THE JEWISH NEWS

Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951

Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial

Association.

Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 48235 Mich.,

VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign $7.

Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor and Publisher

SIDNEY SHMARAK

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

Advertising Manager

Business Manager

CHARLOTTE RYAMS

City Editor

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 23rd day of Tevet, the following scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchai portion: Exod. 1:1-6:1; Prophetical portion: Isa. 27:6-28:13; 29:22-23.

Licht benshen, Friday, Jan 14, 5:07 p.m.

VOL. XLVIII, No. 21

Page 4

January 14, 1966

Iran's Role in Jewish History

Iraqi-Iranian tensions, the threats of war-
fare on the borders of the two countries,
are occurring at a time when Iran—ancient
Persia—is making preparations for the cele-
bration of the country's 2,500th anniversary.
It was under Cyrus the Great that Persia
emerged as a leading force in the ancient
world, and the friendship which Iran dis-
played for the Jewish people is one of the
bright spots in the story of the Dispersion
and the Return of Israel to the homeland
that was again to be ravished by Greek and
finally by Roman armies.
The World Jewish Congress has taken
a leading part in preparations for the Iran-
ian celebration and when the plans com-
menced for the 2,500th anniversary pro-
grams it expressed warm congratulations to
the Shah of Iran and urged "all Jewish com-
munities and congregations to commemorate
in appropriate ways the memory of a great
and historic figure whose friendship for the
Jewish people is enshrined in the biblical
record."
Thus, the Jewish representatives from the
64 countries that were represented at the
World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly
were reminded that it was Persia's King
Cyrus who freed the Jews who were living
in Babylonian exile, after he had conquered
ancient Babylonia. Now, there are plans for
the establishment of a special King Cyrus
Celebration Committee in Israel, and great
significance already is being attached to the
1961 celebration in Jewish communities in
the Diaspora as well as in Israel.
The renewal of friendly relationships be-
tween Israel and Iran, which has caused a
stir in the Nasser-dominated part of the Arab
world, encourages the expansion of the pro-
posed Jewish celebrations, so that our com-
munities everywhere may well take into ac-
count the notable historical event, when King
Cyrus enabled Jews to return to the Holy
Land, to end their Babylonian exile and to
rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
It was in 538 B.C.E. that Cyrus, the foun-
der of the Persian empire, now known as
Iran, emerged as the great statesman who
was instrumental in the return of the Jews
to their homeland. The great Jewish histor-
ian Heinrich Graetz described King Cyrus
as having been "but an instrument of God

for furthering the deliverance of Judah and
the salvation of the world." Graetz wrote
as follows about the great period • in Jew-
ish history in the time of Cyrus:
"The joy of those who were preparing
for the exodus from Babylon and the re-
turn to the Holy Land was overpowering.
To be permitted to tread the soil of their
own country, and to rebuild and restore
the sanctuary seemed a sweet dream to
them. The event caused great sensation
amongst other nations; it was discussed,
and considered as a miracle, which the God
of Israel had wrought on behalf. of His
people. A poem faithfully reproduces the
sentiments that inspired the exiles:
" 'When the Lord turned against the
captivity of Zion, we were like them that
dream.
" 'Then was our mouth filled with
laughter, and our tongue with singing;
then said they among the nations, The
Lord hath done great things for them.
" 'The Lord hath done great things for
us, whereof we are glad.' (Ps. cxxvi.)
"As the patriots were preparing to
make use of their freedom to return to
Jerusalem, one of their poets, in Psalm
xxiv, bade them reflect whether they were
worthy of this boon. For only the righteous
and those who sought the Lord were to as-
semble upon God's ground. But who would
dare to take on himself the right to pro-
nounce judgement?"
Now we are witnesses to the emergence
of another "instrument" for peace and amity.
The Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlevi, virtually has
called for an end to injustice and diplomatic
stupidity by his reaffirmation of the friendly
relations between Iran and Israel. Nasser
does not like it. But there are many in the
Afro-Asian bloc of nations who would like to
see the action of the Shah of Iran serve as a
basis for similar activities in the Moslem
world to put an end to the Mid-East conflict.
The current Iranian celebration provides
opportunity for study of an interesting chap-
ter in Jewish history under Cyrus the Great.
It is an occasion for participation in a signi-
ficant celebration. It is a time to congratu-
late the present Iranian rulers and to com-
mend them for the role they seek to play as
propagators of peace in the Middle East.

Theologic Discourse

Nine Scholars Reflect on New
View in 'Rediscovering Judaism'

Orthodox, Conservative and Reform spokesmen have described
their "reflections on a new theology," in "Rediscovering Judaism," an
impressive work edited by Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf of Highland
Park, Ill., and published by Quadrangle Press (180 N. Wacker,
Chicago).
The editor, in his introduction, states: "We are humble before
God when we succeed, and before men who do not unfairly tax us
with being too prolix or too poetic to be right. We all share a cause,
a mood, a crisis; but we respond separately and alone."
The collection of essays is neo-classical, Hassidic, existentialist.
The editor further explains:

"Our Judaism is for us an attempt to permit the Living God
to address us severally and as a sacred community. We put to God
directly, and through the mediation of our precedents, all the agon•
ized questions of modern life; we let Him answer us His way, and
when we try to speak without distortion what we hear. This may
sound more "mystical" than it is. What, in fact, we look like we are
doing is studying, reflecting, praying, speaking, listening, saying.
Phenomenologically, that signifies for us revelation. How much of
what we say is spoken through us by Him, we cannot know. It is,
we hope, far more than we suspect. But even if not revealed truth,
our search for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob must be con-
ceded to be Judaism . .."

