Jewish Life Jan-Feb 1963

HOW C A N W E H E L P T H E N E W G E N E R A T IO N F IN D T H E T O R A H W A Y ?”

- A SY M PO SIU M V IE W OF T H E SH A LI

SEC U L A R

A G E N C IE S

P A R E N T S B E P U N IS H E D FO R T H E D E E D S OF T H E IR C H IL D R E N ?

T H E Y S E E K T H E IR P E O PL E

T H E IN F L U E N C E OF T H E B IB L E I N T H E ST A T E OF IS R A E L

"Why didn’t somebody tell me ELAL flies to Europe?”

Okay, so we’re telling you.

EL AL flies non-stop from New York to London and Paris and direct to Rome.

When you’re in Europe you can fly EL AL to Brussels and Amsterdam and Zurich and Vienna and Munich, etc. (Our stopover plan lets you hop from city to city all over the continent.)

In fact, many of our best customers have never even been to Israel. (Though they tell us they feel like they have every time they fly EL AL to Europe.)

Perhaps it’s the satisfying little Israeli touches.

Like the Shalom you get when you come aboard and land.

Or, perhaps it’s a certain feeling of pride that you can only get when you’re flying EL AL. What’s that? You say nobody told you we fly to Istanbul and Teheran and Athens and Nairobi?

Then you better see your travel agent for the full story.

ELAL

ISRAEL A IRLÌÉES

Vol. XXX, No. 2/ianuary-February 1963/Shevat-Adar 5723

EDITORIALS ORTHODOXY’S NEW RO LE..................................

REB AARON ...............................................

BEYOND THE PAM CASE ............................

Saul B ernstein , Editor M. M ortoni R ubenstein R euben E. G ross Rabbi S. J. Sharfman Libby K laperman Editorial Associates Judith B e n -H illel Editorial Assistant JEWISH LIFE is published bi­ monthly. Subscription two years $4.00, three years. $5.50, four years $7.00, Supporter $10.00, Patron $25.00.

Editorial and Publication Office: 84 Fifth Avenue N ew York 11, N . Y .

ALgonquin 5-4100 Published by U n io n of O rthodox Jewish Congregations of A merica M oses I. Feuerstein President

SPECIAL FEATURE “HOW CAN WE HELP THE NEW GENERATION FIND THE TORAH WAY?” —A Symposium THE POPULAR IMAGE OF THE SCIENTIST—Real or Imaginary?/Herbert Goldstein ....................... 9 THE PROBLEM OF THE INTELLECTUAL/ Michael Wyschogrod....................................... 11 REVITALIZING THE SYNAGOGUE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION/Nathan Bulman ......................... 14 YOUTH, CHANGE, AND THE ETERNAL TORAH/' Samson R. Weiss ........................................... 17 REVIEWS

DEPARTMENTS AMONG OUR CONTRIBUTORS...............................

Saul Bernstein, Administrator

Drawings by Norman Nodel and Ahron Gel les.

January-February, 1963

3 6 7

ARTICLES A VIEW OF THE “SECULAR” AGENCIES/ Paul H. Vishny ............................................... 21 THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL/Shaul Colbl .................................. 25 SHALL PARENTS BE PUNISHED FOR THE DEEDS OF THEIR CHILDREN?/Esther Appelberg and Melech Schachter........................................... 37 THEY SEEK THEIR PEOPLE/Jacob B eller............. 42 WHAT DOES JEWISH YOUTH REALLY WANT?/ Pinchas Stolper ............................................. 49

Benjamin Koenigsberg, Nathan K. Gross, Samuel L. Brennglass, Harold M. Jacobs, Herbert Ber­ man, Vice Presidents ; Rabbi Joseph Karasick, Treasurer; Harold H. Boxer, Secretary; David Politi, Financial Secre­ tary.

Dr. Samson R. Weiss Executive Vice President

Second Class postage paid at N ew York, N . Y .

n "n

A CENTURY OF CHAPLAINCY/ Bernard W. Levmore ..................................... 55 NEW AIDS TO JEWISH LEARNING/ Samson R. W eiss............................

59 2

Copyright 1963 by UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS

1

PAUL H. VISHNY, an attorney by profession, is an or­ dained graduate of Hebrew Theological College and re­ ceived his LL.B. degree from DePaul University. An active figure in the American Jewish Congress, his interests in­ clude a host of Jewish, civic, and professional agencies. His articles and reviews have appeared in Jewish and legal pub­ lications.

RABBI PINCHAS STOLPER is Director of the Youth Division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth. A musmach of Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin, he is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Political Science. In his present position, he has travelled widely and written extensively for youth.

among our contributors

DR. ESTHER APPELBERG is an Assistant Professor at the Yeshiva University School of Social Work. She is the representative for welfare, emigration, and education of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. She was a Lecturer in Case­ work and Child Welfare at the Tel-Aviv School of Social Work. Some of Dr. Appelberg’s articles in the field of social work have appeared here and in Israel.

DR. MELECH SCHACHTER was ordained by the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva Uni­ versity. He is a Special Lecturer in the School of Social Work and is also a member of the faculty of Yeshiva University. His most recent publication, a comparative study in Hebrew of the text of the Mishnayoth in the Jeru­ salem and Babylonian Talmuds respectively, is entitled ‘Hashva’ah ben Nusach ha-Mishna shel ha-Babli v’ha Yerushalmi.”

DR. SHAUL COLBI is the head of the Christian Divi­ sion of Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs. Originally from Italy, he was active in Jewish communal affairs there before settling in Israel in 1939. He received his Doctorate in Law in Rome and is a member of the Israeli and Italian Bars. He lectures and writes on Jewish history, religion, and Christian minorities in Israel.

JACOB BELLER, well known in the field of Yiddish jour­ nalism, nowadays writes for English language media also.

Other articles by him dealing with the Marranos and Latin America have appeared in previous issues of J e w i s h L i f e .

Mr. Beller, whose wide travels include extensive periods in Latin American lands, makes his home in Canada.

2

JEWISH LIFE

E

D

I

T

O

R

I

A

L

S

Orthodoxy9s New Role UDGING by the attention given the 64th Anniversary National Biennial Convention of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America by the public press the coun­ try over, America has discovered orthodox Jewry. Rarely has any Jewish assemblage received comparable attention. Certainly no orthodox event has been in the public eye to anything like the degree accorded the Orthodox Union’s Washington Conven­ tion. The phenomenon warrants appraisal—in terms, not of “publicity value,” but of historical meaning.

J

The sharp debate which took place at the Convention on the issue of Federal aid to religiously controlled schools accelerated the surge of public interest, but was by no means its cause. With the whole nation divided on this question, and with the attitude of Jews an important factor in its resolution, the stand of the Orthodox Union, representative of a major element of American Jewry, becomes particularly newsworthy. Numerous other fea­ tures of the Convention, however, unrelated to the Federal aid issue, also received a great deal of press attention. The fact is that the major dailies from coast to coast, and many lesser papers, as well as the TV and radio chains, published report after report on the Orthodox Union’s gathering throughout its five-day duration. It is clear that the attention derived from the Convention itself, as distinguished from particular issues with which it dealt.

The conclusion can fairly be drawn that the country at large has a new awareness of American orthodox Jewry. Although Beyond the orthodox Jew has been part of the American scene since the colonial days, and has always been a numerical majority in Issues American Jewry, he has not hitherto made himself felt as a corporate force in public life. This is not surprising, when one considers that throughout much of this period the orthodox Jew, as such, has permitted himself to be thrust into the background January-February, 1963

3

of Jewish communal affairs. Alike within the Jewish community and in its relations with the public at large, the dominant Jewish voice has been that of a numerical but articulate and strategi­ cally placed non-Torah minority. And this too, however un­ fortunate, is not too surprising. Although the Orthodox Union was founded—thanks to the vision and purpose of Dr. H. Pereira Mendes, of blessed memory—sixty-four years ago, it is only within the past two decades that American Orthodoxy has achieved the discovery of itself. Self-discovery as a potent force, in contradistinction to the sense of being a formless aggregation, is the distinctive attribute of the contemporary generation of American orthodox Jews. With the new sense of purposeful relationship came a new attitude towards the role of the Torah Jew in the Jewish community, a new outlook on the surround­ ing world, and a new impetus to self-development. Year by year, the raw material of strength has been translated into crea­ tive achievement, to the point where not only is internal Jewish life radically affected but the American scene at large also regis­ ters its impact.

The unprecedented reportage of the UOJCA National Con­ vention by the public media mirrors, then, the emerging stature of nationally-organized Orthodoxy. It signalizes recognition of the reality that traditional Jews, having wrought strong foundaImpact tions for their way of life and having found an effective central of a instrument, constitute a factor of consequence in public affairs Conscious as well as a major force on the Jewish scene. Beyond the many Force striking aspects of the assemblage in the nation’s capital—such as its multifaceted program, the participation of delegates from the length and breadth of the United States and Canada, the adaptation of a vast major hotel to the unique requirements of the occasion, the electric spirit which permeated the event— beyond these, the deepest significance of the Convention lies in its illustration of orthodox Jewry’s strength.

N so serving, the Convention brought heightened force to the question which has underlain all aspects of traditional Jew­ ish development in recent years: How shall orthodox Jews de­ ploy their strength? Decisions on individual issues, however, important in themselves, are only auxiliary to the shaping of fundamental policies.

I

In the newness of the confrontation with broader respon­ sibility, there has been an inevitable measure of improvised thinking among the diverse elements of the orthodox fold.

Divisions of view have arisen whose very sharpness has pointed to the need for a clearer, deeper, more rounded grasp of Orthodoxy’s role in the Jewish world of today. To an extent, 4

JEWISH LIFE

the divisions are themselves a consequence of the gain in strength. When Orthodoxy was less aware of its power, there could be but little general concern with a matter that seemingly had no immediate application to daily problems. Today, though, the weight of Torah forces is an omnipresent reality with an obvious bearing on every issue that affects Jewish life internally and externally. Daily, questions of a kind once assumed to be in another domain now imperatively demand the orthodox Jew’s responsible decision and action. There is clear need to determine the inter-relationship of the problems and for thorough explora­ tion of the over-all circumstances which govern them. But in the absence of a guiding rationale, independently conceived, there has been a tendency to define each situation in terms of its surface frame of reference and according to personal predisposition.

Some, sensitive to the currents at play among the other ele­ ments of the Jewish community, have been conditioned in their responses by the bygone pattern of intra-community relationN eeded: ships and by the formulations of position on public issues which Basic evolved in the preceding era. Others, seeking to free Orthodoxy Rationale of acquired restrictions on its upward thrust, have discounted alike the substance and the format of earlier policies, and are undeterred by apprehensions of throwing out the communal baby with the non-orthodox bath.

In both cases, the evidence indicates that creative thinking has been encumbered by conditioned reaction. They reflect dif­ ferences of psychological makeup and personal association rather than conflicting definitions of well-explored Halachic and ideo­ logical premises. In issue after issue which has agitated the orthodox Jewish scene in recent years, conflicting stands have been urged, each backed by reasoning patently tailored to a pre­ conceived conclusion rather than the conclusion flowing from the reasoning.

If such attitudes be permitted to run rampant, they can, chas v'cholilah, waste the strength of Orthodoxy. The UOJCA Con­ vention, fortunately, showed a clear awareness of this danger and a capacity to cope with it. Spirited as was debate on various controversial issues, the interchange of thought was of a calibre that set high standards of percipience and responsibility. There was substantial indication that the Torah world is evolving a sounder approach to the determination of its ideological course Definite progress was made towards replacing improvised think­ ing, formulated under the pressure of subjective considerations or partisan interest, with a deeply conceived, objective, ex­ haustively studied projection of the fundamentals of the Ameri­ can orthodox Jew’s role in the world of today and how it shall be implemented. From this basic resource, it was realized, can January-February, 1963

5

be drawn the requisite ideological premise and strategic process whereby the course of Orthodoxy can be charted.

The National Convention of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America projected a message which, one may.

Sounder hope, will be heeded as well as heard: There lies before us an Ideological opportunity such as American orthodox Jewry has never yet Approach known. Ahead rises a vista of a re-born American Jewish com­ munity, self-respecting and respected, true to its heritage, firm in its strength. Let this opportunity, this vista, be the criterion for our every effort.

Reb Aaron HE passing of Rabbi Aaron Kotler, of sainted memory, has left the Jewish world bereft of one of the few contemporary figures to whom the appellation “great” can rightfully be applied.

The quality of greatness in him derived from the very fount of his character. “Reb Aaron” was a genius, with a mind that penetrated with phenomenal quickness to the core of the most complex problems. His profound insights and erudite mastery of Torah learning brought him the status of foremost Halachic authority of our time. He assumed tasks of historic dimensions in the creation and direction of the Beth Medrash Govoha, in the building of the network of Chinuch Atzmai schools in Israel, in the guidance of the Agudist movement and in innumerable other facets of Torah endeavor. But above all, it was the light and strength that emanated from him that gave Reb Aaron the stature of Godol. It was not only what he did but what he was that gave him so profound an influence on so many. He has left a deep, enduring imprint on Jewish life.

T

There is a curious anomaly in the fact that this towering sage was revered by Torah Jews the world over and yet was scarcely known among other Jews. Abhorring personal publicity, his name was not to be found in the marts of news; intimately in­ volved in the crucial decisions of our time, he scorned to “project himself to the public.” His greatness was of a simplicity that could never be reduced to mere fame. Those who appre­ hended wherein Jewish greatness lies were spontaneously drawn to Rabbi Kotler; the rest were unequipped to sense his presence.

In an age when some names that are on the lips of every Jew today will undoubtedly vanish from memory tomorrow, this marked contrast has an unmistakable meaning.

The contrast is symptomatic of the larger problem of the cleavage within Jewry. One part of our people is more and more intensively building on Torah foundations, while the othei part drifts farther and farther away from Jewish bearings. We 6

JEWISH LIFE

The can see that were it not for Rav Aaron Kotler, far more Jews CoIntrast would have been swept away. He not only bore aloft the Torah in a time of destruction and chaos, but transmitted its vision to a new generation. The enduring force of his spirit will con­ tinue to radiate this vision, broadening the boundaries of the Torah world so that it may encompass, with the blessing of the Almighty, the entire Jewish fold.

Beyond the Pam Case HE pending prosecution of Charles Pam, a Brooklyn Shomer Shabboth grocer, for violation of the New York State Sunday Closing law has much significance for efforts to eliminate the discriminatory requirement that business establishments are com­ pelled to close on Sundays even though they are closed on the Jewish Sabbath. Previous adverse rulings by the United States Supreme Court in similar cases involving Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Shomer Shabboth stores may not have conclusive application to the Pam case, since the latter tests the law in different terms.

T

Whatever may be the outcome of the Pam case, however, there remains at least the possibility that recourse may once again have to be made to legislation rather than the courts.

The In such event, an issue of still greater moment than the Blue Barrier laws will have to be faced. Perennial efforts to secure the pas­ sage of a Fair Sabbath Law in New York State have been and remain blocked by key figures of the Roman Catholic leadership.

It is well known that should the Catholic hierarchy withdraw its opposition, a Fair Sabbath bill could be passed immediately. A similar situation obtains in Massachusetts. In numerous other states, closing laws either exempt those who observe a day other than Sunday as their Sabbath or simply provide for option as to the weekly closing day. In still others, present discriminations are in the process of elimination. It is ironical that two states with large proportions of Jewish voters—one of them with a fourth of the populace—should be in the worst case.

There is no need to re-capitulate the arguments for a Fair Sabbath law, familiar to all as they are. Be it noted that the opponents carefully avoid taking issue with the inherent merits of such a law. All efforts at suasion—and they have not been few—have had not the slightest effect.

Eventually, then, the people of New York and Massachusetts must face the implications of the situation. The fact is apparent that in this connection, a religious body is exercising a controlling power over the legislative organs. The response, or lack of re­ sponse, to this circumstance will have a large impact on history. january-February, 1963

7

A Symposium

“How Can We Help the New Generation Choose the Torah Way?” The four papers presented here were originally delivered at a session of the 64th Anniversary National Biennial Convention of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , held this past November in Washington, JD.C. Each treats of an individual aspect of the collective topic. In light of the wide discussion evoked by these presentations, we believe our readers at large will welcome the publication of the Symposium in our pages.

DR. HERBERT GOLDSTEIN is President of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Columbia University.

He has been designated to receive an Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial Award for 1962 by the United States Atomic Energy Commission with the approval of President Kennedy.

DR. MICHAEL WYSCHOGROD is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College. He has also taught at the City College, the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, and Bar lian University in Israel. He is a member of the Editorial Committee of Tradition.

•

RABBI NATHAN BULMAN is an instructor in the Jewish Studies Program of Yeshiva University. He was formerly spiritual leader of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Newport News, Virginia. He was a co-founder of the Henrietta Kurzer Hebrew Academy in that city.

DR. SAMSON R. WEISS, Executive Vice-President of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, is noted for his expositions of the ideology of Torah Judaism. His “Hashkofah” essays are a frequent feature of J e w i s h L if e .

8

JEWISH LIFE

HERBERT GOLDSTEIN:

The Popular Image of the Scientist: Real or Imaginary?

HEN the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt to the accompani­ ment of revealed miracles, the wonder and fame of the event attracted a “mixed multitude” to the camp of Israel. They neither knew nor cared about the new spiritual path to which Israel was being led; they attached themselves to the children of Jacob solely for the profit and benefit it would bring to their own purposes. It was they, so the Zohar relates, who urged Israel to the idolatry of the Golden Calf. The history of science, especially in recent years, exhibits an analogous phenomenon. Science today stands on a scarcely challenged peak of prestige. It too has attracted a “mixed multitude” who understand neither the intricacies of science’s achievements nor the nature of its methods. They are concerned only with making use of the prestige of science for their own ends. They pro­ claim that there is a “scientific” way of looking at the world, all-sweeping and inclusive, which has replaced out­ moded religions as modern physics and chemistry have replaced astrology and alchemy. We are urged to pattern ourselves after the ideal of the scien­ tist {their ideal). As he is cold, logical, rational, objective, so should we be.

There is no room for anything else.

