Fridoy, October 12, 1956
JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
Page Seven
Bulletin bookshelf
'Sacrif ice'; 'Changelings' and The Strong Hand'
CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS
By ABE AVERBACH
THE SACRIFICE ... By Adele Novel award with Jier book Wiseman . . . The MacMillan called "Wasteland" This partic-Co. of Can. Ltd. . . . 346 pp. ular' book dealt primarily with ... $4.00. Jewish "self Hatred and the pro-
It is truly a vicarious thrill to t^gonists* groping and searching share along with the rest of'the^ to a "self acceptance" as a Jew Jewish community of Winnipeg; and a member of the Jewish in the publication of a well received novel by one of their ow^ citizens. Miss Adel^ Wiseman, a native of Winnipeg, 28 yeai^s oldi has brought color and warmth to this saga of a newly is sometimes startling in its very emigrated family from Ukrame - - -
to Canada. It is evident that Miss Wiseman likes writing, so much so, that being carried away by the narrative, she sometimes forgets transition, leaving parts of her novel confusing and somewhat disjointed. Again her tim- oppressors down through the ages, irig of events is sometimes out culminating in the lossW millions of of position. our people through Hitjerism. We
The story is not new, and to those also know of the "garden variety" of of us who remember the Yiddish
family.
In heir new novel, which is as timely as the front page news, the author brings about a notable literary tour de force. With a frankness that
simplicity. Miss Sinclair wrings your eniotipns dry. To be able to do this in fictionalized format, on such a controversial question as what stand do Jews take on racialism in their community, is indeed an achievement We Jews, know the bitter sting of
Stage In its heyday. A tremendous scenario could have been brought forth from this book. It has all the ingredients.
Her hero is Abraham, a butcher from a small town in Russia. Sarah his wife mourning the loss of her two sons in a prcgrom. Isaac, their youngest, who grows up and is veering towards agnoticism, finally marr rying Ruth, an orphan. Sarah dies and Abraham moves in with his son Isaac and Ruth. Isaac, in a scene much duplicated in other Yiddish fiction saves the Torah from a burning synagogue. He becomes an invalid after this episode and soon dies. Abraham, in confusion and shock finds himself wandering and comes in contact ^ withi the Lilith character; of-this booki cailed Laiafa and in rather a' contrived scene, murders her in h'er room. We now come.to Moses, Isaac's son. He has become a musician, but is beset by the tribulations of his family's past. Abraham who is now, confined to an asylum is visited by Moses. He clasps the old man's hands, feels for him, and leaves with his soul unburdened. ^
Somehow one can't help feeling after laying down this book that we had seen it before at a Sunday night benefit in the old Queens Theatre in Winnipeg. The author must also have known the Yiddish idiomatic expression well. But to try and translate them into Eiiglish would tax even a Maurice Samuels. To the gentile reader it is completely meaningless. For instance. In one chapter of the book Abraham is telling his friend Chaim of his past. ^ '.
He says, "it is a hard tting to talk about, just like that. Once I had three sons."
"Yes, I have gathered this," Chaim answers.
"A. small nothing, three sons." A "small nothing", is the free translation of the Yiddish expression "Ein Kleinikeit''. As the, sentence .stands in the book it is meaningless. But what a "weltschmertz" and what a meaning when a Jew gives; an expressive shrug of his shoulders and with a deep down sigh says "Ein Kleinikeit."
Miss Wiseman's book is readable and authentic in catching the nuances of the neighborhood and local kibit-zarnia character. Adele Wiseman definitely joins the ranks of emerging Jewish Canadian writers. We look forward to her next work. Tirffe and youth are on her side.
* * *
THE CHANGELINGS by Jo. Smclair; 323 pp. McGraw-Hill Sook Co., ToroniO) $4.5U
No novice to the psychological Jewish problems of American living, Miss Sinclair has again rung the bell with this powerful.
racial baiters in our own community. Well then, how do we f^el toward another oppressed people, or as Miss Sinclair puts it, when the "Schwartze" (Colored), b&gin to move in on our Jewish neighborhoods? This is the theme of her story.
