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The Bare Facts

Does Judaism have anything to say about nudity?

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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Q: Since Adam and Eve were
nude in the Garden of Eden, and
since people are born naked every
day, it would seem Judaism should
endorse nudism, right? I mean,
didn't God create people without
any clothes? Yet you rarely hear
about Jews at nudist camps, do
you? Why is that?
A: Oh, brother.
My friend, a basic concept of
Judaism is tziniut, modesty.
There are plenty of ways Jews
understand this term. For some
observant families, it means
wearing clothes that cover al-
most all of the body; for others,
it means dressing in a normal
fashion, like the rest of the
general public. But never
have I heard of any rabbi
from any movement in any
country actually endorsing
nudism. That alone should
tell you something.
Yes, people are born naked
every day. People also are
born uneducated, yet Ju-
daism certainly does not ad-
vocate ignorance.
And it's true that Adam
and Eve were naked in the
Garden of Eden, but this was
before "their eyes were
opened." As Genesis 3:7 re-
counts, they then "knew that
they were naked."
It's not that Judaism has
anything negative to say
about the body. On the con-
trary, Halachah (Jewish law)
obligates one to treat his body
with respect. Wearing cloth-
ing is, however, considered a
basic aspect of human digni-
ty.

0: Despite the proliferation of
names on every Jewish building
in the country (will I next start to
see the "Harry and Sylvia Gold-
berg Bathroom"?), I believe I
once heard tell of an extraordi-
narily modest philanthropist
whose motto was "Give and For-
get." Who was that?
A: Chances are you've nev-
er come across the name
Henry Kaufmann on any
building, have you? That's be-
cause this businessman, orig-
inator of "Give and Forget,"
was not only generous, he was
unusually humble.
Kaufmann was born in 1860
in Germany, then came to the
United States when he was 16.
He and his brothers later
founded the Kaufmann De-

partment Stores Inc., a promi-
nent and successful chain based
in Pittsburgh.
Kaufmann was exceptional-
ly charitable to both Jewish and
secular causes. He established
a social-service center and sup-
ported the Montifiore Hospital
in Pittsburgh.. He gave thou-
sands to the Jewish Mental
Hospital and to the Hospital for
Joint Diseases, both in New
York. In pre-state Israel, he
founded a model farm and or-
chard. It's estimated that Kauf-
mann gave away almost $5
million (no small sum for the
days when $1 actually was
worth something) in his life-
time.

A: Close, but no cigar.
Muni did win, for best actor
in The Story of Louis Pasteur,
but that wasn't until 1936. (Co-
incidentally, Jewish actress
Luise Rainer also won that
year, for best actress in The
Good Earth.)
The honor of first Jew to win
an Academy Award actually be-
longs to three men: Benjamin
Glazer, Ben Hecht and Lewis
Milestone.
The year was 1927. Glazer
won for his writing on Seventh
Heaven. He won a second Acad-
emy Award, in 1940, for best
original story with Arise, My
Love.
Ben Hecht won in 1927 for
his original screenplay Un-
derworld. He would receive
another award in 1935, for
his writing on The
Scoundrel.
Lewis Milestone received
his 1927 Academy Award for
directing the comedy Two
Arabian Knights. Two years
later, he would be awarded
for his direction ofAll Quiet
On The Western Front.

Q: I know that in the early
days when there was a lot of
anti-Semitism, Jews often took
on gentile names. Now it seen
fashionable for gentiles to take
on Jewish names (just look at
Whoopi Goldberg).
I'm at a loss, though, when
it comes to Francoise Sagan,
author of the popular book Bon-
Our Tristesse. "Sagan" sounds
Jewish to me — was she?
A: Sagan is a Jewish
name (no doubt you're
thinking of astronomer Carl
Sagan), but Francoise
Sagan was not.
The French author was
born Francoise Quoirez. She
changed her name to Sagan,
though, after reading Mar-
cel Proust's Remembrance
of Things Past, which fea-
tures a Princess de Sagan.
Why the change? She sim-
ply liked the sound of it. ❑

Q: I'm a big, big movie buff and
I would love to know the name of
the first Jew to win an Academy
Award. My guess is that it was ac-
tor Paul Muni. Am I right?

Send questions to Tell Me
Why, The Jewish News,
27676 Franklin Road, South-
field, MI 48034, or fax to (248)
354-6069. All letters must be
signed and include the writer's
address. Questions answered in
the column will feature only the
writer's initials and city of resi-
dence.

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