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Adult Education
Courses, Lectures

The Metropolitan Council of
Young Israel will inaugurate its
adult education program 8 p.m.
TueSday at Young Israel of Oak-
Woods.
Classes to be offered are "Hirsch-
ian Thoughts on Tora" taught by
Rabbi Samuel H. Prero," Analysis
of the Sidur and Its Prayer Serv-
ices" taught by Rabbi James I.
Gordon and "Talmud Megilla"
taught by Rabbi Ernest Greenfield
At 9 p.m., the annual Benz Me-
morial Lecture will be delivered
by Rabbi Israel Miller, rabbi emer-
itus. of Kingsbridge Jewish Center,
Bronx, and assistant to the presi-
dent of Yeshiva University. This
year's lecture - theme is "The Fu-
ture of World Jewry," and Rabbi
Miller will discuss the future of
European Jewry.
For information, call the syna-
gogue, 398-1177.

Methodist Congregations

Coming to Temple Service

Chief Rabbi of France Rabbi Jacob Kaplan and Mrs. Kaplan
arrived in the United States to be honored by the Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations of America, as the Union's guest of honor at
their recent convention. Rabbi Kaplan also met with Jewish leaders
in the U.S. Greeting Rabbi and Mrs. Kaplan as they depart from
their jet are (from left) Rabbi Joseph Karasic, president of the Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Rabbi Kaplan; Mrs.
Kaplan; Rabbi Israel B. Kiavan, executive vice president of the
Rabbinical Council of America; and Samuel Brennglass, general chair-
man of the 70th anniversary convention of the Union of Orthdox
Jewish Congregations of America held in Washington, D.C.

Israel Chief Rabbi Insists on Halakha
'
to Determine Question ' Who Is a Jew?

(Direct JTA Teletpye Wire
to The Jewish News)

JERUSALEM — More than 1,000
Orthodox rabbis and judges of re-
ligious courts met at a conference
here Tuesday to reassert their in-
sistence that Halakha—Jewish re-
ligious law—must prevail in deter-
mining who is a Jew.
The conference was called by
the Sephardic chief rabbi, Itzhak
Nissim, who _claimed, in his open-
ing speech, that no distinction can
be drawn between religion and
nationality. In the context of Is-
raeli law, nationality refers to
ethnic origin.
The Orthodox -maintain, accord-
tng to Rabbi Nissim, that a Jew
Is either someone born of a Jew-
ish mother or someone who has
undergone conversion rites. "We
are a nation which has a religion
and a religion which has a nation,"
be said. "There cannot be one set
of criteria applicable in Israel and
another set of criteria for the Dia-
spora."
The controversy over what de-
termines who is a Jew was revived
recently by the case of Lt. Com-
mander Benjamin Shalit, an Is-
raeli naval officer, who is suing to
have his Israel-horn children reg-
istered as Jews by nationality
even though their mother is non-
Jewish and professes no religion.
The ministry of interior, which
has jurisdiction over birth regis-
tration and identity papers and Is
headed by a minister of the Ortho-
dox religious bloc, refused. Com-
mander Shalit brought his case to
the Israeli Supreme Court, which
currently has it under considera-
top.
Rabbi Nissim claimed at a press
conference that the increase of
assimilation among Jews abroad
made it necessary to adhere strict-
ly to the rules laid down by tra-
dition. He argued that Halakhic
taw was even-handed because chil-
dren of Jewish mothers are re-
garded to be Jews even if their
father is not. He said rabbinical
courts had been instructed to speed
up the conversion process, which
normally takes from one to three
years, to avoid problems arising
over children of mixed marriages.

The Shalit case has created a
stir in Israel, a nation in large
measure secular but in which
the Orthodox chief rabbinate has
sole jurisdiction over marriage,
divorce and other family mat-
ters.
The Supreme Court tried to avoid
a ruling last year by asking the
government to abolish "national-
ity" in birth registration forms
and personal identity papers, as
is the practice in most Western
countries. The government declin-
ed, fearing that the religious bloc
in the cabinet might precipitate a
crisis at a time when national
unity was vital to Israel's security.

