The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, July 12, 1974-Page 5 Opinion Trans-Atlantic call was surpassed by Lagov-Apt phone conneaion By J.B. SALSBERG „„ .Fir.st.;a.key.to names and places. Trudeau - IS Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the prune minister of Canada (at least at the time of writing; four davs before the election) • ■ • • .Wilson is Harold Wilsorii the PM of Great Britain.. Lagov ,- is a small town an the hinterlands of Poland. (If vou haven't heard of it before, it is sufficient proof of the inadequacy.of Your education.). Apt - or Op)atovas the non-Jews called It. IS larger than Lagov.and' about 20 miles awav.: Prologue. Time, the present. A new. trans-Atlantic telephone cable .was laid under the Atlantic connecting Canada with Great Britauu Prime Minister Trudeau inaugurated the service by. calling Prune. Minister- Wilson of Britain. That's all right, as; far as it goes. But what a fuss the media made! The radio featured the event and tJie meaningless e.xchange bwtween two. P.Ms was reproduced for all to hear; The TV did the samebut added live pictures of the event. All the papers loinefi the fanfare with detailed descriptions plus pictures. Big event.! Big event? Just listen to a much more eventlul first telephone call. Acts I and 11. Time, the past. Lagov! One can't sav that it was a God-torsaken place because He was ever present there as far as the Jews were concerned. In fact, every living Jew in Lagov. voung and old. was on the most intimate relations with. Him The Jews talked to Him. most informally, in good times andm bad, in ' moments of jov and m moments of sorrow.. Otherwise. I suppose, one could refer to Lagov as a God-forsaken place. Imagine; ttierefore, the stir that was created when it was learned that Lagov. whose only communication with the outside world, was bv horse and . wa,gon. was to have a telephone m town fves. one telephone) connecting it w-ith .Apt and through Apt. with the whole wide world. How come? Very simple: A native Jew acquired a very refined son-in-law from some other town. But how wnll such a.genteel son-in-law earn a livelihood for-his voung bride and. the . family that was; surely to come? -The brilliant idea was born: A •telephone! :No overhead, since it. will be installed in the young couple's home, and the whole town wiH flock to him and pay for the use of the phone to Apt and to otlier towns and cities,-- Strange men., from God knows where, appeared with queer instruments on tripods, and they measured distances • Irom the luckv voung couple's home . >- in the centre of the town —, and ' marked places for posts to- carry the • sinule wire all the wav-to Apt;-.The J. B. Salsberg entire community, havintr. little else to do, was agog with news, reports, messages and-inside inlormation. Finally, in mid-summer, men began digging holes for the telephone poles and were surrounded bv the children of the town. Early one mornint; a farm wagon, loaded with small poles, began dropping one at each. hole... The town was at a fever pitch of excitement bv now. It was said that' the anchoring oi the poles and the stringini! ol the wire proceeded from Apt to Laeov. Finallv It happened: poles began to risem town and -one -Fndav afternoon the wiring was completed. Nooneworked-that day and it was rumored that some even, missed the steam bath that.erev Shabes. Little wonder: poles, wri-es. a telephone! Even though it became known that the telephone would be officially in operation Saturday evening some women and some youngsters huddled around the poles Saturday afternoon. - Thev pressed.tfieir eai-s against .the poles and insisted that the zoonrthev heard was a sign that the ptione was in u.se. Older males and God-fearum, grandmothers turned their heads away trom the sight of frivolous women clustering aiound the poles, "l-eh-h-h,' thev said disapprovintjly. and iiuirmured. -••on Shaba-s.