Rosh hashanah 1986

JEWISH HOUSEWIVES' HOPES FOR CHEAPER KOSHER MEAT REALISED. O

" iia c o r ?

HAMAOR JO U R N A L OF THE F E D E R A T IO N OF SYN AG O G U ES

VOL 21. No 2. ROSH HASHANAH 5747 - SEPTEMBER 1986 50p

©

W

M

© © (M ltP U T The Federation of Synagogues, to meet the demands of its growing kehilla, has installed its own computer, operated and controlled by our head of the accounts department at Greatorex Street, Mr H arvey Richm ond.

It is an Amstrad 8512 w hich at the moment is handling the Federation's accounts and finances and member­ ship records.

M r Richm ond is no stranger to the intricacies of computers as he worked with them in Israel. Consideration is being given to extending the use of computerisation to other facets of the Federation's w ork.

ver the last few w eeks, several butchers and the world-renowned restauranteur and meat-products m an­ ufacturer and supplier, Bloom's, have relinquished their London Board for Shechita licences and have becom e licencees of the Joint Shechita Authority of the Federation of Synagogues.

The butchers are Stewart Cohen, trading as La Boucherie in East Barnet, S. Cohen of Clapton, Norman Goldberg, of Ilford, Ivor Silverman of Stanmore, Louis Mann of Edgware, G.Kreeger of Barnet, and Ilford Kosher Meats.

Lewis & Co, wholesale poulters of Bow, now also holds our licence.

This has given the Federation the oppor­ tunity to set up shechita at Canvin Interna­ tional's abattoir at Cardington, Bedford­ shire, and as a result, prices of kosher meat in these shops and wholesale, through Blooms who are acting as wholesaler-dis­ tributors, have dropped considerably.

The butchers concerned decided to make their move, not only to reduce the price of kosher meat to the public, but also to main­ tain supplies which in recent years, have not always been reliable, due to many fac­ tors, although not the fault of any particular individuals.

Mr Morris Lederman, President of the Federation of Synagogues, told "Hamaor" that the Federation had no option but to continue its own shechita. Talks, he said, had taken place between the Federation and the London Board for Shechita, and they produced proposals which would have led to unity. But these proposals were not acceptable to the Dayanim of the London Beth Din.

Mr Lederman said categorically, that the President of the London Board for Shechita and his colleagues were earnestly trying to bring about a peaceful solution, but they did not find the support they wanted.

"Our Shechita Authority has always been

New Federation Shechita Moves Bring Down Prices! and still is, prepared to co-operate with all other Orthodox communal bodies in all fields, on a basis of full reciprocal recogni­ tion, for the benefit of London Jewry," he said, adding that the Authority was in a pos­ ition to provide the necessary facilities for supplying kosher meat and kosher meat products to all its licencees and the fact that there was now an additional wholesaler in the trade was bound to ensure cheaper supplies in the shops.

The Federation's Rosh Beth Din, Dayan Z .j. Alony, said that all the meat supervised by the Federation's Shechita Authority was now Clatt Kosher. Their staff at the abattoir, he stressed, was more than sufficient in numbers to meet the demands of the pre­ sent licencees. When more butchers became .licenced, the Authority would employ more shochetim and bodekim.

SPECIAL FEATURES "Rabbi jacob Emden's Autobiography" (Cntd), by RABBI DR SIDNEY LEPERER Ps. 16-18 "The Defence of Duress", by jU D G E ARON OWEN

Ps.20-21

"Confrontation in Israel",

by RABBI M. FRYDMAN

Ps. 22-23

"The Condition of East End Jewry, 1888", (Part 1) by WILLAM J FISHMAN ps. 10-14 -

wm "

I—T' VJS/VjmSFW

The Federation's Honorary Officers gathered to wish Mr S. W. Stuart, a Treasurer of the Federa­ tion Burial Society and Life Vice President of Ilford Federation Synagogue and his wife a happy life in Israel. They recently left to go on aliya.

L-R standing; Mr. Lederman, Mrs. S.W. Stuart, Mr. S. Synett, Honorary Officer of the Federation and Life President of Ilford Federation Synagogue; seated: Mr. Maurice Caplin, Mr. L.H. Epstein Mr. L. Gayer, Mr. J.L. Cymerman, Rabbi M. Frydman, Mr. Michael Goldman (Secretary)

"Arvus in Jewish Life",

by DAYAN Z.J. ALONY

P.6

"Berlim-Towards the Bitter End",

by DR. M. M. GLATT Ps. 32-36 Our Ladies Guilds Report______________

W E WISH A LL OUR READERS AND CONTRIBUTORS A HAPPY NEW YEA R

The Editorial Board of Hamaor extend since congratulations to:

A SERIOUS STEP TOWARDS DISUNITY t is to be profoundly regretted that after the Honorary Officers of the London Board for Shechita and the Honorary Officers of the Federation of Synagogues had reached a mutual agreement to enable the Federa­ tion's representatives to return to the Board, and work together to the Jewish commun­ ity’s advantage in the field of Kashrut - and as we understand it, the agreement enjoyed the Chief Rabbi’s blessing - the unity, which could only have benefited the Community, was not to be, merely because, it has been asserted, the London Beth Dm was not consulted about the agreement by the Shechita Board's Honorary Officers, although we were assured that the Chief Rabbi was aware of the discussions and of their outcome.

The failure by the Shechita Boai tify the agreement has deepened [tended the divisions between the 1 lot.

We are convinced that the great majority of Anglo-Jewry desires to see an end to the strife and division in our community, and its profound wish is, without a doubt, to see peaceful and honorable collaboration bet­ ween the religious representatives of their respective Kehillot in every sphere of Jewish religious life in this country, for the good and welfare of all.

We are convinced, also, that AngloJewry feels that it is high time, especially now before Rosh Hashanah. to realise our hope and prayer that T hey may all form a single bond to do Thy will with perfect heart: sacred duty to draw Yho seem so blinded towards the I of their uncooperative consequences ot attitude, which will not remain without an appropriate response from the leadership of the Federation Kehilla During the past few years, the Federation of Synagogues next year, please G-d, celebrating a ce n ­ tury of constant activity for Jewry and Torah Judaism - has clearly demonstrated to all, that it is determined to pursue its rightful, and justified aims and objectives as one of the largest and most important Orthodox Kehillot in Europe.

The determination of the Federation has been shown most clearly by the establish­ ment of 'its own Beth Din, which has extended its activities into every sphere of Jewish religious life, including the registra­ tion of Halachic marriage, divorce and proselytisation. The Federation Kehilla and Beth Din have established our own Kashrus Board, education network, and are now able to provide Shechita as well, to the benefit of the Jewish Housewife and the Cheaper

housewife will bring back those abandoned Kashrut It is a pity that those who should work for unity and shalom in the community, do just the opposite and are creating discord We hope and trust that those responsible for the situation created earlier this month will take note of our words and adopt wiser attitudes SUPPORT We appeal to the entire community, men and women, to support our efforts, which can only be to the advantage of all ‘Back to Kashrut' should be our aim. Specif: cally, our children must not be fed nonkosher food Keep our children pure Only that way can we look forward to a healthy nation.

Mr. and Mrs. |. Ragol-Levy on the birth ol daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. H. Ragol-Levy on the birth o granddaughter.

Mr. and Mrs. A. Berniger on the birth of grandson.

Mr. and Mrs. G. Glausiusz on their son's b mitzvah.

Mr. and Mrs. V. Levy on his daughter's b mitzvah.

Mr. and Mrs. M. Zobin on their grandson's b mitzvah.

Mr. and Mrs. A. Berniger on their son's engaj ment.

Mr. and Mrs. W. Ungar on their daughte engagement.

Mrs. M. VVinegarten and family on her daut ter's marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. M. Lander on their daughte marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Lederman on their son's m, riage Mr. and Mrs. M. Lederman on their grandsoi marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. H. Binstock on the birth of th< grandson.

Mr. and Mrs. D. Laren on their Golden We ding Anniversary.

Mr. and Mrs. M. Feig on the Silver YVeddii Anniversary.

---------------

MAZELTOV!

Mr. HARVEY RICHMOND and Mrs. MYR LEWIS who married in February. Mr. Richmon » head of the Federation accounts deparlmet and Mrs. Richmond teaches at Edgware Hasm< nean Primary School.

Reception for Jerusalem Visitors m

Mr. MORRIS LEDERMAN, President of the Federation, speaking at a reception at the Maurice KassJ Hall for Rabbi SIMCHA WASSERMAN and Rabbi M. CHODOSH of the OHR EICHONON Yeshh Jerusalem. (See second picture on page23*)

THE MESSAGE OF ROSH HASHANAH f\o sh Hashanah to us Jews, is much more than just the beginning o f a new calendar year. It is to us, a day o f sup­ reme importance, and o f unique sig­ nificance.

In the book of NECHEMIAH (8) we find him saying to the people o f Israel: "Co your way eat the fat; and drink the sweet; and send portions unto them for whom nothing is p r e p a r e d fo r this day (Rosh Hashanah) is holy unto the Lord, the joy o f the Lord is your strength." Accordingly the Mishnah refers to the New Year as the "Festival o f Rosh Hashanah", on which fasting is forbidden as on any other Festival.

In our prayers, however, we refer to the New Year, as the "YOM HAZIKARON", the day o f memorial, or the day o f remembrance, the "YOM HADIN" the day o f judgment, days o f Awe, when the fate o f each one o f us, as well as the fate o f all the nations is decided. The very mention o f Rosh Hashanah, makes every Jewish heart flutter and tremble, whether one is more or less commit­ ted to his faith throughout the year, the days o f AW E wake him up, and the "PINTELE YIDD " hidden in the innermost recesess o f every Jewish heart, comes to the fore, and draws him with an irresistible force to the shul to join Klal Isroel in prayer and supplication to Him, who delightests in life to grant us life, happiness and prosperity in the coming year.

WE ALONE AMONGST ALL THE NATIONS CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR AS A "YOM TOY", as a festive occasion, to commemorate the birth day o f the creation o f the universe, as we say in our prayers, "HAYOM HARAS OLAM" on this day the world and everything therein and above it, came into being, culminating in the creation o f its first inhabitant, the first human being, ADAM. THUS WE CELEBRATE on this day a double unique event, the creation as well as the birth day o f the human race.

BUT we also recall on this day, what happened to that first human, ADAM. In the words o f the Psalmist King David: "REJOICE WITH TREMBLING", we recall in the midst of the Festival o f the New Year, that only 10 hours after his creation he committed the very first sin, violating the heavenly command not to eat of

the forbidden fruit, though he had at his disposal the freedom to enjoy all the pleasures prepared for him in the Garden o f Eden.

The judgment and punishment was swift sharp and stern - to be driven out o f paradise - and a set limit for human life. Hence "Rosh Hashana" as the day o f judgment for our deeds and misdeeds. The price Adam paid for breaking G-d's command, his fai­ lure to curb and control his insatiable desire and lust, serves as a stern warn­ ing to each individual as well as to nations, o f the tragic and catastrophic consequences to men, o f failing to recognise the supremacy o f Him, who called this world into being, and utterly and completely submit to his

EDITORIAL will and rules by which it can con­ tinue to exist.

As we stand on the threshold o f the New Year, and view the situation in which the world finds itself today, we are overtaken by a deep sense o f anx­ iety and almost despair. We witness helplessly in sorrow, what the human race has done to this beautiful world which G-d created. We polluted and poisoned the air and the seas, affect­ ing the health o f millions, men and beasts. We see a great part o f the human race plunged into chaos, law­ lessness, unrest and demoralisation.

A world in fear o f the uncertain tomorrow, when the very existance o f millions seem to depend on the deci­ sions and attitudes o f a handful o f men, and sometimes even on the whim o f a single unbalanced leader.

We are confronted today, as never before, by a rise o f a new barbarism and violent inhuman behaviour, which is as frightening as it is alarm­ ing. There is the devaluation o f human life, and the desecration o f its sanctity, and above all, there is no more shame in wrong doing.

The thousands o f years o f develop­ ment and progress in all spheres o f human endeavour, the enormous achievements in the fields o f science, which have made life easier for mill­

ions, has created more problems than they have solved. Life may have been made easier and more confortable, but dangers and illnessess never heard o f in the past, have also occured.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE to this world o f so much beauty and splen­ dour, entrusted to us by the Creator?

It has been turned into a vast arsenal o f all kinds o f destructive weapons, enough to blow this planet to smithe­ reens, and who can guarantee that some madman, or someone by mis­ take, might not press the button and send us all to our doom? Nations have violated the commandement o f "Thou shall not kill" by legalising mass murder by abortion and euthanasia, and the removal - for transplant purposes - o f organs, from people who are still alive!

Amid all this chaos and disorder in our modern day society, it is comfort­ ing and reassuring to see our people, throughout the world, almost alone among the nations in "SPLENDID ISOLATION ", standing in their shuts, proclaiming once more, the eternal truth o f our sacred faith and way of life, illumining the thick darkness enveloping a great part o f humanity; raising once more the standard o f decency and morality, law and order, the dignity and the sanctity o f human life, the inception o f which we com­ memorate on Rosh Hashanah.

The coming year, 5747, is the yaer o f SHMITAH, the Sabbatical year, in which the land (Israel), is to lie fallow in order to underline, G-d's lesson "That the earth is mine" and that we are merely licensees entitled to plant the earth and harvest its crops, by the grace and favour o f the Divine, "FREEHOLDER ". Similarly we are but licensees in this world, present and living by the grace o f Him who in His goodness renews the work o f crea­ tion each day.

LET us make the most o f the New Year on whose threshold we now stand. Let us make it an occasion for deepening and strengthening our faith, for extending Limud Hatorah, and observance o f the Mitzvot in our respective communities, to be worthy o f the blessings o f a happy, prosper­ ous and peaceful New Year.

TH E PRESIDENT AND HONORARY OFFICERS OF TH E FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES EXTEND BEST WISHES TO TH E EM ERITUS RAV RASHI, DAYANIM, MEMBERS, STAFF, FRIENDS AND TH EIR FAMILIES AND TO KLAL YISROEL FOR

rm o nzrnm nrrro

3

CROYDON DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE

THE RABBI HONORARY OFFICERS AND BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF THE

THE PRESIDENT, HON. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF MANAGEMENT WISH THE

IL F O R D F E D E R A T IO N

MEMBERS OF THE BETH DIN, AND

SYN AG O G UE

MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION

wish the members o f the Beth Din, President and Hon. Officers o f the Federation o f Synagogues, all their members and their families, and

A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

lonnm lamn naio

nm o n rrn m

dh td

SHOMRKl HADATH GREAT GARDEN

SYNAGOGUE

S T R E E T SYNAGOGUE

The President. Mon. Officers and The President, Hon. Officers.

Board of Management

and Board of Management extend sincere good wishes to

wish their Kav. Secretary, ami all their members

their members and K â&#x20AC;&#x2122;lal Yisroel A Happy New Year and well over the Past

for a Happy and Peaceful New Year

innnm nron rmo nwb innnrn nron rmo mpS

T H E P R E S ID E N T A N D

AHAVATH SHALOM SYNAGOGUE

H O N O R A R Y O F F IC E R S O F

SINAI SYNAGOGUE G O ID K R S G R E E N

The President, Hon. O fficers,

N .W .I I

and Board of M anagem ent extend sincere good w ish e s to their m em bers and K'lal Yisroel

wish their Rabbi, all their members and their

for a Happy and Peaceful New Year

families, the President and Hon. Officers o f the Federation o f Synagogues, their members and

in n n m u m n m m

7 j n u r 'P'PD a

h jo j ?

r n io n rrn m r u r m

4

Distinguished Gathering for Brit Milah ary. Among those paying tribute to his devo­ tion and tireless efforts to the Synagogue were the President of the Federation of Synagogues, Mr. Morris Lederman, Rabbi M.L. Flax, Mr. Maurice Caplan, the Life President, and myself who made a presenta­ tion on behalf of the members. All those who spoke referred to the many hours Mr. Symons spends in the service of the Synagogue and although neither he nor his wife have enjoyed the best of health recently, his efforts have remained undi­ minished. We were delighted to see so many friends on this occasion, who although they no longer live in the district have retained their links with the shul.

Refreshments were provided by the Ladies Guild, who also made a presentation to Mr. Symons.

The Guild once again decorated the Shul for Shavuot and as in previous years the floral arrangements were most attractive.

Rabbi Flax is continuing his regular shiurim, and we are also planning activities for the months immediately following the Yomim Noraim. These will include our cus­ tomary Yom Limmud as well as a Melave Malke.

I take this opportunity on behalf of Rabbi Flax, the Honorary Officers and all the members of the Kehilla to wish The Presi­ dent, Dayanim, Rabbonim and Honorary Officers of the Federation of Synagogue I'shana tova.

Sin ai Synagogue was once again filled with many distinguished Dayonim, Rabbonim and other visitors from London, Manchester and Israel for the Brith of a son born to Rabbi and Mrs. C.Z. Cohen and named Arieh Ze'ev. This was the second such occa­ sion to be held in the Shul in approximately 4 months, writes its President, Mr H S Palmero.

A few weeks later a reception was held to mark 40 years of loyal service rendered to the Kehilla by Mr. Sam Symons, the Secret-

v

wBBm DAYAN ALONY holds baby ARIEH after the Brit Milah ceremony.

*>W |

fc l !

Z6'/.

m m

-

MSm

.

Mr. S. SYMONS speaking at the reception to mark his retirement. Seated, from left to right are Mrs SYMONS, Mr. H. KAYE (warden), Mr. H.G. PALMER (President), Rabbi M. FLAX, and Mr. M. LEDER MAN. Side to camera: DAYAN S. HERMAN.

V3.nnm w o n ncnD nw b MR. & M RS. S. SY N ETT AND FAM ILY W ish Executive

Dayanim, of

President,

the F e d e ra tio n ,

Honorary

the M i n is t e r ,

O fficers the

and

Chazan,

the Hon. O fficers, E x e c u t i v e and m e m b e r s o f the I l f o r d Federation S y n a g o g u e and K ’lal Y i s r o e l a H a p p y , H e a lth y and P r o s p e r o u s N e w Y e a r

I t seems unusual nowadays to find a Jewish community that is growing.

Dwindling congregations and apathy seem to be at the heart of repeated stories, culminating unhappily in some cases, with synagogues closing com­ pletely.

But not in Ilford!

The Ilford Federation Synagogue and its members are reveersing some of those recent trends in other parts of the country in terms of religious, cul­ tural and social activity. Even member­ ship is increasing (albeit modestly), and the Cheder is bursting at its seams.

More and more younger people are joining the shul and becoming involved in its activities, and, led by Rabbi Marmorstein, new areas of interest are being opened up.

Our firsst Shabbaton, was such a success as a family-based religious and cultural event, that a second will be held on 22nd November 1986, and the annual Melava Malka, which is open to the whole of Redbridge, was well attended and extremely interesting.

Earlier this year also the younger members of the community officiated at a Youth Shabbos, the first of its kind.

The learned and talented youngsters were highly praised by the congrega­ tion and promise great things for the future.

Also for the firsst time, Rabbi Marmorstein held a full night of Shiurim at Shaunons and, in October, Daf Yomi (Daily Gemora Shiur), the first in Red­ bridge, was started.

Social Activities On the social side, the Parents Association continue to raise funds in support of the Cheder, with its activities including dances and quizzes which are always a sell-outy. (The next quiz is on November 9.) The funds are used to organise Purim and Chanukah parties and entertainment for the chil­ dren and to donate prizes for religious achievement.

The Ladies' Guild is also very active in support of shul activities, supervis­ ing catering and organising various fund-raising events for the benefit of the community.

D.P. LEVY 5

*

'Arvus' in Jewish Life The question often asked is what do we mean by the term 'the Jewish way of life?'

There is the essential Jewish belief and faith in the unity of G-d, in our Torah and tradi­ tion, but as there are many norms, ideas and ideals, it is difficult precisely to say or even to explain the theoretical and practical concepts and applications of the Jewish way of life. Nevertheless, let us try to delve into one of our Jewish laws that gives expression to its characteristics.

Freedom The basis of modern society, which, in most aspects, is alien to Judaism, considers one of its cardinal principles to be the privilege of freedom of every human being to select for himself what to do and how to live, and that applies as well, to the social, moral and religious life of the individual.

This privilege of man in modern society is responsible for his flexible quality by which he rises and falls in his standards and con­ duct.

