THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, September 16, 1977 53
Israel's World Contributions
BY DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
iar genius. The world is bet-
ter that the cooperative ki-
butz and the more individ-
ualistic moshav system of
agriculture is being tried
out in Israel. The whole
world is better off that
there is today a first-class
orchestra in Jerusalem.
After all, according to the
Talmud, in the days of the
Temple, there was a music
school attached to it, in
which 250 priests took les-
sons on various in-
struments.
There is the old story
about the international con-
ference on the elephant.
The Englishman spoke on
"The Elephant and Corn-
merce," the Frenchman on
"The Physiology of the Ele-
phant," the Jew on "The
Elephant and the Jewish
Problem."
To the Jew, Israel is the
answer to the Jewish prob-
lem, but has the general
world anything to gain from
Israel?
Recently a New York
newspaper reported what Jewish Wedding
appeared like a miraculous
'overy of a prominent Ritual Explained
erican from the dreaded BY RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
leukemia. He was treated
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
successfully by a New York
Judaism insists that a for-
physician who also had mal procedure take place
brought in consultation an before man and wife are
Israeli expert and a drug, considered married.
MER, for the treatment
One of the mystical
had been imported from Is- writers (Recanati) raises
rael.
the question and attemps to
A significant step forward give an answer. It is his ani-
mals. that without the ac-
in science is the devel- companying ritual and pro-
opment by Israeli scientists cedure (i.e. kidushin) the
of what is known as "drip association between man
agriculture" for areas short and wife would be purely a
of water. - Instead of water- matter of lust and desire.
ing the whole field, it has Their relationship would
been found that many not be necessarily human in
plants grow as well by sim- its highest form, but rather
ply "dripping" the water to an association between two
the roots. Some even grow animals. Such, indeed,
better. This makes possible Recanati said, was the pas-
a great saving of water. sion which overcame Eve
The mrhod is now being when she was tempted by
used extensively in Califor- Satan.
The formality makes mar-
nia and other areas and it
has been suggested that it riage a wholesome human
might be very helpful to experience which is chan-
Saudi Arabia with its tre- neled by intelligence and
mendous tracts of waterless the reverence for a fellow
human being who will be ap-
land.
preciated and not merely
Another gain for the used to satisfy one's de-
world at large is the relief sires. The first act of mar-
that Zionism offers from riage came to be referred
anti-Semitism. It is unthink- to as "kidushin," which is
able that Hitlerism would sometimes associated with
have its smooth sailing if "holiness" to indicate that
the present state of Israel the marriage is more than
had existed then. Perhaps a union of two bodies. It is
the entire course of history also a union of two holy
would have been different if souls.
The Hinukh claims that
the advice of Dr. Max Nor-
dau had been followed. He the act of "erusin," which
urged on the ratification of involves the presentation of
a finite object to the bride
the Balfour Declaration from
her intended husband,
that 600,000 Jews be indicates a token of his
brought to Palestine at human honorable intention
once. His advice was not fol- towards her. It also in-
lowed and there were only dicates that he cares for
a few hundred thousand her in a human way—in the
Jews there when Hitler sense that he appreciates
emerged. There was no . the relationship.
state and no army.
The second act of mar-
Perhaps if the present riage (n'suin) accomplished
Jewish state would have ex- when bride and groom are
isted then, Israel might left to be alone together, in-
have duplicated the En- dicates that there is an eso-
tebbe incident. After all, Idi teric dimension to their
Amin is another Hitler. The marriage. They do not ex-
Israelis caused him, so to pose their intimate relation-
as animals do, in the
speak, to lose his pants. He ship,
public. They exercise an ele-
has lost his glitter and that ment of privacy because pri-
is, -' - ngerous for any dicta- vacy spells dignity for the
Ie still manages to human being.
bray a bit, thanks not to his
The privacy of a human
own people but to support
being distinguishes him
of Libya and other Arab na- from an animal whose activ-
tions. The Germans would ities are always com-
paratively exposed. The pri- •
not have followed Hitler so
easily if the present Jewish vate dimension of every
state existed. The anti-Sem- human being has some-
times been characterized as
ite is not impressed by the
Spinozas and Einsteins, but that which makes him the
if you can deliver a punch, "image of God." Just as
the Almighty is transcen-
they quail.
