Our Letter Box

'Questions Interpretation
of 'Separation' Idea in
Relation to the Yeshivah

Editor, The Jewish News:
I read with great interest your
editorial regarding the problem
of our local day school, Yeshivath
Beth Yehudah, and its struggle
for recognition by the Jewish
W elf a r e Federation. While I
agree wholeheartedly with your
view that negotiations should be
conducted in an intelligent,
rational and dignified manner .
I nevertheless am compelled to
take issue with several 'points
raised in your editorials.
You say that negotiations take
time—time that can hardly be
spared during the campaign
proper. But, may I humbly ask,
how much time should be allo-
cated to the study of the prob-
lem? You say that Yeshivah's
appeals haye been • heard for
nearly ten years. Should ten
years not have sufficed to famil-
iarize Federation with the prob-
lem? Has- the Yeshivah through
its Day School operation not dem-
onstrated to the community—and
not only the orthodox community
—how much more positive Jew-
ish education can be achieved the
benefits of which accrue not only
to parents and certain segments
of the community, but to the com-
munity at large through the edu-
cation and development of leader-
ship material? Yeshivath Beth
Yehudah has produced teachers,
professional and lay leaders in
impressive numbers who are pres-
ently serving our city as well as
other Jewish communities.. Whose
concern should it be that we are
assured the continued flow of
such leadership, a small group of
idealists, or the Jewish commu-
nity at large?
You are praising President
Kennedy's stand on church-state
separation. Every clear-thinking
citizen should agree on this
point. But, let us not forget that
Kennedy speaks for the country,
as a whole from a political-na-
tional point of view. Would' Ken-
nedy, in line with your argument,
suggest that the Catholic chari-
ties, supported by all Catholics in
the U. S., for example, cut off
their support from Catholic paro-
chial schools? I cannot conceive
_ of anyone reading such a mean-
ing into Kennedy's words. The
Catholic Church has its own ob-
ligations, aside from the national
governinent, and so does the Jew-
ish Welfare Fe
in
I *would 1' you to dis
al
article or edi
some fut
• results obtained y
some o
tudy n
the v: y exhaustiv
was • n-
Jewis Educatio
o. I ink
e
clud about
d o • ctive
as a indep
ou ye be-
rep er fo
in our
respe
corn nown

city, you owe it to your readers
to tell them what the study re-
vealed as far as Day School vs.
Afternoon . School education re-
sults are concerned.
HENRY CARLEBACH
Editor's Note: We hope Dr.
Carlebach is right_ about the "im-
pressive numbers" of teachers
and lay leaders produced by the
Yeshivah. If that were so, how
does it happen that these wonder-
ful products of the Yeshivah are
unable to come to its aid in an
hour of crisis? We would like to
see . these "great numbers" of
wonderful human material pro-
duce results that are needed to
give our community proper lead-
ership in advancing all our cul-
tural needs.
As to Dr. Carlebach's reference
to the ten years of negotiations
with Federation: what the pro-
longed talks over a period of a
decade prove is not that demons
are functioning at the Federation
office at 163 Madison, or that'
there is martyrdom at the Yeshi-
vah, but—very simply—that the
large community, as represented
by Federation, has not seen fit to
recognize Yeshivah as an educa-
tional arm to be added to the
functions of the recognized corn-
munity educational system. By
the same token, it serves to re-
mind us that Yeshivah has been
and remains outside the jurisdic-
tion of the Federation agencies,
and as such has been on its own,
with questionable status as a
group possessing the right to de-
mand communal support.
With reference to the Presi-
dent's position: of course, neither
President Kennedy nor any one
else would ask the Catholic chari-
ties to abandon aid for Catholic
parochial schools. Nor would the
Catholic hierarchy consider it
thinkable. How could it? It would
thus be cutting off its own right
arm, since the parochial schools
are an inseparable part of the
Catholic church. -
But the Jewish parochial school
is in no sense a part of the over-
all Jewish community. It is apart
of a segment—of the orthodox
community, functioning as an in-
dependent organization. In order
to be cut off from support, it
would have had- to be a part of
the group that is accused of cut-
ting it off—and that it is not.
There is no parallelism, there-
fore, in the question posed by
Dr. Carlebach.'
The relative merits of our edu-
cational system are irrelevant to
the issue at this point. The edu-
cational study. referred to was
discussed when it first was made
public. If the afternoon schools'
are less effective than the day
schools, then, if the overwhelm-
ing majority of Jews in our corn-
munity insists upon sending its
children to the American public
schools, we must strive constantly
to improve the effectiveness of
the afternoon schools. We believe
that the United Hebrew Schools
continuously strive to accomplish
that objective. If we do not suc-
ceed quickly, it will mean that

we must exert ourselves more
strenuously. But it presents an-
other problem, in an unrelated
field, divorced from the parochial
school issue. The parochial school,
if it is not to become a part of
the communally-supported family
of agencies, will thus remain_ the
responsibility of that section of
the community which claims it as
its necessity.

