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Will Mom Live To 969?

Her son-in-law can only hope ...

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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EDITORS NOTE IN RECENT MONT1-/S, I HAVE
RECEIVED AN INCREASING NUMBER OF RE-
QUESTS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT FIGURES
FROM INDIVIDUAL FAMILY HISTORIES. UN-
FORTUNATELY, TELL ME WHY WILL NOT BE
ABLE TO ANSWER SUCH QUERIES. QUES-
TIONS SENT TO THIS COLUMN MUST FOCUS
ON ISSUES OF INTEREST TO THE GENERAL
COMMUNITY.

Q. : I've often heard the expression
somebody is "as old as Methuse-
lah," and in fact I've used it to de-
scribe my mother-in-law— in loving
jest, of course; she assures me she
loves my jokes about her! (What's
the difference between in-laws and
out-laws? One's wanted. Ha ha ha!)
Exactly how old was Methuselah,
anyway?
A: Methuselah, described in
Genesis 5: 21-5, was Noah's
grandfather. He lived for 969
years. Just think how many
wonderful jokes your mother-in-
law ,could hear if she lives that
long.

Q:I've heard a lot about the con-
cept of the dybbuk, but I still don't
know exactly what it is. Can Tell Me
Why explain?
A:Like the mysterious golern,
the dybbuk is one of those odd
entities from Jewish folklore
who continues to haunt the
imaginations of so many, espe-
cially artists. Dybbuks have
been the subject of plays, books,
short stories, paintings and
films; even the most practical
among us can't but recall the
vivid, often terrifying scenes
from the Yiddish film The Dyb-
buk, based on the play by S. An-
sky.
A dybbuk supposedly is a
dead person's soul which is be-
ing pursued by demons. In an
effort to escape, it somehow
manages to find temporary
respite by taking over the body
of a living man or woman.
The dybbuk made its first ap-
pearance in the writings of
Chaim Vital (1542-1620), a Kab-
balist and mystic. After that,
dybbuks seemed to pop up
everywhere. Predictably, they
were mysterious figures with
strange voices. (No one ever re-
ported a dybbuk talking, like,
you know, a Valley Girl, or any-
thing. Duh!) And, wouldn't you
know it, only a holy man or rab-
bi could rid the body of this
strange creature! Although leg-
end has some of Jewish history's
leading figures performing such
rites, there's no proof of it. No

doubt the vast majority share emunah (faith) and emet
the view of one rabbi who, when (truth). It is a distinctly Jew-
asked to exorcise a dybbuk from ish term, though it has since
a young woman, instead told the been adapted by both the
father, "Take her to a psychia- Christian and Islamic faiths.
One should utter "amen"
trist."
upon hearing another make a
blessing, joining in the
Q: Years ago I read a quote about bracha,
expression of gratitude to God.
the importance of keeping kosher, By appropriately uttering,
something about how it demands "amen," it is as though one said
courage and self-sacrifice and the bracha himself, the rabbis
makes us feel holy. I would like to teach.
The exception is when a per-
know the exact quote and who said son is reciting a series of bra-
it, please.
chot. At the end of the series,
A: Likely you're referring to
remarks by a scholar in the
Conservative movement, S.H.
Dresner. Writing in The Jew-
ish Dietary Laws, he said,
"Kashrut is one of the firmest
ramparts of the pluralistic as-
pect of Judaism. It demands
sacrifice, self-discipline and
determination — but what
that is really worthwhile in
life does not? It demands the
courage to turn our face
against the powerful current
of conformity that almost
overcomes us daily. The goal
of kashrut is holiness, a holy
man and a holy nation. It is
part of Judaism's attempt to
hallow the common act of eat-
ing which is an aspect of our
animal nature. It likewise sets
us apart from the nations.
Thus it achieves its objective, Say a blessing before taking a bite, but skip
holiness in these two ways, the "amen."
both of which are implied in
the Hebrew word kadosh: in-
one is permitted to say "amen"
ner hallowing and outer sepa- to signify its conclusion. The
rateness."
only time this provision is put
into practice is in the Birkat
Q: Who was it who said of Louis Hamazon, grace after meals.
Originally, the Birkat Hama-
B. Mayer, "The reason so many peo-
zon consisted solely of three
ple turned up at his funeral is that
blessings (hazan et hakol, al ha-
they wanted to make sure he was aretz ve-al hamazon, boneh
b'rachamav Yerushalayim).
dead"?
A: That would be none other The word "amen" was added
than another Hollywood mogul, after the last bracha to signify
Samuel Goldwyn, a man well the end of the series, and the
known for his curious observa- end of bentsching.
According to the Talmud,
tions.
the first three blessings of
Q: Recently I went to dinner at a the grace were instituted re-
spectively by Moshe, Yehoshua
friend's house. After I made a bless- and the kings David and Shlo-
ing I said, "amen." My friend looked mo. The fourth was added by
at me strangely. Did I do something the rabbis of Yavneh following
the uprising at Betar, during
wrong?
A: Don't worry: You did not the Bar-Kochba revolt of 135
commit an egregious sin for B.C.E. Thus, some commenta-
which you must suffer eter- tors say the "amen" after the
nally. Just keep in mind for third blessing has the addi-
next time that there is no need tional function of making a dis-
to say "amen" after making a tinction between blessings
ordained by the Torah and one
blessing yourself.
The word amen, or "so be it," mandated by the rabbis. 0
is derived from the Hebrew