Rutgers'World History of the Jewish People'
Starts With 'At the Dawn of Civilization'
"A monumental series tracing
the history of the Jewish people,
in all lands, from the days of
Abraham to the present," has be-
gun to appear from the Rutgers
University Press, New Brunswick,
N.J., and the first of projected 21
volumes already is available under
the title "At the Dawn of Civiliza-
tion."
Prof. Ephraim A. Speiser of the
University of Pennsylvania is edi-
tor of the first volume, and gen-
--.- eral editor of the first volume,
.
.
,which
includes distinguished schol-
'----/ars as contributors, is Prof. B.
Netanyahu of Dropsie College.
There is an interesting back-
ground to the publication of this
momentous series. Believing that
the two previous histories by the
eminent Heinrich Graetz and
Simon Dubnov are "now outdated,"
a need was felt for "a new history
which should not only bring the
story up-to-date as regards recent
events, but also present both to
scholars and to the general reader
the results of the latest research
in all fields of Jewish history."
In the late 1940s a group of
scholars convened and "agreed
that such a project, to be fully
reliable and on the highest possi-
ble scholarly standard, could no
Th longer be the work of a single
) person but must now be a collec-
tive work."
Two committees of scholars were
formed in 1952—in Israel and in
this country—to develop the pro-
jected history. Now this effort is
bearing fruit, and work is pro-
gressing on 11 volumes, to appear
in Hebrew and in English, with
the most distinguished of the
world's Jewish scholars as partici-
pants.
Thus commences the Rutgers
"World History of the Jewish Peo-
ple." An explanatory editors-pub-
lishers note explains:
"In the past, nothwithstanding
all efforts (and sometimes brave
declarations) to the contrary,
Jewish history has tended to be
treated as if it were in a vacuum,
paying little attention to the fac-
tors of general history which
conditioned it and which in turn
it influenced. In the present
work, particular care has been
taken to ensure that the Jewish
history is placed within its
proper historical perspective in
the field of general history.
Thus not only is it shown how
general history affected the
course of Jewish history, but
also—sometimes with surprising
effect — how Jewish history af-
fected the general world about
it. The work is thus a contribu-
tion of first importance to his-
torical studies in general, not
only to those dealing specifically
with the Jewish people.
—
that Israel took on was to coun-
teract that vaccum. Once ac-
cepted, this mission was pursued
with unparalleled dedication and
single-mindedness of purpose.
The all but universal acceptance
of the results is a true measure
of the success attained."
■
PROF. E. A. SPEISER
At the Metropolitan Detroit Bnai Brith Israel Purim Festival
hosted by Pisgah Lodge and Chapter, Phillip Stollman (second from
left), Israel Bond steering committee chairman, was presented with
a scroll by the Israel Bond Organization. Others in photo are (from
left) : Elias Goldberg, Pisgah Israel Bond chairman; Alex Gersuk,
Bnai Brith Council Israel Bond chairman, and Louis E. Levitan,
Detroit Israel Bond director. The meeting resulted in Israel Bond
niirehacpc_totaling 550.000. Lew Norman was the guest entertainer.
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to
The Jewish News)
BRUSSELS—The Belgian min-
ister of health submitted to the
cabinet a draft bill awarding to
Belgian citizens who were victims
of the Nazis $20,000,000 in compen-
sation paid by West Germany to
Belgium.
In submitting the bill, the gov-
ernment turned down a request by
Jewish organizations that part of
the funds should be earmarked
specifically for Jews who were
forced to wear the yellow Star of
David or for the time they spent in
hiding from the Nazis.
The government rejected the re-
quest on the grounds that it would
also have to award compensation
to all Belgian citizens who had
been forced to live in hiding for
any reason.
In pursuing the task of outlin-
ing civilization's dawn, several au-
thorities, including Prof. W. F. Al-
bright who writes on "Prehistory,"
deal with the environmental fac-
tors — Israel and lands to the
north. The writers include Drs. A.
