Amusing 'Judah the Pious' Novel Mixes Fantasy, Religion, Science

Abba Eban:

'Israel Will Not
Be Deprived
of Statehood'

(Excerpt from address by
Israel's former Foreign Min-
ister Abba Eban at the 10th
anniversary dinner of Akiva
Day School, Oct. 31).
The Arab nation of which
the Palestinians_ are a part—
forms 3 per cent of the
human race but–it has 16 per
cent of the votes in the
United Nations and a virtual
hold on 30 more votes, 16 per
cent of the earth's land sur-
face, 60 per cent of the
world's oil reserves and a
vast percentage of its unused
currency assets.
From this position of ex-
travagant privilege, some of
its leaders avariciously pur-
sue the elimination of Israel
aso a state.
But Israel will not be de-
prived of its statehood. It
will not die, or disappear, or
apologize for itself, or be
swallowed up in something
else, or abandon its specific
Jetvish vocation• and solidar-
ities. It will seek peace, com-
promise and mutual conces-
sion within the framework of
respect for its rights.
•
The ark of covenant car-
ries those who carry it.
—Talmud

quickly throughout the town
until the Polish government
curtailed its policy of re-
ligious toleration for the
Jews.
The Jewish community was
incensed. It needed a learned
spokesman to plead their
case to the 16 year-old King
Casimir, a young man who
had lost all faith in God due
to the recent deaths of his
parents.
They picked one Rabbi El-
iezer of Rimanov, a man
Whose role as a rabbi was
questionable. Instead of turn-
ing the town youth into schol-
ars, he made them into
dreamers and filled their
minds with fanciful notions.

How e v e r, the townsfolk
thought that his method was
a new.form of education and
revered the wise; old, infirm
rabbi.
Rabbi Eliezer earned an
audience with the young king,
during which he pleaded for
the right of his people to
practice their religion with-
out obstruction. But his plea
came in the form of a fairy
tale about Judah ben Simon,
whose mysterious birth was
followed by a life of strange
meetings and events which
led him on his own search
for faith.
At an early age Judah ben
Simon left the yeShiva to
study nature and removed

Editor's Note: Guidance on
important problems provided
by Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion-United Jewish Charities
Endowment Fund Tax Advi-
sory Committee. Professional,
advice about issues discussed
in these columns should be
secured from an attorney or
an estate planning adviser.
Questions of general interest
in these matters should be
addressed to "Taxes . and
Your Future", care of the
Jewish News, 17515 W. Nine
Mile, Southfield, Mich. 48075.

In last month's column, we
reviewed some of the pos-
sible yeai-end tax moves re-
lated to income and expense.
Now _ let's look at the other
side of personal finances .. .
the balance sheet.
Wise planning with empha-
sis on charitable contribu-
tions includes not only the
amount and _timing of your
contribution, but a 1 s o its
form; whether cash, secur-
ities, real estate, or other
assets.
Money is always the best,
easiest, and most acceptable
means to fulfill your pledge.
The Federal government en-
couraged cash gifts when it
raised the ceiling on deduc-
tibility for gifts of money
from 30 per cent to 50 per
cent (with a five-year carry-
over). Your out-of-pocket
cost is reduced by the
amount of your tax savings.
A gift of appreciated secur-
ities or real estate gives you
a charitable deduction for the
.full present market value
when you have held the prop-
erties for six months or
more. The capital gain tax
on the appreciation (differ-
ence between your cost-basis
and present fair in arket
value) is avoided in this In-
stance.
If you have appreciated
securities, it may be better
to contribute them instead of
money, even if you believe
your securities are a good
investment and will continue
to appreciate. By using the
cash you might have given
to replace your securities,

