Deceased Scholar Among Noted
Architects of State of Israel

Representatives of Jewish tercentenary of the establish-
communities from many states, ment of the first organized Jew-
spokesmen for other faiths and ish community in America.
Government leaders joined on
It was as the architect of
Sunday in paying tribute to the State of Israel, as one of
the memory of Dr. Abba Hillel the group that played a most
Silver, the most eminent rab- vital role in presenting the

entire time to the cause of de-
fending the Jewish position
in Palestine and in enrolling
American support for the
Jewish National Home. As a
close friend of Senator
Robert Taft, as an intimate
of Presidents and noted Amer-
ican Christian leaders, he
was a leader in the libera-
tion Jewish movement.

It would be an error, how-
ever, to think of Dr. Silver only
as a great Zionist leader. Linked
with his leadership in Zionism
was his fearless stand in de-
fense of organized labor, his
condemnation of anti-Semitism
whenever it became evident, the
leading role he played against
Coughlinism and McCarthyism.
And equally important in his
career was the great role he
played in scholarship, in Jewish
historical research, as an author
and as a theologian.
When he marked his 70th
birthday last January, Dr. Silver
was honored nationwide, Presi-
dent Kennedy took note of the
occasion and an impressive
volume containing excerpts
from his major writings and
tributes by distinguishing world
figures was published by Mac-
millan under the title "In the
Time -of Harvest." His son, Rab-
bi Daniel Jeremy Silver, who
now occupies his pulpit at The
Temple in Cleveland, was one
of the editors of that impres-
sive volume.

Hershman who later became
rabbi of Shaarey Zedek in De-
troit, and many others who not
only became famous as Jewish
leaders but who were outstand-
ing as Hebraists. Their activities
were centered in the then fa-
mous Herzl Zion Club.
He was one of the world's
most brilliant orators, and some
of his addresses have gone
down in history as the most
moving public statements. The
address he delivered at the Wal-
dorf Astoria Hotel in New York
on the formation of the ill-
fated American Jewish Confer-
e n c e was one of the most
notable in his career, and his
Zionist speeches are among the
imperishable gems.

DR. ABBA HILLEL SILVER
binic scholar in the world who Jewish case before the United
died Nov. 28 of a heart attack. Nations in 1947, that Dr.
Funeral services on Sunday Silver was especially effec-
morning, at The Temple in tive. Prior to that, as head of
Cleveland, which he had served the American Zionist Emer-
He was a great analyst of
as rabbi for 47 years, were at- gency Council, he gave his
world as well as Jewish af-
tended by a Detroit delegation
as well as delegations from
more than 100 cities.
The tributes accorded him
were in recognition of services
the eminent rabbi had rendered
during a lifetime that was
Rabbi Moses Lehrman, Judge Ira G. Kaufman and Rabbi
marked by great accomplish- Leon Fram, presidents, respectively, of the Michigan Zionist
ments. He was well known in Region, Zionist Organization of Detroit and Zionist Council, on
Detroit, having come here num- Tuesday announced that a memorial meeting for Dr. Abba Hillel
erous times to address Allied Silver will be held here at Temple Israel, Sunday evening, Jan. 5.
Jewish Campaign meetings, to They also announced that a chemical laboratory in memory of Dr.
speak at Zionist gatherings, to Silver will be set up in Kfar Silver in Israel by Michigan Zionists.
address Temple Beth El serv- Those desiring
participate in this tribute are asked to send
ices. He was the guest here also their gifts to the to
Zionist
Organization of Detroit.
at the banquet that marked the

As president of the Zion ,
ist Organization of America,
as chairman of the board of

Dr. Abba Hillel Silver a Grea
and a Mighty Prince in Israel

Sar v-Gadol Nofal b'Israel!-
A prince and a great man has fallen in Israel!
The death of Abba Hillel Silver removes from
leadership one of the most effective tribunes in Jewry.
He was a leader in the rabbinate, one of his
generation's greatest orators, an outstanding and uncom-
promising Zionist, a distinguished Hebraist and a dis-
tinguished defender of Jewish rights.
Rabbi Silver was primarily a scholar. He was the
author of a series of theological studies based on his
lifetime of research into - Jewish historical records. His
evaluation of the Messianic idea in Jewish tradition is
among his imperishable works, and his many tracts on
Judaism, Zionism and Israel will remain among the
great contributions to Jewish scholarship.
He was one of the builders of Zion. He may well be
considered one of the architects of the State of Israel.
His presentations of the Jewish case before United
Nations commissions were among the most effective in
the struggle for international recognition of Jewish
rights to the .Holy Land.
The Zionist movement remains indebted to him.
He helped build a great monument in the Zionist idea,
and as chairman of the Zionist Emergency Council he
was an uncompromising advocate of Jewish statehood
and a defender of Jewish rights during the trying days
when it was so vitally necessary that the facts should
be known about Jewish aspirations and that all misrepre-
sentations should be exposed.
Kfar Silver in Israel, the agricultural school estab-
lished in his honor for the training of Israeli youth in
scientific agricultural endeavors, now stands as one of
the monuments to his memory.
There are, however, many monuments in tribute
to him: his writings, the inspiration he gave to his
generation, the leadership he helped train in Jewish
ranks, the encouragement he gave to the United Jewish
Appeal, to religious and other movements.
His memory will, indeed, be a blessing for our own
time and for many generations to come.

MURRY
KOBLIN

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Zionist Memorial Here on January 5
Planned in Tribute to Dr. Silver

Editorial: In Memoriam

the Israel Bond Organization,
as a leader in the Reform
Jewish movement and as
president of the Central Con-
ference of American Rabbis,
as national chairman of the
(Continued on Page 6)

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fairs and his New Year ser-
mons were always viewed as
"State of the Nation" evalua-
tions.

Dr. Silver possessed a fine
sense of humor. On his first
visits in Detroit, before the
Men's Club of Beth El and the
Temple itself, in the late 1920s,
he virtually held his audiences
in stitches with his stories and
his humorous descriptions of
Jewish life. He retained that
sense of the jocular through-
out his life.
Born in Lithuania, brought
to this country by his father,
a venerable orthodox rabbi who
died in Israel several years ago,
Dr. Silver became a leader
among the Jewish youth on New
York's East Side. He was among
the distinguished young people,
who included Emanuel and
Joshua Neumann, Abraham M.

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5 —TH E DETROIT JEWISH NEWS—Frid ay, December 6, 1963

World Jewry Mourns Death of Abba Hillel Silver

