ADAR, 5731IFEBRUARY,1971 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 4 rHE EWISH FIFTY CENTS BS ERV ER THE JEWISH QBSERVER
In this issue ...
RELIGIOUS LAW IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL,
THE JEWISH OBSERVER is published Bezalel Zolty ...... ·...... 3 monthly, except Aug. and Sept., by the Agudath Israel of America, 5 Beekman Street, New York, THE JEWISH RADICAL, Moshe Sokol ...... 7 New York 10038. Second class postage paid at New York, N. Y. Subscription: $5.00 per year; Two POLITICS AND THE RABBIS, Bernard Weinberger 10 years $8.50; Three years, $12.00: outside of the United States, $6.00 per year. Single copy, fifty cents. MEZUZAH TALK, a poem by Leib ben Mordechai 14 Printed in the U.S.A. THE OBSERVER ON THE ISRAELI SCENE, RABBI NISSON WOLPIN Kfotz, A JUMP FROM PORNOGRAPHY TO VIOLENCE, Editor Ezriel Toshavi ...... 16 Editorial Board DR. ERNEST L. BODENHEIMER Bus LINES, Aaron Hish 19 Chairman RABBI NATHAN BULMAN BOOK IN REVIEW' MAASER, THE PRECEPTS OF TITHING . . . 22 RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS JOSEPH FRIEDENSON SECOND LOOKS AT THE JEWISH SCENE RABBI YAAKOV JACOBS END OF A CYCLE; COMMENCEMENT OF AN ERA? .... . 24 RABBI MOSHE SHERER EDITORIAL APPLAUSE AND DISSENT ...... 25
THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not ROSH CHODESH - OR SUNDAY? 26 assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product or service advertised in its pages. LETTERS TO THE EDITORS ...... •...... •• 27
FEB., 1971 VOL. VII, NO. 4 Prm This article is second in a series exploring the relation ship between religious law and the government in the State of Israel. (The first appeared in the July 1970 edition of The Jewish Observer.) It is based on a lecture delivered by Rabbi Bezalel Zolty, one of the most widely respected religious thinkers in Israel adapted by Moshe Barkany T IS EXCITING TO CONTEMPLATE the {Jnfortunately the secularists who appear to be I possibility of extending the sovereignty of "pro-halachahH are spurred by n1otives as far Torah law to as many new fields as possible. removed from the Shulchan Aruch as arc their per The Clwshcn Mishpat, dealing as it docs with busi sonal philosophy and behavior. They take pleasure ness law, could be a most fertile field for such an in the idea of linking modern Israel with ancient endeavor. Surprisingly, many whose personal lives I sracl, giving the present State an aura of historic are conducted in a 1nanner far removed frotn Torah respectability-just so long as it does not demand are strongly in favor of basing much of civil law on any radical changes in their life style. Of course the Cl10shcn Mishpat. This strikes a responsive this is not what we mean by the sovereignty of chord among the more religious, for it seems to Torah law in the State of Israel. Worse yet, instead offer a short and easy path at making halachah an of being a step in the right direction, it can be a integral part of daily life in Israel. deceptive cover-up for what, aftqr so111e analysis, proves to be a flagrant violation of lwlachah. Israeli courts operating only with a smattering of Cho sh en "Israel's legislative body need not hesitate to Mishpat arc still functioning in a manner totally draw inspiration from our ancient Hebrew contrary to halachah. law. The juridical principles of our sages can readily be applied in our modern legislation. OLTJCOF-ORDLiR IN THE COUJU' It is altogether desirable that we of the state of Israel should avail ourseleves of the trea UNDAMENTALLY, THERE ARE QUALIFI sures of the Jewish 'Din'.i' FCATIONS for witnesses-that they be G-d Professor Hans Klinghofer, Gachal Member of foaring, Torah-practicing Jews. No contract is the Knesset valid unless signed by such witnesses. No business agreement is enforceable unless declared in the pre "The civil courts should rule according to sence of such witnesses. No legal decision is bind ancient Hebrew laws whose principles of jus ing unless the case is weighed and decided by tice were a source of inspiration to the bibli judges who are at least as religiously faithful as the cal prophets-and revoke paragraph 46 [which witnesses, and who are tal1niclei chachomim-· obliges judges to rule according to English thoroughly well-versed in Torah-as well. Few common law in the absence of Israeli laws]." witnesses and fewer judges in the Israeli courts judge Yitzhak Shiloh at meeting of Bar I could thus qualify. So the very foundation of /lssociation Llniversity of 7·ef~A uiv Choshen Mishpat-the courts and their witnesses 1 is totally absent from the current Israeli legal ,____ ------scene. The Jewish Observer I Febn1ary, 1971 3 Nonetheless, it is argued, the incorporation of fondant, the plaintiff may as a last resort take his aspects of Choshen Misl1pat into the general body case to a secular court. A secular court has validity of Israeli law can help to keep alive an entire seg when operated by a non-Jewish government, for ment of the Torah that might otherwise be forgot "a son of Noah is con1mandcd to conduct a judi ten. Even if this is true it must be made clear that cial system," and as a result, the jurisdictional the net result could be only the prevalence of authority of a Noachitc court is not only recog knowledge of a particular aspect of Torah, not the nized by the Torah, it is mandated by the Torah; sovereignty of Torah law. This could lead the public and its judgment is binding on the Jewish de to misconstrue as Torah law the proceedings of a fendant who, after refusing to appear in a rabbini secular court which happens to use Chosen cal court, does submit to the proceedings of the Mishpat-type ordinances for judging a civil case. non-Jewish court. This argument falls into the category of the re On the other hand, the prospect of a Jew bring markable passage in Y erushalmi wherein the Al ing his legal problem to a secular court in lsracl mighty is quoted as saying: "It is even preferable even as a last resort-assumes a different co1n that they abandon Me, as long as they guard the plexion. Since the judges are Jews, they are bound integrity of My Torah." In other words: Even if by Torah law to conduct their courts in accordance you must succumb to your evil desires dare not with the Shulchan A ruch (often with the result sanction your wrongdoings by claiming them to be that they would have to disqualify them Torah doctrine. Personal sins are sooner forgiven selves') ... And this is something they simply do than willful distortion of Torah. The Courts of not do. Law of the State of Israel arc not even remotely Consequently, by merely appearing in such a the spiritual descendants of the botei-din that court, a Jew not only violates the prohibition commenced with Moshe Rabbeinu's courts and against using secular courts, but also contravenes have flourished through nearly 3,500 years of sub the explicit prohibition against placing a stumbling sequent history, nor are their proceedings "Torah." block before a "blind man" (the judge). Moreover, if the decision rendered is contrary to the con clusion that a properly constituted beis din would UNDESERVED RESPECTABILITY have reached, the plaintiff has now added the pro hibition of theft to this roster of offenses, for ac HERE IS A MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM that cording to Torah law he has no legal right to the T can result from Choshen-Mishpat-izing the civil money he was "awarded." law of the Israeli Courts-a problem that goes Incidentally, the religious press exhibits special beyond the offense of false labeling. A patina of delight in using terminology borrowed from a reli respectability would then be assigned to a judicial gious context-such as shofet Uudge), psak din system whose function in truth constitutes a viola (decision rendered), beis din (court)-to describe tion of the Biblical command: "And these are the proceedings in the secular courts. Besides being ordinances that you should place before misleading, this coverage enlarges the scope of a them " ... "before them and not before courts of sacrilege being committed on a comparatively pri heathens" (Gittin 88b). vate scale to one taking place on a large, public As the.Shulchan Arucli explains: One is not per scale. mitted to bring a legal suit before a secular court.· Whoever does so is a rasha (wicked), and is con JUSTICE A TALL COSTS sidered as if he lifted a hand against the Torah of Moshe" (Clioshen Mish pat 26 ). The Sma (Rabbi N THE PASSAGE IN SHEMAthatcommands Yehoshua Falk-Cohen, 16th Century Poland) ex I a J cw to love G-d, the words "with all your plainsthe connection thus: A Jew, upon bringing his might" imply that one must be willing to case to be judged by non-Jews, is in effect turning his relinquish all that he owns to avoid contravening a back on the Torah-guided wisdom of judges of the prohibition to the Torah. Whereas there are limita religious courts as if to negate the veracity and tions as to how much a person is expected to spend authority of Moshe and his Torah! This is even so to fulfill a positive command, there are no limits when secular law happens to coincide with Torah to how much one must spend to avoid violating a Law. negative command. Thus any Jew who must engage True, when dealing with an uncooperative de- in a law suit in Israel is faced with a serious di- 4 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 A Jew must forego an opportunity to use the Israeli courts to gain money that rightfully might be his - because to do so would violate a Torah command. lemma. In effect, he must forego an opportunity to the Holy Land that was never enjoyed in our use the courts to gain money that rightfully might thousands of years of exile, and this sense of be his because to do so would violate a Torah com security-which should nurture a strengthening of mand. Torah authority, is in some ways a factor in stunt ing its growth. CONDITIONALLY INVALID OME HA VE SUGGESTED that the pro THE LULL OF SECURITY S hibition involved in settling monetary dis putes in secular courts could be avoided. E IN ISRAEL are faced with an ironic situ Whenever two people enter a business agreement it W ation that has no parallel in our long history. could be with the understanding that should any In go la, we were under constant threat of both disagreement arise that would involve legal pro physical and spiritual annihilation. Somehow, we ceedings, each would accept the decision rendered seemed to always succeed in confounding our op by a secular court. This, they feel, would circum pressors. Economically vulnerable, personally de vent the possibilities of an "unlawful" (by Torah tested the golus Jew still managed to survive and standards) transference of funds, since both parties prosper spiritually as well as physically. Jn fact, the would have accepted this condition from the out awareness that he was under threat gave the golus set. Jew something ro fight for, and endowed him with In his Responsa, the Rashbo (Rabbi Shlomo ben a militant mein in his spiritual affairs. Closing one's A deres-13th century Spain) points out that this business on Shabhos, sending children to Jewish would be untenable. In effect, he says, two Jews schools, maintaining standards of Kashrus, all would be saying, "Let us conduct our business as demanded a fighting attitude-so the Jew fought. though the Torah never spoke about laws of com Even the marginal Jew recognized that survival as merce. Let