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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
ftft Six
The Southern Israelite
Published Weekly by Southern Newspaper Enterprises, 390 Court-
land St., N.E., Atlanta 3, Georgia, TR. 6-8249, TR. 6-8240. Entered
as second class matter at the poet office, Atlanta, Georgia under the
Act of March 8, 1879. Yearly subscription five dollars. The Southern
Israelite Invites literary contributions and correspondence but Is not
to be considered as sharing the views expressed by writers. DEAD
LINE Is 5 PJML, FRIDAY, but material received earlier will have
a much better chance of publication.
Member
American Jewish
Press Association
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Gustav Oppenheimer, Sylvia Kletzky, Karen Hurtig,
Kathleen Nease, Jennie Loeb
Chattanooga's Future Community Center
One by one the major Jewish communities of the South
have turned attention to the creation of new center facilities
in keeping with the growing needs of their population.
Atlanta, Savannah, Birmingham, Augusta, Charleston
and other cities, have already progressed to the point of dedi
cating and occupying new facilities.
Latest addition to the list is Chattanooga which is on the
eve of embarking on a campaign to raise the funds necessary
for an adequate center.
The architect’s proposal for this enterprising community,
so close to Atlanta in location and family ties, is quite impos
ing and the drive will find, we are sure, a ready reception
in this Tennessee city whose Jewish residents have long
known what a complete Center could mean.
The old Center in Chattanooga many years ago received
new life with a temporary face lifting and remodeling, but
the vitality of its users and the scope of the program early
indicated that this arrangement was only transitory and that
more expandable arrangements with an eye of future growth
was sorely needed.
This achievement is near and The Southern Israelite looks
forward to heralding the dedication of the new Chattanooga
Jewish Community Center and its integration into the varied
programming and services the new facilities will mean for
these friendly Tennesseans.
Brandeis U/s 11th Anniversary Celebration
This is the eleventh anniversary year for Brandeis Uni
versity and we are pleased to add our congratulations upon
this occasion which will be marked in Atlanta Sunday eve-
ming with the appearance of Dr. Abram Sachar, distinguished
Brandeis president, and Dore Schary, noted motion picture
producer and author.
Many Southerners have been among the students enrolled
at the Brandeis U. fountain of knowledge and the results have
been good—for them and the others privileged to study at
this dynamic center of learning which has flourished under
Jewish auspices.
Especially we wish to acknowledge the unselfish support
provided by Atlantans through the local friends of Brandeis
U. and the women’s chapter members.
This support has made possible the inspiring university
which in so brief a period has achieved a lasting position
among our nation’s institutions of higher education.
WHAT OF CONVERSION?
GUEST EDITORIAL
Periodical surveys bring us the distressing information
that there are many millions of family groups who have no
affiliation with Synagogue or Church, nor intimate knowl
edge of religious life; men and women—and the youths for
whose spiritual welfare they are directly accountable—who,
believing, perhaps, in ethical behavior and moral self-disci
pline, hold this to be sufficient evidence of their allegiance
to the faith . . whatever it be . . . that is their inheritance.
The warmth of the sanctuary . . of prayer ... of fellow
ship in assembly . . . these, they label as plainly “organized
religion”—form and ritual which, they assert, lack esthetic
appeal and the element of comfort. It does not occur to them
that such reasoning is but a state of mind or, in blunt judg
ment, a rejection of the truths which all the great religions
cherish . . the presence of a divine force within the hearts
and minds of men.
The task of awakening these “unaffiliated” masses to the
realization that life is not complete if it lacks the hallowing
influence of communion . . with self and with God and with
fellowmen . . is one of which rabbi and minister dedicate
their efforts. It is a holy mission—difficult and disillusioning
at times, but rewarding when, e’en though by slow degrees,
skepticism and doubt give way to firm belief and faith.
Being, primarily, concerned with survival of the pro
phet people, and conscious of the great number of Jews in
America to whom “religion” is but a clinging to antiquity,
we cannot go along with the current idea that conversion is
the means of strengthening Israel’s place in the world. It
should be our first duty to make Judaism acceptable to—and
treasured by—Jews. Much has been said of “rejuvenation”—
of a new interest—of searching after truth; surely, there is
evidence that Synagogue and Cathedral provide, in every-
growing measure, religious vivacity for an evolving genera
tion, as well as for those who measure modern trends against
bitter-sweet memories.
It a challenging fact that more and more Christians turn
to Judaism as a compensating faith; yet, our purposeful aim
must be to capture the lost or estranged and have them take
their rightful place within the congregation. When we suc
ceed in that task, we shall have earned the peace of mind,
the joy of accomplishment for which we hunger.
