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The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, May 17,1984 - Page 7
By
PAVTOBIRKAN Leo Baeck was born May 23, 1873 to a rabbinic family well established in iBoliemia and eastern Pnissia. The final heir of Reform scholarship in Germany, he comforted his commonity in its last hoars, as its prophet of hope.;v'
Communities in the German principalities survived Crusades, expulsions, massacres and other persecutions over the centuries to enter the industrial age aiid national unification as invaluable — if not totally accepted — citizens.
Despite cycles of anti-semitism and the steady, dark growth of barbaric romanticism, which was turning its back on the glittering scientific and cultural achievements pouring forth from Germiany's Jews, the, latter made every effort for their Fatherland. Jewish financiers helped build the country's railways, merchant marine and communications and power industries. They pioneered the country's international trade and colonization efforts.
Jews in one stage of assimilation or another founded the country's newspapers, tfieatre and automotive industry. Jewish physicists, physicians and chemists brought German science to world primacy.
Over the same period, the 19th century, Jewish observance took a drastic change of form in Germany; abandoning the ritual of millenia and its Zionroriented outlook. Jerusalem was exchanged for Berlin, Shabbat for Sunday, and tailit and tefillen for organ and pew. Ill reaction, a minority of traditional Jews seceded from Reform observance to form
neo-Orth,odoxy and the foundation of Agudath Israel.
German-Je\yish theologians stressed ethics, moral behavior and ratibnality as the founda^ tions of enlightened Judaism.
The critical exegeses of non-Jewish German Bible scholars and archeologists. Some obvious in their ahti-semitism, were accepted at face value. In return, the Wissenschaft Des Jiidentums (Science of Judaism) was founded to research arid present; the historical, social and literary accomplishments of the Jewish people according to the latest scientific method. Whilis containing an element of apologetics, the Wissenschaft uncovered a treasury of Judaism in a relatively short time and gave the educated AVesternized Jew material with which to refute his detractors.
Baeck became an inflnential spiritoal leader of Germany's commdnlty by 1912, when he took over a leading congregation in Berlin, at age 33. At 26, he had served in Oppeln, and, firomT907, in Dosseldorf. His reputation for scholarship and ardent Jadaism was already widespread. In 1901, he piiblished a polemic against the exaggerated claims of a Protestant theologian. Baeck's Wesen des Jadentnms [the Essence of Jadaism] was pablished in 1904, to be reprinted in 10 more Gennah editions, in English, and hi [1968] Japanese.
Baeck described Judaism as the supreme religion of morality, the * 'classical" religion of action is distinct from the * 'romantic' 'religion of feeling exemplified in Christianity. He also stressed the traditional view that Judaism was universal in its content and teaching, * but expressed through a particular nation's path through history.
God, said Baeck, was more than the philoso-phicalpostulateon which toconstruct a theology of pure reason, as articulated by German-Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen in 1912. God, he wrote, was a living reality, approachable to the degree that the individual strove to follow His commandments in the effort to establish an ideal society on earth. Since such a society was possible, inherent in the commandments was hope.. "Thus hope itself becomes a commandment. i. an unconditional postulation. Thou shalt hope!"
Baeck served as a military chaplain during World War I^ when more than 12,000 German Jews were killed fighting for their fatherland. He became the spiritual leader of German Jewry, and, from 1922, was chairman of its Rabbinerverband, rabbinic association.
In 1933, when Hitler came to power, Baeck was elected head of the Rejchsvertoetang der Jaden in Deatschland, the national cbmmanal body. He devoted himself to defending- the ever^dwindling rights left W the coohtiy's Jews. He comforted them with hope, as the **witness of faith** that he had written about.
He refused to leave their side. In 1943, he accompanied Berlin's remaining Jews to Theresienstadt — at age 70,
Baeck survived, to continue teaching m London and Cincinnati until his death in 1956.
Terrorists expenmented ivith tn^
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but also as a means of increasing the numbers of Arabs leaving the country. According - to one theory, some oi the alleged terrorists be* lieved this in turn would lead to an eariy coming of the Messiah.
The local media reported that two "projects" in this plan were
the bombing of the mosques on Temple Mount and a;riother attack against an unidentified local Arab leader.
According to those reports,. several members of the underground plotted to blow up the Moslem shrines, and eyen experimented with explosives on a model of the shrinks.