Picture if you will, a street in New York City, in a dying neighborhood. Most of the houses on this street are two storey affairs, occupied mostly by first generation Jewish families, and the odd one by an Italian family. It is midsummer and the sweltering heat has driven most of the' neighbors out on the front porches and stoops. Midst the hubbub of conversation, cursing, eating and drinking, the chief topic is the Negroes. It is still a white neighborhood, but thfe "Schwaftze" ii^ Creejp-ing closer to thie borders of this primarily Jewish Street
The Negro families, in search of better living quarters for themselves and families, have no alternative but to seek new horizons. Recently three Jewish families had moved out. The remainder are torn by suspicion and fear, that at any one momeqt someone will sell out or rent to the intruders.
Against this background Jo Sinclair teUs the story of Judith Viricent, daughter of a Jewish family. Judith is only 13 years old that fatal summer. The shattering of her little World begins, when she isjucked out of the gang because, simply enough, she is a girl. Sick at heart and childishly disillusioned, she- wanders away from the confines of her street and finds friendship with a new friend, a girl, a Negro girl. The tension of the story mounts as the Negroes, driven from the narrow coiifines, come knocking at the doors of the Jewish Street, looking for rooiins.
Miss Sinclair does not pretend to have a solution; but through Judith's eyes, we may yet see some hope in the changelings who will outgrow the predjudices of this generation. "The Changelings" takes its name from a poem written by the invalided Jules Goldman jOf this story, whose bitter
which formerly existed as the creation of the Talmud Torah school groups and the Jewish People's Schools resulting in the formation of .one s^eminary by calling iipon all groups to assist in the common goal.
E—IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION, an agreement had been made some years ago with the National Council of YM-YWKA's. Another example of the partnership in a heritage. The Canadian Jewish Congress has takien the lead and intends to obtain the good offices and > advices of all national organizations through the establishment of a National Youth Commission. This should be a grapid demonstration 'of how the Canadian Jewish community working together can plan to inspire a programme of great utility and lasting value. It is hoped moreover,, that the National Jewish Welfare Board, through the National Council of Y's, will shortly make arrangements with the Canadian Jewish Congress so that its Youth Department can^ carry on a maximum of programme resources. (Ed. Note: Since this paper was given such an agreement was signed and is in full effect).
F—COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION. Communities had gone off in all directions. Strife had been the word of the day,' and generally, the communities' desires and responsibilities had been left unfulfilled. Those communities which have a semblance of community organization find that their own frustrations are less and their own sense of accomplishments are greater than where there is complete anarchy. The job of the Canadian Jewish Congress is not only to encourage such coirnnun-ity organization but even to take active steps to produce, it. A partnership agreement fpr this aspect of our common heritage exists between the
Canadiau Committee of the Council of Jewish Federations & Welfare Funds and the Canadian Jewish Congress. Field staff is employed to advise and guide communities and to interest them in the manifold advantages of orderly procedure.
G—RELIGIOUS WELFARE. The Canadian Jewish Congress while unwilling to get into matters of doctrine or theology, must, it it is to have any roie at all, recognize that religious welfare in a community is one of its principal ^ims.The story is told of a Quaker who was milking his cow and on three occasions the cow kicked over the pail. The Quaker, true-to his vows of patience and pacifism, addressed the cow—"Oh cow, thou knowest I am a Quaker and will neither hit thee nor punish thee cdlT)orally, but, oh cow, what thou dost not know is that I will sell thee to a free think^." We must surely, through the efforts of our Religious Welfare Committee where national action has to be taken, accept the need for protecting the religious integrity of the Jewish community.
H—INTERNATIONAL RESPON-SmiUTIES. In the field of international i:esponsibilities, it is obvious that^ ho national organization can make any claun to dispatch a function unless it is in co-ordinative partnership with others. And so we have " a long and old list of agreements with the World Jewish Congress, the World brt Union and the OSE. In 1939, we entered into an agreement with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee the result of which a very proud and noble chapter in Jewish history has been written.
i I—ISRAEL. From the date of the founding of the Canadian Jewish CcQgress, w lis aims and objectiyes stated on its reorganization, right into the present days of its corporate structure anft in the text of its Charter, the Canadian Jewish Congress
Street of The Changelings'
This is the street of "The Changelings"' from the jacket off Jo Sinclair's fine novel reviewed here. Miss Sinclair has won two owards for her book, one the Samuel and Ethel Doroff M^snorioS aword of the Notional Jewish Welfore Board, for Jewish content, and the other from the National Conference of Christions and Jews (U.S.Av), for promoting brotherhood.
young orthodox Rabbi and his deep
and mordant outlook, from his sick' love for the wordly and sophisticated.
bed, mirrors the weakness and xenophobia of the people in the street.
