THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 %Vest Seven Mile Road, Detroit, Mich. 48235.
VE 8-9364. Subscription $7 a year. Foreign $8.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the eleventh day of Adar, 5729, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portions, Ex. 27:20-30:10, Dent. 25:17-19. Prophetical portion,
I Samuel 15:2-34.
Fast of Esther Scriptural Selections, Monday
Pentateuchal portion, Ex. 32:11-14, 34:1-10. Prophetical portion. Isaiah 55:6-56:8.
Book of Esther will be read Monday night and Tuesday morning. Tora reading
Purim, Tuesday morning: Ex. 17:8-16.
Candle lighting, Friday, Feb.
VOL. LIV. No. 24
Page Four
28, 5:56 p.m.
February 28, 1969
Purim: More Hamans: 'Remember Amalek'
This week's Pentateuchal reading at Sab-
bath services is Z'khor. It contains the ad-
monition of "Remember Amalek"—do not
forget the first anti-Semite who sought the
destruction of the People Israel, and it carries
over to our time cautioning us: do not forget
Amalek and Haman and Pobenonostzev and
Torquemada and Hitler. .
Accompanying the admonition, however,
is the imperishable reality that Israel's in-
destructibility is not for one generation alone
but for eternity: how else is one to read
history?
While the Hamanic threats never end, in
spite of the dangers that always confront us,
all-too-often in democratic countries as well
as the backward lands that have not yet
learned the lessons of humanitarianism.
Purim is nevertheless observed in a spirit
of jollity. The festival reconstructs an ancient
story of the threat to destroy Israel. But
it is marked by fun for children, a spirit of
exchanging gifts and of much joy among the
adults. It is the festival that reaffirms faith
and strengthens the courage of those who are
determined that neither the Hamans of old
nor the Hitlers of modern times shall ever
succeed, or that there ever is chance for
them to triumph.
It is more than the emotional release
that distinguishes Purim: it is the factor
that spells a people's will to live regardless
of the menacing situations it may face. Linked
with the will to live is the respect for a heri-
tage that is never abandoned. These two
aspects create the People Israel's strength
to survive and to defy dangers. And in the
process of defiance of threats to our very
existence there develops a joyful atmosphere
of Purim, perhaps the most joyous minor
festival on our calendar.
There is sanctity in every Jewish fast and
feast day, and Purim, while the Book of
Esther does not contain a reference to God
even once, is not devoid of holiness and the
sacred element. Yet Purim is different. There
are only one Passover and Shavuot and the
series of Holy Days: there are many Purims.
The reason is obvious. It is because of the
many enemies of the People Israel who
emerge in nearly every generation to plague
us.
Our Sages have underlined the vastnes
of the Purim theme in which is evidence d
the hand of Providence that delivers ou r
people from our enemies. In his reveiw o f
the Purim precepts, explaining the code o f
Purim laws, Maimonides observed:
"All the prophetic books and the
Hagiographa are destined to become obso-
lete in the days of the Messiah except the
Book of Esther. Behold it is as lasting as
the Five Books of the Tora and the laws
of our Oral Tradition which will never be-
come obsolete. Though the entire memory
of the misfortunes will be erased . . . the
days of Purim will not be, as it is stated:
`And these days of Purim shall not fail from
among the Jews, nor the memorial of them
perish from their seed.' "
Such is the significance of a festival label-
ed as minor but which has risen to great
significance on our calendar. In its joys as
well as historic lessons lies the admonition
not to forget the Amaleks and also not to
despair. Because it assures us that our inde-
structibility is real, not imagined. Such is
the reality that will guide us in our exchange
of Purim gifts and greetings, with an as-
surance of an eternity that is Israel's.
Israel Indestructible—in Defiance of Terrorism
If the El Fatah terrorists and their de-
fenders at the United Nations believe, for a
single moment, that Israelis will be fright-
ened by what had happened in Athens in
December and in Zurich this month, they are
mistaken.
If the enemies of Israel who have ganged
up to destroy the redeemed Jewish state be-
lieve that the Jewish people will be ter-
rorized by false cries about a new Zionist
bogey, they are mistaken.
If U Thant, who is among the guiltiest
persons on the international scene for hav-
ing failed to act previously against barbarism
through the world organization and there-
by had condoned genocide, believes for even
a single moment that his appeal for no re-
prisals places him on a new sanctimonious
plane, he is mistaken: he bears guilt for past
performances of silently watching the emerg-
ence of an international crime against a
member nation of the UN.
If the defenders of the criminals are
under the impression that a sovereign state
can be destroyed by imperiling civilian air
traffic, they are mistaken.
Israel has been threatened before and
has survived the dangers from Cairo, Am-
man, Beirut and Baghdad—and from the
Kremlin whence came the terrorists' major
supporters.
The Jewish people has been maligned be-
fore, but will not be browbeaten by misuse
of a sacred term: Zionism! This is one of the
great humanitarian movements in the history
of mankind. Any attempt to mislead people,
to use the term as a scapegoat, to attempt
to hide behind it when what is actually in-
tended is the expansion of anti-Semitism,
will not deter solidarity in their dedication
Rabbi Kirshenbaum's Volume
Explains 'Feast Days, Fast Days'
Jewish holiday observances and explanations of important days on
the Jewish calendar are splendidly defined in a new book by Rabbi
David Kirshenbaum of London, Ontario, published by Bloch.
