THE JEWISH NEWS

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CHARLOTTE DUBIN

SIDNEY EMMARAX

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April 111, 120

Page Fier

Happy Birthday, State of Israel

hslric day appears on our cal-
endar. r .21st a^-.Yersary of the state
of Israel occasion for celebration by Jew-
ish corr,:nuniti everywhere. by :he fr.iends
of Israel who understand that the rebirth
a Israel's statehood after 1.21k years of Jew-
ish horne:essr.ec...5. marks fulfillment of Pr rr
ph e cy and the sYmbolic atonement for wrons -.-
doing which had kept Jews under submission
for nearly 20 centuries.
Israel's birthday is being narked in an
era of renewed dangers to the people of Ere=
Israel. The tensions under which the cu.--
rent interest in Israel is functioning also have
involved the entire Jewish people_ There
are misunderstandings and confusions dis-
tortion of truth and failure on the par: of
some Christians to realize that there
historic debt to Jewry and that ar.: atolzit7E- .
references to Jews for giving aid to IErle:
in its determination to sur:ive merely- spell
.-eversions to the bigotry and the preid......;tz_a:
religious sentiments which caused the dom.-
nant religious elements in the world to
as persecutors rather than as kinsmen :n
spirit with their Jewish neighbors_
Now Israel marks another birthelzer, _;-:_a7-
ing triumphed in three wars against atrean
odds. the people of Israel. the rina;ority ss
whom had survived the Holocaust_ the cele-
brants of what would ordinarily be termed
a figure of maturity—the 21st year of
newed statehood—have made it quote clear
'hat they will never again submit 'to the ter-
rors which kept them under submission_
Never again shall there be another Ausch-
witz. and for that matter never again is there
to be a Yellow cadge or a symbol intended
tr, differentiate .Jews from their neighbors.
Israel is part of the free world, and under no
circumstances will the builders of Zion and
their kinsmen permit threat to their lives or
their possessions or their heritage, either
from the Crescent or the Kremlin.
On the 21st anniversary of the state of
Israel we wish to renew the hope that such
assurance of freedom for the redeemers of
Zion also will come from most of our Chris-
tian neighbors. There can be no other form
of ecumenism than a note of faith, an ex-
pression of confidence, that the assurance
from the Prophet that "Zion shall be re-
deemed with justice" and will never be ne-
gated.
* • *
There are many factors in the present
celebration of Israel's anniversary of recon-
structed statehood that need to be em-
phasized.
Due to tragic attitudes on the part of

our cousins the Arabs. a new note of anti-
Semitism—stemming from them who also call •

themselves Semiteshas been introduced in
the world. They call it "anti-Zionism" but
any one with a sense for true meaning of
common words knows that this is not is
meant_ that what is intended is an enmity
against all Jews—because all Jews are part-
ners in the redemption of Eretz IsraeL

That there should have been a re-emerg-
:na- spread of anti-Semitism r e sulting from
the Arab-Isrsei conflict is a deplorable fact
that must he condemned, and those who
should do the c-o,--elerrming are the world's

so--:abed democratic forces, the

Ant1r
17.

the :iev the

another matter of special
It is the role of
-
of Israel's kinsmen,

'17 glorified heights.
r.4.r. a& us for arms. Part of
us- and againct Israel is that
_ - at-tia arms the state threat-
w=_-*-1.1 erinatticin. Nothing can be far-

1:t 7.11.:17.

Ine

Ltrate.:

ath_ The spread of such lies
t
be tackled firmly.
What American and other Jewries are
doing is very clear. They have assisted in
the rescue of more than 600,000 Jews from
Moslem countries where their lives had be-
come worthless. This large number of peo-

".i". frrim

ple. in addition to those who survived Hit-
lerism, needs encouragement in raising its
standards above the medieval under which
they had lived before coming to Israel. For
all these survivors we must provide homes, '
jobs. assurance of proper educational facili-
ties and means to protect their health. That's
what we are obligated to do. This is what
we must reaffirm as we join in celebrating

an important Israel anniversary.
* * *
It is in this spirit that we greet Israel
and her people.
It is in this spirit that we greet Israel

that the relationship with the world and the
Jewish communities requires special consid-
eration commanding added concern for the
security of the small nation.
Mounting threats not only from terrorists
but from the governments that are giving
comfort to the guerrillas must encourage
extra giving to the funds that provide added
economic support to Israel.
Israel's friends also must provide the
moral support that is so vital in exposing the
dangerous schemes aimed at destroying Is-
rael's safety through political schemes.
These are the duties not to be shirked.

