Friday, October 4, 1963 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — 32

Recall Many American Jewish Firsts
on 120th Anniversary of Bnai Brith

WASHINGTON — After 120 it sponsors Hillel Foundations movement in the world. Bnai
years, you can fill a big exhibit on 247 college campuses. The Brith Vocational Service, oper-
first of these student centers ating in 19 metropolitan_centers,
hall.
The archives of Bnai Brith, was established 40 years ago at last year provided group and
individual counseling on jobs
many of them displayed in the the University of Illinois.
The Bnai Brith Youth Organi- and career opportunities to 40,-
trim eight - story headquarters
building here, tell a colorful zation, with an enrollment of 000 persons.
Thousands of adults each year
story of four generations of the more than 45,000 and a program
first national service organiza- that stresses Jewish interests, participate in Bnai Brith Jewish
is the largest Jewish youth study programs. A favorite is
tion founded in America.
the summer institutes at camps
On Oct. 13—in fulfillment of
and resorts where, in the rest-
the ancient Jewish adage—Bnai
fulnes of a vacation setting, in-
Brith completes its first 120
terests in Jewish themes are
years.
stimulated in lectures and dis-
It began Oct. 13, 1843, in New
cussions led by a faculty of out-
York City. At the time there
standing rabbis and scholars.
were some 20,000 Jews in Amer-
Bnai Brith's record of war-
ica, most of them immigrants.
time service goes back to the
Their community life center-
Civil War when it successfully
ed around 34 synagogues whose
campaigned for the appointment
congregations of Portuguese,
of the first Jewish army chap-
Dutch, English, Polish, Bohe-
lain and, in a recruitment drive
mian and Russian Jews, each
conducted by its Ramah Lodge
with its own ritual and ethnic
in Chicago, answered Lincoln's
loyalties, were often antagonis-
call for volunteers by enrolling
tic toward one another.
and outfitting a Jewish company
of the 82nd Illinois Infantry
Jews coming from one part of
Regiment, paying each man a
Europe had little or no contact
$100 enlistment bonus.
with those who had emigrated
For its massive World War II
from different lands.
service program which supplied
It was this splintering of the
recreational equipment and fa-
small Jewish community that '
cilities to hundreds of military
motivated 12 German-speaking
bases, hospitals, and rest cen-
Jews, led by a young scholarly
ters, and converted hotels in
mechanic named Henry Jones,
large cities to free lodging cen-
to assemble at Sinsheimer's Cafe
ters for troops on leave, Bnai
on Manhattan's lower East Side
Brith was awarded the first ci-
and create something new in
tation given by the Army and
American Jewish life: a society
that cut across all ritual and Henry Jones and Sinsheimer's the Navy to a civilian organi-
doctrinal lines and became a Cafe where he and 11 others zation.
The rolls of the organization
rallying point for Jews of vary- founded Bnai Brith in 1843
today include many eminent
ing origins, religious viewpoints
personalities—Senators and sci-
and economic backgrounds.
entists, authors, artists and ath-
The first Jewish community
letes. The Los Angeles Dodgers'
center in America, Covenant
Sandy Koufax is one, former
Hall on Orchard Street in New
Miss America Bess Myerson is
York, to which was added the
another. So is Dr. Jonas Salk,
Maimonides Library, the first
discoverer of the polio vaccine,
public collection of Judaica,
Eddie Cantor, Senators Javitz
were Bnai Brith enterprises. An
and Ribicoff, every Jewish mem-
orphanage founded in 1868 in
ber of the House of Represen-
Cleveland — the first of more
tatives, Mayor Nathan Phillips