—JACQUES BACK, Editor, The Observer, Nashville
OFF THE RECORD—by Nathan Ziprin
They Just Want to Daven
Is the much-talked-about reli
gious revival among Jews a
reality or a mirage?
This columnist has consistent
ly taken the view that the pessi
mists in our midst who are seed
ing black clouds over the Jew
ish horizon are not only mak
ing a tragic error but are actual
ly contributing to the deteriora
tion ' of the very Jewish life
whose preservation, they claim,
is their concern.
There is a school of thought
which would have us believe
that the sole motivation behind
the mounting trekking to syna
gogue thresholds is not religi
ous sensibility or awareness but
status or group identification
seeking. How they arrive at the
grotesque concluson that Jews
go to synagogues not to daven
but to exploit the houses of wor
ship for social climbing only is
beyond the grasp of this writer.
The gentlemen who minimize
the element of genuine desire in
the return to Jewish sanctums
could with equal logic claim
that Jews go to “schul” not to
worship but to escape from nag
ging wives or quarrelsome hus
bands. Some do of course, but
there certainly can be no digni
fied formulation of the problem
if it is not predicated on the
inescapable and unanswerable
assumption that people going to
worship are driven by inner
need. A Christian goes to church
because he finds need for wor
ship, a Jew to synagogue be
cause he has the urge to “daven.”
The fact that some are impelled
to religious sanctums by alien
motives as well does not change
the basic picture. The urge to
conformity often drives people
to avenues they would not
otherwise trod. But when you
have millions upon millions of
new people trekking to worship,
as is the case in mid-century
America, the conformity tag is
simply too small to fit them.
Moreover, even if it were ad
mitted that a man had taken his
first step to synagogue under
the impact of the mythical “sta
tus-seeking” impulse, is his con
tinued habit of worshipping less
significant or less desirable than
if he were to worship born?
Another school of thought, the
harsh crtics, the “Shamai-ites,”
can perceive no prospect for
Jewish “hemschech, continuity,
unless all of us become not only
knowledgeable Jews but experts
in Jewish law and lore, scholars
in Talmud, authorities in theol
ogy and connoisseurs of all the
variables that constitute the
whole of Jewish culture. Reach
ing out for such an objective
would be laudible if it could be
attained. But is one ipso facto
less of a Jew because he has not
studied the Talmud, has no
knowledge of halachah and hag-
addah, law and tale, or has not
read the Shulchan Aruch or
even the Bible? Some may call
this formulation sheer heresay.
But is it really?
The essence of religion is
“kavanah,” intention, the golden
bridge we build between our
selves and heaven.
This writer has a vivid recol
lection of the small town in the
Ukraine where he spent the most
impressionable days of his youth.
There were scholars in the
town, and men of great piety,
and there were cobblers and
carriers of water to whom sacred
print and tome were alien
languages. Were they less Jews?
This is no plea for banishment
of learning. The burden of this
argument is merely that lack of
scholarship — though that of
course would be preferable if
possible—is not necessarily Jew-
ishly fatal. Scripture, it is recall
ed, has termed us a holy people.
In the course of a recent table
discussion it was surmised by
one of the participants that only
about ten percent of his congre-
JEWISH CALENDAR
♦HANNUKAH
Sat., Dec. 26
♦PURIM
Sun., Mar. 13
♦PASSOVER
Tues., April 12, First day
Tues., April 19, Last day
♦SHAVOUT
Wed., June 1
•ROSH HASIIONAH
Thurs., Sept. 22
♦YOM KIPPITR
Sat., Oct. 1
♦Holiday begins
preceding evening
gation of one hundred Sabbath
worshippers knew the “peirush
hamilos,” the meaning of the
words they read in the Hebrew
prayer books. That, he said, was
proof positive of a decline that
is beyond redemptive remedies.
Since he admitted that there
was no possibility of generating
a reformative process that would
lead all of American Jewry to
classrooms and study, he was
frank to admit that the life of
Jewry in America was depend
ent on the life-expectancy of the
ten percent. But what of the
rest? Levi Itzhak Berdichever
would surely have offered a
more humane formulation. In
his sight, the ninety unlearned
would rise above the ten. Look
God, and behold how enamored
your people are of synagogue
and of the opportunity to wor
ship, only ninety of a hundred
know thy tongue yet all strain
for communion with you—that
is what the zaddik of Berdichev
would have said.
As long as the synagogues hum
Friday, November 27, 1959
with worshippers, the firm and
the errant, there is no need fof
despair over the future of Jew
ish life in America, for once the
worshipper enters sanctum, he
will bend over to me as well as
prayer book and knowledge will
come and learning and scholar
ship too.
