C>Uay t Npv«mb«r 12, 1954
The Southern Jewish Weekly
Combining The Jewish Journal, The Jewish Citizen and The Jewish News
An independent Paper Serving American Citizens o i Jewish Faith
dlls newspaper seeks to serve the Jewish communities of the South with
*n ORTHODOX conscience, a CONSERVATIVE tone, and a REFORM outlook.
Edited and Published by ISADORE MOSCOVITZ. B.S.J.
Subscription, one year $3.00; two years, 55.00.
Upon expiration, unless notified to the contrary,
subscriptions are continued.
P. O. BOX 5588 PHONE 98-1523 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Entered as Second-Class Matter, at the Post Office,
Jacksonville, Florida, Under Act of March 3, 1879
Member, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Sigma Delta Chi, Kappa Tau Alpha,
•even Arts Features and the Chamber of Commerce.
“The Oldest and Most Widely Circulated Jewish Publication
in this Territory”
A Distinguished Visitor
Mr > |f|
•poke fell that just to be in Israel was spiritual enrichment
enough and they would leave the study of the Torah to others.
Comes now Rabbi Siegel with the message of Hapoel
Hamizrachi, and when he leaves us we warm up with a feel
ing of hope that here is a worthy group which seeks to pro
mote the splendid idea that the Torah of the Jewish people
and the State of Israel are irrevocably bound together. We
hope Rabbi Siegel’s mission in securing support throughout
the Southeast meets with success. After covering this area
Rabbi Siegel will call on Jewish communities in South Amer
ica and return to Israel for Passover.
"Since Hapoel Hamizrachi became a decisive Influence
in an Israel-oriented Jewish World, the past year of activities
was one of testing for ideology, as well as for its program,"
the Rabbi said.
“The League for Religious Labor in Israel, Hapoel’s fi
nancial arm and offshoot of the movement, has adopted freely
and applied to gratifying effect principles of cooperative
labor long associated with Chalutz Zionism and has played a
major role in the realization of its goals in a sphere of Zionist
achievements in the state of Israel.
"Never in the 33 years of its existence on the American
scene has the Hapoel Hamizrachi been so bitterly attacked by
hostile forces, and never have our basic teaching of Torah
urge which impregnates our movement been so fundamental
ly challenged as they were during the past year.
Rabbi Siegel
Those crucial days revealed, very clearly who were our real
friends and supporters, and those who were in our ranks for
non-ideological reasons. It was a time in which our leadership
was tested and not found wanting.
“To maintain both the Torah and the State we must
bring about the constant growth of the Jewish people. Hapoel
is following this course according to the dictates of the highest
religious authority, namely the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Its
hundreds of Kibutzim, Cooperatives, Children’s institutions,
Labor facilities and the thousands of its members testify to
this in the face of any attempt to minimize our constructive
work in Israel.
"The American scene is ripe for the creation of a growing
number of Hapoel Hamizrachi groups in hundreds of commu
nities. The story of Hapoel in action has within it for the
religious Jew more spiritual depth, more emotional adventure,
and more satisfying gratification than any saga wh : ch has
yet been told about Israel reborn. Through the medium of a
stepped-up program of Torah Vavodah Institutes in Amer’can
cities throughout the country, it will be possible to strengthen
the depth of loyalty of thousands of Jews and Jewesses
through the ideology of Torah V'Avoda and under this
understanding of what is probably the most creative and
most dynamic force among religious Jewry today."
We were very gratified this week to
receive a distinguished visitor to our
editorial office. Rabbi Samuel S.
Siegel. Chairman of Public Relations
of the League for Religious Labor in
Israel, Inc. When we were in Israel
recently we were shocked by the lack
of interest on the part of the average
Israeli in the religious life of our peo
ple. While most of them observed the
sabbath, since the custom was to close
down on Friday afternoon and Satur
day, most Israelis with whom we
“We can state proudly, after the ideologi
cal cry and hue have subsided, the Hapoel
Hamizrachi withstood the test and emerged
the victor, with a triumphant vindication of
its entire program in Israel and in America.
"It is true, that there were times when it
seemed as if the antagonistic forces, of reli
gious anti-Zionism had won the upper hand,
and when public opinion was veering away
from an appreciation of ‘ Torah V'Avodah.
THt SOUTHERN JEWISH WEEKLY
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
QUESTION: Why is a small
piece of bread thrown into the
fire when baking a loaf of bread?