than a score of Bnai Brith so-
of Toronto and former Lord
cial service institutions — con-
Eleanor Roosevelt dedicates
tinues as Bellefaire, a modern FDR Four Freedoms Library, Mayor Robert Briscoe of Dub-
lin, virtuoso Mischa Elman and
rehabilitation center for malad- in 195'7
opera star Richard Tucker.
justed children. And some far-
The 12 founders contributed
reaching developments in the
$60 to start the first Bnai Brith
treatment of chest and arthritic
service program, a widows' and
diseases have come from the
orphans' fund. This year Bnai
National Jewish Hospital at
Brith will spend, nationally and
Denver and the Leo N. Levi
regionally, more than $15,000,-
Hospital in Hot Springs, Ark.,
000 on its worldwide activities.
two famed institutions that be-
gan under Bnai Brith sponsor-
ship.
Bnai Brith opened the first
free employment bureau and
manual and technical schools
Dwight D. Eisenhower pre-
(in Philadelphia and New Or-
leans) for newly-arrived immi- sented to Bnai Brith first Army
1- 11S t jr ciy
pe Wire
grants, mobilized relief drives award for wartime services. It
-, r"
Direct
for victims of the Chicago fire, was accepted by Henry Monsky
to The aew7:—
CASABLANc A _ The weekly
the San Francisco quake, a yel- (right) and Col. Elliott _Niles,
"Marocain , " viat ch regularly
low fever epidemic that swept in 1947
publishes
attacks on
the South, and scores of other
Moroccan .7 .airy, demanded
catastrophies here and abroad.
Tuesday that t Moroccan gov-
Its first disaster relief cam-
ernment p
im sanctions
paign—for victims of an 1568
against Morocc
Jewry.
flood in Baltimore — preceded
The sanctions were demanded
by 13 years the founding of the
on grounds that Moroccan Jews
American National Red Cross.
obeyed a rabbinical 'directive
When the restrictive U.S. im-
proclaiming a special prayer for
migration _laws' .of the 1920s
Russian Jewry during Yom Rip_
shunted --10,000 penniless Euro-
pur, despite the fact that 'no
pean Jewish refugees to Mexico,
prayer was recited for Russia
Bnai Brith appropriated $250,-
Jews in the synagogues.
000 and opened a bureau in
The weekly charged that the
Mexico City that virtually built
De jure recognition of Israel government was "afraid of the
a Jewish community where none
Jews" and urged the govern-
had existed before. The bureau by President Truman is witness- ment to "clear out" Jews from
ed
at
'White
House
by
Eddie
organized Spanish language
government ministries and the
classes, provided loan funds for Jacobson, Maurice Bisgyer and Moroccan administration.
Frank
Goldman,
in
1948.
small business men, offered vo-
cational advice, operated a
Hadassah Surgeon
health clinic, sponsored religious
institutions and otherwise aided
Implants Pacemaker
the refugees in their social ad-
in Patient's Heart
justment. The bureau ran for
12 years, until Mexico's new
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—A Ha-
Jewish community was on its
dassah cardiac surgeon saved
the life of a 37-year-old woman
feet.
Bnai Brith first campaigned
patient—suffering heartblock-
by successfully implanting in
against anti-Semitism in 1851—
her heart a permanent electron-
before that term had become
ic pacemaker. The delicate op-
part of the language. Fifty years
eration—the first of its kind in
ago, to coordinate its civic de-
Israel—was performed by Prof.
fense activities, it established
Bnai Brith Building in Wash- Hanoch Milwidsky, head of Ha_
the Anti-Defamation League.
To encourage a greater aware- ington, constructed at a cost of dassah's department of thoracic
ness of their religious heritage $1,300,000, opened as interna- surgery at the Hadassah-Hebrew
University Medical Center.
among Jewish college students, tional headquarters in 1957.