The suspects re- The investigators reportedly told their inter- portedly suspect that the rogators that the bomb- underjgrpund may have ing would destroy the had deeper roots than it Dome of the Rock and would seem. One of the the Al-Aksa mosques, leaders of Gush Emu-but leave the Wailing nim, Rabbi Moshe Wall beneath tlie Tem- Levinger of Hebron, was pie Mount injact. summoned to the Jeru-Accprding"to another salem police head-
report the terrorists plotted to boriib the mosques from the air.
remxm lews
seenasa
[Cont'd, from page 1]
the reports of persecution and harassment inflicted on Soviet Jews. He was asked specific
scheduled AnjgeleSi
visit to Los
hear complaints frvm people in the synagogue
Shayevich but he appeared unconifortable ally about Jews not befaig with their questions and
allowed ^ to leave the Soviet UnloiHand he said this was also untrue.
The 46-year-old rabbi, a native of Birebidzhan, was trained at the rabbinical iTssembly in Budapest -— there is no . Jewish seminary in the USSR — and ordained in 1980 under a 1974 agreement reached with Soviet government authorities to alleviate the shortage of rabbis serving the Jewish community.
I^st year he succeeded the late Rabbi Yakov Fishman as spiritual leader of the Chorale Synagogue oh Moscow'^ Arkhipova St. This is the larger of the two synagogues left in Moscow and is reportedly the cientre of religious life in the Soviet capital.
Fishman visited the U.S.inl976asaguestof the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.
Shayevich's visit, along with the delegation of other Soviet clergymen, is being sponsored by the National Council of Churches. The Moscow rabbi led Sabbath services in the Park East Synagogue in Hebrew, which was translated into English. 'He will spend two weeks in the United States, with a
Reporters attempted * that they are barred from to obtain access to attending services or
that they were forced to workon the Sabbath "or anytUng like that.'V
In a prepared press release distributed by the foundation, but which was not referred to by Shayevich when he spoke at the luncheon, the rabbi asserted that attendance at his synagogue was on the risci reflecting .what he called a renewed interest among both young arid older people in their Jewish faith.
The release said that during the Paissover holi-' day more than 3,000 worshippers jammed the synagogue vvhile 5,000 more gathered outside.
The release added that an increasing demand young Jews attending for religious articles such synagogue services, nor as prayer shawls and
quarters, and was questioned for seven hours in connection with the underground.
It was not clear whether he was under arrest, or only summoned for questioning.
Yediot Aharonot reported last week that Levinger >yas questioned, after a top political person okayed the move. It was the second time the rabbi has been questioned since the arrests of the under-
ground suspects Over two weeks ago.
Gush Emunim took an official stand denouncing the alleged underground. The Gush said that the settlement of Eretz Yisrael should not involve the deportation of Arabs and the loss of Arab lives and property.
The Gush condemned iuy attempt to hurt Arabs. It stated that the sole responsibility for the secnurity and tte welfare of the public lay on the government, and nobody had the right io exercise this prerogative other than the government. .
The Gush leaders decided to extend legal aid to their arrested friends —- but not as a body but rather oh an individual basis.
hesitant at first. Before departing, he was asked about the plight of Jews who have been imprisoned for teaching or practicing Hebrew. He simply shrugged and said: "No."
Few bar mitzvahs
Shayevich acknowledged that one of the problems facing the Soviet Jewish community in Moscow was that there were not too many
were there many bar mitzvahs or Jewish marriages.
He maintained that it was not the government's fault that Jews do not attend syhago^e but thut people don't wish to go to worship. He said he does not
phylacteries was being met by importing them from Hungary. It also noted that annually over the past several years approximately 130 tons of matzoh had been baked and distrib uted to Jews in the Moscow area.
[Cont'd, from page 1]'
multicultural Canada.''
He says he favors increased budget and staff for the multicultural program and would seek a federal-provincial conference . . to explore areas in which the federal and provincial governments could cooperate to bring multicultural issues to greater pro-: minence."
MacGuigan says he is in favor of an affirmative action program for the federal public service "and I have several initiatives in mind to increase ethnic representation in appointments in the civil service, judiciary; crown corporation boards and the cabinet."
He adds that he will initiate a program which
would recognize the value of a person who speaks a language in addition to English or French.
"I will advertise employment opportunities in the ethnic as well as general press," he goes on, "and I will institute strict recruitment guidelines and encourage con-. tractors who do business with the federal government to follow them. This will be complemented by voluntary affirmative action programs in the private sector."
As Prime Minister, MacGuigan concludes, "I would welcome meetings with any group that has Constructive ideas and suggestions regarding Canada' s national policies."
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