Israel's Rabbi

The bright-eyed little man with the high silk hat and the flaring beard seemed to be everywhere last week, carrying his gold-headed cane and dog-eared Old Testament, and speaking a fine, clear Dublin English. Everywhere he went, his people flocked around him to ask his blessing and welcome His Eminence Isaac Halevi Herzog, Chief Rabbi of Israel.

Rabbi Herzog is not sightseeing in the U.S. Averaging about four hours' sleep a night, he is visiting 20 cities in 25 days, making two or three speeches each day, to raise money through United Jewish Appeal for the state of Israel. To Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews, whom he sees in nearly equal numbers, he says the same thing: it is the responsibility of U.S. Jews to give Israel material aid, in return for which they will get spiritual food. "In Israel," he says, "we have the responsibility of sustaining the spiritual lives of Jews all over the world."

Big Difference. The chief rabbi of Israel was born 60 years ago in Lomza, Poland. With his family he moved to England and completed his studies at the University of London. At 21 he was ordained. In 1925 he became chief rabbi in the Irish Free State. He was elected chief rabbi of Palestine in 1936, and there led his community of 500,000 members through Jewry's 13 most crucial and trying years since the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.). As symbolic head of all Orthodox Jews, Dr. Herzog takes his position gravely. "I was the chief rabbi of Palestine," he said last week. "Now I am the chief rabbi of Israel. I am the same man, but there is a big difference."

Rabbi Herzog is a scholar who likes most to talk about his five-volume work, The Main Institutions of Jewish Law, but his interests range far & wide. Before leaving the U.S. next month he hopes to 1) visit the U.N., 2) see an Indian reservation, 3) meet Billy Rose.

Two Sparks. He had a memorable meeting with another prominent American last week. After a formal exchange on the subject of Israel with the President of the U.S., Rabbi Herzog opened his Bible and began reading (in Hebrew) the 126th Psalm. Meanwhile, Harry Truman reached into his desk for his mother's old Bible and flipped the pages to the same place. When the rabbi had finished, the President read in English: "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing . . ."

Then President Truman, who loves to trade Bible learning, quoted from memory another pertinent passage (Isaiah 2:4): "And . . . they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Fifteen minutes later they were still swapping biblical quotations when the President's secretary reluctantly broke in to announce the next caller.

When newsmen asked him if he found the President a religious man, Rabbi Herzog's blue eyes twinkled. "Absolutely," he said. "I felt it at once. It was like two sparks meeting as one!"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.