The essays commence with "The Task of Jewish Theology" by Prof.
Lou H. Silberman of Vanderbilt University who states that the con-
temporary theologian "must acquire the capacity for affirming and
must affirm what he has the capacity to affirm," and that his central
concern "is not how the problem has been dealt with before but what
are 'the tools at hand in his present situation as he looks toward
the future."
Prof. Jakob J. Petuchowski of Hebrew Union College, in "The
Dialectics of Reason and Revelation," sets forth the view that "man's —
ever more urgent need to assert his own individuality, his value aS a
person and the corollary recognition of the value of his fellow man's
individuality, have shown that all rationally constructed systems of
uniformity reach their limit in the face of the fact of personaliity;"
that Reason has the two-fold task of furnishing us with data "in which
Mediterranean.
Israel's economic prosperity has been mis- faith might apprehend the 'mighty acts' of God" and serve as "the
interpreted as a sign of security. The fact indispensable yardstick to be used in 'interpreting' revelation."
is that Israel's budgetary needs are taxed be-
"The Revealed Morality of Judaism and Modern Thought," by

Perpetuation of M. E. War Scares

If the arming of the Arab states is to
continue at the pace indicated in the past
few weeks, and if aid to Israel's enemies is to
gain momentum from both this country and
Britain and in the assistance extended by the
Soviet Union, then it may well be that time
is running out, that the advantages are on
the side of Israel's antagonists, that danger
looms again in the Middle East.
The arguments advanced in Washington
and in London in support of the countries
that are virtually at war with Israel are well
known. It is claimed that Israel is well armed
and that whatever aid is extended is a matter
of balancing strength. This is an immoral
argument. The fact is that the question of
balance or imbalance ought not to play a
role in the conditions involved in the Middle
East, in view of Arab intransigence, of re-
fusal to sit down to talk peace.
Then there is the fear of an expanding
communism in that area. The gains already
made by the Kremlin among the Arabs were
in no sense affected by whatever position is
adopted by our State Department. The Arab
potentates will take aid from whoever will
offer it, and no amount of cajoling by us will
satisfy or pacify the saber-rattling war-
mongers.
The concern over impending dangers is
justified, and no amount of boasting about
Israel's strength can in any fashion dispel
the threatening clouds that hover over the

yond endurance to meet the military needs.
The developing situations do not speak
well for the statesmanship of the representa-
tives of the big powers who should strive
for peace and instead perpetuate a war scare.

'Good People' vs. KKK

Bogalusa, La., has "good people" as well
as the Ku Klux Klan, but the KKK thus far
has had the upper hand.
That's the conclusion one must draw from
the experiences of Ralph Blumberg, who was
forced out of there by the KKK and was com-
pelled to sell his radio station over which he
had propagated justice for the Negroes.
At the hearings of the House of Repre-
sentatives Committee on Un-American Acti-
vities, Blumberg urged "the good people to
stand together and. end all this Klan non-
sense." And This Klan nonsense now includes
slanted news over the radio station he was
compelled to dispose of.
As long as a deeply wounded person still
believes there are "good people" in an area
of hatred and bigotry, we can all retain hope
for better days. Indeed, "the good people"
everywhere must stand up against the KKK
—in the interest of an honorable U.S.

Prof. Emil L. Fackenheim of the University of Toronto is "a con-
frontation with God," and the author asserts that "from the stand-
point of the revealed morality of Judaism, Kant may be viewed as
the nemesis of a tradition which begins with Paul."
Dr. Monford Harris of the College of Jewish Studies treats the

subject "Israel: The Uniqueness of Jewish History" in a review of
historical events, in an analysis of the response to Zionism, assimila-
tionism and basic Jewish stiff-neckedness. Referring to the Council
for Judaism he states "Rabbi Elmer Berger will be little more than a
forgotten footnote in Jewish covenantal existence, despite his 'religious'
concern, yet Theodor Herzl will remain an important figure whenever
and wherever Jews think and reflect on Jewish life in the 20th Century."
Zionism is viewed as a landmark, and Dr. Harris states that "we
are not fossils in providential history, for we demonstrate once again
that the scepter has not departed from us, we still have autonomy..."
Prof. Eugene B. Borowitz of Hebrew Union College discusses "The
Individual and the Community in Jewish Prayer."
An essay by the volume's editor, Rabbi Wolf, deals with "Psycho-
analysis and the Temperament of Man."
The topic of the essay by Dr. Zalman M. Schachter of the Univer-
sity of Manitoba is "Patterns of Good and Evil—Behold I Set Before
Thee Today."
Prof. Maurice Friedman of Sarah Lawrence College deals with
"Christianity and the Contemporary Jew."
The concluding essay by Prof. Steven S. Schwarzschild is entitled
"A Jewish Perspective on International Relations."
Well annotated, this volume will serve as an inspiration for lay
and rabbinic readers.

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