us deal with one another as though we such called for some sacrifice, so he also sacrificed are non-Jews." The handshake consumating this something just to be worthy of entering a shul on agreement would be a gesture tantamount to Yom Kippur. closing the Talmud of Ravina and Rav Ashi, sealing In Israel, by contrast, religion is more than tol shut an entire segment of Rabbi Yosef Caro's erated; in many respects it is even fostered by the Shulclwn Aruch. Such an understanding would be State. The national religious school system the equivalent of "making conditions in opposition (Mamlachti Dati) is totally supported by the to the Torah-conditions which cannot be government, while other religious school systems binding." As a result, any transfer of funds based also receive some support; 1nartiage, divorce, con on such an agreement would be without authoriza version and Kashrus control all operate under tion, unlawful and tantamount to theft. Rabbinical supervision with government sanction. Thus, the existing roads are simply not taking us Opportunities to further extend halachic Judaism to to our desired destination of supremacy of Torah even more spheres of life should be more or less Law in our daily lives, and new, more effective readily available. But the religious Jew in Israel is ways must be devised. Strange as it may seem, lulled into complacency with the status quo. In the there is a sense of security in Jewish existense in n1eantime, that, too, is slipping away. The Jewish Observer/ February, 1971 5 THE THRliATOF PEACE back and forth of minor children who were re jected-literally thrown out-from their divorced HE PRESENT SITUATION brings to mind mother's hon1e on the advent of her re-n1arriage. T the comment of a non-religious big-city Their father called the police to remove them from mayor. Confiding that he feared a peace set his home to prevent them from destroying his tlement 1nore than another war 1 he explained, newly (re-) married bliss. "Now our boys have to go to Scandinavia to find This represents a not uncomtnon phcnon1cnon, gentile girls to marry. When peace comes. they will wherein inarriage has been reduced frotn a union have to travel no further than Beirut!" of love and respect to a compact for mutual hate We, too, must bring ourselves to the realization and destruction. Such situations are rare in Ortho that the blessings of peace will bring in their wake dox circles, and the n1ore violent aspects are com a host of problems. In keeping with the Mishnaic pletely unheard of. This should be publicized. The definition of a wise man: "He who has the ability general populace should be made aware that to see future events," we must try to visualize don1cstic peace as well as inner tranquility are future conditions, and we must plan accordingly. A direct results of a religiously faithful life. nation geared at present for a wartime economy Another aspect that warrants development con and mentality, led by politicians cooperating to cerns religious Jews in business. Too frequently maintain security and defense, will find new issues they resolve their business disputes through bind and create new problems when tensions will be ing arbjtration, which is tantamount to going to a relaxed. We must create a strategy for survival, and secular court. It would be tnuch rnore favorable to better yet, a strategy for greater sovereignty of establish a network of genuine botei-di11, each Torah in our lives. composed of three qualified Rabbis, set up to serve A PLAN AND A S'J:!JRTING l'OJNT their communities. These Rabbis would make themselves available once a week in each of their NE DIRECTION FOR OUR PLANS to take is respective towns to adjudicate monetary cases, as a 0 hinted at in the Talmud's criticism of the sort of old-fashioned circuit court-hearing cases gentile citizens of Machsye "who were hard of one day of the week in Town X, another day in heart. Twice a year (when masses of Jews crowded Town Y, and a third in Town Z. In this way, into the City to seek guidance in conducting their Ci10s'1en Mishpat in it~ authentic form, can become lives in accordance with the Torah-Rashi) they a vital feature of daily life in Israel. Using the witnessed the glory of Torah, and still they did not classic llin 'J'oral1 format for settlen·1ent of mone convert to Judaism" (Talmud Bavli: Beraclws tary disputes wilf indeed be an elevation of the l 7b ). sovereignty of Torah Law. It will convert a rais The task before us is to so exemplify the glory ing up of a hand against the Torah of Moshe into of living a life consistent with Torah so that those a raising of the prestige of the Torah of Moshe. of the populace who live outside of Torah-and The citizens of Israel will then hopefully avoid the believe me, they do so out of ignorance, not out of pitfalls that trapped the citizens of Machsye, and conviction-will be overwhelmed by its attraction. be influenced by the resultant "Glory of Torah." This attraction may have been ignored by the FTER ALL, one of our prime goals is to citizens of Machsye but it will surely prove convin ex pericnce the answer to our prayers: cing to our fellow Jews. The starting point must be A "Remove frorn our lives all causes for sorro1v with us, who profess to live in accordance with and anguish ' 1 Torah law. I would like to highlight two areas worthy of development. One is the entire area of wholesome But this must be preceded by family life so enjoy.ed by the Orthodox Jews. A close associate of mine, who served on the bench of the family courts for twenty years, kept figures and compiled statistics on the frequency of marital "Return (to us) our judges as in '<.lays of old." strife among the various segments of the popula Let us make a reality of the first part of the tion. One divorce proceedings in 10,000-that is, prayer to whatever extent we can, and then we less than .0 l %--involved Orthodox families. He may with justice expect the imminent advent of recently told me of a case involving the shuttling the second. O 6 The Jewish Observer/ February, 1971 Moshe Sokol The Jewish Radical The eternal paradox of the burning bush: How can the same plant produce both a rose and a thorn? Among Jews in all economic classes, the with c;-d. this transcendental ctcrnalization of our most bewildering aspect of the past few years being. Then consider the existentialist philosophy has beerl the cager embrace by some young of the Jewish hippie radicals, its amorality and its Jews of radical social causes. From the search for son1c drug--induccd Nirvana ... One is Berkeley Free Speech Movement of l 964 to the antithesis of the other. the wild excesses of the yippies and the Stu Yet this paradox has surfaced time and again in dents for a l)e111ocratic Society, young Jews our history. For cxainplc. just prior to our incep have played a pron1incnt role in contempor tion as a people. we were exhorted not to emulate ary U.S. radicalism. the depravity of Egypt. which we were coming fro1n, nor that of Canaan, where we were headed. Newsweek, klarc/1 1, '71 The Midrash, elaborating on this point, states that these two nations realized the ultimate in corrup HY THE JEWS' Why is it that, according to tion and debauchery only because of Israel's proxi W sociologists' cstin1ates, one-third to one-half mity' Without the influence of the Jews, they of the modern hard-core radicals are Jewish? would never have attained this dubious status. Why do Jewish names like Ginzbcrg, Rubin and What can this mean' After all. when we had Hoffinan keep con1ing up in the "Movernent"? entered Egypt. and later when we entered Canaan, Ideologies of anarchy and hedonism and hippie we were very much a holy people, as exemplified type anti-existence would see1n to be antithetical by the lofty level of our leaders at those times, to the Jewish reverence for tradition and the capac Yaakov and Yehoshua. How is it conceivable that ity for holiness which is so integral to our being. an encounter with holiness, with the idealistic sclf ()ur ideal is a spiritualization of tnan which is a restraint of the J cwish people, could produce such kind of union with G-d-a permeation of man by decadence and wanton selfindulgence' What Him, which makes one i1nmutable, alinost as He is mystical inter-action occurred that would explain immutable--though of course on a different level. this bizarre transmogrification from good to bad' In this spiriti the Midrash tells us: "Yaakov avinu lo mes"--Yaakov did not die; the same spirtualiza "Stiff-necked"? ·Or '('J'reasurcd"? tion of his essence which enabled him to do battle with the Malach of Esav and overpower him, made URTHER: We find that we are described by it impossible for him to die. His being was no FG-d as an "arn k 'slzei oref,,,-a stiff-necked longer mere flesh, blood, and bones, but a mani people. From the beginning of our history, festation of G-dliness. Thus, his apparent death was this quality has been our bane. It nearly brought not the end of his existence. Consider our congeni about our annihilation after the sin of the golden tal ability as Jews to achieve this unity of sorts calf, and it is a contributing cause in our lengthy gol us and its accompanying pain and grief. l t is a MOSHE SOKOL, whose "Tefillah: A Re-examinatio!l" was feat11rcd i11 the July, 1970 JEWJSH OBSERVER, is a st11dent i11 the Bais description of our essential being. Hamidrash of the 'J'almudical Yeshi11ah of Philadelphia. Yet G-d also refers to us as an "arn seRula"~His The Jewish Observer/ February, 1971 7 treasured nation! Is this laudatory assessment at all compatible with the devastating criticism of "am k 'shei oref"' It would seem that each description precludes the other: the paradox again. A Matter of Depth HE MID RASH RAB BA in Shemos points out T an analogy between the sneh-the burning bush-and Bnei Yisroel. "Just as a sneh has both thorns and roses, so has Yisroel both tzaddikim and reshaim-both righteous and wicked.n Just as it is innate in the nature of a sneh to produce such diametrical opposites as the beauty and delicacy of a rose and the harsh aridity of a thorn, so does Yisroel 1 by its very nature, produce both tzaddikim and reshaim. What 1 then, is this enigmatic nature that con tains such anomaly, that produces such opposite extremes? The answer can be found in an expres sion used by the JV!aharal: he refers to us as an "am penimi"-a people of depth. The phrase seems to indicate that the Jew does not live on a superficial level. His existence is tuned to profundity-living lectually desirable goal-then the Jew can indeed honestly with his inner self. His G-d given soul be attracted to it, and even capitulate to it. In the yearns for G-dliness. Thus crass physical indul eternal conflict of the soul versus the senses, sensu gence, for example, is incompatible with his ality can win, when in this warped inanner the character. He will either reject it outright-or else demands of the soul are also met, bringing about he must somehow endow it with a profundity and an old and almost symbiotic relationship between depth, in order to incorporate it into his inner self, the two. his psyche. Once some evil has undergone such a The Jew is especially prone to such alchemy philosophical or ideological rationalization-once it because the demands of the Jewish soul arc so has acquired the status of an idealistic or an intel- much more stringent than those of others. Thus sensuality attractively clothed in philosophy-a spiritual veneer for the baser drives-can enlist the very soul in its cause. The senses can have their way even with us, once strengthened in their ap peal by the unwitting help of the Jewish soul. Not Such Opposites . .. HUS THE CHARACTERISTIC of am penimi T can sweep a Jew up above the cochvei hashon1.ayim 1 the stars of the heavens-or thrust him down to the lowly sands of the shore. The drive of sincerity that discards sham and des pises the superficial can propel the Jew to Divine heights-but it can also enable him to become the n1ost dedicated, the most unremitting of reshaifn. The search for profundity and meaning in life can bring about a total commitment of the self to G-d-or it can nurture an equal dedication to the material and carnal, as long as they are part of a "cause." 