THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951 to u tHEe,K; up Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Asso ciation. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 48235 Mich., $7. Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign Second SIDNEY SHMARAK CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ CHARLOTTE HYAMS Advertising Manager Business Manager City Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 18th day of Heshvan, 5726, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion: Gen. 18:1-22:24; Prophetical portion: II Kings 4:1-37. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher Licht benshen, Friday, Nov. 12, 4:56 p.m. VOL. XLVIII, No. 12 Page 4 Nov. 12, 1965 Jewish Book Month: No Home Without Library There is an accepted Jewish injunction Month will have become a vital force for that "it is a man's duty to have an eye to the creativity in Jewish life. The book as a good companion was de- honor of his books." In "Musar Ha-Sekhel," a medieval writer scribed with eloquence by the 12th Century famed poet and philosopher, Moses Ben Ja- once declared: "If a man is in reduced circumstances, cob Ibn Ezra, of Spain, as follows: "A book is the most delightful com- and forced to sell his property, he should dis- panion. If you wish entertainment, its pose first of his gold and jewelry and houses witty sayings will amuse you; if you want and estates, and only at the very end, when advice, its words of wisdom will gladden no alternative is left, denude himself of his you. Within its covers it holds everything: library." what is first and what is last, what is gone That is why there is traditionally a library and what still is. Although it is not alive, it in every Jewish home, and hardly a house- talks about things both dead and living. hold, no matter how poor, ever was without "A true friend, it brings out your inner a book. accomplishments. In the whole world, Observance of annual Jewish Book Month, there is no friend more faithful, no com- to commence on Nov. 13, therefore becomes panion more bending, no teacher more in- a cause to be honored anew. It assumes an structive, than a book. It is a friend that obligation with communitywide emphasis, will cause you no harm and deny you no and it is proper that, as in the past two years, favor. If you fail on evil days, it will be a a score of organizations will share with the friend in your loneliness, a companion in Jewish Community Center - the duties of your exile, a light in darkness, good cheer sponsoring the attendant programs. in your sorrow. It will bestow upon you In the process of observing the annual whatever it can, asking no favor in return. month of tribute to books, we, to whom the It gives all, it takes nothing." book is our people's soul and legacy, must This is an era in which we are so vitally make certain that the occasion of a book concerned that our children should be pro- month does not remain a one-month-in-the- vided with the best schooling. In the Musar year event even to pay lip service to the HaSekhel of centuries ago we are offered printed word. We dare not yield to a condi- this advice: tion under which we live on crumbs and are denuded of our heritage. We must never sub- If children thou shouldst bear at length mit to impoverishment because the library is Reprove them, but with tender thought. planned by interior decorators rather than as Purchase them books with all thy strength a sacred heritage. And by skilled teachers have them In this era during which we are so con- taught .. . cerned about the perpetuation of Jewish values it is important for us to be alerted to To three possessions thou shouldst look: the fact that our real enemy is indifference, Acquire a field, a friend, a book. and indifference springs from ignorance. Book Month is the period for inspiration The book is one of the best friends. It re- to Jews who love books, and an occasion to tains highest values, perpetuates the best in encourage • those who have been estranged a people's heritage. May the book remain our from it to turn to it again. major treasure, and may the observance of a These are not difficult approaches for special Book Month serve to instill the love those who understand the true values in life. and inspiration that is so urgent for the If we can teach our community to appreciate strengthening of the highest ideals of all man- the good companionship of books, Book kind and especially of the People of the Book. Schools for Whom Children or Adults? Sukkot is long past, but an incident related Days and on occasions other than the days on to the festival can stand us in good stead for which Yizkor is recited? a long time. The holidays, except for the three Holy On the day after the festival, a non-Jewish Days, seem suddenly to become unknown to utility man in one of our schools said to the the elders, yet we expect the children to principal: "You are wasting your time. You respond with loyalty to the call to duty! should have a school for parents, not for Which brings us back to the realization children." He explained that during the of the major factor in our struggle to retain holiday the phone was ringing away in the the standards of Jewish living: that without school office, and when he finally answered the influence of the home, there is little hope one of the calls he was asked by a parent: for an assured respect for our traditions. "You have school today, don't you? When But parents will emphasize the Bar will the bus pick up my boy?" Mitzvah — and then comes the lull! Just as Is it any wonder that synagogue attend- the Kaddish and the Yizkor revive loyalties, ance declines to a minimum after the Holy which are so short-lived. Realistic Effectiveness on German. Stage Objections to the drama "The Investiga- troversy and the staging of which had to be tion," shown