Jewish Life February 1957

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Ad«r — 5 7 1 7 February — 1957

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Ja n u a ry -F ebruary.

1957

Adar. 5717

Voi. XXIV. No. 3

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M. Morton R uben stein ; D r. E ric O ffenbacher R euben E. Gross R abbi S. J. S harfman ' L ibby K laperman

E D IT O R IA L S M I Z U G ......................................

IT 'S Y O U R M O N E Y ! ..........................

S aul B ern stein j Editor

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A R T IC L E S A N I N T E R N A T I O N A L O R P H A N ____ M y r o n K o la t c h

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Editorial Associates■

M A Y J E W S RETU RN T O S P A IN ? . . .

C e c il R o th

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M. J upah M etchik

T R A D I T I O N I N C H A R L E S T O N ..........1 7 A a r o n S o lo m o n

Assistant Editor Inside Illustrations by :"<.N orman N obel

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BEékman 3-2220 Published U nion of O rthodox J ew ish Congregations of A merica M oses I. F euerstein

President Rabbi H. S. Goldstein, Wil­ liam Weiss, Samuel Nirenstein, William B. Herlands, Max J. Etra, Honorary Pres­ idents; B e n ja m in K oenigsberg, Nathan K, Gross, Samuel L. Brennglass, S. David Leibowitt, Vice Presidents; Edward A. Teplow, Treasurer; Reuben E. Gross, Secretary.

Dr. Samson R. Weiss, Exec­ utive Vice President.

H U N G A R IA N R EF U G EES A N D THE A M E R I C A N 'R A B B I N E R '...........

O s c a r M . L if s h u t z I S R A E L 'S C O L O R L I N E ...............

J o s e p h F r ie d

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A F T E R S I N A I .................................. . 3 5 I. H a l e v y - L e v i n T H E C H E L M E R N A R O N I M ...............

J o se p h Y a h a lo m C H A S D A I I B N S H A P R U T H ...........

M eyer W axm an

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B E Z A L E L ...................

M ir ia m Tal

BOOK R E V IE W S T H E F O U N T O F J E W I S H L A W .........

M o s e s T e n d le r

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A J E W IS H H IS T O R Y F O R Y O U T H . . 6 3 S a m u e l G o o d s id e

FEATURES

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A M O N G O U R C O N T R IB U T O R S . . . .

G A Z A T O D A Y ...................................

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L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R .................

U O J C A K A S H R U T H D IR E C T O R Y .. .

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Excerpts Selected and Emanuel Gettinger.

Translated

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Rabbi

PHOTO CREDITS: Cover: Rabbi Isaac Stollman, president of the newly-formed Religious Zionists of America (MizrachLHappel Hamizrachi); 9-10, New Leader; 11 36, Wide- World; 27, 33, Poalei Agudath Israel; 38*39, Israel Office of Information.

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DR. MEYER WAXMAN, eminent author, scholar and educator, has made important contributions in the field of Jewish scholarship, including "A History of Jewish Literature."

He is a Professor of Bible, Jewish History and Philosophy at the Hebrew Theological Col­ lege of Chicago. His articles have appeared in leading literary journals throughout the world.

JOSEPH FRIED is a free lance writer who is now in Israeli His previous contributions to Jew ish L ife included "The Truth About Communist Antisemitism," (Adar, 5716) and "The Baron Lends a Hand," (Av 5716).

MYRON KOLATCH is an associate editor of The New Leader. He specializes in Middle Eastern affairs.

CECIL ROTH, noted Jewish historian and a frequent contributor to J ew ish L ife is the author of numerous outstanding works including "A Short History of the Jewish People" and "The Jews of Venice."

AARON SOLOMON is a past president of Brith Sholom Beth Israel Congregation in Charleston, South Carolina.

I. HALEVY-LEVIN, Jewish L ife’s Israel correspondent, is active in religious labor circles in thè Holy Land. His reports on the Israel scene have won wide acclaim.

JOSEPH YAHALOM is the pen name of a noted English journalist. His article "The Paradox of British Jewry" appeared in our Adar, 5716 issue. * - * * * * MIRIAM TAL is a prominent Israeli art critic. * * * * *

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CHAPLAIN OSCAR LIFSHUTZ is currently stationed in Germany. A graduate of the Hebrew Theological Academy of Chicago, he is the recipient of the Bronze Star for service with the 8th Army in Korea.

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JEWISH LIFE

M IZ U G

U N IFIC A T IO N of the two American religious Zionist parties, the Mizrachi Organization of America and HapoeL Hamizrachi of America, constitutes an undoubted gain for religious Zionism and for orthodox Jewry. "Mizug,” the formal merger, effectuated at a joint Convention of the two organizations held in January, was accomplished after many months of negotiation and was pre­ ceded by merger of the respective world movements of which they are part. In­ volved was more than the welding of two organizational structures — a com­ plicated task which will take still more months of effort to complete.

Joining Beyond this is the larger problem of the fusing of two ideologies, Two two approaches to the rebuilding of Jewish life in Eretz, Yisroel.

P aths Since both movements are equally dedicated to Torah, it is cause for deep satisfaction that they have acted upon the conclusion that the things which they hold in common are of greater moment than the points on which they have differed.

The decision to undertake Mizug was attended with much soul-searching by both groups. Itself an offspring of the Mizrachi movement, Hapoel Hamizrachi adds to the Mizrachi creed, "The Land of Israel in accordance with the Torah of Israel,” an advanced, yet Torah-inspired, social doctrine. "Torah V’avodah,” Torah and Labor, doctrine of Hapoel Hamizrachi, aims at applying the fulness of Torah to the fulness of modern problems, alike in the individual, social and national realms of Jewish living. Addressing this philosophy dynamically to the Israel scene through a program of Chalutziuth, economic development, social organization and political action, Hapoel Hamizrachi has scored outstand­ ing achievements. It has become by far the leading organized force in Israeli religious life, earning the respect of all elements and securing for religious Jewry a role in Israel which would not otherwise have been attained. It was understandable, therefore, that some elements in the movement feared that Mizug might bring dilution of their ideological course and endanger the gains achieved.

The senior organization, on its part, was not free from apprehension that merger might bring subjection to a distinctive ideology and thereby endanger its historic character and status. Justly proud of the role which it has exercised since the birth of modern Zionism, Mizrachi has served as a significant counter­ check to secularist forces and has served as the standard-bearer of religious Jewry in the founding and building of the Jewish state and in the securing of Israel’s independence. It has given to Zionism, to the State of Israel and to the Jewish people a series of great leaders, has developed fruitful economic activities, has inspired the establishment of Bar Ilan University and has established a network of schools which-—now incorporated into the State school system—give religious and general education to nearly a third of Israel’s children. Just as Hapoel Hamizrachi is dominant among religious forces in Israel, Mizrachi in turn leads January-February, 1957

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among religious forces in the Golah. Thus there was much for Mizrachists to weigh also in the question of Mizug.

T H E ULTIMATE decision was dictated by the over-riding common need — defense of the concept of a truly Jewish state. Ironically, the immigration of tens of thousands of devoutly religious families into Israel from Oriental lands has sharpened, rather than lessened, Israels kulturkampf. Secularist forces, see­ ing the mounting strength and ever-increasing potential of religious elements threatening their political and economic dominance, are pressing furiously to retain and secure their position. Unity among religious ranks is imperative if potential triumph is not to be turned into looming disaster.

This is a battle to be fought, in unity, not only on the Israel scene but equally in the world Zionist movement — still an influential factor in Jewish life in both Yishuv and Golah. Unity, too, holds the promise of recruiting for religious Zionism, and thus for Torah, many in this country whom Benefits the two organizations, separately, could not attract. Not only among of those who stood hesitant between the rivalries of the two, but also U nity among the great numbers of religious Jews who have been members of supposedly “non-partisan” Zionist bodies, a fertile field exists for recruitment by a solidified organization. The fragmentization of the Zionist Organization of America — coinciding so significantly with unification among religious Zionists — demonstrates how real the opportunity is.

While the process of complete fusion must necessarily be involved and protracted, there is no inherent barrier to its success. The differences in or­ ganizational outlook are real, yet they are not points of fundamental conflict.

Exhaustively thought through, as they must be, there is every reason to expect that a common definition of Torah action will be arrived at. Into this definition must be incorporated not only the philosophy common to both, but those ele­ ments of the creeds and experiences of each which, in Torah terms, are valid.

■pELIGIOUS JEWS everywhere are inspired by Mizug. Mizrachi and Hapoel ^ Hamizrachi, in jointly subordinating lesser to greater interests, have set a high example which can profitably be emulated among Torah forces at large.

May the newly united Religious Zionists of America (Mizrachi-Hapoel HaMizrachi), under the leadership of its distinguished president, Rabbi Isaac Stollman, go forward m’chayil el choyil. And may this merger point the way, B’ezrath Hashem, to unity among all ranks of the House of Israel under the banner of the Torah.

IT 'S Y O U R M O N E Y !

T H E TENDENCY towards greater consolidation in American Jewish comimmal life holds important promise for the future, yet is accompanied by features bearing ominous aspects. In the realm of community finances, par­ ticularly, a situation has developed warranting radical remedy. This is illus­ trated by a review of “the major developments in the field of community service” for the period 1955-56 recently issued by the Council of Jewish Fed­ erations and Welfare Funds. The review gives illuminating data on the disposia

JEWISH LIFE

tion of the communal funds of American Jewry. The latter term may be used advisedly. During recent years the community chest technique has been adopted by practically every large and small Jewish community in the country. The welfare funds have assumed complete dominance of the raising and distribution of funds for both domestic and overseas philanthropy.

In 1955, Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds-— each of which is auton­ omous— raised a total of $110,000,000. In the same year, the moneys raised through non-Federation sources (by 65 agencies, encompassing practically all organizations and institutions in the country) totalled $37,000,000. Thus almost 75 ^ of every dollar given by American Jews for organized philanthropy and communal endeavor is channeled through community welfare funds. Through their allocations—or the withholding thereof—these funds exercise ever-growing influence on Jewish social life.

The question arises as to the equitable fulfillment of this high trust. Is the distribution of the funds consistent with the community service merits of the applicants? It it objective? Is it, at least, in accordance with the intent of the givers at large, and does distribution of income conform with the diverse con­ stituencies from which the income is received? The CJFWF review bears evi­ dence that the answer to all these questions is — no.

■J*HAT THE welfare funds receive their support from almost every segment ^ o f the American Jewish populace is indicated by the statement in the review that: "Federations and welfare funds associated in the CJWF (217 in the U. S.) conduct their activities in almost 800 communities inhabited by 95 per cent o f the total Jewish population and supported by an estimated total of over 1,000,000 contributors.**

That number of contributors is equivalent (on the accepted minimum basis of 3 5 persons per family) to more than three out of every five Jewish families in the United States. Undoubtedly, therefore, welfare fund participation em­ braces a broad cross-section of the American Jewish community.

In view of the fact that local religious institutions are focal points of the fund-raising campaigns, it can certainly be taken for granted that those most closely identified with religious life — among whom orthodox Large Jews are much the most numerous — are represented, donationsOrthodox wise, in at least as high a proportion as other elements. An P articipa- illustration of this was offered by Rabbi Abraham N. AvRutick tion in J e w i s h L i f e , as far back as September 1952. He noted that half of the members of his orthodox congregation in Hartford, Conn, contributed to the local welfare fund, in above-average amounts, while "half of the Jewish population of this community made no pledge.” There is every reason to suppose that the example cited was fairly representative of the national picture and that the rate of orthodox participation has increased in subsequent years throughout the country.

It is all the more shocking, therefore, to find that religious agencies, and especially Torah causes, not only do not receive equitable consideration but ac­ tually are the victims of gross discrimination.

January-February, 1957

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T H IS IS apparent within each of the several categories under which the allocations are grouped in the review, and in the contrast of one category with another. Overseas agencies other than UJA received a total of $2,348,000 during 1955. From this, American Friends of Hebrew University received $349,000, Hadassah $626,000, National Committee for Labor Israel $346,000 and Pioneer Women $19,000. Contrast these allocations to those of religious agencies in the same category: Federated Council of Israel Institutions (representing 78 yeshivoth, orphanages, old-age homes and hospitals) $111,000, Ezras Torah Fund $9,000, Mizrachi Women’s Organization — not a penny!

For local services, the welfare funds allocated in 1955 $24,880,000 of which $2,811,000 was assigned to "Jewish Education.” It must be noted that "Education” allocations are predominantly grants given to community Education Bureaus, most of which are under secularist and non-traditional control. The congregational schools are usually not considered a community responsibility, while the Day Schools, despite their vital community character, are almost every­ where excluded from the welfare fund program.

Next in dollar amount for allocations among the several categories of "domestic agencies” is that designated "Community Relations,” in which are listed a number of prominent organizations. By far the most generous treatment is given to an agency which is by no means the most representative, namely (he Joint Defense Appeal of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defama­ tion League, which received a plush $1,628,000 in 1955. All the rest in that category received $1,201,000. ,1 • .

Going down the scale of presumptive worth, we find "National Service Agencies” receiving 1955 allocations totalling $1,215,000 all but $90,000 going to the National Jewish Welfare Board; 18 "Cultural Agencies received $720,000, out of which B’nai B’rith National Youth Service Appeal obtained no less than $412,000; and finally we hit bottom with "Religious Religious Agencies.” These, comprising 16 of the most important by A gen cies any intelligent standard — institutions and organizations on the a t B ottom American Jewish scene, including the seminaries and congrega­ tional bodies of the Reform and Conservative movements as well as eight major Yeshivoth, Yeshiva University, the Day School agencies and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, received a collective total of $449,000 in welfare fund allocations in 1955. And of this, the two Reform and Conservative agencies received well over one-half, $256,000.

Be it noted that each of the Yeshivoth, as well as Yeshivah University, numbers more rabbinic students than either of the two Reform and Conservative seminaries The total number of students at the orthodox institutions is many times the total of students at the non-orthodox schools.

OAYS the CJFWF review: “Welfare funds frequently define their responsibilities in terms of the total Jewish com­ munity and hence, exclude efforts considered to be the responsibility of limited groups or special interests.”

An excellent principle — but upon what basis, and by whom, is it applied?

Upon what premise — or rather, by whose preference — is the Jewish Theologi6

JEWISH LIFE

cal Seminary, for example, apparently deemed the responsibility of the "total Jewish community,” and granted $119,000, while an institution such as Torah Vodaath is presumably reckoned the responsibility of "limited groups or special interests” and dismissed with $19,000?

Why, as an example of different kind, are the apologetics and antiAntisemitic activities of the American Jewish Committee — Anti-Defamation League evaluated at a worth to the Welfare Funds of $1,628,000, while the creative and richly fruitful endeavors of Torah Umesorah, the major national agency servicing the Day Schools, are rated at a munificent $3,500? And again why, in the light of this principle, should orthodox agencies in all domestic and overseas categories (other than UJA and local services) receive altogether but $313,000 out of a total of $7,802,000?

The truth is clear enough. The formula which actually applies in the determination of Welfare Fund allocations is not one of principle but of preference. As in many other aspects of community life, elements representative only of "limited groups or special interests” secure positions of control and direct allocations in accordance with their wishes.

IX7ITH ALL due respect to the historical circumstances involved, we must * recognize that much of the fault lies with the forces of Orthodoxy them­ selves. To a large extent Orthodoxy is penalizing itself by the failure to present asconsolidated, or at least a coordinated, approach to the Welfare Funds, as well as to fund-raising problems at large. Addressing themselves The Fault individually to the community, orthodox agencies dissipate the of force of their position and command scant attention and respect O rthodoxy among the Welfare Funds. But to an equal extent, the leaders of religious Jewry in our communities are at fault. In many com­ munities, the spokesmen of orthodox Jewry — Rabbinic and lay — fail to ade­ quately bespeak the interests they represent in the councils of the welfare funds.

In the dazzling presence of the affluent and "socially prominent” representatives of the non-orthodox elements of the community, and of their articulate and well-trained henchmen, orthodox representatives are all too apt to be reduced to yes-men.

A stop must be made to the short-changing of orthodox Jewry by the Federations and Welfare Funds. The ultimate solution lies in consolidated fund raising, through which the religious agencies can address themselves effectively to the conditions of our times. But an immediate corrective can be applied by the leaders of Orthodoxy within each community. They must cease to permit themselves to be beguiled and bluffed, and must realize and apply the power which they represent. A large measure of responsibility for the financial well-being of Torah causes lies in the will of local orthodox leaders to get that to which their constituency is entitled, and which those whom they represent pay for.

January-February, 1957

7

• Israels Political Plight Viewed as the Showdown Nears

A n I n te r n a tio n a l O r p h a n

By M Y R O N KOLATCH J N WASHINGTON, the debate that This spotlights Israel’s unfortunate began on New Year’s day with the position in the world. One top-echelon President’s dramatic announcement of Israeli Government official, whose name his new Middle East policy is continu­ I cannot use, recently explained it ing. Senate approval is still being this way: "No other country practices sought for "the employment” of U.S. our religion, no other country speaks troops "against overt armed aggres­ our language and no country in our sion” in the region by a Moscow-con­ part of the globe wants us there. trolled power, and for the unrestricted Nothing makes us part of any group. distribution of $600 million in econo­ The Latin American countries are mic aid there during fiscal ’56,'’57 and bound together by language, religion, ’58. It is now apparent, however, that economics and geography. The Afrothe "Eisenhower doctrine” does - not Asian countries, in addition to having come to grips with the complex condi­ racial and geographic ties, feel a special tions that make the Levant a fertile kinship for each other because ,of their breeding ground for World W ar III. recently achieved independence. The It is incapable* of coping with Soviet satellite countries are held together by aggression by subversion, and it con­ the Soviet yoke. The West European tributes nothing toward solution of countries are joined in a common the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict. effort in NATO, etc. Israel does not Indeed, if there is anything at all belong to any bloc, it has no relatives. relevant to current Mideast difficulties It has some friends, some good friends, in the President’s January 6 message but it has no family.” to a joint session of Congress, it is the following: J H E T O U C H -A N D -G O existence that comes with being an interna­ “This program will not solve all the tional orphan was illustrated by the se­ problems of the Middle East. . . . There quence of events that got underway are the problems of Palestine and relations when the UN General Assembly took between Israel and the Arab .states, and the future of the Arab refugees. There is up consideration of the January 19 Af­ the problem of the future status of the ro-Asian resolution requesting Secreta­ Suez Canal. These difficulties are aggra­ ry General Dag Hammarskjöld "to vated by international Communism, but continue his efforts for securing com­ they would exist quite apart from that plete withdrawal of Israel” behind the threat. It is not the purpose of the legis­ lation I propose to deal directly with these 1949 armistice lines. A few of the Jew­ problems. The United Nations is actively ish State’s friends among the Latin concerning itself with these matters, and American countries felt that they could we are supporting the United Nations no longer ignore; the justness of its in that effort.”

8 JEWISH LIFE

Dag Hammarskjöld

pleas. Behind the scenes they urged positive action in its behalf. Other cir­ cumstances favored Israel, too. Wash­ ington was temporarily disenchanted with dictator Nasser, who did not seem to think the U.S.’s turning against Britain and France for their Egyptian adventure deserved his lasting appre­ ciation. There was also a need to blunt mounting Congressional criticisms of the Eisenhower doctrine’s failure to in­ sure Israel’s continued presence.

As a result, for the first time there was talk of permanently stationing UN Emergency Force troops in the Gaza Strip and Strait of Tiran to guard against the re-establishment of Fedayeen bases and the Gulf of Aqaba blockade. U.S. delegate Henry Cabot Lodge, although taking great pains to stress his backing of the Afro-Asian January-February, 1957

bloc’s initiative and praise its mildness, observed that a return to* the status quo ante appeared unwise. By a com­ bination of luck and uneasy con­ sciences, Jerusalem at least gained recognition that its aims were sensible.

Then came the vote; 74 nations sup­ ported the resolution and only France had the courage to back Israel in vot­ ing against it.

Five days later Hammarskjöld, in accordance with the resolution, report­ ed to the General Assembly on his efforts. Once more the situation be­ came promising. Canada’s Sir Lester Pearson, who fathered the UNEF, pressed for a new resolution that would clearly define its role. Unhappily the U.S., after some hesitation, decided that it could not go along with him and came up with two resolutions of its own. These were finally passed at midnight on Saturday, February 2. The first” orders Israel to pull back imme­ diately; it received another 74-2 vote.

