Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

As (hopefully) most of you know tomorrow Maggie Anton, the author of the successful Rashi’s daughters series will come and discuss her historical novels and how Jewish women in Medieval France can be an inspiration to us today. She already finished two of the three volume series, one volume about each of Rashi’s three daughters. We wrote about the second volume, featuring Miriam a few months ago. Ms. Anton’s latest book, the Secret Scholar is a prequel to the first volume, Joheved, depicting Joheved’s life as a young girl. You can read the books’ description either in our post last week or on the books’ own webpage. Today I would like to use (The Jewish Publication Society, the publisher’s information to recommend the book to you. There you can also access the first two chapters and a reader’s guide to the book. I hope this will make you curious enough to purchase a copy tomorrow Wednesday night or borrow the library’s copy later next week.

The tale of a young girl who challenges conventions to engage in Jewish learning

Set in 11th-century Troyes, France, Rashi’s Daughter, Secret Scholar tells the story of Joheved, eldest daughter of Salomon ben Isaac (known as Rashi), one of the great medieval Jewish Bible commentators. At a time when women traditionally were barred from studying Jewish texts, Rashi secretly teaches first Joheved, then her sister Miriam. By day, Joheved helps in running the household and the family winemaking business, and by night she studies Talmud with her father.

As she nears marriageable age, Joheved finds her mind and spirit awakened by religious study, but she must keep her passion for learning and prayer hidden. When she becomes betrothed to Meir ben Samuel, she is forced to choose between marital happiness and being true to her love of the Talmud. Will she fulfill the expected role of a Jewish woman or pursue a path of Jewish learning?

The author of one our recently acquired books passed away a few days ago according to the notice I received on Sunday:

I regret to let you know about the passing of Dr. Stephen Speisman z”l this morning. Steve was the former director of UJA Federation’s Ontario Jewish Archives and, most recently, Toronto Hebrew Memorial Park, which is responsible for the Pardes Shalom community cemetery. Steve was a man of enormous intellect and distinguished decency who will leave an enormous vacuum as a true servant of the Jewish community and an authority on the history of Jewish Toronto. The funeral will take place tomorrow at Steeles College. The time is not yet available.

His book “The Jews of Toronto; A history to 1937” is still on our new non-fiction arrival shelf. Here are the opening paragraphs of the preface of this 380 pages long, well-indexed and researched volume:

This is the story of Toronto Jewry’s first century. Its principal theme is the adjustment of the Jew to a new land and his effort to build a community which would serve his needs and in which he might feel comfortable. It represents perhaps the first attempt of this scope at analysing an urban Jewish community in Canada.
In examining the evolution of local Jewish institutions, I sought to answer a number of perplexing questions. How, for example, did a community develop in a city often the immigrant’s second choice for settlement? How did Toronto Jews fashion a relatively unified communal structure despite their heterogeneity? To what extent was this development influenced by local events or externalfactors?
Some aspects of community life have been treated in detail; others, such as social mobility, the entry of Jews into the professions, and the development of the Jewish labour movement, had, because of limitations of space, to be considered only incidentally as they bear directly on the major theme. Like Samuel Johnson, I ask that “when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much is likewise performed.”

I like to think that my book reviews provide new insights or at least originate from me. It is a relatively easy task when writing about books of which there are no, or only a few reviews available. It is considerable harder for popular novels, such as Jenna Blum’s Those Who Save Us. For example LibraryThing.com has 20 reviews and Amazon.com has 84. So instead of going the individualistic road I am going the other direction. I pick some of the questions from the official reading guide, available from the author’s site and share my related impressions, on this exciting pageturner novel.

But first I need to share the story in a nutshell. Here it is, straight from the back cover

For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy’s sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmführer of Buchenwald. Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother’s life.

And now some Q and A

1. How would you categorize Those Who Save Us: as a war story, a love story, a mother-daughter story?
One of the strengths of the book is that it is not just one of these but contains most of the above. It is definitely a war and a mother-daughter story. But I am not sure to what extent it is a love story, hence the “almost” part. Yes, there is a love story in the first few dozen pages, and the fruit of that love is Trudy. But the relationship described in the rest of the book is not love. At least not in the traditional sense. A main theme of the book, to explore what it is and how it affected the rest of Anna’s life. Hint: it devoured her from the ability of true love, hence I would call it an “unlove” story instead.