in 14 German theaters, were curtailed in several cities in this country and based on claims that it was "ersatz repent- ance" — a substitute atonement. But the in Canada after big losses were sustained in defenders of the play, which is based on the New York. facts the author, Peter Weiss, a German "The Investigation" is part of the realism now residing in Sweden, gathered at the that must be confronted in relation to Ger- recent trial of Auschwitz criminals, maintain many. Whenever there are exposes of the that the theater is an "authentic place of crimes there are certain to emerge protesting moral demonstrations, of confession, of crime elements who are anxious that the past be and atonement." Erwin Piscator, head of forgotten. But in the interests of an assured Volksbuehne of Berlin where the play was prevention of repetitive Nazi acts the truth staged in addition to other theaters where must be told and retold, time and again. "The Investigation" is being dramatized, has That's what "The Deputy" did. That's what received considerable newspaper support for "The Investigation" does. It is heartening to his stand. read that Die Welt, one of Germany's lead- "The Investigation" in a sense assumes ing newspapers, has judged the latter by the complementary role to "The Deputy" stating that "it has proved its effectiveness which also was the subject for much con- on the stage." • 'Fifty Years' — Brilliant Collection of Works Published by Knopfs There is a remarkable tribute to Alfred and Blanche Knopf of the famous Knopf publishing house in the volume "Fifty Years," containing excerpts from the major works that appeared under the symbol of the Borzoi.i. Books from 1915 to 1965. The contents are explained in the title as "being a retrospective collection of novels, tales, drama, poetry and reportage and essays (whether literary, musical, contemplative, historical, biographical, argumentative or gastronomical). All are drawn from volumes issued during the last half-century by Alfred and Blanche Knopf. The whole is selected, assembled and edited, with an introduction and sundry corn- mentaries, by Clifton Fadiman." This at once explains the contents of the nearly 1,100 pages of a volume that is intended to offer some of the best of the Knopf collections, while indicating the genius of the Knopfs in having made possible the appearance of so many noteworthy works. While the collection does not include excerpts from the works of I. J. Singer and Maurice Samuel, who had the Knopfs as their publishers, there is reference to them. In the list of Yiddish writers whose works were published by Knopf in translations are the names of Sholem Aleichem and I. B. Singer. It's a pity that the Sholem Aleichem work by Maurice Samuel and those of the Singers are not included in this monumental work. In the list . of authors who had the Knopfs as their publishers are hundreds of authors. Fadiman's tribute to the Knopfs is impressive. It offers profiles of the couple and deservedly praises their devotion and their dedication to the aim of publishing the best available in literature. At the same time the editor declares that " 'Fifty Years' is not a house book. The choices are the editor's. His taste alone, however it may be judged, determined them." There are numerous photos of the most noteworthy authors— John Hersey, H. L. Mencken, Andre Gide, Thomas Mann, Ernest Newman and others—as well of the Knopfs. And a number of the verses are illustrated, from their originals, especially Hillaire Belloc's "Bad Child's Book of Beasts" which contain the large selection of the originals from his children's poem. The most distinguished authors of our time are in this COM- memorative volume. It is a great tribute to publishers and a noteworthy collection of modern classics, well selected by an able editor. - Essays by Experts in 'Trencif \_. Currents i in Jewish Thought' Benjamin Efron, director of the Los Angeles College of Jewish Studies sponsored by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, used good judgment in the selection of participants in the symposium incorporated in the study of many current Jewish issues, "Currents and Trends in the Contemporary Jewish Thought," published by Ktav (65 Suffolk, NY 2). With two evaluatiVe orientation essays by Efron, as editor of the volume, his book is divided into two sections, speaking with trends and currents in Jewish life. The trends deal with the various religious divisions, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, with a chapter devoted to ethical doctrines and a study of Biblical criticism and archaeology. Developments in Hebrew language studies and in Jewish worship also are discussed. Authors participating in the trends evaluations include Theo- dore N., Lewis, Kurt Klappholz, Richard F. Steinbrink, Samuel Chiel, Jack D. Spiro, Edward Horowitz, Herbert M. Baumgard and Jack Bemporad. The currents deal with the basic issues affecting the American Jewish community—paths of Jewish literature, Israel's role, Judaism and Christianity, anti-Semitism, intermarriage, Jewry's links with America. Rabbi Arthur Gilbert, as a staff consultant of the National Con- ference of Christians and Jews, reviews Jewish-Christian relations and points to the manner in which, due to most recent developments, there is emerging a . better understanding among faiths. The essay on intermarriage by Marshall Sklare is especially informative, and in the article "Being a Jew in America" Rabbi Leon A. Jick emphasizes the challenges and opportunities to fulfill the promises of both the Jewish and American heritages. Rabbi Henry Enoch Kagan's "Jewish View of Sex and Family" is informative, drawing upon Talmudic and other viewpoints. Others who authored essays in the second section of the book include Manheim S. Shapiro, Myron N. Fenster, Charles E. Shulman and Oscar Cohen.