Purely Commentary
The Trial of Jesus—Authoritative Facts
What a pity that Judge Frank Picard is no longer in our midst to
benefit from an unusually and authoritative study of the trial and death
of Jesus. The late Judge Picard wrote a lengthy essay on the trial of
Jesus and he sought opportunities to present his
paper either at pre-Easter or pre-Christmas func-
tions. For many years he made certain that he had
audiences for that talk which became his major life
interest. He was a nationally acclaimed football
player in his student days at the University of Michi-
gan and was an outspoken jurist on the Federal
Bench. Superseding his love for sports and the law,
however, was his interest in the crucifixion and in
Jesus' trial.
Judge Picard would have benefited greatly from
the latest study, published by the Hebrew University
Picard
—the address now a pamphlet by the Israel Supreme
Court Justice Haim H. Cohn. Under the title "Reflections on the Trial
and Death of Jesus," Justice Cohn presents the results of his study of
the Gospels. He indicated that "the Jews could not have taken any
active part in the trial before Pilate, particularly as the Jewish masses
were "ardent admirers and sincere wellwishers of Jesus," and their
leader—"the chief priests"—could not afford to alienate their fellings.
In the course of his study, Justice Cohn submits that the only role
of the Sanhedrin was to find ways and means of saving Jesus from his
fate at the hands of the Procurator. Justice Cohn declares:
"I have tried to show that the facts (or most of the facts)
emerging from the Gospel stories, whatever the tendencies and
conclusions expressed by their authors or appearing on their face,
are compatible with Jewish innocense no less—nay much more—
that with Jewish guilt, and that both the trial and the execution of
Jesus were exclusively Roman. In reflecting on these matters and
arriving at my conclusions, I have had no apologetic purposes in
mind: I do not feel called upon, as a Jew, to defend the Jewish
authorities or the Jewish people of that time against charges which,
however spurious I believe them to be, have caused untold suffer-
ings to generations of innocent Jews throughout the ages. The alle-
gation being that Jesus was tried by a Jewish court, presumably
under Jewish law, his case is part and parcel of Jewish history, and
as such must claim our attention—quite apart from the fact that
Jesus was a Jew who taught and fought and died among his people
in Jerusalem. And to refute that allegation is not so much a vindi-
cation of Jewish law and procedure, as a vindication of those men
who, although not having judged, have been condemned for having
judged; and the condemnors, as they have 'sinned in the law,' will
have to be judged by the law."
Numerous works of research on the early Christian era in history
are now being published. Justice Cohn's is a significant addition to
accumulating facts regarding the true state of affairs during the trial of
Jesus by the Romans.
*
*
*
Highly Deserved Honor for Emma Schaver
Any honor by our community for Emma Schaver would be well de-
served, and she is especially highly qualified to receive the Eleanor
Roosevelt Humanitarian Award, at the Israel Bond dinner scheduled in
her honor on Nov. 7.
Emma was a mere child when the Balfour Declaration was issued.
Yet she can be counted today among the pioneers in the Zionist move-
ment. Having inherited her deep convictions and her dedication to the
Zionist cause from her parents, she continued her activities from child-
hood to this day.
As a youngster she sang for Young Judaea affairs. Then she was
featured in an operetta arranged by Bernard Isaacs and staged by the
United Hebrew Schools pupils, in Orchestra Hall, proceeding from there
to wide fame as a singer.
She has especially distinuishhed herself as her people's folksinger
and she added to her glorious career her recent appearance in a concert
on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.
These are, however, personal aspects of her life. She has been recog-
nized for her labors for Histadrut, for Pioneer Women and now for
Israel Bonds.
Israel's great leaders, including the current and the former Presi-
dents, were the intimate friends of the Schavers, and Emma's very close
friend in Israel is Golda Meir. How appropriate that Golda should come
here to help in paying honor to Emma! The Nov. 7 testimonial is well
earned and highly deserved and should be marked by an outpouring of
friends and a generous community participation in Israel Bond pur-
chases.
Andre Maurois — Israel Inspired an Anti - Zionist
Andre Maurois had rightfully been described as the man who rep-
resented an epoch in French history; the eminent author who created
a style of French civilization. The son of Alice Levy and Ernest
Herzog—he was born Emile Herzog on July 25, 1885—he was of the
family of three generations of textile manufacturers. He affirmed his
Jewishness. On his 75th birthday, commenting on his Jewish back-
ground, he stated:
"In the little French town where we lived the Jewish community
was too small for a rabbi. There was an 'officiant' who taught me to
read Hebrew characters but was not able to go further. My mother
had given me some ideas of our sacred history. I discovered the Bible
much later in life and loved its sublime poetry which had been such
an inspiration to some of my favorite writers from Racine to Hugo
and Kipling. I still re-read every year the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes."
