Religious, Educational Contents of New Paperbacks

Paperbacks, already having at-
tained noteworthy status in the
publishing field, are serving a very
valuable purpose in spreading the
best in Jewish classics and the
finest literary creations of our
time. They also contribute towards
the spread of knowledge about
Jewish traditions.
Several of the newest paperbacks
attest to these contentions. Yeshiva
University Press, Herzl Press,
Jonathan David and other publish-
ers have recently issued impres-
sive Jewish works.
From Yeshiva University's de-
partment of special publications we
have two new volumes in "Studies
in Torah Judaism"—"Prayer" by
Dr. Eliezer Berkovits and "Knowl-
edge and Love in Rabbinic Lore"
by Dr. Leo Jung.
Herz! Press has published "Rab-
bi with Wings—Story of a Pilot"
by Samuel Burstein and "Teaching
Israel —A Guide for Jewish
Schools" by David Kuselewitz.
Jonathan David published "God,
Man and History—A Jewish Inter-
pretation' by Dr. Eliezer Berkovits
and Trude Weiss-Rosmarin's "Juda-
ism and Christianity—The Differ-
ences."
Harper & Row have issued as a
paperback Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich's
"A Concise History of Israel."
From Jonathan David, also,
comes an interesting biography
of Menahem Ussishkin," under
the title "The Mighty Warrior."
A review of this volume will ap-
pear in a later issue.
Of added interest is the collec-
tion of paperbacks from Schocken
Books. The new Schocken publica-
tions include "Anti-Semite and
Jew" by Jean-Paul Sartre, Melford
E. Spiro's "Children of the Kib-
butz," Dr. Julian Morgenstern's
"The BoOk of Genesis," S. Y. Ag-
non's classic "Days of Awe,"
Maurice Samuel's "The World of
Sholom Aleichem" and Immanuel
Olsvanger's "Royte Pomerantsen."
Ehrlich's "Concise History," in
a translation from the German by
James Barr, is a "brief treatment"
of the patriarchal period, the Egyp-
tian exodus, the conquest of the
land, the reign of Saul, David's and
Solomon's rule, the divided king-
dom, exile and restoration, the
period of the Ptolemies, Jews in
Egypt and under Seleucid rule, the
Hasmonean period and the reign
of Herod.
In 140 pages, the author has con-
cisely packed in basic material that
gives a birds-eye view of Israel's•
history in ancient times. It is a
well-written work which concludes
with the hopeful note commenting
on the long exile that followed the
destruction of the Jewish state by
Rome:
"The state perished but the God
remained, and the old Messianic
hope comprehended in one na-
tional and universal sense the re-
establishment of the ancient king-
dom, but now as a Kingdom of
God upon earth."
Written 50 years ago, when it
was published by Union of
American Hebrew Congregations,
Dr. Morgenstern's "The Book of
Genesis" at the outset served as
a guide for religious school
teachers. In its revised edition
it is intended by the author, for-
mer president of Hebrew Union
College, for adult Bible study
groups and for Christian stu-
dents as well as Jews. It is aim-
ed to correct "confounded bibli-
cal myths, legends and traditions
with what (has previously been)
mistakenly called biblical his-
tory." Dr. Morgenstern's present
work "aims to be a popular
scientific interpretation of Gene-
sis, but an interpretation which
is not merely analytic, and there-
fore largely negative and de-
structive, but which is also, and
more pronouncedly, synthetic,
constructive and Jewish."
Dr. Morgenstern affirms an ap-
proach of "love and reverence for
Judaism and its teachings . . . ani-
mated by equal love and reverence

