Purely Commentar
'Womait of Valor-The Story of Henrietta Szold'
Hadassah has grown from a handful of 40 women who met
under the guidance of Henrietta Szold, in the vestry room of Temple
Emanu-El, New York, on Feb. 24, 1912, to its present forceful
organization that numbers more than 600,000. The organization's
motto was suggested by the late Dr. Israel Friedlaender. It is:
"The healing of the 'daughter of my people," and is derived from
"Arukat Bat Ami" in Jeremiah.
It was the genius of Henrietta Szold that brought this great
movement into being. Now the life .story of Miss Szold, compiled
into an inspired book, 'Women of Valor=- The Story of Henrietta
Szold," by Irving Fineman, published by Simon and Schuster,
serves to enthuse the hundreds of thousands who honor the great
leader's legacy to continued efforts for the healing of peoples-
non-Jews and Jews alike—in Israel.
Fineman's full length biography of Miss Szold is based on
many documents—on her personal notes that formed a sort of a
HENRIETTA SZOLD
-
Personal Account
By Philip
of Great Woman Who
Slomovitz
Founded Hadassah
Henrietta Szold especially earned fame by her efforts in behalf
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
of the Jewish children in 'Germany, for whom she began to create
(Copyright, .1961,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency; Inc.)
a haven immediately after the assumption of power by Hitler. It
According to legend, Jacob
was thanks to her vision that Youth Aliyah became the great res-
cue activity for children.
was the first to observe Sukkot.
She went to Germany and was an eye-witness to the barbari- The lives of Abraham and Isaac
ties and the insults that were hurled at Jews. Her heart broke, the were suffused with a tran-
parents' anxieties plagued her, and she returned to Palestine to
redouble her rescue activities. She went back to the United States quility not shared by Jacob.
to plead for funds and secured the cooperation of Jewry's leaders. His brother Esau was his
Meanwhile she also had her say' in protest against British inter- father's pride, enjoyed • the
ference with Jewish reconstruction programs in Palestine and she prerogatives of the first born.
condemned the encouragement the British in Palestine gave to His brother Esau caught the
Arab hooligans who were instigating pogroms against defenseless venison.
Jews. Nevertheless, she continued to participate in the' Berit
Jacob finally was forced to
Shalom movement that was aimed at creating a binational state flee from Esau, fearful that his
of Arabs and Jews in Palestine. She incurred disfavor by aligning brother would murder him.
herself with Dr. J. L. Magnes and others in this movement, and Uncle Laban gave him refuge,
she in turn criticized Zionist leaders and differed with. Chaim but even his dear uncle played
Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion even on the question of parti- a mean trick on him, substi-
tion. She died before Israel became a State and it would have tuting on the wedding night
been interesting to know how she would have explained her Lea for his beloved Rachel, and
Bent Shalom affiliation after viewing the- actions of the Arab Jacob was forced to do an addi-
states upon the emergence of Israel.
tional seven-year stint to get
"Woman of Valor" has great merit as an evalution of a great .Rachel.
woman's personal as well as public• life. Irving . Fineman per-
Fearful, still afraid of being
formed unusually well in delving into all availabe records during murdered, although now 14
his search for material about Henrietta Szold. There are some minor years had passed, he lay down
flaws in the book and some omissions. For instance, there was in the open. In a dream,
he
carelessness in omitting the,first name of Dr. Isaac Rubinow, the
distinguished executive who preceded Miss Szold as director of_ saw a ladder on which angels
Hadassah activities in Jerusalem. The omission of the name of went up and down. He wrestled
Louis Lipsky from the index, although he is referred to several with the angels -and won their
times in the book, also is regrettable. Fineman should not have blessing.
