Israel and Judaism Exhibitions Among Most Impressive
Expo '67 Collections of Hist'oric, Religious Cultural Data
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During the six remaining Expo '67 weeks, illions more will be standing in long lines to reach the
pavilions of their choice. Among them are two of s cific Jewish interest—Israel and Judaism. Many other
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exhibits have notable Jewish appeals.
Expo '67 can deservedly be considered the hi blight of most of the world expositions now on record.
Well organized, replete with scores of outstanding 'splays arranged by the governments they represent„
artistic to a high degree, they provide knowledge and delight—they are informative and entertaining..
While Labyrinth provides many corridors to study man's role on earth, and the Czechoslovakian
pavilion includes an histdric film that emphasizes the Creation, the U. S. exhibit could be considered` an
emphasis-providing element for peace and creative effort. While, in contrast, the USSR's immense display
is filled with the mechanical and the factors that accrue to the era of wars and man's conflict with man.
There is always a lont line wait.'
Especially interesting is the
The displays depict holiday cele-
ing to be admitted to the Pavilion
unique model of the Temple of
of Judaism. There are valid rea- brationS,-indicating the ceremonials
Jerusalem—a
440-square foot re-
sons for such a deep interest in relating to festival observances and
constructed model, to scale, of
the magnificent displayi in this there is a chapel for services which
the Second Temple built by King
impressive building into which the are conducted at assigned times by
Herod. Lazare Halberthal and
guests are welcomed for a study all brances in Judaism. Three
his wife Suzette devoted many
of Judaism as- a philosophy of life. rabbis played important roles in
years of study in presenting the
of the religious aspects of the . Jew- assuring proper religious interpre-
historic and artistic significance
ish people, of the Bibles from many tations and assignments: Wilfred
of the model they built since
eras, of the volumes that distin- Schuchat, Harry J. Stern and S.
coming to Montreal from Ro-
M. ZAmbrowsky.
guish the People of the Book.
in 1952. They devoted more
mania
'Procession," Elbert Weinberg's
In the chapel area of the pa-
than 15,000 hours to this labor
life-size bronze sculpture, stands at vilion, which serves the visitors as
of
love
which they transferred
the entrance of the building and a place of meditation, religious
to the Expo '67 Judaism Pavilion.
on its four outside walls are He- services, prayer and, study,. there
Their
model
shows the High
brew, Yiddish French and English are pre-recorded musical presen-
Tourt of Justice, the walls, the
inscriptions with the messages that tations of works of great masters
courtyard, the life-like groupings
emphasize the concepts of Juda,of liturgical music of the past and
of priests, soldiers, citizens and
ism:
r present.
-animals.
The historic factors
Upon the Tora, upon Worship
-
Adding emphasis to the themes
is the display of The Ladder of
Charity—Maimonides' Eight De-
grees of Giving. Non-Jews are
invariably in the majority among
the viewers, and there are al- I
ways impressive groups taking
viduals from all parts of the
world convene meetings and
symposiums. It cooperates with
the- Pavilion of Israel in joint .
programing and coordination of
events.
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notes, copying the texts on the Judaic guidelines the exhibi-
walls, making notes of Maimon- tion find support a d emphasis in
ides' teachings, and many ac- the splendid displays of 'Bibles,
quire the beautifully arranged meritorious books and references
museum booklet which contains to authors and the noted historic
many of the quotations, includ- , personalities selected to indicate
ing the historic text of Maimoni- the cultural values of JUdaism
leave a deep impression.
des' teachings.
Judaism :Pavilion faces the St.
Lawrence -Seaway. Harry Stilman
was the pavilion's architect. Igor
Kuchinsky is the commissioner gen-
eral and program director. Mor-
decai KesSier is the executive di-
rector of the pavilion project. Max
W. Roth is the architect who de-
tigned the interior. Sam Steinberg
the president of the Foundation
for Judaism which undertook the
entire project which, like the Expo
-'67 itself, involves great costs and
‘.vast deficit.
