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A Wise Man
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Why one Reform rabbi wanted a "free" synagogue.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
YAD EZRA
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Editor's Note: SO, can YOU Tell Me Why?
Use this coupon to help feed the Jewish hungry.
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Serving the Community for 40 Years
Beginning this week, Tell Me Why wants to challenge all of you experts out there. Once a month, I will ask a question
and see how many of you can answer it. Send in the correct response, and I'll print your name right here in the most
popular column in the entire universe. Your friends will be impressed! Your boss will give you a $10 million annual
raise! That good-looking guy who never even noticed you will offer you a 5-carat engagement ring!
This week's question: Director Steven Spielberg was so particular about the voice for his beloved
"E.T." that he tried all kinds of computer-altered animal voices, including those of a raccoon and
cat. In the end, though, he decided to go with a then-little-known Jewish actress.
What was her name?
Send your answers to Tell Me Why, The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034, or fax them to
(810) 354-6069. The deadline is March 14.
Q: I recently studied the life of
Rabbi Stephan S. Wise, the Reform
leader. I know he founded the fa-
mous Free Synagogue in New York,
and I'm interested to know how he
happened to choose that name.
A: Rabbi Wise was indeed
a remarkable man. He was
born in Budapest in 1874,
but his family left when he was
2 for the United States. He
studied at Columbia Univer-
sity before deciding to become
a rabbi.
In 1907, Rabbi Wise found-
ed the Free Synagogue, which
he so named for two reasons.
First, he wanted complete
freedom when it came to
• expressing his views, with no
censorship from the synagogue
board or congregational lead-
ership. That might sound run-
of-the-mill today, but Rabbi
Wise held quite unconven-
tional views for the time. He
was an early Zionist who nev-
er hesitated to speak out in fa-
vor of the establishment of a
Jewish state. So eloquent were
his remarks on the subject that
he gained a worldwide repu-
tation, much to the chagrin of
the majority of the Reform
movement, which was decid-
edly anti-Zionist at the time.
The second aspect of "Free"
in the congregation's title had
to do with dues — or rather,
lack of them. Interestingly,
Rabbi Wise demanded no mon-
ey from his membership.
Before his death in 1949,
Rabbi Wise also founded the
Jewish Institute of Religion,
which later merged with He-
brew Union College.
In addition to his com-
mitment to Zionism and
Jewish education, Rabbi Wise
was probably the leading
spokesman on behalf of Euro-
pean Jewry during World
War II. He worked tirelessly to
help those devastated by the
Nazis, and his efforts earned
him the respect of Reform, Con-
servative and Orthodox rabbis
alike.
Who was the voice of Spielberg's cute
little pal?
0: Somebody recently told me
that the Torah actually mentions
the word "electricity." You've got
to be kidding!
A: Well, it's not electricity as
you and I and Ben Franklin
know it, but I think the pas-
sage will spark your interest.
It can be found in Ezekiel 1:4
and 27, which recounts:
And I looked, and behold, a
stormy wind came out of the
north, a great cloud, with a fire
flashing up, so that a bright-
ness was round about it; and
out of the midst thereof as the
color of electrum, out of the
midst of the fire...
Here, the word is "electrum";
in other places you may see it
"amber," and biblical scholars
generally interpret the de-
scription to mean that Jews of
the time understood that they
could produce sparks by rub-
bing pieces of amber together.
In the original, the Hebrew
reads chashmal — also the
contemporary word for "elec-
tricity."
Q: I love Hollywood gossip and
would be interested to hear the
name of the first Jewish celebrity
to become a real box-office
champ.
A: Tell Me Why would be
2 willing to wager you could
-z guess and guess and guess
for the next 100 years and
never be able to answer this
question. I certainly was sur-
prised.
During the 1930s and 1940s,
when it first became possible
to chart the box-office draw of
Hollywood figures, there were
a number of popular Jewish
performers like Edward G.
Robinson, John Garfield and
Jeff Chandler. But they could
never compare to the really big
stars like Shirley Temple, Bob
Hope, Big Crosby and John
Wayne, who topped the charts
year after year.
Then during the 1950s a
comedic duo came along whose
ridiculous films grabbed, and
would not let go of the public's
affection. In 1952, they were
the biggest box-office stars in
the country. One of the pair
was an Italian crooner named
Dean Martin. The other was a
nice Jewish boy named Jerry
Lewis.
Q: I know that the word for
"nonkosher" is treife, but what ex-
actly does it mean?
A: Treife comes from Exodus
27:30, in which Jews are
forbidden to eat "any flesh
that is torn [treife] of beasts
in the field," a phrase the
rabbis initially translated
to mean any creature with a
major physical ailment that
would make it unfit for con-
sumption.
Later, however, "treife"
came to include any food that
is not kosher. 0
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-
clude the writer's address. Ques-
tions answered in the column will
feature only the writer's initials
and city of residence.