J. Brawer, author of four of the
essays; M. Avnimelech, D. Ashbel,
MUSIC ! ENTERTAINMENT
M. Zohary, F. S. Bodenheimer.
This first part of the book, too,
concludes with an essay by Prof.
Speiser, as editor, on the subject
"The Regional Environment."
and his orchestra
Prof. Speiser has four essays in
UN 3-6501
If No Answer Call DI 1-6847
the second portion of the book de-
voted to the ethno-linguistic fac-
tor. Other authors, who join in
writing on Semitics, Akkadian,
Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittite s,
Ammorites, Canaanites, include
Drs. H. Polotsky and S. N. Kramer.
The first portion reveals the
Corsets-Brassieres
introductory zeal of the spon-
sors of this world history. It in-
Expertly Fitted
cludes analyses of the flora and
20127
W. 7 MILE RD.
fauna, climate, geology, mor-
It is essential to the triumph of
538-5575
phology.
reform that it shall never succeed."
Parking in Rear
—William Hazlitt.
Planned to appear almost si-
multaneously in Hebrew and in
English, the new world history's
ATTENTION: ALL SINGLE MEN AND WOMEN
Hebrew editions will be published
THE BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL CHAPTER OF B`NAI BRITH
by Massadah Publishing Co. of
INVITE YOU TO ATTEND THEIR ANNUAL
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The
English volumes are being pub-
INSTALLATION DINNER AND DANCE
lished by Jewish History Pub-
Sunday, March 28th, 1965, at the GOLDEN NUGGET
lications Ltd., one of the 14 pub-
15921 W. 8 MILE RD. AT RUTHERFORD ST.
lishing enterprises controlled by
With the music of the TOWNSMEN
the Pell family, leading pub-
Women: by Reservation only
lishers of books in Hebrew. The
5.00
Men: For the dinner and dancing at 6 p.m.
publishing enterprises controlled
2.00
For the Dancing only at 9 p.m.
by the Peli family include:
FOR RESERVATIONS CALL,
Myna Moss
342 1280
Encyclopaedia Publishing Co.,
Mollie Foster UN 3-4885
which publishes the Hebrew En-
cyclopaedia in 32 volumes and
has 72,000 subscribers; Massadah
Publishing Co. which has produced
EXPECTING OUT OF TOWN GUESTS
more than 1,000 titles; and Mas-
sadah — P. E. C. Press Ltd., lead-
FOR A WEDDING OR A BAR MITZVAH?
ing publisher of Judaica in various
European languages.
Dr. Cecil Roth, Reader Emeritus
in Jewish Studies at the University
Is Conveniently Located at
of Oxford, has been named co-
20500
JAMES COUZENS
ordinating editor of the new world
(8 Mile & Greenfield—Across from Northland)
history project.
Call 342-3000 For the Finest Accommodations!
Work already is progressing on
Dine at the SCOTCH & SIRLOIN RESTAURANT
11 volumes, two to be published
Airport Limousine Service Available
each year but work to commence
at once on the entire projected
history.
In a statement about the next
volume in the series, with which
he will pursue his assignment in
this great undertaking, Prof.
Roth declared:
"While Jewish historiography
has previously inevitably devoted
a disproportionate space to the
history of persecution on the one
hand and to religious, intellec-
tual and literary history on the
other, in the 'World History of
the Jewish People' particular
care has been taken to pay due
attention to social and economic
history in accordance with the
concepts which now prevail in
general historiography."
The first volume speedily con-
firms that the aspirations of edi-
tors and publishers are being
realized. Enriched by 86 halftones,
six maps and two line drawings
which serve to explain the texts
to which they are appended, the
volume devoted to "The Dawn of
Civilization" deals with environ-
mental, ethno-linguistic and cul-
tural factors.
In the third portion, Prof.
