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.