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, Mich. 48235.
VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign .$7.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
SIDNEY SHMARAK
CHARLOTTE HYAMS
Editor and Publisher
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the seventh day of Tammus, 5726, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, NUM. 19:1-22:1; Prophetical portion, Judges 11:1-33.
Licht Benshen, Friday, June 24. 7:53 p.m.
VOL. XLIX, NO. 18
Page 4
June 24, 1966
Anti-Israel 'Extremists' Harm Only Arabs
Anyone who cautions silence when deal- before action can be taken to call a halt to
ing with obstruction of justice - becomes a anti-American acts by Arab agitators?
Even the Soviet Union, with whom Nas-
party to injustice. This was proven last week
in several ways. It emerged in the course of ser and his cohorts have been flirting, has
protests against those who stand in the way rejected Arab demands for additional mili-
of proper enforcement of civil rights legisla- tary aid. In a recent column, Drew Pearson
tion. It was indicated anew in the Middle East summed up Russian Premier Kosygin's cool-
problems when a firm stand was taken ness to Nasser in this analysis of what the
against the threats of the irresponsibly-form- Egyptian dictator failed to secure from the
ed Arab refugee army whose leaders under- USSR:
1 Reduction of Egypt's $200,000,000 debt to
took to send a force to fight with the Viet-
Russia. Nasser had hoped to get a reduction by
cong against this country.
$35,000,000, but Kosygin said no.
It is most unfortunate that concessions
2—Postponement of the first instalment of the
are so often made to criminals. The so-called
debt. Again Kosygin refused.
"Palestine Liberation Army" has been threat-
3—Russian involvement in Nasser's long dis-
pute with 'Yemen, which has tied up 60,000
ening us for a long time. Our representatives
Egyptian troops. Kosygin kept completely aloof.
in the United Nations have even conceded to
4—Finally, and most important of all, Kosygin
seating a "Palestine Liberation Organiza-
officially informed Nasser that he could not aid
tion" representative as an unofficial observer
Egypt with wheat. The Soviet is too short of
at the world organization. Now that the
wheat to spare any whatsoever for export.
"P.L.O." has shown its true colors, by its
The tragedy is that Egypt and other Arab
repeated threats to join the enemies of the countries
are in dire need of arain, of assis-
United States, even Jordan's King Hussein tance in improving
their peoples' health con-
viras compelled to brand the group as "ex- ditions, of cooperation
in elevating the eco-
tremist" and to dissociate himself from it.
nomic and cultural standards of their op-
There still remains the dictatorial rule of pressed masses. But the dictators are more
Egypt that is apparently closely tied up with concerned with hatred for Israel than for
the "P.L.O." Gamal Abdel Nasser does not their peoples' welfare. If they had responded
hesitate to resort to mouthings against this to appeals for practical efforts in their lands,
country, even while vast sums are being pour- cooperatively with Israel, the entire Middle
ed into his coffers by our government. Mem- East would benefit and there might be peace.
bers of both political parties in both houses As matters stand, there is no amity and a
of Congress have protested against the encour- "P.L.0." group of extremists is harming the
agement that has been given to America's Arabs more than Israel. They are set on
enemies in the Middle East. destroying Israel, and instead they are harm-
Must we always wait for the worst insults ing their own people.
—
Educational Trends — Revolts Against Institutions
When viewing the educational problems changes in our current practices. They do not
of this country, we must always take into mean that all that has been done in the past
view the new developments involved in the is wrong and that the sentiments of the
"student revolt." There are new demands, emerging new generation must be accepted
expressions of protest against old-established as sacrosanct. Neither is it to be insisted that
orders, demands for freedoms, revolutionary established rules are unchangeable. There is
acts that will undoubtedly lead to drastic need for research, for evaluation, for study
changes in our system. of conditions with a view to making improve-
ments, to accepting new values, to introduc-
And while the students are rebelling, there ing the positive trends in proposals that
is a new issue involving the emotional prob- should strengthen our educational system.
lems of our youth. It has just been announced
Whether or not emotional difficulties af-
that 12 schools in three Detroit regions are fect our system is something that must em-
becoming involved in psychological experi- erge from earnest efforts to link the new
ments that are being conducted a half day a thinking with the old and to make the Est-
week in each school. These experiments are ablishment a workable method of teaching
based on the view of the Detroit school psy- and of- learning. The new emphasis on the
chologist, Dr. Elsie Jenks, that emotional
and the psychiatric add to the
problems can play havoc with the learning psychological
disturbing
factors
in our cultural planning.
process. Now a state-financed project is Revolts need not destroy
or add to the con-
bringing psychiatrists and psychologists into fusion. In a rational way, the
thinking of the
our school service.
two generations may in the course of time
New trends often result in confusions. emerge as a solidified new Establishment.
Surely, the sentiments of university students Then we shall be able to afford to wait for
who are revolting against the Establishment, another generation to arise with its new re-
who reject the existing system and demand belliousness so that Establishments may
new approaches, do not necessarily call for change with the generations—but always in
compulsive efforts to enforce immediate a pragmatic and creative fashion.
Sinai Hospital's Expansion Program
Large-scale generosity marks the response
to the newest expansion campaign of Sinai
Hospital.
Measuring up to what has been described
as "the challenge of tomorrow," in the aim
to raise the immense sum of $11,500,000, a
number of families, under the leadership of
Mr. and Mrs. Max M. Fisher, already have
pledged large amounts to assure the exten-
sion of the services rendered by the hospital.
More rooms must be added to the hospi-
tal. There is need for another patient care
facility to be supplemented with surgical,
medical, dietetic and administrative compo-
nents.
