Book Discussion: By Fire and By Water July 28, 2010 (1 Comment) by R. Peter Shapiro Read the review of this Significant Jewish Book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections Palace intrigue, ethnic cleansing, murder, unrequited love, and the quest for new lands and their riches are all woven together in Michael James Kaplan's novel By Fire and By Water. The story takes place in Spain during the mid 1480's through the late 1490's in the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. In that time frame four world-changing events were simultaneously occurring: the establishment of the New Inquisition in Castile and Aragon, the reconquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and Cristobal Colon's (Christopher Columbus) so-called discovery of the Western Hemisphere. The author opined that these four events when taken together "amounted to a cataclysm, foreshadowing the collapse of the medieval economic, governmental and religious systems and the birth of the modern nation-state." The book's protagonist, Luis de Santangel, is a composite fictional character. He was the Royal Chancellor of Aragon, a widower, with a young son. As a third generation converso he was caught between competing faiths, social classes and loyalties. His problems were complicated because he was a close friend of King Ferdinand. His rival for the ear of the Monarchy was Inquisitor General Tomas de Torquemada whose power and influence over Queen Isabella allowed him to steadily increase the brutality of the Spanish church and the paranoia it inspired. read MORE Filed Under: Books | Jewish History

Book Discussion: Good for the Jews May 12, 2010 (1 Comment) by Peter Shapiro Read the review of this book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections Good for the Jews: A Novel by Debra Spark Debra Sparks has recast the story of Esther in modern day Madison, the home of the liberal University of Wisconsin The first letter of the names of the principal characters as well as their respective roles corresponds to those in the Story of Esther.  Ellen, like Esther, is an innocent young secular Jew who reluctantly stands up for her people. Mose (Mordecai) is the Jewish voice of conscience and alarm who encourages and convinces Ellen to act. Alex (Ahashuerus), the Superintendent of Schools, is duped by one of his principals, Hyman (Haman), into approving regulations that will allow Hyman to fire Mose. Alex's wife, Valerie (Vashti), who he divorces plays a minor role. Valerie's falling out with Alex is essential to setting up his relationship with Ellen. The story's ending is predictable. But the plot and the treatment of the characters are intriguing. I prefer not to say more as to do would substantially diminish the interest of the reader. In peaceful Shushan where the Jews were accorded dignity and respect it took one evil man, Haman, to cause them to be treated as pariahs. The first question the author puts before us is: "is it realistic to expect that today one person's actions could cause Anti-Semitism to rear its ugly head in a liberal college town"?  My answer would be a resounding yes, based on having spent my entire life in a small liberal community. I welcome your responses to this question and imagine they might be both experiential and generational. read MORE Filed Under: Books | Holidays

Book Discussion: A Seat at the Table October 26, 2009 by Rabbi Marci Bellows Read the review of this book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections A Seat at the Table by Joshua Halberstam I vividly remember learning how to read. Sometime around the age of 4 years old, I could suddenly make out the letters and words around me. I read constantly, and, as you would guess, my parents proudly encouraged me to read more and more. Most memorable is the statement that my father made as I began to feel more and more confident with my reading: "Now, there will be no secrets in the world, because you can learn everything by reading." I felt like a large, wide, important door had been opened, and that the universe of knowledge would always be there, waiting for me to discover it word by word. It goes without saying that we Jews are a people of reading, stories, and learning. Our Passover Seder revolves around our Haggadah, our retelling of the Exodus from Egypt. We are known as the "People of the Book." Midrashim, creative interpretations of our biblical text, add allegory, folklore, and depth to many of more elusive or confusing tales. Yet, to some Jewish communities, there are some doors to learning that should not be opened, and there are some stories that should not be shared. read MORE Filed Under: Books

Book Discussion: Houses of Study - A Jewish Woman Among Books October 26, 2009 by Rabbi Marci Bellows Read the review of this book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections Houses of Study - A Jewish Woman Among Books by Ilana M. Blumberg One of my favorite activities to bring to a classroom of elementary school-aged religious school students is a deceptively simple art project: "Draw a Jew." Easy, no? In fact, I encourage you to do so, even just in your own mind, as you read these words. What does a Jew look like to you? Even more interesting, what would you imagine if I said, "Draw a rabbi?" I am infinitely intrigued by how many of my students draw, a) a man; b) an Orthodox man; and/or c) an Ultra-Orthodox, black-hat covered, payes-wearing man. After they share their drawings, I ask them a short, important question: "Where are you in these pictures?" Silently, they look down at the drawings, slightly baffled, as a new understanding spreads over the group - they, too, are Jews. And they, too, would have been just as valid in someone's drawing of a Jew. The drawing could have been of a CHILD! A modern, baseball cap-covered, jeans-wearning child. Even more eye-opening - that drawing could have been of a woman!! Holy moly!! read MORE Filed Under: Books

Book Discussion: A Seat at the Table October 22, 2009 (5 Comments) by Peter Shapiro Read the review of this book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections A Seat at the Table by Joshua Halberstam "A Seat at the Table" is a metaphor for the Chassidic adage that no matter what one has done to stray from the teachings of Torah he or she will not be abandoned by their family. This is similar to the sentiment expressed in Robert Frost's poem, "Death of the Hired Man": "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Mr. Zeitchik, a minor character, sets the tone when he says "... a story is never just a story". The author, Joshua Halberstam, used that statement as a lead-in to employ the literary device, "a story within a story". That is where the inner story often has symbolic and psychological significance for the characters in the outer story. read MORE Filed Under: Books

Book Discussion: Houses of Study - A Jewish Woman Among Books October 22, 2009 by Peter Shapiro Read the review of this book in RJ magazine See other Significant Jewish Book selections Houses of Study - A Jewish Woman Among Books by Ilana M. Blumberg Jewish women for almost five thousand seven hundred seventy years have struggled with a tradition that moved them into a life of modesty, early marriage and motherhood. Formal education was forbidden to women, a point brought home in Maggie Anton's three novels "Rashi's Daughters I, II and III". Women inherited wisdom by what was referred to as Binah, a mystical process where they acquired all the knowledge necessary to sustain their family's needs.   The progressive streams of Judaism recently have opened up their doors to women's full participation in all aspects of religious and communal life. The author Ilana Blumberg's journey is that of a woman in love with learning of Judaism whose full participation in the Modern Orthodox world is often blocked by the rules in the sacred texts she reveres. read MORE Filed Under: Books