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JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
Friday, September 21. 196
Moreh' to millions
Aharon Rosenne is a very busy person. As the pioneer and expert in the development of the method of teaching modern Hebrew called the Ulpan, he has sojourned frequently from Israel to teach his methods in such heavily populated Jewish centres as New York and Los Angeles. Next week, this renowned educator wll pay his first visit to Vancouver.
In the larger American cities, where a growing number of Jews in the past few years have indicated a desire to study the language of their ancient forefathers, a kind of Hebrew Renaissance has been taking place. Although somewhat slow at first, there have, nevertheless been noteworthy signs of rapid acceleration in this unique process.
Sociologists may some day find it beneficial to study the reasons which led one of the largest portions of world Jewry, perhaps the most affluent such group of all time, to take up the study of a language and culture which has its roots in the lower-most sands of civilization. Retrospectively speaking, eyen at this early date, one finds that whatever the motjyation that leads people of all ages to take up the Jewish tradition of learning, it is a fact tjiat more and more of them have become interested in it.
And among the various stiinuli. to which .this new trend in Jewish Uie, may be ascribed are two seemingly unrelated institutions -r tourism and schools.
For travellers to the State of Israel xind their visits much more fruitful and more meaningful in every respect, if they are able to converse in the native language. Only,last year a considerable number of Vancouver residents who participated in the historic Hadassah. convention tour told afterwards of the pleasures of being able to utilize even the rather limited vocabulary which they had acquired during the weeks prior to their journey.
Also, more and more parents who send their children to Hebrew day schools, as well gs to synagogue schools, are exposed to the language through their offspring, and now are themselves expressing a desire to study the language.
Of course there are other reasons. When you get right down to it, does it not seem natural and normal that Jews study .Hebrew, the original tongue of their ancestors?
One of the national traits of our people, developed during mill^nia of migrations, is seemingly a great facility for learning languages. From the earliest days when they were forced to take refuge in Alexandria, Babylon or Rome,: this people displayed their niulti-linguistic talents. In more recent times, the benefactors of this migrant people, the European Jews of our own time, have been evidence of Jhis characteristic; and today many North American Jews dominate numerically the enrollment of foreign language classes offered by colleges and universties.
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If we take the time to study Spanish, French or Russian ^.as an extramural activity, ior the sake of learning these Janguiages or laecause a trip to South America or Europe is planned— and I even know of one Jewish person planning to add Chinese to the long list of languages he has mastered—then it would seem both logical and fitting that we take qp seriously the study ' of the one foreign language that holds so much promise for Jews. Accordingly, with the demand for Hebrew . on this continent growing in many instances to massive proportions, the need for professonal direction has grown.
It was natural, if not imperative, therefore, that experts from Israel such as Mr. Aharon Rosenne were called upon to supply us with some of the knowhow they had acquired in teaching modern Hebrew to hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees. The successes and failures which had been experienced in History's most unprecedented crash program in linguistics, have already proved of enormous benefit on this side of the ocean.
It was most generous of Mr. Rosenne, therefore, to offer, during his current U.S. visit, to come to Canada. And when he informed the Keren Hatarbut, the Canadian Association for Hebrew Education and Culture, that he would be at their service for five days, it was decided
that his brief time in Canada would be utilized by giving workshops and speaking .at gatherings in Edmonton and Calgary thereby enabling other neighbouring communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan to send their representatives to attend these lecures.
A one-day visit to Vancouver also became possible thanks to the Keren. Hatarbut leader-
(Editor's Note: — This is a human interest story on Eli Ilan, formerly of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who is now living in Israel. Mr. Ilan is one. of the 1,500 Canadians now resident in Israel who are making a contribution Xo the life of the country in all fields of human endeavor. You will note with interest that he was -a student for a while at the UBC Medical SiOlQol,; Are you, enotfgh of a detective to read the 3iory and £^ out y^o he was then before'' taltinjg Jiis Kebj-ew .name?)
Sleuth hy day, sculptor.rby riiight, Winnipegrborjii Eli .11^, carved out for hiijwelf a ;dual career in Israel; since Ills 1^ gration there: 14; ye^rs.a^o. As a woiiker in the scientific laibor-atories of Tel Aviv?s Criminal Identification JJepartment, 34-year-old Ilan tidentilies everything from skfu^^ls .to foqjiiprmts, teeth to tool njiaKks. His. archaeological and finthrc^lQgical interests, developed, in his early kibbutz days in Israel, have served hian well not only in: his idetectipn iwoyk, i>.yt also in .the .avocation he has dhosen which
ship in Calgary and JSdmonton as well as .to the has become his second profes-
national director, Rahbi Aaron Horowitz, who have made it possible for all of us to meet this renowned educator.