Contrary to this philosophy, comes 'the Jewish way of life with the introduction of the concept "Arvus' which we can define in its literal translation as interdependence that all Israelites are guarantors for each other. It must be emphasised that this inter­ dependence of Jews as guarantors for each other is not motivated by the desire to hin­ der and limit the privilege of man's freedom in Israel. It springs from the deeplyanchored foundation of Ahavas Israel; lov­ ing your neighbour as yourself, that penet­ rates into the depth and breadth of the way of life in Israel.

Responsibility In essence, we find in the mitzvah and prin­ ciple of "Arvus the concept of Kol Yisroel Arevim Zeh Lozeh, meaning that all Jews are co-responsible for each other. In the Torah ( Vayikro 26, verse J7) we read "...an d they shall stumble one upon the other". The Si fra comments that this comes to teach us that one will stumble becasue of the sins of his brother. Why? Because Kol Yisroel Arevim Zeh Lozeh, and in our Tal­ mud we have this principle expressed in many Tractates (Shvuos 39, Sota 37, Rosh Hashana 29). It is commonly assumed that "Arvus" signifies the obligation incumbent

by DAYAN Z.J . ALONY upon all Jews to maintain civility, decency and morality within the Jewish community.

It is true that the concept includes this meaning, but in essence, it is not limited to it alone. There is a far wider horizon to it.

"Arvus is something that is distinctive to Israel, hence we find the concept of "Arvus" in Jewish Civil Law, designating surety. If someone accepts surety for another, for instance, if he undertakes to be reponsible for the debt of another, then he is held responsible as if he himself had borrowed the money.

In our daily benedictions over Mitzvos (Birchas Hamitzvos), if one Jew has already ful­ filled a mitzvah but another Jew has not, the Jew who had already fulfilled the mitzvah can fulfil it again for the sake of the Jew w ho has not done so; for example, if a person who had recited Kiddush for himself on Shabbos or Yom Tov. or the Havdalah on the termination of Shabbos. he can recite Kiddush or Havdalah again for someone else. The reason and basis for this is the con­ cept of "Arvus" that declares w hile you have fulfilled the obligation yourself, you have nevertheless not fulfilled completely your obligation, since your fellow-Jew' has not also done so.

The same principle of "Arvus- is found in the Torah regarding another aspect of the Jewish way of life The Torah tells us in l avikro (Chap. 18 verse* 17), ‘ Thou shalt not hate your brother in thine heart, thou shalt surely rebuke they neighbour ancJ not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take revenge or bear any grudge against the chil­ dren of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Maimonides in his Ethical Laws (Chap. (>. par. 3) states that man s duty is to love his fellow man as himself, for it is written you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Hence we must speak of our neighbour (that law embraces every Jew) in terms of praise and be careful of his property, |ust as one desires to preserve his own reputation and safeguard his own property. Whoever glorifies himself by “Arvus' in Jewish life humiliating someone else has no share in the world to come (Ibid. par. 8). When a man sins by offending another, the offended person may not hate the offender and keep that hate in his heart, as it is told about evil­ doers; Absalom said not a word to Amnon. good or bad, for Absalom hated Amnon (Ibid, par. 6). It is a mitzvah to let him know and say to him: “Why did you do this to me?' for it is written "You must reprove your fellow-man'. If he has repented and asked

Rosh Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues

for forgiveness, he should be forgiven, an the offended person may not be cruuel c t>ear enmity or a grudge, as we find writte that Abraham prayed to G-d on behalf of h offenders, (Ibid, par. 6); "It one has notice that a person has committed a sin (and th; applies to any sin) against G-d or people, is a mitzvah and a duty to restore him to th right path by pointing out to him the wron that he has done and the violation he ha performed (such as a violation of Shabbo or the violation of any mitzvot that all Jew have to perform or may not voilate). H should speak to him gently and tenderly, te ling him that it is only for his own good the he is telling him this. (Ibid. par. 8).

Love Thy Neighbour

O u r Sage** declared: Whoever shames fellow-man in public (that is. in the presenc of three people) has no share in the world t< come. One should therefore be careful nc to rebuke or oftend someone or cause an indignity to somebody in public, whethe young or old. One should not call a persoi by a name b\ which he feels ashamed o indignant, not say anything in his preseno which may embarrass him. ' The basis c such laws is "Arvus-, the mterdependenci of Israel, and the foundation for it is “Thoi shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. I am C d We thus see clearly the link between th< mitzvah of reproof which is derived fron the concept of “Arvus and its emanatior from the inexhaustible fountain of Ahava Yisroel, love of Torah and the love of even person. Likewise, we read in the Book o Proverbs (Chap. 3, verse 12) “ For whom th« Lord loveth. He correcteth, even as a tathe the son in whom he delighteth . The Mai bim beautifully comments, this is like < father w ho wants to improve and elevate hi* son from height to height. By reproving hi* son he is expressing his love for his son, anc his care and attention for him.

How profound were our Sages wher Rabbi Tarton said. I wonder if there is ir this generation one w ho is ready to accep reproach , and Rabbi Eliezer Ben Azariah responded : “ I wonder if there is anybody ir this generation who is capable of reproach ing '. This profound analogy in the concep of Joe bet ho conveys the requirement o

r-’

t

people to accept reproach in the know­ ledge that it is meant for their betterment; for their own good. Unless a person accepts it in such a way then silence is better, for if a person takes exception or may have the impression that it is presented to him out of discourtesy, unfriendliness or even animos­ ity, it is then not right to reproach that per­ son.

Then again, in the view of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Azariah we need the basic qualification of deep love of Israel, not only as a people, but for every person in Israel and to have such a great heart to be able to bear everyone alike, sinners with righteous men, without any discrimination, no matter who he is or what he is, from the highest to the lowest.

Vices Again, we need a person who has the qualifications to diagnose the spiritual or moral vices of the person he is about to rebuke. It is like a bodily ailment. Before a prescription can be given to an ailing per­ son, we need to have a thorough diagnosis, likewise with a mental ailment or ailment of the soul, mind and outlook. Before we can reproach such people we need a thorough analysis how best to do so and what to pre­ scribe to such a person, otherwise it might cause more damage than good.

This is what we read in the Torah: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.

Thou shalt rebuke respectfully thy neighbour and not bear sin because of him." That is, it must come from a heart that has no trace of enmity but only pure love, otherwise it will cause sin to remain in the person that has been rebuked. Again, how profoundly the Malbim, as well as Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explain the Hebrew expression in the Torah, Hoche'ach Tochi'ach, "to rebuke" as meaning inter­ change and self-involvement to convince the person of his error.

Social Responsibility W e live in an era in which people, espe­ cially the young, are impressed and inspired by a notion or concept which they can relate to their needs and wants, and unless they can be convinced of its justification any direction or instruction will fall in deaf ears or be cast away regardless from whichever source it comes.

A profound teaching is given to us in the Torah in Sh'mos, Chap. 23 v.4: "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely birng it back to him again." And in verse 5 we read: "If thou seest the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to pass him; thou shalt surely release it with him." n one of our Talmudic interpretations the term "of thine enemy", or "of him that hateth thee" is applied to people who have violated the Torah and observances of Mitzvot. The Torah says that nevertheless or in spite of it, you should help them in their burden because this act of kindness may inspire in them different attitudes to Torah and Judaism, when repesented with the explanation that the assistance given them is in response to a G-dly commandment of

n*'

kindness and helpfulness to all people. At the same time, in the person who offers that kindness it should implant the G-dly com­ passion which proclaims that nobody in Israel be considered or classified as an enemy, even those who are alienated from Torah-life and Mitzvot; they shall not be cast away or looked upon as forlorn Jews with­ out any hope of regaining their anchorage to Torah-true Judaism, because even the fal­ len can be, and should be, uplifted.

The concept and principle of "Arvus" creates in every Jew an active responsibility towards the many spheres of Jewish Life, to Torah learning and education, so it is that every Jew is called upon to contribute to the maintenance of Jewish schools and yeshivot where Jewish children learn Torah and Jewish subjects. The greatest fulfillment in the concept of "Arvus" is applied in the Mitzvah of Hachzokas Ha-Torah, in sup­ porting Torah institutions. By it we contri­ bute to the continuity of Israel. It includes every Jew in the social responsibility of the Jewish community, in thought and in prac­ tice. In a similar manner, the famous Rabbi Yonah in his Sha'arei T'Shuvah states the commandment that a Jew may not place a stumbling block before a blind person, is not only to be understood in the negative, but also in a positive way; to extend and provide good advice and counsel to any­ body who seeks it. In a broader sense we are to take care and give attention to people who are in need, whether financially or morally, to give uplift to people who are in sorrow, anguish and loneliness, and to an extent, become personally involved in whatever way one can.

N^taimonides writes that it is a Mitzvah to visit the sick, to comfort the mourners, escort the dead, dower the bride, accom­ pany departing guests so that they should not remain alone on their way, as well as to cheer the bride and bridegroom and to assist them in whatever they need. All these precepts are implied in biblical verse "You shall love your neighbour as yourself", which means that whatever you would like others to do to you, do to others of your brethren in Torah and Mitzvot.

In like manner Jewish people are compel­ led to contribute to local charities.

Maimonides states that anyone who stands aloof from the community, even though he commits no crime but only separates him­ self from the Jewish people and does not perform religious duties in consort with them, nor does he project himself into their

distress, nor share their fasts and has no association with the events of his people, but proceeds on his own way, he is excluded from Jewry as if he were not of them, and such an individual has no share in the world to come.

The Prophet Isaiah whose words we recite in the Yom Kippur Haftorah, expres­ ses in unforgettably-clear language the relev­ ant challenge to our present era. In present­ ing the Jewish way of life he says: "Where­ fore have you fasted and thou seest not, wherefore have you afflicted your souls and thou did not take heed. Will you call this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord? Is it not to offer thy bread to the hungry and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house, when thou seest the naked that thou cover them, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own kin". The Midrash comments on it thus: "When a man honours his father and mother in childhood, and more so in adolescence he fulfils the prophetic call of our Haftorah to provide bread for the hun­ gry and not hide himself from his own kin.

At first a person must sustain his parents, then his family and then give charity to everyone in need. he Midrash referring to the words of the Prophet: "To offer thy bread to the hungry", goes on to explain that the Prophet calls to attention that there is not only the mortal hunger but there is as well the hunger for Torah, the hunger for learning, for there is no hunger like the hunger for Torah, as the Prophet Amos said: "Behold the days are coming, said the Lord, when I will send a famine in the land; not a famine for bread and not a famine for water, but to learn the words of the Lord". When we read "When thou seest the naked thou shalt cover them", this applies to spiritual nakedness.

If you see a man who did not learn any Torah, invite him to your house and teach him "Shema Yisroel", and what and how to pray. Then teach him spiritual and Jewish knowledge and the observance of the Jewish way of life, what it means and what it conveys, because there is no nakedness in Judaism like the nakedness and estrange­ ment from Torah and Mitzvot and the true meaning and value and beauty of Jewish Ifie. Then shall the promise be fulfilled, "Thy Jight will break forth as the morning, healing shall come speedily, and thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then thou shalt call and the Lord shalt answer. Thou shall cry, and the Lord shall say 'Here I am'."

MR. AND MRS. M. LEDERMAN 11 MAYFIELD GARDENS, N.W.4 wish their children , grandchildren, mechutanim and relatives, members o f the Beth Din, Honorary Officers and Council o f the Federation o f Synagogues, and K'lal Yisroel a nniD nzrnm nrrro

TH E HONORARY O FFIC ER S & BOARD

The President and Honorary Officers of the

O F M ANAGEM ENT O F THE

C L A PT O N F E D E R A T IO N SYNAGOGUE (SHAARE SHOMAYIM)

Y ESH U R U N SYN AG O G UE

47 LEA B R I D G E R O A D , E.5

EXTEND

THEIR

BEST

WISHES

FOR

HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BETH DIN,

extend New Year greetings to the Minister, Officials and members o f the Synagogue and their families, and to the President and Hon. Officers o f the Federation o f Synagogues, and all their members and families.

HONORARY

OFFICERS,

EXECUTIVE

AND

ALL MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES

YAVNEH

East London Central Synagogue .'iA r

.7 / f * r t f * t f t t y

4

( 4 ft r t f i y - r r r t f r t / u»4^ A ■P l f ^ f f / r r t / f t f t * / -7 4 f*rt , (/ y r t f t y f * y 4 4 + ^ { f t r r u / 4+4 ,

i a r t f / t h * t %</ ^ 4 A rt% . f \ * t A A 4 , ( 4 r r r \ A r , ( t r r u f ^ / A r .+ e f t

ft r t f / f t / /

K

o f l r

/ A

m

/ n

a r t f / ■J i / f t / f t

SYNAGOGUE

% 4 -4 4 ±

.

f

The

President.

Hon

n n *n m

and

Board

r r tr rrtA r m r t y

A < tf i f t y

a r t f /

Management wish all their Members a year of

'rft •

good n a io

Officers

health

and

prosperity.

m *n a

lannm ianan naio njff1?

WOOLWICH DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE

FEDERATION OF SYN AGO GU ES

FINCHLEY CEN TRA L SYNAGOGUE R e d b o u rn e A v e n u e . F in c h le y , N.3

The President, Hon. Officers and Board of

nan nnVsm

members and their

Management wish

The P residen t, H onorary O fficers and Board o f M anagem ent, on b eh a lf o f the S yn a g o g u e, w ish Rabbi Z. Telsner, all m em b ers and their fam ilies for 5747

families and Klal Yisroel

n w

nan nn'rxn

%

H

rr:

rv

i &

t

t

i

1

Our Active Synagogue Ladies' Guilds CROYDON MRS VALERIE BUTLER writes: 44 Our Guild Committee, now in its third year, continues its success in fund-raising and social activities. The main events of the year have included a jumble sale shared with WIZO and held at the Chelsea Town Hall; a very successful Quiz Supper, a barbecue and a very special even­ ing for Yom Haatzmaut, where enter­ tainment was provided by Galim, a troupe of professional Israeli dan­ cers.

44 In June, Evelyn Rose hosted a most entertaining and informative evening which was well-attended with guests from other communities as well as our own.

44 The Board of Management hon­ oured us with a special Shabbat Kiddush and we took this opportunity to show our appreciation, with a special presentation to Mrs. Lily Bliss for all her hard work for our Synagogue over the past 40 years. In the last two, she has raised over £2,000.

44 A Self-defence course organised by the Metropolitan Police, proved so successful that we plan to repeat it shortly.

"On the retirement from office of Mr. Joe Harris, the Synagogue Secret­ ary for over 12 years, we joined the Board of Management and commun­ ity in presenting him with a gift at the annual general meeting of the shul in June.

44 We are planning an Old Time Musical evening on November 2.

"We sincerely home that our Ladies Guild will continue to support and help our Board of Management and our small community in 49 Croydon

WEST HACKNEY MRS R. GLASER, the Guild's Chairlady, writes: "Our Guild arranges Kiddush after Service every Shabbat; serves tea at Board of Management meetings and has recently presented the Synagogue with a new Parachos.

"Our Guild has had our Synagogue re-carpeted and has arranged holidays and tours to Israel.

"During the summer months we have coach outings, arrange visits to various institutions, the latest being to Ravenswood, and to the Home and Hospital at Tottenham, which we aid financially as we do many other Jewish and non-Jewish organisations.

44 Two weeks before Pesach we also

;;

i

m

financially assist those less fortunate than ourselves.

44, Our Guild arranges two dances a year, at Purim and on New Year's Eve, and hold jumble sales to raise funds.

We have a small but very active com­ mittee and are fortunate in having the Synagogue Hall to carry out our activities, and we receive the fullest co-operation from the Hon Officers and Board of Management. Twice annually we make a donation to the Synagogue.

"As Chairlady, I meet our Life Pres­ ident each week, and we discuss issues apertaining to our Guild and to the Synagogue. His advice is invaluable."

W OOLW ICH MRS TINA BLACK, Hon Social Sec­ retary of the Guild writes: "To celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, our Guild held a Cheese and Wine evening, combined with an auction, in the Deborah and Morris Green Hall. This proved a financial and social success and the proceeds of over £400 were divided between Jewish Women's Week, the League of Jewish Women, the Metropolitan Hospital-Sunday Fund and the Synagogue, for which we presented Siddurim.

On June 15 we held our annual Strawberry and Cream Tea in aid of Operation Wheelchairs, at the Eltham home and garden of Sasha and Harold Woolfson. This enjoyable afternoon, at which there was a short

talk by Mrs Doris Frosh, our Life President, raised £405 for this 99 worthy cause

YESHURUN MRS QUEENIE COHEN writes: 44 We have sent donations in response to appeals to Norwood, CBF, Bikkur Cholim, Emunah, Jewish Childs Day (among others) and also a substantial sum to the special Mikvah Appeal.

We supplied biscuits and orange squash for the children's services, Chanukah Gelt for the Cheder chil­ dren, Benchers and a fruit kiddush on the New Year for Trees for them and a donation for books for their annual prize-giving ceremony. //We also bought wine glasses for the Synagogue; cleaned the silver appurtenances (as we always do) before each Yomtov and sent to par­ cels to patients in mental hospitals.

We made a Brunch in aid of the Laniado Hospital in Israel, when all the food and services of two waitres­ ses were generously provided by Jes­ sie and Joe Pelter and we were able to send the hospital a donation of £350.

"As coffee and Hamantashen seem to be so acceptable after the reading of the Megillah on Purim, it has now been incorporated into our annual practise.

"We welcome those new members of the Guild who have joined us.

For they formed their own self-containc street communities, a precarious livelihoc eked out in small domestic workshops, th( ethnic unity perpetuated within their stie lech - small, house-based synagogues c. ering for the spiritual and social needs of tl landsleit - (families emanating from tl

The Condition of East End Jewry in 1888: Reflections in Retrospect

THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF A REVEALING ARTICLE ON THE TERRIBLE TRIALS ANI CONDITIONS OF THE MAINLY POVERTY-STRICKEN JEWS OF THIS PERIOD. D y 1888 Jewish settlement in Tower Ham­ lets had consolidated itself around a solid base in Spitalfields with large tentacles stretching southwards to the St. Georges area and eastward to Mile End and Bow. In 1887, Charles Booth had recorded numbers totalling 28,790 in Whitechapel, 5880 in St. Georges and 7,750 in Mile End, which, together with those settled in Bethnal Green, totalled approximately 45,000. But this may well have been an over-estimation.

A HIGH PEAK The causes and course of post-1881 Jewish immigration have been analysed in detail elsewhere. What was pertinent to the authorities was that 1887 had registered a high peak both in emigration - 396,494 (of whom 281,487 were of British or Irish ori­ gins) and immigration - 119,013, an increase of 10,134 on the year before, of whom those of British and Irish origins only numbered 85,475'.

With the increase of non-English speaking foreigners, there was cause for concern on the part of local and national authorities; manifestly so in the East End of London, where the influx appeared dramatic.

For a c olourful, and bizarre change had already affected large sections of the west­ ern parishes sited nearer the City, and was rapidly spreading eastward, along and bet­ ween the two main thoroughfares, the Whitechapel and Commercial Roads, from their conjunction at Gardiners Corner.

Charles Booth confirmed by that year: The newcomers have gradually replaced the English population in whole districts which were formerly outside the Jewish quarter. Formerly in Whitechapel, Commercial Street roughly divided the Jewish haunts of Petticoat Lane and Goulston Street from the rougher English quarter lying in the East. Now the Jews have flowed across that line; Hanbury Street, fash­ ion Street, Pelham Street, Booth SlrtH-l, Old Montague Street, and many streets and lanes and alleys have fallen before them; they Fill whole blocks of modern dwellings; they have introduced new trades as well as new habits and they live and c rowd together and work and meet their fate independent of the great stream of London life surging around them.

same village or town in Russia or Russi* Poland). Their identification with tl sweated tailoring trade projected them ( the national scene. Here, in quantitatr terms, a reasonably objective assessment the contemporary motif is proffered I Charles Booth from his case studies in 'Tl Tailoring Trade . A qualitative account four to be literally fictitious but circumstantia true, was presented by Russian immigra Mver Wilchinski to the House of Lords Coi mittee. (8 August 1888).

Both reveal the life of the 'greener' (ne1 comer) as one of grinding poverty and uni mitting labour. Within the job market tl immigrant found himself faced with number of harsh realities. How many Ge tile employers in non-immigrant trade would be prepared to employ alien Jew w ho were generally unpopular in a peric of economic stress and job competitioi Each was forced back on his own.

