THE DETROIT, JEWISH NEWS

Music by

Zeitlin Essays Published Posthumously

By ALLEN WARSEN

"Literary and Philosophic
Essays," authored by Aaron
Zeitlin, were posthumously
published by the Congress
for Jewish Culture (1980).
The essays, written in
Yiddish and compiled by I.
Birnbaum,, include an in-
troduction by Isaac
Bashevis Singer and a post-
script by Elie Wiesel.
Aaron Zeitlin, the son of
the Hebrew-Yiddish
philosopher and scholar,
Hillel, martyred by the
Nazis, was born in 1899 in
'White Russia and died in
X1974 in New York.
In 1907, his family
moved to Warsaw•where
he studied in local He-
brew schools and in an
institute for advanced
studies.
• Zeitlin started his liter-
ary career at an early age.
By the time he reached
adulthood, he already had
been a recognized author.
The collection of essays,
inter alia, includes studies
on Yiddish 'authors and
Hasidism.
Itzhak Katzenelson is one
of the authors whose life
and literary achievements
Zeitlin describes and
evaluates.
Until the outbreak of
World War II, Katzenel-
son was known for his
pedagogic accom-
plishments and his
Hebrew-Yiddish poetry
and dramas. During the
early years of the war, the
Germans confined him in
the notorious concentra-
tion camp Vittel in
France where he clan-
destinely composed the
Holocaust's greatest epic
poem, "The Song of the
Murdered Jewish
People." There, he also
kept a secret diary, writ-
ten in Hebrew.
Katzenelson, like the
martyred Janusz Korczak,
loved Jewish children. His
feelings he expressed in the
diary: "Jewish children of
Lithuania, Wolynia and Po-
land . . . children humble
like Moses, the Man of God;
tortured and tormented like
Job; handsome like Joseph
in a foreign land, in -Egypt,
in 'Egyptian exile." In his
epic poem, he refers to the
children as "Messiah con-
secrated, consecrated in
sorrow."
"Katzenelson's 'Song of
the Murdered Jewish
People,' " Zeitlin writes, "is
a hymn to martyrdom and
an expression of his deep
`9wish feelings."
Profound are Zeitlin's
scholarly essays on.
Hasidism and the great
Hasidic Rabbis, including
Levi Itzhak of Berdichev;
Aaron Hagadol of Karlin;
Nahman Bratzlaver; and
Shneor Zalman of Ladi.
Rabbi Levi Itzhak, the
author of "Kdushat
Levi," the defender of the
people of Israel before
God, and Satan's fearless
foe, was born
in
Husakov, Galicia in 1740
and died in Berdichev,
Russia in 1809. He was
the son-in-law of Rabbi
Shneor Zalman and

long-time Rabbi of Ber-
dichev.
His guiding principles,
Zeitlin states, were "Yirat
Shomayim" (fear of God)
and "Ahavat Israel" (love of
the Jewish people). His love
of Israel was so strong and
his personal conduct so self-
less that he became widely
known as a "Tsadik" (a
saintly person) and had
been compared to Rabbi
Akiva.
Rabbi Aaron Hagadol
was born in Karlin, a town
near Pinsk, Poland in 1736.
According to one tradition,
his family tree went back to
King David and according
to another, he was the de-
scendant of 28 generations
of "Tsadikim."
Rabbi Aaron's great his-
toric achievement was his
introduction of Hasidism
into Lithuania, at that time
considered enemy territory,
the land of the "mitnagdim"
(opponents of Hasidism).
Rabbi Aaron, Zeitlin
notes, taught that a union
between God and the
human soul could be
accomplished only
through fervid and mean-
ingful prayer.
Rabbi
Nahman
Bratzlaver, the great-
grandson of Israel Baal
Shem Tov, the founder of
Hasidism, was born in Med-
ziboz in 1772 and died in
Uman in 1811.
Married at age 12, he- at
first lived at the home of his
parents-in-law, and after-
wards settled in the town of
Medvekovka. In 1798 he
went to the Holy Land
where he settled for a while
in Tiberias and made pil-
grimages to the graves of
Simeon bar Yohai and Isaac
Luria.

