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TIPdrely'Cbhiffi
Commentary
Play
. . Larry Sherry ill Limelight
By HAROLD U. RIBALOW
Podres, Koufax, Williams, Mc- Larry's older brother Norman
Devitt. If Sherry starts, one of is a catcher with the Dodgers,
Now that the baseball fans them has to go to the bullpen. and while pitching to Norman,
are enjoying the start of the And that guy probably won't be Larry allowed the older fellow
as good a relief pitcher as
Caryl Chessman's struggle to escape execution at San Quen- 1960 pennant race, dozens of Sherry is." Nevertheless, Alston to slain two line drives off him.
14 tin prison has revived interest in, and has aroused new discus- sports magazines and column- is ready to give Larry his The next time around, Larry
aimed at Norman's head, a toss
ists are writing about the 1959
rcs sion of, Lex Talionis, the law of retaliation.
chance.
which sent Norman sprawling to
Many periodicals have carried feature articles linking capi- baseball heroes, and, of course,
Why. - does Sherry want to the ground. "Nobody's digging
,
tal punishment with the Biblical injunction of "Ayin takhas ayin, Larry Sherry • is one of the most
start? "It's not the dough. It's in against me," Larry said.
I shein takhas shein"—"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" dazzling.
,
t4 —and it has been interpreted as "a Mosaic law of a life for a
The new issue of "Baseball the arm. I. figure a starter, "Even if it's my brother, I'm
working - in regular rotation, going to brush him back."
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Stars
of 1960" (a Pyramid Book
life." Few ever . halt in their . references to Lex Talionis to
sticking-to
a schedule, can last
With such an attitude, Larry
edited
by
Ray
Robinson)
starts
z inquire as to the true Jewish interpretation of the "eye for an
an extra five years. In relief Sherry can go far as a starter.
to eye" injunction. The battle against capital punishthent loses its off with an essay on Larry by
you're jumping up and down And as the 1960 season unfolds,
0)
impetus by the failure of those who interpret the law of retalia- Arnold Hano. A recent issue of
all the time; you pitch two we'll see how he makes out in
the
Saturday
Evening
Post
Lion literally to acquaint themselves with the • true meaning
innings one day, six the next, a new role—starter for the team
carried
a
feature
on
him
by
Mil-
a7 ascribed to "ayin takhas ayin." In reality, Jewish law militates
you're off . a couple of days, he led to a world championship
against capital punishment. The interpretation of the Le x ton Gross, and Sports Illustrated
you pitch eight innings, you —in a relief role.
F-4 Talionis is that punishment shall be in the value of the loss of an ran an interview with him by pitch one out. And the better
eye or a tooth, such assessment to be set by qualified judges. Roy Terrell. All of them have
you pitch, the more they use
Pratts Return Home
One of the most learned articles on the Law of Retaliation, interesting material on the Jew- you. That can wear a man out.
W
ish
pitcher
who
helped
win
the
A commonly known as Lex Talionis, was written for the Universal
If. I was •30 I wouldn't care.
1959 World Series for the Los
W Jewish Encyclopedia by Dr. Julian Morgenstern, former presi- Angeles Dodgers. Roy Terrell's But I'm only 24 and I'd like to
dent of Hebrew Union College. In the opening paragraphs of
stick around up here kr a
Em, his scholarly essay, Prof. Morgenstern pointed out that this is a was the most timely, and here
long - time."
-
are
some
of
highlights
of
this
"law, or rather a legal principle, cited three times in the Penta-
interview.
Later, recalling the reputa-
teuch, each time in somewhat varying form, and usually referred
Larry came up to the Dodgers tion he earned for himself,
to by the phrase recurring in each of the three versions, 'an
eye, for an eye and a .tooth for a tooth'." He then proceeded to on the minimum major league Sherry said, "I got into a cab
in New York and the cabbie
show hOw Jewry has been harmed by misinterpretation of the salary of $7,500. This spring he looked at me and said, 'Hey,
signed
a
contract
for
twice
that
law, - and he stated:
ain't you that kid that was in
"This law . has acquired particular significance from the sum. So he knows his relief the Series?' That's pretty good,
fad that in one, and the most anti-Jewish, version of the Set- pitching was appreciated. But having some one recognize you
he wants to start, and manager
mon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38-42; entirely missing in Luke 6)
Walt Alston says, "I'll give in New York."
Jesus is- represented as saying, 'Ye have heard that it was said,
Arnold Hano, in his feature,
him
a chance. Beyond that, we'll
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you,
remarked that, in 1958, Sherry
Resist not him that is evil; but whosoever smiteth thee on thy just have to wait and see."