2. In what ways do the characters save each other in the novel, and who saves whom?
The Obersturmführer saves Anna and Trudy from starvation and possible death during the war years. On the other hand Anna saves him from loneliness. Anna and her ex-boss Mathilde saves Jews in the camp by providing food and information. Later in the US, Anna tries to save her daughter from the shadows of the past by not telling her about it. This venture is less successful though, as Trudy has to deal with unconfirmed shadows, shame and suspicions as the result of non-communication. Jack, Anna’s American husband saves the mother and daughter from punishment after the war as collaborators with the Nazis. There are further “savings” prompted by and involving side characters too, which I won’t have time to go into now.

3. Do you see Anna’s beauty as a blessing or a curse?
Always these either/or questions. Of course it is both, depending on the situation. In her life though it is more of the latter. It draws attention to her and in wartimes, which is full of ravenous soldiers it can be dangerous.

4. Why does Mathilde take this risk of feeding the Buchenwald prisoners?
Because she still has a balanced moral value system. It is a bit more complex than that though as she has to weigh in the risk against the benefits when making such decisions as whether to risk her life to bring more bread or not. For her staying human was more important than staying alive.

5. Do you see the Obersturmführer as a monster or as human?
Again, both. The art of being a monster, which he very much was, is compartmentalization. He did not see Jews as humans therefore he had no problem of killing and torturing them. This corrupted his petty soul and blinded his senses to the extent that he believed he was in love with Anna and the feeling was reciprocal. He was human in the sense that he needed human warmth and feeling of being part of a family, but he was a monster by not recognizing that forcing such things do not work on the long term and they are not the real thing.

There are many more questions in the guide, but I also wanted to include a meaningful quote from the book itself. Here it is from page 402

Look, Rainer says.
Trudy does. She sees nothing out of the ordinary: the gray-white lake, the overcast sky a darker gray above it, the dense black calligraphy of branches on the far shore. Behind them is a brilliant lemon-colored slash of light that somehow has the effect of making the afternoon seem even colder than it is. The wind rushes ceaselessly over the ice, teasing water from Trudy’s eyes; her cheeks will be bright red when she and Rainer get back indoors. But this is also thrilling, like being, Trudy thinks, on the deck of a ship embarked on an Arctic expedition.
A brace of geese flies overhead, returning from some warmer clime, honking.
What is it I’m supposed to be looking at? Trudy asks. Rainer chuckles and puts his arms around her from behind. This is our problem, Dr. Swenson, he says into her hair. You think too much. Stop it. Don’t think. Don’t talk. Just look. Be.

Besides being open at the regular hours (Monday-Thursday afternoons 2-6 and Sunday mornings 9-12.30) the library will have three special programs, all free of charge, waiting for you in October.

On Sunday, the 19th we continue our monthly “Breakfast @ the Library” program. We are inviting every child and parent of the religious school, students at the Sunday morning adult classes, all members of local synagogues and any interested members of the public once a month for breakfast. From 8.45 till 10:30 AM we will serve bagels, shmears and juices at the library. We will have a chance to talk about our interesting new books and exciting upcoming programs.

On Sunday, the 26th the library will have a table at Simcha Sunday, where we will have materials (themed book lists, bookmarks, event flyers…) to take home. We are also planning to sell used books benefiting the library. For this latter cause we would like to ask you to donate your unwanted Judaica books up to a week before the event. It can be any book related to any aspect of Judaism, but we can only take books that are in “sellable” condition.

Last but not least we are happy to announce that Maggie Anton, an award-winning author, will give a talk entitled “Rashi’s Daughters: Three Women and a Talmud” in CBA’s social hall, at 7 PM on Wednesday, October 29th. She will discuss her historical novels and how Jewish women in Medieval France can be an inspiration to us today. Ms. Anton wrote three books on Rashi’s daughters. Her latest “Secret Scholar” is a tale of a young girl who challenges social conventions to engage in Jewish learning. This book is appropriate for both young and not so young adults. Hint: bring your (pre-)teen child to the talk for an inspiring evening.

We would like to introduce some of the new novels the library recently acquired, all showcased on our “new arrivals” shelf:

• Pearl Abraham’s “The seventh beggar” takes us from the contemporary life of a Hasidic teenager to Nachman of Bratslav’s past world of lost writings and courtly ritual, from a religious community in upstate New York to Palestine and Ukraine.
• Sayed Kashua’s “Let it be morning” illuminates the lives of Israel’s Arab minority through the story of an unnamed journalist who returns from Tel Aviv to his home village with his wife and infant daughter, in search of affordable living.
• Meir Shalev’s “The loves of Judith” is resolved slowly by Judith’s son Zayde, who may be the child of any of the three men–or, remarkably, all three. And so the men raise him, care for him, love him.
• Stacy Sims‘ “Swimming naked” unfolds the story of Lucy Greene’s childhood, at the height of which sits a freak accident that occurred one fateful summer at the family lake house, an event that transforms the family and sets a mother and her daughters on a very different course.
• Kate Wenner’s “Dancing with Einstein” explores the impact that history can have on a young life is powerful and moving, weaving back and forth between 1970s New York and 1950s Princeton.
• Steve Stern’s “The angel of forgetfulness” combines three distinct but interlinked narratives: the story of Nathan Hart, a Jewish immigrant on the Lower East Side circa 1910, a tale about an angel named Mocky and his half-human son and the account of Saul, a morose, lonely young man.

