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How Sidney became Paddy, and why this column is not
"Interesting Tidbits of Stuff."
You must
come in
and see it
to believe
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Q: Why is it that 95 percent of those
who regularly read Tell Me Why
don't know what the column is
called?
it!
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A: There are, alas, some mys-
teries too great even for Tell Me
Why.
Since Tell Me Why's inception
last year, we have heard count-
less, often very bizarre, names
for this insightful column. But be
assured, it is not "That Question
You Always Wanted To Have
Answered But You Didn't Know
Who To Ask" or "Interesting Tid-
bits of Stuff." It is Tell Me Why.
And if you don't believe me, look
at the top of the column. There it
is, my friend.
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Q: Is it true that Dropsie Univer-
Q: I heard that Julius Caesar was
sity in Philadelphia was started by
a
friend
of the Jews. What can you
a convert to Judaism?
tell
me
about
that?
A: Yes. The school, which shut
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Caesar permitted Jews in the Diaspora to send support for the Temple in
Jerusalem.
A
founded by Moses Aaron Drop- most.
The Roman leader (100-44
sie (1821-1905), an attorney and
BCE)
declared edicts that estab-
businessman.
Dropsie was born in Philadel- lished a precedent in providing
phia, the son of a Jewish father freedom and protection for Jews.
Under Caesar, Jews:
and a Christian mother. When
• Were given complete free-
he was 14, Dropsie converted to
Judaism. He later served as the dom of religion.
• Were exempt from military
leader of a number of Jewish or-
ganizations in Philadelphia and service (because serving in the
was a major supporter of Mai- army would pose conflicts with
monides College, the first Jew- observing the Sabbath and keep-
ish theological seminary in the ing kosher).
• Were allowed to establish
country.
their
own courts to deal with
In an effort to combat what he
considered "extremism" in the Jewish issues.
Additionally, Caesar allowed
Reform movement, Dropsie, also
a founder of the Philadelphia Re- the walls of Jerusalem (destroyed
publican Party, assigned much by Pompey) to be rebuilt, and per-
of his fortune to go toward the es- mitted Diaspora Jewry to send
tablishment of Dropsie College funds to Eretz Yisrael for the sup-
for Hebrew and Cognate Learn- port of the Temple.
According to the Encyclopedia
ing.
"The increasing need in the Judaica, Jews were so saddened
United States for a more thor- at Caesar's death that "he was
ough and systematic education mourned by (them) more than by
in Jewish lore has long been felt, any other nation, and for a long
and is a matter of solicitude to time after they continued to weep
true Israelites, who cherish the over his tomb both by day and
religion of their ancestors," he night."
Q: What is a kollel?
wrote in his will. "(Therefore), I
A: A kollel (literally "compre-
order and direct that there be es-
tablished and maintained in the hensive") is an institution where
City of Philadelphia a college for married men study Torah and
the promotion of and instruction Talmud. (A "yeshiva" is reserved
in the Hebrew and cognate lan- for children and unmarried stu-
guages and their respective lit- dents.)
The term came about in 1878
eratures and in the rabbinical
when an anonymous donor gave
learning and literature."
Dropsie's instructions, written a large sum of money to Rabbi Is-
in 1895, further specified that the rael Lipkin (1810-1883) of Kovno,
school's admission policy would Lithuania, to establish a school
contain no restrictions "on ac- for married men. Rabbi Lipkin
called the new school the kollel
count of creed, color, or sex."
The charter was signed in perushim ("separatists," a refer-
1907, with Cyrus Adler serving ence to those who separate them-
selves from the rest of the
as the school's first president.
community so as to totally dedi-
cate their lives to study).
While initially Rabbi Lipkin's
institute was known as the kol-
lel, the term soon expanded to all
institutions of learning for mar-
ried men.
Rabbi Lipkin, incidentally, also
was the founder of the Musar
movement, which stressed moral
behavior as defined in Jewish
ethical writings. During the 1848
cholera epidemic in Vilna, he
urged Jews to do everything pos-
sible — including working on
Shabbat — to fight the disease,
a job he said must not be left to
gentiles alone. He was much
beloved by his students and pub-
lished numerous major writings.
Rabbi Lipkin died in Koenigs-
berg, Germany.
Q: How could a Jewish play-
wright with the last name Chayef-
sky get an Irish first name like
"Paddy"?
A: Mr. Chayefsky's first name
was actually Sidney.
Among Mr. Chayefsky's
screenplays, for which he won
Academy Awards, were Marty
and Hospital. His first play was
No Time Out for Love, written
while he was in the hospital re-
covering from wounds sustained
during World War II.
It was while serving in the
army during the war that Sidney
Chayefsky became Paddy
Chayefsky. In an effort to avoid
K.P. duty one Sunday morning,
Sidney told his supervisor that
he had to go to mass instead. The
lieutenant promptly labeled him
"Paddy."
Mr. Chayefsky died in 1981.111
Send questions to "Tell Me Why"
c/o The Jewish News, 27676
Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI
48034 or send fax to 354-6069.