This week is Jewish Book Week, a literary festival held in London since 1952. I have several books in the library, that I am proud to own and learn from. First is “The Complete Book of Jewish Observance” by Leo Trepp. I bought this new in college, when I wanted to learn more about some Jewish friends and their practices. Before the internet, this book had been very useful and used; still is.
Shakespeare and the Jews” by James Shapiro, 1996. First, I am a Shakespeare fan. Second, I had a friend call me, not long ago, and said that Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s library was up for auction, and that I should take a look. I saw that this title was on the list, on her bookshelf, among a few others that I then set on trying to get. Way too quickly though, the prices jumped out of my reach. I settled on finding this copy on line instead. This book is crazy detailed of the views about Jews during the time Shakespeare was writing his plays. It is an interesting read.
“How to Be a Jewish Mother, a very lovely training manual” by Dan Greenburg, 1965. This is a funny delightful book. He states at the beginning, “You don’t have to be either Jewish or a mother to be a Jewish Mother. Properly practiced, Jewish motherhood is an art-a complex network of subtle and highly sophisticated techniques, which may be mastered by anyone.” I enjoy the book. I own an equally funny book of his, about famous statues and paintings.
I then have “The Breakfast of the Birds” by Judah Steinberg and Emily Solis-Cohen, fourth printing 1944. This is a wonderful book of Hebrew tales. There are several interesting stories, and accompanying illustrations that place this book as one of my favorite selections in the whole library. One especially, is called “The Friend in the Sky”, and has a lovely illustration of the night sky, a star, and its connection with a small boy. The story and picture are very much meaningful to me.
The second is “The Swallow”. This swallow helped, as best he could, when Solomon was building the temple. He was rewarded. Some spiders were not as rewarded when they selfishly tried to also get honored, and were scorned, chased away. When Nebuchadnezzar burned down the city, the sparrow tried to help fight flames, beakful by beakful of water. The spiders also helped, though in the opposite way, by each carrying a small piece of fire to add, saying “The work of destruction is sweet to us only when we have a share in it.”
While this is a vivid picture, especially within the context of the story, it is so horrible that there are people today that relish a complete destruction of others. Such hate must always be fought against.
Speaking of illustrations, I have the book “Frank Lloyd Wright, A Gatefold Portfolio” by Robin Langley Sommer, 1997. One of the more interesting places of Frank Lloyd Wright was built in Pennsylvania, (not Falling Waters which I had toured earlier with my wife, and a college architect class-which turned out to be better than normal because of the questions and answer dialogue) but Beth Sholom Synagogue in North Philadelphia. My sister and I coaxed a quick tour through it. Every Frank Lloyd Wright building that I have visited has been outstandingly unique, and this was no exception, with “a mountain of light” appearing throughout the design, representing Mt. Sinai. It is a “must see” place if one visits Philadelphia.
This next book is an unusual book that I found in a used bookstore in Northern Illinois. Most of the books there were donated, as was the time of the volunteers that worked there. Books were very inexpensive, and it was there I was building up the foundation of my library. I became friends with the most regular volunteer. It turned out that she also priced most of the books. She was retired, and worked at the bookstore several days a week. After we discussed books during several visits, she acknowledged that she used to supervise the Rare Books dept at Northwestern University Library. She taught me a lot about books, and gave suggestions about how to build a good private library.
One visit, she came over and said to me “Buy this book. I know it seems expensive, but buy it.” I didn’t hesitate and purchased it. After ringing me up, she said this will be one of those unusual books, for a private library. The book is “The Jew, At Home and Abroad” by The American Sunday-School Union, 1845. It is an interesting book with several illustrations. It discusses current Jewish life in various countries, the ancestry of Jews, our obligations to the race, ceremonies, writings, the history, and much more. While it is a small book (4 inches by 5.6 inches, and only 180 pages long) it is quite interesting now, can’t even imagine how it was received almost 180 years ago. They noted in the beginning, that it “was submitted to the examination of a learned Jewish scholar before they had it committed to press. Several passages were modified at his suggestion.” They then ended with “The volume is full of interest and instruction, and must lead the thoughtful reader to very profitable reflections.”
The last book that I am showing is “The Jewish Festival Cookbook”, 1954, by Fannie Engle and Gertrude Blair. This book has some basic history of holidays to give the “whys”, along with detailed instructions of the “hows”, of some good food events. I have had the luck of many nice meals, living in Rogers Park, Chicago for a number of years, along with visiting close friends in Skokie.
“Shalom Aleichem” to some dear friends. Hope you enjoyed my lernbekher.
Librarytomes 