The gathered incunabula books,
,the-collection of Bibles and of the
historic Hebrew-English Dictionary,
volumes dating to the 15th century
and other valuables at the exhibit
are so impressive that whatever the
cost, the making of the Judaism
Pavilion project emerges as a valu-
able contribution to Jewish life and
as a most commendable undertak-
ing, by Canadian Jewry as part of
the Canadian Centennial celebra-
tion. I
The Expo '67 story would be Incomplete without reference to the many important exhibits, in ad-
dition to those of 'Judaism and Israel. The widely- acclaimed Czech exhibits conclude with a display of cere-
monial projects from.the Jewish Museum of Prague. It is noted there that the Prague collection is the larg-
est of its kind in the world. The objects brought from Czechoslovakia emphasize anew the 1,000-year history
of the Jews of Czechoslovakia who now have dwindled to just about 20,000—most of -them aged.
The. Russian exhibit has been referred to. There is more literature distributed per foot at that vast
pavilion than in any, one other total exhibition. This may well serve as a comment on the Russian approach
its
quest
for communication and propaganda. France offers beautiful displays. Man and the Universe
in
find emphases in so many artistic displays that Expo '67 constantly gains high stature. The Telephiine Pavi-
lion deServedly rates high for the impressive 360 degree film seeing which is an unforgettable experience.
Kaleisoscope is as .kaleidoscopic as its name ---
Britain is depicted in great dignity. It emerges - anew as the land of the Magna Charta, as the home
of great literary figures, as a world power in the area of culture. Here, too, the eultural supersedes the
material—and that elevates this museum to a high level.
There is cause for genuine pride
in the Israel Pavilion. It refers to
the last conflict only in passing. I
Like the most notable of the ex-
hibits it deals with,_ the historic
and the creative. It shows how ,a
people that has been harassed has
risen to great heights, recapturing
the glorious history of the past.
'Israel Pavilion's themes deal with
history—ancient and modern. The
eras are interlinked, and the ties
have been forged with skill by the
experts who created it.
The early days of J9wish settle-
ment in Palestine are reconstruct-
ed and the pioneers who made
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PAVILION OF JU
During the Sabbath and4eitival
come to life in this model repro-
and upon Love for Man, is the
cycle, special events, displays and
duction. ,
World based,
appro-
functions
are
arranged
and
' in the Ile Notre Dame
Located
Upon Truth, upon Justice, and
upon Peace, is the World pre. I priate celebrations take place at section of the Expo grounds, the
served. the pavilion.
Noteworthy ceremonial objects, I In the lower area of the pavilion.
historic paintings, sculptures, the a small auditorium seating, about
artistic creations of Mark Chagall, 125 is available for groups and
Jacques Lipchitz and many other organizations to hold special events
great artists are on view, and the programs relating to Jewish life,
themes throughout are those of the centennial celebrations or other
six basic Jewish principles: Tora— such activities.
learning; Avoda—worship; Gemilut
The Pavilion of Judaism at
Hasodim — charity. Emet — truth;
Expo '67 thus is an international
Din—search for justice; Shalom—
meeting place, where Jewish or-
peace.
ganizations, groups and indi-
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• Modern Israel are shown in the
various stages of their. creative
efforts. The manner in which a na-
tion was moulded is shown mas-
terfully.
The emergence of towns, the
creation of kibutzim, the • indus-
tries, the universities and the in-
stitutes of research—all are part
of a, panorama that has become a
vital part of the historic modern
chapte{ of Jewish-history.
The holocaust is not over-
looked. The Heroisnk of the War-
saw }Ghetto fighters is not .for-
siege engines, reached the wall
and effected a breach. The defend-
ers countered with the erection' of
an inner wall — of wood. There
was no time for a more substantial
structure. The Romans set the
wooden wall on fire, and planned
to return next morning for the kill.
That was a tragic night for the
defenders. Up to' then, there was
hope. Now, the end was inevita-
ble. The 960 Jewish men, women
and children would prove no
match for thousands of Roman
legionnaires once they could get
The 16 hostesses who were se-
through the walls — as they now lected to guide the vast number
could.
of people visiting the Israel pavi-
.-Amid the glow of their flaming lion have been chosen out of hun-
wall, their leader, Eleazar ben dreds of applicants. The attractive
Ya'ir, called upon them to make girls are tri-lingual—they speak
the final gesture — to die as they Hebrew, English and French.
had lived, as proud and free Jews.
