Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

Did you know that you can ask questions and recommendation from the librarian? We receive 3-8 questions a week and happy to answer them. So go ahead and if you need a book on any Judaism related topic, or if you need help with your research in this area we will do our best to answer your quest.

Just yesterday somebody asked for a story about Israel suitable for both children and adults. Here is what I replied:

I have two recommendations. Both of them are “children books” in the sense that they are big format, with big letter and lots of drawings. But each tells a story with lessons for adults as well.

“The animated Israel – a homecoming” was written by Ephraim Sidon, Hanan Kaminski and Gil Elkabetz for the 40th anniversary of Israel. It is a “fable of two children, a tree and a bird who make a pact to stay faithful to each other forever. Despite the children’s exile and persecution the story ends with a joyful reunion as the children rebuild their home.” In short this is the story of the Jewish people and state. It is 48 pages and each page has 4-10 lines of text on it, written in rhyme. Unlike later volumes on the “animated” book series the images are mostly aquarelles and not claymation shots.

The other book, titled “Jerusalem, shining still” focuses on the history of Jerusalem, as you can guess from the title. It was written by Karle Kuskin and has two dozen woodcuts by David Frampton, in 3-4 color each.  It is only 28 pages, but has much more text, because it is written in prose. It reads more like a history book for kids, because it includes lots of names of people related to the city’s history throughout the centuries.

On Yom HaShoah, on the first day of May we remember the ones lost in the Holocaust. Trying to comprehend, cope with and overcome our feelings and memories related to the murder of millions of Jews is an utterly solemn occasion. The full official name of the holiday is Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura, translated as “Remembrance Day for the Holocaust and Heroism.” I would like to share some of the resources of the library that go beyond our somber duty of remembering points out the beauty and artistic representations that were borne under and out of such tragic circumstances.

The library has over 200 non-fiction books on the Shoah; 20 books for children and teens, and dozens of novels for adults. Here are a few examples of our rich collection:

• Hilda Schiff’s anthology of Holocaust Poetry answers the philosophical question “Can there be poetry about the Holocaust?” with an affirmative yes. Sixty-two poets from a wide spectrum share their voices through hundreds of poems.
• The Plays of the Holocaust compilation, edited by Elinor Fuchs, contains the scripts of six plays. They are all insightful, stimulating and thought provoking in different ways.
• Shirli Gilbert’s Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps is the authoritative volume on the role of music amongst communities imprisoned under Nazism.
• In Memory’s Kitchen is a cookbook assembled by female prisoners at Terezin. They wrote down their recipes from memory for chocolate torte, breast of goose, plum strudel …as a testament to the future, so that their grandchildren might receive a fragment of their inheritance.
• Children Remember the Holocaust is a documentary hosted by Keanu Reeves, who narrates letters, diaries, and published stories of children who have lived through the Holocaust.
• Yaffa Eliach conducted numerous interviews with Hasidim and gathered their oral histories. From his research he published 39 original stories in Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust.

The suffering and testimonies, when told by Holocaust survivors, are a song, a hymn, a testimony to the eternity of Jewish people and the greatness of their spirit.
- Yaffa Eliach, Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust

This Saturday night, after Havdallah, as part of our celebration of Israel’s 60th we will have a chance to watch the Israeli movie that got nominated for last year’s Oscar. Beaufort is the story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000. It is based on a novel by Ron Leshem. Here is a short excerpt from the book, courtesy of Zeek magazine,

Yonatan will never know how River the medic cried over his body, how he wouldn’t calm down, how he fell apart, to pieces. Wailed like a baby. Yonatan’ll never know how Furman and I spent a whole day in the trenches and down the slopes looking for his missing head. When the missile hit the guard post his head blew off and rolled down to the Litani River. We didn’t want to believe it had rolled all the way down, to the river, but that’s exactly what happened, and in the end we gave up. Nothing we could do about it. I leaned over in that heavy smoke and grabbed his body with both hands, a body with no head. He’ll never know.

While we do not have the book (yet), but if you want to bush up on your Middle-East history I recommend to check a volume do have: Myths and Facts ; a guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A few weeks ago I wrote a few lines about one of the newspapers we subscribe to, The Jerusalem Post. This time I would like to introduce the World Jewish Digest, a monthly magazine of similar size. It2 72 pages are printed on glossy paper. The amount of space devoted to different regions of the world roughly correspond to the proportions of world Jewry living in those areas. In the current issue there are four articles on/from Israel, four related to North America and two for the rest of the world. Besides these there is always a cover story, a special section, arts and culture and Jewish family life section with one to three pieces in each.

The dry numbers however do not give justice to this rich magazine. To make the description more interesting or thought provoking if you wish here are the taglines of the articles form the latest issue we have – without their titles. Can you guess what each piece is about? Are you sure?

