Newspaper Page Text
Friday, August 1, 1958
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Page Seven
IN A LIGHTER VEIN—By Jacob Richman
A Matter of Form
An AJP FEATURE
It was customary in former
years in writing to rabbis to pre
cede their names by a long string
of flattering epithets. “Harabh
Hagaon, Hamaor Hagadol” (Rab
bi, Genius. Great Luminary),
was one of the shortest forms
of salutations with which the
Jews of yore used to address
their spiritual leaders, or any
one reputed to be a Hebrew
scholar.
That, however, did not turn
the heads of the recipients of
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the reverential missives. In fact,
the lights of Israel were noted
not alone for their profound
erudition, but for their humility
and utter oblivion of them
selves.
The following anecdote is illu
strative of the sublime modesty
that characterized the great rab
bis of old.
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveit-
chick, of Brest-Litovsk, once
sent a letter to a farmer who
could scarely read Hebrew, ad
dressing him as “Harabh, Haga
on,” etc.
The countryman felt deeply
insulted. To address an ordinary
farmer as “Rabbi, Genius, Great
Luminary,” was nothing but
sarcasm.
When the rustic visited the
city, he repaired to the rabbi,
epistle in hand, and in a peeved
tone reproached the minister
for deriding him in such a man
ner.
“True, I am ignorant,” said
the simple agriculturist, bitter
ly,” but that does not entitle any
one to ridicule me. Perhaps if
I had the opportunity 1, too,
would have been a ’lamdan’.”
The holy man gasped in ter
ror. “Why, who has insulted
you?” he demanded. “Why should
I insult a man created in the
image of God?”
The villager displayed the
letter, and pointed out the un
merited epithets bestowed upon
him, evidently intended as a
jest.
“Believe me,” pleaded the ec
clesiastic, “I meant no offense.
That is the way they address
me, too.”
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My good friend Maurice Scha-
piro of 210 Terry Court., Eliza
bethtown, Kentucky, gives me a
scolding, by way of entering the
contest I recently started here.
By this contest I’ve been hunt
ing the one who in these United
States seems to know best what
a worthy Jew is. (There’s no
prize offered in this contest be
yond the pleasure the winner
may derive from being widely
published as the Jew who really
knows what it’s all about.)
I myself started it all by writ
ing here what to my way of
looking at the matter, a worthy
Jew consists of and how he may
live to fulfill what God expects
of him or her.
On account of my way of look
ing at it, friend Maurice ad
dresses me sharply. He asks:
“Do you ever tell ’em to go to
schul in evidence of their Jew
ishness? I can’t remember your
ever saying that in your column.
There are a few lofty spirits like
yourself who can lead good Jew
ish lives without inspiration
from religious services. But most
of your fellow-Jews would treat
their fellowmen a little better
each day if they went to temple
Friday night or Saturday morn
ing and listened to the word of
God, as explained by our present
prophets, the rabbis."
Oh Maurice, you describe me
as a lofty spirit, but you should
know: There are times when I
feel quite low-down.
It appears that in Elizabeth
town, Kentucky, there’s no Jew
ish altar where an Elizabeth
town Jew can go to speak to
God and receive His teaching.
So Maurice Schapiro is happy to
get to Louisville from time to
time, where he makes a holy
duty of going to schul; indeed,
he belongs to Louisville’s Adath
Israel Temple and faithfully is
there on the Sabbaths when he
gets away from Elizabethtown.
There have been Sabbaths,
though, when he has felt deeply
depressed in the temple and was
asking himself, “what’s the mat
ter with Jews?”
Where, he asks, are they all
on this Sabbath day which in
the Commandment’s at Sinai
they were told to make a holy
occasion? Maurice Schapiro looks
around the temple’s spacious in
terior . . . “There were four per
sons at that service, including
me,” he reports. “One of them
was the rabbi’s wife, another
was the secretary of the con
gregation, one was a mourner
and the fourth was me. And yes,
just before the Kaddish was
said, two women dropped in.
Of course, there was also the
rabbi, a very eloquent speaker,
and the four choir singers. They
were all the congregation.”
A while ago, Maurice felt
similarly saddened at a temple
service in St. Louis where he
found only some 25 or 30 of a
large congregation assembled to
speak to God that day. Then on
a Sabbath in Chicago he count
ed only 100 in a temple ... a
small fraction of the numerous
congregation of the dues-payers.
In a temple in Houston, Texas,
he found all of 100 worshippers,
most of them attracted to their
Sabbath duty by a bar mitzvah
that was going on there that
day. (And Maurice Schapiro,
adds: “A part of the 100 was the
temple’s entire Sabbath school
which was there in honor of the
bar mitzvah boy.)
Maurice was feeling deeply
depressed by such experience of
Jewish life. He wondered wheth
er it really was being Jew
ish enough to be a noble in
dividual. Shouldn’t all good
minded Jews stick together
in synagogue service before God;
wasn’t attendance at Synagogue
a high demonstration of a unity,
of character ... to show that we
aren’t travelling singly on the
high road, but that we’re all to
gether up the Sinai trail?
Then he resumes the scolding
he started with: “It is bad
enough for our merchants to
keep open their stores on Fri
day night, without you making
it easier for people to stay home
and listen to TV, instead of go
ing out to hear an inspiring ser
mon.
“I used to argue with a wom
an acquaintance of mine who
said your column wasn’t worth
reading because you are a soph
ist, a master of adroit and spaci
ous reasoning such as Plato and
Aristophanes decried in ancient
Grece. If you keep on suggest
ing that the good life is all that
matters, I will have to agree
with her. Try attending a differ
ent temple or synagogue each
week, if one particular rabbi
bores you. You may get some
ideas for your column. Be an
example to these fine grand
children of yours . . . not an
excuse.”
Well, I thank Maurice Schapi
ro, since, really, I’m one of the
more humble columnists and I
confess before the whole Jewish
public that I don’t know it all.
But I must tell Maurice that
I’ve never said a word to cause
any Jew to keep away from
schul; though I have said that
it’s being highly Jewish in a
man who in character walks as
high as Sinai.
I’ve never said a thing to keep
such a man out of synagogue . .
there to get together with all
other decent people . . . toward
the fulfillment of a brotherhood
of righteous men. Indeed, what’s
the good of one righteous man
walking lonely in the world.
J&iv
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Much more toward the human
good is a big company of them
marching together, and at the
altar together.
Though scolded by him, never
theless, I award to Maurice
Schapiro the prize of this con
test; To let him make himself
heard as a Jew who warmly
feels Jewish.
In addition to Mr. Shapiro, I
hear from a dozen other con
testants in letters to the Phila
delphia Jewish Exponent of
which Mr. Bernard Bergman is
editor: These Philadelphia con
tests: Mr. Jose A. Getzow, Mrs.
Harry Carr, Jacob Copman, Wil
liam B. Glazer, Samuel Edel-
man, Jacob Schecter, Mrs. Ethel
Sandler, Mrs. Leah Price, Milton
Solomon Swiren, Peter-Shimon
Olin Moyle, Mrs. Mae Griver,
and Jacob Liebert and Harry
Greenberg, both of whom are of
Brooklyn.
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