Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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The highlights of his own personal life are omitted and the book seems to lack a dimension of depth. We become thoroughly acquainted with the life of the Jewish nation, but remain somewhat ignorant of the personal life of the author. We realize that this was a man of warmth, perception, and sympathy, as well as tenacity and a for- midable controversialist, but throughout the book we feel a lack of personal warmth and experience. Weizmann began the book with wonderful wit in describing his boyhood and family, but lost the touch amidst his own enchantment by the story of Zionism. Trial and Error is dry, detailed, and heavy reading, but it is excellent research material, and should be recommended highly for college and public libraries. It is not the type of book for popular consumption unless interest in the material can outweigh the heavy reading. In comparison with other biographies the book can be criticized severely for its lack of that vital personal touch. Meyer W. Weisgal, author of Chaim Weizmann. wrote a biography that in my estimation outshines Weizmann ' s own life story. The book shines with vitality, intimacy, and an inner illumination. The author presents Chaim Weizmann in all of his glorious aspects, statesman, scientist, and builder of the Jewish Commonwealth. Weisgal com- bines a number of essays on Weizmann by various writers that fuse into a biographical portrait of immense distinction and fascination. Rarely does a collection of this nature achieve so high a level of content and expression. Here we see Weizmann more clearly as a personality, while in Trial and Error we gain more knowledge of the personality of the Jewish nation. Chaim Weizmann is light yet educational reading. Trial and Error is deep and factual. The two books are both profitable reading each in its own way. Who is better equipped to tell the story of Zionism than Israel ' s first president? Who can give us a fuller account of Israel than the man who devoted himself wholly to its realization.- 1 7 rial and Error may not be appreciated by all. M any may find its pages too detailed for enjoyable reading. But it will nevertheless remain an outstanding book, written by an unforgettable man. Saadia Gaon ' s Opposition To Karaism By JUDITH OCHS A TERM PAPER About the middle of the eighth cen- tury C. E , there arose a schismatic group in Judaism — the Karaites — which was opposed by contemporary Jewish leaders. The most prominent among these leaders was Saadia ben Joseph (892?-942), Gaon of Sura, and vigorous champion of the Rabbanite cause. Besides his writ- ings on Jewish philosophy and law, Saadia wrote several anti-Karaite I re.i tises which did much to stem the tide of Karaism 1 Karaism based itself solely on the lit- eral interpretation of Scripture; it re- jected the oral tradition and the ralmudi- cal interpretation embodying it. 2 Aside from this rejection of the au- thority of the Talmud, there is no essen- tial difference between Rabbanite and K.ir.mitc theology. 3 However this variant belief led to radical differences in religi- 0US practice. ' For example. Karaites and Kahbanites celebrated the Holy Days On different dates. 3 It is therefore essential to bear in mind that it was always the differences in practice, not in dogma, that sustained divisions in Israel. Hence, the presence among Jews of a group with revolutionary religious prac- tices could in. i long remain unchallenged. In the very beginning, the Rabbis had been inclined to ignore the Karaites, and like the ostrich, they put their heads into the ground in the vain hope that the attacker would disappear, Their attitude was that there had been many such here- tic groups among the Jews in the past which had disappeared. Surely the same fate lay in store tor Karaism. But their early hopes were noi realized The Karaite movement gained momen- tum. Soon the rapid spread of Karaism made some action by the Rabbis man-

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I often think how wonderful it is that man cannot regulate the seasons, for in the city, everything except the vendor ' s cut flowers seems to be built to last forever, and when the nights grow shorter one may realize that forever is merely a man made term to express the will of G-d. Spring bares the city, for it is in spring that her weaknesses are revealed. Her chimneys offer warmth in winter, but in spring she offers what? What is spring in th e city? What happens when the winds start to play a different, lighter, more musical air — when the evenings are beautiful violin concertos, that quick- en the heartbeat and cause the heart to ache with an indefinable longing for an undefined thing. Spring is cotton dresses and the ice cream bell. Spring is the green in the shop windows and the fifty cents cut- flowers. The city puts on a good show to mark spring. Fifth Avenue knows how to act — tweed for fall, wool for winter — cotton for spring. It is indescribably sad in spring. I ache to see a tuft of timothy, growing haphazardly among last year ' s leaves, but if one crumples green crepe paper in a certain way, and spreads it carefully around, it resembles grass — well ordered and according to rule. The city tries so hard to make spring! trial and error ' chaim weizman A BOOK REVIEW BY SYLVIA HOITENBERG Jew or Gentile, Zionist or non-Zionist, any reader conscious of the present cosmic struggle to create a future will find Chaim Weizmann ' s Trial and Error worthwhile reading. This autobiography traces the steps by which an insignificant Russian-Jew became one of the world ' s greatest statesmen. In 1874 the well-to-do Weizmann family, living in a forlorn corner of White Russia, welcomed another child into their family. Chaim Weizmann, a bright and eager student, began his education at the age of four, in a squalid one room school, equipped with a teacher, numerous children, and the family goat. This the author affectionately calls his cheder , and to it attributes his sharp intellectual powers. He left his comfortable family at any early age to further his studies in a school of higher education, and began his extensive work in chemistry. After a brilliant college career, he became a teacher and at that point devoted himself most avidly to Zionism. The great Zionist reveals in his life story how he stepped from the ghetto to enlightening education, then on to be a brilliant chemist and teacher, and finally to be one of our greatest humanitarians as President of the State of Israel. The history of Zionism and the birth of the modern Jewish nation unfold before our eyes in Trial and Error. We read about the trials and tribulations and glories and exultation of the struggling nation, and our hearts yearn for the realization of its dreams. This book is a stirring chapter in the life of a race that passed through more vicissitudes than any other people. We live with Israel from its birth, through its struggle for existence, until its glorious realization and maturity. Without a doubt. Trial dial Error is the complete and excellent history of Zionism. Weizmann leaves nothing out in his account and provides thorough yet concise in- formation. The pages are crammed with the names, dates, and places that played an important part in the birth of the nation. Vivid glimpses of great persons and his- torical data comprise most of the book. In fact, the world ' s political greats such as Herzl, Zangwill and Rothschild take precedence over Weizmann himself, and out author is lost in the background of his autobiography. His modesty is outstanding and, speaking very little about his own great accomplishments, he lets his achievements speak for themselves. Perhaps the book would have been more interesting and pleasurable reading, had the author presented more details of his own illustrious career.

