THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, July 29, 1966-19

Rated "OUTSTANDING"

God-Idea Inspiringly Delineated
in Aron's 'God of the Beginnings'

Robert Aron, French-Jewish his-
torian, has an interesting back-
ground. He played an important
role in the Giraud and deGaulle
government, cooperated with
American forces during the war,
was arrested by the Nazis and it
was as a result of the experiences
during the Hitler era that he be-
gan to think in religious terms. It
was his "return" to religious think-
ing that caused the historian to
write "The God of the Beginnings"
which has been published by Wil-
liam Morrow and Co. (425 Park
S., NY 16).
Turning not only to biblical but
also to Mishnaic and talmudic
sources, Aron re-examines his Jew-
ish heritage in this book which has
been translated from the French
by Frances Frenaye.
The entire biblical history is
traced, and many occurrences are
contrasted with beliefs of primi-
tive and pagan man. The con-
tinuous act of creation and the
three actors "are God's Law, the
universe and man," Aron writes,
and he asserts:

"Moses interceded not only

•

on behalf of the Hebrews but
also on behalf of his adversaries,
both Hebrew and Egyptian. He
interceded for all mankind and
found his true dignity in asso-
ciation not only with the voca-
tion of Israel but with the
human condition to which Israel
bore witness . . "

Thanks to Moses' "errors and
sufferings," Aron declares, "thanks
to the events of his life and the
agony of his death, the Eternal,
made God, came to know that the
most carefully chosen man, the
most carefully Chosen People,
remain ineradicably human."
"The absence of God leaves in
every human conscience a void
in which anxiety, violence and
even madness may proliferate,"
he admonishes his readers. "May
we follow man in his search for
God, through the unrolling of his-
tory, which, no matter how many
times it wearies him or leads him
astray, is his eternal inspiration?"
Aron's book thus emerges as an
inspiring document in man's
"For God's chosen people the search for the Supreme idea.

Law or Torah is not merely a
body of legislation, a declaration
oft he rights of God and the
duties of the believer. It con-
tains, of course, a moral code,
the Decalogue or Heptalogue,
as the case may be, and its prac-
tical application to the conduct
of worship and everyday life,
but it is also the crowning ac-
complishment of this people in
history.

in

By DETROIT BAR ASSOCIATION
CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE

X

576 JOHN D.

O'CONNELL

FOR

JUDGE of RECORDER'S COURT

* Former Chief Trial Lawyer, Wayne County Prosecutor's Office
* Former State Social Welfare Director of Michigan

* 33 Years Experience in Criminal Trial Work

VOTE "O'CONNELL" FOR RECORDER'S JUDGE, TUES., AUG. 2nd

Pd. Pol. Adv.

17 \

Keep his Experienc

He delves into the basic ideas

the Noachic "Heptalogue"
which, he states, "forms a common
legislative denominator for all
mankind," adding: "The seven
commandments given to Noah do
not demand any particular religi-
ous belief or practice, whereas the
ten given to Moses have a definite
monotheistic slant and prescribe
observances to be fulfilled by the
Jews."
He then proceeds to point out
that: "The Ten Commandments of
Moses, in their turn, contain six
moral laws (five negative, one
positive), principles to be observed
by every man, regardless of his
religion: the prescription of love
for father and mother, the inter-
diction of murder, adultery, theft,
false witness and covetousness.
They also contain four religious
laws . . ."
Prophetic teachings also are
under scrutiny and there is in
evidence the author's deep dedica-
tion to his search for a revaluated
faith. Israel's universality, Moses'
laws for all mankind are inter-
preted as follows:

S. JEROME BRONSON Prosecutli,6
Attorney•of Oakland County has
achieved unprecedented results
on behalf of the people of our
County. His leadership and
courage in law enforcement led
to the break-up of organized crime.
He was responsible for exposing
the phony marriage counselling
racket. His understanding and
concern resulted in new programs
to curtail youth crime. Under his
direction, our county has become
a safer place to live for all of us.

Israel to Seek Contracts
From Firms in U.S., Europe

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A joint
committee of the government, pri-
vate industry and the Histadrut,
Israel's labor federation, to coor-
dinate contacts of Israeli enter-
prises with industries in Europe
and the United States for produc-
tion of industrial parts here on a
subcontract basis, was announced
here.
The committee will maintain
contact with foreign firms, ex-
amine the ability of Israeli plants
to meet their needs and then de-
termine the most suitable connec-
tion. The committee also will con-
centrate all orders and distribute
them among Israeli firms.
Many large industries abroad
were reported suffering from skill-
ed manpower shortages and ready
to turn over some orders to sub-
contractors.
Two Israeli firms were reported
to have sold $500,000 worth of
aluminum pipes and irrigation ac-

COURT

cessories to two East European
countries. They also were compet-
ing to obtain contracts with seven

European countries, it was re-
ported.

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