Yugoslays May
Resume Tie
With Israel

GENEVA (JTA) — A top
Yugoslav diplomat said
that following the visit of
French President Francois
Mitterrand to Israel,
"Yugoslavia will most
probably decide to resume
diplomatic relations with
Israel."
The diplomat said this
task would be taken up by
the new government which
will take office in May. The
new foreign minister will be
Laza Moisov who served for
several years as a delegate
to the Yugoslav Mission to
the United Nations in New
York City.
The government of
Yugoslavia, when it was
headed by the last President
Josip Broz Tito, staunchly
supported the demand of
Palestinians for self-
determination and an inde-
pendent state and was
highly critical of Israel.

TV Project

NEW YORK (JTA)
Austrian television has
undertaken an unprece-
dented project devoted to
the broadcast of daily one-
hour programs on the pre-
World War II history of the
country's Jews, the World
Jewish Congress reported.

On his return, he first set-
tled in Zlotopol and •soon
thereafter in Bratzlay.
In Bratzlav, Rabbi
Nahman composed his
famous allegorical tales
that were written down
by his dedicated disciple
Reb Nathan Shtermhartz
and published under the
title "Sipurey . Maasiyot."
Literary historians main-
tain that the tales are a
major contribution to
Jewish literature.
Rabbi Nahman distin-
guished himself by his mod-
esty, simplicity and piety.
After his death, his follow-
ers did not name a suc-
cessor. Instead, they con-
tinued to make pilgrimages
to his grave annually on
Rosh Hashana. They were
dubbed, therefore, "dead
Hasidim."
Rabbi Shneor Zalman of
Ladi was born in Liozna,
Russia in 1747.
Originally he made his
home in Mohilev where he
founded the "Habad" school
of Hasidism. But as a result
of hostility towards him and
his ideas by certain seg-
ments of the Jewish popula-
tion, he left Mohilev and
settled in Ladi.
The term "Habad," Zeit-
lin explains, is an acronym
formed from the initial let-
ters of "Hohma" (wisdom),
"Bina" (understanding) and
"daat" (knowledge), and are
quintessential concepts in
Rabbi Shneor's religious
philosophy.
Rabbi Shneor, the
author of "Tanya," con-
sidered to be his magnum
opus, also authored
"Sefer Tefila," a prayer
book containing kabalis-
tic explanations and
notes; "Shulhan Arukh,"
a five volume religious
code, and other books.
Rabbi Schneor's descen-
dants, it is well to re-
member, assumed the sur-
name Shneerson, and to this

Friday, April 16, 1982

Sam Barnett

day .continue to be the
spiiitual leaders of the
Lubavitcher Hasidim.

Big or small, we custom
the music toyour needs.

968-2563

Save up to 60 0/oviith
Western Union's city-to-city
phone service.

If you spend at least $15 a
month on long distance, Western
Union can help you cut your bill
by as much as 60 percent.
We call the service
MetroFone.* And we have
discount rates to hundreds of
communities across the country.
It's easy to become a
subscriber to MetroFone service.
All you need is your present push-
button phone. There's no hookup
charge, no monthly fee, and no
obligation if you're not satisfied
with the service during the first
30 days.
And if you subscribe now,
you can save an additional 10

percent off each monthly bill for
the first six months.
To sign up for MetroFone
service, call toll-free 800-325-
6000. (In Missouri, call
800-342-6700.)
For. more information on
MetroFone service, fill in the
coupon below.

r

DON GILL
The Western Union Telegraph Company
536 Shelby, Detroit, MI 48226

Name

Address

City

State

Zip

L Name of newspaper

*A service mark of the Western Union Telegraph Co.

MetroFone

Western Union's low-cost, city-to-city phone service.

$51

$12

$12

Cross, Anne Klein,
Val St. Lambert, St. Thomas, Lenox,
Orrefors, Avitra ... all 25% to 50% off.

$18

$100

$325

NEVER less than 25% discount in 36 years!

rant, ..
mologi*

31313 Northwestern • Farmington Hills

851-7333

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9:30-5:00

11111111111111

VISA

Jewelry Designers & Manufacturers of Original and
Unusual Creations • Authorized Appraisers • Estate Liquidators

••-_
—,•1 1111111111b..._

■

P. • .1,

-

A

15