THE JEWISH NEWS

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,
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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, the 21st day of Tammuz, 5740, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Numbers 25:10-30:1. Prophetical portion, Jeremiah 1:1-2:3.

Candle lighting, Friday, July 4, 8:53 p.m.

VOL. LXXVII, No. 8

Page Four

Friday, July 4, 1980

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH

In the glory of Independence Day, all who
cherish the legacies of justice and freedom will
find the roots of the basic ideals that in the
course of time survive the obstacles to human
efforts guaranteeing decency and fair play for
mankind.
This is a period in history in which the violent
threaten the peaceful, the barbarians obstruct
the dignity of the humans.
The interference with just aims and needs
draws the celebrants of the Fourth of July to the
basics which inaugurated the freedoms that
'characterize the American way of life. There-
fore the justification for emphasizing again the
principles which motivated the devotions to a
free life by the Founding Fathers of this Repub-
lic.
Thomas Jefferson defined the essence of
American idealism in these outlines for the Dec-
laration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all
men are created equal; that they are endowed by
their Creator with inherent and inalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
—First Draft of Declaration of Independence

A universal application applies to the princi-

ples of freedom and it has its emphases in all
faiths, in the literatures of all peoples. That is
why these selections from a Hebrew philosopher
and a Latin interpreter are so much akin:

The good man always acts sensibly, and there-
fore, he alone is free.
—Philo
Freedom (or this principle of freedom) is the
greatest gift conferred by God on human nature;
for through it we have our felicity here as men,
through it we have our felicity elsewhere as
deities.
—Dante

Observance of the Fourth of July as the major
festival of the people of this land is a time for
rejoicing in the experiences of the past, and
dedication to their perpetuation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson struck an inspiring
note in this poetic expression for the Fourth:
The cannon booms from town to town,

Our pulses beat not less,
The joy-bells chime their tidings down,
Which children's voices bless.
—Emerson, "Ode," July 4, 1857

It is in this spirit that Americans take pride in
the ideals of Independence Day 1980 and re:-
dedicate themselves to the glory of the basic
American traditions.

SPLITTING THE RANKS

A basic principle in civilized society is the
right to differ. No one is immune from criticism.
Nations as well as individuals are not necessar-
ily faultless. Hope for assuring common sense in
a democratic society is dependent upon chal-
lenge when errors become apparent.
When, however, either a nation or an indi-
vidual is selected as scapegoat in matters in-
volving security and the right to freedom of
expression the issues injected must be tested to
avoid harm and injustice.
Neither Israel nor her leaders, especially the
heads of state, can claim perfection. That does
not mean that faulty judgments should be sub-
jected to insults and misrepresentations. In the
instance of Israel and her leaders there have
emerged so many abusive treatments that the
distressing developments should be permitted
to remain unchallenged and a place on the re-
.
cord of chronicled history.
Latest occufrences affecting Israel's role in
the society of nations are the result of shocking
selection of Israel for attack, on the interna-
, tional arena, in the press, by cartoonists turned
caricaturists.
Many of the principles involved in the current
debates, over Israel's settlements and the
negotiations for what had been an aim for peace
have drawn abusive caricaturizations. Israel's
prime minister has been portrayed as a bomb
thrower. An editorial in one of Detroit's daily
newspapers referred to "Begin foolishness," as
if the role of the head of a state battling for
security were an infant when confronted with
an offer of national/ suicide for his people.
There are justified complaints against the
treatment accorded Israel in the United Na-
tions, by the European Economic Community,
in many diplomatic quarters. It was to be ex-
pected that out of such neurosis will develop
unity in Jewish ranks. Numerically judged, this

