Wealth of Literary Material, Notable Classics Among the New Paperbacks of Jewish Interest There was an enrichment of the paperback book shelves this week with the addition of many valua- ble reprints as well as originals issued by several publishers. Special interest attaches to the re-issued work by Dr. Samuel Sandmel, "The Genius of Paul: A Study in History," made avail- able as a paperback by Schocken Books. In this extensive study, Prof. Sandmel, one of the recog- nized authorities on Paul and his time, goes into detail in reviewing the conflicts in the Church over Paulinism, and his explanation of Paul's attitude toward Jews and Judaism is: "In his strictures against Juda- ism, Paul in large measure felt that he was dealing partly with an internal Jewish affair. It was Paul the Jew criticizing his in- herited Judaism. He was no more fair-minded to Judaism than was Martin Luther to Catholicism, or than the American sect, the Church of Christ, is in its criticism of Protestants. The allegations which Paul makes about the Law are subjective and one-sided; thus, the picture of Judaism evolved from the New Testament is a grotesque caricature . . ." It is interesting to note that Dr. Sandmel takes into account the dispute over the claims of antiquity for the Dead Sea Scrolls. Comment- ing on the views of Dr. Solomon Zeitlin that the Scrolls were of the Middle Ages and not of the first century of this era, Prof. Sandmel writes: "While I do not share Dr. Zeit- lin's unrelenting and total skepti- cism about the Dead Sea Scrolls being a hoax, I have enjoyed most of the acrid style with which he has punctured the pretentiousness of his literary opponents; I have occasionally felt that his remarks would be stronger if they were gentler. My attitude towards the Scrolls can be summarized briefly. Even if all they contain is truly authentic and credible, the contents are so vastly vague that the vague- ness has prompted a spate of scholarly theories which contradict each other. It is not the deficiency of the scholars, but their wish to penetrate the vagueness of the material that leads to the bewilder- ing array of theories—of which Edmund Wilson appears to have known primarily . . . Material as vague as the Dead Sea Scrolls does not lend itself to being attached to fixed points in history; the identifications have ranged from about 325 BCE to the Karaitic peri- od of medieval history—a span of at least 1,000 years." stood him in good stead in acquir- ing knowledge about basic themes in the Talmud and the problems of the rabbinate—has gained fame with his books about "the Rabbi." His latest, "Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home," already a best seller, keeps gaining acclaim and admirers with its appearance as a paperback. 'The Philosophy of Spinoza': Prof. Wolfson's 2-Volume Work Major among the paperbacks issued in recent weeks is the Schocken two - volume product, "The Philosophy of Spinoza," by Prof. Harry Austryn Wolfson. Having as its subtitle "Unfold- ing the Latent Processes of His Reasoning," the eminent Harvard Issued as a Fawcett Crest Book, scholar has produced one of the this volume implements and sup- most extensive studies on the sub- plements his earlier works, "Fri- day the Rabbi Slept Late" and "Saturday the Rabbi Went Hun- gry." In "Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home" which has become a selec- tion of the Mystery Guild and which was an alternate selection of the Literary Guild when it ap- peared as a hardcover book, we find Rabbi Small involved in syna- gogue political shenanigans. Mur- der, marijuana, unsavory charac- ter sare in the theme. Temple members' politics come into play, in an effort to expel the rabbi. But the rabbi's Talmudic sense again comes into play. He uncovers a plot and at the same time enhances his position. There was a murder and the police wanted to pin guilt on one of the murdered boy's drink- BARUCH SPINOZA ing companions who'd left him in the old mansion to sleep off the beer and whiskey that had knocked ject. The two paperbacks, with a him out. It took the rabbi's Tal- total of more than 800 pages, cover mudic methods of detectival deduc- vast themes relating to Spinozan tion to figure out that a cantan- philosophy. The methods of Spinoza's ap- kerous, staunch old Yankee, who happens to peddle pot on the