for freedom never ceases. It was only a few years ago that all of Jewry was condemned to destruction, in the minds of a group of tyrants who nearly acquired control of an entire contin- ent. It would be folly for us to imagine that the dangers of hitlerism are passed, that neo - Nazism is impotent, that the free peoples are se- cure. From two portions of the globe, the dangers stem anew — from the revived Nazi elements in Germany, small as their numbers may be, and from the tyrannical elements behind the Iron Curtain for whom the hu- man consideration is some- thing to scorn at. There are too many in our midst who labor under the impression that what is past is past. They overlook the fact that what had oc- curred once can happen again — if we permit it to recur. That is why the Passover lesson, to remember his- tory's past errors, is so vital for all. One must never forget the tragedies that caused genocide, that led to the de- struction of millions of men, women and children, that brought into being gas chambers and crematoria. * * * Passover has many les- sons, but this one — to re- member the past — is so important. Once we forget. the les- sons of history, we are our- selves doomed. The mo- ment we treat former cala- mities with indifference, we ourselves become helpless. It is when we keep in mind the inhumanity of man to man that we are in position to assure human- ity's retention of faith, of respect for human beings, of concern that the indigni- ties of the past shall no more be repeated. remember the past — so that the future may guar- anty the dignity of man. , 1PINI44.4' 1141.100 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 8-9364. Subscription $5 a year. Foreign $6. Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher SIDNEY SHMARAK CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Circulation Manager Advertising Manager FRANK SIMONS City Editor Sabbath Hol Hamoed Passover Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, Hol Hamoed Passover, the seventeenth day of Nisan, the following Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portions, Ex. 33:12-34:26, Num. 28:19-25. Prophetical portion, Ezek. 36:37-37:14. Scriptural Selections for Concluding Days of Passover Pentateuchal portions: Wednesday, Ex. 13:17-15:26, Num. 28:19-25; Thursday, Deut. 15:19-16:17, Num. 28:19-25. Isaiah 10:32-12:6. Prophetical portions: Wednesday, II Samuel 22 ; Licht Benshen, -Friday, April 24, 7:05 p.m. VOL. XXXV. No. 8 Page Four April 24, 1959 The Lesson of Passover: Freedom for All Peoples of the Earth "From slavery to freedom," the aspiration of the downtrodden from time immemorial, had its earliest application as an organized revolt among the oppressed Hebrews in Egypt, under the skillful leadership of Moses, the great guide, who gained immortality as the greatest of all Prophets and as the Lawgiver. Under Moses, the Hebrews were formed into a national unit. They constantly needed his guidance, in -order to acquire the freedom that was offered to them. They were not accustomed to such a task. They lived in an age in which peoples were subjected to the rule and domination of god-kings. Moses undertook to lift his people out of that stage of subjection. It was a difficult task, but he sought its achievement by a passionate adherence to principles of justice and human rights. This passion for righteousness has been infused in the Passover Festival. When the oppressed Hebrews first were faced with the idea of liberty, they did not know how to accept it. Freedom often has to be imposed upon slaves. The genius of Moses would not yield to obstacles. In his historic essay, "Moses the Prophet," the Jewish philosopher, Ahad Ha'am, thus explained Moses' determination to seek the fulfillment of his hopes: great vision which "The Prophet has faith in the power of the ideal. He is certain that the liberating farce of the he is to show to his people will overcome their inherited servility, and inspire them with the courage and idealism that their lofty mission demands. He assembles the people at the foot of Sinai, opens the innermost heavens before them, and shows them the God of their fathers in a new revelation as the God of the whole universe. 'All the earth is Mine,' proclaims the God of Israel out of the midst of the fire. Hitherto you have imagined, like the rest of mankind, that every nation and country has its own god, and that these tribal deities, each sovereign within the limits of the Tuitional territory, fight and conquer one another like the nations that worship them: This is false. There is not one god for Israel and another for Egypt; there is only one eternal God, lord of all the earth and ruler over all the nations." Such is the lesson of Passover, as incorporated in the principles pursued by the Great Lawgiver. It is a festival of freedom not for Jews alone, but for all mankind. It is when all the peoples are free that we shall have true liberty on earth. A great ideal is offered to humanity in the Passover Idea. As we greet one another on this festival, as we inaugurate it with the traditional Sedorim, we pray for the fulfillment of its sacred ideals.