Offensive, Opprobrious Terms Out
of New Merriam College Dictionary
Nevins' Brilliant Biography of Lehman
Proves Validity of Love :for Statesman
Herbert H. Lehman is one of
the very great men of our time.
A courageous fighter for just
rights for the downtrodden, an
ardent liberal, he was among
the most daring opponents of
McCarthyism, he battled for
liberalized immigration laws,
and he upheld Democratic Pres-
idents in their platforms.
In "Herbert Lehman and His
Era," published by Charles
Scribner's Sons (597 5th, NY17),
Allan Nevins, Pulitzer Prize
winner for biographical writ-
ing, relates the interesting story
of this noted leader's life. Mr.
Lehman, former Governor of
New York and later the Empire
State's U. S. Senator, is equally
the fearless spokesman for
Jewry, and as such also he is
portrayed in this impressive
biography.
Nevins traces the back-
ground of Lehmans to the
arrival in Montgomery, Ala.,
from Bavaria, of Herbert's
• father, Mayer. The biographer
correctly points out that "no
student of Southern history
needs to be told that from
early colonial days Jewish
families of intellect, culture,
and character enriched the
life of the section." He then
mentions noted Jews who be-
came prominent in the South.
The story of the elder Leh-
man and his brothers, which
commenced with the mercantile
business in Montgomery, con-
tinues in New York, where -the
brothers opened an office in
1858. They retained their south-
ern interests, and Mayer was
one of the ardent supporters of
the Confederate cause.
Herbert, Mayer's - eighth and
last child, was born March 28,
1878. He grew up in an en-
viornment of pride in the Jew-
ish heritage and faith, of a deep
interest in Temple Ema-nu-El, in
various other Jewish institu-
tions.
With his brother Irving, Her-
bert shared many interests, in-
cluding the Jewish, and the
family's traditional observances,
especially at the Passover Seder,
are noted. Here is an interesting
historical note in relation to the
Lehmans and the New York of
their time:
"Everywhere in that part
of Manhattan were scattered
Jewish households, • many of
which looked to Temple
Emanu-El as their religious
citadel. Its rabbi, the learned
Gustav Gottheil, was a tow-
ering figure in moral and
spiritual influence. Born and
educated in Prussia, he had
served in the Berlin Reform
Synagogue before he was
called to a 13-year pastorate
in Manchester. Exposure to
the best English liberal
thought had helped prepare
him for an assistantship to
Samuel Adler, who had be-
come rabbi of Temple Emanu-
El shortly before the Civil
War. Gottheil. in 1874 was
Chosen head of the congre-
gation, over which he was
destined to preside for almost
a quarter century. Even the
orthodox Jews of the city, who
at first disliked his hetet. ,
odox ideas, were charmed by
his geniality, generosity, and
in later years his Zionist
leanings."
It was in such an environ-
ment that Herbert H. Lehman
grew up. It was in the era of
the Strauses and the Seligmans
and the Schiffs and the Guggen-
heims—in an era when Jews
emerged as the greatest philan-
thropists in the land.
Lehman rose to leadership
in Jewish ranks as well as in
American politics. He became a
leader of JDC in the 1920s: He
came in contact with the refu-
gee and displaced persons prob-
lem as head of the United Na-
tions Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration,
He was not without his ex-
periences with anti-Semites. He
HERBERT H. LEHMAN
had an early experience, in
Wurzburg in 1867, when he and
one of his sisters encountered
Prussian officers who marched
straight forward and crowded
the young girl into the gutter.
"I was . mad enough to fight
the whole German army," he
said later, and his biographer
writes: "It is significant that
although he learned to speak
German fairly well, he quickly
forgot it. German had been the
language of Temple Emanu-El
until the early 1880's, but with
few exceptions, the Jews of
central Manhattan had no love
for Germany."
Nevins relates here the ex-
perience of Joseph Seligman
who, as a Jew was denied stay
in a Saratoga Springs Hotel.
The episode, he relates, brought
a strong eulogy for Jews from
Henry Ward Beecher. The of-
fenders soon went bankrupt and
Saratoga hotels were opened to
Jews. Nevins relates here that
Seligman was a friend of Presi-
dent Grant who offered to make
him Secretary of the Treasury.
Anti-Semitic occurrences in
Russia and Romania and the
later Hitlerite events are re-
called in evaluating Lehman's
relief efforts in association after
World War I with Herbert
Hoover and in later decades.
