Begin: A Courtly Spartan

Shortly after he was felled by a massive heart attack last March, Menachem Begin, 64, motioned his private secretary to his hospital bedside. She feared it might be his final message. Begin whispered: "Your new haircut suits you much better than the old one."

Kind words and an old-fashioned European courtliness are both part of the Begin style. So is a certain autocratic manner. There is no mistaking who runs Israel's Cabinet sessions; smoking is forbidden, aides are barred, ministers are provided with top-secret information on a need-to-know basis--and heaven help anyone who leaks to the press.

A man of spartan tastes, Begin rises at 5 to pray, eat and read the newspapers; he frequently calls editors to complain about "unfair" criticism. He is at his desk by 7. His rambling official residence in Jerusalem is almost too big for him and Wife Aliza, 57, now that two of their three children are married. They also have a Tel Aviv apartment, where he used to hold open house for friends. It is perhaps his only regret as Premier that he has had to curtail such evenings.

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