THE JEWISH NEWS

CuRNE

uta. 1- (n.i NLiilir

Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951

Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, Nationai
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 Offic,. Detroit. Mich under act of Congress of March
;),

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Edit' r and Publisher

SIDNEY SHMARAK

Advertising Manager

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

Circulation Manager

• FRANK SIMONS

City Editor

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath. the twentieth day of. Heshvan.. 5720 ; the following Scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion. Va-Yera.. Gen. 18:1 - 22:24. Prophetical portion. II Kings 4:1-37.

Livia Benshen, Friday, Nov. 20. 4:49 p.m.

VOL. XXXVI. No. 12

Page Four

November 20, 1959

Book Fair—Major Community Function

Detroit Jewry's Annual Book Fair,
sponsored by the Jewish Community
Center, is one of the major cultural
functions here. The events to be held
this week-end, in the new Jewish Center
building, once again attest to the sincerity
of purpose with which the event is being
planned, the dignity that marks its nu-
merous programs and the basic under-
standing shown in the book exhibitions,
the programming and the encouragement
they give to authors and publishers.
Our Book Fairs have served the im-
portant purpose of stimulating the read-
ing of good books, of enrollment in the
Jewish Publication Society and the acqui-
sition thereby of the best works selected
by this Society as well as by other Jew-
ish publishers in this country.
*
*
Great stress has been placed in recent
years on questions relating to the need
for expanding our educational facilities,
on the importance of raising the stand-
ards of our cultural activities, and espe-
cially. on methods of enlisting the interest
of our youth in - the values of our sacred
heritage. _ . . .
Much has been said about indifference
to Jewish learning in our ranks and on
the necessity for strengthening those in-
struments which serve valuable functions
in the survival of the Jewish people. The
Book Fairs are valuable instruments in
this task.
"Learning — learning — learning:
that is the secret of Jewish survival,"
is the way the great Jewish. philoso-
pher, Ahad Ha-Am, succinctly de-
scribed our major obligation.
The Book Fair contributes to the pro-
gram of learning, and it is therefore a
major tool in our spiritual existence.

Thanksgiving

Our community is fortunate in the
high standards it has set in planning the
Book Fairs. Under able direction of a
dedicated Jewish Center staff, under good
leadership — currently under the able
chairmanship of Morris Garvett —the
Book Fairs have served such an eminent
purpose that they have assumed the roles
of festivals with constructive foundations.
This year's events again offer assur-
ance of a continued high level of pro-
gramming. Experiences of previous Book
Fairs serve as guarantees that this week-
end there will again be overflow audi-
ences at all of the current Book 'Fair's
functions
It is our hope that the successes of
other years will be surpassed during the
coming three days and that new records
will be set not only in audience participa-
tion but also in book purchases and the
encouragement that will thus be given
to authorS and publishers.
*
*
*
This year's Book Fair has an added
significance in the dedication of the
Henry Meyers Memorial Library, in trib-
ute to the departed leader.
A revered name in Detroit Jewish
history will thus be honored, and thereby
we will be enriched by the establishment
of another valuable library through whose
facilities more of our people will enrich
their knowledge of Jewish history, and
will become better informed on all mat-
ters relating to Jewry everywhere.
Thus, there are many causes for re-
joicing over the Book Fair's values. May
they continue to serve us well—now and
in the years to come.

•

Communal Gratitude

Shortly after his inauguration as Pres-•
ident, George Washington proclaimed a
national Thanksgiving Day and stated in
his message to All Americans:
"Whereas it is the duty of all nations
to acknowledge the Providence of Al-
mighty God, to' obey His will, to be grate-
ful for His benefits, and h umbly to
implore His protection and favor, I do
recognize and assign Thursday, the 26th
day of November next, to be devoted by
the people of these states Jo the service
of that great and glorious Being who is
the beneficent Author of all the good
that was, that is, or • will he." .
The tradition thus established remains
as a guide for Ainericans of all._faiths.
In adherence to this cherished tradi-
tion, all Americans, as a unit, will express
gratitudes for the bounties we enjoy, for
our privileges in this great land, for our
rights to worship as we see fit and to
share with our fellow-men the freedoms
that go with our religious and economic
advantages.
Israel's ancient harvest festivals; - es-
pecially the • thanksgiving spirit inherent
in Sukkot, left their mark on America
and inspired the traditions which we now
emulate in Thanksgiving.
In the Biblical tradition, when Moses
set forth the rules for the Feast of
Tabernacles, he explained the festival's
significance "because the Lord thy God
shall bless thee -in all thine ,increase and
in all the work of thine hands, and thou

inspire the entire people in a great com-
munal expression of gratitude for bless-
ing that are unmatched, so that they may
serve as an inspiration for all mankind
to emulate the great ideals that are in-
herent in this blessed land.

