Page 206 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Old age and the future

Now, returning to the Hebrew language, which I said was bound
with the Jewish religion. First, the idea of monotheism was first
expressed in the Hebrew language, which establishes its historical
existence. Our liturgy, prayers, joys, lamentations, praises, love poetry
and psalms, which the other religions—mostly the Catholics—have
claimed as their own, and fill their prayer books, were all written in
this language of ours. And the Talmud, a compendium of law and
ethics of great magnitude, has been written and commented upon
and elucidated in thousands of books in that language. In modern
times, for instance in the Jewish Spanish period, great poets like Eben
Gabirol and Eben Ezra wrote in our own language. And now, in our
own lifetime, it has been revived and modernized and grown in daily
use in Israel and everywhere else Jews are found; this alone proves
that it has a right to existence and a future.
Every Jew with self-respect, who respects his past and has hopes
for the future, should be acquainted with this heritage, a rich heritage.
If people pride themselves on being of French or German or English
descent because their nations have provided some great men or
literary works, then we can be twice as proud; for we, like the Greeks
or Romans, built the foundations of the present time. It is tragic that
the Jew, who gave the world the Bible, should himself ignore it, when
all the world takes an interest in it. He learns the languages of every
people, some of whom have detested him and persecuted him, but is
ashamed of his own. When I hear my grandchildren pronouncing and
reading even a few words in our language, it gives me a feeling of
hope that we Jews will have a future.

August 1955: it is a week since I lost my job last Monday, and the
prospect of finding another job is dim. It is not a question of money
to sustain the aged today; that is taken care of by the old-age pension
which provides an adequate living for the retired worker—not a very
comfortable living considering the standards of today, but compared
to how an old retired worker fared forty years ago, this system of
providing a pension and other benefits through insurance paid by the
worker during the years when he is able to earn is the greatest link in
social progress. All men work to support themselves and their
families. One works harder and struggles to exist, another works less
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