tv'i Detroit's First Communal Talmud Torah Program Outlined for Annual By IRVING I. KATZ Book Fair at Center, Nov. 21-23 The history of Jewish educa- tion in Detroit goes back to 1850 when Temple Beth El Michigan's first Jewish congre- gation, was founded by 12 immi- grant German-Jewish families, during the period known • i in American Jewish history as "the second wave of immigration from Germany" (The first wave of immigration was fromSpain). From 1850 to 1869 Beth El conducted a "Hebrew-German- English School," an All-Day School where the children re- ceived their secular as well as religious education. In 1869, the All-Day School was discontinued and a congregational religious school opened, first meeting HYMAN BUCHHALTER twice weekly after public school hours and on Saturday and Sun- Hebrew language and literature, day and later oh Sunday morn- Jewish history and religion ings only. Today Temple Beth among the young." El conducts its religious school The first sessions of the on Saturday and Sunday morn- school were held at a modest ings. cottage on Division Street. A Congregation Shaarey Zedek, lot was soon purchased at 94 organized in 1861, also con- Division, corner Beaubien, and ducted for a number of years a beautiful brick building was an All-Day School. In the 1870s. erected. The school consisted however, this school was dis- of class rooms, assembly hall continued and the children were and library. The principal con- sent to the public schools for tributors to the building were their secular education and to Mrs. Kate Roth, $3,000; Samuel private Hebrew teachers for N. Ginsburg, $1,500; .the Daugh- their Hebrew instruction. ters of Zion (Ladies Auxiliary When Rabbi Aaron M. of the Talmud Torah, organized Ashinsky came to Detroit in April 5, 1899), $614; David W. 1889 as spiritual leader of Simons, $400; and Abraham Congregations Shaarey Zedek, Jacobs, $300. Beth Israel and Beth Jacob, In addition to the Tal- a Cheder (Hebrew school) mud Torah, which was ex- was opened. clusively for boys, a co-educa- In 1880 Detroit had a popu- tional Sunday School was lation of 116,340 which included opened. The Sunday School 665 Jews. In the next 20 years of Congregation Shaarey the Jewish population rose to Zedek amalgamated with this 5,000 due principally to the in- Sunday School. flux of East European Jews who The first principal of the fled the Russian pogroms. By. Division Street Talmud Torah 1900 Detroit had five Orthodox was Dr. Jacob B. Baruch (father congregations (Shaarey Zedek, of Theodore Baruch), an or- Bnai Israel, Beth Jacob, Beth dained rabbi and one of the David and Beth Abraham), and earliest Jewish physicians in one Reform Temple (Beth El.) Detroit. The first president of In March, 1897, the Orthodox the Talmud Torah was Samuel Jewish community of Detroit, N. Ginsburg (grandfather of principally the members of Mrs. Julian H. Krolik); an im- Shaarey Zedek, joined forces migrant from Poland and one and opened the first modern of the most prominent Jews of Communal Talmud Torah. This Detroit at that time. afternoon daily Hebrew school According to filo, American started out under the name of Jewish Year Book for 1899- "Talmud Torah Institute" but 1900, there were 150 pupils in was referred to also as "Hebrew the Talmud' Torah and 300 in Free School," "City Talmud the Sunday School. The schools Torah" and "Big Talmud Tor- were supported by 125 con- ah". The name by which it is tributing . members and by the best remembered is "The Di- Daughters of Zion of which vision Street Talmud Torah" Mrs. Joseph Rosenzweig was because it was located all the first President. The annual through its existence on Divi- budget of the schools was sion Street. $3,500, which included a Trade According to the Jewish School Department for boys, American, Detroit's first Eng- Sessions in the Talmud Torah lish-Jewish weekly published were held daily for three hours, from 1901 to 1910, the object beginning at 4 p.m. The .Daugh- of the Talmud Torah was "to ters of Zion served food to the disseminate knowledge of the children during the winter • Top Speakers at Scientific Parley Several distnguished leaders O'Meara, of the . U.S. Interior I of science and industry will ad- Department's office of saline dress the second annual Con- water. ference on Science and Indus- Sponsored by the American try for Israel and the Middle Technion Society, which sup- East, to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1, ports the Haifa Institute of in New York. Technology (Technion), the con- - Among the