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May 13, 1977 - Image 56

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1977-05-13

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

56 Friday, May 13, 1977

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Christian Zionist's Prophecy: George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda'

(Continued from Page 2)

has been touched."
Continuing in the same
note she stated that
"words of gratitude have
come from Jews and
Jewesses, and these are
certain signs that I may
have contributed my mite
to a good result."

The effect that Eliot's
"Daniel Deronda" made
upon the Jewish people
was marked. Immediately
upon its publication, Jews
the world over endorsed
the sentiments of the non-
Jewess who so skillfully
pictured the position of the
Jew in the world and the
hopes of Israel for a
spiritual and national re-
birth.

Thus, from Eliot's
Journal, under date of
Dec. 15, 1876, we learn
that Dr. Hermann Adler
delivered a lecture on
"Daniel Deronda" in
which he implied an ex-
pectation of serious be-
nefit.
On the same page, the
novelist records the _re-
ceipt of "a delightful let-
ter from the Jewish
Theological Seminary at
Breslau, written by an
American Jew named
Isaacs, who excuses him-
self for expressing his
feeling of gratitude on
reading `Deronda,' and
assures me of his belief
that it has even already
had an elevating effect on
the minds of some among
his people — predicting
that the effect will
spread."
George Eliot also ex-
presses satisfaction at
the receipt of a letter,
from Dr. Benisch, editor
of the London Jewish
Chronicle, "containing an
article written by himself
on reading `Deronda,' and
using strong words as to
the effect the book is pro-
ducing."

The most interesting
correspondence on the
subject of "Daniel De-

ronda," however, was that
exchanged between
George Eliot and Profes-
sor David Kaufmann, who
later became the principal
of the Jewish Theological
Seminary at Pesth. Writ-
ing to Dr. Kaufmann on
May 31, 1877, the author of
"Derorida" says:

"Certainly if I had been
asked to choose what
should be written • about
my books, and who should
write it, I should have
sketched — well, not any-
thing so good as what you
have written, but an arti-
cle which must be written
by a Jew who showed not
merely a sympathy with
the best aspirations of his
race, but a remarkable
insight into the nature of
art and the processes of
the artistic mind.
"Believe Me, I should
not have cared to devour
even ardent praise if it
had not come from one
who showed the dis-
criminating sensibility,
the perfect response to
the artist's intention,
which must make the ful-
lest, rarest joy to one who
works from inward con-
viction and not in com-
pliance with current fash-
ions.
"Such a response holds
for an author not only
what is best in 'the life
that now is,' but the
promise of 'that which is
to come.'
-

The things that helped of her literary achieve-
studied diligently."
George Eliot more than ments and her interest-
Dr. Haight writes that
anything in her fine por- ing life is the one by Prof.
Deutsch died May 12,
trayal of character of De- Gordon S. Haight of Yale
1873, "just as George
ronda were her fine in- University.
Eliot was planning her
sight into things Jewish,
Of major interest to • new novel (Deronda): and
her profound interest in Zionists and to those who
memories of poor DeutSch
Hebrew literature and cul- are fascinated by the
are woven through her
ture and her understand- Daniel Deronda story is
conception of the dying
ing of Jewish characteris- --the influence upon George
Mordecai. She makes
tics and of the problems af- Eliot of Emanuel Deutsch,
Mordecai (in•"Daniel De-
fecting the Jewish people. who came to London from - ronda") — like Deutsch —
All these were in turn Germany in 1855, became a great- scholar, 'a man
augmented by her know- an assistant in the British steeped in poverty and
ledge of Hebrew.
Museum and was a Semitic
obscurity, weakened by
For, in addition to her linguist.
disease,
consciously

complete literary and
scholarly knowledge of
French, German, Italian,
Spanish, Greek and La-
tin, the Hebrew language
and literature was a favo-
rite study with her to the
end of her life.
George Eliot gained
new adherents in recent
years, as evidenced by
nearly a score of books
published about her and
her works. Among the
very. impressive analyses

Deutsch is credited with
having inspired George
Eliot with the character
of Mordecai. Dr. Haight
points out that "her lively
concern with the idea of
Jewish nationalism
sprang directly from her
friendship with Emanuel
Deutsch."
Deutsch sent her-proofs
of his famous article on
the Talmud. He gave her
lessons in Hebrew "which
her notebooks show she

within the shadow of ad-
vancing death, but living
an intense life in an invis-
ible past and future.' "

"Deronda" is described
as having "fdrmed a
momentous landmark" in
Zionism, and the biog-
rapher takes occasion to
indicate the subsequent
developments in the
movement.

