THE JEWISH NEWS

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

Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial
AAseetation.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 48235 Mich.,
VE 8-9364. Subscription *6 a year. Foreign ;7.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan

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PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor and Publisher

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

SIDNEY SHMARAK

Business Manager

Advertising Manager

CHARLOTTE HYAMS

City

Editor

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the twentieth day of Tishri, 5725, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portions: Exod. 33:12-34:26, Num. 29:17-22; Prophetical portion,
Ezekiel 38:18-39:16

Licht benshen, Friday, September 25, 6:07 p.m.

VOL. /ELY', No. 5

Page 4

September 25, 1964

Retention of Rejoicing in the Law

With Simhat Torah, we conclude the in the Torah.
Now there will follow the perod of testing
year's first cycle of great festivals, on Tues-
—as to whether our efforts have been suc-
'day.
Appropriately, since the major appeals cessful, or whether we are continuing to fail,
during the Holy Days and subsequent Suk- as indeed we have failed in many respects —
kot festival were primarily on increasing in keeping our youth very close to us.
our educational activities and the retention
The retention of youth interest is not the
of the interest of our youth in Jewish needs, responsibility of the younger element alone.
the last day of the holdays is entitled Rejoic- It depends in greatest measure on the man-
ing in the Law.
ner in which we continue to keep them very
Great emphasis was placed by our syna- close to our ranks. For that we need the best
gogues and in many homes on the children's facilities in our educational programs. There
participation in the holidays. We have tried must be no let-down in our cultural work if
to create a joy in our traditions, a rejoicing we shall always have rejoicing in the law.

,

Israel's Appeal to Conscience of World ,'Flowers, Festivals of the Year'

It is difficult to judge whether the Arabs,
in the most recent meetings, and especially
at the session in Alexandria, attained any
measure of unity in support of the Nasser-
sponsored plan to exterminate Israel. Pre-
vious experiences showed that there was such
a vast amount of disunity among the Arabs
that they could not even get together on the
only thing that seems to unite them: the
hatred for Israel.
Nevertheless, the repeated threats from
Cairo, the readiness with which Jordan's
King Hussein has become a tool of Nasser,
the fear that reports from Cairo instill among
Jews and the misinformation that is spread
by them among non-.Jews, must keep us on
the alert.
The fact is that international indifference
to threats to destroy a peaceful nation is re-
sponsible for most of the difficulties that
follow in the wake of Nasserism, and the
complacency in Washington may be the
guiltiest element in the entire tragic-comedy
that is continually being re-enacted by the
heads of 13 Arab states.
Because there is such guilt among the
world's powers, Israel found it necessary to
issue the appeal that the world should "not
revert to the attitude of complacency, silence
and lack-of concern which it once evidenced

toward threats of aggression and war, accom-
panied by political and military preparations
aimed at transplanting the threats into
action."
It is an established fact that, had it not
been for Israel, hatred for whom united
them, the Arabs would have been at each
others' throats in land-grabbing schemes—
as is indicated by the Yemen conflict today.