Britons first' was the normal response masters and trade unionists. Where cou the greeners turn for work, but to the ins< •able demands of self-generating, ci throat industry locally, alreadv dominatt by his own kith and kin' At least there I could find some promise (albeit illusory) job security, and safety among his fello Yiddish-speaking expatriates, sharing common religious and cultural experienc and. above all. the bond of past persecutic and imminent want.

trates along Batty and that misnomer, Christ­ ian Street, astride the Commercial Road on towards the Anglo-Irish world of dockland, the Jewish 'colonists were expanding their settlements.

Occupations, mainly operating in homebased workshops, were within a limited range and vulnerable to trade fluctuations.

The Jewish Board of Guardians, which mon­ itored the state of local labour, presents us with a list of major occupations for 1882 and 1982. Those of 1888 could be approxi­ mated as somewhere in between. What does emerge is a concentration in the tailor­ ing, boot and shoe and cabinet-making concerns; findings which accord with those of Charles Booth. His acolytes already noted the social and occupational divisions within the community.

The old-established Dutch Jews. Angli­ cised, and often indistinguishable from their Gentile Cockney neighbours, were concen­ trated in Spitalfields and principally employed in cigar making. A group of Ger­ man origin, a melange of old settlers and newcomers, was engaged in a variety of trades: bread bakers, sugar refiners, shoemakers, tailors (more of these than anvthing else) and dealers in clothes, small employers, shopkeepers, importers and wholesale dealers ... an ambitious and industrious set (who) on the whole prosper .

It was difficult for Booth to sometimes dis­ criminate between these and the new 'Polish immigrants. That, in his view depended on ‘the degree of poverty and ignorance rather than any question of ori­ gin', thus revealing the limitations of his knowledge and understanding of the Jewish social milieu He confirmed, however, that the Russian Poles were ‘recognised as a separate and now very large section of the East End population*, with their own distinc­ tive sub-culture.

HAZARDOUS

Workshop conditions were, to say th least, socially and medically hazardou Hands slept on the floor or on benches i the workrooms, particularly the new arriva with no fixed abode and breathed in a atmosphere already foetid with the sweat ( congested day labourers and the steam <

FRYDMAN PROPERTIES LTD extend sin ce re g reetin g s for c 'n

Among the grimy, dilapidated, leprouswalled one or two-storeyed terraced cot­ tages, broken here and there across Spitaltields to the river by the newly-imposed high-rise, red-bricked tenements looming over them, the Jews moved in to extend their peculiar sub-culture amidst a hostile milieu. From Quaker and Buxton Streets by the great brewery, down to the narrow infil-

to

10

1tt*

n :

the press irons. Alternative job opportunities were strictly limited. The market was period­ ically choked with high static and frictional unemployment. Every year the inevitable gap between 'busy' and 'slack' seasons brought the threat of homelessness and hunger. For the ordinary Jewish worker this spelt out a precarious living, always poised on the margin of subsistence.

The oft-heard Yiddish lament 'Schwer und bitter is der Leben' (hard and bitter is life) manifested the harsh burdens inflicted on the children of the Ghetto. The difficul­ ties of adjustment to this new land, the ten­ sions inherent in insecure employment, the financial and legal problems to overcome before he could bring over his family from the heim forced him into an unlimited appli­ cation to work.

SWEATED LABOUR Poverty was endemic in that time and place. By 1888, Booth had estimated that of the 40,000 Jews settled in the East End, 15,000 were 'quite poor', 15,000 'moder­ ately' so, and the remaining 10,000 'com­ fortably' or 'well' off. (From the 20,527 dependent on the dress trade 1807 were classed as very poor, 11,166 as poor). The inner structure of local boot and shoe domestic workshops was similar to that of clothing, although even worse conditions prevailed as the industry moved to full-scale factory production in the provinces (espe­ cially Northampton). Thus the East End Jewish piece worker was already faced with a declining system of production, whereby the most deleterious competitive and sweated conditions militated against there well-being.

The extent of Jewish pauperism, espe­ cially focused on East London, had already been highlighted during the previous year in the "Spectator" (23 April 1887). In a leading article it ventured to offer categorical evi­ dence that "Figures (from the Jewish Board of Guardians) show that, last year, every third Jew in London was actually in receipt of poor relief; every second Jew belonged to the regular pauper class, and every second Jewish funeral which took place in the Metropolitan area was a pauper funeral ... (The) death rate of the Hebrews is higher, much higher, than that of the general body of Englishman ... In the period during which the pauperism of the country at large has diminished by 30%, Jewish paupers have increased 150% and their cost to the Jewish com­ munity has increased more than ten fold ... the United Synagogues admit 44% pauper funerals; painful statistics as to the death of young children of the total deaths registered by the Met­ ropolitan Synagogues, were 81 % of children under 10, while the propor­ tion to the rest of the county at large is only 43.5%."

It concluded: "The figures we have quoted are those accepted by the Jews themselves".

This was apparently true. In the following issue of the "Jewish Chronicle" (April 29, 1887), the commentator in "Notes of the Week" on the "Spectator's" findings, agreed that 'altogether the article is a very able and

per annum from which deduct expenses in the shape of rent and man­ agement, £170, leaving £8.15s. profit.

The Committee, in conclusion, desire to emphasise this point, that whereas in some cases the labour test may deter people from applying to the Board for relief, they hope that in the majority of cases it may be looked upon with satisfaction as a means of obtaining money by honest employ­ ment, instead of depending on charity.

impartial resume of the most potent facts of Jewish pauperism'.

Given the fluctuations within the enclosed labour market and the seasonal exigencies of their trades, most of the immigrants seemed condemned to unremit­ ting poverty. Giving evidence to the Com­ mons Select Committee on their standard of living, a tailor, Woolf Zeitlin, conceded that 'in fact everyone who comes here comes rather poor; a man who has only two or three or four pounds, of course, is a poor man, it will not last him very long ... In bet­ ter times a man can spend about 10s. a week altogether on food and lodging ... in worse times he might live on 4s. or 5s. altogether'. Although survival was often dependent on one's neighbours —'the poor helping the poor' - cases of hungry and homeless Jews were not infrequent and, together with those of children starving to death, often provided a non-sensational news item in the local or Jewish press.

By 1887, the problem of the growing number of destitute Jews, prompted the set­ ting-up of a committee, under local politi­ cian Harry S. Samuel, to establish a labour yard, where, strictly in accord with current Poor Law precepts, destitute paupers could be employed on manual labour in return for relief. The committee recommended the acquisition of premises in 'Tenter Street, lately occupied by the Jews' Infant School'.

The details of the exercise were outlined on the basis of solid accounting whereby an ultimate cash profit must be obtained.

The Committee had obviously enter­ tained false hopes in mopping-up the Jewish residuum, since the work test did prove an

By WILLIAM J. FISHMAN, who is Barnett Shine Senior Research Fellow at Queen Mary College, London. This article com­ prises extracts from his 1986 West Central Lecture. West Central is an independent (ewish organisation offering services in counselling, training, research and consul­ tancy fields, having published, inter alia, an important report by Dr. Barry A. Kosmin on divorce in Anglo Jewry.

effective deterrent. (To the Jew it, perhaps, smacked too much of the hated workhouse!). For the numbers of destitute appeared to increase such that early the fol­ lowing year, the Jewish authorities 'prop­ osed to establish in the East End a night shel­ ter for homeless and starving Jews and a meeting in aid of the scheme was held on Sunday February 19 at the Princes Street Synagogue'. The danger was that they might become a burden on the rates, and there were enough false rumours around.

The accusation that foreign Jews were crowding the workhouses was currently evoked by the anti-alienist, Arnold White, and could easily be refuted. The "Jewish Chronicle" quoted a letter from W. Vallance, Clerk of the Whitechapel Guardians, rejecting White's data that 340 'foreigners' were ensconced in his workhouse. "The

The men to do sawing and chop­ ping, the women in a separate room the binding of bundles. Estimates total fixed overheads and costs £170 per annum outgoing.

The initial expenses for implements etc. will amount to £30. Premises will easily hold 80 workers but assuming the average to be even as low as 10, the profit on their labour would be as follows: 1 fathom of best yellow deal ends, £ 5 .5 s.; Binders, 3s 2d. Total: £5.8s.0d.

Estimates that taking the average earnings of each man at 1s.4V2d. per day, 10 workers would earn £178.15s.

(Continued on next page)

■ ii

iS r e n c D

'T IiW 0 'R !I> h xM R BUILDERS AND DECORATORS PLUM BERS AND ELECTRICIANS

C R A N B R O O K R O A D , ILF O R D , E S S E X IG1 4LX T elep h o n e: 01-518 0133 A ll a sp ects o f buildin gs w orks undertaken for com m ercial, industrial and d o m estic p re m ise s in all areas

11

EAST EN D JEW RY IN 1888 Superintendent of the Casual Wards tells me that he does not think that during the whole time that he has been in his present office, a dozen lews have been admitted to the Wards, that is, in nearly 17 years, and it is certainly more than twelve months since the last lew was received ".

CHARITABLE Al On the traditional basis that the lewish community itself should be responsible for its itinerant poor, the BO A RD O F G U A R D IA N S was the major sponsor of charitable aid, provided that it was concerned with 'the application of rational principle', that is, to teach man that any right to money without work runs the risk o f lowering his moral tone. This risk is avoided by the Board of Guardians to the greatest possible degree".

Indeed! In 1888, out of 3513 applicants, its records show that 1919 received some form of monetary grant, including 421 for trade purposes and 616 loans. It did not dispense charity indiscrimately. (It is fair to add, with the limitations of funds attained by volun­ tary subscriptions from the more affluent, and in the climate of the times, the Jewish Boad did what it deemed possible).

By November that year commenting on the Board's President lamenting the pending exhaustion of funds ('we are worse off than at this time last year by considerably over £1000!') the "Jewish Chronicle” Editor pro­ nounced: The President’s appeal is a stern rebuke to the communal conscience.

Here is (he chief charitable organisa­ tion of the community left to face the winter without a shilling in its treasury and, like one of its own clients, forced to sue cap in hand for the means of bare subsistence. ... The virtual indif­ ference to the claims of the Board which is thus manifested reflects little credit on the community.

In view of the empty state of the Board's exchequer it is disquieting to be told on the authority of Mr. Cohen that pressure and want, especially in the Fast End of London, have become more at ute than ever, and that the mis­ ery has reac hed a point which, in the

ing distress by gifts of money and necessary articles, after a strict and searching enquiry and promised ''during the coming year, a source of even a greater amount of good to the poor people residing in the district"'.

Through the activities of Jewish middleclass volunteers engaged in the East End Vis­ itation of the Poor group under his aegis, the Chief Rabbi kept a watchful eye on the ghetto. A sub-committee was appointed consisting of "Revs. Dr. H. Adler and Morris Joseph, N. S. Joseph and Claude Montefiore to confer with the Visitors on the sub­ ject of the issue of leaflets on cleanliness, thrift etc. to the poor"'. It would appear that these interlopers were not always popular.

Their haughty and patronising manner also evoked the suspicion that they were acting as snoopers. This was validated by the report of a Rev. D. Fay at the Chief Rabbi's

office: Several Jewish boys attending the Jewish Free School had been (seen) hawking matches in the City, princi­ pally in the vicinity of the railway sta­ tions upon Sabbaths The Visitors promised that as far as they could, they would endeavour to obtain the names and addresses of these boys, and there was no doubt that the authorities of the Free School would assist in putting down the evil.

Charity was dispensed in diverse forms.

One, attributable mainly to synagogues was a reduced marriage fee to poor brides. At Princes Street Synagogue, oft Brick Lane, four brides were granted the Israelite Mar­ riage Portion Society's endowment of 10 guineas and free marriage fees.

Suih generosity was not to the taste of local Anglo-Jewish Rabbi J. F. Stern, who had pontificated forcibly against young and improvident marriages in front of the Chief Rabbi and his visitation commitee. In his

experience "the weddings of many of tl poor who availed themselves of tl reduced fess at which the ceremony w, performed, were conspicuous for gre extravagance in dress etc. ... among tl poorest there were several males marryir as young as nineteen. It was noticeable th several of those who had expended a cor paratively large amount upon wedding k tivities had the audacity to come the ne day for relief!"

Charity funerals, as Dr. Asher he reported, were undertaken by the Unite Synagogue which dealt with the interme of all Jews in the East End with the exceptic of the Portuguese. Numbers continued rise throughout the eighties, althoug Asher added, applicants did not by ar means represent paupers. They were po people who, in many cases, had nev accepted any charity other than the funerc of their relatives . Applications for Passov bread' guaged the extent of need mo accurately according to the Unite Synagogue, as "they were more searchir than in the case for funerals'". This appeare evident as the quantities distributed fro 1880 (at 20 lb for a family of five) fell fro 54.552 lbs that year to 39,847 lbs in 188 Secretary that whilst 7,500 persons over 10 years age of the Russian and Polish communi applied for charity funerals. 6.000 we recipients of Passover bread

INFANT DEATHS

The rate of infant deaths among th lewish poor was duly a cause for concer among the donors, particularly at the cosi incurred.

Deferring, therefore, to current holy wri demanding payment for services whateve

King David Suite M A R B L E ARC I I . W . l .

interest quite as much of the rich, as of the poor, unquestionably calls for relief.

FOR fH I MOST i X C L U S IV E B A N Q U M IN G IN LONDON Dl t It.H IT U l EAC H IT IE S A VA IL A B L E LOR SM Al l P A R T IE S W E E K D A Y S O N I Y

In other words, as much a pointed warn­ ing ot the dangers accruing to the whole community from a restive Jewish labour force (as currently reflet ted in the anti-estab­ lishment polemics ot the local Yiddish radi­ cal press), as a plea for help as a compas­ sionate imperative.

U N D ER 1HE SU P ER V ISIO N OF T H E HI ! H DIN AND KA SH RU S C OM M ISSION VIEW

A PPO IN TM EN T ONI ^

SCHAVERIEN (C A TERER S) LTD

GROW TH INDUSTRY Nevertheless, t harity was a growth indus­ try among the East Etui lews, and available from alternative sources. On January 6, at a meeting of the SPITALFIELDS O R JEWISH UN ITED BENEVOLENT SOCIETY in the 'Boar's Head Tavern", its President spoke of "the large amount ot good accomplished by the Society since its commencement, in reliev-

Telephone: 229 3581 (office hours 10 - 4)

12

one's means, it fell on millionaire Lord Rothschild, as President of the BOARD OF THE FEDERATION OF CHEVRAS, to underline the message early that year ("Jewish Chron­ icle" January 20): The delegates were practically agreed that in order to avoid as far as possible in the future, the necessity for "charity" funerals in the case of chil­ dren, parents should make provision for the internment of their deceased children by contributing a small weekly amount to a Chevra, in the same way as they do for themselves.

A like sentiment was expressed at the A.G.M . of Sandys Road Synagogue, Spitalfields, four months later. The members dis­ cussed a scheme whereby the Prudential Assurance Company was offering special facilities for funeral insurance to worship­ pers. It achieved considerable support, and one speaker enthused over a "scheme within the reach of us all and (which) would entirely obviate the necessity for begging for paupers' funerals!"

DOMESTIC SERVICE Of course, one means of subverting char­ ity was to "encourage" impoverished parents to enter their daughters into domes­ tic service. On November 17, at the New West End Synagogue, the Rev. S. Singer in his sermon remarked "on the almost insup­ erable aversion to domestic service amongst the Jewish poor". (Unlike him, they had

learned only too well of the terrible exploita­ tion suffered by their children in service!)

FHe surmised that "domestic service under a humane Jewish mistress would go a long way towards obviating most of these disad­ vantages and dangers of working in over­ manned and underpaid trades which expose them to insecurity and the prospect of beggary and living in squalid miserable abodes ... to be exposed to perils to body and soul".

Since a quarter of poor Christian children took up domestic labour, impoverished Jews should be encouraged to do the same, on the extraordinary premise that "until they had succeeded in enabling Jews and Jewes­ ses to take their place in every station, and to share in every employment open to nonIsraelites, they would not have completed the work of their social emancipation, and they would not perpetrate a spirit of sepa­ rateness which had nothing of religion in it, and was full of present mischief and future peril".

Thus, another non-charitable aid to girls was the JEWISH ASSOCIATION FOR PROTEC­ TION OF GIRLS, WOMEN AND CHILDREN set up in 1885, which actually lasted until 1946.

It was originally conceived as a lodging house in the Mile End Road for friendless but "respectable" foreign girls who were expected to pay for their keep under the stern eye of a matron appointed to keep a register of jobs for them. In 1888 the inmates were moved to Rosaline House,

Tenter Street in Aldgate. The new premises could then cater for 20 girls, including some English-born who needed temporary accommodation.

At the end of the year, the urgency of the problem of widespread poverty overcame the clamour of those proposing that the poor pay their way. On December 19, an East End Soup Kitchen was opened by the Chief Rabbi.

PRIME BENEFACTOR Samuel Montagu, father of the founder of West Central, was a prime benefactor.

The poor at the Kitchen were greeted in the true oriental fashion with bread and salt, and in addition with nice hot soup. The sen­ sitive Rev. D. M. Gaster put it succinctly: "The oriental fashion has been reversed in the Kitchen. It was not the people going out to greet their sovereign with bread and salt, but rather the homage due to the majesty of poverty; the wealthy came forward toward the indigent and showed that they acknow­ ledged that the bond of brotherhood did not cease to exist". A mass of the hungry needed to be fed, but economies had to be preserved. For, among the affluent donors, the spirit of obligatory aid to fellow Jews {tsedokoh) was tempered with such utilita­ rian sentiments as voiced by Charles Booth: "Although Jewish Charity does not lend to the demoralization of individual recipients (Continued on next page)

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE BETH DIN

KOSHER O W 3

TRADE MARK

OF THE FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES LONDON

W O R LD -FA M O U S

**n man p pi

KO SH ER

Licenced by the Joint Shechita Authority and the London Kashrus Board Under the supervision of the Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues

Restaurants: 90, W HITECHAPEL HIGH S T R EET . LONDON. E1 7RA

Tei. 0 1 - 2 4 7 6 0 0 1

130, GOLDERS GREEN ROAD. LONDON. NW11 SHB

Tel. 0 1 -4

Head Office end all communications to: WEST FACTORY, TUN MARSH LANE, LONDON,

With

13

ONE

T«l. 0 1 -4 7 B

EAST EN D JEW RY IN 1888 there are grave objections to the form of relief administered. Money lent or given for trade purposes fosters the artificial multipli­ cation of small masters, and is one of the direct causes of the sweating system; effi­ cient assistance to the mechanic out of work enables him to exist on reduced or irregular earnings, and thereby lowers the general condition of his class'.

HOMELESSNESS That there was a problem of homeless­ ness amongst immigrants was, indeed, evi­ dent. The Yiddish radical poet and jour­ nalist, Morris Winchevsky, four years before had already revealed, in prose and verse, poignant scenes of young, workless men with no fixed abode, roaming the streets at night. Woolf Zeitlin, Secretary of the Jewish Branch of the Tailor's Society informed the Select Committee of Emigration and Immig­ ration of lodging costs (two shillings a week for men and three shillings for women) which were still beyond the means of those unemployed. Arnold White had currently tried to exploit the issue by associating it with criminal activities. Me quoted a report in the "Daily Chronicle" of June 15: "West Ham: Russian pauper immig­ rants, Turgis Meskekelewsche, 29, and Mikas Fasukinos, 28, natives of Lithuania, were charged with t>eing

found on enclosed premises of 22 Gray Street, Silvertown, supposed for an unlawful purpose. The evidence was interpreted by Warrant Officer Rabinowitz 141 K, and it seems that the house in question is an empty one, and they were found there about mid­ night. They had previously been turned out of another house some days ago. Rabinowitz said they had nowhere to go and had nothing to eat.

They complained that some English boys threw stones at them. They had been in England three weeks."

There was some truth in his citation.

Newly-arrived immigrants without family or contacts would also face temporary homelessness. But not for long, for there were agencies set up by the local commun­ ity for newcomers from the 'heim' (home­ land). As for the incidence of stone-throwing, these attacks by local hooligans were experienced daily by Jews. A good target were those identified by their traditional garb.