The second calls for the stationing of UN troops along the Egyptian-Israeli armistice line, and asks the Secretary General to seek agreement on the "other measures” proposed in his re­ port; it got through with 56 approving votes and abstentions by the Soviet and Arab blocs.

As this is being written Israel, un­ able to find out precisely what.is meant by "other measures” even from the re­ solution’s sponsors, is sitting tight.

How the Gaza and Aqaba stalemates will be resolved is still unknown.

Whatever their final outcome, the es­ tablished pattern seems likely to dom­ inate the overall picture: In the morn­ ing things look brighter, and by even­ ing they are | twice as dark as they were the night before.

■OUT THE real hazard of travelling without a big family name in the 9

present community of nations, which can easily fee fatal, was pointed up on Saturday, November 24. That was the day the General Assembly voted on the now celebrated Afro-Asian resohition which noted 'w ith regret that . . . no Israel forces have been withdrawn behind the armistice lines,” and called on "France, Israel and the United Kingdom . . . to comply forthwith” by departing from Egypt.

About 10:00 A.M., Hammarskjöld circulated a letter from Israel’s per­ manent UN representative, Abba Efean, stating that "considerable bodies of Israeli troops and equipment which were in Sinai on 7 November are now back in Israeli territory.” A second letter from Eban, circulated at 3:00 P.M., complied with requests for more

specific information and reported that these forces comprised two infantry brigades.

Unmoved, India’s V. K. Krishna Menon, defending what he himself could only describe as the^ "hair-split­ ting correctness” of the resolution’s claim that Israel had not acted, insisted: "I challenge anybody to point out any statement by the Government of Israel, either in writing or oral, where they have stated before this Assembly that any Israel troops have been withdrawn behind the armistice lines . . . If that is so . . . we are prepared to alter the sentence . .

Immediately afterward Eban took the floor: "Let me then repeat that thousands of people who were in the Sinai Peninsula on 7 N o v e m b e r

CONFERENCE: India's UN representative Krishna Menon and U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles confer in delegates' lounge at the United Nations.

10

JEWISH LIFE

Abba Eban

amongst our armed forces have gone back, as I said, to their homes, to their farms, to their factories, in Tel Aviv, in Haifa, in Jerusalem, in the farms of the Negev and the Galilee; in places which, of course, are on the Israel side of the line established by the Armistice Agreement of 24 February 1949 . . . the undertaking of the representative of India to amend the resolution ac­ cordingly come into effect.”

But Krishna Menon, whose verbosity is well known, suddenly found himself speechless. Nor did the U.S. make a move to help him in his moment of affliction. Paul-Henri Spaak, the fear­ lessly democratic Belgian Foreign Min­ ister who came away from the session openly disgusted with the hatred shown toward Israel, did introduce an amend­ ment that would have made the resolu­ tion accurate, but it never had a chance.

January-February, 1957

TX7HY DID the Administration ac"*cept the dubious distinction of twice joining hands with the Soviet Union during one of its blackest peri­ ods, and of siding with a bloc that suffered a curious communication fail­ ure when the UN first condemned the smothering of Hungary? At an Auto­ mobile Manufacturers’ Assocation din­ ner on December 6, Vice President Richard M. Nixon explained: "Because we took the action we did, the people of Africa and Asia know that we walk with them as moral equals, that we do not have one standard of law for the West and another for the East. They know, too, that the United States has no illusions about the white man’s burden’ or white supremacy.’ ” Unfortunately, the U.S. chose to "walk” with the Afro-Asians at a time when they themselves seemed to "have one standard of law for the West and another for the East” — at a time when one might legitimately wonder whether they themselves didn’t have fanciful illusions about the "yellow man’s bur­ den” in a free world. Obviously, the excursion was taken to win that power­ ful bloc’s approval, and it succeeded.

A few weeks later, India’s Prime Min­ ister Jawaharlal Nehru, here *on a W hite House invitation, confirmed in a nationally televised broadcast that "the United States has greatly added to its prestige” by its action.

Clearly, therefore, Israel’s existence depends upon its ability to get itself adopted by a major bloc. International morality and justice are not sufficient to guarantee life when East and West are desperately vying for the allegiance of the uncommitted. A lone country, especially one which has drawn the fire of those being courted, is ex­ pendable. m

J^OGICALLY, Israel should itself be­ long to the Afro-Isian bloc. Geo­ graphically, economically and histori­ cally, it fits in best with that group, even though it has a Western culture.

But the door will be closed until the Arab states say it can be opened, and the prospects for a reversal by them in the immediate future are rather bleak. This leaves one hope: The West can be made to realize that, regardless of the short-term risk, it must dedicate itself to embracing all democratic na­ tions if it is to emerge victorious from the long-term struggle.

What if Israel does not succeed in gaining acceptance? "Then,” the official referred to before said with typical defiance, "we know what must hap­ pen and we are prepared for it.” Can Israel—for all its amazing accomp­ lishments until now—survive under pressure from the entire world? Un­ derstandably, Jews in general and Zion­ ists in particular tend to shy away from the ugly implications of this question.

Yet, the grim truth is that it may have to be answered in the uncertain future.

DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY If your wife is short in stature, bow down to her so that she may whisper into your ear.

Dissension knocks on the door of a household when the cup­ board becomes bare.

— Baba Metziah 59a PROPHECY Since the destruction of the Beth Haknesseth the gift of prophecy has been taken from the prophets and given over to fools and children.

The tongue holds the power over death and life.

— (Proverbs 18-21) THE GREATEST CROWN OF ALL Israel was given three crowns: The crowns of Torah, Priesthood and Royalty.

Aaron gained the crown of Priesthood . . . David gained the crown of Royalty.

But the crown of Torah lies ready and waiting for anyone of Israel . . . Whosoever is desirous may come and take it. Lest you might think that the other two crowns are of more worth than the crown of Torah, w e are told: "With me (theTorah) kings reign and princes decree justice. With me, the heads of state rule, the noble­ men as well as all the judges of the earth" (Proverbs 8: 15,16).

Thus you see that the crown of the Torah supersedes the other two.

— Rambam: Yad Hachazokah—Hilchoth Talmud Torah 3:1 12

JEWISH LIFE

• The Search for the Missing Cherem.

M ay J ew s R e tu r n to S p a in ?

By CECIL ROTH *pHERE IS a very widespread impres­ sion among Jews that, at the time of the Expulsion from Spain, the Rab-, bis of that generation placed a Cherem on the country, imposing a formal ban on any person who should return there. This idea is widely prevalent and I have come across it in all parts of the . world, though (curiously enough) more perhaps among Ash­ kenazim than among Sephardim. In making enquiry in a class of future Jewish ministers whose answers on other occasions tended regrettably to be at variance in points of fact, I found that three-quarters of those present had heard of it.

A rabbi once told me that travelling in the South of France, he approached the Spanish border and looked long­ ingly over on the forbidden soil, but did not set foot on it because of the Cherem! I recall that the then presi­ dent of the Board of Deputies of Brit­ ish Jews, at the height of the Nazi per­ secutions, stated in a public speech that the Jews should impose a Cherem on resettling in Germany or entering the country, as their fathers had done four and a half centuries earlier in connec­ tion with Spain. And among less-in­ formed persons, in all parts of the world, I have found a similar unanimity of opinion on this historical episode.

Always, this tale presented certain difficulties to me when I heard of it, and for two main reasons. First, that I could not understand why such a Cherem should have been imposed in January-February, 1957

the case of Spain and not of other countries. It was a horrible episode in our history, ended a brilliant age, and caused a great amount of suffering— but not more (save in scale\ than in the case of the expulsions from, say, England in 1290 and from France, in 1306 etc., in connection with which we are not told anything of this nat­ ure. Nor do we hear anything analo­ gous in connection with the various cities and provinces of Germany, in which the Jews were massacred and persecuted in the Middle Ages with a ferocity unknown in any other land..

JF THERE were a Cherem on the re­ settlement of the Jews in Spain, surely there should have been one against, let us say, the resettlement of the Jews in places such as Nuremberg.

But nothing of the sort is known. And there was another difficulty, too, which made the report suspect. In point of fact it is not true that Jews have been entirely absent from Spain in the cen­ turies after the Expulsion. All manner of sources—Inquisitional reports, gov­ ernmental regulations, and so on — make it clear that there was in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a constant trickle of visitors — most of them from North Africa, or later on merchants from the British stronghold of Gibraltar. Indeed, their presence was so notorious that at intervals the gov­ ernment issued instructions that they should wear a hat of distinguishing color, so that they could be recognized.

13

The Inquisition objected to their be of assistance in such an inquiry. One presence, protested against it, some­ of them was Professor Yitzhak Baer, times took steps for their surveillance the eminent authority on Spanish Jew­ and even ejection; but otherwise it ish history, whose great work on the was powerless against born Jews, who Jews in Christian Spain is one of the had never professed nor pretended to historical classics of our age. He re­ profess Christianity. The numbers in­ plied that he too had long been search­ volved were indeed very small, one ing for the evidence, but without re­ can only adduce a score or so of cases sult. I then repeated the inquiry in the spread over a period of centuries but house of my venerated friend, Hahafh nevertheless, this is sufficient to dem­ Yitzchak Nissim, Chief Rabbi of the onstrate that the exclusion was not Sephardi Jewish communities of Israel, complete. Yet, if it be true that the whose knowledge of the Respond Cherem against the entry of Jews into Literature, Sh’eyloth U’teshuvoth, espe­ Spain was in force, how was it pos­ cially of the Sephardi Rabbis, is un­ sible that these persons should have rivalled. overlooked it? In many cases they were The Haham knew of nothing bearing probably poor and ignorant, but this on the subject, though his erudite son, was not so in all.

Mr. Meir Benayahu, a great authority One of the Jewish bibliographical on the history of the Oriental Jewish treasures which I possess is the Spanish communities, called my attention to edition of Moses Almosnino’s remark­ an interesting teshuvah of Rabbi Moses able work on Turkish history, publish­ Trami, the great Safed scholar of the ed in Madrid in 1638 by Jacob Can- sixteenth century (i. 307), in which sino, member of a most erudite Moroc­ he expressed his confidence that no Jew can family, and an interpreter in the would return to Spain because the Spanish service, who had lived in the regathering of Jewish people to Pales­ Spanish capital, it seems, for half a tine was imminent. (It seems that he dozen years previously. Or there is a wrote under the dramatic impact of more outstanding case in the person Don Joseph Nasi’s attempt to colonize of the learned and pious Rabbi Sas- Tiberias.) This however is a long way portas, later Haham in London and removed from a Cherem. Indeed, the then in Amsterdam, who was for a conception could not be more different, long time the diplomatic representa­ and my search still continued. tive of the Sultan of Morocco at the W e have therefore no positive evi­ Spanish Court. That such a man, one dence for the existence of the Cherem; of the great scholars of the age, would definite proof that scholars of the sev­ have flouted the alleged Cherem, had enteenth century did not know of it; it existed, is inconceivable; and surely, but at the same time a persistent and if he were specifically and formally wide-spread legend which cannot be exempted from it there would certainly overlooked. How are these evidences have been some record of the fact. to be reconciled?

I am confident that at last I have Q EEK ING some positive evidence, found the solution to the mystery. Such when I was last in Jerusalem, I a Cherem did exist — but it was not consulted some of the persons whose in the form, and did not have the im­ vast knowledge of the sources might plications, generally believed.

14

JEWISH LIFE

^ H E R E WAS a recurrent problem * which troubled the Sephardi Jewish communities of Northern Europe of Marrano origin. It was the conduct of some of their members who, after es­ caping from Spain or Portugal, and formally embracing the Jewish faith in public and joining the Jewish com­ munities in their new places of resi­ dence, went back to the Peninsula for longer or shorter periods for business purposes or sometimes even for social visits. They hoped that none there would know how they had acted dur­ ing their absence, and therefore pre­ tended that they were still (and had always remained) Catholics. Some­ times, indeed, the Inquisition found out about them, proceedings were taken against them, and there would be a tragic conclusion at an auto-da-fe.

On the other hand, such visits pre­ sented serious problems for the Jewish communities as well. It was intolerable that those who had declared their al­ legiance to Judaism and had become members of the synagogue should throw it all up temporarily, travel to countries where they would not be able to practice the Jewish religion and would be compelled to conform again to Christianity, and then return and expect to be received in the Syna­ gogue on the same terms as before.

Obviously, this created an intolerable situation, which could not be passed over casually.

On one occasion, as I seem to recall having read in an eighteenth-century document, great scandal was caused at Bayonne when, on the ninth of Av, a member of the community returned to the town after a long business trip over the border of Spain, and a severe punishment was imposed on him. The regulations of the famous Society for Dowering the Brides (Hebra da cazar January-February, 1957

Orfas) at Leghorn, as drawn up in 1727, excluded from membership and benefits of the body any person who should pay a protracted visit to Spain or Portugal, as a logical corollary to the exclusion of any convert to Chris­ tianity. And in London the congre­ gation Sahar Asamaim put the matter on the most formal footing in its "Ascamoth” or Regulations. I trans­ late from the printed edition of 1785: Any person of our Nation, who has come from Spain or Portugal to this or any other land where Judaism is tolerated, and there professed our H oly Law, and afterwards returns to either of the said countries or to any other where he is obliged to live as a Christian, shall- be excluded from being a Yahid. Moreover, if he returns to dwell in this land, he shall not be admitted to our Congregation, nor to any other convenience which he could enjoy as a Jew, unless he goes upon the Teba on the day when the entire Mahamad shall appoint, at the time of prayer, and shall ask pardon in a loud voice for his crime from G-d alid the Kaal, and shall submit himself moreover to the penitence which the Senhor Hctharti . . . shall im­ pose. . . . -

There is more to the same effect, elaborating the circumstances and de­ fining the penalties, in effect equivalent to a Cherem. I do not know precisely when this regulation was passed — it does not figure in the original com­ munal regulations of the seventeenth century — but it certainly went back well before 1784. Moreover, most of the London Hascamoth are based on those of the Sephardi community of Amsterdam, which was in turn strongly influenced by that of the so-called "Nazione Ponentina” of Venice, and I have no doubt that the same attitude prevailed and similar penalties were enforced in those communities, whether or not they were formally enunciated ( which indeed iit the Catholic atmos­ phere of Venice might have been somewhat dangerous).

15

J T APPEARS to me that we have now reached the end of our enquiry, and solved the mystery that has been puzzling us. There was, in fact, no religious objection to the resettlement of Jews in Spain, still less to a tem­ porary visit. But there was a very proper and deep-rooted objection to the return to Spain of members of the Spanish and Portuguese communities, in circumstances in which they would have been compelled to dissemble their faith; and the penalties laid down vir­

tually converted this into something hardly distinguishable .from a Cherem.

In conversation with their Ashkenazi neighbors, Sephardim would state, not inaccurately, that a ban was imposed by their religious authorities on a visit to Spain. Taken out of its context, this was reinterpreted into something far more sweeping, more comprehensive, and more dramatic. But there ,is not (and never has been) any Cherem on the resettlement of Jews in Spain.

LIVING WITH EVIL It is the nature ol man to be drawn alter his friends and asso­ ciates with respect to the pattern of his thoughts and deeds, and to conduct himself according to the customs of his compatriots.

Therefore one should always associate with the righteous and live in the company of the wise so that he may learn of their deeds and stay away from the wicked who walk in the darkness, so that he may not learn of their deeds.

This is what Solomon says: "He who walks with the wise, be­ comes wise, but he who befriends the fools becomes wicked."

(Proverbs 13:20) And it is said: Fortunate is the man who has not gone after the advice of the wicked, etc. . . . (T'hillim 1:1). Similarly, if one lives in a country whose customs are evil and whose people do not tread the proper path, then he should move to a place where the people are righteous and lead the good life. And if all the countries of his knowledge do not lead a good life, such as is the case in our times, or if he is unable to travel to another country whose customs are good, because of highwaymen or ill­ ness, then he should live all alone, in solitude. And if they (the inhabitants of his place of residence) are wicked and sinful so that they do not permit one to reside in the country unless he mixes with them and lives according to their evil customs, then he should leave and dwell in caves, among the thorns and in deserts rather than to emulate the way of the sinful.

— Rambam: Yad Hachazokah—Hilcholh Daioth 6:1

16

JEWISH LIFE

• A Southern Community with Roots Deep in the Past Evolves in the Image of the Historic Jewish Pattern.

T r a d itio n in C h a r le sto n

By A A R O N SOLOMON Q N SUNDAY Sept. 30,1956, a fullpage advertisement appeared in the Charleston, South Carolina "News and Courier” (circulation 67,500) an­ nouncing the opening of a suburban branch of one of the largest furniture stores in town. It featured the usual come-on giveaways and attractions.

But the ad contained one statement which would seem strange, almost quite unbelieveable, in most other American communities, although taken almost as matter of course in Charleston. The J. L. Goldberg Furniture Company an­ nounced that in accordance with its policy of half a century, the new store would be closed from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

This company is not alone in its Sabbath observance in our city. Go down King Street, Charleston’s main shopping center, on a Shabboth after­ noon and you will notice a number of large retail stores selling clothing, hard­ ware, appliances and furniture, in ad­ dition to wholesale establishments, and, of course, such "Jewish” businesses as kosher meat markets, which are closed.

N o w c o n s i d e r that the total Jewish population of Charleston is about twenty-five hundred souls and you have a phenomenon with few parallels on the American Jewish scene.

TPHE HISTORY of the Jews in Charleston is long and distinguished.

The first recorded mention of a Jew dates back to 1695. The first rabbi appeared in 1732, and by 1750 the January-February, 1957

Jewish community was numerous enough and sufficiently prosperous to build a synagogue and set up a ceme­ tery. The congregation was known as Beth Elohim.

Significantly, no provision was made for communal responsibility for the education of the children. Charleston Jewish education was carried on by private teachers and private schools.

Tuition fees were high and out of reach for many parents. In 1824, a group which later became the Re­ formed Society of Israelites complained in *a memorandum to the synagogue: "It is not everyone who has the means . . . to acquire a knowledge of the Hebrew language, and consequently, to become enlightened in the principles of Judaism.” W ith the passage of the years, the widespread ignorance created pressures for changes in the traditional services, especially the substitution of English for Hebrew as the language of prayer.

By 1843, after several decades of intense argument which included reference to the courts, Beth Elohim became the first Reform temple in America.

Those who remained loyal to the religion of their fathers seceded and, strengthened by new arrivals, organ­ ized, in 1854, an orthodox congrega­ tion known as Brith Sholom. Less than two years later they dedicated their own synagogue. The structure was re­ built and enlarged several times as the congregation increased in size and in 17

BEFORE: Two leaders of Brith Sholom Beth Israel Congregation in Charleston check plans for restoration of historic synagogue. Corinthian columns (background), which adorned the Oron Kodesh for 100 years, were among items moved into new synagogue.

wealth during the succeeding decades.

Throughout these renovations, though, the original plan was maintained and the exceptionally beautiful Oron Kodesh and other installations were retained.

Brith Sholom faced many of the same educational problems which had beset Charleston Jewry in the preced18

ing century. The Civil W ar and the Reconstruction era certainly did not help ease these problems. Nonetheless, the observant Jews labored as best they could to instil in their children devo­ tion to the Holy Torah. Of course, some were lost to the Reform temple, but, on the whole, they seem to have succeeded remarkably well. For some JEWISH LIFE

AFTER: The open Oren Kodesh as it appears now in new synagogue structure. The marble tablet ol the Ten Commandments w as a gift to the congregation at its founding in 1854 from the Jewish community of Columbia. S. C. Restoration attracted national attention.

old-timers today testify that at the turn of the century there was hardly a Jewish business that was not closed on the Sabbath.

In 1911, dissension in Brith Sholom resulted in the organization of Beth Israel Congregation, but both con­ gregations cooperated in the main­ tenance of a joint Hebrew School.

January-February, 1957

INTHE last fifteen years, the great

industrial awakening in the South combined with Charleston’s excellent geographical location as a harbor to bring the city the greatest prosperity it has ever known. W ith the growth of the commercial center of town, Brith Sholom found itself right in'the heart of that center. Furthermore, the 19

synagogue was already far too small to accommodate the congregation.

