Hanuka 1968

THE JEWISH NEWS .

Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
National Editorial

Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association,
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit,
VE 8-9364. Subscription 87 a year. Foveign 88.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit. Michigan

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Business Manager

Editor and Publisher

SIDNEY SHMARAK

Advertising Manager

Mich. 48235.

CHARLOTTE DUBIN

City Editor

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 23rd day of Kislev, 5729, the following scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Gen. 37:1-40:23. Prophetical portion, Amos 2:6-3:8.
Hanuka Tora readings: Monday, Num. 7:1-17; Tuesday, Num. 7:18-29; Wednesday,
Num. 7:24-35; Thursday, Num. 7:30-41; Friday, Num. 7:36-47.

Candle lighting, Friday, Dec. 13, 4:42 p.m.

December 13, 1968

Page Four

VOL. LTV. No. 13

Hanuka: New Call to Maccabean Valor

Hanuka is the Feast of the Maccabees, re-
calling the valor of the Hasmoneans of old.
But it is not a festival recalling only war-
fare. It is also an occasion to celebrate the
conquest of the right to freedom of religious
worship and to recall the triumph over idol-
atry.
This year, however, there is being im-
posed upon the Jewish people the need for
emphasis on the military and the heroic, to
ake the valor of fighters for self-defense
d for survival the more important factor
than the spiritual.
_ This imposition stems from the renewed
dangers that face our kinsmen in their re-
-deemed homeland. The new wave of terror
that is making life insecure in Israel, the re-
peated threats that Israel will be destroyed,
the refusal to make peace with Israel, the
attitude that the victor in the June 1967 War
is the permanent loser of just rights—these
conditions cause the Israelis to say that
no matter how often the blasts like the one
of Nov.. 22 in Jerusalem are repeated, am
Israeli hai, the people Israel lives, and no
one will be permitted to destroy it. The era
of the Holocaust is at an end, the Israelis
say, and those who were the survivors from
the Holocaust and had seen their--families
perish at the hands of the Nazis know where-
of they speak when they say that another

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Hitler—even if in the form of a Nasser—
shall never rise up again!
This is what has happened to us at Hanu-
ka time in 5729—that Israel's enemies have
forced us again to speak in terms of the Mac-
cabees on the battlefield rather than the
Hasmoneans who cleaned the Temple. If
there is to be a removal of the filth that is
being heaped upon our heritage, it will have
to be preceded again by the defeat of those
enemies who are aiming at the lives of in-
nocent Jews in the marketplaces; on school
playgrounds, at hospitals and homes for the
aged—none of which is immune from attack
by Arab terrorists.
It is a sad lesson to learn, and an even
sadder course of action to prescribe for Jews
who must stand firm as defenders of Israel's
rights. But it is a fact that confronts us,
not to be ignored as we welcome the arrival
of another Feast of the Maccabees, the Ha-
nuka of 5729. May it prove a joyous event
that will help even Israel's enemies to rec-
ognize that justice must triumph, that the
rights of an ancient people to its territorial
heritage can not be erased, that neighbors
and kinsmen can and must live together in
peace. Perhaps time will wipe out indig-
nities and their effects. This is our hope
for a festival that is so vital for the honor and
dignity of Israel and her kinsmen everywhere.

Histadrut's Creati ye Role in Israel

Jewish traditional teachings constantly ad-
monish us to take into account the impor-
tance of creative pursuits, to honor the labors
of those who are engaged in productive efforts
for their own and their community's welfare,
to respect the rights of all and to strive for
social justice.
Pursuing programs in behalf of people who
have come to Israel from diverse areas, stem-
ming from more than a hundred nations in
most of which Jews could not find rest,
comfort or security, and for whom it was
necessary to establish means of attaining
livelihoods and a sense of peace and safety
after having experienced persecutions and
after having been expelled from the society
into which they were unable to secure access,
Israel labor federation, Histadrut, has under-
taken to strengthen its programs on the basis
of established Jewish teachings. To impress
its followers with the program, Histadrut's
public relations forces collected these ex-
cerpts from prophetic and biblical teachings
as guides for action in support of Israel's
democratic and labor policies:
.. and they said: Let Us rise up and build .. .

so they strengthened their hands for this good
work . . ."
—Nehemiah, 2:18
"Be strong, then, and let riot your hands be
weak . . ."
—II Chronicles, 15:7
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all
your might . . ."
—Ecclesiastes, 9:10
"Thou shalt open thy hands wide to thy
brother . . ."
—Deuteronomy, 15:8
"The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine
gold; how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers,
the work of the hands of the potters .. ."
—Lamentations, 4:2
"And this is the blessing of Judah . . . Let his
hands be sufficient for him."
—Deuteronomy, 33:7