- vet.. The climax arrived at night. The. Sal)bath: had passed, the traditional •■Hamavdil"-(the separatjon of the sac^ red -- the Sabbath r- from the i^est of the davs - of the week) had been sunsi and Imtits were lit in Jewish honves. It was time for theibis event. My grandtather seeiiied tohave ar- -ransed to be the first person to place ■ a call on the newly-installed.telei)!iont' to his partner in Apt. He took the hand .of his little gVandson. (me. ol course) . and led him to the scene, where it was all to happen.. The evening was balmy; windows were, open and.people were 'out to -witness the historic event. The courtyard, where the telephone entre-. preneur lived, was crowded with, peo- : pie. Inside, the placed was packed with the privileged and faces peeredthrough the open windows from the outside. •Finally, the little crank was turned and self appointed.guardians shouted . for quiet. The connection was com-; pleted and my; grandfather shouted into the contraption. •'Goot voch. Chaim!" The other inu5t have answered in kind and since thev didn t seem to - have anything particular to talk about grandfather enquired whowas with his partner on this,historic occasion. The.answer was that Aaron (Aarele). the Marsha'lik. was with him. (Aarele was a- renowned wit. singer, entertainer and master of ceremonies at weddings.) Aarele was put. on the ;line. Again goot voch was exchanged and what, do you think grandfather asked Aarele to do? He asked him to sing Hamavdil over the phone and .Aai^ele obliged. The, inside group that pressed toward the wall telephone, the receiver of which mv grandfather held firmlv in. his hand, heard the tune and loined.. in the sinsring. The people who jammed the window space, from the outside, picked up the. melody and.also joined the.singing. Lagov and Apt .were thus [oined. via the mvstilving innova.tion, the telephone, in doing.what? In singing the ancient Hamavdil! How eventful, and how characteristically Jewish in content and m'eaning! Epilogue, Time, same as in Prologue. Now. gentle readers. I earnestly beseech vou to pass ludgment on the relative importance ot the two telephone iiiausurals: that of Latrov-Apt anil that other one of Ottawa-London. The Trudeau-Wilson conversation was cold, formal, totally lacking in soulfulness and immediately drowned out bv the rushini; tides ol other events. The Lagov-Apt iiiaugui-al. on the other hand- was dramatic. Iiterallv breath-takuig and. oh. so movingly Yiddish in content. It- linuers on through the years . in the minds and he.u^ts ot all who were .part ot it and who pass it on in loving recollection to all whoweredeprivedof fiiat ecstatic experience. My grandfather w'as no prime minister and I. unlike Trudeau s two sons, was not born ih the official residence of a^ pi^ii.Ue- iiiinister;but, wi11 Justin and Sactui- the PM s two sons, who were; so born, e.ver' recall '• tlieir - lather's ; call to. Prune .Minister Wilson? No. tliev . w;ill luiv'e nothing to. re(.-all.:..But 1 have' so wondei^ful an experience to cherish and tell about — niv grandfather s- inaugural ol, the Lasov-Apt-.te|-eplione.^ c0nnection'. Bv- any.'yai-d stick the Latrov - happenini; was the greater ot the two events. Don,t-vou. agree?, .Mv uncle El-iezer does., and. heought tokiiow ; . .. Toledo abounds with the relics of Spanish Jewry's golden age By JERRY FAIVISH * TOLEDO, SPAIN - •Walk through the narrow streets,, escape the cars and tourists, and try and imagine, yourself here 500 years ago. -Then there-were no cars, no.tourists. Toledo was an. important town,- a bustling place - a great centre of world Jewry Here Jews lived, carried on then-businesses, but -.more important, they learned, studiedand taught Judaism, flourished^ as a Jewish community, and established a Jewish tradition. Toledo, and such other Spanish towns formed the heart and heartland of; the golden age of Spanish Jewry -But now there are. almost no Jews in Toledo- The. community ended during the Spanish Inquisition, when, as a result of King Ferdinand's edict, the Jews were given the choice of.eilher converting, leaying;Spain,jor.being tortured. It's been almost SOO-^fears since Toledo was in its hevdav as a Jewish communitv, yet there is still a Jewish influence in the cmnmunity today. For example, in the shops, the six-pointed Jewish star is everpresent on much of^the jewelry and ornamentS;displayed, ; But it is the remaining relics which account for this Jewish atmosphere. There are the street names - Plaza de la Juderia (Place of the. Jews) was the centre of the Jewish quarter, Santa Maria' la Blanca which is the oldest Jewish monument in Toledo. However, after the expulsion, this synagogue was changed to a church. Yet its;Jewish origins, and. attributes arei still very^ much pre'sent. As well, the Spanish government .Ijas set up a museum in f he ancient EI Tran-sito Synagogue, founded by Samuel Levi, the treasurer of King Pedro. 