Holy Lit!

By RABBI RICHARD ADDRESS

CELEBRATING THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS
Stories, Essays, Poems
Edited by Steven J. Rubin
448 pages. Brandeis University Press. $29.95.

Celebrating the Jewish Holidays is not just another book on the Jewish holiday cycle. Unlike religious primers, detailed theological scholarship, or how-to manuals, this holiday anthology celebrates through our vibrant literary tradition. Though no one would deny the power of the traditional High Holiday liturgy, our best writers are able to reveal fresh and beautiful aspects of the same old holidays.

Steven Rubin has assembled a group of contributors that span the historical range of Jewish experience; from Ibn Gabirol and the Spanish “golden age,” to well-known writers such as Bialik, HaLevi, Tchernichovsky, Herzl, and Bashevis Singer, to contemporary poets such as Marge Piercy and Marcia Falk. Adding to the richness of the book is the fact that many of the writers have not as yet achieved mass popularity—one of the pleasures of the book is discovering new writers.

Each chapter focuses on one holiday, and begins with an introduction by Rubin. In each case, he notes many of the theological and liturgical basics, and adds to our understanding with literary allusions and simple interpretations of some of the selections that follow. The bulk of each chapter consists of short pieces of poetry, memoirs, and fiction.

The chapters on Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur are, as you would expect, particularly rich. The selections evoke the themes of the festival we encounter in the holiday liturgy. For example, Rubin includes a beautiful poem by Yehuda Amichai called “The Eve of Rosh Hoshonnah” that recalls the “akedah” (Abraham's near sacrifice of his son, Isaac). The selection from Wiesel’s “Night” reflects a deeply haunting mood during a Rosh Hashannah encounter between Wiesel and his father.

Likewise, Rubin’s section on Yom Kippur is filled with marvelous surprises. Marcia Falk’s “Open Gate” recalls a major theme of the High Holy Days, that “you begin to begin again.” He also includes a passage from My Life, the memoir of Golda Meir, written on Yom Kippur 1973. She describes her feelings on the morning of Yom Kippur, as she assembled some of her staff after learning of the impending attack. On the way to her office she notices people walking to synagogue for the morning service and pauses to think that “all over Israel, young men were fasting in synagogues today and that it was from their prayers that they would soon be called to arms.” The seriousness of the day is examined through different eyes as Rubin includes a wonderful little story from the pen of Sholem Aleichem on the tension in one small shtetl “schule” between the lack of food and an apparent theft of money during Yom Kippur prayers.

In addition to the High Holy Days, Rubin’s chapters deal with Shabbat, Hannukah, Purim, and Pesach. There are gems to be discovered in each section. One particular discovery was a poem from the contemporary poet Howard Nemerov, “Pharaoh’s Meditation on the Exodus”. This piece, and many others, can serve as standalone texts for study. Many of the works that Rubin has chosen lend themselves to interactive learning as well as private reflection, and as with all great literature, these pieces can be revisited over and over as our personal circumstances change along with our understanding of the holidays.

Rubin includes brief biographical sketches on his authors and pertinent bibliographic information. Each author serves as a window into his or her historical period, thus helping us see, through poetry and prose, the variations in perspective on the substance of Jewish life through the ages. For this reason, Celebrating the Jewish Holiday is a valuable teaching tool for congregations and organizations who wish to approach the holiday cycle through the pathway of classic and contemporary Jewish literature. It will make a welcome and enlightening addition to anyone’s basic library of Jewish resources.