Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

The library received in February the guide for the Sephardi Museum in Toledo, Spain. This is a high quality publication both in its form and content. It is printed in heavy glossy paper, so the hundred or so pictures look great. The 80 page softcover book can also be read as a primer on Jewish history, lifecycle, festivals and the Sephardic aspects of all of the above. The descriptions of the 5 rooms and the courtyard of the building/museum cover these topics. The text reads like a smart introduction to these themes. There are two major signs that you are not just reading a generic book on Judaism. First the pictures do pop up, create an enjoyable experience making you want to see the objects in person. Second, every third paragraph or so ends with a sentence like this, “and we have ceramics, textiles, books … from this era.” The connection between the images and the texts is sometimes only indirect though.

I have only two reservations about the book. First the translation from Spanish to English is occasionally chunky. That would not be a problem, but the fact that Biblical and historical dates were referred to as “BC” (Before Christ) and not as “BCE” (Before Common Era) were a bit insensitive, considering the topic. I encountered another problem when I was trying to catalog the book. The title is a bit ambiguous for me. The book’s spine and cover says it is “Museo Sefardi Toldeo. The inside page says “Guide: Sephardi Museum, Toledo.” The next inside page bears the title “The Synagogue of El Transito.” OCLC (The biggest catalog in the world) list it as “Sephardi Museum, Toledo. Guide.” It was all too much for me, so I just opted for this last variation. But this is just a librarian’s dilemma, the book is thoroughly enjoyable.

The most interesting thing I learned was about the Sephardic language. When I first read it I corrected it in my mind, thinking that they surely meant Ladino. But then I learned that:

[Sephardic language is] usually known by philologists as Judeao-Spanish, it has also been called Jidio, Judesmo, or Espanol in the east and Jaquetia in the area around the Strait of Gibraltar. It is sometimes called Ladino, the term used in Hebrew spoken in Israel. However strictly speaking Ladino is a specific mode of the Sephardic language used in traditional teaching and in the liturgy for translating the sacred texts from Hebrew and Aramaic. This Ladino is characterized by remaining extremely close to these original texts, which in turn has led to the sacred language translated being projected onto Sephardic. (Page 72)

Today is Father’s Day. For this occasion I would like to recommend “A Mensch among Men,” an anthology of 21 essays, edited by Harry Brod. The subtitle of this tome is “Explorations in Jewish Masculinity.” The essays I clustered into four sections:

• Real men don’t eat kosher: on Jewish male identity
• Fathers and sons: from generation to generation
• Anti-Semitism, sexism, & heterosexism: coming out of the shadows
• Men of the world: men’s movements and social activism

These headings probably gave you a sense of what to expect from the book. I think, however , that when you actually open the book and start reading it you will discover how wide range the topic and the style of the writings are, due to the unique mix of authors and their approaches. For this special day today let me quote a few lines from Gary Greenbaum‘s “Learning Talmud from Dad, though Dad knew no Talmud” article from page 76.

My father taught me what he knew-about being a man, an American, and about being a Jew. Sometimes garbled, sometimes contradictory, the messages sent to me by this most important man in my life left me with many spaces to fill in. But he taught me what he thought he was supposed to teach me, and he treated me as he had been taught t treat a son. If he had known Mishna, he would have taught me, “In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.” And he would have explained that being a man means being strong, resolute, knowing what is right, fearless. But his actions would have taught that being a man means being dependable, helping, caring, and involved.

Happy Father’s Day!

This week is the Sonoma County Pride week. (The full name of the events is “Sonoma County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Week 2008 – Loving Self, Loving Others.”) It opened with an interfaith service last Sunday, including Rabbi George Gittleman. The week of celebration will conclude this coming Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center with a festival of dancers, musicians, performers and speakers, starting at noon.

As I was looking through our catalog what book I can connect to the above theme I came across “Nice Jewish girls: A lesbian anthology,” edited by Evelyn Torton Beck. You may think it is dated, because it was published 26 years ago. But let me assure you that good literature ages well. Yes, some of the writings are deeply rooted in the era they were written in; they reflect a certain political climate. But the lessons that can be learned from them are just as valid. Meanwhile the poems and personal stories are still universal.
The introductory essay– explaining the background, need and purpose of the book – ends with excerpts from Irene Klepfisz‘ poem “Bashert.” Its very last lines read:

These words are dedicated to those who survived
Because life is a wilderness and they were savage
Because life is an awakening and they were alert
Because life is a flowering and they blossomed
Because life is a struggle and they struggled
Because life is a gift and they were free to accept it
These words are dedicated to those who survived

Bob and Susy Raful brought the library a book a few months ago from the East Coast. It is a gift from Larrry, their son. He got it signed by the author, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, when he received the Bruce Gould Book Award at the Touro College. The full title of the book is “Letters from Nuremberg: My Father’s Narrative of a Quest for Justice.” Instead of me trying to write a few recommending words about the book let me share what Elie Wiesel had write about it:

At times anguished and stimulating, always informative and insightful, Thomas Dodd’s personal letters from the Nuremburg trial to his wife as presented by his son, Senator Christopher Dodd, constitute an important contribution to History. All those interested in the events resulting from the darkest zones of humanity will find this volume of great value.

This Thursday evening at 7.30 the Celia Gurevitch Library will start its FREE summer filmclub with The Hebrew Hammer. In this hilarious comedy an orthodox Jewish hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus’s evil son. It is R rated for language, some sexual references and drug use.

Free kosher, organic pop-corn will be served along with bottled water ($1/bottle.)

For further information check out the movie’s trailer below.

A few weeks ago we asked whether anybody could donate a TV to the congregation. We just had to put the word out and it was heard. More specifically when Bettie Boyd was chatting with a neighbor, Joe Mayette, who was purchasing a new TV, she asked what the person was planning to do with the old one. When she learned that he was thinking of giving it to Goodwill she had a better idea: CBA. He agreed, they called me and in a few hours I picked up a perfectly functional, 27 inch, 5 year old JVC TV-set with remote. We even received the manual. Thank you Bettie, Joe and everyone else who kept their ears open for us. This will enable us to have lots of fun watching DVDs, VHS tapes or even home videos. Its first sue will be the summer Thursday filmclub series.