7, 411111115111111111014111Nalifi, 2 Friday, February 15, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ The Newly-Developing Jewish Leadership On Global Sca e With less fanfare than is apparent, a newly-developing world Jewish leadership is making its mark with an unusual inter- est. It is especially evident in the World Jewish Congress. The sessions in Vienna earlier this month indicated that Edgar Bronfman, who assumed a top role only recently, may exert great influence upon the approach- ing events affecting Jewish life on a global scale. The invitation extended to Bronfman to visit the Soviet Union may provide the opportunity his predecessor, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, craved for. Dr. Goldmann often spoke . with greater confidence in possible good rela- tions with Russia. His approaches seemed far-fetched to the skeptical. Bronfman may prove that the Goldmann views should have been given greater credence. Philip Klutznick, who presided over the deStinies of the World Jewish Congress between the administrations of Goldmann and Bronfman, followed the Goldmann line, seeking USSR accords, conceding where and when it was necessary to secure closer contacts even with those who were most antagonistic to Jewry and to Israel. Whatever the developments, the World Jewish Congress story can never be complete without recognizing the organ- izational impacts of Dr. Stephen S. Wise. He was the creator of the movement. He was its inspiration. He brought Nahum Goldmann into it. He may have been less revolutionary than his successors, but was equally as militant. He was the very sym- bol of Jewish leadership. The changing times may have affected the new developments involving leader- ship. The Bronfman era may prove that time brings into focus the needed direction.. The road to achieving diplomatic ac- cords will not be an easy one for Bronfman. Stephen S. Wise Nahum Goldmann It won't be easy to make a path to the PLO and the Shiite Moslems. It will be strewn with obstacles relating to the USSR. There is, already, a campaign to draw the Soviets into Middle East negotiations on a par with the United States. The warnings are against such an involvement, the danger of Edgar Bronfman Philip Klutznick Russian domination carrying with it menacing results for the entire world dip- lomacy. Hopefully, the Bronfman involvement will avoid evils and will reach amity with the widest cooperation of Jewish move- ments and leaderships. ,_\ Cemetery As Source In History Writing, As Beth Olam And Hayyim In the writing of the history of the Jews in the last few centuries, in the process of compiling data about Jewish experiences among the nations, the cemetery became an important source for desired informa- tion. Tombstones often revealed desired facts. The background of noted per- sonalities were acquired at the cemetery, which is in Hebrew Beth Olam. But cemeteries 41 . also have been desec- T rated. Many have been demolished, as in the areas which were populated by the millions who became vic-, tims of the Nazi Holocaust. The German "experience" invites con- cern about the country where the Nazi ter- ror developed and the "fate" of the Jewish cemeteries in that country is of interest. Under the title "The Significance of the JewiSh Cemetery," a most interesting ac- count was published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Nov. 26. It is revealing in its entirety and it was published in the follow- ing English translation in the German Tribune of Hamburg of Dec. 9: In Hebrew it is called Beth Olam (Place of Eternity), but Ger- man Jews call it just A Good Place. For the cemetery is for Jews a holy place and watching after the dead is one of the most important commandments of the Jewish faith. There are about 1,400 Jewish cemeteries in West Germany, and the gravestones reflect the history of the Jews in Germany. There are red sandstone stones from the middle of the 19th Century and imposing, extravag- ant monuments dating from the flourishing days of the Jewish community around the turn of the century. And the gap that follows the year 1938 relates the story of a Jewish tragedy: it was on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 that the terror of Nazis hit full throttle — Reichskris- tallnacht. In the Jewish faith, cemeteries allow the dead peace for eternity. Jewish graves, therefore, are used only once. This is in contrast to Christian graves, where graves are often reused after 10 years. Germany's first Jewish cemeteries were in the Rhine cen- ters of Speyer, Worms and Mainz. With the dispersion of the Jews in. the Middle Ages — they were blamed for the plague — many cemeteries were destroyed and the grave stones used in various ways. In Speyer, for example, they were used to build a bridge across the Rhine. In the 18th Century, Jewish settlements began again to estab- lish themselves. New cemeteries were established. In the mood of reform after the French revolu- tion, guarantees over cemetery rights were given the Jews by German princes. Some Jewish cemeteries have even become Christian cemeteries, in Kaiserslautern, for example. Even today, Jewish cemeteries are