The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], September 10, 1954, Image 1

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

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AN INDEPENDENT WEEKLY SERVING AMERICAN CITIZENS .OF JEWISH FAITH
THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED JEWISH PUBLICATION IN THIS TERRITORY
VOL. 31 NO. 34
PLAIN TALK
BY ALFRED SEGAL
REPORT ON A WEDDING
I was at a distinguished Jewish
wedding the other evening—dis-
tinguished, that is, in religious
meaning and in reverential dig
nity; distinguished enough for
this reporter to tell all about it.
I forget the details of other wed
dings I have attended, didn't try
to remember them: Those well
rehearsed, silly mincing steps of
the wedding party down the aisle
... the formal words of the cere
mony whicj) in these times fre
quently turn out to be quite
empty as, far as the. participants
are concerned ... the buzz of con
gratulatory effusions.
But this wedding was one for
me to remember through all my
days toward the time, maybe,
* when my own grandchildren will
be getting married. Maybe they
can have weddings like this one.
We all sat there in a silence of
deepest reverence; it was like
being solemnly in schuL though
this wedding was taking place in
the ballroom of a hotel. The
bridal party was marching down
the aisle with none of the ballet
steps that are of wedding proces
sions so often. They were people
on a solemn pilgrimage toward
a sacred occasion.
They marched thus between the
guests seated at the dinner tables;
dinner was for later. The cantor,
Emil Rosen, was awaiting them
on the platform in the robes of his
office; he was to perform the
marriage ceremony.
The service was all in song,
except for the formal words of
legality. The cantor began with
the Song of Songs out of our
Scripture; none of the tiresome
"Oh Promise Me" of other wed
dings I've been at. The Biblical
Song of Songs was so new and
fresh to most of us. (We could
follow the cantor in the printed
book of the wedding that was at
every elbow. The bride's father
had provided that.)
Out of the Song of Songs he
sang to the bride . . . “Behold
thou art beautiful, my beloved,
behold thou art- beautiful. Thy
eyes are like doves’ from behind
the veil.” The song said she was
“a locked garden ... a locked
spring, a sealed fountain ... a
garden spring, a well of living
waters and flowing down from
Lebanon.”
In the second verse the bride
groom addressed his bride in the
voice of the cantor: "One alone is
she, my dove, my perfect one. my
beloved. Comely is she and my
beloved, fair is she and my bride.
Like a lily among the thorns, so
is my beloved among the daugh
ters. How beautiful and how
pleasant, O love, in thy attraction.
One alone is she to her mother,
chosen to her that bore her."
We sat there in the gratefullest
respect of people who all at once
Oh felt they had discovered God in
jiecor of the hotel’s ballroom.
5944 Vay come up in the strangest
° PHoir ar out of the synagogues
SflMauod on Page 5)
EBAN AND AMERICAN JEWISH LEADERS
TO ADDRESS ISRAEL BOND CONFERENCE
Israel Ambassador Abba Eban (left), returning from consultations with
his Government in Jerusalem, will be one of the principal speakers- at the
National Leadership Conference for Israel Bonds to be held at the Biltmore
Hotel in New York City on Saturday evening, September 11 and Sunday,
September 12. The sessions, which will be attended by key communal leaders
from all parts of the country, will make plans for the decisive phase of the
4954 Israel Development Bond campaign to raise $75,000,000 for Israel’s
economic expansion. Discussion of plans for the drive and the role' of Israel
Bonds in the growth of Israel will be led by Samuel Rothberg (second from
left), National Chairman of the Israel Bond Organization; Julian B. Yenezky
(second from right), Chairman of its Executive Committee, and Henry
Mohtor, its Chief Executive Officer. Israel Development Bonds are currently
being sold in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Western Europe.
AMERICAN JEWISH TERCENTENARY
OBSERVANCE BEGINS SUNDAY
This month, more than five mil
lion American Jews in hundreds
of cities and towns across the
country will inaugurate the cele
bration of the American Jewish
Tercentenary.
Geared to the theme, “Man’s
Opportunities and Responsibili
ties Under Freedom,” the observ
ance will be launched officially
with a Reconsecration Service on
Sunday, September 12, at 4:30 P.
M., at Congregation Shearith Is
rael of New York, founded in 1654
by the first Jewish settlers in
New Amsterdam. The service will
be broadcast over the American
Broadcasting Company’s radio
network from 4:30 to 5:00 P. M.,
Eastern time.
The eight and a • half month
celebration will be brought to a
close with an outdoor religious
ceremony at the Center Barron
Louis Wolfson and Julius Rosenwald
BY DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright, 1954, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
*****
The papers are full of the story of the battle of
Louis Wolfson to gain control of the big mail order
house of Montgomery Ward.
. Battle is a particularly interesting word in this
connection. I am reminded of a story told of an
other mail order king, Julius Rosenwald.
During the first' World War, General Pershing
gave a reception to the top brass at which the dol
lar-a-year men who had military status were in
vited. Julius Rosenwald reluctantly appeared—
dressed in a general’s uniform.
The reception began with each officer announc
ing his identity, full name and title. After the
generals had sounded off, one after the other,
Rosenwald announced himself as “General Mer
chandise.”
There was, of course, a big laugh. But the fact
is that to be the head of a great commercial enter
prise requires abilities and talents paralleling
those of a military leader.
