Purely Commentary
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Biblical Factors in 'Comfortable Words'
Random House has reason to be proud of "Comfortable Words"
by Bergen Evans. Truly a "modern guidepost to the use of .easy,
simple and colorful English," as the subtitle on the jacket refers
to this perfectly wonderful book, it enlightens and entertains, and
it serves another good purpose: one can pick it up and read the
reference to one or several words and thereby be charmed and
better informed. Some of the sections even read like short narra-
tives.
Having gained fame among millions of television viewers
with his program "The Last Word," the author is known as an
authority on good English usage. A native of Ohio,'. his childhood
was spent in England, where his father held a U.S. consular post.
He studied at Ohio's Miami University and at Oxford, where he
earned his Ph.D., and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University
in England. Since 1932 he has been professor of English at North-
western University.
This is the background of the man who has compiled a vol-
ume of fascinating explanations to provide us with "comfortable
words." Dr. Bergen has chosen the title of his book from Richard
II: "Uncle; for God's sake, speak comfortable words", and his
selections of topics have been made as a result of more than a
million letters asking questions about the English language, re-
ceived by him in response to his tv show.
A remarkable factor in "Comfortable Words" is the frequent
reference by Dr. Evans to Biblical terms in tracing origins of words
and their correct usage. In his consideration of the use of "And"
as a conjunction — as in "And the Lord spake unto Moses" —
and in his emphasis on the demand for clear and short sentences
— he explains that it • is a matter of punctuation, and of how
closely the writer wishes to associate two thoughts; that the use of
"And" is not "as new a thing as most protestors seem to think,"
and adds: "Reading the Bible must bring them close to apoplexy,
since it must be the commonest form of punctuation therein."
He calls attention to the derivation of "the apple of the eye"
from Deuteronomy xxxii:10, where we read that the Lord kept
Israel "as the apple of his eye"; "and in Proverbs we are en-
joined to keep God's law as the apple of our eye." He asks "why
an apple rather than any other fruit," and explains that "the
older meaning of apple was almost any fruit," and he admonishes
the reader that "nowhere does the Bible say that the fruit of the
forbidden tree which Adam and Eve ate was the apple!" (Indeed,
the Bible — see Genesis iii:2 — speaks of "the fruit of the tree"
and not of an apple tree).
In view of the impending publication of the revised Jewish
Publication Society's translation of the Bible and the appearance
of both Catholic and Protestant revised translations of the Bible,
Dr. Evans' comments on the use of "that and who" has interesting
relevance at this time. He states: . .
"Many people prefer WHO to THAT when the reference is
to a person . . . Many are even. concerned about God's identity —
or, - ignoring certain implications in the Book of Job, want to
insist that He, too, is a human being. Twentieth-century translations
of the Bible are likely to read 'Our Father who art in h'eaven'
in place of the old 'which art in heaven.' The Authorized Revision
of 1885 had it 'that art in heaven.' There is more real piety and
humility in 'that' and 'which' than the insisters on 'who' will
ever be able to imagine,".
About the term "So long" we - are told: "There have been
attempts to trace so long, as a formula of farewell, to the Arabic
salaam and the Hebrew shalom :–But the best explanation seems
to be that it is merely a shortening of. `So long as we're apart,
good luck.' Walt Whitman used it as early as 1860, but it is
probably not of American origin: Olive Schreiner used it in South
Africa sometime before 1878."
. As to tW skin of my teeth, Prof. Evans explains: "In the
King James Version of the Bible; Job, lamenting the evil plight
into which he has fallen, says (xix:20): 'my bone cleaveth to my
skin and to my flesh; and I am escaped with the skin of my
teeth.' The Revised Standard Version has: 'by the skin of my teeth.'
The New American Catholic edition has: 'my bone hath cleaved to
my skin, and nothing but lips are left about my teeth.' "
When you are begging the question: "It is the petitio princ-
ipii of the logicians. For example, the afflictions of Job, as told
in the Bible, led him to question whether there was a moral order
in the universe."
Posing the question: "Can 'either side of the street' mean
both sides or must it mean one side or the. other?", Dr. Evans
answers: "It has the meaning of 'each, or both, or two' in the
Bible: And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat
either of them on his throne (II Chronicles 18:9)."
"The handwriting on the wall," taken from the fifth chapter
of the Book of Daniel, results in a discuss-ion of the meaning of
the warning in the enigmatic words MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN. "Scholars are agreed," Dr. Evans states, that the
words literally mean either 'numbered, numbered, weighed, and
divisions' or 'a mina, a mina, a shekel, and half-mina.'" He
describes "handwriting on the wall" as. "a metaphorical term far
a prophetic warning of certain doom, a-- definite indication. of
retribution and destruction."