threatened with desecration. There were 598 cases between 1945 and 1982, according to Frankfurt historian Adolf Diamant. In barely 37 percent of cases, the identity of the culprits became known. A third of the vandals were either right-wing extremists or anti- Semites and the other two-thirds children and youths. The states have made avail- able material to enable the graves to be restored. Cemetery — Beth Olam -- is in- structively defined in A Book of Jewish Concepts, in which its scholarly author, Dr. Philip Birnbaum, in part provides this in- formation: After the Bar Kokhba defeat in 132, when the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, became closed to the Jewish people, the catacombs at Beth Shearim be- came the new burial center for de- vout Jews. In talmuclic-midrashic sources there is no reference to the recently-discovered subterrea- nean burial galleries beneath a mountain at Beth Shearim, in the Valley of Jezreel, with pillared vaults of rock and side recesses for tombs, similar to those found in Rome, where six separate systems of Jewish catacombs of the classical period have became known. A Greek inscription in bold letters, carved near the entrance of one of the Beth Shearim catacombs, reads: "Good luck on your resurrection." It has been noted that the tide of Hellenization reached its peak during the period of Beth Shearim, between the Second and Fourth Centuries, when the Roman em- pire was saturated with Greek feel- ing. This explains the reliefs of animals and plants and human faces, with rich mosaics, in designs essentially Greek, that have been revealed in the Beth Shearim catacombs. According to a tannai- tic report, Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nasi declared: "Why speak Aramaic in Eretz Yisrael? One should speak either Hebrew or Greek." The euphemistic names beth hayyim (house of life), beth `olam (house of eternity) and beth `almin (beth `olam) allude to various bibli- cal and post-biblical expressions. The name beth kovorot (house of graves) occurs in the Bible (Nehemiah 2:3). We are told in the Talmud that cemeteries must not be treated with disrespect (Megil- lah 29a). "Walk reverently in a cemetery, lest the deceased will say: Tomorrow they will join us, and today they mock us" (Be- rakhoth 18a). For reasons of priestly cleanliness kohanim have been forbidden to enter a cemet- ery. Graves are customarily visited during the month preceding Rosh Hashanah and upon anniversaries of the death of close relatives. Such is the process of Jewish historical and traditional experience. There is much to learn from a Beth Olam that is at the same time a Beth Hayyim, a life-inspiring element. The German record adds im- mensely to the recording of contemporary history. Judaism Defined In Jacobs' Book Of Jewish Belief' Rabbi Louis Jacobs, with a record of having produced numerous scholarly works dealng with Jewish traditional topics, adds immensely to the bookshelf with volumes bearing his byline on mat- ters relating to Jewish ceremonialism and Judaism in its total inspiration. His The Book of Jewish Belief (Behrman House) has special merit in its definition of Judaism and the observances and ideologi- cal aspects. Torah, Bible, belief in God, mitzvot, the Sabbath and festivals, Tallit and Tefil- lin and a score of other related topics are covered in the scholarly fashion in which Dr. Jacobs treats the themes tackled in his many works. Especially significant as an emphasis on the importance of his treatment of the total subject matter in this book is his defi- nition of Judaism. He provides this inspi- rational message: .. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, who believe in the One of - Creator God, heaven and earth, who loves all His creatures and who has cho- sen Israel by giving them His Torah so Louis Jacobs that they, and through them humanity, may have His presence dwell among them. Judaism is a practical religion, concentrating more on correct ac- tion than on correct beliefs. Yet it would be a gross distor- tion to view Judaism as having nothing to say about belief. For a religion of action without any be- liefs is not a religion but a set of mechanical observances. A non- Jewish writer's definition of Judaism is not far off the mark. "Judaism," he writes, "is the reli- gion of doing the will of God." He does well to place the emphasis on action, but it is an emphasis that has always grown out of Judaism's belief that God is and that the ac- tions conform to His will." Every topic outlined by Dr. Jacobs merits emphasis. Notable in his analyses is his treatment of the subject dealing with the ethical character of the Jewish people. The following excerpt lends importance to the studies conducted by the eminent author: The Jewish ideal is not only for a person to behave ethically, im- portant though this undoubtedly is, but to have an ethical character. The Torah teaches us not only how to behave but also how to become better people. Some Jewish teachers talk in this connection of self-perfection. "Perfection" is a pretty high-sounding word and no human being can ever be perfect. God alone is perfect. Self- Continued on Page 18 K ( K