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. . . ..