It is perhaps not surprising that

W

January-February, 1963

many of our new generation are car­ ried away by this viewpoint. It is more disconcerting that there are not a few of our rabbis and scholars, the teach­ ers of the coming generation, who have also been taken in. Not that they subscribe to the cult, but they accept unquestioningly the “mixed multi­ tude’s” self-identification with science.

They either come to look on science —and scientists— as the opponents of the Torah way, or else they try to show that the so-called scientific world outlook proves the Torah is right after all.

HERE are few professional scien­ tists, especially in the physical and natural sciences, who have been per­ suaded by the “mixed multitude.” We who work with science in our daily lives glory in its power, in the ability it has given us to perceive, even dimly, the complexity and subtlety of the physical universe that the Lord has created. But we are all too well aware that this power stems from a selfconscious and deliberate limitation of the kind of problems which science has tackled. We do not have the arrogance of ignorance to pretend that even within its chosen field science proclaims eternal verities or is capa­ ble of telling us what really happens in the world. Above all we recognize

T

9

that the investigative process we call the scientific method is a tool formu­ lated by the human mind. It is as much the work of the hands of man as a statue, and the worship of one is as much avodah zorah as of the other.

Nor is the professional scientist able to recognize the image of himself pro­ claimed by the “mixed multitude.” It would be difficult to conceive of the scientist as cold, logical, rational, ob­ jective when he is kissing his wife or passing on a particularly choice bit of loshon hora— (scientists have been known to indulge in both these activi­ ties). And, strange as it may seem, he is even further from these qualities when he is going about making his science. Forget what you have learned about inductive versus deductive rea­ soning. The scientist cannot indulge in these niceties of table manners when he is scratching for a new idea, trying desperately to get out of the well-worn rut of past thinking, or unscrambling the significance of a confused jig-saw puzzle of experimental results. He builds his science in whatever way he can, by whatever thought-processes there may be. This year the Nobel Prize in biology was awarded to a team of three scientists for the con­ ception of a model of the DNA mole­ cule. One of them has stated that the model was originally proposed as a “stab-in-the-dark.” Another of the winners said that it “smelled right.”

Over a hundred years ago the great physicist Michael Faraday was de­ scribed, in much the same terms, as one who “smelled the truth.” Where then is your cold, inescapable, imper­ sonal logic?

HE truth is, that pushing forward the frontiers of science is a cre­ ative process like writing poetry or composing music, and creativity in

T

10

scientific invention is as little governed by logical rules and patterns as is cre­ ativity in any other field. The end product of the process must conform to the technical limitations of thé medium—in the case of science the rational and logical framework of the scientific .method. But there is no in­ trinsic difference. The pursuit of scieiice is more akin to the creative arts than to the scholarly discipline. The fear has been expressed that many of our young people are going into sci­ ence who would otherwise have be­ come learned rabbis and scholars. I don’t know how much basis there is in this claim. But certainly quite a few of those succeeding in science today would in earlier generations have been artists and poets.

It is our task to bring to the new generation—and to its teachers—the realistic image of science and scien­ tists. We must show them that being a scientist relates to only one corner of the totality of life, whereas the Torah way pervades all aspects of being. The teachers in our schools and the leaders who seek to influence the young must learn to distinguish be­ tween science and the pretensions of the “mixed-up multitude” of camp fol­ lowers. They must cease to equate automatically the scientist with the apikoros or to discourage the student from entering science lest he “get the wrong ideas.”

It is a massive job of education that must be accomplished. We in the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scien­ tists feel especially called upon to tackle as much as we can, addressing ourselves especially to the students in college. But our numbers, though growing steadily, are relatively small, and the time we can spare from our professional activities is severely limited. The best we can hope to JEWISH LIFE

achieve as a group is that tne ortnodox Jewish scientist no longer be looked on as a queer oddity, in the same class as the proverbial dog who walks on his hind legs. The major effort to reach the goal must be through self-education by everyone who comes in contact with the new generation, whether rabbi or layman.

It’s not easy. You can’t do it from the pages of Reader’s Digest or the science section of Time magazine. It will re­ quire effort and application. But if we succeed we will be much better equipped to help the new generation cling to the Torah way—and to be far better citizens of this frightening world they are inheriting.

MICHAEL WYSCHOGROD:

The Problem of the Intellectual HE problem of the “intellectual” is a long-standing, almost peren­ nial, problem of every religious com­ munity. We need only be reminded of the reader for whom Maimonides intended his Guide to recognize the perplexed intellectual. But within the last hundred years or so, the term “intellectual” has taken on a special connotation. Steeped in the humani­ ties, the intellectual’s field of interest is art, philosophy, music, politics, and religion—the disciplines that deal with man and his enterprises. In this usage of the term, the intellectual must be distinguished rather sharply from the professional group whose allegiance is to the scientific and technical cul­ ture of our day. While, of course, the two groups co-exist in the University, it is most convenient not to confuse them with each other. The self-image of the intellectual is very much that of the outsider. A natural ally of the artist and bohemian, even if he him­ self is but a bohemian fellow-traveler, the intellectual has great difficulty

T

January-February, 1963

seeing himself as part of any undif­ ferentiated natural community, mem­ bership in which is not obtained through intellectual excellence. Very often, he is in more or less conscious rebellion against middle-class values with which he broke sometime late in high school or early in college and which he has ever since identified as restrictive, hypocritical, designed to serve the repressions of the status quo instead of the demands of the spirit.

His horror is of the other-directed conviviality of the men’s club and the Dale Carnegie friendliness of the com­ munity enthusiast—lay or clerical.

It does not therefore come as a sur­ prise that the Jewish community every­ where, including this country, has not been markedly successful in attracting and keeping the loyalty of this group.

The recent lamented and tendentious Commentary symposium as well as the somewhat more reasonable Juda­ ism response bear eloquent witness to the estrangement of the Jewish in­ tellectual from the synagogue. There

11

is reason to believe that this situation is even more acute in England, where one hears most infrequently of a Jew­ ish intellectual with any kind of posi­ tive identification with his religious community. This situation becomes particularly distressing when we note that among non-Jewish intellectuals the situation is by no means identical.

Among the literary elite of England and the United States the attitude of adolescent religious rebellion that characterized much of the writing of the thirties is no longer apparent.

Names such as those of T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, and Francois Mauriac testify to the impact that the re-discovery of the religious heritage of the West has had on leading Euro­ pean intellectuals. With the possible exception of Herman Wouk, whose fiction has remained remarkably free of Jewish religious content, no such comparable list of Jewish writers can be drawn up. There is, of course, a literature of Jewish nostalgia of no mean proportions in which the Jewish kitchen takes the place of the syna­ gogue and the Yiddish phrase that of the sacred tongue. But nowhere is the encounter with the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a live option. At best, we are treated to semi-indulgent ac­ counts in the pages of periodicals depicting the comedy of communal fund raising or of the expiration of the Rabbi’s contract and its accom­ panying complications.

HAT, now, of the orthodox com­ munity? Here, to my mind, one fact stands out. The orthodox Jewish community in this country has been markedly more successful in coming to terms with the scientific temper of the day than with the “Age of Anxi­ ety,” to borrow the title of Auden’s poem. The orthodox Jewish scientist

W

12

has become an almost familiar figure on the American scene. The Talmud and the logarithmic tables co-exist amic­ ably, as do the Einstein Medical School and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva Uni­ versity. What is more of the spirit of our age than the geiger counter and the electro-encephalograph and if these can co-exist in one mind with a rab­ binical commentary, what more can we ask? I think we can and must ask for more.

Let us be clear about one thing.

Science and Judaism deal with dif­ ferent things and it is therefore not terribly difficult to have them co-exist just because they are so different. Sev­ eral empirical studies have shown that the loss of religious commitment among science students in the course of their college career is significantly lower than among students of the humanities. When science is properly understood, when it is not catapulted into scientism—the absolutist interpre­ tation of science—it is understood as a limited human enterprise circum­ scribed by its methods and therefore not designed to deal with those dimen­ sions of human existence that are the concern of religion. In this respect, literature, art, music, and philosophy are religion’s partners in the human dialogue. To live in the middle of the twentieth century, from the human point of view, is not to live in the equations of Planck, Einstein, and Oppenheimer, but in the guilt of Kafka, the waste land of Eliot, and the absurd of Camus. It is with these that Torah Judaism must enter into dia­ logue, just as in their day the philoso­ phers of Judaism entered into dialogue with Plato and Aristotle and the spirit­ ual reality of the medieval world.

If Yehudah Halevi and Maimonides were alive today they would be coming JEWISH LIFE

to terms with Heidegger and Sartre, Rilke and Karl Barth. Philosophically, we must fight our battles, not those of Maimonides, because in so doing we will be better Maimonideans than if we tried to re-live his life in the twentieth century ( l a m referring here to philo­ sophical and theological and not to halachic issues). You probably all re­ member the story of the tzadik who was criticized for not imitating his father’s way of service, to which he replied: “Yes, I am; my father did not imitate his father’s way and I am imitating my father.”

M

Y point then is that if the ortho­ dox community is concerned with maintaining the allegiance of its intellectual youth as well as in attract­ ing the loyalty of the most sensitive and religiously receptive Jewish youth currently outside the fold of Torah Judaism, it must begin paying atten­ tion to the cultivation of the sophisti­ cated philosophical and theological thinking, rooted in Revelation and meeting the concerns of contemporary man in the spirit of his time. I can testify to the need for this from per­ sonal experience. Every year I teach a course in the philosophy of religion at Hunter College, either at the under­ graduate or the graduate level. Be­ cause Hunter College is, as everybody knows, a secular institution, we must deal with the religious thinking of the 'major denominations represented in our country. There is no shortage of quality literature in the Protestant and Catholic traditions. One has one’s choice of Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Jacques Maritain, among others. How do we fare in the Jewish field? The two names that recur again and again are Buber and Rosenzweig and while I have the high­ est respect for these men, the fact January-February, 1963

remains that their positions in terms of Torah Judaism are problematic and in need of considerable correction. We simply do not have an orthodox Jew­ ish writer who deals with issues on this level. Can such writers be pro­ duced to order? Obviously not. Even with the greatest expenditure of effort and community and institutional sup­ port, no one can guarantee the ap­ pearance of a Jewish Tillich or Barth.

But one can almost guarantee the nonappearance of such people if all sup­ port, financial and moral, is withheld.

I want to make perfectly sure that I am not misunderstood. I am not at all arguing that this kind of enterprise should have the very highest priority in the struggle for the survival of Torah Judaism in this country. The basis of such survival is the network of yeshivoth which the American or­ thodox Jewish community has estab­ lished and which, with the help of G-d, is producing a generation of literate and devoted Jews, a result that American Orthodoxy can well be proud of. But just because such a generation is now coming to the fore, it is vital that we not fail it on the highest philo­ sophical and theological levels on which it is capable of dealing.

WOULD now like to address my­ self very briefly to one or two matters on the synagogue level of special concern to the intellectual. The intellectual is attracted to a rabbi who is primarily a scholar and teacher. Un­ fortunately, the pressures in the Amer­ ican rabbinate have militated against this type of personality. While many rabbis, in spite of this, have main­ tained their scholarly and intellectual interests, the tendency has been to reward the organizer whose success is measured more in tangible and nu­ merical terms than in terms not ame-

I

13

nable to measurement. There is reason to hope that in time this will change as the communities come to realize that by making of the rabbi all things to all men, they are depriving them­ selves of the kind of intellectual and spiritual impact which is ultimately the most lasting. Similarly, the rhet­ oric of the rabbinic vocabulary will change too. Instead of the rhetorical and the bombastic, the pulpit will re­ sound to that direct conversation sin­ cerity which is the best in modern style because it is rooted in authen­ ticity and not in persuasion, in selfexamination and ultimately, in per­ sonal dialogue with G-d. Somehow I have the feeling that too many of our sermons look to a novel and clever interpretation for their inspiration rather than sincere self-examination.

There is nothing as effective in the pulpit as self-revelation, the taking along of the congregation in the spirit­ ual odyssey of the rabbi. Too often we speak as propagandists who must re­ veal no glimmer of a question, no hint that we have any reservations about

the product we sell. But surely this is not appropriate to the religious con­ text. What person who is alive to the situation of the moment can fail to experience some despair, ask some questions that he cannot answer?

There is no need to hide this either from G-d or man because questions that are asked in truth and sincerity áre dear to G-d and speak to men.

Finally, to return to a theme we touched at the beginning. The syna­ gogue is a middle class institution be­ cause most men in most places have middle class values. But before G-d all men are equal, highbrow or low, bohemian or square. The intellectual must therefore learn to distrust his pride of superiority and learn to love the people of Israel in whatever form it appears, whether in the men’s club or ladies’ auxiliary, the building drive committee or the general membership meeting. And the rest of the commun­ ity will become more tolerant of the intellectual, realizing, after all is said and done, that he is a very valuable asset of the Jewish community.

NATHAN BULMAN:

Revitalizing the Synagogue for the Next Generation

I

government support only intermit­ tently. There may have been only brief periods when the inner life of the whole house of Israel was molded by them, but always, throughout that his­ toric epoch, were there segments of our people to whose souls those insti­ tutions spoke with the impact of final

14

JEWISH LIFE

N pre-exilic Jewish history, the spirit of. Judaism was mediated to the people of Israel by a number of insti­ tutional instruments—a central sanc­ tuary, houses of worship and study, legislative and judicial institutions in which there functioned Israel’s sages.

Those institutions may have received

authority. Their inter-relationship was organic. Their voice was a unified one. And though their behest was often mandatory, albeit by voluntary accept­ ance, they remain unparalleled in his­ tory for their effectiveness in molding the life of a people, in the image of a transcendentally imposed discipline and scale of values.

One aspect of post-exilic Jewish history—one of its most tragic ones— was the gradual constriction of that set of institutions, the gradual frag­ mentation of their organic relationship to one another, the gradual reduction of their effectiveness.

There came Ja time when only the faintest of echoes remained of the voice of prophecy. A time came when the chain of Semichah, of classic rab­ binic ordination, was interrupted and broken. Our legislative institutions ceased to function. Israel’s judges and legislators became teachers and “mes­ sengers” of the Law. The world-wide Jewish community became an ever­ growing number of Jewish communi­ ties, whose unified sense of historic destiny held firm, but whose unity of experience became constantly more and more tenuous. But for a long, long time, many of those individual communities continued to function as microcosmic representations of the people of Israel, as the people of G-d and the people of Torah. And their institutions, unified in purpose and aspiration, continued to weld into a unified whole the functioning of the Rabbinate, the study of Torah, the worship of prayer, the observance of Mitzvoth, the practice of charity, forms of recreation, the collective safe-guarding of Jewish interests, the financial maintenance of community agencies, the regulation of intra-communal relationship.

January-February, 1963

Much of the Torah had already then ceased, because of the curse of exile, to be operative in those communities.

The character of their economy was imposed from without. The whole web of relationships which tied them to the larger societies of which they were part, was determined from with­ out. But what remained subject to the dominion of Torah within them still had pulsating vitality, creative energy, and a ring of integrity.

Their study of Torah was deep, their worship was intense, their ob­ servance of Mitzvoth was illuminated with insight, and ennobled by sacred intention. Their charity was Jewish charity. Their synagogues were alive, rather than busy. Their Rabbinate had integrity and commanded respect.

Their forms of recreation affected them with lasting joy, rather than escapist intoxication. pm TIME has come ¡when even the microcosmic community is al­ most completely fragmented. Collec­ tive Jewish charity is secularized in character and name. Our Rabbinate is shattered. Our synagogues are busy.

The educational system, which serves some 95% of our children, is com­ mitted to the perpetuation of the labels of Jewish identity, rather than to the creative continuity of Jewish exist­ ence. What remains of communal en­ deavor among us is determined in character by tho&e who possess the excellence of wealth, rather than of learning, piety, or insight.

From whence shall we strive to begin to rebuild our venerable house —the House of Israel—in this time and place, with the slender resources at our command? In two places the voice of Torah is still at least heard, however much it may remain un­ heeded—in the synagogue and in the

A

15

day school. The latter is only tangen­ tially related to the theme of discus­ sion assigned to me, but is all the same vitally and inseparably related to it. The synagogue and the day school represent our absolutely last line of defense, and our utterly final hope of victory. From them alone can our people be rebuilt, as the people of G-d and the people of Torah. Let it also be said instantly that one with­ out the other must fail; that they need each other as hydrogen and oxygen need one another in the formation of water.

S the synagogue that we know effec­ tively fulfilling its aspect of that purpose? Few will dare to make that claim. We are all agreed that it needs revitalization. But how can such re­ vitalization come about? For the syna­ gogue necessarily reflects the character of its constituency and its Rabbinate.

Whatever failings they will have, the synagogue must reflect. Is it not then illusory to speak of revitalizing the synagogue, without some antecedent or simultaneous revolution in the life —or at least in the thinking—of the people who comprise it? Is there any point in seeking to prescribe medi­ cation for the external effects of an illness without seeking to heal its inner cause? I know no way of directly breaking the cycle. I have no miracu­ lous panacea. The only motivation of the words I am about to utter is the conviction that the orthodox Jew wants to renew the strength of Torah in our midst. I share the conviction also that the will of the qualitative few, of the inspired few, can be decisive.

Any few of us possessed by the vision of how the synagogue ought to function, how it must function, if it is again to become the dwelling place of the Divine Presence in the midst of

I

16

our people, can weigh powerfully in the balance. Our weight can be deci­ sive in The struggle for the soul of our synagogues, which is now being waged within them—whether con­ sciously or not. What must the syna­ gogue be and do, to fulfill the Divinely appointed task which a historic des­ tiny now imposes upon it? It must give its children a better Jewish edu­ cation than the previous generation received, which means that it must support the Day School movement.

The synagogue must impel a greater degree of observance in the life of its children than that which characterizes their parents’. It must ardently and zeal­ ously desire that its children be more pious than their elders. And it must exult in those of its children whose Jewish yearning leads them to em­ brace the life of Mitzvoth.

The synagogue must demand of its rabbis learning and piety, and religious excellence, and it must stop “pastorizing” them and turning them into office clerks and peddlers of religion.