Naturally, a desire arose to build else­ where.

At the same time, the Conservative movement became interested in Charleston. Here was a congregation almost a hundred years old, numbering among its members fourth, fifth and even sixth generation Charlestonians.

Surely, Conservative leaders thought, Brith Sholom, like Beth Elohim a century earlier, was now ready for the new *reform.”

So they sent in capable men | to propagandize the new sectarianism.

Their initial efforts were successful in that they created a nucleus of objectors.

But they failed dismally in the hope of taking over Brith Sholom. The argument resulted in a schism. Several families left and organized a Con­ servative congregation which subse­ quently built its own temple. How­ ever, the majority of the "old Charles­ tonians” refused to desert their fathers’ religious stronghold.

Interestingly enough, the Conservatives attracted a large number of people who were themselves immigrants who had pros­ pered and, as "nouveaux riches,” sought the social status which they thought an assimilated religion could give them.

The Conservative propaganda, how­ ever, had some effect even beyond their own ranks. For the Beth Israel con­ gregation, although it remained other­ wise orthodox in practice, bowed to the pressure to the extent that its new synagogue, built in 1945, did not havea Mechitzah separating the men’s and women’s sections of the sanctuary.

jyjEANWHILE, farsighted commu­ nity leaders decided that the time was now ripe for a reunion of Brith 20

Sholom and Beth Israel. Since the original break, there had always been those who dreamed of the day when the wounds would be healed and there would be a single orthodox Jew­ ish community. In 1955, the dream became a reality. The two congrega­ tions merged, henceforth to be known as Brith Sholom Beth Israel Congrega­ tion, with a membership of 357 fam­ ilies, over half of the total Jewish populace of Charleston.

It was decided to enlarge the former Beth Israel synagogue structure to accommodate all the membership. But more than that was undertaken. The congregation felt that the beauty of the century-old Brith Sholom syna­ gogue must not be allowed to fall prey to the ravages of time. Nor must the new synagogue remain as it was, in violation of the Torah requirements.

To accomplish both of these ob­ jectives at once, two men, William Feldman and Morris Sokol, long-time leaders in the congregation, undertook the tremendous task of restoring the interior of the old synagogue in the new one. Not only the sacred objects, such as the Oron Kodesh, but also all building materials that could be util­ ized, were dismantled piece by piece and rebuilt in the new structure. The Corinthian columns, which for a hun­ dred years had adorned the Oron Kodesh and inspired generations of worshippers, as well as the magnificent stained glass windows and a host of other antiques, were moved. Even the newly built women’s balcony rests on the self-same pillars which had seen a century of service in the old building. ^ H E WORK of restoration attracted widespread attention. Charleston, one of America’s most historic cities, was being enriched with another his­ torical monument.

JEWISH LIFE

The dedication service was set for Torahs were carried through the spe­ Thursday evening, August 30, 1956, cially illuminated street into the shool. the eve of the twenty-fourth day of The imposing ceremonial was telecast Ellul, 5716, exactly a century after the over both local TV channels and the dedication of the original synagogue. proceedings were broadcast on radio This date has even more ancient his­ as well, so great was the general com­ torical associations. For we read in the munity interest.

Prophets that this is the day on which "the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zeru- T H IS stirring manifestation of loyalty babel, governor of fudah . . . and the Ato Jewish belief has been accom­ spirit of all the remnant of the people panied by a recharged will to master and they came and did work in the problems combatted through two cen­ House of the Lord of Hosts, their G-d.” turies. For notwithstanding the trium­ phant loyalty of the overwhelming (Hagai 1:14) The dedication service will be re­ majority of Charlestons Jews, the fall­ membered for years as one of the most ing away of some elements has been a outstanding events ever to take place cause of great anxiety. Furthermore, in the city. In a processional rich with there has been a marked decline in per­ drama and colorful pageantry, the sonal observance among a large seg-

DEDICATION: Sifre Torah are carried through specially illuminated street into syna­ gogue courtyard in dedication processional. Rabbi Nachum L. Rabinovitch, Rav of the community, and other guest rabbis, led the imposing ceremonial.

January-February, 1957

21

ment of the community. It is true, Thus, most Jewish children get at least indeed, that there are quite a few Sab­ some form of religious training. Fur­ bath-observant businesses, but they are thermore, the example of the efficientno longer the majority or anywhere ; ly-run and intensive-type orthodox near it. For many, the tradition of school serves as a challenge for the Sabbath observance has become the other schools as well. badge of honor handed down from The influence of the Torah-true syn­ past generations to the generations of agogue is felt in many ways. The lar­ today and tomorrow, but too many gest local hotel maintains a kosher others could not resist the temptations kitchen, which was equipped by the of the times. Torah education that will synagogue sisterhood at a cost of ap­ take deepest root and shape of a truly proximately five thousand dollars. All Jewish American Jew, is the prime major community functions avail need. themselves of this facility.

Towards this purpose, Brith Sholom In the community fund - raising Beth Israel undertook, together with drives, orthodox leaders play a promi­ the Synagogue construction, the build­ nent role. If the Israel situation im­ ing of a large, new modern school. proves significantly in the next few This building is now nearing comple­ years, and the pressure for overseas aid tion and contains two kindergartens, a is reduced, the Welfare Fund’s support library, offices and ten classrooms. At will undoubtedly turn more to Ameri­ the same time, a bold new step forward can educational and service institutions. was taken and a more basic approach It is therefore of utmost importance was adopted with the opening in tem­ that in the evaluation of any allocations porary quarters, on September 4th, program, the orthodox point of view 1956, of a Day School which now has be well represented. Furthermore, in ten students in Grade One and thirty terms of general community prestige, in kindergarten. Charleston’s orthodox the leadership of the Welfare Funds in Jews hope that this new venture may most of our communities is almost un­ help solve their generations-old prob­ surpassed. In Charleston, the orthodox lems, and that there may yet arise a influence in this area is very substan­ generation of Torah scholars in their tial. midst.

Let it be recorded that the efforts of JE^LL THESE developments in a rela­ tively small provincial Jewish com­ Charleston Jewry to meet the religious needs of the community are not limited munity, I believe, hold great implica­ to the synagogue and the school alone. tions for the future of American Jewish For as part of their building project, life. W e often deplore the "hefkeruth” in the Jewish community. To a great a modern mikvah is included. degree, this is traceable to the lack of ^ GLANCE at the general commun­ an indigenous American Jewish tradi­ ity scene in Jewish Charleston re­ tion combined with basic deficiencies veals some interesting facts. In addition in the character and scope of Jewish to the 125 children attending the orth­ educational facilities. The great up­ odox-sponsored school, some eighty heaval of immigration, econom ic children attend the Conservative con­ struggle and social adjustment which gregational school, besides, of course, characterized the first and second gen­ those who go only to Sunday School. erations of each of the successive stages 22

JEWISH LIFE

INTERIOR: The northwest corner of the synagogue, showing the women's balcony, which rests on century-old columns, and two of the twelve stained-glass windows.

of American Jewish settlement made for the breakdown of the sacred forms and institutions of Jewish life, through the breakdown of the Jewish person­ ality itself.

But in a community with roots deep in the past, an American Jewish tradi­ tion evolves which is in the image of the historic Jewish pattern of the ages.

Charleston’s orthodox Jewry is address­ ing itself to the perpetuation of this January-February, 1957

tradition as a living force. This augurs well for the future of Torah Judaism throughout the land. For here is the promise that the Torah will yet flour­ ish in America as the general Jewish community matures. The signs of it are already visible everywhere. Of course, there will be required vast investments of energy and Mesiroth Nefesh, but the results, B’ezrath Ha­ shem, are sure.

23

H u n g a r ia n R efu g ees a n d T k e A m e r ic a n ^Rabbiner*

By OSCAR At. L1FSHUTZ ■pHE GREAT RUSH of Hungarian Refugees at the Luitpold Kaserne appeared to be over. The overflow camp located at Hohenbrun, on the outskirts of Munich, was almost empty.

When I returned home for the evening I said to my wife, "I think we have the situation well in hand.” The prob­ lems relating to our religious refugees had been coped with in every instance . . . And then the phone rang!

"Hello, Chaplain, this is Capt. Harris of Hq. Southern Area Command. You are alerted for 'Operation Safe Haven.’”

"What is it?” I asked, hoping that this was another routine message. Many officers were on alert standby status throughout the emergency.

"Haven’t you heard,” he asked, "about the 400 Jewish refugees com­ ing in tomorrow to Munich? Kosher ones! Better get ready, they’ve already been waiting from three to four weeks in Austria.” He informed me that they would go to Camp Hohenbrun, our overflow refugee center, and were ex­ pected to arrive via autobahn buses.

I acknowledged Cap. Harris’ mes­ sage and tried to relax after supper.

It was impossible. How could I imme­ diately set up a Kosher Kitchen for 400 people? W e had been serving fifteen to twenty-five per day at our refugee reception center — but four hundred!

It was December 24 — and everything was shut down for the next twentyfour hours. Food, dishes, utensils, pots — all swam about in my mind. W e set our machinery into motion with urgent 24

telephone calls to our committees and friends for an early morning start.

WEHAD mobilized our forces and

wwere ready for action. I called Mary Palevsky of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a veteran so­ cial worker in refugee affairs, to be ready at a moment’s notice. My assist­ ant, Pfc. Sam Roth, of Elmont, New York, was loading clothing and com­ fort articles at 0630 in the morning.

A quick call to Rabbi Krauss of the Israelische Kultusgemeinde obtained a promise of aid. Two prominent busi­ nessmen, Messrs. Ernest Landau and Moishe Freedman, promised to give up their already-planned day and be on hand for any assignment requiring their talents. Above all, my wife, Miriam, had telephoned our friends, cancelled the social engagements for the day, and was eagerly preparing a program of action for the "big event.”

•A short cut through Neubiberg, U.S. Air Force Base, loaded with aircraft of all descriptions, brought us to Ho­ henbrun in a short time. No sooner was the gate pole lifted to permit usto enter this former Nazi Army camp when Major Evans and his Staff be­ sieged us with greetings and welcome.

They were glad to have the Jewish Chaplain and his friends assist them in the dilemma. "Chaplain,” Major Evans said, "it is all yours. Anything you want you can have. Just say the good word. W e want to keep these people happy.”

JEWISH LIFE

Officer Washington, a Negro conduc­ tor, played Maoz Tzur and Ein Kelokeynu. It was the first time they had ever played these numbers; they were most anxious to please the new arrivals.

Can you imagine a band composed of Christian boys playing Jewish music on Christmas Day! Our women, wearing beautiful white M7E TACKLED the Kosher Kitchen problem first of all. Our volunteer armbands with blue Mogen-Davids, mashgiach, Mr. Daniel Ebraham, ar­ waved to the passengers and shouted rived to give a hand. W e took over "Sholom.” W e could see tears and the kitchen of the Albanian Labor handkerchiefs through the bus win­ Service Unit and began to "Kosherize” dows. At first they thought we were it in earnest. The Albanian guards Israeli representatives. They saw my looked on in bewilderment as the uniform — with the U.S. insignia and stoves were heated up, all kitchen the Ten Commandments emblem — items removed and new utensils un­ and we could hear the hushed whispers packed by our servicemen. The Mess as they relayed the message, "AmeriLieutenant came in triumphantly with kaner Rabbiner.” They hugged our a case of tuna fish on his shoulder that committee as they descended from the he had put away for just such an bus and danced with joy when they found we could converse with them in emergency.

"I’ve got some sardines, too,” he Yiddish. whispered to me on the side and I nodded my approval to him. He TN QUICK order they were processed couldn’t understand why he couldn’t and brought to the Assembly Hall. use the Christmas turkeys — "after all, A Hungarian interpreter welcomed they aren’t pork”! I thanked him pro­ them in their native tongue and then I fusely for his kindnesses — and tried was asked to say a few words of wel­ "to teach him the Torah on one foot.” come: After my first few words in Eggs by the hundreds boiled in our Yiddish there wasn’t a sound in the pots -trrwhile my wife heated milk for hall. They listened as attentively as if the babies and children. The supplies it were a Yom Kippur sermon in the of gefilte fish were removed from the synagogue. I could see a shtreimel here truck and put into readiness. The re­ and there — as well as beautiful beards serve stock of Passover Matzoth was and peyoth. When they heard that piled high. Our businessmen-helpers "kosher meals” were being prepared, carried cases of fresh oranges and they applauded and when I related to stacked them along the serving line. them that in the United States they Soldiers moved gingerly about warning would find freedom and happiness, they everyone, "Only kosher stuff allowed in cheered. The few words were hardly here off limits to everything not worth the ovation I received — but I O.K.’d by the Chaplain.” W e were believe they found in them the answers off to a flying start when the buses to their plight. "Yasher Koach,” I heard from every side. arrived.

Our Kosher Kitchen worked with An Army band led by Chief Warrant

The Mess Lieutenant welcomed me with a sigh of relief. "If we have it — you’ve got it,” he said, "but please let’s rush; we expect them in an hour.”

The Major briefed us on the processing procedure, and we assumed our "battle stations/’

January-February, 1957

25

military efficiency — and with gestures where words failed, every heed was met. My wife took care of the special diet needs of the babies, the children and the sick. Mary Palevsky worked valiantly on the counter line, and the mess personnel backed up our efforts.

Together with the mess officer I helped direct "the battle of the kosher mess’" until we had overcome hunger. W ith happy smiles the refugees returned to the hall.

The kitchen staff began to clean up the rubble — and to prepare immedi­ ately for the next meal. Only then did we realize that our own staff had for­ gotten to eat.

During the next few hours we vis­ ited with the families, and felt our­ selves transported to the "hell and horror of Hungary.” Stories of Anti­ semitism, cruelty, p e r s e c u t i o n and hatred filled our ears. Little babies slept in their mothers’ arms unaware.

of the drama about them. Our com­ mittee came in and out,with hot milk bottles for the children, and my assist­ ant mingled among the groups passing out candy and gum.

Until the late hours we listened as they-relived the drama of the exodus to freedom. It was a world of Sholom Aleichem come to life, as the Chasidim related of their communities and Rabbis.

JT WAS close to midnight when the last of the four hundred Hungarian Jewish refugees boarded the busses for Munich Rheim Flughafen. The Hohenbrun Kaserne seemed so empty and quiet. The nearby beacon-light of Neubiberg pierced the sky with a wav­ ing finger of light. As we rode home­ ward we heard the drone of an airliner passing overhead. In our hearts we bade the passengers, "Go in peace— come in peace! ”

WISDOM OF TORAH Torah is compared to water . . . because just as water never collects on any incline but rolls off it and collects at the bottom in a pool, similarly the wisdom of Torah is not to be found among the haughty or the arrogant but only in the meek and humble per­ son who follows in the dust of the wise and who removes from his heart temporal passions and pleasure; who works but a small part of each day—just enough to support himself if he tacks food —and spends the rest of the day and night with the study of Torah.

Rambam: Yad Hachazokah— Hilchoth Talmud Torah 3:9

ADVICE "Look not at the vessel but rather at its contents."

— Aboth 4:20 Jealousy, passion and the desire for glory cause the destruction of the person.

— Aboth 4:21

26

JEWISH LIFE

Israel s C o lo r L in e

By JOSEPH FRIED

A re These Jews From India T reated A s Equals

By Their M odern W estern Brethren in Israel?

Q N E DAY SEVERAL months ago, shocked Israeli citizens picked up their morning papers. Smack in the middle of the front pages of a half dozen newspapers was the report about a cafe owner in the prosperous little town of Ashkelon who refused to serve "blacks” on his premises.

They had hardly recovered when the case of a well-to-do Oriental Jew’s January-February, 1957

lawsuit against occupants of an apart­ ment house who refused to approve* of the sale of a vacant apartment in the building -to the man and his family made the papers.

Isolated incidents? Unfortunately not. These and many cases like them that rarely make print today comprise an irritating social blemish which mars Israel’s otherwise healthy national com27

plexion. Ignoring its presence, as some well-meaning Israelis are inclined to do, stimulates rather than relieves the condition. No handy remedy has yet been invented to cure Israel of the ailment that today tends to divide her citizens, foster animosity and stir hatred.

Plainly and simply, Israel is faced with a color problem which if left un­ checked threatens to split her populace right down the middle. On one side are the nation’s Ashkenazim, Jews of European and otherwise non-Sephardi backgrounds. On the other, vast as­ sortment of Jews from the East classi­ fied under the general heading of Orientals, and including not only Yemenites, Moroccans and Kurds but also Israel’s sizeable Sephardi popu­ lation.

•Does discrimination exist against Oriental Jews in Israel? The sad truth is that it does. A considerable segment of Israel’s ’white” population is en­ gaged in subtle and sometimes open bias against the nation’s ’’blacks”.

The bias covers a wide range. It includes what amounts to nearly a segregated school system; a marked 28

attitude on the part of many Ashkenazi parents to discourage association be­ tween their youngsters and the off­ springs of ’’dark” parents; an occasional desire by landlords and tenants to keep out ’’blacks”, and a too-generally held concept that Oriental Jews are inferior if not retarded.

No less a figure than Prime Minister Ben-Gurion has taken the lead in com­ bating these attitudes and actions which tend to divide Israel’s people.

Calling for brotherhood and under­ standing, Ben-Gurion, joined by re­ sponsible leaders in both camps, is making war on bigotry. In this, they have the support of Israel’s two Chief Rabbis. gASICALLY, the problem of bigotry has been almost unavoidable in Israel. To this problem-gripped little country in 1948 came human waves of two distinctly different backgrounds and temperament. Augmenting their scanty baggage, immigrants from European countries brought a sizeable understanding of modern society and the industrial age. Oriental Jews, for the most part deprived of education in the Arab lands of their origin, lacked the technological knowledge of the modern age and, in some cases, even the barest essentials of democratic re­ sponsibility.

Thrust together in a pace-setting atmosphere typical of any growing, pioneering country, incidents were not long in coming. The cry soon went up in many Oriental circles that from employment to housing and schooling to positions of leadership, the Ash­ kenazim were engaged in willful discrimination. ”W e are unloved stepchildren — nothing more,” was the terse summa­ tion of one Oriental Jew who might JEWISH LIFE

well have been expressing the feelings of the majority of his people. , Sometimes earning only half the salary paid to skilled Ashkenazim en­ gaged in the professions and highpaying cooperatives, almost always living in half the space enjoyed by "'whites”, the Oriental Jew of Israel feels shunned and side-stepped.

He finds little solace in the fact that though comprising more than half of the country’s population, members of his ethnic grouping are scantily rep­ resented in the nation’s leadership. Of the Knesseth’s 120 members, only eight are Orientals. W ithin the coalition government, only Police Minister Behor Shitreet is of Oriental origin.

The Histadruthi’s powerful policy­ setting executive council is composed of 91 members. Eighty-three are Ashkenazim.

But figures don’t tell the whole story.

At the core of what is obviously a lopsided division of leadership is the fact that a large bulk of Israel’s Ori­ ental Jews are insufficiently socially advanced to share the reins of com­ mand.

W ill Oriental Jewry under the pres­ ent educational system reach the point where it will be able to assume its rightful place in the country’s leader­ ship? Unless the trend is in some way altered, the likelihood that Israel’s leadership will become more ethnically balanced is probably remote.

While more Oriental children attend Israeli elementary schools than ever before, less than 10 percent of the total enrollment in the country’s sec­ ondary schools consists of Oriental Jewish youth. The causes are: steep tuition fees beyond the financial grasp of many impoverished though talented Oriental youngsters; a lack of academic prerequisites, and the failure of Ori­ ental parents to appreciate the need January-February, 1957

or value of a higher academic educa­ tion for their youngsters.

As a result, the majority of Oriental Jewish youth who do choose to con­ tinue schooling upon graduation from elementary grades enter into the nation’s vocational schools.

The failure, whether out of desire or economic inability, to seek academic advancement, is one of several sig­ nificant yet understandable short­ comings on the part of Oriental Jewry itself. For one thing, Oriental leader­ ship of a creative nature is sorely lacking even within its own ranks.

It has failed to keep pace with the rising standard of living among the Orientals themselves. The once closeknit family circle so symbolic of Oriental Jewry is giving way under the strain of modern Israeli life.