Moroc
Asks
A

lr

.

Paper
ions
s

Noteworthy Jewish Historical Factors in
Providence, R.I. — Its Eminent Leaders

Special to The Jewish News
dent of Brown University, wrote
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — If it to Mrs. Silverman:
were only for the fact that
"Thank you for writing me
Roger Williams' principles had
established religious liberty as a-bout the newer communities in
a foundation, for American Israel and the need for syna-
democracy, in the colony of gogues. I noticed during my
Rhode Island, the principal city trip how few synagogues there
in the state would at once be- seemed to be in the homeland
come one of the most interest- of the Jews, and I was surprised
to discover this.
ing to visit.
"I congratulate you on the
There are many other factors
of great merit. Brown Univer- fine work you are doing to help
provide more synagogues. As I
sity, one of the great institu-
tions of learning in this country, think you know, I was greatly
impressed by the progress which
located here, as far back as
Israel has made. You can cer-
1770, admitted Jewish students
on a basis of equality with those tainly be proud of what has
been done there and of your
of other faiths.
part in it."
Providence has many notable
Many religious leaders- have
Jewish institutions: Its syna-
gogues are superb. Temple endorsed Mrs. Silverman's syna-
Emanuel's beautiful structure gogue-building efforts and have
has impressive stained glass commended her for it. Describ-
windows. On one of them the ing the dedication of a synago-
artist reproduced the hands of gue she sponsored in Herzlia,
the founding rabbi of the Mrs. Silverman, deeply moved,
Temple, Dr. Israel M. Goldman, reported:
now rabbi of Congregation Chi-
Chief Rabbi Herzog, with
zuk Amunah in Baltimore.
tears in his eyes, blessed
the Torahs, the House of
An unsual Menorah has re-
Worship, and the people
cently been presented to Temple
who stood within and with-
Emanuel by Mrs. Haskell Frank
out the building. Rabbi Mai-
as a memorial to her husband.
mon, who, too, had brought
It was obtained in Israel by Mrs.
a Sefer Torah from Jeru-
Frank.
salem (as a gift donated in
There are a number of col-
my name) followed with
lectors of ceremonial art objects
his benediction. Others
in Providence. One of the finest
spoke, among them my
collections is in The Carriage
humble self, as the one who
House, the home of Mr. and Mrs.
had the privilege of help-
Abraham Percelay. This home
ing to build still another
was transformed from a former
House of Worship in Israel.
structure the front of which ac-
Thus, on an ordinary hot
tually was used for carriages
Monday afternoon, a com-
and horses. On the door leading
munity was lifted from the
to -the kitchen area of The Car-
commonplace to the sub-
riage House is an Arc with a
lime, when it proclaimed,
Hebrew inscription. The shade
as their forefathers have
on the kitchen window is made
done throughout the ages,
of a black fabric with the greet-
the following basic prin-
ing "LeChayim." The works of
ciples which have kept the
Raymond Katz are in the lib-
Jews alive throughout the
rary of this interesting home.
centuries:
Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Sil-
"Man does not live by bread
verman are among the very dis-
alone!"
tinguished leaders in Providence.
"Eretz Israel without Torah
For more than
is like a body without a
half a century
soul!"
this couple has
"He who buildeth without
worked to-
God, buildeth in vain!"
gether for
"Blessed be His Holy Name.
Jewish and
Amen!"
civic causes
and Mr. Sil-
The impressive number of
verman w a s
synagogues created by her have
o ne of the
made Mrs. Silverman a beloved
eminent na-
personality in Israel.
tional Zionist
A former vice president of
leaders. To
national Hadassah and a leader
this day he is
in other movements, Mrs. Sil-
o ne of his
verman is one of American
community's
Jewry's outstanding women.
outstanding
Providence Jewry derives
philanthro
glory from another eminent per-
pists and a
sonality—Rabbi William Braude
participant in
of Temple
communal
Beth El. Rab-
causes.
Mrs. Silverman
bi Braude is
Mrs. (Ida) Silverman has
the author of
gained world fame in her own
a n imperish-
rights—as a lecturer in many
able work —
lands, having mastered Yiddish
t h e two-vol-
as well as English and there-
ume "Midrash
fore was able to address audi-
on Psalms"
ences in Latin /American coun-
which was
tries. She has been among the
published b y
most prominent advocates of
Yale Univer-
Zionism and has been especially
sity Press and
helpful in the work of the Jew-
which ha s
ish National Fund.
gone into three
pfintings. It is
Ida Silverman's major interest
_considered one
is the establishment of syna-
of the most
gogues in Israel. Under the aus-
scholarly
pices of the Keren Hayesod
works of our
United Israel Appeal, and in
Dr. Braude time.
behalf of the JNF, she suc-
ceeded, as her initial effort, in
Now Dr. Braude is completing
interesting enough people to es- another Midrashic work which
tablish 72 synagogues in Israel has been accepted for publica-
up to 1959. Since then the num- tion by Yale University Press.
ber of synagogues built through It, too, is being awaited as a
her efforts in Israeli communi- work that will enrich Jewish
ties has grown to 84.
scholarship and will bring light
In 1960, after a visit to Israel, on the Midrash to scholars and
Dr. Barnaby C. Keeney, presi-laymen.