Pied Piller of Hebrom Q. 1-1. Friedland s Wonder
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Copyright, 1959, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, In
After a lapse of more. thab 20
years, one of the outstanding cre-
ations in Hebrew literature for chil-
dren is now being revived, and the
children in Jewish schools in English-
speaking countries again will have
access to a series of the most widely
acclaimed Hebrew stories.
✓
In the 1930s, the late Hes Aleph
(A. H.) Friedland, who was then con-
sidered the leading Hebrew educator
in this country, wrote, and published
in mimeographed form, a series of
stories for children, with translations
of the Hebrew words-in parentheses.
Under the title "Sipurim
"Pleasant Stories"—this series cap-
tured the imagination of children in
hundreds of Jewish schools.
Friedland's illness and subsequent
untimely death ended this important
project. Only a limited number of the
stories, which appeared as attractive
brochures, has been available in the
past 20 years.
• Recognizing the importance of the
project, a group of- educators has un-
dertaken to republish these stories. It
is natural for the project to have been
revived in Cleveland, where Friedland
had created his major works as short
story writer, essayist and poet from
1921 until his death in 1939. The.
children's booklets now are being re-
published by the Cleveland Bureau
of Jewish Education, under the guid-
ance of the director of the Bureau,
Nathan Brilliant. One of the country's
leading educators, Bernard Isaacs, su-
perintendent emeritus of the United
Hebrew Schools of Detroit, is one of
the chief editors of the revised and
revived project. Serving on the edito-
rial committee are Mrs. Yonina Fried-
/and, widow of the author of the
stories, Dr. Jacob Kabakoff and Henry
Margolis.
The first five stories already have
been reprinted, and the brochures are
most attractive, well illustrated and'
beautifully bound.
0
The secret of Friedland's successful
approach to story-telling for children
was a simple one: he was a master
story-teller; he possessed the imagina-
tive 'mind that links the poetic with
the prosaic; he found a path to the
minds of Children with an irresistible
appeal and with an approach to the
everyday occurrences in life, including
sports and all elements that appeal to
children in democratic countries.
-- It was no wonder, therefore, that
his stories were read by Jewish chil-
dren in schools throughout the United
States and Canada, in South Africa,
in England and in Australia. Fried-
land met with a receptive audience
wherever there are English-speaking
Jews whenever the pages of "Sipurim
Yofim" were opened for the .child in
a Jewish school.
There were more than a hundred
stories in his original series, and dur-
ing Friedland's lifetime more than
150,000 copies of the brochures had
been circulated in Jewish schools.
Friedland, whose creative works are
mentioned to this day whenever Jew-
ish educators gather, did not limit his
activities to the "Sipurim Yofim." He
also created a library for adults under
the title "Bibliotheka Du-Leshonith"
—"The Bi-Lingual Library"—which
accomplished a double purpose: they
helped to popularize the works of the
outstanding Jewish writers and served
as excellent self-teachers of Hebrew.
The story itself appeared at the right
hand of every page with a maximum
of four words to the line. The English
translation was on the left. Anyone
with a smattering of Hebrew knowl-
edge who desired to enrich his knowl-
edge of the language at last had at
his disposal the ideal type of teacher
in the "Bi-Lingual" series.
The works of Chaim Nachman
Bialik, David Shimonowitz, Abraham
Raisin, Ahad Ha-Am, H. D. Numberg,
Yehudah Steinberg, Micha Joseph
Berdichevsky, David Frishman and
others were included in the texts.
Friedland also prepared motion
stories which enabled the children to
dramatize their own texts.
Bernard Isaacs expains that the re-
published "Sipurim Yofim" are being
revised only to the extent of substitut-
ing modern Hebrew terminology as
used in Israel for out-dated words that
may be found in the original texts..
He mentions one word as an example:
25 years ago, the word used for look-
ing glass was "mar'eh." The word
used in Israel for _mirror today is
"re'ee." That's the word now used in
the story "Alizah Koreth Sefer" —
"Alice Reads a Book"—the first of the
republished "Sipurim Yofim."
Friedland's "Gilenu—The Playway
to Hebrew," which had the collabora-
tion of Dr. Emanuel Gamoran,. also is
to this day one of the preparatory
works for Hebrew students.
The reprinted "Sipurim Yofim"
represent a revival of a great Hebrew
literary effort, representing one of
the most valuable contributions to
modern Hebrew.
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Composite photograph of pages from A. H. Friedland's
"Sipurim Yofim" and "Bibliotheka Du-Leshonith." In-
set, photo of Hes Aleph Friedland.
HouseuFriendly Negev Hostel
By ITZHAK SHARGIL
(Copyright. 1959, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
It is morning in Beersheba, the capital of the Negev.