The terms "mosaic" and "Mosaic" are interpreted as meaning,
respectively, a design or picture made of pieces of glass or stone,
and the reference to the Prophet Moses, and Dr. Evans adds:
"Since Moses' name is particularly connected with the Ten Com-
mandments and since one of these forbids (by Jewish and Mo-
hammedan interpretation at least) the making of any likeness of
anything whatever, whether it be a thing of heaven, earth, or
water, the preservation of the distinction between Mosaic and
mosaic is obligatory. Few capital letters have more significance
than this M."
Interpretations and sources of scapegoat, the seventh heaven,
shibboleth, and many„. other, ,terms receive interesting treatment
in "Comfortable WordS."
"Ne se, bigot!" is among the very interesting items in Prof.
Evans' book. We are told that it applies to anyone who refuses to
share our prejudices, that in its history it has meant a hypocrite
to anyone not sharing a speaker's views, that: "If the speaker
approves, the bigot is, of course, anything from 'a man of high
principles' to a saint." Its origin seems to have been "an early
prommciation of `by God,' " and was first applied to Normans
who were either devout or profane, "probably the latter." ,`"`For
centuries," Dr. Evans states, "the English were known in France.
as `goddams.' The story (told by Wace, a 12th-century chronicler)
is that when Rollo, a Norman baron, was required to kiss the
foot of King Charles the Simple, as an act of homage, he roared
Biblical Derivation of
English Terms ... Saga
of Pinhas Rutenberg
By Philip Edward Kennedy
Slomovitz
Ignores Israeli
Commies' Shouts
`Ne se, by got' ('Not I, by God!') and the phrase was applied
to all his mutinous, truculent, blasphemous countrymen."
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Pro-
Dr. Evans also comments on "the silver cord" which comes
from the Bible and states: "The sixth verse of the 12th chapter Western students at the Hebrew
of Ecclesiastes speaks of the last days of life, just before death: University tangled with Commu-
`Or ever the' silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl be broken.' nist students when Edward M.
Most scholars think this is a reference to a lamp; it is by a silver Kennedy, brother of President
cord that the golden bowl of the lamp of life is suspended. and Kennedy, arrived at the campus
when the cord is loosed the lamp falls and is shattered and the to address the students.
President Kennedy's youngest
light extinguished. The transference to the idea of a mother-so'n
attachment, its modern meaning, was due to Sidney Howard's brother ended a two-day informal
adopting the biblical phrase as a title for a play (1926) in which visit to Israel
a widowed mother's love for her sons leads her to interfere with with his ap-
pear a nc eat
their marriages and almost destroys them."
Interpretations of "Fabian tactics," the item "What is a the university.
Fifth columnist?", the use of "forgotten" and "forgot" in the A small Com-
Psalms, the origin of "the fourth estate," and scores of other vital munist group
of students
and interesting terms enrich this splendid book.
Commenting on the elimination of unnecessary words, Prof. greeted h i m
with shouts of
Evans asserts that:
"As long as we are human beings—gabby, sociable, preferring "Kennedy, Go
rhythm to exact meaning and dawdling our ineffident lives away Home," while
—we will continue to use idiomatic rather than precise or logical they waved
ant i - Ameri-
speech."
Although it is irrelevant to the book and its significance, it c a n placards.
is worth noting that English is, today, the major language used Kennedy gave
by the overwhelming majority of the Jews throughout the world. them a quick
There was a time when it was Yiddish. Now Yiddish and Hebrew glance and
are the second languages to English, French being third — more went into the
than a million Jews from North African countries speaking the university aud- E. M. Kennedy
language. In view of this interesting historical development, the itorium where he was applauded.
perfection of English usage, through volumes like Bergen Evans'
Outside, the pro-Western stu-
"Comfortable Words," assumes the role of a textbook for all of us. dents scuffled with the Commu-
And because Dr. Evans refers so interestingly to Biblical sources, nists, shouting them down, pull-
his book gains even greater significance. "Comfortable Words" ing away their placards. The
becomes a cherished possession for all book lovers.
visitor was booked for a small
auditorium but the crowd was so
large officials opened the larger
Pinhas Rutenberg's Pioneering Ventures
While the name of Pinhas Rutenberg is linked primarily with hall which was also inadequate
the Rutenberg Concession for electrification and road-building in for the overflow crowd.
He hailed Israel's contribution
Palestine, during the British Mandatory powers early years, it
should not be forgotten that this distinguished personality was one to the development of African
of the first advocates of a Jewish Legion to participate in the libera- nations, declaring that when he
tion of Palestine during World War I and was the first to propose visited Africa, "I saw the tre-
mendous importance of Israel to
the formation of a World Jewish Congress.
Rutenberg's manifold activities come to light anew on the I so many of the new nations."
occasion of the 20th anniversary of his death, which occurred He said admiration for Israel
was shared by all Americans, de-
on March 1, 1941.