desired unity does exist. Yet there are elements
in Jewish ranks, sincere as they may be in their
appeals for peace, who contribute to divisive-
ness. This is the danger to be avoided.
Peace-making is part of the process of
negotiating, of seeking accord with Arabs in
support of genuine neighborliness and com-
radeship between the two people. Encourage-
ment to concessions by Israel need not be elimi-
nated from Jewish expressions about the cur-
rent diplomatic activities. This does not con-
done acts emanating from fears and leading to
divisiveness in Jewish ranks.
The situation presently, especially with the
intrusion of the EEC and its damaging granting
of credibility to the murderous PLO, demands
unified efforts in Israel's defense.
It may well be that the attempt, ascribed to
Anwar Sadat, with the intention of delaying
negotiations until after the November Ameri-
can selections, out of the anticipation that the
issues will then be treated with unrestricted
pressures from the State Department and the
White House, must not be given substance.
What is needed is unified effort to assure pro-
per negotiations aimed at a genuine peace,
without obstacles to Israel's role as a free na-
tion. Anything approaching a split in Jewish
ranks will lead to obstructions undermining se-
curity for Israel.
If the erosion is to be halted, the only source
for an inspired support from the American
people can come only if Jewry is united. Israel's
safety is proclaimed vital to American strategy
by both major candidates for the Presidency.
Now there is need for solidarity in Jewish ranks
that will adhere to the strategic, the principled,
the just, the demand for fair play in the treat-
ment to be accorded Israel and her people. There
must never be a splitting of Jewish ranks.

Rabbi's Volume Defines
Women in Jewish Law

Feminism in the Jewish perspective is presented as a most in-
formative series of studies on a variety of subjects in "Jewish Woman
in Jewish Law" (Ktav) by Rabbi Moshe Meiselman.
Family obligations, Torah knowledge for women, women and
mitzvot, women as witnesses, the problem of the Aguna, the aban-
doned wife, Taharat Hamishpaha, women and prayer and many other
items in relation to women are under scrutiny.
Of interest are the explanations why women are prohibited the

use of Tefilin and the Talit.

While the book deals with women and the law, Rabbi Meisel-
man's thesis has a general appeal for all Jewish readers, as indicated
in this scholarly introduction:
The contemporary observant Jew is caught in a vicious trap. On
the one hand, he is bound by Jewish tradition, which touches his life
at every moment and in every sphere. On the other hand, he has been
raised and educated in a society whose goals and values are often in
conflict with the actions prescribed or proscribed by his tradition.
"To escape this trap, he must choose one of three courses. The first
is to become an 'observant Jewish secularist,' that is, to adopt the
goals and values of the secular environment and to use the Jewish
tradition to determine one's day-to-day actions. This course, followed
by many, is really no escape at all. Not only does it precipitate
personal conflicts that can never be resolved, but on a more profound
level, it makes Judaism nothing but shallow formalism-. God does not
merely demand the allegiance of our hands and feet, although these
too are of paramount importance, He demands the entire individual,
and the observant Jewish secularist fails to render unto God what
rightfully belongs to Him: the human personality.
"In' contemplating the observant Jewish secularist, I am often
reminded of the prophet Isaiah's condemnation of those who offer God
but the most empty of formal oblations: Why do I need the multitude
of your offerings, says the Lord, .'.'. Who has required this of you, to
trample my courts?' (Isa. 1:11-12).
"A second alternative for the contemporary observant Jew is to
retreat into simple piety and not address himself to outside issues.
This approach too leaves much to be desired, although simple piety,
for all its lack of sophistication, does have a deep religious signifi-
cance and in many respects constitutes a valid approach to life for the
average man.
"The ideal solution — and like all ideals it is too seldom realized
— is to integrate the goals and values of the Torah into one's personal-
ity and to acquire them as his own. Only in this manner is a human
being able to serve God totally and to render unto God what is truly
His."

Trotsky in Cartoons

In the form of a documentary cartoon book, Pantheon Books h - -
just issued an informative volume, paperbacked about one of i.
leaders of the Russian Revolution. "Trotsky for Beginners" is a biog-
raphical story, based in considerable measure on Trotsky's own de-
scription of himself and recollections of his turbulent life.
Tarik Ali authored this book. It is illustrated with the explanat-
ory cartoons by Phil Evans.
A similar documentary, also issued simultaneously by Pantheon
Books, deals with the life of Mao Tsetung.
"Mao for Beginners" was edited by Rius, pseydonym for Eduardo
del Rio, internationally acclaimed Mexican cartoonist, who also illus-
trated the book.

