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COMPILED BY ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Jewish Community of Prague
Remembers Rabbi Landau

T

he Jewish communi-
ty of Prague, togeth-
er with the Federa-
tion of Jewish Communi-
ties in the Czech Republic,
will next month sponsor
the commemoration of the
200th yahrtzeit of the for-
mer chief rabbi of Prague,
Rabbi Yechezkel Landau.
Memorial ceremonies
will be held 2
p.m. May 9 at
the Fibichova
Street Ceme-
tery in Prague.
They will in-
elude the un-
veiling of the
fully restored
tombstones
and graves of
Rabbi Landau
and eight fam-
ily members.
Rabbi Lan-
dau (1713-
1793) was, at
age 20, a rec-
ognized tal-
mudic scholar. He began
his career as . head of the
rabbinical court in Brody,
Poland, where he served
for 11 years. He later
headed the rabbinical
court of Jampol, where he
was recognized for his tact
and ability to settle heat-
ed personal disputes. His
next post was in Prague,
where he was chief rabbi
for 38 years, until his
death.
Among Rabbi Landau's
chief concerns was rela-
tions between Jews and

gentiles. He directed
members of the Jewish
community to refrain from
taking interest not only
from their fellow Jews,
but from gentiles as well
— a position he said was
dictated by Halachah,
Jewish law.
A devoted patriot, Rabbi
Landau encouraged Polish
Jews to enlist
in the army.
In 1757, dur-
ing the Seven
Years' War,
when Pru-
ssians march-
ed into Prague,
Rabbi Landau
refused to
leave the city.
Government
officials often
turned to him
for advice and
support.
Rabbi Lan-
dau was the
author of a
number of books, the most
famous being
Noda
B'Yehuda
(Known in
Judah).
For travel information,
contact the Yahrtzeit
Commemoration Commit-
tee at 30 Eagle Lodge,
Golders Green Rd.,
London NW11 8BD,
England, or call 011 44 81
455-9762. The address of
the Jewish community of
Prague is 18 Maiselova,
110 01 Praha 1, Czech
Republic.

•

Mellow News About A Sweet Treat

I

sn't it wonderful to
think that summer is
just around the corner?
The long, lazy after-
noons. The lemonade
stands on corner streets.
Visits to the zoo. Picnics
with humongous ants.
Weather so outrageously
hot you want to pull your
hair out.
What fun.
Summer means camping
out, too. And camping out
means roasting marshmal-
lows.
For years, anyone who
kept kosher never had the
thrill of roasting marsh-
mallows on an open fire.

Did Nasser Take His Dates Here?

All that has changed.
Elyon marshmallows
are the first kosher
marshmallows available
in more than 30 years.
They contain Kolatin
brand kosher gelatin and
are pareve. Elyon marsh-
mallows are sold at sever-
al local stores.

ThEYESI -IA
REPORT

ANC, YESHA
Hold Talks

A

frican National
Congress delegates
met recently with
representatives of the
Efrat council of YESHA,
Jewish Communities in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
The first ANC delega-
tion to visit Israel, the
group's members were
briefed on Jewish rights to
live in the territories.
"They were astonished to
hear that the Arab refugee
camps were the fault of
the Arab states them-
selves, and that Israeli
attempts to improve condi-
tions in the camps have
been consistently rebuffed
by the United Nations and
the Arab states," accord-
ing to a YESHA newslet-
ter.
The ANC members
requested more informa-
tion on YESHA and asked
that representatives visit
them in South Africa.

Guide Focuses
On Conversion

T

he Rabbinical As-
sembly has pub-
lished a new guide,
"Are You Considering
Conversion to Judaism?"
written by Rabbi Alan
Silverstein of Congre-
gation Agudath Israel in
Caldwell, N.J.
Rabbi Silverstein's pam-
phlet deals with personal
questions such as relation-
ships with the family of
the gentile partner, the
acceptance of converts into
the ranks of traditional
Judaism, and the proce-
dures involved in formal
conversion.
For information, contact
the Rabbinical. Assembly,
3080 Broadway, New
or

A

rabic, of course.
Odessa-born
lawyer
French, possibly.
Joseph Weinstein, whom
But Yiddish in
Professor Prager de-
Cairo? And a Yiddish
scribed as "the key per-
theater?
sonality in the Cairo
University of Haifa
Ashkenazic community's
scholar Professor
dramatic and radio activ-
Leonard Prager recently
ities." The society staged
discovered that a Yiddish
theatrical productions by
theater flourished in
Yiddish authors Sholom
Cairo in the 1920s-1940s.
Aleichem, Shalom Asch
The first Yiddish
and Avrahatn Goldfaden.
drama circle was formed
The group also played
in 1909, Professor Prager
in two other Egyptian
said. Its efforts were spo
cities, Alexandria and
radic., but probably the
Port Said. As far as the,
troupe had contact with
professor has been able
the Yiddish theater in
to discover, the theater's
Palestine. As evidence,
public activities ended in
he points to Liza Varon,
1948 when Egypt joined
a Jerusalem-born Se-
the Arab war against the
pharic Jew who went on
newly independent
to become a star of the
Israel.
American Yiddish stage.
Some of the perfor
She learned her Yiddish
mances had patronage of
in Cairo during the early
the first rank. Professor
part of the century, he
Prager pointed to a Dec.
said.
.14, 1918, program
The Cairo community
attended- by Gen.
in 1912 sponsored the
Edmund Allenby, who
Yidtshe Kunst Fareyn,
received the surrender of
Jewish Artistic Society of
Jerusalem from the
Cairo, founded by
Turks.

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Medical Center Hosts Symposium
On Medicine, Ethics, Jewish Law

S

haare Zedek Med-
ical Center in
Jerusalem, together
with the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in
New York, will host an
international colloquium
on medicine, ethics and
Jewish law July 8-15 in
Jerusalem.
Physicians, scientists,
theologians and rabbis
from around the world
will participate, debat-
ing and discussing such
issues as male infertili-
ty, organ transplants,
AIDS, psychiatry and
fetal defects.
Speakers will include
the president of Israel,
justices of Israel's
Supreme Court, profes-
sors of medicine and
physicians from the
University of California-
Los Angeles, Hebrew
University, and Shaare
Zedek Medical Center,
Israel's chief rabbis and

the chief rabbi of Great
Britain.
For information, con-
tact Morrie Libman at
the American Committee
for Shaare Zedek Med-
ical Center, 49 W. 45th
St., New York, N.Y.
10036, or call 1-800-346-
1592.