This is quite a concession for made five separate relief ap-
Returning to Israel aboard
right • cheek, turn to him the other also.' From this passage Alston, who has pointed out that pearances in the National
the S/S Zion of the Zim
Christian _theologians have inferred that the Lex Talionis is a
"I've already got six starting League and didn't retire a single Lines are SIMCHA PRATT,
cardinal principle of Judaism, and that Judaism must be there-
pitchers: Dr ysdal e, Craig, batter. A year later he won a former Consul General and
fore a religion. of vengeance, mechanical justice and cruelty,
$4,000 Corvette because he was Minister Plenipotentiary of
while, in significant contrast, Christianity is a religion of non-
the star of the World Series! He Israel in New York, and
resistance, forgiveness, love, and the higher justice that is
`so,' Not `AZOI'
was a grocery clerk for two MRS. PRATT. The veteran
tempered by mercy. This Christian interpretation of Judaism
years in the off-season, in 1957 Israeli diplomat and his wife
has--provided one of the most frequently treated themes of
and in 1958 — and a national arrived at Haifa April 19.
Jewish apologetics:
hero in 1959. That's what makes Pratt has been appointed
"Actually there is little direct evidence anyWhere in Jew-
baseball so fascinating a sport. director of the international
ish literature, even in the Bible itself, that the -Lex Talionis
Milton Gross observed, in the organizations division of the
was ever . applied in literal, mechanical manner to any case
Saturday Evening Post, that Israel Foreign Ministry which
whatsoever. The rabbis, conforming to established Pharisaic
Sherry's deSire to .win was so handles Israel's relations with
tradition, interpreted the Biblical _law in such manner as to
Dr. Joseph L. Baron, editor intense that he was the kind of the UN, and other global
permit a money payment as damages in every case where the
of "A Treasury of Jewish Quo- pitcher who'd throw the ball at agencies. His tour of duty in
Biblical law, literally applied, would have required some
tations," (published by Crown his Mother's head if it- meant the United States lasted 61/2
form of bodily mutilation comparable to that originally. in- and the Jewish Publication he'd win.- Of course,.. the .occa- years, the first four spent as
flicted by the offending person. But everi'More careful eXaniin- - Society, in a joint effort), makes sion ;could never arise. But Israel Consul in Chicago.
ation of the three Biblical passages in which the Lex Talionis an interesting comment on the
is cited shows conclusively that the formula, 'an eye for a discussion of the origin of
eye and a tooth for a tooth,' is not in a single one of the three
`'Wie es juedelt sich . . ."
Boris Smolt:Ws
passages an integral part of the main law under discussion,
The Jewish News Connenta- -
but is in every case a late addition to the law"
tor, in his review of Dr. Cecil
Dr. Morgenstern thereupon evaluated the three instances, Roth's "The Jews in the Renais-
and showed how the Lex Talionis has been misinterpreted, to sance" (Jewish Publication So-
the detriment of Jewry.
ciety), contended that Dr. Roth
In his Pentateuch and Haftorahs (in Exodus), the late was in error in saying that the
Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, showed proverb "wie es christelt sich
(Copyright, 1960,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
that the law of taliation, as interpreted and applied in Jewish so juedel sich" was of Yiddish
tradition, became "one of the most far-reaching in human prog- derivation.
The Anierican Scene .
ress," because "the literal application of 'eye for eye, tooth for
The American Jewish Committee, which is holding its 53rd
Thereupon, Nathan Ziprin,
tooth' was exclwlecl_ in-ll-alibinic Law."
editor of Seven Arts Feature annual conference this week-end, is developing. a strong cam-
In his commentary on Leviticus, Dr. Hertz wrote that "there Syndicate, expressed the view paign among Jews in this country against assimilation as well
is in Jewish history no instance of the law of retaliation ever that it is a Yiddish saying. On as against self-segregation . . . Dr. John Slawson, executive
having been carried out literally." He added that "to the Tal- the basis of Ziprin's letter, The vice-president of the organization, a leading theoretician on
mudists the Biblical words eye for eye had become a mere expres- Jewish News Commentator pur- American Jewish problems, finds that many Jews in this country
sion of the law of equality." Pointing to the contrary practices in sued the discussion, again main- are still uneasy in their relations with Christians . . . They
European and Asiatic systems of jurisprudence, Dr. Hertz wrote: taining that the saying stems see themselves beset by a three-fold risk . . . 1. The emotional
"On the one hand, Judaism, the so-called religion of 'strict from Heinrich Heine. Dr. Roth risk of being repulsed or even bruised . .. 2. The personal risk
justice,' rejected the literal application of the law of retaliation, also entered into the discussion, of inter-marriage . . . 3. The sociological risk of group extinction
and knew neither torture in legal procedure nor mutilation as but had nothing to add in clari- . . . This hampers their healthy integration into the life of
a legal punishment. In Christian lands, mutilation and torture are fication.