No longer confined to virtual ghettos, Oriental youth has rushed perhaps over-zealously to embrace European customs. While an inability to digest at so rapid a pace coupled with something less than a whole­ hearted acceptance has retarded the consumption, much of the '"old life” and with it not a few of their fore­ fathers’ virtues have gone by the wayside.

29

gECAUSE EDUCATION is so ob­ viously a key to the dilemma of evolving a more united, composite Israel, a sharp look at the country’s educational system is an essential "first” in considering Israel’s ethnic problems. Unhappily, nowhere is a veiled bias more evident—or more significant—than in the nation’s pub­ lic elementary schools.

Ideally, the country’s school system should promote brotherhood as well as general learning. For what better period is there for cultural integration than during pre-adolescence when friendships are fast in forming. In­ stead, what is tantamount to almost segregation on a level vaguely reminis­ cent of that in the American South is to be found too often.

To be sure, and this is to the credit of all Israelis, there is no deliberate policy of school segregation practiced by the authorities. W hat is prevalent, however, is a system of zoning in major communities which has brought in its wake classrooms composed of one ethnic group or another. In some cases, there are sprinklings of Oriental youngsters but too often, the groupings are sharply.divided.

Though progress is being slowly made in altering this out-of-focus educational picture, a spot check of Tel Aviv’s public schools shows that almost half are segregated. While it is true that as a result of residing in closely massed neighborhoods where the population is often almost totally devoid of Ashkenazi families, Oriental parents earmark their youngsters for what cannot help but be segregated schools, still little effort has been made in re-zoning the present system in such a manner as to bring together Oriental and Ashkenazi youngsters in mixed 30

classes where neighborhoods skirt one another.

W ith all of its shortcomings, the school zoning plan allows some inter­ mingling. The same cannot be said in areas like Jerusalem where parents are afforded the right to send children to the elementary school of their choosing. Here the extent of latent bias is most strongly felt. For where the choice is their own, a high per­ centage of Israel’s Ashkenazim place their children in schools largely devoid of Oriental students.

In rural areas the picture is equally unpromising. Few Orientals are en­ gaged in kibbutz life. In the more appealing moshav movement, Oriental Jews too often are placed within the confines of their own ethnic grouping.

Understandably, the more familiar sur­ roundings of individuals from their own backgrounds tends to ease the early difficult stages of life in Israel for the newcomers. But the failure to distribute Oriental immigrants into a mixed moshav population and thereby breed mutual understanding between them and their Ashkenazi brethren instead of distrust is having its plainly harmful effects.

While the problem of more closely joining together the ethnic groupings JEWISH LIFE

§ 11 * S 1

S o lv in g

Is r a e l's E t h n i c a l J ig s a w

of Israel has been becoming propor­ tionately more serious during recent years, it would be incorrect to ascribe its existence solely to the large waves of Oriental immigrants who have come to Israel since 1948. As early as 50 years ago, and certainly in the period immediately preceding World W ar II, both groups kept a cool if semirespectful distance.

A survey conducted during 1939 in Jerusalem, for instance, showed that inter-marriages between the ethnic groups were so rare that Jewish families resulting from marriages in which one partner was of Oriental background— and remember by "Ori­ ental” we have included Sephardic— constituted under three percent of the total Jewish family picture of the Holy City.

While marriages between Ashke­ nazim and Orientals are on the upgrade today, they are not as widespread as some quarters anxious to brush off the brotherhood problem here would have one believe.

J7CONOMICS PLAYS a prime role in the overall problem. W ith their larger families, the Orientals find the financial pull hard and generally less rewarding than Ashkenazim. For al­ though bigger families provide the opportunity for more than a single bread-winner, the type of work open to Orientals of all ages is largely limited to unskilled manual tasks.

In the average Oriental home, the father may depend on a temporary, un­ skilled public works position for em­ ployment; the mother, lacking any January-February, 1957

is

O ne of N a tio n 's M a jo r H eadaches

vocational training, a household service job; and the youngsters, instead of pur­ suing studies, part-time jobs as delivery boys or news vendors.

Contrast this with the Ashkenazi family where the main breadwinner is more often than not a skilled worker or technician; the mother, a well-paid secretary; and the youngsters are com­ pleting an education which is prepar­ ing them for good jobs later.

Too many Orientals appear content to shout about the economic differences which separate the two ethnic groups but do little about it. And too many Ashkenazim, despite vigorous lip serv­ ice, are not anxious to help rectify the unbalanced division of earning power.

Even had the Oriental Jews, coming from backward areas of origin, entered immediately into the rapid lifestream of a new Israel, the economic differ­ ences would obviously have come to pass as a result of the Orientals’ general lack of technological know-how. But what aggravated the condition was that for many tens of thousands of Orientals the great step from backwardness to self-sufficiency was delayed sometimes by as much as years.

Stepping off boats and into lives in crowded ma’abaroth or tent cities, a process necessitated by the grave hous­ ing shortage of the early 1950’s, proved harmful. Watched over, strictly man­ aged and cared for, the new immigrants tended to develop a sense of depend­ ency which stifled creative expression.

Though better briefed on their new land than when arrived, Oriental Jews left the ma’abaroth as a group hardly 31

conditioned for the rigors of a highly competitive society.

Oriental Jewry by and large faced another problem directly related to the economic needs in which it finds itself today. Many Orientals were small merchants or otherwise self-employed in their native lands, and were for the first time holding down jobs, reporting for work at a set time and subjected to the discipline of foremen.

In their lands of origin they began work when it best suited them; went for lunch when their stomachs com­ manded and called it a day when tired­ ness or inclination provided the signal.

The time-clock, the insistent foreman, the work quota — all of these have in fact stripped the Oriental Jew of his most prized possession as he knew it: his independence.

The slogan "Todays Youth Are Tomorrow’s Leaders” rings of empti­ ness when applied to Israel’s Oriental youngsters. Older members of the ethnic group may cling to their past traditions, but the youngsters are caught in the middle. Many do not know where they are going or how to get there.

Unlike Israel’s Ashkenazi youngsters who rally around the youth organiza­

32

tions of their choice, Oriental youth participates only scantily in this focal point of early citizenship training.

Perhaps one of the big factors for this is that the youth movements, espe­ cially in the predominant labor sphere, fail to particularly interest the Orien­ tal teen-agers, most of whom have no desire for lives as pioneers or farmers.

City-dwellers for centuries, the Orien­ tals mainly shy away from anything smacking of rural life.

As in the case of the nation’s semidivided public school system, here an­ other opportune media for integrating Oriental and Ashkenazi youngsters is largely missed. But the implications to the Oriental Jewish youth’s develop­ ment are even more pronounced when viewed against the background of the lack of cultural youth groups of their own.

The net result is that the teen-ager of Oriental origin is in dangerous mid­ stream: he is drifting away from his own background but not necessarily toward a new and broadened future.

This void, coming as it does at an es­ pecially impressionable period in life, creates a listless, I-don’t-care attitude among many Oriental teen-agers.

While Ashkenazi youngsters of the same age are largely engaged in con­ structive youth activities, too often some Oriental youngsters seek outlets in clannish teen-age gangs. A case in point is the brutal murder 20 months ago of 16-year-old Rami Rosenberg of Rehovoth.

Significantly, the mild - mannered Ashkenazi youth was stabbed to death by a teen-aged Oriental Jew of the exact same age at the climax of a dis­ pute between a boys’ gang and an organized pioneer youth group. Ap­ parently feeling left out for one reason or another, the Oriental youngsters JEWISH LIFE

Cultural integration of Israels diverse elements is usually a slow process, but here, a tinker who came to Israel from Bulgaria in 1949, watches a recent arrival from Yemen (r) and one from Morocco battle it out in a game of checkers.

used their gang to annoy and molest other youngsters on their way to club meetings. The result: young Rosen­ berg’s murder.

THE ORIENTAL youth reaches the mid-teens, his sense of loneli­ ness becomes m ore p ro n o u n c ed .

Whether out of inclination, fear of being unwelcome or due to parental discouragement, few Oriental boys avail themselves of membership in Gadna, the nation’s youth army which trains youngsters from 14 to 18. Even fewer Oriental girls are to be found in Gadna’s ranks.

A changing point in the lives of many Oriental youngsters comes with induction into the Israel Defense Forces at 18. No other single agency in Israeli life has worked so hard or January-February, 1957

derived such success in overcoming bias and spurring integration as the Israeli military. Better than any other institution, it side-steps any suggestion of segregation, shuffles Israeli youth of all origins into a cohesive deck of fight­ ing men, and provides Oriental Jews with a true sense of belonging and purpose.

Hammering away at the barriers of ethnic strangeness which often sepa­ rates Oriental Jews from their fellow citizens as much as deliberate, albeit veiled, bias practiced by some Ashke­ nazim, the Army and other branches of the military maintain strict equality.

The close comradeship which has emerged between Oriental and Ash­ kenazi youth as a result of Army train­ ing is a striking example of the in­ herent advantages to be found in close33

quarter relationships between youth of both groups.

Obviously, overcoming the differ­ ences which now divide Israel’s citi­ zenry is of paramount importance to the nation’s future well-being. A di­ vided nation cannot face or hope to overcome what is fast becoming a more formidable and united Arab enemy.

Part of the solution rests with the Oriental Jews themselves. Better in­ ternal leadership and a greater accept­ ance by the general Oriental populace of the place and importance of educa­ tion in the lives of their own young­ sters are among the essential pre­ requisites.

The stereotype which casts every Ashkenazi in the guise of an exploiter or favored individual must be shattered.

So too must the too prevalent Ash­ kenazi attitude of judging Orientals as "noisy, uncouth and lazy” be radi­ cally corrected.

The giant-sized portion of the ethoic jig-saw would seem to be in the hands of the better educated, technologicallyattuned Ashkenazi population of Israel.

To fit the scattered parts into place and thereby give an actual oneness to the nation’s citizenry will obviously require a broadened outlook, which rates Oriental Jews on an individual rather than on a purely group basis; a more deliberate program designed to provide Oriental Jews with better educational and employment opportunities, and above all, an end to growing separa­ tion, whether in se m i-se g re g a te d schools or on a social level. " B L A T T 'S

C A N D L E S '1

Public campaigns pointing up the value of advanced education should be conducted for Oriental youth and parents. The generally more fortunate Ashkenazi brethren of Israel’s Oriental Jews should extend a helping hand and encourage the Orientals in striving for positions of leadership on the national scene and in public institutions.

Practiced diligently over a number o f .years, such a composite program may return Israel’s "unloved step-chil­ dren” to the national family fold. Ig­ nored any longer or allowed to drift hopelessly with only feeble, uncoordi­ nated attempts to rectify the troubled situation, the clash of ethnic groupings could leave a perilously deep scar on the face of Israel.

Bigotry isn’t a pretty thing, what­ ever its form. But ignoring its presence has yet to provide a panacea towards eradicating bias.

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34

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JEWISH LIFE

A fte r S in a i

By I. HALEVY-LEVIN W h a t Does Israel H op e to A ch ie v e in G aza and A q a b a ?

A Report From O u r Correspondent .

IN ISRAEL the elation of victory

has subsided, giving way to a more sombre appraisal of the situation.

There is a strong undercurrent of dis­ appointment that the major objective of the Sinai Campaign, namely, the settlement of the Israeli-Egyptian dis­ pute, for which the removal of Abdul Nasser from office is an essential pre­ condition that has not — or, at least, has not yet— been achieved.

The fact that after Sinai Israel seems further than ever from this goal, that its relations with the United States are today seriously impaired, combined with the spectacle of the two major world powers vying with each other to rehabilitate a bankrupt and defeated would-be Hitler, seems not quite com­ prehensible. Yet the gains of the Sinai Campaign are visible and substantial and-—unlike the outcome of FrancoBritish intervention in the Canal Zone — provide adequate justification for Israel’s resolution to smash the threat of a Russo-Egyptian attack.

It is reasonable to hope that the danger of such an attack has been removed for several years to come.

Five divisions of Nasser’s army, three quarters of his air force, have been destroyed. Nasser, by keeping his isolated camps in the desert, by hold­ ing Egyptian prisoners-of-war repatri­ ated from Israeli hospitals incommuni­ cado, has so far succeeded in keeping a knowledge of the full extent of the lanuary-February, 1957

Je r u s a l e m :

defeat he has suffered from his people.

In part, at least, the campaign of repression and confiscation launched against the Jews and the British and French citizens in Egypt is designed to achieve the same object. It is merely a matter of weeks, however, before the people of Egypt learn the truth.

"Muhatatu Israel,” Israel’s A ra b ic broadcasts, are known to be very pop­ ular in the surrounding countries, and from the Egyptian press and radio it is clear that the Egyptian police have not succeeded in preventing listening-in to Jerusalem. In addition, the Sinai de­ bacle is an important weapon in Bagh­ dad’s armory in the current IraqiEgyptian Cold War. For the time being Nasser’s mouthpieces, Al-Goumhouriya and A-Shaab, can rant in the old style about teaching Israel a lesson if she does not withdraw her troops from Gaza soon, but their bluster has a hollow ring to it.

TVTASSER, it is true, has powerful interests working for him, who for their own purposes are intent on keeping him in the saddle. The Amer­ icans believe that they have to do with a much-chastened dictator. Nas­ ser, they feel, having witnessed that not only his Russian backers but his Arab allies were incapable of mobiliz­ ing anything more substantial than 35

propaganda and threats,> will now prove more tractable. On this point Israel has grave misgivings. Nasser shows every sign of having learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Israel regards this approach as pregnant with another outbreak which it will prove far more difficult to isolate than the Sinai Campaign.

Egypt’s military dispositions along the El Arish - Abu Ageila - Kuseima front, which were clearly of an offen­ sive nature, and documents captured in Sinai and Gaza, prove that Israel’s action forestalled a three - pronged Egyptian-Jordan-Syrian attack, strongly supported by Soviet Russia, the object of which was no less than the exter­ mination of Israel. Military experts in

this country are convinced that even in such a war, in which the Arab countries would have enjoyed the additional ad­ vantage of surprise and of forcing action on three fronts simultaneously, Israel would have merged victorious.

Hostilities, however, would have lasted much longer and the number of cas­ ualties—on both sides—would have been far higher than that sustained in Sinai.

Another important gain is the pub­ licity given as a result of the campaign to the extent of the Soviet penetration into the Middle East, and of their military aid to Egypt. The vast mili­ tary camps and bases captured, the immense quantity of tanks, artillery, vehicles, arms, ammunition and other

WAR ROOTY: Israeli troops inspect Egyptian tanks captured in Sinai campaign. The value of the Egyptian military equipment now in Israel's hands is over $50,000,000.

36

JEWISH LIFE

military m a te rie l, th e m o d ern ly equipped hospitals, even the two million bedsheets and the million blankets

found by I s r a e li troops, all point to a build-up for an army with a Europear standard of living.

W e a k e n e d Nasserism

■THE SINAI campaign also served to ■widen the split in the Arab camp and to weaken the hold of Nasserism.

Unlike the fascist ideologies which serve as its model, Nasserism has no pretensions to any social or political doctrine. It is merely a convenient term for Nasser’s megalomaniac am­ bitions. The relations between Egypt and Iraq, for many years not cordial, are today openly hostile. Only some months ago, little Lebanon, instigated

by Egypt, was talking of nationalizing the oil-pipelines and installations in her territory. But now Lebanon has edged herself out of Egyptian tutelage and is today supporting the West.

Saudi Arabia has maintained a discreet silence on treaty obligations to its Egyptian ally, confining itself to a demonstrative refusal to supply oil to Britain.

Even Jordan, under the violently pro-Nasser Suleiman al Nabulsi, care­ fully refrained from permitting Fedayeen operations from her soil for the duration of the campaign. Jordan was fearful of giving Israel reason for retaliation, which would have exceeded the bounds of routine reprisal raids.

Nabulsi, it is interesting to note, had refused to accede to Nasser’s demand to sever relations with Britain and forego the latter’s 32 million dollar subsidy, until his allies gave him ade­ quate guarantee of their capacity to provide an equivalent sum. Egypt’s only ally remains faction-ridden, com­ munist-controlled Syria, which no less than her sister-Arab states proved a broken reed in Egypt’s hour of need.

January-February, 1957

Sinai has helped Israel to break out of its ring of isolation, and to secure closer friendships, notably with France France, it is true, has throughout been sympathetic to Israel and already in the W ar of Liberation extended in­ valuable aid. But until recently the Quai D ’Orsay was cautiously weigh­ ing Arab and Israeli friendship in the scales, in the hope that somehow its relations with the Arabs could still be repaired. Abdul Nasser made a notable contribution towards enlightening the French on Arab sentiments towards them by providing the arms pool, the training ground and the propaganda center for the insurgents of North Africa.

These friendly relations between France and Israel have already been translated into the commercial sphere in a favorable trade pact. They will be further strengthened in the next few months by French aid in the con­ struction of a thirty-two inch bore oil pipeline from Elath to the Mediter­ ranean, which, to quote Mr. Ben Gurion in an interview with the Paris Figaro, 'w ill liberate the world’s oil supplies from the caprices of dic­ tators.”

T’HE NEW respect that Israel’s Sinai victory has won is not the least of the achievements of the campaign.

Nasser’s apologists in the West first argued that Israel’s moral position had been impaired as a result of its "ag­ gression”, but as the smoke of the battlefield has cleared even they have ( Continued on Page 40)

37

GAZA TODAY While the United Nations ponders the future of the Gaza Strip, captured by Israel after eight years of Egyptian occupation, the Jewish State has embarked on projects designed to bolster the economy of the Strip and to provide for full selfgovernment. These photographs 1depict vividly the life of Gaza citizens under Israeli civil administration.

A b o v e , G a z a c i t i z e ns shown at orange packing for export to Israeli mar­ kets. Price received is same as for oranges produced in Israel.

Right, newly - appointed ArabmayorofGaza, Rushdi Shawa, at inaugu­ ration ceremonies of Mu­ nicipal Council. Lt. Col. Chaim Gaon, district gov­ ernor, is seated at left.

Left, women on w ay to village well in Gaza Strip.

Israel has agreed to evac­ uate troops but wants to keep administrative per­ sonnel and police in the Strip.

( Continued from Page 37) begun to concede that her motives were purely those of self-defense.

Suez remains blocked but the block­ ade of the Gulf of Aqaba has been breached. Israel is fighting hard to ensure that the straits at the mouth or the Gulf remain open and that the islands of Tiran and Snapir which com­ mand them and which she at present occupies remain permanently demili­ tarized. It is recognized in this country that Israel’s future largely depends on her success in integrating herself, eco­ nomically no less than politically, into the Asian continent.

In this context the significance of Elath as Israels Window to Asia and Africa is inestimable. Over the past two months, already, it has served as the outlet for a growing volume of import and export trade with East Africa. W ithin a matter of months it will emerge as a major oil port circumventing Suez. An eight-inch diameter pipeline to Beersheba, capable of supplying half of Israel’s oil needs is already under construction and is scheduled to be completed before spring.

It does not seem conceivable that when the Suez issue is settled it will remain blocked to Israel’s shipping.

The Sinai Campaign has painfully re­ minded the nations that Egypt’s refusal in 1951 to comply with the Security Council’s ruling on Israel’s right to free passage was the prelude to the nation­ alization of the Canal.

Mr. John Foster Dulles has gone on record as saying that the atmosphere at present is not conducive to peace settlement. If this is the case it is in no small measure a result of Amer­ ican intervention on Nasser’s behalf.

At the recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization Council meeting in Paris it was recognized that "the Israel-Arab dispute facilitates Soviet penetration into the Middle East and is, together with the nationalization of the Suez Canal, at the root of the recent troubles, and represents a threat to world peace.”

If this sinks sufficiently deeply into the minds of the members of NATO it must result in pressure to come to terms with Israel which Nasser and his cronies — and also the other Arab states — will find it hard to withstand.

Failure of Objective

J HE WITHDRAWAL of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula is a bitter pill for this country to swal­ low. The prospect of annexing the Peninsula came to some Israelis only as an afterthought, when the fighting was over. Once, however, the advanc­ ing troops had reached the outskirts of the Canal it seemed only natural that they should remain in occupation of Sinai as a means of getting Nasser to the Conference table. The with­ drawal, accordingly, represents Israel’s failure to achieve its principal objec40

tive — peace. It means more. It means handing back to a self-confessed ag­ gressor the very bases from which he planned to launch a war of extermina­ tion on Israel in the past, and which, if he is given the chance, will serve as a springboard for a similar attack in the future.

Israel will never countenance the return of the Egyptians to the Gaza Strip, and the Egyptians themselves have shown that they are not eager to do so. The choice, accordingly, is between incorporating the Strip into JEWISH LIFE

Israel and an international regime, or perhaps some combination of the two.

Attempts have been made behind the scenes to convince Israel that the Strip is a dubious asset which we can well do without. The Gaza Strip, in which every dunam of land is already cul­ tivated, and which is occupied by 100,000 permanent residents and 200,000 refugees, for whom some provision will have to be made, is certainly a very doubtful acquisition. But in the hands of others it can serve as a hotbed of irredentism and a constant source of trouble.

Under an international administra­ tion, the Strip could easily degenerate into a breeding g r o u n d o f d a r k intrigues, where the inexperienced United Nations troops would not be able to prevent Egyptian agents from enlisting Fedayeen gangs from among the embittered refugees and criminal elements of the settled population.

Indeed, such a regime would offer dis­ tinct advantages for the Egyptians.

Whatever restrictions on their activi­ ties they would suffer would be amply compensated for by the immunity from retribution they could enjoy. Retalia­ tory action on the Strip, which in the past kept Egyptian aggression in check, would now risk far more than con­ demnation by the Security Council.

Moreover it is just as well to re­ member that the resolution calling for the internationalization of Jerusalem still stands. Internationalization of Gaza would constitute for Israel a dangerous precedent. p O R THE Arabs of the Gaza Strip, the United Nations troops would be foreigners, hardly less than the Israelis, and as such also detestable.

The attacks to which Swedish and Norwegian soldiers of the United NaJanuary-February, 1957

tions Emergency Force have been sub­ jected in recent weeks in the Canal zone indicate little respect for the UN uniform. Finally, the UNEF, which presumably would police the Strip, is a heterogeneous unit made up of de­ tachments contributed by nations each of which has its own axe to grind in the Middle East. One result of the internationalization of the Strip would be an aggravation of the scheming and intrigue which is already the bane of the entire region.

Reports indicate that the Israeli Government is considering^ among other proposals, the appointment of a UN High Commissioner who would work side by side with the Israeli ad­ ministration. Such a plan does not preclude the eventual cession of the Strip to Israel, to whom it naturally belongs. The appointment of a High Commissioner would facilitate a major effort to solve the troublesome prob­ lem of the refugees, in which, in any case, Israel would have to enlist the aid of the United Nations. In the final and satisfactory solution of this problem Israel is, of course, keenly interested for both humanitarian and political reasons.

W ith the passage of time, as Israel disengages itself from the nonsensical charge of collusion with the British and French, and the Sinai Campaign is seen in its proper perspective, the prospects of a satisfactory settlement appear to improve. Indeed, Mr. Ben Gurion in a recent speech seemed sob­ erly optimistic.

The fact that the NATO Council discussed Middle Eastern affairs at length and recognized the need for close and continued observation of de­ velopments in this area, must be wel­ comed. Hitherto NATO’s main pur­ pose has been to block Soviet expansion 41

towards the west and the south in Europe. The point of view advocating the extension of the pact to include the Middle East, of which M. Paul Henri Spaak, Belgian Foreign Min­ ister and Secretary General Designate of the Organization, is spokesman,

reflects the growing concern felt at Soviet penetration into the area. M. Spaak, who has been very critical of UN action over Sinai and Suez, has evinced a considerable degree of under­ standing.

Eisenhower Doctrine

^Y N THE face of it, in view of all this part of the world, including Israel, that Israel has suffered as a result just two years ago. After that visit he of Soviet machinations in the Middle displayed a marked partiality for the East, this country should welcome the Arab cause and, in an address to the Eisenhower Doctrine; but it is already American Friends of the Middle East, clear that the Doctrine is weighted in strongly supported the arming of the favor of the Arabs, that it aims only Arabs and criticized American Jews at stopping the Soviet Drang nach for "making propaganda for a foreign Osten at the borders of the region state against the best interests of the (and where these borders run, in the United States.” Upon another occasion American view, Mr. Dulles was pre­ he asked Mr. Dulles to resist "Zionist pared to disclose only in camera) , and pressure” and not to approve the sup­ that it does not envisage any overt ply of arms to Israel. He went further effort to tackle the two major prob­ and declared that in his opinion "de­ lems troubling the area —:the Israelvelopment assistance” should not be Arab dispute and the Suez Canal given to countries, like Israel, which issue.

More than that: Mr. Dulles has have no military agreement with the explicitly stated that if Israel were United States. attacked by Soviet-armed nations, aided and advised by Russian technicians, the y H E EISENHOWER Doctrine comes at a time when Abdul Nasser is Doctrine would not apply to her. It would apply only if the aggressor- once again using the Canal as a politi­ nation were directly under the control cal instrument, with which, this time, of international Communism. In the to lever Israel out of the Gaza Strip; State Department’s opinion neither when Israel’s insistence that adequate Egypt nor even Syria come within this security guarantees must precede any further withdrawals from Sinai is likely category.

Nor can the appointment of James to affect her relations with the United Richards as the President’s Special Nations and the United States; and Assistant on Middle Eastern Affairs be when the Americans are already apply­ regarded as a favorable portent. Mr. ing an economic squeeze to keep Israel Richards, who is to tour the countries in step. Amidst this context, the new of the Middle East with a view to Doctrine, however excellent its inten­ explaining the new Doctrine to the tions, can only be regarded with con­ various governments concerned, visited cern by the Israelis.

42

JEWISH LIFE

the stampeding clouds

By LILLIAN REZNICK OTT W H A T IS the portent of this din and tumult?

What are the mighty saying, And what schemes are the powerful brewing up?

They who in their mortal moment Hold sway over mountains of sand, Their tongues are like the forked tongues of serpents Speaking falsehoods twice with each breath.

They are scorpions in the desert wastes Dripping venom at Israel’s gates.

Like hungry shrews gnawing at the doors of granaries, So once again do they pit the walls of holiness with hate.

To the sacred places which the sweat of blessing Has made to flourish, They are delivering instruments of ruin And ash and fire for Zion’s destruction Are they bringing as of old with hands stained in fresh blood.

Neither pity nor compassion determine their understanding, And as their vision beacons no light Past their own temporal shadows, So remain their hearts ignorant of charity and mercy.

They know not what they want, And yet like a heavy, black cloud hov­ ering menacingly Above young shoots in the field, So do their clawed hands cast fingers of gloom Over the new redemption of the seed of Abraham.

Boots not yet washed of the entrails of the martyred multitudes W ait to desecrate again the sacred pathways of Jerusalem’s hillsides, And to scatter the embers of violence that has consumed millions

Among the singed and soul-searing remnants.

J H E Y W HO waxed fat in the long nights of Israel’s sorrow And grown mighty in the flaming days of Israel’s distress Are become likewise covetous past all reason, And rapacious past all sense.

Even the land of glory, The nation which laid her foundations In the faith of Israel’s Prophets And brought up her cities in the re­ flecting rays of Zion’s justice, Has doffed the garments of her distinc­ tiveness And laid aside the golden crown of her humanity.

No longer is America’s voice for a blessing In the solemn assemblies, No longer is American virtue as a leash upon the neck of the beastly.

Yea, my America swoops with the Red Hawk over a fettered bird, And amidst strange companions waits she at Israel’s doorstep For a morsel of doom.

But they forget, they forget, These two giant creatures who hold each other’s death potion, That corruption obliterates even as ruin; They forget that when might need no longer remember Israel commemorates, and remembers not to forget.

And so shall it be, That when the VOICE from beyond the remembrance of time and ages And men bearing fire and steel whis­ pers to Israel from Sinai’s crest.

I am the Lord, thy G-d, Israel will be there to answer , I remem­ ber, I remember!

• A City and Its Inhabitants — Both with a Fabulous Reputation.

T h e C h e lm e r N a r o n im

By JOSEPH YAHOLOM g E IN G ASKED the other day, by an Israeli, where I was born, I replied — not without some misgiving "Chelm.” For a moment or so the reply did not seem to make any im­ pression, but then the Israeli smiled broadly and said: "You are joking. I have always been told that Chelm is a legend!”

Yes, Chelm has been a legend, but it has also been a reality in Jewish life and the, "Chelmer Naronim” have an imperishable part in Jewish history.

In the catastrophe which overtook Poland nearly all of the 15,000 pop­ ulation of Chelm perished at the hands of the Nazis. Now only their wonder­ ful tales remain to remind us of their unique role in the life of Eastern European Jewry.

I must be frank: it was only recently that I began admitting quite openly my Chelm birth. Since early childhood in Poland it began to dawn on me that some rather queer reputation attached to Chelm. And the Chelmer them­ selves, although they rarely spoke among themselves about the town’s reputation, were very loathe to admit their birth when they travelled to Warsaw, Lodz or any other city. It used to be said that the sophisticated Warsaw Jew very quickly spotted that the traveller was trying to hide his birthplace and was therefore most probably a Chelmer, but as he roared with laughter, the Chelmer would reply haughtily "Bist du klieg!” (So you are clever!)

44

J^EARLY every nation has its town, the wisdom of whose citizens is questioned. Even in England there is a town — Wigan — with such a rep­ utation. But comparing the Chelmer stories with those of any other nation, I have become convinced that Chelm should, without the slightest hesitation, be conceded complete supremacy. There is a scintillating logic about a typical Chelmer story, a wild extravagance and good natured humor which are not to be found in stories of any other towns.

I have a feeling that in the stories of the naronim (fools) of Chelm have been embedded some of the choicest humor of Polish Jewry.

The following is one of the best known of the Chelmer stories: The Chelm citizens decided to build a synagogue at the foot of a hill. Be­ cause the trees needed for the timber grew at the top of the hill, they spent several days cutting down the trees and dragging them down to the bot­ tom. One day a Jew from Warsaw saw them working $nd sharply criticized them, "Oh you Chelmer naronim” he shouted, "why do you drag down the trees? Why don’t you push them down?” After a moment’s hesitation they stopped work and exclaimed with annoyance: "The man is right. W e really are fools.” Whereupon they dragged the trees up the hill and then rolled them down again with great satisfaction.

Another story which pays tribute to the artistic souls of the Chelmer JEWISH LIFE

tells how they were overjoyed to see the town covered by a blanket of snow.

The snow lay smooth and clean on the streets and made the town look really beautiful. The Chelmer decided that every effort should be made to avoid spoiling the beautiful sight. Since walking in the streets would certainly destroy the evenness of the snow, they determined to remain at home for a few days.

But there was one snag. It was the task of Mottke the Shammoth to go around to every house each Friday evening, an hour before Shabboth, to remind everybody of the imminence of the Sabbath. "Oh, Gevalt, Mottke with his big shoes will certainly ruin the snow!” moaned the Chelmer. The problem seemed insoluble and the Chelmer were in despair. After in­ tense thought, however, they found a happy solution. Mottke would still carry out his duty but his feet would not touch the ground for he would be carried around by four strong men!

January-February, 1957

^H O S E who were born in Chelm and lived there —*■’and I might men­ tion that I was born and lived in a house at Lubelska Street No. 50 — find it extremely hard to understand why Chelm, of all places, should have gained its famous reputation. To them, on the contrary, the Chelmer seemed to possess a sharper wit, a greater Talmudic knowledge, a finer commer­ cial sense than their brethren in other parts of Poland. After all, the famous Elia of Chelm, who bore the title of Baal Shem in the 16th century, is re­ nowned in Jewish mysticism and piety.

And modern Chelm before its destruc­ tion was a strong centre of active Jew­ ish life.

My father, a rabbi known for his works on the Zohar, was for many years the President of the Chelmer Gemeinde. And Chelm, too, had its Yeshivah, not as famous, of course, as the celebrated Lubliner Yeshivah but still a hard working centre of Jewish scholarship, where I first gained some knowledge of the Talmud and the Tosafoth. Who could forget the hun­ dreds of boys with their peyoth and peaked caps, many of them so poor that the town had to provide them with boots? I remember those boots, large and ill-shapen, which looked quite unlike those bought in an ordi­ nary shop. And who could forget the rabbis who frequently received their inadequate salary months after it was due?

Yet despite the poverty and the overcrowding, Chelm pulsated with Jewish life. On Shabboth the whole town was at rest. But on Sunday you could see thousands of bearded Jews in the markets, in the streets — selling, buying, discussing a Talmudical prob­ lem. Nearly every little street had its little shtibl, packed to the doors on

45

Shabboth. And Chassidism, too, was strong in Chelm. There was a Belzer Shtibl, a Radziner Shtibl, a Kotzker Shtibl and many others. I remember when the young Radziner Rebbe — he was later to die a most heroic death at the hands of the Nazis afte£ leading Jewish opposition to them — arrived in Chelm he was received like a king.

I can still see him walking through the center of the town — and in the middle of the road! — accompanied by hundreds of his Chassidim. And in other spheres, too, including that of Zionism, Chelm was prominent — so prominent, in fact, that some survivors from Chelm recently published a mag­ nificent record of the town.

I fllT H SUCH a fine record, Chelm’s reputation for naronim seems really a mystery. But I believe there i s ‘an explanation, one which my father once heard from a venerable Chelmer.

Chelm was situated near the frontier between Russia and Poland and there was once a bitter struggle between the two nations for the possession of the town. When the Russians captured it they wanted to make sure of retaining it spiritually by establishing a sem­ inary for the training of priests. This seminary became famous among the Russians, who were so proud of it that they began to speak of the Wise People of Chelm. It was then (so the ex­ planation goes) that the . Chelmer Jews coined, in irony, the phrase "the Chelmer Naronim,” applying it, of course, to the Russians! Had they known that the phrase would in time be applied to themselves, the Jews might well have been less inventive. Two things can be said about this explana­ tion. It is either true, as it deserves to be, or even if invented it shows that the Chelmer were not such naronim 46

after all, for how could a nar invent such a wonderful explanation!

I must end with another Chelmer story. When the Chelmer decided to build a new mikvah a bitter contro­ versy arose between those who wanted the wooden floor to be smooth and those who asked that the floor should not be very smooth. The latter cried: "If you make the floor very smooth we

shall all slide and fall down,” to which their opponents replied: 'I f the floor is not made smooth the splinters of wood would hurt our feet.” For a long time there was a complete im­ passe but eventually a solution was arrived at: the wooden planks were made smooth on one side, which was placed against the earth with the rough side upwards!

ANNOUNCEMENT OF TERMINATION OF DROMEDARY CAKE MIXES The K ashruth Division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Con­ gregations of America announces th a t the DROMEDARY CAKE M IXES produced by The Dromedary Company of New York City are no longer under the (u) certification of the Union.

Henceforth, none of the DROMEDARY CAKE M IXES will bear the U nions (u) certification afte r existing packages now rem aining in the stores are consumed.

This term ination was due to the desire on the p art of the com­ pany to make changes in the ingredients used in the production of the products which no longer would conform w ith requirem ents of K ashruth.

The public is fu rth e r informed, however, th a t the following Dromedary products will continue to be under the Union's certifi­ cation and will bear © endorsem ent:

Dromedary Date Nut Roll Dromedary Chocolate Nut Roll Dromedary Orange Nut Roll Dromedary Fruits and Peels Dromedary Shredded Cocoanut Dromedary Pimientos

January-February, 1957

47

• A Major Beacon of Light in the Golden Period.

C h asd ai i t n Sliaprutla

By MEYER W A X M A N J H E STATEMENT, The sun riseth and the sun goeth down, used by Koheleth, the Book of Ecclesiastes, to emphasize the orderly continuance of natural events, was interpreted by the Rabbis in a very ingenious way, de­ riving therefrom a deep thought. They said that the sun referred to here sym­ bolized the light of the spirit and intel­ lect which illumines human life. And they explained the verse to mean that it frequently, happens that before the light of one man sets, namely, before his death, his successor is born, a child who is destined to be a great light in his generation. As an illustration, they cite the fact that when the great Akiva died there was born to the patriarch, Simon, son of Gamliel, a son Yehudah, destined to be the future redactor of the Mishnah.

Viewing the vicissitudes of Jewish history and the process of frequent transference of spiritual and intellec­ tual leadership from one Jewish center to another, or to several others, we can verily say with the Rabbis that before the sun, symbol of light of the spirit and intellect of center, set, there began to rise the sun of another or several other centers. Jewish history in the 10th century serves as an ex­ emplary illustration of this process.

At the beginning of this century, when the Babylonian center began to decline, after shining throughout world Jewry for eight centuries, the sun of the European centers began to rise, and foremost of all was that of the Spanish center.

48

J H E SETTLEMENT of the Jews in * Spain dates from very early times, from the days of the Roman Republic.

For several centuries, as long as pagan­ ism was dominant in Spain, the Jews not only enjoyed full rights, but were honored and respected by their neigh­ bors. W ith the spread of Christianity, however, the situation changed. A Council of bishops and priests gather­ ing in the city of Elvira in the year 303 found it necessary to call upon the Christians not to come in too close contact with the Jews. However, as long as the Aryan Visigoths ruled Spain, the Jewish situation in general was not changed. But when King Recared embraced Catholicism, there began a series of persecutions and even actual expulsions. The situation was changed again with the conquest of Spain by the Arabs in 711.

That year is a red letter mark in the history of Spanish Jewry, From that time on, they began to rise not only numerically, for many exiles came back, but also politically, economically, and most important, culturally. As is well known, in the four centuries from the 7th to the 11th constitute the period of glory in the history of Arabic culture in general, and that of Arabic Spain in particular. The intense cultivation of learning in general and of poetry and literature in particular, begun by the Ommayyad Caliphs of the East, reached its height in Spain where a branch of that Caliphate reigned. Rulers vied with each other in extending, patronage to men of JEWISH LIFE

learning and letters. That the Jews of Arabic Spain were influenced by the high cultural state of the country in which they resided and where they enjoyed full rights and were given all opportunity for economic advancement goes without saying.

JJO W EV ER, it took several centuries before the Spanish Jews were able to develop a distinct spiritual and intellectual activity of their own. Dur­ ing these centuries, the Spanish Jewish settlement formed a part of the exten­ sive, sphere of influence of the Babylo­ nian Academies and their heads, the Geonim. It is there they turned for information and direction in all re­ ligious matters.

W ithin this period spiritual and cultural life developed, until at the beginning of the 10th century, no longer dependent upon Babylon, Span­ ish Jewry was able to initiate a period of glorious cultural activity which his­ torians have designated the Golden Period. An important factor in the rise of Spanish Jewry in that century was its leader, known as Chasdai ben Yizhak Ibn Shapruth (915-975). It was his personality, political position and activity which imparted force and vigor to the pursuit of learning and letters in the Spanish center and laid the foundation for future great con­ tributions to all branches of learning by leading savants during a period of 300 years.

Chasdai Ibn Shapruth, born in Cor­ dova, was the son of a merchant, Isaac, who gave much of his wealth for the support of scholars and men of learning. Of Chasdai’s early life we know little. He studied medicine and is even said to have been the inventor of a certain drug called Teriak or Toruk in Arabic, which was very January-February, 1957

popular in Moslem countries and was even considered a cure for all kinds of diseases. But his medical knowledge was not the primary cause which drew the attention of the ruling Caliph, Abd Ar-Rahman, to Chasdai’s ability, though, as we will see, it increased his favor in the eyes of the Caliph. It was mainly Chasdai’s mastery of languages, including Latin, which brought him into Abd Ar-Rahman’s service. He was thought to be the person most fit to carry on diplomatic relations be­ tween the Moslem ruler and the courts of the Christian princes of Northern Spain, Chasdai began his service with the Caliph as his counsellor in political matters and as the liaison between the Moslem and the Christian courts.

Soon the Caliph came to recognize the ability of Chasdai in other ways and he began to entrust him with impor­ tant missions. Of these, the negotia­ tion of a treaty of peace between sev­ eral kings of Northern Spain, the queen of Navarre and Abd Ar-Rahman was considered a great diplomatic feat. He was then appointed secretary for for­ eign affairs, and all ambassadors of Christian countries who came to seek assistance of the great Moslem ruler were received by Chasdai and dealt with him.

Increasing in favor in the eyes of Abd Ar-Rahman, other functions were assigned to Chasdai Ibn Shapruth. He also became the treasurer of the Mos­ lem state. When the Byzantine Em­ peror, Constantine VIII, sought the help of the Caliph against invaders of his provinces, his ambassadors brought many costly presents to Abd ArRahman, among which there was a copy of a medical treatise by the Greek physician, Discorides.

The treatise was well known by 49

name to Arab medical scholars, but as Greek was not known at that time to the Arabs, the Caliph asked the Emperor to send a translation of the work into Latin, and Chasdai was asked tp retranslate it into Arabic.

This service highly pleased the Caliph who, like most of the Arab rulers of the day, was a great patron of learning. It was Chasdai’s wisdom and tact which smoothed the many difficulties in such negotiations and helped the spread of the fame of Abd Ar-Rahman throughout the Christian world, and also added great prestige in the courts of the Christian rulers to his own name.

JJO W EV ER, great as was the service of Chasdai Ibn Shapruth on be­ half of his ruler, its value and great­ ness pale when compared with his political, spiritual and cultural con­ tributions to Jewish life in his own country, as well as in all countries 50

where Jews resided and where his in­ fluence and name reached.

W e are astounded at the intensive amount of energy this man expended in these endeavors in his comparatively short life. W e marvel at the great love he bore for his brethren and his devo­ tion to the improvement of their life in every phase, for he did not leave a stone unturned, if it could be moved for the purpose of benefitting some of his people. A short glance at these multifarious activities will demonstrate their magnitude and value.

First, we note the rise of the political and economic status of the Jews through his own efforts. It can be said that the respect the Caliph and the people bore him because of his great services set a precedent for the good treatment of the Jews in Moslem Spain.

He certainly was not a seeker of fame and honor, and we Can trust him when he says in his letter to Joseph, King of the Kh^zars,* "When G-d saw the poverty and the oppression our breth­ ren underwent, He caused that I be presented to the Caliph who extended kindness to me and turned his heart to me. G-d caused that not because of my righteousness, but because of His covenant with Israel, that thereby the downcast Jews are exalted with salva­ tion and the hands of the oppressors shrink from future imposition.”

Even more significant than Chasdai Ibn Shapruth’s role in raising the po­ litical and economic status of the Jews in Andalusia, were his efforts to elevate their spiritual and cultural status. His love for Hebrew and his literary ac­ tivity in that language were intense. * Chasdai’s letter to the Khazar King, as well as the latter’s reply, are printed in all editions of Yehudah Halevi’s "Kuzari.”

JEWISH LIFE

He was the Maecenas and patron of letters par excellence. Every writer scholar, poet and scientist found in him a friend and patron. It was through his help that the two leading Hebrew grammarians and lexicographers of the time, Menachem ben Saruk (910970) and Dunash ben Labrat (920970) were able to lay the foundation of Hebrew grammar and lexicography.

Chasdai took the first, an Andalu­ sian, under his wing, appointing him his secretary and enabling him to com­ pose the first great Hebrew dictionary, the Machbereth. The second hailed from distant Babylonia and later settled in Fez, North Africa. When Chasdai heard of his work, he immediately in­ vited him to Cordova and became his patron. Both of them also cultivated Hebrew poetry and were the pioneers in poetic art.

Q H A SD A I IBN SHAPRUTH was not satisfied to dispense beneficence only to Spanish savants and literati.

All Jewry was to share in it. He con­ stantly sought out new talents in any branch of learning, encouraging them in their activity. A magnanimous sup­ porter of the still existing Babylonian Academies, he was awarded for his sustained interest in their welfare with an honorary fellowship called Rosh Kallah, i.e., an honorary member of the leading group of scholars named Kallah.

Chasdai’s heart, wide open to all needs of Jews, embraced all Jewries wherever they were dispersed. In his official capacity he received delegations from many lands who came to Abd Ar-Rahman to ask for help or to solicit his friendship. He utilized this oppor­ tunity to inquire about the state of his brethren in all the lands, as he says in his letter to the King of the January-February, 1957

Khazars: "I continually inquire of the ambassadors of kings of other lands, who bring presents to the Caliph about the position of our Israelite brethren dispersed in exile.”

He thus heard, through the ambas­ sadors of the kings of Germany and of the Slavs, of the reputed existence of an independent kingdom in the dis­ tant land of Khazaria, ruled by a Jewish king. Stirred at the report, especially as he thought the king to be a Jew ruling over the descendants of the Ten Tribes, Chasdai sought all ways and means to communicate with this kingdom. Time after time, his attempts were of no avail, but finally there arrived a delegation from a Sla­ vonic land among whom there were also two Jews who undertook to deliver a letter to the Jewish king.

The letter, written in Hebrew by Menachem, is a masterpiece of prose writing and a fine reflection of the noble character and personality of Chasdai. Thinking that it is possible that he addresses the letter to the king of the Ten Tribes, he says, "Were I fully convinced of the Jewish origin of the Khazars, I would leave family, my honor, and my wealth and wander from mountain to hill by land and by sea until I came to the place where my master resides.” He asks the King to send him a reply.

After many months the answer from the King of the Khazars came, a long epistle describing the origin of the people, the land, its government, and the story of the conversion of the ruling families to Judaism. The king also extends to Chasdi an invitation to come to his land and be treated like a father whose counsel will be sought in all matters. Thus, the story of the Khazar kingdom became known to the Jews of Europe, and undoubtedly 51

their spirit was raised by the knowl­ edge that somewhere in a distant land, Judaism was dominant, respected and beloved.

W HEN Moses ben Chanoch, one of ¥ four scholars who were taken cap­ tive by the admiral of Abd Ar-Rahman, who captured the ship they were trav­ eling in from Italy, was brought to Cordova, he was immediately ransomed

by Chasdai.* W ithin a short time he opened an academy for Moses and sup­ plied it with texts of the Talmud im­ ported by him from Babylonia. As a result, many students flocked there and Spain became a center of Rabbinic learning, which grew and developed through the ages.

Letters preserved in the Cairo Genitzah prove the extent of Ibn Shapruth’s activities in behalf of his fel­ low-Jews everywhere. There are two letters written by Chasdai to the Emperor and Empress of Byzantium, Constantine Porphyrogenitos and his consort, Helena, wherein he appeals to them to afford the Jews full religious liberty and to arrange that their affairs be taken care of under their own super­ vision. He refers to his own efforts on behalf of the Christian population in Andalusia and to their good treatment in Moslem Spain, as well as to his own standing with the Caliph, Abd ArRahman. The letter reflects his aware­ ness of the importance of his position and services.

17ERILY, Chasdai Ibn Shapruth was Y the Representative of his people, and was so regarded by European Jewries.

In that same Genitzah, there were found other letters written to him by Jewish leaders asking him to intervene *On the four captives, see Waxman, A History of Jewish Literature, Vo. 1, p. 254.

52

on behalf of their communities. One is from the communitiés of southern Italy, who experienced brief persecu­ tion which expressed itself primarily in the burning of Jewish books, and attacks upon Jewish scholars. They hail him as "our leader and guide,” and express the hope that Chasdai will be able to prevent another persecution.

No wonder that Chasdai was the subject of many eulogies and poems written in his honor, and his name was glorified throughout Jewry. It is to be noted, however, that as much as he was praised and beloved for his many serv­ ices to his brethren, the particular service which afforded him eternal re­ membrance and glory through the ages was his exceptional patronage of let­ ters and learning. The dignity of his office, the honors bestowed upon him by the Caliph and the ambassadors of Christian courts, even the gratitude of world Jewry at the timé, were for­ gotten as the years passed, but his con­ tribution to Jewish letters and learning was remembered long after he and his glory passed away.

W riter after writer in the succeed­ ing ages mentions Chasdai Ibn Shap­ ruth as the one who was instrumental in giving birth to the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry. The poet, Yehudah Al-Harizi (1165-1225), writing 250 years after his death, says, "In Chasdai’s days the sun of Jewish glory began to shine. From his time on, knowledge began to spread in Spanish Jewry, bards began to sing, and scholars to teach, for his beneficence untied the tongues and opened hearts hitherto closed to wisdom, and learning spread in Israel, for he was a friend, a near kinsman to all science and knowledge.”

Chasdai’s grave is destroyed and un­ known, but his name lives in the spirit and culture of Israel JEWISH LIFE

B e iz a le l

By M IRIAM TA L ft LITTLE more than fifty years ago, in 1905, Professor Boris Schatz founded the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. Professor Schatz was a most unusual person and was the bearer of what was then a most unusual concept.

A pupil and later an assistant of the Russian - Jewish sculptor Antokolsky, Boris Schatz taught for more than a decade at the Academy of Arts of Sofia, Bulgaria. An ardent believer in the resurrection of the Jewish State, Schatz wanted to achieve many aims by found­ ing Bezalel. He wanted to make the Jewish people art-conscious, while fol­ lowing certain trends bound up with Jewish tradition and lore. Through the medium of a school, he sought to create new crafts for Jews in Palestine, to bridge the gap between so-called "ap­ plied” art, to bring beauty into Jewish daily life; simultaneously, he aspired to create, from small beginnings, an institute which would lovingly as­ semble Jewish art and works of art in general, and would give its particular attention to Jewish religious art.

Boris Schatz was not a great painter, nor was he a great sculptor; but he was a man of vision, bold endeavor and foresight. Quite a number of his ideas have been realized and have caused developments alike surprising and in­ teresting.

If we turn to the Bible, we find a perennial source of inspiration for spe­ cifically Jewish rrt; the name "Bezalel” was taken by Schatz from the very verses which open up a vista on some aspects of Jewish art through thousands of years: lanuary-February, 1957

"A nd Moses said unto the children of Israel: see, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel the son of Urie, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of G-d, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of work­ manship; A nd to devise skilled works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass (Shemoth 35: 30-32).

Thus Professor Boris Schatz — who died in the United States in 1932, four years after the temporary closing down of Bezalel because of financial and administrative difficulties — gave the name of "Bezalel” to both of his spir­ itual children: the Museum and the School.

T H E SCHOOL was by far the chief * concern of Prof. Schatz during the first pioneering years of its existence.

The Museum grew more discreetly, and started from scratch, even more than the School, which was sponsored by a distinguished Committee. This Committee, organized by the professor at the beginning of the present cen­ tury, counted among its members the famous German-Jewish painter Max Liebermann, the no-less famous DutchJewish painter Jozef Israels, the etcher and painter E. M. Lilien who later taught at Bezalel, personalities such as Otto Warburg and the economist Franz Oppenheimer, and last but not least the well-known Jewish etcher Herman Struck. Throughout his life an orthodox Jew, Struck was partic­ ularly interested in a rejuvenation of Jewish religious art; he lived and worked in Haifa for many years.

53

Today, the Bezalel Museum has be­ come a fine institution by any stand­ ard, although it is still housed in the picturesque but wholly inadequate building that dates back to its begin­ nings. Bezalel boasts of a rich collec­ tion of pictures, sculptures, etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs, by both Jewish and by non-Jewish artists. It has a collection of about thirty original Rembrandt etchings, some of them por­ traits of the master’s Jewish contem­ poraries such as Manasseh ben Israel,

and many etchings by Rembrandt’s con­ temporaries. French art— particularly of the modern school —- is also well represented. Bezalel has an extraordi­ nary collection of Islamic ^pottery, chiefly Iranian, comprising over three hundred exhibits and covering a period of almost three thousand years. But Bezalel is not just a Museum; it is a specifically Jewish Museum, and it owns a rich and varied collection, lov­ ingly assembled, of Jewish religious art.

Religious A rt at Bezalel

JEW ISH religious art is as manifold ^ as it is varied; the objects in ques­ tion, which were made to serve specific religious needs both in the synagogue and in the Jewish home, reflect, of course, the art trends of the periods in which they were made. The exhibits recall all the aspects of religious func­ tions: Sabbath candlesticks, Mezuzoth, Chanukah Menoroth, c ir c u m c i s io n knives, Kiddush goblets, Seder Kaaroth and Matzah plates, Havdolah goblets, and also, of course, Torah crowns, Torah shields, embroidered wrappings for the Torah scrolls, lovely Yadayim, the finger of the long silver or metal "hand” pointing at the verse being read.

The Chanukioth, the m e n o r o t h (lamps) used on Chanukah, are par­ ticularly numerous. Here, we find all types and almost all periods. Clay lamps of the Maccabean wars are fol­ lowed by stylized lamps of the Roman period. Almost all countries of the Jewish dispersion are represented, from Arabia to Poland. Menoroth of me­ dieval Germany, influenced by Gothic art, are followed by profusely orna­ mented and decorated Menoroth of the Renaissance, with both Germany and 54

Italy well represented. The seventeenth and eighteenth century, when European art was dominated first by Baroque and then by Roccoco styles are, of course, well illustrated: the Chanukioth be­ come overladen, playfully graceful, adorned with representations of plants, animals, even humans. Even Mezuzoth reflect specific styles of ornamentation. ^ H E PLATES and goblets also reflect the artistic trends of their times.

Some Pesach china sets have been pre­ served in their entirety, and date back to the seventeenth century. The in­ tricately adorned Kiddush goblets — often wrought in silver — are fine ex­ amples of Jewish craftsmanship of yore. There are also extremely inter­ esting specimens of Kethuboth, hand­ written on parchment, various docu­ ments concerning Jewish communities, and a number of very beautiful Pesach Hagodoth, both h a n d w r i t t e n and printed, some dating back to the fif­ teenth century, some illuminated, some illustrated by woodcuts, others illus­ trated by other forms of graphic art.

The Torah crowns are real works of art, and the early specimens are parJEWISH LIFE

ticularly fine. Here, too, the seventeenth and eighteenth century dominate.

Some of the Museum’s treasures in the domain of Jewish religious art are not exhibited for lack of space. They are, however, carefully preserved, and will be exhibited in their entirety when, in a not-too-distant and as we all hope peaceful future, the Bezalel Museum will be housed in an adequate modern building.

JP^S TO the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, it bears to this day the impact of the two personalities who created it: Professor Schatz and Joseph Budko. The last exhibition of grad­ uates’ and pupils’ works, which at­ tracted considerable attention, was symbolically dominated both by a styl­ ized bust of Schatz — the work of the late Israeli sculptor Zeev Ben Zvi — and by a self-portrait of Budko, an

etching of austere and honest beauty.

Some of the ideas of Professor Schatz — notably in the field of religious art — are still very much alive. It was Joseph Budko, however (who died in 1940 at the age of fifty-three), who laid the foundations of the School’s practical work and shaped its guiding lines. Budko’s ideas continue to guide to some extent the School’s develop­ ment.

Born in Eastern Europe, Budko had grown up in an orthodox Jewish en­ vironment. He was steeped in Jewish traditional life and lore. He studied art in Germany and became a wellknown painter, etcher, and master of the woodcut. Some of Budko’s paint­ ings depict Jewish life in Eastern Europe; they are of both artistic and of documentary interest. Budko, who has been sometimes likened to Bialik, painted the Jewish Goluth in a some-

CEREMON1AL: A four-piece metal Havdolah set made at the school.

January-February, 1957

55

what literary manner, and in dark and subdued hues. He came to Eretz Yisroel in 1933, and became the first Director of the new Bezalel, which reopened in 1936 with 26 pupils. To­ day Bezalel has 132 pupils, with 140 more who work in the daytiriie and study in the School’s evening courses.

Budko did his best to instill in his pupils artistic honesty, painstaking craftsmanship and superior technique.

He was opposed to easy or flashy ef­ fects, cheap attitudes, overdone adorn­ ment, pseudo-Oriental styles and super­ ficial modernism. The style evolved at the "New Bezalel” is clean and some­ what austere. However, Budko was also a man of fiery temperament. The paintings of his last years are sun­ drenched and dazzling, and death in­ terrupted his fascinating experiments in Israeli landscape painting.

After Budko’s death, Bezalel was headed by Mordechai Ardon-Bronstein, a painter well known both in Israel and abroad, represented in the New York Museum of Modern Art and other Museums, both in the United States and in Europe. Ardon’s paint­

ings are, to a certain extent, expres­ sionist in technique, and inspired by Eastern European Chassidism. He was succeeded in turn by Jacob Steinhardt, internationally famous master of the woodcut, who recently won a prize for his graphic works at the Sao Paulo Biennale. During his youth, Steinhardt participated in the Expressionist move­ ment in Germany, almost fifty years ago. Now seventy, he works with un­ daunted vigor, producing a series of important woodcuts, both black and white and colored, some of Biblical inspiration, some stylized Jerusalem landscapes; he also continues to paint, and to teach graphic art.

The present Director of Bezalel is Mr. J. Schechter, the renowned expert on Hebrew script. He teaches the vari­ ous ornamental uses of Hebrew script, which has in itself high decorative value. Latin and Arab script are also taught at Bezalel. Of course, orna­ mental Hebrew script is used for manifold religious purposes, and the Bezalel graduates have given new im­ pulses to this traditional Jewish craft.

W id e C u rricu lu m

gEZALEL teaches illustration, com­ mercial art, poster-drawing, paint­ ing and drawing for children’s books, etc. Various forms of graphic art are taught by Mr. R. Dayan, a graphic artist with many years’ experience.

Some of the posters and illustrations produced by Bezalel pupils and grad­ uates are remarkable; none are in bad taste. The posters mirror the entire life of Israel, teeming with enterprise in many fields. As to illustration, it is taught by a former pupil of Bezalel, Joseph ("Yossi”) Stern, the most pop­ ular of our younger generation of 56

artists. Painter, commercial artist, witty cartoonist, the smiling observer of Israeli life in war and peace, Stern has illustrated many books, and is the author of lyrically wistful landscapes, drawn in Jerusalem’s quaintest quarters.

The Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts has among its teaching staff some of Israel’s best known artists, such as L Aschheim, who exhibited at the 1956 Venice Biennale; Jacob Pins, whose woodcuts have been exhibited several times in various cities of the United States; I. Eisensher, a moderate and refined semi-cubist painter; Shlomo JEWISH LIFE

Vitkin, one of our most gifted younger generation painters; and Immanuel Grau, landscape painter and excellent graphic artist. Sculpture is taught by Jacob Loew, who was a well-known, academic sculptor in Vienna. gEZALEL teaches metalwork, embroi­ dery and handweaving. For lack of funds, it has not as yet started classes for pottery, photography, or mosaics, although these branches of applied art — especially the ancient art of mosaics — have lately taken on in­ teresting development in Israel.

The metalwork class was headed un­ til recently by two outstanding crafts­ men: David Gumbel and M. Wolpert.

The latter is now temporarily in the United States. Gumbel and Wolpert, while achieving perfect technique, avoid all superfluous adornment and so do their pupils; they rather tend towards purity of form and austerity of expression, a noble simplicity which is very effective. The objects created are both for sacred and for secular use.

Chanukioth, Sabbath candlesticks, Kiddush goblets, Torah shields, are among the objects whose destination is to serve the immemorial Jewish rites: they are strikingly modern in appear­ ance but by no means obtrusive; their clean surfaces and elongated forms are a pleasure to the eye. Secular, dailylife objects are also of simple attrac­ tiveness -^fine teapots, coffee sets, gob­ lets, plates, trays, etc. It may well be that the rudiments of an Israeli style are to be found in the domain of appTied art rather than in the domain of "pure” painting and sculpture, at least for the present.

The exhibition of graduates’ and pupils’ work contains, on the second floor of the venerable Bezalel building, a whole hall devoted to Jewish sacred January-February, 1957

art and hung with fine hand-woven rugs, curtains and hanging embroidered with aptly chosen Biblical verses. Mrs. Julia Kainer teaches hand-weaving and she, too, has helped to evolve a simple, technically flawless and austerely pleas­ ing style. Various metal and silver objects are a fine demonstration of modern trends in Jewish sacred art.

Among the most interesting exhibits is a Neyr Tomid lamp in spiral form, the work of Mordechai Blum, a young Bezalel graduate, who is also among the pioneers of modern mosaics in Israel.

T H E BEZALEL SCHOOL has thus proved its ability to train fine crafts­ men, who have given youth and vital­ ity to Israeli applied art, both in the sacred and in the secular domain. En­ tering with firm hope upon the second half-century of its existence, Bezalel can already point to achievements of value. The outcome of a daring vision, it has become, like many other cul­ tural structures in Israel, a vital reality.

