24
Friday, Sept. 27, 1963 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS —
Rabbi Plaut's Splendid Review
of 'The Rise of Reform Judaism'
Dr. W. Gunther Plaut, who
already has distinguished him-
self as-the author of several im-
portant books, one of them a
commentary on the Book of
Proverbs, renders a great serv-
ice to Reform Judaism with his
newest work, "The Rise of Re-
form Judaism," published by the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
Dr. Plaut, who is rabbi of
Toronto's Holy Blossom Tem-
ple, views Reform Judaism as
"a phenomenon of man's rest-
less spirit." Outlining the na-
ture of the movement, he de-
clares that "its branches com-
bine the ancient spirit with the
special beauty of each new
generation."
Affiliates • of other branches
of Judaism will find this volume
as interesting and informative
as those who belong to Reform
temples. Rabbi Plaut traces the
rise of Reform to the period of
enlightment in the 18th century,
to the time of Moses Mendels-
sohn (1729-1786) "who became
the model for all those aspiring
to civil and cultural equality."
He reviews in his informa-
tive book the activities of the
noted leaders in the Reform
movement, but his emphasis
is on the issues that arose
within the movement and that
led to its creation, the debates
over the use of Hebrew, the
question of circumcision, the
interpretations of the ideals
inherent in Judaism, the de-
bates over the bases for tne
Mission of Israel.
He describes t h e various
magazines that arose with the
movement, the changes in the
prayer book, the trends first
away from traditional practices
and then of a return, of em-
phases on Jewish education.
The numerous reprinted sta-
tements and essays on various
subjects related to Judaism and
to the Reform movement, the
excepts from Zunz, Geiger,
Holdheim, and many others, ex-
plain the Reform views on the
Sabbath, the festivals, circum-
csion, dietary laws, marriage,
mourning practices, etc.
There are many modifications,
but few truly deviating pro-
posals. Even in the matter of
Tisha b'Ab - the validity of its
observance is • recognized. Cir-
cumcision is insisted upon, but
there are dietary modifications.
The great controversies re-
volving around Reform are
analyzed and reviewed with
thoroughness. The annotated
portions of this book make it
especially valuable for stu-
dents of trends in Judaism.
Thus, Dr. Plaut touches upon
the basic principles of Reform
and he also mentions the errors.
His work is a conscientious
effort aimed at factualism and
realism. It is a commendable
book and is a credit to the Re-
form leader who has so well and
with such fairness analyzed the
movement to which he is dedi-
cated.
Announcements
Last Week's Winner of the
"RASKIN
BIG BABY BONUS"
was
MRS. IRWIN PAVORSKY
(7 Lbs., 3 Oz.)
Congratulations on the birth of
your daughter and we hope the
RASKIN PRODUCTS you re-
ceived helped make your first
week at home easier.
RASKIN FOOD CO.
man), 1151 W. Nine Mile, Fern-
dale, a son, Kevin Alan.
* * *
Sept. 18—To Mr. and Mrs.
Seymour Chafetz (Lois Lipsky),
18002 Schaefer, a son, Mark
Frederick.
* * *
Sept. 17 — To Dr. and Mrs.
Stuart LaKind (Carole Peggy
Bachman), former Detroiters
living at 16 Shawnee, Rockaway,
N.J., a daughter, Cara Lynn.
* * *
Sept. 22 — To Mr. and Mrs.
Ronald Karp (Marlene Pearl-
Sept. 17—To Mr. and Mrs.
man), 17385 Indiana, a daugh- Mark Bokolor, 20530 Stahelin, a
ter, Nancy.•
son, Allan H.
* *
* * *
Sept. 20—To Mr. and Mrs.
Sept.
16
—
To Dr. and Mrs.
Bruce Copley (Norma Lieber-
Donald Kay (Beverly Stein) of
Maplewood Ave., Livonia, a son,
CERTIFIED EXPERT MOHEL
Keith Brian.
* * *
RABBI
Sept. 10 — To Mr. and Mrs.
Stanley H. Stone (Mary Ann
Becker) a son, Steven Howard.
* * *
FE 4-4149
FE 4-8266
Serving in Hospitals and Homes
Sept. 7 — To Dr. and Mrs.
