4—THE BULLETIN—Fridoy, July 5, 1974
OBITUARIES
STEFAN HEYMAN PASSES JUNE 25
Stefan M. Heyman, a resident of Vancouver for 32 years,passc)(| away on June 25 at Vancouver General hospital after a two years illness.
Born in Warsaw Poland, Mr. Heyman was a well-known professional engineer. In community life, he was a member of the Zionist Organization of Canada, the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial Committee, and the board of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific region.
He is survived by his wife, Marta; daughter, Jane; son, George, all in Vancouver; and brother and sister-in-law, Joseph and Sylvia Heyman in Sydney, Australia.
Funeral services were held June 27 at Schara Tzedeck chapel with Rabbi Harold Rubens officiating. Interment followed at Schara Tzedeck Cemetery. Chevra Kadisha was in charge of arrangements.
ABE URETSKY BURIED AT 58
Abe Uretsky, a resident of Vancouver for 10 years, passed away on July I at Vancouver General hospital. He was 58 years 'of age.
Born in Edmonton, Mr. Uretsky graduated in engineering from U.B.C. For several years he held supervisory positions with major electrical engineering firms in St. Catharines, Ontario, Toronto and Vancouver. He was affiliated in Vancouver with Congregation Schara Tzedeck, and was an active supporter of community causes.
Predeceased by his wife, Sarah, his father, Alex, and a brother, Harry, Mr. Uretsky is survived by four children, Mrs. Abe (Karen) Hering, Trudy, Jerry, all of Vancouver, Dr. Richard Uretsky of Edmonton; his mother, Mrs. Sarah Uretsky of Edmonton; and two grandchildren.
Funeral services were held July 2 at Schara Tzedeck chapel with Rabbi M. Hier and Cantor M. Preis officiating. Interment followed at Schara Tzedeck cemetery. Chevra Kadisha was in charge of arrangements.
MUSICIAN SHOLOM SECUNDADEAD
NEW YORK — Funeral services were held here for Sholom Secunda, who achieved world fame both for his liturgical music and for two popular songs, as well as for his work as a conductor, producer and music critic. He died at the age of 79.
He attracted fame as a child cantor at the age of eight. From early childhood he conducted orchestras in vaudeville, grand opera and concert music throughout the United States.
The two unexpectedly popular songs which became part of American popular folklore music were, "Bei Mir Bish Du Schoen," composed in 1932, and "Donna Donna." His Jewish liturgical catalogue includes nearly 100 prayers, hymns and psalms.
He was music critic for the Jewish Daily Forward and lectured and wrote widely on Jewish music, the advancement of which was a lifelong passion.
ASK THE RABBI
Transplants and the law
What Is the rabbinic view on the use of hmiian tissue transplants from the dead to the living?
Although in recent years there has been a good deal of discussion in rabbinic responsa on this question, the basic principles are simple. There are three possible objections to transplants; (1) the person from whom the organ is taken might not be dead; (2) it is forbidden to mutilate a corpse; (3) it is forbidden to have any benefit from a corpse.
The first objection can easily
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be dealt with. Naturally, It must be determined that death has really taken place before the organ is removed. As for the other two objections, since prohibitions can be set aside in order to save life—It is permitted, for example, to profane the Sabbath in order to save life—there is no reason whatever why these two prohibitions should not be set aside where life Is at stake.
Even in cases of corneal grafting, where blindness but not death is the issue. It could still be argued that In order
to prevent such a severe calamity the prohibitions can be set aside. Rabbi I. J. Un-terman has also advanced the ingenious argument that the tissue grafted on to the eye of the living person becomes living tissue so that whatever benefit results it is not a case of benefiting from a corpse. !t should be noted that rabbinic authorities who discuss this
question never advance, as an objection, the idea that it is forbidden to interfere with God's creation—-a motif that sometimes appears in discussion of the problem by theologians of other faiths. This is because all healing is, in a sense, an interference with things as they are but it is an "interference" which the Torah permits or, if one can put it in this way, one that God would have us undertake as His agents.
Paying respect
Why does Judaism require that the corpse of a deceased person should not be left by itself until (Ihe time of burial?