His "Feast Days and Fast Days—Judaism Seen Through Its Fes-
tivals" deals with all the important dates in Jewish observances and
takes into account ceremonials, traditions, moral values, drawing upon
fact and legend.
Aiming at encouraging adherence to Jewish customs, encouraging
their observance by the youth, the author draws upon Midrashic lore.
He expresses the view that "no nation can live without religious national
festivals" and he declares that Jewish festivals especially "possess an
extraordinary power, a deep-rooted folk ideal embracing all of IsraeL"
Rabbi Kirshenbaum declares at the outset: "In the war for sur-
vival as a separate people, the festivals stand like armed fortresses
which protect the Jews in the most crucial moments from despair
and resignation. They are heavenly beacons of Joy occurring at
certain fixed periods of the Jewish calendar — separate from the
frantic daily quest for fleeting materialistic success which is totally
devoid of meaning and satisfaction ..."
Commencing with an explanation of the Selihot, he proceeds to
define the distinctive Jewish observances and places emphasis on prayer
as a Jewish weapon for spiritual sustenance.
He devotes considerable attention to faith and reason, fear and
repentance, and in describing the ceremonials he also gives splendid
descriptions of the ways of observance, the Menora, the Megila and the
folklore as well as traditional teachings inherent in Judaism and the
history of the Jewish people.
Denying that the Chosen People concept is a chauvinistic idea
or an attempt at idle self-commendation, Rabbi Kirshenbaum de-
clares that the "atta vohartanu" feeling of pride is "the conviction
that we have been chosen by divinity to spread the ideals of Tora
among the nations, that we are a 'goy kodosh,' a holy nation," that
it is "the strongest weapon, the most impenetrable armor against
the feeling of inferiority suffered by all minorities."
He expresses the interesting view that Jews are shunned for their
Tom, that the world shrinks from the Tora of Sinai "because of what it
contains," that "the world cannot reconcile itself to the ideals it teaches
and to the demands it makes of man."
Outlining the power of the Tora, he also emphasizes the obligation
to teach the children an understanding of the Jewish teachings and
ethical values.
Auschwitz, that anti-Semites will not be able
to hide behind the false mask of anti-Zionism.
We entertain the hope that the Christian
world, and the honorable among the Moslems,
will join with the Jewish people in a reaffirm-
ation of support for the great ideal of a
Zion redeemed, as assured in prophecy and
as has been adhered to as a great principle
of faith by Jews through the ages who have
never severed their spiritual links with Eretz
Israel.
And we hold fast to the faith that just
as the People Israll could not be destroyed,
Thus "Feast Days and Fast Days — Judaism Seen Through Its
so, also, shall Med.nat Israel remain, hence-
Festivals" is far more extensive than mere evaluation of the holidays:
forth, forever indestructible!
it contains a presentation of traditional views that will be found most
instructive.
Incredible UN Role
Saddest of all the elements in the danger-
beset Middle East situation is the role of the
United Nations. Dealing with the "Climate of
Forgiveness" — quoting a statement to that
effect by Israel Foreign Minister Abba Eban.
indicating that while the Egyptian semi-of-
ficial newspaper Al Ahram and Jordan's am-
bassador to the U.S. were justifying the crim-
inal attacks on planes and on civilians in
Israel, the New York Times pointed out that
the UN Security Council and the Arab states
are the ones who must speak up in dis-
approval of terrorism.
"Unless the United Nations forthrightly
demonstrates an even-handed concern for the
security and rights of both sides in the Arab-
Israeli dispute, it cannot hope to play an ef-
fective role in promoting peace," the Times
stated.
Indeed, the UN's role remains altogether
i ncredible, and it emerges among the guiltiest
parties in having encouraged terrorism by its
tttl, assur.e4lchat 'Mesa ashall,neven.ag,ain, le. an.
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Scharfstein's 'Pirke Avot'
Well Illustrated by Kleinman
"Pirke Avot—Sayings of the Fathers" provided material for scores
of scholarly works, by non-Jews as well as Jews. The ethical teachings
of our people have inspired students of the Talmud and Mishna, and
"Pirke Avot" lends itself especially well to evaluative studies of our
traditional principles that serve as- guides for human relations.
Ktav Publishing House has just issued a pocket edition of "Pirke
Avot" and it stands out as a splendid presentation of both the Hebrew
text and a commendable English translation by Bernard Scharfstein.
At the same time, it is enhanced by photographs by Zalman Klein-
man.
' The late Saul Raskin produced a fine illustrated work of "Pirke
Avot." Now we have another interesting artistic delineation of the iin-
portant text. The drawings are very descriptive, and the ideas are well
interpreted artistically.
Because the "Pirke Avot" are read on Sabbath afternoons during
the summer months, this small volume has added importance because
it
m
l-lo
after the Sabbath aftern0031
meal, Sabbath zemirot
t at (hymns).
Additionally, the author enlightens the reader with explanatory
notes about the sages who are quoted in the "Pirke Avot," giving
added significance. to. si-valuable.•work.