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Foussemagne
A tiny village in France is home to one synagogue, no churches.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor
T
Jig
2/17
2005
38
ell Me Why!
Many years ago, I seem to
remember hearing a legend
about a small village — I believe it
was in France — that was home to
a synagogue but no churches.
Could this possibly be true?
Yes, it's true. The village you're
speaking of is Foussemagne, in
France, and the story is no legend.
Here is the intriguing tale.
In 1648, a number of Jews came to
settle in Alsace following its return to
France. Many of the Jews moved on
to a nearby village called
Foussemagne, and beginning in the
late 17th century and for some 300
years afterward, a vibrant Jewish
community resided there.
In 1766, Foussemagne was home to
109 Jews, a figure which continued
to increase through 1886, when the
number was 151. After that, however;
the Jewish community began to
dwindle, from 63 in 1911, to 39 in
1926, to 1 in 1998.
Jews found professional success in
Foussemagne, working in a variety of
businesses. Most popular of these was
cattle; in the late 18th century, 30
Jewish families were reported to be
living in the village, 17 of whom
made their living selling cattle. This
likely helps explain why the Jewish
population of Foussemagne
decreased: as the village became less
rural, there was less need for cattle.
Further, the community was
known to have been severely affected
by high rates of intermarriage.
Despite the village's tiny Jewish
population, the Nazis did not hesitate
to go after the Jews of Foussemagne,
sending the last Jewish families —
the Picardys, the Bigeards, and the
Brunswicks — to German death
camps.
In 1940, the Nazis also destroyed
much of the Jewish community's syn-
agogue, built in 1850. Today, howev-
er, the synagogue is being restored.
Under private ownership, it is located
in the center of Foussemagne, and
can seat, at most, 40 persons.
Residents of the village hope not
only to restore the building, but to
create inside it a museum.
For more information on the syna-
gogue of Foussemagne, visit
www.foussemagne.corn.
I know Tell Me Why is always
debunking urban legends. Now I
want you to help me learn the
truth about something I first heard
many years ago and I believe to be
one of those urban legends: that
Robert Goulet is Jewish. I'm not
signing my name to this, though,
because I don't want anyone to
think that I even know who Robert
Goulet is — much less that I'm
pondering whether he's Jewish.
Goulet
Hey, it's not that bad. But now, on
to your question.
Yes, indeed this "Robert Goulet is
Jewish" rumor has, inexplicably, made
it to urban mythic legends. It is even
reported as fact in Tim Brooks' The
Complete Directory of Prime Time TV
Stars 1946-Present (1987).
Now the truth is out: the
actor/singer is not Jewish and doesn't
have a single Jewish .connection in his
family that Tell Me Why can find.
What Tell Me Why does know is
how the story got started. Many years
ago, while appearing in Camelot on
Broadway, Goulet traveled to Los
Angeles for television appearances on
some of the biggest
programs of the day,
including The Lucille
Ball Show and the
Academy Awards.
Between all the trav-
eling and the per-
forming and the
interviews, Goulet
often found himself
exhausted and a bit
giddy.
One morning,
Goulet was inter-
viewed by a writer
named Stanley
Applebaum.
Spector
Throughout the day,
he was followed by
reporters tossing questions this way
and that at a very tired Goulet.
Someone called, "Is your real name
Robert Goulet?" to which the enter-
tainer responded: "No, it's Stanley
Applebaum."
Goulet thought it funny; the
reporters thought it was the truth,
and so did many of Goulet's closest
associates.
"My manager, my lawyer and
accountant, my PR man were all
Jewish and not really ever having had
any in-depth conversations with me,
they all called each other to say, 'He's
one of us.'"
So now you know how the rumor
got started.
Incidentally, Goulet was born in
Lawrence, Mass. He is Catholic.
Every week, I watch as my wife and
daughter light Shabbat candles. I've
been seeing this for so many years,
but I have to confess: I am at a
complete loss as to why we light
the candles and then say the bless-
ing. Isn't it supposed to be the
other way around?
Usually in Judaism, one does
indeed say the bracha, or blessing,
before the act. We recite a blessing
before eating bread, for example, and
before reading from the
Torah.
The issue with Friday
night is timing. When
we say the blessing, we
have actually started
Shabbat. Because
Halachah, Jewish law,
does not permit kin-
dling a light on the
Sabbath, we would thus
be violating the Sabbath
if we lit the candles after
saying the bracha.
That Phil Spector,
recently charged with
murder, seems to be
such a strange bird.
What can you tell me about him?
Spector, probably the best-known
record producer in the history of
rock-and-roll, was born in 1940 in
the Bronx. After his father's death
when Phil was just 9, the family
moved to Hollywood, where Phil met
up. with Marshall Leib.
Both had musical aspirations, as
did their new friend Annette
Kleinbard; the three formed a trio
called the Teddy Bears and quickly
secured a recording contract.
Spector's first big success was a lit-
tle number he wrote called To Know
Him Is to Love Him, the title for
which was inspired by the words on
his father's tombstone. The song, and
the Teddy Bears, became extremely
popular both in the United States
and in England in 1958.
Alas: the Teddy Bears were a one-
hit wonder. Spector returned to col-
lege, but within months went right
back to music.
Spector had no trouble finding a
FOUSSEMAGNE on page 40