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Tell Me Why
Who 'Mr. Big' Reads
A look at a favorite author of a popular actor.
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Q: Recently, I was reading an inter-
view with actor Chris Noth, who
starred on Law and Order and now is
"Mr. Big" on Sex and the City. He
said he loves the works of Delmore
Schwartz. The name sounds Jewish (is
he?), but I've never heard of this guy.
Who is (or was) he?
A: Schwartz (born 1913), who was
Jewish, was a truly tragic figure. One
of two sons born in New York, he
wrote an astonishing story, In Dreams
Begin Responsibilities," that was pub-
lished when he was only 21. The biog-
raphical tale focuses on a young man
who walks into a movie theater and
sees the story of his parents' courtship
(which would lead to an unhappy mar-
riage). Schwartz was immediately laud-
ed as a literary genius. But it was all a
downward spiral from there.
Though Schwartz went on to write a
number of plays, collections of poetry
and more short stories, as well as teach
at Harvard and Princeton (from 1940-
1947), and become editor of the presti-
gious Partisan Review (where "In
Dreams Begin Responsibilities" first
appeared), the high point of his career
was really the publication of his first
story. Not only did Schwartz's career
never really blossom the way he hoped,
he suffered from mental illness and
became an alcoholic. He also struggled
with the alienation he felt as a Jew,
which often was the focus of his writing.
In 1966, Schwartz was taking out the
trash in a New York hotel where he lived
alone. He suffered a heart attack, and
died on the stairs.
(Note: you can read more about
Delmore Schwartz in James Atlas' excel-
lent biography).
Q: My wife and I are planning a trip to
Istanbul. We've actually managed to get
most of our stuff into four suitcases,
and all our travel arrangements are set.
Here's my question. We would like to
be able to observe Shabbat while in
Istanbul, but we have no idea what
time it will begin there. Does Tell Me
Why know?
A: You can find out what time
Shabbat begins in Turkey, and virtually
everywhere else in the world, at
www.kaluach.org (Note: the informa-
tion is free, though the author does
request a donation to his synagogue in
Israel. Also, you will have to download
the information directly to your corn-
puter, and the program is compatible
only with Macs).
Q: True or false: Since lighting Shabbat
candles is a woman's responsibility, a
man is not obligated to do the mitzvah?
A: False. Lighting Shabbat candles is
indeed primarily a woman's responsibili-
ty; But if for some reason she is unable
to do so, then her husband must light
the candles. Similarly; single men (and
single women) are bound to the mitzvah
(commandment) and should light their
own Shabbat candles.
Q: Every time I buy a whole chicken,
there's a note on the package to the
effect that the liver has not been leash-
ered. I don't understand why the people
at the company that sells me this prod-
uct can't kosher the liver themselves
(after all, they did the rest of the chick-
en, didn't they?); what's the big deal?
Isn't the liver still really kosher?
A: The big deal is that the liver is a
unique organ. The liver of any animal is
completely filled with blood, which is
not kosher. There is only one way to rid
the liver of this blood, and that is to
broil it under an open fire.
Understandably, most companies are
not interested in taking time to broil the
liver alone, so they leave it inside the
chicken for the customer to manage.
And no, the liver is not still really kosher
until all the blood has been removed. If
you want to eat it kosher, you will need
to broil it.
Q: I remember when I was a kid this
idiotic show called Bridget Loves Bernie
was on TV. It was about this Catholic
woman and her Jewish husband and
all their idiotic misadventures.
Recently, I was talking with a friend
who said that the actor who played
the Jewish husband wasn't even
Jewish. I don't believe it!
A: Believe it. Bridget Loves Bernie aired
from 1972 to 1973. Though it was
doing well in the ratings, the show
was canceled after a coalition com-
prised of Orthodox, Conservative and
Reform Jews, who found the pro-
gram's content offensive, met with TV
executives.
Bridget Loves Bernie did indeed
focus on a young Jewish writer, played
by David Birney, who fell in love with
a teacher named Bridget Theresa
Mary Coleen Fitzgerald, played by
Meredith Baxter. (In real life, the two
actors wed, then later divorced.)
Despite a very popular belief to
the contrary (believe me, you're not
alone), Birney, who continues to pop
up from time to time doing guest
shots on network TV, definitely is
not Jewish. ❑
(