Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
The Southern Israelite
Putiluhcd Weekly by Southern Newspaper Enterprises, Inc;, 312 Ivy Street N. E., Atlanta
Z, Georgia. WAInut 0791 - 0792. Entered as second class matter at the post office, Atlanta,
Georgia, undnr the Act of March 3, 1879. Yearly subscription three dollars. The Southern
Israelite invites literary contributions and correspondence but is not to be considered os
•baring the views expressed by writers. DEADLINE is 12 30 P. M., TUESDAY but material
received narlidr will have a much better chance of publication.
Mvmbvr, American Association of English Jewish Nvwspaport
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publi%i,4r
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
Gustav Oppenheimer Margaret Merryman Mildred Hershbera
MEMBERS OF ADVISORY BOARD
Meyer Balter
Sol Benomy
Dr. Nathan Blass
Dr. lack Bleids
Joe Cohen
Peahen Cohen
frank Garson
Abe Gold horn
Dr. Irving Goldstein
Harry Harrison
hy nun Jacobs
Edward Krick
Sam Levy
Irving Libowsky #
Thomas Makover
Ben Massed
Barney Medintz
Hyman Morris
Eugene Oberdorfer
Gustav Oppenheimer
Berry Rittenbaum
Meyer Rosenberg
Phil Schwartz
Dave Slann
Harry Spitzer
A. D. Srochi
Kalmon Sunshine
Sam Weinberg
Arthut Weiss
Paul Wolkin
Pulpit Gems-from our BIBLE
Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed he will hear him
from his holy heavon with the saving strength of his high hand.
-Ps. 20=6.
COME HOME TO THE SYNAGOGUE WITH US
Gues> Editorial
Wp mean our spiritual home—the Synagogue. There our fath
er# and mothers found warm congenial companinship. There they
gained the faith and the strength which arc the prerequisites for in
tegrated dignified living.
We of this generation are overwhelmed hy a sense of homeless
ness. We are haunted hy Inner uncertainty and frustration. Kmptv,
hollow, purposeless are the adjectives which too often describe our
lives.
Neither .sweetness nor strength are ours. Scattered in purpose,
splintered in character, we are inevitably driven to a recognition of
the stark futility of all striving.
I«et"s start over, l.et us go hack home, back to the Synagogue.
There will he no mystical or magical transformation in us, hut gra
dually the very atmosphere of the Synagogue will bring us hack on
steady ground. Physically as well as emotionally, our visits home
will bring us strength. Our chaotically free lives will become inte
grated, orderly, purposeful.
Come home with us. There you will find others like yourself
who have groped their way hack. There you will associate with peo
ple wlio are seeking the same perspective, probing for the same
knowledge, reaching out for the same strength and faith which you
too SO desperately need. This association will give you and them
added courage and a greater sense of at homeness, both in the Syn
agogue and in the worltl outside.
Come home with us and relearn the ancient lessons. Come and
let us throw open our souls to the wisdom and the truth, the beauty
and the dignity of noble Jewish aspirations. Come home with us
lor at least a weekly Sabbath visit.
It will enrich your everyday lives. Come, let us return home.
You’ll lie glad you came hack.
—Ahavath Achiin Synagogue Bulletin.
A GREAT MAN TAKES LEAVE OF HIS JOB
The passing of Israel's President Chaim Wcizmann evokes
great sorrow among World Jewry. lie was a man of great principles
and resolve and it was his privilege to sec the fruits of his dreams
realized.
No more eloquent words on this occasion could be presented,
it seems to us, than these uttered by bis co-worker, Premier David
Hen Gurion, at a special meeting of bis cabinet—
"I would twt try now to appreciate the personality and the ac
tivity of the nation's choice. There teas nobody like him since Ilcrzl
and many hooks should be written about him and about the two
crowtis he wore — the (Town of statehood and the crown of sieence.
Keen in those few years when he was not elected president of the
Zionist Organization, Dr. Wcizmann was the first citizen of the
Jewish nation, symbolizing our urge and striving for the national
revival named Zionism.
“Wonderful was that man, who devoted his entire life, without
ease for a moment, to scientific work. Both activities were not sep
arate or contradictory since they emanated from a single source,
from the source of the Jewish spirit. Dr. Wcizmann recognized the
sitnjJe and deep truth that the renovation of our national indepen
dent life wsis unimaginable without science as its central pillar.”