8 The Jewish Obsen•er (February, 1971 .--\ rn se,Rula --arn k 'shei ore}' . .. two aspects of a pagan form of worship. The divine goal of "love" the Jew .- .. The thorn and the ·rose ... Not such has been debased until it has come to mean opposites after all. nothing hut sex; "freedom" has become total dis Indeed, there arc n1any cxatnples in our history regard of tradition and authority; and "peace" has of the metamorphosis of indefatigable reshaim into degenerated into violence and destruction. In their the holiest of tzaddikirn. Their personality differ search for their inner selves, the young have n1is ences are not as fundamental as a superficial taken anarchy-the freedom from all inhihition glance would indicate. In fact, they are intrinsically for true sincerity and inner purity ... yet the the same--only their objectives vary. source of one is truly not so far from that of the It is precisely the Jewish gift for transmuting other. actions into ideological causes that impressed the Egyptians and the Canaanites. They had been de 1\101v ... generate before their encounter with the Jews, but now they learned to mollify the remnants of their ODAY THE PENDULUM SWINGS from a battered consciences while continuing their Epi T technology-worshiping n1aterialism to a com curean existence. They witnessed the never-ending mitment to utter simplicity. Now, while the process of internalization of lofty motives, and pendulum is in the upswing, is the time to effect a they adapted this process to their own inventory of change in the life-style of this generation. Now, vices. This was what they "learned" during their while internal sensibilities are heightened, can this exposure to the Jewish character. turned-on generation be turned around-re directed. Now, before they become numb to the The Promise of the Radicals yearnings of the soul, is the time when they can he extricated from the tyranny of the flesh, and-once ND HEREIN LIES the answer to the painful freed-they will soar in an exhilarating upward A riddle of the Jewish radicals. Because of their flight ... Now is tlte tim.e for thorns to become gift for profundity, their drive toward inner roses. D meaning and honesty, they find today's material ism repulsive. The nine-to-five man whose life is a race for a dollar and who has become in the end a prisoner of the overwhelming abundance of his possessions, is an ignoble and ludicrous example. To the previous generation, the search for a loftier raison d'etre was a luxury they could not afford during the battle for existence of the Depression ~·".'__ ., days; hut the ability to ideologize has inevitably """""'""-;:,·-.:\;;_"-- '.,.;~ been reborn in the children of affluence. The delu -cc." : sions and pretensions of middle-class life are repug . ~ nant to the inner sincerity they crave. Seeing the hollowness of their parents' lives, the young people - have rebelled, and set out to search for values of their own. It is their tragedy that they have been given ,7nudalions lo r peuirni, and it is this sensitivity and the drive .'\rt\t rPll ')tll(l1"' pr1111' mcit'(' I l1·ln1•\\ ,rnd L111'.Ji>h \\(•ddi11g ,ind ILn lv\1t1\·.ih toward inner harmony that are the catalysts in the irl\'ildll<>lh th.rn rnu-.! :\1'\\ Yn1k pr111H•1, nmllHrH·i/ radical revolution. But without Torah the drive has been sidetracked. The revolution has become a reli !11, d1r\1n:.,: \·cn11 !ldll\\' gion in inself marked by the fanaticism usually ;;iri_T,8Ct~OLL ,B'TQDI0.8 associated with cults. Even the mass congregations 156 FIFTH AVENUE I NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010 I TEL. (212) 989-4114 at rock festivals, with the blast and roar of elec ll\ ,1ppn111!!1H'lll 0111\ tronic 1nusic, have the weird, 01ninous overtones of The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 9 Bernard Weinberger Politics and The Rabbis: a Marriage of Convenience or a Union of Honor? VERY NOVEMBER we hear the same con1e to the fore an awareness that to avoid vio E anguished cry frorn the J cwish co1nn1unity: lence such a change n1ust come about through Rabbis do not belong in politics' Why do11 't changes in the political power structure. Control they keep their noses clean' This usually follows rather than revolution is what the de facto dis an election that secs rabbis taking sides in the poli enfranchised arc now seeking. Power has becon1e tical campaigns, perhaps by signing ads endorsing a the ultimate goal of those who have been relegated particular candidate or by otherwise being associ to the lower rungs of the social ladder. Politidl ated with one. It is assumed that there exists a power in this country is where the actfon is. If the certain unanimity in the position that rabbis do syste1n is to be changed, then those in control of not belong in politics. Yet, no one has really taken the system must be changed. the trouble to examine this question seriously. Undoubtedly, the major thrust for this change in The assumed consensus is predicated on two the distribution of power has come from the Black assumptions: first, that politics is a dirty game; and Renaissance which has seized this country. Begin second, that rabbis are some sort of loftier beings ning with the civil rights demonstrations in the that ought not be demeaned by indulging in such South, and completing the entire circle through sordid sport. These assumptions are interrelated Black Separatism. there is a widespread recog and both have un,1ergone radical changes in the last nition, by moderates and extremists alike, that decade. If politics is no longer seen as all evil, and political power is the key to. existence in this rabbis are not presumed to be cloistered saints, country. Unless blacks can make thei~ power felt in then there coula well be a happy meeting ground. the voting booth. there is little chance for them to achieve the status they long for. Participatory THE "NEW POL/'11CS" democracy has come to include the ultimate possibility of having direct access to those who OLITICS HAS INDEED CHANGED. Today, make the decisions. P politics is no longer the exclusive province of the professional politician, who has spent a lifetime working his way up the clubhouse ladder. ;\JEW C0.4UTIOJ\JS Politics today is synonymous with what we call "the system," the functional structure of society. UT THIS NEW AWARENESS of the impor In the current clamor to change the structure of Btance of political power has not been con our society, which tends to discriminate against the fined to blacks alone. It has reached all the disadvantaged and the underprivileged, there has disadvantaged. It has been recognized by the poor. the young, the n1i11ority groups. and. yes, even the RABBI WEINBERGER is a prominent leader of the Jewish co1n- Jews. 'This new awareness of the need to achieve 111unity of iVilliamsburg, Brooklyn, where he serves as spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Brooklyn. He is afreq11ent rontributor political power has led to all forms of coalitions to niany ]ewisf1 publications. and realignn1cnts and has shaken the traditional 10 The Jewish Ob.~cn•cr I February, 1971 centers of power. Interestingly enough, a year later, when the The single most important issue which has n1inority-group para-professionals sought to occupied this country in the last decade is the U.S. negotiate a new contract with the decentralized involvc1nent in Victnan1. Seldorn has A1ncrica been board and the Centrnl lloard of Education, the so shaken by inner turn1oil as on the issue of this U.F.T. joined forces with them against the Board war. But opposition to the war probably would to achieve their goa 1 of increased salaries and not have created such social uphcavcl and the up status! rooting of J)c111ocr<1tic control of the White House. were it not for a coalition of forces of the young. the poor, and the blacks. The campus unrest result GOODll \', CLl'IJHOUSE ing fro111 our involverncnt in Southeast Asia is prcsun1cd to stcn1 rnainly fron1 inoral n1isgivings. HILE THE DISADVANTAGED were begin Innocent people were being killed in a battle they W ning to sec. the first signs of power in their neither understood nor cared to wage. and our hands, they also recognized that the kind of college students were outraged by the thought that changes they sought could not be handled by the they too were going to be sent there to battle with clubhouse, the traditional source of political an unknown ene111y. 'rhcir rejection of the war was power. One simply could not get decent housing, ostensibly on moral grounds. 1norc 1noney for the poverty progran1s or better The poor were 111otivated by 111orc pragn1atic educational opportunities for the kids by talking to considerations. Money that n1ight have been the local politicians. They were just too sn1all to diverted towards alleviating their plight at home handle these massive problems. So the disadvan · was being spent on military expenditures that taged began to move directly on city hall. City hall, staggered their poverty-struck imaginations. Bil in turn, cried for n1orc funds frorn the state capitol lions of dollars that might have completely re and the White House. City hall also started to move structured life in the ghettos at home were being out toward neighborhoods that were threatening to spent wantonly on an unnecessary war. Thus they, explode. As a result, the whole emphasis has too, opposed the war. changed to a neighborhood-oriented government, Blacks used the war as a case in point to deinon with some real power vested in the people in the strate the inequities to which they were subjected street. "Power to the people" has bcco1ne n1orc hy "the system," highlighting the statistics of the than an empty slogan to be shouted with clenched number of black soldiers killed in the war as com fists. It has, in fact, become a part of the reality of pared to whites. They, too, opposed the war. It is the "New Politics" that we arc experiencing today. doubtful that the resentments of any one of these The Orthodox Jews have not been impervious to groups alone could have created such a climate of this new reality. It is true that traditionally Ortho dissent that this country has recently experienced. dox Jews have had no political aspirations and The new coalition of the poor, the young, and the have sought no political involvement. They knew black has thus had an enormous impact on the that the large organizations would defend them country. against anti-Semitism, and that they had no place in the political structure. They accepted with quiet N!iW POWER resignation that not a single