Purely Commentary
Etymology ... Jargon ... 23rd Psalm ... Brevity of
Three-Minute Historic Lincoln Gettysburg Address
Tribute to Eminent
Zionist ... Historic
Gettysburg Address
By Philip
Slomovitz
that are free of the emotional and historical overtones of most
everyday words "but much of it is mere jargon to make the
particular knowledge seem greater than it is."
There is comment on the King James Version of the Bible
as being "one of the greatest single books in any language .. .
its wording extremely conservative." It will be interesting to
know Evans' reaction to the revised Jewish Publication Society
translation of the Torah. Evans also points to changes in certain
meanings in the Bible, as in the term "naughty" in the Book
of Jeremiah story about the two baskets of figs. This, too, arouses
curiosity: how will the new translation of the Prophets sponsored
by the JPS treat this and other similar terms
Evans' "Word-a-Day Vocabulary Builder" is a very useful
book. It certainly came in handy, while reading the etymologist's
explanatory chapters, in making reference to an historic anni-
versary: the centenary of Lincoln's Gettysburg AddreSs.
Few men are as equipped to deal with vocabulary building
as Bergen Evans. As moderator of the TV "Last Word" program,
as an English professor who has perfected etymological studies
and as author of several important books on language usage
(one -with Cornelia Evans), he has guided Americans in the
right path of proper usage of words.
His newest book, "The Word-a-Day Vocabulary Builder" is
an especially noteworthy work. It is properly subtitled "the quick
and easy way to greater word power" and: "use this brand-new
handbook just five minutes a day to enlarge your vocabulary .. .
to speak more clearly . . . to write more persuasively."
Evans treats words "like tools for the job of saying what
you want to say." He is a practical man, and he advises those
' he is about to guide towards proper usage of words that "the
best vocabulary is the one which most effectively meets the
Dr. Emanuel Neumann's Role in World Jewry
needs of the individual," that:
Few men in positions of leadership in world Jewry can point
- "A large vocabulary is not necessarily a good vocabulary.
to as many accomplishments and who deserve as much credit for
. In their maternieces, the great users of the language have
their contributions towards the advancement of Jewish causes as
often employed surprisingly few words. Any government bulle-
are recorded next to the name of Dr. Emanuel Neumann.
tin, military directive, postal instruction, or inter-office memo
will contain far more strange words. than are to be found in
At the dinner in honor of this very distinguished leader, on
the Twenty-third Psalm, Hamlet's soliloquy, or any one of our
Sunday evening, those who will be privileged to evaluate his
hundred best lyrical poems."
works will have occasion to indicate
the share Dr. Neumann had in
Yet, he admits that simple words are not always the best,
and he points to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as an example.
American affairs, his role in world
Because we are now taking note of the 100th Gettysburg anni-
Zionism and more especially his
versary, it is worth quoting Evans' reference to the famous
dedication to Jewry's c u l t u r al
address:
projects.
As a former president of the
"The Gettysburg Address . . . is not written in completely
Zionist Organization of America, as
simple language. 'Four score and seven' is not as simple as
`eighty seven,'
the current co-chairman of t h e
forth' is more old-fashioned than 'estab-
American Section of the Jewish
lished,' and 'dedicated to the proposition' sounds clumsy. Yet
Agency for Israel, as a previous
the overall effect of that great oration lies in its gloomy mag-
director of the Keren Hayesod, Dr.
nificence. And that is just what that occasion needed. The North
Neumann played vital roles in be-
knew that it had won a great victory at Gettysburg and was
rejoicing. But it was horrified at the enormous price of life and
h a I f of Zionist causes and in
treasure it had already paid and might yet pay again. And
philanthropic efforts for Israel.
thousands were numb with grief and despair at the death of
When the Palestinian issue
their sons.
first came up before the United
Nations, he shared the - vital role in
"The brevity of the Address was in itself a master stroke.
appeals for Jewish statehood with
The crowd had already listened for two hours to Dr. Edward
his lifetime associate in Zionism,
Everett, generally regarded as the greatest orator of the age. It
. Dr. Emanuel Neumann
Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.
was an age that could absorb a lot of oratory. Even so, the audi-
He has appeared on many platforms for Zionist and in behalf
ence must have been worn out when the learned rhetorician
gave way to the former backwoodsman.
of Israel, and continues the role of a great tribune in both causes.
"Whether three minutes later they knew that they had heard
In the course of these activities, he especially concerned
one of the greatest speeches of all time, we don't know. And it himself with the educational needs of our people. Advocating
doesn't matter. They knew that they had heard the right thing, the support of every effort in behalf of cultural projects in
that the President had said exactly what should have been said. Jewish ranks, he has constantly admonished- Jewry that only a
"We are told that the Address was received in silence, which knowledgable people can evaluate its own standards and only
was probably the highest tribute to its effctiveness and approp- those who understand Jewish values can be helpful in assuring
riateness. It was not a time for applause. The rich language, the perpetuation of the spiritual heritage of Israel.
though unncessary just to express his ideas, lent Lincoln's speech
He began his activities in the educational field as an associate
the dignity the occasion demanded. The slightly old-fashioned of the late Miss Henrietta Szold in the education department of
language and biblical rhythms must have called forth echoes the Zionist Organization of America, had labored for Zionist
of the Bible that moved his bearers' minds to the comforts of projects with the late Justice Louis D. Brandeis, Judge Julian W.
religion.
