Dramatic Story of Hadassah Told in Levin's 'Balm in Gilead'

Hadassah acquired an ex-
cellent newspaperman to
write the movement's history
and to compile a record of
achievements so great that
it becomes an inerasable
part of the chronicled Jewish
,-?.nts of this century.
Marlin Levin, a native of
Harrisburg, Pa., now a
Terusalem resident, star re-
porter of Time magazine and
the Jerusalem Post, in the
Schocken-published "Balm in
Gilead — The Story of Ha-
'nssah," traces the move-
ient's beginning, leads the
reader through six decades
lf Zionist endeavors, humani-
tari efforts and the
of the state of Is-
rael in the early stages and
leads up to the present im-
ense services rendered by
the cause that was founded
by America's Jewish women.
It is, in great measure, a
tribute to the founder of the
ideal cause, Henrietta Szold.
Her dedication to the needs
in the Jewish homeland, to-
'IPther with the medical
forces and the spokesmen
from the United States, is an
9nic story of heroic under-
takings.
Miss Szold, educator, de-
voted Zionist, a scholar

steeped in learning, was
moved by many aspects of a
Palestinian situation which
called for aid to children, for
relief of poverty-stricken, for
medical assistance in a com-
munity that suffered from
trachoma and other illnesses.
She had gone to Palestine
in 1909 with her mother, and
both were appalled by what
they had seen.
Out of the sad experience
emerged the effort to create
the movement that became
known as Hadassah. The
choice of the name is under-
standable. The formative
period corresponded with
Purim, and Hadassah also is
the biblical name of Queen
Esther. (The name is also
the Hebrew for "Myrtle").
They were difficult years.
The needs were growing and
the available funds were
limited. The Nathan Strauses
helped to a degree. To build
a great movement required
courage, and Miss Szold,
with the help and encourage-
ment of Alice Seligsberg, one
of the chief pioneers in the
advancement of the women
Zionists' cause, Judah L.
Magnes and others gradually
developed an idea that be-
came a sacred cause.
Hadassah was preceded in
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rendering health services by
the Rothschilds, who estab-
Private & Group Lessons
lished the Rothschild Hos-
English for the Foreign born
pital. The latter represented
GAMBOA SCHOOL
the pioneering in structural
of LANGUAGES
efforts.
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The process of creating a
great movement enveloped
many difficulties which were
related to the Zionist
Colored Movies
Dr. Haim Yassky,
by Frank's Studio struggles.
for example, was not only a
Weddings, Bar Mitzvas &
pioneer in building the Ha-
Other Occasions.
dassah structure: he also
was among the martyrs for
474-7768
the cause. One of the ghast-
liest stories in the history of
the Jewish settlement in
ORIN ROSS
Palestine, during the battle
ORCHESTRA
for Israel's independence,
was when Dr. Yassky and a
The Finest in
Musical Entertainment
group of Hadassah nurses
and doctors were mowed
[1.545-3393 or 399-2098
down by Arabs who disre-

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HENRIETTA SZOLD

garded the specific identifi-
cation of the ambulances as
Magen David — Red Cross
vehicles.
Among the major factors
in this important historical
account of Hadassah's role
in modern Jewish history is
the Youth Aliya program.
Miss Szold was skeptical at
the outset, and when she got
into the work it marked one
of the great accomplishments
in the tasks of rescuing Jew-
ish children from the Nazi
terror.
Recha Freier is really the
lady who, as far back as
1932, when the Hitler menace
became apparent, formalized
plans for the Youth Aliya
movement. Levin gives her
full credit, devotes an entire
chapter to Mrs. Freier's
work and her dedicated
labors for one of the most
humanitarian movements in
history.
(Mrs. Freier also was men-
tioned prominently in the
account of Youth Aliya,
"Come From the Four
Wind s" (Herzl Press),
written by Chasya Pincus,
wife of the late Louis Pincus.
The book was reviewed in
The Jewish News on April
17, 1970.
(In the Pincus book, she
was referred to as having
given the movement "its ar-
dent impulse amongst the
youth. She had won for it
the support of the Socialist
settlements. It was for Hen-
rietta Szold. the affectionate
and understanding planner
and the inspiring worker. to
turn that impulse and that
acceptance in principle into
an ordered movement. One
woman was the dynamo; the
other, the skilled pilot.")
(The mother of Southfield
gynecologist Dr. Andrew
Freier, Mrs. Freier visited
Detroit several years ago
when she was interviewed by
The Jewish News.)
The Youth Aliya story, the
struggles to secure coopera-
tion for the rescue of chil-
dren and their settlement in
Palestine, the obstacles and
the partial triumphs — these
are major in a great story
about one of the women's
movements ever formed any-
where.
*
In the process of narrating
the story of the women's
Zionist movement, Levin pro-
vides a record of inner con-
troversies, of differences with
the men in the movement.
But out of it the devotions
of the women leaders
emerged as matters of in-
erasable triumps in the 20th
Century Jewish history.
The roles of Rose Halpern,
Tamara deSola Pool, Re-
becca Shulman, Judith Ep-
stein; those of the first
nurses who were enrolled as

Hadassah's
emissaries
to
serve in Eretz Israel; the
activities of the present Ha-
dassah leadership—all relate
to a very great story.
The author of "Balm in
Gilead" has not overlooked
the era of Judah Magnes
who, with Miss Szold, hoped
for amity with Arabs —
through the Ihud movement
they organized — only to
learn of the hopelessness of
a task in which Arabs re-
fused to participate.
There are shortcomings in
the volume: the author would
have had much more to learn
about the inside story of Ha-
dassah's conflicts from one
of the men listed in the book
— Dr. Reuven Katznelson,
who was an administrator of
Hadassah's office in Jeru-
salem. Perhaps added rifts
had to be ignored in a story
of great glory. As in all
movements that are related
politically, perhaps the con-
troversies, as with the Zion-
ist Organization of America
on the American scene, had
to be averted. In its totality,
"Balm in Gilead" fills a
great need for Jewry to know
the historic role of cour-
ageous and dedicated women.
There are tributes to Ha-
dassah quoted in the Levin
volume from David Ben-
Gurion, who had many good
things to say about the
women Zionists; and Golda
Meir, who wrote the fore-
word to the Levin book and
stated: "This is the record
of an extraordinary alliance
between Jewish women in
the United States and their
people come to life again in
the Land of Israel — one of
the great chapters in the
integral relationships be-
tween the state of Israel and
Jews throughout the world."

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

riday, December 7, 1973-37

It should be noted that the
title for the Levin story
about the movement whose
motto is "The healing of the
daughter of my people" is
taken from Jeremiah:
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then is not the health
Of the daughter of my
people restored?
Oh that my head were
waters,
And my eyes a fountain
of tears,
That I might weap day
and night
For the slain of the daughter
of my people!

Party to Aid School

The Secular School for
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a Mr. and Mrs. Bingo Party
8 p.m. Saturday at the Labor
Zionist Institute. A color tele-
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proceeds will go to help sup-
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Where all think alike, no
one thinks v e r y much. —
Walter Lippm ann.

FRANK PAUL

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