Orthodox Jew occupied any in1portant position in city, state, or HIS EXPERIENCE in political action has also federal government. It simply was not the kind of T had a tremendous impact on each of these place where an Orthodox Jew could be comfort groups individually. They began to believe in able. They happily gave their vote to the local cap their new potency and they felt encouraged to con tainof the political club in fond hope of getting rid of tinue to seek change through other alliances that a jury notice, parking ticket, or building violation would give them power. The decentralization of in exchange,a hope seldom realized. It was termed a the New York City school system was achieved by fair trade and nobody bothered to raise questions a coalition of blacks and Puerto Ricans with the about inequities. In any event, there were enough liberal establishment. Such an alliance was strong Jews hanging around the political clubs to make enough to unite two long battling adversaries,the them feel that no ill would befall them. U.F.T. and the Board of Education-in opposition But as the local community increasingly became to the other group. a political battleground, Jews began to feel threat- The Jewish Observer I Febn~ary, 1971 11 cncd. Neighborhoods th 12 The Jewish Obscn>er /February, 1971 cernablc as a group~just as other ethnic groups, official may shape the destiny of the Jewish eom like the blacks, the Italian-Americans, and the n1unity concerned. In such ccises, it 1nay becon1e Irish, are also bcco1ning Jnore recognizable cis bloc necessary for Jevvs in general and rabbis in particu voters. So Jews as a voting group arc a potent lar to bcco1ne deeply involved in the election. In force, and the rabbi carries a responsibility to give New York City for example, the election of a guidance and direction to this force so it 1nay be inayor in 1969 and a governor in 1970 were used for the bcttcr1ncnt of the Je\vish con11nunity. occasions that reflected such serious stakes. It is in such crucial public offices as these that we 111ust INVOLVh\lliN'J': IW!FN ANIJ 1-JUIV? keep our options open. At ti1nes, we confront difficult choices, especial MOST VALID QUESTION, then, is when ly when one of the candidates is a Jew with good A and to what extent rabbis should involve credentials in the general conununity. We n1ay thc1nsclvcs in political ca1npaigns. It should be incur the wrath of other Jews if we oppose the obvious that there arc two levels of politics and Jev./ish candidate: but in regard to these crucial one n1ust be careful to differentiate between the positions we n1ust exa1nine the overall benefit or two, There is the old classical form of politics that dan1age to the Jewish co1n1nunity. It is then our is alniost entirely related to patronage. l'his would duty to take sides, even if it means opposing the apply \vhcn the position involved is not of such Jew, On the other hand, a rabbi brings dishonor to par The Jewish ObserPer I l:clnuary, 1971 J3 tional life is allowed to become a tool in the hands of public relations outfits. Those who are suffi ciently impelled to take a public position should Mezuzah Talk do so as individuals. and should let that stance be ,,-lt the door zvas tl-1eir evaluated in ter1ns of its own significance without post, to the ri7ht, embellishing it with dignified, high-sounding insti tutional signia. left ri7ht left right back and forth rnarch the hushed rnilitia THE VlORDICT: NO RULEBOOK an unseen arrny of celestial f!Uardians OLITICAL ACTION TODAY is too dynamic pacinf!. racillg, a field to lend itself to hard and fast rules. P attending tlteir invisible There arc too many variables to develop rigid ui7il guidelines that can be applied equally to all situa dili7ently protecti117 tions) even when on the surface they are compar able. Still, one can safely generalize that a his abode fundamental distinction must be made between the politics that affect the Jewish community as a l~rorn yoruler cornes whole, and the politics that affect "only me" per the dweller of the house sonally; between the old political clubhouse in fumbling his keys volvctnent and the heightening involvcn1ent of Orthodox J cws. The latter is a public service to the ,A ray oj- hope once 1nore (ievelops Jewish con11nunity, while the for1ncr is an exercise a chance in self-aggrandizement. The latter should commend that rnaybe noiv at last itself to rabbinic involvement, whereas of the the d we lier will just former it can be said: "stay clear and keep clean." stop and listen 0 an({ think arui sense atui let us (say tlze 71wrds) PHONE 256-2300 it!,'~ ~~-,,~ WE DELIVER cornrnunicate 256-9171 SELF SERVICE Hirn SHOLOM'S ALL-REDI GLATT KOSHER READVFORPOTORFREEZER to ltirn MEATS• POULTRY• DELICATESSEN • BARB-Q UNDER STRICT SUPERVISION 0 F RABBINICAL BOARD OF FLATBUSH SHOLOM B. EICHORN 6818 BAY PARKWAY A quick turn of the key BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11204 an(l the door opens and a hand reaches up Phillipp Feldheim, Inc. Feldheim, Publishers Ltd. to the right Publishers & Booksellers 39 Tachkemoni Street tappin7, rubbing 96 East Broadway Jerusalem, Israel barely touching New York, N.Y.10002 the case that houses the house ·s ouards TAKES PRIDE IN ANNOUCING :~ sl(ght kiss of the finger tips THAT WE WILL SHORTLY BE PUBLISHING A and the door is tightly CATALOGUE LISTING ALL OF OUR PUBLI shut A cry of agony is heard CATIONS. AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST BY fro1n tlze parchrnent WRITING TO EITHER OF THE ABOVE LEIB BEN MORDECHAl was represented i11 these pages by "The OFFICES. Complete Cycle," wliich appeared in the Decernber, 1969, edition of THE JEWISH OBSERVER. 14 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 Leib Ben Mordechai Hlhy haJJe ivc once rnore tl1ey 11 1aifC' The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 15 Ezriel Toshavi QBSERVER on the Israeli Scene KFOTZ, A Jump from Pornography to Violence Hxplosio11 is a battle-scarred term, but how else The opening provoked a confrontation in the can one describe the spread of obscene literature, Knesset between Shlon10 Yaakov Gross. an Agud<-lh films, and plays. and the accompanying crumbling representative, and the bantan1-weight Hugh of the barriers of propriety. censorship, and com Heffner of the Middle East. Uri Avneri. editor of tnunity insularity that once protected the innocent the weekly scandal sheet Ola111 /l,1:e/1. Mr. Gross frotn ex posurc to the worst! deplored the moral depravity being fostered by the theatre, only to be countered by Avncri, who de Iiscalatia11 is a worn-out word, but how else can fended the art of ma king a buck for art's sake. one describe the steady rise of crin1es of violcncc ... - assault. robbery. rnpe and murder' \Vhatcvcr the 11on1enclature, the facts are unde batable. Regardless of the strength of their objec ERETZ YISROEL-what a strange setting for a tions fcvv today can succeed in con1plctcly insulat debate of this nature! The entire challenge to long ing thc1nselves fron1 the n1ore deplorable influences standing standards of morality really has no place of society. The 1nost neutral of newspapers and here. Kfot:, Ulmn Ha:e/1 and all the other ac 1nagazines, the ubiquitous TV tube. son1cti1ncs coutren1cnts of a libertarian atn1osphcrc arc a even the next-door neighbor. all graphically bring throwback to the depravity of the Canaanite culture ho111c what one would want to shut out. \vhich brought upon its practitioners expulsion in the face of the invading Children of Israel-the same Children of Israel who had turned their backs forever on the shame of Egypt with their Exodus. ISRAEL. TODAY, is also suffering from the In the words of Yehudah Leib Levin. the editor of fall-out of the worldwide immorality explosion and H,1111odca (the Agudah daily in Israel): "The streets the concurrent escalation of violence. ln addition tcan1ing with scandalous newspapers and n1agazines to imported films and stage productions that bring represent a cultural depravity which-had they 1 Scandinavian and American "progressivcness ' to existed 3.000 years ago-would surely have stood the theatres of the Holy Land. the Israelis arc in the way of our receiving the Torah at Sinai.'' con1ing up with son1e hornc-grown creations as Sociologically, the fight against the Victorian well. Most recently. a new musical revue called hypocricy of publicly denying private sins and KFOT7, ("Jump") opened in Tel-Aviv. proving that pleasures is still going through the motions of the the lsraclis can keep pace with the Aincricans in post-Freudian battle even though it is long-won. It pornographic creativity. has already been proven to everyone's satisfaction that n1an's inner c1notional 111akc-up is not as simple as a Sunday-school list of do's and don't's. EZRIEL TOSHAVI lives ill Hayit Vcian, wlu;re lie obserucs tlie After pulling away the veils of hypocricy, the Israeli scene for r£>aders of THE JE\VISH OBSERVER. demolition crews have not stopped. and arc still 16 ripping away walls, doors, curtains, and whatever Brought up to date, the President's Co1nn1ission other barriers shelter personal thoughts and private on Pornography (discredited by President Nixon, acts from public gaze. The battle for "honesty" in by the way) stated the same sentiment with a personal matters is still being fought in the Western "positive" postscript: "A little pornography now world. and then might even be a good thing." This trifling. This battle between "honesty" and deception belittling attitude toward purity in thought runs has no place in the Israeli scene. The secular counter to convictions basic to Jewish belief, and Zionist pioneers who settled the kibbutzim never even has ra1nifications in the escalation of violence believed in the bourgeois institution of marriage in to which we arc horrified witnesses today. the first place; and the truly religious always recog nized that what was private or unspoken-"topics that could not be discussed among three"-··indeed did exist, and they are dealt with frankly and THE UNIVERSE OF JUDAISM embraces the honestly in the world of lialachah and Torah physical as well as the metaphysical, the intellect thought. Modesty was not to be confused with ual, the emotional, and the spiritual-all in their hypocrisy ... Nonetheless, voyeuristic publications 1nany criss-crossing, lntertwining extensions. A and entertainn1ent arc on the increase in Israel. positive thought is valued as a forerunner of a good deed-even in the absence of its cuhnination in the world of action, it is still of value: "A good * * thought can be credited as a good deed" (Kedushin 40a). THE LAST FEW YEARS in the Holy Land have Similarly, a lewd or obscene thought can be de also seen a sharp rise in crin1cs of violence-.. cvcn cried as a harbinger of an act of self-contami bank robberies and n1urdcrs~·--cven in such pockets nation. Moreover the thought is in itself a violation of serenity as Jerusale1n and Bnei Brak! As 111any as of "Guard yourself from anything of evil" thirty street gangs arc flourishing in Jerusalem, and (Devorim 23.10-as explained in Kesulws 46a). they have their counterparts in the streets of other Thus, one's thoughts and mental images demand large cities. A group of New Left activists in Israel continual purity aside fro1n any consideration of has called itself "Black Panthers"--and has adopted the results that might ensue. A "dirty" book is some of