Mack, Louis Lipsky, Morris Rothenberg and other of the early
"The most famous phrase in the speech—`Government of noted Zionist leaders. He was instrumental in advancing the
the people, by the people, for the' people'—was not original. Young Judaea movement and encouraged other youth and educa-
Several others had expressed the idea publicly on previous occa- tional projects.
sions, one of them very near to the time of the Address. But
In recent years, he especially devoted himself to encouraging
the very fact that the idea, so expressed, was in the air may the establishment of progressive Jewish Day Schools, and he
have helped. It may have made Lincoln's phrase seem sound, played an important role in the creation of the Hillel Day School
established, indisputable, even homely, 'altogether fitting.' And in Detroit. He has been active nationally in many cultural projects
that is what a funeral oration should be. It's no occasion for wit through Zionism and in numerous other ways.
and brilliance."
Dr. Neumann's career is marked by many notable attainments.
What a great lesson is taught in this splendid evaluation of Whatever is said in his honor on Sunday evening will merely
the great Address, appearing so timely in a very timely book ! scratch the surface as an evaluation of his gifts to Jewry. It is
To go back to Evans' "The Word-a-Day Vocabulary Builder"; well that his leadership receives wide recognition and we join
we are admonished that there are just 850 words in Basic English joyfully in extending heartiest greetings on his 70th birthday to
and only 18 are verbs. We are told that Scientists use words our friend and co-worker in Jewish ranks, Dr. Emanuel Neumann.
4>
-
Russia Accuses
7 More Jews as
Profiteers
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
LONDON—Seven persons, all
with Jewish names, have been
listed by Sovietskaya Latvia as
members of an import ring in
the latest "economic crimes"
charges against Jews. It was re-
ported here Tuesday from Mos-
cow.
The Latvian Soviet newspaper
asserted that the seven had im-
ported 160 nylon coats from the
United States and sold them
illegally in Riga for $77,000.
The newspaper declared that
"they will get what they de-
serve." The story did not in-
dicate whether these accused
had been tried. Their names
were listed as Shanda Shapir,
Berk Gelfand, Yakov Brusilov-
sky, Elizabeta Katsman, Sophia
Hatskeyish, F r e n d i Mirtskaya
and Blum Zimmerman.
The newspaper said that a
"Mexican capitalist" named
Brossi who had relatives in the
Ukraine had often sent parcels
to the seven Jews and that they
had obtained an import license
to receive personal gifts from
abroad after arranging with
Brossi to send the coats.
Shazar Dedicates
Herzog Memorial
The Rabbi Herzog Memorial
Building of the Emet World
Academy in Jerusalem was de-
dicated and opened for use last
week.
This first new building. which
will house the Encyclopedia Tal-
mudit and the New Israeli Tal-
mud, stands in Bayit Vegan on
astretch of land known as Kiryat
Emet, directly facing the Mount
Herzl War Memorial area. It is
dedicated to the founder and
first president of Emet World
Academy, the late Chief Rabbi
Isaac Halevy Herzog.
Present at the ceremony were
Israel's President Shazar; Is-
rael's Chief Rabbi Nissim; Chief
Rabbi of Tel Aviv Unterman;
Vice-Premier Abba Eban; In-
terior Minister Shapiro; Reli-
gious Minister Warhaftig; Jew-
ish Agency Chairman Sharett;
Supreme Court Justice Zilberg;
members of the Supreme Reli-
gious Court; and Sir Isaac Wolf-
son of England.
Israel's President Sha7ar
stressed the tremendous import-
ance of Emet World Academy
and praised its many accomplish-
Ments in the area of higher
Jewish learning.
Kennedy, 15 Nobel Prize Winners
to Attend Weizmann Institute Event
President Kennedy, who will
address the 18th annual dinner
of the Weizmann Institute of
Science, Dec. 5th at the Ameri-
cana, New York, will be joined
at the dinner by fifteen Nobel
Laureates and many other in-
ternationally distinguished scien-
tists. Some 3,000 guests will at-
tend.
"The President's participation
in the 1963 Weizmann Institute
dinner represents a milestone
in the history of the Institute.
It constitutes high recognition
of the international stature the
Weizmann Institute has acquired
in the world of science, and it
is evidence of President Ken-
nedy's interest in and concern
for the development of world
science and technology," Abra-
ham Feinberg, president of the
American committee for the
Weizmann Institute, said in his
announcement. Feinberg is
chairman- of the Board of the
Kayser-Roth Corporation.
A century ago, on Nov. 10, 1863, this ancient photo is believed to have been taken
just as President Abraham Lincoln stepped from the three-foot platform after delivering
his immortal Gettysburg Address. Lincoln is shown surrounded by stovepipe-hatted
marshals.
The Weizmann Institute of
Science is in Rehovoth, Israel.
Its scientific and technical staff
of more than 1,000 conduct basic
research programs in the natural
and life sciences. Founded in
1934 by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a
distinguished scientist and Is-
rael's first President, the Insti-
tute today has more than 200
research projects in progress in
18 fields of modern science.
The Weizmann Graduate
School in the Natural Sciences,
formally established in 1958, has
a current enrollment of 175 can-
didates for the Master of Science
and Ph.D. degrees.
The United States is the prin-
cipal country of origin for visit-
ing investigators at the Insti-
tute. This year, 42 American
scientists are conducting re-
search programs at the Institute
for periods up to one year.
Nobel Laureates who will at-
tend the Weizmann Dinner in-
clude: Prof. Walter Brattain,
Prof. Vincent du Vigneaud, Dr.
Robert Hoffstadter, Prof. Arthur
Kornberg, Prof. Willard F. Lib-
by, Prof. Fritz A. Lipmann, Dr.
Rudolf L. Mossbauer, Prof. I. I.
Rabi, Prof. Emilio Segre, Prof.
William Shockley, Dr. Wendell
M. Stanley, Prof. Edward L.
Tatum, Dr. Georg von Bekesy,
Dr. Selman A. Waksman and Dr.
James Dewey Watson.