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Page Six T 11 E SOUTHERN S R A E L I T E THb SOUTHERN ISRAELITE Published weekly by Southern Newspaper Enterprises, 390 Court- land St., N. E„ Atlanta, Georgia 30303, TR. 6-8249, TR. 6-8240. Sec ond class postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia. 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 5 P.M. FRIDAY, but material received earlier will have a much better chance of publication. Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher Kathleen Nease, Jeanne Loeb, Joseph Redlich Vida Goldgar, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Kathy Wood Georgia Press Association 7 Arts Features Jewish Telegraphic Agency World Press I Vice President Humphrey’s Rash Hashunu Message WASHINGTON, (JTA) — “Mrs. Humphrey joins with me in expressing greetings to all of our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith in celebration of Rosh Hashana. We recall so many pleasant memories with dear friends and their families, observing the Jewish New Year in times past. We know their hearts are full with the approach of the High Holy Days. As throughout her ancient history, Judaism’s message is universal—each and every individual is responsible before a just and merciful God. In the sacred traditions of the Ten Days of Penitence are lessons for all mankind and for all religions. The blowing of the ram’s horn is symbol of God’s summons to the people for self-judgment, self-improvement and atonement. Who among us, whatever his faith, can fail to be im pressed by the inspiring prayers, the hallowed melodies which will usher in the year 5727, as for so many centuries past? Who among us can fail to learn, to benefit and to aspire to do better? What a heritage is Zion’s. In every land and under every condition, in times of joy or of sadness, of good will or persecution, in Jerusalem or in exile by the rivers of Babylon, in tiny villages or great metropolises, the Jewish people have maintained an unbroken continuity of spiritual and cultural devotion. Father and mother have handed down to son and daugh ter their love of God and of humanity, their respect for Torah, their thirst for freedom, for social justice and peace. So noble a legacy of the past deserves a noble and joyous future. May this, then, be a year of years. May our beloved America continue its progress, achieving ever closer harmony among all religions and races, a good life for all its people. May our sister democracy of Israel further pros per and attain what she most seeks—lasting peace with all her neighbors, fullest opportunity to be partner in works of goodness with all. In those unhappy lands where despotism restricts Jew ish religion and culture, may the year 5727 witness progress toward a better, freer day. May prayers which will be heard from Temples everywhere be answered—for a world where “nation shall not lift up sword against nation,” where men will “choose the good and reject the evil and where all men shall be brothers.” May the Jewish people be inscribed in the Book of Happiness. A joyous New Year to all.” —HUBERT H. HUMPHREY A Litany For The New Year GUEST EDITORIAL By Dr. Samuel M. Silver May the New Year be a sweet one for all mankind. May the New Year be a year of recovery for those who ail. May the New Year be a year of reconciliation for those who are separated by quarrels and feuds. May the New Year be a year of prosperity for those who groan under the burden of financial anxiety. May the New Year be of new-found delight in the use of hitherto unused talents which God has planted within us. May the New Year be one of increased understanding among all groups within our lands. May the New Year be one of the softening of hard hearts, the transformation of harshness into tenderness and love. May the New Year be one of the recapturing of the tingle of romance among those who are wed but grown jaded. May the New Year be one of relaxation of international tensions, the conversion of strife into concord, of expansion of the spirit to match the expansion of the frontiers of science. May the New Year of 5727, which adds up to 21, be a year of maturity for the nations of the world. May they realize that this world, now a neighborhood, can be turned into a brotherhood. 1 I JEWISH CALENDAR •ROSH HASHANA •SIMHAS TORAH September 15-16, October 7, Friday Thursday and Friday •IIANUKA •YOM KIPPUR September 24, Saturday •SUCCOT Thursday - Thursday September 29-30 •HOLIDAY BEGINS Thursday and Friday •SHEMINI ATZERET October 6, Thursday SUNDOWN PREVIOUS DAY NATIONAL NEWSPAPER Friday, September 16, 1966 COMMENT and OPINION Chinese Jews Many attempts have been made to ac count for the migration of Jews to the distant Chinese Empire. A popular but probably un tenable theory is that one or another of the Lost Tribes of Israel finally settled in the “Land of Han”. . . While adventurous Jewish traders may have travelled to China 1,500 and 2,000 years ago, presumably they did not tarry long. . . Written evidence of the presence of Jews in the Chinese Empire dates only from the years of the magnificent Tang Dynasty (619-907). During these centuries, when the Byzantine and Arab Empires vied bitterly for supremacy in the Near Eastern world, Chinese power, wealth and culture were justly re- knowned from the Japanese islands to the Holy Land. . . The first and most famous Jewish community in China seems to have come into being early in the 12th century. Though its origins are somewhat obscure, there is evi dence that a modest number of Jewish fami lies from India or Persia were invited by the Sung government to settle in the capital city of K’aifeng, on the banks of the Yellow River in North China. . . Almost nothing is known of the first few centuries of life among the K’aifeng Jews. But historical documents do show that they were not the only Far East followers of Judaism during this era. From about 1200 to 1350 a vast part of the land mass stretching from the waters of the Pacific to Eastern Europe was under the hegemony of Genghis Khan and his descendants. This led to a resurgence of the overland trade between East and West; Jewish merchants from Persia and environs ventured into the cities of north China. . . Marco Polo, the famous Venetian merchant who served under Kublai Khan in the late 13th century, is witness