Above all, it is in the in- dant and possesses an ele-
ment of mystery, so do
terest of the world at large human
beings in their pri-
to give every people the vacy reflect this measure
chance to develop its pecul- of holiness in their lives.
Hey, Good Buddies, It's the CB Rabbi
LOS ANGELES—Rabbi
Manny Goldstein tries to be
a "good Buddy" to all as he
reaches out to Gentile and
Jewish truck-driver alike
over the Citizens Band air-
waves, where he's known
as "Manny Shevitz."
"What I like about this
medium is that people are
themselves," says the
rabbi. "The anonymity
strips away the barriers of
status and prestige. Every-
one is their basic, banal,
primitive self, including
me.
"I say, 'Hey, this is
Manny Shevitz, where are
you coming from?' And I
get answers from everyone,
not just Jews."
Although Goldstein, a
`Spider' Disposed
of Nazi Traitor?
trained social worker, took
to the airwaves only about
six months ago, he appar-
ently has touched a respon-
sive chord. The dynamic
rabbi, who talks like a man
in a hurry; has already
doubled the size of his con-
gregation at Mishkon Teph-
ilo in suburban Venice
since becoming its rabbi
two years ago.
He's even coaxed Michael
Medved, co-author of the
"Class of 65," to head the
congregation in this offbeat
beachside community.
Goldstein said he believes
talking to people over CB
radio is healthy because it
offers a "catharsis."
"People are desperate for
communication. They get
locked up in their little
boxes and never talk to any-
one."
Cause of the catharsis, he
said, stems from the anony-
mity and "very funny con-
WASHINGTON—In a re-
cently syndicated column,
Jack Anderson tells of his
efforts over more than 20
years to disclose the where-
abouts of Josef Mengele,
versations," full of Jewish
ethnic humor. That humor
extends to the "handles" or
nicknames used by CBers,
such as Big Rabbi, Big
Landpusher, Cholent Man.
Oddly, he says, men "let
it all hang out" much more
than women, noting that
women—on the airwaves at
least—are far more guard-
ed than men.
Goldstein, an ordained
rabbi who got a masters de-
gree in social work before
he "escaped" from New
York five years ago, said
his debut on the airwaves
was a logical extension of
his Dial-A-Rabbi service.
"I believe in reaching
out," he said. "I go out on
suicide calls, I visit jails, I
am available 24 hours a
day."
Surprisingly,
Goldstein
does not tell most CBers
that he is a rabbi, although
he did when he first went
on the air.
"Now I have less need to
come across as a CB mis-
sionary and more as a
human being, he said.
In those instances when
he does reveal he is a
rabbi, the usual response is
a pregnant silence or a
chuckle, Goldstein said.
"Sometimes there is embar-
rassment when a Jewish
truck driver has used a
little too much blue lan-
guage," he added.
Occasionally, letting the
hair down can be too much
of a good thing, especially
when Goldstein learns the
identity of the person whose
hair is down, or vice versa.
Recently, he said, he
learned Big Landpusher ac-
tually was a prominent
member of his congrega-
tion, while the man realized
he had been "telling all" to
the rabbi.
"Sometimes it can come
back to haunt you," Gold-
stein said.
•.■••■•■..
elik•;411
,
•
;.-:
0
4.
Be sure your
friends and relatives
are as informed
as you on
JACK ANDERSON--;
Jewish happenings, all
t
around the World!
• %
Give them a
gift today!!
MElidELE
"the angel of extermina-
tion" at Auschwitz.
Anderson alleges that
Mengele had another mass
murderer. Herbert Cukurs,
killed in the 1960s after an
Anderson column disclosed
Cukurs' hiding place in Bra-
zil and Cukurs offered to
lead "the Jewish under-
ground" to Mengele.
Cukurs was accused of a
leading role in the mas-
sacre of 32,000 Latvian
Jews in 1941. Mengele was
in charge of the "selection"
process at Auschwitz, decid-
ing who would go to the gas
chambers, who would be
part of the work command-
oes and who would be part
of medical experiments.
According to Anderson,
Mengele learned of Cukurs'
plan to expose his hiding
place in Paraguay, and a
short time later two Ger-
mans visited Cukur and
killed him.
Anderson says his
sources believe that Men-
gele and some other Nazi
fugitives can still condemn
men to death through an un-
derground Nazi network
called the "Spider "
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