Nevins credits Lehman with
an understanding of the val-
ues of the Yiddish theater and
the Yiddish press, although
he did not know Yiddish. "The
great voting population of the
Lower East Side," Nevins
writes, pressing steadily out-
ward (the Yiddish-speaking
element being highly mobile)
was soon to form a special
political body; for though
Jews seldom voted as Jews,
they did vote with a pervasive
intelligence, liberalism, and
faith in ethnic democracy.
This political body was to
prove vital to Herbert Leh-
man's career."
Lehman's friendship for Al-
fred A. Smith, his close ties
with the Roosevelts, his work
with many of the liberal po-
litical elements in New York,
comprise some of the most
valuable and descriptive por-
tions of the Nevins biography.
And there also was strong af-
finity for the movements that
assisted in Israel's upbuilding.
Nevins describes the Leh-
mans' visit in Israel at the in-
vitation of David Ben-Gurion,
their special interest in Ha-
dassali activities and in the
Weizmann Institute. Recalling
this visit to Israel in 1949,
Nevins writes:
He and Mrs. Lehman had
taken a refugee steamer from
Marseilles, the Negbah, full
of Jewish immigrants; a little
vessel of 5,000 tons, but well
appointed. Recalling that
when they were in the execu-
tive mansion in Albany they
had always kept a stock of
lollipops for the. neighbor-
hood children who liked to
run in, by a sudden inspira-
tion they carried two large
cannisters of candies aboard.
Lehman filled his pickets
when he went on deck, and
by the second day he was
`Uncle Lollipop' to all the
youngsters in the vessel.
Since this trip he has main-
tained a close interest in the
Weizmann Institute, the He-
brew University, and the
Technion in Haifa. He be-
came chairman of the board
of overseers of the Jewish
Theological Seminary. He has
had time to resume his early
interest in the Henry Street
Settlement, where he and
Mrs. Lehman erected a build-
ing, 'Pete's House,' in mem-
ory of the son lost in the war.
A list of the organiaztions to
which he belonged and con-
tributed, made up by Carolin
Flexner on Oct. 30, 1945, had
•numbered 275, ranging from
historical societies and civic
bodies to Protestant, Jewish,
and Catholic philanthropies;
and the number hardly
shrunk in the ensuing years.
"His sentiment for Israel
has the depth that has be-
come characteristic of him.
. Some of his fellow Jews
thought that it was uncritical,
although he emphatically re-
probated Irgun and Stern
Gang crimes and told. Ben-
Gurion to his face that he
was flagrantly wrong in sug-
gesting that American Jews
had a duty to join the in-
gathering of the race. He had
refused to the last to become
a Zionist, but once the new
nation was born he accepted
the fait accompli and sup-
ported its growth.
Nevins caught the spirit of
Lehman's Jewish loyalties by
quoting, at this point, from the
principles that were enunciated
by George Eliot in "Impres-
sions of Theophrastus Such."
It is the battle that Lehman
conducted during his lifetime
for social justice, for civil
rights, for the good causes that
beckoned for champions, that
received special emphasis in
the Nevins story. In it is por-
trayed one of the truly great
men of our time.
The Lehmans created an in-
genious attraction for young-
sters of New York, Nevins states
in the closing paragraphs of his
deeply moving biography:
"For a long time the Leh-
mans, when in town, visited
the place daily. They had mo-
ments when the satisfaction
of this creation seemed more
immediate than all the achieve-
ments of city affairs, of
UNRRA, and of the senatorial
years.
"A quietly touching expres-
sion of general gratitude, in
deed, was visible to the
observant in t h e years.
Throughout the city no figure
was better known than Leh-
man's or evoked a more spon-
taneous manifestation of
popular respect. When he
alighted from his car in lower
Manhattan elderly Jewish
watchers could be seen paus-
ing and murmuring cheer-
fully to each other, 'He looks
strong,' or solicitously, 'He
doesn't look so well today.'
Most New Yorkers had ceased
to wear, headgear except in
the bleakest weather, but as
he walked slowly along the
street what hats there were
came off in a gesture that had
hardly been seen since Peter
Cooper's day. At public meet-
ings it was noted that people
—especially the older people
—would Jean out as he passed
down the aisle and touch- his
sleeve, as if they thought that
this garment would shed
some virtue. If he went to
the theater the intermission
between acts would bring one
or several strangers to his
seat: 'I just wanted to say,
Mr. Lehman, how much I ad-
mire you.' He ran a daily
gamut of such tokens of ap-
preciation and deference; and
ill Al Smith's phrase, they
were 'from the heart.' "
They are all well earned en-
comia. The brill i ant Nevins
biography proves it.