I admit I do not know much about the inner working of macro-economics and financial markets. But the news from the last few days got even me worried. However being more interested in history and literature instead of studying the markets my reaction was different. I searched out a book titled, Economic history of the Jews, edited by Nachum Gross. Here is the beginning of the introduction that is a far better recommendation than what I could write.

This volume is in its own way a pioneer -an overall survey of the economic aspects of Jewish history and a consideration of major trends and developments within the most important spheres of economic activity. For many decades much has been said about examining the economic motivations and facts of Jewish life throughout the centuries and a number of specialized studies have appeared, but not enough has been achieved in the direction of an overall synthesis. One reason for this is the relative scarcity of mature scholars versed in history and economics and Jewish studies. The field remains largely unplowed and this book is a first attempt at opening it up both for laymen and for future scholars. It reflects the state of knowledge of the subject at the present time. The reader will find here the colorful story of the economic life of the Jews throughout the ages, the impact of internal and external factors and chapters describing how the Jews have played key roles in a great variety of occupations in all parts of the world. The potential specialists will find here many topics that have still not been adequately studied and will discover topics and directions for future research. The contents of this book will be an invaluable complement to the standard Jewish histories.

Gersonides was one of the names I have heard of as a famous rabbi from the Middle Ages, but never had a chance to learn more of/from him. But we recently got a copy of his “Commentary on Song of Songs” that includes an excellent introduction by the person who translated the commentaries from Hebrew: Menachem Kellner. As an appetizer to learn more read the publisher’s (Yale University Press) blurb of the book:

Gersonides (Rabbi Levi ben Gershom, 1288-1344), one of medieval Judaism’s most interesting figures, was not only a philosopher, exegete, and halakhist but was also known for his contributions in the fields of astronomy and mathematics. In this new translation of Gersonides’ Commentary on Song of Songs, Menachem Kellner brings to English-language readers a work that draws together many important strands and elements of Gersonides’ thought: philosophical theology, philosophy of science, biblical exegesis, and Aristotle/Averroes commentary. With an informative introduction and thorough annotations, this volume focuses fresh attention on an important example of medieval Jewish biblical commentary and medieval philosophical thought.

Gersonides stood at the intersection of three worlds: he was a learned and devout Jew whose major philosophic and scientific teachers were Muslims and whose scientific colleagues were Christians. Applying his learning and brilliance to the Judaism he had inherited, Gersonides transformed it and passed along to his own students a Judaism that bore the stamp of his unique personality and of the Jewish-Muslim-Christian symbiosis he both represented and helped create. His philosophical commentary on Song of Songs reveals his belief that this poem is the only book in the Bible written to teach the ultimate truths of the universe to the elite while being of no outward benefit to the masses.

About ten days ago I received an email from local woman offering book donation from her husband’s late grandfather’s collection. By the time I managed to go to her she only had 5 boxes left form the original twenty. I picked more than a dozen volumes, see the list below, to be added to the library’s collection. As I learned these all belonged to Rabbi Israel H. Weisfeld, who was a conservative rabbi in Dallas, and Los Angeles and River Forest, Illinois. He was also the author of one of the books we received: David the King. His grandson’s wife is an artist who designed the bookplate, shown below, that I inserted into all of these books.

The books.

• Judaism and psychology, by Amsel, Abraham (1969)
• Contemporary Israeli literature, by Anderson, Elliott (1977)
• A history of the contemporary Jews, by Grayzel, Solomon (1977)
• Israel Passover Haggadah, by Kasher, Menahem M., (ed) (1950)
• The book of Jewish lists, by Landau, Ron (1982)
• Gateway to happiness A practical guide to happinness, by Pliskin, Zelig (1983)
• Gateway to self-knowledge A practical guide to s, by Pliskin, Zelig (1986.)
• Women and Jewish divorce, by Riskin, Shlomo (1989)
• Jewish bioethics, by Rosner, Fred (ed) (1979)
• The Jews of Toronto A history to 1937, by Speisman, Stephen A (1979)
• Three worlds A Jewish odyssey, by Tabak, Israel (1988)
• The Jewish directory and almanac, by Tillem, Ivan L (1984)
• David the King, by Weisfeld, Israel H (1983)
• Israel Its captivity and restoration, by White, Ellen Gould Harmon (1988)

There are still more books, mostly old haggadot and individual Talmud volumes. Let me know if you are interested and I will connect you with our donor.