Another

UN Fiasco?

Once again, Israel offered, in the Un-
ited Nations, to negotiate a peace with the
Arabs. Once again, discussions aver mat-
ters related to the Middle East were con-
verted by Arab spokesmen into vitupera-
tions against Israel and threats of war up-
on the small Jewish state.
The immediate question under discus-
sion is that of the continuation of the
relief program for Arab refugees. It has
been suggested that most of the refugees
should be transferred to neighboring
lands and put to work on important proj-
ects, in order that they may eventually be-
come self-supporting. But the Arab poli-
ticians are bent upon perpetuating the
pariah status of the refugees, to use them
as tools in the struggle against Israel.
While the most recent debate is a
mere continuation of the senseless Arab
campaign to destroy Israel, the most dis-
turbing factor still is the indifference of
the world powers within the United Na-
tions to the poisonous propaganda that is
being spread by a group of its member
nations. The world organization was cue-
- ated. to aim for peace, but a stubborn
group within it continues to advocate war
against fellow-members in the tribunal.

Modern Medicine in Light of
Mosaic Law Viewed by Cann

A valuable study, "The Bible and Modern Medicine," by
Dr. Jacob B. Glenn, published by the Jewish Forum (305
B'way, N.Y. 7), appeared this week in pamphlet form as well
as a hard-cover book. It contains reprints of scholarly articles
by Dr. Glenn from the Jewish Forum.
Analyzing modern medicine hi the light of Mosaic Law,
Dr. Glenn places emphasis on "cleanliness of body and purity
of mind."
For decades, he says, the incidence of cancer in the male
organ was unknown among Jews, and he ascribes it to ritual
circumcision. He speaks of "purity of family life" as "the
foundation of an eternal people."
Shehitah is approved as "a sacred and cardinal Jewish
principle.','
Among the subjects covered by Dr. Glenn are mental
hygiene, health and morality, prayer, and meditation.
He offers a guide for every day living, based on principles
enunciated in Jewish laws.
Declaring that the Sabbath day, as engraved in the
Fourth Commandment, is "the very soul and the mainstay
of Judaism," Dr. Glenn. states that "the very basis of Sab-
bath is rest" which he describes as "essential and funda-
mental in the continuance of life itself."
Among the appended statements from physicians and rabbis
commending Dr. Glenn's articles are messages from Dr. Bela
Schick, Dr. Robert Gordis and others.

The Land and People of Israel'

"The Land and People of Israel," by Rachel Anne Rabino-
1,vicz, published by Macmillan (60 5th, N. Y. 11), as part of
"The Lands and Peoples Series", is popularly-priced and is a
small book of less than 100 pages. But it is packed full of so
much information that it will serve a real purpose in introducing
Israelis to their kinsmen.
Israel is depicted here as "a country full of fantastic
contrasts where young energetic men and women build a brave
new world against a rich historic setting."
The author ably describes the numerous nationality back-
grounds of the people now making up the new state. Tel Aviv
is called "Little New York." The charms of Haifa and the
Galilee, the farm . life in the kibbutz, the "paint and parchment
town" of Safad, Jerusalem and its people, the children, the
holiday celebrations—these and many more subjects are told
with zest and deep feeling.
Beersheba and its market days is among the topics included
in her descriptions. Life by the Dead Sea, the army, and the
schools are other subjects of interest.
A valuable appendix, giving important dates in Jewish and
Israeli history, vital statistics in Israel, non-Jews in Israel, the
Knesset and other facts, add to the merits of the book.

Dr. Silver's 'Messianic Speculation
,. • •
in Israel' Out-in Paperback Edition

"A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel," by Dr. Abba
Hillel Silver, first published by the Macmillan Co. in 1927, has
just been issued by Beacon Press in a paperback.
This history, which was hailed upon its original appearance
as one of the most scholarly reviews of the subject, deals with
Messianic speculation from the first through seventeenth
centuries.
A new eight-page preface to the Beacon edition adds many
valuable comments on the subject.
The objects of his study, as Rabbi Silver indicates in his
foreword, are "to trace the story of Messianic calculations in
Israel from the destruction to the Shabbetai Zebi movement, to
analyze their method and technique, to point to their historic
and also to disclose the consistent opposition to
, •