O VERCRO W DIN G Overcrowding and decaying housing spelt fire and health hazards. Work-shops were particularly vulnerable. Fires were not an uncommon event in the ghetto streets, the worst that year occurring when a five floor warehouse tenanted by vtessrs Koenigsberger, furriers, at 25 Commercial Street employing 200 people, burst into flames at 10.00 at night whilst the hands were still working. Fortunately all escaped except one. who, as there was no fireescape, jumped from the first floor tained serious injuries.

Bad housing denotes bad health. It is c ficult to quantify precisely the compariti degree of illness between immigrants ai their surrounding neighbours. Profess Gartner has drawn the general conclusii for the period 1870 - 1914 that 'the imm rant children were better and healthier th, the English of their class'. Was "The Spi tator's" assertion above, already quote and derived from evidence agreed to by t Jewish authorities, that a greater mortal rate was recorded among immigrant cf dren in 1886, an aberration that still nee to be explained? Yet whatever impro\ ments might be made in future "the ba? conditions of slum life and work coni buted an irreducible share to the deterio tion of health'. Arnold White was quick demonstrate that the pressures of medic relief were greater among Jewish "pauper; citing the Mile End Old Town's Clerk to t Governors report of May 7, which enum ated seven foreigners in receipt of outdo relief, but, as an average, medical attentii is given to about 50 families during t year There was some back-up to this in t monthly returns of The London Hospit vs hose records for October disclose that the 8^ Hebrew patients treated. 50 we discharged, six died and 31 were retain< as in-patients. In addition to the other co monplace illnesses to which they we prone, sweatshop conditions particulai laid them open to tuberculosis - a killer d bootmakers • THE S E X T EXTRACTS FRO M THE LECTU I V\ ILL D W ELL O N THE PRO B LEM O F FO R EIC IM M IG R A T IO N - THE ANTI ALIEN ATTITUDI

If you wish Israel and Jew ish Organisations to benefit by your Will, why not consult us?

We have a special knowledge of the problems and needs of Jewish clients, and can help you or your Solicitor to carry out your intentions.

For further information and advice, without obligation and free of charge, pi to the Director/Manager Mr H. Rothman

K.K.L. EXECUTOR & TRUSTEE CO. LTD., Harold Poster House, Kingsbury Circle, London, NW9 9SP. Telephone: 01-204 9911, Ext. 36

London Talmud Torah Council The 1986 Annual Examination Pass List Preliminary:

irandh^.e'^i'fr *'■Wa^Sierftan a i r J he V

lceagreed■ qU°ted "ionthat5 * *

* < rsN »future*1 P>

«*ssa

ire

sad rece'Pt of outdoor m^ lcal attention

mill« during ihe

IM THE LECTURE •EM’ OF FOREIGN ILIEN ATTITUDE.

GARY JAYE DANIEL BARBANEL DANIEL CLEIN IAN MOTHEW JEREMY STONE ASHER TEREN DARREN WALPERT MICHAEL WRIGHTMAN NICHOLAS POLLEN (DARREN COHEN) SONIA ARNOLD DANI EISEN JASON GOLDSTONE SASHA PLAWNER LOUISE SCHER JODIE FROST CLARE WEITZKORN STAFFORD SAMUELS SIMON HURST LISA SHRIER SARAH WALDMAN RUTH BOOKATZ LAURENCE ASH ALON FAGELSON HELEN ROSE LUCY KAY EMMA BODNITZ AMANDA SCV. ARTZ

O H ELSH EM

Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction * Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass

SYN AGO GUE THE HON. O FFIC E R S AND BOARD OF MANAGEMENT EXTEN D G REETIN G S TO TH EIR M EM BERS AND TH EIR FA M ILIES FOR rm

THE

n n ^ sm

PRESIDENT

o^n rut?

AND H O N O R A R Y

OFFICERS

THE

I = Ilford E = Edgware L = Loughton * Top boy in this division A candidate's name in parentheses indicates that his grading is unofficial

G R EEN FO R D SYN AG O G UE WI S H

THEIR

MEMBERS

AND

FAMILIES

Intermediate: CHAIM SARRAPH DAMON LERNER SARA GIBBONS

Credit Credit Pass

(E) (1) (E)

Distinction Distinction Pass Pass

(E) (E) (E) (E)

AND

REAL

A HAP P Y

YISROEI

NIVV

YI AR

Senior: ADRIAN KWINTNER * ANDREW SOLOMON SHANI COHEN GAIL COHEN

Top boy of all the examinations

On behalf of our Rabbi, W ardens, P resident, Chairm an,

Hon.

O fficers

and Board of M anagem ent, we ex ten d

to

all our M em b ers and to Klal Y isroel our very best w ishes for a H ealthy, Happy, P eaceful N ew Y ear.

mm n»*nm nrm

m w 1?

lannni lanari

FIELDGATE STREET GREAT SYNAGOGUE

WEST HACKNEY SYNAGOGUE

V ice-P resident,

nm o

I lie H on orary O fficers and Hoard of M an ag em en t e x te n d New Y e a r *

M em b ers of the S yn agogu e and th e ir fa m ilie s, a s well a s to the B eth Din, H o n o rary O fficers, m e m b e rs of the E x e c u tiv e and S ta f f o f th e F e d e ra tio n of S yn agogu es.

mnnm 'nnan naio

Rabbi Jacob Emden Autobiography T h is in terestin g co n trib u tion is a tra n sla tio n by R A B B I D R. S ID N E Y B. L E P E R E R , B A , Ph D., L e ctu re r in J e w is h H isto ry at J e w s ' C o lleg e, of th e third ch ap ter of M e g illa t Sefer, the a u to b io g ra p h y of the celeb rated Rabbi J a c o b Em d en , co m p ile r of th e wellknow n " Y a 'a k o v Em d en S id d u r".

Several Rabbi Em d en's im m ed iate d e sc e n d a n ts s e tt­ led in th is country, no tab ly in P lym o u th , w h e re m e m b e rs of the fam ily still reside.

•I#

H a v in g left Ansbach1 my father, of bles­ sed memory, journed to Prague with such a growing reputation that Rabbi lacob (Reisc her) Av Bet Din of Bohemia, wanted my father to marry his daughter Shitrah who had a c onsiderable dowry. But my father declined because she was a widow.

He then proceeded to Berlin and though quite a number of wealthy men who had learned of his great reputation earnestly sought his hand on behalf of their daughters, especially some affluent men of I lamburg, he was not concerned with acquiring wealth, but preferred a niemtier of a noble family.

Consequently my uncle R.Ze'ev of bles­ sed memory arranged a marriage with his sister, the daughter of my (maternal) grand­ father the eminent Rabbi and Av Bet Din of the fhree Communities, 1 viz. R.Meshullam Zalman Neumark (Mirels)14 of blessed mem­ ory. This lady was my pious mother Sarah, of blessed memory. Indeed my mother, an intelligent and deeply sincere religious woman, proved to be a wonderful wife to my father.

She was a descendent of the renowned Mirels family which emanated from the cir­ cle of the early Orthodox community of Vie­ nna. This family was replete with respected and munificent individuals who were men of deep piety in deed and thought as well as being outstanding Talmudic scholars. For these reasons all the eminent scholars of that intellectual generation sought to become attached to the family by marriage, for they (the family) had attained great renown in Torah learning, religiosity, social activity and general affluence.

My maternal grandfather spent many years of his life in peace and tranquility as the Rabbi of the Three Communities and used his position with such equity and wis­

dom that in his day the Communities afflu­ ence and reputation grew rapidly. He (my maternal grandfather) was privileged to see more than 150 descendents, whilst a fifth generation were born in Lithuania. Indeed, all my mother's brothers and brother's-inlaw were outstanding in both Torah-scholarship and communal activity.

Some became Rabbis of communities and others were lay-leaders in Poland and Lithuania.

Indeed they were active everywhere and their reputation illumined Jewry.

In Altona my parents, of blessed memory, had five sons and five daughters who are all, thank C-d, well and flourishing in the present year (1752). My G-d prolong their days in peace and tranquility.

The Almighty enabled my father to build a truly Jewish home in Altona and to estab­ lish a large Bet Hamidrash i.e. a Klos the foundations of which were laid by some important and affluent members of the Three* Communities. The purpose of this Klos was to disseminate the study of Torah Lishmah.

RABBINIC SCHOLARS My father attracted students and promi­ nent Rabbinic scholars from Poland and Lithuania to his Klos and there they studied Torah with great assiduity. Day and night they studied Talmudic texts with Rashi and fosafot. the tomes of the decisors of the Halachah as well as Aggadic texts, so that

they became fully converted in Torah and ancillary studies. Indeed, under my fathe aegis they completed the whole of Shas the Turim , the Te'nah, the Midrash ar grammatical works on several occasions.

Due to my father's influence they als assimilated concepts of self-restraint, stric ness in religious observance, true piety an inner religiosity. For he (my father), of ble sed memory, hated injust gains and eve refused gifts which other Rabbis considere equitable.

Throughout his life he did'nt accept ar gifts of money from individuals, although c many occasions, wealthy and affluent me wanted to make him rich. Many eminei people such as princes and dukes ofte brought him gifts of precious silver and gol jewels but they were disappointed, for F declined to accept anything.

No one could possibly recount h activities, indeed they were inconceivab unless one had seen him and been in h company. Just at the time of writing thei are some elderly gentlemen who attende upon him (my father) and remember h deeds, his religious conduct and his Toral studies. These men who were his frienc and acquaintances in years gone by. sped of his reputation and the memory of hir with passionate joy, for never has his lik been heard of or seen in these parts (Ge many) tor many generations.

Thus, he attained a high standard in Tora and ancillary studies which he both learne and taught, for all (his) endeavours in the< fields were regarded as a religious duty an not for the purpose of social advancemer or for public acclaim.

Indeed, his main purpose and desire wi to magnify the honour of his Creator and t firmly establish the pillars of Torah (slud> with all his heart, soul and might. He po sessed a lion's heart, delivering the oppre sed from the power of the oppressor, nc was he a respecter of persons in Torah-ma

(Continued on next page

GROSVENOR ROOMS T H R E E L U X U R IO U S B A N Q U E T IN G S U IT E S A V A IL A B L E w ith cate rin g by J o h n n ie M ic h a e ls for 50 400 g u e sts

S u p * « v b y th« London

B o */d

B «(b D»n o ! eh« FeOe«ation of

W A L M L A N E , LO N D O N N W 2 01-451 0066

it.

t

I&

.V

jf»

RABBI JACOB EMDEN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY ters, but fulfilled the precept, "You shall not be afraid of the face of any man." It was due to the latter characteristic that he always found some opposition from certain power­ ful personalities in the community (Altona), a topic with which, G-d willing, I will shortly deal.

NO PARTIALITY This opposition was not based on any hatred of my father's personality, G-d for­ bid! (with the exception of certain worthless and impudent contemporaries) for everyone acknowledged him to be a man of G -d.

But the very reason they (the opposition) feared him was that he showed no partiality for anything that was unjust. This, however, should not cause astonishment, for a person who would not accept any gold or silver, or the most previous jewels in the world would obviously show no favour in pronouncing judgement but only do "that which was upright in the sight of God."(8’ What however, is indeed astonishing, is that he (my father), was not consumed by a passion for material things, nor by a ten­ dency to love money, which is the answer to almost all our needs, seeing that he was burdened with sons and daughters while his income was so paltry. For as Rabbi of the

Klos, his fixed annual income was 60 Reichtaler(9) yet his basic expenditure was far in excess of that amount. Moreover, my mother never failed to have a child almost every two years and my father was particu­ larly delicate, physically frail and of such weak disposition that he could not eat any heavy foods.

Consequently, he accustomed his chil­ dren not only to avoid delicacies so that their natures should not be turbid nor their intellect dense, but he also withheld heavy foods from them apart from luxuries. He subsisted on the basic necessities so as to be independent of human charity, for none had such trust and faith in G-d as he.

I will relate only one story (among many) which illustrates his hatred of human benefi­ cence. It once happened that the highlyesteemed philanthtopist, Herz Hannover1101, visited Altona. It was well known that he was an extremely wealthy man being worth many hundreds of thousands of Reichtaler, in addition to the fact that he was generous with this wealth and held genuine Torahscholars in high esteem. He paid a visit to the home of my father, of blessed memory, so as to learn something of his (my father's) greatness as a Torah-scholar and his religios­ ity.

Herz Hannover spent several hours with my father discussing his (Hannover's) affairs and listening to my father's advice. Finally, he asked my father to study Torah for one hour daily on his behalf for which my father would receive payment. This proposition would not have involved any effort or

hardship nor would it have been demean­ ing, for in any case he (my father) zealously studied Torah unceasingly, both day and night, although this was not public know­ ledge. Therefore all my father needed to do was to say, "I agree", and then he (Han­ nover) would have plyed him with wealth.

But just listen to his (my father's( reply! He said: "G-d forbid that I should do this, ie. to study Torah on behalf of another person for monetary gain. My study of Torah is an expression of love of my Creator, to acquire a knowledge of the Torah in order to observe if fully."

RESPECTED GUESTS The respected guest then wanted to give my father a substantial gift, but my father raised his voice and said: "Keep your gifts and give your largesses to someone else."

Herz Hannover left the house breathlessly, for he had failed to achieve his purpose viz. to make a generous gift to an eminent scho­ lar. Indeed, our honoured guest was quite astonished at my father's pride, and later in his hotel he remarked to Zekli Wiener, a layleader of Wandsbeck, "Can we find such a person as this man, in whom there is the spirit of G-d? I shall not rest my head on my pillow until I have made him wealthy." He (Hannover) thought of various schemes whereby he would make my father wealthy for he (Hannover) was the most generous man of his day. However, within the space of three months Herz Hannover, may he (Continued on next page)

Reubens Restaurant REUBENS RESTAURANT AND SNACK BAR 20a

Baker Street

at the corner of George Street, London W1.

The Only Kosher restaurant and snack bar in the West End of London.

Try our Snack Bar for a quick meal, or for a more leisurely meal visit our luxurious restaurant All meals and sandwiches are available for take-away.

Orders are taken for Challahs and meals for take-away for Shabbos.

Opening Hours are: Snack Bar Friday

11.00 am - 10.00 pm 11.00 am - 3.30 pm

Restaurant

12.00 noon - 3.00 pm 5.00 pm - 10.00pm

Sunday Friday

All day from 12.00 noon From 12.00 noon - 3.00 pm

Manager, MR. JOHN SHAPIRO

Tel. 935 5945

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE LONDON KASHRUS BOARD AND BETH DIN OF THE FEDERATION OF SYN AGOGUES

l

rest in peace, passed away. Nevertheless, his resolution did not come to nought, but was fulfilled to some extent, though inadver­ tently. For following his (H. Hannover's) demise, differences arose between his widow into whose hands all his estates had fallen, and his son-in-law who wanted them (the estates) to revert to him since he had married Herz Hannover's only daughter who was therefore, her father's sole heir.

The widow requested my father, of blessed memory, to settle the question and he con­ sequently travelled to Hanover and having stayed there for a while made what he con­ sidered to be a peaceful settlement which was acceptable (to both parties). My father was given over 1,000 Reichtalers to cover his expenses. Some years later when he pas­ sed through Hanover on his way to assume the Rabbinate of Amsterdam (1710) the par­ ties (to the previous settlement) again sought his advice, just as though they were seeking Divine guidance. For they had found his first arbitration most effective, but now other differences had arisen between them so that as he was passing through Hanover they wanted him to settle matters so that there should be no further trouble.

EXPENSES Once again he effected that which was requested of him and was given all his expenses. Unfortunately the parties did not heed the advice he had given so that sub­ sequently the situation deteriorated. Having regretted the fact that they had not followed his sound advice, the parties sought his assistance yet a third time. This happened

TH E EMERITUS RAV RASHI AND DAYANIM OF THE

9feti) Bin of t\)t

Jfeberation of £&j>nagogurt E X T E N D MOST C O R D IA L W ISH ES TO T H E C H IE F RA BBI. T H E HAHAM T H E P R ES ID IN G RABBI AND R A B B IN A T E O F T H E UNION T H E IR R E ­ S P E C T IV E B A T E I DIN. T H E B A T E I DIN O F T H E P R O V IN C ES, AND TO A L L RA BBA N IM AND M IN ISTER S, T H E P R E S ID E N T , H O N O R A RY O F F IC E R S M EM B ER S O F T H E E X E C U T IV E AND G E N E R A L C O U N C IL AND A LL M EM BERS O F T H E FED ER A T IO N O F SYN A G O G U ES WITH T H EIR FA M ILIES TO M ED IN A T Y IS R A E L AND K L A L Y IS R O E L T H R O U G H O U T T H E WORL D FOR A

nQ Sw

nVuoi

m Ssn

when he had left the Rabbinate of Amster­ dam (1714) and was once again passing through Hanover. However, on this occa­ sion they were unsuccessful.

NOTES W f Mjpra. S o le (2 0 )

r u ir

2). Following the expulsion o f lew s from this native citv 0 6 7 8 ) he and his iamilv em igrated to Berlin. A few vears later he w at elected C hief Rabbi o f the Triple Com­ m unities. a position he held until his d eath in 1706.

W ot (Yiddish). Klaus (G erm an ), or H esger (H ebrew ), m ean t IHerallv " e n c lo s e d ', and refers p a rticu la r^ to email >eshrvot w here the tea ch ers w ere enclosed . These institutions w ere usually endow ed bv w ealths patrons.

ro 'ro s

* D eut. 6 18 In the first d ecad es o f the 18th century, the Rew hstaJer was govered bv the provisions o f the Leipzig C onvention o f 1690 w hich b id down that the taler was to consist o f 1 9 J S g . o f pure silver. In term s o f the earlv 18th Engirsh currency, w hich w at then o f silver. 9 2 3 % . rather than 100% . fine. W J 5 g . of pure silver w at the equivalent m m onetary term s o f about ls.b d W hat did Iv b d m ean in c .1 '0 0 ? |.f. Thorold Rogers in "A history o f Agriculture and Prices in England" (Vol. 5 . O xford 1 8 8 ' pp 6 7 0 ) lists the weekly wages o f a carp en ter and b r k k b v e r in 1701-2 at an average of 2s. bd. a w eek; a m asen also at 2s. bd. a plum ber at Js. and a 'Labourer to artisan ' at I t . 8d. In oth er words a Ren hstaiet rep­ resented about the weeklv w age o f a highly skilled w orker or I ’ *) w eeks wages of a tradesm an.

R M 7 S r u m a r l (Mire+si was born m V e n n j (c 1620> and ca m e at a famdv w hich form ed a bran ch at the Iam our I r a m i r l I f r a i k d i famah iln c w lu d a n a "p p 1-

Possibly a dre ro d en t o f S a ta n S a ta H anauer id1681* the author o f 'Y n r n v te /u b h ' an acco u n t o f the ( hnwetnw ki pogrom s in Poland (1 6 4 8 - >2)

R .J a c o b b Joseph Rcrw her B a ik o r e m c . lfc ? 0 *1 7 1 J. author and H a b k h n au th ority After h o ld m f a n p o rlin t HahhmM positions m Prague Anshach (17091 and VVorrm O T IS ) he was appointed a* A* Bet Dm and Reel or o f Ih r Yrshrvah o f K iri / 0 7 1 8 ) . In the co u rse of lim e he a cce p te d bv c on tem porary Rahim a t the final KaLac hrc authority a t hrt Rrspnnsa > j a im D p tt.) indicate.

It was only m the latt quarter o f the Ibth t e n fu n that firtl, Portuguese Jew s. Liter G erm an l e n t gam ed adm it­ ta n ce to H am burg. Aftona and W a n d sb rtk . adfommg t o m m u m fm , united with H am burg (1 b b 4 ) under the w jp rn ru o o at a Joint O n e * Rabb. to p rm « *e ca re o t the poor and tor burial 14aham / w i Athkenavi served at C h id Rabbi o t the tn p ir c o m m u m fe t in the prrm d

For all your Propcrtv Maintenance

BARRY WATERFIELD PAINTING - DECORATING - CONVERSIONS EXTENSIONS

167 Pettits Lane, Romford ES S EX RM1 4ED

Romford 40161

ia

/

O g and Sich o n : The Giants of old'

Vayisha'er Noach ("And only Noah survived" - Genesis 7:23) T h e re are many stories in the Torah and the Talmud about the giants Og and Sichon, kings of the Amorites. Even the stories that appear in the Torah appear to take a fantas­ tic form. But first of all, let us look at the main outline of them.