Speiser writes on "Mesopotamia—
Evolution of an Integrated Civiliza-
tion," devoting himself to histor-
ical frameworks and cultural com-
ponents. The second portion of that
part of the monumental work is
devoted to "Egypt—The Kingdom
of the 'Two Lands,' " authored by
Prof. J. A. Wilson of the University
of Chicago.
An epilogue by Prof. Speiser,
which concludes the third part,
makes the following important ob-
servation:
"Thanks to our vastly in-
creased knowledge of the an-
dent Near East, which this
volume has attempted to sum-
marize, we know now how much
Israel had learned from both
Egypt and Mesopotamia. If it
had not been for their prior
labors, Israel might not have
fared so well in going on from
where they left off, or in start-
ing afresh where they had
failed. The very strides that
had been made in material, soc-
ietal and intellectual fields help-
"When some six years ago I was
ed to emphasize the existing asked to take as my special responsi-
spiritual vaccum. The mission bility in the World History of the
Stollman Honored at Pisgah Bond Fete
West, partly to Moorish Spain, partly
to Northern France and the lands
bordering on this area. There is hardly
a single figure of first importance in
Jewish cultural life in the course of
the past ten centuries who was born
other than in Western Europe, or at
all events of Western European stock.
But cultural life does not exist in a
vacuum: it is dependent on a dense
and self-sufficient social life to nurture
it, and a dense population to support
it. An American parallel can illustrate
my point: had Benjamin Franklin been
born in New England a hundred years
before, his genius would have been the
same, but his influence would have
been negligible-
"The period 700-1000 hence witnessed
not only the transference of Jewish
culture, but also of the great mass of
Jewish population, from East to West.
How did it happen? What caused it?
It is perhaps one of the most important
facts of all Jewish history, but histori-
ans hitherto have paid little attention
to it: they have accepted the change
without attempting to explain it. In
the volume that I am editing in World
History of the Jewish People, and which
should appear later in the present
year, the phenomenon is receiving for
the first time the attention that it
deserves as a factor in general as well
as in Jewish history. A number of dis-
tinguished experts have turned their
attention to the problem and to various
aspects of Jewish life as they developed
in Europe during the period in ques-
tion, setting the scene for the drama
and tragedy and achievement of Jewish
life in Europe in the course of the
Middle Ages and into modern times.
Much still remains problematical or
dubious. But I feel that I can say that
with the appearance of this volume
the foundation has at last been laid
for the knowledge of this period."
Belgian Cabinet Gets Bill
for Funds to Nazi Victims
Jewish People' the volume, (XI), deal-
ing with the Dark Ages in Christian
Europe (essentially the period from 700
to 1096) I accepted with a curious mix-
ture of reluctance and and alacrity. Re-
luctance, because although I knew
about the period approximately as
much as most of my colleagues, my
knowledge was sketchy and the gaps
in it distressing: alacrity, because the
editing of this volume in the series
constituted a remarkable challenge.
in question is one of the most important
in Jewish history, particularly as re-
gards the area in question: for it wit-
nessed the beginnings of the European-
ized Jewry that has conditioned Jewish
history for the last thousand years and
has been responsible during the past
generations for the greatest achieve-
ments of the Jewish people, whether
cultural or political, whether domestic
or external. Einstein, Freud, Brandeis,
Weizmann, Disraeli, Ben-Gurion, Car-
doso—all 'western' Jews—are a random
selection of the names that will il-
lustrate my point. Now, this Euro-
peanised Jewry came into being pre-
cisely in the period in question. We do
not know how it happened, nor pre-
cisely when it happened. All that can
he said is that in the year 700 the mass
of the Jewish people and almost the
totality of the Jewish cultural tradi-
tion was still concentrated in the
Middle East, in the lands that had
produced the Bible and the Talmud.
13y 1100, and perhaps by the year
1000, the centre of Jewish culture had
transferred itself to the lands of the
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 26, 1965-27
SAMMY
WOOLF
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