A Sukkah also takes one sub-
failed to give the first names of David and Tamar deSola _ Pool,
who are listed in the book. He makes no mention of Dr. Emanuel stantially out in the open. We
Neumann, who was Miss Szold's associate in the education depart- go camping, as it were, in the
ment of the Zionist Organization of America. Also missing is the Sukkot • week. The covering of
name of Dr. Reuben Katznelson of Jerusalem who was associated the Succah, according to rab-
binic rule, must not be such
with Miss Szold in Hadassah functions. _
There are references to many distinguished American leaders, as to exclude the sight of the
non-Jews as well as Jews, in the sincere effort made by the biog- stars. There is no locked door
rapher to make his story as complete as possible. Thus, he gives to the Sukkah. If in a' Sukkah,
an interesting ,account of Miss Szold's meeting in her home in Jeru- you can easily see any angels,
salem, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah of 1942, with the late Wendell should they come near; and if
_
they wish, they can talk to you.
"Woman of Valor" is an important book. It has immeasurable The light covering of the
value as part of American and world Jewish history as` well as Sukkah will not muffle their
for Hadassah and the Zionist movement.
voices.
diary, on her many letters and her • speeches, some of which were
never delivered but the texts served to express her opinions on
major Jewish issues.
She was less than five when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
Her father, the distinguished Rabbi Benjamin Szold, had a pulpit
in Baltimore, Henrietta's birthplace. Henrietta remembered that Ruins of Synagogue,
day. She remembered many other days, some of them, like those
f the death 'of two younger .sisters, • and later sad occasions, left 2,200-Years-Old,
eir marks upon her by their tragedies.
*
Urfcovered in Rome--
She learned much from her father, and • was influenced by her
ROME, (JTA)—The remains
cinother's strength of character, and from both , she acquired piety, of a monumental'. synagogue
and Jewish devotion.
building, believed to date back
As a young woman, she began to write for Jewish periodi-
to between the fifth and second
-cars. She was a good student, taught - school with skill, an able centuries before the CommOn
translator, and when she became editor of the Jewish Publica- Era, have been..uncovered dur-
•tion Society she perfected the:translation of Heinrich Graetz's ing ,excavations near Ostia An-
History of Jews," did other translations from the German, tica, the harbor of a n c i e n t
„edited the Year Books, wrote many historical articles and be- Rome.
'. came an important factor in Jewish cultural circles. ..
The new findings unearthed
In her young womanhood she settled in New York, studied at
the Jewish Theological Seminary, became deeply attached to some the most ancient Jewish monu-
of the most distinguished scholars of the time—Solomon Schechter, ment in the world after the
Isseel Friedlaender, Alexander Marx, Judah L. Magnes, Cyrus Adler wailing wall fragment of the
and many others. It was then, while she was assisting a young Temple in Jerusalem destroyed
scholar in his translations and the books he was publishing, that by the Emperor Titus.
Officials of the Rome Jewish
she fell in love with him: He was 14 years her junior. She gave all
her devotion to him, to his work, to his research. They met often community immediately estab-
and she hoped to hear him propose. Then came a day when he lished contacts with competent
informed her that he was engaged to a much younger girl. It was Italian authorities to cooperate
shock that nearly ruined her life. She continued to edit his works in the excavations.
and to assist in his translations; and her - trip to Palestine finally
Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff said
brought her to the realization that the sad episode in her life that "unearthing of this monu-
had ended.
ment will have an inestimable
Then began- her great love for Palestine and the Zionist idea moral value and will provoke
to which she had already been attached from the days of her youth- deep echoes in the Jewish com-
ful activities :in Baltimore. Out of these interests grew her desire munities of the world."
to form a women's Zionist organization, with the result that Hadas-
Doubts that the remains be-
sah emerged' as her great creative effort.
