1
1
Purely Commentary
- The Rook of Rooks has been our
most faithful and znstructwe guide.
and has implanted in our hearts tint-
iierso/ redemption. if we continue to
y its light, both the natio.,
and its leaders will be successful
The,. were the concluding words of an
address David Ben Burion delivered at the
Nahalal settelment in Israel on Jul, 20.
I964 i on the Subject "The Bible and the
.teals(: Petiole " \ ow this hist-r•c "
car I, read by all who are interested in the
,.;d in Israel and the chief architect
of the redeemed nation's independence who
:hese words This speech now forms
of an important book. "Ben Lain
n
I oof
the Bible." which has been issued
, Linatrian Da,id Publishers in a splendid
from ti, Hebrew by Jonathan
,
that the Israeli least-
ucial periods in his
,..1,eriences
,i,1,
gave serloo,
Israelis' cultural needs and
!ii !he importance of making
priiiiary in their devotions to
i-•at•, their historic heritage.
essay it this volume' of
-.cries shows the conststercy
'shed leader's de rut tor to
-ugh he himself has nere -
obserrant Jew The book
the 42 page eSSIVI.
If was 7 lecture on
of the army and the mttwn
t•red on April 6, 1959, before
High Command. They were
,lays for Israel. The nation tray only
, S
old in its redemption. Yet the
of its prune minister was that the
tne nation. should keep in mind tone
t'-ta- needs of an historic people. It 11 ,1S
r, ..ceder to Israeli Jews and through
b ■ Jews ererywhere of the historic
!, of the era of Nehemiah and Ezra.
;t became nece s sary to Join work
•s with defense.
Interestingly - fascinatingly! - Ben-Gur-
ionis devotion to the Bible led hint to draw
upon legend as well an history, and because
tai was so deeply concerned with the Jewish
mole ti, the upholders of Bible greatness in
our historic• heritage he also took into con-
sideration Bible criticism among Christian
scholars, as well as commentators in Jewish
ranks. And so in expressing his views, in
September 1953, in the essay "The Bible
Is Illuminated by Its Own Light," he stated:
"The eternity and greatness of the Bible
is not dePerulent upon any book, COMM ell-
tary. or Mid rash that Caine after it. although
the books, commentaries and Mulrashim
that were written after the post-I-althea!
nerod are a part of our spiritual legacy;
and we must bequeath - to our generation
their rerelat•ons Rut chanter 15 of Psalms,
or chapter 19 or 24 or 37 or 42 or 72 or R9.
or any chapter whatsoever in Psalms, did
not require Micirasnirn and later commen-
taries in order to elevate them and to be-
Ftnir upon them eternity."
This is what he had ascribed to the
Bible - eternity. lie also saw validity to the
Messianic Vision. When he spoke to the
World Congress for the Study of Judaism,
in Jerusalem July 25_1961. he said "Jew-
ish scholarship cannot be complete and
truthful if it is not based on a messianic
belief, on the Jewish and universal vision
of redemption."
Early Jewish history enchants him. Ben-
Gurim loves to speak of the Patriarchs, of
Est ' Philip
Slomovitz
David Ben-Gurion the Bible Expert .. . Architect
of Jewish State Defined the Great Values Inherent
in Scripture Studies in Series of Notable Lectures
,
Canaan of old, of experiences of the past experiences and the aspirations of Jewry -
which emerged in fulfillment of prophecies.
that are applicable to the present.
What the Ben-Gurion role emphasizes is
"The Antiquity of the Hebrews" gave
that
the man who learned from the treas-
him an opportunity to discuss biblical lore
dating back to Joshua, then he concerned ures of the age-old Jewish scriptural writ-
ings as well as the scholars in Israel through
himself with Deuteronomy, and Saul and
David provided him with platform material the ages has been able to teach others.
for lectures about Jewish heroes in an- Indeed, as the leader in the Bible study
movement in Israel, he became a teacher
tiquity,
When he spoke about "The Image of and a guide. "Ben-Gurion Looks at the Bi-
King Cyrus," at the National Bible Confer- ble," so well presented in a good transla-
ence, in April 1951. he analyzed motiva- tion by Jonathan Kolatch, is the collection
tions and historical developments with the of the outstanding speeches and writings
skill of a man thoroughly dedicated to by the great Israel leader emphasizing the
guidance he gives to this generation in
truth in chronicling Jewish events.
assuring appreciation for the imperishable
When he dealt with "The Return to Zion"
and "The Bible and the Jewish People," he teachings to be treasured by Jewry as it
again was the master, emphasizing historic is already sanctified by mankind.
) -OLD TESTAMENT
BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE (
I. TORAH (FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES,-
III. WRITINGS-HAGIOGRAPHA
PENTATEUCH (
WISDOM BOOKS
14
Psalms
15 Proverbs
16. Job
5 Deuteronomy
FIVE MEGILLOTH-SCROLLS
II. PROPHETS
A.