UR synagogues must value truth over expediency in the setting of O their policies. They must value distinc­ tion over mediocrity. They must rate the qualitative few over the quantitative many. Gimmicks will not avail to cure their ills. Techniques of organization will not do the trick. Mixed pews will not save the synagogue. Flattery and obsequiousness will not stimulate loy­ alty to Torah-true Judaism. Flaming principle alone will. Dignity is cer­ tainly important. Effective communi­ cation and esthetically attractive pres­ entation of our point of view are obviously requisite. Relating the world view of Judaism to the western aca­ demic tradition is of surpassing impor­ tance. But, obviously necessary as all these are, they are all secondary to JEWISH LIFE

une thing—the ring of truth in the functioning of the synagogue. Fifty members of a synagogue whose hearts are touched by the beauty and truth of Torah are bound to become many times their number. Five hundred dues-paying members devoid of that experience must in time be relent­ lessly decimated, even in number. A hundred synagogues alive and vital, uncompromisingly committed in prin­ ciple to the Judaism of the ages, will in foreseeable time be multiplied in

number. Ten times as many syna­ gogues, orthodox in label alone, but not in aspiration—are bound to be lost to us. The next generation is not run­ ning from the synagogue. If the syna­ gogue will speak to them with the voice of Divine Truth, they will heed its call and embrace its ideal. We who are the fathers of that next generation are given a magnificent opportunity.

If we will it, we can revitalize the synagogue for our children and for the children of all Israel.

SAMSON R. WEISS:

Youth, Change, and the Eternal Torah NE of the distinguishing marks of Jewish nobility has been the ca­ pacity of our people to accept con­ ceptual isolation and to evolve pat­ terns of existence resulting from its faith and from its ideals, though this faith and these ideals more often than not have divided it from the rest of mankind. This insistence on concept­ ual independence has preserved us as a people and is at the base of any contributions we have made to the thinking and, even more important, to the morals of humanity.

“Behold, it is a people that dwells alone and is not counted among the n a t i o n s (B’midbor 23:9) We are set apart from the other nations and our history runs a differ­ ent course from theirs. We have been singled out by the Almighty and

O

January-February, 1963

chosen by Him for a specific task.

This task is to be the carriers of His light, of His Torah, amidst the dark­ ness of this world. It is by this choice and by this Torah that we have been distinguished and have been vouch­ safed a perpetuity which runs contrary to all historic odds.

In this sense, we reflect the eternity of our Maker. It is our purpose, as a people and as individuals, to manifest by our moral excellence and the per­ formance of the Mitzvoth the Divine Presence which fills and envelops all existence. We are bidden by Torah “to cleave to Him” and our Sages explain that this means to strive con­ stantly towards the ultimate perfec­ tion of the Divine qualities—towards His mercy, His justice, His loving kindness, His goodness.

17

UCH a people is not easily swayed by popular notions and by the rampage of prevailing ideologies.

S

“The great waters cannot extinguish this love nor the streams drown i t ” (Shir Hashirim 8:7) The Midrash explains that these waters and streams are the kingdoms and the idolatries, the political and ideological empires which tend to in­ undate the world, which are by their very nature hostile to spiritual inde­ pendence and want to impose their respective disciplines upon all sub­ jugated nations. We have remained Jews under the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Germans, and the Russians. We have remained true to the Covenant under Hellenism, the Cross, the Inquisition, and under the Swastika and the Hammer and Sickle, these two most recent variations of paganism.

At the very foundation of our faith is the concept that eternity is superior to time and impervious to its vacilla­ tions and ravages. Torah, the revela­ tion of the Eternal’s will and postu­ late, is therefore not subject to any changes inherent in time. It is the eternally valid principle, the unvary­ ing constant amidst the flux, as Rambam states it in the ninth Principle of Faith: This Torah will not be changed.

Therein lies the principal distinc­ tion of Torah Judaism from all deviationist theories. We reject the notion that our Torah must be adapted to the ever changing moods and modes and conditions, that it must cater to the ephemeral tastes and preferences of every new generation and submit to the prevailing vogue of thought. On the contrary, we have accepted the task to change this world, rather than 18

the Torah, and to make this world a fitting abode for the Divine will. And if this requires to say “no” to many things and thoughts that are currently hailed and applauded, we demand of ourselves the courage of such rejection.

F we see then in Torah the supreme principle and guideline to which all reality must be adjusted rather than vice versa, we are confronted with two closely interrelated prob­ lems. One problem is that of retain­ ing our youth. The other is the prob­ lem of progress. To be more specific, we commonly ascribe to youth the discard of the past and the conquest of new frontiers, and we assume that youth will not be interested in the preservation of a spiritual heritage if this inheritance is conditioned on the prohibition of change. Secondly, the apparent rigidity of an unchanging Torah, an unchanging Halochah, flies in the very face of the common notion of human progress, the assumption being that generation after generation there is improvement and advance and that the increase of human knowl­ edge in itself demands the striking out of previously held ideas and per­ suasions. Thus, for instance, the group ruling today a large part of the world proclaims atheism as progress over re­ ligion, as the victory of enlightenment over superstition and obscurantism.

Closer analysis will show, though, that we deal here with misleading terminology. No one, for instance, among the American young genera­ tion would claim that the ideals of freedom and liberty of the individual are outdated and must be discarded.

Disagreement will be found among them only on the methods and tech­ niques to be employed for the reali­ zation of these ideals, on how to ef­ fectuate them best, but no one will

I

JEWISH LIFE

claim that they have been attained.

The young American may therefore feel inclined to discard the programs of the past, programs developed in the service of the self-same ideal for whose sake he urges their discard. His endeavor is to make the American reality correspond to the American ideal, but not at the price of the ideal or even of part of it.

HE parallel is clear. Our reality, the Jewish reality, does not corre­ spond to Torah. On this there is com­ plete agreement. There are those small of faith who under the pressure of this reality have abandoned the attempt to change it, to elevate it and to insist upon the supremacy of the Torah idea. They propose to salvage parts of Torah, those parts which are still re­ flected in the Jewish reality, rather than to abandon all of it— as if this were the only choice and alternative.

Further, there are those who consider the art of bargaining with an idea the very acme of Jewish leadership. To them, accommodation is the triumph of the spirit. But throughout Jewish history there have also always been those who fear not man but G-d, who are not frightened by the reality but only by the violence done to the vi­ sion, who seek the change of man and the elevation of his deeds rather than the soporific solace of custom-made theologies. And strangely enough, these are the true rebels, the true in­ novators, the true reformers. They are not ever satisfied with this reality, they do not care to be accommodated, they can stand the isolation, they know that somehow we always shared the fate of Abraham our Father of whom the Almighty Himself said, as the Mid­ rash relates: “He is alone in this world as I am alone in My world.” To them,

T

January-February, 1963

conformity and adjustment are tanta­ mount to acquiescence and defeat.

Rejecting, then, the change of the Torah ideal is the very opposite of standing still. Torah imposes upon us the constant challenge of addressing ourselves to the human situation, every generation anew, measuring it against the Torah standards, assessing true values by the measuring rod of the Divine postulate and working cease­ lessly to bring about the correspond­ ence of reality to the Divine Will. The Torah Jew relates himself to life and reality with the intensity and fervor of Divine service, of “Avodath Hashem.”

Whenever he remains silent in the presence of iniquity and injustice, in the face of corruption and immorality, he has failed his faith.

HIS we must make clear to the young generation. The impression that the Torah Jew withdraws from life must be dispelled. If the voice of Torah unfortunately is not heard often enough on the great issues confront­ ing and moving mankind in the pres­ ent age and if, therefore, the vexations of modern man seem to be removed from the realm of Torah thought, the organized Torah community must cor­ rect this failure for two compelling reasons: Firstly, because in Torah is contained the mandate to all hu­ manity. Secondly, because only a living Torah, a Torah concerned with modern man, will be of any concern to him and be transferable to the next generation.

The accelerated progress of civiliza­ tion has wrought tremendous changes.

This progress is expected to continue in a volume and in a velocity un­ dreamed of by previous generations.

The intended beneficiary of this prog­ ress, man himself, may have reaped

T

19

higher living standards and more lux­ uries, yet he has also been exposed to an almost hopeless bewilderment. He lives in a world which is preserved from destruction not by any moral agents but only by the mutual dread of annihilation. Peace has become the re­ sult of a shaky balance of the power of destruction.

In such an atmosphere, it has be­ come admittedly most difficult to speak in the name of justice and make HaKodosh-Boruch-Hu and His law the source of human motivation and di­ rection. When man’s imagination is caught up in the conquest of space, those who propose a revolution of concepts and the smashing of the ma­ terialistic and hedonistic idols of our era are branded as unrealistic and ridi­ culed as naive. Yet, we must recognize that just as political isolation has be­ come an impossibility in an era in which every segment of humanity has been drawn into the vortex of the hu­ man crisis, so moral isolation has be­ come an absurdity.

EFORE the Jewish people lies the awesome choice either to receive or to give; either to be spiritually ob­ literated by the prevailing influences or to radiate of its spirit unto the nations; either to become infected by the sickness of this world, by the glo­ bal corrosion, or to be the core of san­ ity in the midst of global affliction and to bring balm to the tortured souls of our age. There is no neutral position, no middle way. This is the moral “hinge of fate,” these are history’s hammer strokes on the gong of our collective Jewish conscience. If we try

B

20

to escape from this choice, we will lose the respect of our new generation and earn their disdain, for whether they articulate it or not, their hearts and minds reverberate in tune with the anxieties of mankind. Standing on the crossroads of fate, they yearn for di­ rection, for serenity, for the sound moorings of eternal verities.

How can we help the new genera­ tion choose the Torah way? By teach­ ing them Torah as Torah must be taught; without apologies and without dilutions, and by proclaiming to them, and insisting uncompromisingly on the Jewish scale of values. This scale of values subordinates, for instance, the body to the soul, matter to the spirit, things to ideas, might to humil­ ity, wealth to goodness, power to kind­ ness, and utility to truth. It rejects the commonly accepted definitions of suc­ cess and focuses man’s attention on the categories of virtue and inner qual­ ity. It seeks a glory independent of the public acclaim and finds bliss in the seed rather than in the harvest, in the labor rather than in the reward, in service rather than in domination.

How can we help the new genera­ tion chose the Torah way? By calling upon our young to share in the ro­ mance, the saga, of a people which has withstood the tests and temptations of times, for it is anchored in eternities; by inviting them to become part of the heroic existence of the Jew who has remained undeterred within the clash of powers and ideologies and clung to his G-d and his Torah, for behind the darkness of human history he always saw the light of Moshiach and never lost hope for man’s ultimate redemption.

JEWISH LIFE

A View of the “Secular” Agencies

By PAUL H. VISHNY

HE development in recent years of articulate orthodox Jewish spokesmanship and representation on the American scene has brought into sharp focus the issue of the relation­ ship of the orthodox Jew to the gen­ eral, or secular, Jewish organizations in the United States. By what stand­ ards, if any, ought an orthodox Jew to consider participation in the work of major Jewish agencies which are not specifically orthodox? Will a com­ parison of the work of the agencies lead an orthodox Jew to a judgment that one or more of these groups stands in greater sympathy with the view of orthodox Jewry? In viewing these questions the present article is concerned particularly with the work of three major national organizations —the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, and the B’nai B’rith.

It is not possible to draw perfect comparisons between these three agen­ cies. Each does, it seems, have a per­ sonality of its own, although the over­ lappings of concern and activity may frustrate the non-member as well as

T

January-February, 1963

the member. Furthermore, one may have certain suppositions about these organizations which are difficult to verify. For example, this writer has the view that substantially fewer ortho­ dox Jews have joined the ranks of the Committee than the other two organi­ zations. This may be due to the his­ tory of the organization, and its leader­ ship, commencing at a time when most orthodox Jews were struggling immigrants and lacked public stature in America. And although B’nai B’rith is older, and was organized by Ger­ man Jews, its character as a fraternal order, and the social aspect of its activities, differentiate it from the Committee.

HE American Jewish Congress, at its inception, was designed to be what its name implies—a congress of Jewish organizations. This did not come to pass and it is, like the others, an organization primarily of individual members. A number of national Jew­ ish groups, some orthodox, and of Zionist orientation, have been affiliated with the Congress. For this reason, it

T

21

has retained, and still retains, some of the folk quality and vitality which has characterized the struggle for Zion, and the meeting of European Jewry with the new situation in America.

Many of its leaders have been prom­ inent in Zionist work.

In many ways the Congress is to be compared (or contrasted) most with the American Jewish Committee, which is also not a fraternal order.

Although the Committee is a member­ ship organization, it never considered itself an organization of organizations.

It was brought into being in 1906, before the Congress, to protect the rights of Jews. Both of these organi­ zations are best known for their work in the area of civil and religious rights, which will be considered later.

B’nai B’rith is the largest, best known, and most popular of the three organizations. As such, the relation­ ship of its members to the organization is likely to be one of somewhat greater restraint and lesser involvement in issues. Perhaps its members are less attracted to the organization by its specific views on certain issues than is the case with other organizations.

The opportunity for social and fra­ ternal activity in B’nai B’rith is prob­ ably greater than in the other two agencies. It has a large network of youth groups, campus Hillel organi­ zations, and fraternal lodges. Its AntiDefamation League, which operates very much like an independent body within the parent group, carries on the activities in the area of civil and religious rights.

O narrow the glimpse of these groups, we turn briefly to four areas of activity—Zionism, Jewish cul­ tural work, civil rights, and the organi­ zation of American Jewry.

T

22

None of these organizations is a Zionist group as such. They carry on no program of aliyah, nor are they connected with any political party in Israel. They are equally “American.”

The Congress has had prominent Zionists in national leadership, and it is pro-Zionist. It stresses greatly the bonds of peoplehood among Jews in all lands. Both the Congress and B’nai B’rith have buildings in existence or under construction in Israel. The Committee has an office there. B’nai B’rith is also pro-Zionist and, like the Congress, carries on programs of tour­ ism and friendship in Israel. The Committee is the only one of the groups strongly stamped by a “nonZionist character.” It is not, of course, unfriendly to Israel. But it is the only group which feels constrained to un­ derline the fact that its work in this regard is carried on “within the frame­ work of America’s best interests.”

This was most evident as it called upon Israel recently to return the con­ victed spy Robert Soblen to the United States. It is certainly not more devoted to the United States than the others, but it is more concerned that this devotion be publicly demon­ strated. In this area, it does seem to the writer that the orthodox Jew would feel less at home than in the other organizations.

B’nai B’rith undoubtedly carries on the broadest work of the three in Jewish cultural affairs. It has spon­ sored the publication of volumes, booklets, and periodicals and main­ tains Hillel houses on numerous cam­ puses. It has a youth organization of large membership and, in some small communities, acts as a most effective link with Jewry. It is not clear that the results and programs are pleasing, but it cannot be denied that efforts are made. Congress and the CommitJEWISH LIFE

tee have no large youth groups or campus groups, but both do work in the cultural field. Congress chapters are urged to work in this field, and the organization publishes two peri­ odicals of literary merit, one of a popular and the other of a scholarly nature. Recently, the Congress pro­ duced two records for the study of Yiddish. The Committee is most prominent in the field of Jewish sociology. It publishes a magazine of literary note but of general rather than Jewish content.

LL three of the groups are active in the general struggle for equal rights and in the Jewish concern for equality. It is disturbing to see all three groups move separately in the same areas—the questions of fascism in Germany, Antisemitism in North America and South America, the status of Jews in North Africa, de­ segregation, religion in the schools, etc.

At home, it can be said that the Con­ gress has pioneered, and remains most prominent, in developing the uses of law and legislation in the achievement of equality. The ADL and Committee both now use these techniques, but are less vigorous and assertive in the prosecution of court cases and legis­ lation. Congress is more likely to raise the troubling issues, such as religious practices in public schools, in the glare of legal spotlights. The other groups undoubtedly do more work in the preparation of educational mate­ rials, and in the use of educational techniques and persuasion.

From time to itme, the work of the agencies in behalf of Negro rights in the United States has resulted in much criticism, particularly from Southern memberships. Recently, the Congress has come under attack for an unbal­ anced emphasis upon its civil rights

A

January-February, 1963

program, including its efforts on be­ half of Negro groups. These criticisms certainly have some justification and they come both from within and with­ out the group. The result has been twofold. On the one hand, those in Congress who demand more effort in the Jewish cultural field are heard with greater effectiveness. Secondly, the Congress has now become compelled to articulate a philosophy of Jewish activity in this area, which should be a contribution to the understanding of Jewish involvement in American life.

Although each of these areas is really a proper subject of a complete study, the consideration of the organi­ zation of the Jewish community is the most complex. Briefly stated, it can be said that the American Jewish Con­ gress has always welcomed, wherever possible, the concept of permanent, unified activity and central (but not monolithic) organization in Jewish life. B’nai B’rith has not accepted this concept, but does participate in cer­ tain, perhaps more informal, activities of this nature on the American scene.

The American Jewish Committee completely rejects it. Thus, only the Congress is a member of the National Community Relations Advisory Coun­ cil (to which all major national Jewish religious groups, as well as the Jewish War Veterans and most local and regional Jewish community relations councils, belong).* Both the presidents of the Congress and B’nai B’rith (but not the Committee) belong to the more informal organization of na­ tional Jewish presidents, the Confer­ ence of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. * This article was written prior to the announce­ ment that B ’nai B ’rith has undertaken negoti­ ations for its re-entry into the N ational Com­ munity Relations Advisory Council.

23

AVING incompletely reviewed some of the activities of these organizations, what can be said about their relationship with the orthodox Jew? Are there any broad criteria, other than those already stated,ïifor such a person to follow? It is sub­ mitted that there are not, for several reasons. First, because these organi­ zations see themselves as general or­ ganizations embracing Jews of all religious views, and welcoming them in their deliberations. Secondly, in many of the areas involved, orthodox Jews differ among themselves as much as others.

H

To speak frankly of one’s own in­ volvement, there is at times a certain uneasiness felt by an orthodox Jew in general Jewish communal work.

