Australian Non-Jew Wins International Bible Quiz

Israel's Favorite Sport

BY DAVID SCHWARTZ

(Copyright, 1964, JTA, Inc.)

Israel has just concluded its an-
nual Bible Quiz. Twenty countries
sent representatives, Christians as
well as Jews. The President of
Israel:attended, and the diplomatic
corps. Israel has begun to look for-
ward to the Bible quiz as another
Iand might to the holding of an
Olympic. The Bible has become
very popular in Israel, not only
religiously, but as part of the cul-
ture and history of the land.
Yigal Yadin, who led Israel's
fight for independence, recently
wrote a book about war strategy in
the Bible. It said that he based his
successful strategy on Joshua and
Gideon and other Biblical war
heroes. Not so long ago, I read an
anecdote about a visit of the wife
of the Israeli .ambassador to the
United Nations to her physician.
He prescribed treatment by sound.
"I suppose you never heard of that
before," he said. "0," she replied,
"in Israel we had that three
thousand years ago. Joshua used 'it
against the walls of Jericho."
The Bible contains many things,
but it is less known in America
today than it used to be. I read re-
cently of an American tourist who
in Israel visited Sodom and was

* * *

surprised. She said she had thought
Sodom and Gomorrah were sister
and brother like Dan and Beer-
sheba. I suspect if some publisher
got out the Bible in America in
paperback, many would receive it
as a new book and it might get
some good reviews. In the begin-
ning days of America, it was the
greatest single influence.

The Old Testament was the
actual legal code of Massachusetts
in the days of the Pilgrims and
Puritans. Later its hold lessened,
but it continued long as a dominant
force.

In the Revolution. Paine quoted
Samuel and Gideon in behalf of
the republican as against the mon-
archist force.
After the Boston Tea Party,
there appeared The 'American
Book of Chronicles:
"And behold, when the tidings
came to the great city that is afar
off, the city that is in the land of
Britain, how the men of Boston,
even the Bostonians, had cast and
cast it in the midst of the sea."
So runs the first paragraph. It
was effective because it parodied
Biblical style so well.

BY JOSHUA H. JUSTMAN

(Chief JTA Correspondent

in Israel)

(Copyright, 1964, JTA, Inc.)

JERUSALEM — The triennial
International Bible Quiz, which be-
gan in 1958 within the framework
of Israel's tenth anniversary cele-
brations, this year produced the
first non-Israeli World Bible cham-
pion: Graham Mitchell, 30-year-old
accountant and Seventh Day Ad-
ventist from Australia.
Israel's champion, Yeshiva stu-
dent Yomtov Krasnianski, lagged
behind by one point only. How-
ever, he was much more behind
his predecessors, Israel's first two
winners of 1958 and 1961—Amos
Hacham and Yehyeh Alsheikh-
who were seated this year among
the judges. Indeed, when the
judges met a day -before the open-
ing, to "test" the questions, Al-

the United 'States — were Bible
masters in their own right. •
In the course of the years. fol-

j

lowing the first and second con-
tests, many here voiced apprehen- !
sion over. what they termed, the
"vulgarization" of the Bible.
Knowledge of the Bible, they
argued, cannot be measured by.
and reduced •to. a feat of memory.
It is true that a World Bible Cham-
pion is not ipSo facto the world's
greatest Bible scholar. Far from
it. However, "memorizing" the
Bible can never be a mere me-
sheikh answered them all.
chanical achieveMent. By know-
The winner of the third place.
of ing the Prophets by heart one may
Ida Imm o nen—librarian
the Theological Center at Helsinki not reach their full depth, but at
the same time one cannot read and
re-read them without grasping

When, much later, the telegraph
?vas invented, the first message sent
over the wires was the Biblical
verse, "What hatlz God wrought."