Scriptures are quotable for a variety of
purposes, but in these instances what is in-
volved is the vital task of integrating people
who have never worked together, who must
learn the revived Hebrew language to co-
operate for their common good, who have
to be taught trades because their native lands
had deprived them of the right to enter in-

dilStXy IreS vrirailSeSiGriSe

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It is in the fashion of fusing different ele-
ments into a new great society, linking Jews
from many lands, training them to work side
by side with their Arab fellow-citizens, that
Histadrut emerges as an important factor for
Israel.
Having established proper vocational pro-
grams, creating a basis of equality for the
laboring masses, including the Arabs who
have been drawn into the ranks of the labor
federation; having encouraged adherence to
a properly-functioning health insurance sys-
tem, and having built excellent hospitals for
the latter program, Histadrut has adhered to
principles which motivated its founding. And
because Histadrut has been, and remains, a
basic instrument for Israel's defense, as a
result of the training its vast membership
has received and the cooperation it gives the
Israel government in relation to the armed
forces as well as social services, the labor
federation retains a role of great significance
in Israel.
On the basis of the numerous accomplish-
ments that have distinguished it, Histadrut
has earned the support it asks from Ameri-
can Jewry.

Terror Not Peace

,

Israel's enemies at the United Nations are
clinging to a familiar pattern in the attacks
that are being leveled at the defenders of the
Jewish state and its people. The Communist
block is linked with the spokesmen for the
Arab states in a continuing flood of words
branding Israel as an "aggressor" and con-
cerning themselves not with the numerous
incidents which provoked Israeli retaliations
for terrorism and for attacks upon a dozen
Israeli villages.
If it had not been for Soviet support of the
terrorists, there might have been hope for
peace in the Middle East.
Overlooked is the fact that one of the
major elements in the current struggle-
Iraq—had never even concluded a cease fire
with Israel and there has been a state of
war between Israel' and Iraq since 1947.
Under the circumstances, Israel's actions
were to repulse the threatening Iraqi forces
wdliela have been. operdting:oriJordaRian:soill.

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'Choose Life' — Challenging
Philosophies of Many Sources

Scholars, wisdom and scholarship of many ages and People of all
faiths are represented in a book by the president of the Jewish Theo-
logical Seminary that is filled with instructive quotations.
Dr. Bernard Mandelbaum, in "Choose Life," published by Random
House, has gathered a collection of wise sayings
that represents, as the book's subtitle states, "A
philosophy for today, including selections from
the writings of the world's great religious and
secular thinkers."
The variety of subjects into which Dr. Mandel-
baum has delved for wisdom of the ages indicates
the extent of his research while collecting the
philosophic quotations. In his introductory cozn-
ments, the seminary president presents as a guide e
to his anthology:
Having chosen life .. .
Having chosen to enlarge, involve and ,-
continue ourselves .. .
We discover the endless creativity of life,.
its enduring capacity for good is this: as we
share with others the treasures of living, we
Dr. Mandelbaum
increase them for ourselves.
In the very first chapter, on "Acquiring Wisdom," the scholar and
theologian quotes the Midrash, Dr. Louis Finkelstein, Dag Hammar-
skjold, Irwin Edman, Bernard Baruch, Elie Wiesel, Judah Ha-Levi, the
Proverbs and others.

He turns to the Ethics of the Fathers and he shares with his read-
ers the ancient wisdom:

There are four types among those that sit in the presence of
the wise: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sifter.
The sponge soaks up everything.
The funnel takes in at one ear and lets out at the other.
The strainer lets pass the wine and retains the lees.
The sifter holds back the coarse and collects the fine flour.
In this fashion, Dr. Mandelbaum continues his impressive selectiv-
ity, and the reader can benefit from the treasures of Jewish thinkers
and great Jewish writings and also from the notables of other philoso-
phies. "Choose Life" is an enchanting anthology that will enrich knowl-
edge and provide guides for those seeking advice for many problematic
issues and challenging occasions.

'Jewish Customs and Traditions'
Defined by Talmudic Scholar

A noted authority on the Talmud, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Sperling,
wrote an important book, "Taamei Ha Minhagim," in 1890. Now this
work by the scholar, who lived in Lvov, Poland, is made available in an
English translation by Rabbi Abraham Matts of Cornwall, Ontario.
The book was published by Bloch under the title "Reasons for Jewish

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Customs and Traditions."
The reasoning regarding Jewish customs presented in this volume
has served for many years as a guide for Orthodox communities.
The author delved deeply into the origins of the traditions and
explained the various blessings, synagogue services, numerous prayers
and holiday observances in a fashion understandable to the layman,

while the scholar has in this text an important source for guiding
congregations and worshipers. -
Quoting important sources, Rabbi Sperling had Compiled a mass
of data regarding the everyday life of the observing Jew, and Rabbi
Matts renders the presentations in an excellent EngUnh translation.
Presented in the form of questions and answers, the contents of this

work serve a valuable purpose for the Jewish home,. for the parent
who desires to have proper explanations for 'observance of Jewish regu-
lations, for the rabbi who needs the origin
' of answers fa immediate

use.

"Reasons for Jewish Customs and Traditions" fills a great need in
our tiple—as well as it did when it was firs publishd in itsHebrew
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it

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