There are so many excellent at-
Gathering their effects togther, tractions at Expo '67 that it is
each family set them on fire so difficult to allude to all of them.
that whatever they had of value Suffice it to recommend that the
would not be enjoyed by their Minirail ride should not be over-
enemies. Each male then took the looked, that attention should be
lives of his wife and, children, and given to the Habitat dwellings
lots were drawn among the males designed by an Israeli architect
as to who should kill the others.
and already nearly completely
When the Romans entered next rented.
morning, they were greeted by
Also of interest at this time
silence — the silence of death.
is the current JTA report from
The prize of victory was snatched
Washington that Moshe Safdie,.
from their hands by the daunt-
28-year-old Isr a ell architect
less defenders. -
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hose revolutionary concept of
Masada fell. But the flame of the
design for multiple dwellings
heroism at Masada — the incred-
attracted world-wide attention
i le- fortitude of the few who held
through "Habitat "67" in Mont-
out against the powerful many —
real, has been commissioned to
burned brightly throughout the
gotten. The desert is part of the edge of the Judean desert over-
_ canvas that comes to life in this looking the Dead Sea. From there, nineteen centuries since the final
they were determined to hold out dramatic act, and, with the estab-
exhibition.
lishment of the State of Isra 1,
Masada has been restored. Th
Jews of Israel are determined that
"Masada shall not fall again."
The manner of their death i
known — and the story was pr
served by Josephus — because
women among the defenders fa'
to go through with Eleazar
Ya'ir's appeal. They had h' den
themselves, emerging on the mor-
row when the Romans app red.
To them they told the story, and
this was recorded by the 1st Cen-
tury historian Josephus in his "The
Wars of the Jews."
Of special interest are the in-
scriptions explaining the many
objects and the historical occur-
rences. A veritable fairy tale
emerges out of the explained
selections from Josephus, the
captions detailing the holocaust,
the definitions of many of the ob-
jectives in Zionism and in the
by arrows and stone missiles, while
realities into which the move-
their slaves worked to complete
gent grew, the cultural, agricul-
the ramp. When it was finished,
the troops ascended with their 40—Friday, September 15, 1967
against the might of Rome. It be-
came, in fact, the last Jewish
stronghold, falling- three years
later in the most dramatic circum-
stances.
In 72 CE, irked by the actions of
these resisters which threatened to
undermine Roman rule in the rest
of the country, a Roman general
marched on Masada with thou-
sands of legionnaires and an even
greater number of auxiliaries and
prisoner-slaves, determined to
crush this Jewish outpost. It was
held by less than 1,000 defenders.
The Romans first tried to scale
the steep slopes that led to the
summit fortress. They were re-
pulsed. There was only one al-
ternative: siege, and the construc-
the Israel Museum. •
tion of a ramp up which they could
In the year 70 CE, when the move a battering ram lo breach
the
summit walls. For months the
Roman general Titus destroyed
Jerusalem and the Temple and Romans kept up a steady attack
And, of course, there is the story
of 19 years of Israel's sovereignty
as an independent state. The cen-
ters that have been built, the hos-
pitals, the schools; the men, women
and children of Israel; the lan-
guage they revived and the culture
they created: all are part of this
vast canvas.
Many .valuabld projects are on
display, including the Scroll of
Habakkuk that is part of the Dead
Sea Scrolls.
Masada and its heroic role in
history, excavations that confirm
Israel's age-old role, the techno-
logical achievements — a people's
triumph out of its struggles are
incorporated in the story told in
tramped on Jewish freedom, a
small group of Jews managed to
escape and made their way to
Masada, a fortified rock at the
tural, industrial and scientific
activities of a people that has
left the ghetto to create a mod-
ern democratic state.
Stamps, coins, medals, fashions
—all are interlinked in the various
displays.
The numerous biblical quotations
add to the glory of the impressive
settings.
There is a kosher Israeli restau-
rant on the grounds. Books are
purchasable and other objects are-
available—including stamps and an-
niversary coins and medals.
design a 600-unit public housing
project in Washington. Under-
secretary Robert C. Wood, of
the apartment of Housing and
Development, said S a f die
had been authorized to try to
adapt his design concepts to see
whether they "come within the
perimeter of public housing
cost." He has been given six
sites here to consider for a
"feasibility study." "It looks as
if we can do it," he said.
Originally it was estimated that
Expo '67 would draw 30,000,000
visitors. Now it seems certain that
the number will exceed 45,000,000.
The official estimate is that
Expo '67 will involve a deficit of
$157,000,000 — due to the im-
mense cost of providing staffs and
of caring for the unusual facilities.
But Canadians rightfully maintain
that the cost was well worth it: it
was a magnificent way of sharing
the Canadian Centennial of Con-
federation with the rest of the
world, primarily with the United
States.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS