The Jewish Internet with Mark Mietkiewicz

On Dec. 10, Robert Lefkowitz, Serge Haroche and Alvin Roth will don white tie and tails. In the late afternoon, they will ascend a dais in Stockholm to be awarded Nobel Prizes for chemistry, physics and economics. On that day, they will also enter an exclusive yet surprisingly large community: Jewish winners of the Nobel Prize. Let’s shep a little nachas.

Previous Jewish winners include (http://bit.ly/jnobel1):

• Albert Einstein (physics, 1921) “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.”

• Nadine Gordimer (literature, 1991) “who through her magnificent epic writing has — in the words of Alfred Nobel — been of very great benefit to humanity.”

• Karl Landsteiner (medicine, 1930) “for his discovery of human blood groups.”

• And Elie Wiesel whose 1986 Nobel Prize was not in literature but for peace. “Elie Wiesel has emerged one of the most important spiritual leaders and guides in an age when violence, repression and racism continue to characterize the world (http://bit.ly/jnobel2).”

One Jewish recipient turned down his prize under duress. The 1958 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded to the Russian writer Boris Pasternak best known for Doctor Zhivago. As noted on the Nobel site, “Pasternak first accepted the award, but was later caused by the (Soviet) authorities of his country to decline the prize (http://bit.ly/jnobel3).”

The Nobel Prizes are always presented on Dec. 10, birthday of Alfred Nobel. When Prof. Robert Aumann won it in 2005, it fell on a Saturday, as it does this year, and that posed some logistical challenges for the Sabbath observant economist and mathematician. Beyond the kashrut and the hotel room with an electronic lock, another problem arose: Aumann’s attire. The banquet has a strict men’s dress code: mandatory tails. In order to ensure his suit did not contain shatnez, the biblically forbidden fabric combination of wool and linen, Aumann’s tailcoat and trousers were flown to Israel for testing.

Everything ended well as we are told in a lovely article in the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Action magazine. At the gala Nobel ball, Aumann ascended the stage, stepped up to the microphone and led the celebrants in the classic song, “Kol haolam kulo, gesher tzar meod,” “The whole world is nothing but a very narrow bridge. And the main thing is to have no fear at all.”

Aumann attended the ceremonies with his wife, five children, 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Since that exceeded his guest quota, literature laureate Harold Pinter, who did not attend, gave Aumann his 16-guest allotment (http://bit.ly/jnobel4).

Another article mentions Israeli Nobel laureate, S.Y. Agnon. That writer was probably the only recipient who included in his acceptance speech the blessing that is said upon seeing the king of a non-Jewish nation, in this case, the King of Sweden. “Blessed is He Who has given of His glory to flesh and blood (http://bit.ly/jnobel17).”

Do Nobel laureates sense that a win is in the offing? To get an answer, I highly recommend listening to a charming interview with Saul Perlmutter done by CBC Radio’s Bob McDonald.

Not only does the professor try his best to demystify dark energy and the accelerating universe. He puts a personal touch on being a Nobel laureate when he recounts how he was awakened with the news by a Swedish reporter asking for his reaction to winning the award, while Perlmutter’s wife was Googling away on the computer to see if this was some kind of hoax (http://bit.ly/jnobel15).

Last year’s celebrations were bittersweet for the family of Ralph Steinman, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery of dendritic cells. Steinman died three days before the announcement but since this was unknown to the selection committee, his win was allowed to stand. A few days later, Rockefeller University held a ceremony to honor the memory of the late scientist. The video of the event includes a moving tribute by Steinman’s son Adam (http://bit.ly/jnobel7).

And back to Aumann for one final anecdote. When the Nobel winner was asked what the most memorable part of the celebrations was for him, he said seeing the Israeli flag flying over the palace, along with the five flags of the nations of the other winners. The Jewish Action article then adds this footnote. S.Y. Agnon “was also moved by the sight of the Israeli flag in Stockholm and asked his wife, Esther, ‘Did you ever dream you would see the Israeli flag flying over the palace in my honor?’ Her laconic reply: ‘I usually do not dream about flags!’”

Mark Mietkiewicz may be reached at highway@rogers.com.