Everyone interested in the Hebrew language is welcome on Tuesday evening. Especially all those parents who have children attending our city's Hebrew schools, members of all organizations oriented to the State of -Israel and those persons planning to study Hebrew whatever the reason. Even those who wish the rare, treat of .meeting and hearing a world-famous expert on the newest methods of learning a foreign language are officially invited. One and all are in for a most rewarding experience when they will; be welcome guests at the open meeting being held at the Talmud Torah auditorium this Tuesday evening.
I can think of no better way of saying "Baruch Habah" (welcome) to our notable guest, Mr. Rosenne, than for everyone in our community to attend this singular event in capacity numbers.
sion: that of sculptor.
Though Ilian^s careers in both fields developed in Israel, his training for them was partially acquired in Canada. After almost nine years' living the rugged kibbutz life in Israel, doing agricultural work and going on archaeological digs in his spare time, Ilan joined Tel Aviv's police force and after a few months, in the spring of 1957, decided to return to Canada to study methods of police identification witit the Royal Canadian Moimted Police at its Ottawa Headquarters.
In his two and a half years back in Canada, Ilan also worked for the OBC-TV ^ Design Department in Toronto, and he managed to .take a sculpture
course at Ontario College of Art in Toronto, under the tutelage of the noted Scottish sculptor Thomas Bowie, who had recently immigrated to Canada.
His diversity of interests did not come out of the blue, of course. Although Ilan had arrived in Israel at the tender age of twenty, accompanied by his young wife Pnina (nee Pearl Reider of Winnipeg, whose parents now live in Toronto), he had had a year olpre-meditBal train-at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and a year at a Hechalutz jtraining farm. "Thus when he settled as ,an army enlistee 4n the border kibbutzini, he sJready had some backgroundrf or i>oth his (Agricultural and his other cultural pursuits: namely, digging ii;Lto the nature of man and his distant past.
In a Jand where every plow can at a^y moment toss up an ancient .artifact, Hie four A's that Dan found himself engaged in studying i— agriculture, arch aeol^gy, anthropology and art each .led ^quite logically to the next. Ilan beigan to organize .(Coxkiin^ed on Page 16) See: SeiJLPtUBE
lettetfoEditor
Medicol Aid success
Dear Mr. Kaplan.
On behalf of the Committee for this year's Medical Aid to Israel Tea, I would like to thank you for your kindness and help to us in connection with this year's tea.
We feel that the wonderful response was due largely to the Bulletin's publicity and take this opportunity to thank you again.
Mrs M. Wall
By RAYMOND ARON (Professor of Sociology- at tb.e Sorbonne, Paris)
Not so long ago a rash of swastikas and antisemitic slogans appearing in many countries brought forth a spate of indignant protests from Governments, the Press, and associations pledged to fight against racialism. Against this background it has become almost as difficult for a Jew as for a non-Jew to express himself frankly about the Jewish people.
A non-observant Jew risks offending those of his coreligi-j onists who remain faithful to i the Law. If he is a non-Zionist! he is suspected of showing either too much or too little sympathy for the State of Israel, j As for non-Jews, the extermina-i tion of 6.000,000 Jews dumb-! founds them. The event itself,! the methodical destruction ofl millions of defenceless persons,'
has had a traumatic effect on the conscience, Jews and non-Jews alike try hard to drive back memories so d e e p ly charged with emotion.
Two Attitudes
I have no wish, in this small compass, to go into details about the faith and connections, past and present, of Jews or anti-semites. As a "committed socioi-logist." Like a teacher, journalist, or writer I am one of those who makes use of the first person as little as possible. My life, and my intimate thoughts, concern nobody but myself; I feel 1 myself accountable for my teachings, my writings, the facts whicii I observe, and the ideas I defend. But when it is a question of Jews or their destiny, I can hardly, without hypocrisy, feign the objectivity of a pure spectator. Better to admit im-
mediately who I am; the reader will then be in a better position to judge whether or not the "committed man" falsifies the outlook of the sociologist.
Family Origin
I belong to a Jewish family originating from Lorraine. My parents were neither practising nor observant Jews. I received hardly any religious instruction and could count on the fingers of one hand the number of occasions I was taken to synagogue during my childhood. The culture I received was French without any visible Jewish tradition imprinted upon it. For me Christianity was the religion, expounded to me by the p h i 1 o s o phers among whose works I browsed deeply, and to which I referred to define right and reason. I am, therefore, to quote Sartr.e, a person who assumes his Judaism through
dignity rather than experiencing it spontaneously.
Considering that I have left the Jewish community and feel (Continued on Page 3) See: FAITH
Remember the JMF.
CANDLE-LIGHTING TIME
Presented courtesy of JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
September 21 6:54
September 28 6:40
Tke Jewish Western Bulletin
SEPTEMBER 21, 1962
Published weewy every iTrlday at U67o Oak St.. Vancouver 9, B.C.
SAM KAPLAN Publisher and Editor
Official Organ of Vancouver Jewish Community Council
WILLIAM GELMON President
LOUIS ZIMMERMAN Executive Director
DR. J 2ACK
Publications Chairman
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