Newspaper Page Text
Friday, October 8, 1965
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T ■ K IOUTHIHN ISRAELITE
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
*'«* Asked weekly by Hwtbn Newspaper Enterprises, m t ourtUnd
Ht., N.E., Atlanta Georgia. MU, TR. M24I, TR. WZ40. Second claaa
postago paid at Atlanta, Ga. 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. DEADLINE is
I P.M., FRIDAY, bat material received earlier will have a much better
chance ol pub lira dsn.
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Kathleen Nease, Jeanne Loeb, Joseph Redlich
Vida Goldgar, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Kathy Wood
Jewish
Telegraphic
Agency
World Press
7 Arts Features
Georgia Press Association
NATION A l EDITORIAL
The Longest Holiday .
GUEST EDITORIAL
The longest of all Jewish holidays is Sukkot.
Sukkot didn't happen; it accumulated.
First, there was the simple thank-you of the Hebrew
peasant, who lifted up his heart in gratitude to the Lord of
all for providing the sunshine, the water, and the marvel of
seeding, so that men could eat, and farmers could make a
living.
Then, there was the offering of a thank-you sacrifice in
the ancient temple. Here, said the Jewish farmer, is something
for you, 0 Lord, to testify to my gratitude to you!
After that, came the special pilgrimage to the Jerusalem
sanctuary, and the accompanying celebrations made this
Sukkot season so joyful and so gay that a Talmudical rabbi
ecstasized that one really hadn’t lived until one experienced
observance of Sukkot in the holy city. So jubilant were the
proceedings that Sukkot came to be known as the season
of our rejoicing.
Later, another day was tacked on to the seven days of
the Bible, and that extra day was not only the Diaspora extra
day added to other festivals, but it was viewed as a sign of the
mercifulness of the Almighty. Technically, we are supposed
to do our repenting by Yom Kippur. But the Jewish genius
for mercy was so great that the closing time for repentance
was moved to the end of Sukkot.
The Jewish propensity for purposeful joy brought about
the addition of still another day to the Sukkot festival. The
ninth day was something special; it became still another
occasion to salute the Almighty for the heritage of the moral
law. That moral law is founded on the Torah, in the limited
sense of the first five books of the Bible; and on Torah, in the
wider sense of learning in general.
By the end of Sukkot you reached the end of the reading
from the Torah scroll, and you immediately begin all over
again. But you don’t let so important a milestone pass casually.
You celebrate; you sing; you dance. Look, we might have been
thrust on to the sea of life without guidance. We are glad
we have the benefit of that guide, the Torah. In that guide
we trust. We leap with joy over that happy happenstance!
That’s what Simcahs Torah is. We have a simcha in our
delight with the Torah. We clap our hands. We do an orbit
of the synagogue with the precious Scrolls. We kiss them.
We feast and we frolic, not for some pointless reason, but for
a good reason; the possession of the Torah.
Yes, Sukkot is the longest of all Jewish holidays. And in
a way, the most expressive. Sukkot says that despite the suf
fering that the Jew has experienced, he is innately a person
of thankfulness, joyfulness.
A very happy Sukkot to all.
Savannah to Pace
Wexler Testimonial
The Testimonial Banquet hon
oring Dr. William A. Wexler for
achieving the Internation presi
dency of B’nai B’rith will be
held on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at
7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Educa
tional Alliance.
The affair will be jointly
sponsored by the Savannah Jew
ish Council and the local B’nai
B’rith Lodge and Chapter.
Dr Wexler has served on all
levels of B’nai B’rith. He was
president of the local lodge,
Georgia Association, and District
Number Five. Prior to his elec
tion to the international presi
dency. he served as international
vice president and chairman of
many B’nai B’rith commissions.
In the local community Dr. Wex
ler was City Alderman; chairman
of the Self-study committee
which planned the present JEA
building. He served as president
of both the JEA and the Savan
nah Jewish Council and went on
to become Southern Regional
president of the association of the
Jewish Community Centers and
Jewish Federations.