57

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JEWISH LIFE

1

THE FOUNT OF JEWISH LA W

By MOSES TENDLER M ISH NAY0 TH, seven volumes.

Translation , Notes and Supple­ ments by Philip Blackman F,C.S.f Mishna Press , London, England . the five years from 1951DURING 55, there appeared on the literary scene a new edition of the Mishnah, the fountainhead of Talmudic law.

With the recent arrival of Volume 7 from England, containing additional supplements, indices, and corrigenda, a monumental task has been accom­ plished.

No reviewer, no matter how critical he be, can refrain from extending a most hearfelt “Yeyoshor Kochacha” to Mr. Philip Blackman, who with the aid of many rabbinic scholars of Eng­ land has translated and vocalized the Hebrew text and prepared extensive explanatory notes as well as innumer­ able and invaluable introductions, glossaries of flora and fauna, biogra­ phies, maps and indices.

It would be boastful (and deceit­ ful) of this reviewer to pretend that he has studied the seven volumes of the Blackman Mishnayoth with the care demanded by the obligation he has assumed. In evaluating this work I have limited myself to seeking an­ swers to three questions: January-February, 1957

a) Why another edition of the Mishnah? b) How well has the editor at­ tended to the physical details of publication? c) Is this edition authoritative? Is it free of typographical errors?

Are the translations and notes accurate?

HE FIRST two questions are rela­ T tively easy to answer. There has never been an edition of the Mish­ nayoth containing all the features of the Blackman Mishnayoth. Although commendable English translations of the Mishnah have been available for many years,* this is the first edition that is designed for study. The vocal­ ized (pointed) Hebrew text and the English translation are printed in parallel columns. The Mishnah Press Ltd. is indeed to be commended for the technical perfection of each vol­ ume. The clarity of the printing and the pleasing layout of each page make the entire work a joy to behold.

The editor has liberally supplied the student with notes following each Mishnah that were designed to make * H. Danby, 1933, “The Mishnah,” Oxford Press, London; Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein, Editor, “The Babylonian Talmud,” Soncino Press, London.

59

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the text lucid. Of special interest to this reviewer is the fine flora that supplement several of the volumes.

Present-day students of the Mishnah can now identify, by common and sci­ entific name, the botanical terms that occur in the text, and need not con­ tent themselves with the cryptic trans­ lation of the old “rebbe” who identi­ fied all strange fruits and vegetables as “growing in Eretz Yisroel summer­ time.”

The presence of both the vocalized original text and its English transla­ tion on the same page can do much to return the Mishnah to its rightful throne in the realm of adult educa­ tion. This edition is admirably suited to encourage the poorly publicized campaign of the Rabbinical Council of America to inculcate in our people the habit of daily Mishnayoth study.

Even more importantly, it can serve as a most valuable tool for the elite of our nation—the yeshivah student.

Most teachers who instruct our youth in Talmud would agree that a major handicap in the early years of study is the lack of factual information—1| facts that are the tools for the mature analysis of the complex Halochic dis­ courses. This edition opens the source book of Talmudic law to every con­ scientious student able to spare a half hour daily for the study of the Mishnah.

HE LAST question, as to the ac­ T curacy and authenticity* of this edition, is much more difficult to an­

swer. This reviewer could not under­ take to critically read every note, every supplement, or even every Mishnah. A single tractate in each of the six “orders” was carefully studied and spot checks were made on difficult Mishnah passages in various tractates.

It is with sincere regret that the enthusiasm felt at the initial perusal of the Blackman Mishnayoth was not maintained after a more critical read­ ing. In a work of this stature—-the publication of the fount of Halochah—% the editor must bear a responsibility equal to his great contribution to Judaism. Typographical errors are in­ excusable. Inaccurate statements are abominable. Guilt must be borne for January-February, 1957

errors of omission as well as commis­ sion.

Many of the typographical errors noted even by the casual reader are corrected in the corrigenda published in volume 7. But the expectation that this corrigenda would also call atten­ tion to the more serious errors noted by this reviewer did not materialize.

It is not the function of a reviewer to serve as an Errata for the work re­ viewed, but the following errors that occur in the first volume reviewed (Order Zeraim) will explain the de­ creased enthusiasm to which reference has been made: a) In the Tractate Berachoth (p.

36, note 7) with reference to the time for reading of the morning Shema, we are told “We now accept the time of 10 :00 o’clock as the prescribed limit.” This is a completely unfounded state­ ment. The accepted Halochah sets the time limit at one fourth of the day, which is often closer to 8 o’clock than 10 o’clock. b) On p. 52, note 2, comments on the Mishnah passage, “The orig­ inal Chassidim used to wait one hour and then pray, in order to direct their minds to G-d,” as follows : “The Chassidim here referred to may have been a cer­ tain group of Essenes.” Besides the air of pseudo-intellectualism that pervades this nòte, there is , a strong scent of the sacrilegious.

The Essene sect was not looked upon with favor by the rabbinic authorities of the time and cer­ tainly their actions and prac­ tices would riot be exemplified in the Mishnah. Nor would they be referred to as Chassidim, a term reserved for the most perfect of men. The recent furor over the Dead Sea Scrolls accentuates the sacreligious aspect of this note Many authorities assign these Scrolls to the Essene Sect and equate this Sect with the pro­ genitors of the Christian Sect-— a distinction not befitting a true Chassid. c) • In the sixth volume (Taharoth) the entire treatment of the terms Zav-Ziva as they occur in trac­

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tate Zavim and elsewhere is definitely unacceptable. Anyone familiar with the Halochic de­ scription of a Zav knows that it cannot be reconciled with the medical picture of gonorrhoea.

Yet the term Zav is continually equated with gonorrhoea (pp.

695, 698, etc.).

The inability of this reviewer to subject the entire set to equally close scrutiny gives rise to a sense of in­ security, a feeling that there might

be other errors that further detract from the authoritativeness of this edi­ tion. But even the above noted flaws cannot repress the great admiration every reader must feel for the monu­ mental work accomplished. The stu­ dent however must be conscious of the obvious. The notes and supplements are not the writings of our Sages, but merely the well-directed efforts of a contemporary scholar, Mr. Philip Blackman, F.C.S.

A JEWISH HISTORY FOR YOUTH

By SAMUEL GOODS1DE THE STORY OF THE JEW ­ ISH PEOPLE, Vol. 1, by Gilbert and Libby Klaperman, Behrman House, New York, 189 pp., $2.00.

HE AUTHORS fill a long felt need for a Jewish History steeped in T orthodox tradition. Written for boys and girls of elementary grade level, ages 9 through 13, in a dramatic, lucid, narrative style, the book places empha­ sis upon devotion and loyalty to G-d, Torah* the Land, and our religious heritage. One cannot but feel enmeshed in the historic destiny of the Jewish people, as told, from Creation to the Second Temple. This is the scope of Volume 1 in “The Story of the Jewish People.”

The book is physically suited for its intended readership. Binding, paper, print, format, colorful wood-cut illu­ strations, time-lines, and the organiza­ tion of the content are ideal for their purpose. Topical thought - questions help and guide the reader in compre­ hending the content. For classroom and teaching purposes, the authors have added to each chapter learning aids, such as “Things to Remember,” “Things to Think About,” and “Things to Do.” 'Selections from Agadah are given at the end of each unit.

The authors could have enriched the pedagogical aids by including suggest­ ed supplementary materials for the children to read. References could have been included for the teacher to indiJanuary-February, 1957

cate sources for films, filmstrips, plays, places of interest, resource units and materials, and a bibliography. There is definitely a need for an index and/or a glossary of names and places. Like­ wise, contextual material given in quotes should be documented to indi­ cate the source of quotations or refer­ ences in the Bible. Because the authors strive to reach a wide age range among their readers, the level of vo­ cabulary and sentence structure is w id e. It is a m oot q u e stio n as to whether or not the range should have been narrowed to reach fourth and fifth graders alone, rather than extend it to reach the eighth grades. h ese

thoughts

should not

detract from the splendid contribu­ T tion made by the Klapermans. This

book will be received eagerly by Sun­ day Schools and Talmud Torahs. The Day School or Yeshivah will find it too skimpy and sparse in treatment for use as a text (except possibly in grade four or five), unless the authors trans­ late it into Hebrew. The book is valu­ able as a supplementary reader, en­ riching the original narratives of the Bible. “The Story of the Jewish Peo­ ple” places accent on the spirit of loyalty to our sacred heritage, in trational approaches to Scripture^ and directs its mood towards dramatic ex­ citement, so necessary to appeal to youngsters. It is a noteworthy con­ tribution to curricular materials in Jewish education.

63

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JEWISH LIFE

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D IT O R REPLIES TO CHARGES

Falls Church, Virginia I have just received a copy of your December, 1956 issue in which you have an editorial about me.

Inasmuch as you have accepted the article in the National Jewish Post of November 9, 1956 at face value, I would like to inform you of the fol­ lowing : 1) Upon seeing the article, I sent copies of it to many of the people in the audience who heard me on Novem­ ber 1, 1956. Here are some quotes from their replies.

“Its intention to mislead and pro­ voke its readers seems obvious from its use of such words as “attack” and “accuse” when, you certainly did neither.”

“I was amazed and appalled by the article in the National Jewish Post. It was so contrary to what you said or inferred.”

“Both the title and the story in the National Jewish Post article are false. Lillian Levy’s statement is an excellent example of false and inac­ curate reporting.”

“I have read the article by Lillian Levy and find it to be completely in­ accurate and a shameful distortion of fact.”

“I submit without reservation that the only possible true statement in the Lillian Levy article is the num­ ber of persons in attendance . . . the entire article is false and appears to be an unfair attack on you.”

I have many more such statements on file which I have shown to the proper persons.

2) Furthermore, I was out of town when the letter from the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America arrived. I answered it the day it was delivered to me personally.

I sent along a copy of my own state­ ment. A reply was also sent from the Department of State, but I personally wrote as well.

Inasmuch as you gave me insuffi­ cient time to reply before you printed January-February, 1957

the article, I believe it is only fair to correct the facts in your next issue.

I have replied to every letter written to me—on the day it has been re­ ceived. There has never been any de­ lay or silence on my part.

Edwin M. Wright FOR A FEDERATION

New York, N. Y. In the Tishri 5717 issue, Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky mentions that many peo­ ple have expressed the hope for a central “federation” of Yeshivoth to help with their ever-increasing budg­ ets. If such a body could be formed with a management that would com­ mand confidence, it may be a step forward; The mails are flooded with appeals which must cost a staggering total for composition, paper, envelopes, print­ ing, postage and addressing—not to mention the cost of the advertising “souvenirs” or “gimmicks,” such as jars of honey; Chanukah candles and dreidels; Pesach Hagadahs, matzo covers and aprons; Israeli postage stamps; paper napkins; greeting cards; very useful calendars and yarmulkas.

If this could be replaced with one circular with a list of the Yeshivoth to be benefited, so that the contributor could insert the amount he wishes to give to each Yeshiva, what a saving of time and work would result. Instead of 30, 40, or 50 contributions of $1; $2 ; $3; etc. for each, imagine the saving of one lump sum contribution to be allocated as specified by the contribu­ tor. A carbon copy could be provided to be retained by the contributor.

If one “federation” would be too cumbersome or a detriment to har­ mony, perhaps several federations might be preferable. These could be formed by groups according to geo­ graphical divisions, or according to interlocking directorates and sponsors who represent a certain standard.

Isaac Cohen 65

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H I

BABY FOODS

H E IN Z — with © label only Strained Cream o f Tuna Strained Ban an as Strained Cream ed Spinach Strained Cream ed G ard e n V egetables f Strained Cream ed Corn f Strained Koko-Kokonut Pudding Strained V egetab les Strained Fruits C h opped M ixe d V egetab les Strained Potatoes Strained Puddings Strained O r a n g e Juice Strained Tomato Sou p Strained V e getab le Sou p Strained M ixed Fruit Dessert Pre-Cooked Cereals (Barley, Oatm eal, Rice) Junior Cream ed Carrots Junior V egetab les Junior M ixe d Fruit Dessert Junior Cream ed G ard e n V egetables Junior Fruits Junior V ege tab le Soups Junior Puddings (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) BE ECH -N U T— with © label only Strained V egetab les f Strained Cream ed Peas Strained Cream ed Corn Strained Fruits Strained V ege tab le Soup Strained Tomato Sou p

BEANS H E IN Z B E A N S with molasses sauce H E IN Z B E A N S in tomato sauce (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

BLEACHES * PUREX B E A D S O 'B L E A C H (Purex Corp., Ltd., South Gate, Calif.)

¡CAKES, COOKIES CRACKERS ©P

B A R T O N 'S B O N B O N N IE R E (Barton's C a nd y Corp., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

* © P C O N T IN E N T A L F A V O U R IT E S ( A B C Baking Co., B'klyn, N . Y.) DRO M ED ARY Chocolate N u t Roll Date N ut Roll O r a n g e N ut Roll (above contain milk) (The Drom edary Co., N. Y. C ./ E D U C A T O R — with © | CRAX * S E A PILOT * SA L T IN E S

-

label only

A ll items listed in this Directory bear the © seal.

Items listed © P are kosher for Passover when b earin g this or an y other U O J C A Passover hechsher on the label.

Items listed • are kosher for Passover without Passover hechsher on the label. * indicates new © endorsement.

January-February, 1957

67

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY C a k e s (C o n t'd )

j

CATERERS

* T H IN S IE S * T H IN U N SA L T E D T O P C R A C K E R (Pareve) * V A N IL L A O V A L S * CHO CO LATE O VALS * C O C O N U T C H O C O L A T E C H IP C O O K IE S * M A C A R O O N DELITE S A N D W IC H C O O K IE S * P IZ Z A C R A C K E R S * H O L ID A Y A S S O R T M E N T (Megowen-Educator Food Co., Lowell,

* W E C H S L E R C A TERERS

(Hotel Olcott, N. Y.)

CEREALS S K IN N E R 'S Raisin-Bran Raisin W h e a t

(Skinner Mfg. Co., Omaha, Neb.) R A L ST O N Instant Ralston Regular Ralston

Mass.)

(Ralston-Purina Co., St. Louis, Mo.)

M O T H E R 'S FAM ILY G R A N D M A 'S TREASURE IS L A N D O LD M IS S IO N

CHAMPAGNE *© P

C A R M E L — Bearing Hechsher of Chief Rabbinate of Israel

(Carmel Wine Co., Inc., N. Y. C.)

(Mother's Cake & Cookie Co., Oakland, Cal.)

C O N D IM E N T S , S E A S O N IN G

G O L D E N C R A C K N E L E G G B IS C U IT S

@ P G O L D 'S H O R S E R A D IS H

(Golden Cracknel & Spec. Co., Detroit, Mich.)

RY-KRISP

(Ralston-Purina Co., St. Louis, Mo.) * O LD L O N D O N M E L B A T O A ST * O LD L O N D O N M E L B A R O U N D S * LAD Y M ELB A

(King Kone Corp., N. Y., N. Y.) * V IM E T S V IT A M IN C O O K IE S

(Vimets Inc., Oceanside, N. Y.) * W O O D B O U R N E BAKE M A S T E R S

(Woodbourne, N. Y.)

(Gold Pure Foods, Brooklyn, N

Y.)

H E IN Z Horseradish 57 Sauce C hilli Sauce Hot D o g Relish Barbecue Relish Worcestershire Sauce Tomato Ketchup (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) L A W R Y 'S S E A S O N E D SALT

(Lawry's Products, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.) © P M O T H E R 'S H O R S E R A D IS H

(Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) PR IDE O F THE F A R M C A T SU P

C A K E FLO U R

(Hunt Foods Inc., Fullerton, Cal.)

S W A N S D O W N REG U LA R S W A N S D O W N SELF R IS IN G

(General Foods Corp., White Plains, N. Y.)

C A M P S (for children) * C A M P KE-YU -M A

C O R N P R O D U C T S — Bulk OK OK OK OK OK

PEARL C O R N ST A R C H P O W D . C O R N ST A R C H W A X Y M A IZ E ST A R C H C O R N SY R U P U N M IX E D D RI-SW EET C O R N SY R U P S O L ID S

(The Hubinger Co., Keokuk, Iowa)

(Grass Lake, Mich., Office: 4779 Glendale Ave., DetroitM ich.)

C O R N S T A R C H — Packaged P O P 'S T IG E R

(The Hubinger Co., Keokuk, Iowa)

CANDY

C O T T A G E C H E ESE © P D ELW O O D © P M O R R IS A N IA @ P M ID D L E T O W N

@P

B A R T O N 'S B O N B O N N IE R E

(Barton's Candy Corp., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

68

(Middletown Milk & Cream Co., Yonkers, N. Y.) JEWISH LIFE

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY C R A N B E R R Y SAUCE @P

EATM OR

(Morris April Brothers, Bridgeton, N. J.) © P AP RIL O R C H A R D S W o rn 's April Brothers, Bridgeton, N. J.)

D ESSER T T O P P IN G

DISHW ASHING MACHINE DETERGENTS (See also Detergents) * • DISH -W ASH ER ALL (Monsanto Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) *

Q W IP

(Avoset Company, San Francisco, Cal.)

D IE T E T IC FO O DS

* C ASC AD E (The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

© P M O T H E R 'S L O W C A L O R IE B O R S C H T

(Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) • S U G A R !N E L IQ U ID SW EET EN ER (The Suganne Co., Mt. Vernon, III.)

DRESSINGS

DETERGENTS

GARBER'S M IS R O C H I SALAD D RESSIN G (Garber's Eagle OJI Corp., B'klyn, N. Y.)

(See also Dishwashing Detergents) • ALL

H EIN Z FRENCH D RESSIN G [H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

(Monsanto Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) G L IM

(B. T. Babbit Inc., New York, N. Y.) • • • * • • • •

AD FAB K IR K M A N K IR K M A N BLUE SU PER S U D S BLUE L IQ U ID VEL VEL

[Colgate-Palmolive Co., Jersey City, N. J.) • A M E R IC A N F A M ILY • CH EER * • D ASH • DREFT JO Y • OXYDOL • T ID E * • BLUE D O T D U Z • B IZ BLUE L IQ U ID

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati Ohio) • T REN D • L IQ U ID T REN D

(Purex Corp. Ltd., South Gate, Calif.)

• A S S O C IA T E D (Associated Food Stores, Inc., Jamaica, N. Y.) • FA IR M A R T ALL PU R P O SE D ET ERG EN T (Michael's Fair Mart, Brooklyn, N. Y.) • W A L D B A U M 'S D ET ERG ENT (Waldbaum's,> Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

D IA P E R W A S H IN G & DEO DO RANTS • D IA P E R SW E E T

(Bu-Tay Prod., Ltd., Los Angeles, Cal.)

January-February, 1957

FIN ISH (Economic Laboratory, Inc., St. Paul, Minn.)

MOTHER'S Salad Dressing © P Mayonnaise (Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) * W ISH -B O N E ITALIAN SALAD D RESSIN G (K. C. Wishbone Salad Dressing Co., Kansas City, Mo.) TRIM SAL ID D RESSIN G * TRIM CHEF D RESSIN G (Trim Food, Philadelphia, Pa.) *

* D E M IN G 'S SA L M O N (Deming & Gould Co., Bellingham, Wash.) *

EATWELL TUNA (Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.)

M OTHER'S OLD F ASH IO N ED ® P Gefilte Fish (Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) ROYAL SN A C K Cream Herring Matjes Fillets Spiced Herring Lunch Herring Herring Cocktail Tidbits Salmon (in wine sauce) (S. A. Haram Co., N. Y. C.)

69

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY Fish Products (Cont'd) STAR-KIST * Tuna * Egg Noodles & Tuna Dinner (Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.) VITA— with ©

label only

* Bismarck Herring

* * * * *

Lunch Herring Cream Fillets Party Snacks Cocktail Herring Fillets Herring in wine sauce

© P M O T H E R 'S

F R O ZE N

GEEILTE

F ISH

(Mother's Food Prod, Newark, N. J.) * K A RM EL K O S H E R C H IC K E N PIE * KA RM EL K O S H E R BEEF PIE

(Karmel Kosher Prod., N. Yi)i^f * S U N K IS T L E M O N C O N C E N T R A T E * EXCHA N G E LEM ON CONCENTRATE * C A L -G R O V E L E M O N C O N C E N T R A T E * C ALEM O N LEM ON CONCENTRATE

(Exchange Lemon Prod. Co., Corona, Cal.) * S U N K IS T F R O ZE N C O N C E N T R A T E D O R A N G E J U IC E

(Exchange Orange Prod., Ontario, Cal.)

