S t r e e t
_C
W i s e
41
Take A Bite Out Of This
At long last! Native fruits of Israel.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
SOUTHFIELD
Arbor Rx
11 Mile & Lahser
WEST
BLOOMFIELD
■ Arbor Rx
■ Arbor Rx
Telegraph & Long Lake
Evergreen & 12 Mile
■ Barnes and Noble
■ Borders Book Shop
Orchard Lk. S. of Maple
Southfield & 13 Mile
■ Efros Rx
■ Efros Rx
Greenfield & 10 Mile
■ Majestic Market
Lahser & Civic Center
■ The Merchant of Vino
Northwestern Hwy.
Orchard Lk. & Maple
■ Kroger
14 Mile & Farmington
■ Mapleview Party Store
Maple & Farmington
■ Seven-Eleven
Orchard Lake & Lone Pine
■ Seven-Eleven
Franklin Rd. S. of 12 Mile
■ Togos
Tel-12 Mall
BIRMINGHAM
Barnes & Noble
Telegraph & Maple
FARMINGTON
HILLS
■ Rite-Aide
Grand River & Drake
■ Borders Book Store
Orchard Lk. S. of 14 Mile
■ Kroger Perry Rx
■ Birmingham Rx
12 Mile & Halsted
1220 Woodward
■ Rite-Aide
■ The Merchant of Vino
12 Mile & Farmington
Maple Rd. - Downtown
Birmingham
■ Rite-Aide
■ Savon Rx
■ Warren Rx
Telegraph & Maple
GROSSE
POINTE
■ Barnes & Noble
Mack
14 Mile & Northwestern
Middlebelt & 14 Mile
ROCHESTER
HILLS
▪ Barnes & Noble
Rochester Road
■ WaldenBooks
Kercheval
■ Notre Dame Pharmacy
Kercheval
OAK PARK
■ Lincoln Rx
Coolidge & Lincoln
■ Oak Park Book Center
Nine Mile & Coolidge
■ The Merchant of Vino
Walton Blvd.
■ Rochester Book Center
Walton Road
NOVI
■ Borders Book Shop
Novi Rd. & 1-96
■ Doubleday Books
Twelve Oaks
■ Seven-Eleven
Lincoln E. of Greenfield
LIVONIA
CI)
LLJ
■ Coopersmith Books
Laurel Park Mall
TROY
■ DoubleDay Books
Somerset Mall
■ The Merchant of Vino
Coolidge & Maple
D
CC
UJ
1--
24
27676 Franklin Road • Southfield, Mi 48034 • 810-354-6060 • fax 810-354-1210
PUBLISHED BY THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Q: I am crestfallen and de-
pressed. Furthermore, I am
shocked and dismayed. Tell Me
Why has told me that fruits like the
prickly pear, sunflower and orange,
which I associated with Israel, were
in fact introduced from abroad.
Surely there must be some native-
to-Israel fruits.
A: All right, all right, stop cry-
ing into your salad bowl, you big
wimp.
Of course Israel has native
fruits. The Torah, in Deuterono-
my 8:8, lists the seven tradition-
al products of the Land of Israel
as wheat, barley, grapes, figs,
pomegranates, olives and dates.
Other fruits native to Israel are
the almond, apple, carob and pis-
tachio. Lentils and beans also are
natives. In biblical Israel, cu-
cumbers, garlic, melons, onions
and sesame grew wild.
Q: Why is it that some people re-
fer to Israel only as Eretz Yisrael,
and what does it mean?
A: Eretz Yisrael translates to
"The land of Israel," and people
use the term for various reasons.
The first is a matter of tradi-
tion. Long before the state was
established, Jews knew the area
as Eretz Yisrael, the land of Is-
rael, which God gave to the Jew-
ish people. Today, many Jews
continue to say Eretz Yisrael be-
cause that is what the Torah calls
it.
A second issue is politics. Some
Jews do not recognize the legiti-
macy of Israel as a nation be-
cause, they say, it was
established by man, not by God.