But the uneasiness should not be ex­ aggerated, as it sometimes is. In part, this all relates to the question of ac­ commodation to specific needs, such as Kashruth. If some of the national groups generally, but not universally, observe Kashruth at major functions, local groups may not. While the ob­ servant Jew is fully justified in urging the public observance of sacred Jew­ ish laws and traditions, the present state of such observance does not justify a withdrawal from the total community. In Chicago, it should be stated, there has been marked success in achieving the observance of Kash­ ruth in major public functions. But this is because orthodox Jews have been active in the total programs of the organizations involved. ’ The organizations, it seems to the writer, should do a great deal more

24

to understand the position of the orthodox Jew. That this is not done is perhaps most evident in that fact that very few staff positions in these organizations are occupied by ortho­ dox men.

RTHODOX Jews will, and must, continue to maintain separate O organizations which will give expres­ sion to their views, and provide fellow­ ship for their adherents. But there must be a place, not on the periphery of Jewish life, where all Jews come together for all those purposes which a people share. The “secular” Jewish organizations can be such a place.

Furthermore, it is important that those who have become alienated from re­ ligious life search out the questions of their own identity within the com­ munity. The secular organizations do contribute to such personal quests.

Some may argue that the orthodox Jew has ho place in non-orthodox organizations. This is an escape, but not a solution. And it is accomplished at the heavy cost of isolating the rest of the community from the forces of Orthodoxy. It is a source of hos­ tility, for full communication is lack­ ing. More important, it is interpreted as a mark of inability to compete for the loyality and respect of Jewry.

Most of all, abstention deprives the total community of the all-important historical and religious perspective of Jewish tradition. The effective intro­ duction of this essential factor can go far towards eliminating a harmful breach in the solidarity of Jewish peoplehood, which is so much in need of repair.

JEWISH LIFE

The Influence of the Bible In The State of Israel

By SHAUL COLBI

ITHIN the great family of na­ tions, the Jewish people is, from the numerical point of view, a rela­ tively modest entity. Its importance derives especially from the fact that it is the people of the Torah. The Bible is the Jewish people’s deed of nobility, and its fount of guidance through all ages. Now, during national renaissance, the Jewish State considers the Bible its first source of inspiration.

The influence of the Bible has acted as a decisive factor in relation with recent developments in the State of Israel.

An inquiry aiming to define the relationship between the Bible and the State of Israel should perhaps first investigate whether, and to what ex­ tent the Zionist movement, and con­ sequently the State of Israel, may be considered the beginning of the reali­ zation of the Messianic idea contained in the Bible, particularly in the visions

W

January-February, 1963

of the Prophets. This examination, passionate as it undoubtedly would be, would carry us too far afield and would require tireless research of Biblical and post-Biblical sources, and of the religious values deriving there­ from. Furthermore, it would demand an exact evaluation of very compli­ cated historical and political facts.

However, limiting ourselves to even a superficial glance, there seems no doubt but that the Zionist movement has been inspired by the promises contained in the Torah and that the idea of the “Return to Zion” has been supported and encouraged by the visions of the Prophets. Evidence thereof can be found in the Declara­ tion of Independence of the State of Israel where it is stated that: “The State of Israel will be based on the principles of liberty, justice, and peace as conceived by the Prophets of Israel.”

25

The aim of this article is, however, not to consider the effects deriving from the direct observance of Torah precepts and teachings, but to mark some of the manifestations of the in­ direct influence of the Bible in the daily life of the State of Israel.

HE rebirth of the language of the Bible, as a “spoken” living lan­ guage is no doubt the most striking evidence of the omnipresence of the Bible in the State of Israel.

We are often asked by people who have had only superficial contact with Israel what relation exists between the Hebrew of the Bible and Modern He­ brew as it is spoken in Israel today.

Most people are surprised to hear that the modern language, especially as spoken by the educated classes, sub­ stantially identifies itself with the tongue of the Book.

The revival of Hebrew as a spoken language, a fact very close to a mir­ acle, is mostly due, as is well known, to the tireless efforts of Eliezer Ben Yehuda. Having established his resi­ dence in the Holy Land in 1881 he determined to carry into effect his conviction that there could be no re­ birth of the Jewish nation without the adoption of a common language, and this could be no other than the lan­ guage of the Bible. Ben Yehuda was the first to use the Hebrew language in every day life in his own family.

He completely excluded the use of words of any other language and where he found words lacking to designate modern objects or concep­ tions, he created new ones, deriving them from the roots existing in Bibli­ cal and post-Biblical Hebrew. Ben Yehuda compiled a monumental dic­ tionary of the Hebrew language, which was written with the sole purpose of helping the renaissance of the Hebrew

T

26

language. He was also the initiator of a committee for the Hebrew language which was transformed in later years into the “Academy of the Hebrew Language.” In 1919, at the beginning of the British Mandate, he was among those that influenced the High Com­ missioner that Hebrew should be pro^ claimed, together with English and Arabic, as one of the three official languages of the country. Hebrew as a living tongue started in a limited circle of pioneers, spreading gradually among wider and wider circles. Thus the ancient reborn language flourishes again spontaneously on the lips of hundreds of thousands of children born in Israel. It dominates exclu­ sively in schools, in public life, in the business world, in literature, and in science. Not least impressive is the fact that Modern Hebrew is a notable asset for a better comprehension of the Bible. Consequently, we are faced with an unforeseen development: scholars of various Christian denomi­ nations who come to Israel for a more or less extended period in order to become acquainted with the spoken Modern Hebrew which will eventually enable them to obtain a more thor­ ough understanding of the Bible.

OWHERE in the world, and dur­ ing no period, can we find a love for and dedication to the Bible equal to that which exists in the State of Israel. The curriculum of no matter what trend of school, is based on Bible study from the moment the pupil is able to read. At every school, whether with a religious traditional background or with a more secular outlook, several hours per week are dedicated to the study of Tanach.

Besides this study a continual refer­ ence to the Bible is made in other sub­ jects taught at the schools, such as

N

JEWISH LIFE

history, geography, literature, and even grammar. It has been estimated that an average of 25% of all the teach­ ing hours is directly or indirectly con­ nected with the study of the sacred scriptures.

At religious-traditional schools the study of the Bible begins with the teaching of the Chumosh as a whole; whereas at other schools only chosen chapters of the Pentateuch are taught.

Subsequently, the historical books are read, followed by the Prophets and the Wisdom Books. Thus, during the eight years of compulsory primary school, the pupil is given the oppor­ tunity of reading the Tanach nearly in its entirety, of memorizing its most important chapters and of studying the more renowned commentaries. He is in this way able to enrich his own language, to study at the fountainhead of the Hebrew tongue, and to nourish his spirit by the teachings which flow from the pages of the eternal Book of Books.

During the four years of secondary school, the texts are re-studied, in a manner appropriate to the riper men­ tality of the pupil, with special em­ phasis on the more difficult books of the Bible, as for example, the later Prophets and the Wisdom Books. For those that are given the opportunity of continuing their studies at the Faculty of Higher Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University, it is possible to specialize in Bible study, reading auxiliary subjects, such as archaeology, comparative Semitic languages, etc.

HE study of the Bible dominates the intellectual and spiritual life of the Israeli populace. An average of nearly two hundred books dealing with Biblical subjects is printed in Israel annually. This is a huge number if one considers the comparatively small

T

January-February, 1963

population of Israel. At present, a new edition of the Bible is being pre­ pared in Jerusalem. This will be the first Bible to be printed in newly de­ signed Hebrew characters, composed in the Holy City. The graphical com­ position of its last passage was cele­ brated at a special ceremony in the presence of many prominent person­ alities, each of whom took part in the inscription of one letter. This fact is one of the numerous proofs of the importance given to the Bible in the life of the country.

The Bible occupies a prominent place in the daily Israeli Broadcast Service, which starts its transmission daily at 6 a.m. with a Psalm of David and some chosen passage of the Chumosh. It would indeed be difficult to conceive the beginning of a day in a way more appropriate to the spirit of Jerusalem than with the reading from the text of the Bible which spreads into the air and exalts, in a spirit of humility, the Creator of the universe. The program of the broad­ casts includes other Biblical transmis­ sions as well. Every evening, before newsreel, chosen passages from two chapters of the Bible are recited, fol­ lowed by the commentary. During the course of one year, these readings in­ clude all the Books of the Bible, with the exception of the Chumosh, to which a special transmission is re­ served every Friday afternoon, when chosen passages of the weekly Sab­ bath portion of the Torah are read.

Besides these readings, a great number of lectures and sermons on various Biblical subjects are also broadcast.

Within the framework of the Jewish Agency a special department deals with the study of the Bible according to Jewish tradition. This department, besides organizing lectures and semi­ nars for Jewish youth coming from 27

abroad, also sends teachers and spirit­ ual leaders to the Jewish centers of the Diaspora. The same department also publishes a weekly commentary on the Bible, issued in several lan­ guages, which is regularly dispatched to Jewish centers abroad.

HE unique activity of the Society for Biblical Research must be mentioned. This society, founded im­ mediately after the establishment of the State of Israel, today numbers thirty-five branches spread all over the country, each one sub-divided into several circles. Its aim is to provide for an organized form of group study, in conformity with the deep attach­ ment to the Bible which is rooted in the heart of the people of Israel. The Bible study circles established until now already number several hundred, counting a membership of twenty thousand that meet mostly in private homes. One circle gathers twice monthly at the private residence of the Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, with the participation of the archae­ ologist Yigal Yadin; the former rector of the University, Professor Mazar; the historian Palmon; as well as cabi­ net ministers, members of Parliament, and other prominent personalities and scholars. The participants of these circles generally choose a subject of a certain Book of the Bible. There­ upon, lectures are given by scholars specializing in various sciences such as exegesis, glottology, history of the civilization of ancient people, compartive history of religions, etc. A written summary of the given lecture and the consequent discussion is regu­ larly issued and afterwards published in the form of a book.

David Ben Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, well-known for his love for the Bible, is likewise known

T

28

for his original interpretations there­ of, which sometimes deviate from Jewish belief and tradition. One of his comments in connection with the number of Jews who took part in the Exodus from Egypt caused a stormy reaction. The heterodox opinion ex­ pressed by the Prime Minister was subject to criticism by the Israeli Knesseth, as the Prime Minister, when uttering his interpretation, had not sufficiently stressed the fact that his ideas concerning the Bible had ex­ pressed his private opinion. The mat­ ter almost provoked a governmental crisis. Recently, the Prime Minister again had the opportunity of voicing his opinion during a meeting of the Bible circle which meets at his resi­ dence twice monthly. This time he endeavored to rehabilitate King Saul in connection with David, but was very careful to emphasize the fact that the opinion expressed was his own, stated by him as a private per­ son. The interesting aspect of the above-mentioned incidents is that an opinion expressed in connection with a Biblical subject could be the source of discussion in the Israeli Parliament and even produce a vote of no-confidence in the Government. A person unacquainted with the atmosphere of Israel can scarcely realize the im­ portant position held by the Bible in the life of Israel even among the socalled secular circles.

N annual event arousing great national interest is the annual Bible Convention, which always takes place during the week of Pesach and lasts four days. Every year, a particu­ lar book of the Bible or Biblical topic is chosen as the principal theme of the Convention. The lecturers are scholars prominent in every field dealing with Bible study.

A

JEWISH LIFE

The festive opening session of the annual Bible Convention takes place in the presence of outstanding public personalities in public life. But among the audience of thousands one can likewise meet persons from all walks of life, town-dwellers as well as in­ habitants of the most far-oif villages.

The tremendous interest in the Bible revealed itself in full during the first International Contest for Better Knowledge of the Bible, held in Jeru­ salem during the summer of 1958.

The contest finals took place at the stadium of the Hebrew University, which was adorned with flags and magnificently illuminated to mark the festive occasion. Among those present were the most prominent personalities in the political and scientific life of the country as well as members of the Diplomatic Corps. The huge stadium was filled to capacity and all of those attending followed every stage of the development of the unusual Bible quiz with intense interest. The fascinated audience burst into frantic applause whenever any of the candidates gave proof of his profound knowledge of the Book of Books. Besides those present at the contest, hundreds of thousands followed the proceedings glued to their radio sets, and parents were unable to tear away even their six- or seven-year-old children, who crouched next to the radio until the early hours of the morning. The champion of the first World Contest, Amos Haham, became the hero of the day and was an object of mass tribute.

Generally, the public in other coun­ tries bestows its enthusiasm on sport champions, gifted singers, or enter­ tainers. In this case, however, tribute was paid to a simple individual, an up-to-then unknown little clerk, a physically handicapped man, who had devoted all his spare time, with unJanuary-February, 1963

limited love and perseverence, to the study of the Bible. The Second Bible Contest which took place three years later in September 1961, evoked the same great enthusiasm and general following.

Other Bible competitions are organ­ ized in Israel for the youth at school and for the Armed Forces. Thousands participate. These contests have pro­ duced noticeable and practical results, as they have strengthened the general interest in the Bible and have drawn attention to certain books of the Bible which were heretofore studied in a minor degree. Above all, these con­ tests have succeded in putting still greater emphasis on the religious, moral, and national aspects of the Book of Books.

EXT in line to the interest shown to the Bible comes archaeology, since it is complementary to Biblical study. Under past regimes, the soil of the Holy Land was subject to archae­ ological explorations only in a limited way. Since the State of Israel came into being, one can witness real fervor for archaeological research. Besides the systematic excavations effected by the Department of Antiquities, the Hebrew University, and foreign ar­ chaeological missions, unforeseen dis­ coveries are unearthed from time to time. Often, the tractor digging a canal qr plowing a field, or digging the foundations of a new building, unearths a mosaic floor, a pre-historic tomb, or the remnants of a fortress dating from the period of the Kings of Israel. As the personnel charged with the care of archaeological find­ ings are few in number a group of “Friends of the Antiquities” has been founded. This organization includes persons living in various parts of the country, who, while busy with their

N

29

daily occupations, have the honorary task of eventually signalling occa­ sional archaeological discoveries. This task also includes the custody of the antiquities situated in localities where the Department of Antiquities is un­ able to appoint a caretaker. At the initiative of some of the “Friends” small museums have been established in a number of localities, whose in­ habitants proudly consider them as their very own center of attraction.

Archaeology has become very popu­ lar, and the conventions, lectures, and excursions organized by the “Histori­ cal Archaeological Society” attract a wide public.

These archaeological excavations help to shed new light on the events related in the Bible and every new dis­ covery causes a country-wide interest.

The veneration in Israel for all that is connected with the Bible is such that in spite of the tremendous financial obligations which the Gov­ ernment of Israel has to bear, it nevertheless willingly authorized the expenditure which was needed for the purchase of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. It is therefore not surprising that a picture of the Dead Sea Scrolls is even printed on bank notes issued by the National Bank of the State of Israel, whilst other nations usually print a picture of their respective heads of state, or other emblems sym­ bolizing that particular nation.

HE Biblical motif is also felt in the onomastic and toponomastic field, of the State of Israel. Biblical given names, always popular among the Jews of the Diaspora, are widely prevalent in Israel today and at the same time, we witness the Hebraization of family names. Names of Ger­ man or Slavic origin give way to others which are quite often their

T

30

simple translation. Sometimes patro­ nymics are adopted as surnames, as in the case of President Ben Zvi (the son of Zvi), or in other cases, names of historical, political, or ideological significance are adopted.

Since the change of the great majority of surnames and given names is inspired by the Bible this con­ tributes to the creation of a special atmosphere in which the heroes and personages of Biblical times seem to live again on the present-day Holy Land scene.

The influence of the Bible is pre­ dominant in the topography of the country. Whoever visits Israel or con­ fines himself to consulting the geo­ graphical map of the country is sur­ prised to discover the persistence of a great number of names of presentday localities which are mentioned in the Bible. This partly includes names of places which have never ceased to exist, such as Jerusalem, Beersheba, Jordan, Galilee, Carmel. More often, however, it is a case of Biblical names being given to recently established localities situated in the vicinity of historical places which have long since disappeared. The people of Israel, re­ turning to the promised Land, have succeeded in fertilizing barren and arid zones and while doing so have also resuscitated from oblivion the names of many localities. Biblical names have been given to hundreds of towns and villages built on a soil which has been conquered from thè marshes and the desert.

The task of finding suitable names for the newly established towns and villages has been given to a special committee which comes under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office. The members of this commit­ tee, besides being versed in the geog­ raphy of the country, have a thorough JEWISH LIFE

knowledge of history, linguistics, ar­ chaeology, and above all an excellent knowledge of the Bible, the latter be­ ing the main source from which the names are taken. Such work is ex­ ecuted with scientific rigor. It some­ times happens that a locality men­ tioned in the Bible is identified by a name which has maintained itself, although slightly changed, in an Arabic geographical denomination. At other times, the description of a cer­ tain region, mountain, valley, or river found in the Bible helps to identify a particular locality. Archaeological excavations very often produce the irrefutable evidence of a site men­ tioned in the Bible, as in the case of Hatzor and Meggido. The names used are often inspired by meaningful words taken from the Psalms, the Prophets, or other books of the Bible.

To cite a very few examples among very many: Chavatzeleth Hastiaron (Lily of the Valley—Song of Songs 2 :1 ); Petach Tikvah (the Gate of H o p e— Hoshea 2:17); Mevasereth Yerushalayim (Announcer of Jeru­ salem—Isaiah 40:9); Rishon L’tziyon (First in Zion—Isaiah 41:27).

Names of streams, rivers, moun­ tains, or valleys which are easy to identify have been taken from the Bible with positive certainty and nearly all of them appear on the present map of Israel. Certain names have been chosen on the basis of a historical criterion such as the Gilboa chain of mountains, the peaks of which were named after Saul by his sons, as it is generally known that King Saul fell fighting on Mt. Gilboa.

The method used in the nomencla­ ture of geographical sites is also used in the designation of various districts, squares, and streets which are named after the patriafchsjpdngs of Israel, famous women, and geographical January-February, 1963

names recorded in sacred scripture.

The Bible is also the source of the names of hotels, theatres, cinemas, factories, firms, etc.

HE influence of the Bible is very much felt in the Israeli Army, in­ cluding phases of military life addi­ tional to those served by the Army rabbis whose tasks, to a certain ex­ tent, are similar to those of the chap­ lains in the armies of other countries.

The Israeli Army can be considered as an Army sui generis, because pri­ marily boys and girls alike are obliged to serve in it. Besides, the aim of the Army is not only the development of military capacities but also to com­ plete the general education of the youth serving in its ranks. In such an army, the Bible occupies a place of honor. A Tanach is presented to the soldier at the solemn ceremony when he is being sworn in. On this formal occasion the Israeli soldier is made to feel that he not only has to be worthy of his spiritual heritage but also has to conform his moral con­ duct and general behavior to the teachings of the Bible.

The study of the Bible is part of the cultural program of the Army.

It is a particular branch of study from the strategic point of view as well.

When taking up a certain strategic position the unit commander never fails to remind his solders of the im­ portance of the locality in Biblical times, and of the battles which were fought on the same spot. Strategic examples taken from the Bible have more than once had a strong influence on military decisions. Particularly well known is the case of Prof. Yigal Yadin, the noted former general and present archaeologist, who as Chief of Staff of Israel’s army during the War for Independence in 1948,

T

31

brought to bear his knowledge of military campaigns of the remote past in repelling the onslaught of the Arab forces. Among various similar in­ stances which might be cited was the carving out of a new road to free besieged Jerusalem, the route taken being inspired by that traversed through mountain passes by King Saul when attacking the Philistines.

Sometimes the connection with the Bible is entirely indirect but ingenious, as in the case of two submarines ac­ quired by the Israeli navy which were named Rahav and Tanin, two sea monsters mentioned in the Bible. Here we must remark that when the flag was handed over to these two new units of the fleet the ceremony in­ cluded the recitation of a chapter from the Book of Jonah, the Prophet who was swallowed by the whale and whose miraculous adventure antici­ pated the activities of submarine crews.

HE Bible is also a precious guide in matters pertaining to agricul­ ture, since the frequent reference in it to certain plants is evidence that those specimens grew in the Land of Israel during Biblical times, and that their cultivation can be renewed and intensified in present times. The names of certain places sometimes bear a di­ rect reference to a certain agricultural product from which one can deduce that the plant referred to could be found in that region. To mention just a few, there are Beth Zayith (the House of Oil); Beth Lechem (Beth­ lehem — House of Bread); Ein Kerem (the Source of the V ine); Gush Cholov (Gischala—the Region of Milk, i.e., rich in pasture). Agricul­ turists in charge of projects concern­ ing new cultivations to be tilled in certain regions first study the nature

T

32

of the soil, the climatic conditions, and the hydraulic resources. Evidence found in the Bible has, however, en­ couraged experts to make experiments in regions where at first sight the arid conditions should have deterred even preliminary investigations.

The pioneers of Israel who settled in a country which had been com­ pletely neglected for centuries, had faith in the passage of the Bible which said: “A country of wheat and barley, vine, figs and pomegranates, of olive trees, and honey . . . ” (Devorim 8:8).

Their trust in the evidence of the Bible proved to be justified in full.

The Biblical connection is not ignored even in the scientific publications is­ sued by the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Israel. These publica­ tions never fail to quote passages of the Bible when dealing with a certain plant that is mentioned in it. In these publications we also find reproductions of mosaics or bas-reliefs of yore, where flowers and fruits of the vege­ table kingdom of old were used as ornaments. This tendency to associate the Bible with agricultural produce was evident at an exhibition of fruit which recently took place in Haifa.

There was shown a great variety of luscious Israel-grown fruit, This ex­ hibition could well be compared to those of similar kind in other coun­ tries. The Israeli however, being un­ able to disregard his own particular vocation, besides exhibiting the fruits also accentuated the various produce which, according to different histori­ cal and archaeological sources, grew in Eretz Israel in various epochs and under various rulers. Particular em­ phasis was given to fruit mentioned in the Bible and numerous passages were cited.

The connections with the Bible can also be found in the animal world.

JEWISH LIFE

This is evident at the Biblical Zoo of Jerusalem where specimens of the fauna of the country are assembled, or to be more exact, specimens of animals mentioned in the Bible and which it is assumed existed in the Holy Land in Biblical times. In Jeru­ salem’s Biblical Zoo we can therefore find numerous kinds of animals, both large and small, wild and tame, from the lion to the gazelle, from the eagle to the dove. What distinguishes this Biblical Zoo from zoological parks elsewhere in the world are the Biblical references and quotations found in it.

The signs, besides giving the names of the animals in Hebrew and Latin, also bear the Biblical quotations in con­ nection with each particular specimen exhibited. Thus you will find the quotation:*“The voice of the dove is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:12) near the doves, and next to the fox: “The little foxes that spoil the vineyards” (Song of Songs 2:15).

Over the eagle’s cage there is: “A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had diverse colours” (Ezekiel 17:3). But perhaps the most significant of all quotations found in the Biblical Zoo of Jerusalem is the one inscribed at the entrance:— “Bless the Lord, O my soul . . .

Who sendest forth the springs into the valleys; they run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field . . . They wait all upon Thee that Thou mayest give them their food in due season” (Psalms 104:1, 10-11, 27).

HE Book of Books has even had influence in the field of geological research and in the valorization of minerals. This research is especially important in a country which having reached political independence, now also strives to achieve economic in­

T

January-February, 1963

dependence. Without the irrefutable evidence of the Bible, the geologists and the experts on mineralogy would have hesitated to have started the costly research which eventually led to the discovery of iron, copper, phos­ phate, and oil. The quotation: i A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass . . .” can be found in Devorim 8:9. In another, verse (Devorim 32:13) it is written that the Lord made Israel to suck “. . . oil out of the flinty rock.”

Is this the reference which recently helped find oil in Israel? Although scientific research is normally reluc­ tant to base itself on sacred texts, Israeli scientists had faith in the Bible and the Bible cleared the Way for the hoe, the drill, and various tools of modern technique. Let us first of all mention the chemical industrial enter­ prise which has extracted potash and bromine out of the Dead Sea waters.

Although in this instance the connec­ tion with the Bible is well-known, the fact is worth underlining that a new industrial center today flourishes in that barren and desert region, witness of the great cataclysm, Sodom. The case of the copper mines near Eilath, the Red Sea port, is less known.

These mines have been identified and thanks to the Bible re-spurred into action because in I Kings 7:45-46, it is written that “Solomon had the vessels of bright brass for the House of the Lord cast in the plain of the Jordan.” Nowadays a very modern foundry exists on the very same spot where 3,000 years ago the wise king’s subjects toiled to extract the red metal.

N most various expressions the Bible has impressed its seal on modern Hebrew art as well. We should like above all to draw attention to the influence brought about by the Bible

I

33

to those reproductions which portray the State or some of its activities in a symbolic way. The emblem of the State of Israel was inspired by the words of the Prophet Zechariah “. . . a candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the top of it, and . . . seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof— and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side thereof ” ( 4 : 3 - 4 ) . Another very popular drawing is the one sym­ bolizing the Government Tourist Of­ fice showing the two explorers who the Bible tells were sent by Moses to spy out the Land of Canaan and re­ turned with a branch on which hung a huge bunch of grapes. The same picture has been adopted as a trade­ mark by an Israeli factory which pro­ duces wine. Examples like these can be given time and again. The emblem of Jerusalem for instance is the Lion of Judah; that of Beersheba represents the tamarisk of Abraham. Almost every locality has an emblem which includes a significant verse of the Bible. Tel Aviv bears the words of Jeremiah 3 0 : 4 , “Again will I build Thee and Thou shalt be built.y> Postage stamps are worthy of spe­ cial attention too. Bearing symbols inspired by the Bible and destined to reach remote places within the bound­ aries of the State and far beyond it, they are able in their own particular way to show the ties existing between the State of Israel and the Book of Books. Issues picturing the twelve tribes of Israel; the kings of Israel; the seven typical products which are quoted in Devorim 8:8; and lastly the series reproducing musical instru­ ments, ships, and coins of Biblical times, already are in circulation. While it is true that in other countries the world over jubilee-stamps commemo­ 34

rating events connected with religion, war, culture, or sport have been is­ sued, the specialty of Israeli stamps consists of tabs attached which quote Biblical passages. This cultural and educational value influenced by the Bible and coming from the Holy Land must surely have made a deep impact upon the addressees.

URTHER in the field of art the remarkable influence of the Bible is felt in theatre, dance, and song. In the Bible there is no lack of person­ ages of high dramatic character and their vicissitudes have inspired writers and poets of many nations to choose heroes and heroines of the Bible as the main personages of their various compositions and dramas; from Saul to David, from Moses to Jeremiah, and from Esther to Attalia. The effect of a dramatic performance is so much greater if based on a Biblical theme cast in Hebrew and acted by actors to whom the Bible has been a spiritual and cultural nourishment day after day, and to whom the Biblical locali­ ties described in the play are familiar.

In Israel there exists a theatrical com­ pany which devotes itself particularly to dramatic performances inspired by the Bible. There is also a ballet corps that follows as a model the dances which are often mentioned in the Bible. As far as music is concerned it is sufficient to mention the inter­ national harp contest organized in Jerusalem, the Holy City, where King David himself once accompanied his own psalms on the harp. With refer­ ence to song it is obvious that it flourishes spontaneously and joyfully in a young State whose citizens have fought for its independence and have been accomplishing fruitful and pro­ ductive work and where one lives in constant contact with nature. Here

I cl

i

F

JEWISH LIFE

f 1

too the source of inspiration is the Bible and especially the Psalms and the Song of Songs, so rich in lyrical expression.

Remarkable too is the influence which the Bible bears in the State of Israel on every kind of celebration and solemn festivity, be it a conven­ tion having a cultural character, a national holiday, or various gatherings such as sport competitions or military parade. There even exists an evolu­ tion in the development of certain religious feasts since the changed poli­ tical, social, and territorial conditions require both adaptions and variations.

A special department attached to the Ministry for Religious Affairs, called Department of the Religious Way of Life, devotes itself to the revival of ancient customs and certain religious feasts mentioned in the Bible, adapt­ ing them to modern needs and to the present-day life of the State of Israel.

This has brought about the revival of traditional pilgrimages and gatherings, long since fallen into oblivion in the Diaspora owing to the lack of terri­ torial elementary conditions. Other re­ ligious celebrations such as the “New Year of the Trees” and the “Festival of the First Fruits” as well as many others having had only a symbolic and commemorative character in the Diaspora, have now regained their original traits in a true and sound atmosphere. Besides reviving and giving actual existence to ancient cele­ brations, the Department of the Re­ ligious Way of Life devotes itself to rendering a traditional appearance to

January-February, 1963

feasts and celebrations which are the consequence of recent historical and political events and are generally the result of progress existing in every field of man’s activities.

UMEROUS other examples could be added as evidence of the constant presence of the Bible in every form of material and spiritual activity in Israel. Here we are, however, unable to conceal the fact that there exists no lack of criticism on the part of certain traditionally religious groups concerning the adaptability and appli­ cation of the Holy Scriptures to recent events. Indeed, Judaism does not only base itself on the written law of the Torah, but also on the Oral Torah as codified in the Talmud, and from which the Jew should not prescind.

The present inquiry does not intend to enter into complicated theological disquisitions but restricts itself to the modest task of conveying a list of facts and figures concerning the actual importance and the decisive influence of the Book of Books in the life of the State of Israel. We admit that without any doubt the teachings of the Bible are only partially applied in the modern State of Israel and that a way must yet be found to reach that model of spiritual and moral life shown in the Bible. We are, however, convinced that the place of honor re­ served to the Bible and its general presence in every field represents a warrant and a reason of hope for the spiritual future of the Jewish people.

N

35

FOR YO U RSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS A PRECIOUS GIFT two years for only $4.00 (twelve issues)

JEWISH LIFE, 84 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 11, N. Y.

Send gift subscription, with gift card, to: Name...........................................................................

Address ........................................................................

C ity .................................................Zone........... State

My Name............................................................................................... .

Address......................... ................................................................... .— C ity.............................................Zone.......... State......................... ........ □ include my own subscription

36

□ New ^ Renewal

Check enclosed for $.

JEWISH LIFE

Shall Parents be Punished for the Deeds of Their Children?

By ESTHER APPELBERG and MELECH SCHÄCHTER

NE of the effects of the continu­ ous mounting of juvenile delin­ O quency has been an increasing and often frantic search for ways and means of combatting the problem. One such attempt has been the following proposal in the New York State Legis­ lature: AN ACT To amend the domestic relations law, in relation to liability of a parent, guardian or other person having cus­ tody of an infant who wilfully, mali­ ciously or unlawfully destroys or injures property of another.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. The domestic relations law is hereby amended by inserting therein a new section to be Section Seventy-four, to read as follows: January-February, 1963

74. A parent, guardian or other per­ son having legal custody of an in­ fant sixteen years of age or under who wilfully, maliciously or unlaw­ fully destroys or injures any real or personal property of another, is lia­ ble in a civil action for damages for such injury done, provided no re­ covery may be had in such action against such parent, guardian or other person in excess of two hun­ dred and fifty dollars.

2. This action shall take effect imme­ diately.

While this proposal was rejected by the New York Legislature, other states in the Union have enacted or are try­ ing to enact similar laws.

Thus Mr. Bob Hocks, president of “Unlimited Progress” urged this com­ mittee to recommend to the state: 37

To assure the fulfillment of this re­ sponsibility, the present laws limiting the fine of $100 on parents for the acts of their children should be broadened and increased. In addition, imprison­ ment of the parent for a short duration would help in making all parents aware that society will no longer tolerate de­ linquency by either the child or the parent.

Those parents who try to control their children and still have trouble, and who have notified the authorities prior thereto, could receive exemption of all or part of the penalties, providing they cooperate with the authorities in the correction of their children.* While a bill under which parents would be liable up to $200 for wilful and malicious damage done to public property by their children was passed by the Virginia House and returned to the State Senate for concurrence in minor amendments, states like Michi­ gan and Washington, and also the Dis­ trict of Columbia, have similar bills pending.

These legislative proposals to hold parents responsible for their children’s delinquent behavior seems to us suf­ ficiently urgent and serious to warrant examination both from the viewpoint of Jewish law and teaching and from the viewpoint of social work knowl­ edge and philosophy.

CCORDING to Jewish philos­ ophy, tradition, and law, parents play a most important role in the formation of their children’s personal­ ities. By their own set of values and behavior as well as by discipline and early training, parents mould and fashion the moral concepts and ethi-

A

* “From the State Capitals”— A Continuing Im­ partial Analysis o f State and M uncipal Legis­ lative and Regulatory Trends o f N ation-wide Significance. Bethune Jones, Red Bank, N ew Jersey.

38

cal disposition of their offspring.

Hence, the injunction which the reli­ gious Jew repeats constantly in his morning and evening prayers: And these words, which I command ’ thee this day, shall be upon thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Devorim, 6:6-7) Jewish tradition is aware that from childhood on, the human is driven by selfish impulses, and therefore stresses the necessity of discipline (Makkoth 8a) and sees it as the loving parents’ responsibility (Proverbs, 13:24). But Jewish law has also been aware of a number of other factors beyond the control of the parents. Hence, “the father shall not be put to death for the children;” “The soul that sinneth, it shall die—the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son with him” (Ezekiel 18:20). In other words, there is the recognition of parental and cultural influences and the recognition of a per­ son’s own responsibility, his free will.

Even if it could be proven that juvenile delinquents inherited their contempt for justice and morality from their parents, it is, according to Jewish law, difficult to hold the parents legally re­ sponsible for all the criminal behavior of their children. For, in the realm of tort, Jewish jurisprudence postulates the concept of direct causality. When A indirectly causes damage to B he is not liable. When a juvenile delinquent perpetrates a crime, his parents, as deficient in their parental duties as they may have been, can only be considered indirectly responsible for it.

This is further accentuated by the fact that delinquent parents do not necessarily breed delinquent children.

In many cases, we find children of deJEWISH LIFE

linquent parents growing up to be moral and responsible citizens of the community. Hence, Jewish law, with all its emphasis on parental duties not­ withstanding, postulates unequivocally that “insane persons and minors are bad to meet; (because) he who hurts them is liable for full compensation, but if they (minors) commit an as­ sault, they are not liable at all” (Bova Kama, 87a).* OTH our learning and our expe­ rience in social work have con­ vinced us that not only are children the products of their parents but that parents too are the products and some­ times the victims of their own parents and environment. Ericson, in discuss­ ing the forces which influence the rearing of children and the several stages of human development, has pointed out: “For in the last analysis (as cooperative studies in child train­ ing have convinced many of us) the kind and degree of a sense of auton­ omy which parents are able to grant their small children, depends on the dignity and sense of personal inde­ pendence which they derive from their lives. Again, just as the sense of trust is a reflection of the parents’ sturdy and realistic faith, so is the sense of autonomy a reflection of the parents’ dignity as individuals.” (E. H. Eric­ son, “The Healthy Personality” in Identity and the Life Circle, 1959, Psy­ chological Issues, Vol. 1, No. 1, Inter­ national Universities Press, Inc., p. 72) If we accept these assumptions, can we really blame and punish parents for their children’s behavior? Yet the pro-

B

* In Talmudic terminology indirect damage is called “groma.” There are, however, many ex­ ceptions, because o f which a distinction is made between “groma” and “garmi” depend­ ing upon how remotely indirect the damage is.

Cf. Choshen Mishpot, Ch. 386.

January-February, 1963

posal does seem to be based on the belief that parents are always able to prevent their children’s delinquent be­ havior, should they wish to. Further­ more, these proposals assume that if the parents will be held responsible these children will cease to be delin­ quents. However, when we look more closely into the dynamics of parentchild relationships as one of the fac­ tors which may play a part in juvenile delinquency, we are faced with a wide range of variables.

O raise only some of the questions that come to mind, can parents transmit to their children values which were never planted in them? Can any­ one give what he does not possess? Do not these parents repeat with their children what their parents did to them? Often such parents are caught in a disturbed relationship with their children, not only because of their inability to transmit values to them, but also because of their inablity to give love, warmth, and security, which they themselves never received. At times they are people who have very little understanding of their children’s needs, and who do not know how to set controls.