sly, proaches to theological probing, ethical concepts, are among the is the real culprit. The result is a superb blend of hair-splitting logic subjects covered. Spinoza's conflicts with Mai- and hair-raising suspense that is moniean views, his attitudes on indisputable entertainment. Jews and Judaism, are thorough- Kemelman began his career as ly outlined and given frill review a writer with the creation of his here. armchair detective Nicky Welt, Historians, philosophers, theolo- who is almost as well known to gians will find these two works by readers as Rabbi Small. Soon Dr. Wolfson of immense value. As Kemelman was itching to write a paperbacks the two great works full-length novel and discovered become accessible to a vaster read- that what interested him most ing public. was the Jew in suburbia. After some trial and error he hit upon Reik's 'The Search Within': the perfect combination—incorpo- Psychoanalyst's Experiences ration of the detective story into A noteworthy book by the late a novel about the Jewish suburban Dr. Theodor Reik, "The Search community. Within," published as a paperback "The solution also had the merit by Minerva Press, is being dis- of resolving that problem of the tributed by Funk and Wagnalls. full-length mystery novel. The mur- Subtitled "The Inner Experiences der would provide only one thread, of a Psychoanalyst," this immense albeit an important one, of a 660-page book presents the author's larger narrative. That would be recollections of his association the story of the entire community with Sigmund Freud, it analyzes in which the murder occurs and the basic psychiatric developments which affects everyone involved. and offers many critical attitudes The result ,of course, was the crea- on psychoanalytical experiences , of tion of the 'unorthodox' mystery one of the most eminent men in his novels featuring Rabbi David field. Small . . . The book reproduces a number Harry Kemelman's 'Sunday "In a sense, then, Rabbi David of Freud's personal messages to the Rabbi Stayed Home' Small can be said to be the son the author. Harry Kemelman—his studies at of Prof. Nicholas Welt," says Jewish humor, on which Reik Boston Hebrew Teachers College Harry Kemelman. had emerged as an authority in his lifetime's efforts to analyze the role of Jews in society , considerable emphasis in this im- pressive paperback. Israelis Patrol Lebanese Border • + * Europe's Nazis, Fascists "Nazis and Fascists in Europe 1918-1945" contained the important data regarding that era's political occurrences. The paperback, pub- lished by Quadrangle Books, ap- pears as, a New York Times Book and was edited, with an explana- tory introduction, by John Weiss. Definitive articles in this volume, by noted authorities on the subject, deal with the rise of Fascism, international phenomena relating to the fascist ideas, war and pre- paration for war under fascism and other issues that affected Europe during the rise of the ter- ror in the 1930s and again in the 1940s. It contains pearls from Jewish literature and folklore. There are selections from the Talmud and the Shulhan Arukh, notable quotations from the prayer- book, the Psalms, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Bahya Ibn Pakuda, Is- rael Salanter, Maimonides, Moses Ibn Ezra, Saadyah Gaon and from Elie Wiesel's "Night." * * * Jewish Travel Guide "The Jewish Travel Guide 1970- 71" is being distributed in this country by Hartmore House, Inc., Hartmore, Conn. Issued annually by the London Jewish Chronicle, it contains the most valuable facts about places to visit, their Jewish significance, the community organizations in the various centers and other im- portant facts. Collectively, the guide offers Jewish historical facts that make this small book a sort of miniature encyclopedia about Jewish com- munities. s * * 'The Trial of Dr. Spock' A timely paperback, issues as a Random House Vimtage Book, is Jessica Milford's "The Trial of Dr. Spock, the Rev. William Sloan Jr., Michael Ferber, Mitchell Good- man and Marcus Raskin." Of interest is the author's dedi- cation: "To my husband, Robert Truehaft, who counseled, aided and abetted the writing of this book, and who appear in its pages as the Old Trial Hand." • * • Anthology of Poets David Shapiro and Ron Padgett are the co-editors of an impres- sive analysis of modern poetry, "An