Editorial
Freedom
Must Be
Sacred Term
Freedom can be a much
abused term. We are in the
habit of " using it in its
noblest connotations, as a
guide to the highest prin-
tiples in human relation-
ships. But where -there is
freedom for the noble,
there also can be liberty
for the scoundrel. That is --
why the cause of liberty
and justice ever remains on
the agenda of humanity,
whose spokesmen must
guide the people against - -
the abuses that often be- -
cloud our noblest , aspira-
tions.
On Passover, we repeat
the story of the Exodus.
We narrate again the tale
of a people's revolt against
oppression. And we do it
consciously, with an aware-
ness that what we will re-
cite at. the. Sedorim has
been recited time and again,
_every year of our lives. But
we do it willingly, joyously,
with an awareness . that in
order to retain' Freedom,
we must constantly keep it
in view.
* * *
This repetition is neces-
sary for the sake of our
children. It .is only among
the uninformed, among
those who do not know how
to interpret the _Haggadah,
and who therefore do not
recite it properly, that there
is a lack of acceptance of
its deep-rooted lesson in
libertarianism.
From time to time, we
are witnesses to abuses of
freedom. They were in evi-
dence among anti-Semites
who utilized the right to
freedom of speech to resort
to the basest tactics akin
to • Nazism.
It is because "freedom"
can thus be thwarted that
those who know its full
meaning, that those who
have struggled for it, should
be prepared to defend it.
* * *
Passover bids us remem-
ber the ideals that are in-
herent in our heritage of
freedom. .
Often, peOple who should
be in the forefront in the
fight to protect their heri-
tage are too ready to aban-
don their inheritance, to
throw away their rights by
hesitating to speak up for
them. -
Passover's lesson to us is
to remember the heritage
of freedom, to defend it, to
adhere to it, to remain a
part of that great tradition
which symbolizes the Festi-
val of Freedom.
* * *
When we recite the "Re-
membrance Service" in
commemoration of the War-
saw Ghetto Uprising, at the
Sedorim, it is not in trepi-
dation but by resolving that
there should never be a
yielding to panic.
The Festival of Freedom
calls for courage, and it is
in a spirit of dignity and
of determination that we
foresee the strengthening of
the forces of liberty as we
exchange the -traditional
holiday greetings.
:
.
,
.
THE JEWISH NEWS
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 •
SIDNEY SHMARAK
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
Advertising Manager
FRANK SIMONS
Circulation Manager
City Editor
Sabbath Hagadol -Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, -the ninth day of Nissan, the following - Scriptural selections will be read in our "synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Tzav, Lev. 6:1-8:36; Prophetical portion, Malachi . 3:4-24.
Licht Benshen, Friday, April 8, 6:47 p.m.
FaSt of First-Horn, Monday
Passover Scriptural Selections
•
Pentateuchal portions: First Day of Passover, TuesdaY, Ex. 12:21-51, Nuni. 28:16-25; Second Day of Passover, Wednes4-
day, Lev. 22:26-23:24, Num. 28: 46-25. Prophetical portions: Tuesday, Joshua 3:5-7; 5:2-6:1; 6:2-7; Wednesday, II Kings .:
23:1-9; 21:25. -
.
VOL. XXXVII. No. 6
Page Four
April 8, 1960
The. Passover Seder: Poetic Beauty of Ancient Melodies
There- is rejoicing in Jewish households throughout the world: Wherever there are - Jews—and there
always will be Jews wherever there will be democracy and freedom that have their roots in the traditions
-stemming from Passover and the ancient Hebraic struggle- for freedom — there are preparations for the
Festival of Freedom. It is an occasion for joy because it revives so- many sacred and happy memories, be:.
cause the Passover is marked by so many valued traditions.
The great German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine, in "The Rabbi of Bacharach," thus evaluated the
Seder's poetic beauty:
"Sad yet exulting, earnest yet playful, filled with a mighty - truth, yet graced with poetic fancy, is thg
character of the Passover Eve festival; and the traditional chant with which the head of the family intones the
Haggadah, accompanied by the choral respoifse of those around him, is peculiarly touching. It thrills the heart
as though.one.-heard the lilt of some sweet lullaby. Even those Jews who have fallen away from the faith of
their fathers in.their mad pursuit of other joys and other glories, are moved to the very depths of their being,
when by chance they hear again the old Passover melodies once so dear to them."
These enchantments are as valid today as they were when. Heine wrote "The Rabbi of Bacharach"
nearly a century and a half ago. It is the poetic beauty of the Seder that has - helped cement Jewish family
loyalties and -to strengthen the values and the lessons of the great Festival of Freedom. May it continue to
bring joy to all households and may the Seder usher in a Happy Passover for all.