Sometimes these are parents who, because of their own upbringing, lack a real moral conscience and are un­ aware of this defect, as has been pointed out by Adelaide M. Johnson (“Sanctions for Superego Lacunae of Adolescents,” Searchlights on Delin­ quency, ed. K. R . Eissler, N. Y. Uni­ versity Press, 1949). Such parents, unconsciously, influence the child to act out in a delinquent way. Uncon­ sciously, they derive satisfaction from their children’s social behavior. The children act out their parents’ forbid­ den impulses. This may enable such parents to express the hostile destruc-

T

39

tive impulses they feel toward their children. Often these are parents who are strict and who will shame their children in public for what they have done.

On the other hand, a child of such parents may consciously, or more fre­ quently, unconsciously, make his par­ ents suffer by acting out in an exag­ gerated way the latter’s unconscious impulses.

While these parents may vary as to the nature of their own problems and personality make-up, they resemble each other insofar as their relationship to children is a disturbed one. Punish­ ing these parents for the acts of their children will put greater stress on their already strained relationships. Thus there is a real danger that the punish­ ing approach towards the parents, in­ stead of being a deterrent to the delinquent acts of children, will be an additional stimulus. When the relation­ ship between such a parent and his child takes a turn for the worse, the child may look for additional outlets for his bitter feelings and in his rage towards his parents, will act them out on society. (Cf. Yodayim, 4, 7; Bova Kama, 4a.)

HE law which punishes parents for the deeds of their children, gives children a very dangerous weap­ on against their parents. That weapon can easily become a form of blackmail to be used against the parents by those children who feel mistreated or wronged. For example, it is easy to imagine how a youngster who does not get the money to buy what he wants or the permission to use the family car, can get back at his par­ ents by carrying out a delinquent act, consciously intent on having his par­ ents punished by the law.

In lending ourselves to such a proc­

T

40

ess, do we help to educate the young­ ster and to strengthen his sense of responsibility for the act he commits?

It would seem that this cannot be the way in which society can help ‘the youngster to grow and mature into adulthood.

Holding the parents responsible for the delinquent acts of their children is essentially a punitive approach to a major social problem. It is, however, widely recognized today in profes­ sional and lay circles that punishment is not a deterrent to crime. Many judges agree that the effectiveness of the court as an agent in rehabilitating child and family is jeopardized by a punitive (rather than an understand­ ing) attitude on the part of the court.

There is sufficient criminal legislation to take care of parents who instigate children to a criminal act. It seems that those legislators eager to propose the punishment of parents seek to place blame, thereby eliminating the need to search further for the very roots of juvenile delinquency.

There was a period—-and we still have not outgrown and left it—when society discovered the importance of the mother and made her the culprit in everything which went wrong with the child. Then came the discovery of the father and of his importance and there ensued talk about the passive father and the domineering mother.

Thus we started to shift some of the responsibility for the faulty develop­ ment of the child to the father. Yet, while we are still exploring the effects of parents on their children, we real­ ize more and more that there is not always such a simple cause-and-effect relationship. Not everything that goes wrong with the healthy development of a person can be explained in this fashion. Neither can it always be cured with the wealth of knowledge which JEWISH LIFE

r V

we have begun to discover in psycho­ analysis, social work, sociology, and all the other disciplines which are con­ cerned with man.

I

ARENTS are not the only ones who rear and educate children; nor are they the only ones who trans­ mit values to them. The school, the neighborhood, the street, the radio, the T.V., the comics, and the movies—all these have their share in rearing and influencing today’s youngsters.

Why does society allow criminals to be glorified in comic books, novels, movies, and on television? Society gives children a distorted sense of val­ ues by feeding them murder stories and gangster films, and by making assault weapons easily available. So­ ciety supplies our youth with a display of gross immorality. What can be more deleterious to a youngster’s sys­ tem of values than the recent recom­ mendations in some circles to kill one’s neighbor should he try to enter one’s atomic or air-raid shelter.

Furthermore, on the one hand, we have economic factors, such as poverty, ignorance and slums, discrimination, lack of employment and lack of op­ portunities. On the other hand, we still believe that there are equal oppor­ tunities for all and that man, should he want, has only to reach and they are his. We talk about brotherly love and believe in “thou shalt love thy neighbor.” We have a net of social services but see the recipients as

P

January-February, 1963

“idle,” “chiselers,” and undeserving.

We talk about interdependence and no-man-is-an-island-unto-himself. Yet to be dependent, especially econom­ ically dependent, is our nightmare and those who are, are the symbol of fail­ ure. We are witness to the wild chase after material goods and the compul­ sion to compete and to keep up with the Joneses and man is measured by how much money he makes.

HERE is no lack of other exam­ ples of the lag in our contempo­ rary culture; the discontinuity and descrepancy of modern-day values, beliefs, and actions need not be elabo­ rated on here. But one cannot help but ask whether it is not the state of anomy our society is in which plays an important part in crime in general and in the rise of juvenile delinquency in particular.

To punish parents would not even begin to solve the problem. The prob­ lem of juvenile delinquency is inter­ twined and interwoven with all the other problems of our generation. To treat juvenile delinquency as an entity in itself is a fallacy.

The aim of this paper has obviously not been to discuss the problems, the causes, and the cure of juvenile de­ linquency. Our intent is to alert the Jewish community to the existence of legislative bills in the various states which are not in keeping with Jewish law and tradition and which are in­ compatible with the knowledge and values of social science.

T

41

They Seek Their People

By JACOB BELLER

ERE and there in various Latin American countries are to be found today living echoes of a sad era of the Jewish past—groups composed of real or reputed descendants of Mar­ ranos, or of Marranos who had inter­ married with Indians. Through the centuries, they had clung to memories of Jewish origin and, usually in secret, to fragments, often distorted, of Jew­ ish religious observance. The events of recent years have brought them a new awareness of their ties to the Jewish world and a strong urge to identify themselves publicly as Jews and to live as Jews. From Mexico to the most out of the way regions of Chile, one may meet such formerly clandestine groups or sects. Some of them have even organized themselves into distinct communities.

These scattered and isolated groups, having little or no contact with each other, vary considerably in their views and practices, especially with regard

H

42

to their religious customs and beliefs.

Even today, when they are free to practice their beliefs, they are held by a fear that they are being spied on by organs of the Catholic Church.

Thus each group in its own way has evolved a distinctive pattern and, as I have noted in a previous article,* through the vicissitudes of time their knowledge of Judaism and its observ­ ances has become altogether confused and adulterated.

N the course of travels through Latin America I have had the op­ portunity to visit a number of these surviving groups of Marranos. The most interesting to me was one in a remote part of Chile.

Just last Pesach I attended their Seder in a provisional village they had constructed on a training farm near Buenos Aires. They had come there

I

*

The M arranos and the Inquisition, J ewish L ife , Sivan 5722/June 1962.

JEWISH LIFE

from their home in the Chilean prov­ ince of Temuco preparatory to emi­ grating to Israel. They can be found also in various other parts of the coun­ try, especially in the province of Araucania, an area which the Span­ iards found difficult of access. A sec­ ond group is located near the Peruvian border. Apparently their ancestors fled thither when the Inquisition in Lima started to hunt them down.

The tiny Arauca Indian village of Chimpay perches high and inacces­ sible in Patagonian Andes, in Chile.

A missionary of the Seventh-day Ad­ ventists who made his way up to it one day in 1935 must have rejoiced to be bringing religion to so remote a cranny of the world. He could only have been amazed at what he found: a community of Indians who had no Bible and could not have read it if they had, although they observed the Sabbath and knew much of Moses’ teaching.

He settled among them for several months, and pieced together the origin of their Biblical belief. He learned that they were descendants of a group of Peruvian Jews from Lima who had fled from the Inquisition sometime in the sixteenth century, crossed half a continent and settled in the Patagonian mountains; there they had taught their faith and observances to Indian farm hands.

When the unknown Seventh-day Adventist climbed down the mountain, he left some Bibles in Chimpay. Eleven years later, a Chilean Jew named Santiago Martinez visited Chimpay, gave the Indians real instruction in Judaism, and told them that the Chil­ dren of Israel had completed their millennium of suffering and were soon to return to Zion to await the coming of the Messiah.

January-February, 1963

HE Araucanians observed Jewish dietary laws, feast and fast days, separated men and women for wor­ ship, and even broke down their tribe into classic biblical categories. They elected a leader, one Luis Bravo, and yearned for contact with real Israelites.

One evening in 1948 Luis Bravo tuned in Chimpay’s one battered radio and heard electrifying news—the prophecy was confirmed, the State of Israel had been founded. From that moment on, the Indians of Chimpay burned with a single hope: to reach the Promised Land.

Luis Bravo journeyed to Buenos Aires and called at the Israeli Con­ sulate, which cold-shouldered him so efficiently that he went back to Chim­ pay discouraged. But, one day in 1954, a wonderful rumor reached the village; a ship with the Messiah him­ self aboard had landed at Buenos Aires to transport the children of Israel to the Promised Land. Almost all the people of Chimpay sold their possessions to the few who stayed behind and trekked to Buenos Aires.

There was no ship but there was no turning back either. Silent, the Indians waited at the Israeli Consulate to be told again that the immigration laws made it all but impossible for nonJews to go to Israel and settle there as immigrants. At the Buenos Aires Rabbinate, they were told that they could not become Jews by mass con­ version. Seeking a recourse, they established themselves in the nearby village of Carlos Speggazini and there set up a training farm.

At last, Argentina’s rabbis told them that before they could become Jews they would have to learn Hebrew and Jewish laws—seemingly impossible, since only a handful of them could read or write. But Leader Bravo went

T

43

off to the Israel-Argentine Cultural Institute and hired a teacher.

For almost two years the teacher motored out to Carlos Speggazini to teach them, two nights a week and all Sunday afternoon. Faith can do won­ ders. They became proficient in He­ brew, and finally received permission from the Grand Rabbinate in Israel to make individual conversions to Juda­ ism.

Assembled in a bare hall they listened without a word to the good news, then, at a sign from Bravo, began to pray aloud. Only after the prayer was ended did they speak. “We are grateful,” said one of the oldest.

“But we must think hard and perhaps wait longer.” This group consists of 150 members, and their leader Luis Bravo said: “Surely the Lord cannot wish that sacred family ties be cut.

We will go to Israel, and all together.”

HE second group with whom I spent Passover was sixty kilo­ meters from Buenos Aires in the area of Camino de Las Flores (the Road of the Flowers). They too had come to Buenos Aires in the hope of getting to Israel. Since their plans too had been delayed, they bought some land at a cheap price from the Argentine government, and upon it built some rough and ready dwellings. They have settled there and live a kind of collec­ tive kibbutz life. This group, called Hijos de Sion (Sons of Zion), has been in contact with the mainstream of Jewry for more than forty years.

In 1919 at a Chilean Jewish confer­ ence in Santiago a group suddenly appeared from South Chile and asked for recognition as Jews. They spoke of Eretz Israel with ardor and love and since then have paid their shekel, raise funds for the Jewish National Fund, and have been represented at Zionist Congresses.

T

44

Their main center is in Temuco in southern Chile and they are found in other locations throughout the coun­ try. When Chile extended recognition to other religions beside Catholicism, they established contact with each other. In Quenco their community bears the name “Iglesia Israelita” (Israelite Church). They live apart from the others, marry among them­ selves, and follow certain Jewish prac­ tices and rites which, as with the other crypto-Jewish sects, they know in dis­ torted form mixed with elements of Catholic ceremony and concept. rHEN I stepped out at the station whose name had been given me by the Zionist Organization director in Buenos Aires, I was greeted with a smile by a middle-aged man with a short, trimmed beard. On his lapel I noticed a small Star of David with the word “Zion” in Hebrew. He greeted me with “Shalom, hermano!” I asked, “How did you know me?” “Oh,” he replied, “a Jew can be recognized.”

He explained that he had been sent to meet me. Their settlement had no motor car but he would carry our bags. After an hour’s tramp on the Camino de las Flores we came to the village of the Hijos de Sion. It was the afternoon of Erev Pesach. The settle­ ment with its low-lying barracks looked like an Israeli maabera. We were met by the spiritual mentor, Ruperto Cor­ dova, with a hearty ^ “Shalom, her­ mano!” and he took us straight to the synagogue over which there fluttered a blue-white flag with the words B’ruchim Haboim inscribed on it in Hebrew letters. Ruperto Cordova is a youthful person with a friendly olive­ skinned face behind a pitch-black beard. “Here,” he said, “is where our Seder will take place tonight.” He took us to our lodgings with the settle-

W

JEWISH LIFE

merit’s wealthiest member, Matías Seguro, the only one with a brick structure that resembles a house, the others all resembling the shacks of the maabaroth or the characteristic ranchos of Argentina.

Our host, who with his wife was most hospitable, turned out to be the “scholar” of the Sons of Zion. He scattered various Hebrew phrases in his conversation and mentioned that he had led the delegates to Zionist con­ ferences. He was a “wealthy” man because, as a mechanic, his earnings were higher than the others. We were served with food brought from Buenos Aires. Two pleasant girls named Sulamith and Esther sang Hebrew songs.

One was Hevenu Shalom Aleichem (the “shalom,” however, was pro­ nounced “tchalom” as their Spanish possesses no “sh” sound). Another selection was the “Song of the Par­ tisans”; others were: Hayom Yom Shabbath; Yehudim Anachnu; David, Melech Yisrael, and others. Their Hebrew teacher had gone to Buenos Aires for the holiday and they were free from school for the whole week.

I then was taken to the synagogue, the most imposing building in the settlement, also built by the members themselves. In front was a portrait of Theodor Herzl with the quotation in Hebrew “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Next to him were portraits of Chaim Weizmann, Ben Zvi, and Ben Gurion and on the wall the words Moadim L'simchah. The Hebrew school is here too, named after Ben Zvi and on the wall is a copy of the letter sent by the Israel Ambassador in Buenos Aires, on behalf of Ben Zvi, in recognition and appreciation of the name given to the school.

Stepping out of the synagogue I January-February, 1963

had a look at the settlement. It was composed of small, crudely-built houses without a scrap of comfort or convenience, made of plaster and boards. The settlement was neverthe­ less a picture of contentment amidst poverty. The men are all laborers and take jobs in nearby factories where they can avoid working on the Sab­ bath. There is a large Figorifico fac­ tory nearby but this requires Saturday work and for this reason they left it.

They observe all Jewish festivals and fasts, rest from work for the entire week of Pesach and Succoth, not even relaxing the ban on work during the mid-festival chol-hamo’ed period. On Shovuoth they observe “first fruits” in the Biblical manner: they slaughter a lamb and have their festival out of doors. On Pesach they conduct the Seder in the form of acting out the Exodus from Egypt, carrying their packs on their backs, and “splitting the Red Sea.” How did they come here? Their rabino, Ruperto Cordova, told me that in Chile the local Zionist organization could not give them any speedy hope of getting to Israel and suggested that they apply to the Jewish Agency in Buenos Aires. So they came here in the hope of expediting their aliyah.

In the meantime all are working, some at trades, others at whatever they can get. The surrounding population is somewhat suspicious of them: they know they are Judios. Various kinds of missionaries have tried to convert them, even the J. Witnesses. Since the men are away at work throughout the day the missionaries often try their appeal on the women. Life is on a communal basis with everything being shared. A homeless and blind French woman who joined them and adopted their faith is now one of them and commands great respect.

45

HEN we returned to our night’s lodging our hostess had lit her candles preparatory to going to the synagogue where the Seder was to be conducted for the entire group. I then noticed that there was only one bed­ room and one bed in the house. When I asked where we would sleep, Señor Seguro replied that no one slept on the first night of Passover anyway as the Seder and its prayers and songs lasted right through the night.

W

And so with our host we walked over to the synagogue. Round about us in the twilight blew a fall breeze from the open fields (we were in the Southern Hemisphere). It was getting dark and from the small ranchos glowed myriads of little kerosene lamps. Shadows fell upon us all walk­ ing along holding prayer books in our hands. A strange feeling befell me. It was as though I suddenly had a glimpse of a long-vanished world. I was once more in my shtetl in Galicia on a Sabbath eve. Jews were walking to synagogue and soon the quiet empty streets would echo with the tune of Uchu N ’rannenah.

When we stepped into the syna­ gogue all were already there. Women were holding infants in their arms.

The room was still filling up: people were coming from the nearby com­ munity of Monte Grande where there was no synagogue. They greeted one another with a kiss on the forehead and the word “Hermana” (sister).

This custom dates back to the Inqui­ sition when those condemned to death would pass one another on the way to their execution and they would kiss each other on the brow. It was called in Latin Osculum Pads—“The kiss of peace”— and may bear a relationship to the Hebrew Mitah B’nshikah—the “kiss of death.” The women wore 46

white veils and black dresses, the men and children were dressed in festive clothing.

N a moment of silence Ruperto Cor­ dova went up to the pulpit and recited some prayers in Spanish of which I could make out only two Hebrew words, “Shema, Yisrael.” The congregation arose and began to chant “Perdón Padre Mío, Sí Perdón” freely translated into English as follows: Forgive me, Father, forgive me I acknowledge that I have offended Thee, I know my shame is great and black, And my sin is grievous . . .

The melody which carried so much emotion and pathos brought to my mind a picture— a picture of rows of martyrs condemned to death lined up bound and in chains, marching head erect led by a man in a red silk gown holding a crucifix in his hand and praying for the sinful souls. Suddenly a shout wells up from the marching men: “Hear O Israel!”

A ceremony in the Seder quite new to me suddenly interrupted my thoughts: the preparations for cross­ ing the Red Sea. Carrying packages on their shoulders and holding long staffs of white wood in their hands, the men walk ahead followed by the women and walk over a part of the floor that has been sprinkled with water, singing: “Oíd un son de Alta Esfera”—in English: Hear a sound of heavenly majesty, Hear in the skies praise of G-d.

The Heavenly song is heard, With the heavens We praise the Eternal King.

The prayers and ceremonies, as we had been told, lasted through the entire night. Sermons were delivered by the rabino and a lay head of the

I

JEWISH LIFE

community. At times the ceremonies seemed distinctly Christian in their appearance. I asked my host about this and he explained that not all have reached the same level . . . among them there are still some who are “not entirely Jews.” But they are re­ tained out of a wish for unity—until they all reach their goal in Israel.

