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 © The Relentless• Pursuit of Petftetion For a personal showing: Call 1-800-539-8748 OR 14300-I,EXUS-4-U Exit 104 oft 1-96 • 5709 S. Penns) Ivania, Lansing • 517/394-8000 (CA1.1. Coi.i.F(T) 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 A.: ERT 441F-iv tidfq-E, ProrfUl.t LifleS SEE OUR BEAUTIFUL SHOR T 30 238 S. TELEGRAPH, PONTIAC, MI 48341 681-0914 (Local} /I 4KOBI,DR BOB 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