28—Friday, August 13, 1965
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

for the future of Judaism" in his
explanatory preface.
"Royte Pomerantsen" ("How to
Laugh in Yiddish") now has an in-
troduction by Harry Golden. This
Schocken paperback is a great de-
light. It deserves and will get a
separate review a bit later.
"The World of Sholom Alei-
chem," first published by Knopf
in 1943, is one of the great works
of the last 20 years. It was a prize
winner and Maurice Samuel's mas-
terful interpretation of Sholom
Aleichem served to popularize the
great Yiddish writer's works and to
make it understandable by non-
Jews as well as non-Yiddish read-
ing Jews.
"The great success of "Fiddler
on the Roof" is due to the signifi-
cant story about Tevyeh and his
daughters. Maurice Samuel's "Sons-
in-Law of Tevyeh" is the new
Schocken paperback which' should
serve as a valuable background for
the play.
Similarly, the other essays, all of
which evaluate the Sholom Alei-
chem works and explain the genius
of the great humorist, once again
make "The World of S h o l o
Aleichem" an imperishable prod-
uct of a great literary critic's un-
derstanding of our people and our
literature.
"Anti-Semite and Jew" by Jean-
Paul Sartre was translated from
the French by George J. Becker.
Sartre calls anti-Semitism the con-
ception of a primitive world.
The Jew is called "an indispens-
able leaven" in society. The op-
ponent of assimilation is not the
Jew but the anti-Semite, the noted
French writer states.
There is the warning in Sartre:
"Anti-Semitism is a problem that
affects us all directly; we are all
bound to the Jew, because anti-
Semitism leads straight to Na-
tional Socialism." And there is the
concluding assertion:
"Not one Frenchman will be free
as long as the Jews do not enjoy
the fullness of their rights. Not one
Frenchman will be secure as long
as a single Jew—in France or in
the world at large can fear for his
life."
Especially welcome, as a
paperback, is S. Y. Agnon's
"Days of Awe." This collection
of legends and commentaries
about Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur and the Yomim Noraim
—the Teshivah—the Days Be-
tween the two great Holy Days
— is a veritable treasure.
Agnon, one of Israel's leading
writers, has incorporated in this
work selections from 300 ancient
and new books.
The introduction to this paper-
back by Dr. Judah Goldin is an
added treat for readers who seek
guidance to the subjects so excel-
lently covered in Agnon's work.
Goldin's essay brilliantly reviews
the legendary aspects of the Days
of Awe ,and the Agnon book of-
fers so much of merit in his col-
lection that "Days of Awe" ought
to be in every Jewish library.
Melford E. Spero has written a
new preface to his "Children of the
Kibbutz" which continues to be
one of the most authoritative
works on the kibbutzim, their chil-
dren, life in the collectives and
their aspirations and adjustments.
Spero's book is especially
valuable as a study in child
training, and a delving into per-
sonality problems. Because of
the importance attached to child
study programs everywhere, the
Israeli kibbutz experiences as
presented by Spero can well
serve as addenda in viewing
problems among children in this
country. Spero's observations on
methods of research and emo-
tional adjustments are especially
valuable.
Burstein's "Rabbi With Wings"
is a factual record of people who
fought for Israel's independence,
of events that transpired in the
course of the "modern Macca-
bees' " services, accounts about
chaplains who rendered yeoman
service. Told in the first person,
they are reminiscenes of occur-
ence's that add to historical rec-

—

ords about great events in recent
titmes.
The many events tell about
heroism and self-sacrifice, about
pilots who risked their lives, in
peace and in war. The book is
an account of the career of
Flight Officer Shmuel Barav and
the many others who, with him,
rendered service which has con-
tributed towards the establish-
ment of an aviation service that
is creditable to Israel. An ap-
pendix to the book describes
Israel's aviation practically up
to date.
"Teaching Israel" will be cher-
ished by educators as an interest-
ing • description of curricula in
Israel. Kuselewitz's guide advises
American Jewish pedagogues on
methods in pedagogy, deals with
challenges to American Jewry re-
garding responsibilities in advanc-
ing Jewish educational methods,
demonstrates "the ways in which
sound and relevant principles of
curriculum developments may be
applied to the task of reconstruct-
ing the Jewish school program, so
that it may be able to cope with
the vital issues and problems which
confront the Jewish community
and the Jewish school in our time."
- - Israel and Zionism are among
•the major areas of the devised
curriculum and - one of the trends
is "the impact upon American
Jewry of the dramatic emer-
gence of the sovereign State of
Israel."
In a forward to the book, Dr.
Horace M. Kallen points out that
" a new strategy, a new tactic and
a new logistic of survival is being
sought," that: "Not everywhere is
it -being realized that those can be
first and last reliable only as as-
pects of education; that what
must be sought is a genuine re-
form of education. This, I find, is
what Dr. Kuselewitz does realize.
He grounds his book, its design, its
content, its program of curriculum
construction upon this vital reali-
zation of their ongoing relevance
to the realities of the struggle
for Jewish survival. For these rea-
sons it can well serve as a "must"
not also, but especially, for those
with a concern for Jewish educa-
tion who do not share his concep-
tion of the dynamics of American
Jewish living nor his inter-rela-
tion of Jewish history and culture."
Dr. Jung's highly scholarly
"Knowledge and Love in Rab-
binic Lore" presents concepts
inherent as goals in Jewish life.
The reader is introduced to
"man's knowledge of God." The
eminent author declares that
"God's love of man in granting
him understanding of spiritual
awareness, in keeping him cogni-
zant of classless and warless hu-
manity, inspires him with hope un-
der most adverse circumstances."
Love of God, Torah, the Holy
Land, the people Israel and the
fellow-man are traced to their
sources as basic Jewish teachings.
Dr. Jung makes this interesting
observation: • "A million dollar
building for an orphanage or a
hospital may be a beneficial act
from the point of view of the many
it serves with its skills, its teachers
and physicians. But it may not be
a good act as far as the giver is
concerned, as his motives may
have been the expectation of re-
ward, of public approval, or of the
acquisition of a good name. God's
knowledge composed of both om-
niscience and mercy will judge the
frustrated humantarian as if he
had completed his task. For ex-
ample, if his plans for similar
benefaction miscarried from a sud-
den change in his financial fortune
or from an unwise choice of
means, God's merciful knowledge
will assess the motivation of the
person who does a beneficial act
for ulterior motives. By Him atti-
tudes and motivations are valued
and accounted."
Dr. Berkovits' "Prayer," the sec-
ond of the Yeshiva University
paperbacks, is a truly impressive
work dealing with kavanah (devo-
tion), spontaneity and the art of
praying.
Does prayer influence God?

