16 Friday, February 23, 1979
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Saga of Jimmy
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CAIRO (ZINS) — Accord-
ing to Egyptian newspap-
ers, President Jimmy Car-
ter's popularity in Egypt is
soaring. The President has
inspired special prayers in
his name, songs and even
the naming of babies.
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Positive Dimont Vtew
of A merican
•
••
ch nal Continuity
Jewry Sees Traditio
Max Dimont, the unor-
thodox interpreter of
Jewish historical experi-
ences has turned to the
American scene and in the
process offers interesting
evaluations of the 300-year
saga, with predictions of an
interesting future.
In "Jews in America"
(Simon and Schuster) Di-
rnont sees the spirit of
'American justice exerting
its influence upon the de-
veloping American Jewish
community which in 1840
did not yet have an ordained
rabbi and which then grew
to its present, impressive
role.
Tracing the immigration
waves of Jews from Spain,
Portugal and Germany, and
the mass migration of Rus-
sian Jews, Dimont describes
their quest for economic op-
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portunities, more than for
the urge for religious free-
dom.
The transformation
from a ghetto folk into a
prosperous and pro-
gressive American com-
munity is effectively de-
scribed in a volume
which also has an aspect
of viewing the future.
Written before the re-
newal of American dip-
lomatic relations with
China, it is noteworthy that
Dimont, pointing to the pos-
sibility of emerging new
Diasporas, includes China
in such possibilities. He
states:
"The present-day Jewish
communities in South
America or South Africa or
Australia could- erupt as
new Diaspora centers, al-
though in the past all new
Diaspora centers have ari-
sen in new, emerging civili-
zations. We must recall that
our first act took place in the
Semitic sector of the world,
and the second act unfolded
in the Aryan segment.
Parallelism would indicate
that the third act should
take place in the Asiatic
part of the world (as yet un-
touched by the Jewish
ethic), with the Jewish
Diaspora capital perhaps
centered in China.
"Meanwhile the Diaspora
world center will most
likely continue to be an-
chored in America for the
next century or so, long
enough for the American
Jews to start writing the
survival script for the third
act. As the first and second
acts foreshadow, American
Judaism seems to be de-
stined to become the new
world Judaism, no matter
where future Diaspora cen-
ters may be anchored."
He's provocative, controversial,
and extremely interesting. And
he's at iBrowse Friday night.
.Max Dimont has written three con-
troversial and highly praised books on
Jewish history, the latest of which has just
been published: • The Jeers in America
(Simon & Schuster).
This Friday, February 23, from 7 ta..
9 p.m., Mr. Dimont will be .at iBrowse
bookstore to meet you, discuss your views
and his and autograph copies of his books.
No author has recently stirred the
enthusiasm and passions of so many as
Max Dimont, and iBrowse is- proud to
present Mr. Dimont in a continuing series
of best selling authors.
You will also be pleased to know that
our long awaited coffee house is now open
for your enjoyment: We have many
coffees and teas from around the world,
as well as pastries and delights that are
terribly tempting.
Come hear and meet Max Dimont any
time this Friday evening. Have a cup of
coffee or . something delightful to eat.
Relax as you browse through 40,000 and
more titles. It's a great way to'start the
weekend.
•
book store and coffee house
Northwestern Highway at Orchard Lake (next to Dunham's) 855-9353
Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
MAX DIMONT
Pointing to Torah and
Talmud continuing as
dominant factors in the
continuity of Jewish de-
votions, Dimont declares
that "festivals and tradi-
tions will continue to
serve as meaningful
symbols to help Jewish
identity survive." He of-
fers a prophecy:
"It is our contention that
American Judaism, as fi-
nally shaped by Jews, God,
and American history, will
be the Judaism which will
affect the world, the vehicle
whereby Luria's affirma-
tion that the redemption of
the Jews will herald the re-
demption of the world will
be brought about.
"Is-this too farfetched? Is
American Judaism really
destined to be the Judaism
of world Jewry? Is there
really a manifest destiny in
Jewish history? Suppose the
Jewish idea of chosenness
has been a grand illusion,
that Abraham's encounter
with God was but a
paranoid delusion, as Freu-
dians would have us be-
lieve? Even if so, we see no
objection to it. Ideas, not
facts, create history. Facts
are only footnotes that
adorn it .. .
11 is . . . meaningless to
argue whether Abraham
actually met God, or
whether Moses received the
Torah at Sinai. Believing
in, or choosing to believe in,
the authenticity of Ab-
raham and Moses and the
grandeur of the Torah, the
Jews have captured the im-
agination of man and top-
pled empires with their
ideas. These are the real
facts. In history, illusions
become reality and shape
destiny."
In his emphasis on the
talmudic and biblical
influences on Jewish life,
Dimont also sees the
eventual emergence of an
American-created Tal-
mud. He also views the
Israeli Jew as closer
ideologically to the
American than to the
shtetl Jew. On this score
he asserts:
"A modernized Talmud
could come out of Israel —
she has the tradition and
scholarship to do. it. It is
possible. But the American
Jews have the three-
century heritage of volun-
tary and congregationalist
•
•
Judaism and the resiliency
to accept change.
"In spirit the Israeli Jew
is closer to the Colonial
American Jew than to
I
European shtetl or ghetto
Jews. Already American
Judaism — Reform, Con-
servative, and modern Or-
thodoxy — is beginning to
make inroads in Israel, de-
spite fierce opposition bygi,
the Israeli Orthodox."
Dimont has much to say
about the diasporized Jew
and his survival, asserting:
"Could it be that the
diasporized Jews will
serve mankind as a mas-
ter pattern? The new;
diasporized man, com-
pelled to live in a dias-
porized world, will also
be compelled to search
4
for a new, universal
ideology that will give his
life a spiritual meaning.
"Why
could
not
Jerusalem, now the
spiritual homeland of the
diasporized Jews, become
the spiritual citadel for the
new diasporized man, with
ethical Judaism — the
Judaism of the Prophets —
the universal creed for the
universal man in the third
act?"
An important aspect, the
place and influence of Re-
form Judaism, earns this
comment from Dimont:
"For those who view
shtetl
Russian-Jewish
Judaism as the zenith of
Jewishness, American Re-
form is a wasteland. But for
those who see shtetl
Judaism as the.nadir of the
thodoxy history of Dias-
pora Judaism, American
Reform offers hope for a re-
naissance. Thus far few
Jews can see Reform as the
savior of Judaism. The fash-
ion is still to view Or-
thodoxy as a repository of
1
true Jewishness."-
Dimont is the practical
observer, the philosophical
tester of conditions and
events affecting the Jew in
Ainerica. His judgments in-
spire discussion vis-a-vis
4
American Jewry's future. It
is on this score that his
"Jews in America" adds
significance to historical
studies about Jews by Jews.
— P.S.
Jewish Veterans
Ask Arab Peers
to Urge Peace
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The world assembly of
Jewish war veterans called
on Arab war veterans to
urge their governments to
speed up the peace process.
The resolution was made
at the end of a five-day con-
ference in Jerusalem. Some
1,500 delegates, represent-
ing 500,000 Jewish war vet-
erans from throughout the
world, took part in the as-
sembly.
They represented France,
Belgium, Great Britain,
U.S., Canada, South Africa,
Australia, Gibraltar and Is-
rael.
•