Methodist ministers from Royal
Oak, Southfield, Oak Park and
Birmingham will join with Rabbi
Milton Rosenbaum of Temple
Emanu-El in an Interfaith Sab-
bath discussion of "What Can
Religion Answer?" sponsored by
the temple sisterhood, 8:15 p.m.,
Jan. 31.
South Oakland pastors and their
congregations who are invited are
Dr. Burdette Clark, Faith Meth-
odist Church, Oak Park; Dr. Ever-
ett K. Seymour, First Methodist
Church of Royal Oak; the Rev.
Donald Crumm, Southfield Meth-
odist Church; and the Rev. G.
Ernest Thomas, First Methodist
Church of Birmingham.
After regular services, the pas-
tors will discuss self abuse through
drugs, the "new morality," prob-
lems of a welfare community,
what the city and suburbs owe
each other and the problems of
the black-white confrontation.

Imagination is the eye of the soul.
—Joseph Joubert

Fried?, Thhuarr 471 , 1469-:41

BENZ MEMORIAL LECTURE

IN MEMORY OF

JOSEPH BENZ

Theme: THE FUTURE OF WORLD JEWRY

Rabbi Israel Miller

will speak on

"The Future of European Jewry"
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1969-9:00 P.M.

YOUNG ISRAEL OF OAK-WOODS
24061 Coolidge, Oak Park

groclarnation

WHEREAS—A group of public-spirited men
and women organized themselves into a "MIKVAH
ISRAEL" association and
WHEREAS—"MIKVAH ISRAEL" has worked
unceasingly for TAHARATH HAMISHPACHA,
FAMILY PURITY and
WHEREAS—MIKVAH ISRAEL has been
maintaining a new and modern Mikvah at 15150
West 10 Mile Road, Oak Park, and
WHEREAS—The observance of FAMILY
PURITY is one of the most fundamental command-
ments of the Torah and
WHEREAS—We sincerely believe that the
future existence of the Jewish people hinges great-
ly upon the observance of this MITZVAH (Com-
mandment);
BE IT RESOLVED that this Sabbath of Parshe
Vo'ero be proclaimed TAHARATH HAMISH-
PACHA SABBATH, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that every
Rabbi preach on this Sabbath morning about the
meaning, significance and importance of TAHA-
RATH HAMISHPACHA, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Jewish
Community of Greater Detroit be called upon to aid
and assist generously the holy work of MIKVAH
ISRAEL.

VAAD HARABONIM OF DETROIT

Rabbi Leizer Levin, President
Rabbi Chaska Grubner, Mamba'

Classifieds Ads Get Quick Results

CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK

Conference of Cantors
Affiliates With UAHC

NEW YORK — The American
Conference of Cantors has become
an affiliate of the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations
(UAHC), it was announced by Earl
Morse, chairman of the board of
trustees of the UAHC, central con-
gregational body of Reform Juda-
ism in the United States and Can-
ada.
Morse stated that the affiliation
was approved by the UAHC board
of trustees at its recent semiannual
meeting at the House of Living
Judaism in New York, headquar-
ters of the Union.
The American Conference of
Cantors has 160 members, 90 per
cent of whom serve in Reform con-
gregations. All its members are
graduates of, or have received cer-
tification from, the School of Sacred
Music of the Hebrew Union Col-
lege.

Prenatal care may reduce the
risk of premature births, which are
associated with many disorders of
infancy and childhood, according
to the March of Dimes.

BILL KOZIN and
LARRY HOROWITZ

"Kosher Catering At Its Best!"

864-4757

IMPERIAL CATERING

Mr. Elie Wiesel

(Author of Night, Dawn, The Accident, The Town Beyond the Won,
The Gates of the Forrest, Legends of Our Time, and Jews of Silence)

Who Will Speak On

"After Auschwitz: Can We Believe"

Tuesday, January 21, 1969 at 8:30 P.M.

in the

Morris Adler Hall

Admission Free