principal speakers ference will be attended by del. will be Jacob Mazer, chairman egates from all parts • of the of Hudson Pulp and Paper country: Corp.; David Deitz, science ed- Papers will be delivered and itor of the Scripps-Howard news- will be :made :available--to the papers; Jacob Sensibar, world- conference:to further :the tech- famed engineer who drained nological development of Israel the Huleh marshes; and J. W. and her .neighbors. • Mazer Deitz O'Meara Sensibar DR. JACOB B. BARUCH season and refreshments during the summer season. The teachers in the Talmud Torah, besides Dr. Baruch, were A. Buch and J. Blumen- thal. The Sunday School staff, all volunteers, consisted of Bella Goldman, who was named principal of the Sunday School in 1900, Mary Goldman, S. Simon, J. Levinson, J. Harris, Mary Buchhalter and Dina Ben- jamin. The officers and directors of the schools in 1900 were Samuel N. Ginsburg, president; J. Gold- stein, vice-president; Hyman Buchhalter, secretary; William. Saulson, Simon Lewis, David W. Simons, J. Goldman, J. Mayer, Michael David, J. Bluinenthal, J. P. Rosenthal, Abraham Jac- obs and J. Harris, directors. In 1909 the Hebrew School of Congregation Shaarey Zedek and the Division Street Talmud Torah amalgamated and Rabbi Abraham M. Hersh man, spiritual leader of Shaarey Zedek, became the new principal of the Division Street Talmud Torah. One of the many innovations intro- duced by Rabbi Hershman was to make the Talmud Torah co-educational. Hyman Buchhalter (father of Mrs. Joseph H. Ehrlich), who was known as an able educator and scholar, succeeded Rabbi Hershman as principal of the Division Street Talniud Torah. His daughter, Miriam Buch- halter, succeeded Bella Gold- man as principal of the Sunday School. The Division Street Talmud Torah continued until 1920 when it merged with the United Hebrew Schools which were established in 1919. Among the lay leaders, be- sides those already mentioned, who were active in the work of the Division Street Talmud Torah, were: Moses Blumrosen, I. L. Cheinman, Jacob Fried- berg, Miriam Ginsburg, Samuel Goldstein, Louis Granet, Morris Harris, Harris Kaplan, Mrs. Sol Kaufnian, Abbe Keidan, Aaron Klein, Michael. Krell, Mrs. Is- rael Lieberman, Max Lieber- man, J. H. Levitt, Samuel Rosenthal, Emanuel Schloss, Mrs. Henry Stearns,. Julius Steinberg, Joseph W etsman, Mrs. H. Wilkinson. The eighth annual J e w i s h *M o n d a y evening, for • those Book Fair, sponsored by th e interested in advancing their Jewish Community Center, wil 1 creative writing skills with spe- for the first time use the ex cial reference to preparing panded resources of the Cen materials of Jewish interest. ter's new main building a t Many booths and special 18100 Meyers. exhibits will be permanent The Book Fair will open o n attractions. They Include a Saturday evening, Nov. 21, an d book-binding exhibit, an ex- continue through Monday night libit of children's book illus- Nov. 23. trations, exhibits of the Jew- Morris Garvett,• Detroit attor ish Braille Society, the Jewish ney and former Center pres Publication Societ y, an ex- , ideht, again is Book Fair chair hibit - of books on Jewish art man. Meyer Schreiber, Cente r and theater, a music booth, a- director, is Book Fair coordina gift shop, exhibits illustrating tor. Mrs. David Babitch is pro the newest in Jewish litera- gram aide on the Center staff ture for children, teens and Five special programs will be adults, and many others. offered. The art department will spon- At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, sor an exhibit of illustrations the Ceter's drama depart- of Marc Chagall lithographs ment will present a revival of illustrating the Old Testament. the play "A Tale of Cheim" Jewish Parents Institute will from the popular "World of release the third edition 'of its ShoIem Aleichem" in the JPI cookbook, to be sold at the Aaron De Roy Theater. A Book Fair. ' noted author will be the main The Older Adult "J ewiSh speaker of the evening. Folklore Time," a series of Sunday will be family day. cultural programs, w ill spot- Special assemblies of metropol- light "Afternoons with Jewish itan and religious school stu- Books" throughout Nociember, dents will tour the Fair. in honor of the Book Fair. Assembly for grades 5-7 will Entries are still being feature a well-known speaker accepted for the Teme Skully discussing "Vitality of Books." essay contest and the Poster A second session will be • held and Literary cont est s, con- for grades 8-10. ducted in connection with the The program, in