The Jewish Attitude Toward Art

Whether there eixsts a form
of art that can be described
as "Jewish Art" has long
been a matter for discussion.
What is indisputable is that
at every stage of their history
Jews expressed themselves in
various art forms which in-
evitably reflected contempor-
ary styles and fashion and
the -environment in which
they lived.
Far purpose of cult and of
religious observance, as well
as for household and personal
adornment, Jews have con-
stantly produced or made use
of objects which appealed in
some fashion' to their aesthe-
tic sense. In a famous pas-

sage, the rabbis, commenting
on Exodus 15:2, prescribed
that God should be "adorned"
by the use of beautiful imple-
ments for the performance of
r eligious observances. A
problem exists, however, re-
garding the Jewish attitude
toward figurative and repre-
sentational art. The Penta-
teuchal code in many places
(Ex. 20:4; Deut. 5:8 and in
'great detail 4:16-18) ostensi-
bly prohibits, in the sternest
terms, the making of any
image or likeness of man or
beast. There is no doubt that
at certain times this prohibi-
tion impeded or even com-
pletely prevented the clever-
opment of Jewish figurative
art, especially as far as rep-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS resentation of the human
42 Friday, Dec. 20, 1974
form or face was concerned.
The inhibitions were stronger
A••••■=9.1,
against the plastic arts (i.e.,
MUSIC BY
relief or sculpture) than
against painting or drawing,
because of the specific bibli-
cal reference to the "graven
AND HIS ORCHESTRA
image."
968-2563
But, often, these inhibitions
were ignored. When the Jews
were to some extent cultural-
ly assimiliated, they began to
share in the artistic outlook
of their neighbor:: and the
prejudice against representa-
tional art dwindled, and in
the end almost disappeared.
Latest medically approved
To
this generalization, how-
dermatology equipment used
ever, other factors must be
added. Sometimes, the reli-
gious reaction of the Jews
was influenced by political
35 Years Experience
considerations. The almost
Doctors Referrals
frenzied Jewish opposition to
images of any sort toward the

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close of the Second Temple
period seems to have been
prompted by the extreme na-
tionalist elements, happy to
find a point in which their
political opposition could be
based on a clear-cut religious
issue. A few generations la-
ter, in an age of appease.
ment, their great-grandchil-
dren could be, and were far
more broadminded. But dur-
ing periods of religious icono-
clasm among their neighbors,
the Jews—the classical icon-
oclasts—could not very well
afford to be more complaint
than others. Therefore, it
seems, in the Byzantine Em-
pire in the eighth and ninth
centuries and in the Muslim
world long after this, there
ensued an interlude in which
representational art was rig-
idly shunnned even though
the non-representational made
notable progress.
In the 18th Century, Jewish
painters and portraitists—art-
ists in the modern sense—be-
gan to appear in several Eur-
opean countries. But it is not
easy to explain the sudden
emergence in recent genera-
tions of a flood of artists of
outstanding genius, largely of
Eastern European • origin, in
France, the Ubited States,
and elsewhere. Until the 19th
Century the Jewish attitude
toward art was in -fact not
negative, but ambivalent. .

Liars act like the salt min-
ers, - they undermine the
truth, but leave just so much
standing as is necessary to
support the edifice.—Richter

Friends are like melons:
to find one good, you must
a 100 try.—Claude Mermet

JERUSALEM — American
ambassador to Israel Ken-
neth B. Keating has an-
nounced that the U.S. has al-
located $4,000,000 for the
construction of outpatient
clinic buildings at the new
Shaare Zedek Medical Cen-
ter here.
Keating said the funds
would also be used to develop

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honor was the German-born
Israeli industrialist Yekutiel
X. Federmann who an-
nounced a gift of $175,000
from the Federmann Family
Foundation.
The hospital board's "man
of the year" award was pre-
sented to Jewish author Elie
Wiesel. The award is pre-
sented annually for outstand-
ing contributions in the fields
of science, medicine or Jew-
ish culture.

a concert or to an appropri-
ately kosher restaurant and
get to know each other."
But even such a diminished
function of the shadkhan as
"checking out" is being re-
placed in another major
change in courtship patterns
among Boro Park's Orthodox
Jews. The replacement, May-

AJCongress. Women
Plan Convention

PHILADELPHIA—The na-
tional women's division of the
American Jewish Congress
will launch here the congress'
year-long celebration of the
American bicentennial at the
women's division convention
March 2-4.
Several hundred delegates
from women's division chap=
ters throughout the U. S. will
attend the biennial parley,
which will include plenary
sessions on Jewish history in
America and the unfinished
agenda of the American Jew-
ish community, Israel and
other international Jewish
concerns, the contemporary
Jewish woman and the future
of American democracy.
"To proclaim liberty
throughout the land and jus-
tice to the inhabitants there-
of"—a passage from Leviti-
cus—Will be the theme of the
convention.

er reported, is by way of
organizational affiliations of
young Jews. The fact, for ex-
ample, that most of the youth
of the community attended
Brooklyn College "enables
them to meet informally out-
side the community , and do
their own 'checking out.' "
In addition, various politi-
cal activities and rallies for
Soviet Jewry, Israel "and
other ethnically or religiously
legitimate causes" are, bring-
ing Boro Park's young Ortho-
dox Jewish men and women
into increasingly more fre-
quent contact.
The results are that "love
and personal satisfaction are
coming to be expressed as a
desirable pre-condition for
marriage" and "the cho'
4
a mate is ultimately co:
to rest with the indivia,.....- 1
involved."

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—

The role of the Jewish
matchmaker as observed in
a typical Orthodox commun-
ity in Brooklyn has changed
significantly from the Euro-
pean pattern of arranging
marriages to one of notifying
eligible Jewish men and
women of each other's avail
ability or of "checking out"
the suitability of the prospec-
tice partners for each other,
according to a study by a
Brooklyn college sociologist.
Egon Mayer reported that
matchmaking is still a ser-
ious profession in Boro Park
"and practiced as an avoca-
tion by nearly everyone else"
but that the objectives "are
quite different from the tra-
ditional intent of enhancing or
protecting yikhus (status)" of
the families of the possible
groom and bride. He report-
ed on his findings at a session
of the annual meeting last
June of the National Confer-
ence of Jewish Communal
Service in San Francisco and
his report was • published in
the fall issue of the organi-
bation's journal.
In contemporary Boro Park
parlance, "checking o u t"
means that the shadkhan
(matclunaker), "whether pro- ,
fessional or amateur," will in-
form both parties about
"each other's modernity and
religiousness."
After the shadkhan has
made the necessary inquiries,
a meeting between the inter-
ested parties is arranged and
"the pattern of relationship
that follows — except among
the most rigidly Orthodox=
will be rather similar to the
normal American dating sys-
tem. The young couple will
go out perhaps to a movie or

Weakness ineffectually
seeks to disguise itself,—like
a drunken man trying to
show how sober he is.—C. N.
Bovee

626-4643

JD OND

By BEN GALLOB

(Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.)

U.S. Grants Israeli Hospital
Funds for Outpatient Clinics

Give someone who doesn't play a
set, at a discount, of course!
It's, easy to learn. We have after-
noon and evening lessons.

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Role of Matchmaker Among NY Jews Fading

.

KENNETH B. KEATING

programs for the absorption
of Russian immigrant doc-
tors.
The announcement was
made at the hospital's annual
board of governor's dinner,
held in the Knesset. Guest of

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