CONGRATOLATE
Your Student's
Tell Me Why
Success
Linda's Husband,
Tony's Wife
with are ad ire
The evrts1) _\ews
Cap & GOWll
Special Sectioni
Jewish connections to Bush and Clinton.
Q: Some time ago, I read that Linda
Chavez was married to a Jew and raised
her children as Jews. Is this true?
From reader MB., via e-mail
A: As our readers will recall, President
George W. Bush nominated Linda
Chavez as secretary of labor, but she
withdrew amid controversy regarding her
assistance to an undocumented alien.
Previously, she had served as staff director
of the Federal Commission on Civil
Rights in the Reagan administration.
Chavez is indeed married to a Jew,
Chris Gerson (despite the uncommon
first name, both of his parents are
Jewish). He serves as president of
Christians and Jews for Life, a pro-life
advocacy organization.
In a conversation with Tell Me Why,
Gerson stated that his wife is a devout
Catholic, but that they raised their three
sons as Jews. The family is not affiliated
ith a synagogue or temple, although
their preference is Reform. When it
'came time for the boys' b'nai mitzvah
Ceremonies, Gerson hired a Hebrew
tutor for them. Gerson attends High
Holy Day services with his sons (now
30, 24 and 22), and every year, the fam-
ily has a Passover seder. The Gerson sons
consider themselves Jewish.
Gerson stated that both he and his
Wife have a "deep commitment to Israel"
and strive to promote support for Israel
in the Republican Party.
w
Q: Is it true that the phrase, "God Save
the King" (also the title of the British
national anthem, currently as "God
Save the Queen") comes from Jewish
Scripture?
k: Yes, although it is derivative, not
1 a'rnect.hTuheereisahreSth
iblre )e fprolaces in cth
h e,,God
ave the King" is derived: I Samuel
0:24, 2 Samuel 16:16, and 2 Kings
1 1 :12. In all three verses, the phrase in
Hebrew is yechi ha-melech ("may the
sing live" or "long live the king").
Two of the earliest translations of the
iznach into English, the Coverdale
Version of 1535 and the Authorized
Version of 1611, rendered (via Latin)
echi ha-melech as "God save the King."
Q: Why is it that in my synagogue dur-
ing the Torah reading some people
stand while most people sit?
A: Judaism regards the public reading
of the Torah as a reenactment of the
original giving of the Torah at Sinai.
On that occasion, the Jewish people
stood (Exodus 19:17; 20:15, 18;
Deuteronomy 5:5).
Halachah (Jewish law) mandates that
the persons at the bimah during the
Torah reading — namely, the Torah
reader, the person called up for the read-
ing, and the person who monitors the
reading — must stand.
Some rabbis say that only the per-
sons on the bimah must stand,
whereas other rabbis rule that every-
one who hears the Torah reading, and
not just those on the bimah, are obli-
gated to stand (this, of course, does
not apply to persons who cannot or
have difficulty standing).
Whether you stand or sit depends
on which rabbinic ruling you accept
or your family tradition or on the pre-
vailing custom in your community or
synagogue.
Q: I understand that a brother of
Hillary Rodham Clinton is married to
a Jew. Is that brother Hugh Rodham or
Tony Rodham, both of whom are in
the news so much regarding the con-
troversial pardons of former President
Clinton?
A: It is Tony Rodham.
On Saturday, May 28, 1994, Tony
married Nicole Boxer, daughter of U.S.
Sen. Barbara and Stewart Boxer of
California. The wedding took place in
the Rose Garden of the White House
(during the Clinton administration).
The ceremony, held under a white
chuppah, was conducted by Judge
Peter Capua of Florida. After remarks
by a Methodist minister and a Jewish
lay person, the 250 guests enjoyed a
buffet dinner in the White House
State Dining Room.
At the time, Nicole, 26, from Marin
County, Calif, worked as a film-compa-
ny executive. Tony, then 39, was the
regional director in Los Angeles of the
Democratic National Committee.
In June 1995, Nicole gave birth to
Zachary Boxer Rodham. In June 2000,
she filed for divorce. ❑
/
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