Israeli Carpenter-Turned-Sculptor
Brings 'Vision of Peace' to Detroit
Miss Forman to Be 32 Friday, April 27, 1973 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Mrs. Paul Scheinker AJCommittee's Dr. Tanenbaum
—
to Get Marygrove College Honor
By CHARLOTTE DUBIN
R o d a Reilinger took up
carpentry in Germany — a
trade. he felt, that would be
useful on the kibutz. If he
was lucky to live that long.
A refugee aboard the last
"illegal" immigrant ship out
of Germany in 1941, 20-year-
old Reilinger was seized
along with the other escapees
and placed by the British in
a detention camp in Pales-
tine.
To be sure, the British can
be credited for very little —
or less than that — in those
days. But they can be
thanked for something: in six
months of enforced leisure,
Roda Reilinger learned to
paint.
It was the first step in a
c a r e e r that has brought
much critical acclaim to
Reilinger, whose sculptures
are being commissioned in
a number of cities, both in
Israel and abroad.
Sunday evening, Reilinger's
"Vision of Peace," a huge
wall sculpture based on
Isaiah's oft-quoted prophecy,
This is how the "Vision of Peace" wall sculpture by
Israeli artist Roda Reilinger will look when it is unveiled
in ceremonies 8 p.m. Sunday at Cong. Beth Achim's Poplack
Garden Court. At the center of the sculpture is the word
Shalom, Peace. To the left is a fusion of iron weapons of MISS MARSHA FORMAN
war, and to the right a stylized plow, with stalks of wheat
Mr. and Mrs. Morton H.
and sun shining overhead. The sculpture is based on the
of Burton Ave., Oak
Forman
words of Isaiah, "And they shall beat their swords into
plowshares." The figure at lower right is not part of the Park, announce the engage-
ment o f their daughter
sculpture but only to give some idea of its size.
Marsha Ellen to Paul Robert
Scheinker, son of Mr. and
Reilinger in Jerusalem. much necessary, though pro- Mrs. Sidney D. Scheinker of
Erected in honor of the saic, work to be done, an Pierce Ave., Southfield.
Danes' wartime rescue of the artist must first prove him-
Miss Forman and her
Jews, the Denmark Square self.
fiance attend Wayne State
semi-abstract
sculpture is a
Reilinger laughed at that. University's college of edu-
iron fishing boat filled with "When your own people read cation and plan to marry in
the figures of fleeing refu- of your success in the news- June.
gees. Funds for its construc- papers, then they know you
tion were raised by the are an artist.'
Danish Resistance Fighters
As in all kibutz endeavors,
Movement.
an artist must have the ap-
Now, in a return gesture. proval of the other members
the Friends of Denmark in if he is to further his art
Israel will mark the 30th elsewhere, such as in Europe.
anniversary of the Danes' And, "like a shoemaker,
courageous rescue effort by everything he earns goes to
dedicating the square in the kibutz."
Copenhagen, located in what
But Reilinger says this is
was once the city's principal fine with him. "It's like
market area.
being in a family; you share
Reilinger describes the your success with your fam-
structure as having universal ily, don't you?"
appeal, based on the story of
Reilinger, whose own im-
Noah. The ark represents mediate family includes his
rescue, shelter and, with the wife Odeda and three chil-
dove overhead, peace. dren, said the kibutz attitude
Around the massive ark, toward art has undergone a
Lewis S. Grossman, nation-
which will be mounted on radical change, certainly al vice president of the
four concrete pillars, will be linked to the growing pros- American Jewish Committee
sculptured concrete pieces perity of many of them. "On and president of the Detroit
representing animals. These almost every kibutz, artists Service Group, trade and pro-
brightly colored figures are are given at least half or fessional organization of the
meant to be enjoyed and
Allied Jewish Campaign, will
touched, a virtual playground even full time to art. It is serve as dinner chairman
no
longer
considered
a
lux-
for children.
ury." Anyone who has ever and toastmaster of the Louis
The happy environment visited Hazorea will recall Berry testimonial dinner,
that the sculpture court will the colorful relief in the din- with Abba Eban, May 13 at
create is far different from ing hall, which was done by Cong. Shaarey Zedek.
* *
some of the other pieces that Reilinger.
Reilinger has done in Israel,
Israel itself is an artist's Rally Honoring
including his monument to -paradise—a far cry from the
the fallen heroes of Yad Mor- days of utilitarianism, said David Silver to
decai.
Reilinger. "Not one building
There, Reilinger planned goes up without some art in Be Held Tuesday
Maj. Gen. Mordechai Gur,
the entire interior design of it—almost too much; art is
the kibutz museum, which inflationary in Israel. There "liberator of Jerusalem,"
recalls how most of the set- is some fine sculpture and will appear at the Labor
tlers were killed in 1948 while architectural, mural art. I Zionist — Landsmanshaften
withholding a three-week- would say that we average Israel Bond Rally 8:30 p.m.
long siege by the Egyptians. better and more works in Tuesday at Cong Beth
Their h e r o i c act helped this respect than in Europe." Achim.