OR someone meeting them for the first time this coupling of Jewish and Christian ideas would be an aston­ ishing feature. However, it was not surprise to me who had come across this phenomenon long ago in Portugal and more recently in Mexico. For many years under the threat of the Inquisition they had secretly observed Judaism, passing it on from one gen­ eration to another for four hundred years. It was natural then, either for these practices to be distorted or halfforgotten or for them to be confused and half-merged with Christian rites for the purpose of averting the sus­ picion of the Inquisition spies who were constantly on the watch for evi­ dence of Judaizing.

There are many such puzzling and contradictory practices among these isolated sects reminiscent of their tragic past. There are some Indian tribes in Latin America where the women enter the church on Friday evenings and light candles before the images of the saints. Their Catholic sisters do not practice this custom, i.e., not on Friday evenings. This arose at the time when Marrano women, fear­ ing the Inquisition, chose for safety’s sake to light their Sabbath candles in the security of the church. This would appear to the Christians to be an act of devotion to the saints. Silently, the women would whisper the Jewish blessing over the candles. After many

F

January-February, 1963

centuries they still retained the act, having entirely forgotten the original motive.

As a corroboration of this thesis, what has been written by Professor Nahum Slouszch is noteworthy. Refer­ ring to an experience of his among Marranos in a remote part of Portugal, he observed that on a certain day late in the early fall the women assemble out of doors and hold pieces of p<3rk in their hands. This arose in order to mislead the Inquisition agents into believing these women to be good Catholics and thereby enabling the others to recite the Kol Nidre in the cellars. After many years the purpose was forgotten and the pork was no longer symbolically held, but con­ sumed as food.

N the second day Ruperto Cor­ dova called the group together and there was a “matzah dinner” to honor the guests. All present stood to sing the Hatikvah and to wish each other “L’hitraoth” in Eretz Israel. In addition to the previous songs I had heard, I was given the text of two other songs, the first composed by Frederico Martinez entitled: Consolad M i Pueblo (Console My People,— Hebrew, Nachamu, Nachamu Am i —Isaiah 40:1).

Comfort my people Says our Lord, For the punishment Has ended.

Unite thy people Says our G-d.

Refrain: Onward without fears, Forward—do not hold back!

May Israel march forward, May its Ruler lead Israel To her land.

O

47

Blow the trumpets O daughter of Zion.

Call together thy people, Assemble thy people, Thy homeland is free, Free of the tyrant, —Forward without fear!

Onward without fear . . .

G-d is calling us From Mount Zion Hear! Israel Is freeing all everywhere, Aged and children Go and shout it aloud —Forward without fear!

Onward without fear .. .

48

The second song, by Martin Alavoz, is called Fiesta de las Cabañas (Feast of Booths, i.e. Sukkoth): The festival of Sukkoth Justice is the Lord’s.

Thou art a sacred joy For Zion’s people.

Here under the twigs And beneath the clusters of fruit We sing to Thee, our Redeemer.

Refrain: G-d my G-d My good Lord, Thy children follow The festival with love.

JEWISH LIFE

What Does Jewish Youth Really Want?

By PINCHAS STOLPER

HE past two years have seen the greatest expansion of youth work in the history of the American ortho­ dox Jewish community. More syna­ gogues and more of their young people are participating in youth programs than ever before. The key factor in this development is the National Confer­ ence of Synagogue Youth. The youth arm of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, “NCSY” has grown with unusual speed into a movement truly national in scope. Its chapters and regions function through the length and breadth of the country.

The most notable aspect of the sudden response of congregations to this area of activity, however, is not simply numerical growth. Rather, it is the demanding character of the program —and the fact that the drive for its adoption rises from the teenagers themselves.

What are the reasons for the in­

T

January-February, 1963

creased popularity of youth activities in orthodox synagogues? Are they in­ troduced simply as a service to the membership, as another social or recre­ ational activity to keep young people content and out of trouble, or are they now recognized as a serious vehicle for education and religious training, an invaluable tool in strengthening and developing the loyalty of young people to the orthodox synagogue and to the Torah life for which it stands?

To answer these questions and to bet­ ter understand the meaning of youth activities in our synagogues we must comprehend the nature of youth in American society and based on this understanding develop an approach, to, and a philosophy of orthodox syna­ gogue youth activities.

HE age of Bar-Mitzvah is sup­ posedly the age of maturity and responsibility. Oupr tradition regards

T

49

the young person at that age as cap­ able of life and death responsibilities which American society defers to adulthood, to the age of twenty-one.

In practice though, despite the strength of the Bar-Mitzvah tradition, Ameri­ can Jewish society by and large gen­ erally reflects the notion that adoles­ cents are neither responsible nor ma­ ture, that the coming of age is no more than a symbol. This explains our unwillingness to recognize the capaci­ ties of adolescents for responsibility and our reluctance to provide them with challenge or place. We tend to regard them as children and then at some time along the line we prematurely thrust the adult world at them.

Adolescence is not adulthood, but it is much more than another step beyond childhood. It is a decisive point of transition for personality de­ velopment and a bold reach into adult­ hood. The adolescent has left one place but has not yet reached the other, he is suspended between “no longer” and “not yet.”

This is the age of turmoil, chal­ lenge, and potential danger. There is no other stage in life where the possi­ bilities of finding one’s self and the threat of losing one’s self loom so large. This is the age in which boys and girls define themselves vis-a-vis their environment, religion, and so­ ciety; the time for developing a selfimage; a time to answer the allimportant questions: Who am 1?; What am 1?; What will I be? The very turmoil of youth, their often strange dress, behavior, and speech, are all part of the process of looking for one’s self—for seeking ego identifi­ cation.

To know what youth wants and needs, we must first seek understanding of the nature of youth and adolescence.

50

DOLESCENCE witnesses the de­ velopment of the capacity to show tenderness toward others and regard for the next person’s suffering and needs. Adolescents tend to be passion­ ate and uncompromising, they are possessed of a penetrating intuition and an ability to perceive hyprocisy and falsehood. They sense what is sham and they recognize the genuine article. They are searchers after truth, and are capable of pursuing truths with their newly discovered sense of idealism and devotion. Teenagers are often intensely mystical. They are willing to emulate a good adult model, but primarily look to their outstanding peers for leadership. Above all, their growing maturity and independence makes them respecters and pursuers of competence, of ability, of work, and of responsibility.

The teenager is not yet set in his ways. He can be molded, influenced, inspired, taught and directed. The Jewish teenager is hungry for Torah.

In our classic tradition the problems of the teenager are solved by sending the adolescent to the senior yeshivah where he pours his energies and drives into the stormy sea of Talmudic study.

The teenager is still free of the ties of family and job, and refreshingly naive enough to seek to be led to a world where ideals are brought to fruition.

If our youth do not always fit this picture, if in their development toward adulthood, including the religious phase, youth does not always reflect this definition, the fault and failure should not be considered primarily in terms of those to be guided.

A

N spite of the fact that adolescence is the age of self-definition, the age which seeks values and moral challenge, society holds forth instead

I

JEWISH LIFE

a monotony of ease, play, and fun.

Adolescents see a society governed by the objectives of plenty, of jobs, ca­ reers, opportunities for success, se­ curity, and comfort; a society obsessed with happiness and gratification. Adult society fails to give youth an appre­ ciation for those things which are worthy of sacrifice. We prepare young people for employment, but do little to teach them how to be men and Jews; how to resist conformity and the mob; how to grow spiritually and inwardly.

If society at large is at fault, our synagogues, youth committees, and often even our rabbis have in many instances also failed to understand the needs of teenagers and the meaning and potential of adolescence by fail­ ing to understand and identify with this world within a world, the “teenage sub-society” in America. Synagogues tend to look aside from the teen sub­ society rather than come to grips with it. Rather than rejecting the life teen­ agers live and hence rejecting the teens, there is an urgent need to be­ come aware of the potential and na­ ture of teenage society in such a way that we enter it, as it were, to meet the teenager on his ground, not on an abstract plane.

Too many synagogues still regard “adolescence” as the name of a dis­ ease, an ailment to be avoided and brushed aside. Because of the absence of sympathy and understanding be­ tween the adult world and the teenage world, because the adult misunder­ stands the restlessness and awkward­ ness of adolescence, because the ado­ lescent is unstable and unpredictable, adults often live in basic fear of the world of the teenager. Tragically, this fear has carried over to many syna­ gogues and is reflected in their youth programs, or the absence thereof. The January-February, 1963

teenager is either ignored, deplored, or given what well-meaning adults think he wants and will keep him satisfied —an artificially concocted “program” of social, athletic, and recreational activities without direction or form, into which is introduced the thinnest possible veneer of “Jewish content.”

It is a pattern of activity for activity’s sake, which is no more than imitation of the superficial, secularist program of the Jewish Center movement. This program neither satisfies the inner yearnings of the teenager nor can it develop his respect for the synagogue as an institution which, he is told, is the vessel of religion and morality, of all basic values. On the contrary, the teenager senses in such a program the adult fear of the rising generation and it is then reflected in his feeling of being ill at ease in the synagogue.

HE success of the program of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth bears out the contention that teenagers in America can be true to a positive definition of the meaning and potential of adolescence. Young people will accept and are accepting a program of maximum commitment to Jewish belief and observance, to the demands of the laws of Sabbath, Kashruth, prayer, and study, when presented within the context of their teenage sub-society. This is true not only of youngsters from observant homes. They are our core and leader­ ship group. The fact is, however, that a substantial portion of the member­ ship of NCSY come from homes which are not religiously observant. It is among this element that thé NCSY concept has met its decisive test.

When the Orthodox Union decided to develop NCSY in earnest a few years ago, many who otherwise wel­ comed the move hesitated to try a

T

51

program of such scope and challenge in their own synagogues. They were afraid that it would frighten the aver­ age youngster away, that it was overambitious and over-demanding. They urged that the program be sugarcoated and watered down. Undeterred, the Union’s Youth Commission went ahead with its program of positive Jewishness, of Torah Study Groups, of truly orthodox conclaves. NCSY programmed to the highest denomi­ nator, refusing to treat youth like children, respecting their maturity, their questioning and inquiring minds.

And it was this that succeeded. Thou­ sands of boys and girls proved through their enthusiastic response that this was precisely what they were looking for, that this was what they really wanted— a program for Jewish living, an environment of Torah, a path of return to the living traditions their parents in so many cases had forgotten or perhaps had never known.

The National Conference of Syna­ gogue Youth has grown beyond all dreams and expectations. The plans of yesterday have been attained and exceeded. Hundreds of congregations have established youth programs where none existed before. Concepts of what an orthodox Jewish youth program must be have been defined and clari­ fied. Religious and educational stand­ ards have been elevated. Thousands who have attended weekend regional and national conventions, leaders’ seminars, and camp institutes—in places as remote from the major Jew­ ish centers as Houston, Charleston, Atlanta, Seattle, Des Moines, Hamp­ ton, and many more such communi­ ties, as well as in the big cities—have found in NCSY a lighthouse in their desire to live productive and mean­ ingful Jewish lives.

The trend is obvious. The number 52

of participants in the National NCSY Convention and Leaders’ Seminar rose from 180 in 1960, to 235 in 1961, to 420 in 1962. For 1963, the anticipated attendance is 600. The NCSY Re­ gions have grown from seven strug­ gling regional groups in October, 1960 to fifteen strong, most of which are served by idealistic volunteer direc­ tors. 130 community chapters newly affiliated in the past two years, with forty-seven in the process of affili­ ation, bring the total to 233, as com­ pared with the fifty-six of less than three years ago. Over thirty regional conventions, leaders’ seminars, and camp institutes are scheduled for the year. Over eighty-five chapters are, in addition to their regular programs, conducting Torah Study Groups, where an inquiring youth is enabled to drink of the living waters of Torah.

This is but a small part of a story which includes a major publications program, an Israel Summer Institute, a National Torah Fund, Standards Competitions, and numerous other projects.

Not least important is the fact that NCSY has become a rallying point for idealists willing to serve youth without compensation. Growth in numbers has been more than matched

by NCSY’s growth in quality and in­ tensity. Still, the surface has been barely scratched. Many communities have not been reached—because they do not want to be reached. Apathy, indifference, lethargy, and fear of the religiously committed program are still to be overcome.

M

Y considered conclusion, based on observation of scores of syna­ gogues in the course of extensive coast to coast travels—an observation which, incidentally, should by virtue of its obvious simplicity require no JEWISH LIFE

demonstration, but which has in many tragic instances eluded the leadership of too many of our communities—is that the crucial difference between the declining and the growing congrega­ tion is to be measured by that congre­ gation’s concern, interest, and involve­ ment in cultivating and developing the ^religious loyalties of its youth. Too many congregations show little con­ cern for insuring their Jewish future, and are blind to the inevitable result of inaction or indifference, as is shown by some of the following items which are distressingly part of our current congregational scene.

There are still scores of orthodox synagogues which have not yet found place, or budget, for a youth program.

Some of them operate with large budgets and have funds for every­ thing except youth activity. In some of these communities young people in search of a group to join, become active in the youth programs of non­ orthodox institutions. And some of our finest synagogues have leased their facilities to their caterers to the point where there is no room for youth, and no toleration for the “dirt and noise” they create.

There are youth groups which meet under the auspices of orthodox syna­ gogues but participate in the regional conclaves or camp programs of non­ orthodox, deviationist Jewish groups.

Then there are the orthodox syna­ gogues which persist in engaging non­ orthodox youth directors and leaders.

In some cases this is due to the critical shortage of trained personnel, but in others, it is due simply to their in­ ability to understand what Jewish youth work really is.

Youth directors have told me of the fear of, and opposition to, a religious emphasis in the youth program on the part of the lay leaders of their congreJanuary-February, 1963

gations. There are communities where the youth program of the orthodox congregation is conducted largely or exclusively by B’nai B’rith Youth, Young Judea, the YMHA, or other secularist groups who often attempt to secularize the entire synagogue through the youth. There have been instances where these involvements, despite stated official policies advocat­ ing “traditional observances,” have lured our young people to events where neither Shabboth nor Kashruth are observed and where the so-called “progressive” view of boy-girl rela­ tionships prevails.

Recently a young man placed an ad in an orthodox Jewish publication offering his services as a volunteer youth director. Of the forty-seven con­ gregations which responded, only two were orthodox.

PACE does not permit describing in detail the havoc wrought by the above conditions on the lives of individuals and communities. We have youth that wants to be Jewish, and congregations, orthodox congregations, stand in the way and deny them this opportunity. It must be pointed out that in most of these instances the situation is by no means hopeless and that, given the means, we can bring about the desired changes, as has been done in numerous cases. Change, however, requires action. Jewish or­ ganizations are spending record sums on their youth movements. The leader­ ship of B’nai B’rith, for example, con­ sists largely of graduates of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. What the others lack in terms of ideology and commitment they make up with ex­ travagant budgets and organizational ties and involvements.

The desire on the part of the Ameri­ can teenager to join, to belong, and to

S

53

participate is strong. This is not an area we can afford to ignore. Either our youth will remain with us, or they will go elsewhere. Synagogues will either be centers for a youth learning and living their heritage, or, lacking message, standards, and demands, they will decay, decline, and disappear be­ fore our very eyes. During the coming decade, we will lose tens of “youthrein” synagogues, unless drastic action is taken.

E must not make the capital mistake of supposing that teen­ age boys and girls from strongly Jew­ ish homes, those who receive a good Jewish education, are less affected by the problem than American Jewish youth at large. The day school student, too, needs the framework of the Torah youth movement. He too needs the friends, leaders, goals, and environ­ ment found in NCSY. He too needs a purposeful association outside of school which will cement his loyalities, de­ velop his community awareness, and channel his leadership qualities. In America youth identifies with youth.

The more advanced forces of the tra­ ditional community, too, must come

W

to grips with the existence and poten­ tial of a “teenage sub-society” as a major factor in Jewish education. If we see to it that the dominant moving force in the Jewish teenage sub-society is Torah, if the NCSY program is given the top priority it merits, entire communities of youth will be able to weather the “storm of adolescence” strengthened and prepared for tomor­ row’s leadership tasks. Otherwise, we shall have abdicated our historic re­ sponsibilities to the omnipresent proc­ esses of assimilation and decay.

This is a time of great stirring and searching among Jewish youth, a time of great receptiveness to Torah ideals.

There are only two categories of youth, those whom we can reach and those whom we shall fail to reach. Of the former the Prophet says: “The hearts of the fathers will be returned to the sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers” Of the latter the Torah says: “Your sons and daughters will be given to a strange people, your eyes will look and fail with longing all day long, but you shall not suc­ ceed” It would be tragic if in this great hour of opportunity we should lack the strength, the means, and re­ sources to achieve our goals.

ANNOUNCEMENT We wish to inform our readers of a re-adjustment of the publication schedule of J e w i s h L i f e . Our issues will henceforth be dated in a bi­ monthly sequence commencing Shevat-Adar 5723/January-February 1963, and times of publication will be in accordance with this dating.

The number of issues will continue to be six per year. Expiration dates of subscriptions will be extended to conform with the change.

J e w is h L if e

54

JEWISH LIFE

B o o k R eview s A Century of Chaplaincy

By BERNARD W. LEVMORE

RABBIS IN UNIFORM. The Story of the American Jewish Military Chap­ lain. Edited by Chaplain Louis Barish.

Jonathan David Publishers, New York, 1962, 347 pages, $5.95.

N DECEMBER, 1861 Rabbi Arnold Fischel of New York visited Presi­ dent Abraham Lincoln to urge action by the President against the require­ ment that a chaplain of the U.S. Armed Forces must be a “minister of some Christian denomination.” Lincoln’s re­ sponse was to request of Congress a change in the law relating to chaplains.

By the summer of 1862 the new regula­ tion was in force, and Jewish clergy­ men had earned the right to be com­ missioned as Army chaplains.

Thus, we now celebrate “a century of service to G-d and country,” by Jewish chaplains in the Armed Forces of the U.S.A., so proudly proclaimed on the jacket of “Rabbis in Uniform.”