"Since prayer has its place of
importance within the universal
plan of God's mercy, one cannot
speak of the will of God inde-
pendently of prayer. The will of
God may indeed be that man pray
. . . As God • gave man life, so did
He give him prayer too as an in-
strument of living . . As a final
insight into the nature of prayer,
Judaism teaches that the V Tsadik
may nullify the decrees of the
Almighty, that he may change di-
vine justice to divine mercy, that
he may decree and God will ful-
fill . • ."
Is prayer answered? "He who
prays with Kavanah may be sure
that his prayer is heard . . ." But
Kavanah alone is not enough .. .
There must not be false Kavanah
. . . "One must pray well to be
answered . . . We pray because
man lives in the presence of God."
Dr. Berkovits' Jewish interpre-
tation of "God, Man and His-
tory," the Jonathan David publi-
cation, offers an introductory
survey of philosophy and re-
ligion and enters into a detailed
discussion about man's encoun-
ter with God. The author asserts
that "Judaism is not only non-
mystical, it is also essentially
anti-Pantheistic." H e declares
that "religion does not reduce
man to being a puppet of God;
it elevates him to the highest
dignity.. by . enabling . him to
acknowledge God in free com-
mitment."
Dr. Berkovits' thesis emphasizes
yond any doubt, the most con-
that "the assurance of the messi-
anic fulfillment of history is be-
vincing indication of its coming
is the survival of. Israel . . ."
Dr. Rosmarin's delineation of the
difference between Judaism and
Christianity considers faith versus
law, sin and atonement, miracles,
free will versus original sin. It
provides an interpretation of Juda-
ism and devotes a chapter to
Jesus.
She expresses regret that "zeal-
ous advocates of 'good will' " have
been deluded into believing that
Judaism and Christianity are "ba-
sically one." She quotes the emi-
nent Christian scholar, Prof. Tra-

DA

vers Herford, "a genuine admirer
of Judaism," who had said that the
two religions "can never blend
without the surrender by the one
or the other of its -fundamental
principles."
She calls the notion that the
two faiths are "basically one" is
"really a totalitarian aberra-
tion." She declares that her re-
statement of differences is not 4
intended to divide the two faiths
but that genuine good will can
come only from knowledge in 41
formed by religious conviction
that human beings can differ yet
be brothers.
In her interpretation of the role
of Jesus, Dr. Rosmarin declares
that Jesus would not qualify -as a
prophet because "he did not live
up to the standards of Hebrew
prophecy exemplified by the early
and the later Prophets." She de-
clares that Jesus can not qualify as
a rabbi and teacher in the Jewish
sense, that he had placed him
in opposition to the faith he
born into and it is futile, th
fore, "to make room for him in
Judaism which he himself rejected
in theory and practice . . ."
The differences between Ju-
daism and Christianity as pre-
sented by Dr. Rosmarin provide
basic answers to many of the prob-
lems. This is one of the most
effective comparative studies ever
produced about the two major
faiths.

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