THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 2 Friday, June 25, 1982 Purely Commentary To the Credit of U.S. Jewry: Revised Bible Translation Advances Jewish Scholarship American Jewry is often subjected to criticism, its cul- tural role suffering criticism, whatever there is of affluence being distorted into the description of "people of the pocketbook." It is an unjust valuation. Whatever the re- sults of aims to create high standards in education, they are in no sense less than those of other religious or ethnic groups in the land. In some respects, cultural attain- ments are on a higher level than in other ranks. It is in the strictly Jewish sphere that this is especially evident. The completion of 1‘,EIliCil 11%4 the revised transla- tion of Scriptures by scholars represent- g t OO Pi ti ing the Jewish Pub- I WO S lication Society of America provides reason for pride in achievements. "The Writings — Kethubim" now glorify the book- shelves with the re- sultant improve- ments in transla- tions, presented, in anticipation of possible criticism that may border as resentment of proferred changes, as a need to restore the English text "to its pristine meaning." This is the explanation provided by one of the leading Bible schol- ars, Prof. Nahum Sarna of Brandeis University, a member of the working committee who completed the translation revisions. - Dr. Sarna made his comment on the changes, referring especially to transforming in Psalm 23 the earlier "valley of the shadow of death" into "the valley of deepest darkness." Prof. Sarna explained: "While this is a new rendering of the Hebrew, such an interpretation was in fact recog- nized by Rashi, the leading Jewish Bible commentator of the Middle Ages." This is the revised translation of Psalm 23 in its total- ity: 23—A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me to water in places of repose; He renews my life; He guides me in right paths as befits His name. Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me. You spread a table for me in full view of my enemies; THE 18/RI fl N 6S • By Philip Slomovitz Jewish Publication Society Reaches New Heights With Publication of the `Kethubim: Marking Completion of the Revised English Translation of the Scriptures You anoint my head with oil; my drink is abundant. Only goodness and steadfast love shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for many long years. It is far from a simple matter to differ with the hitherto accepted King James version. The JPS committee of trans- lators dared to do it in order to preserve the proper and actual meanings of texts in the Hebrew original. Thus, as another example, "Koheleth — Ecclesiastes" does not commence as "Vanity of vanities," but is changed to "Utter futility, all is futility . . .": nvarrp ECCLESIASTES The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem. Utter futility!—said Koheleth—Utter futility! All is futile! What real value is there for a man in all the gains he makes beneath the sun? One generation goes, another comes, but the earth remains the same forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets — and glides back to where it rises. Southward blowing, turning northward, ever turning blows the wind; On its rounds the wind returns. All streams flow into the sea, Yet the sea is never full; To the place (from) which they Clow; The streams flow back again. All such things are wearisome: No man can ever state them; The eye never has enough of seeing, Nor the ear enough of hearing. Only that shall happen which has happened, Only that occur which has occurred: There is nothing new beneath the sun. There is so much to account for in the changes that the studies of them will surely provide sources of endless edu cational programs, with emphasis on the interest to be inspired for adult courses. Perhaps the introductory to "Shir HaShirim" — "The Song of Songs" also merits special attention: 1:3'1 , V711 , 1, THE SONG OF SONGS The Song of Songs, by Solomon. Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine. Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, Your name is like finest oil— Therefore do maidens love you. Draw me after you, let us run! The king has brought me to his chambers. Let us delight and rejoice in your love, Savoring it more than wine— Like new wine they love you! I am dark, but comely, 0 daughters of Jerusalem— Like the tents of Kedar, Like the pavilions of Solomon. Don't stare at me because I am swarthy, Because the sun has gazed upon me, They made me guard the vineyards; My own vineyard I did not guard. Tell me, you whom I love so well; Where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at noon? There is genuine fascination in what has been achieved. The Jewish Publication Society had to its credit the first revised translation, in 1920, and Scriptures in that text had been used until now. There is fascination in the new text, in the rev(' un- afies ary changes, in the daring to abandon the King version by turning to the realistic in the Hebrew original. This generation can feel itself fortunate to be the witnesses of a notable accomplishment that attests to American Jewry having truly reached cultural maturity. , Dr. Rosen's 70th Birthday: Acclaim by World Jewry Representatives of Jewish communities throughout the world will be