Amy Turim wrote:
I would be interested to see some discussion on this list about this
new book... but the pivotal opening event is troubling, and how many
teenagers will be able to push beyond the specifics of that scene and
gain a meaningful overview?
This peeked my interest immediately. Here
<http://www.randomhouse.com/book/207374/intentions-by-deborah-heiligman#excerpt>'s
the troubling opening event that you can read on line.
The opening sequence reminded me of the first time I heard my own
parents who didn't know that I had gotten up because of the summer heat
(no air conditioning) and had sat down at the kitchen table to leaf
through a comic book. I must of have been 15-16 years old. It took me a
nano-second to figure out what was up but it made me smile more than
anything else. My parents were in their late 30s and not in much danger
of getting a divorce. Their marriage of 44 years only ended with my
father's untimely death (of blessed memory).
On the other hand, had I popped in on the high school history teacher
and the girls's field hockey coach doing the hmm hmm hmmm hmm in the
back of a 1956 Buick (the kind of car that used to litter our high
school faculty parking lot), and considering who I was then and how I am
now, I would have been more fascinated than disturbed.
After reading the opening scene, the only thing that crossed my mind
was: This rabi is some kind of idiot for leaving the front door
unlocked! Does he not know that All Cosmic Laws state that if you are up
to mischief, a group of 32 camera-clicking Japanese tourists will come
marching through on cue?
The writing style is on the comical side and describes the rabi as a
"....Middle-aged, nerdy, bushy-bearded, potbellied, Jewish Santa
Claus-looking Rabbi Cohn....". When Rachel, our heroine, gets us readers
to the sanctuary 45 minutes EARLY for religion class, the front door is
open, the foyer lights are on but the sanctuary is dark. Rachel goes
into the sanctuary hoping to find the kindly, elf-like rabi but finds no
one so she sits and falls asleep (....falls asleep?....) only to be
awakened by moans, groans and a heartfelt "Oh, rabbi!". Rachel's
reaction is to think: "Holy Crap!" and that "... those two words
become my personal torture, the hot secret I will carry with me like the
burning coal that singed the tongue of toddler Moses!"
My immediate reaction was: "Burning coal? Moses? Singed tongue?" I
thought I knew/know the Tora pretty damn well! When did I miss the part
about some dope giving Moses a coal to burn his tongue on?
And then I just plain cracked up. An image of the rabi rolly-polled it's
way into my mind. My next thought was: Who hired this guy? If there is
anything disturbing about this sequence, I'd have to say that the editor
should have checked the biblical references first, then modern synagogue
practices, then.... Blimey. When was the last time a teenage girl got to
synagogue 45 minutes early and fell asleep in a darkened sanctuary to be
woken up by a rolly-polly rabbi who couldn't have had more than a 15
minute window to pull off a very daring albeit foolhardy stunt. I had a
hard time not applauding that man's brass.
Happy Purim to one and all
Alba
********************
Alba Toscano, presª
Sinagoga conservador La Javurá
calle Uruguay 59, pta 13
46007 Valencia (España)
email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
tlf 963 802 129
móvil 658 721 769
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Webpage: http://www.lajavura.org
Skype: albatoscanovalencia
Blog de Bitacora de los Viajes con La Javurá
<http://bitacoralajavura.posterous.com/>
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