ANSWER: This custom is
known as the custom of “Chal
lah.” It refers back to the origi
nal commandment in the Bible
which states: “Os the first of your
dough ye shall set apart a cake
for a gift ... of the first of your
dough ye shall give unto the Lord
a portion for a gift throughout
your generations” (Numbers 15:
19, 20). In the days of the Temple
this gift of a portion of the dough
was given to the priest (the
Kohen). With the destruction of
the Temple and the cessation of
the function of the priesthood, this
practice ceased. In commemora
tion of the practice of Temple
days, however, a part of the
dough is burned.
*■*<*«> «■
QUESTION: Why is the respon
sibility for carrying out this cus
tom usually lodged with the wo
man of the house?
ANSWER: It is quite usual for
the woman of the house to do the
baking, therefore she is entrusted
with this responsibility. The Tal
mud mentions this obligation
among the three prime obligations
of the Jewish women (Talmud
Babli, Tractate Sabbath). If there
is no woman in the house, how
ever, it is the duty of the man of
the house to observe this custom.
*•* * •
QUESTION: Why is the special
bread used on the Sabbath called
"Challah?"
ANSWER: One reason given is
that by using the name Challah
for this bread one is reminded of
his obligation to carry out the
commandment of throwing a
piece of bread into the fire. The
Sabbath bread was designated so
because it was usually on Friday
that the Jewish housewife would
bake fresh bread for the entire
week and when she prepared the
specially enriched Sabbath loaf.
Jewish T V
Slated for Sunday
“No Wreath and No Trumpet,”
a television play written by Mor
ton Wishengrad will be presented
on Sunday, November 14, 1954,
(1:30-2:00 P. M., EST, NBC-TV
Network), it has been announced
by the Jewish Theological Semi
nary of America under whose au
spices the program is conducted.
“No Wreath and No Trurhpet,”
is the story of Emma Lazarus, a
great American poet. It tells of
how a sheltered girl was brought
in contact with the Jewish immi
grants fleeing from the Russian
pogroms, and how she learned of
suffering, and how her poetry
took on new meaning and greater
depth.
I : Hebrew
Instruction
Children
& Adults
• Individuals &
WRITE or CALL
EVE TEICHMAN
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The
Jewish
Puis
Box
Between You and Me
•BY BORIS SMOLAA (Copyright. TelegrapkN
SPIRT,
have always been victims in times of revolution, no matter
where the upheavals have taken place ... He starts with the
Lutheran Reformation some 500 years ago and proceeds to the
present time when the Nazi revolution brought about the'
annihilation of 6,000,000 Jews, and the Communist revolution
has led to the destruction of a national life of about 3,000,000
Jews . . . Against a wide background of world history, the
author reviews basic developments -in Jewish life as affected
by upheavals in various countries ... He analyzes these de
velopments and comes to the conclusion that the Jew has
been most secure in times when men had faith in the moral
rightness of the liberal flexible status quo ... He touches, of
course, upon the American scene and he develops the idea
that the evolution of American Jewish community in the
course of the present century has corresponded with the
evolution of America as a whole . . . Just as the two major
political parties in this country demonstrate Americans’ abil
ity to reconcile diverse views and co-exist despite divergence
of opinion, so does American Jewry . . . Dr. Teller points out
that the anti-Zionism of the Reform Jewish movement in
America was the product of an immigrant self-consciousness,
of a deep insecurity about the Jews’ status in America . . .
Anti-Zionism was thus a kind of self-justification for Reform
Jewry .... However, today the average American Jew feels
no compulsion to deny himself because he is at ease with his
environment . . . The author has much to say about the
Napoleonic period, about Charles Fourier and his successor
the French anarcho-Socialist Pierre Joseph Proudhon who
advocated revocation of the Jews’ emancipation . . . He also
has much to say about Karl Marx who, he points out, hated
none more passionately than the Jews although he himself
was of Jewish descent . . . He quotes some of Marx’s anti-
Semitic letters at great length to show to what extent he
provided Hitler with the terminology of anti-Semitism . . .
As to anti-Semitism under the Communist regime, the author
devotes several chapters to it, all containing interesting facts
which stand out impressively as an accusation against the
Kremlin . . . The book is actually a narrative history of anti-
Semitism during the last five centuries, although the author
modestly claims that he is not an historian .. .
Our Kindest Regards
HARRY PEPPER
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e
REVOLUTIONS AND JEWS
No intelligent Jewish reader can afford to
miss reading “Scapegoat of Revolution” by
Judd L. Teller, just published by Scribners
. . . The sub-title of this scholarly, but popu
larly-written volume, is “The Fate of the
Jews in the Political Upheavals in the Last
Five Centuries” . . . The sub-title gives the
key to the contents of the book ... The author
sets forth convincingly the idea that the Jews
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