A constant stream of vehicles—jeeps, taxis and buses—
is leaving town, and is swallowed by the desert.
These vehicles bring life to the Negev and carry its
future. They move building materials, rails for new rail-
roads and pipes for new water and oil lines. They are
loaded with drilling machines and mining equipment,
and carry the men who operate the machines.
They also provide transportation for the experts
and technicians, without whom the Negev would not have
become a field of experiments and production on which
the Israeli economy must rely.
After a hot work-day, a steady stream of dusty cars
pours back into Beersheba, population 40,000, with a
wide network of roads and new residential quarters
emerging among the sand dunes. Part of the stream of
cars takes a common route. They park in front of a
huge white building surrounded by a big garden and
Hower beds, and—what is even more attractive—flanked
by a swimming pool.
Here, to this, their temporary home, they all come,
take a shower; shave, glance at the paper, and go down
to have dinner and talk about their experiences of the
day. Heremeans the "Hias House in the Negev." It is
often described as the "Heart" of the Negev. It is from
here that technical skill in the shape of experts and
supervising staffs for operations in the Negev spreads
day after day all over the vast spaces which actually
cover half the area of Israel.
United Hias Service is a familiar feature in countries
of Jewish immigration—U.S., Canada, Latin America. In
Israel, since it was felt that the future was in the Negev,
future activity of Hias was also focused on the Negev.
Hias, known for its experience in this field, was _ap-
proached by the government and the Jewish Agency with
the proposition of providing a home away from home
for experts, technicians and other professionals. The
outcome is the Hias House in the Negev.
This huge half-million-dollar hostel consists of 47
self-contained apartments — a bed-sitting room, shower,
kitchenette and small refrigerator.
There is a small synagogue, a lounge and reading
room, as well as a restaurant. And there is a library
which, when completed, will be unique. Through the
help of the American Katzen fund, Hias will establish
there a special Negev library.
One gets the feeling of home in the small Hiai
apartments. The expert, technician, scientist, administra-
tor, manager or thrasher finds here a place he can live
and relax, work and read. Each room is equipped with
modern furniture, colorful curtains and book shelves,
as well as a small flower-vase with some flowers in it—an
important change of view from the barren Negev pano-
rama.
The majority of those residing at Hias House are
Israelis — 58 percent. English-speaking countries come
next, with 26 percent. Western Europe, 12 percent. and
Latin America. 2 percent. The Hias House in the Negev
is a place full of life, and its vitality radiates through
the whole Negev.
Tashlikh and Other Ceremonies on Rosh Hashanah
Why do some Jews go to
a waterway on Rosh Hash-
anah afternoon to pray?
Rabbi Jacob Moelin, (The
Maharil) cites a well known
Midrash which relates this
ceremony to the historic epi-
sode of the "binding of Isaac."
When Abraham was on his
way to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice
his son, Isaac, Satan, anxious
to prevent him from doing the
will of Gad, changed himself
into a river and tried to drown
.. P 474:7
test, and the water dried up.
Standing at the water's edge
we remind ourselves of Abra-
ham's heroism and are in-
spired to abide by the will of
the Almighty at any cost, thus
meriting His forgiveness and
mercy.
* * *
Why do some Jews shake
out their pockets or the ends
of their garments during
this ceremony of Tashlikh?
According to some, this is
a means of throwing crumbs
to the fish, thus showing our
merciful trait of feeding lower
animals and expecting the
Lord to likewise sustain us in
His mercy. Others claim that
this is a means of emptying
our souls of hidden sins indi-
cating that man has it in his
hands to rid himself of all of
his sins which cling to his
soul.
• • •
Why is it that this cere-
mony is performed in the
late afternoon?
Rosh Hashanah is the birth-
day of the
By
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
day of man. Man was created
in the afternoon, and sinned,
and was forgiven in the late
afternoon. Thus we choose this
same time of day to seek our
forgiveness hoping that, just
as the first man was forgiven
at this time of day, so will we
be forgiven.
* * *
Why is the Biblical nar-
rative describing the birth
of the prophet Samuel read
on Rosh Hashanah?
It is claimed that the Al-
Copyright, 1959, JTA, Inc.
the mother of Samuel, and al-
lowed her to conceive on Rosh
Hashanah. The prophetic por-
tion of the first day of Rosh
Hashanah recounts her plea
and God's answer. We hope
that our pleas on this day
will likewise be answered af-
firmatively as was Hannah's.
Furthermore, Hannah's prayer
served as the model for the
regular system of prayer in
the Jewish tradition. Prayer
is one of the three cardinal
means of seeking forgiveness