Newspaper Page Text
Friday, Oct. 4, 1968
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Pag* Rw
PANORAMA
To Visit Atlanta October 26
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
Copyright, 1968, JTA
* * • *
The first one to keep Succot
is said to have been Jacob. Es
sentially, Succot is a harvest
festival of thanksgiving. It is
said that the Pilgrims got the
idea of Thanksgiving Day from
Succot.
Every Jew, it is said, is a
baker at Pesach (preparing the
matzot) and a carpenter at
Succot (building the Sukkah).
When the Jews came out of
Egypt* there was a drastic hous
ing shortage. The people got
tired of waiting for Congress to
launch a house building program
and waiting for the Democrats
and Republicans to get together.
Moses told the people to go out
in the woods and get some pine
branches and let every man
build his own sukkah. He wanted
the homes air-conditioned, so he
instructed them to leave open
spaces in the ceiling. This also
saved on electricity when there
was a full moon.
The Pilgrims when they land
ed in Massachusetts, could find
no palm or willow branches, or
citron fruits, so instead of the
lulav, they “benshed” turkey.
Strangely enough ( it is re
corded of the famous Rabbi
Mordecai of Nechits, that he
once did something similar —
he “benshed” horse. It happened
this way. The rabbi had been
saving all year to buy a beautiful
esrog for Succot. Just before the
holiday, he was on his way to
make the purchase when he saw
a poor coachman standing beside
his horse, which had fallen dead-
The rabbi took the money for
the esrog and gave it to the
poor coachman. When he return
ed home, the rabbi was asked
about the esrog he was supposed
to have bought.
“The whole world may “bensh
esrog,” he said, “I will have to
‘bensh’ horse.”
This Succot, it will be exactly
476 years since a famous man
arrived in America. The man is
said by some to have been a
hidden Jew. Any way, we know
that he had many Jewish friends
and four or five of them accom
panied him on his visit to Ameri
ca. The man was Columbus. The
way he pronounced his name
was Colon, without the “bus.” It
is said to have been a name
common in Spain, like Cohen.
When he arrived, he saw a lot
of Indians dancing and he asked
the Jewish interpreter of the
expedition, Luis de Torre, if
he had any idea what it was
all about.
“Don’t you know what day it
is?” asked de Torres. “It’s Hos-
hana Rabba. Tomorrow is Sim-
chas Torah.” It’s an historical
fact that Columbus arrived in
America on the day before Sim-
chas Torah.
We thought we would inter
view Columbus about it. "You
know,” we said, “this Succot it
will be 476 years since you dis
covered America.”
“As long as that?” said Colum
bus- “Watching these late shows
on television, you forget about
the passing of time.”
“I understand,” I said, “that
you had a hard time getting sup
port for your project.”
“Oh yes,” said Columbus. “I
was going around with the idea
for twenty years. Almost every
body gave me the brush-off. As
they say, it was a ‘kldg zu Col
umbus.’ But then my good Jew
ish friend, de Santangell inter
vened. You know, Isabella first
turned me down. But Santangell
induced her to change her mind.”
“Let me ask you,” I said, “do
you ever regret discovering
America?”
“Oh no,” said Columbus. “Why
should I regret it. Look how
much Israel Bonds they buy in
America. I don’t regret it at all.”
“Do you understand Yiddish?”
Columbus asked me.
“Sure,” I said.
“Well.” said Columbus, “let me
tell you, America is “a goldene
medineh-”
Private Citizen Goldberg
With Jewish Journalists
Meets
By DAVID BENARONE
“Folkstimme”
Protest In Poland
LONDON (JTA) — Poland’s
only Yiddish newspaper, “Folks
timme” has taken issue with an
official of the Polish Ministry of
Education who claimed that the
Yiddish language was having a
diminishing influence in Jewish
life.
That dispute was the only item
of opinion or comment to appear
in the latest edition of the paper
which has been reduced to week
ly status after having appeared
four time a week for the last 22
years.
The edition of Saturday, Sept.
NEW YORK (WUP) — “I do lating to Black Power and anti-
not lean over backward on any Semitism about which he said he
issue — I am Jewish.” is not so much alarmed as he is
Thus declared Arthur J. Gold- over “White anti-Semitism” cur-
berg — former labor negotiator, rently rearing its ugly head
U.S. Supreme Court Justice and around the country. He pointed
Ambassador to the UN — before particularly to the dangers in-
a small group of Jewish corre- herent in the fast-growing Wal-
spondents representing the Eng- lace movement.