cooperation Book Fair. with the Sunday School Direc- Teme Skully essays, 500-1,500 tor's Council, will f ea t u r e a words in length, dealing with a puppet show and folk singing. Jewish theme, or a story or Center children's groups will poem with Jewish content, must present special programs a be submitted, postmarked by month before Book Fair, and Oct. 9. First prize is $200; sec- will tour the exhibits at the ond prize is $100. All Jewish Fair in groups, on Sunday after- youth,' 16 to 22, may enter. noon, Nov. 22. Mildred Berry The literary and poster con- will present periodic puppet tests are conducted in three age shows, to . be -repeated Monday levels: elementary (under 10); at 4 and 5 p.m. Stories will be intermediate (11-14), and ad- read to small groups of chil- vanced (15-18), except that dren and a film on Israel, for there is no elementary division children, will be shown. There in the literary contest. Posters will be a talk for parents on may be on any subject consist- choosing children's books. ent with Book Fair purposes. Sunday evening will be Essays must deal with or be inspired by a book of Jewish Yiddish-Hebrew nigh t. An- interest or by a Jewish author. other Sunday evening feature will be a Center cinema film Cash and books will be given as prizes. Deadline is Oct. 23. presentation of "The Golem" with Moishe Haar, principal of Sholem Aleichem School, Appeal for Release as discussion leader. "A Tale of Six in Romania of Chelm" will also be re- JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Six lo- peated Sunday night. cal employees of the Israel le- A workshop for resources - for gation in Bucharest—four Jews literature, for junior and and two non-Jews—were ar- senior high school literature rested by Romanian authori- teachers, to acquaint them with ties, between December; 1958 the large materials available and March of this year, the among Jewish writers of the Foreign Ministry reported. past and present, will be held The non-Jews have already Sunday evening. been released but have not re- Ladies' Day will be Monday, turned to work at the legation, Nov. 23, when an "Author while four Jews—one man and Meets the Critic"' debate will three women—are still under be the highlight of the program. arrest, the official communique Men's Night on Monday eve- stated. ning will feature a major lit- An appeal for world-wide erary figure as principal protest • against the arrests and speaker. other anti-Jewish actions by A second workshop, "Jewish Romania was made in Tel Aviv Characters in Search of an by the 'Association of Ro- Author," will be conducted on manian immigrants in Israel. Service Group Mission Meets Detroiters in Israel The Detroit Service Group presently visiting Israel on a study _mission, met informally last week with former residents of Detroit now living in Israel at a special get-together. in Tel Aviv, sponsored by the Associa- tion of - Americans and Cana- diariS in iirael. - David Crohn, assistant vice- president of the PaleStine Eco- nomic Corp., who was host for the former Detroiters, reported to the visitors that there were approximately 60 families from their home town now residing in Israel. Among those present were Herbert Hordes and Allen Fein- berg and their families, foun ders and directors of Israel's first and only supermarkets; Mrs. Estelle Polishuk whose husband Asher is an optome- trist; Mrs. Sara Kaminker, a retired resident; Miss Pnina Rapaport, a teacher; Avraham Salter of Kibbutz Ein Dor, and Dr. Benjamin Bar Moshe, a vet- erinarian at Kibbutz Ein Dor; Mr. and Mrs. David Ben Nach- urn, teachers; Sanford Gold- berg, an accountant; and many others. Irwin I. Cohn, who is leading the DSG tour, indicated that he was remaining in Israel a few more days and expressed the desire to visit with some of these families at their homes to learn at first hand more about how Americans adjust to life in Israel. Murray Greenfield, executive director of the Association, sug- gested that members of the study mission become overseas members' of the association and in 'this way cOntinne to re- ceive first hand - information on Americans in Israel and their activities. He also informed the visitors that there are 6,000 Americans and Canadians living in Israel, approximately 1,000 in agricul- ture on 19 Kibbutzim and Mosh- avim and 4,500 in the cities and towns from the Galilee to the Negev, working in industry, science, education, government, the arts, business and social services. - Some 500 retired persons live in Israel on pensions from the United States.