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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, Sapt. 22, 1967
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
I'nbILshrd weekly by Southern Newapaper Enterprises, 390 Court-
land St., N. E„ Atlanta, Georgia 3*3*3, TR. 6-8*4*, TR. 6-8240.
Second class postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia. Yearly subscription
*7 M. The Southern Israelite Invite* literary contributions and
correspondence but is not to be considered as sharing the views
expressed by writers. DEADLINE la 5 PJL FRIDAY, hat material
received earlier will have a ranch better chance of publication.
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Kathleen Nease, Joseph Redlich
Vida Goldgar, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Kathy Wood
7 Arts Features
Jewish
Telegraphic
Agency
World Union Press
Is The ‘New Spirit’....
.... Of Jewry Durable?
By RABBI IRVING J. ROSENBAUM
Spiritual Leader, Chicago Loop Synagogue
Just now durable is the “new spirit” in America Jewry
which was forged during those “six days in June”?
That such a spirit presently exists will not only be con
ceded, but gloried in, by every Jewish lay and professional
worker. It is manifest not simply in the spontaneous outpour
ings of financial and physical aid during and since the crisis
and conflict, but in a heightened awareness of identification
with the Jewish people, its past and its destiny by almost every
variety of American Jew.
It is sensed in the synagogue, at organization meetings, on
college campuses, at business luncheons, in after-dinner con
versations, at social gatherings—in nearly every place where
Jews come together. It seems particularly evident among those
who previously had little or no commitment to Judaism or
Jewishness, and who have suddenly begun almost to revel in
being Jewish.
Jingoistic Pride
Part of this is, of course, a kind of jingoistic pride in Israeli
military prowess. As a 15-year-old English lad observed in a
London paper, “Isn’t it odd how everybody seems to hate the
Jews. Yet when you put them in uniform and call them
Israelis, they suddenly become heroes.”
But this “new spirit” is more than the elan of being on a
winning team. It is compounded of the shocking awareness
that the Jew can, if he must, stand alone against the rest of
the world; of the realization that such words as “courage” and
“honor” and “sacrifice” and “principle” have not lost their
meaning for Jews; of the awakening conviction that the anci
ent visions and dreams of our people are on the verge of be
coming realities.
Theologians, psychologists, historians and sociologists will
undoubtedly have subtler and more profound explanations for
the genesis of this “new spirit.” But what community leaders
are most concerned about is, not where it came from, but “will
it last?”
Will the zeal and the eagerness and the passion to give
and get funds for Israel burn as fiercely during the cold poli
tical and economic struggle for survival as they did during the
hot war? Will the Jewish professors and students on college
campuses cast their lot as unequivocally with the Jewish peo
ple in December as they did in May—and June? Will Jews
come to synagogue with the same sense of awe and mystery
and faith next Shavuot as they did this year? Will the Ameri
can Jew’s self-image remain bright no matter what the for
tunes of war—or peace?
From my own observation, the ranks of Jewish profes
sional workers appear to be sharply divided concerning the
answers to these and other such questions. One group con-
• uus that June of 1967 was a watershed in Jew
ish history; that the attitudes of Jews everywhere towards
their past and their future will never be quite the same- that
the new spirit” is not only lustrous but durable
Their only concern is that Jewish leadership take advan-
tage of this spirit and channel the human energies and re-
sources which have been newly uncovered into creative and
useful endeavors on behalf of Israeli and American Jewry
This group is not worried about the “new spirit” evaporating
but about its being bottled up and restrained by dull organiza
tional routine and petty rivalries which have characterized
our community in the past.
Those who disagree are either realists or cynics. I am not
quite sure which. They say that they have already begun to
feel apathy set in; that in both fundraising and programmatic
efforts, American Jews are lapsing into previous patterns
where they must be coaxed and cajoled, teased and flattered
into participation and support of Israeli and American welfare
and educational causes.
