BOOK REVIEWS

Studies and Essays in Honor of Abraham A. Neuman, published by E. J. BRILL, LEInEN FOR THE DROPSIE COLLEGE (Philadel-. phia: 1962).

Reviewed by historiography strives to become a Joseph M. Baumgarten science. That this laudable goal is, however, stil far from achievement is made clear by at least two of the This volume in honor of the sev- contributors, Rivkin and Weinryb, entieth birthday of Abraham Neu- who preface their historical essays man well reflects the character of by elaborate pronouncements on the Dropsie College which he has methodology. The attempt of his- served as president for the past toricism to make of history an ob- twenty years. Cutting acrQss re- jective discipline, which in Leopold ligious and denominational lines, Ranke's words tells "wie es eigent- the volume includes essays by thirty- lich gewesen ist," wil always be frus- three scholars, Jews of all different trated by the fact that historical persuasions as well as a few non- events cannot be reproduced and re- Jewish contributors, on historical quire interpretation to become and philological themes ranging meaningfuL. The data of history do, from the period of the Judges to the however, exercise a significant con- ideologies of modern Jewry. Al- trol on subjective vagaries. though some European scholars are included, the volume is mainly rep- In the area of philosophy even resentative of the contemporary this control is lacning. Meir Ben Ho- American version of Wissenschaft rin's essay, "The Civilzation of the des Judentums. 'Religious' " is a subjective attempt As pointed out by Prof. Zeitlin in to formulate a definition of his introduction, while Jewish his- on a secular foundation. Dismissing tory was once written "to impress the racial and narrow nationalistic the readers ideologically or to play definitions, Ben Horin concentrates upon the emotions," contemporary on his favorite target, the neo-mys-

159 TRADITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought

ticism of Heschel, whose poetic ter- beings wherever they may be" (p. minology he finds meaningless when 81) . reduced to a materialistic leveL. The Those concerned about the sur- religious definition, whether ortho- vival of Jt!daism in an age of such dox or liberal, is rejected because it definitions may find solace in some involves revelation. What Ben Ho- of the ':ery enlightening historical rin seeks is a catch-all formulation papers includ~d in this volume. of Judaism broad enough to include Thus, i. A. Agus shows that the tal- enlightenment, nationålism, social- mudic traditions of pre-Crusade ism, Zionism, liberalism, scientism Ashkenazic Jewry were preserved "all of which have been answers to by a small, but extremely dedicated modern Jews' quest for values." The and highly cultured remnant of upshot? Judaism is a civilzation or Jews in the western Roman Empire. religion (he is not sure which) di- Solomon Freehof gathers evidence rected to the fulfillment of the prom- for an original widespread neglect ise inherent in the whole realm of of religious observance among Jews experience. For readers who may in Spain which was gradually over- find this definition a litte too vague, come through education. Ben Horin lays down the first com- The readers of this substantial mandment of r.elativism: "Thou volume wil be greatly stimulated shalt not make unto thee an Abso- by the variety of problems treated lute, nor any manner of Ultimate, and wil see in them a fitting tribute of anything that is in heaven above, to the catholicity of interests of a or that is on earth beneath, or that distinguished Jewish scholar. is idea in the minds of intellgent

Great Jewish Short Stories, edited and introduced by SAUL BEL- LOW (New York: Dell Paperback, 1963). and 1. B. Singer, Isaac Bavli, the Reviewed by William Braun masters of the East European ghet- toes are all represented, as well as Mr. Bellow has assembled a fine some more recent American writers. selection of translated stories writ- In the judgment of this reviewer, ten by Jews, about Jews. Applying the Europeans win, hands down. this standard rigorously and liter- There has been a great deal of ally, he omitted an author like Kaf- interest shown in Yiddish literature ka.He is less strict when it comes recently. Several reasons have been to questions of genre for he includes advanced for this re-discovery. The the story of Tobit from the Apoc- simplest is, perhaps, the emergence rypha as well as a long fragment of of the third generation on the Ameri- a novel by Heine. The bulk of the can Jewish scene. Children disap- book, however, is made up of the pointed by their parents, turn to .work of Yiddish writers of the last their grandparents, the European one hundred years. Sholom Alei- immigrants, and to the stories and chern, 1. L. Peretz, S. J. Agnon, 1. J. values which they brought along. 160 Book Reviews