Beth El Sisterhood
To Host National
Officer December 3
Mrs. Myer Kripke, Omaha,
national vice president, Women’s
League of the United Synago
gue, will be the guest speaker
at a dinner meeting of the offi
cers and board members of the
Congregation Beth El Sister
hood Thursday evening, Dec. 3,
at the Mayfair Club.
She will address Sisterhood
members later at 8:30 p.m. at
the December meeting, also at
the Mayfair.
Mrs. Kripke is widely known
as a teacher, lecturer and au
thor of “Let’s 'Talk About God”
and “Let’s Talk About Right and
Wrong.”
Earlier Thursday, she will ap
pear at the Ahavath Achim
Synagogue under auspices of its
Sisterhood.
WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING
A Digest of Contemporary Opinion
A Miracle Come to Pass
The simultaneous celebration of the 42nd anniversary of the
alfour Declaration and the Herzl Centennary Year brings to mind
the fact that the State of Israel is an accepted fact for the new gen-
eration among us. But history shows that both events are just
around the corner behind us, as it were, and that Israel’s rebirth
after two thousand years is the miracle for which it has been hailed
... If Herzl died a saddened man, his Zionist vision took firm
root to pave the way for the Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917,
under whose assurance the Jews of our time firmly refused to take
anything less than what Biblical prophecy seems to have promised
th em the return to he Holy Land. The miracle had come to pass.
—THE JEWISH FLORIDIAN, from an Editorial
Tribute to Jewish Women
The prejudices against women are gradually disappearing and
there are now many opportunities for women to participate in
every phase of human endeavor . . . The Bible portrays many
“women of valour.” Miriam is styled a prophetess. Deborah, “a
Mother in Israel,” was a judge as well as a prophetess. In the days
of the boy-king, Josiah, the prophetess Huldah was the highest re
ligious authority whom the king and the high priest would con
sult. The sages of the Talmud include Sarah, Hannah, Abigail and
Esther among the “Seven Prophetesses of Israel.” Sarah was even
considered superior to Abraham in prophecy and her husband was
enjoined to “hearken to her voice.” Many of our great national
events are associated with women . . . According to the sages, “God
endowed women with more understanding than man . . . Popular
misconception puts the Hassidic woman in the kitchen and the
nursery, assigning to her the sole function of serving an ever-in-
creasing family. This is a falsification of facts. The Hassidah, as
she was called, occupied an honorable and important position. . .
DR. HARRY RABINOWICZ, The Jewish Spectator
B.G.—“Grateful But Not Satisfied”
. . . Grateful but not completely satisfied by the size of his
victory, Ben-Gurion hopes to coalesce with two small center parties
so that he can have an absolute majority to put through an elec
toral reform his heart is set upon. He would like to abolish pro
portional representation in favor of a U.S.,-type stystem in which
deputies would be elected from individual constituencies. The re
sult, Ben-Gurion believes, would be to cut down the number of
parties, and permit a more stable system of governing what he
complains is a “nation of Prime Ministers.”
TIME MAGAZINE
Rabbi Sharfman Calls For New Faith
What the Orthodox Jewish Community needs today is not a
new look or a new law but a new faith—faith in itself . . Judaism
is concerned with every phase of human activity. Many pages of
the Talmud are devoted to the relationship of employer and em
ployee, landlord and tenant, parents and children, buyer and seller,
debtor and creditor . . Most modern Jews are not aware that the
Shulchan Aruch is concerned with the market, the* street and the
home even more than with the synagogue. We do nothing to en
lighten them. Orthodox Jews are the only beggars left in fund
raising. At least, we are made to feel like beggars. Our Jews have
money to give to every cause except their own. The poorest na
tional organizations are the National Council of Young Israel and
the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations . . . Reform, Conser
vatism and Reconstructionism have a lot to account for in their
damage to Judaism. Today, however, their race is run. They move
forward now. Let us not look for scapegoats but make our own
necessary sacrifices. Let us stop bickering and start building . . .
We are the architects of the future Jewish community. It must be
constructed with authority, dignity and faith.
RARRI SOLOMON J. SHARFMAN, Young Israel Viewpoint
Poland and Its Jews
The report on the Jews of Poland, presented by Jacob Blau-
stein to the American Jewish Committee, is most heartening . . .
There are only 32,000 Jews left in Poland, an infinitesimal fraction
of the 3,500,000 that constituted the fine, cultured Jewish communi
ties of that all-fated country prior to Hitler . . . The determination
of the present regime to eradicate all anti-Semitism and the assur
ance given Mr. Blaustein that the government is eager to have the
Jews remain in the country . . . serve as an incentive to Polish
Jewry to rebuild their lives there . . .
THE JEWISH EXPONENT, from an Editorial