PANAROMA by David Schwartz
Mizrachi Convention
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
BETWEEN US by Boris Smolar
The Washington Scene
The Mizrachi convention is be
ing held this week in Atlantic
City. They are the party of the
religious stalwarts, of the Ortho
dox. Even those of us who have
deviated from the paths of or
thodoxy are constrained to res
pect their attitude. We feel in
their case that there is at least
no hypocrisy, that rel'gion has a
vitality for them which it has
seemingly lost for many who
claim to be religionists. It colors
and even fortifies their lives. It
demands sacrifices which they
will willingly offer. It affords an
anchor which seemingly is much
needed in this storm tossed
world.
In a sense we are all Orthodox,
we are all inescapably believers.
You remember the story of the
free thinker who said, “I am an
infidel, thank God.”
Some have switched their or
thodoxy. They are Orthodox in
their sociological concepts, in
their economic cults. Rut a be’ief
of some kind, in something out
side of one’s self, seems almost
to be a necessity of nature.
It was that great pillar of Or
thodox Judaism. Samson Raphael
Hirsch who said that “Judaism
American Zionist leaders are
adopting a “let’s wait and see”
attitude toward President-elect
Eisenhowers policy on Israel. His
stand on Israel was, of course,
outlined in the statement which
he issued through Rabbi Abba
Hillel Silver the week before the
elections. And there is also the
policy on Israel adopted by the
Republican Party at the Chicago
convention which named Gener
al Eisenhower its candidate for
President.
These two documents offer
sufficient grounds for the belief
that the new President will con
tinue he present government
policy of aid to Israel. However,
it is known that certain pro-
Arab persons are very close to
Gen. Eisenhower. It remains to
lie seen whether he will be in
fluenced by their views. It is also
known here—and it can be made
public now that there is no lon
ger any danger of influencing the
outcome of the Presidential elec
tions—that Gen. Eisenhower was
not exactly encouraging in a talk
with Israel Foreign Minister
Moshe Sharett. On the contrary,
it was indicted during that talk
that he entertained sympathy for
the Arabs. This, together with
the fact that some of Gen. Eisen
hower’s intimate friends make
no secret of their pro-Arab sen
timents, is naturally a source of
concern to some Zionist leaders.
On the other hand, it is as-
began to sicken when the rabbi
turned doctor.”
There seems to be much to be
said for this point of view.
In the case of England and the
Rritish Empire, orthodoxy man
aged to retain its hold much
more strongly than it did in
America. In America, the aristo-
tratic Shephardic congregation
were almost alone of the old
stock clinging to traditional Ju
daism. In America, until recent
ly, traditional Judaism was being
pushed backward. This was per
haps not the best thing that
could have happened for Ameri
can Jewry. English Jewry seems
on the whole to be in a much
healthier state than American
Jewry.
"The wise man,” Adlai Steven
son recently said, “will not hurry
history.” The thought applies to
fields out-side of politics. Desir
able as change may sometimes
lie, a too rapid transformation
may bring great evil. Nature
does not grow things by explo
sions. An explosion connotes des
truction.
To some extent. I think, the
forces of traditional Judaism are
now beginning to make up for
the ground so rapidly lost. The
late Mr. Masliansky once re
counted an anecdote of his visit
to the home of Rabbi Isaac M.
Wise, the edan of Reform Juda
ism in America. Wise asked Mas
liansky what he thought of Re
form Judaism.
Masliansky said that he was
not opposed to the principles of
Reform but that he thought
some of its adherents were going
too far.
“Mr. Masliansky’, w^lV to the
wall.” suddenly said Rabbi Wise.
Masliansky thought this was a
strange request, but arcommo-
da'ed thp rabbi. He began to
walk and then stopped.
“Whv do you stop?” asked
Rabbi Wise.
“The wall wont let me go any
further,” replied Mr. Maslian-
skv.
Rabbi Wise smiled. “That is
the way it will be with us here.
Some of our young rabbis have
gone too far, but the wall of l'fe
will force them to retrieve their
steps.” .
sumed that Gen. Eisenhower will
take into definite consideration
the advice on Israel of such Re
publican leaders as Governor De
wey of New York, who may play
an important role in Eisenhow
er’s Cabinet, and others who are
friends of Israel.
Not to speak of the fact that
people like Rabbi Hillel Silver,
Congressman Jacob Javitz and
other Jews will, no doubt, have
access to the White House dur
ing Gen. Eisenhower’s term of
office.
NAZIS AND EGYPT
German experts in Egypt —
and the/e are several hundred of
them—are advising the Egyptian
Government to use caution with
regard to a “second round”
against Israel. United Nations
circles familiar with the situa
tion in the Near East estimate
that there are about 500 Ger
man mlitary and technical ex
perts on the Nile, while others
are working on building a new
steel plant for Egypt at the foot
of the Pyramids.
