Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and the Forgotten Jews of Antiquity

 

In Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and the Forgotten Jews of Antiquity, author Karen Stern takes us on a journal of context.  We have many written records by elite Jews in the first decades of the common era, but we know very little if these accounts reflect the lives of Jews on the ground.

Stern examines graffiti in several locations in the eastern Mediterranean: from outside rock outcroppings along trade routes to the inside of synagogues, to marketplaces and sporting arenas.  She sees in these places the ubiquity of Jews in many contexts, even in a time of rising persecution from both pagans and Christians.

Stern’s careful analysis shows how well-integrated Jews were in their surroundings.  Jews had much in common with their Christian and Pagan neighbors, and their graffiti (and all three groups produced graffiti) if not for specific Jewish references, would be identical. 

This has been a refreshing trend in Jewish scholarship in recent years: instead of looking for factors whereby Jews are separated from their social environment, the areas of overlap are viewed as more salient, and a richer field of study.  This book certainly bears this out.  The graffiti examined in this important work was made by "ordinary" Jews, giving us a glimpse of their world outside the rabbinical lens.      

The Secret That Is Not a Secret: Ten Heretical Tales

 

Jay Michaelson is an incredibly talented and versatile writer.  Last year, he won a Jewish Book Award for his scholarly work on Jacob Frank.  Now, we have a collection of short fiction, The Secret That Is Not a Secret: Ten Heretical Tales.  All of Michaelson’s books share common features, but there are also dissimilarities.  He is that kind of writer, always pushing his subject matter both toward his concerns and away from them.

This collection of short fiction does not disappoint.  Here we have ten stories, modeled after the ten emanations of God as depicted in the Kabbalah.  The Kabbalah has always flirted with, if not indulged in, heresy, and Michaelson’s tales allow this flirtation and indulgence to become a full-fledged sexual romance. 

You can read this collection knowing close to nothing about Kabbalah.  Just revel in the mystery and richness of Michaelson’s prose.  If you know some, you will know more after reading.  If you are an accomplished Kabbalist, you will see old sources poured into new vessels to great effect in this extraordinary collection of stories. 

Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash

 

Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash by Tamar Biala (Editor) and Tamar Kadari is an interesting and often unexpected dive into Torah from the 50% of Jews largely excluded from study – women.  This collection is from Israeli women and no doubt the original Hebrew was an amazing excursion into Israeli Hebrew being used to cast and recast Hebrew stories of different ages and stages.  The translators give us a flavor of the word play involved – wordplay which is key to midrash in all its forms.  This is a wonderful, enriching collection of Torah works.

A Deep Dive

 

Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall is probably the go-to book for the Franco-Vietnam War.  It is certainly very thorough and at over 1000 pages, you should really be interested in this topic to take this book on… this is not casual reading but a deep dive into Vietnam before the American involvement.  This book is brilliant, but detailed.

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland

 

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning shows how under the right circumstances, most men can become mass killers.  They do not even have to be heavily indoctrinated by ideology.  Peer pressure works just fine.  

These police units were given the task of killing Jewish men, women, and children, most of the time at point-blank range.  The task was considered difficult – not because of an inherent compassion for Jews, but because killing large numbers of people takes a psychological toll on shooters.

The men of Reserve Policy Battalion 101 did not have to participate in the mass killings.  They were given the options of other assignments.  Some did take them, and this made them outsiders to their comrades, forcing others to do the unpleasant work.  The mechanics of this are very simple and scary.  People can grow accustomed to bloodshed just like any other difficult job - just because they want to belong. 

And of course, when these men were prosecuted by West Germany, most were not convicted.  And due to German laws, their names can’t be released to the public.  Disgraceful.

Hasidism: A New History

 

Hasidism: A New History by David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, and others, will probably be the definitive history of this Jewish movement for some time.  There is the scope of the work, from the very early day of Hasidism, when it really wasn’t even an organized movement, to its present-day forms, where Hasidic groups have been revitalized after their terrible losses in the Shoah.  There is also its detailed orientation: contemporary scholars have reassessed historical investigations of Hasidism, to ask new questions and reach new conclusions.

This in-depth work is for anyone interested in Hasidism who wants to go knee-deep. 

The Non-Dual Siddur, and More

 

Well of Living Insight: Comments on the Siddur by Arthur Green is a handy commentary on the siddur, written from Arthur Green’s distinctive angle on Jewish non-dualism.  This is the kind of book you want to read a bit at a time, soaking it in; it is also the musing of a man who has studied the siddur for years and comes at it from a variety of interesting, often unexpected angles.