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datory. They began to preach against the sect from the pulpit. Then they ex- communicated the Karaites and declared them to be outside the pale of the Jewish religion. s The leaders of the Jewish comunity, the Geonim, did not, however, carry on an organized offensive to avert the Ka- raite danger. 9 We do know of two of them who combatted Karaism before Saadia: Nitronoi ben Hillel and Hai ben David. 10 However, we see from the history of the time that the early Rabbanite offen- sives failed. For during the early part of the ninth and tenth centuries, the Kara- ites put forth an intensive missionary effort and gained many new adherents. The sect spread its tentacles from Baby- lonia and Judea to Egypt, Syria, and the Crimea. Despite the Rabbanite coun- ter-offensive, it penetrated the Rabbinic strongholds and even found a way into the halls of learning, the Academies. 12 The Rabbis had failed to check Karaite expansion because their method of attack was ineffective. They did not put to use whatever knowledge of rhe Hebrew lan- guage they had. 13 Also, as proof for their arguments, they cited mainly the very Talmud whose authority the Karaites denied. 1 ' In contrast to this ineffective opposi- tion are the polemics of Saadia, the first Rabbi able to match the Karaites with their own weapons. The Karaites had always prided themselves on their super ior knowledge of Hebrew and had claimed that if the Talmudists knew Hebrew as well as they [the Karaites] did, they would never have placed such constructions on the Bible. 1 ' ' Now. for the first time there was a Rabbanite lead- er who could answer their taunts, for Saadia complerely eclipsed them in Heb- rew philology and in the interpretation of the Bible. ' He wrote a commentary on the Torah and also translated the Bible into Arabic, the language then un- derstood from the extreme west to In dia. 17 Agron is a Hebrew dictionary that Saadia compiled, and is again evidence of his familiarity with, and knowledge of Hebrew. 18 His command of the lan- guage is also evinced by his religious poetry and polemical writings. 19 Saadia put forward an authoritative representation of Rabbanism because he was well-versed in Talmudic lore. Indeed rhe contemporary Jewish leaders relied on his decisions in questions of Halachah. 20 In addition to his knowledge of Heb- rew studies. Saadia had a thorough ac- quaintance with secular wisdom — the sciences and philosophy. This was for- tunate because it was not sufficient to fight against them [the Karaites] with weapons of the Torah alone. 21 What prompted a Saadia — a man of such high qualifications, a foremost scholar in Hebrew and secular subjects — to center his attention on opposition to Karaism To Saadia, opposing the Karaites was far more significant than merely arguing with dissenters. He did not view the Karaite-Rabbanite polemics as a stimulating intellectual exercise, a college debate; he went to the core of the problem. He believed that the Karaites were not just harmless deviators to be mildly chided for their error, but com- plete apostates, and consequently peace- ful intercourse between orthodox Rabban- ites and Karaite Schismatics appeared to him to be an intolerable and dangerous thing 22 Mere text, Saadia held, was not enough for the correct understanding of the To- rah, and one had to go behind the verbal text to get at the spirit and the meaning of the law . . . This could not be done without calling on the unbroken rradition handed down from generation to gen- eration and recorded in the Talmud. 2, Without the oral tradition to guide them, the Karaites had arrived at absurdi- ties in the construing of certain laws. Saadia cites as an example the Karaite Sabbath observances. 2 ' They had inter- preted the Biblical injunction against light- ing a fire on the Sabbath to mean that it was forbidden to use even a fire kindled on the eve of the Sabbath, and they spent the Sabbath in complete dark- ness. 26 Above all, Saadia wanted the Jews to be united under traditional religious lead- ership, and he feared that the rapid ex- pansion of Karaism would und :rmi r Jewish unity. 27 The Karaite menace was most obvious especially at this rime. Karaism had within a century and a half become deeply rooted, while Rab- Academies of Babylonia, had begun to lose their importance, was in peril of be- ing overwhelmed by the propaganda of the Karaites . . . s Indeed the sect was active in mission- ary work and had attracted many Jews to its beliefs. 29 Saadia therefore bemoaned the lack of a clear presentation of the orthodox standpoint. In the preface to his philosophical work, the Book of Be- liefs and Opinions, he wrote: My heart sickens to see that the be- lief of my co-religionists is impure and their theological views are confused. Accordingly, early and late in life.