THE JEWISH NEWS t 'SI'S 275-520. incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of 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 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Jewish News, 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865. Southfield, Mich. 48075 Second - Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $15 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher ALAN HITSKY News Editor CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager HEIDI PRESS Associate News Editor DREW LIEBERWITZ Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath is Rosh Hodesh Shetot, 5740, and the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 6:2-9:35, Numbers 28:1-15. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 66:1-24. Candle lighting. Friday. Jan. 18. 5:11 p.m. VOL. LXXVI, No. 20 Page Four Friday, January 18, 1980 THE WAY TO THE SYNAGOGUE Jewish stature is the primary strength in the synagogue. Without adherence to the basic traditions, to the faith that sustained the people through trials and tribulations, there would have been a lessening of power to resist the agonies imposed by a hostile world. On the way to the synagogue, the Jew held his head erect, took pride in a nobility of spirit, had confidence in the invincibility of a glorious heri- tage. Now, on the way to the synagogue, that spirit of the ages retains virility. Yet, there is a de- cline, and it is the youth that is being searched in the ranks. A Gallup poll conducted annually shows, for the current period, that Catholics and Protes- tants retained 52 and 40 percentages, respec- tively of weekly church-goers. For synagogue attendees, the poll shows a decline in a single year from 27 percent to 20 percent in Jewish ranks of devotees. To ignore the results of such a study would be inexcusable. How are the results of such a poll to be judged and how are the people to account for it? It is common knowledge that Orthodox ranks have not been depleted, that the Young Israel, the Kollel, the Lubavitch-Chabad ranks con- tinue to elicit responses from the younger ele- ments. They crave for more, but they have an encouragingly cooperative element in their midst. What is the situation in Conservative and Reform ranks? Studies have been introduced by these two groups to determine the reasons for a reduction in youth participation. It is in the interest of a Jewry concerned with responsive- ness and identification that where there are shortcomings they should be removed, if there are obstructions they should be banished; that the interests needed should be inspired and that the way to the synagogue should be with pride and confidence in the people's ability as well as their will to live and to carry proudly and nobly the banners of faith and inspiration. The problem is the entire people and all ranks must be strengthened. Let it be done with the opening sentence of the Haftorah for Yom Kip- pur as the motto: And God will say, make a path, clear the way, remove the stumbling-block out of the way of My people." — Isaiah 57:14. JNF PEA CE ROLE Increasing responsibilities to retain Israel's image accompany the peace pact with Egypt. In spite of the controversies that emerge whenever there is mention of settlements, new ones will be established and some will be vitally needed. Those who will be evacuated from the oases created in the Sinai by the Israelis will need to be settled elsewhere and their new homes will be in new settlements. Conscious of the accumulating commitments and aware of the urgency that arose with the new era of partial peace in the Middle East, the Jewish National Fund, the agency that pursues the task of redeeming the soil, now is faced with two tasks: the settlement of Jews from abroad as well as Israelis participating in such pioneering not only on the borders of Israel but especially in the Negev and the Galil. Moshe Rivlin, the world chairman of the Keren Kayemet le Yisrael, the Jewish National Fund, proposing new programs on behalf of the land redemption movement, brought to Ameri- can Jewry the message from the Negev and its call for settlers and for builders. It was like the echo of the voice of David Ben-Gurion who al- ways emphasized the importance of the Negev, southern Israel, for the state. Of equal impor- tance is the call for speedy action in settling the unpopulated area of the Galil. Mr. Rivlin placed emphasis on the sparsity of Jewish settlers in northern Israel, where more than 200,000 Arabs, residents and nomads, could overpopu- late the area and create a serious problem for Jews turned into a minority. Tens of millions of dollars will be required to solve the problem of the Galil and to fulfill the duties in the Negev, and the message from the world JNF chairman is therefore of the utmost urgency. Thus, the JNF, already a vital medium for action in Israel's behalf, has new duties in an era of peace with the major Arab power in the Middle East. The call to action, issued by the Keren Kayemet, must not be ignored, and ac- tion must not be delayed. SPORTSMANS HIP TESTED Interesting bedfellows are on the scene in the debated issue over the Olympics and the sportsmanship of participating in them under Russian domination. Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from them and President Jimmy Carter did not rule out the possibility of American rejection of granting the Kremlin the right to be host of so important an event under current tragic conditions created by the Soviet Union. The major question is addressed to the 500 American athletes who have been girding for roles in the world sports activities. They had trained for them and many refuse to abandon the anticipated limelight. Their cry is against mingling.sports with politics. What about the conscience of man? Is it troubling many athletes? Are they aware of the consequences of 1972 in Munich when the beasts stemming under PLO influence mur- dered 11 Israelis and are they forgetting the Hitler role in the 1935 Olympics? Does an Olympics medal count for more than a warning to the Soviets that they cannot treat the human rights of individuals and nations with contempt? This is a time of testing. A pro- per word to the Kremlin on the humane issues may serve well to prevent increased abuse of international laws. Agada as Language of Faith Defined in Relation to Halakha Agada as the language of faith is interestingly defined by Rabbi Samuel E. Karff of Houston, Texas, in a volume that gives equal treatment to Halakha. Having made Agada a major subject of study in his rabbinic career, Dr. Karffs current analysis, in "Agada, the Language of Jewish Faith," is distributed by Ktav for Hebrew Union College Press. The volume takes into account the indifference that may have enveloped Jewish ranks, with the resultant drop in Jewish synagogue attendance, but it doeS not view the emerging conditions as lacking in devotional attitudes. There is special interest in Dr. Karffs contrasting comment on Agada and Halakha in which he states: "The ancient rabbinic sage used two kinds of speech: Halakha and Agada. Halakha is the language of Jewish law. It asks and answers the question: What must a Jew do to fulfill the covenant? Agada was the language of Jewish faith. It tells the story of God's relation to man through his relation to the people Israel. "Halakha defines the proper conduct of a Jew. Agada proclaims the transcendent meaning and significance of living as a Jew. Its common form is not legal but narrative. "The terms Halakha and Agada are talmudic, but they may be applied to the text of the Hebrew Bible as well. The Ten Command- ments are Halakha, but the encompassing story of an invisible, com- manding presence who summoned Moses to Mount Sinai and gave him the Torah is Agada. The biblical commandment to eat un- leavened bread is Halakha. The story of God redeeming Hebrew slaves from Egyptian bondage is Agada. We call the prayerbook used at the Passover Seder the Hagada (same root as agada) because it tel the story of a God active in nature and history to make men free. "Most laments on the decline of rabbinic authority in the modern world focus on the rabbi's loss of legal (halakhic) authority. Although the traditional ordination certificate defines him as one authorized to make judgments on questions of Jewish law, the contemporary rabbi is not extensively consulted to establish whether or not a chicken or a business deal is kosher. The lapse of his authority in defining mitzvot (commandments) has much to do, however, with the lapse of Jewish faith in a divine commander — a God who communicates His will or 'speaks' to man. Thus the validity of Halakha and Agada are interre- lated. As agadist the rabbi seeks to affirm the reality of a covenant between God and Israel." Emphasizing the inter-relationship of Agada with Halakha, Rabbi Karff declares: "Liturgical Agada is the language through which the children of Israel in each generation reaffirm the covenant of their fathers." Agada is treated as a language of worship, preaching and conso- lation. Interlinked with Dr. Karffs study is his proferred answer to the question of Who Is a Jew, and his commentary on this subject. lengthily tackled, is thus summarized: Who is a Jew? The answer of biblical agada is clear: we are a people whom God called into being and singled out as special wit- nesses to His reality, power, and purpose. We are a people to whom God revealed Himself as Creator of the World, Teacher of the Way. and Sovereign of History. We are a people who has experienced the power of God's judgment and love. We continue to bear witness that the Source of Life has ordained a goal for history. By living within the covenant we make known and may help to advance God's goal for His creation."