They find them more sincere" and In the opinion of this reviewer, more moving than the Jewish coun- Yiddish literature wil prevail, albeit try clubs which their parents fre- in translation. Yiddish as a language quent. History, too, may have made has a doubtful future. Yet such is them more. conscious of their fam- the strength of Yiddish writers that iles' past. They know of European they wil continue to be read even ghettoes that have gone up in smoke in translation. .Their values are basi- and of their inhabitants who have cally humane and timeless. Their been turned into ashes. Young peo- heroes are litte people, like little ple, more sensitive and independent people everywhere in this world. than their parents, are proud to bring They live in the midst of appression to light the roots of the culture which and hunger. They face the world they themselves know only in frag. and its diffculties with faith and hu- ments. . milty, with humor, and at times Ths re-discovery of Yiddish with happy laughter. The picture of stories has been reinforced by a no. the ghetto that emerges.. from these ticeable trend in American life to- stories has been called overly ideal- day. Critics such as Benjamin de ized. Granted; but there is enough Mott have remarked on the favor- bitter realism in them to. deflate any able reception that books by Jewish such criticism. authors have found. A particular The people who live in these quality of Jewish fiction is respon- stories, like our own grandparents, sible for this tendency. Jewish were pious. Their sincerity, their re- writers have a special affection for ligious fervor, so very often fed by the Shlemiel, the man who failed in the spirit. of Chassidut, .stiU move life. Their J ewishness is reflected in the reader lost in a time that does the unusual treatment of this char- not know the art of dialogue with acter. For the Shlemiel. with all his the Creator any more. Poor people problems and frustrations, is far su- they all were. yet on iitimate terms perior in human terms to his suc- with "God who punished them daily, cessful persecutors. Our present day and yet wanted them to live and to American mass industrial society enjoy His world. Much formal edu- has created numerous failures who cation they did not have; sometimes easily identify themselves with the they were in awe of book learning. heroes in Jewish fiction. Hence the more often, in disdain of it.. Yet they popularity of Jewish novelists. all treasure life as the highest value, These two trends, then-the re- they look upon their children as the turn to the roots as well as the pref- fulfillment of their own lives... They erences of readers in an industrial try to live justly and humanely 'society..may be ephemeral, time- against tremendous odds, and more bound, and may not last. Does this often than not they succeed.. " adequately predict the future of Yid- In a time like ours when familes dish stories? Or does Yiddish litera- are exposed to strains that seem .to ture possess values that wil make shake their very foundations it is it a lasting document of a culture good to read about what a Jewish that is disappearing? family should be. In no other litera-

161 TRAITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought ture have the feelings of parents for softens the harsh contours. Philp children, and sometimes of children Roth, for one, shows American Jew- for their parents, been described ish life. bare and unvarnished. He with the tenderness that is so repre- disdains the sympathy that his col- sentative of these stories. Their leagues absorbed walking with their children are their hope, for them the grandfathers or marketing with their sacrifices are being made; they must mothers. He does not gain much by rise to a higher economic level, they his honesty. Yet even he maintains must continue the learning, the tra- the tradition, for like all his Jewish ditions, and the faith that the par- fellow writers he is concerned with ents so desperately. try to protect. the fulfillment of man and his dig- If Yiddish short stories did nothing nity in this world. else than show the meaning of what The tone of so many Jewish short family life ought to be, their sur- stories, like the tone of so much Jew- vival would be assured. ish life, is intense. This is not sur- The world they face is hostile. It prising, for the short story is the musters alI its forces to humilate the perfect vehicle for intense moods. J~w. It even kils at times. It is a Its very form demands concentra- world that constantly needs to be ap- tion, it must dwell on the significant, peasedand bribed. It corrupts and it must avoid being longwinded. The turns Jews into criminals. Yet it is a trend towards abbreviation, brevity world with a charm and romance of and harshness is concomitant. Its its own. It beckons with its culture need for limitation stresses conscious and literature one minute, and the action and relegates the imagina- next moment it destroys. To live hu- tion and the unconscious. Short manely in. such an environment is stories are factual, unequivocal, de- more than an achievement; yet time terministic. They' are written from and again, the heroes of the Yiddish the end, as a critic put it, to achieve stories manage to survive in dignity. immediate coherence. In the American short stories we Could it be that the intensity; are stil in the ghetto. To be sure, practicality, down-to-earth quality it is less cruel; yet the net gain seems that is so characteristic of Jewish to be small. For the faith and in- life makes the Jewish short story. timacy of Eastern Europe the Ame- more. representative of its people rican Jew has traded a precarious than any other literary genre? As ,prospe~ty, more often loneliness Hilel used to say, "The rest is ex- and isolation. Only the pathos planation - go and learn." brought from' the old . country : Years of Challenge, by DAVID BEN GURION. (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1963). Reviewed by Louis Bernstein a consciousness of history. David Ben Gurion, who stood at the helm Of the great statesmen of our era, of Israel's government during its few have exhibited,. in literary form, first fifteen crucial and history-mak-

