Friday, Sept. 27, 1963 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — 14

Immortality: Alfred Segal Dissects Dr. Hertz's Book Israel Leaders Report Firming
also has to do with my other for speculation about the next
By ALFRED SEGAL
(Copyright, 1963, SAFS)
grandchildren: Ellen, Richard, world could be better used for Nation's Security With New Arms

I have in hand a new book
titled "What Counts Most in
Life," written by the Reform
Rabbi Richard C. Hertz of De-
troit. It contains a chapter on
"Immortality" and at my time
of a long life this interested me
most.
What becomes of me after I'm
buried? Shall I go on to heaven
or shall my departed soul be
assigned to another body to
keep living on the earth? I
ask these questions every once
in awhile after I'm through
my daily job on the newspaper,
and I'm resting all tired out in
my big easy chair.
I'm no longer afraid of dying.
As I rest in the soft chair, I
discover myself at times think-
ing, "And what if finally I
come to eternal rest deep down
in my grave? Should I expect
more reward than just resting
deep down after my long life.
Yes, this life of mine has been
fairly good and should I go on
into another kind of life?"
So I am deeply interested in
what Rabbi Hertz is saying in
his book about the hope of keep-
ing alive after one is buried. The
book has a chapter titled "What
I believe" . . . that is to say
what the Rabbi believes about
immortality.
He is saying: "There is a uni-
versal yearning that death is
not the end for all men. Shakes-
peare reminds us that death is
'a bourne from which no traveler
has yet returned'; so no living
man has any real judgment to
make . . . I do not believe in
the resurrection of the body. I
believe it returns to the earth
. . . 'ashes to ashes and dust to
dust' and reunites with the ele-
ments in time and eternity. As
Ecclesiastes said in the Bible,.
'The dust returns to the earth
as it was, and the spirit returns
to God who gave it'."
Yes, Rabbi Hertz says he be-
lieves the soul keeps living on,
and he adds,* "I can give no rea-
son, no logic, except my own
belief and the yearnings of un-
told millions. For Jews and non-
Jews as well, the conviction that
physical death is not an end,
that somehow, some way, man's
life is indestructible and his
spirit endowed with immortality,
has been too wide-spread among
men to dismiss as mere super-
stition or folk religion. I be-
lieve that the spirit of man is
too miraculous to perish utterly.
Man is not just an animal."
Well. I myself . . . I'm 80 .. .
keep thinking rather of the re-
ward of eternal rest deep down
in my grave . . . being fast asleep
. . away from all the pain of
the earth . . . far away from
hate and war, all that. Isn't that
everlasting reward enough?
Oh, my dear Rabbi, I'm not
quarreling with your own hope
of higher immortality, but isn't
it enough just to be allowed to
rest peacefully forever deep
down in God's earth? Yes, I like
what you yourself say in your
book: "The identification of man
lives on through his children
and family, through his good
deeds done on earth."
Rabbi, you're so right. It's my
idea that the certainty of stay-
ing alive after being buried is
in the worthwhileness of one's
children, his grandchildren, his
great-grandchildren, etc., etc.,
etc. In them is the certainty of
one's immortality . . to keep
on living in their worthwhile-
ness.
Oh, sir, in my own long life
there are the grandsons Jan and
Paul who are students in univer-
sity. I'm depending upon Jan
and Paul growing up to such
worthwhileness as to provide
some immortality for their de-
parted grandpa. Yes, isn't that
the way a guy is sure to keep
on living after he's buried . . .
by the goodness of his descend-
ants? That's immortality enough
for him, isn't it? And my hope
of staying immortal on the earth

Betty, Karin and Ann. (Ellen is good deeds, acts of kindness to
already married.)
the needy, and the perfection of
Well, dear Rabbi, of such is this world for the sake of God
my faith in immortality which and for the sake of man," and
to my mind has to do with the Rabbi Hertz adds: "I think so
living characters of one's des- too."
cendants; though, really, sir, I'd
And this Segal, also, dear
be willing to accept some re- Rabbi.
ward high up there in heaven, if
that's waiting for me.

