THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20, 1951 copynot c The Jewish News PilblishIng Co Member of American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, National Editiirial Association and National Newspaper Association and its Capital Club. 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, the 10th day of Heshvan. 5742, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Genesis 12:1-17.27. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16. Candlelighting, Friday, Nov. 6, 5:01 p.m. VOL. LXXX, No. 10 Page Four Friday, November 6, 1981 RESPONSIBILITY FOR PEACE President Ronald Reagan and his associates were unhesitant in their declarations that Is- rael retains a role of friendship with the United States, that this country is committed to Israel's security, that the Jewish state will be provided with the military means necessary for her pro- tection. In the President's letter, dated Oct. 28, 1981, placed on the desk of all 100 members of the United States Senate on the day the vote was taken on the $8.5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, there was the specific assertion that peace was the objective. In that letter, which admittedly helped swing the vote in support of Presidential policies and the arms sale, there was this declaration: In a broader sense, by enhancing the perception of the United States as a re- liable security partner, we improve the prospects for closer cooperation be- tween ourselves and the Saudi govern- ment in working toward our common goal of a just and lasting peace in the region. Since assuming the respon- sibilities of the Presidency, I have been impressed by the increasingly con- structive policy of Saudi Arabia in ad- vancing the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East. While a President must not be burdened with unreasonable duties, this declaration, primarily a hope, also must be treated as an obligation. This country had a major role in the Camp David agreements. President Reagan is on the record with declarations that he supports those decisions which were reached by the late Egyp- tian President Anwar Sadat and Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin, with American par- ticipation. Now there is talk that the Camp David peace accord is a dead issue, that it is unworkable, that the abandonment of Sinai by Israel cannot be fully accepted, that the massive Arab opposition will destroy the Egyptian ac- cord. The United States has a role in this and it is re-emphasized in the merchandising of arms for Saudi Arabia. The President of the United States speaks in terms of peace being enhanced as a result of the concessions contained in the latest arms deal, the $8.5 billion package, the largest such sale on record anywhere on earth. Therefore, there is a duty to be tested. It be- comes the responsibility of those who opposed the packaged military arms sale, because that was the principle on which they based their votes; and even more so of the slim majority who favored the sale — because they accompanied their action with a pledge to assure Israel's se- curity: In the process of what had just occurred, there has been constant emphasis on the claim that with the death of Anwar Sadat the Saudis now assume major leadership in the Moslem world. Accepting this as a reality, those who are now embracing the Saudi Arabian partnership must continue to ask basic questions. If there is to be a lasting peace, when will the Saudis stop shouting Jihad, Holy War, aimed primarily as a threat to Israel? If the Saudi role is as vital as portrayed, when will the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars from Riyadh to the PLO in Beirut be termi- nated? If the Saudis are now in the leadership role in the Arab world, and if Salaam, Peace, is realis- tic in their language, when will they apply it to the Camp David accords and end the war threats? If there is any substance to what is thus being questioned, to what length will the Reagan Administration go to make the above quoted pledge to enhance the peace be made a major plank in the quest for peace in the Middle East? The challenge is serious, the responsibilities are grave. Tragically, the experiences until now have been dominated by the three-letter word: Oil! It is, must be, more than that. It is the human value, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, making it criminal to exclude Israel from such basic rights. AFTERMATH: THE HEALING Israel's agonized population may now be in the anxious state of searching for a healing. So convincing was the proposal for massive — American military assistance to an antagonis- tic neighbor that there was a unity of feeling that what had been proposed was endangering the very life of the state; that the change of strategic recognition from Egypt to Saudi Arabia was in itself very menacing. Ina matter of minutes, there was comforting from Washington to Jerusalem. Israel had the assurance of none other than the President of the United States that there would be sufficient military provision for Israel to assure her safety. Does this suffice? The mere admonition that Saudi Arabia now assumes the position of leadership in the Arab world ; resulting, as explained, primarily from the death of Anwar Sadat, adds gravity to a very abnormal situation. It is far from comforting. Israelis always tighten their belts. Now they must be ever more alert to a condition that com- pels them to think in terms of unavoidable threats. On the very day of the pro-Saudi decision of the U.S. Senate, albeit it was by a very narrow margin, another menacing fact emerged. The Libyan leader made it known that Hosni Mubarak, Sadat's successor, is destined for the same fate. This spells an increasing threat to Israel in the process of peace-planning in which Egypt plays a major role. Therefore, mere comforting is not plausible. Therefore the Jew, in behalf of Israel the embat- tled, returns to the Prophetic: "Comfort, oh com- fort My people, says your God . . ." — Isaiah 40:1. Jonathan David Volume Kolatch's `Why Provides Multi-Topical Definitions Jewish viewpoints on many subjects often arouse curiosity. For example, the antagonism in Jewish ranks may be puzzling to many. There is a reason for it. The reasons for many Jewish ceremonials, for traditional prac- tices, are often left unexplained and many are even practiced withotit a knowledge about them. The definitions for most of the major Jewish ceremonials are provided in an authoritatively-compiled volume by a qualified scholar. "The Jewish Book of WHY by . Alfred I. Kolatch (Jonathan David Publishers) fills the need of providing the factual about the Jewish life-style, the ceremonials, the observances, the traditional ; the principled. "Animals killed by hunters, even kosher animals (those that have split hooves and chew the cud), are considered treife as desig- nated in the Book of Exodus (22:30)- If a kosher animal, such as a deer, is trapped but not injured, the flesh may be. eaten if the animal is slaughtered by a shokhet in the prescribed ritual manner. "Rabbi Akiba, one of the martyrs of Jewish history (killed in the First Century at the hands of the Romans), ruled that it is even forbidden to take the life of a wild animal without giving it a fair trial before a court of 23 judges, the same as for a human being. Undoub- tedly, this was not meant to be taken literally, but it did emphasize the sanctity and importance of all•living creatures. The Talmud (Chulin 60b) discourages hunting — especially for sport. It is placed in the category of cruelty to animals, a practice condemned in the Bible." This calls for an explanation of treife. To quote Rabbi Kolatch: "The Hebfew word terayfa ( treife, or as some mispronounce it, trayf) means 'torn.' The Book of Exodus (22:30) states: 'You shall not eat any flesh that•is torn of beasts (beasts killed by other beasts in the open field).' All animals killed in this manner are forbidden. The word treife has been extended to include all forbidden foods and all foods not prepared in accordance with the dietary laws." The many questions tackled in "Why" with answers provided by Dr. Kolatch include dietary laws, death and mourning, the synagogue, prayer, the Sabbath, the holidays, dating of holidays, Nisan as the first month in the Jewish calendar, lengthier celebra- tions of holidays in the Diaspora than in Israel, derogratory definition of Goy, the prohibition on proselytization, ritual bath for converts and circumcision, and many more. There are such question's as "Why did Jewish texts use BCE and CE in place of BC and AD in the system of dating?" "Why are some Jews adverse to using the designation New Testament?" These questions attest to the exciting contents and approaches to the need for information about Jews and Judaism in Kolatch's "Why." Rabbi Kolatch, graduate of the Teacher's Institute of Yeshiva University and its College of Liberal Arts, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1941. He served in the ministry from 1941 to 1948, and for three of those years he served as a U.S. Army Chaplain. In 1948 he turned to publishing and organized Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., of which he has been president and editor-in-chief since its inception. He has written a number of books compiling names for child- ren and their origin and meaning.