the Panthcrs'tactics along with the name. not a vehicle of corruption: It is corruption itself Louis Lipke, Bonnie, and Clyde have not yet According to popular concepts of repression, a struck in Israel, but violence-once completely "dirty)! book docs not corrupt because lt only absent from Israel's dotnestic scene~is now a statis inhabits the reader's in1agination; it inight even tically perceptible feature of life here. provide a benefit by offering a release to volcanic pressures. How ridiculous to pretend that an acti * * * vated imagination takes the heat off an insistent libido, when in fact it stokes its flames! A visual or MAN'S MORAL ARMOR is by nature vulner verbal representation of the object of one's curi able, and exploitation of his weaknesses needs no osity or desire does not satisfy anything. It only deep sociological or profound philosophical thrust further awakens dormant images and urges. As a to effect a breakthrough. An extra flicker of ex result, that which was once beyond question posure and some rationalization can be all that is becomes merely outlandish from repeated ex required to transform a limping morality into an posure; and after further encounter, the far-out exuberant "Kfotz!" becon1es in1mcdiatc-·-and then most insistent ... One such rationalization is the famous statement One mo1nent 1s 1nental contemplation can destroy of a former New York City Mayor. "After all," many an inhibition, and a graphic portrayal of the said he, "no one was ever corrupted by a dirty forbidden can erase countless taboos. So the world book." of thought is a vestibule to the world of action and Oscar Wilde had already expressed the same a provocative thought can become the fuse for sentiment with less econon1y but more acid: explosive behavior. At the san1e time, obscenity in "'There is no such thing as a moral or im1noral the abstract constitutes a pollution of mind and book. Books are either well written or badly soul, which matters greatly indeed on its own written. That is all." account. The Jewish Observer I February, .1971 17 * * * IN THIS CONTEXT we can better understand the terrifying escalation of violence which sur rounds us. An insistence on the supposedly innocu ous nature of the "dirty" book, the "dirty" pic ture, or the "dirty" song has made a travesty of the world of thought. Accordingly, value judge ments can only be assigned to overt acts. Diplo macy is a joke, prayer-service of the heart-is an anachronism; purity of thought is Victorian; shattered glass and broken barriers-these are rele vant and meaningful. In this context, pornography and violence ex plode together in an escalating cycle that defiantly attacks the spiritual ramparts of our Holy Land and our sacred Institutions. D BURIAL IN ERETZ ISRAEL Chevra Kadisha Perushim -Ashkenazim OF JERUSALEM Founded 5616 (1856) PINCUS MANDEL, sole representative Over 19 years experience interment in all parts af Eretz Yisrael 111 PENN STREET, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 11211 Day and Nite Phone 855-5121 A dedicated, dependable, expeditious service Agudah Member-over 42 years. Charter Member, Brownsville Branch ooom~'O~'.:.',...,. <_U -~".,,;u(,,&A;:;,,. _ Reserve now for Pesach the tastiest Matzohs in the world All HOROWITZ·MARGARETEN PRODUCTS ARE @ENDORSED ZUCKER'S GLEN WILD HOTEL *GLATT KCSHER & CHOLOV YISROEL Swimming Instructor • Music Specialist * HEATED THROUGHOUT A/C Counselors • General Counselors and JC's * INTER~CITY BUS STOP AT HOTEL Day Camp in Flatbush, Brighton area. A/C building, excellent working conditions Call Monday thru Thursday, 9-5; 648-6100 NEW YORK CITY NUMBER' (212) 849-0981 18 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 Aaron Hish Bu.t liM.t Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a subway-ride from Avenue and 4 7th Street. As these bus riders are no Manhattan's 47th Street diamond center (with a run-of-the-mill commuters, so is the bus-rille no few stops in between on the East Side), where ordinary experience. many a religious Jew earns his livelihood. A ride on a New York City subway train during rush hours ]ohnson had his Boswell. Times Square had its can have a crushi'ng effect on one's person and Damon Runyan, and the Williamsburg-Midtown dignity, and there are many Williamsburgers who Manhattan shuttle has its AARON HISH who has sur are willing to sacrifice neither. Hence, the morning reptitiously recorded some of the shuttle-talk for and evening run of the shuttle-bus between Lee readers ofTHE JEWISH OBSERVER. He emphasized his point by saying some compensatory Tehillim by the light of Shloma Weiss' Shomer Shabbos Bakery. Every time Chazkel THE TRIO WAS HAVING its customary heated spurted ·'anti-Semite" to Chayim's aloof opinions, encounter at the bus's pick-up corner, and the Yanke! interjected with a "Mizmor leDovid." In the exchange was being punctuated in the usual fashion. midst of the ronde of Chazkel's harried shouts, Their voices rose above the sounds of the evening Chayim Ber Volf's measured replies, and Y ankel's traffic, stilling by comparison the din of the Lee melodious interruptions, the headlights of the bus Avenue hustle-bustle. The give-and-take of the appeared. The yellow vehicle screeched to a brake debate had almost reached a crescendo; the topic skidding halt in front of our bus stop. was-"Why was the bus from 47th Street late?- "klacht art! Macht art!" (Make place! Let'em the second time this week?" off) shouted Yanke] Itzik, the bearded driver, in his Chazkel Moshe, the IBM programmer, had the best shtibel voice. With this announcement heralding most vehement opinion. To Chezkel Moshe it his arrival, Yanke! ltzik exploded the theory that was nothing more than anoth~r facet of an inter our winged messenger was a "'goyishe anti~Semite." national plot devised by the driver. To Chazkel His long tallis kotten and his loosely curled payos Moshe life was all very simple. Black or white brushed away the theory of an international kosher or treife-with no in-betweens. The driver anti-Semitic plot, and made Chazkel Moshe blush. was "an anti-Semite who was put on this world The steady dip-dip of the motor was definitely purely for one purpose-to prevent me from apolitical. It sounded like music to our unattuned getting to my evening job on time!" ears, even though the loose muffler at the back of Chayim Ber Volf, however, shrugged nonchalantly the bus was clanking up and down adding its at this nonsense, and spoke with the equanimity own jarring notes to the symphony of Lee Avenue of a seasoned diplomat. "It is definitely no one's traffic. Truly the healthy roar of the motor shamed fault-the bus broke down." Chayim Ber Volf who had so staunchly maintained The voice of authority had spoken-it was purely that our "Golden Chariot" had a mechanical fault. a mechanical fault. "I listened to the mntor last The crowd descended and our Tehillim yid, night and my practiced ear didn't like its nigun. It Yanke! Ungar, finishing his last "Shir Hamaalos," had a flat tone. There was something wrong." was mumbling "bashert, bashert," as if to nail down Yankel Ungar had his own explanation for our his theory in a positive fashion. A slight knowing delay. Yanke! never saw the hand of man in anything. smile appeared on his face and it seemed to say It was "bashert-min-hashomayim "-providentially that the victory of logic was his. Tehillim answers fated. "It is our lot. Somehow we weren't zoche everything and brings satisfaction in many ways, it this week. Our tefillos probably weren't forceful seemed to say. enough and our kavonos weren't proper." In a tremulous voice, however, one of our The Jewish Observer/ February, 1971 19 stalwarts asked Yanke! ltzik, the driver, "Why so sheets outside, and this made things on the inside late? What happened? We have to get back to the very uncomfortable. The windows were shut tight city for our night jobs ... " to avoid the pelting rain and this only added to our In his best whisper--which made every word discomfort, while the roller-coaster effect of the sound like a Shma Koleinu note-·he replied, springless bus set the cues for the marionette "Vos liaist? Tonight is the last time you can be performance being given by the standees. The mecliadesh the levono-I reminded myself in the atmosphere could best be described as "chaloshus," middle of the bridge, and I was afraid of oncoming and yet a peaceful, almost dreamlike quiet prevailed clouds. So I pulled the bus over to one of the in the bus's cubicles-- the serenity of a day's work emergency islands where I could see the moon to do done and tired people heading home. the mitzvah. Some others of our chevra joined rne "Nu? Maariv 1" shouted Chayim Ber Volf, and we said Oleinu, kaddish, sang Tovim Meoros and all passengers hastened to rise, "gartel" themselves, wished everybody aguten clwdes/1. And that's why and crush the standees in the aisles. No one seemed we're late.H to mind that they had nothing to stand on but Listening to this recital, we were all flabbergasted. someone else's feet, and the "Shir Harnaalos"rang In the middle of the bridge?-·during rush hours? out true and clear. Everyone swayed in unison, and in the midst of traffic?-people on an emergency the breath of the fervent "Hcho-o·o·od" in Sliema island? But we knew better-no questions asked-no further befogged the closed windows of the bus. answers needed. The mist clung to the windows, and the bus's And that's the way it is with theories. They are rushing course through the streets gave it the totally inadequate when it comes to explaining affect of a yellow chariot carrying heavenly hosts Jewish ways of life. through time. Our bearded pilot took his place at the "kisey Maariv completed, all settled down in their shel Eliyahu" behind the wheel, and somehow it proper places. The screech of the shifting gears no longer seemed to any of us as though we were testified to the overload on the bus, and Yankel at all late. O Itzik, the driver, ;,as having trouble seeing the road and shifting gears at the same time. The wipers seemed incapable of clearing a path of vision into the flood of rain. The closed windows seemed to have encapsuled the tefillos of the passengers, frosting the view. "Vish, vish," Yanke! Itzik pleaded to the minyan of standees in the bus entrance, and everybody busily attacked the windows, wiping away, using an old copy of Der Yid, a stale tissue, or even a contraband copy of The Day-Morning Journal. It was a losing battle. As soon as we would wipe the front window it would become hazy again. Through the halo of mist and the sheets of rain the lights of Delancey Street loomed into sight. The transmission's loud protests rose above the hub-hub of the gut vort, the shalesh slzudos Torah from the rebbe, and the slam-a-kibbutz that were filling the air. Above it all, Yanke! ltzik's voice rose, "The bus can't take it-· No more passengers! n The Delancey Street bus-stop came into focus, and our heavenly carriage was spotted by three drenched regulars, waiting at the appointed pick-up ~bf111t ••• corner. Tlue I Alwq "Mer nisht kain ort' i'vler nisht kain art!" (No IT WAS THE LAST BUS to leave from 4 7th Street more room! No more room!) shouted Yanke! Itzik, that night, and it was jammed. Rain was falling in our deliverer, and refused to open ·the gates to our 20 The Jewish Observer/ February, 1971 sanctuary. "'1~he bus can it take it-"we'll never make the hill on the bridge," he shouted in his best shtibel voice. "We're already standing kep auf kcp!" Suddenly, audibly, a stillness descended upon our four-wheeled haven---a quiet which bespoke an ominous portent. It was as if all the pent-up feelings of agony, all the inner turmoils, suddenly came to a head, and the diamond-cutter Chayim Ber Volf who only displays such swift response when running to do a mitzvah--shouted with all his might-.''f/os !wist' Far a Yid is allemol du platz 1"-(What do WATCH OUR WINDOWS FOR SPECIALS you mean? There is always room for another cw!) J ~~~ ...... ~- ...... -.