Fact-A=

20. Strange Bedfellows

In 70 C.E., a Roman general (later
emperor) named Titus led the cam-
paign to destroy Jerusalem.
At the same time, he had a Jewish
mistress, who was with him for more
than 13 years. Her name was
Berenice, and she was a sister of the
Jewish King Agrippa II.
It was, by all accounts, an odd
pair. Berenice not only was Jewish,
she was 12 years older than Titus.
Though she was said to be a great
beauty, she had been married three
times already and had two children.
Rumor had it that Titus wanted
to be husband No. 4, but this
idea wasn't exactly popular with
the public.
After many years with his sweet-
heart, Titus finally sent her away. Then
his father died, Titus became emperor
and Berenice returned. Again Titus
considered marrying her, but he met
with strong public opposition.
(Hundreds of years later another
leader in Rome, Benito Mussolini,
also had a Jewish mistress. Her
name was Margherita Sarfatti, the
author of a biography about the dic-
tator called Dux.)

taken altars from the churches and
placed them all around the Jewish
house. No one dared pass, and the
mob retreated.

22. Bring Me The Horn Of
The Ibex

In the Temple, Jews would blow a
shofar made not of a ram's horn, but
rather one made from the ibex.

23. The Generous Rabbi

Rabbi Aaron Hyman (1862-1937)
has written some of the most impor-
tant Jewish texts of modern times,
including Toledot Tanna'im
ve'Amora'im. The three volumes, pub-
lished in the early 1900s, detail the
lives of the sages in the Talmud.
Born in Russia, Rabbi Hyman in
1885 moved to England, where he
was a founder of the Mizrachi Orga-
nization of Great Britain and of the
Etz Chaim Yeshivah of London.
Though Rabbi Hyman was one of
the country's leading scholars and
authors, he agreed to serve as
rabbi at a London synagogue —
for no salary.

24. Jewish Popes?

In the year 1000, Baruch, a Jewish
banker of Rome, loaned large sums
I 21. A Curious Day In Holesov of money to church dignitaries. He
Holesov is a small town in Moravia
grew so close to his friends in the
in the former Czechoslovakia, where
church that he eventually converted to
Jews were known to be living since
Christianity, took the name Benedictus
• the 14th century.
Christianus and married a Christian
Throughout its history, the Jewish
noblewoman.
community of Holesov suffered many
The family later came to be known
tragedies, including near destruction
as Pierleone. Because of the family's
in a fire in the mid-1500s. In 1742,
continuous financial support of the
authorities took over the synagogue
church, they exerted great influence
and arrested Jewish leaders in accor-
and eventually produced three
dance with the plan of Maria There-
popes: Gregory VI (1045-46), Gre-
sa, queen of Hungary and Bohemia,
gory VII (1073-85) and Anaclet II
to expel all Jews from Moravia.
(1130-38). All three lived turbulent
In 1774, the Jews of Holesov
lives, were subject to false rumors
faced yet another potential crisis: a
and their Jewish Pierleone origins
Christian servant woman was found
I were widely known. Anaclet himself
I murdered in a Jewish house.
was the great-grandson of Baruch.
Immediately, a mob formed. They
Gregory VI and Gregory VII (later
marched straight to the house.
I declared a saint) both died in exile.
Then they stopped.
Anaclet was declared an antipope
The town's Catholic clergy, sensing
and deposed.
what was about to happen, had

•

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2000

84

25. A Little Jersey With That
Coffee?

on their way to Canaan, while Eli-
jah and Elisha crossed it under
almost supernatural circumstances),
and the Talmud calls it one of the
four holy rivers of the Land of Israel.
Christians also place impor-
tance on the Jordan River, saying
it has special healing powers (as
such, it remains a popular place
for baptisms).
In wartime, the Jordan was of
special strategic importance for
Israel. Interestingly, though, the Jor-
dan is quite tiny as far as bodies of
water are concerned: a mere 127
miles long.

The Baron Alfred Rothschild was from
the fabulously wealthy Rothschild fam-
ily. He lived in Halton, England, in
what can only be described as a lav-
ish castle — on 1,400 acres.
Guests were served tea at the
manor where, according to the
baron's instructions, they were first to
be asked, "Milk or lemon, madam
(or sir)?" If "milk" was the answer, the
servant then would inquire, "Jersey,
Hereford or Shorthorn?"

26. The Case Of The Curious
Pancreas

Jack Ruby was born Jacob Ruben-
stein in Chicago in 1911. He
gained infamy as the man who
shot and killed Lee Harvey
Oswald, the alleged killer of Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy.
On March 14, 1964, Ruby was
found guilty of murder and sen-
tenced to death. Because of a judi-
cial error, the Texas Court of Crimi-
nal Appeals overturned Ruby's con-
viction. Then, before he could be
tried again, Ruby died on Jan. 3,
1967. Not long after his first con-
viction, Ruby told physicians he was
suffering from nausea and a terrible
cough. At first, they determined he
had pneumonia. Later they said he
had terminal pancreatic cancer. The
team of physicians agreed that the
cancer had progressed so far that
there was no hope.
Dr. Earl Rose, Dallas County Med-
ical Examiner, performed the autop-
sy on Ruby. He stated that Ruby had
died of a pulmonary embolism, due
to a large blood clot that had start-
ed in his leg and then stopped in
the lungs. He also examined Ruby's
pancreas where, he said, he saw
absolutely no sign of cancer.

27. The Big, Little River

The Jordan River is famous for
many reasons. The Torah recounts
various important events that
occurred there (for example, Joshua
taking the Israelites across the river

28. More Jewish Than Some
Jews

(Joseph) Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936)
was a political philosopher, lecturer
and the first real investigative journal-
ist in America.
A native of California; Steffens
worked after college as a reporter in
New York City. He was the first to
uncover widespread corruption
I among politicians (who had
exchanged influence for lavish gifts
I from businessmen). Steffens became
one of the leading journalists whom
President Teddy Roosevelt referred to
I as "the muckrakers."
Later, Steffens became interested in
revolution abroad, specifically in Rus-
sia. His life story, Autobiography,
was published in 1931 and Letters,
seven years later.
Steffens also was very interested in
Judaism. Though he never actually
converted, he kept a mezuza on his
d oor and fasted on Yom Kippur.

I

1 29. Missing You
I The word "Jew" does not appear in
the Torah.

30. Reach Out And Don't
Touch

Aaron Bohrod (1907-1992) was a
popular artist whose works, mostly
nature scenes, were so realistic that
museum officials regularly had to
issue directives to visitors not to touch
the works. ❑

