Our 53rtf Year
* Since 1930 the only weekly publication . serving Jewry of the Pacific Northwest. -
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief SAMUEL KAPLAN
Advertising Manager RONFReeOUMN
Managing Editor " MICHAEL A, SOLMAN
^CltyDesir ' ROBERT MARKIN
Wedn^^day, September 2a, 196^
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A prpgfessive step
Though there has been an enormous amount of publicity lavished on the recent jgat^ Vancouver of the World-.Council .of Churches, another event of significance which deserves equal attention took place in Scandinavia.
There, a conclave of Lutheran theologians pondered over one of the most embarrassing phenomenon in all of Christendom — the virulent anti-Semitism of Martin Luther.
To repeat the vile calumnies which Luther repeated against his Jewish contemporaries in books, articles, speeches and pamphlets would be to participate in the same obscenity which he apparently revelled in.
In any case, Luther's pathological hatred of Jews has long been documented and recognized, The Nazis, of course, were delighted with his demented ravings and his works enjoyed much circulation during the twelve-year Reich.
At its recent meetings in Stockholm,^ the Lutheran gathering repudiated en masse and without equivocation the odious record of anti-Semitism which Martin Luther had deeded the church which bears his name.
This brave gesture should be compared with the unsavory acts of the WCC whose anti-Israel resoliitions lacked both fairmindedness and realism.
It has been observed that the WCC displayed a^ sciandalous hypocrisy in its condemnation of Israel while ignoring the modern barbarism of Ayatojlah Khomeini whose wanton record of miirder, execution and assassination begs for censure among moral men.
It took the Lutherans five hundred years to recognize and reject the Ugly side of their movement's founder.
How long will it take the WCC to recognize the ugliness of its attitude towards Israel?
Former Vancouver shaliach writes community
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
What better opportunity than this High Holiday season to do a little moral stock-taking about the year that has gone by!
For myself and my family this was a difficult year, full of challenges, after our three years in Vancouver. The transition back to Israel and kibbutz iife is very, very hard (almost like making aliyah). However, we feel fine as thos^ who came to see us here from Vancouver can testify.
is it good for the Jews?' deemed 'central question'
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
Professor Michael Oppenheim*s polemic against Judeo-centrality (COMMENTARY — Judaism's universal significance minimized by 1^. American Jewry — Sept, li5/83) is typical of an i4eologues penchant for Orwellian double-think. If the Professor's ancestors hadnit been Judeo-centered, the Professor wouldn't be pontificating about the subject, and I doubt if the Professor's descendants will care a wliit about Jewish survivaf or * Jewish values.'
The history of the Jews is the story of the self-destructive conflicts between the universalists and the parachialists, with a tiny remnant of Jewish parachialists (Orthodox) surviving to reproduce. After many generations, the increased numbers and the appropriate situation, the universalists again emerge to rekindle the conflict with the invariable results, and another cycle begins.
Jewish universalistic ideologues formed the intellectual infrastructure of Hellenism, Qiristianity, Islamism, Marxism and so forth and all these ideologies have been destructive to Jews.
I for one believe — **is it good for the Jews?"—is the central question and the Universalists have the wrong answer.
M.FAI6EN
£r     l^iftyTWcc Yean Senriag Pvific Northwest Jr.wty
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Our three-year stay in Vancouver made us somewhat lose our perspective, and the community became more and more central to us as time passed. Now, after one year back in the kibbutz, we have a more balanced view of everything.
I am more than ever convinced that, in order to build and keep the real centre called Israel going, every single person must contribute and do his particular bit to help.
Some of the Israelis living here have become tired and decided to leave the country. Others put a big question m^rk on their own^iid their children's fiittire in the country. Of course, there is still a great number of people who continue without question
marks. V. '■'■.^ ■
We cannot and may not take the existence of the State of Israel for granted or as something guaranteed—simply because there is no such guarantee! If we accept this thesis, then every one must see him or herself in light of what he or she does for the strengthening of the centre.
Through the CZF we started a request of the twinning of the community of Vancouver with the municipality of Nanariya. Not much has been done yet, but there are many possibilities in the fields of education, culture, trips, building of industrial plants, sports, correspondence and visits.
Many monetary donations flow into the country from the goto/i—where does the money go to and how and for what is it used? Why shouldn't the community fix a goal towards Whieh to direct the donations? But money donations are not enough. Let us send for short periods professional people to help and supervise the realization of a project (for example the building of the new Donolo Hospital in Yaffo — by sending an engineer, an iiirchitect, a department head, a nurse and so forth.) In this way we make sure that the project is carried out in the best possible way, and mutual, personal relations afe established between representatives of the givirig community and the receiving one, and much is done for the strengthening of the donor's feeling of belonging.