162 Book Reviews ing years, has been one who attemptw Gurion's policy was opposed both ed to immortalize the events in in the cabinet and in the Knesset. which he was a dominant molder But he reasons that failure to yield and leading participant. to this international pressure would No man can tell the story of these have resulted in an international fifteen years as Ben Gurion can. In boycott of the area. As a result of Israel: Years of Challenge, Ben Ou- his actions, Eilat has developed. ra- rion. tells the story in his own clear pidly and there is free movement of and unsophisticated style. No trans- international shipping to its port. lator is listed so one may assume the The last chapters are concerned book was written in English. Al- with Israel's future. They ring out though the book may not equal in prophetic style with calls for in- Churchill's writing in the dazzling ternational peace. Indeed, Ben Ou- briliance of a master of the English . rion emphasizes his yision of' "Is- language, the story it tells is as mov- rael's mission with liberal quotations ing and significant as any history from the prophets. "In the long run, of any people in any language. however, it is spiritual power that It is the period of the sweep decides." He sees in Israel's aid 'to through the Sinai Peninsula that Mr. the new, countries of Asia and Af- Ben Gurion emphasizes in his newN rica a major contribution to inter- est literary effort. On the one hand, national progress and to . Israel's he reports the duplicity of the So- security. viet Union which, while arming Ben Gurion states "What then can Egypt to the teeth, accuses Israel of Israel contribute to the new coun- provoking war. On the other hand, tries. in Asia and Africa and how? he discusses the "friendly" United The .simple and truthful answer is: States which, in effect, voided a good By what she does for herself in her part of Israel's victory, propped own country." And it is precisely in Nasser up again after his stùnning this area where we find the great defeat, failed to keep its commit- shortcoming of this book. The ment to Israel on the use of the "years of challenge" have provided Suez Canal after Israel pulled its internal challenges as grave and sig- troops back from' Sinai, and assert- nificant as those posed by the hos- ed "that the use of miltarý force tie Arab rulers. They fester and linw to solve international disputes could ger on, and become increasingly ag- not be reconciled with the princi- gravated. They should not have been ples and purposes of the United Na- ignored, for some of them play an tions." As an after-thought, one i~portant 'role even .in the rormu~aw might ask what happened to this tl0n of Israel's foreign pohcy. The American policy vis à vis Cuba. absence is sorely felt as one reads The decision to evacuate Sharm the book. elwSheikh was not an easy one. Ben

163 TRADITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought

Comparisons Between Talmudic and American Law, by ISAAC ALLEN (Tel Aviv: 1960).

Reviewed by A. Leo Levin of stolen goods. The very existence of common There are persevering problems problems invites a comparison of which are common to virtually all solutions. Isaac Allen's valuable systems of jurisprudence and which little volume is a significant contri- retain their relevance regardless of bution to the growing literature by time or geography. Examples can authors, expert (as he is) in both be multiplied in the field of crim~ Anglo~American law and in rabbin- inal law: What procedural safe- ic jurisprudence, 'who examine in- guards shall be accorded one accused terrelationships, similarities, differ- of 'crime? Does a confession suffce ences, mutual influence. to, establish guilt. If not, and the It comes in a propitious period. common law is in accord with Jew- Shrinking oceans and expanding ish law that it is not, what more is trade have created a climate condu- necessary to convict? cive to comparative study generally. The availabilty of Foundation sub- Turning from life and liberty to sidies for the promotion of research money and other forms of property, related to other systems and other common problems are even more countries has served as an added numerous. A thief has stolen a piece catalyst, and the range of significant of driftwood. worth some paltry work recently done and currently sum, . but.in. his skiled hands it has under way is by no means limited been. transformed into a sculpture to narrow mercantile interests. of rare ,quality - and great value. American legal scholars are seeking May the original owner reclaim "his fresh insights from foreign cultures wood"? Is the problem any diferent in matters as local - and as univer- if the thief himself did nothing but sal - as the enforcement of the sell the wood to the sculptor? A criminal law. practising lawyer might well en- For us as Jews, the existence of counter questions of this type in his the State of Israel has provided pow- offce during the week and in Bava erful new impetus to fe-study Jew- Kamma during a shiur. In- ish law with a view to practical, im- terestingly enough, he is likely to mediate application. Judgments of meet such .livè issues precisely in the Supreme Court of Israel, what connection with areas which appear we would term opinions, draw on to have only Jewish religious signi- , refreshingly familar sources as the ficance, the added "fifth" for false justices seek guidance from our own swearing, the biblical penalty of ancient heritage on problems as di- "kefel" (double) for theft. It is in verse as criminal prosecution of a these contexts that the Talmud nun for cruelty to children in an treats of questions growing out of orphanage and the legal validity of the appreciation and depreciation a clause in a mortgage designed to