I

B ER N A R D LEVM ORE, an econom ist and in­ surance specialist, is the Chairman o f the Joint Armed Forces Commission o f the UOJCA. H e is the author o f numerous articles on the inter­ national econom ic scene.

January-February, 1963

The appearance of this book is an indication that historical perspective is being acquired by the American Jewish community at an ever-increasing pace.

Edited by U.S. Army Chaplain Louis Barish, and obviously with editorial and research support of the National Jewish Welfare Board, the greater part of the book consists of essays by chap­ lains, offering highlights of their ca­ reers in uniform. The horror tale of the Nazi holocaust inevitably occupies a prominent place, mainly from the view­ point of first rescuers at the camps and of front line ministrations. This is a new and human, largely personalized history by the several participating authors.

Neither the news of yesteryear, nor prior books and articles have dulled this tale. Neither earlier personal nar­ rative, nor the more recent recounting in the course of the Eichmann trial, detract from the live character of the grim tale brought to us by these chaplains.

Mindful of the book’s place in docu­ menting American Jewish history, the editors have injected a sense of the historic into some of their own writ55

Mordecai honored...

As recorded in the Book of Esther, one of the most thrilling stories ever told rushes to a tremendous climax as Mordecai is honored by King Ahasuerus, with a parade in the streets of Shushan...as Haman is disgraced ...a s the Jews turn on those who had plotted to destroy them and then celebrate their victory over evil on the 13th and 14th days of A d a r...th e first Purim, 2424 years ago!

JOYOUS PURIM! the Colgate-Palmolive Company»

QUALITY

PURITY

VALUE

Put .these star products o f Colgate Palm olive Company on your holiday shopping list. Year round, too!

56

JEWISH LIFE

mgs. For example, in discussing the chaplains and the DP’s, ex-Chaplain David Eichorn offers these words: “Had it not been for the humane leadership of Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mark Clark, Joseph T. McNarney, and Lucius D. Clay, the compassion of thousands of other American officers and enlisted men and the dedicated efforts of about eighty-five American Jewish chap­ lains, tens of thousands of sick, starving, helpless human beings, who now live as healthy and free men and women in Israel and throughout the world, would never have made it.”

RAMATIC highlights are found throughout the book and include personal narratives from around the globe, a good cross-section of the human and religious side of the farflung activities in “this man’s army” and navy, air force, and marines.

Many of the reports are humorous and make for enjoyable reading.

Some examples of poor English usage and an overdose of the singular pro­ noun of the first person mar the work.

Namur is properly spelled in one of the contributions of experiences in Belgium but maligned in another. An oftrepeated Paris street name is likewise misspelled.

An appendix affords a composite list

D

January-February, 1963

of all Jewish chaplains since 1862.

Singled out for special tribute, is le Vicaire André, a parish priest in Namur. This Belgian Catholic’s secret activities under the very nose of the Gestapo are related in some detail.

Recorded history is enriched in this es­ say. The editors would have done well to seek out other reports with similar deep meaning to humanity.

Otherwise, the volume manages to avoid adequate recognition of the spirit­ ual and lay leaders in several occupied countries who remained with their com­ munities while the war raged. It would also have been fitting to recount some­ how the often heroic work of many acting chaplains and others whose ac­ complishments are as much a part of this history of devotion to man and G-d as anything under the Stars and Stripes. Perhaps overly broad or in­ sufficiently defined editorial objectives caused some insignificant contributions to be included. The value of the work would have been enhanced, too, by some reference to the authoritative religious Responsa to chaplains’ wartime ques­ tions.

This is a record of rabbinic activities far from the normal course, of rescue interrupting the course of man’s inhu­ manity to man, and of chaplain services and gefilte fish under every conceivable condition, plus man’s sacrifice for his brother of food and clothing, sleeping place and life itself.

57

REFRESHING, FLAVO RFU L

First in Synagogue , Jewish Community Center Federation and Yeshiva

...D ELICIO U S!

campaigns . . .

MILTON HOOD WARD & CO. HOTEL

PLAZA

NEW YORK 19, N Y. PLaza 3-7680

Complimentary conference on request

Prepared under Rabbinical Super­ vision, in America's most modern Ice Cream Plant

1

Member Firm, American Association of Fund Raising Counsel Accepted for listing by the American Hospital Association

FOR FINEST QUALITY

i SECRET*/

Y e llo w p ike m ak es the ta s tie s t ge filte fish — and M other’s has it! That’s the delicious secret of Mother’s Whitefish

and Yellow Pike... the new gefilte fish with the precious yellow pike that mothers and grandmothers always used in homemade gefilte fish. Now, when you buy Whitefish and Pike, make sure it’s YELLO W Pike! Kosher © Pareve Also yours to enjoy: Mother’s All Whitefish De Luxe, and Mother’s Old Fashioned Gefilte Fish. From the spotless kitchens of Mother’s F ood P ro d u c ts, ln c .v N ew ark 5, N. J.

58

Mother's

JEWISH LIFE

New

Aidsto Jewish Learning

By SAMSON R. WEISS

DUTIES OF THE HEART (CHOVOTH HALEVOVOTH) by Rabbenu Bachya ben Joseph ibn Paquda. Trans­ lated from the Arabic into Hebrew

by Rabbi Judah ibn Tibbon, English translation by Rabbi Moses Hyamson, two volumes, 800 pages. Boys Town Jerusalem Publishers, 1962. $10.00

M

AIMONIDES, in one of his let­ ters in which he quotes the “Chovoth Halevovoth” and its great author, testifies that “his book never was removed from the desk of my father and teacher.” Seldom has a work had so profound and lasting an influence on Jewish thought as Rabbi Bachya’s treatise on the duties of the heart. Little is known of the author beyond the fact that he was a Dayan of the Spanish Jewish community and revered for his piety. He lived in the eleventh century and the “Chovoth Halevovoth” was translated from the Arabic original into Hebrew by the January-February, 1963

famous Rabbi Judah ibn Tibbon in the middle of the twelfth century.

Another translation by Rabbi Joseph Kimchi has been lost but for a small fragment. Ibn Tibbon, reluctant td undertake the translation, did so upon the behest of Rabbi Meshulam ben Jacob, the head of the Jewish com­ munity of Lunel, and of Rabbi Abra­ ham ben David, famous as the author of the “Hasogoth” to Maimonides, Code and usually referred to as the RAVAD. The excellent translation of Rabbi Moses Hyamson appeared originally in five volumes, published during the period of 1925-1947. Boys Town of Jerusalem, the well known Yeshivah and Trade School, has earned the gratitude of the Jewish public for making this classic text and excellent scholarly translation available again, the original issue having long dis­ appeared from the book market. The English translation faces the Hebrew 59

ÜIU

u m

(¡¿lazi

m

E

L

tfiz only &’land fxiodua&d and io tiltd ln Earned c^uAon-Lz-Slon IN A W ID E V A R IE T Y T O S U IT EVERY TASTE

F ine W in es , Brandies , SLIVOW1TZ, WlSHNIAK, Vodka, C hampagne S parkling B urgundy .

Vermouth CONCORD and M A L A G A

now also in gallons and half gallons

7fit g i f t of g i f t * .

—

Certified strictly Kosher by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Available at Your Local Liquor Store

Imported by

CARMEL WINE CO., INC. 580 Fifth Ave., N.Y. 36, N.Y.

checking and savings accounts in the U.S. and Israel

BA N K LEUM I L E -IS R A E L NEW YORK BRANCH 60 Wall Street, New York 5, N. Y. 60

JEWISH LIFE

text and is thus easily related to it.

This reviewer hopes that Boys Town of Jerusalem Publishers will follow up the present publication with a re­ print of the Vilna edition of the “Chovoth Halevovoth,,, with its many invaluable commentaries.

TRACTATE BABA MEZIA, HebrewEnglish Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, translated into English by Salis Daiches and H. Freedman, Ed­ ited by Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein; London.

The Soncino Press, 1962; Hebrew Text 118 folio pages, English transla­ tion 118 folio pages, with introductory essay by the Editor, introduction by H. Freedman, and appended glossary; $17.50 HE eagerly awaited second vol­ ume of the Soncino HebrewEnglish edition of the Babylonian Talmud is now available. Recently, a full page advertisement in the New York Times Book Review, the famous Sunday supplement of that paper, announced this fact. To this reviewer it seems that this advertisement in itself indicates that we have entered a new era in the publication of Jewish classics. Like the first volume of this edition, the Tractate Berachoth, the present one excels by the high quality of binding and paper, and readability of type. The Hebrew text is a repro­ duction of the famed Vilna Talmud.

The English translation and the con­ cise footnotes are taken from the Son­ cino Talmud, a translation which in itself may well be termed a modern classic.

The Soncino Press wisely decided, in publishing its Hebrew-English edi­ tion, not to follow the sequence of the Talmud Tractates but rather to pub­ lish first the Masechtoth most fre­

T

January-February, 1963

quently studied in our Yeshivoth and in the various study groups of our synagogues. The translation and the explanatory glosses face the original text. This is indeed a major feat of ingenuity of arrangement, since this text varies greatly in size from page to page, in accordance with the space occupied by the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafoth. The glosses are superb in their condensation of the opinions of these and other major com­ mentators with the necessary brevity.

There can be no doubt that the present volume will increase the study of the Talmud in the home and the synagogue. We are commanded to en­ hance the performance of the Mitzvoth by the beautification of the uten­ sils required for their performance.

The present volume certainly adds beauty and dignity to Jewish learning and makes the study of the “Blatt Gemorah” a delight. It is hoped that the intention of the Soncine Press to publish in quick succession the entire Babylonian Talmud in this HebrewEnglish edition will be supported by a receptive public.

CONCORDANCE OF THE MISHNEH TORAH OF RABBI MOSHEH BEN MAIMON (OTZAR LASHON HARAMBAM) by Rabbi David Assaf, Volume I, Haifa, Israel, 427 pages, 7V2" x 11".

HE purpose of this Concordance is to register in alphabetical sequence every work contained in Maimonides’ “Yad Hachazokah,” a monumental en­ terprise. The author, a distinguished scholar and member of the Haifa Is­ rael Rabbinate, has obtained for his work the endorsement of many out­ standing Torah authorities. The value of this book is to be seen chiefly in

T

61

Ideal Gifts for Yourself and Your Synagogue tfiv m

m on

THE DAILY PRAYER BOOK

aia an rat?? nno

SABBATH-FESTIVAL PRAYER BOOK WITH TORAH READINGS For Pesach, Shavuoth, and Sukkoth Translated and Annotated with Introductions by

DR. PH ILIP BIRNBAUM Ben Aronin writes: “It is a delight to hold these unequalled prayerbooks in the hands. . . . Such volumes as these are expressions of Jewish self-respect and dignity, for they house the spirit of our people and our faith in worthy temples. . .” Another reviewer has this to say: “Any translation or edition by Dr. Birnbaum bears a unique and in­ comparable excellence.”

Dr. Bimbaum’s superb editions are richly furnished with succinct footnotes containing necessary as well as interesting explanations drawn from a wide range of Jewish literature, in plain non-technical language.

In order to make intelligible the full meaning of the prayers, Dr. Birnbaum carefully divided the Hebrew text into sentences and clauses by the use of modern punctuation marks.

Beautifully printed and bound.

Available at all bookstores.

Hebrew Publishing Co. • 79 delancey street •

new york 2 , n. y .

SNOW-WHITE

&

BEET-RED

H O R S E R A D IS H H otter and thicker because it’s made cold by our “chillm ill” process. Sold nationally.

Tulkoff’s Co., Baltimore 2, Md.

Doctors recommend S U G A R IN E for diabetics, overweights, low calorie diets PURE •

HARMLESS • ECONOMICAL

4 Oz. bottle Only 75c AT FOOD STORES EVER YW H ERE

62

JEWISH LIFE

that it enables the student to quickly ascertain where Maimonides uses in his “Mishneh Torah” identical legal terms, idioms, or expressions. The re^ suiting comparisons are of great im­ portance to the determination of the correct meaning and circumference of a principle or decision enunciated by Maimonides.

The present volume is the first of ten, according to the author who hopes to publish the remaining nine volumes

within the next five or six years. The price of the first volume is $25.00, with the purchaser being assured of a lower subscription price of $10.00 for each succeeding volume. The high cost of printing and paper has caused the author, who acts as his own pub­ lisher, to arrive at this unique ar­ rangement. The book can be ordered directly from the author at 1261 - 59 St., Brooklyn 19, N. Y. or at 39 Geula Street, Haifa, Israel.

STATEM ENT R E Q U IR E D B Y TH E A C T OF A U G U ST 24, 1912, A S A M E N D E D B Y THE ACTS OF M ARCH 3, 1933, JU L Y 2, 1946 A N D JU N E 11, 1960 (74 STAT. 208) SHOW ­ IN G TH E OW NERSHIP, M A N A G E M E N T , A N D CIRC U LA TIO N OF JEW ISH LIFE, published bi-monthly at N ew York, N . Y . for October 1, 1962.

1. The names and addresses o f the publisher, editor, managing editor, and business managers are: Publisher, U nion o f Orthodox Jewish Con­ gregations o f America, 84 Fifth Avenue, N ew York 11, N . Y .; Editor, Saul Bernstein, 84 Fifth Avenue, N ew Y ork 11, N . Y .; M anaging Editor and Business M anager, N one.

2. The owner is: (If owned by a corpora­ tion, its name and address must be stated and also imm ediately thereunder the nam es and ad­ dresses o f stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more o f total amount o f stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and ad­ dresses o f the individual owners must be given.

If owned by a partnership or other unincor­ porated firm, its name and address, as well as that o f each individual member, must be given.) U nion o f Orthodox Jewish Congrega­ tions o f America, 84 Fifth Avenue, N ew York 11, N . Y ., M oses I. Feuerstein, President; Ben­ jamin Koenigsberg, N athan K . Gross, Samuel L. Brennglass, Harold M . Jacobs, Herbert Ber­ man, 84 Fifth Avenue, N ew Y ork 11, N . Y ., Vice-Presidents; Harold H . Boxer, Secretary, Joseph Karasick, Treasurer, D avid Politi, Finan-

cial Secretary, 84 Fifth Avenue, N ew York 11, N . Y .

3. The known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per­ cent or more of total amount of bonds, mort­ gages, or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.) N one.

4. Paragraphs 2 and 3 include, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books o f the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting; also the statements in the two paragraphs show the affiant’s full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stock­ holders and security holders who do not appear upon the books of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other than that o f bona fide owner.

5. The average number of copies o f each issue o f this publication sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid sub­ scribers during the 12 months preceding the date shown above was: (This information is required by the act of June 11, 1960 to be in­ cluded in all statements regardless of frequency o f issue.) 8,786.

SA U L BERN STEIN Sworn to and subscribed before me this 28th day o f September, 1962.

JOHN F . McMORROW, Notary Public, State of N ew York (My commission expires March 30, 1964)

January-February, 1963

63

Your teen-age son or daughter can be in

ISRAEL this summer with the N a t io n a l C o n f e r e n c e o f S y n a g o g u e Y o u t h

Here is a unique opportunity for teen-agers— Young people 16 through 18 are invited to join the National Con­ ference of Synagogue Youth in seven exciting and meaningful weeks of touring, travel, study, leadership training, and adventure in Israel this summer. $850 covers round trip air fare, meals, accommodations, tuition, tours, and a European stopover.

For full information and an application form, fill out and mail the coupon below.

To: NCSY I s r a e l S u m m e r I n s t i t u t e National Conference of Synagogue Youth Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Eighty-four Fifth Avenue New York 11, N. Y. Gentlemen: I would appreciate receiving official application forms and complete information.

Name----------------------------------------------------- Date of Birth______ ______ Address____________ !_____________________ ____________________ _ City---------------------------------------------------------State________ .

64

JEWISH LIFE

pnurlamatttitt To all our Jewish Brethren: American and world Jewry have recently sustained a devastating blow in the passing of the world renowned scholar and sage, Reb Ahron Kotler, of sainted memory. The magnitude of the loss is clearly reflected in the grief of the tens of thousands who flocked to him during his life­ time for inspiration, guidance and counsel, and in the anguish and help­ lessness of the many organizations and institutions that have been orphaned of their leader.

The passing of this outstanding Gaon and Torah authority is surely an irretrievable loss for all Jewry. Yet, none have been more severely struck by his death than his life’s crowning achievement, the BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA of Lakewood, New Jersey, which he founded, nurtured and sustained for more than two decades. To this great citadel of Torah scholarship, he devoted his untiring labors and as a result of his selfless efforts it has emerged as an outstanding Torah center, from which have emanated hundreds of Torah scholars who now serve through­ out the world.

OTtjtfrtfStn, we recognize that his tragic passing has placed in jeopardy the future of this distinguished Institute for Advanced Learning, the BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA; we, the undersigned Rabbinical groups, have proclaimed a $1,000,000 CAMPAIGN on behalf of the RABBI AARON KOTLER MEMORIAL FUND to insure the continuance and growth of his most cherished undertaking, the furtherance of great Torah scholarship through the BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA. 3®e (EttU on every synagogue to arrange an early appeal for BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA; Attft W t U rge each and every Jewish family to make an immediate $18 KOFER NEFESH contribution to the RABBI AARON KOTLER MEMORIAL FUND. We are certain that the great Z’chus of this Sainted Gaon and Tzadik will surely redound to all who will respond generously to our appeal and all the blessings of the Torah will accrue to all who will help us realize our goal—to preserve and strengthen the most eloquent testament of Rabbi Aaron Kotler’s glorious heritage, the BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA, in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada Rabbinical Council of America „ Rabbinical Alliance of America Contributions should be sent to: RABBI AARON KOTLER MEMORIAL FUND BETH MEDRASH GOVOHA • Lakewood, N. J.

The © seal of approval of THE UNION OF ORTHO­ DOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA is on more than forty Heinz Varieties, including Heinz Vegetarian Beans, six Heinz Soups (Vegetarian Vegetable, Tomato, Tomato with Rice, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Pea, Cream of Celery), Heinz Tomato Ketchup and many others.

& M J¡1

SEANS Soiip cs.

H.J. HEINZ COMPANY