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March 22, 2002/Nisan 9, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 27
Who can retell? We can.
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
Gathering around the Passover table, beginning March 27, we'll retell the story of the Exodus, the Israelites' journey from slavery to freedom. The biblical narrative has all the elements of a good adventure tale - a malevolent despot and an oppressed people, fortuitous divine intervention with a series of dreadful plagues and wondrous miracles. The retelling captures our imaginations, even if we know the ending, even if we have told the story year after year, seder after seder. Stories, especially stories that connect us to our shared past, have the propensity to do that.
The holiday celebration provides a wonderful opportunity for sharing other stories that connect us. Time spent cooking or cleaning in the kitchen or sitting at the seder table, can stir up those special memories, from Grandma's brisket recipe to Uncle Harry's travails getting a job during the Depression. It's a perfect occasion for reminiscing.
If you need a little encouragement, a few recent books offer ample food for thought - and impetus for telling, and retelling, that family lore.
Enjoy - and Chag Sameach!
"Pirkei Imahot, A Celebration of Our Mothers" (Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Press, $14.95 paperback) is a gem of a book for all those mothers who wonder if their children ever listen and for those children who wonder if their mothers only knew that they did. Edited by Mel Patrell Furman, Carol Kanter, Adrienne Lieberman and Lynn Pollack, with a foreword by Rabbi Brant Rosen, the book is a collection of family memories, each contained in just a page or two, each with the personal stamp of each writer. It's a charming tribute to all mothers - and a reminder to assure that those stories, with their precious nuggets of wisdom and compassion, are preserved and passed on.
There's Charlene Gelber's story of the love sandwich - the one with no meat in the middle but "filled with love." There's Bob Turner's remembrance of his mother-in-law's pre-wedding night téte á téte with him about family planning, never mind that her son-in-law to be was a gynecologist. There's the tribute to Rae Waltuch Nussbaum on her 85th birthday from her four grandchildren replete with grandma's wise advice, such as, "If you love somebody, meet their plane." And there's the stories filled with pain and newfound insights that bring some modicum of comfort.
Rochelle M. Bernstein tells of her mother, suffering with Alzheimer's who has lost much of her memory but retains her love of music and dancing. "The klezmer music reminds her of her parents, and she cries," writes Bernstein of her mother. "Her tears remind me of how long love lasts."
"Pirkei Imahot" can be ordered from JRC by calling (847)328-7678.
Another recent offering has a similar focus but is somewhat less successful in its execution. "Around Sarah's Table, Ten Hasidic Women Share their Stories of Life, Faith, and Tradition" (The Free Press, $24.95 hardcover) is a more serious telling of stories shared by a group of ten Hasidic women who meet for a weekly "lunch and learn" around Sarah's table. The starting point for their conversations, compiled by writers Rivka Zakutinsky and Yaffa Leba Gottlieb, is the parsha, or weekly Torah reading. But their own personal background and experiences inform the ensuing discourse. The group includes Sarah, a mother of 13 and a girl's high school principal, Reva, a publisher, Klara, a lawyer, and Levana, the rebbitzen, among others. There's also Shaina, mother of two adopted children with Down's syndrome whose commitment to Orthodoxy has alienated her from her family.
Each chapter begins with an excerpt from the text and then weaves in the personal stories of one of the women who sits at the table. The collection opens a window into the life of observant Jewish women while providing insight into how, for these women, the ancient texts apply to their contemporary lives. It's a daunting endeavor, and often the reader feels as if it is beyond the scope of the authors' ability, provoking more questions than answers. But maybe that is what a good Jewish story is supposed to do, and Zakutinsky and Gottlieb, perhaps realizing the limitations of their tome, provide a list of suggested reading at the end of the book to begin to satisfy those yearnings for more information.
Stories take on a spiritual dimension in a new collection compiled by the Women of Reform Judaism, "A Gift of Prayer" (Union of American Hebrew Congregations Press, $19.95, hardcover). The book is a compilation of spiritual writings, including prayers, poems and meditations, written by Jewish women and women clergy over the past 15 years. It offers a reflection on faith and comfort as a response to today's world.
The book covers multiple aspects of life, from family relationships to adoption to death to new beginnings. One meditation, by Reva Belle Kramer of Niagara Falls, N.Y., reflects on what it means to be an American Jewish woman today. She writes:
"I am an American Jewish woman.
I hope, I dream, I believe.
Part of a strong heritage, producer of change.
There is a place for Peace, there is a place for Love.
There is God.
Humble, soft, compliant,
Yet, proud, strong, defiant -
I am an American Jewish woman."
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A "Gift of Prayer" is available from UAHC Press, (800)489- 8242, or online at www.uahcpress.com.
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