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The Jewish Louis Pasteur
Who Won An Academy Award
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Q: Why are mezuzot affixed diag-
onally?
Western Wall in Jerusalem.
In the First Temple, the devir
contained the Ark of the
Covenant. According to tradition,
the Ark was hidden before the
Temple was destroyed by the As-
syrians. In both Temples, the
kohen gadol, high
...-- priest, alone was al-
lowed to enter the
devir, and that was
only on Yom Kip-
pur.
The Romans de-
molished the Second
Temple in 70 CE, and
built a pagan temple in
its place. It, too, was de-
stroyed, and for centuries the
Temple Mount was covered by
ruins.
Today, the Temple Mount is
occupied by the Muslim complex
that includes the Dome of the
Some scholars have noted cer-
tain features of the Dracula sto-
A: The position is the result of
ry that may be of anti-Semitic
a classic rabbinic compromise.
origin. For centuries, anti-Semi-
The Talmud, in the tosafot
tes have depicted Jews as para-
to Menachot 33A, presents a
sites possessing strange occult
disagreement as to how the
powers, sucking the life from
mezuzah should be affixed
honest Christians.
to the doorpost: The emi-
While belief in vampires un-
nent French-born scholar
doubtedly is rooted in the pre-
Rashi (1040-1105) states
Christian folklore of Europe, the
that it should be verti-
Dracula story might well have
cal; his grandson,
been reinforced by Christians'
Rabbeinu Tam
persistent accusations that Jews
(1096-1171) says it
use Christian blood in various
should be horizon-
rituals and to make matzah.
tal.
In Nosferatu, the original
The Talmud
Dracula movie produced in Ger-
maintains that the
many in 1922, the blood-sucking
positioning should
count looks amazingly like the
be neither vertical nor horizon-
anti-Semitic caricatures Nazi
tal, but diagonal, with the top of
propagandist Julius Streicher
the mezuzah tipped inward to-
later published in his newspa-
ward the room.
per, Der Stuermer.
Most Ashkenazi Jews follow
Hollywood's
the practice of diagonal place-
treatment of the
ment, whereas most non-
story in the 1931
Ashkenazim place their
feature film Dracu-
mezuzot vertically. Among
la, starring Bela
Ashkenazim, the followers of
Lugosi, shows the
the Polish-born Israeli rabbi
vampire wearing a
Avraham Yesheyahu Karelitz
medallion in the
(1878-1953, the "Chazon Ish")
shape of a six-
also affix their mezuzot ver-
pointed star.
tically.
Dracula recoils
No one follows the opinion
when seeing the
of Rabbeinu Tam. Nor does
cross, perhaps in-
anyone accept the argument
tended to convey
of the German rabbi known as A model of the Second Temple at Jerusalem's
the power of good
the Maharil (1360-1427), who Holy Land Hotel.
over evil, but an-
maintained that the mezuzah
other reminder to
should be L-shaped!
Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque. those so inclined that the cross
Q: Who was the first Jewish thes- Nevertheless, it remains Ju- is rejected by Jews.
pian to win an Academy Award?
daism's most sacred
A: Paul Muni was the first site. Because the pre-
Jewish actor to win an Academy cise location of the
Award, for his performance in Temple and the devir
The Story of Louis Pasteur in have yet to be deter-
1936.
mined, most rabbis
Born Muni Weissenfreund in have forbidden Jews to
1895, he made his initial ap- enter the mount, ex-
pearance on stage in 1908. In cept for security rea-
1918, he joined the Yiddish Art sons, lest they violate
Theater. His other films includ- its sanctity.
ed Emile Zola and I Am A Fugi-
Q: What does Judaism
tive from a Chain Gang.
have to say about vam-
Other winners are: Richard pires?
Dreyfuss, 1977, for The Goodbye
A: There have been
Girl; Dustin Hoffman, 1979, for rampant rumors that
Kramer vs. Kramer and in 1988 Mr. Vampire himself,
for Rain Man; Robert De Niro, Bela Lugosi, was Jew-
1980, for Raging Bull; Barbra ish (he was in fact
Streisand, 1968, for Funny Girl; Catholic). That's about
and Marlee Matlin, 1986, Chil- as close to those myth-
dren of a Lesser God.
ical beings as Judaism
Q: What does Judaism regard as gets.
the holiest place in the world?
Many rabbis have
A: Judaism's most sacred pointed out that a be- Bela Lugosi
physical location is the site of the lief in ghosts, spirits
devir, the "Holy of Holies," the and vampires is rooted in pa- Send questions to 'Tell Me Why"
inner sanctum of the Temple, lo- ganism, not Torah, and conse- c/o The Jewish News, 27676
cated on the Har HaBayit, the quently has no room in Jewish Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI
Temple Mount, just above the thinking.
48034
K