A special feature will be
save the entire country in
At the same time, there is an Israel 25th anniversary
the War of Independence.
candlelighting ceremony nar-
Within the museum, which some sadness in Israel's rated by radio announcer
penchant
for
monuments:
is a required stop for both
Harry Goldstein. Ben Har-
natives and tourists, the "Every place in Israel, there old president of the Labor
is
a
memorial
to
fallen
theme of Holocaust and Jew-
Zionist Alliance, will intro-
ish resistance merges organ- soldiers."
Will the kibutz, which shel- duce Gen. Gur. The "Jeru-
ically into the story of aliya
salem City of Peace" award
and the war of independence. ters its children in a cocoon w-11 be presented to David
of
security,
produce
the
Despite his growing repu-
Silver, past president of Beth
tation as a sculptor, Reilin- creative spirit in the coming Achim, who was designated
ger, a tall, muscular man, generation? Reilinger thinks as "Israel Silver Anniver-
maintains the casual infor- it will. "Yes, the kibutz once sary Torch Bearer".
mality of a kibutznik. Reilin- was much more isolated and
Other "candle-lighters" be-
ger says he finds the kibutz stagnant. Today, it is very sides Harold will include
open-minded
to
outside
in-
environment conducive to his
Bessie Berri s, Norman
fluences. Perhaps too much Blake, Hyman Gilman, Philip
work.
The onetime Youth Aliya so. Today, you cannot dis- Goldstein, Dena Greenberg,
leader—who refused to leave tinguish between the art of Philip Imber, Harry Laker,
Stuttgart until the others in the kibutz child and the Tel Louis Levine, Morris Lieber-
his movement were safely Aviv child because they go man, Hyman Lipsitz, Issac
away—is encouraged by his to the same schools in town. Litwak, Ed Miller, Adele
fellow settlers in prosperous
"Our youngsters think dif- Mondry, Ethel Portner, Os-
Ilazerea. At the same time, ferently than we did; they car Rappaport, Nathan P.
he has been able to devote do not have the same strug- Rossen and Harry L. Schu-
his full time to art only in gle. But after all, it's natural mer.
the last four to six years. that this should happen, isn't
For reservations, call Is-
On a kibutz, where there is , it?"
rael Bonds, 557-6770.
Berry- Dinner
Emcee Picked
RODA REILINGER
will be unveiled in the Pop-
lack Garden Court of Cong.
Beth Achim. The sculptor
will be present for the re-
ception, which is open to the
public.
Reilinger was commis-
sioned to do the work after
Louis Redstone, architect for
Beth Achim's new synagogue
structure, saw his pieces in
Israel. Redstone's sister lives
at Ein Shemer, where Rei-
linger had built a memorial
to the war dead of June 1967.
Former Beth Achim Presi-
dent Sidney Silverman, who
heads the building commit-
tee, was equally impressed
with Reilinger's work and
commissioned him to create
the wall sculpture. Silverman
has been Reilinger's host
during his stay here.
The various components of
the work were created at
Kibutz Hazorea, where Rei-
linger has made his home
since coming to Israel. The
pieces were shipped by plane
and had to be lowered by
crane over the Beth Achim
roof and into the garden
court, which is completely
enclosed by the walls of the
synagogue.
Although this is the first
sculpture Reilinger has done
for Americans, he is well
known to Israelis and is be-
ginning to achieve renown
elsewhere. The latter fact will
be re-enforced soon: On his
return home from Detroit,
Reilinger will stop in Copen-
hagen to confer with city of-
ficials on a massive sculp-
ture "environment" for a
planned Israel Square.
Israel Square is a sister
project to the Denmark
Square monument created by
-
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum,
national director of the inter-
religious affairs department
of the American Jewish Com-
mittee, will receive an honor-
ary doctor of humane letters
degree from Marygrove Col-
lege at commencement exer-
cises 2 p.m. Sunday.
Jane Hart, wife of Sen.
Philip A. Hart, will receive
an honorary degree along
with Rabbi Tanenbaum.
Rabbi Tanenbaum origin-
ated and helped organize the
American Jewish Relief Ef-
fort for Nigeria and Biafra
that cooperated with Church
World Service and Catholic
He was the Jewish consult-
ant to the Pius XII Religious
Education Resource Center
in Detroit which in 1969-1970
co-sponsored with the
AJCommittee t h e Judeo-
Christian Lecture Series.
Ktav Kol is an Israeli
ulpan using cassettes and
text materials to bring the
Hebrew language and its cul-
ture into homes outside of
Israel.
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secretary of t h e Vatican-
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Rabbi Tanenbaum has just
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directors of the St. Louis
University Divinity School
and is the first rabbi to hold
such a position on a Catholic
divinity school "-board.
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