you will still have the same
ownership equity at a higher
cost-basis. You will have
eliminated a capital gains
tax on the appreciation and
reduced your exposure to
future capital gains tax.
This same rule applies
even if your securities have
gone down in value, but are
still worth more than your
cash basis. However, if you
have securities whose pres-
ent value is less than your
cost basis, you are better off
selling them yourself and
contributing the proceeds in
cash. This way, you receive
a capital loss deduction as
well as a charitable contri-
bution.
A gift of appreciated real
estate may be a very ad-
vantageous type of charitable
contribution—particularly as
to how it can affect your
long-range tax plan. Such a
gift can have a tremendous
impact on your current and
future income taxes, state in-
heritance taxes, and Federal
estate taxes.
As in all instances, we
strongly recommend that you
consult your own counselor
to determine how some of
these suggestions may benefit
you and your family. To-
gether, you should plan your
gift to maximize the benefits
from the incentives which
the Federal government has
built into the tax system to
encourage • charitable giving.
A call to C. Kenneth Sara-
son at 965-3939 will confi-
dentially describe the bene-
fits that a participant in the
Endowment Fund can expect.

Several hazzanim from for-
eign parts, have been treat-
ing London congregations to
exhibitions of their skill, in
anticipation of a vacancy
which was to be filled at one
of the synagogues. As the
vacancy had not yet been ad-
vertised, they were not tech-
nically candidates for the
post.
"That's a hazzan for you!"
said one congregant, lost in
admiration of the musical vir-
tuosity of one of the aspiring
cantors. "Oh, no," was the
retort, "that's only a prelim-
inary cantor."

One may acquire eternity
in a single moment (by the
change in a person with one
great action.)—Talmud

himself from his parents'
home to live in the forest.
Enthralled by the mysteries
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
of the forest, he was led
24—Friday, Nov. 22, 1974
astray by Rachel Anna, who
suddenly appeared one day
announcing she had come
from Cracow to marry the
young man.
Young Judah ben Simon
became , more entagled in
This Month Only
weird happenings when he
met a charlatan, Jeremiah
Vinograd, who convinced the
young man to follow his life
style. Judah never could have
Brand Name
expected the puzzles that
awaited him when to took up
coil for oppt.
the trade.
This world would have been
But the surprises, myster- created even for one right-
358-0415
ies and puzzles all come to- great_ action).—Talmud
gether at the end of the book
when a strange turn of
events led the young man to
— ALL GENERAL MOTORS —
meet the eminent rabbi, Ju-
0
dah- the Pious of Cracow. At
the same time, Rabbi Eliezer
m
CALL
is not spinning just another
yarn — he figures in the
strange tale too.
The rabbi's tale so con-
vinced the young king that
ALL!
WHOLESALE
he restored religious free-
m
dom for the Jews.
All
All
"Judah the Pious" is an
Models
-0
Makes
entertaining mixture of fan-
-7
tasy and the reality of man's
search for faith. The plot is
0
STAN FINSILVER' GEORGE BRANT
fast-moving and the wealth
of surprises for the reader
MERCEDES — JAGUAR — VOLVO
makes the novel hard to put
— DATSUN — MG — SUBARU —
down. —Heidi Press

FO RD - LI NCO LN - M ERCU R Y -

Religion, science and the
supernatural combine to
form an amusing novel, "Ju-
dah the Pious," by Francine
Prose.
The Atheneum - published
novel, a tale within a tale,
reflects Miss Prose's fascin-
ation for the mysticism of
India, which she visited prior
to writing the novel.
The basic story is set in
19th Century Poland, at a
time when -the Jews were
barely tolerated. It was dur-
ing this period that a re-
nowned Jewish doctor died,
and two Polish aristocrats
who had been cured by him,
attended his funeral out of
gratitude.
Their gratitude was soon
forgotten as they became
aware of the particulars of
the Jewish funeral service.
When the mourners turned
their backs on the deceased
and threw handfuls of dirt
on the grave to bid the soul
a final good-by, the two as-
tonished aristocrats totally
misinterpreted the rite to
mean something dreadful.
The two believed that "the
spiteful Jews were teasing
their dead with a last sweet
taste of soil; they were tan-
talizing their ghosts 'into
coming back from the other
world and stalking innocent
people." This notion spread

Preliminary Cantor

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