Lillian S. Freehof, the wife of the eminent rabbi Solomon B.
Freehof of Pittsburgh. has written a number of good books on Jewish
topics for children. She is interested in gardening and that has enabled
her. together with Mrs. Chester G. (Lottie C.) Bandman, also of Pitts-
burgh, to produce a most interesting book on "Flowers and Festivals of
the Jewish Year." The book has just been published by Hearthside
E. 28th, NY 16).
But in the present instance it is not merely Press As (118
title implies, the book deals with our festivals. It is devoted
the Yemen situation that should create con- to floral the
arrangements. The two subjects are linked by the authors'
cern among the world's powers over the aim to advise the readers on proper floral arrangements for all our
threats to international amity: it is the out- holidays, in synagogues and in homes.
right threat that Arabs aim at Israel's de-
The two authors point out that there is "an inherited custom"
of celebrating our holidays by using "the produce of the earth to
struction that should move statesmen to ac-
enhance the mood of our religious expression." Thus, they combine
tion against the aggressions that stem from
"historic and contemporary interests" in their planned explanations
Cairo.
of the Sabbath and the festivals.
One wonders whether there will be an
Utilizing numerous drawings and photographs by S. William
awakening. It is true that there are greater Hinzman,
as well as scores of photographs from other accredited
crises in the world than the mouthings of sources, Mesdames Freehof and Bandman go into details about the
Nasser and his cohorts. But another upheav- fruits mentioned in the Bible, about "the lure of the blossom" and
al in the Middle East, added to the troubles Israel's agricultural heritage.
in Cyprus, certainly could flare up into an-
They show, for example. that, as the Midrash states, "it was the
other world conflict. To prevent another fig of which Eve ate." They thus explain the misconception about the
conflagration. the rulers in major areas of apple as "the forbidden fruit."
It is also explained that "Mrs. Noah, in spite of the thousands of
the world must exert their influence to pre-
she had to care for, also was careful to save some plants by
vent the spread of war threats. An end to lanimals
taking a flower or a shrub or two in the ark. Perhaps that was
saber-rattling in the Mediterranean area when the flood receded and Noah and his family came out of why,
the
could go a long way towards ending the war ark, Noah was able to plant the vines which brought forth the grapes
scares that emanate from hatred and irre- of wine."
sponsibility.
As the harvest festival day. Shavuot, the authors point out,
"is designated as a judgment day of trees. One authority stated
that it was customary to place trees in the synagogue, but another
authority prohibits this because it is aping a gentile custom."
Pre-eminent amongst flowers, the rose, which was compared by
Solomon to "the rose of Sharon," is called in the Mishnah "the king's
it has become necessary to establish the rose," and Mesdames Freehof and Bandman state: "Once it was the
means wherewith to extend free educational custom to scatter roses and other fragrant blossoms on the floor of
facilities.
the synagogue. In the Palestinian sanctuaries, flowers were distributed
This is the purpose of the Israel Educa- to the worshippers as they left the services on the eve of Passover.
tion Fund. While there is a very great need And at the other festivals, the house and the synagogue were decorated
for expanding our own educational system with flowers."
The manner in which the Sabbath was hallowed, its significance,
in this country, we must recognize realities the legends relating to it, the adherence to the day of rest and the
and concede that if Israel is to be secure it . ideals linked with it, combine to form a most impressive chapter In a
must not be divided into two conflicting volume in which all the festivals are evaluated in relation to Jewish
groups—of the cultured and uncultured re- !traditions and observances.
The quotation from Micah (IV, 4) — "Each man shall sit
sulting from the have and have-nots. To
under his own vine and fig tree" — serves to emphasize "the
avert crises there must be increased facilities
prophetic
promise in connection with his home."
for the attainment of high cultural standards
There is an enchanting set of ideas on how to set the Rosh
by all Jews in Israel, and the establishment
Hashanah table, how to decorate it by the use of grapes and flowers.
of the special education fund should not be Because of the prayer for a good and a sweet year and the use of
considered a sacrifice. It is a necessity..
apples and honey during the New Year meals, apples play their role
During his recent visit in this country, in the setting.
Sukkot,' as the harvest festival, lends itself especially to the use of
Israel's Prime Minister Levi Eshkol said he
welcomed "the additional task UJA has un- flowers and fruits in the settings in sukkahs and in homes. The
dertaken" in the launching of the Israel authors provide adequate explanations for the esrog and lulav, for
the sukkah - decorations, and subsequently for the Simhat Torah
Education Fund.
observances.
Anticipating the new step, we pointed to
Hanukah, too, is elaborated upon, and Hamisha Asar b'Shevat,
the existence of illiteracy in Israel and stated
the New Year of the Trees, received special treatment.
editorially in July that the efforts for the
Not only Purim, Passover and Shavuot, but special events such
expansion of Israel's educational system "are as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, weddings and other events are utilized for
steps in the right direction, and it is to be suggestions properly to decorate festive tables to make the observance
hoped that illiteracy, generally unknown in impressive.
While this is a book intended for Jewish utilization, it is valuable
Jewish ranks, will be completely wiped out
all lovers of flowers and fine decorations, especially because of the
in Israel." We reiterate this view. It is not for
concluding chapter on "The Science of FlOwer Arranging."
only the end of illiteracy to which we aspire
A number of multicolored photographs enchance the volume.
but also the granting of opportunities to the There is chapter devoted to the observance of Thanksgiving, and a 25-
less affluent to rise higher culturally through year calendar listing the Jewish holidays from 1964-65 to 1989-1990
a free secondary education system in Israel. also will be helpful.

New Educational Plans for Israel

Establishment of the Israel Education
Fund. under consideration at the special UJA
conference now•in session in New York, draws
attention to one of the major issues affecting
the Jewish State.
It has been pointed out in the past few
years that there are "two Israels," that the
vast numbers of Oriental Jews who have
entered the land—and they now are in the
majority there—has created a conflict that
results in large measure from the cultural
superiority of the Occidental community that
had been the dominant factor until now.
Oriental Jews who have come to Israel
in the hundreds of thousands, escaping the
venom of the Arabs who persecuted them
and robbed them of their 'possessions, did
not possess the training of their Western
kinsmen who succeeded in elevating Israel
to very high industrial and economic stand-
ards. They were and are' economically the
poorer and by virtue of it they have had
fewer opportunities to acquire a higher edu-
cation. Thus, while the Jews who came from
Western countries attained the goal of com-
pleting high school courses and in many in-
stances acquiring a college education, the
Oriental Jews had neither background nor
the means of pursuing continuing studies
after their elementary school education.
One of the reasons for such a disparity is
.,that free education is limited by economic
necessities to the elementary schools, and

f
Ofers
Interesting Suggestions
Related to Biblical Traditions