16 Friday, February 23, 1979 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Saga of Jimmy RALPH YAMRON'S Orchestra Duo, Trio & Quartet Music For All Occasions 968-0021 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. ALL YOU NEED TO DO YOUR TAXES 11! Wit* REM $1210 SALE $279" SIN SALE $39" SALE $9" SALE $44 LINCOLN CENTER SALE $99" 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- BIG SAVINGS 14 -) 2:1 -{11 111 ON 1978 MILEAGE CARS SOME DEMOS, AL ST EINBERG SOME RENTALS, SOME EXECUTIVE CA RS ART MORAN PONTIAC 29300 TELEGRAPH JUST NORTH OF TEL-TWELVE MALL 353-9000 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. •