Purely Commentary
We speak of a day that ushers in a new year as being a day of reckon-
ing, as an occasion for new resolutions, as a time to make vows not to repeat
the errors of the past and to make an attempt at wise living for the better-
ment of society.
Our Rosh Hashanah begins Days of Awe that are marked by prayer, by
confessions, by atonements; by pledges to wipe out the sins of the past
and to begin a new year with faith in the Almighty, with confidence in the
future, with feelings of repentance for whatever wrongdoings may have
been committed as an indication that we commence a new life in the year
and years to come.
There is no hilarity on Rosh Hashanah, as there is on New Year's Eve
of the civic calendar. The resolutions are not the type made over a glass of
champagne but are implied in the reckoning of the Days of Awe.
Yet, Rosh Hashanah does become an occasion for stock-taking. While
history repeats itself and human experiences often follow reiterating pat-
terns in a world that is beset by so many problems and challenges, the Jew-
ish aspects of changing conditions present more serious summonses to future
planning than ever before. No other group in America is confronted with
as urgent a problem involving survival as is the Jewish—because all other
nationality groups assimilate so quickly and so easily, whereas the People
Israel has that spiritual function to perform which calls for continuity. And
this condition applies to all the Jewries throughout the world.
Hemshekh continuity is one of the most vital necessities in Jewish
life. Yet, the elements of duration which were so marked in Jewish history
have commenced to change. Never before have Jews and non-Jews been as
alike in their daily life as they are today in countries like ours. No longer -is
there a diffrentiation in clothing. The ghetto garb has been discarded and
we should be grateful for the shedding of the attire that was a mark of
derision amona the gentiles, while Jews in many communities held tight to
them as symbols
b of their insistence upon survival. But the ghetto days are
gone, if they are not forgotten—while even such symbols must be remem-
bered as part of a developing history—and it is heartening to feel that we
don't have to depend upon garb to distinguish us as the nation of priests and
the holy people.
But there are other changes that are equally significant, some of them
becoming disturbing.
It is saddening to know that a developing language like Yiddish is no
longer the medium of Jewish expression. There was a time, not so long ago,
when the unity of the Jewish people was expressed in great measure by the
links that held us together through the use of Yiddish in the daily lives of
our parents and grandparents. This is no longer the case. The rapid decline
of Yiddish is one of the most notable changes that have taken place in
Jewish life. It is because the language has such a wealth of literary gems,
which may go lost with lack of the dialect's use, that the change is so de-
pressing. Other Jewish dialects have vanished—Ladino among them—but
none of the others was as rich in content as Yiddish, and no other language
held a people together as closely as Yiddish. Now we must hope that Hebrew
will become a similar force, although it is beyond debate that the major
Jewish language today—in use by the majority of world Jewry—is English.
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The changes that have taken place are manifold. There was a time when
Jews were taunted for changing their surnames. Anti-Semites took delight
in such taunts. Now it is common. In England, for example, Jews have
adopted names that sound as if they were akin to the Knights of the Round
Table. This is true also of the new nomenclature in our ranks in this country.
There is nothing wrong with such a practice, when European suffixes are
dropped. In the process, however, there is a loss of a certain identity, and a
new identification must be assumed.
Especially vital in the process of change is the reduction in the adher-
ence to kashrut. Fewer homes observe the dietary laws, and many who have
The Changes That Have Taken Place ; n
Jewish Life . . . Our Adjustment to Them
By Philip
Slomovitz
kosher homes frequent restaurants that are non-kosher. Thus, while the non-
kosher element had been looked upon askance in the pant, non-observance
has become normalized. This is a serious development in Jewish life, be-
cause Kashruth, like Sabbath-observance, has been and remains such an im-
portant requirement in Jewish living.
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The element of change is even more widespread. The interests of our
young people have changed. Their studies are different. There was a time -
when the major aspiration of our young people leaned toward medicine,
law, the teaching profession. They have not veered away from these callings,
but many have turned to the sciences and their interests are like those of
their non-Jewish friends.
But it was not so long ago when Jews were very prominent in sports.
Jews were distinguished in boxing and basketball, with a sprinkling in foot-
ball and baseball. There are fewer Jews in athletics—the interest of our
young being primarily in the sciences, in mathematics, in physics and chem-
istry. We pride ourselves in such adherence to learning, yet we would wish
to see Jews retain an interest in sports. Muscular Judaism is as much a
necessity — as an adherence to ancient teachings — as general learning.
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In reviewing the changes that have taken place in Jewish .life, let us
keep in view a basic fact—that American Jews are no longer an immigrant
folk, that more than 90 per cent of American Jews now are native born.
Let us remember also that we no longer live in an era of the shtetl, of
the small community of Jews who were hemmend in, who lived very close
to synagogues and schools. The new conditions, the trail to suburbia, the
fact that Jews must travel to get to their synagogues, are contributing fact-
ors in a situation that marks the vast alterations, modifications and trans-
formations that have occurred mainly in a single generation.
