`Jews and Arabs' Reveals Roots of Two, ,Cultures _ By ALLEN A. WARSEN S. D. Goitein in "Jews and Arabs" (Schocken Books) traces eloquently and reveal- ingly the roots and evolution of two cultures and their contacts with each other. Though the book is popu- larly written and easy to understand, some of its con- cepts present a psychological problem which the reader must overcome. To succeed, he has to free his mind of already learned facts and ideas, and learn new facts and meanings. He has to re- learn that: Hebrew is not a Semitic language; Iszmael was not the forefather - of the Arabs; t h e Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, and other Mid- dle Eastern peoples did not emerge from the Arabian Peninsula; the patriarchs were not Bedouins and Arabs and Hebrews are not cou- sins; "Semitic" does not denote race, but is a linguistic de- vice invented in 1781 by a German scholar, for the pur- pose of grouping together certain related languages, and not to promulgate sense- less theories, such as Hebrew originated with Shem, the son of Noah. As a matter of fact, "in the Bible Hebrew is rightly called `Sefath Kena'an,' the language– of Canaan." Since the Bible regards the Canaa- nites the descendants of Ham, their language natural- ly would be Hamitic and not Semitic. Neither is there any men- tion in the Bible that Ishmael was the forefather of the Arabs. Ishmael, as the au- thor points out, "was a very ancient tribe which vanished soon from history." Incidentally, the names Ishmaelites and Midianites are used in the Bible inter- changeably. "Thus, for ex- ample, the Midianites, whom Gideon fought, are called Ishmaelites (Judges 8:24). This also possibly accounts for the strange fact that Joseph was sold apparently twice, to both Midianites and Ishm a elites." Incorrect also is the theory that the Arabian Peninsula was the cradle of the ancient peoples who spoke Semitic dialects. "It is a mere theory derived by a false analogy from the conquest of the Mid- dle East by the Muslim ArabS." Neither is • there historic proof to the claim of the so called Pan-Arabists that the Israelites originally were an Arab tribe, and that the He- NEW YORK—A group Bar Mitzva of Jewish patients was held last week at the Brooklyn Development Cen- ter. More than 30 young men, who had been unable to pre- pare for Bar Mitzva at age 13, chanted the traditional blessings, according to Rabbi Solomon .Wulliger, chaplain. The chaplaincy program, in which Rabbi Wulliger par- ticipates, is under the aus- pices of the New York Board of Rabbis. brew patriarchs were Arab sheiks. The fallacy of this claim is obvious, as there can be no doubt that the patriarchs were semi-nomads who raised sheep and cattle "in- side a sedantary area," whereas the Bedouins were camel-breeders. "Bedou in Arabic means 'outside'—who live far out in the desert, where alone good camels can be raised." Finally, the reference to Arabs and Jews as being cousins "dodanim" (from dod, uncle) is nothing more than a "pun on the name of the Arab tribe Dedanim, mentioned in Isaiah 21:13." Although Arabs and Jews are not cousins, still there are close affinities between them. Both have national re- ligions. And both faiths have influenced great numbers of people. The Bible, for in- stance, has become the sacred book of hundreds of millions and the Koran of millions of people. On the other hand, also great dissimilarities exist be- tween Arabs and Jews. Fore- most, is the historic contrast between their religions. "Israel began to develop its unique religion at the very dawn of its history, when it was still nothing but a small people. Islam came to the Arabs as an almost complete system, at the time when they already had be- hind them a history of, over 1,500 years and had occupied not only the whole peninsula of Arabia, but also pene- trated into the neighborhing countries of Southern Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt." Furthermore, the religious observances and practices of the two peoples differ. The Sabbath, for example, "the greatest gift of Judaism to the world," is the Jews' day of rest. Mohammed and his successors, however, rejec- ted the Sabbath as a day of rest. They reasoned that a weekly day of rest would in- terfere with Arab trade; and the Bedouins, they figured, can get along without one, as they rarely overwork themselves. Neither do the Mohamme- dans have a prayer book that remotely corresponds to the Siddur. Their "service is short and consists of a few impressive prayers and for- mulas, repeated as often as 13 to 20 times a day." Another striking differ- ence between Arabs and Jews is their attitude toward 1 a n g u a g e and literature. Whereas the Arabs empha- size linguistic elegance, the Jews stress ideas. To the Arab it would be inconceivable to read the Koran in any other language, but Arabic. The Jews, in addition, to reading the Bible in Hebrew, also read it in other languages. In fact, they themselves translated it into Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, and other languages. Incidentally, the K or an mentions the name of Moses more than a hundred times; and among its other refer- ences to the Jewish faith, customs, and mores, the Koran contains a number of legends ("midrashim"), probably of Jewish-Arabic origin. According to one legend, fish would come to a Jewish seashore village "only on Saturdays — as long as the people observed the Sabbath —because the fish, of course, knew very well that Jews cannot do without fish on the S a b b a t h." According to another- legend, "Sabbath- breakers were transformed into monkeys." It should be noted, that the Arabian Peninsula contained many Jewish settlements which, no doubt, influenced the Prophet and his religion. Some of the communities were ruled by Jewish kings. "Through the discoveries of Gonzague Ryckmans of Belgium, we are particularly well informed about Dhu Nu- was As'ar, the last Jewish king of Himyar. The inscrip- tions referring to this king depict him as a monotheist who called his God Rachman, the all-merciful, as was the Jewish custom." The minuscule Jewish mon- archies existed for many years prior to being con- quered by the Muslim cru- sading hordes. Their origin and how long they actually lasted are unknown, though there are many theories which have never been sub- stantiated. Nonetheless, as soon as Islam became the victorious and predominant religion, the Jewish communities throughout the Arabian Pen- insula deteriorated and their status became precarious. In Yemen, for instance, the Jews, who had lived there, according to archaeological evidence, since the second century CE were forced to wear yellow badges (later imitated by Christian coun- tries in Europe); _ Jewish women were not allowed to wear shoes of the same color. They had to wear one black shoe and one white shoe. Jews could not be witnesses against Muslims. They could not touch Muslim dishes. They had to be smashed. Worse still was the law forc- ing Jewish orphans to con- vert. Moreover, Muslim schoolboys were allowed to stone Jewish people. "When the Turks con- quered Yemen in 1872, - an envoy was sent from the Chief Rabbi of Istanbul to inquire what grievance the Yemenite Jews had against their neighbors. It is indica- tive that the first thing of which they complained was this molestation by the schoolboys. "But when the Turkish Governor asked an assembly of notables to stop this nui- sance, there arose an old doctor of Muslim law and explained that this stone- throwing at Jews was an age-old custom (in Arabic `Ada') and therefore was un- lawful to forbid it." Is it surprising that the Yemenite Jews en masse en- thusiastically left the country where they had lived close to two millenia? S. DI Goitein in "Jews and Arabs" explores, analyses 34 Friday, Dec. 6, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 114.1111101 111Will Group Bar Mitzva Held—in Brooklyn — TRAYS s2 ..per pers. . ED'S.MINI DELI' 543-6073 osa and interprets two cultures and their mutual contacts. 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