-~ ...... , Like an echo, everyone repeated the same words. t Hot Kiddish on the Sabbath t It became a chant---simultantously demanding and Serves 50 to 500 Persons prayerful. shce Gefilte fish (White & Pikei t W Dagim Fresh Frozen Fish Fillets & Dagim Finest Quality Canned SALMON &. TUNA DAGIM TAHORIM CO. 1644 - 52nd STREET BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11204 494-7070 The Jewish Observer I J.'efJruary, 1971 21 detail. For ins~ances, the ordinary reader may form the impressioni from one or two passages (e.g. p. BOOKS 45) that th_e pbhgation to tithe non-agricultural mcome 1s b1bl~cal - which, in fact, it is not. This should_ perhaps be explained more clearly. MA'ASER, THE PRECEPTS OF TITHING: by Sumlarly, the categorical statement that a man Rabbi Dr. Joseph Oppenheimer "must not give away 1nore than twenty percent of (New York, 1971; Shengold Publishers, $1.) his earnings" (p. 13) is correct as far as Ma'aser is concerned (and the author specifically limited his "While there is no lack of worthwhile literature study to the la.ws of Ma'aser); yet it should perhaps on what is commonly referred to as 'social ethics in be men_tioned that even if a man has given a Judaism,'" the author points out that "there is Ys of his mcome. he is still obliged to help a needy today no work that would set forth in detail the person that approaches him. ways in which these ethical concepts are to be expressed in daily living." In particular there has The last suggestion that this reviewer would like not been available a clear and detailed explanation t<;> offer concerns the rule that one must support of the halachic obligation to set aside one-tenth of his children from his own funds, and not tithe one's income for charitable purposes and Sf>Ccifical money until t~ey have reached the age when they ly for the advancement of Torah. This void Rabbi are ready to enter the labor force; the author sug Oppenheimer has undertaken to fill most skillfully gests that "iJ!l Western society, that would be and. competently in the present booklet, which appr~ximately fifteen years" (p. 35 ). Perhaps the carnes the approval of Rabbi Dr.Joseph Breuer. age-hm1t could be defined more precisely as the What IS the nature of the obligation to give moment whet\ a child is no longer reguired to Ma'aser? Who must tithe his income? Which attend school :- whenever that may be in any par income must be tithed, and which is exempt? For tJCular country. what purposes may the tithe be used? These and Actually, it. is remarkable that such a wealth of many other pertinent guestions are answered by halachic information has been assembled in this the author. He has drawn upon the latest halachic booklet and that so few suggestiorts for additional decisions found, and deals with many issues drawn clarification ~9.me_ to mind. The lucidity of the from contemporary economic life, giving on every arrangement IS m itself worth noting, and so is the point his halachic sources. quality of the translation, by Gertrude Herschler. Of course, the very objective of making this a It is this revie)"er's hope that this excellent booklet concise practical guide to the giving of Ma'aser has will find many readers and users, encouraging the imposed limitations on the author, and in several p_roper support of our needy and our Torah institu places has kept him from enlarging on some tions, and bqtowing an abudance of blessings on matters that one might like to see clarified in more our people. · o r-~~~~~~~~-~.~~~~~~~~~~. OR LANDER'S LIQUOR STORE THE JEWISH TIMES We have expanded our stock to A WEEKLY NEWStETT~R FOR THE THINKING JEW include a complete selection of all Kosher Wines and Liquors I Imported and Domestic Send this Coupon I - -- -;- - - - -· - ·------for Passover with $10 for your I THE rnw:ISH TIMES I including a new assortment of annual subscription • I 303 W. 42No Sr., NEW YORK Crrv 10038 three gift subscrip- I I wines and liquors from Israel tions - only $18 • I Enclosed Please find $ ...... for ...... subscription(s). 1 Visit or Call our Store and mail to I I 4819 - 13th AVE., BROOKLYN, N.Y. THE JEWISH TIMES I Name ...... :...... 1 GE 6·1031 303 West 42nd Street I Add : l New York City 10038 I ress ...... ~ ...... ,, .. ,...... I FREE DELIVERY We specialize in supplying liquors for AND GET INFORMED! your Bar-Mitzvahs, Weddings and all :_c~ ..:::: ...:::: .. ·:=":::::":::::"·::::· .. ::::· .. ::::S~tt'::.. ·::::··:::::·::::: .. ::::z~ ...:::::·:::::"::..! your Simchas. . 22 The Jewish Observer I Feb~ary, 1971 For additional information and an interview please contact: Rabbi Eli Te.· itelbau.'!ti, Exec. Dir. 122-25 Metropo~ran Avenue i>ew'Gardens, N.Y. 11415 Phone (212) 441-5245 ,_,_, --_,,,_.,_,>_,,,~.-_,,_,_, V''-''"''''"_,o'v-''"','«,--•,.~"'-''"~''"'''"''•"'°W-',''•''""' '•' were only an abstract principle of constitutional law, such a hope would be wishful thinking. second looks rlut the heat generated by that debate bespeaks that it touched sensitive and hidden nerves, and that the federal aid duel was End of a Cycle; Start of an Era? symptomatic of deeper-seated differences. At one end of the The announcement by the tically the total Orthodox Jewish spcctru1n were people who were president of New York Board of community. This challenged the dedicated to Torah at all costs. Rabbis of his support of pro Heterodox organizations to At the other end were those--and grams for governmental aid to all retain their positions. Although they are still there--who are schools marks the end of a cycle. it is uni1naginable that the opposed to aid because they are In August, 1957, when this American Jewish Congress or opposed to Jewish education as writer wrote an article in Jewish Bnai Brith should ever change its an unwholeso1ne reminder of Life entitled "Religion and position, in as 111uch as "Separa what they have been trying to State-A New Look,'! the editor tion of Church and State" is part escape. In between were the dee1ned it necessary to write an of the vcrv fiber of their souls great majority who had to weigh introductory note wherein he many n1~1nbers of the non: these conflicting interests. With stated that although "previous Orthodox clergy, including many the passage of time, Jewishness discussions of this topic appear Reforn1 clerics, have seen fit to has becon1e n1ore respectable, ing in Jewish Life have been support government aid to yeshi the futulity of its survival with characterized by the view that vas and Jewish day schools. It is out Torah education more ap measures towards the incorpora interesting to note that while the parent and the arguments of the tion of religious practices in areas laymen preceded the rabbis in strict separationists tnore spe of life pertaining to the state it this line of thinking in Orthodo.x cious. Hence the shift of thi'nking self ... are unconstitutional, are ranks, it was the reverse in Het on this issue. incompatible with the American erodox ranks. The shift, therefore, on the schetne of things, and menace The broader significance of issue of government aid to Day the rights and positions of minor this latest change is that it is the Schools is in part attributable to ity religious groups, we are first time in the history of the some beneficial, long-term pleased to present ... Mr. American Jewish con11nunity trends. Whether those trends can Gross'. .. challengingly different that we have a significant intel be capitalized upon or not will point of vicw.n In point of fact, lectual movement from Ortho depend largely on whether or not except for hints in the writings doxy toward the left instead of Orthodoxy can continue to offer of Dayan Grunfcld of London, vice versa. Can we hope that this the leadership that it offered in for which this writer is greatly is a hirl1ur tesl1uval1~·an omen of the cycle of thinking that now indebted, nothing was ever pub future blessings? If the basic approaches a closing phase. lished before that, seriously ques issue in the federal-aid argument Reuben E. Gross tioning the doctrine of Separa tion from the Jewish point of KEDEM KOSHER WINES ZELMAN STUDIOS view. This "challengingly, different Best In quality Highest in Kashruth For the finest in creative point of view'' ren1aincd just that color photography * 21 flavors of \Vines for some ti1ne. Converts were "1'he niost recommended few and far between. One of the *champagnes narne in fine photography" very first was Rabbi Moshe Sherer *grape juices of Agudath Israel. As the debate 623 Cortelyou Road waxed hot and heavy, the tide of Available at leading liquor stores. (off Ocean Parkway J sympathy moved from the right Brooklyn, N, Y. 11218 to the left, and within the space 107 Norfolk Street, New York, N.Y. f GRJ.8288 ___J Tel. 633-5500 of seven years cncon1passed prac- 24· The Jewish Obserl'er J February, 1971 Editorial Applause and Dissent KOSHER Mr. Gross is a mite too gener And then there is another ous in ascribing the change in factor. In an interview that was stance of anti-day-school groups printed in the February 5, 1971 to a hirhur teshuvah. London Chronicle, (Liberal) We share Mr. Gross' wish that Rabbi Harold Saperstein, presi a newly-foupd appreciation of dent of the New York Board of Torah as the key to Jewish sur Rabbis, stated: vival had prompted Establish i The Jewish Observer/ I'ebruary, 1971 25 Rosh Chodesh - or Sunday ? Israel is time and again thrown economy is based on a six-day millions of self-confessed into crisis as a result of threats to working week, which provides an enemies and whose existence is the sanctity of the Shabbos excuse for many thousands of due only to the grace of witness the recent controversy Jews for the flagrant Chillul G-d-that country cannot argue surrounding the projected auto .Shabbos which persists in Israel that it can ensure its survival by races in Ashkelon, scheduled for to an alarmingly increasing promoting a life-schedule which a Shabbos. degree. results in a cultural pattern that Years ago, Rabbi Shlomo There is of course no admiss is contrary to the Divine Will. Lorincz, Agudath Israel repre ible excuse for Chillul Shabbos Here is an issue upon which all sentative in the Knesset, pro whatsoever, but there is no gain religious Jews in Israel could and posed that a five day week be saying that many of those who should unite. They should call instituted to allow the citizenry commit it appease their con and agitate for a five-day week, an alternative to the Shabbos sciences with the argument that the implementation of which excursion. the one non-working day in the would undoubtedly increase the When Rabbi Lorincz's pro week provides the only oppor level of Shemiras Slzabbos and posal was voted down by the tunity for a journey tu the sea lead to a general enhancement of Labor government of that time, side or a visit to relatives in She·miras