The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], February 23, 1951, Image 1

About The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume] (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1939-1992

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SppP^^ AN INDEPENDENT WEEKLY SERVING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF JEWISH FAITH
THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED JEWISH PUBLICATION IN THIS TERRITORY
VOL. 28 NO. 5
PLAIN TALK
By Alfred Segal
STRIP-TEASE
My friend, the lawyer Leonard
Rowe, had spoken to me about
the matter. That is to say, the
matter of "strip-tease acts" of
rabbis in their pulpits, which was
his way of describing a certain
▼ice among rabbis. He just had
no use for strip-tease in a pulpit.
“Leonard,” I said, “what do
you mean—strip-tease in a rab
binical pulpit? A pulpit is a
stage for the exhibition of the
human mind. Sometimes the
human mind in the pulpit may be
seen ascending to God, you might
say; at other times it is only a
feeble candle without any con
nection with the stars.”
"What you are saying," Mr.
Rowe replied, "fits in exactly
with my idea of strip-tease in the
pulpit. Sure enough, the pulpit
is a stage for the exhibition of the
human intellect at its best. When
I speak of strip-tease in the pulpit
I mean rabbis who use their stage
to show off their intellectual
shape with all the curves. They
think of a sermon as an oppor
tunity to exhibit their mental
charms, like a lady on the stage
taking off piece after piece to
show how plentifully nature has
endowed her.
“You go to a temple to be spirit
ually lifted up. But no! What
do you get at times? You get a
strip-tease in which the rabbi
shows what he’s got in the upper
story. He quotes authors whose
very names are far beyond the
horizon of the minds of his con
gregation; He employs the gob
bledegook of abstruse words. He
is strip-teasing in a show calcu
lated to inform the congregation
that he is a rabbi who has SOME
mind, as Gypsy Rose Lee per
suades people to understand that
she has some body.”
"I get you now, Leonard." I
said. "It's pretty much in line
with what I're been saying right
along, though I haven't called it
strip-tease. But that's what it
is—strip teasel
“I go to a sermon expecting
to be raised upward and onward
in my Jewish life. I fall deep
into confusion instead. I get lost
in the clutter of big words, in the
maze of the recesses of the rabbi’s
mind in which I’ve been bounced
around. So I just fall flat on my
climb toward the higher spots of
Judaism. I feel like a worm that
never can attain the high alti
tudes of the rabbi’s mind. As I
leave the temple I hear women
talking.
"They are saying: What a mind!
I just couldn't fathom it."
“He is so great because he is
so deep. So deep that I feel al
most that I’m falling in. It’s pos
itively- frightening.”
"Yes, Leonard, that's what the
admiring ladies say after seeing a
rabbi in the complete revelation
of intellectual strip-tease. But
frankly, I don't like strip-tease in
the pulpit. Strip-tease is all right.
in its place.*
U. S. JEWISH CHAPLAINS GET TORAHS
SAVED FROM NAZIS
9 Mr
Mkl m 9| l rr JBllil
f|r^
Twelve Torahs rescued from German synagogues destroyed by
the Nazis have been made available by the Joint Distribution Com
mittee to JWB's Division of Religious Activities for use in Jewish
services at military installations in this country. Chaplain Harry
Schreiner, of Fort Benning, Ga., is shown receiving the first Torah
from Rabbi Aryeh Lev, director of JWB's Division of Religious
Activities, as Dr. Bernard Kahn. JDC vice-chairman Idoks on.
WHAT I SEE IN ISRAEL
(Editor’s Note: In this week’s
mail we received the following
article, which is another of a ser
ies written by Herbert Sohn, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Sohn of 1215
Holmesdale Road of Jacksonville.
The material was received direct
from Katamon, Jerusalem. The
article, entitled “Youth—lsrael’s
Future,” gives intimate details of
Israel’s “wealth,” her children.)
The main streets of Tel Aviv
v ere cleared. The local police
force had blocked off the inter
sections and the pedestrians had
crowded along ‘the side-walks.
Down the street drums were rol
ling and trumpets blared. The
Zionist, Chalutz youth of Israel
were on parade.
This was the last day of the
National Conclave of “Immigra
tion and Settlement.” Once every
four years Keren Ha Yesod spon
sors this meeting of the Chalutz
youth movements of Israel.
On the evening of the first day a formal opening
of the conclave took place in the Ohel Theatre.
Representatives from several countries spoke to
the delegation of some 500 youth.
India, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
England and the United States through represent
atives from their respective youth movements
saluted the ‘Youth of Israel’ on the first of these
meetings held by them since the establishment of
the ‘State.’
The general tone was that the youth of Israel
were held in high esteem and morally supported
by the Jewish youth the world round; that they,
the diaspora youth, recognize that the job of set
tling and building the country has now only begun
and that the youth of the Golah, through monetary
and moral support and in some cases immigration
and settlement, pledge to support the Israeli youth
in their work of building anew this still small,
struggling country.
Alice Enteen of Atlanta, Georgia, and your
writer represented the National Jewish Youth
Conference at this meeting. The NJYC was ap
pointed spokesman by the large majority of Zionist
and non-Zionist Jewish Youth organizations in
the United States.
