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(MUSIC: Establish narrative
theme and down)
NARATOR: At the heart of the
American dream there is a myth.
It is the myth of the poor boy
whose pluck and perseverance
propel him forward on the spec
tacular road from rags to riches
. . . At the heart of the Jewish
dream, there is the belief that
learning is wealth—that learning
is the greatest treasure a man may
own . . . This is the story of a
man who combined these dreams
in a life of unique service to his
country, his people and his faith.
His name was Maxwell Abbell,
n his
father’s
by MARC SIEGEL
With the exception of required Shakespearean
dramas in schools and colleges, few of us take time
to read literature in script form. Yet many of us
make a bee line to theatres to see live plays at
every opportunity. A great deal of literary wealth
then is thus missed. The editor of The Southern
Israelite is not trying to start a new trend in read
ing with the presentation of this script, although
readers who wish to pursue the idea will find great
joy in the many books of classical and contempor
ary plays available at most libraries. We simply
had this script placed before us and we thought
how nice it would be if our readers could get this
visualization of what goes into the inimitable radio
presentations known as “The Eternal Light.’’ This
weekly Sunday NBC public service feature, ar-
langed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, continues to be one of the most outstand
ing broadcasts on the air today.
“In His Father’s House” was presented Sunday,
June 8 and the script really came alive as a treas
ure of drama. Guest speaker was Maxwell Rabb,
former secretary to President Eisenhower’s Cabi
net.
The script concerns only the early years of the
late Maxwell Abbell, attorney, financier, philanth
ropist. His life was marked by continued service
to his country and community. For a number of
years, he headed President Eisenhower’s Committee
on Government Employment Policy which worked
to eliminate discriminatory hiring practices in gov
ernment positions. He was a past president of the
United Synagogues of America. The many organiza
tions that he served as leader or benefactor include
the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the
National Ramah Commission, the Zionist Organiza
tion of America, the Hebrew University of Jeru
salem, American Friends of the Hebrew Univer
sity and the Combined Jewish Appeal of Chicago.
The Southern Israelite
house
and his goodness of heart became
a legend in his own lifetime.
(MUSIC: Up and Down)
NARR: It is a year since Max
well Abbell left us, but the facets
of the legend which he lived re
main bright, sparkling in the
lives of countless Jewish scholars,
of widows, orphans, teachers, of
all his countrymen affected, lift
ed, lifted by his deeds. It is a
legend afire with life, as the man
who lived it was afire with life.
And those who witnessed its un
folding -perhaps you are among
them—know that the seeds of the
legend that Maxwell Abbell lived
—the seeds of his unique service
to his people and his faith—were
planted in his father’s house.
(MUSIC: Up and Out)
NARR: The story begins in
Chelsea, a neighborhood of Bos
ton, Massachusetts, bounded on
the west by the Mystic River, on
the south and east by Chelsea
Creek, and on all sides—in the
year that Maxwell Abbell was
growing up—by poverty. On a
cold winter afternoon in 1914,
Moshe Eliahu Abbell returned—
as he did each day—from the
Synagogue where he had attend
ed services, climbed the stairs of
a building on Poplar Street, and
wearily opened the door of the
three-room apartment in which he,
his wife Freda, and their four
children lived . . .
(SOUND: Open and Close of
Door)
PA: (PROJECTING) Freda?
You’re here, Freda?
MAX: (12 years old) (COMING
ON) Ma went across the street,
Pa. To Mrs. Levy’s. She’s sick.
PA: She’s been there long?
MAX: Since after school, Pa.
Since I came home.
PA: You’ve been here since
three o’clock, Max? You didn’t go
to the Talmud Torah?
MAX: (DEFENSIVELY) Look,
Pa. Mama told me to stay here
to take care of Jean and Joey.
PA: That’s twice this week you
didn’t go to the Talmud Torah.
MAX: Mrs. Levy’s a very sick
woman, Pa.
PA: I know. (PAUSE) And if
you don’t go to Hebrew school,
you’re going to be a very ignorant
man.
MAX: Pa, I’m telling you. Mama
said—
PA: (INTERRUPTING) I know.
Don’t you think I want Mama to
help Mrs. Levy? To help a sick
person is a duty. (PAUSE) To
study is also a duty.
MAX: Pa, honest. I know all
that—
PA: Max—you’re a smart boy.
Intelligent. The rabbi tells me
every time I see him. But nobody
knows everything. As long as he
has life a man can study, and
still he doesn’t know everything.
In fact, the more he studies the
more he learns how little he
knows.
MAX: But I mean I know every
thing they’ve taught me.
PA: Naturally. It’s what you
haven’t been taught you have to
study.
MAX: But, Pa—I know more
than any kid in the Hebrew class.
1 loneatl
PA: Good, That’s good.
MAX:Just ask me a question.
You’ll see. Any question.
PA: A question? (PAUSE) All
right. I’ll ask you a question. What
are you holding behind your back?
MAX: Behind my back?
PA: (GOOD NATURED) Yes.
In your hand.
MAX: It’s—it’s a book.
PA: Another one of those books.
MAX: They’re good books, Pa.
PA: They're trash.
MAX: They’re not, Pa. They’re
—they’re exciting books.
And the man who wrote them—
he grew up right here in Chelsea.
PA: Max—Because a man grows
up in Chelsea doesn’t make him
a wise man.
MAX: Practically around the
corner, Pa. You can see the house
anytime.
PA: I don’t want to see the
house. I want to see you read more
of the Bible and less of this—
this—
MAX: Alger. Horatio Alger.
PA: Less of this Horatio Alger.
(PAUSE) Every time you’re read
ing a book it’s this Horatio Algei.
(PAUSE) What’s so wonderful in
these books you have to be read
ing them every minute?
MAX: They’re about boys who
are poor—who don’t have any
thing to eat practically—
PA: Ha, ha. You have to read
about such boys—
MAX: And they work hard and
they get good jobs and then, then
something happens and they get
rich—so rich, Pa, they don’t have
to go looking for wood or coal
for the stove, and they can buy
new clothes, and they can—
PA: All right, all right. That’s
enough!
MAX: I’m sorry, Pa. You asked
me. I just—
PA: Max. Come here.
17