Arnold & Sally Margolis

And Family Of

MARGOLIS FURNITURE

13703 W. McNichols, Detroit
wish all our friends and relatives a very healthy and happy New Year. I ,

KOSHER ALERT KOSHER ALERT KOSHER ALERT

find in Mendelssohri a Jew
who had brilliant intellect,
moral integrity, a quest for
truth, modesty, gentleness
and a love for people. Less-
ing's most important play,
"Nathan the Wise," was in-
spired by Mendelssohn, and
the play became a powerful
plea for religious tolerance.
In 1755, Mendelssohn pub-
lished. Letters On The Emo-
tions in German, which
brought him instant recogni-
tion. He became a figure of
national fame and stature and
was ranked as one of the lead-
ing minds and writers of Ger-
many. The work focused
on a new understanding of
the nature of beauty and
aesthetics. His theory paved
the way for ideas later ex-
pressed by Schiller, Goethe,
and Kant.
Mendelssohn went on to
publish important works on
the proof of God's existence
and the immortality of the
soul. His books, based on the
use of reason, stressed the
dominant themes of the En-
lightenment. They met the
needs of the time. Translated
into several languages, the
books were widely read
throughout Europe.
Mendelssohn was often refer-
red to as the "Jewish Plato"
and his home was the magnet
for many visitors to Berlin.
In 1769, an event occurred
which brought Mendelssohn a
challenge to his Jewishness.
Johann Kasper Lavater, a
Swiss preacher, had visited.
Mendelssohn on several occa-
sions to discuss religious
questions with him. Lavater
translated a book into Ger-
man entitled An Examination
Of The Proofs For Christiani-
ty. He dedicated the transla-
tion to Mendelssohn and chal-
lenged him either to refute it
or convert to Christianity.
Mendelssohn hated contro-
versy of any kind and was
reluctant to be drawn into
public dispute about the
merits of Judaism or Chris-
tianity. However, he had no
choice and responded in a
letter in which he defended his
loyalty to Judaism tactfully
but forcefully.
Rebuking Lavater for his ill-
concealed zeal, Mendelssohn
pointed out that Judaism was
tolerant of the convictions of
others; it never sent out mis-
sionaries to make converts;
and, unlike Christianity,
Judaism maintained that even
the unbeliever was in God's
care and could attain salva-
tion if he or she was of moral
stature. Lavater then public-
ly apologized to Meridelssohn.
Thereafter, Mendelssohn
became actively involved in
the struggle for the protection
and the civil rights of Jews all
over Europe. Out of these
struggles he evolved the phil-

osophy of the separation of
Church and State that contin-
ues to guide our thinking in
this matter. He reasoned that
the Church has the right and,
in fact, the duty to seek to in-
fluence by instruction and
persuasion. But this is where
its power ends. It can neither
control actions of private in-
dividuals nor impose its be-
liefs on all citizens; nor can it
punish one who is not a mem-
ber of that church.
The state governs the rela-
tionship between its citizens
and has no right to regulate,
to control, or to regulate the
thought of its citizens. If the
law is just and for the good of
all its citizens the state may
compel them to obey or pun-
ish them for infractions. But
the state cannot pressure the
convictions and consciences of
its citizens and must not be
allowed to favor one religion
over another or to require its
citizens to hold particular
beliefs as conditions of
citizenship.
Mendelssohn then turned

Mendelssohn went
on to publish
important works
on the proof of
God's existence.

toward the revitalization of
Judaism. He was deeply at-
tached to Jewish life and
observed all the mitzvot. He
now concentrated all his ef-
forts on translating the Bible
from the Hebrew into Ger-
man. The translation was
done in beautiful German
prose and was printed in
Hebrew letters with which
Jews were more familiar
Each volume contained not
only the German text but also
a commentary called a Biur,
written in Hebrew and de-
signed to provide a better
understanding of the text.
This achieved several pur-
poses. He opened the door of
the German language and the
Enlightenment to the Jews
who heretofore only used the
Yiddish language. The
graceful Biur was one of the
forces that contributed to the
renaissance of Hebrew, the
language in which Jews of
Eastern Europe pursued
enlightenment and sought to
acquire the culture of the
world.
Mendelssohn, through his
personal example and work,
tried to bridge the two worlds.
His final work caused a cul-
tural revolution and provided
the means to pass from the
ghetto to Europe. Some out-
standing spokesmen of tradi-
tional Judaism, however, ob-
jected to the translation
precisely because they were
fearful that Mendelssohn's
plan would succeed and that

a knowledge of German would
tempt Jewish youth to ne-
glect their Jewish studies for
the pursuit of secular inter-
ests. Three leading rabbis is-
sued a ban against the book
and threatened to excommu-
nicate those who read it. In
some communities, the book
was burned publicly as a
gesture of protest and
warning.
Mendelssohn's children were
a case in point. Only one of
them; Joseph, remained a
Jew, while the others defected
shortly after their father's
death. One daughter, Doro-
thea, after leaving her first
husband, the Jewish banker
Simon Veit, was married to
the famous romantic poet
Schlegel. -She turned first to
Protestantism; later, together
with her husband, they con-
verted to Catholicism. Abra-
ham Mendelssohn, father of
the famous musician Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, be-
came a Protestant.
But, be that as it may,
Mendelssohn, as the first
modern Jew, raised questions
which continue to confront us.
Standing on the threshold of
Jewish modernity, he was the
first to recognize and for-
mulate the central problems
which had begun to trouble
his generation and to which,
since then, each new Jewish
generation has had to find a
meaningful answer: how to
live without surrendering the
values of Judaism to the
modern world, or the wisdom
of the world to Judaism.
On the 200th yahrzeit of
Moses Mendelssohn, we could
best pay tribute to him by
continuing what he began: a
struggle with the challenge of
harmonizing Jewish tradition
with contemporary. thought.
Like Moses Mendelssahn, we
modern Jews must always
remember that in the Bible
Jacob was blessed only after
he struggled with the angel
which symbolized the
unknown.
To update an old Jewish
aphorism: from Moses to
Moses Maimonides to Moses
Mendelssohn there arose
none like Moses.

.NEWS INE

E

Budget Problem

Jerusalem — The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem is
not yet in a position to con-
sider a balanced budget for
the coming academic year,
thus leaving the question of
the opening of studies for
1987-1988 on Oct. 25 still in
doubt, it was learned recent-
ly at a meeting of the ex-
ecutive committee of the
university's board of
governors.

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To All Our
Relatives
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Our wish for a
year filled with
happiness,
health and prosperity.

A 1 )3

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REALTY INC.

ALLEN MARCUS
ELIOT MARCUS
HOWARD MARCUS
AND ASSOCIATES

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• ANNUAL FALL WAREHOUSE .
CLEARANCE SALE
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Disks (31/2" & 5" Bulk & Branded)
Computer Paper
Disk Storage Boxes
Cables & Data Switches s oc
a e p t :e\' 'e
' . - \ c ill
y. 0 9 2.51 "4 /2; 0'uo l kes
Joy Sticks
Surge Supressors
sAir
▪ Many other items
wttl Gok.19°11
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MCA Tool Kit Given Away
Each Hour

SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10:00-6:00 :
September 26 & 27
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COMPUTERS
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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