Detailed biography of Elizabeth Taylor reveals she took her Judaism seriously

BY ROBERT A. COHN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EMERITUS

Few people can rival Elizabeth Taylor’s impact on American popular culture. Taylor’s life was a warp-speed roller coaster of dizzying ups and downs. Her heart-stopping physical beauty combined with bonafide acting ability launched her acting career when she was only 17. She was married eight times, including twice to Welsh actor Richard Burton. She battled alcoholism, drug addiction and fatal attraction to wealthy and powerful men; she was a flagrant and ruthless adulterer, who could destroy the marriages of her rivals. Raised as a Christian Scientist, Taylor became a Jew by choice and donated generously to Israel.

Of particular interest to Jewish readers may be Taylor’s conversion to Judaism. Two of her many marriages were to Jews: Michael Todd and crooner Eddie Fisher, but Brower notes that Taylor insisted that the choice to embrace Judaism was not to placate her Jewish spouses but resulted from serious study.

Taylor asked the distinguished scholar Rabbi Max Nussbaum for books on Judaism and was attracted to its values and commitment to acts of kindness and social justice. These Jewish values influenced her decision to become an early advocate of support for people with HIV/AIDS.

Brower notes the death of Todd in a tragic plane crash, and Taylor’s decision to become Jewish: “On March 3, 1959, a year after Mike’s death, Elizabeth officially converted to Judaism at Temple

Israel in Hollywood,” she writes. “It was a way to keep (Mike) close and to find meaning during her grief. Raised as a Christian Scientist, she felt a deep connection to the Jewish faith and its people, especially having seen how they were persecuted during World War II.”

Brower adds: “Her Hebrew Name was Elisheba Rachel (who was the favorite wife of Jacob).”

Rabbi Nussbaum of Temple Israel in Hollywood visited Taylor while she was mourning. She asked Nussbaum why Mike died.

“He gave her books about the philosophy of Judaism, excerpts from the Bible, the history of the Jews, even the bestselling novel ‘Exodus,’” Brower writes. She quotes Taylor as saying, “In seven months, I knew that I had found what I had been searching for, for many years. Neither Mike Todd nor Eddie Fisher did anything to encourage me to become a Jew.”

As evidence of her commitment to the Jewish people, Brower notes that at a Friar’s Club dinner, she pledged to buy $100,000 in Israel Bonds.”

Brower adds that because she was Jewish and supported Israel, Egypt and every other Arab state at first banned her films. When Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser saw “Cleopatra,” he allowed the film to open in major cities across Egypt. Even Nasser could not resist Taylor’s violet eyes!

On May 12, 1959, Taylor married Eddie Fisher at Temple Beth Shalom in Las Vegas. Taylor flagrantly stole Fisher from actress Debbie Reynolds.

Taylor would soon find out that Fisher was no bargain; he was a gambling addict who stuck her with a $250,000 gambling tab.

Years later Taylor and Reynolds became friends through their shared contempt for Fisher.

True to her Judaism to the very end, Taylor instructed that her funeral at Forest Lawn Cemetery be held before sundown on Shabbat.

Brower’s comprehensive biography of Elizabeth Taylor is both a richly detailed almanac and a compassionate eulogy to a life lived to the fullest.

CONTINUED FROM OPPOSITE PAGE which made the director wonder whether he was committing professional suicide. The film’s success and awards say otherwise.

The novel was written in Hebrew, although the film is mostly in Arabic.

Kolirin describes his adaptation as “an absurd Jewish tale set in a Palestinian village, or an Arabic tale told in some Yiddish dialect. Or maybe it’s just a human tale that people have been telling and retelling for generations, about a cruel theater of humanity, under siege and besieging, where the only thing that changes are the roles they play.”

This is not always an easy film to watch, but it is less about the political situation in Israel and more about the human sides in any conflict. In the end, the film offers great rewards.

The acting is excellent, particularly Bakri as Sami, with his inner turmoil played out on the actor’s expressive face. Other actors also deliver fine performances, notably Daw as Sami’s father, representing an earlier generation as well as any loving father, and Salami, who gives a touching performance as Abed, a sunny-natured man whose life has gone wrong in so many ways.

But after shining a light on the worst of human behavior, the film shifts, as the main character Sami gains insights and people start to find their inner goodness. Not everything goes smoothly after that, but people start to embrace their better side and their neighbors. It is a deeply human message that reaches beyond politics or particular conflicts.