Og, variously spelled with or without a 'vav' (in Nehemiah), was one of the two kings who ruled the Amorites in Transjordan during the time of Moses. It would appear that the use of the term 'shney' with regard to Og and Sichon signifies 'twin', rather than two, i.e. Og and Sichon were the twin kings of an 'Empire' - to use a bad analogy, similar to the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

The Torah speaks of Og as belonging to a race of giants, 'who was left of the remain­ ing Rephaim'. An extraordinary description of his huge iron bedstead is given in Deuteronomy (3:11). The kingdom of Og encompassed Bashan and the Hermon reg­ ion, extending its frontiers to the west of the river Jordan (see Joshua 12:4-5). Ashtarot was apparently the capital of the kingdom.

Og and Sichon were eventually defeated by the Israelites when the eastern side of the Jordan was conquered.

The victory must have had an important effect on the morale of the Israelites for they conquered 60 towns with fortified high walls, gates and bars. (Deuteronomy 3:4-5) The exceptional importance of this vic­ tory is echoed in later passages in Joshua, the Psalms (the Great Hallel - Psalm 135:11, Psalm 136:20) and even in Nehemiah (9:22). The Rabbis even went so far as to say that the victory over Sichon and Og was 'equivalent' to the crossing of the Yam Suph ('Red Sea'). Israel did not sing a song of praise to Hashem as they did in the case of Pharoah, the omission not being made good until the time of King David. 'The Great Hallel' is said every Shabbat and Yom Tov Shacharit before the 'Oz Yoshir' , and recited standing up, underlining its great sig­ nificance.

Og is identified, too, with Eliezer, Abraham's servant who received him as a gift from Nimrod. Eliezer was made Og, king of Bashan as a reward for his services to Abraham in finding a wife for Isaac (Re­ becca). We are told again that it was Og (Ha-polit - 'who escaped') who warned Abraham of the 'kidnapping' of Lot by Chedorlaomer and his allies (Genesis 14:12). It is interesting to note that the gematrial value of 'Ha-polit' does not add up to Og, (=79) as it does in the case of the famous earlier passage Vayisha'er Ach Noach' (Genesis 7:23) but to Sichon (=134!). See (Numbers 21:29) where 'Peleytim' and 'Sichon' are listed in Balaam's song ... where he describes the downfall of Chemosh (Moab) whose sons had become "fugitives, and his daughters into captivity unto Sichon the king of the Amonites".

The Real Meaning? at does it all mean? It would seem that Og and Sichon were the archetypes of the aboriginal races (the 'Neanderthal men') who occupied Palestine Eretz Kena'an. The story in Genesis is constructed in such a

In the Aggada O g and Sichon play an even more spec­ tacular role in the Aggada. We are told, for instance, that Sichon and Og were the sons of Ahijah, whose father was the fallen angel Shamhazai (Niddah 61 a), and of Ham's wife (Yalkut Reubeni on Genesis 7:7). Og was born before the Flood, and was saved from it by Noah on the sure promise that he and his descendents would serve Noah as 'slaves in perpetuity'.

19

by Ellis Hillman way to show us that Abraham and his descendants had no 'natural right' to Eretz Yisroel - the aboriginal right belonging to the Nephilim, the Rephaim, the giants of old?

Our right was purely a Divine right, and a conditional right at that. If we follow the commandments of the Torah then we are worthy of the inheritance, and if we do not, the 'right' reverts to the original inhabitants.

Thus the defeat of Og and Sichon just before the Israelites crossed the Jordan has to be seen not so much as a military defeat over the giant kings, but a reassertion of Divine authority and ownership over the 'natural rights and ownership' which Og and Sichon represented.

It is instructive to note, in this connection, that the tribe of Reuben - who as representa­ tives of the eldest son of Jacob (by his wife Leah), expected a higher position in the tri­ bal hierarchy - were allocated the territory of Og, on the east side of the Jordan. It was the intra-tribal tensions between the Reubenites and the rest of the tribes which fuelled the revolt of Korach. Similarly, the half-tribe of Manaseh who had been 'passed over' by Jacob in favour of Ephraim (the younger son of Joseph) was also allocated a part of this spacious territory. Gad, too, the eldest son of Zilpah, Leah's maid, was also allotted ter­ ritory east of Jordan.

Once again, we have the principle of the Bechor (the first son) inheriting the territory of the first nation displaced!

The traditional date of this historic encounter is on Tishri 23rd, on Simchat Torah!

S A o r e than forty years have gone by since the end of the Second World War. We are now beginning to realise that hundreds, nay thousands, of Nazi murderers and those who assisted them in carrying out what has come to be known as the Holocaust, have escaped all punishment on this earth.

I feel anger and frustration at such a huge miscarriage, or rather non-application, of justice.

During the campaign for the election of Kurt Waldheim as President of Austria, a tiny glimpse was revealed of what has been covered up. And the 'goody goody' image with which Austrians have sought to deceive the world, has been rightly rubbed off to show the real ugly face beneath.

EXCUSES Those who are alleged to have been col­ laborators in the greatest crime in history, put forward a number of excuses and defences: They really didn't know w hat was happening. They only did what thousands of their fellow countrymen, all good honest people, also did. They acted under duress; they were c ompelled to do what they did.

In this article, I want to deal with that third excuse: The defence of duress

THE FINAL COURT But, at this special time in the Jewish religious year, I deem it appropriate to make this comment in relation to the other excuses.

Perhaps the most awesome hymn we rec ite on Rosh I lashana and Yom Kippur is the one describing God's attributes and deeds when He judges mankind BeYom haDin, on the Day of Judgment.

Unlike a mortal judge, the Divine Judge can look right into the hearts and minds of the accused and He knows their innermost thoughts when they come to be judged at that final trial.

I draw comfort from the thought that one day all those Nazi collaborators, the thousands of them, will have to stand before the Divine Judge. Unlike their vic­ tims, they lived out a life, in this world, of comfort and opulence after the war, with their vile deeds all nicely covered up and forgotten, unbelievably forgotten, so soon after the horrendous and hideous events they helped to perpetrate.

But when they stand arraigned at that final trial, all their elaborate lies and excuses wall not avail them; nothing can then be hid­ den or whitewashed. The Almighty knows, beyond any doubt, the precise and real extent ot their knowledge and what they thought and why they acted as they did.

From that Yom haDin there is no escape.

ENGLISH COURTS On a number of occasions the English Courts have had to deal with the defence of duress. The most recent case came before the Court of Appeal at the beginning of this year.

Four convicted killers, who claimed they had been ordered to kill and should have been allowed a defence of "duress", lost their appeals against their murder convic­ tions.

Lord Lane, the Lord Chief Justice, said that to allow a defendant who killed, to plead as a defence that he had acted under duress would be a "dangerous relaxation of the law In the libel action. Dering v Uris and Others heard in the High Court in London in 1964, the judge, Mr Justice Lawton, in the course of his summing up, touched on a problem which has exercised moralists throughout the ages: are there some things in life for which you cannot say that fear is a valid excuse for doing them?

Our law, he said, was that, certainly in regard to some acts, a defendant could plead that he did them in fear of his life or of grievous harm.

But, he went on, we had always said that fear was no excuse for murder, and proba­ bly the judges would say it was no excuse* for doing really serious injury. There came a jjoint at which one had to say “I will die rather than do this".

What should be done if, of two wayfarei in the desert, one had a little water while th other had none? If one of them should drin all the water, he would be able to get out < the desert alive. If they divided the wate both of them would die.

Ben Patura said it is better that bot should drink and die rather than one shoul behold his companion's death.

But Rabbi Akiva said: Scripture teache “Thy brother shall live with thee" (Levitici 25:36) - thy life takes precedence over h life. The words “live with thee' in the vers imply, as a condition precedent, that yo must be alive if he is to live with you.

FRANCIS BACON

Centuries later, Francis Bacon wrote in h Maxims" that if two shipwrecked me were clinging to a plank which was sufl cient only to support one. and one of ther pushed the other off. he would be exemf from any criminal liability because his cor duct was necessary to save his own life.

I suppose one could argue in favour c this view that this man - just as the wayfar* in the desert - did no direct bodily harm t the other and left him still with the chance c getting another plank!

EXPEDIENCY AT WHAT STAGE? At what stage is that point reached? it is a principle of Jewish jurisprudence that “the law exonerates him who acts under compul­ sion . But this was always subject to many provisos and. in particular, there were three* offences which a person must not commit even it it might cost him his life - murder, idolatry and immorality (gillui arayot).

The Talmud (Resachim 25b) recounts how a man came to Raba and said; The Prefec t ot m> town has ordered me to kill so and so, or he* will kill m e '.

Raba replied; “ Let him kill you; you must not commit murder. Why should you think that your blood is redder than his? Perhaps his is redder than yours*.

In other words no man can say that his own life is more valuable than his neighbours.

On the other hand, some Rabbis did not consider it wrong, in certain circumstances, for a man selfishly to try to save his own life; they recognised that, sometimes, the instinct for self-preservation is overw helm­ ing.

They also recognised that a person does owe a primary duty to himself; in the words ot Hillel: If I am not for myself, who is for me?

They debated the problem which was posed (Baba Metzia 62a) in this way: 20

Sir James Stephen, in his "History ofCrirr inal Law , thought it was just possible U imagine cases in which the expediency c breaking the law is so overwhelming! great, that people may be justified in breal* ing it; but he did not think such cases cou!< be defined beforehand.

Obviously, one such case would be th< doctor who finds it necessary to destroy , child at the approach of birth in order t< save the mother.

Again, where the question is not whicl one shall live, but vv hether any shall live - a where three mountaineers are rope< together but two of them slip and the thirc cuts the rope to save himself being dragget down to death with them - can we say tha criminal liability or even moral obloqu’ should attach to the survivor?

In the eighteenth century, in the case o Gregson v Gilbert (P83>, which was a civi action on a policy of marine insurance ti recover the value of 150 slaves who hat been thrown overboard during a voyagt because the casks of water were runnim short, and 100 slaves had already died o thirst, no doubt was suggested by anyone a to extreme necessity being capable o excusing even so awful an act as this.

But in the only reported case in English law where necessity was put forward as t defence to homicide, it failed.

ThiN was Regina v Dudley and Stephen* (14 Q .B .D . 2"3) where three men and c

by HIS HONOUR JU D G E ARO N O W EN boy escaped in an open boat from the ship­ wreck of the yacht "Mignonette". After hav­ ing passed eight days without food, the men killed the boy in order to eat his body. Four days later they were rescued by a passing ship.

On their arrival in England, two of the men were tried for the murder of the boy.

The Court of Queen's Bench declared emphatically that there is no general princi­ ple of law which entitled a man to take the life of an innocent person in order to pre­ serve his own.

'

have forgotten - is the overwhelming impor­ tance of individual responsibility.

And can there ever be any excuse at all for the unspeakable brutalities, the atrocities, the excesses which went far beyond orders?

[AUTHOR'S CO PYRIGH T]

DRAWING THE LINE Thus, according to both Jewish and English law, the line must certainly be drawn at murder.

The defence - so often heard in the trials of Nazi war criminals - of superior orders, of "I would have been shot if I had refused to obey", was shown, in any event, to be factually false, quite apart from moral con­ siderations.

Dr Hinricson, of the Central Agency set up at Ludwigsburg for investigating Nazi crimes, stated that men of the S.S. and others ordered to shoot prisoners-of-war, or to take part in the mass murder of concen­ tration camp victims, could have refused without danger to themselves. Further, under section 47 of the German Army Act, soldiers were not only allowed, but required, to refuse to obey any order that would involve a crime.

Proof of how easy it was to escape orders to kill was provided by S.S. Officer Willem Harms. At his trial at Ulm (concerning the responsibility of S.S. men for massacring Jews at Tilsit), he said he had been "excused" from shooting women and chil­ dren. His plea that it was "distasteful", as he had a wife and children of his own, had been accepted.

But this evidence backfired against him when he later pleaded "orders" for shooting men. The judge told him: "You have your­ self shown how easy it was to escape such orders".

Evidence was also given in the Dering libel case of how doctors courageously refused to carry out acts ordered by their Nazi captors, and they were not shot.

RESPONSIBILITY We would all pray never to be placed in the awful position of being faced with col­ laborating in a crime when disobedience means death.

But, in the final analysis, the decision rests on the individual and on his moral and spiritual beliefs.

What so many of the defendants, in the trials of Nazi war criminals, chose to forget - and what many collaborators appear to

JUDGE OWEN

Some Reflections on Holocaust Literature

by MARTIN LEDERMAN M.A. (OXON) here is a central paradox in Holocaust Literature: to accept the norms of the 'concentrationary uni­ verse' in which everything is abnor­ mal. It can be argued that the prim­ ary dilemma which permeates all Holocaust literature is whether it should be read as a text or as 'kaddish'; for one must respond as a reader, not as a participant.

Holocaust writers are faced with a crucial predicament - how to write about it, yet how not to write about it; what language can and cannot do in expressing such extremity.

By asking how does what happens to human form, the form of man, serious affect artistic form, we can perhaps move a little closer to evaluating the distortions of human­ ity that were carried out under the impact of Nazism. The challenge is as much a moral one as a literary one; for while the Egyptian-born Jewish critic EDMOND JABES, informs us that "at the origin there is language", the question arises as to whether lan­ guage is still there at the end.

Those who are in a position to judge, the survivor-artists them­ selves, have continued to debate

over whether art is appropriate to the Holocaust. ELIE WIESEL, perhaps the most well-known survivor, has said there is no such thing as a Litera­ ture of the Holocaust, nor can there be. The very expression is a con­ tradiction in terms, for Auschwitz negates any form of literature. A novel, according to Wiesel, "about Auschwitz is not a novel, or else it is not about Auschwitz". For PAUL CELAN, one of the great post-war poets said: "No one bears witness for the witness".

The dilemma, we know, that is central to all of Elie Wiesel's work is that the Holocaust demands speech as it threatens to impose silence. If it is blasphemy to write about the Holocaust and an injustice against the victims, then how much greater the injustice and more terrible the blasphemy to remain silent.

A serious experimentation with the symbols of the Holocaust, appears in the work of non-Jewish writers. Do non-Jewish writers cap­ ture the Holocaust experience in their fiction because they make no concession to hope or faith in litera­ ture and life?

In the later poetry of SYLVIA PLATH, the images of her skin as a Nazi lampshade, of ashes, a gold fil­ ling to invoke visions of her own death, coupled with the fantasy of her German-born father as a Nazi and herself as a Jewish victim, are manifestations of the process by which Plath came to regard herself as an "imaginary Jew from the con­ centration camp of the mind".

This raises many points of impor­ tance. For surely, anyone who uses the images of the camps to invoke personal traumas ought to have a (Continued on page 35)

Confrontation in Israe

by RABBI M. FRYDMAN

confrontation between the religious and the non-religious sectors of Israeli soci­ ety is not a new phenomenon in modern lewish history. The process started during the latter-half of the 19th century and gained momentum during the early decades of the present century.

The Socialist Movement, in its various forms, made a significant impact on the labouring masses of the Jewish people, especially in Russia, Poland and Eastern Europe. The tyrannical Czarist Government ruling over immense territories with an iron fist, encouraged the spread of anti-semitism and promoted cultural and physical perse­ cution of its Jewish population everywhere.

In the wake of the chaos and political upheavals of the period, Jewish youth rebel­ led against the established leadership of the Jewish community, and threw off the yoke of Torah and its prec epts, some playing an important role in the forefront of the socialist movements.

On the one hand, the majority of Jews remained loyal to Orthodox Judaism, and Yeshivoth flourished and prospered. On the other hand, a substantial sec tion of Jewish working youth established unions under the banner of the Bund', propagating an ideol­ ogy of pure Soc ialism in association with the national labour movements in their coun­ tries of sojourn. The leadership of the Bund assured themselves - with considerable naivity hat the adoption of Socialist ideol­ ogy would remove the accursed problem of

philosophers of the stature of Voltaire. The Haskalah movement, in its endeavours to modernise Jewish thinking in the belief that Judaism should advance hand-in-hand with European culture, undermined the structure of Traditional Judaism. Haskalah scholars questioned the authenticity of Torah and Halachah and as a result of their teaching, a substantial section of the Jewish people lost their way.

Secular Zionism came to the rescue of the lost Jewish masses. Zionism preached the ideology of Jewish nationalism - "Let us be a normal nation like the other nations", with a country of our own. At its inception, Zionism contained various ideological con­ cepts and facets, which might be categorised into three main groups: Middleclass Zionists with roots in Jewish tradition.

Right-wing and Left-wing Socialists. None of these* trends w ithin the Zionist Movement gave serious thought to the content of edu­ cation tor future Jewish generations, the planners assuming that secular culture in the new Jewish State could guarantee the con­ tinuity of the Jewish people.

The distinctiveness and unity of the Jewish people whic h had secured Jewish survival through the ages, was given no place in the “Tarbut educational system.

This new programme of education had already started in the Diaspora, Zionist primary and sec ondary sc hools having been

established Lithuania.

throughout

Poland

A cute Conflict

At this stage, the conflict became acut< and there was real confrontation betwee the Orthodox communities and the secuk Zionists whose approach to Jewish educ, tion were diametrically opposed. It was di ficult to find a modus vivendi.

The situation improved with the appea ance in the Zionist arena of the Mizrad Movement, which represented true, hi toric, traditional Zionism. The accession c Mizrachi to the Zionist Movement adde lustre and provided content to Zionist ideo ogy. Although Mizrachi paid a price for joir ing the World Zionist Organisation - crea ing a split in the Orthodox camp - th founding fathers of Mizrachi believed - an rightly so - that by w orking together with a sections of Jewry, it would create toleranc and mutual respect for one another. Th experiment has proved successful in rek tion to the development of the Yishuv ii Eretz Israel and in the establishment am progress of the Jew ish State.

However, in the field of education. Mu rachi has maintained a separate and distinc identity

anti-semitism.

Bitter Truth During the last World War, the bitter truth was revealed, when the Polish Socialist Party provided no help whatsoever for the beleaguered Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The Bund leader, Samuel Mordecai Zygelbojm, committed suicide in his despair at the failure of his Socialist Bund ideology.

A most severe blow to the Jewish people came with the advent of Russian Com­ munism, after the Revolution of 1 17.

Although Jews flocked to their ranks and gained prominence in the Communist hierarc hy, they did not realise that the Rus­ sian revolutionaries had set their mind on destroying Judaism, spiritually, c ulturally and physically. Communism betrayed the Jewish masses, propogating anti-semitism in the crudest way.

The lews of Eastern Europe learned the bitter truths of persecution and annihilation, imprisonment and concocted trials for alleged anti-Soviet activities. This was the reward tor Jewish participation in the Rus­ sian Revolution.

Even as long ago as the early days ot the 18th century Enlightenment, assimilation as a permanent solution for 'the Jewish Prob­ lem was propogated by thinkers and

an

vow)** u r a n runs

STANLEY ROSENTHAL SIDNEY HASS and their families I wish the D ayanim , President, H onorary O fficers , Executive o f the Federation and all co n cern ed with H am aor, a H appyt H ealthy and P rosperous New Year

rv

f •.

The secular education provided by the secular Zionist schools system failed utterly, since it lacked the idealism and enthusiasm for jewish values, which are enshrined in Torah culture. It failed to inculcate in its pupils a sense of belonging to the land or the conviction that the cause of Zionism is both meaningful and holy.

On the other hand, the schools estab­ lished by the National Religious Party - the equivalent of Mizrachi in the Israeli political system - produced generations of young men and women dedicated to the land, its people and its traditions.

Only a study of jewish history in depth can provide the understanding and tes­ timony that nothing can replace traditional Judaism as a means of preserving jewish existence and Jewish identity. No other cul­ ture or ideology can unite the Jewish people. Every honest student of Jewish his­ tory - and this applies to every faction in Jewry - must search his heart and soul in posing an honest question of debate: Where do the Jewish people intend to go?

What is their aim?

Can we really inspire our young people with ideologies totally alien to the Jewish character?

Can Jews survive as a People with­ out Torah and its Mitzvos?

What the current debate should be about is not about religious coercion. It must be about principles, that if we abandon them, we destroy the unity of the Jewish people. In particular, the sacred institution of halachic marriage and the principles of halachic divorce, the halachic definition of Jewish

>

nationality through conversion —if these are jettisoned there will result an unbridgeable division in Jewry, where whole families are barred from marrying into another.