I do not agree with them, but I must confess that the anec
dote one relates gives me some cause for concern. It is not
about Israel but about Mother’s Day; yet the analogy is all
too obvious. The story is about the eight-year-old boy who was
watching television after dinner when he decided he wanted
more to eat. He called to his mother to bring him another
portion, and she promptly replied that he should come to the
table and she would serve him there. The boy balked; the TV
program was too exciting to miss. He insisted on eating in his
way. His mother reminded him that it was Mother’s Day and
that was no way to treat your mother on such a day. He re
lented and announced, “Okay, I’ll come to the table. But, re
member, tomorrow we go back to the old system!”
Just how durable is the “new spirit” in American Jewry 9
—JEWISH SENTINEL, CHICAGO
Hammer and Sickle
Excerpted from book by Ben
Ami in cooperation with Jew
ish Publication Society.
SIMCHAT TORAH:
GREATEST OF FESTIVALS
The month-long period of the
High Holidays ends with the
festival of Simchat Torah. Un
like the Jewish New Year and
Yom Kippur, which are solemn
and grave, Simchat Torah is a
gay festival, perhaps the gayest
of Jewish holidays. This is the
time when Jews dance joyously
with the Scroll of the Law, when
one may imbibe wine or liquor
so as to sing all the better. And
the songs are not the usual mel
ancholy supplications, but jolly
hasidic tunes, or Jewish varia
tions on non-Jewish secular and
folk songs. This festival, more
than any other, has endeared it
self to the Jews of the Soviet
Union. They have invested it with
most of their desires, yearnings,
longings, and feelings of identifi
cation. It is the only festival
which can be compared to a ‘‘pop-
ular concert,” in which children
may also participate. It brings
some measure of happiness — a
thing so often lacking during the
year. It is also an occasion for
dancing what is akin to a Jewish
snake dance. Thus Simohat Torah
has become the greatest of the
Jewish festivals in the Soviet
Union, one with a character all
its own.
The things that take place on
the night of Simchat Torah in
the synagogues of the Soviet
Union shed a powerful light on
Jewish life in Russia.
This is what I heard from the
head of an Israeli family who
was present in the great syna
gogue of Moscow on the night of
Simchat Torah:
“We dressed our children in
their holiday clothes and gave
them the traditional colored flag
topped by an apple, with a can
dle in the apple. When we got
there, it was already hemmed in
by thousands of people who fill
ed the street from end to
end. Everyone made way for us,
as our children were the only
ones who carried flags, and you
could hear Jews whispering to
one another, “Amolige Kinder"
(children of the past).
The interior of the synagogue
seemed to be luminous with a
light which came not only from
the chandeliers but also from
thousands of shining eyes and
from the bright face of the
crowd which now did not com
prise only the aged.
“I glanced around and saw
young people here and there. I
noticed the dark, smiling, curious
eyes of a charming girl, who
came close to pulpit. (On Sim
chat Torah the traditional sep
aration of the sexes inside the
synagogue is overlooked, and the
women mingle with the men.)
There were new faces all around.
Had I met any of those people
on the street, I would never have
associated them—on account of
their age, dress, and expression—
with a synagogue or a Jewish
holiday. They were the kind of
people one meets at the Bolshoi,
in Gorki Park, at an exhibition
in the Pushkin Museum, in the
Lenin Stadium, or at a lecture
in Dom Kulturi.
. “Where were they from? What
were they doing here? Was it
merely the curiosity of the young
that drove them to come to see
how their fathers and ancestors
had celebrated their festivals? Or
were they drawn by a longing
for an unknown past?
“The Torah processionals began.
The old rabbi and the gabbaim
of the synagogue took out dozens
of Torah Scrolls from the ark,
well-cared-for ancient rolls of
parchment that were wrapped in
colored velvet embroidered in
golden Hebrew letters. The scrolls
were crowned with filigreed dec
orations, jeweled flowers, and
bells. The old, bent Jews, in dark,
faded, and worn-out clothes,
seemed to be swallowed up in
the colorful procession, and it
was as though the splendid and
ornamental Scrolls marched on
unsupported.
“The old rabbi and the gab
baim were followed by a few
Israeli children carrying minia
ture Scrolls of the Law and flags.
A little five-year-old girl was
lifted up by the young people
and carried on their shoulders
They joined the procession of the
Scrolls. We saw smiling faces
everywhere, a rare and wonder
ful sight in this old end sad syn
agogue.
