Synagogue Library

LIBRARY HOURS
The Library is normally open from 9 - 11 a.m. on Sundays, except from July 1 - end of the Yomim Tovim and during the winter and spring public school breaks. For your convenience, the Library will be open on August 29. The official re-opening of the Library in the new year is Sunday October 3, 2010.

FILMS

The Brothers Warner - Documentary. Harry Warner's granddaughter recreates the story of this eminent Jewish movie family using film clips, interviews with noted luminaries and film historians.

James' Journey to Jerusalem - Comedy. James, a devout Christian pilgrim, makes a pilgrimage from Africa to Jerusalem, with unintended consequences. In English, Hebrew and Zulu with English subtitles.

Cassandra's Dream - Woody Allen directs this taunt drama about murder and family betrayal.

The Memory Thief - This psychological thriller explores the obsession of a Los Angeles toll booth clerk with a holocaust survivor.

Palestine Blues - Palestinian learn that their farms, olive groves and homes are to be destroyed to build a new 'security wall'. English Subtitles

Valkyrie - Nazi generals turn on their leader when they know the war is lost. With Tom Cruise

Spring 1941 - A Jewish family seeks shelter as the Nazis storm Poland. With Joseph Fiennes

The Wave - A high school teacher in contemporary Germany designs a social experiment to mimic totalitarian government.

My Mexican Shiva - In this gentle comedy, the shiva, following the death of a family patriarch escalates into a circus of conflicts and characters. In Spanish, Hebrew and Yiddish with English subtitles.

Rosa and the Executioner of the Fiend - A Cuban assassin, who intends to kill Fidel Castro, strays into the apartment of Rosa, a Jewish widow. In English with Spanish subtitles.

An Education - A Jewish playboy in England disrupts the life of a bright, young school girl.

Fate Did Not Let Me Go - A farewell letter, written by a mother to her son is rediscovered 50 years later.

Lodz Ghetto - People struggle to survive within the Lodz Ghetto.

BOOKS

Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz Mystery. This crime novel, set in San Francisco, is an irresistible blend of suspense, irony and wit.

A State Beyond the Pale by Robin Shepherd This book examines the roots of the growing anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe.

The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia This historical novel set in sixteenth-century Prague offers a unique blend of mystery and Talmud.

The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz Mystery. A hilarious, thrilling and moving book that explores the intricacies of a Jewish family's private investigation company.

Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva Novel. The Israeli government becomes concerned about the activities of a new generation of Stalinists. Large Print Edition

The Last Ember by Daniel Levin Legal, religious, and Jewish archaeological secrets swirl together in this fast paced thriller.

The Messenger by Daniel Silva Novel. Photographs found on a terrorist's computer lead Israeli intelligence to believe that Al Qaeda is planning an attack on the Vatican. Large Print Edition.

THE BOOKSHELF

As I start writing this column, I cannot stop thinking about a friend who is sleeping tonight in the hospital, next to her sick child. All of a sudden that raw, tender spot that every parent covers up to the best of her/his ability with routines, chores, work, and deadlines, is exposed and I am once again reminded of how vulnerable we are and how fragile and precious is life.

Usually, in a "good" year, this happens to me around High Holy Day time, when the liturgy acts like a perspective-reset button, and all the emotions that have been more or less successfully ignored are violently pulled to the surface. I am referring, of course, to Un'taneh Tokef, the central Musaf prayer of both Rosh Hashanah days and Yom Kippur.

"And let us acknowledge the power of this day's holiness,
For it is full of awe and dread."

The beginning of the poem leaves no doubt about its direction. The dark and ominous tension continues to build and culminates with the rhythmical, symmetrical description of the various possible life endings and other torments. Incidentally, the very famous line "Who by fire" used by Leonard Cohen as title and subject of his brilliant 1974 song, has been since used as title for two novels: "Who by Fire" by Diana Spechler (Harper Perennial, 2008), and "Who by Fire, Who by Water" by Mitchell James Kaplan (Other Press, 2010), the later one available in your Beth David library.

Relief from the awe inspiring first part of the poem is provided by what - simplistically - appears to be the solution to this very unpleasant and stressful feeling:

"And repentance, prayer, and charity
Help the hardship of the decree pass."

If it would only be so predictable and easy!

Repentance, prayer - I understand it as belonging to this wonderful congregation - and charity, are only the basis on which to build a meaningful life. We cannot dictate our fate and we can only disguise the uncertainty of our lives. But we can choose to live with an open heart and an outstretched hand.

Clearly, the centrality of Un'taneh Tokef in the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services underscores the fact that an awareness of our vulnerability is the very essence of the religious and spiritual life. (Sometimes the timing seems a bit off, as with reading "To everything there is a season…" in Kohelet on Succot after the very explicit and intense first ten days of Tishrei).

For a new translation of the prayer, accompanied by commentaries from men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, who examine the poem from the viewpoints of ancient Rabbis and modern theologians, as well as halakhic, Talmudic, linguistic, biblical, mystical feminist, and communal and personal perspectives, I warmly recommend Who by Fire, Who by Water: Un'taneh Tokef edited by Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman and published this past spring by Jewish Lights Publishing. The book is available in your Beth David library, together with other good reads that will help you prepare for the upcoming High Holidays.

The library will not be hosting any literary events this fall since our synagogue is the venue hosting the Jewish Book Fair which will bring a multitude of authors to us in a very intense week for the Jewish printed word. We will renew our own author appearances and book talks later this winter.

Warmest wishes for a sweet, healthy and peaceful 5771.

Shanah tovah, Amit Bitnun

library@bethdavid.com