Mr. Sizzling, member of Knesseth, followed
these addresses, of greeting. As main speaker he
discussed the situation today in the building of
Israel.—“ The land must be developed. Europe has
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1951
BY HERBERT SOHN
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HERBERT SOHN
populace for years has been fed
Zionist speeches. They are tired now of what they
call ‘Zionut.’ Still the deliberate but warm, deep
voice of this white haired chalutz standing before
them kept their interest to the end. He has a man
ner of presenting ideas and feelings that can only
be described as personable and dynamic.
The second half of the program that evening
followed a cultural vane. Some fifty voices of a
new olim (immigrant) chorus gave a wide-ranged
program of European and Israeli melodies. One
encore brought Stephen Foster’s *Way Down Upon
the Suwannee River’ in the Czech language. A
Yeminite dance troupe presented several of their
native dances.
The morning before the parade a business meet
ing was held at the Ohel Theatre. The problem of
absorbtion of the vast numbers of new olim into
the economy and society of Israel has for a long
time been of gravest import, and to these youth
also this problem has been very important. At
this meeting they were especially concerned with
the young olim; how to best absorb them into the
youth movements.
A suggested program was introduced by Chan
ach Reinhold, head of the Youth Aliyah Depart
ment of the Jewish Agency. (He had been an
underground leader in Germany, and worked in
the organization of Jewish youth into aliyah move
ments, getting them to Israel.)
(Continued Next Week)
U. S. NAY TRAIN
ISRAEL ARMY
BY MILTON FRIEDMAN
(Copyright, 1951, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
WASHINGTON—
An American military mission may go to Israel to help train the
Israel army, according to sources within the Defense Department.
This speculation followed a meeting at Istanbul. Turkey, of 18 Amer
ican ambassadors and ministers assigned to Near Eastern countries.
They planned anti-Communist strategy with Thomas Finletter, U.
S. Secretary of Air Force and Admiral Robert Carney, commander
of the U. S. Mediterranean Fleet.
The Istanbul meeting was con
sidered so important that George
C. McGhee, Assistant Secretary
of State for Far Eastern Affairs,
flew from Washington to be on
hand. Another participant was
Joseph Palmer, first secretary of
the U. S. Embassy in London.
These diplomats and American
military men were joined by Gen.
Sir Brian Robertson, British
Commander-In-Chief of the Near
Eastern area. The British com
mander was scheduled to visit
Israel for “courtesy” purposes
! already emptied itself of the
youth who might be expected to
come to build. We cannot expect
too much from the rest of the
world. Os those now living in the
diaspora who could think in
terms of rebuilding their culture
and people, the numbers are very
slight. Our work will continue to
be difficult and slow. It will only
be accomplished by the youth
building the land anew, and
building its people and their so
ciety anew. The only source we
can turn to with hope in any suc
cess is you, the youth of Israel.
To you is thrown the continuing
challenge that your forebearers
have borne.”
He spoke for almost 2 hours to
this 16-20 year-old audience. The
Israeli youth is known for its
short patience for long speeches
or uninteresting presentations of
any type. In addition, the Israeli
after the top decisions were made
at Istanbul.
The full scope of the program
outlined at Istanbul will not be
known for some time. Certain
facts, however, are apparent... Air
Secretary Finletter was there to
develop a string of bases for U. S.
bombers. This was worked out
in cooperation with the British
who already have base sites on
Cyprus, in Iraq, and all around
Israel. Only time will tell what
the future might hold for Lydda
air base in Israel. The Haifa
naval potential must have also
been carefully considered.
What the Istanbul conferees
were worried about was under
scored by the presence of Henry
Grady, U. S. Ambassador to Iran.
American prestige has fallen in
oil-rich Iran and the Soviet threat
to that country is considered se
rious. The Americans were in
Istanbul to decide what steps to
take should the Soviets grab for
Iranian oil. They wanted to de
termine the maximum potential
contribution they could count on
from the various Near Eastern
countries.
It is important to recall that
Admiral Sir John Edelston, Brit
ish Near Eastern naval com
mander, was in Israel not too
long ago on a "courtesy" visit.
Shortly after a trip by Israel
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion
to England, certain categories of
arms were made available to Is
rael by British arsenals. J. Mi
kardo. Member of Parliament,
went so far as to suggest that
Britain initiate negotiations with
Israel to lease bases in the Negev.
The reapproachment between
Britain and Israel was obvious.
All was not well within Israel,
however, and some Israelis felt
their country should remain neu
tral. A Mapam deputy told Ben
Gurion in the Knesset, with ref
erence to Gen. Robertson, “Tell
the general he won’t get any
bases here.” According to the
Christian Science Monitor, the
Mapam delegate’s remark was
censored in all Israel newspapers.
Meanwhile, Israel and the U. S.
grew closer as it was realized
that the interests of both coun
tries were linked. Both govern
ments knew that Israel' needs
American capitaL And both gov
ernments knew that, before a
much-needed $500,000,000 grant
in-aid or any such money is forth
coming, the U. S. would be satis
fied with Israel's cooperation
against the Soviet Union. Amer
ica looks to Israel, which has
often been described by Zionists
and U. S. officials as an "outpost
of democracy in the Near East,"
to serve as the "outpost" they
talked about.
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