164 Book Reviews safeguard the lender against devalu- ing for recovery in the event of ation of the pound. (See Dalal Rassi wrongful death. v. Attorney General (1953) in 1 Twenty such topics are treated in Selected Judgments of the Supreme the main section of the book (writ- Court of Israel, 239, 247-250 ten in easily understood Hebrew), ( 1962) , Rosenbaum v. Zeger in addition to an introductory essay (1955) in 2 id. at 10, 27-37 on the development of Jewish juris- ( i 963 ) ). The comparativist has a prudence "in juxtaposition to that genuine contribution to make. of non-Jewish nations." Much of the Isaac Allen comes well prepared volume is devoted to abbreviated, to make that contribution and his but adequate translation of a num- present work does not disappoint us. ber of the essays into English. Final- He probes what he terms "the er- ly, there are some delightful pages roneous impression" that in a capi- of personal reminiscence by the au- tal case a unanimous verdict of thor concerning his father, of bless- guilty frees the accused and relates ed memory, a pioneer in modern his understanding of the relevant Hebrew education in this country, talmudic passage to the American and concerning the author's days doctrine assuring a defendant's right in the Lomzer . A section to counsel, a doctrine but recently of miscellaneous comments on va- given new scope and vitality by the rious familar passages is also in- United States Supreme Court. cluded. He probes the significance of the The major portion of the book, biblical twoAwitness rule in the con- however, and certainly the major text of a contemporary negligence attraction for anyone seeking the action and suggests radical revision: book for the sake of the author's a rule cast in terms of evidence original insights, is that portion deal- "equal in weight and credibilty" to ing with the comparative aspects of the testimony of two eye-witnesses. talmudic and American law. We Similarly, he attempts a fresh ra- come away with a richer under- tionale for the rule allowing recov- standing of both systems for having ery where a person is injured by the explored them each in the light of defendant's pit, but denying recov- the other. The author has helped ery where the injury results in death. to chart the way, to pioneer in the No apologist, Allen is insistent on field by lecture and occasional essay subjecting every proposed theory to over the decades. the test of rigorous logical analysis. With the author having con- But by the same token he reprints tributed so much, it is less than gra- in full, scholarly criticism of his own cious to ask more. But certainly Mr. point of view. Unmoved by the criti- Allen, who has generously arranged cism, the author suggests that re- for the proceeds of this very volume covery was denied in the event of to be used in the support of Torah, death simply because there was no would be pleased that already the plaintif to sue, a condition which comparative study of Jewish law is existed in the common law prior to rising to new plateaus. the enactment of legislation allow- First, the increased interest in