to the fact that Jews resided in the Mongol capital at Cambaluc, in the vicinity of present-day Peking. . . The Jewish group of K’aifeng prov ed to be the most durable. For the greater part of the Ming period it maintained its co hesiveness and actually thrived. Numbers, however, do not adequately explain why the K’aifeng Jews managed to survive so long as Jews. Of paramount importance was the suc cessful transplantation and preservation of the fundamental institutions of Jewish life. The very heart of the community was the synagogue, maintained in impressive dignity for many centuries. . . For at least 500 years, possibly longer, the spiritual needs and re ligious life of the K’faifeng Jews were super vised by a long line of rabbis conversant with the Hebrew language and the Law. The syna gogue boasted more than a half dozen copies of the Torah, and kashrut and the traditional holidays and festivals were observed. . . From time to time during the past century Jews ($ur Jfjiiifilr i$ t r i ta$ * Erfroct* Irom "Th. Graphic Hl*»<wy of J.wi.h Horitag*.’’ Ed.t.d by P. Wollmon-Tiomir. Pubh.bod by Shonaold Publi*h«r» ond Foundation (or A Graphic Hi story of Jowish Literature. 27 Williom Stroot, Now Yock, N. Y., 10005. A Seven Arts Feature. The Prophets 25. ELIEZER, *lTy s ?K SON OF DODAVAHU Wm p OF MARESHAH fltmDD Eliexer proplieiici the linking of the fleet at Exion-geber in the Gulf of Elath because the king had joined with Ahaxiah. "Etitttr . . . prophesied against Jehoshaphat . . . And I hi ships were broken” (II. Ckron. 20. 37). A Judean prophet, F.liczer told Jchoshaphat: "Because thou hast joined thyself with Aha/iah, the Lord hath made a breach in Ihy works.” Je- hoshaphat, refusing to heed the prophet’s words, made an agreement with the king of Israel to have ships built in Ezion-gcber. However, before the vessels were able to sail for Tarshish, their desti nation, they were destroyed (2 Chronicles 20.35- 37). from the Western world sought out the rem nants of the K’aifeng community. Efforts were made to lead the remaining handful back to the faith of their forefathers, but to no avail. The vital spark had been exting uished. . . IIYMAN KUBLIN, Jewish Heritage, as condensed In The Jewish Digest Dr. Goldmann’s Hold Challenge Dr. Nahum Goldmann’s has shown cour age in drawing public attention to the parlous condition of religious Judaism. In an age of uncertainty and cynicism it is common form for Jewish leaders to pay lip service to re ligious certainties which they do not share and to adopt a public stance of pretence that nothing has changed since the days of simple faith and unquestioning obedience to “Shul- chan Aruch Judaism.” This, in fact, survives only in small—though important—pockets of undiluted Orthodoxy, while the vital task of relating the permanence of Jewish tradition to the realities of the day goes by default. Those to whom the essentials of Judaism are too precious to be killed by pretence and dip lomatic silence will, it is to be hoped, take up with enthusiasm his challenge to arouse Jew ish religious thought from its present stagna tion. Dr. Goldmann’s call for fresh thinking enables this great question to be transferred to the proper forum, where leaders of all shades of Jewish religious thought can meet in open dialogue imbued with one common thought: to perpetuate the eternal truth of Torah in this day of violent change. The essen tial conditions for success in such a grand in quiry are that no one claims a monopoly of the truth and that each respects the honesty of purpose and the essential “Jewishness” of the other. Even if the only agreed conclusion which emerges is—as happened on similar occasions in Talmudic times—that “both these and these are the words of the living God,” Jewish values will have gained renewed strength and life. . .” LONDON JEWISH CHRONICLE German Reparations— A Drop in the Bucket Could Israel have succeeded in her spec tacular development without the $833 million paid by Western Germany as reparations for nazi crimes against the Jews? And could post- Hitler Germany’s rehabilitation in the eyes of the civilized world have proceeded as rapid ly if Israel had refused them? The answer to the first question can be found in the Bank of Israel’s report on the occasion of the termi nation of the Israel-West German Reparations Agreement: Israel could not only have sur vived but she could also have grown to a considerable extent without reparations. There can be no answer to the second ques tion in statistical terms, of course, only a feel ing that the agreement contributed greatly to Germany’s moral image. The Bank of Israel’s 250-page report shows that Israel’s gross national product (GNP)—the total of all in come, from industry, agriculture, services and investments—increased three-and-a-half times between 1952 and 1964, and that 15 per cent of this growth could be attributed to the German reparations. The role of the German payments was greater in the first years of the agree ment, reaching its peak in 1955, when they .formed 19 per cent of the GNP. Although, as figures go, the share of reparations in the Israeli economic picture may appear less im pressive than one would have expected, the timing was important. They could not have started at a better time; for they began at a juncture when, owing to the expenditure dur ing the 1948 Arab war against Israel, and as a result of the mass arrival of penniless immi grants from the European refugee camps and from Yemen and Iraq, Israel was on the brink of financial collapse. The Bank of Israel now discloses that in 1953, the first year of the German payments, the State had only $27 mil lion in foreign currency reserves. By 1964, this had increased to $518 million. . . But according to the Bank of Israel, the absence of German reparations would not have prevented a sub stantial development of the economy, although it would have slowed it down and possibly changed some of its prevailing aspects. . . Characteristic of feelings here is a comment in “Davar,” which writes: “While Israel can not and should not deny the great contribution that German reparations have made to her development, Western Germany cannot and should not deny the considerable political benefit she has derived from the agreement, in the eyes of the world. . .” JEWISH CHRONICLE, PITTSBURGH