THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue al July 20. 1951 Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National.Editorial Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075. Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $12 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager • ALAN ILITSKY, News Editor...HEIDI PRESS, Assistant News Editor DREW L1EBERWITZ Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the fifth day of Tishri, 5738, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Deuteronomy 31:1-30. Prophetical portion, Hosea 14:2-10, Micah 7:18-20, Joel 2:15-27. Yom Kippur Scriptural Selections Thursday morning: Pentateuchal portion, Leviticus 16:1-34, Numbers 29:7-11. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 57:14-58:14. Thursday afternoon: Pentateuchal portion, Leviticus 18:1-30. Prophetical portion, Jonah 1:1-4:11, Micah 7:18-20. Candle lighting, Friday, Sept. 16, 7:22 p.m. VOL. LXXII, No. 2 Page Four Friday, September 16,1977 Strange Gods Imperiling Youth A study conducted recently revealed the institutions, and street corner distributions of shocking information that the numerous cleverly designed, humorous pamphlets with strange cults that have menaced the religious titles such as 'Jesus Made Me Kosher'." communities in. this country attract more "Unlike former missionary tactics," he con- young Jews percentage-wise than any other tinued, "they no longer ask a Jew to 'convert' group in the land. The survey showed that to Christianity. Rather, they ask him - to be- while Jews comprise about 3 percent of the come a 'better' Jew by , accepting Jesus." U.S. population the young Jews number from The "most heinous" misuse of Jewish refer- 10 to 12 percent in the -ranks of Rev. Moon's ences has been in allusions to the Nazi Unification Church. Holocaust, he declared, explaining: If these figures had not been substantiated by so responsible a national movement as the "One group is now offering, in return for a American Jewish Committee they would be un- contribution, a yellow star with the word 'Jude' believable. Yet, the AJCommittee asserted re- on it. Some literature discusses the tragedy of cently that the young Jews who have joined the six million Jews going to their death 'unre- Moon ranks and similar cults include "some of deemed,' and stresses that this must not hap- our best educated and most idealistic young pen to the six million American Jews. This in- men and women." A threatening challenge to vidious exploitation of the Holocaust under- Jewish continuity and survivalism is seen in scores the extent to which they are going in this trend towards cultism, along with the this campaign. Other pamphlets focus on sav- equally growing assimilation and inter- ing Soviet Jews, but in fact end up talking marriage. about saving the soul of the recipient." The danger is taken seriously by national The danger being apparent and the menace Jewish groups. With the recognition of a high- from the cults now in full view, perhaps finding ranking cultural status among the defectors a solution to a grave problem will be easier. from Jewish ranks it becomes difficult to The distortions can be tackled because they blame the Jewish home for the ills that now af- are stated openly and are in full view. Will the fect the Jewish communities. Yet, there is hope organized Jewish community mobilize to act that influence can not be- ruled out. in the firmly and to prevent a loss of manpower we search for an answer to a very painful problem can ill afford to be without? that is now linked menacingly with inter- There is no doubt about the concern of the re- marriage and the assimilation that stems from sponsible Jewish religious leaders in this mat- the freedoms that have revolutionized Jewish ter. It is to be hoped that action in search of a life in democratic countries. solution will not be delayed. Every effort must Synagogue and school are complementary to be made to retain youth for our ranks and to the home in assuring retention of best relations increase their craving for an identification that between generations and in retaining the inter- is so vital for the expressed continuity. est of youth in their Jewish community. There- fore, all the strength that can be given to the house of worship and the house of study must be mustered in providing solidarity between generations in assuring prevention of unreason- able defection. How can Jewish youth be reached so that Much of the venom associated with the out- they will not stray from tradition and join the rageously immoral Deicide charge against the cults, all of whom proselytize and many delude Jewish people was inspired by the Oberam- the young Jews with the usual_ claim that they mergau Passion Play. Now, thanks to the new are not anti-Jewish and that their faiths only liberalism enhanced by Ecumenism in Catholi- supplement and even supersede Judaism with cism, steps are being taken to erase the das- their newly-developed