Put your energy into learning

Whether fact or fiction, some books offer a lot more than entertainment.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY

In each year's retelling of the Exodus from Egypt, we find new significance or read new meanings into the story. In this Passover's selection of books reviewed by the Bulletin, there are several that reinterpret ancient texts. There are others that challenge established notions of identity and nationality or question societally imposed priorities. Then there's one that offers pearls of wisdom from a life well-lived. With a couple of exceptions, they are all worth reading.

Jewish in Canada

It is a common observation in Vancouver that this city's Jewish community is different from that of Montreal, Toronto or Winnipeg. The meaning is generally implied and rarely ever articulated clearly, which begs the question: What does it mean? Is there a Canadian Jewish culture or are there multiple Jewish cultures within the country, within a province, a city? While The Canadian Jewish Studies Reader (Red Deer Press, 2005), edited by Richard Menkis (associate professor at the University of British Columbia) and Norman Ravvin (Montreal-based writer, critic and teacher), doesn't answer these questions, it does raise many interesting issues surrounding what it means to be Jewish in Canada.

The anthology is divided into what the editors call "arenas of cultural contest." Each section comprises three to five essays on different aspects of these arenas. The first chapter discusses several Canadian icons – such as Clara Brett Martin, the first woman admitted to the bar in the then British Empire – and why Jews would have trouble respecting them, as well as presenting examples of Jewish heroes or venerable figures.

The second section deals with time, discussing aspects such as the Jewish observance of Shabbat, how some Jews attempted to de-Judaize their communities with a Yom Kippur ball and how time plays a role in the development of symbols that generate continuity. This latter idea is fleshed out using the example of getting married in ceremonies where the bride and groom exchange rings, in spite of the fact that the bride's giving of a second ring to the groom is not acknowledged in Jewish law. In this case, tradition per se has been determined by cultural practices passed through generations rather than through legal or rabbinical routes.

The third arena of cultural contest examined is that of spaces, whether it be an Orthodox community in Toronto who "sanctified" a neighborhood by creating an active religious landscape in the area (establishing synagogues, Jewish schools, kosher restaurants, etc.) or the creation of a connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel by community-sponsored trips.

In the section on memory, the essays address what Menkis calls "the search for a usable past." In one essay, the problems relating to the commemoration of the Holocaust are illustrated in a case study of artist Arnold Belkin's donation of a painting to the Vancouver Jewish community. Representing the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the unfortunate fate of the artwork – which was donated in the early 1960s – seems to have been to end up in storage somewhere at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

The final chapter of the Reader deals with how Jews have engaged themselves with the question of cultural pluralism and multiculturalism. In this section, one essay examines how A.M. Klein tried to understand French Canada, two others show what can happen when two ethnic groups come into conflict – in one case, Jews and Blacks in Toronto, over a production of the musical Showboat – and the final essay is on well-known writer Matt Cohen and his personal struggle with being Jewish and Canadian.

There is a wide range of contributors to The Canadian Jewish Studies Reader, mostly academics. Overall, it is quite readable, albeit a bit dense at times. As well, there are a few "sins of omission," to which the editors readily admit and which they explain as being due to the lack of research that has been conducted in this area: they point to the paucity of literature on Jews in Atlantic Canada or west of Winnipeg, and on gender issues within the Jewish community. The introduction to the Reader ends with the hope that this collection will lead readers to further engage in the study of the Canadian Jewish experience. Given the intriguing issues it raises, it should do just that.

Women in the Bible

Two recent (or relatively recent) publications examine the Torah and the role of women in its narrative. While not contesting that the Bible is a product of a patriarchal society, both books note the many memorable women whose stories are contained within it. Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories (Schocken Books, 2004) by Tikva Frymer-Kensky examines the significance of these women in a very academic way, while After the Apple: Women in the Bible – Timeless Stories of Love, Lust and Longing (Miramax Books, 2005) by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt does so in a much more accessible – but no less intelligent – manner.

Reading the Women of the Bible tries to look at the overarching concept of "woman" in the Bible, rather than simply relating the stories of individuals. Notably, Frymer-Kensky purposely omits Eve and Miriam, as she feels that they tend to overshadow the Bible's other women. Her book is divided into five parts: women as victors, victims, virgins and voice (oracles), and a section that ties together many of the stories and considers their implications for contemporary readers. It would be a perfect book around which to form a study group.

