THE JEWISH NEWS
(USPS 275-5201
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20, 1951
Copyright © The Jewish News Publishing Co.
Member of American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, National Editorial 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
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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 23rd day of Tevet, 5743, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 1:1-6:1.
Prophetical portion, Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23.
Candlelighting, Friday, Jan. 7, 5 p.m.
VOL. LXXXII, No. 19
. Page Four
Friday, January 7, 1983
TZEDAKA ON AGENDA
A New Year must commence with the tant, the knowledge in the guide can help nur-
human spark, with the compassionate, with the ture the Jewish soul and turn the experience of
concern for the fellowship that comprises man-
giving or asking into a seminar on Jewish val-
kind. A very impressive contribution toward
ues and Jewish priorities."
this vital ideal has just been made by the Na-
It is as a message to Mewry and to mankind
tional Jewish Research Center which functions that "Tsedakah and Us" bears witness. It is as
ander the direction of the eminent scholar and
"The Art of Giving" that philanthropy is inter-
social scientist Dr. Irving Greenberg.
jected. It shows the way to give as well , as to
The contribution towards a higher idealism
receive, the sacrifices that become the means of
-s contained in a painphlet issued by this re- attaining dignity and self-respect, the tradi-
;earch center. The very title of the brochure
tions that make tzedaka a high goal in life.
3mphasizes the ideal propagated, justifying
If it were only the emphasis on the inerasa-
widest attention in Jewish spheres and evidenc- ble "Eight Degrees of Tzedaka" promulgated
.ng the influence it will surely inspire among all
by Moses Maimonides, "Tsedakah and Us"
)eoples and all faiths.
would assume great significance. It is much
"Tsedakah and Us" is the impressive title of more. It is an admonition never to abandon fel-
;he collective effort that must serve as a guide low humans.
or social betterment and responsibilities to
These lessons come to mind at this time,
abor for it. It comes at a time when the eco- • when a great metropolis is in danger of a con-
aomic ills have caused so much suffering among
tinuing agony. Metropolitan Detroit is
nany peoples. It is addressed to the Jewish exemplary. It bears the burdens of unemploy-
)eople as an encouragement never to abandon
ment and all the miseries that accompany it. It
he obligations among peoples.
is a source of deep humiliation to read a report
Therefore, what Dr. Irving "Yetz" Green- that philanthropic assistance for Detroit is con-
)erg has achieved here is a continuation of the
templated, from all places, in Germany. The
•esearch center's notable contributions towards
American people are not to be either humiliated
adding effectiveness to the Jewish ethical
or crushed by adversity. Americans have known
eachings to which this movement is dedicated in the past how to rise above despair. They'll do
ender Dr. Greenberg's direction.
it again — without help from foreign sources.
It is therefore important that a definitive
There is never an end to tzedaka. It must be
tote about "Tsedakah and Us" should be given judged on the highest levels, as defined by
is much attention as the 28-page brochure that Maimonides: "The throne of Israel is estab
s packed with source material from Scriptures,
lished and the religion of truth upheld only
vlaimonides and Jewish scholarship. "Yetz"
through tzedaka." In these trying times, it could
lreenberg states in his informative message:
be applicable to mankind.
"Tzedaka is more than a mitzva. This has
The point is that people live together and do
)een a fundamental assumption of NJRC since
not abandon either the neighbor or one's own
is founding. In the words of Maimonides it is faith.
he mark of a Jew — 'The sign of the righteous
What is demonstrated specifically for Jews,
nen, the seed of Abraham . . .' Giving tzedaka as another year commences, to be ready to meet
s grounded on such Jewish values as the corn-
all commitments, to recognize the local needs
nitment to a world of equality and human dig-
and to respond to the overseas obligations. Out
iity so that the poor are entitled to help by of fulfillment must come the satisfaction that
ight, not by favor (tzedaka = righteousness,
faith in oneself is assured when the neighbor
Lot charity). It grows out of Jewish memory
and fellow citizen and the kinfolk are not aban-
'You shall love the ger (outsider/stranger) for doned. That's what makes "Tsedakah and Us"
'ou were gerim (outsiders/strangers) in the inseparable and a commitment never to be ig-
and of Egypt') and out of a sense of Klal Yisrael nored.
to whom can the poor or Israel look for help . . .
nly to their brothers' — Maimonides).