An amusing story of biblical
quotation is told of Franklin. Upon
his return from France, where he
had gone to solicit aid for the
American Revolution, Congress
found his accounts short and he
was asked for an explanation.
"It is written in Scripture," he
said, "thou shalt not muzzle the
ox when it treadeth out the corn."
Congress laughed. Franklin was
saying that in "treading out the
corn," he had been forced to dip
into funds for services about which
the less said the better.
When I was a boy down South,
where we lived, we were helped by
rhymes in learning about the
Bible. There was one about Adam
and Eve:
Adam was the first man
Eve was his wife

U.S. Expert Comes
to Land of the Bible

—finished with 6.5 points behind
Graham Mitchell, but won a special
place by the fullness of her replies
and the thorough knowledge she
displayed with a heart-winning
modesty. And all those who, did
not reach the final round—includ-
ing the only Jewish participant
from abroad, Joshua Singer from

German Catholics
to Use Dr. Briber's
Bible Translation

their message. Thus, if these con-
tests encourage the study of the

ROME (JTA)—A German Cath-
olic publishing house has begun
work on the preparation of a new
edition of the Bible, using for the
Old Testament portion a transla-
tion into German by Martin Buber.

leading Israeli philosopher. This
was announced here at a press con- '
ference held by German bishops
participating in the deliberations
of the Ecumenical Council in con-
nection with the proposed schema
on Divine Revelation, dealing with
the Old Testament.
The bishops cited the use by the
German Catholic publishing house
of Prof. Buber's work in connection
with deliberations over whether
Jewish scholars would participate
in Catholic translation teams. The
schema contains a recommendation
that Biblical translations be pre-
pared in collaboration with non-
Catholic Christian scholars.

number of scholars, too. They were
all men and women whose love
for the Bible was vivid to the
naked eye.
Watching them, seated at the
long table along the front of the
stage--men and women from 20
countries; from Switzerland and
Nigeria, from the United Statse
and Ethiopia, from Uruguay, New
Zealand, Argentina, Finland, 'Italy,
Canada, Guatemala, Holland, Bra-
zil, Sweden, Austria and more-

one could not but be overwhelmed
by this unique manisfestation of
the common fountain of the human
spirit and its significance. Neither
could one miss the significance of
fact that it was taking place in
the capital of Israel, the eternal

city of Jerusalem in which the
Bible was born and from which the
words of the prophets went forth
unto mankind.

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Watching the contestants one
> 4 - -
could have little doubt that the
study of the Bible meant to them
much more than an opportunity to
gain the crown of "championship."
At Lowest Prices in Town!
No doubt. they included quite a

Like

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42 PROOF

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UNITED BRANDS • DETROIT • U.S.A.

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U.S. representative to the World
Bible Contest—sponsored by the
government of Israel every three
Sometimes a knowledge of the
years — was Assistant Attorney
General of the State of New York, Bible may be practically useful as
SAMUEL SINGER. Winner of the one of our co-religionists found out
New York contest, 57 year old Mr. when he was mocked by an un-
Singer, whose life-long hobby has couth man who addressed him con-
been the study of the Bible, temptuously as Abraham, Isaac
competed against contestants from and Jacob.
"I am not Abraham or Isaac or
19 other nations in the finals,
held in Jerusalem. Singer flew Jacob," he replied, "but Saul came
to Israel via El Al Israel Air- out looking for his asses and now
lines whose motto, appropriately I think I've found one."

.

-

enough. is taken from Exodus. I
XIX, 4" . . I bare you on eagles'

■

wings . . . . "

DAMN

The defect in you do not point
out in another.—Baba Metzia 59.

BY HENRY LEONARD

Tell your husband
you made them yourself.

0

"But Bobe, all I wanted
was a glass of waterl"

Coot. 1964, Doming Productions

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, October 9, 1964-15

(Just don't forget to throw out the empty box).

AVAILABLE AT FROZEN FOOD CABINETS EVERYWHERE.

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They lived in a garden
And led a happy life
But Eve she ate the apple
And so they couldn't remain
So they moved into the suburbs
And started raising Cain.

-

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