Hamitzvos. he commented: "How ironic that another part of the country. Eventually it would be estab a plan to give laborers an extra Like most policies pursued by lished that the Shabbos is a day free day every week should be the NRP, the Rosh C/wdesh idea of re-creation and not of recre proposed by representatives of is a compromise which does not ation. O the so-called right-wing religious really go to the root of the prob party, only to be defeated by the lem. t 1 Labor party!" The only way in which Yours for Recently, Rabbi Norman Shemiras Shabbos in Israel can Lamm initiated a new plan to be fostered on a national scale is the asking convene a national work holiday by the introduction of a five Delicious GLATT KOSHER Break on every Rosh Chodesh, and this da y-week. There is in Israel fast, Lunch, Dinner served to you plan was considered as a motion today a large fringe-element by most Airlines at no extra cost. before the Knesset. which is yearning for a return to When arranging for your next afr Unfortunately, this plan was meaningful Judaism. This ele trip be sure, request "Schreiber Kosher Air Meals." Available in also defeated. A thought-provok ment would feel hypocritical if it over 50 cities. ing editorial on these proposals were to start observing some Prepared \Jnder R3bbinicJ! supN· 'ij\. appeared in London's Jewish mi tzvos while indulging in the v1s•ori of the Union ot Orthodox ~ desecration of the Shabbos. Jewish Congregations. U. S Govern- Tribune. We quote: ment Inspected. A move in Knesset by Israel's Experience has shown that -·-'-' ~ ...... , -"""'...., ~, ... National Religious Party to make Shabbos observance leads to the ...... every Rosh Chodesh a day of rest performance of other 1nitzvos has been blocked by the Minister and herein lies the root in the of Labor "in view of present cir whole religious problem in Israel. cumstances." One cannot accept the Israeli There is, of course, no need on Government's argument that in religious grounds to make Rosh the present critical economic Clwdesh a day of rest, but the situation of the country one can ... ,,,. G!al1 KoshH !•'if.i\~ idea behind the move has an ele not afford the luxury of a = ment of interest. It was moti Sunday. A country which has ,.£;c~,.,,~,,.·- vated by the anomaly which survived n1ore than twenty years of hot and cold war, a country Kosher Airline Caterers exists in Israel to the exclusion 9024 Fosltr Avt., Bklyn, M.Y.t 1236 Phcnt: t212) 272-91M of most other countries-that its which is surrounded by many 26 Tl1e Jewish Observer'/ February, 1971 .11.. 0 0 •V~~ ~1)1'; ~ UNITED Chevra Kadisha D'chosidim • Hor Hamnuchot Founded 1856 fro1n learning those nieseclztos that BURIAL IN JERUSALEM A1esi11ta H(12,h Schools: have no direct relevance for the aver Further Reassessn1e11t age student. I would prefer study of AND ALL CEMETERIES IN ISRAEL ---- niesechtos - such as Shabbos, Heitza, To the Editor: Pesachiin, Beraclios, that deal with • The article by Rabbi Aaron situations encountered in daily life; Braf1nan in the October issue calling with the Slrulchan A ruc/.z or Alishnali maal1n Bakobesh for a reassess1nent of the Mesivta High Beruri.1h on each halachah studied in society School curricula is not one that should th c .s:ernora. Such 111esccl1tos as be read and forgotten by Roshei Kesubos, Baba f(anta and Baba Basra 44 CANAL ST. Yeshiva, principals, educators, and can he saved for the post high-school NEW YORK CITY 10002 parents. "fhc article points to a serious years. Nr. E. Broadway Sta. "F" Train proble1n which is long overdue for In addition, students should be solution ·-- that of the great HU1nbcr strongly encouraged to study Afish Da~· & '.\(ite Phone nayos and si111pler mesechtos on their of students who are not really reached WA 5-2277 by the yeshivas. own, and be rewarded for such extra Students leaving a yeshiva high curricular activities. The study of school arc not adequately prepared to Tanac/1 cannot be neglected and n1usar In Canada: face the difficult challenges of society, seforim (books of ethical philosophy) Chevra Kadisha especially if they attend colleges where should be granted their place in the of United Jewish Congregations curriculun1. If a student is offered a their basic values, mores, and beliefs Montreal Tel.: 273-3211 are subjected to criticisn1 and ridicule. wide selection of 'forah knowledge, Only persons with strong convictions there is a better chance that he will and firrn beliefs are in a position to find son1e area of interest that he will resist the pressures of the secularist continue to pursue after leaving the ELI LIPSKER society to 1nake them conform. yeshiva. A student must be exposed to such Alumni should be encouraged to for that note of distinction seforim and teachers as will give hi1n a continue their Torah studies on their solid Torah welt-an$hauung, commit own. Perhaps the yeshivas can offer at your SIMCHA ted to a life of Torah and mitzvos; a some correspondence courses and 822 Montgomery Street occasional lectures and/or tapes to belief that the Torah is the gift of the Brooklyn, N. Y. 11213 Almighty to the Jewish people, and assist their alumni in this effort. that all of the theories of science We must find some way to protect or call which are inconsistent with the Torah the enormous investment of time, 1nust be rejected or otherwise recon effort, and money that we put into the (212) 774-5174 -5176 ciled with l'orah. A familiarity with education of a yeshiva student. If the ------the views of Orthodox scientists on student does not retain the attributes BAIS CHASSIDIM D'POILEN of a yeshiva student that investment these inconsistencies should be offered has been wasted. After all, we must do MATZOH SHEMURAH BAKERY so that our students are equipped to our best to fulfill the prayer "shelo UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF consider the challenges they face. niga lorik velo neled labeholo-that Rabbi Israel Sekulah of Sadanov Veda niah sfieto$hov leapikorus. our efforts not result in emptiness, nor Call or visit our bakery at: Changes in Emphasis produce confusion." 158 RIDGE ST., NEW YORK CITY A J0ve of learning and Torah must 533-3930 be inculcated into every student. I JUDAH DICK 5001-14th AVE., BROOKLYN, N.Y. UL 1-8555 strongly feel that we should get away Brooklyn, N .Y. Tiu' Jewish Observer I February, 1971 27 Ha1nidrasli or synagogue office and instead find thernselves in for a stiff @ n into the acadernic world where we can dose of something else. For this change this situation. I have argued reason, some yeshivas in the New this with many of my collegues to n~ York area have deen1ed it necessary to LETTERS CONTINUED delcare courses in the Jewish Studies avail. "Laych rayd 1nin hahar," We Program as out-of-bounds for their must get off this "holier than thou" college-attending students. Philosophy paranoia and get with it. Judaic Studies-''1'he In-Thing'' and history of Juda't!n1 must emanate RABBI MOSHE STERN from sources more sacred than the To the Editor: Knesscth Israel Congregation college campuses. As a Professor of Jewish Philosophy Professor of Jewish Philosophy at the University of Alabama in Bir University of Alabama ]'rue, many a wayward youth will mingham I concur with the general learn to live somewhat more comfort thrust of your editorial comment con ably with the label ''} ew" as a result of cerning Jewish studies on campus. The problem of a meaningful the courses being offered, but the Nevertheless bemoaning the situation Jewish Studies Prograni in the universi product' beneath the label will be of an will do nothing to alter this trend. It is ties is beyond that of qlftdified instru<; adulterated nature, a "fait accompli." Universities tors. Such a prOJ!ran1 by definition and 1'here is thus more to bemoan than throughout the country have discov in principle must be non-religious in there is to j!ain by Participating in a ered that opening departments of content and non-indoctrinating in ori Jewish Studies Program void ofToral1. Judaic studies is now the "in thing." entation, (It would be unthinkable for These courses offer a wonderful a secular university to offer courses for opportunity to teach our heritage in a credit that are of an overtly indoctri meaningful and· adult-intellectual man nating character.) ner. The trouble is, as you say, the It would therefore be misleading bulk of the teachers in these courses even destructive~- to the well--being of are Jews who have been totally secu our college youth to present a secular larized and in many instances, instruc ized Judaism-without-religion and EV 7-1750 tors who are non-Jewish. The point I expect, as a result, to "teach the1n our wish to make is that more often than heritage." not, those of us who have this con Equally significant, yeshiva and day sternation concerning what and how school graduates tend to flock to these Jewish studies are taught take little courses, for an easy credit or a little initiative in getting out of the Bais "Kosher" intellectual stimulation, and Makes PASSOVER more delicious! This summer, give your kids I ~d ~h ~. 1~ ,n~vJ~h n!,h,f Letfyou~h,,rn~o'n I the happy thousands who have spent their summers m ·' For Girls For Boys CAMP BNOS CAMP AGUDAH Liberty, N.Y. Ferndale. N.Y Sp1>nS MOVING? Be sure to notify us in advan~e so that your copies will continue to reach you Produced under strict Rabbinical supervision. Certificate on request. 28 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 LETTERS CONTINUED To the Editor: I was very impressed with your ''Portrait of a Yeshiva Principal," which appeared in your November issue. Your "canvas" and "brush strokes" were both artfully combined, and while your choice for a "model"-Rabbi Melech Silber ?'1 r was outstanding, I did find your notes on him somewhat skimpy. After all, greatness is not created in a vacuum, and those of us who knew him person· ally were as inspired by his back ground as we were by his presence . Central Hotel Jerusalem This background on your "model'' 6 PINNES ST. DAVIDKA S(j). P.0.B. 1351 Tel.: 21111 should have been filled in. Centrally located - Close to the Holy Places EPHRAIM MELAMED Brooklyn, N.Y. FIRST SYNAGOGUE and MIKVA Beautiful Halls • for Celebrations for Undoubtedly, Rabbi Silber suc CLASS ceeded as he did because he absorbed up to 1,000 people so much of the warmth and dedication to 1'orah that was an integral a feature HOTEL • of his childhood home as it was of the TWO RESTAURANTS - 77 Beautifully Furnished • family he later created. Undoubtedly, Rooms - Air-condition, Dairy & Meat his strong ties with his spiritual Central Heating, Private J. GRUENEBAUM home- Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin- Telephone and Bathroom, EXCELLENT CUISINE - and its Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yitzchock Balconies, Superior Service The Management Hutner, both inspired and guided him during his productive years in Torah education. Rabbi Hutner, indeed, did ISRAEL INTERMENTS direct him to assume the leadership of the Yeshiva Eastern Parkway twenty five years ago, and during those ·years, RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL CHAPEL, INC. Rabbi Silber maintained intimate con 76th Street & Amsterdam Avenue, N. Y. C. • Tel. EN 2·6600 tact with the Rosh Yeshiva. This back ground was very niuch in the fore SHLOMO SHOUJ:,SON ground during his years of services as Announces: "The