THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Mrs. Karl Katkowsky
and Family

wish all their friends and
family a happy, healthy
New Year

Norina and Nelson Pont
Jeffrey, Susan and Lloyd •

wish a happy and healthy
New Year to all our
family and friends

Unique Anthology of
Apocryphal Writings

By ALLEN A. WARSEN

To All Our Relatives and Friends
A Happy, Healthy New Year

BARNET REALTY CO.

(The Bookspans)
Southfield, Michigan

A Healthy & Happy
New Year
from

CITY SMOKED FISH CO.

To my many many friends
The happiest of New Years

with many yesterdays worth remembering and many
tomorrows worth anticipating Topped With an abundance of
good health

Sally Fields

Begst wishes fo• a Happy, Healthy
new Year to all our Family & Friends

MR. & MRS.,JULIUS STOBINSKY

To all our friends and relatives
we wish a healthy and happy New Year

The Besser Family
Izy, Lili, Suzanne and Nancy

4

Claire, Arthur, Sheri &
Marla Schwartz

wish all their relatives and
friends a happy, healthy and
prosperous New Year

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Weinberger
and Family

wish all their family and friends

a happy, healthy and prosperous

New Year

Edward and Shirley Rosenberg

Howard, and Brenda Rosenberg

wish their family and friends a

very happy and healthy New Year

SHELLY and LOWELL SCHULTZ
Micole and Justin
W. Bloomfield

wish their family and friends a very
happy and healthy New Year

"Apocrypha," subtitled
"Jewish Literature of the
Hellenistic Age" (Viking) is
an anthology compiled and
edited by Nicholas de
Lange. It is composed of
writings not included in the
Hebrew Bible, but form a
part of the Jewish cultural
heritage.
The term "apocrypha" is
the plural of the Greek word
"apocryphon" and corre-
sponds to the Hebrew term
"geniza," meaning con-
cealed or hidden away. It is
also similar to Rabbi Aki-
ba's expression ",sefarim
khitsonim," whose literal
meaning is external books,
but may refer to books
excluded from the Holy
Scriptures.
Perceptive is the author's
characterization of the
apocryphal writings. "Some
are polished literary crea-
tions, while others belong to
the domain of folklore. They
range from the most exalted
metaphysical speculation
and moral searching to sim-
ple prayers and legends. 1.
"Some exhale a lofty
detachment; others
speak straight from the
heart. Some breathe the
quaint and curious air of
a distant past; others
have an overwhelming
sense of immediacy and
speak of problems still
with us today."
In addition to the "Intro-
duction" and the section ti-
tled "About the Scriptures,"
the anthology consists of
these divisions: "Biblical
Stories," "Moral Tales,"
"Apocalypse," "Philosophy
and Wisdom," "History,"
and "Prayers and Psalms."
The author begins the
"Biblical Stories" with a
tale about Abram described
in the apocryphon
"Jubilees," written in Judea
in Hebrew in the second half
of the Second Century BCE.
According to the tale,
14-year-old Abram, son of
Terah, accompanied his
neighbors to the field to
scare the crows off the seed.
But the crows were not.
frightened and continued to
eat the seed.
Abram, noticing the
destruction they were
causing, ran up to them
and said: "Shoo! Go back
to the place you came
from." The crows im-
mediately disappeared.
Soon afterwards, Abram
invented a device to pro-
tect seed from being
swallowed by birds. • -
"The Visions of Shealtiel"
constitute the central core
or the "Apocalypse of Ezra."
"Apocalypse," incidentally,
is a Greek word meaning
revelation. In Jewish litera-
ture it refers to "the immi-
nent coming and final
triumph of messiah."
"The Visions of Sheal-
tiel," written in Hebrew in
100 CE, are reflective and
insightful. In one of them,
Shealtiel reflects on divine
justice. He says to God: "I
have seen how you give suc-
cess to sinners and spare the

godless . . . You have de-
stroyed your own people and
protected your enemies .
Has Babylon behaved so
much better than Zion?"
Unexpectedly, an angel
appears and announces: "I
have been sent to ask you
three things. If you can ex-
plain any one of them to me,
I shall teach you what you
want to know and show you
why evil exists . . . Weigh
me some fire, measure me
some wind, or call me back a
day that has passed." Sheal-
tiel could not do any of these
things. The angel then re-
sumed: "Since you know
nothing about things you
haAie grown up with, how
can your limited mind com-
prehend the way of the Al-
mighty?"
Unique is the apocryphon
"The Book of Ben Sira."
Written in Hebrew are
translated into Greek in the
Second Century BCE, it,
like Proverbs_and Koheleth,
belongs to the "Wisdom Lit-
erature" and consists of
"proverbs, maxims, and
meditations of a variety of
themes."
For instance
A good wife's husband is a
happy man,
the days of his life are
doubled.
A worthy wife cares for her
husband,
and he ends his days con-
tented.
A good wife is a precious
gift,
the lot of the God-fearer.
Be he rich or poor his heart is
glad
•
and his face is always
cheerful.

A happy and Healthy New Year
to all our family and friends
Saul and Beck Adaskin
David and Alan

May the New Year bring health
and happiness to our dear friends and family
Henry, Janice, Alissa & Matthew Citron

ilsnztsi

wish all their family and friends
a happy and healthy New Year

Muriel and Art Finkelstein
and Family

wish all their relatives and friends
a year of peace and contentment

Mrs. Jennie Fischer
and Lillian Fischer

wish all their family and friends
a healthy, peaceful New Year

Wishing all our friends and relatives
a happy and healthy New Year

Sam and Blanche Freedman

Harvey and Cheryl
Southfield

•

Wishing all our family and friends
a healthy, happy New Year
Mr. and Mrs. Earl M. Friedman
Helene and Michael

Gail and Stuart Goodstein
and Francie Lynne
wish all their relatives and friends
a happy and healthy New Year

Helen and Joe Goodstein

wish all their relatives and friends
a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year

Spy-in-the-Sky
Settlement Check

The shofar was sounded
in ancient times for the an-
nouncement of the New
Moon (new month); the
proclamation of the Jubilee
of Yom Kippur of the 50th
Year (the year of the return
of all lands to their original
owners); the call to arms;
the announcement of vic-
tory; and Rosh Hashana.

rtstr5

Gladys and Ben Daitch

Anthologist Nicholas de
Lange is on the Faculty of
Oriental Studies, Univer-
sity of Cambridge and is the
author of "Origin and the
Jews."

WASHINGTON — The
U.S. documented reports
that the Israelis speeded
construction of 500 new
homes and moved in 1,500
new settlements between
late March and mid-July,
according to Newsweek
magazine.
Newsweek said space-
satellite cameras
documented U.S. suspicions
that settlement was
speeded in advance of the
Camp David summit.
There were earlier re-
ports that U.S. spy planes
over-flew the Israeli coast
this summer. Israeli sources
at the time believed that the
U.S. was checking on Israeli
troops in southern Lebanon.

Friday, October 6, 1918 51 -

re

Bob and Phyllis Brown
and Children
wish their family, friends and
customers a healthy, peaceful
and happy New Year

R. F. Brown Seafood Co.

Peace throughout the year

Mil l= tint: rt3tr 5

Don and Nancy Fox
Ken, Rick & Erika

Phyllis and Joel Gurstell
Michael and Stacy

wish all their friends and family
a year filled with health,
happiness and peace