1994 LS400
*599*
• TRAC CONTROL
• MEMORY
• SUNROOF
• CD PLAYER
1994 ES300
•
•
•
•
•
$489*
1994 GS300
•
•
•
•
LEATHER
SUNROOF
REMOTE ENTRY
SECURITY
SYSTEM
TRAC CONTROL
LEATHER
SUNROOF
SECURITY
SYSTEM
• 1994 ES300 Based on MSRP ot 533.903. 1994 08300 based on MSRP of $44.803. 1994 LS400 based on
MSRP of $55.303. 35 month closed end lease. 10% CAP reduction. 15,000 miles per year, 15c per mie In
excess of 45.000 mites. WO refundable security deposit. Total obligation: ES300 $14,004, GS300 $17.804.
LS400 $21.564. Phis 4% use tax. plates. transfer lee. Customer responsible for excess wear and tear. Option
to purchase: ES300 $18.965.99. OS300 $25,989.74. LS400 $31,522.71.
LEXUS OF LANSING
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Does The World Continue
Due To 36 Individuals?
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
44: Who are the lamedvavniks?
. According to tradition, the lamedvavniks
• are the 36 righteous individuals in every
generation who, because of their very existence,
allow the world to continue.
The name comes from the Hebrew letters
lamed, the numerical value of which is 30, and
vav, which is six. Though many theories have been
raised about its possible origin, the significance
of the number 36 is not known.
The tradition began with the Babylonian Tal-
mud ("there are not fewer than 36 righteous
A
individuals in the world who receive the Divine
Presence") and has become a popular subject in
folklore and literature. Andre Schwarz-Bart's
famous The Last of the Just recounts the death of
the last larnedvavnik in the Holocaust.
The lamedvavniks remain anonymous, though
legend has it they will suddenly appear at times
of great danger and defeat the foes of the Jew-
ish people. Some believe the Messiah is among
the lamedvavniks.
Ca: Are there any famous Jews
named Smith?
Probably the best-known
Jewish Smith today is
Rabbi Allan Smith, director of the
Union of American Hebrew Congre-
gations youth division.
Famous Jewish Smiths of the past
include Sir Archibald Levin Smith
(1,836-1901), who rowed in the Cam-
bridge University crew that won the
Henley Royal Regatta in 1858; Sgt.
Issy Smith (originally Shmulevitsch)
of the British army, who in World
War I received the Victoria Cross,
Britain's highest military award for
valor; Louis Smith (1888-1968), an
American horse-racing executive;
and "Silver Dollar Smith" (aka
Charles Solomon), a hoodlum,
saloon keeper and key player in
Tammany Hall's Tenth Ward
political organization on New Yorlfs
Lower East Side at the turn of the
century.
Rabbi Allan Smith
44: Why is it that in biblical times Jewish de-
scent was patrilineal, but now it is matrilineal
(that is, if someone's mother is Jewish, that
person is Jewish regardless of the father)?
The Chumash (Pentateuch) recounts in-
cidents of Jewish men, such as Joseph
and Moses, taking gentile wives, yet their chil-
dren were considered Jewish.
Because such instances of intermarriage oc-
curred before the giving of the Torah at Mount
Sinai, they cannot be considered legal precedent.
The Patriarchs engaged in other behavior that
later would be outlawed. For example, Abraham
served his guests milk with meat; and Jacob mar-
ried two sisters.
The determination of a person as Jewish is a
function of Jewish law. The basis for applied Jew-
ish law is not the Chumash but the Talmud. In
Kidushin 68b, the Talmud states unequivocally
that any child of a Jewish mother is Jewish,
though the child of a Jewish father and gentile
mother is not.
(Today, the Reform movement also recognizes
as Jewish anyone born of a Jewish father, though
not necessarily a Jewish mother, who was raised
in a Jewish home and regards himself a Jew.)
Q. Why do some people load travelers to
Israel with letters to be mailed in the country?
Like the true identity of the Lindbergh
baby kidnapper and the real story behind
Kasper Hauser, some things — including the
whole "Can you mail some letters for me in Is-
rael?' tradition — may forever remain a mystery.
Most likely, it is a throwback to when the Israeli
postal system was still in the early stages
of development. Admittedly, back then
it could take quite a long time for
letters from abroad to get to Israel
Now, however, letters mailed from the
United States to Israel generally take
about a week to arrive, and it costs the
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not-exactly-exorbitant-sum of 50 cents for the first
half ounce (95 cents for the first ounce). Which
means that by sending something with a visitor
to Israel, instead of mailing it from the United
States, you save maybe 30 cents and your
letter gets to its destination about four
-N days earlier. Wow.
In any case, the Israeli government
dislikes the whole process (terrorists
have been known to stick bombs in
letters) and most travelers to Israel don't
appreciate those last-minute letter drop-offs (some-
times from complete strangers).
Send questions to "Tell Me Why" c I o The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI 48034