THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
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
8, 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
SIDNEY SHMARAK CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Advertising Manager
Circulation Manager
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the seventh day of Tammuz, 5720, the following Scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Hukkat, Num. 19:1-22:1. Prophetical portion, Judges 11:1-33.
Licht Benshen, Friday, July 1, 7:53 p.
VOL. XXXVII. No. 18
Page Four
July 1, 1960
Independence Day. Dedication to Freedom
On Monday, for the first time in the great New York metropolis with its
appeals.
Independence Day celebrations, we will venomous
We have no doubt that the handful
be saluting a new flag— with 50 stars, of people who are operating within the
representing that many states, in a great shadows of our Nation's Capitol and the
Union that is dedicated to justice and to White House will remain a minority and
equality for all men of all faiths, regard- that their appeals to hatred will be met
with contempt.
less of the color of their skins.
But there is never complete assur-
At a time when there are warnings
of an impending struggle for power be- ance that the American ideals will sur-
tween the white and the colored • races, vive, as long as there is even a single
this country remains the meeting ground voice among us that advocates hatred and
for all. We have a problem involving dissension.
Independence Day is a time for re-
integration, and there still are among us
many—far too many—who are segrega- examination of our responsibilities to-
tionists. But their number is declining, wards the perpetuation of the ideas that
and the day is not far off when the were embodied in the Bill of Rights.
This is a time for reaffirmation of
American principle of total equality will
the
basic
freedoms that spell American-
be dominant among us.
Nevertheless, there still are bigots in ism. By reaffirming our determined will
our midst. There even exists a small group never to falter in the struggle for freedom
— small as it may be — that calls itself and justice and to remain dedicated to
"the American Nazi party," and the mem- the basic American principles, we can
bers of this party even had chosen Inde- best celebrate the great events marked
pendence Day as the time for invading by Independence Day.
Greater Emphasis Needed on Talmudic Studies?
- Is the Talmud, as "a repository of
Jewish law," being abandoned in Jewish
schools? Is the rejection of Talmudic
studies emerging as a "tragedy" in Jew-
ish life?
A statement on the subject by the
eminent Biblical and Talmudic scholar,
Prof. Harry M. Orlinsky, brings these
questions up again for public review.
In the course of his review of Rabbi
Menahem M. Kasher's "Encyclopedia of
Biblical Interpretation," Dr. Orlinsky
makes these comments:
The reviewer places especial emphasis on
studies of this material because he has
become increasingly convinced that the study
of the rabbinic interpretation of the Bible,
far more than the study of the Bible per se,
is basic for the :correct understanding of
Judaism. After all, the Bible proper is the
: product of a people who lived for over a
thousand years in a land more or less its
own, surrounded and influenced by Western
Asiatic civilizations of the second and first
millenia B.C.E. But when this people went
into exile, after 70 C.E., its new status and
environments made it necessary for it to
alter radically the laws and mores by which
it had lived previously. Biblical laws were
modified, or given up altogether, or supple-
mented. The Palestinian and Babylonian
Talmuds replaced the Bible de jure, if not
de facto. Oral law, no less than Holy Writ,
was given by God at the revelation on Mount
Sinai; halakhah le-Mosheh mi-Sinai is the
way the Rabbis put it. Consequently, the
Bible lived on in the chequered career of
the Jewish people as meaningful authority
insofar as it served their needs and interests.
In other words, it is the rabbinic interpreta-
tion of the Bible—not the Ancient Near
Eastern and archeological—that is decisive
for the understanding of diaspora Judaism.
Great is the tragedy, therefore, that so
little emphasis is laid nowadays on the Tal-
mud and similar diaspora Jewish creations.
It is bad enough that Toynbee suppressed
in his ten-volume work all reference to the
Talmud, and so could downgrade the Jewish
people in the diaspora as quite uncreative.
But the increasing ideological and practical
rejection of halakhah as binding in Jewish
life has resulted in a corresponding lack of
desire—if not in actual antipathy—to study
it altogether, even historically. More and
more the Talmud is being rejected as a
repository of Jewish law. In its place the
Bible is being glorified and idealized—or
should one say, idolized—beyond all reason
and fact. In Israel, the Bible Quiz is the
rage, and it is more important—and profit-
able—to know the names of the two women
who married Egyptians (Lev. 24.10-11 and I
Chron. 2.34-35 give the—quite unimportant,
in one case, even uncertain!—answers) than
to be able to understand how and when—
in short, why—biblical laws and customs
underwent change in the biblical, tannaitic or
amoraic periods; or why the book of Esther
became part of Sacred Scripture while the
book of Judith did not; or why God should
have limited to the prophets, the last one
in the Persian period, the alleged ability to
predict the future, and would not make
contact directly also with Tannaim, or
Amoraim, or Gaonim, or the Rabbis and
scholars who came to succeed them.
