TIIE JEWISH NEWS
Chronicle
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish
com,teNeiNg with the issue of July 20, 1951.
Member
American Jewish Press Association,
Michigan Press Association,
National Editorial Association
Published every Friday by The Jewish News
Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road,
Detroit 48235, Michigan, VE 8-9364. Subscrip.
lion 97 per year. Foreign 58.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942,
at Post Office. Detroit, Mich., under act of
Congress of March 8, 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Rosh Hashana Scriptural Selections
Pewateuchal portions: Saturday. Gen.
21:1-34. Num. 29:1.6: Sunday. Gen. 22:1-
29:1-6.
24.
ProW.etIca1 portions: Saturday. I Sam.
1:1-2:19. Sunday, Jer. 31:2-20.
Fast of Gedalia
Scriptural Selections, Monday
Pearaterwhal
portions: E.rod. 32:11.14,
34:1 10: Prophetical portion: Isaiah .55:-
6-.5N:S.
Vol. IA% No. 26
Page 4
September 12,1969
Prayer for a Unified
Jewish People in 5730
A very old Mahzor — the Holy
Day prayer book—will be in use
again as we usher in the year 5730
with our prayers in our synagogues
throughout the world beginning
this evening. Old traditions remain
in force. The teachings of our
Sages imperishably beckon to us
for rededication to a cherished
heritage.
It is in such a spirit of identi-
fication with our people every-
where. symbolizing the certainty of
One People worshiping in an anci-
ent and imperishable tongue. that
we emerge anew as an entity link-
ed one to another in what we hope
is a prophetic role for the People
Israel.
As we reconstruct such an inde-
structible cast of characters in the
act of worship and service and ad-
herence to sac-red ideals, we never-
theless question the status of a
people that is unified on Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur and is
unseen. compared to the large num-
bers of the Holy Day period, in the
months that follow.
Rosh Hashana sanctifies us: it
also challenges us: it questions our
whereabouts: it asks: where - were
you in the eleven-and-a-half months
prior to the New Year services?
Perhaps it is too much to place
the challenge to our people in such
terms. Aren't we rahamanim bnai
rahamanim—the merciful sons of
a merciful people—all year round?
Haven't we responded well to the
call of the needy, to the urgency
of situations affecting Israel. Jews
in other lands and in our own
community?
This is true. yet it is not the
complete answer. There are other
needs and calls for other responses.
There is the cultural life of our
people that is vital to us. There
is the sharing in vigilance and in
interpretation of our position that
calls for unity of participation.
It is heartening to witness a re-
surgence of spirit on the New Year,
all elements in our ranks being
united for a common goal. But we
need our youth at our side, it is
urgent that not only worshipers
but also activists in support of the
Jewish traditional life should be
together all year round instead of
only two or three days a year.
That is why we plead for identi-
fication, for participation, for unity
that makes us kin on all occasions
—in time of joy and also in time
of crisis.
It is for such a role that we plead
as we gather for the Holy Day
prayers and as we exchange the
greeting for a Shana Tova:
HOPES FOR 5730 ing
VERRONE OF THE MOON! Intik
An Entire People's Revolt Against Indifference
Revolts are not uncommon in man's experience. From time immemorial humans have protested against in-
dignities. and the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness might have been understood only by minori-
ties in times of backwardness and illiteracy, but they always had the pleaders and the minority striving for
fairness.
These facts must be recognized in dealing with the youth rebellion, with the extremists who defy authority.
Their tactics are deplorable: their intentions must not be underestimated or misunderstood.
As we enter upon a new year's responsibilties, as we take stock of what had occurred in the years that
preceded 5730 and the numerous sad acts that plagued mankind, we must not separate them from the basic
considerations of the human desire for advancement, of the aim to acquire freedoms that appear to be unrecog-
nized.
Conditions are not as bad as we judge them. There is always the view ahead, the hope for the days to come,
the lesson we have learned that the radical youth of today is the conservative adult of tomorrow.
Yet we must couple this truth with the expectation that not all that changes from radical to conservative
will ever turn reactionary, that even in conservatism there will always be the element 'of protest against indigni-
ties.
How else can we possibly confront the challenges of our time in this period of self-testing, of stock - taking, of
reviewing the past in hope of a better future?
Twice or three times a year some of our people turn to the synagogue out of a historic obligation to kin
and faith, and the response to the spiritual atmosphere must not be one of tongue-in-cheek. There must be a
sense of realism. After all, our people do respond to needs, to duties, to calls to action when there is the neces-
sity for unified action.
What disturbs us, however, is the lack of unity between young and old, between generations. What
concerns us most is the failure to assure youths' total participation in Jewish life. On this score, too, there
must be the admission that only in periods of great stress have we had the totality of response, whether from
young or old. We are not always blessed with proper identification.
When we take stock, therefore, and expect the mass attendance at Holy Day services to understand the issues
that confront us, let us acknowledge to ourselves that it is not the indifference that becomes evident during the
sacred period on our calendar that impresses but the lack of devotion during the entire year. And such a lack
of dedication to our communal aspirations needs study not in a Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur service but in the
entire year's planning. It is as we fashion our way of life for every occasion, for the entire folk, that we might
see a change assuring unified loyalties to the spiritual-culturalheritage that binds us with our past, with our
people, with the duties to all Israel.
If we recognize the validity of revolt against indifference and injustice, let us also affirm the need to accept
the admonition that planning in Jewry is not for a few days in the year, or for one or two or even more causes,
or strictly for retraining youth in our ranks. The duty is the year-round one, for an acceptance of a thorough
adherence to Jewish obligations. If we fashion well, perhaps our youth will be with us and they will strength-
en thereby the faith of their elders. Let us plan well for 5730 and the years ahead, and with proper planning,
all of us will be part of a much-needed rebellion against indifference. . . ..