Detroit

50 YEARS AGO...

Regiment Poised
To Make Strike

SY MANELLO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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he all-Jewish Pales-
tine Buffs Regiment,
47,000 strong, was
featured in a photo-
graphic display on the front
page. This was one of the
groups that would benefit
from the successful Detroit
War Chest Drive.
One of the largest groups
affected by war is children
and rescue efforts were well
under way. The first batch
of French children, whose
Jewish parents were de-
ported, was preparing to
leave for the United States.
Thirty-five doctors and
nurses left the United
States for France to super-
vise the transport.
As a result of recent elec-
tions, only seven members
of the 78th Congress were
Jews. This fact did not de-
ter Nazi radio from broad-
casting the big lie that the
American government is
controlled by Jews.
To show that some situ-
ations are never really al-
tered by time, here are two
items that the paper re-
ported were in the news 20
years prior. A note com-
plaining of the wholesale ex-
pulsion by the Hungarian
government had been sub-
mitted to the League of Na-
tions. A Jewish delegation
in Constantinople was in-
vestigating the situation of
refugees in Anatolia and
Thrace.
Locally, recognition was
given to Rabbi A. M. Hirsh-
man of Congregation Shaa-
rey Zedek for his 35 years of
service. Major Max Weil,
who had been reported
missing in action, was hon-
ored by the community by
having a tank named after
him in ceremonies at the
city hall.
The Detroit community
was mourning the los s . of
two prominent citizens.
Arthur. A. Caplan, Detroit
film executive, died at age
49. Julius Kahn, prominent
architect, died at age 68.
Dancing shoes were much
in evidence 40 years ago.
The Zionist Organization

was finishing plans for the
Balfour Ball; the Jewish
Center was planning for
its Thanksgiving "Holiday
Hop"; . and a group of Russ-
ian ballet dancers was com-
ing to the Masonic audi-
torium.
Many groups' programs
involved wartime concerns.
Protecting ourselves in war-
time was the topic of a talk
given by Adele Mondry at a
meeting of the Women's
Auxiliary for the Jewish
Home for Aged. The Michi-
gan Ladies Auxiliaries of
the Jewish War Veterans
were conducting a cam-
paign to collect salvaged
silk and nylon stockings. A
prisoners relief committee,
formed by the American
Federation of Polish Jews,
was preparing packages for
Jewish war prisoners in
Germany; each package
was to contain, among oth-
er items, a shirt, gloves,
socks, soap, sardines, milk,
sugar and bouillon.
For the rationing, food-
conscious in the communi-
ty, an ad by the Heinz
Home Institute offered
some advice on wartime
cooking. In addition to ex-
hortations not to waste
stale bread (use it in pud-
ding) and not to throw away
bones (use them in soup),
we were told of making
potato soup of leftover
mashed potatoes with hot,
seasoned milk and Worces-
ter sauce and of heating
canned green beans in a
sauce of sour cream and
ketchup.
Some couples who would
soon be concerned with
such cooking problems were
those recently married:
Charlotte Pearlstein and
George Zahler; Dorothy
Barbara Tushbant and
Louis Mickelson; Anne
Greenberg and Oscar
Bine. ❑

This column will be a week-
ly feature during The Jewish
News' anniversary year, look-
ing at The Jewish News of to-
day's date 50 years ago.

Rabbi Meir Simcha Bakst lecturing to students.

Yeshiva's Esteem
Is Going Nationwide

PHIL JACOBS MANAG NG ED OR

W

hen Yeshiva

Gedolah celebrates
its sixth year on
Nov. 17, at a 6:30
p.m. dinner at the West
Bloomfield Jewish Commun-
ity Center, its guest speaker
will be former record pro-
ducer and "Days Of Our
Lives" star John Sinclair.
Mr. Sinclair, now a stu-
dent at Ohr Somayach
Yeshiva in Israel, also has
credits as a Shakespearean
Royal Theater actor, but
that usually becomes a foot-
note when people here about
"Days of Our Lives."
Most recognize the yeshiva
as the Oak Park building
with the radio antenna in its
back yard. Those who know
a little bit more realize it is
the only State of, Michigan
certified high school and
rabbinical college.
But what's happening na-
tionally is that the school
with the radio tower and
state accreditation is draw-
ing students from all over
the country, and the tower
has nothing to do with it.
Ask the students about the
school's reputation and they
credit the teachers, and es-
pecially the yeshiva's dean,
Rabbi Leib Bakst.
College-age rabbinical
students can learn outside

the yeshiva at nearby
Wayne State University and
the University of Michigan.
There are 105 high school
and college students at the
school.
David Menachem
Nussbaum, 16, is a native of
Oak Park, who decided to
stay in Detroit rather than
attend school elsewhere. He
said it wasn't necessary to go
out of town as is the practice
for many Orthodox students,
because of the growth he was
seeing at Yeshiva Gedolah.
"It's practically down the
block from where I live," he
said. "For me, the oppor-

"This is a different
change of pace for
their kids"

Rabbi Meir Simcha Bakst

tunity to stay here was what
I wanted. I saw something
better in this place. And the
students who come from out
of town see it, too. It's a
sense of community. We're
located right here in a
neighborhood, and I think
that's important."
Zev Garsek, 16, of Toledo,
came to the Yeshiva

Gedolah because it wasn't
too far from his home, yet it
was far enough.
"I like it a lot here," Zev
said. "The location was
perfect from where I was
coming from. But beyond the
location, the teachers here
have a great reputation."
"The criteria here is that
the students feel part of our
community," said the
yeshiva's Rabbi Eric
Krohner. "And we recognize
that as a strength. Yeshiva
Gedolah is part of this
neighborhood."
Rabbi Krohner recognized
that for many in the secular
Jewish community the idea
of sending a 14-year-old out
of town to school is new. He
said the family that makes
this move does so for the
son's chance to grow.
"Nobody seems to go to
public school to grow," he
said. "You typically go to
public school or even college
to maybe memorize some in-
formation and pass the test.
Here, you can feel the
growth. You can feel the
strength in learning Torah
and Talmud."
Rabbi Meir Simcha Bakst,
whose father is the dean, is a
teacher at the school.
"I think people are finding
that besides the good reputa-