Jewish
Elvis: In the book "Elvis and Gladys"
- Elaine Dundy
discovered the Presley and Smith
family tree to be a mixed bag of ethnic lineage from Native American Indian to Elvis' Jewish
ancestry. Tobe of Jewish is a maternal acquisition because there is no
mistaking who is the mother of a child. Because Elvis' Jewish line ran uninterrupted
through his maternal grandmothers according to Jewish law Elvis Aron
Presley is considered Jewish.
This is what Dundy discovered in her research: "...
Nancy Burdine was married to Abner Tacket. Nancy was of particular
interest to Gladys for her Jewish heritage, often remembering Nancy's
sons for their Jewish names Sidney and Jerome. Nancy and Abner had a daughter
Martha (Tacket) who married White Mansell. The daughter which they
named Octavia nicknamed Doll who was Elvis' maternal grandmother."
Doll and Robert had nine children. Gladys Love was the fifth daughter
born followed by three brothers and a sister. Gladys' sister Clette Smith
married Vester Presley making Patsy Presley a double cousin to Elvis.
Patsy Anderson worked at Graceland in Elvis Fan Club liaison.
After
his mother died Elvis personally sought to design his beloved mother’s
gravesite which included a Star of David on
Gladys Love Presley's tombstone. The decision was made by
him in honour of his Jewish heritage. Something his mother was proud of and
acknowledged to Elvis at a very early age.
[Due to the bizarre August 29, 1977 " break in" to steal Elvis's body -
on the evening of October 2, 1977, Elvis and his mother's bodies were
moved from their original places of burial at Forest Hill Cemetery and
reburied side by side in the grounds of Graceland in an area Elvis had
named the Meditation Garden.]
Later in life, when Elvis discovered the teachings of Judaism, Zen Buddhism
and the occult teachings through his hairdresser
Larry Geller he became
familiar with the Hebrew alphabet and its symbols.
Throughout 1977 Elvis
wore a "Chai" necklace. When Charlie Hodge asked Elvis why this particular
piece of jeweler was so important, without missing a beat Elvis retorted
"I don’t want to miss out on going' to heaven on a technicality."
The "Chai" symbol is simply the Hebrew
word for "Life" with the two Hebrew letters Chet & Yod attached together.
It refers to Living with G*d.
In
Judaism the word Chai has great significance. The typical Jewish toast
is l'chayim (to life) Gifts to charity are routinely given in multiples of 18
(the numeric value of the word Chai) religious cannons.
The book
In Search of Elvis Presley's Jewish Roots outline numerous aspects of
Elvis' Jewish identity, including the fact that his mother, Gladys, was part
Jewish and part Indian. William Mansell married Morning White Dove, a
full blooded Indian. They had several children, one of which was John
Mansell, who fathered White Mansell. White Mansell married Martha Tackett.
Martha's mother Nancy was Jewish.
Elvis was well aware of his Jewish ancestry, as a child was instructed not to
advertise the fact because "people didn't like Jews" according to his
parents. Yet, Elvis, who lived in an apartment below a Jewish rabbi, would
often visit. The widow of the rabbi talks about Elvis. She recalls how,
Elvis would visit their house on Saturday in order to turn on lights
and do things they weren't allowed to do. Elvis carried a yarmulke in his
pocket. He was fascinated by Jewish music. As an adult, she remembers how
Elvis donated to several Jewish organizations.
Elvis Presley wearing a Star of David 1972
From the book: "Oh yes. One day the Memphis
Jewish Welfare sent a delegation to Graceland to see him and ask if he
could contribute. At Christmas every year he would donate $1,000 to a
number of Memphis charities and one of them was the Memphis Hebrew Academy,
and so they thought maybe they could get something. They explained what
they do, taking care of poor Jews and orphans. Elvis excused himself for a
minute. When he came back, he handed the leader of the delegation a check.
They didn't know what to expect. They thought $1,000 would be nice. When
they looked at the check, it was for $150,000. The equivalent of more than
a million dollars today. The man said, 'Elvis, you must have made a mistake.'
Elvis said, 'I didn't make a mistake, I know what I'm doing.' Later on, he
also donated a room to the old Memphis Jewish Community Center." More
Famous Jewish Actors