ideas. tardly depicted accusations from a spectacle The vast variety of "Hebrew-Christian" sects .produced each decade which is viewed by per- proves especially deluding. The AJCommittee haps hundreds of thousands. revelations showed that in New York City Whether the demanded atoning action will be alone there are more than 60 such functioning in evidence at the Oberammergau festival in missionary groups and their bait is directed es- 1980 remains to be seen. An American Jewish pecially at the Jewish community. Committee delegation, under the leadership of The menacing missionary elements number- Dr. Marc Tannenbaum, has found some flaws more than 1,300 "new-time religions," accord- in the proposed revised text of the next Obe- ing to Rabbi A. James Rudin of the AJCom- rammergau production, with some references mittee's inter-religious affairs department. to the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate that retain Most revealing are the warnings of Malcolm damaging evidences of suggestive prejudices. Hoenlein, director of the Jewish Community Re- But the fact that the Oberammegau producers lations Council of New York, who stated that had asked Dr. Tannenbaum to remain avail- the conversionary techniques of the Hebrew able for further study in a serious aim to elimi- Christian groups include "misrepresentation of nate the prejudices offers encouragement that biblical scripture, distortion of Jewish sym- old lies will be eliminated and that there will bolism, the use of performing groups to gain en- be a corrective approach to the Passion Play trance to Jewish organizations, synagogues and which is to resume in 1980. Cleansing the Play at Oberammergau By Bonim Books `Jewish Holiday Crafts' Fills Important Need for Children Joyce Becker is an artist who is Jewishly knowledgable and has a deep devotion for the Jewishly traditional. That is why she was able to produce a volume serving an important need for children who like to draw and to create ceremonial objects. Her "Jewish Holiday Crafts" is so complete with all details of ceremonial objects and the traditions related to festivals and the Sabbath, that the book, pub- lished by Hebrew Publishing Co.'s Bonim_Books, renders a service both for individual students and as a textbook for Jewish schools. It commences with the Sabbath, and from candles to halla covers to wine bottles, proceeding to the Havdala service, there is plenty to keep the artistically-minded busy to sanctify the day. The festivals commence, of course, with Rosh Hashana, which has much to suggest for drawings and for craftmaking. There are the greeting cards, the Shofar, the calendar that commences the Jewish year. For the latter there is the alphabet, and that gives the student and the artist a chance to deal with the Jewish alphabetical charac- ters. In every instance from then on, every holiday, all the fast days. serve to induce the young artists to devote themselves to Jewish characteristics, ceremonials, observances, the objects that gain sig- nificance in Jewish life. The Sukka for Sukkot, the Menorah for Hanuka, trees for Hamisha. Asar b'Shevat —for every occasion there is the ceremonial object to glorify the occasion. In the 180-page large-sized, 8 x 12 pages, filled with hundreds of drawings. suggestions for the artist and encouragements for the study of Jewish observances, ceremonials and traditional objects. "Jewish Holiday Crafts" by Joyce Becker fills a great need and pro- vides inspiration for the participants in the crafts suggested by the book. Herman Wouk's 'Marjorie' in Limelight as Paperback When first published more than 20 years ago by Doubleday, "Mar- jorie Morningstar" was a best-selling sensation. Now reissued as a 760-page paperback by Simon and Schuster Pocket Books, the con- troversial novel by Herman Wouk gains renewed interest and the differing views on the book may have changed with time. When the novel first appeared it wits the subject of controversies: over the novelist's portrayal of a young elady with changing ideas, with morals that may then have been considered loose but which today are flaunted as the rule. Marjorie is the gal who had relations with men before marriage, , and upon marrying became a solid social character, with leadership in Jewish women's groups. Even the change of name from Moigens- tern to Morningstar, because Marjorie had stage aspirations, were part of the dispute. In discussions about the novel, when it first appeared, press reac- tions were contrasted and national newspapers spoke of The Detroit Jewish News as having been the most critical. Now the 0 Tempore, 0 Mores can be applied to indicate changing times. Apparently. with the reissuance of the novel as a thick paperback, it may be destined to be a best seller again in the paperback field. Also issued as a Simon and Schuster Pocket Books paperback is "The Girl That He Marries" by Rhoda Lerman, which enjoyed com- mendations from book reviewers upon its first appearance.