Anthology of New York Poets," issued as a Random House Vintage paperback. Many eminent names are includ- ed in this anthology. The poets from whose works selections are published here include those of the two-co-editors, Michael Briwn- stein's, Ed Sanders', Bill Berkson and others. • * Vintage Paperbacks Random House has issued an im- pressive group of Vintage Paper- backs. Included among the latest works issued by Random House are: "The Economy of Cities" by Jane Jacobs. "The Song of Roland," trans- lated and with an introduction by W. S. Merwin. "An Approach to the Asian Drama" by Gunnar Myrdal. Sel- ections from "Asian Drama: An In- quiry Into the Poverty of Na- tions," a Twentieth Century Fund study. "Cuban Counterpoint — Tobacco and Sugar," by Fernando Ortiz. Story of two important crops that have shaped Cuban society. Trans- lated from the Spanish by Harriet de Onis. Introduction by Bronis- law Malinowski. "Good Times." Poems by Lucille Clifton. "Anti-Politics in America" by John H. Bonzel. Reflections on the anti-political temper and its distor- tion of the democratic process. "Allen Ginsberg in America" by Jane Kramer. "Political Origins of the New Diplomacy 1917-1919" by Arno J. Mayer. The story of Europe and the Bolshevik revolution. Three eminent historians are the subpject of an important Vintage book. In "The Progressive Histo- rians," Richard Hofstadter de- scribes the works of Frederick Jackson Turner, Charles A. Beard and V. L. Parrington. Zim, Now in the Black, to Invest $300,000,000 HAIFA (ZINS)—Israel's ship- ping company Zim which pre- viously suffered losses running into tens of millions of dollars and which was compelled to dispose of 'all of its passenger ships, is now preparing for "the revolution of the '70s." According to Israel's press, Zim is now operating in the black and has decided to make a fresh investment for the future to the tune of $300,000,000 in the construction of 33 new vessels. The Israel government will re- main a 30 per cent partner in the firm. Zim's present fleet al- ready consists of 78 cargo vessels which, together with certain leased craft, represent a dead weight ton- nage in excess of 1,000,000. After Zim has completed its expan- sion program by the addition of 33 new ships, its tonnage will have reached 4,000,000 by 1980. Astronomers Cooperate to Investigate Sun Spots PASADENA, Calif. (JTA) — Astronomers at the California In- stitute of Technology and the Uni- versity of Tel Aviv are cooperating in a unique investigation of the evolution of sunspots aimed at de- veloping a way to predict solar flares, which can be hazardous to astronauts. Time lapse movies of the sun's constantly moving and fiery sur- face can be taken continuously for as long as 20 hours through two identical six-inch telescopes locat- ed on opposite sides of the earth— one in Israel and the other in Southern California. Harold Zirin, professor of astron- omy at Caltech and a member of the Hale Observatories staff, se- lected Israel as the site for a sec- ond telescope when he started the program to film the sun in 1967. Comedian Menashe Skulnik Dies Menashe Skulnik, one of the most popular of the Yiddish stage comedians who in recent years became one of the very popular Broadway stars, died Wednesday. circles and among the tens of thousands who laughed at his an- tics. He made people laugh and for that he was loved and his name will be cherished." On his many appearances in De- troit, Mr. Skulnik created a large following. He was known as a gen- erous man who readily participated in many charitable functions. A close friend of the deceased actor, Harry Weinberg, who for many years conducted a Yiddish radio hour here, paid tribute to him. "Mr. Skulnik was the great artist, the dedicated Jew, the lover of Israel, whose services will long be remembered," Weinberg said. "Mr. An Israeli army patrol driving along the Israel-Lebanon frontier Skulnik was a favorite here, Wolf is a recent Bnai Brith publica- whether he appeared on the Yid- close to where another patrol was fired upon by Arab terrorists. tion being distributed by Bloch dish or English stage. He has left 42—Friday, June 5, 1970 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Publishing Co. and indelible mark in theatrical * s * 'What Is Man,' a Bnai Brith Publication "What Is Man" by Arnold J. MENASHE SKULNIH