FYI
Compiled by Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor
FYI: Tony And His Pal .
Naturally, Luria took Elijah's advice (I
mean, wouldn't you?) and moved
back to Israel. Here, he formulated a
world view that was so complex no
one could understand it — perhaps
even Luria himself, since he refused to
...And Speaking Of Lions
write down his observations.
I Though they're not a popular dinner
"But can't you give us just a little of
I conversation, false messiahs have
what he said?" readers are clamor-
;
i made frequent appearances through- 1 ing.
outiewish history. You may have
First of all, Luria said the world was
heard of Shabbtai Zevi or Jacob
1 filled with spirits. He said he had reg-
1 Frank, but do you know the incredible
ular conversations with leading figures
tale of Isaac Luria, whom followers
in the Torah. He claimed he could
referred ‘to as "The Lion"?
see men's souls leave their bodies the
Luria (1534-1572) was born in
moment they died.
Jerusalem of German-immigrant par-
Perhaps, though, he was a humble
ents. According to Luria's devotees,
man, for Luria never said he was the
fantastic happenings began almost
messiah. His followers certainly did,
the moment he came out of the
though. Luria's devotees said he could
I womb.
speak the language of animals and
"[The Prophet Elijah came to Luria's
could perform all sorts of miracles.
1 father and said] 'Take heed, now, on 1. One reported: "Luria could read
the day of the circumcision, not to &-
faces, look into the souls of men, rec-
I cumcise this child until you see me
ognize souls that migrated from body
I standing beside you in the syna-
to body."
I Yet the man whom many referred to
I gogue.
This account, written in 1606 by a i as "holy and divine" was, it appears,
1 Luria follower, even reports that Elijah
a mere mortal. He died when he was
did in fact show up. (Must have been
38, the result of an epidemic.
1 some kiddush!)
FYI: The Jazz Singer,
Luria's father died when his son was
Starring
George?
just a boy, and Isaac was sent
Imagine, if you dare, Simon with-
1 to live with his uncle in Egypt.
out Garfunkel, gefilte fish with-
I Now young Isaac was
out horseradish sauce, a
1 indeed an impressive
sukkah without wasp. s...and
scholar, who by the
TheJazz Singer without Al Jol-
1 time he was 15 was
son.
said to be far and
IT COULD HAVE BEEN!
1 above all other
In fact, producers initial-
, learned men in the
ly had no interest in Jol-
country. He began to study
son,
and
offered
the part instead to
I with the chief rabbi of Egypt, then
George vessel (1898-1981). But Jes-
spent seven years alone, often fasting,
sel, who originally found fame with
1 along the Nile.
vaudeville, turned the part down.
Ah, yes, here is where the strange
Jolson, of course, gained immediate
stuff begins. Luria, it seems, began to
and immense success with The Jazz
have visions (00000hhhh!). He even
Singer role.
claimed that Elijah came to visit him,
vessel, meanwhile, made such clas-
urging him to go to Safed, Israel, and
sic
films as Nellie and Wait Till the
telling hirri: "I will lay bare before you
throne. One famous member of the
I When British Prime Minister Tony Blair I Tribe of Judah was David, who even
killed a lion, while Midrash says that
heads out to the tennis courts, he's
Moses had the incredible power of
I usually accompa-
making lions tame.
nied by his
1 favorite playing
partner and confi-
I dant Lord Michael
1 Levy.
According to a
report in the Lon-
I
I don Jewish Times,
Tony Blair and
1 Lord Levy is "one
Lord Levy like to
of Tony Blair's
go to court
closest friends"
I and a longtime
Labour Party sup-
! porter.
Levy also is
1 head of Jewish
Care, the largest
Jewish charity in
Britain.
An only child, Levy for many years
worked as an accountant with numer-
ous clients in the entertainment indus-
try. Eventually, he formed his own
record company which became a
multimillion-dollar business.
Lord Levy and his wife, Gilda, have
1 two adult children, Juliet and Daniel,
both of whom now live in Israel.
FYI: This Is Cool, And We're
I Not Lion...
Did you know the Torah has seven
1 names for the king of the jungle?
They are: aryeh (probably the best
1 known), along with ani, lavi, kefir, lay
ish, shahal, shahatz and gur. And,
you'll find more than 150 places
where this animal is mentioned in the
1 Torah, including one passage in
which Israel in victory is said to be
like a lion (Numbers 23:24).
Certainly you have seen images of
1 lions on everything from frontispieces
in Jewish books to contemporary cur-
1 tains for Torah scrolls. But did you
know that lions have been appearing
on Jewish treasures for many, many
1
1 years?
The Tribe of Judah had lions on its
1 banner, while figures of the animal
1 adorned King Solomon's Temple and
I
I
•
I
the secrets of this world and the one
below, and God, also, will pour
upon you His holy spirit — thousands
more times than here in Egypt."
Sun Shines.
FYI: Celebrity Update
From time to time, FYI comes across
celebrities it's almost impossible to
believe have a Jewish connection —
though these fine folks assure us they
do. We LOVE to know about stars
with a Jewish connection, so if you
come across one (and were not talk-
ing Barbra Streisand or Barry
I Manilow, puleezze!), send it our way
I and we'll run it on this very page
(with credit to you, of course) — a
page read regularly by everyone from
political leaders like President Bill Clin-
t ton and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, to
world-renowned intellectuals like the
I entire cast of BaywatCh (yes, even
I David Hasselhoff himself!) You MUST
include the source of your information,
please.
Meanwhile, here are a few we've
stumbled across that might interest
you
I Helen Hunt of "Mad About You"
1 fame is certainly dating a Jewish
beau, Hank Azaria, but did you
1 know she also says she has a Jewish
i grandparent?
Traci Lords,
"adult-film" star, is
the daughter of a
Jewish father and
a gentile mother.
-
I
What do Helen
Hunt and Jerry
Springer have in
common besides
blonde hair?
In interviews, she
has identified her-
self as Jewish.
Jerry Springer, TV
talk-show host,
was born in Lon-
don (why, oh
why,
didn't they
Hosni Mubarak
keep
him there?)
likes to begin
each day with a to two German-
Jewish refugees
cup of Turkish
of the Holocaust.
coffee and FYI.
(Couldn't we
have Oprah, instea d?)
❑
9/1
199
Detroit Jewish News