The funds necessary to provide the means for
educational and health services and for set-
tlement of new arrivals in Israel must come
from us. And misleading and unrealistic ideas
4enetratinA p:om. Cairo and Amman, and re

have the patience or inclination , to go through them from cover to
cover," the Rev. Dr. Abraham Cohen of Birmingham, England, in
1927 gathered "The Writings of Maimonides."
This valuable and scholarly work has now been reprinted by Ktav
Publishing House, with a prolegomenon by Prof. Marvin Fox of Ohio
State University.
In his preface to his volume, written more than 40 years ago,
Dr. Cohen, who had been general editor of Soncino Books of the Bible,
stated that much of Maimonides' teaching is out of date, that "there
is no longer the necessity to harmonize Revelation with Aristotelian
philosophy, which was the urgent theological problem of his day; but
the spirit which animated his mind and pervades His writings is as
much needed now as ever before."
Dr. Fox's essay is an additionally important evaluative con-
tribution to the studies of the Maimonidean codes and the 12th
Century philosopher's approaches to Jewish legalistic, religious and
ethical principles and teachings.
Thus, Dr. Fox calls attention to some basic charges against Mal-
monides and the accusations of "personal impiety" that were leveled
at him.
Prof. Fox's explanatory prolegomenon states in part:
"Once we begin to read Maimonides in the
way that he requires of us we can no longer
be comfortable about the ease with which
Cohen and most other scholars attributed par-
ticular doctrines to him. Only the most pain-
ful study makes it possible for us even to ha-
zard an opinion concerning the views of Mai-
monides, and such an opinion is reliable only
if it emerges from a sensitive confrontation
with the obstacles and subtleties of the texts.
We can best grasp the nature and scope of our
problem if we give some consideration to the
variety of opinions that recognized scholars
have offered with respect to major problems
in the interpretation and teaching of Mai-
monides.
Prof. Fox
"We begin with the question of whether Maimonides was a model
of traditional piety or, as some assert, a veiled heretic. That the lat-
ter charge is not utterly fantastic can best be understood if we re-

the state and her people down that we con-
gratulate the embattled state that addresses
the entire world pleadingly for the right to
live and for an opportunity to arrive at peace
with her neighbors.
Jewry won't let Israel down!
With this assurance we say: HAPPY member the great controversy which arose shortly after his death,
and which tore apart major Jewish communities in Europe and the
BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL!
that ft

World Jewry's Gift to Israel

Israel's 21st birthday is being celebrated
in such a nerve-racking period in her history

Maimonides' Collected Writings
Reissued by Ktav Publishers

ilnrsztans--and the welienie.ardng Moslems.
trie s-curnenism. justified
if :here is tn
berweenJell Coristians and Mos-
acrd
:ems. the enemies of Israel must repudiate
Because, "despite the existence of English versions of the 'Guide,'
_-__lolanot of hate that is becoming evi- the 'Eight Chapters and parts of the 'Yad', few readers are likely to

grettably also from the United Nations, must
not be given credence.
While even the remotest possibility of
bringing Jews and Arabs together at .a peace

table must contribute to the hope for an end
to the unfortunate conflicts in the Middle
East, it is most regrettable that there can be
so little confidence in the efforts of four great
powers, half of whom seem to have become
avowed enemies of Israel. But if the efforts
of the United States and British representa-
tives will lead toward bringing Israel and the
Arab states together for direct discussions,
the panacea will be at hand.
Meanwhile all of us must labor towards
Israel's defense.
Our best gifts to Israel will be - increased
giving to the Allied Jewish Campaign and
expressions of firm opposition to any political
tactics that may in any way affect Israel's
right to live.

s aaEEEraaa P SSSSSSSSS

East. In some places his philosophic writings were banned so
was a serious violation for anyone to study them. Intense feelings
built up to a tragic climax in the burning of the Guide in a public
ceremony in France some thirty years after his death. In a variety
of ways the controversy continued for centuries. It is well known that
only a generation ago there were yeshivot in eastern Europe where
the study of Maimonides' Guide was considered prima facie evidence
of severe heretical tendencies. No doubt, that attitude can still ha
found in various circles today.
Prof. Fox also calls attention to an interesting fact, that: "Abad
Ha-Am represented Maimonides as a pure rationalist who imposed
reason on faith and, when necessary, adjusted the norms of rabbinit
law in order to force them into conformity with the demands of
reason."
Attitudes of many noted scholars are reviewed in the introductory
essay in which the texts of the writings in this volume are closely
examined. Dr. Fox points out that while "it is difficult to gain a clear
understanding of the. teachings of Maimonides, there is no doubt that
he records the duty to know God as the very first commandment. Nor
is there any doubt that he repeatedly speaks in many places in 1115
works about the knowledge of God as the true perfection of man.'
The Cohen collection now again available to students of Maimed.-
des is subdivided into topics relating to God the Creator, Constitution
of the Universe, Attributes of God, Worship of God, Eschatology, Tora,
Prophecy, Psychology, Reward and Punishment, Ethics—all so assem-
bled to provide a text book on Maimonides and a collection of writings
that bring the reader into a deeper understanding of the famous works
'
of one of the great philosophers oral' time: —