Yeshiva Principal," and should With a feeling of Responsibility and Personal Vigilance we make all necessary arrangements for BURIAL IN MEDINAT YISRAEL at ALL cemeteries. have been included in "The Portrait" Everything is done with the greatest exactitude and according to Jewish Law. we sketched . .. SOLOMON SHOULSON • CARL GROSSBERG Directors Chapels Troughout New York, Miami Beach & Miami YESHIVA of SPRING VALLEY seeks qualified TRADITION PERSONNEL AGENCY Alef-Bais Rchhe "At Your Service With All Your Employment Needs" for September 1971 term Need A Shomer Shabbos Job? Call or write: Looking For A Shomer Shabbos Person? Rabbi Dov Greenbaum For Fast, Efficient and Courteous Service 229 J\.1aple A venue 147 W. 42 St., New York, N. Y. (Suite 1111) 563-3994 Monsey, New York 10952 Open Monday night by appointment only (914) 356-1400 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 29 AGUDATH ISRAEL CALLS FOR ACCELERATION OF BATTLE FOR PARENT-AID BILL IN NEW YORK The campaign for the/assage of the In a further round of appointments ation in the non-public schools. His Speno-Lerner Parent-Ai bill in New with key legislators and members of fear that the anti-integrationists would York State, spearheaded by the Legis the Governor's administration, Rabbi latch on to this concept to establish lative Commission of Agudath Israel of Sherer stated that "the Governor's lily-white schools is totally unfounded. America, has been stepped up in spite opposition to the concept of the We are determined to accelerate our of the confusion caused by Governor Parent-Aid Bill is educationally un campaign for its passage." Rockfeller's contradictory statements sound in view of the findings of recent Request Postponement of on this issue, and the sudden demise of governmental commissions. The feder "Blaine Amendment" Repeal the measure's chief sponsor, Senator al Jencks study recently advocated a Edward Speno. The Parent-Aid Bill parent voucher plan which President Meanwhile, attention was focused calls for grants to parents of children Nixon has already tested experimental on a side issue of this battle: the repeal attending non-public schools in ly in two cities. The Maryland Gover of the so-called "Blaine Amendment," a1nounts ranging from $50 to $250 nor's Commission on Non-Public a restrictive clause in New York State's annually depending on income of their Schools also issued its reports last constitution, which had long been the families. month, advocating the Parent-Aid con target of the non-public school advo A dramatic chain of events was set cept as the only viable solution to the t:ates because of its hyper-restrictive into motion when on Monday, Febru needs of the non-public schools." language. This year, the non-public ary 8th, Governor Rockefeller made a As the days went by, pressure schools spokesmen felt that any con surprise statement at a pre."-s confer began mounting on the Governor to tinuation of the effort to repeal the ence in Albany, in which he used reverse his position and speak up "Blaine Amendment" would only strong language to express opposition clearly about the pressing needs of the harm the possibility of obtaining to the Parent-Aid Bill as "the first step non-public schools. A survey made by immediate funding, especially since it to undermine, if not destroy, the pub Agudath Israel's Commission on Legis was felt that funding projects would lic school system of our country, not lation and Civic Action clearly indi be worked out which would be con just our state." Many observers felt cated that if the Parent-Aid Bill were sistent with "Blaine." Despite the that with this statement the Governor brought to a vote, it would win by an urgings of these religious leaders, had reneged on his repeated pledges to overwhelming majority. Governor Rockefeller has persisted in "do more" for the non-public schools his public stance that he is committed this year. An Apparent Reversal to the voters to work for repeal of the "Blaine Amendment." The legislative Emergency Session in Albany Two weeks later, on Monday, Feb leaders, however, finally responded to ruary 21, New York's Governor made the urgings of the religious groups, and The reaction was swift: An emer another move in the unfolding drama decided to indefinitely postpone any gency conference was held the next of the struggle to obtain government action on this controversial issue. day in Albany of the 27 State Senators funding for the secular studies pro The legislative leaders made this and Assemblymen sponsoring the gram of the non-public schools. In an decision after they received formal Parent-Aid Bill, with the participation apparent reversal of his position, requests to do so from religious of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive presi Rockefeller told a news conference leaders, including a letter from Rabbi dent of Agudath Israel of America. that he "very definitely" favored all Sherer on behalf of Agudath Israel, Mee ting in the office of Senator state aid for religious schools and was who stated in his missive that the man Edward Speno, the Bill's chief spon currently ''working on it." dated referendum on the "Blaine sor, they planned strategy to press for "I think there is a greater crisis by Amendment" next November "would ward for the passage of the measure, far in the private schools than there is spark unnecessary religious strife and despite the Governor's opposition. in the pubic schools/' the Governor create religious tensions at a time in In addressing the emergency meet added. His new concilliatory and posi our history when we must do every ing, Rabbi Sherer declared that ''Gover tive approach to the non-public thing possible to bring our people to~ nor Rockefeller should not limit his schools was warmly applauded. How gether again in harmony and tranquili concept of revenue-sharing to the rela ever, the advocates of state support for ty. tionship between the federal and state the Yeshivas continued unrelentingly "This serious consideration, cou governments. The Parent-Aid Bill re in their efforts to win the Governor's pled with the fact that our non-public presents parental revenue-sharing, specific support for the Parent-Aid schools can utilize various other ap because it enables all the parents of Bill. proaches and options on the issue of the State to equally enjoy the benefits Rabbi Sherer, in a press conference state aid, adds up to the conclusion of their educational tax dollars. Unless the next day, declared that "the that any action at this time on the the Governor reverses that position, he Governor errs in his continued opposi Blaine Amendment would be not only will have prejudged the work of the tion to the Parent-Aid Bill, because superfluous, but possibly deleterious Fleischman Commission which he had this formula is the only meaningful to our over-all community interests," appointed to study the needs of the manner of constitutionally helping the Agudath Israel spokesman de non-public schools." alleviate the very serious financial situ- clared. 30 The Jewish Observer I February, 1971 New York Yeshivas Received FANTASTIC KNIFE SET ANNOUNCING Close to One Million Dollars ONLY $1 .49, plus 25¢ postage & handling VOLUME II OF SAWKNlFE - blade of surgical stainless HALACHOS OF SHABBOS State Aid steel - cuts bones, frozen meats with ease IN ENGLISH ( l 08 pages) Unconditionally Guaranteed The Yeshivas in New York State to work as described by RABBI SHIMON EIDER received close to $1 1nillion in aid with ALL-PURPOSE KNIFE - Cotnprehensive ... Authoritative peels, shreds, grates, pares Deals with practical halachah from New York State during the end Also, Fabulous Fold-Avay in 1nodern circun1stances of February, as the first half of NYLON CARRY-ALL BAG Available in Hebrew Book Stores the funds to which they are entitled ONLY $1.49, plus 25¢ postage & handling for $3.00* under the Mandated Services Act of or write the author: Send orders to: W I G D E R 1970. Under this law, the State is re P.O.B. 162, Lakewood, N.J. 08701 65 Main Sireet, Monsey, N. Y. 10952 imbursing the non-public schools for Also available:• their expenditures on such mandated HALACHOS OF SHABBOS expenses as the keeping of attendance HOW ABOUT CAMPING VOLUME I - $2.50* records and health records, and stu IN CANADA THIS YEAR? dent testing, with the amounts of $27 An Introduction to annually per pupil up to the sixth Camp Agudah in Toronto invites H!LCHOS SHABBOS grade and $45 annually per pupil from campers' applications. We are HALACHOS OF THE ERUV the seventh to the twelfth grades. This located in Port Carling, Ontario, $2.50' first apportionment was mailed di in the beautiful Muskoka district, • rectly to all the non-public schools, and offer Torah atmosphere, " •.• of greatest value on fhe Amer excellent staff, resident Doctor ican Scene." with the second half to be forwarded -Jewish Observer, June, 1970 three months later. and private swimming area. " •.• A very fm~~ufanf new work ••• Agudath Israel com1nended the Upon request we wil I send clear •.• precise. New York State Administration for you a brochure and application. -Torah Umesora.h Newsletter conducting this program despite the Please write to: *When ordering from· the author, harrassment of a bitter court battle CAMPAGUDAH add 25¢ per book for postage and initiated by the American Jewish Con 129 McGillivray Avenue handling. - Only pre-paid orders. Toronto 12, Ontario SPECIAL RATES FOR BULK ORDERS gress and other opponents of govern Telephone: (416) 789-5514 ment support for religious schools. . .. And the facts: Th" Joilowing lirms have yout <7<1fln<>nlo leo!od by !ho Sbatnos L«OOrato'y - l! you roqueSI iL !Uoy l!n~o wlll be ,.,pl«ced FREE wllhoul SHATNES lABORA·roRYof Torah Umitzvoth 203 Lee Avenue EV~.,... 7-ssJ-O Brooklyn, N. Y. Open 10 A.M_ !o 10 P.M.. S,,.,d•y lo 6 P.M .• T,ltli~g while you w"it, ...,nday and Friday, O< any li BRANCHES: a- ..., 1M ,_.... 111• ., .,.., .,_.. i..n... ,_ 111...... ,.11..., uh "'-- 1.. sa The Jewish Observer I Febn1ary, 1971 31 A UNIQUE TORAH CAMP OFFERING A COMPLETE LEARNING AND RECREATIONAL PROGRAM FOR YESHIVAH STUDENTS AGES 12-17. • Intensive Torah Atmosphere • Shiurim conducted by experienced teachers on Chumosh, Halacha, Gemorah and Meforshim • Swimming and water sports • Motor Boating • All organized sports activities • Trips and excursions to places of interest in the Mid-West. LOCATION: Scenic grounds of the Telshe Yeshivah campus in North Ohio. SEASON: Tamuz 21 - Av 25 (July 14 - August 16) RATES: $175.00 for the entire 5 week season. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE REPRESENTATIVE IN YOUR AREA: Baltimore: Rabbi S. Mann {301) 358-9492 Monsey: Rabbi Y. Borenstein {914) 356-4389 Cincinnati: Rabbi A. Rabenstein {513) 761-8851 Montreal: Rabbi M. Katz 1514) 731-4840 Chicago Rabbi A. Weil {312) 588-4727 New York: Joseph Wilhelm 1212) 387-4275 Rabbi E. Steinfeld 1312) 267-0960 Pittsburgh: Rabbi Y. Roberts {412) 421-9571 Detroit: Rabbi E. Finkelstein {313) 544-8569 Scranton: Rabbi M. Teitz {717) 287-0342 Avrohom Borenstein {313) 545-6327 St. Louis: Rabbi Z. Fishbane 1314) 863-3717 Memphis: Rabbi E. Hartman 1901) 682-0124 Toronto: Rabbi A. Turin {416) 783-8309 OR WRITE FOR PICTURE BROCHURE TO: CAMP KOL TORAH • 27200 EUCLID AVENUE • EUCLID, OHIO 44132 TEL. (216) 261-6284 t • • ••••••••- ...... ,.... , •• _ ·----··- ..... 1'11'. • ...... 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