Soll Gaynor, 3631 Gloucester,
Flint, a daughter, Naomi Ava.
* * *
REV.
Sept. 7 — To Mr. and Mrs.
Arnold Smith (Gail Landau), a
son, Howard Gary.
MOHEL
*
*
Serving at Homes. and Hospitals
Sept. 4 — To Mr. and Mrs.
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Lawrence Solomon (Barbara
Dickman), 20600 Pembroke, a
son, Eric Robert.
* * *
RABBI
Sept. 3—To Capt. and Mrs.
ISAAC KAPLAN
Bernard Lewis (Sherrill Marvel-
Certfied Mohel
stone), of Minot AFB, N.D., a
Serving in Homes & Hospitals
daughter, Alichia Lynn.
17181 Cherrylawn
* * *
UN 1-1508
Aug. 22 — To Mr. and Mrs.
Lawrence Katz (Ruth Weinber-
ger), a daughter, Lillian Karen.
* * *
REV.
Aug. 8 — To Mr. and Mrs.
Sanford Schane (Marjorie Jo
Rothenberg), former Detroiters,
CERTIFIED . MOHEL
now of 69 Grove, Arlington,
Serving in Homes & Hospitals
Mass., a daughter, Sheryl Max-
UN 4-0572
ine.
Israel Goodman
Marshall L Goldman
Joseph Baras
REV.
SHALOM RALPH
Certified Mohel
Serving at Homes and Hospitals
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Sukenie-Schiff
Engagement Told
Recommended by Physicians
RABBI
LEO GOLDMAN
Expert Mohel
Serving in Hospitals and Homes
LI 2-4444
LI 1-9769
Aged Happier in Own Apartments
Than in Institutions
JDC Survey
The most modest and tiniest
apartment seems to be more
desirable to old people than
residence in an institution. This
was confirmed again in a sur-
vey conducted by a Joint Dis-
tribution Committee-M alb en
social worker.
Malben is the welfare pro-
gram conducted on behalf of
aged, ill and infirm immigrants
in Israel by the Joint Distribu-
tion Committee with United
Jewish Appeal funds.
The survey covered condi-
tions and attitudes of elderly
new immigrants who were set-
tled in "minimal" housing units
MISS JUDITH SUKENIC
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Suke-
Mc of Wisconsin Ave. announce
the engagement of their daugh-
ter, Judith, to Lawrence Schiff,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Meyer
Schiff of Mark Twain Ave. The
bride-elect is a senior at Wayne
State University's College of
Education. A June 14 wedding
is planned.
American Section
of Jewish Agency
Reports on Education
NEW YORK, (JTA) — The
Jewish Agency's Department of
Education and Culture reported
that it was host this summer to
hundreds of teachers, principals,
communal workers, Bar and
Bas Mitzvah boys and girls in a
series of seminars and confer-
ences on the East and West
Coast and study tours in Israel.
Other Israel study tours were:
1. A Seminar for Jewihs edu-
cators, Jewish social and com-
munal workers. Over 50 per-
sons participated in this pro-
ject, whose aim was to enable
persons engaged in Jewish edu-
cation and community service to
study at first hand the dynamics
of Jewish life and Hebrew cul-
ture in Israel.
2. Sixty youngsters of promis-
ing leadership calibre partici-
pated in an intensive study
seminar in- Israel, which com-
bined formal daily instruction
in Judaism with visiting all
Parts of the country and becom-
ing acquainted with the prob-
lems of Israel. This group was
sponsored by the Department in
cooperation with the National
Ramah Seminar of the Jewish
Theological Seminary.
3. A selected group of 40
American students, engaged in
Hebrew studies at Hebrew and
public high schools, participated
in a special "Israel Summer
Seminar for High School Stu-
dents," which was geared to
provide an opportunity to im-
prove their Hebrew and to
study and tour Israel.
4. Twenty-five graduates from
Beth Shalom school of Kansas
City, Mo., participated in a spe-
cial student workshop designed
to translate the classroom study
of Israel into meaningful per-
sonal experience by enabling
schools to transfer their classes
to Israel in the summer time
as a homogeneous unit.
