Ma rch 2 7, 1964 THE DETR OIT JEWISH N EWS — 4

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THE
JEWISH
NEWS

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Incorporating the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle commencing with issue
of July 20, 1951.

Member American Jewish Press
Association, Michigan Press Associa-
tion, National Editorial Association.

Published every Friday by The
Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100
West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35,
Mich., VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a
year. Foreign $7.

Entered as second class matter
Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office, Detroit,
Mich., under act of Congress of
March 8, 1879.
* * *

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor and Publisher

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

Business Manager

SIDNEY SHMARAK

Advertising Manager

• • •

CHARLOTTE HYAMS

City Editor

* *

Passover Scriptural Selections
On the first two days of Pass-
over, the following Se-riptual se-
lections will be read in our
synagogues:

Pentateuchal portions: First
Ex. 12:21-51,
Day, Saturday
Num. 28:16-25; Second Day, Sun-
day: Lev. 22:26-23:44, Nunt. 28:
16-25.

Prophetical portions: Satur-
day, Joshua 5:2-6:1, 6:27; Sun-
day, II Kings 23:1-9, 21-25.

Hol Hamoed Passover
Pentateuchal Portions

Monday, Es. 13:1-16, Num.
28:19-25; Tuesday, Ex. 22:24-23:
19, Num. 28:19-25; Wednesday,
Ex. 34:1-26, N um . 28:19-25;
Thursday, Num. 9:1-14, 28:19-25.

Licht Benshen,
Friday, March 27, 6:34 p.m.

VOL. XLV. No. 5
March 27, 1964

9 6 4

Passover: Jewry's Strength in an Era of Freedom

We are ushering in tonight a great festival whose message has
been and remains a challenge to mankind, whose purpose is to recall
a time when our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and whose freedom
was attained through the strong leadership of the Great Lawgiver.
The Passover festival is permeated with the majestic personality of
Moses, who, as Henry George wrote about him in an imperishable
essay, was "not merely intellectually great, but morally great . . . a
statesman aglow with the unselfish patriotism that refuses to grasp
a scepter or found a dynasty.'

Moses' was a gift not to the Hebrew alone, but to all mankind.
It was a call to justice and to liberty, a demand for the breaking of
all shackles of slavery. It remains a message to the downtrodden,
wherever they may be, regardless of the age . . . because Moses was
a leader for the ages.

In the spirit of an acquired freedom we have marked the Pass-
over throughout the many generations . . . with joy and also by means
of constantly repeating the message of Passover so that it should
never be forgotten. Parents handed it down to children, and at the
Seder they indicated firmly and distinctly that there is an obligation
on the elders to pass the lesson of the Festival of Freedom on to the
youth, so that they may, in turn, present it as a heritage to their
children.
That is why Passover has become such an important family cele-
bration. That is why the Seder has been a time for reunion of kinsmen.

This will undoubtedly be a repeated experience at many a Seder
throughout the world tonight.

Time and again, however, a saying best expressed in Yiddish has
been heard: men meint nit die haggadah, men meint die kneidlach .
the objective is not the Haggadah but the matzoh balls.

It has been resorted to as a jest, yet it must be treated in all
seriousness, and the question must be posed: are Jews able to survive
in freedom and respect the Passover in an era of liberty as much as
it was honored when there were persecutions?

This is a challenge not to be treated lightly, and Passover is
the time to review it: we have survived bigotry, we have been the
masters of our souls under persecutions; are we able similarly to
show strength in this era of freedom?

, Jewry was and remains indestructible. We possess the genius
for survival: But in some areas we are losing numerically. Some
of our sons and daughters are abandoning us and our faith and are
refusing to accept the legacy of Israel. Does Passover prove anew
that this is a passing phase only among a minority and that the vast
majority of Jews can and will survive under freedom?

We present this as the major question that confronts us on
Passover. We do it in the belief that especially on Passaver there
emerges the assurance that our people will survive. It is our hope
and prayer that our people, as they gather at the Sedorim all over the
globe will reaffirm their allegiance to a great legacy. May the family
gatherings this Passover, at the festive Sedorim, once again serve as
evidence that Israel lives to carry the message of Prophetic teachings
to all mankind.