longed to a synagogue were dis-
For nearly half a century she propagated the Zionist pelled when fragments of a
- cause, and her ideological interpretations stand out in all their white marble beam were un-
brilliance today as they did 50 years ago. Her biographer did covered having at each end a
a perfect job in his review of the significant lecture she sculptured menorah, s h of a r,
delivered in February 1916 in the People's Institute at Cooper ethrog and .lulay. The beam pre-
Union on the subject qZiohism: A Progressive and Democratic . sumably stood on marble col-
Movement." The arguments she advanced then are valid today. umns and constituted the front
'It was a brilliant evaluation of a great humanitarian movement,
part of the Holy Ark.
and if delivered today it would be equally applicable to Jewish • The building apparently had
needs and aspirations.
been large enough to contain a
congregation of 500 people. At
the left side of the main en-
trance were traces of smaller
rooms, probably used for relig-
ious study.
Israel to Participate
in Peruvian Trade Fair
NEW YORK, (JTA)-----Israel
will Participate in a 'trade fair
-in So u th" America' for the first
time next month.
An exhibition of Israeli knit-
wear, thod products and reli-
gious items will be featured
at an international trade fair in
Henrietta Szold and the late Wendell Winkle, shown at Iima, Peru, the Israel ,Trade
their meeting at Miss Szold's home in Jerusalem on the eve Commissioner's office in the
of Rosh Hashanah, 1942.
U.S. announced. •
Sukkot Observed
First by Jacob
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
...and Me'
ei t 1961,
newish TeT7ry
e ari
p c Age n cy,
inc.)
American Trends
Are Americans who have higher education inclined to be less
discriminating against Jews than those who have no college educa-
tion? . A study on this subject, completed by the American
Jewish Committee under the direction of Prof. 'Charles Stember, of
Rutgers University, reveals that when asked whether they would
vote for a well-qualified Jewish candidate for President of the
United States nominated by the party of their choice, 82 percent
of persons with college education replied in the affirmative . . . The
pereentage was less among persons with grammar school or high
school education . . . Catholics were less prejudiced than Protes-
tants on voting for a Jew as candidate for President . . . Persons
who voted for either candidate in the 1956 Presidential electiOns
were about equally receptive to the possibility of a Jewish candi-
date for Presidency—more so than those who abstained . . . The
study established that when the question of anti-Jewish discrimina-
tion is put in broad, general terms, the educated do not show more
interest or concern than the uneducated • . . Discrimination as a
matter of policy or institutional practice is less acceptable to the
educated than to the less educated . . . However, the educated
favor discrimination more than the uneducated do where personal
feelings are -at issue, specifically in the matter of employment . . .
Social class and income level do not have a uniform effect on
on anti-Jewish discrimination . . . Most frequently, high status is
associated with a high level of prejudice . . . The educated are
slightly more likely to accept Jews as guests in the home than
the less educated . . . They are also more likely than others to send
their children to colleges which 'admit students on the basis of
merit, without quotas for Jews .
Behind the Scene
•
An important report on the Arab refugee question seems to be
under suspicion even before its contents are made public . . . The
suspicion emanates from the fact that the author of this report,
Dr. John H. Davis, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees, has seen fit to give in outline of this
document to the Arabs but notto Israel . . . Is Dr. Davis biased
against,Israel? . . . Was it proper for him to discuss the report
with leaders of the Arab League in Cairo before submitting it to
the U.N.? . . . These questions are being asked now in _UN
circles . . . It is known that throughout his tenure of office, Or
Davis has never made any direct contact with the Israeli government
. . . In the light of this attitude, some UN members are puzzled
as to why the UNRWA director has seen fit to fly all the way to
Cairo and consult the Secretary General of the Arab League ... It
has been noticed that Dr. Davis, in his report last year to the United
Nations, displayed a tendency to accept the Arab arguments without
any criticism . . . Later, at the World Refugee Year conference
in Geneva, he delivered a speech. which was interpreted to mean
that he is identifying himself with the Arab views on the Palestine
refugee issue . . ',Since the issue is going to be exploited strongly
by the Arabs at this session of the UN Assembly, the Davis report
assumes this year much greater importance than last year . .•