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March 19, 2004/Adar 26 5764, Vol. 56, No. 26
Book author creates a treat for Passover
PENNY SCHWARTZ
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The cover of "Wonders and Miracles: A Passover Companion" is so glorious that readers of all ages might be tempted to enjoy its splendor and forget the pages that follow.
That would be a mistake.
Eric A. Kimmel's bold entrance into the world of Passover offers rewards well beyond the golden-haired cherubs and brightly adorned figurine-like images of Moses and his brother Aaron, which grace the cover. The illustration is a 21st-century adaptation of an 18th-century Haggadah patterned on even earlier Haggadot.
"Wonders and Miracles" (Scholastic Press, $18.95 hardcover), illustrated with art spanning 3,000 years, is a Passover companion, not a Haggadah, Kimmel recently explained.
Kimmel says he intended it to be read before the holiday begins, in preparation for Passover, and to be used during the seder as a supplement to the Haggadah, which has been evolving for more than 2,000 years.
"This is a book for people who are putting on a seder who may not know exactly why we do the things we do, or what's a seder all about," Kimmel says. "I wanted to have something for every member of the family."
The family-oriented book follows the order of the Haggadah and explains all the elements of the seder - from setting the seder plate to the four cups of wine and the full story of Passover. But Kimmel's companion is a rare combination of scholarly and popular material, of interest to the learned and accessible to beginners.
Readers are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the rituals embedded in generations of traditional seders with smooth-as-silk storytelling and writing. Kimmel also fills in historical background, giving context and meaning to Haggadah passages that may be unexplained or glossed over in the years of repetitive reading.
Kimmel, the highly acclaimed, award-winning writer and storyteller best known for "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins," says he wanted to add his voice to the abundance of Passover literature.
"I have a hearty respect for tradition and I have a hearty disrespect for it. I think a lot of things we do are funny. A lot of the things people tell children or explain to gentile visitors to the seder are often total nonsense."
Kimmel aims to set the record straight. Youngsters in particular might enjoy learning that there was once a different fourth question in the "Mah Nishtanah."
An explanation of the acronyms for the Ten Plagues also will intrigue children, and his original play, "How Many Plagues?," enlivens the seder with a touch of Jewish humor and talmudic lore.
There are unfamiliar morsels such as the Greek origins of the word "afikomen," the "hidden" matzo that is eaten as dessert. Kimmel's treatment of food that is kosher for Passover offers a humorous explanation for the reason some people avoid eating chickpeas. The word for chickpeas in Hebrew is hummus, which sounds like the word for chametz - the leavened food not allowed on Passover.
"Wonders and Miracles" is equally outstanding for Kimmel's adept explanation of the powerful story of the exodus, which, Kimmel noted, is not told fully in the traditional Haggadah.
Kimmel also devotes three pages to Miriam, Moses' sister, who played a large role in the story of exodus but isn't included in the Haggadah.
Three reproductions of Miriam's cups by American artists display the range of expression in Judaic contemporary art. It is one example of the abundance of unusual artwork culled from museum collections around the world, which Kimmel is quick to credit as a labor of love by his editor.
One of Kimmel's favorite Passover stories, a personal recollection, didn't make it into the book.
"In our house in Brooklyn, the Passover stuff belonged to our grandma, who lived with us," Kimmel recalled of his childhood. "She kept it in a barrel in the basement. All the Passover silverware, very heavy stuff, had the word 'willow' engraved on the handle. For years I wondered what's the connection between Passover and willow?"
The young Kimmel's mind wandered to hidden Jewish interpretations of various trees.
"I finally asked my father, who laughed when he explained that grandma and grandpa lived on Christie Street in Brooklyn across the street from the Willow Cafeteria."
Kimmel also has included the works of others - stories by well-known Jewish children's writers such as Peninnah Schram, Nina Jaffe and a well-adored classic Passover K'tonton story by Sadie Rose Weilerstein.
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