1, in the 14th century. Enter it and you enter the world of yesterday. The hall where the Beth Knesset stood, : This is the interior of the synagogue in Toledo, Spain, founded in 1203. It was knowtv as Santa Maria Ia_^ Blanca. The oldest Jewish monument in the city, it is now a church. IS empty now - but the synagogue still remains. Spaciously, the walls are a-dorned with numerous ornaments. Circling this hall, is a decorated band, bor-; _dered on the top and bottom with Passages from the Torah with the symbols of the 12 Tribes. found m betwieen, at regular intervals. Aliove this,;at the top of the walls, as if trying to be as close to God as possible, there is the magnificent detail of other, continous passages from the Bible - which serves as a reminder of a heritage ;and way of life. And of course, the remainder of the Aron Kodesh, comprising .the Eastern, is prominent and beautifully preserved. I But when one enters the adjoining rooms - the museum - one realizes that Spain caii never recapture the glory ^ of the Golden Age. What is here cany: • only be >seen but never relived. The • exhibits^ serve as a rude; reminder of Jhis -One sees the tombstones, the pieces of the graves and tliF.portions of the. -walls - all with their ancient Hebrew inscriptions., But they;are only archeo-logical. finds. One sees the; old talis, menorah, megilah and Torah in their deteriorating .state, as well as -the old clothes, the Ketubah, and all the old sid-durim, t'nachim and sepharim, with ,thQir now yellowed and fragilef pages. Yes, in Toledo, the Jewish communitv IS now dormant, but from here and other places m Spain, emanated and originated the Sepharad (meaning: Spanish) culture - one which IS alive today throughout the;;Woi'ld, \ / '■-. ; '■•-■-'A 'A'. ■'■; .'■'■;'''■■■■ "■'■■'i jJerry Faivish is\an Osgoode Hall student / travelling through Burope this summer have to be fruitful and multiply for our preservation, sake of Almighty sparks from the torah ,. ■.. - ■■■■ - % - By MEIR GOTTESMAN -Parshat Pinchas Ish. al ho'aydah . . . a man over the congregation.. . .-- •■ The greater a person-IS, the smaller he holds himself. - Take Joshua, for example •.. -. When Moseswas about to; die, he asked the Almighty to choose-a successor; Immediately, the Jews looked at the z'kay-nim, the 70 elders- who helped - Moses lead the people . . . surely it would be one of them. But the AIniigtitv said, no; vou re all wrong—the.next-leader will be Joshua. Whv Joshua'? The. answer is.- when Moses nave his great Torah lectures, all the fancy elders would walk in and take .a good seat up front . . . But who set the : seats up in the first placeIt was Joshua. The Almighty said; because he held himsell- a-servant of the people.-he. is worthy to be.the leader ;. . But,ther:e is- a time-and a place for ■ everything. True, a leader ol Jews-must be patient, and have humility -- but he must- be a .leader. He has to have guts. That s whv we find an interesting thing . . When Moses praved lor the new leader oJ the Jews, he asked- for someone asher yaytzai lifnayhem ■— .— who will go out before them" . . What did he mean? But .Moses-asked the Almighty. -When you choose the next leader of the Jews, (lout pick a nebich, a milquetoast. . -. Don t piOk someone who will first lift .a. finger to see which way the.wind IS blowing . . . what s in. what style is popular . . before making a decision. Asher yatzay lifnayhem -- a spiritual leader ol Jews must be able to walk in front of them, setting-the standard according to the guidelines ol the Torah. instead of constantly looking l)aek to s.ee whether what he savs meets evervone^s approval .......r-AvnavOzeli • .There is.one area today where.we need Our Rabbis and spiritual leaders to speak out lirmlv — It has to. do with tlie'size of Jewish/families. Our. Jewish conimunitv is not growing enough .(as w.as'pointed out'iast week.iii . tlie.-vxce'll'eiit .Baskin report). . \Ve miist , begin having larger ..Jewish laiii-ilies;-not;, 'of one or two . childrc;n '; _but...