Seminary Book Expert Wades Through Mud to Help Florence NEW YORK—"We went to study the damage, to learn the needs, and perhaps to demonstrate tech- niques. We ended in mud to our ankles, working like day laborers in damp, cold buildings." So Dr. Menahem Schmelczer, librarian of The Jewish Theologi- cal Seminary of America described his recent experiences in flood- ravaged Florence. "The skill and resourcefulness of the Italian people, and the energy with which they have tackled this Herculean job, was an inspiration to all of us," Dr. Schmelczer continued. "In the face of their courage, and the deter- mination with which they worked to save works of art, books, and archives, even before their own homes and household goods had been retrieved from the water, made it impossible for us to do less." Dr. Schmelczer was one of the group of restorators invited by CRIA, the Committee for the Restoration of Italian Art, to help flood-battered Florence save its treasures. Dr. Schmelczer's special expertise derived from his own extensive experience with water-damaged books fol- lowing the disastrous fire last April in the Seminary library. In the seven months since that near catastrophe, some 150,000 books have been dried, and are now being. repaired, and restored — perhaps the largest library sal- vage operation ever attempted until the current crisis in Florence, in which estimates indicate per- haps 2,000,000 books are involved. Explaining that about a dozen small libraries, each housing from 10 to 100,000 books, had been flooded, in addition to the publi- cized damage to the Biblioteca Nazionale, Dr. Schmelczer agreed with estimates that it might take 20 years to restore all the archives of Florence to working order. Because of his Hebrew back-' ready to sell or give to the Floren- ground, Dr. Schmelczer was able tines if they are needed. "Books to be particularly helpful to the should not be sent now," he em- library of the Florentine Jewish phasized, "but word that they are community. available will be encouraging to With the encouragement of Rev- the hard-pressed library workers. Later in the salvage operation, erend Dr. Fernando Belgrado, skilled and semi-skilled personnel chief rabbi of Florence, he was will become increasingly impor- able to sort through the thousands tant. Coordination here of an ef- books in this highly specialized fort that would bring graduate and valuable collection, selecting students in library science to those that were irreplaceable, or Florence for long or short pe- virtually so, for immediate treat- riods will probably prove useful. ment. Libraries here might make Members of the Florentine Jew- ish community, and young Israelis available their own technical re- studying or working in the area, sources, especially in the field of volunteered their time and energy in this aspect of the salvage proj- ect, for which their knowledge of Hebrew particularly fitted them. Immediately upon his return, Dr. Schmelczer received a letter from Chief Rabbi Dr. Belgrado which read in part: "I wish to thank you also in the name of my congregation for the great help that you have given us in directing the restora- tion of our damaged books. Our words cannot properly express what we feel we owe you be- cause of your work with the Certified Master Watchmaker material that we have always and Jeweler considered among the most pre- 18963 Livernois UN 1 - 8184 cious belongings of our commu- Open Daily 9-5:30 nity." See our complete collection, $65 to $1000 Asked what individuals and li- braries in other countries could do to help the Florentines at this time, Dr. Schmelczer outlined four needed projects: We must remain attentive to the appeals of the Italian people, wait- ing for them to define their needs and then responding to them. "This is not a short term crisis, but an on-going situation, in which we , should be prepared to help for many years," said Dr. Schmelczer. Libraries should begin immedi- ' ately preparing lists of duplicate volumes which they would be GEORGE OHRENSTEIN Sephardic Jews Face Loss of Identity, Leader Warns at Conference in NY NEW YORK (JTA)—Sephardic Jews are threatened with loss of their spiritual identity, it was stated here Monday night by Dr. Solomon Gaon, the chief rabbi of Sephardic Jewish communities in the British Commonwealth. He was the principal speaker at a conference of leaders of the Sephardic communities in the United States, held at Yeshiva University. This, he said, is true even in countries where Sephardic Jews make up the majority of Jews, such as Israel, Spain and France. He attributed the development to lack of leadership in Sephardic Jewish communities and waning commitment among the younger generation. In Israel, he contended, Sephar- dic Jews "cannot make their in- fluence felt because although they live within Sephardic communities, they are unable to make active expressions of the Sephardic past in present days." In France, he said, "if some- thing is not done very soon, we may find that Sephardim will be lost irretrievably and thereby we shall be deprived of the in- fluence of an important part of world Jewry, rich in its past and traditions." YEAR END SALE! Guaranteed Savings from 1 /3 to 1/2 ON DESIGNER GOWNS DRESSES, COATS, SUITS SPORTSWEAR. COME DON'T MISS IT! STARTS TUES. SURWIN'S LOT G-NORTHLAND CENTER Even in Spain, Dr. Gaon added, Sephardic Jewry faces a gloomy future despite that country's lib- eralization of laws to give re- ligious minorities freedom of ex- pression and worship because the community has "no qualified rabbis." To take advantage of the op- portunities inherent in the liberal- ization of Spanish laws, he said, "there must develop a spiritual influence which will help the chil- dren become committed to the community and the older people to look beyond the fight for every- day bread." 1 Sephardic Jews trace their an- 1 cestry back to Spain and Portugal. Their ritual and dialect differ slightly from those of Central and Eastern European Jews, known as Ashkenazim. Many of the earliest Jewish immigrants to America were Sephardic Jews, descendants of those expelled from Spain dur- ing the Inquisition in the 15th Century. Since World War II, Dr. Gaon pointed out, Sephardic Jews have been on the move again. Many have settled in Israel, while others have founded new communities in Italy, England, Canada and North and South America. It is estimated that there are approximately 16,- 000,000 Jews in the world, with about 2,000.000 of them having Sephardic backgrounds. Noted Biologist Marcus Hartog, a 19th Century British-Jewish biologist, was a leader in the field of research into the reproductive processes in ani- mal and plant life. . manuscript restoration and bind- ing. "These skills," Dr. Schmelczer explained, "are in short supply the world over. I have already volun- teered to let the craftsmen who do the Seminary's work in this area salvage a number of the Florentine works, and I hope and expect that other libraries, here and abroad, will follow suit." THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, December 23, 1966-3 PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL BE OPEN SUNDAY, DEC. 25. 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