Yes, maybe, you and I will
meet there, after all, and I shall
say to you, "Sir, it seems I was
quite wrong when I - wrote in my
column that day about my doubt
of heaven. But, really sir, how
much do columnists really know?
And so now you and I are up
here in heaven, and what are
we to do with our lives up Here,
from now on? Maybe our souls
should get back to earth to keep
on serving our descendants? -
Really, sir, isn't it in his grand-
children, great - grandchildren,
etc., etc., that a guy can be
really sure of his immortality?"
Anyway, I feel that Rabbi
Hertz and I aren't very apart in
our speculations on the subject
of immortality. In the final par-
agraph of his book he is quot-
ing an eighteenth century rabbi_
who wasn't feeling any too sure
about another world for man
after he departs from this earth.
And Rabbi Hertz remarks that
this old-time wise rabbi meant
"that the time he was exploiting

TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Is- Israel's largest irrigation plan.
raeli Air Force has been He declared that the Israel

strengthened by the acquisition
of more of France's newest in-
terceptor, the Mirage jet, and
the Israeli Navy has been en-
larged with additional ships and
increased with locally produced
various types of new weapons,
Israeli military leaders reported.
Habonim Adds 17
The Israeli Chief of Staff,
General Zvi Tsur, commented
Members to Kibbutz in
a statement on the recent
Sixteen Americans and Cana- threat by Syria that it would
dians and one Israeli, several forcibly oppose completion of

of them professionals, will leave

Oct. 1 for Israel where they will
settle permanently at Kibbutz Hebrew Academy PTA

Urim in the Negev.
Lists Board Members
As members of Habonim, the
The Parent-Teacher Associa-
Labor Zionist youth organiza- tion of the Hebrew Academy of
tion, the 17 will join 60 Ameri- Oak Park has announced offi-
cans and Canadians who now cers and members of the board
reside in the cooperative settle- for the year. They are Adele
ment located 20 miles southwest Gittleman, president; F ay g a

of Beersheba, Israel.
Samuel Bergman, Bronx, N.Y.,
is chairman of the group known
as Habonim Garin Daled.
Shimon Kasdai, former execu-

tive secretary of Kibbutz Urim
and now educational adviser to

Habonim with offices at 200
Park Ave. South, New York,
welcomed the group on behalf
of the settlement and said the
group will add to the technical
and social advancement of the
kibbutz.

armed forces could assure Is-
rael's development plans. Israel
is working on a project to tap
Lake Tiberias in the North for
irrigation of the Negev in the
South.
General Tsur also reported
that the Israeli Air Force suc-

cessfully operated the Mirage
interceptor last year, and that

more planes of the same type
will be received next year. He
declared that Israeli armored
equipment had been enlarged by
additional tanks and by reno-
vation of older tanks. He said
that, recently, the Israeli Ordi-
nance Corps modified British-
built Centurion tanks.
Special attention is being
given to preparation for installa-
tion of the American Hawk
ground-to-air supersonic missile,
which will be received shortly,
he reported. The Hawks will
make possible a significant im-
provement in Israel's anti-air-
craft defenses.
Deputy D e f ens e Minister
Shimon Peres reported that Is-
rael's military industry had de-
veloped new types of weapons,
and that it also was producing
the guns used by the Mirage.

Dombey, Joan Levi, vice-presi-
dents; Caroline Liederman, Mim
Schloss, Milly Ruzuma, secre-
taries; Morris Kar, treasurer;
Helen Sherman, fund - raising;
Harriet Penfil, publicity; Linda
Berris, sunshine; Evelyn Klein
and Fayga Greenbaum, annual
banquet; Bernice Kelman, chil-
dren's parties; Betty Blase,
room mother; Blanche Engel,
mazel tov cards and memoriam;
Molly Kresch, historian; Raizelle
Snow and Sonia Ribiat, advisors
The irresponsible are respon-
to PTA board.
sible for a great deal of trouble.

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