No writer of modern
times, Jew or Christian,

has as well expressed the
emotions and en-
thusiasms contained in
Eliot's "Deronda."
For her contributions
to Judaism, the author
has in turn caused her
name to be written in gol-
den letters in the history
of the people she . has so
nobly served.
Emma Lazarus dedi-
cated her "Dance to
Death" to George Eliot
Jewish leaders contir
ally pay tribute to the fin,
contribution that she
made to the Jewish people
and to the encourage-
ment her book has given
for the creation of Jewish
values by Jews. But it is
the Zicinist movement
that owes her the deepest
debt of gratitude.
Today; IOU years after
the publication of "Daniel
Deronda," Jewry honors
George Eliot, for George
Eliot has honored Jewry.

Israeli Has World's First Solar-Energy Car

"Excuse me that I write
but imperfectly, and
perhaps dimly, what I have
felt in reading your article.
It has affected me deeply,
and though the prejudice.
and ignorant obtuseness
which has met my effort to
contribute something to-
wards the ennobling of
Judaism in the concep-
tions of the Christian
community, has never for a
moment made me repent
my choice, but rather has
been added proof that the
effort was needed — ,yet I
confess that I had an un-
satisfied hunger for cer-
tain signs of sympathetic
discernment which you
only have given."

From later correspon-
dence between George
Eliot and Dr. Kaufmann
it is noted that a strong
friendship arose between
the two.
Dr. Kaufmann's article
on "Daniel Deronda,"
written in German, was
translated into English
by the son of Prof. Ferrier
and was published in
handsome pamphlet
form.
Recording these facts
in her journal, under
date of Nov. 10, 1877, the
author states that there
have been multiplied
signs that the spiritual
effect -. of `Deronda' iE
growing. In America the
book is placed above all
my previous writings."
In a later letter to Prof.
Kaufmann, George Eliot
discloses that one o the
last things her hus nd,
George Henry Lew, , did
at his desk was dis-.
patch to the pu . 1 Ishers
another of hi: wife's
books, "1.'heoph astus,"
in which she ren, wed the
appeal to the Jew or his
national and spiritual re-
juvenation.

Prof. Braunstein and the solar-powered Ugly Duckling.

HOLON = A two-
seater car known as the
`,`Ugly Duckling" made
automotive history re-
cently by be,-:oming the
world's first civilian car
partially I owered by
solar energy, as reported
in a recent article in the
Jeri ,,alem Post. '
PI -essor
Arye
Br- u astein, head of the
Pc %Ter Engineering De-
- ), ment of Tel Aviv
'ni versity, de-
. •nstrated the Duckling,
•vh: ,2h was converted
frw a regular electric-
' ery-powered vehicle
a "mixed-fuel" vehi-
c:,.
I30,...,teries get one-
quarter to one-third of
th&r energy from two
silicone solar cell panels
covering the roof and the
front part of the vehicle,
where every other au-
tomobile would have had
its engine and radiator.

more awkward-looking
than it was before.

The output of the solar
panels' 16 modules of 36
cells each amounts to
about 1 kilowatt hour
adding at least 25 per cent
to the range of the car.
The Duckling was made
from a citycar, which
costs $2,500 and has a
range of 60 kilometers
(37.5 miles).
The increase in range is
considered a major
breakthrough, since one
of the principal handicaps
of the citycar had been
that it would barely cover
the average suburba-
nite's travels to and from
work. It also took a whole
night to recharge the bat-
teries.

"The trick is to park the
car in the sun," Prof.
Braunstein said, pointing
at the instruments to show
that the batteries were
The Duckling, no beauty fully tanked up — for free
to begin with, is now even . -- even after a drive of

some 15 kilometers (9.4
miles).

This would normally
have meant a depletion of
about one-quarter of the
batteries' energy storage
capacity.
"This is only the begin-
ning. We intend to make
further improvements
and refinements,"
Bratinstein said.
One such change would
be electronic relays which
would save current and
give a smoother drive
than the somewhat jerky
current three-speed
"shift." Energy could also
be saved by recharging,
the batteries while driv-
ing downhill, or by put-
ting in two motors.

The professor is also
considering using an im- •
proved silicone cell with
added generating capac-
ity, perhaps almost twice
as much — this could add
40 kilometers (25 miles) or
more to the vehicle's orig-
inal 60-kilometer range.

The Energy Research
and Development Au-
thority of the U.S. and
other highly reputable
agencies are united in
their prediction that
solar cells will drop to
one-tenth of their present
price of $1,700 by the en '
of the decade. -
Improved designs will
also provide for addi-
tional space for more
panels and also improve
the design of the silicone
-cells, at present.manufac-
tuned in circular farm,
which leads to a consider-
able waste of space.

Technological im-
provements such as pro-
ducing a single "sheet" of
solar cells, or cells of re-
ctangular shpae, could re-
duce the space required.
Prof. Braunstein stres-

sed that the know-how,
materials and technology
needed to design and
manufacture advanced
electric cars are available
in Israel:

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