Purely Commentary

Passover—Festival of Freedom, and of Spring

Passover always intrigues and enchants. It is
the one festival on which, families are reunited—
at the traditional Sedorim. It . is the holiday on
which- we rejoice over the emphasis placed in
Jewish life on the striving for liberty, for Israel
and for. all mankind. • • •
It also is the Spring Fettival on our calendar.
On the Passover Sabbath HaShirim—the
Song of Songs—is chanted:' - There also is the
tradition - of reading the Song of Songs after the
Seder ceremony.
The Song of Songs is the world's greatest love
poem. It is the matchless collection of hymns
glorifying nature.
From. "The Song of Songs—A New Transla-
tion, Study and Commentary," by Dr. Robert
Gordis, one of Jewry's most distinguished scholars,
we quote:

Who Is Like My Love?

In this brief duet, the maiden de-

scribes her charms in modest terms,
which the lover turns into a triumphant
praise of her beauty. She counters by
extolling his handsome presence, describ-
ing the joy she finds in his company

(2:1-3).

I am but a rose in Sharon,
A lily of the valleys.
The Youth:
As a lily among thorns,
So is my beloved among the
young women.
The Maiden:
As an apple-tree among trees of
the wood,
So is my love among the young
men.
Under its shadow I delight to sit,
And its fruit is sweet to my taste.
The Time of Singing Is Come
This lyric is perhaps the most beautiful
expression of love in the Spring to be
found in literature.
The city maiden, ensconced in her
house, sees her lover coming to her and
calling her to go out with him to the
countryside, so that they may greet the
Spring in all its loveliness (2:8-13).
Hark! my beloved! here he comes,
Leaping over the mountains, skipping
over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a
young hart;
Behold, he stands behind our wall,
Looking through the windows,
Peering through the lattices.
My beloved spoke, saying unto me:
"Rise up, my love, my fair one, and
come away.
For lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
The flowers have appeared on the
earth;
The time of singing is come,
And the voice of the turtle-dove is
heard in our land.
The fig-tree puts forth her green
fruits,
And the vines' in blossoms give
forth their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and
come away."

Federation Tackles Unemployment
Slomoritz Problems Through Local Agencies
with Allied Jewish Campaign Funds

By Philip

The Passover traditions include an affirmation
of responsibility to the economically less fortunate
members of our community. 'It is the Passover
obligation to make certain that every one who
is in need should be provided with his necessities
to help him glorify the Passover for himself and
his family. That's how the tradition of Mo'os
Hitim—of giving aid to the needy—arose at
Passover time.
The socially-minded were inspired with the
ideal that it is not enough to give of one's means
to aid the needy: that what is needed is to uproot
want and suffering. The great Yiddish writer,
Yehudah Leib Peretz, in one of his famous stories.
paraphrasing the Passover invitation—"Let all
who are hungry come and partake of our food"—
uttered the hope: "Let there be none needing
to enter." In that _famous humanitarian appeal
he wrote:

Soon it will be Passover. Please let
me be with you at your Seder. I shall
cost you very little; I do not eat dump-

Give me no bitter herbs; I was born
with them. Nor ask me to count the
plagues; I forgave the Egyptians long
ago. In any event, it is a fruitless bene-
diction; nobody has yet been stricken by
the written or printed plague.
Release me, too, from the "Pour out
thy wrath . . . " I am too young yet. Do
not poison my blood with vengeance. .
I hope for better times, and would not
wish to curse even an idolater.
And, because words are not deeds, I
do not even want to say "Next year in
Jerusalem."
In the meanwhile I would wish you
but this: During the year forget the
whole of the Four Questions and the
"We were slaves unto Pharaoh."
And, if you open the door and call
out in earnest, not in the language of
Laban and Aramean, "Let all those who
are hungry come in and eat thereof,"
then let none enter. Let there be none
needing to enter.

It is no wonder that Passover has captured the
imagination of non-Jews as well as Jews. It is no
wonder that the Passover idea has become part
not only of the Jewish tradition but also of
Christianity, in part of the Christian Easter ob-
servance.

"Passover is the Festival of Spring. Its hu-
man appeal, therefore, is as old as humanity,
and as perennial as Spring. But it is an histori-
cal festival—Israel's birthday—as the annual
commemoration of an event which has changed
the destines of mankind, that it proclaims the
man-redeeming truth, God is the God of Free-
dom. Even as in Egypt He espoused the cause
of brick-making helots against the mighty royal
oppressor, He for ever judgeth the world in
righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
There is an overruling Providence that exalts
righteousness and freedom and humbles the
Dominion of iniquity and oppression. This
teaching has been as a light unto the nations
of the Western world in their weary, age-long
warfare for liberty."