Eli Cohen and Elizabeth Boyd donated a book to the library recently that I wanted to read for a while. It is Pearl Abraham’s The seventh beggar. I was interested in it, because I heard that it incorporates elements from Kabbalah. Now that I had a chance to examine the book and learn more about it I know that it is centered on the writings of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, one of my favorite 19th century Hasidic rabbis. Here is the partial description of the book from the author’s website itself,

A novel about the possibilities-and perils-of storytelling and creation, The Seventh Beggar takes us from the contemporary life of a Hasidic teenager to Nachman’s past world of lost writings and courtly ritual, from a religious community in upstate New York to the scientific halls of M.I.T., from New York to Palestine to the Ukraine, all the while breaking literary conventions and boundaries.

Instead of revealing more from the story let me provide a quote, so you would get to know the style of the author. Hopefully it is to your liking.

The Berditchever took out of his pocket a book of Psalms, which went with him everywhere. At thirteen he’d set himself the task of a complete reading a day, which with some effort was possible then, though often he’d stayed up late to finish. These days he made do with one or two readings a week. His reward for so much prayer: complete lines of poetry came to him at various times of day, poetry in response to life’s snares and snarls. If necessary, he could recite the psalms from memory. Without thinking about it, he often found himself reciting while walking from the study house and back. It had become habitual. This gift of prayer had come from his dear mother. Even near death, she’d insisted that he leave her bedside to attend services. He’d hurry to the nearest synagogue and then race back, afraid she wouldn’t be there on his return. He’d sprint through the streets, mumbling the few psalms he knew then, repeating the same line when he was stuck for the next one, his heart pounding not as a result of the physical exertion but in fear. He’d begun reciting psalms to save his mother, but in the end the psalms had come to his own aid. One morning, she was no longer there. It was said that in the Russian gulag the Jews who remained sane were those who knew enough psalms and prayers to recite them from memory. The Berditchever had recommended the psalms to all his children, but none had made reciting a habit, and it seemed Joel wouldn’t, either. A fine scholar and avid reader, he had no patience for mere reciting. He needed to read and know.

Al Batzdorff sent me a link a few days ago to an amazing site: panoplanet.net/synagogues (Click on each synagogue to open it to the full screen. Click and move cursor around to get panoramic view. Right-click and move cursor to go up and down. )

It reminded me of the book the Batzdorffs donated to the library a few months ago. It is titled “The architecture of the European synagogue,” by Rachel Wischnitzer. The website above is a true multimedia experience on the diversity of the synagogues around the world. The book is a different kind of experience with its black and white blueprints, drawings and photographs (See one below from Budapest). But the book also gives you a lot of background information in hundreds of synagogues in the Old World. I for one enjoy the touch, look-and-feel, end smell of old books, like this one that was published 44 years ago. I think most of you would also appreciate what you can learn about not just architecture, but the history of European Jewry from this book.

As a person, whose relatives passed in front of Mengele in a concentration camp I have a hard time reading this article, in which a retired Israeli Mossad officer in his eighties, recounts how they had a chance to capture Mengele, but opted not to do so. On one hand, I can understand his reasoning that it would have jeopardized taking Adolf Eichmann, who was personally responsible for the execution of the “final solution”. On the other hand, my emotional side cannot get over the fact that there was a chance to capture, set trial for and punish Mengele, the infamous, sadist “doctor.” I cannot imagine appropriate punishment for him, but I still think he should not have let go.

To learn more about Mengele’s antics I recommend today 80629: A Mengele experiment by Gene Church. There are two other reasons for recommending this book. First it is well written. Second , it is triumphant.

This is the true story of Jack Oran, who survived the inhuman experimental surgeries of Dr. Josef Mengele, Auschwitz’ infamous Doctor of Death. It was a cold December morning in 1942 when Jack, then known a Yakoff Skurnik, and his family were loaded onto a “resettlement train,” in Mlawa, Poland. When the train stopped, Jack found himself at Auschwitz. For an interminable time, he survived the horrors of the camp. Using his wits, cunning, and inordinate will to live, he escaped from the Nazis during the Auschwitz death march in which the Nazis marched 58,000 prisoners from the camp before its liberation by the Russians on January 27, 1945. Overcoming incredible odds, Jack built himself a new life filled with success and accomplishment. This is the story of a man who is living proof that with persistence, determination, and belief in oneself, all things are possible.