These are problems which must be seri­ ously pondered. And one cannot imagine

that there are Jews today, however far they have strayed from historical Judaism, who do not wholeheartedly accept that we have a national obligation to preserve the future of the Jewish people and its prophetic destiny to be a Light unto the Nations.

\

.V.V. ///////i

Reception in honour of Rabbi Simcha Wasserman and Rabbi M. Chodosh of the Ohr Elchonon Yeshivah, Jerusalem in Morris Kasler Hall. Left to right: Dayan G. Lopian, Dayan I. Gukovitski, Rabbi Wasserman, Rabbi Chodosh,Mr. Morris Lederman, Dayan M. Fisher, Emeritus Rav Rashi (speaking).

B ib le Stories in R h y m e NO. 6 ABRAM'S GREAT MOVE

CORNER

As a reward for his faith, G-d spoke one day To Abram our father In order to say: //Leave this land Abram.

$

Number Please In each of the following sentences a number is missing. Insert the correct number from the circle in order to complete each sentence.

1

The period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is known as the .... days of repentence.

1.

I here are .... services in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.

i.

On Simchat Torah, we have .... hakafot (processions) around the synagogue in the evening and in the* morning.

4.

lonah spent .... days and nights inside the whale (we read the story on Yom Kippur in the afternoon.)

It is a tradition to blow *... notes on the* shofar on Rosh Hashanah.

().

7.

On Sukkot, we take the .... species and have a procession around tin* Synagogue each day just as in the Tem­ ple of old.

Shemini Atzeret, whic h is the day after Sukkot ends, means the ....th day of Solemn Assembly.

With acknowledgement to the Association lor Jewish Youth

Then all o f a sudden The Word came again: // This is the land You will ever retain //

I want you to know, Greatness awaits you In the place I will show

Then Abram bowed In thanks and in prayer Overwhelmed by this hi O f a land so rare.

A t the sound o f these words Abram felt a great thrill, Sacrificing all, G-d's command to fulfil.

Fruitful and flow ing With climate sublime, Fit for his children possess

Leaving behind Family, friends, native land.

Pursuing G-d's will Despite harsh desert sand.

But alas! What was this?

There was famine and drought!

Enough to cause anyone Question and doubt.

Abram, his wife.

His nephew as well.

Wondering w here They were destined to dwell.

But Abram had faith Which could overcome all.

Nothing could alter The fact o f His call.

0 \ e r the desert And oyer the land Onward together, A dedicated band.

Not so good now But better ahead, Not the end o f the story.

Much more to he said ...

Night followed day And day followed night, Till at long, long last They reached the great site.

(To he continued) D O E.

A Slightly Topical Prizewinning Crossword by D.O.E. ACROSS 1.

W ith this we have even thing.

Without it, nothing.

4. Blow it! / The Ten Commandments is such a wonderful episode thev made a out of it.

B. The Hebrew for this might be "Le-ma-aloh".

10. The Hebrew is "ko h ” . .

DOWN 1

3.

5. b.

9.

A Hebrew word meaning "You shall return” or "You shall repent".

"Fiddler on the ..."

G-d brought us out with an out­ stretched ... lonah found himself inside one.

Two words meaning: a good deal.

The Hebrew for this would be Abbo". **

WRITE TO US: Do you have a story to tell us about your school, your cheder?

We will print the best write soon.

Prizes will be* given for the first two correct solutions sent bv children under the age of 13 Send them to the Director of Education, London Talmud Torah Council, 9-11 Greatore> Street, London E l 5NF.

Word Puzzle Here are pictures of FOURTEEN objects you are likely to see during the month of Tishri, with all its beautiful customs and tradi­ tions.

They are all carefully in the puzzle, and are placed horizontally, vertically, diagon­ ally, forward and back.

HOW MANY CAN YOU FIND?

D ISHIKIDXK KIDDISHCUP ISRAFOHSCO DHPPFAARAI FPFPLHRONN N LU L A V O W D T W A A E G E T N LE OHTGORTEER RXOBECIPSY CPSIDDURIS

HAVE YOU HEARD THAT ONE? Cheder howlers past and present...

•

Question: A nsw er:

Name two anim als that are kosher Fish and horse

•

Question: A nsw er:

What are the signs of a kosher anim al?

It has fins and scales

•

Question: A nsw er:

What do you know about Eliezer and Rebecca at the well?

Eliezer wanted to m arry Rebecca and so he pretended to be young and asked for som e water for his donkey

Question: A nsw er:

What is a Machzor?

Bread which has not risen

A translation:

"And they shall be for front lights between your eyes".

•

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY? n

This is the "Seal of Israel designed by Michael Schwartz, an artist and new immigrant to Israel from the United States.

The seal is a replica of the State of Israel emblem, is gold and silver-plated and weighs 400lbs. It is now installed in the Knesset's main entrance hall alongside Marc Chagall's famous tapestries.

—

A SILVER JUBILEE FROM 1961.......... t is true that those were the exciting, pioneering years; hut we must not forget that the task of firmly establish­ ing and continuing the daily running of a Shut may not he as 'glamorous' as building from anew, hut it is as important and often harder to carry' out and to sustain, week after week, and month after month. Therefore it is only right and proper to mention

by W. U N G A R

»h

those lay-leaders who devoted time and effort in running our Shul and have under the spiritual leadership of our revered Rabbi, Dayan Braceiner, established Minhagim and a way of conducting Services and Shiurim as well as a friendly attitude to all visitors which has become the hallmark of our Synagogue and which is continu­ ing to this very day.

I joined this congregation in 19bI and remember Mr. Thei and Mr Best, both Wardens; the late Mr. Ismach, Mr. Shenk and Mr. Stoiler; the late Mr. Fishburn, Mr. jot' Cohen, both past Presidents and, of course, the late Joel Liftman and Harold Needleman who served this community for many years with love and devotion I woti Id like to mention the late Mr Fo\ who acted as Honorary' Baal koreh and Reader.

Of course, our thanks are due to all those who have either moved from the distric t or have gone on Aliyah. otherwise they would probably still be making their active contribution, like Dave Rosenthal and his wife Fay who ran our Friendship Club tor many years; the brothers Morris and Jeffrey Goldberg and Monju lietenbrunner. The late Mr Hajioft donated the Wardens Box'; Air. /. Weissrosc, Air. I. Reicht Mr. A. Joseph, Air. I. 5.

(Bunny) Lipman, and Harry Ashton who still keeps his close c onnec turn with us by attending every Sunday morning service.

Alany valuable and hardworking memlnvs have gone to the greener pastures of / tendon and Colders Green, like Alessrs. Wosner, Steinhart and Casper Cordon; also Rev Shisler and Howard Rich, both ( ha/anim, as was the late Air. Gordon; each ol whom have left their mark on our c ommunity and, we are a D I. Y shut as tar as davening is <one erntnl, the nitfunim they introduc ed are still being sung.

I am sure that I have bit out a number ot worthy meml)ers who hav e worked so hard for the good ol our beloved Shut. I ask them to for­ give my omissions.

However, I will not forget to men­ tion the President and the Hon. Offic­ ers of the Federation of Synagogues because in the 20-odd years I had the privilege to represent our community', I have always received the help I requested. Whether it was the build­ ing of our Ladies' gallery in 1964 or the major repair to the roof in 1980. or the loan of some Sifrei Torah, or help in the purchase of accommoda­ tion for our new Rav, I never came away empty-handed. On the other hand, the Finchley Central Synagogue has always kept its prom­ ise to repay and to repay on time.

Nevertheless, although we have always Ixen a 'safe investment', thanks to our Functions Committee, past and present, the relationship bet­ ween us, a constituent Synagogue and Head Office has always been most cordial.

Finally I would like to say that the way in which our Shul has Lxen managaed by its Rabbis and Lay-leaders has reflec ted itself in the type of Baalei-batim it has attracted over the years Alembers with a tolerant out­ look on their fellow memt>er\. but strict with their ow n observ.mce This is Ixirne out by the fact that we can boast of a daily morning and evening Minyan (although the latter net*ds nursing along by my colleague\ Dr

I. Smith); Shiurim twice weekly, Seudat Shlishit every Shabbat and a rota of 'laining' of the highest stan­ dard which gives me particularNachas when performed by our youngsters. I have had the pleasure to observe these young men and women grow up over the past years and I have seen them fill the posts of Rabbanim (four), doctors (eight), lawyers, solicitors and accountants (innumerable), scientists, dentists and a few businessmen. This may be very good for our standing in the academic world, but not so good for our financial situation.

I assure you. I feel very privileged to have the honour of being this com­ munity's President.

THE LADIES' G U IL D

ittle did I know in 1954. how involved my lale husbsand Harold, and I, would become in shul affairs, he as secretary of the shul tor 16 Years and mvself as secretary, and eventually chairman, of the Guild over a period of 25 years.

A PERSO N AL VIEW b\ BARBARA P. N EEDLEM AN When I joined the Guild, the chairman at the time was Jennie Wosner When she and her late husband iwho was also at one time a secretary of the shuh left the area, another

CONSULT THE EXPERTS FOR ALL YOUR TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

G0 0 DM0 S TOURS 9-13 ST. ANDREW STREET LONDON. EC4 3DH Telephone 01-353 8682 (10 lines) Tele* 21676

GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL HOUDA YS IN ISRAEL OUR SPECIALITY INSTANT COMPUTERISED RESERVATION SYSTEM WORLD WIDE BUSINESS TRAVEL SECTION KOSHER HOLIDAYS ABROAD DAILY SCHEDULED GROUP FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL FROM HEATHROW CRUISES

DAILY CHARTER FLIGHTS TO SWITZERLAND AND ITALY W FFK1Y CHARTERS TO ISRAEL FROM GATWICK

IATA

We have a reliable and efficient team of travel experts at your service ’ C A A LICENCE * ABTA * ATOL 502B

;JT1C*

fine lady, (the late) Mrs. Anne Schmerkin, took over. The secretary of the Guild during that time was (the late) Mrs. Rhoda Ashton, a very brave lady and dear friend.

In 1961, I took over from Rhoda as secret­ ary and was privileged to be associated with some wonderful, hardworking ladies, many of whom have now passed away. We ran jumble sales in various church halls, goodas-new shops, bring-and-buy coffee morn­ ings and evenings, flower arrangement evenings, make-up evenings and more besides. In 1970 we were delighted to pre­ sent the shul with a beautiful chupah. Over the years we have contributed many other items to the shul, in addition to which we have equipped the kitchen with all the croc­ kery, cutlery, glasses and other items neces­ sary for the many shul functions we under­ take.

We provide the plants in the shul for Shavuot, when we also cater the King David's Yahrzeit Seudah and donate parcels to the Jewish patients in Napsbury hospital.

We decorate the Succah and provide for Kiddushim; on Simchat Torah we cater the party and Kiddushim for the Chusanim. On Chanukah, TuB'shvat and Purim we provide refreshments and gifts for the cheder chil­ dren, and we have also undertaken the shopping for and catering of Kiddushim for the shul members. For Jewish Women's Week each year, we organise a house-tohouse collection. The organiser for our Guild is Mrs. Libby Sacks.

With a small band of ladies last year, we raised nearly £700. This year's figure is not yet available at the time of going to print,

but I believe it to be considerably more, which is no mean achievement for so small a group. We also make donations to many outside charities.

I have many memories of all the ups-anddowns over the 32 years I have been associated with the Guild, and you can appreciate that it is impossible to write it a down in the space allocated to me. should, however, like to pay special tribute to Mrs. Sylvia Godgin and Mrs. Libby Sacks, our two longest-serving members, for their hard work and loyal support over the many years we have worked together.

Rebbetzen Braceiner, thank you for the help, advice and support which you have given me over 25 years of friendship. How sad we all were when you moved away to Golders Green.

Finally, on behalf of the Guild, I should like to offer our congratulations to our shul on its Silver Jubilee, and to say how much we all look forward to its Golden Jubilee.

Postcript: Ladies who served the Guild in an offi­ cial capacity from the early 1950s to 1986: Chair­ men: Mrs. J. Wosner, Mrs. A.Schmerkin, Mrs. L. Sacks, Mrs. B. P. Needleman. Vice-Chairmen: Mrs. B. Lane, Mrs. A. Platzky, Mrs. A. Rebuck, Mrs. L. Sacks; Secretaries: Mrs. R. Ashton, Mrs. B. P. Needleman, Mrs. H. Preston, Mrs. D. Pick, Miss Z. Needleman, Mrs. H. Lustig; Treasurers: Mrs. L. Sacks, Mrs. Warren, Mrs. H. Goldman, Mrs. P. Vanner, Mrs. L. Offenbach, Miss Z. Needleman, Mrs. R. Litman, Mrs. L. Wosner; Cat­ ering Chairman: Mrs. S. Godgin.

Ladies who were not members of the shul, but were members of the Guild: Mrs. A. Weinberg, Mrs. B. Kass, Mrs. A. Platzky (all excellent hel­ pers).

THE FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES

DERASHOT IN HALACHAH AND AGGADAH WILL BE DELIVERED ON SHABBAT SHUVA, OCTOBER 11, AS FOLLOWS:

Dayan Gukovitzki SPRINGFIELD SYNAGOGUE Upper Clapton Road, E5 Dayan G. Lopian YESHURUN SYNAGOGUE Fernhurst Gardens, Edgware Dayan C. D. Kaplin SHOMREI HADATH SYNAGOGUE 527 Finchley Road, NW3 Rabbi B. Blau STAMFORD HILL BETH HAMEDRASH Lampard Grove, N16 Rabbi A. F. Herling EAST LONDON CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE Nelson Street, E l

After Mincha

Before Mincha

After Mincha

Before Mincha

Rabbi E.Salasnik WALTHAM FOREST HEBREW CONGREGATION Boundary Road, E17

Before Musaf

Rabbi M. L. Flax SINAI SYNAGOGUE Woodstock Avenue, NW11

After Mincha

Rabbi A. Greenberg W EST HACKNEY SYNAGOGUE Amhurst Road, E8

After Mincha

Rev. L. Gayer FIELDGATE STR EET GREAT SYNAGOGUE Fieldgate Street, E l (Rosh Hashanah)

After Mincha

Rev. H. Daviest CLAPTON FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE 47 Lea Bridge Road, E5

Before Musaf

Rabbi Z. Telsncr FINCHLEY CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE Redbournc Avenue, N3

After Mincha

Rev. M. Gingold WOOWICH & DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE Angelsca Road, SE27

Before Musaf

Rabbi Y. Marmorstein ILFORD FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE Coventry Road, Ilford

After Mincha

Mr. Vogel was President at the time of the appointment of the then Rabbi (now Dayan) Braceiner. He felt that the Rabbi sets the tone of the community, and now was the time to appoint someone who would set a strictly Orthodox tone, steeped in the learn­ ing and tradition of our Rabbis. Dayan Braceiner fitted all these requirements and, in addition, was a well-liked gentleman who understood the needs of the new commun­ ity.

The community in 1961 was, as now, a mixture of diverse elements: the traditional US Anglo-Jewish shul-goer who was used to a choir and a chazan, the shtieblnik and more learned elements. This mixture has always been part of Finchley Central, and all views have always been sought as efforts have been made to satisfy all elements of the kehilla.

Dayan Braceiner was formerly the Rov of Montague Road Beth Hamedrash and, before that, had taken over the Yerushalayim shul from his father. The East End shul consisted more of an elderly con­ gregation and most of the Dayan's shiurim had been conducted in Yiddish; but he quickly sensed the need for changes, and recognised the spiritual direction in which the Finchley Central required guidance, as a proper kehilla which now had a minyan every morning, with volunteers invited in order to ensure its continuance. He also took over the Shabbat afternoon Gemarah shiur (Bava Metzia at the time) and instituted a mid-week shiur which was held for many years in congregants' houses before it came to rest in the shul itself. Over the years sev­ eral masechtas were learnt, including Pesachim, Shabbat, Maccot, Berachat, Megillah, Bava Metzia, Kethuboth, Gittin and Bava Basra. A memorable double siyum was held several years ago, when Bava Basra (at 176 blatt the longest mesechta, which took 10 years to complete) and Kethoboth (the mid-week shiur) were completed at the same time.

When Dayan Braceiner came on Rosh Hashanah in 1961, there was no box for the honorary officers; nor was there a special seat for the Rabbi, so he sat at the front, next to the wardens. The bima had also not yet been built; it was constructed later, with funds donated by Mr. I. Hajoiff. Rabbi Braceiner, it should be recorded, lent the shul two Sifrei Torah, which are with us to this day.

Several now-firmly established minhagim were introduced by the Dayan. On Shavuot, on King David's Yahrzeit, psalms are said and a special Dovid Hamelech Seudah is held. Every Shabbat morning some learning was injected into the service; if there was no sermon, selected dinim from the Kitzur were read and studied. On Erev Pesach, Hallel was introduced: on the very

- Continued on next page

A SILVER jU BILEE first occasion Dayan Braceiner said, "I know you all like to go home earlier but I hope ten people will stay." Slowly this became the custom of the shul. Further, we now always have Hakofot on Shemini Atzeret; our Cohanim also now duchan on second day Vomtov if it falls on Shabbat, although they at first objected to this prac­ tice.

The cheder grew during this period under Rev. Meyers; the Dayan took over, and Rev. Meyers carried on as a teacher with great dedication. Boys were not encouraged to stay on after barmitzvah, and an extra shiur was held for them on Friday night after the service, despite the caretaker's complaints.

Some of the boys continued their studies into Veshivot.

Despite opposition, Dayan Braceiner obtained a promise that no more dances would be held in the shul hall; in return, he supported the functions committee, in all its other activities. On the subject of money, the morning tzedakah box was introduced during the weekday minyan, and the Gemillut Chesed fund - which has done so muc h good work over the years - was estab­ lished.

When the Dayan came to the shul it had no library and no kelim mikvah. He prop­ osed the creation of the library in 1963, and obtained from a private individual a 1900 Vilna edition of Rambam. Together with Mr Weisrose he established a kinyan sefohm, and one ( an easily see now how the library has grown from its modest l>eginnings The kelim mikvah was a different matter. When Dayan Braceiner proposed it, he was met with rear lions ranging through fierce oppos­ ition, indifference and laziness. The Dayan persevered and, having s«i ured private donations, succeeded in having the mikvah built. The kelim mikvah is now in constant use, and serves the wider Jewish com ­ munities from neighbouring shuls.

When Dayan Braceiner retired in 1981, the widespread esteem and affection in which he was held could Ik * seen from the scale of the gathering at the S o Ih *I Centre, where over 200 people came to pay their respects, and from the fact that the minhagim instituted by him were main­ tained by the kehilla after his departure (even the Yol/erot on Yomim Tovim) In the* year alter his retirement, baalei batim stood up to be counted and gave a short talk on the Sedra each w't*ek after the Shabbat morning servic e, so as not to break the trad­ ition. The Shabbat afternoon shiur was also kept going.

1he divroi torah given by the Dayan at the Shalosh Seudah on Shabbat afternoon were carried on by the young boys of the com ­ munity (a most fitting tribute to his impetus).

O n the subject of the Shalosh Seudah, this got off the ground many years ago through the perseverencc o! Mr, A. Reiner, and was continued through his proteges, the Joseph boys, I larold Needleman and Neil IVter man. The tradition has been maintained to this day by Stephen Dresner who, with his son Tristan, has even extended the shuts hospitality so as to provide a repast on Shabbat Pesach and Succot.

RABBI Z.H. TELSNER a new era D a y a n Braceiner's successor as Rov of Finchley Central is Rabbi Z. H. Telsner. Born in New York, Rabbi Telsner first studied at the Rabbi |acob Joseph School on the Lower East Side (the oldest Jewish day school in America). He then attended the Yeshiva University High School, from which he graduated to Luhavitch Yeshiva in Kfar Chabad, Israel.

Returning to Brooklyn, he continued his studies at the Central Luhavitch Yeshiva. He is married to Miriam, daughter of Rabbi Isaac Groner (Head of Luhavitch in Australia) and has eight children. Rabbi Telsner received his Rabbinic ordination and Dayanoth from Luhavitch Rabbinic KolleJ. Later, Rabbi Telsner came to Lon­ don, accepting a call to become a luhavitch student counsellor with also some responsibility for adult education in the wider Jewish com ­ munity. In the course of his work, he has travelled all over Europe, Israel, Australia and America delivering a wide range of lectures and shiurim.