5. Sixty students participated
in an educational project for
four weeks, geared for gradu-
ates of the Yeshiva University.
This study seminar and tour
for Yeshiva University alumni
combined study and apprecia-
tion of socio-economic and poli-
tical aspects of Israel life with
particular emphasis on an ex-
amination of methods used in
Israel to synthesize the Jewish
religious cultural heritage with
the modern State.
Derivation of
the Name 'Adam'
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
(Copyright, 1963
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
What is the derivation of
the name "Adam" which was
given to the first man?
From the Bible (Genesis 2:7)
it would generally seem that
the first man was called Adam
because he was formed out of
the earth and the Hebrew term
for "earth" is Adamah." Thus
"Adam" became the generic
term for "Man." In the Talmud
we find Rabbi Johanan contend-
ing that the word Adam can be
taken to be an abbreviation
where each of the three letters
that make up this Hebrew word
stand for three elements in the
make-up of man, i.e. the Aleph
stands for "Efer" ashes; the
"Dalet" stands for "Dam" which
means "blood" and the "Mem"
stands for "Marah" which
means "Gall." The Apocrypha
finds the four letters that make
up the term Adam to represent
the four directions of the world
from which man originated.
They are Anatole (East); Dysis
(West); Arktos (North), and
Mesembria (South). (Sibylline
Oracles 3:24-26). This matches
a Rabbinic contention that the
dust went into the making of
Adam was gathered from the
four corners of the world (San-
hedrin 38a; Midrash Tehillim
129:5). Professor Yahudah, the
Egyptologist, contends that the
expression Adam refers to the
fact that Adam was made from
red earth, the term Adamah be-
ing related to expression mean-
ing "red." To him the signifi-
cant point is that "red earth"
is vegetatively barren as com-
pared with rich black soil, to
signify how barren man is
without the soul of G-d.
Joseph Seligman, who helped
float the first Union bonds in
Europe in the Civil War, is said
to have helped U. S. Grant get
the appointment to the top com-
mand. Seligman had known
Grant from his earlier days.
Grant, when he became Presi-
dent, offered Seligman the post
of Secretary of the Treasury, but
it was declined.
,
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HEADQUARTERS FOR
• LATEST DOMESTIC AND IM-
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• PRESCRIPTIONS FOR GLASSES
ACCURATELY FILLED
Boom on Tel Aviv Exchange
Since Jan. 1, common stock
prices on the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange have risen by an
average of over 45 per cent, a
phenomenal increase for a six-
month period. Turnover for the
first quarter of 1963 was double
that of the previous three
months.
in three communities of north-
ern Israel. Formerly they had
lived in shanty immigrant
camp s. JDC Malben, which
maintains a network of homes
and villages for over 4,000 aged
new immigrants, joined with
the Jewish Agency in installing
these elderly people in their
own communities as an experi-
mental project. Some time
after they were settled in their
new apartments, the social
worker called to find out how
they were faring.
About half of the 120 aged
surveyed were living in a
southern suburb of Haifa, pop-
ulated mainly by newcomers; a
few at Nahariya, a seaside
resort north of Haifa; and the
remainder at Kiriat Shmona,
a development town in Upper
Galilee. They were all between
63 and 85 years old, and in-
cluded among them are 24 cou-
ples.
What did they think of their
new life? All but four thought
it was fine. Most of them are
maintaining themselves with
the National Insurance pension
(social security) paid to the
aged, or else with welfare
grants which are roughly the
same • amount. A few have
part-time jobs doing light work,
such as baby-sitting or mend-
ing; an almost negligible num-
ber are supported by their
families. More than two-thirds
of them report that their health
had improved steadily since
they moved into their own
homes, and just over half said
their family relationships were
better now—those who former-
ly had lived in cramped quar-
ters with children and grand-
children.
Apart from the greater per-
sonal satisfaction these old peo-
ple derive from living inde-
pendently in their own homes,
the program is actually less
costly than finding room for
them in homes for the aged
or building new homes. In
summing up, the JDC Malben
social worked found that the
"experimental residence pro-
gram for the aged was suc-
cessful" and suggested that it
be continued as a means of
helping other aged newcomers
settle in Israel.
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