When discussing Israel, they
want to make clear that they will
not speak of the modern State of
Israel, or Medinat Yisrael, so they
say instead Eretz Yisrael.
A final concern has to do with
the scope of territory Eretz Yis-
rael comprises. The term Eretz
Yisrael means not only the
boundaries of the modern State
of Israel, but such areas as Judea,
Samaria and what is known to-
day as Gaza. There are those in
Israel and elsewhere who could
care less about the Torah and
who do recognize the State of Is-
rael, but continue to use the term
Eretz Yisrael because they want
to make clear that "Israel" means
all the land, and that it remains
the homeland of the Jewish peo-
ple no matter who else is living
on it or what they call it (like
"Palestine"). In this case, Eretz
17,:srael also is a political term,
this time translating to "this is
our land, and we're not giving
any of it away."
Q: Ethnic pride and identity are
the in-things now. We celebrate a
whole week of black history, and
other ethnic/racial groups are sub-
jects of cultural events. In fact,
multiculturalism instructions and
intergroup relations are being pro-
moted in schools.
I don't think I will appear im-
modest in expressing pride in
Jewish achievements, that is,
meaningful contributions made by
Jews in medicine, literature, law,
politics, etc. -
As a loyal reader of Tell Me Why,
I wonder if you could identify for
me books and other sources listing
Jews considered noteworthy, in
what they have done recently as
well as throughout history.
From reader A. C. of Frederick,
Martin Greenberg's The Jewish
Lists, published by Schocken.
This work has literally hundreds
of lists of Jewish accomplish-
ments in every field, from theater
to cinematography to fencing,
and offers a brief biography (just
a sentence of two) on each person
profiled.
M. Hirsch Goldberg provides
both fun and interesting reading
in his book The Jewish Connec-
tion (Bantam paperbacks), which
will tell you all about the first
Jewish secretary of state (Judah
P. Benjamin, secretary of state
for the Confederacy), the first
American scientist to receive a
Nobel Prize (Albert Abraham
Michelson) and Hollywood's first
sex symbol, the Jewish Theda
Bara.
Three Centuries of Jewish Life
in America (Mallard Press), by
Mt
A: Dear Brilliant Letter Writer Carl Lowe, is a beautiful book
— which is obvious from the fact
that you describe yourself as a
"loyal reader" of this column —
let me suggest that you start with
telling of Jewish involvement in
the growth of the U.S. labor
movement, journalism and Hol-
lywood, among others. It features
photographs of Harry Cohn with
Rita Hayworth, Albert
Einstein being sworn
in for citizenship,
Jonas Salk in his labo-
ratory, "God Bless
America" written in
Irving Berlin's own
hand, and a painting of
the charming Rebecca
Gratz, the inspiration
for the heroine in Sir
Walter Scott's Ivanhoe.
Q: I understand that
the first-ever hit song
from a movie was sung
by a Jewish actor. Is that
so, Tell Me Why?
A: It is indeed. The
song was "Sonny Boy,"
recorded by Al Jolson
and written by Buddy
De Sylva, Lew Brown
and Ray Henderson.
Some 2 million copies
Henry Kissinger wasn't the first. Do you kn ow who
of "Sonny Boy," from
was?
the 1928 film The
Singing Fool, sold in
one of Tell Me Why's favorite re- less than nine months after the
sources, the Encyclopedia Ju- film's release.
daica.
Incidentally, Jolson also made
No doubt the word "encyclo- history one year earlier when his
pedia" conjures images of lonely rendition of "Mother o' Mine,"
salesmen in booths at a mall, but from The Jazz Singer, became
the Encyclopedia Judaica is quite the first song from a movie to be
a different story. It is filled with made into a record. It was re-
interesting material about Jew- leased on the Brunswick label in
ish history and contributions. October 1927.
Turn to any name and start read-
ing; you're bound to learn some-
thing.
Send questions to "Tell Me Why"
Another resource (although it's
c/o The Jewish News, 27676
out of print, so must be pur- Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI
chased at a used bookstore) is 48034 or send fax to 354-6069.