When the first processional
was completed, the cantor, ac
companied by some of the regular
Roots ot aggression
‘COLD WAR’ CARTOON—One
of the many anti-Semitic
cartoons which appeared in
the Soviet press.
worshippers, began to sing some
happy songs. The microphone
near the cantor was grabbed by
a number of people who boldly
sang into it Jewish folk songs
and hasidic tunes. Many of the
people in the crowd joined in.
The processions continued at a
faster and gayer pace. Th,e
Scrolls were no longer carried
by old people or by the regular
worshipers. The snaking ‘rondo’
of the Scrolls swirled through
the packed crowd, reaching al
most outside the walls of the
synagogue and open area before
the synagogue, where thousands
more stood crowded together.
“Then some people started
dancing. A circle was formed.
Everybody danced, old men and
women, boys and girls. The circle
widened as a second, third, and
fourth circle formed within. Then
dozens of people were dancing,
their arms linked as they moved
to the tune of “Vetaher Libenu."
Someone started to sing “David
King of Israel lives on forever,”
JEWISH
CALENDAR
•ROSII HASHANA
Oct. 5-6, Thurs-Fri.
•YOM KIPPUR
Oct. 14, Saturday
•SUKKOT
Oct.19-20, Thurs.-Fri.
•HOSHANA RABBA
Oct. 25, Wednesday
•SHEMINI ATZERET
Oct. 26, Thursday
•SIMHAT TORAH
Oct. 27, Friday
“HANUKA
Dec. 27—Jan. 3
Wednesday—Wednesday
•HOLIDAY BEGINS
SUNDOWN PREVIOUS DAY
and the dance immediately
changed to the more fervent pace
of a hora.
“As we watched, the dance
grew in warmth and ecstasy; the
old, worn, and heavy-footed
dropped out, and their places in
the circle were taken by the
young. In the end the circle was
made up almost entirely of young
people. The dancers, who ap
peared to be mostly university
students, were not adept at the
hora, but they soon grasped the
basic nature of the danoe and the
words of the song.”
I have asked myself: Who were
these young people who danced
with such great enthusiasm? Was
this an isolated event in their
lives, a casual occurrence? Are
they like the many young Rus
sians who fill the great churches
on the eve of Christmas to listen
with curiosity to the ohoir of
old women?
I am told that the same thing
happens in the synagogue of Len
ingrad on the night of Simchat
Torah, but on e more massive
scale. Perhaps this is because the
Leningrad synagogue is larger
than the one in Moscow, or be
cause a more Western atmosphere
prevails in Leningrad. The fact
remains that a still larger num
ber of students and Jewish youth
assemble there, and the building,
the area outside, and the street
are filled with thousands of peo
ple. And when one hears of sim
ilar events occurring in other
towns, one begins to wonder
whether it is possible that the
intense interest the young peo
ple show in that evening is not
just casual but has very deep
roots.
This is how my friend, who
described the Simchait Torah cel
ebration in Moscow, put it: “It
is difficult to talk to them. When
the evening is over, they scatter
into the night. And you don’t see
them, or the likes of them, until
the following year . . . . ”
The High Holidays are over
and Simchat Torah has passed.
Once again the synagogue sinks
into the grayness of the Russian
winter. Once again a few oldsters
gather there on weekdays and
Sabbaths. Once again arguments,
disputes, and schisms arise. Once
again they must deliver reports
to the authorities. But deep in
their hearts, these synagogue
Jews know that they, old and
degraded as they are, are the ones
who guard the embers of the
ancient Jewish tradition, which
blazes into flame for a brief
moment a few times a year.
Set High Penalties
For ‘Incitement’
TEL AVIV (JT A)—Stringent
new regulations aimed against
an Arab anti-education campaign
in the west bank occupied area
have been issued by Israel army
authorities.
Gen. Uzzi Narkis, military
commander of the area, issued
the orders, which call for a sent
ence of ten years in prison or a
fine of 2,000 Israeli pounds for
conviction on charges of incite
ment. A second order prohibits
maintaining any contact with the
enemy.
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