lish-Jewish and yiddish press in Mr. Goldberg emphasized time
the U.S. who prodded him with and again that the Jewish people
questions linked to the heated — “who are in a better position
and controversial Hatchett-case, than anyone else to understand
Black Power and anti-Semitism, the true Negro plight” — should
the Middle East, the F o r t a s seek a genuine dialogue with the
nomination and the Czech crisis. Black people.” I believe in dia-
The “conference” — arranged logue,” he replied when one cor-
by the American Jewish Commit- respondent referred to some of
tee which he now heads — took the more extreme Blacks,
place in the Justice s private of- As for the Hatchett case — re-
fice which can be reached only g a rding which he has been ac-
through a rather long corridor cused of being “soft” to the point
flanked by mint-offices in which
dozens of secretaries — as in a J)/)'T ffTtC 1 It nnrf
behive — are busily engaged in 1 IVKfJVIL
their typing, etc. Goldberg’s own All members of DOT, BBG had
sanctum is spacious and the most a funfilled summer and are look-
conspicuous object on the wall forward to an exciting year
as you enter is an affectionately- t° come. The first summer event
autographed photo of the late was “DOTs Kidnapping” planned
John F. Kennedy. As is known, by Pam Sau l and Susan Arnovitz.
this son of a former Chicago ped- All the members were unexpect-
dler who made the grade is now e dly kidnapped from their homes
a member of the well-known le- an( f brought to Chastain Park
gal firm Paul, Weiss, Goldberg, where they had a cook-out with
Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, the Frank Garson chapter of
at 575 Madison Avenue. AZA.
Justice Goldberg’s above defini- Dot also participated in the
tive response was evoked by a softball activities at the center,
series of consecutive queries re- On September 14, Karen Begner
had a Bar-B-Q at her house. All
members brought a date and
later had a slumber party at
Susan Arnovitz’s house.
On September 29, DOT had a
Progressive Dinner planned by
Lauri Karp and Marcia Goldberg.
Different courses were eaten at
Karen Weinman’s, Jill and Judy
Sim’s, Lynn Ruskin’s and Janis
Koplin’s houses.
Dot plans to have many ac
tivities in the coming year in
cluding a Judaism Institute, a
Bo Dance, and a banquet at the
end of the year. All of the aware
ness committees are working
hard and planning many educa
tional as well as social programs
to be held in the future.
-JILL HANKEN
B#lt Manager
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Arnold Gross, Manager
Mike Kessler, Asst. Mgr.
21, just received here, carried no
column of Jewish news from out
side Poland, formerly a regular
feature. There was no editorial.
The column of exerpts from the
Polish press was devoted to re
prints of an article from the
Polish magazine “Literary Life”
by Stanislaw Mauersberg, direc
tor of the department for minori
ties education of the Education
Ministry. Mr. Mauersberg dated
the beginning of Jewish educa
tion in Poland from 1944 when
Jewish schools were established
as private institutions in Lublin
They were taken over by the
Government in 1949, he said, at
which time there were 18 Jewish
schools in the country, five with
Yiddish as their language of in
struction and one with Hebrew.
According to the writer, there
were only 11 Jewish schools in
1950, none of them employing
Yiddish or Hebrew as the langu
age of instruction although Yid
dish as, even in Israel, the of
ficial lauguage is Hebrew,” Mr.
Mauersberg wrote.
Folkstimme said, in comment,
that Yiddish was “far from be
ing a dead language.” The paper
expressed surprise that Mr.
Mauersberg cited Israel in sup
port of his contention. “There
must be other reasons for the
abolition of Yiddish as the teach
ing language in Jewish schools,”
Folkstimme said.
of “appeasement" — Goldberg
stuck by his previous position.
“That case has been over:
stressed,” he said. “There are
more important matters in the
world, for example, Eastern
Europe. We must not widen the
gap” between our two communi
ties who have, historically, suf
fered a similar fate. “There are
too many head-on collisions.”
On the issue of refugees —
Jewish and non-Jewish — from
Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia—
Justice Goldberg expressed deep
concern. He' was particularly
concerned over the fact that
“Jews are once again being made
into scapegoats by governments."
Placing special emphasis on the
word governments, he chided the
United States on its inaction.
Washington, he said, was “limp
ing on the issue of aid to the
refugees. America, he stated, has
every legal right to open its
doors to anyone of these refugees
who wish to come here.
When asked about the Fortas
nomination and the growing op
position in Congress — a query
which hinted at possible anti-
Semitism, Goldberg was emphatic
in his reply: “There was no anti-
Semitism involved. The U.S.
Senate is not anti-Semitic.”
“As the newly-elected Presi
dent of the American Jewish
Committee, do you plan to in
stitute any changes in policy?"
one reporter asked him.
“I am not going to be a Czar
in the AJC,” he quickly retorted.
Of course, he did say that he
will do what he can to “broaden
the scope of activities” on all
phases involving Jewish prob
lems as related to national and
international human rights.
One thing became clear to the
group of Jewish correspondents
as the conference drew to a close
— Arthur J. Goldberg, in enter
ing his new, private life, will be
just as occupied with legal mat
ters, politics and issues of human
rights as he had been as chief
of the U.S. mission to the World
Organization.
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