I heard Shalom Auslander on the radio reading his story about the Brochah Bee, so I bought his book Beware of God for our library (Reform). I was disappointed to discover that the story was not in that book, but it is in Foreskin's Lament. What I like about him is that appreciating his humor requires a level of familiarity with traditional Judaism, and I hope it inspires people to delve into that. The fact that such books can find publishers gives me more confidence in the future of American Jewry. They must think there are enough people who get the cultural references.
I find his theological views troubling, but I know some of our members would appreciate his work. I would not recommend it for most Orthodox synagogue libraries, and I can certainly understand why some Orthodox people would prefer that none of the rest of us read it, either. Susan Ellman, Librarian Congregation EmanuEl Bne Jeshurun 2020 W. Brown Deer Rd. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217 (414) 228-7545 x17 <http://www.ceebj.org/>www.ceebj.org Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