ROCKY ROAD TO PEACE
"By the same token, people who are imbued
That's how it has been for many decades:
,ith Jewish values will give tzedaka. It is in-
when Jews and Arabs could have met to seal a
reasingly true in an open society that only pact for peace, threats from destruction-seekers
hose with strong Jewish identity and commit-
stood in the way.
ient will remain Jewish. And as Jewish in-
Israeli-Lebanese negotiations offered a
olvement slips away, so does the desire to give
great opportunity for an understanding leading
a Jewish causes. Especially in the younger
to normality between the two nations. Yet there
eneration, more Jewish observances are di-
were and continue to be obstructions which
ectly correlated with more Jewish giving.
frustrate and cause concern over future talks on
"To repeat a cliche — we cannot only raise the vital issue of good neighborliness.
to/ley, we must raise Jews and Jewish con-
It is again the result of submission to the
ciousness. The publication, "Tsedakah and forces stemming both from the Arab League and
Ts" is at once a primer of Jewish law and values
the PLO, all accompanied by threats to the very
n tzedaka; a solicitation manual; and a source
security of the negotiators. That's how fears are
f Jewish study and learning. We believe that
created, and the road to peace thus becomes
his resource guide will motivate people so that strewn with obstacles that are yet to be hurdled.
hey may consciously express their Jewishness
Hopefully, the hurdling time is nearer than
a the act of giving or soliciting. Equally impor-
it appears on the surface.
-
Second Temple History
Avoids Factual Erroring
Taking into account the many errors which frequently creep into
history-writing, and publishing that perpetuates distortions,
Mesorah Publications have undertaken to issue a series of Art Scroll
books to deal with historical literature.
The first in this series is "The History of the Jewish People: The
Second Temple Era."
This volume was adapted by Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm from Dr.
Eliezer Ebner's translation of Yekutiel Friedner's "Divre Y'mei
HaBayit Hasheini."
The publishers maintain that "there has been a remarkable and
regrettable paucity of historical writing that dealt with Israel as it
saw itself and as it interpreted its own mission, successes and fail-
ures."
The charge that a status of misinterpretation has existed is thus
defined:
"It is scarcely believable, but true, that the story of the People of
the Book has been woefully ill-told, particularly in English. Only in
recent times have Jews produced professional historians, and in the
great majority of cases they have plied their craft with the tools of
their profession, using acknowledged sources and accepted methods,
and following the traditions and prejudices of the ancient Greek and
Roman writers to whom Judea represented an enemy, a vassal state,
and an unacceptable religion and culture. The result is that histo-
rians have seen ancient Israel from the outside looking in. They have
understood it — and portra y ed it — as a plaything of the . Greek and
Macedonian kingdoms, a hapless victim of triumphant Rome and a
benighted foe of emergent Christianity."
Commencing with the Babylonian Exile, this scholarly work
deals with the periods of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Men of the Great
Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGadola), Greece and Alexander the
Great, the Land of Israel under the Ptolemies, the decrees of An-
tiochus Epiphanes and the Hasmonean Wars and Hanuka, domina-
tion of the Sadducees, the Civil War 68-63 BCE, the ascendancy of
Rome and the domination of Rome as a world power, Roman rule over
the Land of Israel, Herod's rise to power, Torah Sages, the war against
Rome, the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction, the era after the
Temple's destruction, Babylonian Jewry and the Jewry of Egypt.
The many events that were interspersed, the Sages and the
Torah, the struggles and the dominating roles of the forces of Greece
and Rome — they combine to make this a volume of great signifi-
cance.
It is a fascinating work, prepared by scholars dedicated to the
facts and the experiences, aiming at emphasis on the actualities.
This Mesorah product creates an advance yearning for the works
to follow, for availability of historical works that will eliminate dis-
tortions and will assure credibility to Jewish scholarship. It is an
effort demanding fullest support from Jewish ranks, as an assurance
that invalid historical records will be denied the wide circulation
enjoyed heretofore.
A Recommendable Bencher
Synagogue-dedicated youth in the Orthodox ranks are contribut-
ing valuably to observances of all occasions with a new publication
that provides all the prayers, for all occasions, in Hebrew and their
English translations.
"The NCSY Bencher: A Book of Prayer and Song," issued by the
National Conference of Synagogue Youth, contains the prayers for
the Sabbath and festivals, blessings at meals, Havdala blessings, the
prayers at circumcisions and all other important events.
The Zemirot, the songs for the Sabbath and at meals, supplement
this Bencher whose values are evident in this collection. The 72 songs
included in the collected effort add to the hymnal's values.