TIIE 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. 45235. VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign 87. Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit. Michigan PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager SIDNEY SHMARAK Advertising Manager CHARLOTTE HYAMS City Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the seventeenth day of lyar, 5727, the following Scriptural selections trill be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Lev. 26:3-27:34. Prophetical portion, Jer..16:19.17:14. Caudle lightidg, Friday, May 26, 7:37 p.m. VOL. LI. No. 10 May 26, 1967 ' Page Four " Secular Moods and Religious Authority Assumption by Dr. Immanuel .Jakobovits of the post of Chief Rabbi of the British Em- pire occasioned interesting discussion relat- ing to religious authority. Commenting editorially on "The Chief Rabbi's Mission," the London Times referred to recent divisions within British Jewry, to the difficulties that were encountered in the selection of a Chief Rabbi, the internal struggle over the editorship of a Zionist peri- odical in London, and the view was expressed that the general trend was toward a "secular mood." The London Times commented that it was fortunate that Dr. Jakobovits "has indi- cated that he will lead with a sensitive touch —by seeking unity on the basis of divisions, not by trying to suppress them." Is such an aspiration possible, in view of the trend indi- cated? The London Times eNlitorial stated: "In all these cases it is the underlying trend rather than the events themselves which are worth further notice. They all point to a reduction of traditional author- ity: in the realm of theology, of organiza- tion, and of the unquestioning acceptance of collective goals. It is easy for the out- sider to forget the extent to which the establishment of the state of Israel has represented to Jews in Britain as else- where the supreme achievement of the Jewish people—to question which in any way is to border upon the heretical. In that sense the readiness to cast an objec- tive eye can be interpreted as a move away from tradition. One reason for this general trend is obviously the increasingly secular mood of western society. All religions, and all denominations within the Christian re- ligion, have been feeling the effects. One result has been a growing desire to adjust minds to contemporary thinking so far as conscience permits, and this has naturally strengthened the forces of liberalism. When it has blown to such effect through the Roman Catholic Church, there can be no surprise that its breezes have been felt in the Jewish community as well. But it would be wrong to look only to general causes for an explanation of developments within British Jewry. What has happened is that the old pattern of an extremely tightly knit community is beginning to break up. "No longer is there a widespread con- centration upon specifically Jewish educa- tion in depth within the family. No longer is there the same strict attention to the rituals of Jewish observance. Perhaps this is the natural consequence of the greater acceptance of Jews within all walks of British life. The less discrimination there is against a minority the more difficult it must always be for it to maintain the full rigour of exclusive traditions. But while such a period of change and adjustment can be exciting and constructive, it poses considerable problems for those who have to lead a people through it." The most recent Gallup Poll on the sub- ject of religious responses reveals the state of religion in America. In response to the question addressed to a representative cross section of Americans whether they believe religion is increasing or losing its influence in American life, the following figures were made public: Increasing Losing No difference No opinion 1957 Pct. 69 14 10 7 1962 Pct. 45 31 17 7 1965 1967 33 45 13 23 57 14 Pet. II Pet. I The percentage of those believing that re- ligion is "losing" its influence was given as follows: 1957 14 Pct. 1967 57 Pct. Men Women 17 12 59 55 21.29 years 30-49 years 50 and over 20 13 10 63 57 53 College High school Grade school 17 12 18 59 52 Protestant Catholic 17 7 60 48 National While Jews are not mentioned, and there is cause to believe that the "decline" is not as drastic in Jewish ranks as shown generally, there is ground for believing that the influ- ence of religion has waned also in Jewish communities. Figures for Jewish synagogue attendance showed the following in another Gallup Poll: As compared with 52 per cent in 1952, attendance declined to 39 per cent in 1965; 17 per cent attended services three times a month in 1952 and 4 per cent in 1966; and 12 per cent attended services every week in 1952, the figure having declined to 4 per cent in 1966. Thus, the trend toward secularism—or to non-synagogue attendance — has increased tremendously and we have truly become a three- or two-day-a-year people. The Christian Science Monitor took note of these developments in an editorial, "Re- ligion and the Young," which declared: Religions interest and conviction at Harvard and Radfcliffe colleges have apparently under- gone a sharp drop over the past 20 years. To assess trends in religious attitudes, polls taken in 1946 have been carefully repeated, using to- day's students. The results show marked change. The 1946 study indicated that 76 per cent of Harvard men and 82 per cent of Radcliffe girls felt