Roo 6' Continues ... Orchard all No Jerusalem, No Artichoke So how did this vegetable get its name? ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR it into a three-act opera. She sim- ply cannot leave a song alone." — Truman Capote Savings up to 80% Hair in Vogue Heslop's China & Gifts ilona and gallery Karma Kitchen Glamor Koochie Koo Lois Grass Cleaners The Mop Shop,Salon Accents in Needlepoint Papillon Salon Rochelle's Knit Knit Knit Rosalie Alterations & More Barbara's Art Center Betsy's Bridal Couture Bricker-Tunis Furs Cheese Cake Cafe The Cover Up Efras Drugs Europa Art Gallery Gemini Travel Greg Shoes Guys N' Gals Gymboree Q: In a recent column Tell Me Why told us about a 19th-century gentile Italian writer who promoted the idea of a restored Jewish homeland. Were there any French writers who did the same? A: Yes, and a famous one at that: Alexandre Dumas the younger, who lived from 1824 to 1895. His father was the renowned author of The Three New Sahara West Sally's Design Boutique Shangri-La SHERRI'S - west bloomfield Shopping Center Market Soleil Furniture Star Trax The Studio Tapper's Fine Jewelry Under It All The Video Place Wrap It Up Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask and The Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre junior was chiefly a playwright, one of the most successful dramatists of the 19th century. He is best known for his 0:1 know that people are critical 1848 book (and 1852 play), La of Barbra Streisand, but I believe her Dame aux Camelias, which when she says they're just a bunch served as the basis for Verdi's of jealous nobodies. So I would be 1853 opera, La Traviata. In 1873, Dumas wrote La interested in hearing what her col- Femme de Claude, which leagues, other actors and Hollywood showed how France was suf- types, h'ave to say about Ms. fering from the deprivations of impure women. Critics called Streisand. A:Well, I have to warn you it hysterical, and it was a fail- Streisand fans that you're not ure. Interestingly, the play advo- going to like what I've discov- ered. But as one of those who cated the return of the Jewish finds her insufferable (my night- people to the Land of Israel. mare come true: being forced to Among the members of the au- sit through a concert featuring dience was Baron Edmond" Babs and Barry Manilow), it James de Rothschild (1845- gives me the utmost pleasure to 1934), who was deeply im- pressed by Dumas' message. write it. 'When we commenced On a Dumas and Rothschild later cor- Clear Day You Can See Forever, responded, and in a letter Du- I had the mistaken impression mas again emphasized his that I was the co-star...And I advocacy of a restoration of the thought she was my leading Jews to their land. In September 1882, Rabbi lady, a partner. I doubt I will choose to work again in Holly- Shmuel Mohilever of Radom, Poland, appealed to Baron Roth- wood." — Yves Montand schild to aid the victims of the 1881 Russian pogroms by spon- 'Working with Barbra soring a Jewish settlement in Streisand is pretty stressful. Its Palestine. Scholars believe that like sitting down to a picnic in one reason Rothschild was so re- the middle of a freeway." ceptive was the earlier message — Kris Kristofferson he had absorbed from Dumas. "Barbra Streisand was my Rothschild ended up commit- opening act in Las Vegas. She ting a considerable sum to the was multitalented from the start, project, and in 1883, 101 Russ- but with the social instincts of ian Jews came to Ekron, a new a landlady. Barbra is interested village southeast of Yaffa. (In the in Barbra, and her only mar- early 1900s, Ekron's name was riage that will survive is the one changed to Mazkeret Batya, in between her ego and her career." memory of Baron Edmond's — Liberace mother, Betty). Tell Me Why al- "I wrote a song ["A Sleepin' ready has described Edmond de Bee"] that she claims is her fa- Rothschild's extensive support vorite song, which is really the for Jewish settlement in Eretz song that started her career ... Yisrael. Part of the credit, it But she doesn't sing it very well. seems, goes to the playwright, She takes every ballad and turns Dumas. Why working with Barbra is like a picnic — with a twist. WEST BLOOMFIELD • MICHIGAN Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple 810-851-7727 We would like lo thank all our friends and relatives for honoring the memory of FRArICES SHAPIRO with their kindness, concern and generous contributions. Sincerely. Arlene and Sam Freedman cr) Lu c.r) LLJ F- CC F- LU LU F- 32 Need to get away from it all with a great vacation? Before After Check out the T oun gm 01411(TM in our Classified Section Q: Looking through a 1997 seed catalog I just received, I noticed an entry for the Jerusalem artichoke. I've eaten them, and they're deli- cious. I wonder, is this plant really from Jerusalem? A: Not only is the Jerusalem artichoke not from Jerusalem, it's not an artichoke. From its scientific name, Helianthus tuberosus, we know that it is a member of the sunflower fami- ly. Instead of roots it has tubers, the part of the plant that is eat- en. How this vegetable came to be called the Jerusalem arti- choke is a matter of dispute. Early American settlers found the aboriginal Indians eating the plant. In 1605, French explor- er Samuel de Champlain was in Massachusetts and sampled a tuber the native Indians called a sunroot. Reportedly, he opined that it tasted like an artichoke, hence the second part of the veg- etable's name. Champlain sent a sample to his native France. At the time, it was the custom to present newly discovered plants to the Pope. He, in turn, would pass them on for cultivation to car- dinals and bishops with a hor- ticultural bent. In 1617, Cardinal Farnese of Rome re- ceived the sunroot and success- fully grew it in his garden. Supposedly it was in the Far- nese garden that the plant came to be called girasole articiocco, Italian for "sunflower arti- choke." Some scholars dispute this story, though, and aver that the word girasole was not used until the late 19th century. Another legend has it that members of an Indian tribe, the Topinambour, were brought to France the same time as the plant, and the tuber was then known as the topinambour. In any case, outside of Italy girasole articiocco gradually de- veloped into "Jerusalem arti- choke." Jewish culinary author Joan Nathan reportedly once said that an ancient field of Jerusalem artichokes grows in the Old City. Go figure. O Send questions to Tell Me Why, The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034, or fax to (810) 354-6069. All letters must be signed and in- dude the writer's address. Ques- tions answered in the column will feature only the writer's initials and city of residence. c-\ -/