Friends of Dr. Wexler’s from
Atlanta and other commun
ities desiring to attend the testi
monial banquet may obtain in
formation by writing the Savan
nah Jewish Council P.O. Box
6546, Savannah, Ga. 31405
Talmudic Treasures
Collected and Translated By Jacob L. Friend
PIKKEI AVOTH
• There are seven marks of an uncultured
and seven of a wise man. (The distinguishing
marks of a “wise man” being the mirror of
a man’s inner refinement, known in Hebrew
under the name of “Talmid Hohom”). The
wise man does not speak before him who is
greater than he in wisdom and does not break
in upon the speech of his fellow (and waits
until the other has finished what he had to
say), he is not hasty to answer; he questions
according to the subject matter under discus
sion and answers to the point; his mind works
;>i orderly sequence and speaks upon the first
'lung first, and the last last; regarding that
which he has not understood he says 1 do not
understand it; and he acknowledges the truth
(One of the crowning signs of true culture, if
he has been shown his error, he readily admits
it). The reverse of all this is to be found in an
uncultured man. (Here the word is used of a
man with an undeveloped mentality).
• There are our characteristics of those
who attend the house of learning and study;
he who goes and does not practice, secures the
reward for going; he who practices but does
not go (by copying the example of the pious
man, but without obtaining the exposition of
the learning). secures the reward for practic
ing; he who goes and practices is a saint; he
who neither goes nor practices is a wicked
man.
• There are four qualities among those that
sit before the wise: (This is especially appli
cable to school children of all times), they are
like: (1) a sponge, (2) a funnel, (3) a strainer
or (4) a sieve; a sponge which sucks up every-
tning, absorbing the sublime and the trivial;
a funnel, which lets in at one end and out at
the other (Typifies the students that learn
readily but forget everything); a strainer,
which lets the wine pass out and retains the
lees (he remembers only the worst of what
ever he hears or reads); a sieve, which lets
out the bran and retains the fine flour (He
lets out the worthless and retains the good
and important).
• Whenever love depends upon some ma
terial cause, with the passing away of that
cause, the love too passes away; but if it be
not dependent upon such a cause, it will not
pass away for ever. . . Which love was that
which depended upon a material cause- Such
was the love of Amnon and Tamar (See II
Samuel 13). And that which depended upon
no such cause? Such was the love of David
and Jonathan. The most sublime story of dis
interested friendship, based on unselfish
mutual affection (I Samuel 18. 1).
• Every controversy that is in the name of
Heaven (a sincere desire to reach the truth in
Torah and learning), shall in the end lead to
a permanent result; but every ontrovesy
that is not in the name of Heaven (but for
some personal ambition) shall not lead to a
permanent result (and often leads to disaster)
Whic'n controversy was that which was in the
name of Heaven? Such was the controversy
of Hillel and Shammai (their aim was nothing
else than the correct exposition of the Torah.
The Talmud relates that a heavenly voice once
proclaimed about Hillel and Shammai “They
both speak the words of the living God"). And
that which was not in the name of Heaven?
Such was the controversy of Korah and all
his company (See: Numbers, Ch. 16. It met
with a tragic end).
PLAIN TALK
By Alfred Segal
(A Seven Arts Feature)
I had another caller at my desk
in the newspaper office in which
i write another column daily.
"I want to be a Jew,” he began,
"and I thought that you, Mr.
Segal, might be of some help in
that direction.”
“Please, what’s your name?” I
asked.
He gave his name in full . . .
"but,” he added, “if you say any
thing about me in the paper just
call me ‘Mac’.”
‘And why do you want to be
a Jew, Mac?”
He replied that, though born
Christian, he hadn’t given much
if any attention to being religious
through most of his life . . . “Oh,
yes, when I was a kid I had to go
to Sunday school . . . unwilling
ly. Now I’m 35 and, somehow,
I’ve begun to think of man’s duty
to religion.