the need for "some form of religious orien- tation or belief in order to achieve a fully ma- ture philosophy of life." The recent survey showed that only 59 per cent of the men and 55 per cent of the girls admitted that they felt such a need. • z 'Fables of Jewish Aesop': Hadas' Posthumous Book ofTranslations As a posthumous work, Moses Hadas' translation of the Fox Fables of Berechiah ha-Nakdan stands out as another great achievement by the man who headed one of the most important departments at Columbia University as Jay Professor of Greek and whose Hebraic, Latin and Greek scholarship gave him world eminence. Under the title "Fables of a Jewish Aesop," the tales of Berechiah- ha-Nakdan were published by Columbia University Press. An important introduction by Dr. W. T. H. Jackson gives the background of Roman fables in relation to those of ha-Nakdan and contains explanatory notes on the author of the fables and the translator. There are impressive woodcuts to illustrate the work by Fritz KredeL Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, whose He- brew Fox Fables gained fame, was a Hebrew gram- marian and Bible commentator who lived in France in the late 12th or early 13th century. Jackson's introduction points to sources with which the He- brew author may have been linked. He mentions the Romulus fables of the Roman poet Phaedrus, Dr. Hadas 14-60 C.E. He compares several of the fables to indicate their possible likenesses. Then there are the Marie tie France fables written in the late 12th Century. "All scholars agree," according to Jackson, "that Marie used a source written in English, but that it was not the fable collection of King Alfred mentioned in her prologue. There are in her work a large number of fables from the standard 'Romulus' collections; a few demonstrably from Eastern sources; some from the beast epic 'Roman de Renart,' which was rapidly becoming popular in the 12th century ... There remain a number of fables from sources completely unknown, and it is thus the more remarkable that many of these appear not only in Matie's collection but also in the 'Fox Fables' of Berechiah. Of the 13 such fables found in both authors, seven have precisely the same plot, and six show a basic resemblance. Another 37 of the Hebrew 'Fox Fables' are to be found in both Marie's work and in the standard 'Romulus' collections, and it is clear that Berechiah was using the work of Marie rather than the Latin versions." When questioned as to their "current religious orientation," fewer than 30 per cent of the 1946 students replied "none or doubtful." But over Jackson's analyses of Berechiah's life and works and his note on 42 per cent today said they had no religion or the noted translator, Prof. Hadas, are of immense value in under- were in doubt about it. standing and appreciating the posthumously published Hadas book. These findings should alert the churches There are 119 stories in Hadas' translations, "Fables of a Jewish as to just how much they need to do to meet Aesop." Here is a typical fable from this volume, appearing under the the needs of young people and to show the heading "MOUSE & HOLE: WHOSO LORDS IT OVER THE WEALTH relevance of religion to today's world. OF STRANGERS WILL RID HIMSELF OF IT EVEN AS HE This non-Jewish viewpoint also is worth SWALLOWED IT": noting in view of the interesting observa- tions. If churches are to be alerted, syna- gogues, too, must consider the threats to re- ligions seriously. We have cause to be less worried than the non-Jews. The secularists' growth does not diminish Jewish ranks; it reduces syna- gogue attendance. While this, too, is a matter for concern, it is not a threat to Jewish sur- vival as long as intermarriage and total as- similation can be averted. But to regain the status that belongs to the synagogue the Jewish communities must review responsibili- ties and think in terms of regaining lost status. That can only be attained by giving the Jewish communal structure the spiritual values that have lost their effects. It calls for serious planning. Whether the present leadership can measure up to the task re- mains to be seen. "A mouse lean and black entered a granary through a hole and put his tooth to the grain. He ate and was satisfied and grew fat; he covered his face with fatness, and his little finger was thicker than the loins he had brought thither in the beginning. When he wished to return upon his path he could not pass through the hole by which he had come. The cat looked at him and said: 'The hole is not of a size with thee. Mouse, what is this thou host done? Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Before thou return by this path the fat of thy flesh must grow lean. Never shalt thou see the fathers thou didst know if thou vomit not forth that which thou host swallowed.' The keepers of the granary heard him, and they chased him and smote him and bruised him. "The parable is for a man whose heart made him lord it over the wealth of strangers. Even as he swallowed so did he rid himself of it. A host he swallowed, but he spewed it forth; in the half of his days it forsook him." Hadas' translated works add to the English bookshelves a classic from the early period of French Jewish scholarship. They popularize the fables of a scholar whose popularity was limited to the readers of Hebrew literature. Now it is part of world literature and at the same time 'it enriches the Jewish folklore library.