In After the Apple, Rosenblatt basically retells the stories of certain biblical women in contemporary language, mixing storytelling with commentary, psychological observations and explanations about the Hebrew and other aspects of the text. She relates the stories of about a dozen women, as well as discussing the Song of Songs, which she describes as offering "a remarkable variation on the role of sex and desire in the lives of the biblical women." It is a really easy-to-read, enjoyable book.

Both Frymer-Kensky and Rosenblatt stress the continuing relevance of the Bible and, therefore, the need for people to properly understand it. Both of these publications are a great way to begin this process, especially for women who have felt that the Torah – Jews' raison d'être – marginalizes them.

The New Testament

Seeing Sister Rose's Passion – about sister Rose Thering, who, rejecting Church teachings that Jews killed Jesus Christ, spent her life educating people about the dangers of anti-Semitism – at the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival was refreshing, especially after having endured the aftermath of the "blockbuster" The Passion of the Christ. Appropriately, Jewish Lights and Skylight Paths publishers have chosen this year to publish a third edition of the 1956 seminal work on the New Testament written by a Jewish scholar: A Jewish Understanding of the New Testament by Rabbi Samuel Sandmel.

In A Jewish Understanding, Sandmel takes readers through the early writings of the Church, starting with the historical context, geopolitical and religious, then moving to Paul and the Epistles, the Gospels and other writings, and concluding with a discussion of the importance of the New Testament as a faith document. While the various prefaces and the forward, which explain some different approaches to scholarship and the interpretation of historical and religious texts, are more necessary than engaging, Sandmel's writing style is generally clear, respectful and provides a depth that educational material often doesn't possess. For example, Sandmel takes the time to almost literally introduce us to Paul and the writers of the various Gospels in that he describes what scholars know about how they looked, the world in which they were living, their influences and how they viewed Jesus and his teachings – he even comments on their writing style.

A Jewish Understanding is extremely informative as an introduction to this text that is sacred to Christians.

A bubbe's wise tales

There are some lessons better learned from stories than a textbook: the importance of family, how to deal with unmet expectations and the acceptance that death is a part of life, for example. While Joseph's Bones: A Collection of Stories (Oznas Books, 2004) by Ozzie Nogg is written by a bubbe for her grandchildren, its messages are universal.

Through personal recollections, Nogg – often humorously, always touchingly – shares some of the wisdom she has gained in her life. Joseph's Bones also serves as a bridge between generations, as Nogg preserves memories of her parents, grandparents and other relatives for her grandchildren and the children yet to be born.

Bulletin readers may be familiar with some of these tales, as they have appeared in the newspaper. Two in particular come to mind: the story about the cap Nogg's father was supposedly given by Czar Nicholas and the 1923 silver dollars her dad gave her every Chanukah, until "the fateful Chanukah of 1944"; and the one she calls "Teshuvah on the Interstate," in which a hair-raising U-turn on the highway features prominently. One that especially resonates is "A Lesson in the Watermelon," in which Nogg learns from her father how to deal with life when things don't go as planned. Rather than be bitter and upset, he would go on with life, after shaking his head, sighing and saying, "Dos hoben mir nisht g'ler'nt in cheder. This we never learned in school." An approach well worth learning.

Fictional considerations

Two new works of fiction that couldn't be more different are an English translation of A.B. Yehoshua's The Liberated Bride (Harvest, 2004) and Behind Everyman: A Novel for Guys and the Women Who Rescue Them (Ballantine Books, 2005) by David Israel. The Liberated Bride is a dense, dull and drawn out story about a man obsessed with his eldest son's failed marriage, while Behind Everyman is a quick and quirky read about a guy who's trying to find his place in the world. Both novels are disappointing.

There are moments of brilliance in The Liberated Bride, when Yehoshua's writing is so clever and funny, or when it provides incisive commentary on the relationship between Arabs and Jews. But these sparks of creativity get doused by the plodding and, frankly, annoying plotline of a man who just won't let something go. A few hundred pages shorter (depending what's cut out) and the book may have been readable.

Behind Everyman is another book that falls short of its potential. Israel could be a great humor writer. His plot is interesting and he makes some very funny observations of human behavior that will have readers laughing. The problem with Behind Everyman is the writing style. Israel has chosen to write it as an instruction manual, a how-to guide. By way of example, one paragraph reads: "One rainy evening, on your way home from the gym, spot an attractive, umbrellaless woman standing on the corner of Tenth and University. You've often fantasized about this moment...." And so it goes, for the whole book. It grates on your nerves within a couple dozen pages. Even so, Behind Everyman is an entertaining diversion, especially if you're a single male in your 20s ... I would think.

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