=":.•=7K -
1
FORMER PROPHETS
7 Song Of Songs -Canticles
1B R;Jth
6 Joshua
19 Lamentations
7 Judges
20 Ecclesiastes-Koheleth
21 Esther
Same I ar,
9 Kings, 1 and
22 Daniel
B. LATTER PROPHETS =
1
23 Exra Nehemiah
7:x
24 Chronicles, 1 and 11
The Major Prophets
10 Isaiah
7727'
Jeremiah
12.
t- 14,7i7`
Exekiel
13 The Minor Prophets
DAVID BEN-GURION
The Presidential Campaign and the 'Jewish Money and Interests' Issue
the
Seymour Grauhard, ADL's national chairman, who has editorialized on
yiestion of the "Jewish Vote" in the present political campaign, has touched upon
Hosea
Nahum
Joel
Habakkuk
Arno,
At least one major embarrassment: the fact that so much emphasis has been placed
0.1
- Jewish money" and special "Jewish interests."
We are in agreement that there are no special Jewish "interests." Look
ho, both the Democratic and Republican conventions have acted, upon recom-
mendation of their platform committees, in support of Israel !
There is disagreement on support for parochial schools and on busing-but
it is an American disagreement. Therefore it is useless to discuss these issues,
other thar to say that Jews are like other Americans (perhaps more so): they
differ on many domestic issues.
When Graubard writes about "Jewish money," we support him in expressing
regret. There has been so much talk about Jews switching from Democratic ranks
and that their actions are indicated financially-by vast sums contributed towards
the Elect-the-President campaign, that we become embarrassed. When the money
angle is discussed, why not leave it to the privacy of the discussants, except when
they must report to the government-and the reports are not broken down according
to religious or ethnic affiliations of contributors.
The injection of the "Jewish issue," especially with emphasis on "Jewish
money. ' is not palatable. We should have the right to act ideologically. In that
sense we are like all other Americans . In the present Presidential campaign there
has been greater abuse of the ideological, by the injection of the irrelevant, than
ever before.
Zephaniah
Haggai
Jonah
Zechariah
Micah
Malachi
=
7'727
2
,K
David Ben-Gurion has often ex-
pressed pleasure that interest in the
Bible is increasing and that Bible
contests are not limited to Israelis
but are being held and encouraged
in many lands, primarily in the United
States and in Great Britain.
This chart is from Dr. Harry M. 0, -
linsky's "Understanding the Bible
Through History and Archeology,"
a volume that already gained best
seller status and is now out in a pop-
ulcer edition. It Teas reviewed in last
week's issue of The Jewish News to ,
Prof. Joseph Gutmann.
The notable Harry M. Orlinsky work has been reprinted in a most impressive
edition by Ktav Publishing House. Dr. Drlinsky, who holds the Effie Wise Chair in
Biblical Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, appended
this note to the chart:
"If the Twelve Minor Prophets and Ezra-Nehemiah are counted individually.
there are 39 rather than 24 Books in the Hebrew Holy Scriptures. It may be noted here
that the Christian titles of the biblical books, e.g., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc.,
are all Jewish to begin with.
'Have I Got a Headache'- -Hadassah Has Relief
Exposing the Untruths About Israel's Position in Jerusalem
Theie has been a disturbing trend to discredit Israel and Jewry, in charges
of discrimination against Arabs in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Accusations have been
made at the United Nations by Jordan's Ambassador Abdul Hamid Sharaf. (Such
gestures have become known as appeals to the prejudices of the masses). It has
been claimed that Israel seeks to - Judaize" the Holy City of all faiths. Mayor Teddy
Kollek replied
"We are not trying to assimilate the Arabs_ On the contrary: the municipality
is operating more Arab schools in Jerusalem than existed during the period of Jor-
danian rule. and it has introduced Arab kindergartens and summer camps which never
were available before."
Moshe Avnieli, who directs the company that is reconstructing some sections of
Jerusalem, also found it necessary to reply to charges. He explained that the project
imder planning consists of 25 acres of land, a total of only 10 per cent of the total
area within the massive Jerusalem wall area. Only 5,900 Arabs were evicted from
the Jewish quarter when Israel took possssion of the Holy City. More than 90 per
cent of the evicted families were moved to better facilities, and the 3,500 evacuees
were fully compensated. Avnicli pointed out: "They lived under inhuman conditions.
Their dwellings consisted of a single room per family without basic utilities-water,
restage or electricity and density was four to five persons per room."
Instead of gratitude for what had been gi‘en them, those assuming to be the
- defenders" of Arabs are abusing Israel's intentions!
Lest Jews as well as others be misled by false propaganda and unjustified
accusations, let these facts be known. There has been entirely too much sniping against
Israel on the score of Jerusalem w - hose "Internationalization" is practical only under
Israel's administration which has granted full rights to all faiths. There is no better
program for Jost action than the present.
2 - Friday, August 25, 1972
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
"Tranquility Machine" developed at Headache Clinic at Hadassah Hebrew Col
versity Medical Center in Jerusalem was demonstrated at Hadassab's 58th annual Na-
tional Convention at the New York Hilton Hotel this week. Patient may use machine at
home. He places three electrodes where pain seems to be, sets timer and relaxes. It
is used for headaches, tension and insomnia, (Hadassah convention story, Page 26)