..As for aliyah and programs in Israel, it is very difficult today to make aliyah without making long preparation^. T would see the aliyah process as a process in various stages lasting over several years: '      • / >'
• during the study years a student can do at least one ypar in an Israeli university (Credits in almost all courses are transferable);
• Enrolment in an ulpan for Hebrew study in Israel;
• Inclusion of the whole, family in .Zionist activity in Vancouver. (Assuming that in North America there live 5-6 million Jews — imagine that every one of them will do **reserve-duty" and stay in isra:el for a month or two!)
As for Jewish-Zionist activity in Vancouver r~ the community is desperate for people willing to volunteer in neighbor organizations and to help carry out tasks. In the community there are about 20,000 people why do so few children go to Talmud-Torah school? \y^y is there hardly ariy activity in ** Young Judea^" Why are there only a hundred pupils in*4Iabonim?'' . ' ■ '        I%Mrr .\y^
Regarding programs in Israel, a community of the size of Vancouver can have an independent program in. Israel. We already have a start such as Jewish National Fund/Beth Israel tour and a UBC semester in urban planning. It is possible to do programs for high school and elementary school students also. To this end, we can use people from Vancouver settling in Israel.^
I mentioned only a few of the ideas that seem to me worthwhile to think about and to test whether they can be realized. ■
RAMIRAZ
Former Vancouver Youth Attyib tluUiiich
point to a joyous
By MOSHE VINE
At practically every street comer in Jerusalem during the holiday of Siiccot the local ehtrepreneriirs, be they yoiinig or old., have a complete stock of Simclut Torah flags; During Succot when the city.is filled with visitors' and familiies circulate throughout every corner of Jerusalern, the sales of Simchat Torah flags reach unprecedented proportions. Each :year one wonders how the flags can be improved and made even more lovely: and each year you realize that it is really the spirit of the holiday itself which excites, with the flag following in its wake.
_ jMloshe Vine, who writes for Ihe World Zionisjt Press Service, traces the baefc^ound, use and significfifltce of il^^during Su^
I ^tiwto the us^Of fi|s In Simchat TdrahV children wiivnk light up the leftover willow branches from the lulav&nd march arduiid the synagogue during the Torah processional. Concern for fire damage persuaded rabbinical authorities to authorize only the use of lighted tapers in the processional. When these proved too dangerous, flags were instituted, topped with apples or beets into which candles were inserted and lit. While the use of candles has diminished, the flags have multiplied a thousand times over. /■
V In order to ensure that children also feel the joy of Simchat Torah, their use of the flags has been encouraged. In fact those who waved their flags the most were frequently rewarded with candies and sweets. A picture from Amsterdam in the'last century even shows sweetcakes being thrpwn at children on the Simchat Torah inarch. The flag, however, may have' a-deeper significance. :
A sense of baUince -
Since Simchat Torah is a time in which the foundation of Judaism, the Torah, is emphasized, it is important that there be a blending qf th^e Torah with the joy and beauty that stems from it. The Torah is not just-aset of regulations by which Jews live, but it strikes a sense of balance between regularity, and spontaneity, between austerity and joy. There are times of solemnity, which it promulgates,'but therevare also times of rejoicing. .,--f ■ ;
For the Jew, a unique aspect of the rejoicing is that it takes place within the context <jf the syptgoigue and with the holiest of all Jewish objects, the Tdrah/^Chifdren are encouraged to participate in this exhilaratioh of Simchat Torah in a variety of ways. One is through flag waving in the Torah processional.
The flag is a symbol of a spirituil outlook not only of a people but alsoof the joy of the Torah, G-d's gift to mankind. As the children excitedly weave themselves into the joy of the celebration, they too begin to sense the all-encompassing web'bf the teachings of the Torah. Rather than a mere scroll hidden away in the ark, it appears as a living and vibrant entity which helps to direct and guide our lives., As the children hold their flags aloft, they are expressinga pride which hopefully will take on deeper and deeper signiflcance.as they mature and learn more of the Torah and the spiritual heritage it offers. _L
Just the other day while wandering through an older section of Jerusalem, I overheard the voice of gentlemen at prayer. Locating the sound, I entered a building and found a group of Tunisian Jews deep in prayer. The festive decorations in their small synagogue were a series of Simchat Torah flags used since the establishment of the State of Israel --- 35 in. all gaily bedecking the walls. ,
One, in particular, was quite touching: a drawing by E.M. Lillien of a man envisioning Zion Reborn. Copied from an early print by the artist, it captured the spirit of past, present and future. I understock! then what the flag really means. Symbolically, as a standard, it root us in the reality of today. But it also points us to a new and more creative tomorrow.
As flags are waved this / ycac, we can proudly reaffirm the fullness of Zion and the Joy of the Torah which stems from it, reaching out to Jews the world over.