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 HARVEY ZUCKERBERG Advertising Manager Business Manager City Editor Passover Scriptural Selections Pentateuchal portions: First Day, Saturday, Ex.. 12:21-51, NU712. 28:16-25; Second Day, Sunday, Lev. 22:26-23:44, Num. 28:16-25. Prophetical portions: Saturday, Joshua 5:2-6:1, Sunday, II Kings 23:1-9; 21-25. Licht Benshen, Friday, March 31, 6:39 p.m. VOL. XXXIX. No. 5 Page Four March 31, 1961 Passover—Emphasis on Human Dignity Passover has an inspiration unmatched by any other festival. The oldest on our calendar, this Festival of Freedom is observed in the spirit instilled in the Mishna: "In all generations, one should regard the Exodus as one's own experience." Thus it becomes not only the festival of an entire people but also of each individual member of the observing people. The freedoms of the group and the individual thus are interlinked. When a person is determined to preserve his liberties, there is greater assurance that the group will have equal guarantee that its. rights will be retained. Passover is the festival of human dignity. We learn this lesson, too, from the Mishna, where we are taught: "Even the poorest Jew, a recipient of charity, must, on the eve of Passover, eat only in a reclining position, as a mark of freedom, and drink no less than four cups of wine." This- is not legend: it is reality. It is part of a great tradition that has helped to keep Jewry alive during the most trying periods in our people's history. Passover bids us to remember the past, never to forget that our ancestors once were enslaved, that they were strangers in a strange land. Therefore the festival teaches us—and we pass this on to our children and children's children—to be hos- pitable and kindly to strangers, to despise slavery and to battle against it, whether it affects us or our neighbors. That's the lesson of Passover: the command to strive for human dignity and to demand it for all mankind, so that there should be no exception to the rule when seek- ing freedoms for- ourselves: In Jewish tradition, the dignity of human behav- ior assumed the status of sanctity. That is why slav- ery came to be abhorred, and when a man was will- ing to accept bondage as a way of solving his eco- nomic problem he be- came despised and was condemned in the eyes of the Jewish society in the midst of which he lived. The ancient Hebraic tradition of freeing the slaves after seven years of service stems from the love for freedom that found its emphasis in the Passover story. Inheritance of the Pass- over spirit as a guide to- wards libertarian aspira- tions stems from the great role played by Pass- over as the home festival. Young and old derive their joys and inspira- tions from the lesson of liberty taught by the Fes- tival of Freedom. This festival serves to Unify families, to mold them together in dedica- tion to the idea of justice,- and to hold aloft the ban- ners of highest idealist inherent in mankind's striving to destroy all fet- ters' and all semblances of servility. It is not for Jewry alone that Passover em- phasizes the libertarian appeal. It is in its uni- versality that the holi- d a y assumes immense proportions. It is in this spirit that we rejoice on Passover, that we go to the Seder table with the -determina- tion to hold on to our freedoms, to labor to the end that those in want should receive the sup- port that is due to hu- man b eings, so that liberty, proclaimed in our traditions, should be- come the heritage of all peoples. Time for Communal Dedication We are in the midst of a great campaign aimed at assuring the continuation of all communal services and uninterrupted aid to needy overseas and assistance to those who must escape from their present homes to find haven in Israel. The Allied Jewish Campaign currently appeals to us to provide the large sums that are needed to assure that the proper support will be given to the more than 50 agencies that are to benefit from the drive. As we prepare to participate in the Passover Sed- orim, it is urgent that we should take into account our responsibilities. While rejoicing over the idea of freedom inherent in Passover, let us take into account the duty of each one of us to make liberty a reality also for those who do not now possess it. And while striving to provide the necessary relief for the dispossessed and humiliated in many lands, through the United Jewish Appeal—the major beneficiary of the Allied Jewish Campaign—let us remember the lesson of Passover, which admonishes us to be aware of our status as Jews. Awareness of our position involves acceptance of duties towards our schools, towards _the health and recreational services—the Community Center and Sinai Hospital; to the older people in the Home of the Aged; to the national agencies which serve us through their educational, health and recreational planning. Let there be a new dedication to our major fund- raising effort—the Allied Jewish Campaign—as we com- mence - the observance of Passover, and let us make a reality of our declarations that we seek freedom, knowl- edge and security for all.