participants in an event of major signifi- cance, in Bucharest, Romania, July 12-15. It will be occa- sion to honor that country's Chief Rabbi, Dr. Moshe Rosen. He has labored with dig- ;;; ' nity and with courage in protecting the rights of his people, their religious dig- nity, their educational aims. Dr. Rosen is able con- tinually to confer with the heads of the Romanian Communist regime, secur- ing results, in defense of his kehillot in the surviving Romanian Jewish com- munities, for the protection of schools and synagogues. At the same time, he suc- ceeded in enabling thousands of Romanian Jews to settle in Israel and RABBI ROSEN to establish a dignified Jewish existence in the Jewish homeland. Dr. Rosen is himself a survivor from the Nazi terror. His parents, many others in his family, perished in the death camps. He provides comfort for the survivors in the services he continues to render in elevating the standards of Jewish life in his country, where he has been highly honored and serves as a member of the Romanian parlia- ment. Those who have enrolled in delegations to join in hon- oring Dr. Rosen form a veritable Who's Who in World Jewry. Not Jews alone but all in mankind who are aware of his courageous services to Jewry and to mankind join in greeting and appiauciing him with deepest appreciation. - – Lester Book Gives Additional Emphasis to Wallenberg Campaign Mounting evidence that ing number of books dealing Raoul Wallenberg is alive is with the heroism of the emphasized in the increas- Swedish non-Jew who single-handedly conducted the life-saving campaign that rescued tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazi gas chambers. Adding to these views is the latest of the new works on Wallenberg, in which an extensive study is made of the tragic era, the anti- Semitic acts of the Hunga- rian Arrow Cross and the international involve- ments. "Wallenberg: The Man in the Iron Web" (Prentice Hall) by Eleanore Lester matches the earlier works in the detailed accounts that serve to arouse public sentiment in support of ef- forts to press fo; Wallen- berg's release. Miss Lester was among the first in the past few years to arouse interest in the case of the hero WALLENBERG who was arrested by the MONUMENT Russians on charges that were never made public. The reason for his arrest was never clarified. The gripping story by Miss Lester, first published in the New York Times Magazine Section and now extensively elaborated upon, traces the story and also documents it with data about the Russian actions. It does even more — it goes into details about the barbaric activities of the Nazis and pro-Nazis during the Hitler era and up to the end of the war, when the Russians occupied Budapest and arrested Wal- lenberg. Describing her visit in Budapest in 1980, Miss Les- ter tells of the impression that was left upon those who knew him and his heroic ac- tivities upon survivors from that era. She also relates how the events are kept as a secrecy under present Hun- garian domination, how the planned monument for Wal- lenberg was reduced in the anticipated significance. Here is how she exposes the denuding of the monument that had actually been sculpted: "The remaining Jewish community of Budapest did not forget Wallenberg. They were convinced he was dead and wanted to dedicate a memorial to him. They commissioned Pal Patzai, a noted Hungarian sculptor, to design a monument. A friend of Patzai's had been rescued by Wallenberg, and he undertook the assign- ment with enthusiasm. "He designed a heroic bronze figure battling a snake with a swastika head. This rested on a pedestal bearing a relief profile of Wallenberg. The inscription beneath read that the monument was to express 'our silent and eternal gratitude to him and should always remind us of his enduring humanity in a period of inhumanity.' "The monument was set in its place in St. Stephen's Park, and one Sunday morning in April hundreds of Budapest citizens, com- munity leaders and repre- sentatives of the Swedish legation arrived for the dedication. When they reached the appointed spot they found that the 18-foot statue and pedestal had been removed during the night! "The statue was found Many years later in an abandoned building on the outskirts of Budapest, but the pedestal with the relief portrait of Wallenberg and the inscription was not there. Years later the statue turned up again, set outside a pharmaceutical factory near Debrecen. The swas- tika had been removed from the serpent's head. "The figure in that con- text appears to be that of Man or Science battling dis- ease. However, many Hun- garians are aware that the figure represents Wallen- berg." It was on her Budapest visit that Miss Lester found there was no offi- cial anti-Semitism in Hungary, yet when she interviewed a survivor he made certain his com- ment was to be treated in privacy and he said: "Forget it. Go home. There was no Wallenberg. There were no Jews, no Holocaust. Our children don't want to hear about it. We are all trying to live to- day." Her story is an a.,--ted enlightenment about the hero. A reception honoring Miss Lester was held in Washington on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Sponsors of the event included Senators Claiborne Pell and Rudy Boschwitz, and Con- gressmen Jack Kemp and Tom Lantos.