He began his career as a revolutionary in Russia, but when he scribing it as a friendship
witnessed the pogroms during the first world war, he abandoned "rooted in a common philos-
his Socialist dreams and turned to Zionism, to which he was a ophy." Later he conferred with
stranger, and, in a pamphlet entitled "The National Revival of the Prime Minister Ben-Gurion for
Jewish People," which he issued in the United States in 1915, he 90 minutes.
confessed his assimilationist errors and emphasized his realization
Moscow Sees U.S.-Israel
that the freeing of. Jews from oppression must precede mankind's
"Plot' in Kennedy's Visit
liberation.
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Mos-
Rutenberg was an associate of Father Gapon in the historic cow Radio's Arab language lis-
and abortive leadership of the Russian masses, who sought to pre- teners are being told that the
sent a petition to the Russian Czar, in St. Petersburg, Jan. 9, 1905, recent visit to Israel by Presi-
for the freeing of the Russian peasants from their economic serf- dent Kennedy's brother Edward,
dom. He remained in the revolutionary ranks, and it was not until was part of an American-Israeli
the tragedies imposed upon Jews during World War I that he began "plot" to "infiltrate the young
to labor for Jewish rights. He was among the first, as early as 1915, African countries."
to plead that Jewish rights in Palestine should be considered at the
An Arab-language Moscow
Peace Conference.
Radio broadcast, monitored
Thus, he began to advocate the formation of a Jewish Congress here. said that the younger Ken-
—and the idea was accepted with favor by the sponsors of the nedy's speech in Jerusalem last
Congress—Mr. Justice Louis D. Brandeis, Stephen S. Wise, Judge week—in which he said that
Julian W. Mack and others. It was during the early years of the emerging African nations might
first world conflict that he met Itzhak Ben-Zvi and David Ben- follow the example set by Israel
Gurion. He urged the formation of a Jewish Legion to prove that —was part of a U.S. master plan
Jews can fight for their rights.
"to enslave the young African
Rutenberg's fame began to spread when he secured the con- states." The broadcast charged
cession from the British Mandatory Power for the construction of that Israel's programs of econo-
roads in Palestine from Tiberias to Semakh and for the harnessing mic aid to African countries is
of the Jordan and Yarmuk waters for the generation of electricity. being provided at the behest of
An eminent engineer, his ability to fulfill these tasks was widely the U.S. for "political aims."
recognized. He came to the United States to raise funds for his
"Washington's calculations in-
electrification projects, and while the scheme was fought in the clude putting the African coun-
British House of Lords and in the House of Commons, it became tries in a state of economics sub-
one of the great antecedents of modern scientific and industrial servience to Israel," said the
progress in the Jewish State of Israel. Winston Churchill defended broadcast. "This is the way
the Rutenberg Concession in a speech in Commons; July 4, 1922, American-Israeli cooperation de-
stating that upon its acceptance hinged the Parliament's confidence velops in this region. It is clear
in his Cabinet.
why Kennedy praised Israel. It
"Palestine Airways," the first Palestinian airline, the Tel Aviv is difficult for the United States
port and other pioneering works in Eretz Israel owe their emergence to find a more suitable instru-
to Rutenberg's sponsorship and encouragement. In other matters ment thas Israel to carry out its
he was an eccentric, but in practical achievements he was a great imperialist schemes in Africa.
engineer and a distinguished pioneer who helped lay the foundation Israel has been named the Im-
perialists' obedient puppet."
for Israel's statehood.
50 Traditional Institutes Get Accreditation
A listing of more than 50 tra-
ditional institutions that have
already been accredited for
solicitation in the community
by the credentials committee of
the Vaad Hayeshivot has been
sent to congregations, organiza-
tions and donors, according to
an announcement by Jay M.
Rosenthal, chairman of the
Vaad which supervises the ac-
tivities of traditional institu-
tions in Detroit.
The `'credentials
headed by 'Rabbi Joshua 'Sperka,
based its recommendations on
data available through the
Council of Jewish Federations
and Welfare Funds, Joint Dis-
tribution Committee, Jewish
Agency, Canadian Jewish Con-
gress and the local rabbinate,
in addition to information sup-
plied by the institutions them-
selves.
To insure a more even spac-
ing of solicitors throughout the
year, collectors representing in-
stitutions certified by the Vaad
have been given specific dates
for their visits and the number
of individuals soliciting funds
in the community at one time
has been limited.
Rosenthal stated that the
Vaad's new regulations are de-
signed to assist donors in con-
tributing to bona fide institu-
tions. The regulations state that
collectors must possess a valid
V a a d credential authorizing
them to solicit funds during a
time period and that they must
issue a Vaad receipt containing
the name and address of the in-
stitution for every contribution.
The information received by
contributors contains a partial
listing of accredited institutions .
and applications from a number
of additional institutions are
currently being processed by
the credentials committee.
Serving on the Credentials
Committee in addition to Rabbi
Sperka are Harry Blitz, Rabbi
Leizer Levin and Benjamin
Poss. CL'