He accepted a further call in 1984 to become Rov of the Finchley Central shul, being formally inducted into office on 13 January 198s. He has, in a relativelv short lime, won affection from the whole community, both for his warm manner and for his leam-

ing. He has instituted, during the winter months, a series of Friday night sedra shiurim after the service, and has covered a wide range of divergent topics in his mid-week shiurim, from halacha and philosophy to music and Rabbinical biography. The Shabbat afternoon shiur which he has taken over, con­ tinues to be well attended, with the prospect of a sivum in the very near future to mark the completion of tractate Shabbat (which has taken some eight years). His wife, Miriam, gives a ladies shiur at her home every Wednesday morning and this has proved a welcome innovation.

Rabbi Telsner has continued the traditions of the shul, and has even extended its learning activities so as to cover Bank Holidavs and the occa­ sional Sundav night lecture. He is a major contributor to the Tikkun Leil on Shavuot night, and his 'Ethics of the Father' talks at each Shalosh Seudah through the summer are eagerly anticipated. For a part time' Rov he is seemingJv ever at our dis­ posal, and hi% gentle prodding and suggestions from the pulpit are bound to result in the kehilla s better­ ment.

We all kx)k forward to a long and happy association with Rabbi Telsner and his family.

CONMORE lA T E H E K S (CONNY SHACK) L ic e n s e d by F e d e r a t io n B e th D in and London K a th ru a Board

MSH AND D A IRY FOODS O U R S P E C IA L IT Y MID-WEEK AND SUNDAYS ANY HALL 67 BEEH IV E LANE, R ED BR ID G E, E S S E X T e le p h o n e : 0 1 - 5 5 4 7 3 7 5 or 0 1 - 2 4 7 0 0 3 9 D ay

10

â&#x153;&#x201C;

**

'r-

J

i \

H

NOTICE TO THE JEWISH PUBLIC Federation of Synagogues

LONDON KASHRUS BOARD Enquiries: Secretary, Morris Lederman House, 9 -1 1 Greatorex Street, E.1. Telephone 01-247 4471 The following establishm ents are licensed by the London Kashrus Board and are under the supervision o f the Beth Din o f the Federation o f Syn agogu es: TEL.N O S

RESTA U RAN TS AND SHOPS Aviv Restaurant 87 High Street, Edgware M. Bloom (Kosher) & Son Ltd 90 Whitechapel High Street, E1 130 Golders Green Road, NW11 Goodies' Delicatessen and Bakery 188-190 Kenton Road, Kenton Middlesex and 6 Hendon Lane, London N3 Just Cakes 648 Kingsbury Road, London NW9 * Kosher Luncheon Club Kasler Hall, Greatorex Street, London E1 Or-Li Restaurant 293 Finchley Road, London NW3 * Pizza Pitta 119 Golders Green Road, London NW11 Reuben's Deli-Restaurant 20a Baker Street, London W1 Silpak Kosher Food Centre 360 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, Middlesex Steve's Delicatessen 228 Station Road, Edgware Steve's Kosher Kitchen 5 Canons Corner, Stanm ore Zaki's (Arinlake) 634 Finchley Road, London NW11

952 2482 247 6835 455 1338 907 0159 349 1674 204 2292 247 0039 794 7924 455 8921 486 7079 958 2692/8682 958 7340 958 9446 458 2012

C A TERERS Bournemouth Banqueting Co. Ltd Glencairn Manor Hotel, Manor Road, Bournemouth * Conmore Caterers 67 Beehive Lane, Ilford, Essex Mr David's Choice Banquets 50 Gordon Avenue, Stanm ore, M iddlesexx HA7 3QH Grosvenor Rooms Ltd 92 Walm Lane, London NW2 Kenneth Arfin Banqueting (In London Only)

0202 27636 (Day) 247 0039 (Eve) 554 7375 954 6227 451 0066 0202 24524/765910

Prince Regent Kosher Catering Ltd Prince Regent Rooms, Manor Road, Woodford Green, Regal Caterers 57 Shenley Avenue, Ruislip Manor, M iddlesex HA4 6BT Samuel Caterers 'Chanticleer', Paxton Road, Tottenham, London N17

504 7635 71 32934 808 9794/5

* PAREV AND MILK ONLY MANUFACTURERS (only when bearing the label of London Kashrus Board) Eliko Food Distributors (Cheese) Unit D, A shley Works, A shley Road, London N17 9 LJ Trident Food Products Unit 6, Milmead Industrial Centre, Millmead Road, Tottenham, London N17 9QU HOTELS Gaynes Park The M ansion, G aynes Park, Coopersale, Nr. Epping, Glencairn Manor Hotel Manor Road, Bournem outh, Dorset Golders Green Guest House 7 North End Road, London NW11

CM16 4BR

801 4311

808 3316

78 72566 0202 27636 455 8594

f

.a _c ex o

ir»

21 * to

o

to SI r. -

03 c

to a

S

f

v/1

3

J lA>

a;

a;

c

-

5

03 .2

£

tj

v/»

J=

c

O

a;

^ ■ 5 - °

a;

2

c

U ~ ^

_

<D . c

0

0

^ -

”

=

>•

§ 5

^

-C

"” 'k_

0;

5

2

«

a

re t-

03

_c 2

i - g J i P *"'

DC

£

13

N

U 13

□ O

03 . _

13

O2 -C

£

—

£

O

~

C -P

.c

0 3 w-

>.

^

o

03

^

c

3

> *

i Q1 -

O

U-l <N

CD

£

r~ >♦ -

u

.=

in

rZ

>? * . £

-I a

5

0 .( 7 )

—d

to

«✓» o C

u

$ .£

3 13

—*

2

m

- ! l i > c c J: _ u C </> C .

c - g "O ■ § c o C 2 ^

^

X

03

</»

k - O ^ Q .^ ^ £ 7 3 »/>

c

S£ >

</>

P? CO

,/.

;> * E 03 P

—

^ £

-C —

£3

*> ?-8

a; .2 ° 00E 2 ^^3^ 3

00 03 . t r

DC

qj

a

03

ro

ESc cd

a; • t: VP

03 •— ^ Q.

to - c

8

o o ^ “P - f <d — .<■

3

5

</»

1/^ -

i ;

• .±

c o

So

^

a; '■ o CD

a*

A -

“S ill ! 1 55 § sj J 1 1

~ os c X u _a;

&8

■ g

jfr }|- £ a> a» - c

a; * z J 5

5 & fc 2

a;

*

to

± ~ ° u ^ $ e

o

;/»

"O

i S c S .2 oc E u * . - 3 c . .*> »z £ 3 2 r d 2

co c

E f £ •£ -r

v>■

E

B <Z n~C L

£

\S>

to u.

1 - °

* .s i: 3 ;3 2

5

£ 2

D

- -

2

2

-

C -T >

to

CL C7 * -

ir, a;

c

C C

2

— _ ? § : c £ o UJ C O U

5 E

=

•= • 5 u

v

W

JS - 5

-tz — ^ —

>

S7 • T -O

3

o *= - -

* '

2

: .tc

Si

C r- fij — ^ ^ r C «/» a> — S ~ •C (/k 5 °

O

to

—— «/> ^

*

*-

'C

r- =

or 0 ^ 2 -5 o tn

co £ •!D —

O

2 5 ~ ^

o:

<D

r E | S C> i> O . ^ l/%

* S

C; c 5 C •c

o 3

S

-2

u

o

O t;

E

5

£

TD

^

r~

o

wri .

a> > . j = lA /-N

c o -

a 3

U

—

£

2

D T3 c o o

a>

%L —

0cC D O 2 5 C •> •/•1-“O 0 3 r ~ < S ) i0s3: kto U < fZ t o > ■ 3E Tto J 1c3 “cOi/> o w _: £a 0 C D > ■0 03 J —__

a»

co to O u

c ar- 2^~

> -^ : ' -

U

o —

7

a»

^

§

1

-s k-

> 2

1 g >. ^ « * "

v f-O 2

c;

I

-

c

SP CO

C

3

S Eii-21 >

.y

c 3

ai

o -£

^

c

to ^to 3 P: 0 -0 (^ 3

c

a>

i/> £ C 05 a> o u 3 * —

CQ '<£> rz

to

3

co S -

o; >

.*= ^

to

x

^

c= —>>

O

o u

£

2

03

, -

3 5

•2 «

IS ) »

J

|

Ut o

CO C "C t= O - o £ . £ p U S 2-0 a J c 2 £ . £ J 2 • £ 12 — •— ^

2

z*

to

to

C3

u 03

“5 .£

c

^ ~

in

- K So Sr ' C£

k-

U !-0

C

C

03

«

* 3

c

—

= 5

HI ; |

^

^

|

5

-

$

a; o

*"

co

.0

to

^ t> > nj

oa £ O

•P

^

03

!r f%

53

a; .

lai

CO ^ c 1 2

£

vl o 03

£

a;

a>

3

.

°

.£

8 1 a. _§

2 1^1

.h c

^ £

£

c

O p

CO ~zz — ^ — O .tr

£

"<=T3 c

c2 £(J

^ to rz

0;

3 0

3

^ .£

-5

to -O tr 0; > a J c :c

»

^to^

*✓>

’-,i to c o c o < £ os •£ z = a>

s ^ 2 > - 2 -d —

—'

a>

§ °

a»

£ O

^

to

S DO

u

C

03

CD

a ± :

.

03

x P

p

Qj

03

CD P

•— r*

a? - g

2

^

0 ^

*a» P * = o ^ O C ^ i o £ £

c P 7i/i

c

-t:

CD

O ' CD O

9C £

2

S

I

f

!

DO C <

' W •— V >

QJ “

r—

5 >3 '✓

•3 A

KT, rr> —

5

<u 03

°

£

!f .2s s o

-

&

z

to

03 ^C

^3

S

£

i=

03 “O C “O CD 03 CD DO

— n.

03 •— *“

u.

Xn 2 .£

S*

r

03

CD

O

o

oi

N o * n 2

E

Q;

,

<D

x

-n

i ^ - Z “O

^

(D 2 •- _ w . r-

03

g

s

c

8

£

Jc

O

• C a e n ' S 5 J-

g ? ^ 3 r P -c 8 £ £ £ a ? u i £ > o

*■ 0

o>

03 •=7=

8

l

c ‘7 5 1 « O o U p •- y p O -2

■ S s

■=

s.

. 5 2 > _

Je

q

. i=

d

03

|

, ° “ i

o

=B - £

1 w '0 2

C

*

id

— s

£ ^-

U «o

S - * - s

|

-

0 a

u

j s s ^ £-^*03

f

i

E

s

e

^

r^i

£ CL rz c: t o ^ £ n S - ° 5 ^ o . S C ;^ | e 2 E ^ 5 § §

£

-

5

c

i o X

§

£

;

■ S 8

8 n

55 o

c

£

N

^

CD Z

U

^ I

CD c o ^ ;

•8

c

DO^ r cr

F l

~ to ^ s> * z —

h -£ h E O

c

e

v/^ «3

e c s> D *"“

*- 2Z to to

toO

c.

O 03

| g

I "3 «-g to O 03

.ff

o £ I -f I o o ’ j ; $ 5!

1 !?

g .8

” ■

i

^

^

S

g x £ “5

CD "O

In i

1 ^o

^

O

c

oT 2 x m

S 8 — k/i . _ 03 J- i/>

S

c .9 E

0

- I I J

= i

S - o a- _ v % . r~ «ri

— o» •• c o

0

^

2 o-oI-E c

03 ‘ > . " 0 "O

*g

S

CO

£ o 8 ^ ji RI-& ? 2(S| I ^-E ^ ;

CD

i

5

I;

e|

N

- 3

o ^

^ ° ' r —

=

r:

■ i:

( J — .£

^

O

o: ^a .-2* •■ =.O.2.c E

(✓>

c —o

n C

2

s - 8 s ‘ |

3 8c 0 8 - 7Z c!

j£ ^

■ c ^ = c w ’C ' c C O ^ C C D • C nj f l a q i o « D O ^

S'

^ <

1^-ISl

^

2

V:

7* 03 .£ O U

2 "O.*£ CD

^ 03 ^

g -o

O U CD r-T 03 t7> 03 •z c * E — 03 c 21

t^

i l s “1 (D

*2

j i C :

*S r S u

E •o

c

E fU

—

> '5

f

g E -C

i

-2

c

>r t:

Q .j|

C sD O^

r-

o ^ u •- to to ^ __

S>

^ni n- r CuD -* 2

^

o

—

-

to --

o

13 03 1 3 C C tD . 03 O > •— C 03 13 E £ Q to U a

o <✓> 03 03

• —»

CO p

“ w “—

O

t o - C - Z l

» <D •w -C

O j0

5A»

>- £ ro

•r

» u ro *£ ro 03 c C^

o

to

Z?

o • £ •-• tS\ JZ O c to .2 _c O ^ 03 J

a>

03 ^ > .

q

CD C 03 8 -C O

3

°

■

■ 6 2 0

D U c ’vr» rz £ Cl u k_ S ' a. £ _D 13 C • I 2 <5 -s CD . f~ 1 3 § 8 i £ 03 2 c c 1 r o • ® U ID CD ro c a. £ ex

■

C £ 5 r Sf

1

>- CJ —£ —

c D

a*

” X

2 2 5

03

cw£ / i 03 £ 2 co42 o u- ^-5 -Q (D < 03

jz

00 CO J .

03

3 CL to

—s O O

<

DO

»

/•» —a

.

^

i

sp

n1

13

>-

k/5

C 3 O Q

— ^

to

.3

s -, e

03

0

i 1 O to

” 2^

n w

to

C

I

S

q . r

t

o

S ! ^ CO ^ — o: to Zj c ^1 >K Ol . —

CO

-

p

3 C «C’ o o ^ CO'c; C O C o

» CJ , I to * : = !r( “ o

0

^

/*• z <

o

✓k fl _ T3 C C

c

—

E

CD 8

C

M fl)

c

c > — £ >

a

P

3t * 3 J CD 2 ‘ C

5 = 3 a 1 -o

i.E

1 . ^ .

■ ••

VV

?

»>,V

1

343 /

1

U'

t

)

BERLIN JEWRY: TOWARDS THE BITTER END Hungarian refugees had arrived in Shan­ ghai , many of whom required assistance from a committee formed by local Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews. In spite of the great hardships, nearly all refugees there sur­ vived the war. ,h)

Kitchener Camp Notwithstanding the obstacles, many German and Austrian jews managed to leave the country between November 1938 and America's entry into the war, among them the 3000 who were saved by the establishment in 1939 of the Kitchener Refugee Camp in Richborough Kent, refer­ red to at the beginning of this series of arti­ cles CHamaor', August 1983). In many cases it required considerable mental ingenuity to escape from Germany in time.

One remarkable example of this was recently related by Rabbi Chaim Pearlman about Rabbi Dr. Michael Munk, son of Rabbi Dr. Ezra Munk. At a time when it had become almost impossible for German jews to leave the country, Rabbi Michael Munk from Berlin wrote to his brother. Rabbi Dr. Eli Munk (founder of Munk's Shul in Golders Green), who looked very much like him.

Knowing that letters from Germany were closely scrutinised, Michael in his letter quoted a well-known Talmudic passage '£n

p a ss b e sa lo

(literally, 'there is no bread in his

basket').

Although later on, many European Jews were to experience starvation, this time had not yet arrived, and thus Rabbi Eli realised that his brother was in urgent need of a passport ('Pass' in German). On condition that the passport should be used only to save life, Eli had his own (British) passport smuggled to Michael in Berlin, enabling him to get out of Germany to Antwerp. Out of immediate danger, Michael sent the passport back to London and waited in Antwerp until he acquired the necessary papers to enter England.

Michael Munk who formerly had been of great help to his father in many rabbinical and related tasks (for example in the fight for Shechita), later became the first Rav of the newly-established Hendon Adass Yisroel, and immediately after the war the first Orthodox Rabbi of the re-established Jewish Congregation in Berlin. ' What was the fate of those jews who did not manage to leave Germany? Some were hidden by courageous Gentiles and sur­ vived perilously as so-called U-Boote' ( Unterseeboote' = submarines) *'; out of 5,000 only 1,000 survived. 9 The majority, how­ ever, like the rest of their European Jewish brethren and sisters perished in the Nazi annihilation and concentration camps.

On October 18th, 1941, the first so-called 'Ost-Transport' left Berlin, taking 500 Berlin lews to the East. This was the first of 63 such Transports carrying over 35,000 Jews to their deaths; less than one per cent returned.<M > Even at a time when the war was clearly lost for Germany, the Nazis did not forget to carry out what for them was a

priority task: the transports continued. The last two from Berlin in March/April 1945 took 13 women to Ravensbruck Concentra­ tion Camp and 11 men to Sachsenhausen.

Extreme youth and old age of course were no bar to Nazi cruelty and murder: besides the 63 annihilation-transports a further 117 'Alterstransporte' (old-age transports) took 14,795 elderly Jews to Theresienstadt, for many of them the prelude to Auschwitz.

A Moving Account

A

moving eye-witness account of the last days of the Berlin Adass was given by Max Sinasohn, headmaster of Adass primary school, who late in 1942 with his wife miraculously escaped to Belgium where they survived the war in hiding. !I In spite of the many difficulties encountered since 1933 - such as the growing number of pupils expelled from non-Jewish schools, frequent changes of teachers, Gentile teachers leaving and many Jewish teachers emigrating - lessons at the school went on as before. The last Abiturienten (A-level) examinations took place in February 1939; the schools had to close in March 1939 after 20 years of successful work.

The Artilliestrasse and Siegmundshot Adass synagogues had escaped destruction on November 9th, 1938 because they did not appear in the “Judische Gemeinde" list of synagogues and therefore the SA mob was unaware of their existence.13' On December 19th. 1939, however, the Ges­ tapo ordered them to be closed, so the (Continued on next page)

“OrtSrv,

'5 s s J S ' I 19,; n to S N achcJ^ a§e of to?. hausen h

sP°rts a l H s fc tiansDor,her II?

t

< C ** " • wit: ,prS ) RdL? hls «e !> « n w | ldln®1,1Inspileof ^countered )W, ln§ •number 0 n.u.. i n'Je.wish schools VJCIIUP eachers.' Gentile y )7 'sh teachers e scfl°ol went U onII Jr|enten' (A.|eve|, n February 1939.

March 1939 after Y '4 2

J Siegmundshof aped destruction tecause they did e Gemeinde' list ore the SA mob existence.01 On wever, the Cesclosed, so the

d o n next page)

Adass institutions ceased to function after existing for 70 years. Nevertheless the Sieg­ mundshof Synagogue - with a secret succah erected in its forecourt in 1940 - was used until the summer of 1941, with the wor­ shippers seated low on the last occasion, as on Tishah B'av. After the Siegmundshof ser­ vices were stopped, the Minyan continued in the weekday prayer room of the Judische Gemeinde Synagogue in the nearby Levetzowstrasse. Very soon, however, the Ges­ tapo started to use this Synagogue as an assembly centre for those Jews about to be deported, and so a small room in the same district ('Hansaviertel', previously a centre of pulsating Jewish religious life) became the last prayer room for the surviving remainder.

Here men forced to do hard labour on Shabbat morning, came in the afternoon to hear the Sidrah and to read Mussaph and Mincha. Sinasohn's book closes with the names of the few who were still attending at the end of 1942, (all of whom ended up as victims of the Nazi terror) and with the plea: 'Honour their memory! There is no forget­ ting'.

Half A Century On

A nnihilated and Forgotten-Adass Yisroel,

Berlin, 1969-1941' was the poignant title of an exhibition that opened in West Berlin in June, this year. Among the first to view this exhibition were 60 or 70 former Adass school pupils who with their spouses were invited by the Berlin Senate to re-visit the sites of the former Adass institutions synagogues, schools, 'Rabbiner-Seminar', 'Krankenheim' (hospital) and Beth Hachaim (cemetary) situated in East Berlin.

The idea of the Exhibition was an attempt to preserve the memory of 'a small but inf­ luential, Orthodox community' with a dis­ play of photographs of its institutions, its leading Rabbis and lay members, as well as many documents, including copies of Ges­ tapo Deportation Orders. The ex-pupils invited were mostly children of former Adass committee members. There were har­ rowing moments for those who found old documents relating to the fate of their parents, and for everyone on seeing the Deportation Orders for the school's direc­ tor, Nehemia Schlesinger, his wife and all of his nine children, bearing his signature on the eve of the deportation in December 1942.