The death of this genius on Oct. 9 serves to recall Maurois' earlier
views—his antagonism to Zionism—and the change of heart that was
occasioned by the emergence of the State of Israel. In 1960, on his
75th birthday he stated:
"For the State of Israel I feel great admiration and a sort of deep
affection. I am proud of its extraordinary success. I do not mean
material success, though that, too, was necessary, but moral and
spiritual success. That small country deserved the respect of all occi-
dental nations. She won it through her courage, her unity in danger,
her love of culture."
But in 1948, he had a different attitude. Interviewed for the
London Jewish Chronicle, in Madras, in July of 1948, the interviewer,
Gabriele Adelaide Mode, wrote as follows:
2 — Friday, October 27, 1967
By Philip
Emma Schaver's Well-Earned
Honor ... Andre Maurois' Zionist
Record. . . . Changes in Rituals Slomovitz
Simhat Tora Quiz
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
(Copyright 2%7, JTA Inc.)
"I do not wish to speak about Palestine, said Andre Maurois when
I asked him if he would like to bring his views on Judaism up to date.
I did not insist, because, somehow, I understood. Maybe, had I asked
why, he would not even have been able to give a clear explanation.
Maybe he is a Zionist—I don't think and I did not ask, but I think
not. It is, in spite of everything, easy to be British and a Zionist
living in Britain, but it is difficult to be French, Zionist and Anglo-
phile, just as it would be a British Zionist living abroad. That, how-
ever, is a superficial reason. Perhaps there is a deeper one. Zionism
is a matter of temperament, the juxtaposition of fanatics, and mod-
erates, and years ago Maurois asked himself—not, however, in con-
nection with Palestine—are fanatics wrong? He thinks they are, yet
maybe it needs a little of everything to make a world: 'Fanatics to
shake the inertia of the masses, and minds that harbor no bitterness
to soothe the Furies, daughters of the night, when the Dawn rises.' "
The explanation is the interviewer's, but it reveals an attitude that
was unquestionably the great writer's the man who was elected to
the French Academy and who acquired worldwide recognition. His
views of 1948 were vastly different from those of 1960. In 1948 he
spoke "about Palestine," and 12 years later he admired Israel's extra-
ordinary attainments.
Like so many of his generation, like scores upon scores—many
thousands and tens of thousands—of Jews in high places, Maurois
stood aloof from Zionism. Had he and those who antagonized the
movement aided the historic libertarian tasks, hundreds of thousands—
perhaps millions !—of Jews who were Hitler's victims might have
been rescued !
Our files contain a peculiar story relating to Maurois. Under the
heading "Giraud Fought by de Gaulle on Maurois Post," the report,
dated June 18, 1943, stated:
Algiers (JPS)—General Charles de Gaulle resisted the desire
of General Henri Giraud to appoint the French-Jewish writer,
Andre Maurois, to an important government post in North Africa,
it is reported in circles close to the French Committee of National
Liberation. It is said that de Gaulle objected to Maurois' alleged
pro-Vichy position and his laudation of Petain after his departure
from France to the United States.
Intimates of General de Gaulle assert that among the various
issues on which he has fought General Giraud is his insistence
that all French fascists and anti-Semites must be eliminated from
the military as well as the executive branches of the North
African government.
It is reported here that before leaving his post, General Juin,
former Governor of Tunisia, abolished all the anti-Jewish measures
which had been enacted under the Vichy regime.
It is also learned that the Sfax Kehillah newspaper, Revue
Juive, which was suspended by the Vichy authorities, has re-
appeared.
We were unable to substantiate any of these facts. Yet, it was a
report from responsible quarters. It is doubtful that Maurois could
possibly have condoned anything stemming from Vichy in the war
years. That incident must have been part of the prejudices and
suspicions of that era. Because Maurois does not emerge unrealistic
in his dealing with politicians in the war years, or in having been
fooled by the unpatriotic and destructive actions of Petain.
•
•
4,
Why Is the Tora read on the
night of Simhat Tora whereas
it is never read on any other
night of the year?
Basically, a Tora may never
be read in the synagogue at night.
An exception was made on the
night of Simhat Tora. Even this
practice did not make its appear-
ence, as far as we know, until the
end of the 14th Century. Most
sources consider this strange prac-
tice to have originated as a result
of another custom—i.e., that of
taking out the Tora or Toras from
the ark and parading around the
synagogue with them. The reason-
ing was a very simple one. A Sefer
Tora may not be removed from
the ark unless there is a definite
purpose, e.g., to read it before
the congregation. To take the Tora
out of the ark just for the sake
of parading with it was regarded
as somewhat sacrilegious by some
authorities. Therefore, it became
a custom to read out of the Tofa
after completing seven circuits
around the synagogue so that it
would not have been removed from
the ark in vain. Nevertheless, this
practice was unknown in the Ori-
ental and Spanish Jewish commun-
ities.