165 TRADITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought

learning the view of Jewish law on fords instances of a pragmatic ap- a myriad of old-new problems, from proach based on the felt needs of the law of trusts to that of zoning, society. (See, e.g., problem of lia- has intensified the need for better bilty of a master for the intentional tools to aid in research. When a Mr. torts of his servant.) What are the Justice Silberg, speaking for the Su- limits of pragmatism? Where does preme Court of Israel, explores a one go to determine the "needs of problem in dinar be'dinar (when society"? What are the lessons of does usury result from a change in history, as we pursue a given doc- the value of currency), he cites not trine through the codes and the re- only Bava Metzia, Bavli and Yeru- sponsa, first in one country and then shalmi, the Rambam, Tur and com- in another? mentaries, but also a substantial Allen himself is not unmindful of number .of responsa, early and late. the larger issues. Included in the How caIl the full range of this ma- work is a letter to Chief Her- terial be made readily available for zog, of blessed memory, with s,ome the hurried researcher? Fortunately, trenchant comments (in the con- great strides have been made in Is- text of coercing a husband to grant rael and more work is currently un- a divorce) on the proper use of der way in an effort to make the rich- precedents and on the role of pro- ness of our resources easily acces- cedure as distinguished from sub- sible. . stantive law. But, ag'ain, Allen is the More significantly, .there is need trail blazer, suggesting the way. He to emphasize processes rather than does not purport to offer definitive to focus exclusively on particular- treatment even of a segment of the ized solutions of microcosmic prob- field. Yet, this is precisely what we lems. How does Jewish law develop? must come to demand. There are How does its development differ those, primarily in Israel, who are from that of a secular system of aware of that demand and who are law? What should its contribution already preparing to meet it. be to a contemporary law of sales To Isaac Allen we may be grate- or secured transactions or criminal ful for his sustained effort to point procedure? The Talmud itself af- up the need, to help find the way.

The Indivisible Isaiah by RACHEL MARGOLIOTH (New York: Sura Press, 1964). a scientific investigation Rachel Reviewed by , Margolioth re-examines the various Sidney B. Hoenig arguments given for a divided au- thorship and demonstrates that "not It has been commonly accepted only are the two sections similar that there was a Second Isaiah, both in language and style, but they which naturally tradition does not are remarkable for their unity, in accept. To substantiate the traditional that similarities between them ~an- concept, not on mere faith, but from not be ascribed to any infuence

166 Book Reviews

whatever." The author deals with naturally the Hebrew original is the time element, the mention of more demonstrative the present vol- Cyrus, the picture of the return from ume is valuable to the general pub- the Babylonian exile and the Mes- lic or the non-Jewish scholar or~ to sianic concept, emphasizing that the person whose Hebraic .1inguistic these "critical" views are not sup- abilty is limited. The reading of the ported. Ibn Ezra and Abarbanel, book wil awaken many, even of the she shows, were not proponents of critical school, that they should have a Deutero-Isaiah. Isaiah's mode an open mind in investigation. of designating God or the people Though apparently there might be of Israel, as well as the refer- opposition from certain circles of ences to Zion and or Is- Biblical scholarship, it is commend- rael's expressions of consolation, are able that Mrs. Margoliothdared common in both parts. Such paral- face the torrential onslaught and lelism is also found in word com- that the Sura Institute for Research binations of admonition or in the and Yeshiva University aided in prophecies of universalism. The pre- publishing and disseminating the ponderance of analogues convinced volume. Her book makes it incum- the author of the single authority bent upon and educators not of the prophetic book. to speak of a Deutero-Isaiah til This valiant attempt is highly they have personally examined her commendable. Originally printed in arguments, by careful reading of Hebrew, this present English ren- her stimulating volume. dition is the fourth edition. Though

Recent Reform Responsa by SOLOMON B. FREEHOF (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1963). Reviewed by that in the last decade the number of questions he has received has Nachum L. Rabinovitch risen to more than two hundred. He Only a generation ago, who would feels that this is not just a passing have thought that, in spite of the phase, but a genuine movement to allteration, Reform and Responsa rediscover the "Intellect" of Ju- could go together? In the introduc- daism, which is enshrined in the Ha- tion to his newest book, Dr. Preehof lakhah. looks back to that time when "Re- Of course, Dr. Preehof makes it form lost touch with the whole rab- clear that as respondent he feels no binic literature," or, as he calls it, more bound by the prescripts of "the brains of Judaism." If the Law Jewish Law than do his questioners. itself was irrelevant, why ask ques- His responsa are designed only for tions about it? general guidance and "wherever it Prom his own experience, our is impossible to say 'Yes', the law author concludes that a change is not permitting it, then we know that defiitely in the makig. He reports that law, if contrary to our modern 167 TRITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought

conscience, wil not continue to be two students present:' observed. " Now what do the "quoted" au. This crucial reservation notwith- thorities actually say? standing, even mere interest in the C'JV '?'æJ~ iH~'5:i il"n n"5:i :ini:i Halakhah certainly is a hopeful sign. v'v:i v'ip O'¡~'~ o'io" ilv5v, For this reason alone, Dr. Freehof's ,'li N5 ONi " i1~¡J' 5":iv i1¡WV CV book might deserve a welcome. ,~ '11 .~~ i'~"i1 nl1v:i li¡Wl1 CV However, this book is presented ì'~ w¡iOi1 n'.:i5 i:i ¡n~ Heirt as more than a collection of discus- .w'i¡: c'¡~n~ sions on Halakhah-related topics. The Magen Avraham cites a rul. We are told in the author's introduc- ing that it is not necessary for all tion to expect for each question "a ten to have studied together, as long lengthy and full responsum which as ten are present; even if only two deals with the entire relevant law or three actually studied, they may from the Bible to the Talmud and recite the Kaddish. To this he adds, the Codes." In addition, the Pub- "It appears to me that if there were lisher's Foreword assures us that not ten present during the study, "This volume is presented as a book even if they arrived afterwards, of sound scholarship." It was, there- Kaddish is not said." fore, with genuine excitement and So much for the Magen Avra- anticipation, that I"began to read the ham. What about the Zichron Ju- responsa. dah? One does not have to go llar to 5"f ¡:'w o"¡nr-n i'r-5nr- 'nvt:rt see how the book actually rates as ¡r-" n~¡v im~ i'~5n:i . . . i'~¡:litt "sound scholarship." The very first ~,n i~5w i,~'5¡i 5V p:i,i tu'ii' responsum discusses the permissibili- 5vtu 5"t j"ir. i'~.i'i1 i:i5:i mi'M':i ty of reciting the Kadt:ish without a ,in':i in~ iw Cl1 it:5, C'JEl 5:i Minyan (quorum). Our author i05v i,0,5¡i El":iVtU t,':i li¡'N:i5, reaches his decision to permit Kad- n05 c'~:i,i'~ c':i¡ CW ,'i1tu:i "n dish privately by referring to the n~'tu5 V":i~ ~im~r. C'JW m:i 'El,iV Kaddish De'Rabanan (Scholar's ,:i:i ," Ji + . . ~ i'''O m "0 f"~~i1 Kaddish) which, he says, originally ~5 toitJ CNW . . . ir." CiNtu i~1:" required ten present but no longer .tu'i¡: ¡r.,5 5,:i'tu t'Jt: i::i'Ji- does. He quotes no less an authority The Maharam Schick insisted than the Magen Avraham to Orach that even though a Minyan was pres- Chayim 69:4: "Even if two or three entduring the period of study, only have completed their study, they if at least two were actually engaged may recite the Kaddish." As if this in study may the Kaddish be recited. were not enough, he cites further To this Rabbi Greenwald objects on R. Judah Greenwald in Zichron Ju- the basis that why should two study- dah (I - ~4) who allegedly approves ing be any different from one? He re- and tells that the Maharam Schick fers therefore to the Turei Zahav "when asked by a single student who that "if one studies and a Minyan had finished his studies whether he gathers immediately upon his con- might not recite the Kaddish alone, clusion he may recite Kaddish." insisted that there should be at least It is this same kid of "sound 168 Book Reviews

