`A Treasury of Tradition' Presents Halakhic, Orthodox Legal Viewpoints
As an organ of the Orthodox argues that there are "compelling
Rabbinical Council of America, reasons why Jurisdiction is desir-
Tradition magazine served a note- able in Israel and why Separation
worthy purpose of interpreting, ex- would be unworkable" and offers
plaining, evaluating Jewish prac- these reasons:
tices, traditions, laws, regulations.
"There are a great many ques-
Especially significant essays in tions which the government of the
State,
assuming a commitment to
issues of Tradition have been com-
piled into a single volume, "A Judaism of most of Israel's people,
Treasury of Tradition," edited by must submit to ecclesiastical auth-
Rabbis Norman Lamm and Walter ority. Jewish law must be per-
S. Wurzburger, sponsored by the mitted to rule on such questions
Rabbinical Council and published and Jewish law can only he ex-
pounded under these circum-
by Hebrew Publishing Co.
In a foreword, the president of stances by an official body. The
ius
respondendi is as necessary to
the Rabbinical Council, Rabbi Is-
Israel as it was to Rome in the
rael Miller states:
days of Augustus and Tiberius.
"'Tradition is a fence that The alternative is religious
safeguards the Tora,' says Rab-
anarchy and this could only bring
bi Akiva in Pirke Avot. In a
grief to the State. The decisions
real sense the publication of
rendered by an official Rabbinate
Tradition by the'' Rabbinical will not only develop Halakha
Council of America has helped
but promote the interests of the
keep the Tora inviolate in the
State. Synagogue and State must
face of its detractors."
work together. Ancient Judaism
It is important to take this into was inconceivable without a poli-
consideration for an appreciation tical or social organization. Part
of the contents of "A Treasury of of the difficulties faced by modern
Tradition."
Judaism in the Galut are traceable
Theological perspectives, bibli- to the absence of 'such an author-
cal studies and criticisms, Halakha ity. In the State of Israel there is
and issues involving Judaism's an opportunity and necessity to
confrontations with the non-Jewish overcome this deficiency.
world are incorporated in the valu-
"But there may be a question in
able essays commenting on the the minds of many whether juris-
traditional factors dealt with in diction may not promote intoler-
this splendidly compiled work.
ance and even fanaticism. The ex-
Appropriately, the series of es- perience of the European peoples
says commence with an explana- definitely refutes this fear, as in
tion by Dr. Lamm of "the need for fact does recent history of the Is-
tradition." He outlines American raeli community itself. It is separa-
Orthodoxy's "absolute faith in the tion that would arm fanaticism.
Divine origin of the Tradition it Jurisdiction would promote respon-
represents" and declares: "Ortho- sibility, moderation, and compre-
doxy was not tried and found want- hension. Sliver groups will prob-
ing but—to paraphrase a famous
writer—it was not tried in the first
place by great numbers of people
as a working philosophy in the
context of modern life."
Halakha essays, by Rabbis
Emanuel Rackman, Alexander
Carlebach, Immanuel Jakobo-
vits, Norman Lamm, Isadore
Twersky and Zvi Zinger form,
in themselves, a very valuable
collection of explanatory and
evaluative regulations, with em-
phases on the welfare state, dis-
section of the dead, public ser-
vices on the Sabbath and other
important aspects of traditional
laws.
Especially valuable and timely,
in view both of the American and
Israeli interests in the problem
involving separation of religion
and state, is the historical pers-
pective in the essay by Rabbi I
Simeon L. Guterman. The author
asserts:-
"Jurisdiction (a system in which
one or several religious bodies are
linked to the state) serves the pur-
pose of formalizing or translating
into political terms the basic reli-
gious needs of a community in
which a majority of the people
adhere to one church, and in
which, for other reasons, a laissez-
faire attitude would be regarded
as socially harmful.
"If Separation is suited to the
United States, Jurisdiction seems
to suit England and the Scandina-
vian countries. Separation is favor=
able to unorganized, individual be-
liefs or disbelief. Hence in juris-
dictionalist countries there exists
freedom from religion as well as
of religion. Privileges accorded by
these countries to the established
church or church are odiosa as
well as favorabilia, meaning that
they impose responsibilities as well
as confer rights."
Applying his argument to Is-
rael's status, Rabbi Guterman
emphasizes the importance of
the "guarantee of individual
liberty of religion" and pointing
to the concern for "ecclesiastical
liberty" adds: "This kind of
freedom entails a special regime
for large aggregates of religious
people who might otherwise up-
set the balance of religious
forces and disrupt the life of the
State."
He proceeds to show bow in Is-
rael other faiths than the Jewish
would be recognized in a system
"in keeping with the regime in-
herited from the British and the
Turks which has built religious
status into the legal system." He
ably always exist and they should
be given every right to exist. But
the great majority of Jews will
find their religious needs served
by an Establishment which will
carry on the tradition of historic
Judaism and not of the sects
which divide it.
"Liberals will recognize that
under such a jurisdictional sys-
tem the Synagogue and the State
will mutually check the other's
pretentions and allay the danger
of that totalitarianism which has
been gnawing at the vitals of free
states throughout the world. And
with Ruggiero, the liberal will re-
call that 'the deepest significance
of the struggle between Church
and State lies in the confict itself,
not in the respective claims of the
contestants, because it facilitated
the free development of the in-
dividual conscience.' "
Matters involving laws of di-
vorce, legitimacy of children,
slaves and slavery, employer-
emplo yee relationships and
other aspects of Halakhic regu-
lations are presented in their
historic and traditional interpre-
tations.
Of great interest also is Prof.
Sidney B. Hoenig's discussion of
"The New Translation of the
Tora" in which the noted scholar
makes comparisons with other
translations and with the previous
Jewish Publication Society text
and suggests added revisions to be
pursued by JPS "in a cooperative
manner with rabbinic organiza-
tions . . . not relying merely upon
individual 'commissioned' scho-
lars." He concludes:
"While the new JPS translation
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
—Friday, October 6, 1967
represents an improvement in
many respects, which is commend-
British Fascist's Wife
able, it still falls short . . . and
needs tikkun—further revision. In Held in Synagogue Arson
many respects the work is to be
LONDON (JTA) — Mrs. Fran-
recognized more as a paraphrase, coise Jordan, wife of Colin Jordan,
'sense for sense' than a literal
translation, 'word for word.' As the head of the British National
such, the 'paraphrased text' can- Socialist movement, was held for
not be utilized by the side of a trial here in the Central Criminal
proposed Hebrew edition for it Court on charges that she had in-
may bring confusion into the minds cited and conspired with members
of students, studying the Hebrew of the movement to set fire to a
text grammatically and etymolo- London synagogue.
gically in a classroom . ."
Prosecutor John Wood told the
Thus, in "A Treasury of Tradi- court Mrs. Jordan had held "an
tion" we have a compilation of influential position" in the move-
Orthodox views which emphasize ment at the time her husband had
Halakha, traditional usage and re- stated publicly that he would like
sort to legalisms interpreted by to see Parliament enact a law pro-
modern scholars. It is, indeed, a viding for "the burning of all
synagogues."
highly scholarly work.
Sincere Best Wishes
for a Happy New Year
Newman, Steinberger
& Bornstein
"Wish the &tire Community Very glappy new ear
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