“Mind you, I’m no sinner try
ing for conversion. I guess I’m
fairly well respected around
town. But lately, I’ve been think
ing I should start my children
toward some religion. They’re
under ten years old . . .just about
old enough to begin toward some
kind of religious education. They
haven’t as yet been in any Sun
day school, though the oldest one
is already ten.”
Mac went on to say that his
conscience has come to the idea
that it isn’t fair to them to let
them grow up without any religi
ous guidance. “1 want them to
start thinking of themselves as
neople who are related to the
brotherhood of mankind ... all
of one family . . . not just peo
ple who’re living for their own
?°°d alone To feel they belong
to the one family of mankind,
they should have the idea of the
One Father of all. as he is call
ed ”
Mac said that he himself has
had a vague consciousness of this
One Father whenever he looked
up to the skies on a starlit eve
ning ... “I could feel this even
though I belonged to no religi
ous denomination, never enter
ed a church. Well, I’ve come
around to the Idea that my chil
dren should acquire some know-
leuge aDout the One Father . . .
and try to live up to what He
expects of them. That’s why I’ve
concluded that Judaism is the
religion for my family.”
He explained: He had been
thinking about which religion
would serve his children best to
that end ... “I myself,” he went
on, “would be most partial to a
religion that does not plant dog
mas in tile mind, that’s dedicated
to the idea of the One Father,
that speaks mostly for the good
way of living, that at least tries
to keep away from hating other
people who are at other altars.”
And that’s how he came to the
idea of turning his children into
being Jewish. “Of course, Mx.
Segal, that means I myself would
have to become Jewish . . . I’m
ready for that. To be sure, I
know there are some Jewish peo
ple who seem to believe that a
Jew must feel more than religi
ously Jewish, that he must feel
Jewish racially and even nation
ally. I’ve looked into all that and,
as I sfce it, my family and I will
be highly Jewish enough if we
are dedicated to God who’s the
One Father and do as He ex
pects us to do as His worthy
children. What do you think, Mr
Segal?”
Well, I told him that his ideal
ism should make his family ex
cellently Jewish . “Mac,” I
said, “we do have some differ
ences among us; there’s some
quarreling going on over Jewish
nationalism, as it’s called, and
there are Jews who feel somehow
separate racially. But we’re all
one, along the idea of the One
Father of ,us all and of our duty
as His children to live our lives
high up toward the noble Fa
therhood ... to be decent guys
in the world.
“Mind you, Mac, I don’t mean
to say that we all actually live
up to that; some of us fall down,
as is the way of all human beings
But, anyway, that’s the big ideal
of Judaism the main end of
being a Jew, and certainly your
kids will turn out to be worthy
Jews if they are righteous peo
ple.”
T told Mao that I myself feel
no prejudice against other relig
ions . . . But, Mac, you might
say that I myself as a Jew date
all the way back to Mt. Sinai
and the Ten Commandments, 1
belong to a people who by the
teaching of their religion have
managed to live all through the
ages ... a people never greatly
numerous or powerful by wea
pons. I like to believe we Jews
have lived that long because the
lot of us tried to live by the pow
er of our spiritual and moral
teaching.
“Oh, Mac, how many other
peoples have gone out of the
world and their religions are but
stories of legend, but the Jews
are still around . . all over the
world. I don’t like to seem con
ceited . . . conceit is another one
of the sins . . . but I feel sure
we stay alive because we’ve tried
to live up to our teaching. So,
Mac, I welcome you ... to be
coming one of us, together with
your family.” I shook his hand.
"But how do I get started tow
ard becoming a Jew?” he asked
“Whom do I see in order to be
accepted?”
I told him I would put his ap
plication into this column and ad
dress it to all rabbis and their
congregations . “I’ll let you
know about all the acceptances 1
get for you. And how can you be
rejected 9 You seem to understand
so well what being a Jew means.”
1 refer this application to every
rabbi, schul and temple.
JEWISH
CALENDAR
* First Day of Succoth, Octo
ber 11
Shimlni Atzereth, October 18
*Simchas Torah, October 19
* Hanukah, December 19
* Holiday Begin* Sundown
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