scholarship" that permeates the "One who can talk but cannot hear whole work and one wonders what may read with the precentor, but a kind of secondary, tertiary or n-ary Shot(!h may not be called to the sources must have been used to Torah, for he is worse than a minor make up such a patchwork of mis- and is accounted like a brute." Inci- quotation and misinterpretation. dentally, one who is subject to pass- What reader of the ,Responsa lit- ing fits of insanity may be callèd, erature has not been struck by what when we know him to be rationaL. sometimes appears to be the exces- (See for example Shaarei Chayim sive modesty of the rabbis? The on Shaarei Ephraim, 1 :22.) greatest authorities, who were really The case of a deaf-mute who is masters of the Torah, invariably re- educable is discussed with relevant frain from making sweeping gener- bibliography in Shaarei Rachamim alizations as to whether a specific on Shaarei Ephraim 1 :23. statement may be found anywhere Were the subject-matter of his in the literature. After all, the realm responsa limited exclusively to such is so vast and who can be sure that relatively minor ritual questions, a given view has not been propound- which concern only Reform congre- ed somewhere by somebody? Occa- gations, we should be dismayed at sionally Dr. Freehof qualifies a state- the shoddy pretense of scholarship, ment in the same way, but more and leave it at that. However, there frequently he is given to categorical are questions which touch the fun- absolutes. Thus, for example, Ques- damentals of Jewish life as a whole tion 3 is whether a retarded child and involve the entire community, may be called to the reading of the such as matters of marriage and di- Torah for a Bar- ceremony. vorce. Our respondent defines a mentally Question 35 is about a woman retarded person as a shota (presum- who was divorced from her first ably, shoteh) who "is grouped with husband and then from her second. two other classes, namely, the deaf- She now wants to remarry her first mute and the minor." This defini- husband. Now the Torah is very tion is certainly debatable, but that specific in prohibiting such a re- is not our purpose. After a lengthy marriage (Deut. 24: 1-4). Dr. Free- discussion of each class, he states:. hof launches into a discursive ex- "Nowhere in the literature is there amination of the "ethics" of the situ- any direct statement as to whether ation, much of which is based on a shota who knows the blessings may misunderstanding of the various de- be called up to the Torah." grees of prohibited sexual relations, Now, anyone who refers to the which need not concern us here, and Shulchan Arukh wil, as a matter finally comes up with this amazing of course, consult the Peri Megadim conclusion: "Since what stands in \ on the spot, where we read, the way is a technical legalism, we eii Nii"tV 'Ntui ~'tu 'J'N' i=i.,~, must first see if there is not a tech- l1i~., niui=i ,mii'5 PN ti~,tu, i~"tuti nical way out. Was this woman di- n"it~~ .i"tiii) .:itun' ti~n:i:i, r~Pti vorced from the fist husband by . (~ mN ~";¡: ltl'C means of an unquestionable legal 169 TRAITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought

Jewish get? If she was divorced so, he never explains, although merely in the civil courts, then even clearly there is no prohibition on according to Jewish law her rela- mixing white cows with black ones, tionship to the second man was not say. Nonetheless, he concludes cor- legal marriage and therefore she may rectly, though on the basis of nega- without question return to her first tive evidence, that there is no pro- husband." (My italics: NLR) hibition. Of course, he is unaware If; indeed, there was no get from of the Mishnah and the Gemara the first husband, then this woman (Bekhoroth 45b) referring to the is an adulteress, a Sotah, and, of possibilty of negro and other col- course, she is prohibited from living oured KoIianim (apparently from with both the first and secondhus- mix~d parentage) (See also Mai- bands, as is explicit in the Mishnah monides' commentary on the Mish- Sotah V-I. nah there). N'i i:: ;3t~5 n'H~N N'n~ crn:: There are several questions where (~ ,t:: ntl~o) 53/1::5 n"ON the view of Jewish law is sought as Furthermore, any children from a basis for litigation in the civil the second union are bastards. courts. In such cases, it is particu- Although it is clear from what has larly distressing that the answers are been said that the responsa are of so unreliable. An example is number no account in themselves, yet the 45, about vandals who defaced a questions are of interest since they temple in construction in Utica, reflect some of the sociological de- N. Y. Their defense lawyers argued velopments in the Reform commun- that the strict state law against dè- ity. As is to be expected in view of facing a house of worship does not their origin, the bulk of the fifty apply in this case because the terile queries are in two general areas, was not yet formally dedicated. funeral and mourning, and conver- When, according to Jewish law, sion and apostasy; there are even does a synagogue become sacred? combinations of both, e.g., 27 and 28 on Burial and Kaddish for Dr. Freehof pontificates: ''Te Apostates. But other subjects are law,. then, is clear: a synagogue does also dealt with. not require any formal consecration Thus an interesting sidelight on in a special service after the build- the American Negro revolution is ing is completed . . . The sanctity shed by a question from a Detroit begins with the pledging of the mon- congregation about accepting a N e- ey, and is complete when the struc- gro convert. In the responsum, Dr. ture is finished." Freehof speculates, "One would Of course, one cannot sympathize imagine that marriage between the with the vandals, but in this case races . . . would indeed bea viola- the law is clear, indeed. The litera- tion of the commandments implied ture is voluminous, but the conclu- in Lev. 19:9 and Deut. 22:9, where sion is set forth in Orach Chayim one is' forbidden to sow with mixed 153 - paragraph 8. seeds or breed animals of diferent CN ,5'~N ,~ '''~Ji'~ i3t ~~i" ~~'N species." Why one would imagine rio~::n Ji':1 crn; H'nN~:i