As the Jewish Welfare Fed- eats, in good times, would
eration of Detroit enters the have financed their educa-
second week of its annual drive tion, but are now co-signing
for funds for the Allied Jewish notes in their behalf.
Campaign, it has prepared a
Harold Silver, director of the
round-up of special services by Jewish Family and Children's
its member agencies in Detroit. Service, reports that unemploy-
The campaign supports 14 ment causes a decrease in some
Federation agencies in Detroit types of family problems. There
in addition to 41 national and are fewer desertions, Silver
overseas agencies. Twenty six said, because the husband just
thousand Detroit Jewish cit- doesn't have the money neces-
izens have averaged $5,000,000 sary to take himself off.
in contributions annually. The Philandering, which is costly,
also decreases.
campaign has 2,500 workers.
"Voluntary social work faces
Silver hastened to point out
a great paradox because just that his agency's waiting list is
at the time whe - i the trend of longer and case loads are
available income from the con- heavier than normal because
tributing public is down, need lack of money aggravates family
increases," said Isidore Sobel- difficulties.
off, executive vice president of
Sam Marcus, executive secre-
the Federation. "It is an appeal
Camp
to a man's idealism to ask him tary of the Federation's
the
Tamarack,
reports
that
to give more in a bad year."
camp is prepared for an in-

Sobeloff pointed out that creased demand for camper-
unemployment pies had some -ships this summer. "The She.
effect on all aspects of com- ruth League annually sends
munity service. The two Fed- about 30 children to camp and
eration agencies that have provides those children with
felt unemployment's effect summer clothing," Marcus said.
most directly are the Hebrew He predicts increased calls for
Free Loan Association and the Sheruth's help.
Jewish Vocational Service.
Sinai Hospital's Shiffman
Albert Cohen, executive di- Clinic reports that the clinic
rector of the Vocational Serv- is definitely serving many who
ice, reports that where most of would not be there in normal
the service's clients in normal conditions. It was emphasized that
times have problems that are the clinic is available to all who
particularly Jewish, such as cannot afford medical or dental
imperfect use • of English,or, help. The present ease load is 45
strict Sabbath observance:Ain't:: .Per .ccntakkikrO4fient Jew-
pinging on work_ schedules, now ish - arid - 2.rpeil.eittnOite Chris-
the Vocational - Service finds tian. Getting the patient to take
clients with lone records of advantage of medical care is
a problem common to the entire
continuous emplOyment.
"We have reluctantly placed medical profession, the clinic re-
some of these men on jobs ported.
"Because the Jewish com-
below their level of skill,"
Cohen said. Cohen also reports munity is organized we are able
an increase in the number to cope with the problem of
of women seeking employment. unemployment through the
The college scholarship pro- Federation agencies and thus
gram the Vocational Services avoid the costly crash program
supervises reports a large in- at the very time when funds
crease in the number of appli- are most desperately needed,"
Sobeloff said.
cants.
Mrs. Lily Abramovitz, secre-
tary of the Hebrew Free Loan Israel Cabinet Approvet
Association, is making more but
smaller loans than u s u al. Trade Agreements with
"Ordinarily we loan money to Yugoslavia, Finland
small business men who need to
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
buy stock, or fixtures, now we Cabinet
approved trade agree-
are making small loans to work- ments with Yugoslavia and Fin-
ing men to get them over land. The treaty with Finland
crisis," Mrs. Abramovitz said.
provides for the import by
Mrs. Abramovitz reports Israel of $8,500,000 worth of
that many loans are made to goods and the export to Finland
college students whose par- of $6,500,000 in Israeli products.

Seder Ritual of Remembrance

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Perform the Ritual
after the third of the
Four Ceremonial Cups,
just before the door is
opened for the symbolic
entrance of the Prophet
Elijah. All rise and the
leaders of the Seder
recite these texts in
Hebrew and in the
English translation:

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All sing ANI MAAMIN ("I Believe"),
the song of the martyrs in the ghettos and liquidation camps:

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for the Six Million Jews Who Perished
at the Hands of the Nazis, and for
the Heroes of the Ghetto Uprisings.

English rendition of the Hebrew:

On this night of the Seder we remember with reverence and
love the six millions of our people of the European exile-who perished
at the hands of a tyrant more wicked than the Pharaoh who enslaved
our fathers in Egypt. Come, said he to his minions, let us cut them off
from being a people that the name of Israel may be remembered no
more. And they slew the blameless and pure, men and women and
little ones, with vapors of poison and burned them with fire. But we
abstain from dwelling on the deeds of the evil ones lest we defame the
image of God in which man was-created.
the ghettos
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and camps of anniligiti*
thenfbefore they died.
sanctification of the ,Name, 'and - geW - Many
On the first day of Passover the remnants in the Ghetto of Warsaw
rose up against the adversary, even as in the days of Judah the
Maccabee. They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their
death they were not divided, and they brought redemption to the
name of Israel through all the world.

And from the depths of their affliction the martyrs lifted their
voices in a song of faith in the coming of the Messiah, when justice
and brotherhood will reign among men.

A-ni ma-a-min be-e-mu-no sh'le-mo
B'vi-as ha-mo-shi-ah, v'af al pi •
She-yis-ma-me-ha; im kol ze a-ni ma-a-in

. All sing ANI MAAMIM ("I Believe"),
the song of the martyrs in the ghettos and liquidation camps:

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I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah:
And though he tarry, none the less do I believe!