• • •
Why do some peonle eat the
Etrog on Simhat Tora?
It is generally felt that this
came about through a misunder-
standing in the text of the Book
Rokeach authored by Rabbi Elea-
zer of Worms. In it he wrote that
the Etrog may not be eaten until
Simhat Tora, i.e., the Etrog that
was used for the ritual with the
Lulav on Sukkot. This is because
anything which is used in the per-
formance of a Commandment
(mitzva) may not be used for
any other purpose while it is still
possible to use it for the fulfill-.
ment of a commandment. Thus,
the Etrog could not be eaten
(nor could any other benefit be
derived from it) during the seven
days it is used on the Sukkot
holiday. In the Diaspora, the
eighth day of the holiday is still
a doubtful seventh day (or at
Changes in Rituals Will Come With Time
There is need for many changes in rituals in our religious ob- least it was in the time when me-
servances—and they will undoubtedly come with time. chanical calculations of the day
of the month were not used and
Tisha b'Av may never be abandoned as a day of remembrance of the beginning of the month still
historic tragedies, yet the form of observance will no doubt change.
depended on the witnesses who
Then there is the matter of Jerusalem. In the Yom Kippur Mahzor, saw the new moon), and thus the
for example, there is a piyyut—a liturgical hymn—that was composed Etrog may not be eaten on the
eighth day (Shemini Atzeret). It
I remember, 0 God, and I am deeply vexed
may, however, be eaten on Simhat
When I see every city built on its own site,
Tora, since on that day it is cer-
While Jerusalem, the city of God, is razed to the ground
tain that the seven days for using
Yet for all this, our faith in Thee does not falter.
the Etrog on Sukkot have passed.
As a dirge recording the sadness of history, the destruction of In some communities it was cus-
Jerusalem, the exile, such piyyutim will be increasable from Jewish tomary to cut the Etrog in pieces
history and literature. And as historic landmarks they will no doubt and to distribute it amongst the
remain indelibly a part of our historic chronicles.
members of the community to
They serve to reaffirm the inseparability of Israel and Jewry from show that they all had a share in
Jerusalem. While bedouins were destroying the Holy Land, Jews every- the Etrog, which in early days
where were linked to it by tradition, by an undeniable legacy. No claims, may have been the only one in
whether those of the Crusaders who were invading conquerors, or the community since they were so
Arabs, whose stay in the Land of Israel was in the form of nomads scarce then. At any rate, a per-
rather than permanent and creative settlers, or the aspirations of missive statement was misinter-
Christians since the Crusades, including those of "Holy Mother Russia," preted as a command and thus
can be linkened even in the remotest to the spiritual and historic became a customary practice in
rights of the People Israel. The piyyutim reaffirm this contention. some communities.
,
9 Out Of 10 Boston Jews Are Native-Born
BOSTON (JTA) — Nearly nine
of every ten of the 208,000 Jews
in the Greater Boston area are
native-born, according to the find-
ings of a major demographic study
prepared under auspices of the
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of
Greater Boston.
Based on about 1,600 interviews
from a scientifically constructed
sampling of adult Jewish house-
holds in the area, the study des-
cribed not only the social and eco-
nomic characteristics of the Jewish
population but also provided data
on population mobility, attitudes
toward social service, Jewish edu-
cation, religious identification and
observances and participation in
communal activities.
The Jewish population has ex-
perienced major changes in geo-
graphical distribution and in the
percentage of native-born Jews,
THE DETROIT JJEWISH NEWS the study found. Jewish families
are now distributed throughout the
Greater Boston area with an un-
expectedly low concentration in the
orginal areas of settlement—Dor-
chester, Mattapan and Chelsea.
live on income of less than $3,000
annually. These people, with lower
than average family income, tend
to report less favorably about the
conditions of their health than
The center of gravity of the those with higher incomes, the
Boston Jewish community, both
geographically and in organiza- study found.
tional planning, is the Brookline
and Newton area, into which Jews
are still moving, the study found.
Although Jews are better repre-
sented than the general population
AMSTERDAM (JTA)—The tiny
in the higher occupational and edu- Dutch Jewish community is ex-
cational groups, in other respects pected to raise more than $5,000e
they follow the patterns of the 000 for the Israel Emergency Fund
general population. Home owner- by the time the campaign ends
ship and age composition are simi- Nov. 5 when American comedian
lar.
Danny Kaye will lead the Gadna,
The study found that eight per a 100-member Israeli military
cent of all Jewish families in the youth band, in a concert Isere.
Kaye is contributing his services.
Greater Boston area live on less
The Dutch campaign has already
than $3,000 a year. Forty-four per raised more than $4,480,000 for the
cent of Jews over the age of 70 emergency fund.
o.
Dutch Jews to Give
$5,000,000 to Israel