The reason given in the Talmud is that rats or mice might gnaw at the body if it is left
. alone. Other reasons advanced later are to protect the corpse from the demons or, which makes the practice still relevant, in order to pay respect to the deceased.
Monday and Thursday
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What is the significance of Monday and Thursday as days on which additional prayers are recited at morning service and on which barmitzvahg may be celebrated?
According to a passage in the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Kama 82a) it was ordained that the Torah be read on Mondays and Thursdays in addition to the* Sabbath so that three days should not be allowed to go by without hearing the Torah being read. tThe history of the Torah read-. Ing in the synagogue is a com-
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plicated subject, with contradictory statements about it in the sources, but it is clear that ■ from early times the Torah was read on Mondays and Thursdays and this has been the practice ever since. In the same Talmudic passage
It is said that Ezra ordained Uiat the Courts of Iiaw sit in the towns on Mondays and Thursdays and from this passage and many other indications this does, seem to have been the practice in ancient times. Perhaps because the Courts sat and the Ibrah was tead on these days, so that ;))e9ple came together, from the bullying districts, thes6 days also were fast days for sdjiiie of the specially piodis. Latere on there is the fairly obvious association between judgement by the Courts here on earth and the emergence of these as days of Heavenly Judgement. Thus on Mondays and Tliursdays it was appropriate for special
Senitential prayers, Ve-Hu achum, to be recited, as you say. But this has nothing to do with the second matter you raise. The reason why barmitzvot are sometimes celebrated on these days is simply that it has long been the custom to call the barmitzvah up to the reading of the Torah and it is on these days and the Sabbath that the Torah is read.
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THE HISTORY OF A SHIP
A short and very interesting ceremony took place recently in the port of Haifa. The officers of the Israeli navy stood at attention when the national flag was lowered for the last time from the ship "A 16."
The Commander of the Navy spoke about.the long career of this ship:
It was built 50 years ago in America. Until the year 1946 it sailed with an American flag in the Atlantic Ocean. In that year it was bought by agents who smuggled immigrants into Palestine; and for two years this ship brought "illegal immigrants" from Europe to Eretz Israel.
In the year 1948, when the War
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of Liberation began, two guns were erected on its decks, and it became a "warship", the first of Uie State of Israel.
In the year 1950 the Navy received new and modern ships. Then "A 16" received a new task: to be a naval school for the young men of the Israel Defense Force. The ship fulfilled this task until 1958. Then it was turned into a warehouse of the Haifa naval base.
The ship fulfilled all four tasks with great success and now it is old and tired.
What should be done with it? All in the Navy knew the answer: "A 16" must be our nautical museum, because it itself is part of the naval history of Israel.
Medical experiments allowed on humans
LONDON — Medical Experiments on humans which may possibly be hazardous may be performed with the sanction of Jewish" law only if they are potentially helpful to the subject, even if the chances of success are remote.
This interpretation by British Chief Rabbi Jakobovits of scarce rabbinic sources concerning medical experimentation on humans was given during a lecture to a meeting of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists held at the firodie Institute^ Golders Green.
The Chief Rabbi said that it was obligatoiy to apply to a terminal patient untried experimental •cures if no otheir safe treatment was available^ Doctors were obliged Tto resort to doubtfiil or experlniebtal cures in;the hopeful imtieipation that si^ch action might deliiy death.
In all other caseSi. where it did not^ affect the sid>ject himself but involved a risk of life, it would be wrong in Jewish law for the subject to volunteer for such experiments and it would
be equally wrong to ask a person to volunteer.
If, however, the experiment involved no hazard to life or health there was an obligation to volunteer so as to promote the health of others.
Dr. Jakobovits said that where experimentation was considered necessary by competent medical experts in order to save or prolong life, the decision to act was ttie doctors' and not that of the patient.
No one had the right to refuse medical treatment deemed necessary by competent medical opinion.
He stressed, however, that wherever possible, exhaustive. tests of any new medication or surgery should first be carried out on animals, but with the proviso that no unnecessary suffering be caused.
Stressing the sanctity of human life, the Chief Rabbi said that no one had the right to sacrifice his life to save another, since every life was equally valuable and inviolaible.
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