At the age of 42, Louis Wolfson, son of a for
mer junk dealer, commands corporations which
have assets of more than 200 million dollars, and
now seeks the control of a billion-dollar corpora
tion. This is an age in which social consciousness
has come to the fore and, while we all individually
for the most part for wealth, we have come to
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1954
Amphitheatre in Washington, D.
C., on May 29, 1955.
More than two and a half years
of planning have gone into de
velopment of the nationwide Ter
centenary program by the Nation
al Tercentenary Committee of 300,
headed by Ralph E. Samuel, with
David Bernstein as executive di
rector. The Tercentenary will be
celebrated in over 250 cities and
towns from coast to coast. All na
tional Jewish organizations and
many other national bodies are
cooperating with the National
Tercentenary Committee.
The entire period of the Ter
centary has been proclaimed to
be one of “thanksgiving, prayer,
study and celebration,” by the
National Tercentenary Committee
on Religious and Educational Par
ticipation, and by all rabbinical
and synagogue bodies.
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MORTIMER MAY
“The judgment of the State De
partment is not infallible. This
was evidenced by its recent de
feat of the proposed E. D. C. plan
by France . . . We must show the
Administration that in its attitude
toward Israel, it is also wrong . .
Israel is a beachhead of democ
racy in a vast area of reaction. It
is an outpost of American think
ing and methods . . . and as such
deserves the backing of this gov
ernment.”
Before he asked to be excused
from the dias May outlined the
Zionist program as adopted by his
administration. He brought before
his assemblage a picture of Z.O.A.
activity in Israel centered around
the Kfar Silver project and the
Z.O.A. house in Tel Aviv which is
proving to be a cultural center for
stigmatize great fortunes.
But whether great fortunes should be en
couraged or not, we cannot overlook the fact that
their attainment entails some outstanding quali
ties. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who cared little for
material wealth, noted that there are geniuses in
commerce as well as in war, or in the arts or the
sciences.
Peculiarly enough, Julius Rosenwald denied
this. He liked to tell the story about the man who
won a fortune in a numbers lottery.
The man explained that he did this by “using”
his brains. “It was this way,” he said. “One night I
dreamt of the number 9, and the following night I
dreamt of the number 8, so I used my brains, add
ed the two numbers together, got 15, and bet on
that number.”
Rosenwald insisted that neither by brains nor
work would one get to be a millionaire. They
might help; but the chief element, he thought, was
luck.
There is something in Rosenwald’s statement,
but it is not the whole truth. There is a kind of
artistic quality in those who achieve great for
tunes.- We may say that it is not the highest artistic
quality, but it is a kind of artistic quality, never
theless. The fact that Rosenwald did not see this
quality in himself does not mean anything. The
genius is not conscious of any outstanding quality
in himself.
Southeast Leaders of
Z.O.A. Score State Dept.
Mortimer May. National President of the Zionist Organization of
America, in an address delivered before the assembled body of the
delegates and guests attending the 17lh annual Southeastern Regional
Conference in Jacksonville Labor Day week-end, declared that
American Zionists must marshal their forces to bring pressure upon
those who form the foreign policy of this government, and show
them their erroneoßp altitude toward Israel, and their appeasement
of the Arab stales is hazardous to the peace of the world. Before
being overcome with fatigue, and an attack of weakness caused by
the amebic dysentary which he acquired on his recent trip to Israel
and Europe, the veteran Zionist leader declared:
that city. He urged further sup
port of the Palestine Economic
Corporation.
May came to Jacksonville upon
his return from a visit to Israel,
and after attending an extraordi
nary meeting of the Z.O.A. ad
ministrative council in New York.
While in Jacksonville he attended
full sessions of the Conference,
and met with delegates in special
sessions. May has promised to be
on hand wherever he was needed
to raise Z.O.A. monies, and this
intense exertion in behalf of his
movement was blamed for the
attack of fatigue which caused
the abrupt ending to the speech
he was delivering to his consti
tuents. It is believed that after a
brief rest at his home in Nashville
the beloved leader of Southern
Jewry and National Zionism will
be able to resume his tasks as
president.
May was introduced by Leon
ard Moss of Jacksonville. Greet
ings from the Jacksonville com
munity were extended by Philip
Coleman, President of the Jack
sonville Jewish Community
Council. Ben Wenick of Knox
ville, Tennessee, was Master of
Ceremonies for the evening. Pre
ceding the address by the Nation
al Z.O.A. executive officer, the
officers of the Southeastern Re
gion were installed by Ben Sil
verman of Savannah, Georgia.
Newly elected officers, install
ed at the Jacksonville Jewish
Center by Ben Silverman of Sa
vannah, Ga., included:
President: Leo Burson, Mem
phis, Tenn.
Vice Presidents: Max Hurvich;
Alabama; Wallace Cohen, Ala
bama; Fred Jonas, Miami Beach;
H. George Miller, Orlando; Mich
ael Adilman, Georgia; S. L. Ep
lan, Georgia; Harry D. Kantor,
Mississippi; Jack Pressman, North
Carolina; Morris Pilsk, Tennessee;
Mrs. Hannah Kishner, Tennessee,
and David Goodwin, Miami
Beach.
Secretary: Max Weiss, Daytona
Beach.
Treasurer: Leo Goldberger,
Tennessee.
Assistant treasurer: Morris
Simon, Coral Gables.
Auditor: Abe Schafer, Miami
Beach.
Administrative committee
chairman: S. B. Liebman, Miami
Beach; Harry Jaffe. Alabama,
vice chairman.
Mortimer May, a previous Pres
ident of the Southeastern Region,
was named honorary president
for life.
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