The visitors came in the main from Israel, about 15 from Britain and the rest from the United States, France, Switzerland and Swe­ den. For most it was their first post-war visit to Berlin. I had been back to attend medical conferences and on one occasion, in 1962, visited the sites of old, destroyed synagogues and schools as well as the two cemeteries in Weissensee of both the Adass and the Grosse Judische Gemeinde. At the time, standing there alone, I was overcome by the stark contrast between the now silent ruins and the once flourishing life that had pulsated within their walls. On this occasion last June, our group visited the same places but sharing experiences and feelings with others who came from similar backgrounds, made this journey into the past easier to bear and an experience which none of us would have wanted to miss.

Both the West- and East-Berlin authorities went out of their way to make the visits as comfortable as possible. Leading represen­ tatives spoke at the functions and co-ordina­ tion between East and West was quite amaz­ ing. Perhaps the most memorable experi­ ence for us was revisiting the Adass Beth Hachaim in East Berlin. On my last visit, some eight years ago, the cemetery resem­ bled a jungle with the surrounding fence gone, the tombstones shattered and lying all over the place. However a remarkable restoration programme has been carried out in recent months after the East German Head of State, Erich Honecker, was approached by Dr. Mario Offenberg, whose family was long connected with the Adass and, returning to Berlin some years earlier, had suggested this Adass pupils' gettogether. It had taken workmen six months of hard labour, greatly assisted by voluntary work by theological students of East Berlin University, to completely transform the place. Of the 3,000 tombstones, 2,400 had to be restored.

The site of the cemetery had been acquired by the Adass in 1873 after the Grosse Judische Gemeinde Board had refused the burial on its own ground of any Adass 'Austrittler' (i.e. secessionists from the 'Gemeinde'), explaining its stand to Rav Esriel Hildesheimer, the first Rabbi of the Adass Congregation formed a few years ear­ lier: "If Hildesheimer doesn't want to live together with us, he will not be buried with u s ! " (3) The Adass Beth Olam was used for exactly 100 years until 1974 after which it stood neglected until 1986. During our visit, on June 26, an impressive Memorial Stone, commemorating the Adass members mur­ dered in the Holocaust, was unveiled in the presence also of members of the very small East Berlin Jewish Congregation, East Ger­ man officials and the students who had toiled so hard to make the transformation possible. The Chazan of the only remaining East Berlin Synagogue (Ryke Strasse), recited Kel Moleh Rachamim.

Memorial Plaques Memorial plaques were also unveiled when on the same day in East Berlin we vis­ ited the sites of the Adass' main Synagogue in the Artilleriestrasse (now renamed Tucholskistrasse), the famous Hildesheimer Rabbiner Seminary (whose pupils were to lead Orthodox congregations all over the world) situated in the same building, the Adass 'Krankenheim' (the smaller of the two Jewish hospitals in pre-war Berlin) and also the site of the old 'Grosse Gemeinde' cemet­ ery in the Grosse Hamburgerstrasse. This area, like the Levetzow and Artilleriestrasse Synagogues in the tragic years of 1941/2, served as Gestapo assembly stations for the doomed. In West Berlin, our main visit was to the site of the former Synagogue and to the schools (Realgymnasium and Lyceum) at Siegmundshof, where a monument was unveiled. There was also a reception at which the Mayor of Berlin welcomed the visitors, a tour of the Hansaviertel and a visit to the old Plotzensee Prison where the offic­ ers involved in the 1944 plot against Hitler had been hung from meathooks and slowly strangled. This was a reminder that some 35

non-Jews too had opposed the Nazis, as was of course evident in the number of Ger­ man Gentiles who risked their own lives hid­ ing Jews in their homes.

Today's small Judische Gemeinde in West Berlin has its headquarters in the building of the former (Liberal) Synagogue in the Fasanenstrasse (see photograph in Hamaor, Sept. 1985, p. 25). It also houses the kosher restaurant where we had our meals, and where we were told of the work of the new Berlin Gemeinde by its very active chair­ man, Heinz Galinski. Besides having our own weekday Minyan in the hotel, we attended the Shabbat Morning services in the Orthodox Synagogue in the Joachimsthaler (in pre-Nazi times the home of the B'nai Brith). Liberal Services are held in the former Conservative Synagogue in the Pestalozzistrasse.

Of course it was not all sad memories of institutions and men and women no longer with us, of a once-flourishing community that is no more, and of a world that has gone. We met people with whom we had shared school-benches more than half-acentury ago and with whom we could talk about the good and not so good old times, about examination headaches, about easy­ going and strict teachers. There were in fact four former Adass teachers among us, two with our contingent from England; one was Mr. Albert Meyer, himself a former Adass School pupil, in 1944 the first schoolmaster to be appointed to the newly-established (Continued on next page)

SOME REFLECTIONS ON HOLOCAUST LITERATURE' (Continued from page 21) very precise sense of the enormity of what he or she is suggesting. Plath's use of these symbols is an indication of the widespread diffusion of the imagery of the Holocaust in Western culture. It also represents a kind of devaluation of the particularity, as well as the enormity of the historical period.

By attempting to generalise or universalise the victims of the Holocaust, does this not only pro­ fane their memories but also exoner­ ate their executioners?

What emerges throughout the works by non-survivors is a tendency to distort either by way of reduction or by faulty extension. Neither way is capa­ ble of capturing the historical period and carrying it over into art. The problem in its finality revolves around language and whether there exists a language that is able to reflect the Holocaust authentically; authentic literature, according to the critic T. ADORNO, rested on 'tension and dislocation' by which Art after Auschwitz criticises its own exis­ tence. In P. Celan, Adorno saw these two qualities exist, yet it was Celan who spent the greater part of his life creating his own language, free from universal usage and abuse.

BERLIN JEWRY: TOWARDS THE BITTER END Hasmonean School, he became a direct link between Berlin Adass and the London Hasmonean Schools. Two other members of our group were Mr. H.W. Freyhan, teacher and eminent music critic formerly writing for Berlin and later for English Jewish journals; and Mr. Ken Gradon, Chairman of the British and European Maccabi and of the Board of Governors of Hasmonean Schools. One former Adass School pupil who had very much looked forward to this visit was Dr. jascha Rabinowitsch, who sadly died a week before the planned trip. A leading London Consultant Radiologist, he was for many years Honorary Medical Adviser to the jewish Blind Society and a Past President of the jewish Medical Society.

If one were to include the name of Rabbi Dr. I. jakobovits (though he was not present on this occasion) as an ex-pupil of the Adass School, it is evident that ex-pupils and staff of these institutions have contributed their fair share to the religious and cultural life of post-war Anglo-jewry.

Since the war, German Jewry has been t riticised - not only for the spread of assimi­ lation, for mixed marriages and for fre­ quently appearing to be more German than the Germans'; and the* Orthodox section has often been criticised for its 'Torah im I kvtH h Eretz' approach. In 1869 the Berlin \dass had been founded as an answer to *then ever-rising spread of Reform and of milation movements. Of the visiting ex­

pupils who left school between the late 1920's to the late 1930's approximately 90 per cent were Shomrei Shabbath and Mitzvot.

They were also well-educated, steady and industrious workers in trade, business, profession or on the land, courteous, friendly and helpful to others.

They had remained faithful to their old teaching throughout their lives though scat­ tered all over the world, often cut off from their families, some of whom they were never to see again, themselves enduring great hardships. If they were a representa­ tive sample of the surviving remnant of male and female Adass Yisroel pupils, these schools and the Torah im D e r e c h E retz approach have not been too unsuccessful after all!

In April 1938 the pupils journal of the Adass Obertertia (15-year-olds) bade the fol­ lowing farewell to its readers: 121

toiled in these very places until the bitter end, and who finally died A l K id du sh H a sh e m .

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ •a-☆ ☆ ☆ BiMiography Strautt. H.A.:in: Gegrmwarl und RuckbTick Lothar Sliefwn. Heidetoerg, 1970. pp. 25-S5 l* o Baeck Institute Year Book 1985. Seeker & Warburg, London Wunk. M .l.:an ‘Gegrrmart und Ruckbfick , 1970. pp. 130-149 Ntmhaum. M.: ibid. pp. 239-247 Prina. J-: Slid. 231-238 Xauffnvann. F. BuOrtm dee Leo Baeck IrvUitutv 73, 1984 pp 13-24 Hendon Adath VnroH Wagaame 5744. 1985 4. pp. 1970 Grm*. I The lael |e^*e in Berlin Simon and Schueler.

See* >OcV 1982 fcnkamp H Reported in A|R Information V4a> 1984 p.2 Xempner. R M W. m: Gegemnarl und Ruckb&rk 1970 pp 180-208 Adalh YWoet Berfin 1849-1919 leruvdem. 1944 Ortenberg, S Wagaam 484 2 Berlin lu*> 1984

These are serious times, especially for us jews in Germany Once more let us shake hands and promise to remain true comrades wherever fate may carry us f arewell, keep true to yourselves and in future life occasionally think of us with whom you spent your carefree childhood school years'

Remembering During our Berlin visit we who had sur­ vived thought back of those' times and rcmem!x»red those old friends and relatives left behind and no longer w ith us. Not many eyes remained dry when we listened to the K e l M o le h R a ch a m im and the kaddtsh dur­ ing the unveiling of the Memorials in Eastand West-Berlin in memory and honour of those who had once prayed, studied and

Dr G la tl at the m em orial to m em bers of the Adath Synagogue murdered in the Holocaust (Picture by Em anuel M e y e r)

ASPHALTS (BOW) R oofing & liuiU U n <r C o n tra cto rs

AM PBELL ROAD, LONDON. E.3 01-980 361

01-560 1928

36

V> 1

tered, they are not in a state to be able to sit down and begin to apply themselves to Torah.

"Find quiet in an unquiet world.

Discover peace in your own heart".

THERAPEUTIC C e rta in meditation systems such as those associated with Yoga, Indian Philosophy, Avodo Zoro and danger­ ous cults are severely frowned upon by some Orthodox Rabbis. However, some o f the practices connected with meditation may be discovered in Orthodox ancient Jewish writers and can contribute much to one's spiritual, mental, emotional and phys­ ical development.

The general aim is; greater mastery

over one's self.

One could hardly find a more apt summing up o f this goal than the say­ ing in Pirke O vos: Ch 4. M . i "Aisehu gibbor? Hakovaish es vitzro". Who is strong? He who can control his natural inclinations i.e. his thoughts, his emotions, his mental faculties.

Become master o f your self and you become master o f the situation.

Cershon Scholem refers to ancient Jewish writers o f the Yoga tradition.

M ore recently, the late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan has written on the subject.

However, with the greatest respect, I would suggest that the paths he describes are far too dangerous and kabbalistic to be revealed to all and sundry. Some understand the 'hisbododus' (self-imposed solitude) o f R. Nachman o f Bratzlav to have been meditation sessions.

Why do we need meditation today? Can't we by-pass it, as we seem to have done in the past? Why are so many young people, even Jewish, drawn to these way-out cults?

Isn't Judaism enough for them? Isn't

the Torah all embracing? Does it not contain infinite wisdom?

The answer is that we are living in an age when the pace o f life can be unbalancing and the multifarious flow o f minor and major events, violence, horrors, tragedies from all over the

A BRIEF G U ID E

KO SH ER M ED ITA TIO N

by A. HOGEH

world, bombarding us through the mass media daily, hourly, every minute, make peace o f mind for many, impossible. The only escape from them seems to be out-of-theway cults, tranquilisers and other drugs ... their minds and emotions have becom e so shattered and tat-

MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE 634 Finchley Road, London NW11 7RR Telephone: 01-458 2012 01 458 9273

Open for lunch and dinner with a superb menu to suit all tastes

WHY NOT TRY OUR SPECIAL LUNCH TIM E TAKE AWAY MENU All our specialities are available to order for you to enjoy at home or for your parties OPEN SUN DAY-THURSDAY 12.00 -2 3 0 p.m. 6.00 - Last orders at 1130 p.m.

FRID AY 12.00 - 230 p.m. T A K E AW AY MENU 1230 - 3 p.m.

L ice n se d b y the Lon don K ashrus B oard an d the B eth Dm o f the Federation o f Synagogues

<o A i

It is within this scene that some o f the practices associated with medita­ tion, can be o f great therapeutical value, calming the mind, bringing tranquility, improving concentration and helping one to sleep at night without tranquilisers; preparing one to be able to cope with life and to be able to absorb the immortal lessons o f Torah: a) as beginners, drinking thirs­ tily with a calm, fresh and clear mind, b) for the advanced, with greater kavvonoh (concentration) in prayer and study and with far greater awareness.

The mind is like a whirlpool, never still fora moment. Even those who try to concentrate in prayer, know how quickly their thoughts will wander.

A few simple exercises practiced every day will do much to remedy all this. (The more practice, the more improvement). Exercises in deep bre­ athing, in relaxing one's muscles and in concentrating one's thoughts on a single object for a few minutes on end, can be immensely beneficial.

A PERSONALITY When you are davenning you will be able to apply the same technique o f concentration and awareness. All o f a sudden, you will be filled with a greater realisation o f "lifnav mi atto om aid". (to Whom your prayers are being addressed ...) The more prac­ tice, the more improvement in Torah, in Tefilloh, in personal well-being, in every task where mental application is required.

Nothing o f the above is contrary to Judaism. If practiced daily in the right way, it can develop a personality that is able to stand up to the stresses and hurly-burly o f life and remain calm. It can help one to apply oneself to whatever task kodesh. or chol. with greater efficiency.

Permeating all these practices should be the fundamental philosophy that will carry one through everything in life. The philosophy that is based on such teachings as: "Tzaddik be-emoonosQ // (The righteous man lives in faith). "Kol man de-ovad Rachamono . . . " (Whatever G-d does, He does for the best). "Ho-olom hazeh domeh lifrn7dor..." (This world is like a prep­ aration hall before the world to come). "Le-foom tza-aro agro". (Ac­ cording to the effort is the reward).

WARNING: It is not advisable for anyone interested in pursuing these ideas to attempt to do so through non-Jewish sources, as this could certainly lead to unJewish concepts.

FROM LONDON'S EAST END TO BIRMINGHAM

The NER TALMID in this picture of the Synagogue at "Tudor Lodge" Old Age Home at Birmingham is from the Bethnal Green Great Synagogue in London.

MONTAGUE ROAD BETH HAMEDRASH TRUST T h e * Montague Road Beth Hamedrash Trust s«»t up to distribute the annual interest on the Trust f unds has this year allocated grants to a number it chanties in Israel and in this country, including i t* Jewish Welfare Board Home in Ilford, the Tot­

K O L N ID REI APPEAL 1985 A s a result of the Appeal conducted in Federation Synagogues on Yom Kippur 5746 (1985), a sum of £26.500 has been remitted to Laniado Hospital, Nethanya, towards the cost of the Dialysis Unit, set up in the name of the Federation and its con­ gregants.

This was the last occasion that the annual campaign will be devoted to the Laniado Hospital, the initial commitment of the Fed­ eration having been fulfilled. The total sum raised and sent to the Hospital over the last five years is £110,000.

A meeting of synagogue representatives held in july, decided that this Yom Kippur the Appeal proceeds should be divided bet­ ween two Institutions in Jerusalem. One is a mother and babv convalescent home estab­ lished by the Bay it Lepletot. a well-known orphanage, housing and providing for girls from birth to marriage.

The Home will provide post-natal recov­ ery facilities for young mothers who, for medical or social reasons, are unable to return home immediately after their babies are bom.

The other institution is Beth loseph Zvi, an orphanage in Jerusalem providing full residential, educational and technical train­ ing facilities for some 800 bovs between the ages of two and 18.

tenham Home the Queen Elizabeth and Great Ormonde Street Hospitals for Children. St Josephs Hospne. Hackney the Israel War Dis­ abled and the £ 1.000 to Union of Jewish Students towards funding their annual c onference

OBITUARIES C jn d o len ces The Editorial Board of Hamaor extend sincere condolences to Rabbi M. Smith on the loss of his wife Mr. White on the loss of his wife Mrs. I. Palmer on the loss of her mother Mrs. I). Leverson on the loss of her husband Mrs. M. Leifer on the loss of her sister The family of the late Mr. N. Goldstone

L td MOM MKINTAL MASONS 17 OSBOURNE STREET, LONDON, El 6TD Telephone: 01-247 0163 Telephone: 01-247 6025 18

Mr N. Goldstone T h e vad passing of Mr Goldstone, Life NAarden and Honorary Treasurer ol the Shepherds Bush. Fulham & District Synagogue, is a serious blow, not onl> to his wife and family but also to the congrega­ tion he served with conscientiousness and devotion, for many sears.

A courteous gentleman, endowed with integrity, he represented a class of voluntarv communitv worker graduailv disap­ pearing from the midst of Anglo-Jewry.

Mr D.E. Leverson A t a recent meeting of the federation of Synagogues Executive Committee, the President referred to the sad l o s s of Mr D.E. Leverson. formeHv Secretary of the Can­ ning Town Synagogue.

A librarian bv profession, he devoted a life-time's service to the Jewish Communitv in East London and. notwithstanding severe painful disability in his latter years, he stoi­ cally and cheerfully continued his profes­ sional and voluntary work with integrity and efficiency.

Condolences are extended to his widow and daughter.

<•<<i.•A

x -:-.^ X v : v :>:.;:X v a v :v :

. ■ • • f t »'

TH E NEW HASSLE FR EE BANK LEUMI MORTGAGE SERVICE No waiting Bank Leumi now introduce Confederation Mortgage Services Limited, ("CMS") to provide you with access to virtually unlimited funds ready to be lent on both endowment and pension mortgages, and re-mortgages right now! So, once your application has been processed and approved, the money will be at your disposal immediately.

No differentials

You won't be charged a different interest rate on a mortgage or re-mortgage* less than £250,000. Also you will find there is virtually no upper limit to the size of loan available, subject to status and valuation.

A typical exam ple of a CMS mortgage is:Amount borrowed: Period:_____________ Rate of Interest per annum: A PR _________________________

£30,000 .25 years .11% (subject to variation) 11.94%(subject to variation)

No hassle

There's a streamlined and very simple application system, which can give you a vital edge in today's increasingly complex home-buying market. O nce you have paid for a chartered surveyor to inspect the property a copy of his report will be given to you, and free building and life insurance cover will be arranged for the period between exchange and completion.

The only formalities are the mortgages of the property and the life policy.

The mortgage service has been created by people who understand the problems of buying property, and who want to do as much as they can to alleviate some of the uncertainty and the worry.

Also, ask about the re-mortgage scheme.

Think of the cash that is hidden in your home and what you could do with it. If used for home improvements or heating installation the interest on such loans may even be eligible for tax relief.* * Full written details of the terms of business are always available on request. If you'd like to find out more, contact your Bank Leumi branch m anager today!

BANK LEUMI * WHEN EVERY DAY COUNTS, COME TO THE BANK WHERE EVERY CUSTOMER COUNTS. ‘ Loans of less than £15.001 do not form part of the scheme "Dependent on individual circumstances and Inland Revenue clearance * Licensed Credit Broker. Licence number 031488

m

.....

.V tY-A V .V .V

*•

li®

■I*

NV,

-N '.v. , v ^ .s s v .v

NSV.V

SSVA

Bank Leumi (UK), 4/7 Woodstock Street, London W1A 2AF, Telephone 01-629 1205 Confederation Mortgage Services Limited

39

V* iV* >V* •NW

N O T I C E T O THE J E WI SH P U B L I C

Joint g>ljctl)ita gutljoritp OF THE FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES

MORRIS LEDERMAN HOUSE, 9-11 GREATOREX STREET LONDON El 5NF

The following Wholesale Butcher & Manufacturer and Retail Butchers ar Poulterers are licenced by the Joint Shechita Authority and are under the supervision of the Beth Din of the Federation of Svnaeosues:

M. BLOOM (Kosher) & Son Ltd., Tunmarsh Lane, London E.13.

LA BOUCHERIE, 4 Cat Hill, East Barnet, Herts.

S. COHEN, 93B Upper Clapton Road, E.5.

NORMAN GOLDBERG (Butchers) Ltd., 12 Claybury Broadway, Ilford Ess< IVOR SILVERMAN, 4 Canons Corner, London Road, Stanmore, Middlesex.

STEVE'S, 228 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex.

I OUIS MANN

&SON

LTD., 23 Edgwarebury Lane, Edgware, Middlesex.

G . KREEEGER & SON, 25 Station Parade, Coekfosters Road, Barnet, Herts

ILFORD KOSHER MEATS. 7 Beehive Lane. Ilford. Evsex.