* Spiced Anchovies

* Pickled Salmon * Whitefish Roe Caviar * Salmon Roe Caviar * Anchovy Paste (Vita Food Products, Inc., N. Y. C.)

FLAVORS * © P MERORY FLAVORS, IN C. (Clifton, N. J.)

FLAVOR IMPROVER ACCENT (Ac1cent International, Chicago, III.) * © P GREAT WESTERN M O N O S O D IU M GLUTAMATE (M SG ) (The Great Western Sugar Co., Denver, Colo.)

FOOD PACKAGES © P CARE (New York, N. Y.)

FOOD FREEZER PLAN YITZCH OK GOLDBERG & S O N S (New York, N. Y.)

F R U IT (Dried)— bulk only ©P

C A L IF O R N IA P A C K IN G

C O RP.

(San Francisco, Cal.)

F R U IT S — Packaged DROM EDARY Fruits an d Peels M oist Coconut Shredded Coconut

(The Dromedary Co., N. Y. C.) M U S S E L M A N 'S Cherries Sliced A p p le s

(C. H. Musselman Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

G L Y C E R ID E S E M C O L M S V K — with ©

label only

(The Emulsol Corp., Chicago, III.) * DISTILLED M O N O G L Y C E R ID E E M U LSIF IER — with ©

label only

(Distillation Products Industries, Division Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N. Y.) * A L D O 33K M O N O - D IG L Y C E R ID E — © label only.

with

(Glyco Prod. Co., Inc. N. Y. C.)

G L Y C E R IN E — Synthetic M IL A D Y 'S Blintzes (blueberry, cherry, cheese, potato— all are milchig) W affles

(Shell Chemical Corp., N. Y. C.)

(Milady Food Prod., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

HONEY

A S S O C IA T E D W AFFLES

® P G A R B E R 'S M IS R O C H I

(Associated Food Stores C o r p N . Y. C.)

70

SHELL S Y N T H E T IC G L Y C E R IN E

(Garber Eagle Oil Corp., B'klyn, N. Y.) JEWISH LIFE

UOJCÀ KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

(Q )

IN D U S T R IA L C L E A N S E R S A R C T IC SY N T E X M B E A D S * L O W F O A M DETERG ENT

HOUSEHOLD CLEANSERS

(Colgate-Palmolive Co., Jersey City, N. J.) IN S T IT U T IO N X O R V U S EXTRA G R A N U L E S O R V U S HY-TEMP G R A N U L E S O R V U S N EU TRA L G R A N U L E S CREAM SU DS

(See also Scouring Powders, Detergents

and Dishwashing Detergents)

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

B R IG H T S A IL

(A & P Food Stores, N . Y.) ©P

BRILLO P R O D U C T S

(Brillo Mfg. Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.) CAMEO

CO PPER C LEA NER

J A M S A N D JELLIES H E IN Z JELLIES (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, P o J

(B. T. Babbitt Co., N. Y. C.) D U R A S O A P FILLED P A D S

©P

(Durawool, Inc., Queens Village, N . Y.) * • COM ET •

S P IC & S P A N

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

J U IC E S

* • GEORGE (Bu-tay Prod., Ltd., Los Angeles, Cal.) • L IQ U ID T REN D •

B A R T O N 'S B O N B O N N IE R E

(Barton's Candy Corp., Brooklyn, N . Y.)

N E W , BLUE D U TC H C L E A N S E R

• T REN D

H E IN Z T O M A T O J U IC E

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) M U S S E L M A N 'S A p p le Juice Tomato Juice fC. H. Mussulman Co., Biglerrille, Pa.)

(Purex Corp., Ltd., South Gate, Cal.)

* S U N K IS T L E M O N J U IC E

M Y PAL

* E X C H A N G E L E M O N J U IC E * C A L -G R O V É L E M O N J U IC E (Ex change Lemon Prod. Co., C oron a, ■

(Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.) S O I LAX (Economics Laboratory, Inc., St. Paul,

Minn.)

Cal.) * S U N K IS T F R O Z E N C O N C E N T R A T E D

• SPRITE

(Sinclair Mfg. Co., Toledo, Ohio)

O R A N G E J U IC E

(Exchange Orange Prod., Ontario, Cal.)

m

ICE CREAM, SHERBET ©P

MARGARINE

B A R T O N 'S B O N B O N N IE R E

(Barton's Candy Corp., Brooklyn, N . Y.) C O S T A 'S FR E N C H IC E C R E A M

(Costa's Ice Cream Co., V/oodbridge, N. J.)

A ll items listed in this Directory b ear the ©

CRYSTAL B R A N D (milchig)

(L. Daitch & Co., N . Y. C.) D IL B R O (milchig)

(Dilbert Brothers, Inc., Glendale, N. Y.)

seal.

Items listed © P are kosher for Passover when b earin g this or an y other U O J C A Passover hechsher on the label.

Items listed • are kosher for Passover without Passover hechsher on the label. * indicates new ©

January-February, 1957

endorsement.

-

71

©

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

M a fg a rin e (C ont'd) M AR-PAV (pareve) M IO L O (milchig— bulk only) N U -M A ID (milchig) TABLE-KING (milchig) (Miami Margarine Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

M E A T T E N D E R IZ E R ADOLPH 'S {Adolph's Food Products, Burbank, Cal.)

M E LB A TO AST * OLD L O N D O N MELBA TOAST * OLD L O N D O N MELBA R O U N D S * LADY M ELBA (King Kone Corp., N. Y., N. Y.)

M O T H E R S PAREVE (Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) N A T IO N A L M A R G A R IN E SH O R T E N IN G (National Yeast Corp., Belleville, N. J.) N E W YORKER (milchig) (Roslyn Distributors, Inc,, Middle Village, N . Y.)

M ARM ALADE * K IN G KELLY O R A N G E M ARM A LAD E (King Kelly Marmalade Co., Bellflower, Cal.)

M A R S H M A L L O W T O P P IN G

M O N O S O D IU M G L U T A M A T E (M SG ) A C 'CEN T (Ac'cent International, Chicago, III.) * @ P GREAT WESTERN M S G (Great Western Sugar Co., Denver, Colo.)

M U STARD H EIN Z Brown Mustard Yellow Mustard (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

M A R SH M A LLO W ElUFF (Durkee-Mower,Ine., East Lynn, Mass.) *

P E N N A N T M AR SH M AL-O (Union Starch & Refining Co., Columbus, Ind.)

M A Y O N N A IS E * © P M OTHER'S (Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.)

NO O DLES & M A C A R O N I PRODUCTS * BUITO NI M A C A R O N I PRODUCTS (Buitoni Foods Corp., So. Hackensack, N. J.) g r e e n f ie l d

q g p t# ©P ©P ©P ®P ©P ©P ®P

©P ©P ©P ©P ©P ©P

72

MEATS A N D PROVISIONS

YITZCH O K GO LDBERG'S Meats Corned Beef Tongue Frozen Meats Salami Frankfurters Pastrami (I. Goldberg & Sons, 220 Delancey St., N. Y. C.) MT. S IN A I Bologna Corned Beef Frankfurters Pastrami Salami Tongue (Oxford Provisions, Inc., 135 Walton St., Bklyn., N. Y.)

©

*

*

egg

no odles

(Golden Cracknel & Specialty Co., Detroit, Mich.)

H EIN Z M A C A R O N I CREOLE (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) P E N N SY L V A N IA DUTCH EG G N O O DLES (Megs Macaroni Prod., Harrisburg, Pa.) SK IN N E R 'S (Skinner Mfg. Co., Omaha, Neb.) SO PH IE TUCKER (Sophie Tucker Foods, Inc., Baltimore, Md.) STAR-KIST EG G N O O DLES & TUNA D IN N E R (Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island, Cal.)

© P GARBER'S M IS R O C H I (Garber Eagle Oil Corp., B'klyn, N. Y.) JEWISH LIFE

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY *•

O il (C ont'd )

(g )

N ER

(Menorah Products, Inc., Boston, Mass.)

M AZOLA

(Corn Products Refining Corp., N. Y. C.) ©P

NUTOLA

PREPARED SALADS

(Nutola Products Co., B'klyn, N. Y.) ©P

PU R IT A N O IL — with ©

M O T H E R 'S Cucumber S a la d Potato S a la d

label only

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

(Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.) RO Y AL S N A C K Beet S a la d Cole Slaw Cucumber S a la d G a rd en S a la d Potato S a la d

OVEN CLEANERS *• *•

HEP SAFE-T-SPRAY B E ST W A Y

(bostwick Labs, Bridgeport, Conn.)

PEANUT BUTTER

(S. A. Haram Co., N. Y. C.)

BEEC H -N U T

(Beech-Nut Packing Co., N. Y. C.)

PIE FILLINGS M U S S E L M A N 'S (C. H. Musselman Co., Biglervil/e, Pa.)

V IT A — with © label only * Tuna S a la d * Sp rin g G a rd e n S a la d * Herring S a la d

(Vita Food Prod., Inc., N. Y. C.)

POPCORN TV T IM E P O P C O R N

(TV Time Foods, Inc., Chicago, III.)

RELISHES PICKLES, ETC.

K O BEY'S Potato Chips Shoestring Potatoes

(Tasty Foods Inc., Denver, Col.) MONARCH

S H O E S T R IN G

P O T A T O ES

(Monarch Finer Foods, Division of Con­ solidated Foods Corp., Chicago, III.) SU NG LO Potato Chips Shoestring Potatoes

* * * *

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

(Tasty Foods, Inc., Denver, Col.) © P W A R N E R 'S P O T A T O C H IP S

DOLLY M A D IS O N (H. W. Madison Co., Cleveland, Ohio)

(East Coast Food Corp., Riverhead, N. Y

POULTRY— Frozen • Y IT Z C H O K G O L D B E R G & S O N S (N ew York, N. Y.) • M ENORAH

January-February, 1957

H E IN Z Pickles Dill Gherkins Dill Sandwich Chips In dia Relish Hot D o g Relish Pickled Onions Sweet Relish Sweet Cucumber Disks Sweet Cucumber Sticks Sweet Dill Strips Polish Style Dill Pickles Barbecue Relish Ham burger Relish C an die d Krink-L-Chips

M O T H E R 'S ©P

Pickles

©P

Gherkins

©P

Sweet Red Peppers

73

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY Relishes, Pickles (Cont'd) @ P Pimentoes © P Pickled Tomatoes © P Pickled Country C a b b a g e Hot Cherry Peppers * Pickled Country Deluxe * Spears

RICE H E IN Z S P A N IS H RICE

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

SALAD OIL y % ) P P U R IT A N O IL — with ©

(Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. f.)

C A R O L IN A BEAUTY LITTLE SISTER W A Y PACK P LAY M AT ES LITTLE REBEL M O U N T O L IV E P IC K O F C A R O L IN A M O P IC O

(Mount Olive Pickle C o M t . Olive, N. C.) SILV ER LA N E Pickles Sauerkraut

(Silver Lane Pickle Co., East Hartford, Conn.)

label only

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio)

SALT • M Ö G E N D A V ID K O SH E R SALT

(Carey Salt Co., Hutchinson, Kansas) • M O R T O N C O A R S E K O SH E R SALT • M O R T O N F IN E TABLE SALT • M O R T O N IO D IZ E D SALT (Morton Salt Co., Chicago, III.) • RED C R O S S F IN E TABLE SALT • RED C R O S S IO D IZ E D SALT • ST E R L IN G F IN E TABLE SALT • ST E R L IN G K O SH E R C O A R S E SALT • ST E R L IN G IO D IZ E D SALT

(International Salt Co., Scranton, Pa.)"

SAUCES H E IN Z S A V O R Y S A U C E

V IT A * Pickles

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

* Relish * Gherkins * Peppers * Pimentoes * Onions * Kosher Chips * C auliflow er * Sweet W aterm elon Rind * Span ish Olives

S C O U R IN G POW DER (See also Household Cleaners, Detergents

and Dishwashing Detergents) BA B -O (with Bleach)

(Vita Food Products, Inc., N. Y. C.j * L'ART Sweet Cauliflow er & O nions * L'ART Sweet Relish * M A N H A T T A N Sweet Pickles * M A D IS O N PICKLES (Green Bay Food Co., Greenbay Wise.)

RESO RTS ©P

P IN E V IE W HOTEL

(Fallsburg, N. Y.)

•

• AJAX BEN H U R (bulk only) •

• G A R B E R 'S M IS R O C H I K IT C H E N KLEN ZER

(Fitzpatrick Bros., Chicago, III.)

© P M O N S E Y PARK HOTEL

NEW, BLUE D U TC H C L E A N S E R (Purex Corp., ltd., South Gate, Cal.)

(Monsey, N. Y.)

74

C LEANSER

(Garber Eagle Oil Co., New York)

(Rockaway Park, N. Y.)

LAUREL PA RK HOTEL So. Fallsburg, N. Y.

K IR K M A N C L E A N S E R (Colgate-Palmolive Co., Jersey City, N. J.)

© P W A S H IN G T O N HOTEL

©P

B A B B IT 'S C L E A N S E R C A M E O C LEANSER (B. T. Babbit Co., N . Y. C.Ji{

•

LUSTRO P O L IS H IN G M Y PAL

PO W DER

JEWISH LIFE

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY * NATCO * SU P E R C A K E

Scouring Powder (Cont'd) •

(Supreme Oil Co., N . Y. C.)

P A L C O P O L ISH P O W D E R PAL-LO

(Pal Products Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.

©

SOAP

* S A IL (A & P Food Stores, N. Y.)

©P

N U TO LA KO SH ER SO A P

(Nutola Fat Products Co., B'klyn, N. Y.) ©P

BRILLO K O S H E R S O A P

(Brillo Manufacturing Co,, B'klyn, N. Y.)

* C R IS C O — with © label only (The Procter & Gamble Co.) ©P

© P G A R B E R 'S M IS R O C H I PA REV E FAT

(Garber Eagle Oil Co., Brooklyn, N . Y.) © P

N U T -O LA V EG ET ABLE S H O R T E N IN G (Nut-Ola Fat Prod., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

H E IN Z Condensed Cream of M ushroom (Dairy)

S H O R T E N IN G — Bulk

Condensed Cream of Green Pea (Dairy)

* FLAKEW H IT E— with © label only * P R IM E X — with © label only * SW EET EX— with © label only * P R IM E X B. & C.— with © label only * G L O R O — with © label only * P U R IT A N — with label only * M A R IG O L D — with © label only

Condensed Cream of Celery (Dairy) Condensed G u m bo Creole (Dairy) Condensed Cream of Tomato (Dairy) Condensed V e getarian Ve getab le

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) ©P

(The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati.

Ohio) N A T IO N A L M A R G A R IN E S H O R T E N IN G (National Yeast Corp., Belleville, N . J.) D EL M A R M A R G A R IN E

S H O R T E N IN G

(Delmar Prod. Corp., Cincinnati, Ohio)

G O L D 'S Borscht Schav Russel (G o Id Pure Food Prod., B'klyn, N. Y.)

M OTHERS Borscht Cream Style Borscht Cream Style Schav

(Mother's Food Products, Newark, N. J.)

SOUP M IX

* HYDROGENATED

V EG ET ABLE SH O R T ­ E N IN G — with © label only

(The Humko Co., Memphis, Tenn.) * FLAVABEST

NUTO LA Chicken N oo d le Sou p M ix NUTO LA N o o dle So u p M ix

(Nutola Fat Products Co., B'klyn, N. Y.)

* A D M IR A T IO N

All items listed in this Directory b ear the ©

seal.

Items listed © P are kosher for Passover when bearin g this or an y other U O J C A Passover hechsher on the label.

Items listed • are kosher for Passover without Passover hechsher on the label. * indicates new ©

January-February, 1957

endorsement.

75

©

UOJCA KASHRUTH DIRECTORY

m

SO U R C R E A M

* C A V E R N M U S H R O O M PRODUCTS

© P DELW O O D © P M ID D L E T O W N © P M O R R IS A N IA

V E G E T A B L E S (Dehydrated)

(K-B Products Co:, Hudson, N. Y.)

(Middletown Milk & Cream Co., Yonkers, N. Y.)

©P

B A S IC V EG ET A BLE © label only

PR O D — with

(San Francisco, Cal.) ©P

G EN T RY , Inc.— with ©

label only

(Los Angeles, Cal.)

SPICES V IN E G A R ©P

(Garber Eagle Oil Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.) ©P

G E N T R Y P A P R IK A — with

©

label

H E IN Z Cider M a lt S a la d V in e ga r T arragon W hite Rex Am ber

only

(Gentry, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.) L A W R Y 'S S E A S O N E D

SALT

(Lawry's Products Inc., Los Angeles, Cal.) S E A S O N IN G C O M P O U N D S *4? with label only

(H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.)

©

M U S S E L M A N 'S Cider V in e g a r (C. H. Musselman Co., Biglerville, Pa.)

(Wm. J. Stange, E. Paterson, N. J.)

STEARATES * PLYM OUTH C A L C IU M STEARATE M K — with © label only (M. W . Parsons-Plymouth, Inc., N. Y.)

V I T A M I N S (Bulk) COLLETT-W EEK C O .

(Ossining, N. Y.)

SU G AR ©P ©P

FLO-SW EET L IQ U ID S U G A R

*

S U G A R IN E L IQ U ID SW E E T E N ER

(The Sugarine Co., Mt. Vernon, lllj

SYRU P ©P

V IT A M IN

FLO-SW EET G R A N U L A T E D S U G A R

(Refined Syrups & Sugars, Inc., Yonkers, N. Y.) *•

G A R B E R 'S M IS R O C H I

(Garber Eagle Oil Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

© P G A R B E R 'S M IS R O C H I

* * *

B A R T O N 'S B O N B O N N IE R E

(Freeda Agar Prod., N. Y. C.)

(Barton's Candy Corp., Brooklyn, N. Y.)

T Z IT Z IT H LEON V O G EL

(66 Allen St., N. Y. C.)

TABLETS

KO BEE K O V IT E K O V IT E M VITALETS PA NLEX KO -LIVER H I-K O V IT E

W A T E R SO F T E N E R & B L U IN G * R A IN D R O P S

(Bu-tay Prod., Ltd., Los Angeles, Cal.)

M . W O L O Z IN & C O .

(36 Eldridge St., N. Y. C.) Z IO N T A L IS M F G . C O ., IN C .

(48 Eldridge St., N. Y .C .)

VEG ETABLES D R O M E D A R Y P IM IE N T O S

(The Dromedary Co., N. Y. C.)

76

W IN E & L IQ U E U R S ©P

H E R S H 'S K O S H E R W IN E S

(Hungarian Grape Products, Inc., N . Y.) * © P C A R M E L — b ea rin g hechsher o f C hief Rabbinate of Israel

(Carmel Wine Co., Inc., N. Y.) JEWISH LIFE

TRY THESE FAMOUS KOSHER AND P A R V I W O R K A N » T fM E S A V E R S !

V E L makes dishes shine without washing or wiping!

STOCK!*«*

M ill pool***

fclWto»«**

Vel soaks dishes clean. Don’t wash, just soak; don’t wipe, just rinse. And the hand test proves there’s no “Detergent Burn” to hands with VEL. It's marVELous!

| . * |

A JA X Cleanser with “Foaming Foams as it cleans all types of tile, porcelain surfaces, pots and pans. . . up to twice as easy, twice as fast! Floats dirt and grease right down the drain!

!

4

N ew form ula FAB giv e s you more active dirt rem over!

I I

Milder to hands, new FAB gets the dirt out of EVERYTHING you wash.

Wonderful for dishes, too!

I

S3

KOSHER! There it i s . | . the all-important @ seal of approval of the union of ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF America . . . your guarantee of a

Kosher food ! A delightful, quick-to-fix Kosher food! The most popular “meichel” of them all in every Jewish neighborhood! How about Heinz Kosher Beans today?

HEINZ VEGETARIAN BEANS

Strictly Kosher