II :1' :? 'If& k kW % • • g , • Where There's A Will ... there's a supporter of Israel. ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR Congratulations to all those music fans out there who identified singer Juice Newton (born Judy Cohen). Those with the correct answer were: Brian Ackerson, Robert Alpiner, Michael and Phyllis Bernstein, Ross John Fazio, Millie Fetch, Sheila Freedman, Jeri Gallant, Dr. Larry Kaplan, Marshall Korby, Michael Meryl's, Pennie Michelin, Norman Pollak, Dr. David and Keirsten Schwartz. And now ... on to another challenging question! Can you identify this mystery person? He was born in Prague in 1836. Originally destined for the rabbinate, he interrupted his talmudic studies to take up mathematics at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute. When he was 12, he joined the Vienna Chess Club, and by 1861 he was devoting himself full time to the game. In 1866 he was world chess champion. He settled in London, then came to the United States in 1893. This mystery person invented a gambit that bears his name and is considered the founder of a new school of chess based on exploiting small advantages in position. He died in 1900 at the New York Asylum for the Insane. .00 TABLECLOTHS AND NAPKINS With any 8 lb. minimum incoming linen or tablecloth laundry order. Excluding all other specials. Expires 6/18/97 JN 0: Send your guess to Tell Me Why, c/o The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034. NO PHONE CALLS. Letters will be accepted through May 2. 1 1a4Z11111 1"tai. mum wif .00 SHIRTS LAUNDERED With incoming dry cleaning. Not valid with same day service. Men's plain business shirts only. Expires 6/18/97 4W • JN ntilitifieft4t .00 OFI George Will is one of Israel's biggest supporters. CUSTOM DRYCLEANING Q: We have a dinner bet going on the answer to our query. My girl- friend wants to know if George Will, of "This Week," is Jewish? We both admire him, but I say he is gentile. Who wins the dinner? From reader M.R. in Baltimore It You do. With any $7.90 or more incoming dry cleaning order. Coupon not good with any other dry cleaning coupons. Expires 6/18/97 JN 1.00 U BEDSPREADS, QUILTS OR BLANKETS I I DRYCLEANED OR WASHED With any $7.90 or more incoming dry cleaning order. Coupon not ood with an other dricleaniig coupons. Expires 6/18/97 J liammomumpintunia 41$41 • SHOE REPAIR With any incoming Men's or Ladies' shoe repair order only. We also offer shoeshine service. One coupon per order. Expires 6/18/97 JN 44 . Mr. Will, also a syndicated columnist, is without a doubt one of the most brilliantminds around — and one of the most articulate spokesmen on behalf of Israel. In fact, it would be dif- ficult to find anyone more sup- portive of Israel. But Mr. Will is not Jewish. He's Episco- palian. Some years ago there was a Guide to Growing Up Catholic published that included "peo- ple we're glad aren't Catholic" (like Howard Cosell) and "peo- ple we wish were Catholic" (like Albert Einstein). George Will is just the kind of guy you've got to wish was Jewish. Meanwhile, why is it that so many people begin their letters to Tell Me Why with "We've got a bet on this ... ' but I never see any of the booty? Q: A couple of weeks ago there was an interview with O.J. Simpson "Dream Team" member and Harvard law pro- fessor Alan Dershowitz in which he decried the state of Jewish education. He offered as an example of the ignorance of American Jewish youth that more kids know the name of Jesus' mother than of Abra- ham's mother. This bothered me, for while I'm no talmudic scholar neither do I consider myself Jewishly illiterate. I could easily recall the name of Abraham's father (Terah), but for the life of me I couldn't re- member his mother. So I went to my Chumash and searched for this woman. Not only was she not mentioned by name, she wasn't mentioned at all. Now I'm re- ally curious. Is she mentioned in midrash or somewhere else? Or was I looking in the wrong sedra? And is it just me or is Mr. Der- showitz's question inane? After all, Jesus' mother is an icon of West- ern civilization, a Jewish girl to whom every European cathedral is dedicated and whose name crops up even in such casual cultural ref- erences as a "Hail Mary pass." On the other hand, Abraham's parents weren't even Jewish. Our story as a people doesn't really get started until Abraham and Sarah leave their families and set off for Canaan. It seems to me that while trivia is fun, Jewish education should concen- trate on conveying the incredible richness of our tradition — spiri- tual, moral, social, aesthetic and philosophical. From reader A.C. in Owings Mills, Md. A: Your question has three parts, but the answer to your central query is that the moth- er of our patriarch Avraham is named, although not in the Chumash. The Talmud, in Bava Batra 91a, states that Avraham's mother was Am- athlai, daughter of Karnebo, without further elaboration on the identity of either per- son. Second, the Torah makes an oblique reference to Avraham's mother. In Parshat Vayera (Genesis 20:12), Avraham states (in reference to his wife, Sarah), "In any case, she is really my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daugh- ter of my mother." Third, as to whether Alan Dershowitz's question is inane: Yes, the question is inane. Def- initely inane. Q: When I was a kid growing up in the Midwest, I was a Boy Scout and all our functions were kosher and we never had meetings on Shabbat. My best friend, who was a member of the same troop, insists that those days are long, long gone, that there are no more shomer Shabbat Boy Scout troops. Is that true? 4- A: No, but they certainly aren't abundant. In fact, there's just one left in the Mid- west. It's Boy Scout Troop #153, which is in Overland Park, Kan., a Kansas City sub- urb. ❑ 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.