NEWS -- Friday, August 31, 1962
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Current Scripts Are Explained
Novel 'Fortunes of a Fool' Hailed Hayim Greenberg
Hebrew-Yiddish Shute By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX the basis of Rabbinic teachings
as 'Unmistakably Israeli' Product Accepting Registration
(Copyright, 1962,
through the ages.
Max Brod, one of the great
authors of our time, who now
makes his home in Israel, in a
foreword to "Fortunes of a
Fool," by Aharon Megged,
which has been translated from
the Hebrew by Aubrey Hodes
and was published by Random
House, calls this novel "an im-
portant and serious attempt in
the young literature of Israel to
come to grips with universal
problems." He states in his eval-
uation of the novel:
"The background, like the
heroes, is unmistakably Israeli,
and is presented with the satiric
bite so characteristic of Meg-
ged's other works. But the prob-
lems discussed by the book are
common to all mankind. Through
this book sounds, in a minor
key, the triumph of man's hu-
manity conquering the 'iron
heart' which the atomic age
wants to impose on us all."
Megged is likened to Kafka,
and Brod states in his intro-
ductory commendation:
"Among the works by young
Israeli writers with which I
am familiar, 'Fortunes of a
Fool' is the only one marked.
ly influenced by the art of
Franz Kafka. Certainly this is
a beneficial influence, as Meg-
ged has fully maintained his
own originality and independ-
ence. Megged tells the story
of a lonely outsider, which is
really the story of the human
conscience. The events take
place in a society which has
lost its sane criterion. Like
Kafka's heroes, Megged's fool
has lost his spiritual links
with his environment; his life
is also a cry of protest against
a society which is losing its
faith. True, Kafka is more
restrained than the figure
whom Megged presents as his
'weak hero' in the center of
his work. Whether through a
passive hero or an active one,
both authors voice an equally
strong protest."
These introductory comments
are relevant to an understand-
ing of the author and his plot,
and Megged's background
should be known. He was born
in Wloclawek, Poland, in 1920,
was brought to Palestine at the
age of 6, was educated in the
Herzlia Gymnasium in Tel Aviv
and in Kibutz Sdot Yam.
He began to write in 1940 and
his short stories were about
Haifa Port workers and Sdot
Yam fishermen. Having lived in
Sdot Yam from 1938 to 1950, he
knew the dock workers, farmers
and fishermen of his stories in
the book "Spirit of the Seas."
He also published another book
of short stories, "Israeli Folk",
and a novel, "Hedva and I," and
authored seven plays staged by
Habima, Ohel and Eshnay.
His film "I Like Mike," also
known as "Surprise Party,"
gained wide popularity.
He translated many books
and plays into Hebrew. He is
literary editor of Lamerhay. He
has been to the United States,
and European countries, on hal-
utz and journalistic missions.
He has won the Ussishkin,
Brenner and Habimah prizes.
He lives in Tel Aviv with his
wife, the painter and writer Ida
Zorit, and their two young sons.
"Fortunes of a Fool" begins
with an invitation to the nar-
rator to join the Society of the
Wicked. Thereupon commence
the experiences that create the
conflicts and their aftermath.
The chief character in the story,
speaking in the first person,
tells of his initial resentment
against the invitation, his de-
clining it, then accepting the
offer, having been assured that
the society aspires to a better-
ment of the country.
There is confusion, and the
action that follows intensifies
it. His wife leaves him, he pur-
chases a pistol, he is out to kill,
the war commences, he dies and
his refusal to shoot first is ex-
plained to the court after death.
That's when he affirms that evil
begets evil, and he could not
accept or condone it. And so,
while he could have saved him-
self had he shot first, there is
no verdict against him after
death. He is told that in the
life hereafter there are no ver-
dicts.
The events that precede this
finality, the numerous experi-
ences, the jealousy aroused
when his wife vanishes, his con-
flict with the propagators of the
principles of the Society of the
Wicked — combined in these
many events, in this Kafka-like,
very effective novel, is a great
novel that elevates the writings
of the young Israeli author.
The Hayim Greenberg He-
brew-Yiddish Shule is now ac-
cepting registration for the fall
semester for nursery, pre-school
and regular grades for boys
and girls. The program is di-
vided into five groups.
Group 1—Nursery for 3 1/2-5-
years-old, which meets Monday
through Thursday from 1 to 4
p.m.
Group 2—For 5 and 6 years
of age, which meets on Sunday
morning.
Group 3—For 7 years of age,
meets Sunday morning and
Wednesday afternoon.
Group 4—Children 8 years of
age, meets Monday, Wednesday
and Thursday afternoons.
Group 5 — Children ranging
from 9 to 13, meets Monday
through Thursday afternoons.
Parents are reminded that for
Bar Mitzvah preparation a
minimum of five, years attend-
ance in Hebrew School is now
required. The Hayim Greenberg
Hebrew-Yiddish Shule prepares
the students for Bar Mitzvah.
The school provides transporta-
tion with its own buses.
The office is open daily from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 19161 Schaefer
(UN 4-6319).
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
It is generally believed that
our current script which is re-
ferred to as the "square script"
is traced back to the Septuagint
translations which are dated as
of the third century before the
Common Era.
Originally we had another
script called the "Old Hebrew
Script." Ezra and his disciples
in their attempt to popularize
the Biblical texts and the knowl-
edge of Hebrew among the mass-
es of Jews, plus their keen
interest in disassociating the
Jewish people from the Samari-
tan sect, deemed it advisable to
copy the texts into what was
then called an Aramaic script
which was commonplace at the
time.
This script is really an Ara-
maic adaptation of the old He-
brew or Phonecian Alphabet.
This script passed through de-
velopmental stages until it as-
sumed the "square form we
know today.
Actually, Hebrew was original-
ly a purely consonantal language.
Furthermore, the absence of
vowels lends the text to various
interpretations which have been
The Italian Jewish scholar
Azariah De-Rossi, claimed that
Moses preferred to eliminate the
vowel signs from the text in
order not to restrict its meaning
and to allow it to be interpreted
in "seventy different ways."
Father of Bibliography
Moritz Steinschneider, known
as the "father of Jewish biblio-
graphy," was a 19th century Ger-
man scholar whose writings em-
braced the entire range of Jewish
literature and civilization from
the beginning of the Middle
Ages to the nineteenth century.
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September 30, 1962
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tried to cast the performances
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very night of Passover, then the
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by East European Jews during
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the latter part of the 19th cen-
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tury. In 1883, an attempt at
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agricultural settlement was
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