Tell

Me WHY

ne Fi

According to a Mitchum biograph-
er George Eels, Bob was inspired
1 by his two pals, Benny and Solly
I Markowitz, who liked shoot fish.
Since no one in his family was
interested in buying Bob a gun, he
I secretly traded his stepfather's prize
saddle for a Winchester. Soon
I afterward, Bob and his friends
went hunting. Benny spied a target
and asked Bob if he could try out
the Winchester, and Bob would
get a chance with the Markow-
I itzes' gun, a Berriard. Benny
I Markowitz tossed the Bernard to
I Bob. As Bob caught it, the gun
accidentally went off. When the
not enter a cemetery, most Jewish
I boys turned to Solly, they saw that
ones have sections with separate
he was covered with blood.
access for the burial of kohanim and
Solly recovered, but Bob gained a
I their families.
I reputation as someone not to mess
The main privilege that accrues to
I with. In fact, author Eells says, Bob,
kohanim today is that he receives the
along with his older brother Jahn,
I first aliya to the Torah. Technically, a
1 more often than not were labeled
kohen also leads Birkat haMozon
"those two ornery Mitchum boys."
(grace after meals), but by and large,
0: I've heard that some Moroccan
this is ignored (although quite often
Jews celebrate an extra day of Pesach.
I the person leading the bentshing will
Is that true?
ask for the permission of the kohanim
A: It is. Although many Jews have
present at the meal). The Pidyon
had about all the Pesach they can
haBen ceremony conducted by a
possibly enjoy after eight days,
kohen is still widely observed. In
Moroccan Jews like to add an extra
many synagogues on Simchat Torah, 1 24 hours to the celebration.
the kohanim lead the first hakafa (cir-
The focus of the day is the maimu-
cuit) around the sanctuary.
na, a special meal which, weather
In Jewish folklore, kohanim are
permitting, is eaten outside like a
known for their short tempers.
picnic. For the maimuna, guests
Q: I heard that actor Robert Mitchum I wear traditional Moroccan garb,
became known as something of a "bad I including brightly colored and bead-
1 boy," thanks to two Jewish friends. Is : ed robes and vests.
that really true?
A: Actually, Mitchum was an inde-
pendent guy from early on. Although
I he later became famous for overdra-
matizing many events from his.life,
Why? Questions may cover any
I he really was only a teen when he
field of Jewish life, history and
I left home and rode across the coup-
gion, but should be of interest to the
; try in trains.
general readership. Send your clues-
There is, however, a particular
' tions to Elizabeth Applebaum, Tell
incident that apparently first
Me Why, 14420 Vernon, Oak Park,
marked Mitchum's reputation as
MI 48237. Be sure to include your
one who could take care of him-
name and address. Unfortunately,
: self. Eleven at the time, staying
she cannot respond to individual
with his maternal grandparents on
queries, but will answer as many
i. their farm, young Robert Mitchum
questions as possible in the column.
decided he wanted a gun.

(Pesach) Da

SomeJews acc an extra cay,

anc a special feast, at the enc of Passover.

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

I Q: Is it true that composer Sergei
Rachmaninov refused to play his Third
I Piano Concerto after hearing it per-
: formed by a Jewish pianist?
I A: In addition to being a brilliant
I composer, Rachmaninov was a popu-
lar performer, and he greatly enjoyed
playing his Third Piano Concerto.
I Then he heard Vladimir Horowitz in
concert, performing the same piece.
Rachmaninov felt that Horowitz was
so brilliant that his masterful version of
I the Third Piano Concerto could never
be topped — even by the composer
I himself. So Rachmaninov never
played the piece in public again

A :7

4/14

2000

148

1 0: For some time I've wanted to ask
this question, and at long last I'm going
to do it. This has to do with my being a
kohen (priest) and a true lack of under-
: standing of what this means. My father
and mother were divorced when I was
4, and I was raised by my stepfather,
1 who wasn't a kohen — nor would he
even speak about it. But I was always
I intrigued. I'm confused about my role as
a kohen at funerals. Do kohanim still
1 have responsibilities there, and else-
where, and if not, why the change?
J.C., Southfield, Mich.
A: The division of the Jewish people
into three ritual classes — Kohen,
1 Levi, Yisrael — is ancient, dating from
the period of the Jewish people's pas-
: sage through the wilderness from
Egypt to the Land of Israel.

In the desert, when Jewish ritual
focused on the tabernacle, the kohan-
im had specific duties, mainly relating
to the various sacrifices on the altar.
After the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
was built, the kohanim continued in
these functions and others: They
blessed the Jewish people, received
tithes, diagnosed and treated the
(now mysterious) disease of fzoraat,
redeemed the firstborn of humans and
animals, served as judges and educa-
tors, and quasi prophets through the
use of the Urim and Tummim.
After the destruction of the Temple,
the role of the kohen was greatly
diminished. Today, the only non-Tem-
ple priestly ritual functions left are Pidy-
on haBen (redemption of first-born
sons) and duchaning — recitation of
the priestly blessing in the synagogue.
Kohanim continue to observe the
various laws that apply to their per-
sonal lives (the laws apply only to
male members). According to
Halacha (Jewish law), a kohen may
I not marry a convert, divorcee, widow
that has received chalitza (relieved
her brother-in-law from the obligation
to marry her) or a,woman who has
I committed sexual immorality. (If a
kohen marries a woman forbidden to
him, his children and their descen-
dants are not kohanim). A kohen may
not come in close proximity to or con-
tact with a corpse unless it is a mem-
ber of his immediate family. Like all
Jews, a kohen must bury an aban-
doned corpse. Because a kohen may

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