This novel poses a challenge, it probes deep into the question of human relationships. Forceful and dramatic you will not put this book down easily—or forget it soon.
THE STRONG HAND by Michael Blankfort; Little, BrowA'Co. (Canada) Ltd., 317 pp., $4.50.
A far different cry from his previous book "The Juggler", Michael Blankfort has nevertheless v/ritten a sincere, but some-times floundering novel on
emotion-packed novel. The Jewish Americana. Changelings. Some ten years ago The story of the "Strong Hand," Jo Sinclair won a Harper Prize . teUs of an intense iand personable.
Katy Waterman. She is the direct antithesis of everything he stands for. Katy is a successful press photographer, at home in all cosmopolitan cross roads of the world. Yet these two inexplicably fall deeply in love. The barriers to their marriage are obviously many but the one insurmountable barrier is the fact, that Katy had been married before to an Air Corps pilot, who had been shot down and was "presumed" dead by the War Departmenit.
Here then is the crux of the whole situation. According to Orthodox law, a wife of a man whose death is not definitely established is not free to marry —she becomes an "Agunah." This is the "Strong Hand" of tradition which faces our protagonists.
Michael Blankfort has tried to
make this more than a novel of conflicting emotions, but in trying to establish the Orthodox point of view, he becomes verbose and redundant. True his orthodox characters breathe sincerity, especially Rabbi Leo Eier-dick and his father, but yet they will ipot compromise; There is no solution. There is no rapport between the Orthodox.and modern Jewish living. 'Philosophical justification for the observance of tradition is fine ... but it can't bring Berdicks and Water-mans together.
Rabbi Leo Berdick's friend tells the story and remains a shadowy character. There is also the usual Communist friend groping for answers. In the main it is a provocative theme, although structurally, the author could have cut down on the sermonizing and done m'ore to develop the "Dramatis Personae."
' has proudly proclaimed its task of assisting in the creation.of a Jewish homeland, assisting the Jewish Agency in its program and, latterly, the State of ^Israel. The Zionist Organization of Canada has a long and proud history and is uniquely devoted to these objectives. This has not meant friction nor collision, it has meant very useful working arrangements whereby the Canadian Jewish Congress has been called upon by the Zionist Organization whenever this latter organization has felt that a solid front should be created and where representations requu-ed joint action. This was so on innumerable occasions. Many representations both to Qanadian government and internationally have been made as a result of this fruitful cooperation.
RECOGNITION OF CANADIAN JEWRY by the non-Jewish com-' munity.' I have not the opportunity now to suggest the extent to which the Canadian Jewish community is looked upon as an integral part of the Canadian community. I could cite chapter and verse of the changed position over the past number of years.'! can say with some pride that the Canadian Jewish Congress undoubtedly has taken the leading role in bringing this about. If the Canadian Jewish Congress has accomplished nothing in its long history but the end result of obtaining the recognition by the non-Jews of this Country organizationally, goxem-mentally and in thousands of cases, individually, it deserves the applause of the Jewish community. This remains one of the real purposes of th^ existence of the Canadian Jewish Congress—to be the voice of Canadian Jewry, to interpret Canadi^ Jewry to Canada and the rest of the world; to articulate the hopes and aspurations of Canadian Jewry.
What is our fiaat juugmcni? Cur work does not involve a final judgment nor a definitive position on the prevailing social, political and economic ideologies. In Canada the Jews are and always will be a small minority group of persons individually integrated into the social, economic and political life of the country while a group they strive to retain their religious and cultural identity in a democracy which permits them to worship and to live their lives in accordance ' wiA their traditions and religious principles. Our survival as Jews necessitates the maintenance of our cultural and religious identity as a group in an active and vital form. We have reached the stage when
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SACRIFICE
Adele Wiseman
The absorbing, reodoble story centres on on immigrant' family of East European Jews settled in Winnipeg. Deep humor and genuine wisdom moke this novel by o young Winnipeger one of the enduring books of our time. $3.95 MACMILLAN OF CANADA
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