PURELY COMMENTARY

Weizmann And Kissinger

Will-to-Live And Diplomacy

question when there are no Arab
leaders to pursue it.
Of major importance in that Kiss-
inger article is the following additional
proof of the Arab aim not to negotiate,
only to add fire to the flames to devour
Israel. He wrote in that article:
I have never forgotten the
comment of a radical Arab
leader when, over a decade ago,
I told him that sooner or later he
would be obliged to travel the
same road as Anwar Sadat:
"You are wrong," he replied.
"You Americans abandoned
Vietnam; you will certainly
abandon Taiwan; and we will
still be here when you get tired
of Israel?'

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor Emeritus

B

uilders of Zion were always
under the stress of opposition
that threatened to destroy.
This has always been true of
enemies in the world at large, with an-
tagonists in the Jewish fold as well.
That's why the craving for the will
to live has consistently served as a
slogan in defiance of the menacing at-
tempt to destroy us.
That is why Chaim Weizmann, who
was destined to become the first presi-
dent of Israel, in the early years of his
capacity as president of the World
Zionist Organization, warned the
enemies of Israel and of the Zionist
cause that they would never be given
the opportunity to relegate the Jewish
people into a museum.
I heard him say it several times. It
was my privilege to be with him at
functions in New York, in Brooklyn,
in Brownsville and Williamsburg,
pleading for the few dollars that were
needed in the Jewish community in pre-
Israel Palestine, for the Keren Hayesod.
It was in the mid-1920s. He would
acknowledge the pride in Jewry that
the Christian world was chanting our
Psalms in their churches, that they ad-
mired our geniuses of old, and then
would treat our hopes for redemption
with contempt. Dr. Weizmann knew
that those who would not help in rescue
and redemption were quick to acclaim
the dead of our kinfolk who had provid-
ed glory for religion, science and
literature. He would comment that it
was evident those who would not help
us would sanctify us if we were in a
museum. He pointed out that it was
"the dead Jew" who had a chance in an
antagonistic world and he would
declare something to the effect: "We

Chaim Weizmann

will not let you submerge us into a
museum!'
Dr. Weizmann was also taking into
account the indifference among many
Jews. He was declaring that "we are not
existing in order to submit to suicide."
Chaim Weizmann was as much
statesman as he was scientist. To be a
Zionist leader in the pioneering
political stages you also had to be a
diplomat. You were dealing with an an-
tagonistic world.
Now, antagonism steeped in hatred
is in constant evidence in the interna-
tional arena. At the United Nations it
is always the near-unanimous vote
against Israel, with one exception: the
United States.
Therefore, amidst agony there is
gratitude when a former U.S. am-
bassador to the United Nations, Jean
Kirkpatrick, exposes the U.N. as a well
of poison in world diplomacy.

Henry Kissinger

Therefore, the acknowledgement
that a one-time U.S. secretary of state,
Henry Kissinger, who had many deal-
ings with the world organization that
betrays its trust, also comes forth with
efforts to protect Israel. That's what he
did as secretary of state under Presi-
dent Richard Nixon. That's what he
will hopefully undertake now when the
very existence of Israel is under threat,
with blessings from the U.N.
It has been suggested that the
American responsible leadership in the
duty to deal with Israel's status be
assigned to Dr. Henry Kissinger.

Therefore, the importance of know-
ing his position in the present crisis. He
outlined it in an article in the
Washington Post on May 15, under the
title "A Pause That Could Lead To
Peace." He suggested a path of action,
and that road, too, may remain under

Kissinger, in his article outlining
his views on the existing problems in
the course of which he sought a solu-
tion, declared that "getting tired of
Israel will never be deliberate
American policy!'
The question that arises: was there
anything Henry Kissinger could have
done to inaugurate some action to
counteract the hateful?
Anything measured in realism
would draw the admission of the dif-
ficulties involved.
Therefore the understandable
desire to know what Dr. Kissinger pro-
poses. In his Washington Post article he
urges the following:
A serious Middle East in-
itiative must face the following
facts: no overall settlement is
foreseeable that is capable of
bringing peace — in the sense of
the absence of tension — and
that would generate true
cooperation between the par-
ties. The only settlement con-
Continued on Page 40

Shalom: The Jewishly Symbolic Responsive Greeting

S

halom is the definable, en-
chanting Hebraic greeting that
is suitable for all occasions. It is
proper for the nightly or daytime
salutation, for the peace of the Sabbath
— the ever repeated Shabat Shalom —
and many more conceivable occasions.
Therefore, it has a recommendation
for universality. It is appealing to all
faiths, while it commands constant

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Vol. XCHI No. 14

2

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1988

June 3, 1988

usage for the people of Israel.
With so much anxiety for peace and
the continually-repeating dedication to
its Hebraism, the defining of Shalom as
a Jewish salute has much meaning.
There is fascination in the utiliza-
tion of the greeting as a message that
at once elicits a response. When a per-
son is greeted with the traditional
"Shalom Aliechem," the returned and
accepted greeting is "Aleichem
Shalom."
What an exciting privilege that one
of the great personalities in Jewry, who
emerged as a luminary in world
literature, should have adopted Shalom
Aleichem as his pseudonym: Shalom
Aleichem was an inspirer of our people
in his often humorous approaches to
Jewish experiences. His life's work con-
tributed immensely toward giving em-
phasis to the first name of his
pseudonym, the Shalom which actual-
ly was his first name given him at birth.
There is a deeply-inspiring codifica-
tion of glory assigned to the Shalom
ideal in Jewish tradition. In his
definitive "Book of Jewish Concepts,"
which are the most deeply interpretive

ideals of Jewish lore, the late Dr. Philip
Birnbaum exphasized the following
idealized principle in the hymn assign-
ed to the the Sabbath:
The four stanzas of the hymn
Shalom Aleichem begin with the
following expressions, respec-
tively: 1) Peace be with you,
ministering angels . . . 2) May
your coming be in peace,
messengers of peace . . . 3) Bless
me with peace . . . 4) May your
departure be in peace .. .

Fully to appreciate the perpetuated
values that have come to us in the
legacies of the Hebraic Shalom ideal,
Rabbi Birnbaum's definite evaluation of
it should be made the source of study
of the great aspiration for protection of
human values inherent in the Shalom
as use as a salutation and must be com-
mitted as a basic ideal in life. Rabbi
Birnbaum thus defined this credo:
Shalom Aleichem is also the
name of a hymn chanted on Fri-
day nights, upon returning
home from the Sabbath eve ser-

vices. This song of peace, in-
troduced by the kabbalists some
three centuries ago, is based on
the talmudic passage concern-
ing a good angel and an evil
angel accompanying every man
home from the synagogue on
Friday evenings.
If they find the house in
good order, the good angel says:
"May the next Sabbath be as
this one." If, on the other hand,
they find the house neglected,
the evil angel says: "May the
next Sabbath be as this one."
The ideal thus introduced is a com-
mitment to human principles by all
peoples.