PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Religious Ecumenism On A High Note Of Good Neighborliness Reinhold Niebuhr Ecumenism is gaining ground, and support, for the attainment of the standards vitally needed for good citi- zenship and the matching of the basics necessary in making morality a way of life. The dedicated to ecumenism are the advocates and protectors of the high principles of uniting peoples of all faiths into a society that will not tolerate religious and race hatred. They aim at the advancement that makes Good Will a glorious goal in life. The Michigan community has such leadership in the Rev. James Lyons, under whose direction the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish Christian Studies is the pride of the interdenominational citizenry. When ecumenism embraces a neighborhood in which two faiths are masters in the search for and reaching such high goals in Good Will among the faiths, they set an example for pro- per action for the entire nation. This is what is being experienced at this time in a two-faith neighborhood in New York. "Seminary Row" is the intriguing title under which 122nd Street is viewed and notably acclaimed as the area that practically combines the two great theological schools, the Jewish Theological Seminary on the eastern side of Broadway and the Union Theological Seminary on the western side of Broadway. Two anniversaries, the Union Theological Seminary's 150th and the Jewish Theological Seminary's 100th in the coming weeks, serve as a unifica- tion of interest, religious devotion and historical significance. The uniqueness of the joint event is its assumption of a balanced role for both important institutions. One is Christian and the other Jewish, yet there has always been a cooperative- ness of such great force that together the two theological seminaries have contributed towards an immense reli- gious Americanization. That's why 122nd Street and Broadway in New York City is the glorifying street serving as a guide for Good Will in academia and religion. It is in the academic elements of the two great schools that there is the proof of cooperation embodied in mutual re- spect. There is a learning from each other. The Union Theological Seminary provided the scholarship, the courage in political thinking, the justice- inspiring Reinhold Niebuhr. His name will remain memorable in American idealism. He had set examples for high standards from the time he was the spiritual leader of a church in Detroit to his national role as a religious leader. The Jewish Theological Seminary commenced its spiritual leadership under the eminent Solomon Schechter. It secured inspiration from Joshua Hes- chel, Louis Finkelstein, Louis Ginsberg and scores of others. Both great theological seminaries Solomon Schechter provided spiritual leaders for synagogues and churches in Detroit and scores of other American com- munities, and also in cities in other English-speaking countries. That's how ecumenism has gained ground, via Seminary Row, from a street in New York that has gained a role as a neighborhood Good Will inspi- ration. Legends As Inspirations For Torah And Mishnaic Studies Legends are always vital in study- ing history. There is a fascination in a good tale, and the facts of history and of life itself arouse strong links to as- sure devotion to further study. For the major part of this century, the seven volumes of Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginsberg, which remain among the classics of the Jewish Publi- cation Society, have been like textbooks and historical agenda. A new collection of legends, just is- sued by Peter Bedrick Books, adds to the enthusiasm aroused by the legen- dary treasures. Jewish Legends is the new volume, authored by a distin- guished scholar. Its explanatory essay and their accompanying stories are the result of impressive studies by David Goldstein, the curator of Hebrew books and manuscripts at the British Library. He is the author of numerous works of historic Jewish merit. Richly illustrated with photos de- picting early periods of Jewish religious observances, this collection is in itself worthy of perusing for a study of Jewish historical experiences. They il- luminate the legendary that will in- spire the interest of the reader. Dr. Goldstein not only relates legends. He also expresses the love that is expressed by Jews toward Torah. He uses as his theme: "The Torah is be- loved, of course, not for its own physi- cal nature, but for its sacred contents. The Laws, interpreted as they have been down through the ages in count- less commentaries, codified, and still subject to minute dissections and dis- cussions, are incumbent on every ob- servant Jew." Therefore the explanations pro- vided by this eminent scholar of the Aggadah as well as Halachah is very instructive. Dr. Goldstein writes in his very instructive introductory essay: 2 Friday, March 20, 1987 And the Biblical narratives have been analysed, explained and elaborated to such an ex- tent that a Jew of the old school' can hardly distinguish between what Scripture actu- ally says and what later ex- positors have understood it to say. The legal content of the Torah is known as Halachah, while the narratives form the basis of Aggadah. Aggadah simply means 'telling', and this `telling' can cover practically any aspect of human life. It can fill in the details of a Biblical story, reconcile appar- ent contradictions, answer questions (and pose them too!), incorporate fables from other sources, make moral de- ductions, add contemporary his- torical allusions, discuss relev- ant theological topics, indulge in biographical anecdotes, and it can even make remarks of a legal character which properly belong to the realm of halachah. The Aggadah can be pithy and opaque. It can also ramble, moving from one story to an- other, and from one theme to another, until the reader is in danger of forgetting the original starting-point. The Aggadah can be serious and philosophically profound, and at the next mo- ment lend itself to irrational fantasies, or appear irreverently comic. The very impressive definition of the Aggadah already emphasizes the enthusiasm with which learning is im- parted to the reader. Fully to ap- preciate it, it is necessary to read a very significant illustration of the de- THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS finitive presented on the subject. The burial of Abel in the Bible story is thus explained in the following legend in the Goldstein collection of traditional stories: The story in Genesis of how Cain killed Abel is well known. But have you ever thought of how they disposed of the body, `for they did not know what to do with Abel since they had no experience of burial? Then a raven appeared who had been bereaved of one of his compan- ions. He took the dead bird, and dug a hole in the ground and buried it. Adam saw this and said: "I shall do the same as the raven." He took Abel's corpse, dug a hole in the ground and buried it' (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer 21). This is a simple example of how the Aggadah supplies 'missing' information. The legends continue ad infinitum and much of traditional Jewish history is depicted in Dr. Goldstein's Jewish Legends. The instructive of Dr. Goldstein's Continued on Page 34 An artist's engraving of the site of Mt. Sinai.