Other facilities are urgently needed, and
the proposed expansions will surely prove
.
of great benefit to the entire Detroit com-
munity.
There is no doubt that when the entire
community becomes involved in this drive,
after the big givers will have been enroll-
ed in the immense project, that the response
will be proportionately as large. Sinai Hos-
pital's management assuredly has the backing
of the interested community in its expansion.
The contributions to the Sinai Hospital
fund undoubtedly are supplementary to the
major community needs, especially those in-
volving our cultural aspects and the educa-
tion of our children. And because all needs
are provided for, the community has earned
the high rating that has provided so much
pride for its leadership.
Jewish Concepts, Myths Viewed
in Singer's 'The Nature of Love'
Folklore, poetry, philosophy, mysticism play their roles in the
anthological volume on love and the expert accumulation of sentiments
on the precious word in the impressive work by Dr. Irving Singer, who
taught philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In "The Nature of Love", published by Random House, Dr. Singer
deals with the concepts of love as an idealization, as a religious element,
in its evaluations through the ages, commencing with the ancient world.
Mysticism is interestingly developed in Prof. Singer's theme. He
points out that in Judaism there is best represented the continuum that
represents the extreme from deification — "the belief that God and
man can never be transformed into one another, that even in mystical
experience they remain separate and distinct." He develops the point
as follows:
principle of a strict
"To the Jews, as to the orthodox Muslims,
monotheism forbids anything even resembling merging. Neither man nor any
other creature can share God's ineffable divinity. Although Hasidic mystics
occasionally seem to go against the Jewish current, the mainstream of this
tradition denies the possibility of undifferentiated unity. For the mystics of
Judaism, ecstasy generally implied admission to the throne of God, contemplation
in the sense of seeing and hearing the magnificence of the Lord, but nothing
like absorption or undifferentiated unity. As one scholar says: 'Throughout,
there remained an almost exaggerated consciousness of God's otherness, nor
does the identity and individuality of the mystic become burred even at the
height of ecstatic pasSion.' Even the word 'passion' here needs modification since
the mystical relationship is filial rather than erotic or martial. Again and with
certain exceptions in Hasidism, which was atypically influenced by medieval
Christianity, Jewish mystics generally characterize the love of God as the de-
votion of child to parent, not the reach for union between lover and beloved."
He adds that "from Judaism, Christanity takes the belief in
separateness between finite man and the infinitely awesome God whose
nature transcends everything tinged with morality."
Jewish concepts of love are emphasized in two chapters: "Nomos:
Submission God's Will" and "Agape: The Divine Bestowal," and other
sections of the book. (Dr. Singer defines the terms: Nomos is the
idea of love as righteousness, acceptance of God's law, humble sub-
mission to his will. Agape is love as the, creator of goodness in the
world).
While stating that "only Christianity, with its roots in Judaism,
defines itself as the religion love," Dr. Singer adds the explanatory
note that Christianity's unique place in man's intellectual life "is the
fact that it alone has made love the dominant principle in all areas of
dogma." Dealing later on, in the "Agape" chapter, with the love element
in "The Merchant of Venice," he states that "if we substitute the word
`love' for 'mercy,' it expresses the Judaeo-Christian ideal of agape wit
uncanny precision." He also emphasizes that "though Shylock is odiou
so too are those who use the law to deprive him of his wealth. Shyste
that she is, Portia does not act mercifully towards Shylock."
George Foote Moore's lengthy comment on Jewish agape is
quoted by Dr. Singer. It is an interesting defense of rabbinical
Judaism, and Dr. Singer points out that "the Jews also insisted
that man earned salvation through righteousness."
The traditional Jewish interpretation of "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself" is emphasized as assuming that self-love is not only natural but good.
In his explanation of religious idealization, Dr. Singer states: "Even within the
Judaeo-Christian religions, the commandment to love one's neighbor encourages
a more inclusive attitude. Certainly for the Jews the first commandment was
never to be taken in isolation. God was the prime, the most exalted. object of
love; but not the only one. The Jews had even assumed that one could not love
God properly unless one also loved every aspect of his creation—one's neighbor
as oneself, but also nature and the world at large." .
Many questions are posed by Dr. Singer. He asks whether JeWs were
influenced by Christian thinkers or whether Christians merely dis-
seminated latest developments in Jewish thought. and he states: 'I
leave it to the scholars to determine the exact boundaries between
Christian and Jewish ideas about love. I am primarily interested in
analyzing the concepts themselves."
He refers, for example, to the old Nietzschean accusation:
"Nietzsche argues that Christian ideas about love are really the Jewish
will to power taking a new and subtle turn in the struggle for survival.
Having lost thier national identity, Nietzsche says, the Jews created
Christianity as a more effective means of ruling the world."
Sadistic portraits of Jews, the picturization of Jews — the stock
image — of a bearded old man dressed in a black gabardine — is
indicated in describing infantile aggression. There is emphasis on a
point he makes that "righteousness in the sense of legalism never was
the Jewish attitude toward love."
Deutero-Isaiah is quoted to indicate the "kkalized portrait of the
masterful father ... the conception of a deity who loves and is loved
as a person." Other biblical sources are emphasized and Dr. Singer
declares at one point that "the pious Jew loves God by giving up the
goods of life."
Christian-Jewish conflicts and differences, the contrasting views
in the Testaments, many interpretive references combine to make the
Singer work an outstanding philosophic study and a masterful review
of the concepts of love, including those of the Jews in ancient times
and in rabbinic .and Hasidic love...