170 Book Reviews

"It does not become holy until cians), rather than questioners seek- they pray in it, even if it was built ing guidance. initially to be a synagogue." I finished reading this book with Incidentally, Dr. Freehof refers a sense of sadness and not a little to 153, paragraph 13 in the very shame. In what other discipline of same responsum, but knows nothing knowledge would any man dare to about paragraph 8! pass off such sophomoric and mere- The index lists the last four items tricious writings, and what reputable separately as inquiries. These are school would publish a work of such apparently from scholars interested nature? in research, (including two physi-

Jewish Attitude Toward Labor (Batziung Tzu Arbet Un Ar- biuer), 2 vols., by NACHMAN SHEMEN (Toronto: 1963). Reviewed by Pesach Schindler into a panorama of ideals, events and personalities serving as a back- Lonely indeed is the contempor- drop to. Religious Socialism as it ary author who toils in the vineyard has culminated in Eretz Yisrael to- of research and scholarship and pro- day. ceeds to sell the fruits of his labour Part One concerns itself with ethi- in the Yiddish tongue. His dilemma cal concepts of social justice as re- of crying out into a near vacuum is flected in the primary sources of anticipated by the author in the in- Scripture and Rabbinic literature. troduction to this two-volume work. The middle section sketches the con- There is the mystic stimulus of past trasting manner in which these glory which compels one to write a teachings were actually applied and thousand pages in a waning lan- misapplied by Jew and non-Jew guage with the hope that a stray throughout the ages. Finally the au- seed might be sown in the name of thor traces the efforts of many to rebirth. More logical is the assump- bring about a realization of these tion that a universal theme is not social ideals within the context of invalidated by being anchored to a their origin and in their authentic specific time, place, or for that mat- form. The result: Torah V'Avodah ter, language. - a re-united partnership in a land As if to underline the ambiguity re-united with its people. of the Yiddish title the author sup- Almost every subject which is de- plies the subtitle "Social Justice veloped whether in the sphere of Based on Biblical, Talmudic and beill adam le'adam or bein adam Rabbinic Studies." In actuality la'makom gravitates somehow into either of these headings serve mere- the central sphere of Eretz Yisrael. ly as an asmakhta, a framework This contrast of Torah V'Avodah upon which Mr. Shemen hangs his against the more universal Torah hat, for a multitude of subjects. 1m Derekh Eretz of Hirsch is coun- These are skilfully woven to¡ether terpointed by another divergent

171 TRDITION: A Journal of Orthodox Thought theme of religious, as opposed to sources, creates delightful reading. secular, ethics. It is in this latter This work wil appeal even to those sphere that this work speaks with who disagree with its thesis, since greatest relevancy: When social it is saturated by a sense of toler- ideals are tied to eternal religious ance motivated by an attitude of concepts they assume timelessness. A havat Yisrael. One compares this When these are divorced from their to the anti-religious and ultra-ortho- authentic religious source they take dox extremist tirades that have al- on the ephemeral and volatile char- ways bitterly opposed the Religious acter of man. Secular socialism is Zionist social ideals. a case in point. The recent develop- The heavily documented source ments in Israel are another. references at the end of each chap~ The author avoids the weighty ter attest to a labor of love deserving polemic style one expects in a work wider attention by means of a con- of this nature. The easy, informal densed publication in English of this manner, rich in primary Jewish fie work.

REVIEWERS IN THIS ISSUE

JOSEPH M. BAUMGARTEN, professor of Rabbinic Literature at Hebrew College, has frequently written articles for TRITION.

WILLIAM :BRAUN, teaches history at University of Rochester.

Louis BERNSTEIN, Editor of R.C.A. Record and Rabbi of Young Israel of Bayside, teaches at Yeshiva University.

A. LEO LEVIN, professor of law at the llniversity of Pennsylvania, also President of Jewish Exponent.

SIDNEY B. HOENIG is professor of Jewish History at Yeshivah University and is a member of the Editorial Board of TRADITION.

NACHUM L. RAINOVITCH is Rabbi of the Clanton Park Synagogue in Toronto and Associate Editor of Hadarom.

PESACH SCilNDLER, post-graduate student at Yeshiva University School of Education, is engaged in educational work in Toronto and has fre- quently written reviews for TRITION.

Department Editor: EMANUEL FELDMAN.

172