Lessing 'Nathan the Wise' Theme in Gilson-Langan Philosophic Work

beautiful because God was
CINCINNATI — Mr. Joseph there.
The pews were all kitchen
Dorfman of Detroit had called
on me to report on the gran- chairs, and the altar was a low
deur of the new synagogue to platform where I seated my-
which he belongs. It is the self for the ceremony by which
Conservative Shaarey Zedek I was supposed to become a
Synagogue in Southfield, Mich. worthwhile person in the world.
* * *
Its architecture includes a
Well,
so
I
went through the
representation of Sinai and the
Ten Commandments. Its cost bar mitzvah service and about
is $3,242,048. Its membership noontime we started homeward
contains about 1173 families of toward the Sabbath festivity
whom 653 families have pledged mama had prepared in the flat
amounts ranging from $1100 to in which we lived. As we walk-
$100,000 toward paying for ed slowly along, papa was say-
their new synagogue. And, says ing: "It was a beautiful morning
a letter which has gone out to you had in the schul. Yes, it
all the members, "520 families, was beautiful because you were
members of the synagogue, starting out to be a worthwhile
have not pledged as much as man in the world. And isn't it
one cent. Some are excusable a lovely room in which it all
happened . . . so lovely because
hardship cases."
God was there with us."
But so far $1,935,372 of the
But I replied, "Oh papa, -but
cost of this new house has been there was nothing lovely in the
paid up.
room where the schul is. Didn't
"Our edifice," says the letter; you see some of the wallpaper
"has been substantially com- loose in the room, and the glass
pleted. Our committed obliga- of the lamp was cracked, and
tions must be timely met."
the floor didn't have any car-
*
*
pet on it."
All this about a new $3,242,-
Then papa said: "It's beauti-
048 synagogue causes me to re- ful wherever God is, no matter
member the synagogue which if there isn't a carpet on the
I was raised to bar mitzvah - floor and the wallpaper is fall-
one Sabbath morning, long, ing look. But mainly God is in
long ago. Oh, it was in the time the hearts of the people who
when congregations didn't feel serve Him. And I hope that
it was important for them to now when you have just had
show off in stately magnifi- your bar mitzvah God is corn-
cence. And, anyway, they were ing along with you in your
all too poor in those times to heart and will keep staying
build magnificent dwellings for there for good to show you
God.
how to keep going in the world.
So that day of my bar mitz- Oh, it's a noble room we've just
vah my papa led me to God been in . . . one in which God
who was abiding in a large lives • . . even if the paper is
room on the second floor of a falling off the wall."
three-story dwelling in the area
Well, anyway, in time the -
known as the West End where congregation became w e 11
most of us were residing in our enough off to build a better-
town then. That room was the looking synagogue which cost
synagogue.
some $100,000 but really, re-
We came to the humble house membering what papa told me,
which
God
abided
upstairs,
in
I can feel that God was just at
and we walked a flight up to home up there in that second-
Gbd's door, and entered the floor room as he was in the
humble room which papa called $100,000 house, or even in more
expensive synagogues..
Oh, I'm not at all letting
down the new noble $3,248,048
synagogue in Detroit on which
Mr. Dorfman was reporting to
me, though I feel that God
abides even in a $10,000 syna-
gogue or less . . . particularly
if he lives in the heart of every
member . . . to show him the
way of justice and kindness and
all that. Along that way is
Judaism.
Well, I hope that this Con-
gregation Shaarey Zedek, be-
sides abiding in its new $3,242,-
048 synagogue, will succeed in
keeping God every day in the
hearts of every one of its mem-
bers . .. toward justice, kind-
ness and mercy in the world;
and I wish the rabbi, Morris
Adler, the highest of success
toward that end.
(Editor's Note: The lgures
contained in this letter alle Mr.
Segal's and are not to be con-
sidered as official from Shaarey
Zedek.)

"Modern Philosophy — Des-
cartes to Kant," by Etiene Gil-
son of Toronto, leading Catholic
philosopher, and Assistant Pro-
fessor of Philosophy Thomas
Langan of Indiana University,
published by Random House,
commences the examination of
modern philosophic thinking
and the works of the world's
leading philosophers.
It is the third of the four-
volume "History of Philosophy"
of which Etiene Gilson is the
general editor.
This richly annotated volume
affirms that "birth of modern
science was the decisive factor
in the rise of modern philo-
sophy.
The influence of nationalism
is outlined and the definition
given is that "nationalism, a
feeling very different from

BY ALFRED SEGAL

Prison Seder Held
for 29 Convicts

Rabbi Henry L. Swartz con-
ducted a Passover seder for 29
Jewish convicts at Jackson
prison, some of whom were
joined for the ritual meal by
fathers or brothers, a priviledge
that has been granted the past
three years. Also in attendance
was Warden George E. Gropp
and his wife.
Rabbi Swartz traditionally re-
counted the deliverage of the
Jews from bondage and then
advised the inmates they should
live in freedom within them-
selves, though their bodies are
caged.

patriotism, consisted precisely
in attributing to the nation an
absolute value in itself."
Then there is the birth of the
social sciences which is alluded
to as "an element of continuity
between the 18th and 19th cen-
tury."
Spinoza's theories are under
scrutiny in the Gilson-Langan
volume, and reference is made
here to the Jewish philosopher's
criticism of Christianity, in the
statement by the authors that
Spinoza "concludes that the
Christian .religion is only a his-
torical phenomen, product of its
time, enjoying only a relative,
a transstory value."
In the discussion of the re-
ligious-philosophical views of
Gotthold Ephriam Lessing, au-
thor of "Nathan der Weise"
who was a friend of Moses
Mendelssohn, the authors eval-
uate Lessing's thinking on the
subject of religion and they
state:
"Set during the Third Cru-
sade, 'Nathan the Wise' pre-
sents in the person of the hero
the contrast between this Jew's
great personal wisdom and the
narrow world-view of the Chris-
tians, both Eastern and West-
ern, and Mohammedans with
whom he must contend; though
they are not all bad sorts, all
of these people become men-
aces because they insist that
each possesses the one, sole, soli-
tary vision of the truth. Nathan's
wisdom springs not from books
but from knowledge of himself
and all men; he is wise because

he will not allow prejudices, re-
ligious or national, to block his
recognition of real human worth
in whomever it manifests itself:
`Ich weiss, wie gute Menschen
denken, weiss, Dass alle Laender
gute Menschen tragen' (I know
how good men think, know that
all lands bear good men)."

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Temple Israel Drama
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Reginald Rose's Emmy Award-
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This production is under the
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Emanu-El Marrieds
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The first meeting of the new-
ly organized Young Marrieds
Club of Temple Emanu-El will
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the Temple. For information,
call Cyrille and Jay Goode, EL
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1 1 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Frida y, A pril 19, 1963

About High Costs of Synagogues