There are 20,000 new words
and new meanings in the brand
new Webster's Seventh New.
Collegiate Dictionary published
by the G. & C. Merriam Co.,
Springfield, Mass.
As the first completely new
college desk dictionary pub-
lished' in 10 years, this latest,
up-to-date 1220-page unabridged
work represents a positive cre-
ation that is certain to be
studied for its effects and the
approach is makes to important
terms.
Special significance must be
attached to it because it has
eliminated previous offensive
references to Jews.
The explanation for anti-
Semitism is simple: an anti-
Semite is one who is hostile to
or discriminates against Jews.
Jew, Jewess, Judaism, receive
proper connotations.
The Jewish calendar is listed
among Months of the Principal
Calendar, in the elaborate cal-
endar table.
There is a reference to La-
dino as the Judeo-Spanish dia-
lect and Yiddish is explained
as the High German language
spoken by eastern European
Jews.
There have been opprobrious
references to Moses in some
dictionaries. In this new one
Moses is the lawgiver and
liberator.
Biographical and gazeteer ref-
erences include Jewish names
and places of interest.
Much more of value deserves
acclaim in this new collegiate
dictionary—including forms of
address for all kinds of people
— presidents, kings, religious
dignitaries; as well as the
vocabulary of rhymes and other
sections.
The elimination of offensive
terms that brought charges of
anti-Semitism against some
earlier compilers is an especial 7
l• commendable element in this
impressive work that deserves
acclaim and a hearty welcome.
* *
A typical example of a change
made in the new dictionary is
indicated in the following:
The G. & C. Merriam Webster
Collegiate Dictionary of 1953
contained the following:
Bible: 1. The book made up of
writings accepted by Christians as
inspired by God and of divine
authority; the Scriptures, includ-
ing the Old and New Testaments.
A pre Christian Greek translation
(The Septuagint) of the Hebrew
Old Testament and the Greek ver-
sion of the New Testament for of
-
1111
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the Bible in use in the Orthodox
and some other eastern churches.
(Then followed a detailed explan-
ation of different versions i.e.,
Douay Version, King James, Ameri-
can Standard, etc. Then all the
books of the Old Testament, fol-
lowed by books of the New Testa-
ment, and the books of Protestant
Apocrypha.)
2. A book containing the sacred
writings of any religion.
3. (not cap. A book looked upon
as authoritative.
The new Merriam-Webster Dic-
tionary has this revised explana-
tion:
bible n. biblia from Gr. pl. of
biblion book, dim: of byblos
papyrus, book, fr. Byblos, an-
cient Phoenician city from which
papyrus was exported. 1: cap
the sacred scriptures of Chris-
tians comprising the Old Testa-
ment and the New Testament.
2: cap the sacred scriptures of
Judaism or of some other reli-
gion. 3: abs BOOK 4: cap a copy
or an edition of the Bible. 5:
a publication that is pre-eminent
esp. in authoritativeness.
Then follow the lists of books
of the Old Testament — Douay
and Atuhorized versions; Jewish
Scriptures, Protestant Apocryp-
ha, New Testament.
Hebrew Corner
Congress of Art
Critics In Israel
In the year 1963 the International
Congress of Art Critics will take place
in Israel. The Congress will take
place at the invitation of the govern-
ment of Israel. The international or-
ganization of art critics numbers 1,000
members from many countries. The
congress that takes place every four
years will be opened in Tel Aviv,
under the auspices of the Ministry
of Education and Culture, with the
assistance of the Office of the Prime
Minister and the Government Com-
pany for Tourism. The participants
in the congress will make extensive
trips over the country, and will ac-
quaint themselves with the museums
and art centers. They will see plays
in their honor and will listen to lec-
tures on archaeological subjects by Is-
raeli historians and the like.
In addition, there will take place in
Tel Aviv an overall exhibition of
paintings and sculpture of the coun-
try since its beginning until this day,
which will include hundreds of mas-
terpieces that will show the develop-
ment of art in the country and of the
most important Israeli artists. Addi-
tional exhibits in other museums are
being planned—an exhibition of He-
brew printing, an archaelogical exhi-
bition and others.
This is the first time that hundreds
of important art critics of the world
will come to Israel, among them man-
agers of museums and art galleries.
This will be a rare chance for the
artists of Israel to show their produc-
tions, an opportunity not achieved
even when they exhibit their produc-
tions in Paris or New York.
Translation of Hebrew column.
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