• Why single Jewish women are struggling to find their 21st-century soul mates.
• You can learn a lot by closing your mouth and opening your eyes.
• Jared Cohen builds bridges between Middle Eastern and American youth.
• Meet Jay Leno’s Jewish joke writer.
• Sixty years after its birth, too many have forgotten the Jewish state’s purpose.
• How the next big war could start with one small rocket.
• Children shouldn’t learn about Passover from Cecil B. DeMille.
• Destruction or diplomacy – which will it be?
• A Jewish play resonates in New Delhi by illuminating cross-cultural taboos.
• Why the West should not alienate the Iranian public.
• The 411 on spring’s seasonal afflictions.
• Madonna drops a new disc; Steven Spielberg takes a stand against China.
• Take on the freedom festival with these distinctive recipes and inventive table ideas.
• Susie Fishbein’s latest takes the plague out of Passover cooking.
• Liberate your kids from the boob tube – and reintroduce them to imagination.
• Two books, two dead bodies, many old memories.
• On closer inspection, familiar Seder symbols reveal multiple entwined meanings.
• To be dugree, Israelis’ balagan makes them proud.
• Asking the Four Questions – in Iraq.
• Charoset recipes from around the world.

Yossi Harel the commander of the ship Exodus 1947, died on Saturday at the age of 90. Many of you have seen the movie Exodus, where his character was played by Paul Newman. For those of you who haven’t read it I recommend the book the movie was based on. It was written by Leon Uris and the library has a copy of it of course. Reading (or re-reading) it would be a great way to commemorate Israel’s upcoming 60th birthday.
I am writing this entry on the day after Passover. I find it appropriate to quote the very last lines of the book. It is a reply to the classic question of the Seder:

“Why is this night different from all other nights of the year?
This night is different because we celebrate the most important moment in the history of our people. On this night we celebrate their going forth in triumph from slavery into freedom.”

Last week somebody left a ten page, nicely illustrated (by Kate Davies) board book at the library titled “Jonah and the big fish.” As of now nobody claimed it, therefore I assume it was an anonymous donation to the library. Thank you, we will incorporate it into our collection.

We are happy to share the press release of an exciting series for the fall:

Sonoma State University Library to host Let’s Talk About It:
Jewish Literature Reading and Discussion Series

(Rohnert Park, CA) – April 18, 2008. The University Library at Sonoma State will host a free, five-part reading and discussion series called Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Identity and Imagination. The series, which will take place during the fall semester, explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme “Between Two Worlds: Stories of Estrangement and Homecoming.”

The University Library is one of over 250 libraries nationwide receiving grants to host the series developed by Nextbook and the American Library Association (ALA). Local support for the series is provided by SSU’s Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Hillel of Sonoma County, and the Santa Rosa Junior College Library – Petaluma.

“We are thrilled to have been selected to host this unique series that will allow people a chance to participate in discussions on themes in Jewish literature. It is a great opportunity for students and community members to share in close dialogue – all under the guidance of our dedicated scholar, Anne Goldman, from the SSU English department,” said Karen Brodsky, University Library Arts and Lectures Program Director.

Each program will begin with a brief lecture by Professor Goldman, after which participants will exchange their own responses to and ideas about the featured reading. Participants will have access to each book, so participation is limited. The first program will explore Exodus, the Second Book of Moses, and will be held on September 25 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm in room 3001 of the University Library. The remaining books and dates are as follows: Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman on October 2, 2008; Moacyr Scliar’s The Centaur in the Garden on October 30, 2008; Allegra Goodman’s Kaaterskill Falls on November 13, 2008 and Out of Egypt by André Aciman on December 4, 2008.

Sonoma State Professor Anne Goldman teaches 19^th and 20^th century American literature in the Department of English. Her most recent work includes an essay on the author Saul Bellow and an assessment of the work of Mark Rothko and Marc Chagall. Her current book project, Worlds of Light: Jewish American Culture in the Twentieth Century, was funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 2006.

All programs will be held at University Library, room 3001 at Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave. Rohnert Park, CA 94928. For details or to register for limited space, visit http://library.sonoma.edu/about/lecture.html or contact Karen Brodsky (707) 664-4240, karen.brodsky@sonoma.edu.

Today I upgraded the software this blog runs on. It is still a product called WordPress, but we moved from version 2.3.1 to 2.5. Here is the summary of the new features. Most of it is in the administration side that is not visible to the readers. The main reason I upgraded was thought to ensure that the blog is safe and sound. The release of the software includes numerous important security fixes.

I recognize that the above may be of little interest to most blog visitors, but I feel compelled to share part of the work that is going on hidden in a library. Some people think that librarians have the best job; because they just sit all day and read. I would like to do that, but I also love all the details and work that needs to be taken care of in the background to maintain a functioning library. Upgrading aging software is a small part of it.

The library will be closed this Sunday and Monday for Passover.
Hag Sameach to everybody!

64 years ago today the extermination of Hungarian Jewry accelerated by forcing them in the newly erected ghettos all over the country. In the last few years this date was selected for the “March of the Living” as a commemoration/remembrance. Today, like in past years, thousands of people gathered in Budapest is front of the largest European synagogue and marched over to the banks of the Danube, where during the Holocaust Jews were shot into the river. As part of the same “March” initiative tens of thousands of people from all over the world will travel the next few weeks to Auschwitz. You may be more interested in the American website of the program than the (all) Hungarian one.

While remembering the dead I would like to recommend a book that brings Hungarian Jews closer by introducing hundreds of them one by one. David Gur’s book is called: “Brothers for resistance and rescue: The underground Zionist youth movement in Hungary during World War II.” It has pictures and a paragraph or two on 420 men and women who were active in those movements. It is a testament to the wide range of people who participated, the diversity of the Zionist movement and to the tragic death for many of them.