Patterns of Ethics in America
Today' Authored by 6 Scholars
Six noted scholars are the participants in a notable book
evaluating ethical thoughts and concepts. Published under the
title "Patterns of Ethics in America Today," the volume was
published by the Institute for Religious and Social Studies, 3080
Broadway, New York 27, and is being distributed by Harper
& Bros.
Edited by Dr. F. Ernest Johnson, professor emeritus of
education at Teachers College of Columbia University, the
essays contain the addresses delivered in the symposium con-
ducted by the Institute for Religious and Social Studies of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America. It appears as a Jacob
Ziskind Memorial publication and as part of the Religion and
Civilization Series.
The six scholars whose thoughts are incorporated in this
volume and their subjects are:
Rabbi Max J. Routtenberg, "Ethics of Judaism"; Lyman
Bryson, late professor emeritus of education at Teachers College,
Columbia University, "Rational Ethics"; Joseph P. Fitzpatrick,
S.J., associate professor of sociology, Fordham University, "Eth-
ics of Roman Catholicism"; Jerome Nathanson, administrative
leader of the N. Y. Society for Ethical Culture, "The Ethical
Culture Movement"; Walter G. Muelder, Dean and professor of
social ethics, Boston University School of Theology, "Ethical
Frontiers"; A. T. Mollegen, professor of New Testament lang-
uages and literature, Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary
in Virginia, "Ethics of Protestantism."
As the editor indicates in his introduction, "straightforward
individual presentations of disputed positions" are in . evidence
in all of the essays, and the symposium therefore has resulted
in a most informative and enlightening evaluation of the
various ethical concepts.
The Judeo-Christian ideals are evaluated by the participants,
and the book serves to clarify concepts of religion and ethics
and their teachings in our contemporary life in this country.
It is not the first time that this edu-
cational problem has arisen. When Jew-
ish activities were centralized in ghettoes
and in the Russian Pale of Settlement
(Cherta Ossiedlosti), when there were re-
strictions upon - Jewish enrolees in col-
leges and universities, and when the em-
phasis in Jewish life was, understandably,
upon Jewish studies, the Talmud took
precedence over secular and other
courses as a subject for deep study.
But in those days the Bible, too, was
known, studied, understood and was the
basis for Jewish learning. Today, with a
lessening of Jewish studies, it is not only
the Talmud but the Bible as well that
is little known and is being "shelved."
Dr. Orlinsky speaks, of course, of re-
tention of interest in the Talmud as a
major part of Jewish scholarship. On that
score, it is impossible to disagree with
him. A greater interest in the Talmud is
certain to be accompanied by a retention
of devotion also to Biblical studies and to
related subjects, and the appeal of the
eminent teacher is logical and timely.
Prof. Orlinsky's appeal for renewed
study of rabbinic interpretation of the
Bible need not end there. We have no
doubt that he is equally concerned with
the necessity for extended Jewish studies
in other fields. A knowledge of history
as well as of the Bible and the Talmud,
an understanding of rabbinic interpreta-
tions of the Bible as "decisive for the
understanding of diaspora Judaism,"
form a combined curriculum that should
be considered compulsory for those en-
tering the Jewish teaching profession.
Naturally, they are necessities for rabbis.
And if those who teach will possess such
foundations for Jewish scholarship, per-
haps there will be hope also for the stu-
dents to acquire smatterings of knowl-
edge about such basic Jewish subjects.
If that could be accomplished, Dr. Or-
linsky's plea will not have fallen on deaf
ears.
.
Illustrated Israel Guide and
Hand-Book Fills Valued Need
All who seek information about Israel now can secure a.
very handy reference book. "The Illustrated Guide and Hand-
Book of Israel," edited by Benjamin Cohen, published by Barkai,
& Jarrett (111 W. 27th, N.Y. 1), contains the major facts one
would want to know abo/kt the Jewish State.
It is especially valuable, of course, for tourists, but it
is not limited in its approach to travelers. Richly illustrated,
this 183-page book, with a complete index and a list of travel,
bureaus, contains facts about the Israel government system, its'
health services, its Holy Places, its population and the many,
elements that compose it, its flora and fauna, its stamps and
coins.
As means of properly guiding the reader, this hand - book .
starts with an historical analysis of Israel's emergence. It
describes the country's geography, lists the temperatures of
various areas, the precipitation of rainfall and the climate of
various areas.
Forms of settlements, immigration facts, the functions of
the religious communities, the flowers, animals, reptiles and
types of trees in the land are enumerated.
Under "System of Government," the book describes the
coins, stamps and the flag of Israel; as well as the judiciary, the
political parties, the leading Knesset members, and Israel de-
fense forces.
Special chapters are devoted to the national economy, com-
munications, health and social services and the educational
agencies.
By listing the shrines and holy places and the museums
and national galleries, this guide book serves a special pur-
pose for the tourist.
The holidays in Israel are listed, and there are many direc-
tories of hotels and restaurants that will be helpful.
Some of the organizational listings apparently are paid
advertisements in the book. Some may interpret that as a
deterrent, but since many guide books carry paid ads, this fact
should not be held against this fine book.
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