-.'with G-d s.hclp. of three or four or live! . The--world Owes.'US'.J'ews elljow rooni -- despiti?. the. population exi)losion. it '. •.has l)oen estimated.that ;il.." t-lie Je.W.s had. not had to go.through all the massacres. ■ pogroms, inquisitions and ;Hitlers since . the .Holy Temple was. destroyed in 70 C.E.-. there would be somewhere between 1/4 to 1./2 billion Jews today. We don't have to feel guiltv about having more children. -..-.-;-_. _^ . ^ But thei'e IS something :else also-'. . : We need Jewish children not only for the sake of preserving our people but for the sake of the Almighty; Every time a Jewish' child is born.- there is new holiness on .earth. G^d can have millions of seraphs and angels ;in-heaven who savs kadosh, kadosh, kadosh\ . . holv. holy, holy but thev-are nothing compared tothe kedusha. the holiness that emanates when a Jew performs a mitzvah. The Almighty has given us Jews'- a double power. He has given us the power ^iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiniiiiiinnMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ to create life physically— to beget offspring ]U5t as all nature can .. . But he has also given us a second power ~ the [X)wer to create spiritually .— to bring new neshamas into the world. That is whv the very first mitzvah of the 613 Commandments is to; have-children". Every child that is l)orn is a universe of spiritualworlds that has been created . We Jews have had many enemies who wished wewould disappear: But we never will . . . As Rashi teaches m this week!s parsha --the name of G^d has been sealed on. every Jew. Let us fulfill, "be fi-uitful : and multiply" ... : • Shabbat Shalom. The "Sparks From The Torah" television program can be seen on Willowdowns Cable, Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m.. Keeble Cable, Thursdays at 8 p.m. and York Cable, Sundays at 72 noon. 1 After their arrival in Israel, Valerie and Galina Panov went for a walk in Tel Aviv. 5 S They said it; was their first stroll in two years in which they weren't tailed by = = secret police agent.s. Here they greet an impressive-looking /Afghan. . (Sun) .s iiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii.....iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.....iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Letters to the Editor llifhat happened to study of education?' Dear Editor: About three ■ or 3 1/2 years ago the Jewish communitv of Toronto was informed that the'Welfare Fund and the Board of Jewish Education would begin a -survey on Jewish education with the spe-. cific purpose of bringing forth broad and sweei)ing recommendations that would change the entire Jewish school svstem-in .Toronto. . • During this period oftime.-severalfront -- page articles and reportsappeared in your paper reporting public meetings.; inter- -views with invited .guests and also the resignation of the study director. How-•ever, for the past year-we did not-hear, anything, about the study or at least an-announcement about the date.of the publication of the report of the study commit-, tee.; ;Some people expected , to hear a re-., port during the plenary assembly of CJC where democratically -elected delegates from Toronto, gatliered...No such report was forthcoming. ; I'would ;like through this letter-to ask some;questions with the hope that answers will be given bv the leadership oftheWel-iare Fund; My questions "are the follow--ing; What happened to the study? On;what date will a report with recommendation^ be published!? What will be.the-value of the study after most of its data is-prob-r • ablv out of date? What was the; involvement of the Welfare Fund: or Board-of Education urthe establishment of another high school . in the; community after a community high school was already established? How much money was already -spent on the survey of Jewish education and how much more community money will be .wasted on It? Who are the'ones responsible for this "fiasco" and to whom .are they accountable? If it. will be found that community- money w'^as wasted on an .unnecessary project, will those responsible havethe courage to admit it? - - Jack Silverstein, Downsview homecoming urged Dear Editor: I roa(b\