But these changes do not alter the fact that we are different from those
of other faiths, without in any way affecting our allegiance to our heritage
and to the nations to whom we owe and pay allegiance. Therefore Jewish
life goes on — but it must be lived within the spiritual influences of our
time, and for adjustment to these we must have proper vision.
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These and many other changes were inevitable, and more changes are
in the offing.
They emerge as part of the era of freedoms that have been acquired in
a world released from confusincr doctrines.
Some of the changes disturb us, others are accepted appreciatively.
In striving for the duration of our Jewish heritage, for the continuity of
traditions, as part of a vital hemshekh, we are affected by the difficulties
encountered by change. But in planning for survival and continuity the
changes must be accepted as part of the reality of our modern life, as aspects
of modernity with which we must reckon.
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There are changes even in our internal practices—in our religious atti-
tudes, in our concern over our fellow-Jews everywhere, in our relations
with Israel.
Such changes are in themselves challenges to Jewish thinking and
planning. As we usher in the New Year 5726, we must be aware of them
and we must keep in view the forcefulness of our legacy, the ideals and the
traditions and the teachings which make Israel indestructible even in the
face of the most serious alterations in our inner lives.
Thus, when we speak of the continuity of Jewish life, we accept the
changes and we must strive to convert them as instruments in support of our
durability. It is in behalf of such a continuous process of Jewish existence
that we pray, as we welcome the new year, that the wisdom of the ages
may be transmuted to our generations, giving them the courage and the
faith to carry on to perpetuate our ideals for the good of Israel and of
humanity.
The Israelis'— Brilliant View of Spirited Nation --
Photographs often speak louder than words. This
certainly is true of a magnificent work — "The Israelis"
— "Ha - Israelim" — by a distinguished photographer,
Archie Lieberman, just published by Quadrangle Press
of Chicago.
It is a magnificent work, and the more than 50 12 x 9
photographs which comprise it will enchant the possessor
of this charming work.
The photographer has written, in longhand, an in-
troduction to his collection. In it he declares:
"Why must a photographer use words? Pictures
are their own language. Why not let the seer supply
the meaning? The words 'The Israelis" already give
a meaning and identity to this book. But, Israel is
not words.—
"Words AND pictures are abstractions. Israel
is making statements in each moment of the pres-
ent—as it has in the past. The pictures in this col-
lection are my personal statements about some of
my moments with her.
"Though I may mean to make no statement save
the photographic, how else can it be? Israel's people,
landscape, her place in history conspire against me
and overtly seduce me away from technical objec-
tivity . . . I am helpless! . . •
"Do I lie in my photographic statements? I think
not! Words and pictures certainly must be more
timn_titethinas from wki_c_h we form the illusions of
our beliefs. I am suspicious of words,—my world is
pictures. Yet Israel requires personal words.
"My thoughts, my soul, my being at all were
formed in this land long before I was born. Here is
where God spoke to the patriarchs and prophets and
through them to all of us . . . Abraham, David, Jesus,—
Romans, Greeks, Turks,—Alexander, spoke to us
from here, too. And the names of the places: Megid-
do, Nazareth, Ashkelon, Jerusalem, Masada—My God!
My God! How can one fail to be impressed?
"A part of me from which I can not divorce my-
self was also guiding me as I made pictures. I car-
ried in my mind a picture NEEDING NO WORDS
of emaciated, naked, dead bodies piled in a mound
at Dachau. It is a part of every image in this book.
"This is a collection of people and places in
Israel in the middle of the 20th Century. And what
gnaws is that it is only some of the people, some
of the places and therefore only a fraction of the
illusion."
Thus, the photographer becomes a poet — and his
poetic words in photos portrays the fisherman at Eilat,
the Hassid in varied poses, the Scribe as he is reproduced
on the beautiful cover that has "The Israelis" title in
Hebrew and in English.
This eminent photographer, Archie Lieberman, had
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
2—Friday, September 24, 1965
the vision to commence his great work with a quotation
from Robert Frost:
"They come from all over. Idealists, romanticists,
seekers, pursuers of the word. At the beginning
they may have run away from something. But now
they run toward . . ."
And who are these people who ran toward a goal and
an ideal? The photos show an honor guard at Lod, Jews
in Mea Shearim, lovers in Ein Gedi, paratroopers, a cab-
bie in Caesaria, newcomers, a Negev Bedouin, breathtak-
ing scenes, — Christians, Jews, Arabs — all forming the
new nation.
There is added vision in this able photographer's
work, as he concludes it with another quotation from
Robert Frost:
"Israel is a going concern—something the world
must recognize. But one Hebrew told me, 'We've
never had security since the age of Solomon.' I told
him, 'You're doing fine without it!'"
What a remarkable ending to a splendid beginning
and an excellent author's credo!
Such is the work that has everything about Israel
in pictures — people, places, events!
Archie Lieberman, who lives in Evanston, Ill., is one
of this country's most accomplished photographers, with
a background of many credits. He has his works on display
in the Metropolitian Museum of Art.
Indeed, his new work can be added to the finest collec-
tions. His "The Israelis" is a very great achievement
• . -7- P. S.
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