* * *
Rabbi Donin Takes
`Sharp Issue' on
`Community' Meaning

Editor, The Jewish News:
As a rabbi in this community,
I feel compelled to take -sharp
issue with much of what was said
and implied in the "Purely Com-
mentary" column of the Jewish
News of March 17.
The Commentator questions
Beth Yehudah's use of the term
"community." .. .
Yes, indeed, let us define com-
munity! Is only that a part of the
Jewish community which becomes
an affiliated agency of thes•Fed-
eration or to which the Federa-
tion decide to extend financial
support? The Commentator seems
to make such an implication. Just
because Federation does not sup-
port some ins
at instit
therefore
y th
unity enter-
tion is
a co
prise? nly if o defines Jew
unity as being syno .
co
Federation — a
ich is entire
I question u
odox commu
a-
ere a distin, sh
eon
to entity, w
lems
separated f om the
ty . . .
the Jewish comm
ish corn-
ere is only a
odies within
ity, which
t segments and
it
di
th secular and re-
bodi ,
ligious nature.
If the Commentator is correct
in his notion that there truly
exists an orthodox community dis-
tinguishable from the rest of the
community, then he should logi-
cally suggest that they organize a
Welfare Federation of their own
in order to express their support
of Israel and take care of what-
ever local needs they deem im-
portant. I for one could never
justify such an approach as I
don't think in terms of a divided
community but rather in terms
of a united Jewish community.
Federation may be the Jewish
community's central organization
for collecting and.-allocating funds
for many needs—both local and
overseas: But it doesn't' follow
that Federation policy necessarily
represents the will of the Com-
munity on each and every issue.
It may or may not. No poll of
community sentiment is ever
taken. We don't challenge the
system. It cannot be otherwise,
perhaps. But we do question
improper conclusions that are
drawn.
NOR AMEN
The exclusion of Day Schools
HOME
on principle from Allied Jewish
1607 South Lafayette
Royal Oak
Campaign support for the last
Across from Detroit Zoo
ten years is no argument in the
24 Hour Nursing Care
Take All Medical Cases
least against being included in
LI 8-6644
the future. No wrong is commit-
ted when a long overdue correc-
tion is made. It does seem rather
silly to give the Beth Yehudah
Elect
schools $70 per child support for
those attending their afternoon
school, while denying that very
same support to the child who
es his religious instruction
y school hours. (No
eing • sought to pro-
funds or
secular education
vide for
'ld receives at the
which
Those in Federa-
Day
e Day School idea
do
st rationalize quite
e such a position
il aafpliar lo 1.
e C mentator holds the
idea . to be "sacred",
eparati
Election — Ap 1.3rd
nd t
therefore, he "cannot
"substitute for the public
accep ,
system as a communal ob-
sch
20 YEARS' EXPERIENCE AS TRAFFIC COURT R
ion." If by "communal" he
li
HEARING AND DETERMINING OVER 100,000
eant the general community,

.

then I too could agree. Belief in
"separation" implies that the
general community should sup-
port nothing but the public school
system financially. Other systems
should resort to private sources,
meaning non - governmental
sources. If by "communal" he
meant however the Jewish com-
munity—and the context so im-
plies — then the comparison
makes no sense at all.
. . . What are we trying
to separate from what — a
Jewish Day School from the
Jewish community? AncLif most
Day Schools today happen to be
adminitered by o r t h o d o x
people—it is only because these
people realized the need.
such schools decades a
nd
got involved in such s
ols at
a time when most her ele-
inents were still pr oting Sun-
day Schools as t
solution
Jewish education
America.
I am glad tha the Gammen-
tator- brought th •ssue out into
the open. Perha
a thorough,
analysis of all t
issues in-
volved is in order,
may begin to shed more light
than heat on the subject.
RABBI HAYIM DONIN
Congregation Bnai David

COMMON PL

JUD

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•

7

ANDREW C.

00

(Letters relating to the issue
involving Yeshivath Beth Yehu-
d'ah's re quest for Federation
funds for support of its day
school, covering the same points
as those incorporated in the
above two messages, also were re-
ceived by The Jewish News from
Hadassah Prew, Joseph Spitzer,
Joel C. Harris, Gerald Werner
and Abe Kasle. Werner is a
Yeshivah Day School graduate.
Kasle, who also sends a copy of
an appeal in behalf of the Yeshi-
vah he addressed to Max Fisher,
pr esident of Federation, on
March 3, states:' "My feeling is
that the blame is entirely with
the
lion, as no school
o
in the middle
o a semester
ardless of who
pays for it. A
ation of this
type isnot am
r of right or
orig,
on of dignity
a
r
selves as well
thers.")

Drawing by

Saul

Raskin

f the Chomitz--Grandpa
search an' -
The memories of Passovers
e horseradish and th horachis—putting on the
poking around the kitchen,
—pockets full of h el nuts nd almonds—anxiously
new suit of clothes an
ie w always late—the whole
start—Uncle Joe and Au
waiting for the Sed
the low on the chair beside
andpa looking It a lc-
family together
ut ' a Malcha" my queen, he
ired after ba ing
him—Grand
a Nish h" and the answer given
tur
e Kiddush a he
called her
out ove III ' irst half he Hagadah almost over-
with Gran 's voice rin
ys "strong"—all were corn-
even the ter herbs t d so good - as er it was
tied egg and salt water—and
get the ha
uld
pelted to t it otherwi
er than Grandma—we ate—and
dy, ould coo
I—nobody, but
then the
Hagadah—and some more cups of
ate and th the "Benche " nd the rest of
ries of how in the old country someone
opening of t e door—and th
wine—and
hat door—but best ea the songs with
frightened th hole family by appearin
nd—and
the feeling-of drowsiness—content-
alf of the Hagadah
which the seco
the same thing once more
ht that tomo
ment—and the

MEYER H. ROBINSON

MantschewItz Wlne Company, New York N. Y.

for the Manischewitz family
of traditional Passover wines