QUESTION: Is it necessary
for a mourner to wear black ac
cording to Jewish tradition? (T.
It., Boston, Mass.)
ANSWER: There are several
indications in the Talmud that
Reem to give the impression that
in those times it was a custom
for mourners to wear black gar
ments (Talmud Babli - Sema-
chot Chap. 2:10; Yoma 29b and
Sabbath 11-la). It is not men
tioned, however, ns a require
ment, but rather as a folk way.
Rabbi Asher, of the earlier mas
ters of the Code, stated that it
depended upon the custom of the
particular locality. In Egypt
there seemed to have been a cus
tom for the mourner to wear
black for a year. In Algiers it
once was a custom to wear black
gloves for several months. Some
sources clearly advise against
wearing black and claim it to be
a foreign custom entirely. The
logic of the color black is self
evident. Since the soul is com
pared to a candle or a light,
death would indicate the depar
ture of the luminary object and
hence darkness would result.
Black is the logical symbol of
darkness and the mourner who
wore black would indicate that a
certain amount of darkness over
took him since the loss of a soul
that was near and dear to him as
the light of his life.
*****
QUESTION: Why is there no
kneeling or prostration during a
Jewish service during the course
of the year? (H. J., Providence,
R. I.)
ANSWER: It is quite clear
that the ceremony of kneeling
and prostration was a common
occurrence during the days of
the Temple of Old. Even today
this is still done on the High
Holidays in the synagogues. Dur
ing the rest of the year no kneel
ing is performed. Some claim it
serves as a symbol of the des
truction of the Temple with the
idea of impressing the populance
that without the Temple of Old
we aren’t able to have the full
measure of sendee to the Al
mighty. The prevalent claim for
the absence of the kneeling and
prostration ceremonies is that it
would appear that the Jew was
kneehng to some object or idol
and this was, of course, strictly
prohibited. Lest it be misunder
stood for a symbol of kneeling
for another; object or religion,
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1952
It is also known in UN circles
that an airplane factory in Ger
many has started mass produc
tion of a new model for the Egyp
tian Air Force. This German in
filtration is of great concern to
members in the United Nations
who are especially interested in
the defense of the Middle East.
They have no doubt that German
influence in Egypt will continue
to grow as a result of this in
filtration. It is known that dur
ing World War II, Gen. Naguib’s
sentiments w«re pro-German and
it is believed that he intends to
restore the Germans to their pre
war influential position in this
country and thus reintroduce
them to international politics in
the Middle East.
How this will affect Israel is
a matter of speculation. Some
UN observers believe that no
matter what Egypt’s stand vis-
a-vis Israel may be, Germany will
not pay any serious attention to
Egypt’s objections against the
German-Israeli reparations pact.
On the other hand, it is taken for
granted that Germany will do all
it can to strengthen its relations
with Egypt and other Arab coun
tries in order to gain there both
markets and influence.
— Rabbi S. J. Fox
the kneeling was done away with
altogether.
In the Bible, for example, we
find that there was a prohibition
stating that one shall not place
a “figured stone in your land to
bow down unto it (Leviticus
26:1). While kneeling in the
Temple days could not be mis
taken for other motives, kneel
ing in the days when the Jews
were under the yoke of harsh
monarehs who attempted to per
suade them to kneel before idols,
could easily be misrepresented.
SABBATH
By N. E. ARONSTAM, M. I).
(Written in Jerusalem)
Sabbath — the day of rest is
. . . here;
Tranquility descends upon tired
and sweltering mankind;
All noises are hushed and stilled;
No shrieks of brakes are heard,
nor sounds of horns,
All is quiet, subdued and peace
ful.
From the Great Sea comes a
cooling breeze.
It seems as if the sky were more
azure on this eve
Than e’er before.
The stars are like brilliant little
suns
Strewn lielter-kelter in the
firmament.
Across my chamber the Sabbath
lights are lit,
And the master of the house
Offers benediction upon bread
and wine:
And on the seventh day He ceas
ed from rcork and rested.
Jcu.ushjp
Calendar
±j±.
*HANUKAH 4
Saturday, Dec. 13
Saturday, Dec. 20
*PURIM
March 1
*PASSOVER
March 31
(First Day)
April 7
(Last Dav)
*SHEVUOTH
May 20. 21
* HOLIDAYS BEGIN
Previous Evening
—UNITED NATIONS
QUIZ BOX-
Why Black?