`The Family Carnovsky' and the Singer Saga Several generations of Jews, covering the genesis of experi- ences in Poland, continuing into Germany, migrating to America; the relevant economic structures involved in the evolution of Jew- ish family life commencing with the era of oppression and restric- tion and leading to the progress out of which also develops inter- marriage, assimilation, es c a p e from the Jewish fold—these are incorporated in the powerful novel by I. J. Singer, "The Family Car- novsky," a Vanguard Press (424 Madison, NY17) publication. Translated by the author's son, Joseph Singer, this tremendous work by the author of "The Broth- ers Ashkenazi" has an interesting history. This is the first time "The Family Carnovsky" appears in English, the Yiddish text al- ready having attracted widest at- tention. The immensity of this novel is in the coverage of the historic experiences and of the changing times and the "progressive" moods which result so often in assimilation, abandonment of faith, yielding to outside pres- sures that stem from anti-Semi- tism. From strict adherence to Jewish regulations and to communal loy- alty to the conversions, collabora- tions, rejection of kinships. the cast of characters in the I. J. Sin- ger novel mirror the Jewish ex- perience. There are the wars, the emer- gence of Hitlerism in World War Germanization of some members of the Carnovsky family, the flight of some members of the clan to the United States and the fraternization with American Nazis. So striking are the contrasts and the resort to escape from Judaism that the story assumes a great place among the evalua- tive analyses of the effects of assimilation and the way of some escapees who are shamed by the past. Jews and half-Jews in the fam- ily, mixed marriages and the craving for recognition even when it calls for rejection of the Jewish past—these are among the strik- ing factors in a novel of extreme importance. celebrated than his 11-years-youn- ger brother. His best-known works are "Yoshe Kalb," a novel adapt- ed into a play that has been im- mensely successful in Yiddish theaters all over the world, and "The Brothers Ashkenazi," a best- ! seller that was widely acclaimed when it was published some years back in the United States and that has since become a classic in our time. I.J. Singer died in 1944. In her bereavement, his widow did not let out of her possession her hus- band's books written originally in Yiddish and not yet translated. Only after her death did Joseph Singer, the second son, undertake to translate his father's remain- ing writings in a systematic fash- ion. Thus, the current book, "The Family Carnovsky," is now being presented to the American public for the first time. I. J. Singer was born in 1893 in Bilgoraj, Poland, the second of four children of a rabbi. When he was age 15, the Singer family moved to Warsaw where I. J. stu- died at religious school and with his father. Three years later, his interests turned to more secular matters, including writing and painting. He wrote for the Yiddish papers in Warsaw and in Kiev, Russia, and later was hired as the Warsaw correspondent of the New York "Jewish Daily Forward," from 1927 to his death in 1944. The last 10 years of his life were spent in the United States. His books, all originally written in Yiddish, include: "New Rus- sia," a compilation of articles written for the Jewish Daily For- ward, "Steel and Iron" ("Schtell and Eisen"), a novel about the bloody aftermath of World War I, "Yoshe Kalb," "The Brothers Ashkenazi," "The River Breaks Up," "East of Eden," and the first of what was to be a several- volume autobiography — "Of a World That Is No More"—in addi- tion to "The Family Carnovsky." II, the The Family Carnovsky and the Family Singer Singer is a key name in "The Family Carnovsky." Israel Joshua Singer is the au- thor of this saga of a Jewish fam- ily Singer is also the last name of I.J.'s brother, Isaac Bashevis Singer, who is well-known to American readers for his many novels and collections of short stories. Singer, Joseph, who is I.J.'s son and I.B.'s nephew, has translated many of his father's works from Yiddish, including "The Family Carnovsky," and five out of eight of his uncle's. The Singer family story reads like a novel in itself, peopled by characters in the literary world. In Europe. I.J. Singer is more The Generation Gap By DAVID SCHWARTZ (Copyright, 1969. JTA. Inc.) About the generation gap: The other day the papers report- ed