Vamper Zett Sensuatts eXincierie (7-int ("Jhe 7to-lidays! Remembrance Of Things Passed The final resting spot of Marcel Proust, Modigliani and Gertrude Stein. ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR ANNETTE'S UNIQUE BOUTIQUE A Specialty Shoppe Catering to Women's Intimate Fashion seeds Appointments suggested M-Sat. 10-5 Thurs. 10-7 (810) 680-1600 3646 Rochester Rd. • Troy • Century Plaza between Big Beaver and Wattles 271 M a i_Vc2 • DOWIltOW17 Bi?"1771 .11ght7 • 258.02 1 2 MON.-SAT. 10 - 6 • THURS. 10 - 9 120 Neighborhood Project Lender GROUP ONE MORTGAGE Stuart Daniels 810 -617-3836 Take the Mystery out of Mortgages Q: Are any Jews buried in the famed Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in France? A: As a matter of fact, a num- ber of Jews are buried at the cemetery, which draws hun- dreds of visitors each day. Thou- sands of trees, and birds and cats, call Pere-Lachaise home; it also is the final resting place of such famous Jews as Sarah Bernhardt, Gertrude Stein, Amadeo Modigliani, many members of the Rothschild fam- ily, and Marcel Proust. The cemetery is one of the most prestigious in France, where visitors can see the graves of such figures as com- posers Francis Poulenc and Frederic Chopin, authors Os- car Wilde and Honore de Balzac, dancer Isadora Duncan and yes, even the great Jim Morrison. (And Jim, if you're reading this, take a grammar background. Regarded the greatest actress of her time, she is buried under a grey arched tomb, as is artist Amadeo Modigliani, who shares a tomb with his beloved Jeanne Hebuterne, the mother of his A: Interesting tales abound only child. She was pregnant about converts to Judaism, but when she jumped from a win- certainly one of the most un- dow the day after Modigliani usual belongs to that of Warder died. Cresson. Interestingly, visitors to Pere- Cresson was born in 1798, Lachaise also can see a monu- the son of Quakers. He con- ment honoring members of the verted to various religions, in- French Resistance, and recall- cluding Mormonism, and ing victims of the Holocaust. worked as a farmer before The latter shows a skeletal fig- meeting up with Isaac Leeser ure, his arms in despair at his in the mid-1800s. sides, his face reaching to the A native of Germany, Rabbi heavens. Leeser came to the United States in 1824 to work for his Q: I seem to remember hearing uncle. He later served as the something about a Jewish aboli- cantor at a Sephardi congrega- tionist who wrote an autobiography tion, Mikveh Israel of Philadel- about his experiences. Do you know phia, and founded a Jewish his name? newspaper, the Occident. He A: There also started this were a num- country's first He- ber of Jews brew high school active in the and was the first anti-slavery to introduce a ser- movement, mon, given in but it English, at an sounds like American syna- you're talk- gogue. ing about Through Rabbi August Lesser, Cresson Bondi (born became interest- Bondy), who ed in visiting was the au- Eretz Yisrael. thor of the And despite highly protests from for- praised Au- mer Secretary of tobiography the Treasury of August Samuel Ingham, Bondi, pub- who said Cresson had been "labor- Sarah Bernhardt now lies under a grey, arched tomb at Paris' famed Pere-Lachaise lished in 1910. ing under an cemetery. He was born in 1833 in Vi- aberration of the mind for refresher course at the Great many years," he made it there Big College In The Sky, will enna, and settled as a young in 1844. Four years later, Cres- you, pal? It's "I'm gonna love man in Kansas. He worked as a store clerk, and he hated it. son converted to Judaism. you, `til the stars fall from the But the insanity thing just sky for you and me," not "you Later, he established his own trading post, then in 1855 wouldn't go away. Cresson re- and I.") joined the abolitionist forces. turned briefly to the United Rarely seen without a bottle Bondi believed slavery to be States, where his wife and son of Evian water in his pocket, tried to have him declared out Marcel Proust was the author a moral evil. To that end, he of his mind. Cresson fought the of what many believe to be one served with the Union Army measure, and in 1851 a jury of the greatest novels ever writ- during the Civil War. After the war, he settled in Salina, Kan., backed him up. ten, Remembrance of Things where he worked as a busi- Cresson changed his name Past. He is buried in a modest to Michael Boaz Israel and re- tomb that bears only his name, nessman and lawyer. turned to Jerusalem, where he date of birth and date of death. became active in the fight Actress Sarah Bernhardt against Christian missionary was born a Jew and raised a Send questions to "Tell Me Why" " groups. He married and lived Christian, though she always c to The Jewish News, 27676 the rest of his life in Eretz Yis- spoke with great affection of her Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI 48034 or send fax to 354-6069. rael. 1:1: I once heard about a man who converted to Judaism, then was de- clared insane and moved to Israel, or something along those lines. Who was he? What was his story?