America and their self-acceptance as Jews . . . In a suburban
the indispensable accompaniments of justice from the middle
Dr. Baron, in a communica- city, part of the New York metropolitan area, where only 15
of the 13th century down to the end of the 18th to the middle tion to the J. N. Commenta- percent of the population is Jewish, half of them would like
of the 19th century and beyond."
tor, this week wrote as follows: to live in neighborhoods that are at least 50 percent Jewish .. .
These facts serve to prove how deep-rooted is Jewish oppo-
"The expression, Wie es :we- One-quarter would like to live in neighborhoods that are 75 per-
sition to capital punishment. In his discussion of Jewish court delt, so christelt sich, is given cent Jewish . . When asked whether they would like more
procedures, the great Christian Semitics and Talmudic scholar, in Zoozmann's Zitatenschatz as opportunity for contact with Christians, two out of 10 said
the late Prof. George Foot Moore, in his "Judaism," wrote:
a `pkedische Redensart.' If it "yes," two said "no," and six said they did not care . . . Dr.
"In the deliberations of judges, considerations tending to had been coined by Heine, or Slawson believes that Jewish self-segregation is due to an in-
acquittal were given precedence. The decision was by a ma-
any other specific author, Zooz- security not justified by the position the Jew enjoys in America
jority; a majority of one acquitted, but for conviction there mann would have given the today . . . On the other hand, he stressed that basic to sure-
must be a majority of at least two. Even when the condemned
footedness is an adequate knowledge of fundamentals of Juda-
exact reference.
man was on the way to the place of execution, if he or any
...."Ignaz Bernstein, in his Yid- ism . . . He reveals that 60 percent of the persons queried in the
one else had anything to offer in defense, he was recalled_ dish work, Juedische Sprich- suburban study said they should have knowledge of Judaism,
and the new evidence taken. Once acquitted, however, he could woerter and Redensarten. War- but most of them felt they did not have enough . . . The Ameri-
not a second time be put in jeopardy, whatever new evidence
saw 1908, No. 1843, gives it in can Jewish Committee leader advises American Jews to "go
against him might come to light.
Yiddish form, 'Me es christelt and learn" more about Judaism ... He takes issue with those who
"It is clear that with such a procedure conviction in sich, azoi yudelt sich;' but adds say "We are first Americans and then Jews," and points out
capital cases was next to impossible, and that this was the in-
the comment, `Meistens in that Christians never say "We are first Americans and then
tention of the framers of the rules is equally plain. The Mish-
Deutschlawl bekannt.' So it was Christian" . . . He urges an effective program of Jewish educa-
nah itself brands a court which executes one man in seven a popular Jewish adage in Ger- tion for self-understanding and self-respect . . • He cites the
years as ruinous. R. Eleazar ben Azariah said 'one in seventy
many, and therefore, most like- growth of the Jewish all-day schools, saying that they can no
years.' R. Tarfon and R. Akiba said, 'If we had been in the ly, had the German adverb 'so' longer be regarded as a minor institution.
4:
Sanhedrin, no man would ever have been put to death," on rather than its Yiddish counter-
which R. Simeon ben Gamaliel makes the obvious reflection, part 'azoi'."
Communal Affairs
'They would multiply murderers in Israel.' It should be ob-
Ziprin had maintained that
The Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds sent
served, however, that when the court was convinced of the
azoi rather than so was the ad- out a "crash" questiopnaire to a representative group of com-
guilt of the accused, though the evidence did not warrant his verb used in the expression. The munities to obtain a picture of the current fund-raising campaigns
conviction and execution, they might imprison him on bread
Jewish News Commentator dif- . .. Only one community reported a decrease of three percent
and water."
fered with him, and he is up- as compared with last year this time . . . Most communities
Such is Jewish law. It is not retaliatory, it condones neither held by Rabbi Baron. The state- reported increases of from nine to 13 percent and some even
taliation nor capital punishment. And if it were Jewish law ment just quoted from the higher . . . Increases from "big givers" were reported by several
which ruled California, the Chessman case would never be the author of the "Treasury of Jew- cities, with many others pinpointing the middle brackets as the
worldwide sensation it has turned into, and no one would be ish Quotations" is the closest sources of substantial gains . . . Los Angeles reported that
held up to contempt anywhere, as some who advocate capital we now have to arriving at the increases have come from the "middle large group" of $2,500
punishment are today in some quarters. Because capital punish- derivation of the proverb under to $10,000 contributors . . . Most people in this group have
ment, under Jewish tradition, would be completely ruled out.
discussion. P. S. increased their contributions by 15 to 20 percent.
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
True Interpretation of 'Lex Talionis': Capital
Punishment Impossible in Jewish Tradition
(Copyright, 1960,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
;
-
Dr. Baron's View
on Saying of `Wie
es Juedelt sich
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'Between You
...and Me'