a speech by a modern man. He got up at a meeting of rabbis and said right out that what the rabbis needed was not to study so much religion, but science. Well, actually, the story about this man did not appear in the newspapers. It appears in the Tal- mud. The man's name was Bar Kappara, a great rabbi of talmu- dic days, but he did speak in this vein to his brother rabbis. Bar Kappara was a great lover of astronomy. He prided himself on his study of that science. He would have been very excited about the explorations of space. He quoted Isaiah's condemnation of those "who do not regard the work of God's hands." It was the people who studied scinece, he said, who studied the. work of God's hands. Some of the rabbis opposed Bar Kappara's stand, but he was lis- tened to with great respect. At one banquet where he spoke, the people listening to him were so absorbed, many forgot to eat. There were others like Bar Kap- para. We have just succeeded in almost abolishing capital punish- ment in this country. TWo thousand years ago, Rabbi Aldba said if he were a judge, he would always find a way not to enforce the law for capital punishment. Hillel teas for a democratic soci- ety. He said that all of Judaism was contained in the sentence, "What is hateful unto thee, do not unto thy neighbor." But that meant of course, you couldn't bust up the meetings of your neighbors any more than you would like them to bust up your meetings. There was one mitzvel which Hil - lel observed to which the hippies of today would not agree. Once. I Hillel said to a friend. "Sorry, I have to leave. I have to perform a mitzva." mitzva?" "What asked the ; friend. "I have to take a bath." Some of these old timers had some fairly modern views all around. Take the matter of litter- ing the street. In New York, on radio and television, the appeal is always being made not to litter the streets. "A newspaper weighs only an ounce or two. So is that too heavy to place in the garbage can?" Such is the rec, rring com- mercial. In the Talmud, there is a differ- ent appeal. A man who has thrown something on the street is asked, "Why do you throw things from premises which you do not own (a rented house) to property which is your own (the public streets)?" It seems to me the talmudic commercial is much superior. A person who litters the streets is shown that he is messing up his own property. Where, I ask, do these old timers belong in the context of the genera- tion gap? And pray remember, they wore whiskers, too. I must admit that some of these people of the Talmud sometimes did go in for odd names. Take the case of Kalba Sabua. He was one of the richest men of Jerusalem. Kalba Sabua means satisfied dog. It seems he got his name because of his generosity. Someone re- marked that even a hungry dog who applied to him would be sat- isfied. So the name stuck. But the two best names of the Talmud are undoubtedly Ben Bag Bag and Ben He He. In American history, we know that Thomas Woodrow Wilson dropped his first name because he figured that with an alliterative name like Woodrow Wilson, he would get farther and he was elected President. With a name like Ben Bag Bag or Ben He He, certainly one could hope to be elected to Congress. 7 Nazis, Accused of Signing Orders, Freed in W. Berlin WEST BERLIN (JTA) — Seven men accused of having participated in the slaughter of thousands of Berlin Jews during the Nazi era were released Monday after a West Berlin court dismissed charges against them. The men had been accused of signing deportation orders that sent Jews to death camps. Charges were dismissed on a request by the prosecutor on the grounds of a federal court ruling that malice aforethought must be proved. Even if it is not proved, a 15-year statute of limitations on abetting to mur- der is now in effect. ■ THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 16—Friday, June 6, 1969 Judaism Could Become 'Fossil,' Warns Rabbi Unless American Jews can re- to the Dilemmas of Modern Man," dedicate themselves to their faith which will be published Monday in a way that is "relevant, mean- by Bloch. ingful, and pertinent" to today's problems of morality and human relations, Judaism stands in dan- ger of turning into "a fossil, a museum piece, a curious antique." That is the warning of a young Long Island rabbi, Gilbert S. Southfield Board of Education Rosenthal, in his book, "Genera- tions in Crisis: Judaism's Answers ' Elect . . . 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